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This is a first. I am going to disagree with Michael Moore about something. His article "If the Mosque Isn't Built, This is No Longer America" is way over the top.
I respect Moore. I respect his films and his politics. He's a polemicist of the finest order. However, this time he went too far.
But, sometimes we on the left romanticize the hell out of our ideals. This is one of those times.
Just because you have a right to do something, that doesn't always mean you SHOULD do it. that doesn't mean you should exercise that right.
That's the point.
If Islam is about creating peace, and the purpose of this Islamic mission (if you will) is to create peace, does the building of this Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero actually achieve this objective? Will it create peace?
That is a very simple question to answer. At this point in time, the answer is no.
As I wrote the other day, sometimes an issue comes down to civil rights v. civic responsibilities. Just because you have a civil right, you must still consider whether it is the moral, responsible thing to do. Then, you must double-check your answer, asking why this is moral and responsible.
For example, was it moral or responsible for the Catholic Church to set up its mission system in California in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, disturbing the peace of the natives living there? Was it moral or responsible for the protestant churches, in particular the Methodist church, to set up Indian schools in the late 19th century, virtually kidnapping children from the reservations, cutting their hair, and forcing white, Protestant culture on them?
Asking whether our exercise of rights is responsible is something we've learned to do over time in America. It has become part of our social contract with each other for living in peace.
We ask ourselves all sorts of questions, now. Will the exercise of my rights harm someone else? Will speaking my mind, like calling someone the "N" word, or throwing my Starbucks coffee cup out the window of my car harm someone else? What should I do to serve the greater good and keep the civil peace? How should I act? Which exercise of my rights will do more harm than good?
Those questions are harder to answer, but I think we must still answer them before acting. Wouldn't you agree?
For example, going back to Michael's classic film, Roger and Me, did GM have the right to close its plant in Flint, MI? Sure! Absolutely! No question! But, should it have? Was it the responsible thing to do for the community or, in retrospect, the stockholders? Absolutely not! It decimated a whole community, and it didn't help GM in the long-run one bit. In the long-run, GM went bankrupt. It proved immoral, irresponsible, and bad business at the same time. (Funny how that happened.)
Rights v. responsibilities. It's a fine line sometimes. We should acknowledge our duty to preserve the former, for all, including Imam Rauf and his congregation, while being mindful of the latter. And, we should never let personal, religious, or group pride stand in the way of a caring, loving, and peacemaking answer.
To quote from a good book, but not the only book, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God" Matthew 5:9. I think they got that one right.
From your obedient servant...
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Update to Yesterday's Blog Article
You've no doubt learned that cult leader Terry Jones, who said yesterday he would not burn the Qur'ans and had worked out a deal with Imam Rauf in New York about building the mosque near Ground Zero, was talking through is delusion. That's a nice way of saying he was talking out his ass.
The Imam said he never heard from the man and had not agreed with anyone to move the mosque.
Evidently, civic responsibility has lost again. It's a shame. And shame on men whose pride or, perhaps, delusions are stronger than their sense of a broader need, a broader community.
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
The Imam said he never heard from the man and had not agreed with anyone to move the mosque.
Evidently, civic responsibility has lost again. It's a shame. And shame on men whose pride or, perhaps, delusions are stronger than their sense of a broader need, a broader community.
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Of Mosques, Burning Qur'ans, and Rights v. Responsibilities
This will be an odd article. Usually, I discuss economics and rights, here, and how they intersect. Today, however, I'm going to discuss something unusual, especially for Americans. Instead of civil rights, I'm going to discuss civic responsibilities.
At the moment, you are undoubtedly aware of two issues in the news: the proposed controversial mosque to be built near Ground Zero (9/11) in Manhattan by Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, and the proposed burning of the Qur'an by radical cult leader Rev. Terry Jones.
Just moments ago, I learned from ABC News that cult leader Jones has called off his planned book burning. It also reports that Jones, as he reports, has spoken with Imam Rauf, who has agreed to not build the mosque near Ground Zero. Jones says he and Rauf will meet in Manhattan on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the September 11 massacres, and talk.
