Michelle Obama scolds Gabby Douglas

In this country, the news gets produced and we are all complicit in that production.  Want an example?  Michelle Obama appears on the Jay Leno Show with Gabby Douglas.  Gabby Douglas makes a comment about eating an Egg McMuffin at McDonalds and the first lady makes a joke.  She's really teasing Leno and not Gabby.  Somebody who is "exposing and combating liberal media bias"  reports exactly those facts, and then plasters on this headline: "Michelle Obama scolds Olympic hero Gabby Douglas for eating an Egg McMuffin."  (A Scolding)  Next, folks read the headline without glancing at the article and start criticizing the fat socialist un-American First Lady for attacking a true American hero.  It's really pretty sad.  And just to be clear, that headline is a lie.  The folks who read it without caring enough to read the story let alone do five seconds of internet research perpetuate the lie.  And the rest of us who do nothing about it, even when much more is at stake than an Egg McMuffin, have no one but ourselves to blame.

Enough is Enough

I’ve had about enough.  Haven’t you?  The time has come to demand some changes in American politics. 

First of all, a bit of respect, humility, and empathy need to be interjected into the debate … into every debate.  We need to stop tolerating the use of insults and snide remarks, whether they come from political candidates or ordinary folks on the internet.  I’m not evil, un-American, or a socialist because I disagree with you. 

Second, we need to follow up with a rediscovery of cooperation, collaboration, and compromise.   Why have we allowed working together to get such a bad name?  Problems don’t get solved if we don’t work together to solve them … the position taken by the House of Representatives over the last two years makes this pretty clear.   

Third, people need to be reminded about the importance of evidence.  If you don’t have it, you need to be told to stop.  The Sikh temple in Wisconsin was not attacked by the government seeking to discredit the NRA.  No one wants to kill off old people.  The President is not waiting for just the right time to open up welfare to anybody who wants it regardless of what they do.  In the end, this one is on all of us.  If you require evidence before you buy into a claim, people making claims will have to provide it.

Fourth, we need to insist upon the use of logic and reason.  Evidence is great stuff, but if you can’t process it accurately what use is it?  If the financial crisis was caused by insufficient and/or ineffective regulation, does it make sense to respond with a push for deregulation and small government.  Does it make sense to assert, against the scientific consensus, that evolution is unlikely or climate change is illusory?  Logic needs to trump ideology.  If it doesn’t, the result will be … illogical. 

Fifth, when elected politicians, business leaders, lobbyists, reporters, and others lie they need to be called on it.  Now, folks are sending out lies, watching them rip across the news and internet landscapes changing opinions and helping to win elections among other things, and then avoiding any real consequences for having told them.  This needs to stop.  And while it may well be unstoppable, it seems like the attempt would be rather worthwhile.

Sixth,we have to keep an eye on the long term impacts of what we do in the here and now.  Job creation is great, but what kind of jobs are we talking about and at what price do they come?  Taxes are horrible … unless there is a benefit to be had from improved infrastructure and reliable social services.  The present is important, but so is the future.

If we were to put a priority on these six things, everything could be different.  It seems to me like it’s worth a shot.  Whatever we are doing now certainly isn’t working.

Shhhh ... I'm Talking About a Revolution

I’ve had about enough.  Haven’t you?  It is way past time to change the tenor of the discussion on a host of issues.  First of all, a bit of respect and humility needs to be interjected into the debate … into every debate.  We need to stop tolerating the use of insults and snide remarks, whether they come from political candidates or ordinary folks on the internet.  We need to be more empathetic (now that’s a family value worth talking about).  Second, we need to follow up with a rediscovery of cooperation, collaboration, and compromise.   Why have we allowed working together to get such a bad name?  Individual rights are wonderful things, but we don’t have to fight to the death on every issue to maintain them and we can’t forget that in the end we are a society and not just a random gathering of individuals.  Third, we need to insist upon the use of logic and reason.  If you want to insist that evolution is unproven and we have no impact on our environment, you should be laughed out of public life.  If you want to make an argument, you simply have to support your conclusion with real premises.  You have to offer some proof.   It should never be enough to attack your opponent’s patriotism or play on peoples fear by invoking bogeymen like big government.  Fourth, we have to keep an eye on the long term impacts of what we do in the here and now.  Job creation is great, but what kind of jobs are we talking about and at what price do they come?  If we were to put a priority on these four things, everything could be different.  It seems to me like it’s worth a shot.  Whatever we are doing now certainly isn’t working.  So, I am on a new crusade.  I want to encourage folks to insist on empathy, cooperation and compromise, logic and reason, and consideration of the big picture.  To put it simply, we deserve at least that much.   

