Happy Holidays!!
I hope you were able to spend some time with your family, some time with less stress than normal, some time to reflect on the reason for the season. As anyone who knows me personally, and/or those who have come to know me through my posts, I am not a religious person. I don't belong to any particular church, haven't been in a church other than for the occasional wedding or funeral in many, many years. Yet, I like to consider myself spiritual. Over the course of my life I have had the opportunity, through formal education as well as through personal time spent "searching for the meaning of life" to have been exposed to the lessons of many of the great spiritual teachers of history, especially those of Jesus Christ. Having been raised a Catholic, I suppose that is why I identify more with his teachings, although, like many a searcher for truth, I have been also drawn to the spirituality of the eastern cultures, Buddhism in particular.
So, it should come as no surprise that I laugh aloud when I hear certain political pundits claim America is a Christian nation. Of course, I realize that we identify ourselves as Christian from the standpoint that the predominant religions that we claim affiliation to our based on His life. But, as I have said more than once, and most recently to my brother-in-law, to believe that we act Christlike in regards to the issues of the day is ludicrous. From our acceptance of violence as a means to address our problems to the all consuming emphasis on material wealth as a means to happiness and an yardstick for success, we behave as unChristlike as is possible.
Turn the other cheek. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Do we use these as guidelines in our national and personal relationships?
As a nation we spend more money on our military than the next dozen countries, and we provide weapons of destruction to friends and foes alike, friends through the mistaken belief that guns will provide peace, and foes through the avarice of men who are only interested in money. Rather than rehabilitation, we incarcerate as large a percentage of our own citizens as any other nation on earth. Even when it comes to situations where one citizen confronts another, we have Castle Doctrine laws that give the green light to shoot each other. While the vast majority of our police hold true to their creed of protect and serve, the axiom seems to lose some of its power when men of certain color or religious beliefs are involved.
From issues ranging from torture to health care, we seem to ignore the lessons of Christ when making our laws. The recent debate on the investigation into the interrogations techniques used by the CIA seems to center on whether the torture resulted in viable information, and less about whether by using torture on our enemies we had lost another portion of our soul, another claim to be a Christian nation. "I have met the enemy and he is us" never rang so true than when I hear Americans defend the use of torture against our enemies. As for health care, we have finally made a step towards treating all Americans with respect in terms of providing access to affordable health care insurance, especially those who need it the most, ie, the sickest, the poorest, the youngest, and yet in the name of profit or simply because some believe in the one bad root of capitalism, survival of the fittest, there are those who vow the repeal of this new law. I always think of that famous Scrooge line from "A Christmas Carol" when told by the gentlemen collecting for the poor that some would rather die than go to a poorhouse when he responds - "If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population".
Speaking of yearly, traditional Christmas shows, I am sure we all saw a few these past couple of weeks. Whether it be A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life, I am sure more than one tear was shed at the moments when Scrooge turns from humbug to happy and George Bailey's financial woes are solved by the generosity of his neighbors and friends. We respond with tears and smiles because we know that Scrooge was not treating those in his life as Christ teaches, we know that George Bailey's rescue is the result of his lifelong mission to help his neighbors, to put people above profit. And, hopefully, in both cases because we believe in the goodness of men. Yet, we contribute to the cheapening of our beloved holiday season through our silence when the big retailers open on Thanksgiving Day, or stay open until 11:00 on Christmas Eve. Or worse, by actively shopping at those times. I happen to work in retail, and, for the most part, most of my customers are pleased that our doors are closed at the holidays. They understand that they are happy not to work and so are happy for me that I am off as well. Yet there are always a few who frown at the knowledge that they will have to complete their shopping before the holiday, that we are not open for them to be able to wait until the very last minute to shop; that we are not at their beck and call. I usually ignore those frowns, feel a bit sorry for them, but every once in a while I will ask if they have off or must work. Generally, my question is met with surprise, as if the person couldn't conceive of working on a holiday but never made the mental jump to realize that it was just as important for us to be off as well. Almost as if being a retail clerk made us less than a person, or less deserving of the holiday at home.
Do unto others... It is such a simple idea, this golden rule, but so very difficult to practice. Hopefully, you had a chance to watch your favorite holiday show, and you found a moment to remember that the root of the word Christmas is Christ.
Lastly, a correction. I mentioned in my last post that I had finished reading the Laphams Quarterly Youth and was beginning Time. I misidentified the issues however; Youth was summer, Time was Fall. Winter, which I have not yet begun, is called Foreigners which should be interesting in light of the recent immigration policy change initiated by President Obama and the upcoming legislation that will be created in the new year when the next Congress begins its term.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Youth and Time
I've been singing "Winter Wonderland" lately, as we have had light snow falling since yesterday. Not much accumulation but the song still runs in my head. My favorite line is "walking in your winter underwear", which is, of course, not in the song, but is my Yankovich version.
I finished reading "Youth" the fall Laphams quarterly, and began the Winter edition called Time. Not sure what the thinking was to have those topics back to back, but the juxtaposition seems appropriate.
I must say that I found myself distracted/less interested as I read Youth. While there were many interesting essays, poems, stories, I was not as engrossed in the overall collection as usual. Since my drive to work is only 30-40 minutes now, I have a bit less time to myself in the car, but during a recent commute, I thought about why Youth was less appealing to me. The obvious is, of course, that I am not young anymore. That in itself is a disturbing concept, and can very readily lead to a reluctance to read about the wonders of youth. Also, as I may have mentioned in a previous post, I also tire of the those past their prime who bash the young at every turn, as if the next generation is the worst to ever set foot on the planet. Reading tirades such as these that date to the seventeenth century, the 9th century, and times with BC after the date, confirm my suspicion that youth is one of the most envious attributes, and the one which inspires a myriad of attacks from those who have lost theirs.
Do I wish to be young again? I don't think so. Certainly I wish to have more energy, i.e. feel less tired. And, if you haven't figured it out yet, I sometimes wish I had pursued writing at an earlier age, had went all in rather than writing as an ancillary aspect of my life. But, if we knew now what we didn't know then ..... I certainly don't regret the main decisions I made in my life. Marriage to a wonderful woman, two tremendous children. Perhaps a writing career would not have lent itself to a more traditional life, and, were I to be a writer, I would be wondering if I missed out on the joys of a family. As the song lyrics go, "It is not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got".
As for Time, I certainly do hope I have a fair amount of time to come. More time to continue writing, more time to spend with family. We all know that life is uncertain, that the car on the other side of the yellow line can come head on to yours due to a bee flying through an open window, or the scent of a flower that makes one sneeze, or merely due to a day that was too long with too little sleep. We all know that ultimately, our time is limited. Yet we spend so much of our lives looking past the present, wishing to be older, wishing for the weekend, wishing to be young again. We seem to spend so little time in the present, then wonder why the presents have not added up to happiness.
Youth and Time.
Here's hoping that you enjoy both!
I finished reading "Youth" the fall Laphams quarterly, and began the Winter edition called Time. Not sure what the thinking was to have those topics back to back, but the juxtaposition seems appropriate.
I must say that I found myself distracted/less interested as I read Youth. While there were many interesting essays, poems, stories, I was not as engrossed in the overall collection as usual. Since my drive to work is only 30-40 minutes now, I have a bit less time to myself in the car, but during a recent commute, I thought about why Youth was less appealing to me. The obvious is, of course, that I am not young anymore. That in itself is a disturbing concept, and can very readily lead to a reluctance to read about the wonders of youth. Also, as I may have mentioned in a previous post, I also tire of the those past their prime who bash the young at every turn, as if the next generation is the worst to ever set foot on the planet. Reading tirades such as these that date to the seventeenth century, the 9th century, and times with BC after the date, confirm my suspicion that youth is one of the most envious attributes, and the one which inspires a myriad of attacks from those who have lost theirs.
Do I wish to be young again? I don't think so. Certainly I wish to have more energy, i.e. feel less tired. And, if you haven't figured it out yet, I sometimes wish I had pursued writing at an earlier age, had went all in rather than writing as an ancillary aspect of my life. But, if we knew now what we didn't know then ..... I certainly don't regret the main decisions I made in my life. Marriage to a wonderful woman, two tremendous children. Perhaps a writing career would not have lent itself to a more traditional life, and, were I to be a writer, I would be wondering if I missed out on the joys of a family. As the song lyrics go, "It is not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got".
As for Time, I certainly do hope I have a fair amount of time to come. More time to continue writing, more time to spend with family. We all know that life is uncertain, that the car on the other side of the yellow line can come head on to yours due to a bee flying through an open window, or the scent of a flower that makes one sneeze, or merely due to a day that was too long with too little sleep. We all know that ultimately, our time is limited. Yet we spend so much of our lives looking past the present, wishing to be older, wishing for the weekend, wishing to be young again. We seem to spend so little time in the present, then wonder why the presents have not added up to happiness.
Youth and Time.
Here's hoping that you enjoy both!
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
To eat or to work
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope your holiday was pleasant. For those readers not from America - yes, my readership from Norway continues to surpass the US - we traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving to mark the mythical meal which occurred in the very early days of European settlements in America between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. A meal demonstrating that people of different cultures could find reasons to gather, share, and give thanks for the fruits of the land, and family. I imagine that most countries have some sort of special day to celebrate and give thanks as we do on Thanksgiving.
Sadly, the day after Thanksgiving in America has also been the starting point for the holiday shopping season, Black Friday, so named because it begins the time of the business cycle when so many companies move out of the red (losing money) and into the black. Years ago, this shopping season was moved to begin at 6:00 AM, then 4:00 AM, then midnight in the last few years, and finally, recently, some large retailers decided to open on Thanksgiving itself, at 6:00 PM.
That being said, in the past week, just before and right after the holiday, I made a point to comment to family, friends and co-workers how disgusted I was with this newest development. Most of those who responded did so in agreement. I only recall one or two people saying that they had shopped that night, although there may have been more who did not want to admit it. In scanning the news of the retailers reports of their Thanksgiving evening and black Friday shopping numbers, it appears that business was less than expected, in general. Of course, this could reflect the continuing economic struggles of the average American family, but I would like to think it may also reflect a growing realization that profit is not more important than people, and, perhaps, a groundswell of condemnation that big retailers are taking Americans from their homes to work on the holiday. Most likely it is a bit of both.
While I am sure that there are those retailers who requested volunteers for Thanksgiving evening before requiring others to work, there are certainly many who scheduled their labor without any give and take as to who might want to work and who might prefer not to. Also, I would hope that some employers may have paid overtime to some employees, but I suspect that many of those who worked Thanksgiving evening were part time employees who did not warrant holiday pay, and may not have received any additional salary differential.
Additionally, some smaller retailers who may not have planned to open Thanksgiving evening reportedly felt forced to do so to avoid losing out on the money which was potentially going to be spent. As many of those smaller retailers represent the small businesses of America, it is a good bet that many did not have the resources to offer additional compensation, perhaps even promising to make it up to those who worked in the future based on sales of the evening, or after the season.
For those who were interviewed at the malls on local news channels either Thanksgiving night or early the next morning, the reason for leaving one's family that night or at 4:00 AM was simple - cheap prices. The good news is that we all still want to provide our family and friends with thoughtful gifts on Christmas. No one wants a barren Christmas tree come December 25th. We are even so generous as to fill those Toys for Tots boxes and Salvation Army kettles in hopes that by sharing a little during the season of giving we might bring a smile to someone in need.
The bad news is that by participating in this rush for everything cheaper we are providing grist for the cheap prices requires cheap labor circle. As the growth of the Dollar Tree and Bottom Dollar like franchises continues, so too does the prevalence of salaries below $10 per hour. And, since somewhere between a fourth and a third of all American jobs are at such low pay rates, more people, more households exist at or below poverty levels, and more government assistance is required to feed, clothe and shelter our citizens. To put it bluntly, every dollar you spend at the lowest priced establishment you can find, is another dollar to an overseas exporter, another dollar to a corporation with zero affinity to America, another dollar on the ever growing pile of dollars being siphoned from the American working family to the coffers of those individuals and corporations that believe in America only so far as their money can buy tax breaks, watered down competition and laws that favor business interests over employee rights.
In the end, what galls me is the lack of outrage by the conservatives who espouse family values in their daily diatribes against gay marriage, welfare programs, school lunch programs, and any government handout that doesn't go to the business community. Where are they when families are forced to decide between work and celebrating the holiday with their families? Where are they when the wealthiest in our country decide to spit on the tradition of Thanksgiving by forcing people to choose between work and food?
I hope your holiday was pleasant. For those readers not from America - yes, my readership from Norway continues to surpass the US - we traditionally celebrate Thanksgiving to mark the mythical meal which occurred in the very early days of European settlements in America between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. A meal demonstrating that people of different cultures could find reasons to gather, share, and give thanks for the fruits of the land, and family. I imagine that most countries have some sort of special day to celebrate and give thanks as we do on Thanksgiving.
Sadly, the day after Thanksgiving in America has also been the starting point for the holiday shopping season, Black Friday, so named because it begins the time of the business cycle when so many companies move out of the red (losing money) and into the black. Years ago, this shopping season was moved to begin at 6:00 AM, then 4:00 AM, then midnight in the last few years, and finally, recently, some large retailers decided to open on Thanksgiving itself, at 6:00 PM.