First, if the ABC story is true, this is a significant moment in US history. Cooler heads have prevailed. I'm not sure why or how they came to this sensible choice, but they have.
This brings me to the original intention of this discussion.
The choice for both men and their respective congregations was seemingly paradoxical. It was between the exercise of civil rights and civic responsibilities. The issue at hand is that, at times, we must choose between civil rights and doing what is right. And, these are not always the same thing.
Civil rights include things like speaking freely, voting, being safe in our papers and persons (including civil peace and personal privacy), and worshiping a deity or not as we see fit.
Civic responsibilities include things like each of us keeping the peace, going to war to preserve our nation, not polluting, and not using our rights when it serves a greater good.
The civically responsible thing for cult leader Jones to do is not burn the Qur'an. Though he and his flock have the right to do so, they have a responsibility to the greater good not to do so. The civically responsible thing for Imam Rauf to do is not build the mosque near Ground Zero. Though he and his flock have the right to do so, as NY city zoning laws tell us they do, they have a responsibility to the greater good not to do so.
In the US, though, the line between rights and responsibilities has always been skewed. It usually veers off, at least philosophically if not in reality, in favor of personal rights. This bias comes from the flames of tyranny in which our nation was born and reborn, Phoenix-like, out of the ashes of Europeans subjugated by a king, Indian nations conquered by federal troops, Africans enslaved by Massachusettans and southern whites, a whole nation enslaved by the 10th amendment, and the majority of people continually repressed by industrialists.
These rights are considered so important, we and our forebears have spelled them out as best we could in our federal and state constitutions.
However, for these rights to be preserved, for these rights to continue to exist, each of us must defend them.
Ah ha!
With written-down rights come written-down, but, more rightly, implied responsibilities. We find them written down in the preamble to the Constitution. Government must provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity (future generations).
Yet in order for government to do these things and for the Bill of Rights to be in force at all in our democratic republic, the people must provide and defend them. The latter, defense of rights, flows naturally from the former, the existence of rights. It is just common sense.
Next, for government of the people to be secure, prosperous, and rights-bearing, we must defend the government that defends the rights. In a democratic republic, the people are supposed to both form and defend the government. So, here we find a second implied responsibility: national defense.
Let's look at a few other written-down rights. We are told our bodies, stuff (papers), homes, and privacy have a right to be secure. In other words, we have a right to have peace within our country, within our lives. And, common sense tells us we are responsible for providing and keeping the peace.
The how for keeping the peace, however, is not spelled out. Perhaps the founders thought that each new generation would figure that out for themselves, based on their needs. Perhaps they thought we would understand that, at times, peace is created by forgoing the exercise of our rights, that we have a responsibility to consider and work for the greater good, bypassing use of these rights when they will not create the greater good.
Regardless of what the founders thought, on a practical level, we have to find a way to be at peace with each other. And, as the Buddha supposedly said, "To move forward, one must always give up something." I think he meant that in a karmic sense, but I think it works in the physical world, too.
It seems the way to be at peace in society is sometimes found by not exercising civil rights when it is the civically responsible thing to do. Not always, but sometimes.
And, this is most definitely one of those sometimes.
If the ABC story is true, I am glad. It seems these two men put aside their pride and rights claims, and yielded to a greater responsibility. They found the proper balance between rights and responsibilities, and the world and our nation are better for it.
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
At the moment, you are undoubtedly aware of two issues in the news: the proposed controversial mosque to be built near Ground Zero (9/11) in Manhattan by Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, and the proposed burning of the Qur'an by radical cult leader Rev. Terry Jones.
Just moments ago, I learned from ABC News that cult leader Jones has called off his planned book burning. It also reports that Jones, as he reports, has spoken with Imam Rauf, who has agreed to not build the mosque near Ground Zero. Jones says he and Rauf will meet in Manhattan on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the September 11 massacres, and talk.
First, if the ABC story is true, this is a significant moment in US history. Cooler heads have prevailed. I'm not sure why or how they came to this sensible choice, but they have.
This brings me to the original intention of this discussion.
