Why Can’t the President Speak for Himself:

There is doubt and suspicion over Donald Trump’s conduct before and after the 2016 Election.  Do we need answers to such a doubt and suspicion and my answer to such a question would be YES.  The easiest way forward to resolve the conduct of Mr. Trump is to have him testify  under oath before appropriate grand juries in either D.C. or New York.  I would also include Congressional Committees that have legitimate responsibility of oversight over the executive branch taking actions to resolve questions of culpability in proper Constitutional behavior by this Administration.  Do we understand what it means to have a liberal government and make note this is a lower case (l) and not the politicize view of a (L)?  A liberal government is one whose powers are limited by law guaranteeing specific rights to its citizens to preserve their individual civil and political rights.  I don’t think that a belief as this in a country such as ours would find serious disagreement with this premise.  We may disagree on policy and processes on how an egalitarian government ought to operate and guarantee rights to its citizens.  Yet, we must be careful that we don’t cross the line from a free egalitarian government to authoritarianism. 

A Sad Day and One of Misinformation

To say truth is not truth and then to continue deception in our national discourse not only confuses and frustrates the American Electorate.  Why the Majority Leader in the Senate refuses to allow a vote on protecting the Special Counsel should raise questions that may bring obstruction of justice into the center of a Constitutional Crisis as well as validating an individual who has not been confirmed by the Senate.  It seems that both Congressional and Constitutional norms are being ignored by both our President and Congress.

Facing Mortality

We have discussed mortality since man took his first step into our own human existence and attempted to understand what that means to us.  Life is followed by Death and that process which is ever present in our humanity can not be ignored yet I know of few who welcome it.  As I age and I witness the passing of friends who have been a real presence in my life, I do not regret their passing as much as I will feel the loss of the light they had brought into our world and my life.  Dylan Thomas’ writing has been challenging for many of us yet as he does in this poem whose challenge between the light and the dark continues.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

By Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night, 

Old age should burn and rage at close of day; 

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. 

Though wise men at their end know dark is right, 

Because their words had forked no lightning they 

Do not go gentle into that good night. 

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright 

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, 

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. 

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, 

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, 

Do not go gentle into that good night. 

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight 

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, 

Rage, rage against the dying of the light. 

And you, my father, there on the sad height, 

Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. 

Do not go gentle into that good night. 

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Nationalism or Patriotism

I do not believe that these are synonymous terms or beliefs nor should they be viewed as such.  Nationalism or ethnocentrism (the inherent belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture) implies a norm that is a contradiction of any concept of egalitarian democracy and especially how democratic thought and the rule of law evolved in the United States.  The comments of President Macron should be viewed in the causes and aftermath of World War I.  I think there are very few individuals with an elemental understanding of the “Great War” who would deny that nationalism, militarism, conflicting systems of alliances as well as imperialism were the underlying causes of World War I.  When you consider the secret agreements between various allied powers but not all dividing the territory of the Central Powers especially in the  Middle East and Africa which still haunts us today, it shows the destructive nature of nationalism.  I am very disappointed with our President in not honoring the Americans who died and served in a pivotal struggle that failed to bring a lasting peace to the world.   This failure to bring about a peace based on democratic norms led to the outbreak of a more destructive war in another 20 years.  I can’t help but support the words of Emmanuel Macron and regret the political and patriotic absence of our President.

The Day After: What Kind of Leadership Did We See

Watching the President’s Press Conference was a painful process and a reaffirmation of his innate racism and belief in White Nationalism that poses the worst threat to the moral evil and sickness whose emergence we have not seen in this nation since Ante Bellum America in the 19th Century.  There was a refusal on the part of our national leadership to recognize the rejection of one Congressional District after another that became so apparent in the childish juvenile reaction to Republican members of the House who refused to embrace him or his agenda.  Where are we two years after the election of this man as President?  Someone should speak out and criticize me for the use of the word “election” which we did not see in 2016 when Donald Trump lost that election by three million votes of American citizens.  Though he was selected by an antiquated ‘electoral college’ that denies the democratic belief of one person one vote that should be central to any egalitarian democracy.  What we have seen since 2016 is the permission of an undercurrent and divisive racism that does not want to say “Make America Great Again” but “Make America White Again”.  I don’t need to remind Americans who have made a home and found opportunity in this land that America is and has always been “Great”.  Let us not fall into the ignorance of scapegoating minorities and falling into the trap of personality that destroys our personal independence and respect for our fellow man.

White Privilege

I have written about the persistence of this reality before even as we are approaching the end of the second decade of the 21st Century.  I am saddened and disappointed that the ugly face of racism is able to so easily insert itself in our society and especially our political discourse.  We ought to be introspective and honest about how in 2018 our nation has allowed the worst aspects of racism and the ‘Jim Crow Era’ to reappear and become acceptable issues that most of us had thought were put to sleep more than 50 years ago.  To understand and appreciate the legacy of different periods of American History and Culture you must take the time and effort to read and search out the diversity that has made us a truly great nation.  I would challenge our President to take the Advance Placement Test on American History offered by the College Board to high-school students.  I suppose that is unfair to ask and is actually begging the question of whether our national leadership has an underlying understanding of how the racial divisiveness, poverty, homelessness as well as alienation from American Society as a whole affects so many citizens.  Yet, I believe that racism beyond any other issue should be the driving force in the midterm elections tomorrow coupled with a resounding rejection of White Supremacy.  You may disagree with my views but it is still important that you exercise your franchise as your conscience guides you.