That being said, in the past week, just before and right after the holiday, I made a point to comment to family, friends and co-workers how disgusted I was with this newest development. Most of those who responded did so in agreement. I only recall one or two people saying that they had shopped that night, although there may have been more who did not want to admit it. In scanning the news of the retailers reports of their Thanksgiving evening and black Friday shopping numbers, it appears that business was less than expected, in general. Of course, this could reflect the continuing economic struggles of the average American family, but I would like to think it may also reflect a growing realization that profit is not more important than people, and, perhaps, a groundswell of condemnation that big retailers are taking Americans from their homes to work on the holiday. Most likely it is a bit of both.
While I am sure that there are those retailers who requested volunteers for Thanksgiving evening before requiring others to work, there are certainly many who scheduled their labor without any give and take as to who might want to work and who might prefer not to. Also, I would hope that some employers may have paid overtime to some employees, but I suspect that many of those who worked Thanksgiving evening were part time employees who did not warrant holiday pay, and may not have received any additional salary differential.
Additionally, some smaller retailers who may not have planned to open Thanksgiving evening reportedly felt forced to do so to avoid losing out on the money which was potentially going to be spent. As many of those smaller retailers represent the small businesses of America, it is a good bet that many did not have the resources to offer additional compensation, perhaps even promising to make it up to those who worked in the future based on sales of the evening, or after the season.
For those who were interviewed at the malls on local news channels either Thanksgiving night or early the next morning, the reason for leaving one's family that night or at 4:00 AM was simple - cheap prices. The good news is that we all still want to provide our family and friends with thoughtful gifts on Christmas. No one wants a barren Christmas tree come December 25th. We are even so generous as to fill those Toys for Tots boxes and Salvation Army kettles in hopes that by sharing a little during the season of giving we might bring a smile to someone in need.
The bad news is that by participating in this rush for everything cheaper we are providing grist for the cheap prices requires cheap labor circle. As the growth of the Dollar Tree and Bottom Dollar like franchises continues, so too does the prevalence of salaries below $10 per hour. And, since somewhere between a fourth and a third of all American jobs are at such low pay rates, more people, more households exist at or below poverty levels, and more government assistance is required to feed, clothe and shelter our citizens. To put it bluntly, every dollar you spend at the lowest priced establishment you can find, is another dollar to an overseas exporter, another dollar to a corporation with zero affinity to America, another dollar on the ever growing pile of dollars being siphoned from the American working family to the coffers of those individuals and corporations that believe in America only so far as their money can buy tax breaks, watered down competition and laws that favor business interests over employee rights.
In the end, what galls me is the lack of outrage by the conservatives who espouse family values in their daily diatribes against gay marriage, welfare programs, school lunch programs, and any government handout that doesn't go to the business community. Where are they when families are forced to decide between work and celebrating the holiday with their families? Where are they when the wealthiest in our country decide to spit on the tradition of Thanksgiving by forcing people to choose between work and food?
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sideways, Backwards, and .....
I watched the last half of the movie Sideways today. A particular scene struck me. If you don't know the movie, it would take too much time to describe it, but it a nutshell it is about life, with a side of wine. The scene in question involves two of the main characters, a male and female, who have spent time together with another couple but not time together, alone. It is a typical give and take scene involving two people feeling our their way at the start of a possible relationship. At one point, the male character asks the female why she is so interested in wine. Her response is a series of statements, more than a few which begin with "it makes me think about". It is a very reflective answer, one perhaps not all that common in real life, as so many of us delay truly describing the things in life that make us think, move us, make us, let alone revealing them on a first date. I've seen this movie many times, yet today was the first time I was moved to reflect on that scene. One of the many "it makes me think about" was that wine makes her think about the people who tended the grapes, bottled them, participated in all the phases of the wine making process, and about the fact that if it was an aged bottle of wine, many of those people may be dead. The connections of our lives between the past, the present, and the future can be very humbling, very inspiring, very educational.
The past week's votes in the United States House of Representatives, included a bill which would negate specific rulemakings by the EPA unless all data from underlying scientific studies, including confidential health information about participants, has been make publicly available. Proponents claimed this was necessary to provide transparency in the EPA (again Republican's ability to frame the topic to sound reasonable), while in reality it was another in a series of GOP attempts to strip the EPA of its ability to protect the environment. Opponents cited some specific air quality related studies that enable the EPA to administer its oversight of the Clean Air Act as studies being targeted in this bill. Curiously, an amendment to the bill sponsored by Dems was not passed. It would have exempted EPA actions which might be taken to combat health threats to drinking water resulting from a nuclear or terrorist attack, or to approve Ebola disinfectants. One must wonder why the GOP thought these concerns not worthy or passing.
Another GOP sponsored bill which passed is meant to reshape the EPA's scientific advisory board to make it more industry friendly for those industries that the EPA regulates. The bill would diminish academic representation and expand corporate membership, permit experts with financial ties to the industries regulated if they disclose their ties. A democratic amendment to bar representatives who have financial ties to the industries regulated was summarily defeated. I doesn't take much thought to conclude that by having less non-scientific and more industry related board members may result in an EPA less concerned about health and more concerned about profit.
As a side note, these bills will not pass in the Senate as they stand. Not just because the Senate is controlled by the Dems, but because nothing passes in the Senate without 60 votes as is obvious from two Senate bills which featured tallies of 58-42, and 59-41 where each was defeated as they didn't reach the 60 vote supermajority. Not sure when this rule came into effect, why the Senate cannot pass bills when a simple majority is reached, but it reflects the gridlock in effect in Washington today. I know the 60 vote is meant to keep the majority party in power from running roughshod over the minority party, but it seems to be stalling legislation that might be beneficial. I have heard some pundits say that this supermajority rule is a more recent phenomenon, in that it is in effect much more than in the past. The GOP certainly will use any and all methods to prevent the Obama Administration from passing anything, but in this case one of the above mentioned votes concerned the Keystone Pipeline. I guess it is another example of being careful what you wish for, you might get it, as the GOP wants nothing passed but that nothing now includes bills they support.
What truly irritates me is this lack of connection between the past environmental disasters that have occurred in the United States, the success of the EPA to reign in so much of the pollution, air, water and ground, that would occur if businesses had no oversight, and the apparent backwards tilt of the GOP in thinking that, if left un-regulated, businesses would do any better at containing their methods of pollution than they did in the age of acid rain, Love Canal, etc. It is especially short sighted when one factors in the incredible profit margin mentality that runs all large corporations, and has resulted in the shipping of jobs overseas to save labor, the fight against increasing minimum wages, and the delusional admiration of the government run Chinese economy where environmental regulations are non-existent, and the concern for the health of the environment and the people is ignored.
As for ..., well, I maintain a belief that man in general, and Americans in particular will lose interest in looking backwards, will become more financially solvent that they can stop moving sideways, and might realize that forward thinking is not just being open to the latest I-phone or virtual reality device, but a construct that understands the past and its lessons, applies those lessons to present day issues, and proposes solutions that account for the ever changing nature of the world, the ever changing nature of man.
The past week's votes in the United States House of Representatives, included a bill which would negate specific rulemakings by the EPA unless all data from underlying scientific studies, including confidential health information about participants, has been make publicly available. Proponents claimed this was necessary to provide transparency in the EPA (again Republican's ability to frame the topic to sound reasonable), while in reality it was another in a series of GOP attempts to strip the EPA of its ability to protect the environment. Opponents cited some specific air quality related studies that enable the EPA to administer its oversight of the Clean Air Act as studies being targeted in this bill. Curiously, an amendment to the bill sponsored by Dems was not passed. It would have exempted EPA actions which might be taken to combat health threats to drinking water resulting from a nuclear or terrorist attack, or to approve Ebola disinfectants. One must wonder why the GOP thought these concerns not worthy or passing.
Another GOP sponsored bill which passed is meant to reshape the EPA's scientific advisory board to make it more industry friendly for those industries that the EPA regulates. The bill would diminish academic representation and expand corporate membership, permit experts with financial ties to the industries regulated if they disclose their ties. A democratic amendment to bar representatives who have financial ties to the industries regulated was summarily defeated. I doesn't take much thought to conclude that by having less non-scientific and more industry related board members may result in an EPA less concerned about health and more concerned about profit.
As a side note, these bills will not pass in the Senate as they stand. Not just because the Senate is controlled by the Dems, but because nothing passes in the Senate without 60 votes as is obvious from two Senate bills which featured tallies of 58-42, and 59-41 where each was defeated as they didn't reach the 60 vote supermajority. Not sure when this rule came into effect, why the Senate cannot pass bills when a simple majority is reached, but it reflects the gridlock in effect in Washington today. I know the 60 vote is meant to keep the majority party in power from running roughshod over the minority party, but it seems to be stalling legislation that might be beneficial. I have heard some pundits say that this supermajority rule is a more recent phenomenon, in that it is in effect much more than in the past. The GOP certainly will use any and all methods to prevent the Obama Administration from passing anything, but in this case one of the above mentioned votes concerned the Keystone Pipeline. I guess it is another example of being careful what you wish for, you might get it, as the GOP wants nothing passed but that nothing now includes bills they support.
What truly irritates me is this lack of connection between the past environmental disasters that have occurred in the United States, the success of the EPA to reign in so much of the pollution, air, water and ground, that would occur if businesses had no oversight, and the apparent backwards tilt of the GOP in thinking that, if left un-regulated, businesses would do any better at containing their methods of pollution than they did in the age of acid rain, Love Canal, etc. It is especially short sighted when one factors in the incredible profit margin mentality that runs all large corporations, and has resulted in the shipping of jobs overseas to save labor, the fight against increasing minimum wages, and the delusional admiration of the government run Chinese economy where environmental regulations are non-existent, and the concern for the health of the environment and the people is ignored.
As for ..., well, I maintain a belief that man in general, and Americans in particular will lose interest in looking backwards, will become more financially solvent that they can stop moving sideways, and might realize that forward thinking is not just being open to the latest I-phone or virtual reality device, but a construct that understands the past and its lessons, applies those lessons to present day issues, and proposes solutions that account for the ever changing nature of the world, the ever changing nature of man.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Immigration
I continue to be popular in Norway; 400 hits in the past week, more than from any other country by far. No specific post is being hit more than others, and those being hit do not seem to have any common theme. Not sure if America's immigration woes are shared with Norway, but I welcome any comments from a Norwegian if interested.
Before delving into the current immigration debate, I want to review the recent election results. Clearly, the American people sent a clear message to the president and the democrats that they are not happy with the current state of the union. With the stock market at record territory, unemployment back to pre-recession levels, GDP growth at its highest since 2004-2005, and very little loss of American life in overseas wars, its no wonder that the electorate is prime for a change.
Oh, that's right. None of this news is broadcast on Fox channels. Even Fox business news with Lou Dobbs glances over the actual state of business and talks politics and how bad the Obama Administration is handling, name your topic. Crime is down, especially violent crime, yet we are told to be fearful on a daily basis. More people have health insurance now, yet the Affordable Care Act is ruining America.
The one true number that is troubling Americans, is take home pay. While the top 1% has seen tremendous growth in their spending power, share of income, and actual wealth, the middle class has not yet felt that surge in spending power. In real dollars, the average worker has barely kept even with inflation, if at all. Fortunately, gas prices in specific, and energy prices in general have decreased - when they were up, Obama was blamed on FOX, but I guess that is a one-way street for them - but sadly, sales for trucks and cars with low mpg ratings have begun to rise - Ugh.
Fortunately, the GOP has many proposals in the pipeline to address low pay for Americans. Debates about income inequality, minimum wage increases, equal pay for equal work are all hallmarks of the GOP economic platform, which is why they increased their majority in Washington, as well as in many states. What, you say, they are against all those measures? Well, then surely, a drive to limit tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and corporations must be at the top of their agenda? After all, when the wealthiest pay less, the rest of us have to pay more. No, they are against those measures too? So, what you are saying is that the one area where our economy is lagging, take home pay for the average worker, is the exact area where the newly elected majority has worked the hardest to keep the status quo, and to enhance the position of those with the most. Hmm.
Which brings us to immigration. (Sorry it took so long). The president has promised to use executive action to change immigration law in this country. Understandably, the GOP controlled House and soon to be Senate are apoplectic. The fact that a bipartisan immigration reform measure passed the Senate but died in the House doesn't seem to matter. However, I do agree that the president should not act alone in this important area, just as I agree that the president should not be able to wage war without Congressional approval. The problem is, since Obama is evil and everything he does, thinks and proposes reflects his hatred of America, the GOP has no other option but to either disagree with him, or do nothing when they agree, as you can't agree with the views of someone as vile as they have portrayed him.
Common sense dictates that you can't round up the 11 million illegal immigrants now in America without creating some kind of paramilitary organization that would supersede local and state police jurisdiction, and most likely violate the fourth amendment regarding unlawful search and seizures. Common sense also dictates that people who came to the United States illegally, should not be granted citizenship just because they are here now. Therefore, it seems prudent for the president to stay within the boundaries of these two common sense tenants. Remove the threat of deportation for those who have not committed a crime other than illegal entry while continuing to deport those deemed undesirable. Make some type of registration necessary to avoid deportation, which should not only give the registrants some peace of mind, but help us track down those employers who have taken advantage of illegals via poor working conditions and meager pay while also circumventing their requirement to pay the appropriate taxes for these workers (or hire Americans). Grant citizenship to those born in America (the Dream Act or some new version of it) but whose parents are illegal. And, budget an agreeable increase in securing the border, via a larger barrier, more patrols, etc so that those attempting entry in the future are less apt to succeed.