The choice for both men and their respective congregations was seemingly paradoxical. It was between the exercise of civil rights and civic responsibilities. The issue at hand is that, at times, we must choose between civil rights and doing what is right. And, these are not always the same thing.
Civil rights include things like speaking freely, voting, being safe in our papers and persons (including civil peace and personal privacy), and worshiping a deity or not as we see fit.
Civic responsibilities include things like each of us keeping the peace, going to war to preserve our nation, not polluting, and not using our rights when it serves a greater good.
The civically responsible thing for cult leader Jones to do is not burn the Qur'an. Though he and his flock have the right to do so, they have a responsibility to the greater good not to do so. The civically responsible thing for Imam Rauf to do is not build the mosque near Ground Zero. Though he and his flock have the right to do so, as NY city zoning laws tell us they do, they have a responsibility to the greater good not to do so.
In the US, though, the line between rights and responsibilities has always been skewed. It usually veers off, at least philosophically if not in reality, in favor of personal rights. This bias comes from the flames of tyranny in which our nation was born and reborn, Phoenix-like, out of the ashes of Europeans subjugated by a king, Indian nations conquered by federal troops, Africans enslaved by Massachusettans and southern whites, a whole nation enslaved by the 10th amendment, and the majority of people continually repressed by industrialists.
These rights are considered so important, we and our forebears have spelled them out as best we could in our federal and state constitutions.
However, for these rights to be preserved, for these rights to continue to exist, each of us must defend them.
Ah ha!
With written-down rights come written-down, but, more rightly, implied responsibilities. We find them written down in the preamble to the Constitution. Government must provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity (future generations).
Yet in order for government to do these things and for the Bill of Rights to be in force at all in our democratic republic, the people must provide and defend them. The latter, defense of rights, flows naturally from the former, the existence of rights. It is just common sense.
Next, for government of the people to be secure, prosperous, and rights-bearing, we must defend the government that defends the rights. In a democratic republic, the people are supposed to both form and defend the government. So, here we find a second implied responsibility: national defense.
Let's look at a few other written-down rights. We are told our bodies, stuff (papers), homes, and privacy have a right to be secure. In other words, we have a right to have peace within our country, within our lives. And, common sense tells us we are responsible for providing and keeping the peace.
The how for keeping the peace, however, is not spelled out. Perhaps the founders thought that each new generation would figure that out for themselves, based on their needs. Perhaps they thought we would understand that, at times, peace is created by forgoing the exercise of our rights, that we have a responsibility to consider and work for the greater good, bypassing use of these rights when they will not create the greater good.
Regardless of what the founders thought, on a practical level, we have to find a way to be at peace with each other. And, as the Buddha supposedly said, "To move forward, one must always give up something." I think he meant that in a karmic sense, but I think it works in the physical world, too.
It seems the way to be at peace in society is sometimes found by not exercising civil rights when it is the civically responsible thing to do. Not always, but sometimes.
And, this is most definitely one of those sometimes.
If the ABC story is true, I am glad. It seems these two men put aside their pride and rights claims, and yielded to a greater responsibility. They found the proper balance between rights and responsibilities, and the world and our nation are better for it.
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
An Open Letter to Moderate and Blue Dog Democrats
So, here we are. Though voters profoundly distrust the GOP and any possibility it can rescue the economy, the NBC News-Wall Street Journal Poll released this morning shows, if the November election were held today, GOP candidates would win with a nine point lead.
I'm sure moderate and Blue Dog Democrats are sitting out there at the head of the Democratic Party wondering, "what happened?" As a member of the democratic wing of the Democratic Party, let me tell you what happened.
In an attempt to be all things to all people, you chose to live through a hurricane by standing on the middle ground. Despite all the power you held, you chose to be ineffectual and, thus, inconsequential. Rather than heroes, you chose to be caretakers.
Why?
You wanted to win reelection. That was more important than doing what you were elected to do.
Though it's never meant to be malicious, incompetence rarely is, when Democrats are carried by weak leadership, they get their clocks cleaned in mid-term elections.
It's a fact of history. Think about the mid-term election in 1946, when Republicans joked, "I wonder what Truman would do if he were alive?" We suddenly had a Republican congress.