The Importance of a Midterm Vote

It is difficult especially when you live in a “Battleground State” to know how to respond to the continuous and insistent political advertisements/propaganda that many of us have been subjected to as we approach the November 6th midterm election.  Every individual citizen should have the independence to exercise their franchise without the confusion of lies and misinformation that far too many voters face as they attempt to make a far reaching decision.  Yet, our votes in 2018 more so than 2016 are truly local but they have also have a national significance since it is an election based on the egalitarian democratic principle of one person one vote.  This is not the place or time to debate the relevance of the antiquated Electoral College in modern national elections.  We have issues that present serious and life surviving concerns to each of us.  My brother recently visiting from Kansas City reminded me that especially in an aging population we all face the possibility of a pre-existing condition.  I don’t think this nation desires to turn its back our backs on our neighbors and friends allowing preventable deaths to occur.  When our Representatives and Senators swear an oath to defend and protect the Constitution, a central part of that oath and pledge is to the Common Good of the American People clearly stated in the preamble of the Constitution.

Questions of Individual Rights

It is a sad and a suffering day to see the indifference from national leadership in this country to ignore their oath of office to support and defend the U.S. Constitution.  What is even more unforgivable is the lack of understanding of Constitutional Authority that both the Executive Branch or any other part of government possesses. If the President through Executive Order can outlaw birthright citizenship, why can he not diminish further protections guaranteed to all citizens under our Constitution.  If you accept the President’s line of thinking over his personal authority through Executive Orders, then what is there to prevent arbitrary action to suspend both legislative and judicial guarantees under the ‘Separation of Powers’ which are egalitarian foundations inherent within our government.  Be careful of those who do not read or study our History and the Essence of our Constitutional Government.

Moral Sight

What responsibility do you assume from the influence you have on others through various social contacts and relationships with many who hold you in esteem for one reason or another?  Simple Answer - I would say “ NONE”.  Yet, I would ask you as well as myself to consider the urgency and importance of what comes from our spoken words that can have an impact on individuals who can be influenced or impressed by them.  That is always the conundrum when making the decision to speak out on any issue that you view as right or wrong.  Then there is the alternative to ignore the truth of what you see as a moral reality.  Sight and what we see some might say is relative or is it?  What we see and believe can be or probably should be significant in our lives.  Why or what turned my thoughts to dwell on such ideas as sight and belief.  It has been on my mind since I heard the Gospel at church this morning.

Mark 10:46-52 (NRSV)

Jesus and his disciples came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Sight does not necessarily come to us by divine intervention but our belief and recognition of moral right can inspire us to see the world in which we wish to live.  It is, I hope, one that is not filled with racial and religious fear and hatred.

Too Much Hate

10.27.18 - What Does Today Mean

The tragedy of today’s attack on a Jewish Community in Pittsburgh is an attack on American Values and our Constitution.  Religious and Racial bigotry have no place in our political discourse which we have been told has no place in America yet it exists and continues to be a part of intentional abuse and prejudice within our society.  We as a nation and a people need to consider what we expect from national leadership when eleven of our neighbors and fellow citizens lie dead because of their religious beliefs.  I believe it must be more than arming houses of worship and forcing fellow worshippers to be screened by metal detectors.  Why do we have to consider such tactics and not as a civil society look at how such events can be avoided?  Humanity should be at the center of our thoughts and prayers if we wish a sane and heartfelt individual and not an abhorrent soul leading us into the future.  When we look back at our recent past, where the focus of our government continued to be on immigration and not on pipe bombs sent to critics of the President of whom some were former Presidents but for some reason don’t seem to be considered “Hate Crimes” and I wonder why.  I praise the fast and effective actions of law enforcement on behalf of the Jewish Community in Pittsburgh but I also wonder why pipe bombs intended to harm both former Presidents Clinton and Obama are not considered “Hate Crimes”.  It is a strange distinction that is being made by the President.  Why couldn’t he speak as forthrightly against potential attacks of Democratic critics of his policies.  You may not see it but I see a very selective perspective of political attacks by the President.

Life and Mortality

We have an election in less than two weeks and I can’t help but pause and wonder what meaning it holds for my life and the happiness of those who are near and dear to me.

“How happy is the little Stone
That rambles in the Road alone,
And doesn’t care about Careers
And Exigencies never fears —
Whose Coat of elemental Brown
A passing Universe put on,
And independent as the Sun
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute Decree
In casual simplicity”

This short poem by Emily Dickinson is one that could be so easily embraced by any of us to conceive of a life free from stress and a world full of hope where the transitory evil and foolishness of man does not appear to threaten the mortal grace that is left to each of us.  We need to be freed from fear and discover the wisdom that can be found in individual weakness.  Perfection is an aspiration that none of us possess but we can all strive to be better in an imperfect world.  My prayer and hope for November 6th as we exercise our franchise that we search our hearts for individuals in all their humility desire a world that is better that what we had yesterday and is full of hope for tomorrow.