Is this a perfect plan? No. Will it keep out all illegals forever? No. But is does give those here already, a chance to emerge from hiding, pay taxes, and participate in some of the advantages of America, without granting them citizenship which would reward their crime. It also throws a bone to the far right in terms of making a better effort to close our borders more tightly. And, if Obama is smart, he will make his executive order law only if nothing is passed in the House and Senate within a certain time table, say 6 months to a year. The good news is that an executive order will movre the debate forward, allow the GOP to create their own bill, and give the American public some type of evidence that the GOP and the president can act as adults in attempting to resolve the issue.
Finally, for those of you unfamiliar with executive orders, feel free to click on the following link
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
It will show you a summary of the presidents and the executive orders they have signed since Hoover. You will notice that Obama has signed just under 200 such orders, Bush 2 just under 300 in his two terms. Bush 1 and Ford were low instance users. Reagan signed about twice as many as Obama, Hoover and Truman signed almost 1000 each, and Franklin Roosevelt was the king of the executive order signing over 3400 in his 3+ terms. I would suggest that perhaps those arguing the loudest against Obama's use of the executive order should propose a law limiting or making illegal such orders but even the GOP is not that shortsighted in knowing that when a future Republican is elected president, they would not want to limit his/her power.
Before delving into the current immigration debate, I want to review the recent election results. Clearly, the American people sent a clear message to the president and the democrats that they are not happy with the current state of the union. With the stock market at record territory, unemployment back to pre-recession levels, GDP growth at its highest since 2004-2005, and very little loss of American life in overseas wars, its no wonder that the electorate is prime for a change.
Oh, that's right. None of this news is broadcast on Fox channels. Even Fox business news with Lou Dobbs glances over the actual state of business and talks politics and how bad the Obama Administration is handling, name your topic. Crime is down, especially violent crime, yet we are told to be fearful on a daily basis. More people have health insurance now, yet the Affordable Care Act is ruining America.
The one true number that is troubling Americans, is take home pay. While the top 1% has seen tremendous growth in their spending power, share of income, and actual wealth, the middle class has not yet felt that surge in spending power. In real dollars, the average worker has barely kept even with inflation, if at all. Fortunately, gas prices in specific, and energy prices in general have decreased - when they were up, Obama was blamed on FOX, but I guess that is a one-way street for them - but sadly, sales for trucks and cars with low mpg ratings have begun to rise - Ugh.
Fortunately, the GOP has many proposals in the pipeline to address low pay for Americans. Debates about income inequality, minimum wage increases, equal pay for equal work are all hallmarks of the GOP economic platform, which is why they increased their majority in Washington, as well as in many states. What, you say, they are against all those measures? Well, then surely, a drive to limit tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and corporations must be at the top of their agenda? After all, when the wealthiest pay less, the rest of us have to pay more. No, they are against those measures too? So, what you are saying is that the one area where our economy is lagging, take home pay for the average worker, is the exact area where the newly elected majority has worked the hardest to keep the status quo, and to enhance the position of those with the most. Hmm.
Which brings us to immigration. (Sorry it took so long). The president has promised to use executive action to change immigration law in this country. Understandably, the GOP controlled House and soon to be Senate are apoplectic. The fact that a bipartisan immigration reform measure passed the Senate but died in the House doesn't seem to matter. However, I do agree that the president should not act alone in this important area, just as I agree that the president should not be able to wage war without Congressional approval. The problem is, since Obama is evil and everything he does, thinks and proposes reflects his hatred of America, the GOP has no other option but to either disagree with him, or do nothing when they agree, as you can't agree with the views of someone as vile as they have portrayed him.
Common sense dictates that you can't round up the 11 million illegal immigrants now in America without creating some kind of paramilitary organization that would supersede local and state police jurisdiction, and most likely violate the fourth amendment regarding unlawful search and seizures. Common sense also dictates that people who came to the United States illegally, should not be granted citizenship just because they are here now. Therefore, it seems prudent for the president to stay within the boundaries of these two common sense tenants. Remove the threat of deportation for those who have not committed a crime other than illegal entry while continuing to deport those deemed undesirable. Make some type of registration necessary to avoid deportation, which should not only give the registrants some peace of mind, but help us track down those employers who have taken advantage of illegals via poor working conditions and meager pay while also circumventing their requirement to pay the appropriate taxes for these workers (or hire Americans). Grant citizenship to those born in America (the Dream Act or some new version of it) but whose parents are illegal. And, budget an agreeable increase in securing the border, via a larger barrier, more patrols, etc so that those attempting entry in the future are less apt to succeed.
Is this a perfect plan? No. Will it keep out all illegals forever? No. But is does give those here already, a chance to emerge from hiding, pay taxes, and participate in some of the advantages of America, without granting them citizenship which would reward their crime. It also throws a bone to the far right in terms of making a better effort to close our borders more tightly. And, if Obama is smart, he will make his executive order law only if nothing is passed in the House and Senate within a certain time table, say 6 months to a year. The good news is that an executive order will movre the debate forward, allow the GOP to create their own bill, and give the American public some type of evidence that the GOP and the president can act as adults in attempting to resolve the issue.
Finally, for those of you unfamiliar with executive orders, feel free to click on the following link
http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders/disposition.html
It will show you a summary of the presidents and the executive orders they have signed since Hoover. You will notice that Obama has signed just under 200 such orders, Bush 2 just under 300 in his two terms. Bush 1 and Ford were low instance users. Reagan signed about twice as many as Obama, Hoover and Truman signed almost 1000 each, and Franklin Roosevelt was the king of the executive order signing over 3400 in his 3+ terms. I would suggest that perhaps those arguing the loudest against Obama's use of the executive order should propose a law limiting or making illegal such orders but even the GOP is not that shortsighted in knowing that when a future Republican is elected president, they would not want to limit his/her power.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Anyone for a loan?
Our household receives credit offers on a daily basis. If I am in the process of moving a low interest credit card debt which is about to have a rate change to a new low interest card, I will open some, but mostly I toss them in the trash. Today, I happened to open one as it was from a local "lending" agency that I did not recognize, and I wondered at the offer.
Imagine my surprise when I read the following;
You could borrow $4250
for just $156.93 per month for 42 months at 26.77% APR
The advert included other phrases such as "Get the money you need at a payment you can afford", and "A better alternative. Unlike payday loans, you'll have months (not weeks) to pay back your loan".
Now, there was a caution that "this is not a guaranteed offer". I assume that only the best of those with the worst credit possible would be approved.
Still, my mind flew in all sorts of directions when I read this mailing. I seethed, I boiled, I threw it in the trash. Then, I fished it out of the trash and called the number listed. My call was answered by the person named on the letter. I read the offer to him, emphasizing the 26.77 % APR. He began to explain that it must have been a corporate created offer, but, to be honest, I didn't let him finish his explanation. I told him that his offer was predatory, should be illegal and that if I had the power I would close his business tomorrow, then I hung up.
I know, not very nice but at a time when big banks are able to borrow money to lend America at historically low rates, less than 1%, I was outraged. The fact that the tag line for the company is "lending made personal", makes it all the more outrageous. After all, what could be more personal that paying almost $7000 for a loan of $4250??
Well, you might say, these loans are for people with bad credit and a history of not repaying their debts whereas the big banks have collateral and always pay back their debts. I guess so, unless one recalls the great economic meltdown of 2008 when so many of the big financial companies needed taxpayer money to keep them afloat!
I am not sure when loan sharking became legal, but I imagine that it coincided with the ability of the biggest moneyed interests to write the laws of America (through groups like ALEC) so that these type of predatory loan practices are condoned. Crazily, it is these very kind of lending companies doling out money at ridiculous interest rates who will keep those with the least resources toiling at the bottom of the economic ladder, or default sending ripples up and through the rest of the financial community as, I am sure, these scum sucking lending companies are getting their money through a more legitimate lender; or both.
I will be saving this offer, and, once the new Pennsylvania legislature takes office, sending a copy to my state and local rep asking them to create legislation limiting consumer interest rate offers in my state to a rate that less predatory, perhaps even Christian.
Finally, now that my son is 6 months out of college, it is time for our family, my son on his own, and my wife and I, to begin repayment of his college loans. My son has the typical Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans, ranging in interest rates from middle 3% to 6%. I won't say how much my wife and I borrowed but it would have purchased a really nice car. (The kind of car we will never buy for ourselves). You might call us crazy, borrowing on our own to send him to college, but I still believe that a college education is worth the money, despite the fact that college tuition prices are ridiculous and that if they continue to rise, the next generation of middle class Americans may not be able to send their kids to college. What irks me, is not the debt itself, but the fact that the Parent Plus interest rate is 7.9%. Compare that to mortgage rates in the high 2 to upper 3% range, and car loans in the 0-2% range, and it is clear where our priorities lie. And, by the way, for the Parent Plus loans, the interest began accumulating from the day the money was borrowed.
If I were king, I would consider education loans an investment in the future, and charge little or no interest. So, again, once the new federal legislators convene next January, I will be contacting my representative and senator to fashion legislation that delays interest rate accumulation for all loans for education until graduation or departure from college, and to tie interest rates to the prevalent lending rates of the day, perhaps the same rates that big banks get.
If, you feel similarly, please act upon your feelings and contact your state and federal representatives. And, in the meantime, I will keep an ear out for comments from our elected public servants when discussing education, paying for education, and funding education.
Imagine my surprise when I read the following;
You could borrow $4250
for just $156.93 per month for 42 months at 26.77% APR
The advert included other phrases such as "Get the money you need at a payment you can afford", and "A better alternative. Unlike payday loans, you'll have months (not weeks) to pay back your loan".
Now, there was a caution that "this is not a guaranteed offer". I assume that only the best of those with the worst credit possible would be approved.
Still, my mind flew in all sorts of directions when I read this mailing. I seethed, I boiled, I threw it in the trash. Then, I fished it out of the trash and called the number listed. My call was answered by the person named on the letter. I read the offer to him, emphasizing the 26.77 % APR. He began to explain that it must have been a corporate created offer, but, to be honest, I didn't let him finish his explanation. I told him that his offer was predatory, should be illegal and that if I had the power I would close his business tomorrow, then I hung up.
I know, not very nice but at a time when big banks are able to borrow money to lend America at historically low rates, less than 1%, I was outraged. The fact that the tag line for the company is "lending made personal", makes it all the more outrageous. After all, what could be more personal that paying almost $7000 for a loan of $4250??
Well, you might say, these loans are for people with bad credit and a history of not repaying their debts whereas the big banks have collateral and always pay back their debts. I guess so, unless one recalls the great economic meltdown of 2008 when so many of the big financial companies needed taxpayer money to keep them afloat!
I am not sure when loan sharking became legal, but I imagine that it coincided with the ability of the biggest moneyed interests to write the laws of America (through groups like ALEC) so that these type of predatory loan practices are condoned. Crazily, it is these very kind of lending companies doling out money at ridiculous interest rates who will keep those with the least resources toiling at the bottom of the economic ladder, or default sending ripples up and through the rest of the financial community as, I am sure, these scum sucking lending companies are getting their money through a more legitimate lender; or both.
I will be saving this offer, and, once the new Pennsylvania legislature takes office, sending a copy to my state and local rep asking them to create legislation limiting consumer interest rate offers in my state to a rate that less predatory, perhaps even Christian.
Finally, now that my son is 6 months out of college, it is time for our family, my son on his own, and my wife and I, to begin repayment of his college loans. My son has the typical Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans, ranging in interest rates from middle 3% to 6%. I won't say how much my wife and I borrowed but it would have purchased a really nice car. (The kind of car we will never buy for ourselves). You might call us crazy, borrowing on our own to send him to college, but I still believe that a college education is worth the money, despite the fact that college tuition prices are ridiculous and that if they continue to rise, the next generation of middle class Americans may not be able to send their kids to college. What irks me, is not the debt itself, but the fact that the Parent Plus interest rate is 7.9%. Compare that to mortgage rates in the high 2 to upper 3% range, and car loans in the 0-2% range, and it is clear where our priorities lie. And, by the way, for the Parent Plus loans, the interest began accumulating from the day the money was borrowed.
If I were king, I would consider education loans an investment in the future, and charge little or no interest. So, again, once the new federal legislators convene next January, I will be contacting my representative and senator to fashion legislation that delays interest rate accumulation for all loans for education until graduation or departure from college, and to tie interest rates to the prevalent lending rates of the day, perhaps the same rates that big banks get.
If, you feel similarly, please act upon your feelings and contact your state and federal representatives. And, in the meantime, I will keep an ear out for comments from our elected public servants when discussing education, paying for education, and funding education.
Monday, November 3, 2014
PA Governor's Race
My blog has received an inordinate number of overseas hits this past month. In fact, for the past 30 days, more people have accessed by blog from the United Kingdom than the United States. And, this past week, Norway was the source of the most hits by country. Not sure why these occasional foreign blasts of interest occur but it is interesting and for October, this interest pushed me over 2000 hits for the month. Thanks to all, American and non-American, who continue to express interest in my writing.
I read an interesting article recently comparing the positions of the two men on the ballot to be the next governor of Pennsylvania. There were a number of issues detailed, most of which I sided with Tom Wolf, the challenger. There were a couple for which I understood the perspective of the incumbent, Tom Corbett, but did not believe that his ideas would fix the underlying problem.