Remember 1994, when Newtie and the Blowhards unveiled their Contract "on" (my word) America to topple the "Billary" Administration? Again, you got your clock cleaned! (Fortunately, Bill got the message and had some measure of success after.)
See, people interpret the lack of action as indifference. As Plato taught us, the opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference. And, people always see indifference as hostile and arrogant.
And how do voters react to indifference?
They punish!
So, for all you moderates and Blue Dogs who think the democratic wing of the Democratic party is too radical and, as a result, ineffectual, remember this. To create real, measurable progressive change:
Well, maybe not. (And, maybe this will teach the left to stick to its guns in the future.)
And, what did you do?
You squandered it!
You began every policy initiative from the point of compromise, and you negotiated your caucus into making half-assed GOP policy.
The result?
How do you respond?
In the last few weeks, to express the severity of our GOP-induced economic downfall and persisting coma, the president decided to use a middling, mitigated metaphor, saying, "The Republicans drove the economy into a ditch."
Into a ditch!!! Are you nuts?
Driving us into a ditch is something we call AAA for. They come out with the tow truck, pull us out, maybe change a blown tire or two, and send us on our way. It's not something we spend a trillion-dollar shot of adrenaline on to restart the economy's heart.
No, the truth is, in true Roadrunner and Coyote fashion, the GOP used an ACME Corp contraption, the tax cut for the rich, to catapult the economy off a cliff into a seemingly bottomless pit, and they won't even let us deploy a parachute or grappling hook to try and stop the descent!!!
There's your metaphor!
Bush, Boehner, and McConnell blew up the economy with a budget-obliterating nuclear bomb! They're pumping the middle class for every last blood-like dollar and sticking it into the pockets of their corporate fat-cat buddies. They want to be the lords and us the peasant workers!
But, no. Our president chooses to squeak like a mouse rather than clang like a klaxon.
Despite the successes of 2008, won with Dr. Dean's 50-state strategy, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the PAC moderates and Blue Dogs control and to which I will not contribute a dime, is now working to save their own candidates while abandoning progressives and the liberal reforms we support, saying, "Oh, they simply cannot win in this environment."
My interpretation is simple. They opt to save the power they hold within the party while losing the country. They choose to save their own asses rather than our jobs.
And, I got news for you, moderates and Blue Dogs! You sure as hell can't win in the environment you helped create, not without our help!
What the heck do you expect voters to do, Conserv-o-Dems, but throw you and your parochial politics of self-preserving pablum out of office?
There is no effective moderate position. There is no way to move forward from the middle of the road. Indeed, the only recognizable things we find in the middle of any road are live weeds and dead animals.
This year, because moderate and Blue Dog Democrats ignored voters' desperate pleas since November 2008, one of those dying animals appears to be a right-leaning donkey.
Only, it wasn't hit by a motor vehicle headed for a ditch. It was hit by a ballot box thrown by an angry voter reacting to its obstinate, self-serving indifference, as he or she plunged off a bridge into unemployment's abyss.
So, if you thought voters were angry in 2008, now they want to kill the wabbit. And, dear moderate and Blue Dog Dems, this year you're the wabbit!
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
I'm sure moderate and Blue Dog Democrats are sitting out there at the head of the Democratic Party wondering, "what happened?" As a member of the democratic wing of the Democratic Party, let me tell you what happened.
In an attempt to be all things to all people, you chose to live through a hurricane by standing on the middle ground. Despite all the power you held, you chose to be ineffectual and, thus, inconsequential. Rather than heroes, you chose to be caretakers.
Why?
You wanted to win reelection. That was more important than doing what you were elected to do.
Though it's never meant to be malicious, incompetence rarely is, when Democrats are carried by weak leadership, they get their clocks cleaned in mid-term elections.
It's a fact of history. Think about the mid-term election in 1946, when Republicans joked, "I wonder what Truman would do if he were alive?" We suddenly had a Republican congress.