How to Comment on a Political Issue

Before you make a comment on something whether on-line or in person, why don’t you try doing these few things.  First, listen to or read whatever it is you are commenting on.  Second, actually try to understand what you just listened to.  Third, assume that the person or persons responsible for whatever you are responding to are reasonable people with legitimate interests, concerns, and viewpoints.  Fourth, think about what you want to say.  Fifth, imagine including all those nasty and snarky comments, and then don’t actually include them.  Sixth, come up with a conclusion and evidence that supports it.  Seventh and last, don’t plug up your ears and/or cover your eyes when you open your mouth or start typing on the keyboard.   It might seem like a pain to do all of this, but having to read your comments when you don’t sucks too.

True Love For America

The United States of America is unique.  It is one of a kind.  It’s not uniquely free, however.  It’s not uniquely democratic.  It’s not uniquely just or right.  It’s not uniquely educated or prosperous or crime free.  It’s certainly not uniquely old … or uniquely new for that matter.  What sets America apart isn’t any of this stuff … what sets America apart is its extreme diversity.  No other country can boast about such radical religious, cultural, racial, or ideological diversity.  It is the contributions of all these folks that have made this country strong, prosperous, innovative, and interesting.  Now, this diversity hasn’t always been celebrated.  In fact, America’s history is a history of resistance to this diversity.  It is a history that includes slavery, internment camps, hate crimes, lynchings, and border fences.  Nonetheless, the diversity persists.  I think that is a wonderful thing.  I love America not despite but because of its Chinatowns, its rainbow flags, its store signs in Spanish, its temples and its mosques, its soul food and its sushi, its blues and country music, its fasting and its festivals.  If you don’t … then you don’t really love America. 

Blind Love

Your wife is the most beautiful woman in the world.  Your son is a combination of Einstein, Pele, Yo Yo Ma, and Bono.  Your hometown team is always on the verge of the Super Bowl.  So, naturally, your country is number one too.  It is a beacon of freedom.  It is all powerful and all desired.  How could it be any other way?  How could it be … except, of course, it is.  More than forty countries have lower infant mortality rates than the United States.  More than twenty five countries have lower homicide rates.  The US ranks in the low twenties in life expectancy.  The United States gets an “average” ranking from the OECD in terms of education.  We aren’t tops in literacy.  We are fifth in the use of the death penalty, behind only Yemen, North Korea, Iran, and China.  The bottom line … we aren’t number one.  The fact that I recognize this doesn’t mean I hate the United States.  My kid is not going to be Michael Jordan … he’s three and I’m already fairly sure of that.  That doesn’t mean I love him any less.  I will be a Detroit Lions fan until the day I die, but I have never once thought they were on the verge of winning the Super Bowl.  Recognizing that the United States doesn’t get everything right, or lately much at all, doesn’t mean I don’t love the place.  It just means I see it for what it is … and love what it is.  That’s more important when it comes to countries and children than it is football teams … because while there isn’t much I can do to make the Lions better I can help my children to succeed (although there is probably little I can do to help my son snag an NBA contract) and I can help solve the problems facing my country.  Before I can help my country, or my children for that matter, I have to be able to admit that something is wrong.  That doesn’t mean I don’t love my country.  On the contrary, it probably helps to prove it.

It's Constitutional Bitches

There is a problem with Patrick Gaspard’s tweet.  It’s not the course language, however.  I’m not bothered by swear words.  I’ve always been more interested in substance … and frankly I enjoy peppering my speech, and even writing with, more than a few choice words.   Why the hell not?  I’m also not overly concerned that Gaspard’s tweet will serve to stir up and unite Republican opposition.  They’re pretty stirred up already. 

The problem is that this comment by the Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee just plays into the high school football narrative that has been allowed to linger far too long.  This shouldn’t be about which side wins.  The main goal shouldn’t be too crush the liberals or the conservatives.  We don’t need pep rallies and cheerleaders.  We need meetings and mediations, logic and reason, listening … Sure you want your party to succeed, but what happened to focusing on whether or not we fix the problems that are facing us, among them a health care system that every serious person agrees is broken?  Republicans have been focused on denying Obama any sort of success on health care, or anything else for that matter, seemingly unconcerned with any negative effects that approach might have on the country.  It didn’t matter if he borrowed their general approach or essentially compromised with himself when he sought out the middle ground.  Democrats in the House were initially pretty unconcerned with listening to any legitimate Republican concerns, or with compromising … they had the majority, why would they compromise?  Compromise and collaboration are signs of weakness after all … ineffective and inessential distractions that make you less likely to be victorious.

The goal isn’t to solve the health care problem.  The problem is to use the debate over health care to destroy the other side.  Someone serious about solving problems would have been happy with the Court’s decision because a framework for helping fix our medical system had been left in place.  The focus would not be on who won or lost.  It would not be on gloating or trying to deny credit.  The focus would be on how to alter and add to the new framework in the manner that most fits with one’s approach to fixing the problems facing American and improving America’s future prospects.   The focus would be on solving problems.  Unfortunately, that’s not where the focus is now.  And that is nothing to celebrate.