So, you might say, that just makes me a liberal, a democrat. I guess. But I wonder if all those people who will vote for Corbett tomorrow actually agree with his opinions. Assuming Wolf wins 55-45, or even 54-46, do those 45-46% of the voters actually agree with Corbett that
women's access to birth control in general, and abortion in specific, should be restricted
consenting adults can not marry the person they love
those earning below $10 an hour shouldn't be paid a livable wage
all working Americans shouldn't have access to health insurance
women should earn the same pay for the same work
the energy industry, specifically those in the natural gas business, shouldn't pay higher fees for the right to extract the natural resources of our state
better background checks for gun purchases, and the requirement that gun owners report the theft of their gun are bad ideas
medical marijuana should continue to be unavailable to those for whom a doctor believes it will help, and that the possession of small amounts of marijuana (under an ounce) should remain illegal
big business and corporations should pay less taxes
the death penalty should be continued to be used in Pennsylvania
climate change may or may not be happening but it is better to pretend it isn't and continue to depend on fossil fuels for our energy needs
Perhaps, most of those 46% agree with most of these opinions, or at least enough to vote for Corbett. But I can't help wondering if many of those 46% do not know the position of Corbett on these issues, but who vote Republican because they always vote Republican. And, of course, this can be expanded to all those people who will vote Republican so that they gain the majority in the US Senate, a bigger majority in the US House, and majorities in state congresses all over America. Am I really that left of the rest of America? Or does the American electorate continue to vote against their best interests by electing members of a party that does all they can to continue the gradual distribution of income to the 1% and away from the American middle class. Who talk about keeping government out of our lives bet really mean keep government out of the business community only, but full stream ahead when it comes to government in the bedroom or regulating womens' bodies. Who enact laws that make it harder to vote rather than easier.
I wonder.
I read an interesting article recently comparing the positions of the two men on the ballot to be the next governor of Pennsylvania. There were a number of issues detailed, most of which I sided with Tom Wolf, the challenger. There were a couple for which I understood the perspective of the incumbent, Tom Corbett, but did not believe that his ideas would fix the underlying problem.
So, you might say, that just makes me a liberal, a democrat. I guess. But I wonder if all those people who will vote for Corbett tomorrow actually agree with his opinions. Assuming Wolf wins 55-45, or even 54-46, do those 45-46% of the voters actually agree with Corbett that
women's access to birth control in general, and abortion in specific, should be restricted
consenting adults can not marry the person they love
those earning below $10 an hour shouldn't be paid a livable wage
all working Americans shouldn't have access to health insurance
women should earn the same pay for the same work
the energy industry, specifically those in the natural gas business, shouldn't pay higher fees for the right to extract the natural resources of our state
better background checks for gun purchases, and the requirement that gun owners report the theft of their gun are bad ideas
medical marijuana should continue to be unavailable to those for whom a doctor believes it will help, and that the possession of small amounts of marijuana (under an ounce) should remain illegal
big business and corporations should pay less taxes
the death penalty should be continued to be used in Pennsylvania
climate change may or may not be happening but it is better to pretend it isn't and continue to depend on fossil fuels for our energy needs
Perhaps, most of those 46% agree with most of these opinions, or at least enough to vote for Corbett. But I can't help wondering if many of those 46% do not know the position of Corbett on these issues, but who vote Republican because they always vote Republican. And, of course, this can be expanded to all those people who will vote Republican so that they gain the majority in the US Senate, a bigger majority in the US House, and majorities in state congresses all over America. Am I really that left of the rest of America? Or does the American electorate continue to vote against their best interests by electing members of a party that does all they can to continue the gradual distribution of income to the 1% and away from the American middle class. Who talk about keeping government out of our lives bet really mean keep government out of the business community only, but full stream ahead when it comes to government in the bedroom or regulating womens' bodies. Who enact laws that make it harder to vote rather than easier.
I wonder.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Be Patriotic; Vote!
I submitted and had published a letter to my local newspaper two weeks ago. It was an endorsement for state representative in our district. My plan was to follow that with another letter urging my fellow residents/citizens to vote next week, November 4th, but that letter was not published. Read below for its contents.
To the editor:
While stopped at a traffic light recently, I noticed the bumper sticker on the car in front of me. It said, “Freedom is not Free, Support the Armed Forces”. As laudable as that sentiment is, perhaps we would be better served if there were more bumper stickers which read “Freedom is not Free, Exercise your Right to Vote”.
Next week, on Tuesday, November 4th, we will have the opportunity to exercise our right to vote for, not only the next governor of Pennsylvania, but our state senator, state representative, and federal representative in Congress. Sadly, many who read this letter, most likely half of you, will not choose to participate in the democratic process, something that some might consider not only unpatriotic, but a slap in the face of all who have served in the Armed Forces and especially all those who died in that service so we might have the freedom to vote.
So, considering that we all love our state and our country, why do half of us routinely thumb our noses at democracy? More importantly, why did those who live in Pennsylvania vote at a turnout rate lower than those who live in 42 of the 50 states in the last (2010) gubernatorial elections? And worse than that, why do Americans vote at a rate that places us near the bottom in the world!
To me, while ISIS, Ebola, terrorism, and whatever becomes the next topic for the “end is near” hype that dominates our ratings driven media outlets, the real threat to America is voter apathy. It is voter apathy that allows our politicians to pander to one issue voters for their support, voter apathy that encourages the top legal minds of the country to equate the ability to spend money with the freedom of speech, voter apathy that ignores district gerrymandering to allow do nothing incumbents to retain their seats, voter apathy that gives us the government we deserve for lack of participation.
What is truly sad is that a mere 100 years ago, half of Americans, the female half, were not allowed to vote. And, only 50 years ago, voter rights laws had to be passed to guarantee minorities the right to vote. Despite those wonderful words, “all men are created equal”, many Americans have fought long and hard to have access to the right to vote, only to result in an apathetic electorate that loves to complain but can’t find a few minutes in their day to go to the polls.
Even sadder still, many Pennsylvanians can name the contestants on The Voice, know the rushing stats of LeSean McCoy, and have seen the latest viral pet trick on the internet, but can’t name their state senator or representative.
Are you angry yet? Insulted?
Please, do some research on the candidates. Ignore the mailings and TV ads, and check out their websites for specific positions. If they are an incumbent, review their voting records. If you have not yet signed up for a voter information email, try Megavote.com.
Finally, establish your priorities; choose candidates whose voting record or publicly stated positions agree with yours for the most part. But, don’t expect to find a candidate that agrees with you on everything. Single issue voting can result in an elected official who serves your interests in one minor area but works actively against your interests in many other ways.
For me, this next election is about growing the economy without poisoning our environment, encouraging employers to provide livable incomes so their employees are less dependent on state and federal assistance, continuing to improve access to health care insurance as opposed to the endless delays and time wasting that has occurred by those against the Affordable Care Act, overhauling our voting rules to allow for more people to vote and more time in which to vote, not less, and working together to address the education funding mess that is intertwined inexorably with the pension liability shortfall.
If these issues are also important to you, I would ask you to consider voting for Karen Chellew for state representative, Steve Cickay for state senator, and Kevin Strouse for Congress.
----------
For those of you not living in my geographical area, state or local, the endorsements above will mean nothing to you. But for all Americans, and, as my readership expands beyond our borders, all citizens of democratic nations, the right to vote is as important a right as exists today. Just consider how laws and rules were made for tens of thousands of years before democracy was born in ancient Greece, then reborn and flourished in the past few hundred years, and it is mind boggling that any person who can vote, doesn't take the time. Would you prefer a monarchy? Or just rule by force? Perhaps it is just human nature to take for granted what one is given; hence the right to vote in America is not valued by so many people.
Strangely, the good news is that with the recent efforts by the Republican Party to mask their attempts to suppress the votes of people who don't vote for their candidates in the alleged anti-fraud voting laws being passed, a backlash may occur, and by trying to make voting harder, Americans will remember the sacrifices made by our founding fathers, the suffragettes of the early 20th century and the proponents of civil rights movement in the 1960's, and the right to vote will become valued again.
Today while walking the dog, on a beautiful fall day by the way, it dawned on me that since the Republicans have long ago established their ability to frame a topic to sound positive, patriotic, "right" when it is clearly not, (See the Defense of Marriage Act), maybe Democrats should not bother to do their own issue framing (since then seem to impotent at it), and instead propose laws that turn the Republican idea back against them. Specifically when it comes to the new spate of voting laws, each attempt should be met with an amendment that expands voting rights. Need an ID? OK, I'll sign off when voting takes place over a weekend not just the outdated 1st Tuesday in November as it is my state. Or when we expand early voting for up to 30 days before an election. Or when one can register at the time of voting with that ID. Or when an online system can be created that allows voting from home with an established ID and password that is pre-registered. Or any of the other great ideas I have read which encourage voting by making it easier, not harder.
Perhaps we don't value our right to vote because we haven't been taught to value it. Is civics still taught in school? Do our high schools still review the structure of our democracy, and the nature of its working? Would it take that much effort to improve our education about democracy?
Finally, I recently found out that a number of countries make voting mandatory. I didn't do much further research to find out if and how it is enforced; chances are there are no real penalties. It makes me wonder who might fight a proposal to make voting mandatory in America. The ACLU, under the guise that we have the right not to participate in our democracy? The tea party, under the guise that you can't make me do anything I don't want to do? The politicians themselves who know that large scale participation in our democracy makes it harder for them to fool us, or garner enough one-issue voters to win an election?
And, gadzooks, what if we established an actual penalty for not voting. No welfare checks. No social security checks. No tax deductions. I wonder how the Supreme Court would handle their recent decisions about corporations being people when a corporation can't actually vote. Oh well, I guess they will just have to start paying those high corporate taxes that the business community likes to quote but which very few, if any actually pay.
Believe it or not, while I would derive much entertainment from the squirming that would result in a serious movement to make voting mandatory, with a consequence for not voting, I would much prefer that we vote because we love our country. Because we value the sacrifices that have been made by those in our Armed Forces, and those who fought to expand the right to vote. Because the alternatives, a country run by elected officials who spend all their time raising money to fend off well-funded special interest groups who have little concern for everyday Americans, or worse, a country run by people who just take control because nobody bothered to express their choice, are so much worse.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Youth
I have fallen behind reading my Lapham's Quarterly resulting in my just getting to the summer edition called Youth. Also, to be honest, I was reluctant to start reading it. I was a bit concerned that I might find too many examples of the elderly reproaching the young. In direct contrast to my belief in the next generation addressing the problems of the day, there are far too many people on TV, radio and in print that see only laziness, non-persistence, selfishness, even immorality in everything that is today's young. Even some young people, that would be people in their late 20's and early 30's to me, seem to consider those 21 and under as spoiled, unmotivated. Of course, I was also concerned that I might encounter just the opposite. A veneration of all that is young to the point of abhorring those in the more mature age categories.
Still, I began reading Youth last week. Immediately, I was immersed in Lapham's opening essay. True, he did lament over the seemingly never ending bombardment of new and improved marketing strategies. And he certainly expressed some longing for his youth. But his attack on youth was not about the young but more directed to the culture which worships youth as it denigrates age. In essence, he was rebuking those of his generation (over 70) and mine (50-65), who spend far too much time trying to avoid getting old. Who somehow believe that Viagra and sports and home exercise equipment will keep us forever young while it is so much more about accepting, no relishing, life as a mature adult.
And then I came to Teddy Roosevelt's essay about what it takes to be a good boy, or rather how being a good boy leads to being a good man. What struck me was Roosevelt's opinion of the bully, which might seem curious to someone who recalls the Rough Riders and "speak softly and carry a big stick". In the essay I read, an excerpt from The American Boy, Roosevelt expresses a disdain for those who use their superior strength to gain advantage over others. Yes, he often thought of himself as a defender of those being bullied, and perhaps did not always recognize when he himself may have been the bully, but he expresses a sincere belief that those possessing superior strength should use that advantage as much for the good of family and society, certainly not to simply gain personal advantage. It gave me new insight into Roosevelt's anti-trust activity as president. Like him or not, he maintained his values when he had the power to do so, working to enable the regular guy over the big company.
Which brings us to today, and the continued battles being waged to prevent more examples of "too big to fail" which contributed in part to the recent economic meltdown in 2008. Where are the
anti-trust, or anti-monopoly forces today?
Still, I began reading Youth last week. Immediately, I was immersed in Lapham's opening essay. True, he did lament over the seemingly never ending bombardment of new and improved marketing strategies. And he certainly expressed some longing for his youth. But his attack on youth was not about the young but more directed to the culture which worships youth as it denigrates age. In essence, he was rebuking those of his generation (over 70) and mine (50-65), who spend far too much time trying to avoid getting old. Who somehow believe that Viagra and sports and home exercise equipment will keep us forever young while it is so much more about accepting, no relishing, life as a mature adult.
And then I came to Teddy Roosevelt's essay about what it takes to be a good boy, or rather how being a good boy leads to being a good man. What struck me was Roosevelt's opinion of the bully, which might seem curious to someone who recalls the Rough Riders and "speak softly and carry a big stick". In the essay I read, an excerpt from The American Boy, Roosevelt expresses a disdain for those who use their superior strength to gain advantage over others. Yes, he often thought of himself as a defender of those being bullied, and perhaps did not always recognize when he himself may have been the bully, but he expresses a sincere belief that those possessing superior strength should use that advantage as much for the good of family and society, certainly not to simply gain personal advantage. It gave me new insight into Roosevelt's anti-trust activity as president. Like him or not, he maintained his values when he had the power to do so, working to enable the regular guy over the big company.