Remember 1994, when Newtie and the Blowhards unveiled their Contract "on" (my word) America to topple the "Billary" Administration? Again, you got your clock cleaned! (Fortunately, Bill got the message and had some measure of success after.)
See, people interpret the lack of action as indifference. As Plato taught us, the opposite of love is not hate; it is indifference. And, people always see indifference as hostile and arrogant.
And how do voters react to indifference?
They punish!
So, for all you moderates and Blue Dogs who think the democratic wing of the Democratic party is too radical and, as a result, ineffectual, remember this. To create real, measurable progressive change:
- We helped you win huge in 2008.
- We helped you win all that good will and hope (remember hope?).
- We went along with your policy initiatives, despite disagreeing with their lack of depth or breadth, rationalizing our actions by saying, "It's better to get something than nothing."
Well, maybe not. (And, maybe this will teach the left to stick to its guns in the future.)
And, what did you do?
You squandered it!
You began every policy initiative from the point of compromise, and you negotiated your caucus into making half-assed GOP policy.
The result?
- First, the economy continues plodding along in, as Paul Krugman suggests, a depression, not a recession. (Adopting GOP-like policies, it's no wonder!)
- Next, unemployment continues to rise despite the contortions of statistical logic called the "unemployment index," which tells only about 55% of the unemployment and underemployment story.
- Worst of all, the trade deficit continues unabated, with all that capital flowing endlessly out of our national economy.
How do you respond?
In the last few weeks, to express the severity of our GOP-induced economic downfall and persisting coma, the president decided to use a middling, mitigated metaphor, saying, "The Republicans drove the economy into a ditch."
Into a ditch!!! Are you nuts?
Driving us into a ditch is something we call AAA for. They come out with the tow truck, pull us out, maybe change a blown tire or two, and send us on our way. It's not something we spend a trillion-dollar shot of adrenaline on to restart the economy's heart.
No, the truth is, in true Roadrunner and Coyote fashion, the GOP used an ACME Corp contraption, the tax cut for the rich, to catapult the economy off a cliff into a seemingly bottomless pit, and they won't even let us deploy a parachute or grappling hook to try and stop the descent!!!
There's your metaphor!
Bush, Boehner, and McConnell blew up the economy with a budget-obliterating nuclear bomb! They're pumping the middle class for every last blood-like dollar and sticking it into the pockets of their corporate fat-cat buddies. They want to be the lords and us the peasant workers!
But, no. Our president chooses to squeak like a mouse rather than clang like a klaxon.
Despite the successes of 2008, won with Dr. Dean's 50-state strategy, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the PAC moderates and Blue Dogs control and to which I will not contribute a dime, is now working to save their own candidates while abandoning progressives and the liberal reforms we support, saying, "Oh, they simply cannot win in this environment."
My interpretation is simple. They opt to save the power they hold within the party while losing the country. They choose to save their own asses rather than our jobs.
And, I got news for you, moderates and Blue Dogs! You sure as hell can't win in the environment you helped create, not without our help!
What the heck do you expect voters to do, Conserv-o-Dems, but throw you and your parochial politics of self-preserving pablum out of office?
There is no effective moderate position. There is no way to move forward from the middle of the road. Indeed, the only recognizable things we find in the middle of any road are live weeds and dead animals.
This year, because moderate and Blue Dog Democrats ignored voters' desperate pleas since November 2008, one of those dying animals appears to be a right-leaning donkey.
Only, it wasn't hit by a motor vehicle headed for a ditch. It was hit by a ballot box thrown by an angry voter reacting to its obstinate, self-serving indifference, as he or she plunged off a bridge into unemployment's abyss.
So, if you thought voters were angry in 2008, now they want to kill the wabbit. And, dear moderate and Blue Dog Dems, this year you're the wabbit!
--- What was the original American Aurora? The Aurora was a newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin Bache , a grandson of Benjamin Franklin. The Aurora was published in Philadelphia, our nation's capitol at the time.
The Aurora was highly critical of what Bache felt was the tyrannous Federalist governments of presidents Washington and Adams.
The result? Adams imprisoned Bache for sedition, where he languished, awaiting trial, until his death from yellow fever at age 29.
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