Which brings us to today, and the continued battles being waged to prevent more examples of "too big to fail" which contributed in part to the recent economic meltdown in 2008. Where are the
anti-trust, or anti-monopoly forces today?
Certainly not in the Republican party where any attempt to regulate business so they do not have free reign to pollute our environment and prostitute our labor force, are met with calls of anti-capitalism, as if capitalism was meant to produce limited competition and mega companies dominating all markets. Not that democrats are much better when a company, like Comcast, pumps large sums of money into their campaigns. When our elected officials rationalize cutting the benefits of those with the least rather than removing the tax advantages for those with the most, it seems that they prefer the bully to the victim. Or, at least, prefer being friend to the bully in hopes to avoid being the victim.
So, I continue reading and enjoying Youth. It helps me bite my tongue when I am tempted to rebuke today's young as was done by each generation since time immemorial. Reading a diatribe about the "rabble" of today, and seeing BC after the year provides good perspective when thinking today's youth are the worst ever.
So, I continue reading and enjoying Youth. It helps me bite my tongue when I am tempted to rebuke today's young as was done by each generation since time immemorial. Reading a diatribe about the "rabble" of today, and seeing BC after the year provides good perspective when thinking today's youth are the worst ever.
Somehow, all those admonitions seem to be just one more example of envy. I guess it is human nature to wish to be older until we wish we were young again.
Monday, September 29, 2014
The curiousness of politics
Not sure if curiousness is a real word. As I type it the automatic spell check is not highlighting it, but it sure seems like it may be made up - or has been made up in the recent past.
I just finished watching the end of an HBO special on Nixon. I didn't see it all, but I did see enough to feel an inspiration to post.
What struck me to write was the realization that Nixon won reelection in 1972 by a devastatingly huge majority; 63% of the vote. I assume all or the vast majority of the electoral college. (Perhaps McGovern won his home state). Yet, Congress at the time was controlled by the Democratic party. Similarly, President Obama recently won reelection by a comfortable majority yet the House is Republican controlled, and there is a very real possibility of a Republican controlled Senate after the 2014 midterm elections.
Curious how the nation has changed. We elect a Republican to run the country in 1972 yet rely on the Democrats to run congress at the same time. Other than a brief blip called Jimmy Carter, this pattern continued through the Reagan and Bush 1 years. One may say that at that time, we preferred a more conservative, traditional approach to running the country but wanted a more liberal perspective in terms of creating laws and allocating our monies.
Fast forward to Obama and, other than the first two years, he has had a Republican controlled House the last four and will so again in the next session. (Control of the Senate has not followed control of the House as closely, but other than the current 6 year run of a Democratically controlled Senate, the pattern has been similar). So, it seems we prefer a more liberal viewpoint to preside over the presidency but seem more conservative in our approach to establishing laws and spending money.
In 1972, despite the daily protests in the streets over America's involvement in Vietnam, Nixon bombed the heck out of the country, even, infamously, over the Christmas holiday of 1972. I don't know this for a fact, but I assume the Democrats in Congress were in tacit agreement with Nixon's handling of the war.
Similarly, President Obama has presided over an unprecedented increase in the use of unmanned drone bombings in Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan, and now in Syria and Iraq as we chase down the ISIS scourge. While I do see some politicians from both parties questioning the use of drones, it says it all when Congress refuses to vote on the current campaign against ISIS. Republicans who support military action don't want to be on record of agreeing with anything Obama does, and Democrats who are against it are not to eager to disagree with their political leader.
It strikes me that when it comes to war, presidents generally have the support, spoken or unspoken, of Congress. And Americans, despite believing in our Christian heritage, and despite being the most generous nation on earth, are always willing to authorize killing when a case can be made for the evil nature of those we are attacking, regardless if the case has any merit. The fact that we continue to cling to the notion that might makes right when our spiritual leader preferred "turning the other cheek" says it all.
So maybe the title of this post should be the curiousness of American politics; or merely the curiousness of Americans.
Finally, and I am not about to quote Nixon because I have any love lost for him, but the HBO special ended with a quote from his farewell speech to his staff. He said it, I assume, from a very personal perspective, consistent with the egocentric personality that enabled the bugging of the Democratic office in the Watergate Hotel at a time when he fully expected to win at least 60% of the votes. But what he said should resonate nationally, especially considering our reaction to the horrible events of 9/11/01, the continued incendiary actions from a small minority of the Muslim community, and the recent beheadings of American journalists in the Middle East.
Nixon said
"Always remember others may hate you but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself."
Perhaps he was reminding those who served him in the White House and the country in general, that it is OK to be hated by those who do not, or refuse to, understand you. Or, that it is OK to be hated by those who may even envy you or wish to bring you down out of jealousy. But to return that hate only serves to justify their hatred, and not only brings you down to their level, but inspires actions that beget further hate, or worse, inactions when a dissenting action is required.
In the end, Nixon was on record as despising all kinds of people, all kinds of Americans that disagreed with him and his policies, or engaged in activities that he did not approve of. If you listen to any of his tapes you are left with the impression of a brilliant politician with a huge persecution complex.
Yet those words, "those who hate you don't win unless you hate them" should be a reminder to all of us who are all too willing to give credence to the vilification of a religion or culture or race or ethnicity, and to tolerate the killing of our perceived enemies. And, whether Richard M. Nixon is watching us from above or below, he may be wagging his finger in rebuke and warning that our problems may be self inflicted, our potential for destruction may be self generated.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Conservatives and Conservationists
I watched the Bill Maher live show on HBO the other day. One of his bits talked about conservatives and their apparent lack of concern for conserving our environment. Of course, if one were to research the conservative movement in America (and the world for that matter), it is clear that the basis of belief for conservatives has nothing to do with the environment. Still, it made me think how the words conservative and conservationist have the same base, yet if describing a person or their perspective would rarely be used in conjunction with each other.
The Merriam-Webster definition of conservationist is as follows
someone who works to protect animals, plants, and natural resources or to prevent the loss or waste of natural resources
While the M-W definition of conservative is
believing in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society : relating to or supporting political conservatism
I would surmise that at some point in America's history, there were people who believed in the value of established and traditional practices and those practices included a respect for the land. After all, early Americans depended on the earth for their daily food and water, there not being supermarkets and malls at the time. I imagine that Americans of the 18th and 19th century especially, made it their business to make sure that they could provide their families with fresh meat, home grown fruits and vegetables, and pure water. And, if someone were to shoot all the animals in the area, or poison the ground or water, they would have been upset. Their traditional practices included taking care of the land in hopes that the land would provide sustenance now and in the near future. In essence, many people may have claimed to be both conservatives and conservationists.
Now, of course, most people don't hunt for their food or grow it in their backyard. We have a system which, to tell the truth, is more efficient at providing nutrition for the ever increasing population of our nation and our planet. (I acknowledge that there is hunger and poverty, too much of it. But most of it is caused, in my opinion, not due to a lack of food, but due to improper/unequal distribution, and more critically, greed).
Unfortunately, the down side of this improved ability to grow food is that we have concentrated all the growing in smaller areas. We became dependent on chemicals to enhance the efficiency of the soil. And, since we now needed to move the food to the consumer, we needed to improve our transportation systems. In so doing, these new systems needed fuel, and we chose to obtain this fuel via digging holes in the earth, and polluting our air and water with the soot and effluence that came as a byproduct of "producing" energy rather than harnessing energy from the sun, the wind, and the water.
In the meantime, the business community, generally an institution that would tend to be happy with the established and traditional practices, and especially large and successful business entities, turned to politics to help them maintain those practices. So, while we accept a certain amount of pollution as long as the coal fired electric plants continue to enable us to turn on our lights, the conservative tends to work to maintain that established practice. Whenever a proposal emerges to penalize a polluter, or cause that business to spend money to reduce or eliminate that pollution, it is the conservatives of the nation who balk at unnecessary government regulation. Of course, hypocrisy rears its ugly head when those same conservatives are profiting at the lack of pollution controls, or do not live in the areas being polluted.
In the meantime, the conservationist is the one pushing for those pollution controls. Unfortunately, there may still exist a bit of hypocrisy when those demanding more stringent pollution controls or a reduction in the use of coal to generate electricity complain when an increase in their energy bill occurs.
Perhaps I have overly simplified it, but that is how I see it. The business community turns to the conservatives, in our case the Republican Party, to counter the efforts of the conservationist, who believes that the established and traditional practices (of the business community) choose to sacrifice (and/or exploit) the animals, plants, and natural resources of the earth.
And, as always, there is a solution if we were to choose the path of cooperation rather than confrontation. To read about one particularly hopeful effort, click on the following link.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-world-really-set-aside-half-planet-wildlife-180952379/
And, for all you conservatives who believe you are conservationists, who vote Republican in every election, you may want to check the voting records of your party. Whether it is removing the teeth from the EPA, relaxing water regulations for the fracking industry, decrying enhanced scrubber technology for coal fired plants, or just turning a blind eye to those mega corporations who send their jobs overseas where no one cares if the local people are poisoned, it is always, always, always the GOP proposing the bills and defending the polluters.
The Merriam-Webster definition of conservationist is as follows
someone who works to protect animals, plants, and natural resources or to prevent the loss or waste of natural resources
While the M-W definition of conservative is
believing in the value of established and traditional practices in politics and society : relating to or supporting political conservatism
I would surmise that at some point in America's history, there were people who believed in the value of established and traditional practices and those practices included a respect for the land. After all, early Americans depended on the earth for their daily food and water, there not being supermarkets and malls at the time. I imagine that Americans of the 18th and 19th century especially, made it their business to make sure that they could provide their families with fresh meat, home grown fruits and vegetables, and pure water. And, if someone were to shoot all the animals in the area, or poison the ground or water, they would have been upset. Their traditional practices included taking care of the land in hopes that the land would provide sustenance now and in the near future. In essence, many people may have claimed to be both conservatives and conservationists.
Now, of course, most people don't hunt for their food or grow it in their backyard. We have a system which, to tell the truth, is more efficient at providing nutrition for the ever increasing population of our nation and our planet. (I acknowledge that there is hunger and poverty, too much of it. But most of it is caused, in my opinion, not due to a lack of food, but due to improper/unequal distribution, and more critically, greed).
Unfortunately, the down side of this improved ability to grow food is that we have concentrated all the growing in smaller areas. We became dependent on chemicals to enhance the efficiency of the soil. And, since we now needed to move the food to the consumer, we needed to improve our transportation systems. In so doing, these new systems needed fuel, and we chose to obtain this fuel via digging holes in the earth, and polluting our air and water with the soot and effluence that came as a byproduct of "producing" energy rather than harnessing energy from the sun, the wind, and the water.
In the meantime, the business community, generally an institution that would tend to be happy with the established and traditional practices, and especially large and successful business entities, turned to politics to help them maintain those practices. So, while we accept a certain amount of pollution as long as the coal fired electric plants continue to enable us to turn on our lights, the conservative tends to work to maintain that established practice. Whenever a proposal emerges to penalize a polluter, or cause that business to spend money to reduce or eliminate that pollution, it is the conservatives of the nation who balk at unnecessary government regulation. Of course, hypocrisy rears its ugly head when those same conservatives are profiting at the lack of pollution controls, or do not live in the areas being polluted.
In the meantime, the conservationist is the one pushing for those pollution controls. Unfortunately, there may still exist a bit of hypocrisy when those demanding more stringent pollution controls or a reduction in the use of coal to generate electricity complain when an increase in their energy bill occurs.
Perhaps I have overly simplified it, but that is how I see it. The business community turns to the conservatives, in our case the Republican Party, to counter the efforts of the conservationist, who believes that the established and traditional practices (of the business community) choose to sacrifice (and/or exploit) the animals, plants, and natural resources of the earth.
And, as always, there is a solution if we were to choose the path of cooperation rather than confrontation. To read about one particularly hopeful effort, click on the following link.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-world-really-set-aside-half-planet-wildlife-180952379/
And, for all you conservatives who believe you are conservationists, who vote Republican in every election, you may want to check the voting records of your party. Whether it is removing the teeth from the EPA, relaxing water regulations for the fracking industry, decrying enhanced scrubber technology for coal fired plants, or just turning a blind eye to those mega corporations who send their jobs overseas where no one cares if the local people are poisoned, it is always, always, always the GOP proposing the bills and defending the polluters.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Another look at The Future
A month or so ago, I mentioned that I had borrowed The Lapham's Quarterly called The Future from my son; this morning I finished reading it. Believe it or not, I was continually impressed by how much this collection provided a wonderful perspective on man's history. As quoted by someone in the book, "the vision of the future is shaped by the present". Since all the future essays in this quarterly were written in present times that have passed... history.
I was particularly interested in two things I read in the last few days.
One was about how end of the world prophesies were both prevalent and powerful in the years leading up to 1000 AD, not unlike the recent surge that occurred in the time just before the year 2000. So often we think of the past, especially the past encompassing the years 500-1500 AD, as times when barbarism and superstition ruled the day. Clearly, logic and reason, compassion and empathy were less a part of the dynamic between the haves and have nots, the ruling class and everyone else. But there were many individuals before the Age of Enlightenment, and before industrialization, who wrestled with the BIG concepts, whose early musings and insights led to the eventual breakthroughs that mark how we live today. In terms of predicting and preparing for the end of the world, it appears that leading up to the year 1000, the world itself was influenced by the thinkers of the day into believing that 1000 years was the extent of man's existence as determined by the divine intervention of the Son of the Creator.
I was particularly interested in two things I read in the last few days.
One was about how end of the world prophesies were both prevalent and powerful in the years leading up to 1000 AD, not unlike the recent surge that occurred in the time just before the year 2000. So often we think of the past, especially the past encompassing the years 500-1500 AD, as times when barbarism and superstition ruled the day. Clearly, logic and reason, compassion and empathy were less a part of the dynamic between the haves and have nots, the ruling class and everyone else. But there were many individuals before the Age of Enlightenment, and before industrialization, who wrestled with the BIG concepts, whose early musings and insights led to the eventual breakthroughs that mark how we live today. In terms of predicting and preparing for the end of the world, it appears that leading up to the year 1000, the world itself was influenced by the thinkers of the day into believing that 1000 years was the extent of man's existence as determined by the divine intervention of the Son of the Creator.
Whether it be 1000 years from His birth or death, each approaching anniversary produced the same reaction; the End is Near. Obviously, the end did not occur but in not happening, this non-event led to what one essayist describes as a world wide change of perception. Rather than marking time from the past to the inevitable end, viewpoints changed to a belief in the future as an amenable event that could be affected by those living it. This was a huge paradigm shift that gave the impetus to the belief that the institutions of the day, the religions, the governments, the economic as well as social structures, could be influenced by man, not preordained to exist by the Creator.
It was if the world looked around at the lack of an ending and said, OK, let's make things happen ourselves. Assuming this interpretation is anything close to true, imagine how powerful was that shift in thinking, a shift which occurred in a time that we dismiss as the Dark Ages. Again, our ego centrism leads us to believe that nothing crucial happened before "recent times", and that everything about today is the ..est of all time. Such a disrespect for history is this viewpoint, and such a shame that we assume that understanding the past is irrelevant.
Which brings me to a quote by, of all people, Sigmund Freud.
"The less a man knows about the past and the present, the more insecure must prove to be his judgment of the future".
I would even take it a step further. The less a man acknowledges the importance of the past, the more fearful will be his outlook of the present and the future.
From denying the age of the earth and the evolution of man, to dismissing the lessons of the downfall of the great civilizations, we seem to be surrounded by people who prefer controlling how we think than helping us to learn to think. I have a friend, my brother, who has been reading one book each about the United States Presidents, starting with Washington. (I believe he is on his 21st President or so). In reading about these men, my brother will often enter a conversation about a topic of the day with an insight into how it was perceived by one of our past leaders. Inevitably, the debates of that time were very similar to the very debate of today. The problem still existed, both sides still had their points, but nothing had been learned. Now, my bother is a smart guy but he is no genius. I say that, not as a shot against my brother but as a challenge that anyone can enlarge their knowledge base if they read. With the information technology at hand today, it is not that difficult to develop one's own opinions from fact and research rather than sound bites from TV and radio that emanate from those with agendas not related to educating you but to keeping you fearful and ignorant.
Certainly the past does not have all the answers. But in ignoring what has happened, and reducing the past to insignificant events that have nothing to do with today, we bring life to the oft repeated saying "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".
Even more troubling, with all the bad news that is heaped upon us in the 24 hour news cycle that has become our media, we are rapidly becoming afraid of the present. It doesn't matter that actual crime is down, we are constantly bombarded with reasons to fear our neighbors, although it is not our actual neighbors that are demonized but those "others" that can take the form of other races, other religions, other cultures.
Which brings me to a quote by, of all people, Sigmund Freud.
"The less a man knows about the past and the present, the more insecure must prove to be his judgment of the future".
I would even take it a step further. The less a man acknowledges the importance of the past, the more fearful will be his outlook of the present and the future.
From denying the age of the earth and the evolution of man, to dismissing the lessons of the downfall of the great civilizations, we seem to be surrounded by people who prefer controlling how we think than helping us to learn to think. I have a friend, my brother, who has been reading one book each about the United States Presidents, starting with Washington. (I believe he is on his 21st President or so). In reading about these men, my brother will often enter a conversation about a topic of the day with an insight into how it was perceived by one of our past leaders. Inevitably, the debates of that time were very similar to the very debate of today. The problem still existed, both sides still had their points, but nothing had been learned. Now, my bother is a smart guy but he is no genius. I say that, not as a shot against my brother but as a challenge that anyone can enlarge their knowledge base if they read. With the information technology at hand today, it is not that difficult to develop one's own opinions from fact and research rather than sound bites from TV and radio that emanate from those with agendas not related to educating you but to keeping you fearful and ignorant.
Certainly the past does not have all the answers. But in ignoring what has happened, and reducing the past to insignificant events that have nothing to do with today, we bring life to the oft repeated saying "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".
Even more troubling, with all the bad news that is heaped upon us in the 24 hour news cycle that has become our media, we are rapidly becoming afraid of the present. It doesn't matter that actual crime is down, we are constantly bombarded with reasons to fear our neighbors, although it is not our actual neighbors that are demonized but those "others" that can take the form of other races, other religions, other cultures.
Even our government, when politically expedient, is to be feared. Should we condemn the recent actions of ISIS? Of course. But do we equate their ability to do evil with the fear associated with the Cold War and the very real ability of both the United States and Russia to create a nuclear wasteland of the earth? Is Putin a jerk for invading the Ukraine? If I was a Ukrainian who preferred self rule, I imagine I would be upset. But to think him the next Hitler, and that France or England or Germany is next on his list is absurd. Sadly, it is more likely that an American will die because of poor maintenance of our infrastructure than an ISIS attack or Putin's plan to annex the Ukraine yet they are the fears that drive our politics, not to mention our stock market.
The future is tomorrow, and all the tomorrows to follow. As I talk to those I encounter in my life, there are too many of us who fear that tomorrow will be the same as today; or worse, as Janis Joplin once said, "tomorrow never comes, it's all the same f...ing day".
Finally then, are we so fearful of the present, and hence the future, because we are an aging society, and that with age comes the twin fears of no longer being young and the inevitable death? Is it a grand conspiracy controlled by the powers that be who prefer to maintain the status quo and so use fear to keep us from questioning the chips that seem to fall in the direction of the few?
I would imagine that over the course of history, a large percentage of people, when pressed for an opinion, would have expressed the belief that mankind would not last another 1000 years. Even today, I would bet that less than 50% of those asked would believe man will someday mark the year 3000.
The future is tomorrow, and all the tomorrows to follow. As I talk to those I encounter in my life, there are too many of us who fear that tomorrow will be the same as today; or worse, as Janis Joplin once said, "tomorrow never comes, it's all the same f...ing day".
Finally then, are we so fearful of the present, and hence the future, because we are an aging society, and that with age comes the twin fears of no longer being young and the inevitable death? Is it a grand conspiracy controlled by the powers that be who prefer to maintain the status quo and so use fear to keep us from questioning the chips that seem to fall in the direction of the few?
I would imagine that over the course of history, a large percentage of people, when pressed for an opinion, would have expressed the belief that mankind would not last another 1000 years. Even today, I would bet that less than 50% of those asked would believe man will someday mark the year 3000.
Yet, up until now, those predicting the end have been incorrect. In reading The Future, there have been visions of what might come that were relatively accurate, as well as those that were completely wrong. I imagine that in 1000 years there will be a similar distribution of accurate and inaccurate prognostications. I just hope that there are more positive descriptions, utopias, and forecasts of what will come than negative, so that when the math is done the people of the year 3000 will consider us a happy, forwarding looking bunch, and not the gloomy, fearful group that we seem to be at this moment.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Happy Labor Day
I posted a blog about Labor Day three years ago, so before I started this particular entry, I reread it to see the particulars of that post and to decide the direction of this one.
That post revolved around the fact that, due to the prevalence of service industry jobs in America today, so many more people are working on Labor Day that in years past.
Of course, nothing has changed since then in terms of more people working on Labor Day. In fact, the trend is getting worse with more employers opening their stores on other "national" holidays, i.e July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Still, there is good news. After peaking in October 2008 at 10%, unemployment has dropped to about 6.2% as of July, according to the Bureau of labor Statistics. So, in theory, as the availability of labor begins to equalize with the open or newly created jobs, pay rates should start to increase as employers will find it harder to keep good employees who may now find better paying jobs, and/or find new employees for new positions. Also, a possible consequence of the health exchanges will be that some people will no longer have to stay at poorly paying or unchallenging jobs, as they are less tied to their employer for reasonably priced health care insurance. We may see an increase in new start up companies, as well as an increase in those deciding to pursue income from non-traditional jobs, as I discussed in a recent post about work pyramids.
Unfortunately, the bad news is that many employers, especially corporations, will first move their jobs to states with lower standards of living, or countries with very low salary expectations and little or no environmental and work force regulations which protect their employees. Taken as a whole, it seems that the continued state of working Americas living in poverty may continue for some time.
And that is bad news for all of us.
As long as the American consumer, those people who do two-thirds of the buying of goods and services, continues to struggle from one payday to the next, our economy can't possibly recover fully. As long as the benefits of what marginal economic growth there is stays in the hands of the few at the top, we will continue to see stops and starts in GDP growth.
Which brings us to the hot topic of late, raising the minimum wage.
I did some brief reading about the effects of raising the minimum wage in terms of potential job loss. Many economists believe that low pay jobs will be the most at risk should minimum wages increase. Makes sense, since it is those very jobs which pay the least. Others believe that such job loss will be matched by an increase in spending money for those at the bottom of the pay scales, which could result in a demand for some goods and services (more job openings) and perhaps even a reduction in government assistance for those making more money (lower government expenditures). Still others believe that any increase in wages, if not resulting in job loss, will automatically be passed along to the rest of us as consumers thereby causing prices to rise and negating any increase in pay.
Talk about the circle of life.
For me, it is worth the risk to increase minimum wages, gradually, so that the market can accommodate the increase. I like the idea of an increased minimum wage, in stages of 75 cents per year for four years to reach the $10.25 mark, by the year 2018. The key though is to tie continued minimum wage hikes, after that, to a standard that does not need future legislation. Cost of living would be good. Increase in CEO pay might be better. If the market can "bear" CEO pay to increase by some estimates up to 700% in the past 35 years, compared to 10-20% for the average worker, then I imagine that the smart men and women that run our biggest companies can figure out a way to increase worker pay similarly without causing job loss. Or perhaps, just increasing CEO pay at the same rate as average worker pay will be sufficient to raise all of our salaries without adding to inflation or job loss. Better yet, perhaps CEO's and those at the top of the pay scale, entertainers, sports stars, etc, those making over $5 million a year, could live on that money in ensuing years and take no more pay raises for a bit, instead passing all that money that would be given to them anyway to those people who do the actual work in America.
Can you imagine? All those hypocrites in Hollywood, on Wall Street and in Washington DC, putting their money where their mouths are and sharing their fortune with their fellow working class Americans. (See the story, The Change which I wrote a few years ago and can be found on this blog and in my e-book on Amazon.com)
Oops sorry, I digress.
Anyway, happy Labor Day. For those of you who had the day off, good for you. Perhaps, rather than assuming all the Wa-Wa's and grocery stores and shopping malls will be open for you next year, you can make a New Years resolution to NOT shop on national holidays in 2015. Perhaps then, all American workers will actually have off on these holidays. And, while you are at it, make it known that everyone should get paid to not work. Seems like the least we can do for the American workforce on Labor Day.
That post revolved around the fact that, due to the prevalence of service industry jobs in America today, so many more people are working on Labor Day that in years past.
Of course, nothing has changed since then in terms of more people working on Labor Day. In fact, the trend is getting worse with more employers opening their stores on other "national" holidays, i.e July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Still, there is good news. After peaking in October 2008 at 10%, unemployment has dropped to about 6.2% as of July, according to the Bureau of labor Statistics. So, in theory, as the availability of labor begins to equalize with the open or newly created jobs, pay rates should start to increase as employers will find it harder to keep good employees who may now find better paying jobs, and/or find new employees for new positions. Also, a possible consequence of the health exchanges will be that some people will no longer have to stay at poorly paying or unchallenging jobs, as they are less tied to their employer for reasonably priced health care insurance. We may see an increase in new start up companies, as well as an increase in those deciding to pursue income from non-traditional jobs, as I discussed in a recent post about work pyramids.
Unfortunately, the bad news is that many employers, especially corporations, will first move their jobs to states with lower standards of living, or countries with very low salary expectations and little or no environmental and work force regulations which protect their employees. Taken as a whole, it seems that the continued state of working Americas living in poverty may continue for some time.
And that is bad news for all of us.
As long as the American consumer, those people who do two-thirds of the buying of goods and services, continues to struggle from one payday to the next, our economy can't possibly recover fully. As long as the benefits of what marginal economic growth there is stays in the hands of the few at the top, we will continue to see stops and starts in GDP growth.
Which brings us to the hot topic of late, raising the minimum wage.
I did some brief reading about the effects of raising the minimum wage in terms of potential job loss. Many economists believe that low pay jobs will be the most at risk should minimum wages increase. Makes sense, since it is those very jobs which pay the least. Others believe that such job loss will be matched by an increase in spending money for those at the bottom of the pay scales, which could result in a demand for some goods and services (more job openings) and perhaps even a reduction in government assistance for those making more money (lower government expenditures). Still others believe that any increase in wages, if not resulting in job loss, will automatically be passed along to the rest of us as consumers thereby causing prices to rise and negating any increase in pay.
Talk about the circle of life.
For me, it is worth the risk to increase minimum wages, gradually, so that the market can accommodate the increase. I like the idea of an increased minimum wage, in stages of 75 cents per year for four years to reach the $10.25 mark, by the year 2018. The key though is to tie continued minimum wage hikes, after that, to a standard that does not need future legislation. Cost of living would be good. Increase in CEO pay might be better. If the market can "bear" CEO pay to increase by some estimates up to 700% in the past 35 years, compared to 10-20% for the average worker, then I imagine that the smart men and women that run our biggest companies can figure out a way to increase worker pay similarly without causing job loss. Or perhaps, just increasing CEO pay at the same rate as average worker pay will be sufficient to raise all of our salaries without adding to inflation or job loss. Better yet, perhaps CEO's and those at the top of the pay scale, entertainers, sports stars, etc, those making over $5 million a year, could live on that money in ensuing years and take no more pay raises for a bit, instead passing all that money that would be given to them anyway to those people who do the actual work in America.
Can you imagine? All those hypocrites in Hollywood, on Wall Street and in Washington DC, putting their money where their mouths are and sharing their fortune with their fellow working class Americans. (See the story, The Change which I wrote a few years ago and can be found on this blog and in my e-book on Amazon.com)
Oops sorry, I digress.
Anyway, happy Labor Day. For those of you who had the day off, good for you. Perhaps, rather than assuming all the Wa-Wa's and grocery stores and shopping malls will be open for you next year, you can make a New Years resolution to NOT shop on national holidays in 2015. Perhaps then, all American workers will actually have off on these holidays. And, while you are at it, make it known that everyone should get paid to not work. Seems like the least we can do for the American workforce on Labor Day.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Lucy
I have a note in my computer desk drawer to title my next post Sacrifice and Selfishness. In addition to the thoughts I had percolating in my head, I was going to comment on the George Will piece I read from this past Sundays Opinion page in the Inquirer. But after seeing the movie Lucy on Sunday night, I thought I might be able to connect my last post about the future with the movie, and Will's essay, and my original topic. Here goes.
If you have not seen the now released movie, Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, and if you like movies that make you think a bit, then I recommend seeing this flick. Without giving too much away, the movie is about a young woman who is accidently exposed to a nasty drug which causes her brain activity to increase from the normal 10% to, eventually, 100%. During that time, her enhanced brain allows her to control her body, the bodies of those around her, the electrical impulses that permeate (invisibly) our daily lives, and ultimately, time. (For those of you that are cognizant of the history of the ape to man theory of evolution, her name Lucy in the story is no coincidence.)
For me, the key scene in the movie is when Lucy contacts a famous professor who has been active in the theory of the brain's capabilities and what those capabilities may morph to as our ability to utilize more of our brain's capacity improves/evolves. The professor, played by Morgan Freeman, when asked by Lucy what she should do with her increased knowledge, answers that she should do what all evolving life has done for millennia; pass it on. As Lucy knows she is dying and has less than a day in which to accumulate her knowledge in order to pass it on, it may seem surprising that she would choose such a selfless act, as opposed to the oh so many more selfish ways she could have spent her last day.
Which brings me to George Will's Sunday editorial. Obviously, Mr Will is extremely intelligent. On more than one occasion, I have tried to read his opinions in the Sunday Inquirer, only to give up part way through as I found them beyond my grasp. But I made it through this particular one. To paraphrase Will, liberals in particular and President Obama in specific, are hypocritical to blame corporations for moving their jobs and money overseas when the labor and tax rates of those countries are more friendly to their profits. Hypocritical because, in Will's opinion, it is liberals and democrats who support labor unions and create the tax laws. Will points out that since corporations only concern is shareholders, and shareholders only concern is profit and dividends, then, of course those companies will more their businesses and their money to more favorable environments. Of course, Will does not choose to explain why, given the sad state of the corporate world,profits, CEO pay and the stock market are at all time highs. Are they not indicators of a favorable environment? He also avoids discussion of why he assumes 0% corporate tax would do anything more than improve corporate bottom lines just as the reduction of corporate taxes over the past 30 years have done. It seems clear that as long as the only yardstick of corporate success is profit, then labor rates (and for that matter, consumer safety), will always trail far behind. I give him credit for sticking with his love of trickle down economics, despite the facts that show that very little trickles down. I can only conclude that should a corporate CEO had gained Lucy's powers, only the corporation would have benefitted from them, not the United States, or the human race.
There in lies the problem. The future, should it continue to be driven by a Supreme Court that believes corporations are people, should it continue to be controlled by the belief that money and wealth are the only goals that matter, should its leaders and citizens continue to believe that the haves earned what they have and the have nots are lazy, or worse, not loved by god, then the idea that in one's last days, we should consider what we can contribute will be permanently replaced by the idea of what we can take before we go.
Sacrifice and Selfishness.
Fortunately, I don't believe that the majority of people are selfish. Daily, we read about and can witness the lives of parents who work a 2nd job to send their kids to college, neighbors who check on the elderly on their block when the weather turns nasty, teachers who supply books and pencils to their students when the school district is unable, and all the millions of volunteers who build houses, plant gardens, serve lunches, and donate goods and services and time to those in need. Acts of sacrifice are all around us, just as prevalent as the horrible acts, just not as news worthy. (I could inject here that since so much of our media is controlled by large corporations, perhaps that is why bad news rules the day, but I will resist the thought).
In the movie, as her brain's capacity moves closer to 100%, Lucy teams up with a police officer, not because she needs the backup, but so she is reminded of her connection to humanity. One might say that at the end, despite her astonishing mental abilities, she was also far more humane, even spiritual, in that she sacrificed her life to provide knowledge to those that remained. She chose a path which she believed would improve the human race, not one in which she could take advantage of those with less brain capacity. Let's hope that there will come a day when George Will and those that defend the corporate philosophy that is so well summed up in the phrase, "it is business, not personal", will gain the brain capacity to realize that being human is always personal. Anything less is not worth defending.
If you have not seen the now released movie, Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, and if you like movies that make you think a bit, then I recommend seeing this flick. Without giving too much away, the movie is about a young woman who is accidently exposed to a nasty drug which causes her brain activity to increase from the normal 10% to, eventually, 100%. During that time, her enhanced brain allows her to control her body, the bodies of those around her, the electrical impulses that permeate (invisibly) our daily lives, and ultimately, time. (For those of you that are cognizant of the history of the ape to man theory of evolution, her name Lucy in the story is no coincidence.)
For me, the key scene in the movie is when Lucy contacts a famous professor who has been active in the theory of the brain's capabilities and what those capabilities may morph to as our ability to utilize more of our brain's capacity improves/evolves. The professor, played by Morgan Freeman, when asked by Lucy what she should do with her increased knowledge, answers that she should do what all evolving life has done for millennia; pass it on. As Lucy knows she is dying and has less than a day in which to accumulate her knowledge in order to pass it on, it may seem surprising that she would choose such a selfless act, as opposed to the oh so many more selfish ways she could have spent her last day.
Which brings me to George Will's Sunday editorial. Obviously, Mr Will is extremely intelligent. On more than one occasion, I have tried to read his opinions in the Sunday Inquirer, only to give up part way through as I found them beyond my grasp. But I made it through this particular one. To paraphrase Will, liberals in particular and President Obama in specific, are hypocritical to blame corporations for moving their jobs and money overseas when the labor and tax rates of those countries are more friendly to their profits. Hypocritical because, in Will's opinion, it is liberals and democrats who support labor unions and create the tax laws. Will points out that since corporations only concern is shareholders, and shareholders only concern is profit and dividends, then, of course those companies will more their businesses and their money to more favorable environments. Of course, Will does not choose to explain why, given the sad state of the corporate world,profits, CEO pay and the stock market are at all time highs. Are they not indicators of a favorable environment? He also avoids discussion of why he assumes 0% corporate tax would do anything more than improve corporate bottom lines just as the reduction of corporate taxes over the past 30 years have done. It seems clear that as long as the only yardstick of corporate success is profit, then labor rates (and for that matter, consumer safety), will always trail far behind. I give him credit for sticking with his love of trickle down economics, despite the facts that show that very little trickles down. I can only conclude that should a corporate CEO had gained Lucy's powers, only the corporation would have benefitted from them, not the United States, or the human race.
There in lies the problem. The future, should it continue to be driven by a Supreme Court that believes corporations are people, should it continue to be controlled by the belief that money and wealth are the only goals that matter, should its leaders and citizens continue to believe that the haves earned what they have and the have nots are lazy, or worse, not loved by god, then the idea that in one's last days, we should consider what we can contribute will be permanently replaced by the idea of what we can take before we go.
Sacrifice and Selfishness.
Fortunately, I don't believe that the majority of people are selfish. Daily, we read about and can witness the lives of parents who work a 2nd job to send their kids to college, neighbors who check on the elderly on their block when the weather turns nasty, teachers who supply books and pencils to their students when the school district is unable, and all the millions of volunteers who build houses, plant gardens, serve lunches, and donate goods and services and time to those in need. Acts of sacrifice are all around us, just as prevalent as the horrible acts, just not as news worthy. (I could inject here that since so much of our media is controlled by large corporations, perhaps that is why bad news rules the day, but I will resist the thought).
In the movie, as her brain's capacity moves closer to 100%, Lucy teams up with a police officer, not because she needs the backup, but so she is reminded of her connection to humanity. One might say that at the end, despite her astonishing mental abilities, she was also far more humane, even spiritual, in that she sacrificed her life to provide knowledge to those that remained. She chose a path which she believed would improve the human race, not one in which she could take advantage of those with less brain capacity. Let's hope that there will come a day when George Will and those that defend the corporate philosophy that is so well summed up in the phrase, "it is business, not personal", will gain the brain capacity to realize that being human is always personal. Anything less is not worth defending.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The Future
When I first became aware of the Lapham's Quarterly, I ordered a past edition called The Future for my college aged son, as well as the next year's 4 editions for my wife. The Future stayed in my son's hands since then until our family vacation in late July when The Future returned to me.
A few days ago, I began reading it. Already, I have encountered a number of thought provoking essays and quotes.
One very interesting quote written by John Kenneth Galbraith from The Affluent Society is
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding"
Another, attributed to Jean de la Bruyere is
"We must confess that at present the rich predominate, but the future will be for the virtuous and ingenious".
Interestingly, the second quote by Bruvere was written in 1688. Makes you wonder, both, how extreme income disparity must have been in the 17th century, and how much progress has been made in the past 325 years since. I like to think that the 17th century's haves were all winners of the birth lottery; good names with established pedigrees, while the have nots were virtually everyone else not born into such lucky fortune. Assuming that is true, and that the concept of a middle class had not yet been conceived, or existed, society has made vast progress. While place of birth, economic level of one's parents, and mixture of genes and environment still influence greatly the eventual outcome of a person's success in life, there are many more homes in which one can be born which will provide moderate opportunity as compared to the all or nothing status of 1688. And, there is certainly a greater chance that a person can break through the barriers of the negative details of where one is born, due to the tremendous opportunities that capitalism and the free market provide.
Still, it is certainly not the vision of Galbraith who helped influence the programs of the 1960's and 1970's, the so called Great Society programs. His quote, to me, seems to be saying that once one becomes rich, the ability to understand the situation of all that are not, is limited. Is this not reflected in our current Congress, where most of the Senators are millionaires as are a large percentage of the House members? When it becomes so easy for them to continue tax advantages for the wealthy individuals and corporations while cutting SNAP money for those in the direst of needs, is that not their wealth impinging on their ability to understand the poorest of their constituents? (Let alone, is that not the most glaring example of how American politics and governance is certainly not as Christian as we would like to believe).
What is so mind boggling to me, is that daily, we read of rich and famous people who have serious problems, financial, marital, mental. All their money has done little to make them happy. While I certainly don't know the details of Robin Williams' recent suicide, it is common knowledge that he was drug dependent. Despite his obvious genius, despite his ability to make me laugh until I peed my pants, despite his remarkable acting skills which ranged from the most hilarious to the most dramatic, he chose to end his life. Yet, despite the obvious, despite the fact that study after study demonstrates that after a certain point, more money does not lead to more happiness, we continue to fight each other as we grasp for the gold ring. And, in opting for quick rich schemes and lottery tickets, or worse, engaging in businesses that take advantage of others to make money, whether it be senior scams or selling sub prime mortgages, we continue to build walls to the understanding that Galbraith described.
In his introduction to The Future, Lewis Lapham uses a number of points to distinguish how the future has changed in America since the 1960's. Ending racial inequality, eliminating poverty, reaching the moon were but a few of the goals of America in the days of JFK and LBJ. And these national goals were shared by many citizens. We were inspired to think that we could accomplish such feats, each doing our part individually, the goals prioritized collectively by our government.
Fear of the future now seems more prevalent than hope in its coming. The news is filled with doom, whether it be terrorists in the Middle East or climate change, the corporate mentality of profit over people or our belief that only by polluting Earth can we provide the energy we need to prosper. Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, Religious or Agnostic, no one is free from the guilt of using the fear of the future, the fear of what if we do or don't do this or that, to control the populace and increase the voting rolls or church pews.
The Future.
It was just a few seconds away as I began this post, became the present when I began this paragraph, will be the past when you read this essay.
The Future is what we make of it. Sounds elementary, I know, but if we continue to fear the future then it will be a fearful place. Worse, the future is just the present, over and over again. So, if we continue to despise our present, hate our job, tolerate our kids or our spouses, believe in the worst of our neighbors and our leaders, then we condemn the future to be a reflection of today.
Can the future be a place where food insecurity does not exist in America? Can the future be a place where the faithful respect the religions of others, and glorify their god through good works and deeds? Can the future be a place where one's gender, race, age, heritage, and sexual orientation, are as innocuous as one's handedness or shoe size?
Or will wealth, individual as well as national, keep us blind to understanding?
A few days ago, I began reading it. Already, I have encountered a number of thought provoking essays and quotes.
One very interesting quote written by John Kenneth Galbraith from The Affluent Society is
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding"
Another, attributed to Jean de la Bruyere is
"We must confess that at present the rich predominate, but the future will be for the virtuous and ingenious".
Interestingly, the second quote by Bruvere was written in 1688. Makes you wonder, both, how extreme income disparity must have been in the 17th century, and how much progress has been made in the past 325 years since. I like to think that the 17th century's haves were all winners of the birth lottery; good names with established pedigrees, while the have nots were virtually everyone else not born into such lucky fortune. Assuming that is true, and that the concept of a middle class had not yet been conceived, or existed, society has made vast progress. While place of birth, economic level of one's parents, and mixture of genes and environment still influence greatly the eventual outcome of a person's success in life, there are many more homes in which one can be born which will provide moderate opportunity as compared to the all or nothing status of 1688. And, there is certainly a greater chance that a person can break through the barriers of the negative details of where one is born, due to the tremendous opportunities that capitalism and the free market provide.
Still, it is certainly not the vision of Galbraith who helped influence the programs of the 1960's and 1970's, the so called Great Society programs. His quote, to me, seems to be saying that once one becomes rich, the ability to understand the situation of all that are not, is limited. Is this not reflected in our current Congress, where most of the Senators are millionaires as are a large percentage of the House members? When it becomes so easy for them to continue tax advantages for the wealthy individuals and corporations while cutting SNAP money for those in the direst of needs, is that not their wealth impinging on their ability to understand the poorest of their constituents? (Let alone, is that not the most glaring example of how American politics and governance is certainly not as Christian as we would like to believe).
What is so mind boggling to me, is that daily, we read of rich and famous people who have serious problems, financial, marital, mental. All their money has done little to make them happy. While I certainly don't know the details of Robin Williams' recent suicide, it is common knowledge that he was drug dependent. Despite his obvious genius, despite his ability to make me laugh until I peed my pants, despite his remarkable acting skills which ranged from the most hilarious to the most dramatic, he chose to end his life. Yet, despite the obvious, despite the fact that study after study demonstrates that after a certain point, more money does not lead to more happiness, we continue to fight each other as we grasp for the gold ring. And, in opting for quick rich schemes and lottery tickets, or worse, engaging in businesses that take advantage of others to make money, whether it be senior scams or selling sub prime mortgages, we continue to build walls to the understanding that Galbraith described.
In his introduction to The Future, Lewis Lapham uses a number of points to distinguish how the future has changed in America since the 1960's. Ending racial inequality, eliminating poverty, reaching the moon were but a few of the goals of America in the days of JFK and LBJ. And these national goals were shared by many citizens. We were inspired to think that we could accomplish such feats, each doing our part individually, the goals prioritized collectively by our government.
Fear of the future now seems more prevalent than hope in its coming. The news is filled with doom, whether it be terrorists in the Middle East or climate change, the corporate mentality of profit over people or our belief that only by polluting Earth can we provide the energy we need to prosper. Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, Religious or Agnostic, no one is free from the guilt of using the fear of the future, the fear of what if we do or don't do this or that, to control the populace and increase the voting rolls or church pews.
The Future.
It was just a few seconds away as I began this post, became the present when I began this paragraph, will be the past when you read this essay.
The Future is what we make of it. Sounds elementary, I know, but if we continue to fear the future then it will be a fearful place. Worse, the future is just the present, over and over again. So, if we continue to despise our present, hate our job, tolerate our kids or our spouses, believe in the worst of our neighbors and our leaders, then we condemn the future to be a reflection of today.
Can the future be a place where food insecurity does not exist in America? Can the future be a place where the faithful respect the religions of others, and glorify their god through good works and deeds? Can the future be a place where one's gender, race, age, heritage, and sexual orientation, are as innocuous as one's handedness or shoe size?
Or will wealth, individual as well as national, keep us blind to understanding?
Monday, August 11, 2014
42, and (hopefully) counting
It's been a bit since my last post. Sorry. On vacation for a week in late July, then no time since then to catch up. My run of over 100 hits a day ended about 3 weeks after it started. No explanation for either its inception or ending. Happy for the attention though.
On vacation I was reminded of how opinion of the topics of the day can be so varied. There wasn't as much politics or social issue talk on vacation this year as some other years but what did occur among my family and the other people we encountered demonstrate the difficulty that our elected officials face in determining the course of America. Whether it was overseas conflicts, the state of our health care industry, Supreme Court rulings, income disparity, immigration, or whatever the topic, opinion just among those in attendance varied widely, split 50-50 in many cases. If an extended family with similar genes and environmental influences can have such disparity in their opinions, imagine the range when one considers the depth of differences between Americans across regions, incomes, race, intelligence, political awareness, education, etc. If nothing, we are a nation with perspectives that run the gamut, probably more so than any other country in the world. Many, including myself, frequently lament the state of partisanship and lack of cooperation and compromise, but considering how different Americans are from Maine to New Mexico, Wall Street to Main Street, perhaps we should be pleased with just how much we do accomplish when we put our minds (and wills) to task.
Which brings me to 42. For those non-baseball fans, 42 was the number worn by Jackie Robinson when he played baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He, along with the GM of the Dodgers, Branch Rickey, broke the race barrier in the 1940's. Up until then, black baseball players were restricted to playing the game with the all-black teams that dotted America at the time. Currently, there is a movie running on HBO called 42 which details the first year of Robinson's entrance into major league baseball. Of course, it is a Hollywood version of the events, but is apparently reasonably true to the real story.
For me, the pivotal scene is when Branch Rickey, played by Harrison Ford, asks Jackie (played by Chadwick Boseman) what he will do when he is spit upon, called a nigger, and exposed to the incredible racism that he will inevitably face during the upcoming year. "Will you fight back?" Rickey asks.
"Do you want someone who doesn't have the guts to fight back?", questions Robinson in a not too pleasant response. "No," says Rickey, "I want someone who has the guts not to fight back".
Think about what an incredible request this was. And, assuming Robinson complied in a manner anywhere near how it is depicted in the movie, think about how incredible this behavior was, especially during those early days in cities where, not only were there social restrictions to blacks and whites mingling, but in the South where there were actual laws against such intermixing.
And now extrapolate that incredible strength of character to the world stage. Instead of justifying "proportional retaliation" what if the offended nation chose the more difficult path of no response. Instead of revenge after attack, there was no revenge. Instead of the Old Testament "eye-for-an-eye", there was the New Testament teaching of turning the other cheek.
I know, your first response is what about Hitler? Didn't his atrocities require an immediate and physical response? I would, of course, answer yes, Hitler's clear intention of ethnic cleansing required war. But Hitler and his beliefs, his ability to motivate a nation of rational people to commit irrational acts, did not develop in a vacuum. Perhaps, after WW1 had the victors not punished the losers with economic devastation to go along with the already diminished capacity to recover via the loss of life and resources, perhaps if the Treaty of Versailles emphasized less the so called War Guilt Clause and was more like the Marshall Plan that was executed after WW2, perhaps the perceived punishments of the German people would have been short circuited and not led, in part, to the nationalism that was used by Hitler to build his Third Reich.
Perhaps it is still too much a part of the human genome to hurt after being hurt. Revenge, whether person vs person, faith vs faith, or country vs country, seems to be the first instinct, the first response. But it is not the only response, as Jackie Robinson demonstrated in 1945.
A young co-worker recently said to me that everyday he felt that the world was getting worse and worse in terms of people hurting others. I tried to explain to him that perhaps it is only because, with our advanced communication technologies, it seems that way because we hear about the atrocities more quickly and more often. Thirty years ago, would we even know about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East where thousands of people have been driven into the desert due to religious persecution? Perhaps the fact that we know about it and are horrified by it indicates that we are evolving spiritually, towards a more compassionate viewpoint of relations with others.
War is not the answer sounds like a nice sound bite, good for a bumper sticker or a t-shirt, but not as the basis for the policies of an America that seems to have enemies throughout the globe. But what if it is the drone bombings, the nation occupations, the forced change of leadership, the perception that America will get her way, no matter the cost to the people on the ground, what if our response, our refusal to learn from Jackie Robinson, that plays a role in this environment of hatred.
Restraint in the face of aggression is not an easy path to follow. But if we are serious about our belief in American exceptionalism, it can only be proved by following the more difficult paths.
On vacation I was reminded of how opinion of the topics of the day can be so varied. There wasn't as much politics or social issue talk on vacation this year as some other years but what did occur among my family and the other people we encountered demonstrate the difficulty that our elected officials face in determining the course of America. Whether it was overseas conflicts, the state of our health care industry, Supreme Court rulings, income disparity, immigration, or whatever the topic, opinion just among those in attendance varied widely, split 50-50 in many cases. If an extended family with similar genes and environmental influences can have such disparity in their opinions, imagine the range when one considers the depth of differences between Americans across regions, incomes, race, intelligence, political awareness, education, etc. If nothing, we are a nation with perspectives that run the gamut, probably more so than any other country in the world. Many, including myself, frequently lament the state of partisanship and lack of cooperation and compromise, but considering how different Americans are from Maine to New Mexico, Wall Street to Main Street, perhaps we should be pleased with just how much we do accomplish when we put our minds (and wills) to task.
Which brings me to 42. For those non-baseball fans, 42 was the number worn by Jackie Robinson when he played baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He, along with the GM of the Dodgers, Branch Rickey, broke the race barrier in the 1940's. Up until then, black baseball players were restricted to playing the game with the all-black teams that dotted America at the time. Currently, there is a movie running on HBO called 42 which details the first year of Robinson's entrance into major league baseball. Of course, it is a Hollywood version of the events, but is apparently reasonably true to the real story.
For me, the pivotal scene is when Branch Rickey, played by Harrison Ford, asks Jackie (played by Chadwick Boseman) what he will do when he is spit upon, called a nigger, and exposed to the incredible racism that he will inevitably face during the upcoming year. "Will you fight back?" Rickey asks.
"Do you want someone who doesn't have the guts to fight back?", questions Robinson in a not too pleasant response. "No," says Rickey, "I want someone who has the guts not to fight back".
Think about what an incredible request this was. And, assuming Robinson complied in a manner anywhere near how it is depicted in the movie, think about how incredible this behavior was, especially during those early days in cities where, not only were there social restrictions to blacks and whites mingling, but in the South where there were actual laws against such intermixing.
And now extrapolate that incredible strength of character to the world stage. Instead of justifying "proportional retaliation" what if the offended nation chose the more difficult path of no response. Instead of revenge after attack, there was no revenge. Instead of the Old Testament "eye-for-an-eye", there was the New Testament teaching of turning the other cheek.
I know, your first response is what about Hitler? Didn't his atrocities require an immediate and physical response? I would, of course, answer yes, Hitler's clear intention of ethnic cleansing required war. But Hitler and his beliefs, his ability to motivate a nation of rational people to commit irrational acts, did not develop in a vacuum. Perhaps, after WW1 had the victors not punished the losers with economic devastation to go along with the already diminished capacity to recover via the loss of life and resources, perhaps if the Treaty of Versailles emphasized less the so called War Guilt Clause and was more like the Marshall Plan that was executed after WW2, perhaps the perceived punishments of the German people would have been short circuited and not led, in part, to the nationalism that was used by Hitler to build his Third Reich.
Perhaps it is still too much a part of the human genome to hurt after being hurt. Revenge, whether person vs person, faith vs faith, or country vs country, seems to be the first instinct, the first response. But it is not the only response, as Jackie Robinson demonstrated in 1945.
A young co-worker recently said to me that everyday he felt that the world was getting worse and worse in terms of people hurting others. I tried to explain to him that perhaps it is only because, with our advanced communication technologies, it seems that way because we hear about the atrocities more quickly and more often. Thirty years ago, would we even know about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East where thousands of people have been driven into the desert due to religious persecution? Perhaps the fact that we know about it and are horrified by it indicates that we are evolving spiritually, towards a more compassionate viewpoint of relations with others.
War is not the answer sounds like a nice sound bite, good for a bumper sticker or a t-shirt, but not as the basis for the policies of an America that seems to have enemies throughout the globe. But what if it is the drone bombings, the nation occupations, the forced change of leadership, the perception that America will get her way, no matter the cost to the people on the ground, what if our response, our refusal to learn from Jackie Robinson, that plays a role in this environment of hatred.
Restraint in the face of aggression is not an easy path to follow. But if we are serious about our belief in American exceptionalism, it can only be proved by following the more difficult paths.
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