Current Event – Page 79 – intramuralist ™

02/23/2016

best recent stories

With the plethora of polarizing stories in Washington these days (and with the Intramuralist taking a few extra days to invest in intentional respite), I found the following to be the more encouraging reports of the week. While aspects of each sometimes serve cause for annoyance for some — missing the bigger picture, I believe — the reality is that the bottom line of each brief story has something to do with great joy, empathy, and hope.

From NBC News this weekend…

“This 106-year-old admitted she never thought she’d live to visit the White House — and then gave the president and first lady a surprise of their own.
Virginia McLaurin danced her way across the room as she met Barack and Michelle Obama as part of Black History Month.
‘Slow down now, don’t go too quick!’ joked the president, clearly taken aback at the diminutive centenarian’s energy. The first lady told her: ‘I want to be like you when I grow up.’
McLaurin was born in 1909 in South Carolina and moved to Washington, D.C., in 1941, according to a community Facebook page set up for her. She told the Obamas: ‘I thought I would never live to get in the White House… I am so happy — a black president.’
The video of the meeting received almost 11 million views on the White House’s Facebook page in the first six hours after it was uploaded late Sunday.”

From ABC News…

“John Kasich ended his town hall at Clemson University in South Carolina this afternoon with a hug from a young man who told the Republican presidential candidate he gave him hope amid his personal despair.
During a question-and-answer session, 21-year-old Brett Smith told the Ohio governor he had driven up from Georgia to see him. A man close to him had recently killed himself, his parents had divorced and his father had lost his job, Smith said.
Amid a dark time in his life, Smith said, Kasich gave him hope.
‘I found hope,’ he said, standing before around 200 attendees. ‘I found it in the Lord and in my friends, and now I found it in my presidential candidate that I support, and I’d really appreciate one of those hugs you’ve been talking about.’
Kasich obliged, coming down from the stage and embracing the young man, a senior at the University of Georgia, as he choked up and blinked away tears.
‘The Lord will give you strength, I promise you, if you ask him,’ Kasich said in Smith’s ear.”

And finally, from the homily delivered by Rev. Paul Scalia, the son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, at the funeral Mass for his father on Saturday…

“…In the past week, many have recounted what Dad did for them. But here today, we recount what God did for Dad, how he blessed him…
God blessed Dad, as is well known, with a love for his country. He knew well what a close-run thing the founding of our nation was. And he saw in that founding, as did the founders themselves, a blessing, a blessing quickly lost when faith is banned form the public square, or when we refuse to bring it there. So he understood that there is no conflict between loving God and loving one’s country, between one’s faith and one’s public service. Dad understood that the deeper he went in his Catholic faith, the better a citizen and public servant he became. God blessed him with the desire to be the country’s good servant because he was God’s first…”

Here’s to great joy, empathy, and hope. May those aspects never annoy us. May we never miss the bigger picture.

Respectfully…
AR

02/21/201602/21/2016

the only angle?

Sixteen years ago, many of us were rocked by a shocking incident. The innocent lives of twelve teens and one teacher were claimed instantaneously. Awful. Twenty-four additional others were injured in the attack. The two responsible then committed suicide.

Two teen boys… killed themselves.

At first, there was shock. Then there was outrage.

On April 20, 1999, senior students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold committed the sadly infamous, Columbine High School massacre. Last week, for the first time — yes, sixteen years later — Sue Klebold spoke out.

Sue is the mother of Dylan. She spoke with ABC’s Diane Sawyer…

Like many parents, Sue Klebold was certain she would have known if something were wrong with her son. Allow me to say that again: she was certain that she would know.

But she did not.

“Before Columbine happened, I would have been one of those parents. I think we like to believe that our love and our understanding is protective, and that ‘if anything were wrong with my kids, I would know,’ but I didn’t know, and I wasn’t able to stop him from hurting other people. I wasn’t able to stop his hurting himself and it’s very hard to live with that.”

Isn’t that the reality?

We think we know when something’s wrong and when it isn’t.

But we don’t.

Said Klebold…

“I want people to be aware that things can seem awfully right when things are terribly, terribly wrong.”

What she wants to say to Columbine survivors and victims’ families…

“The one thing, of course, that I want to say is I am so sorry for what my son did, yet I know that just saying ‘I’m sorry’ is such an inadequate response to all this suffering. There is never a day that goes by where I don’t think of the people that Dylan harmed.”

Diane Sawyer emphasized, “You use the word ‘harmed.’ “

To which Klebold continued, “I think it’s easier for me to say harmed than killed. And it’s still hard for me after all this time… it is very hard to live with the fact that someone you loved and raised has brutally killed people in such a horrific way.”

Truth told, I’m not sure what the bottom line message is here today. I think the point is that it’s easier for us to cast fingers and stones when someone does us wrong. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris did us obvious, awful, heinous wrong.

But is that the only angle there is, to process what happened sixteen years ago? Is that the only perspective?

What helps us work it through even now?

What empathy is necessary for others involved? Is any empathy appropriate? Is it inappropriate?

Great questions. Wish I knew all the answers.

Just thankful we’re humble enough to ask and attempt to answer the questions.

Respectfully…
AR

02/18/201602/18/2016

the replacements

The hottest topics of the week seem to be whether or not Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia should be replaced by Pres. Obama or how Taylor Swift finally let Kanye finally have it at the Grammys. Since I prefer to focus on the supposed positive, let’s take a look at the court.

Justice Scalia passed away Saturday morning. The politics started that afternoon. (You may have just heard me sigh.) The question raised is whether Scalia’s seat should be filled by a nominee chosen by the sitting president or if the person elected in the November of 2016 elections should instead hold that responsibility.

First, some background…

Article II Section 2 includes the following: “He [the President] shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law.”

There is nothing that usurps the responsibility Pres. Obama currently holds to propose a nominee.

However, multiple Republicans have averred that Obama should not make such a proposal. Most notably, Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said: “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.”

Immediately there were claims of obstructionism.

Next, a problem…

In the summer of 2007, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke to the left-leaning American Constitution Society. Note that at the time, Pres. George W. Bush had a year and a half left in his term. Schumer said: “We should not confirm any Bush nominee to the Supreme Court, except in extraordinary circumstances. They must prove by actions not words that they are in the mainstream rather than we have to prove that they are not… I will do everything in my power to prevent one more ideological ally on the court.”

Note that Schumer’s vow was met with significant applause.

Hence, my conclusion…

Obstructionism occurs by both parties, but outrage is only claimed, feigned, and encouraged when it’s happening by someone else. Also, claims of obstructionism seem utilized most in attempts to turn the public against the so-called obstructionists. Sometimes it works. [Did you hear another sigh?]

Charles Lipson, the well respected, moderate Professor of Political Science and founder and director of the Program on International Politics, Economics and Security at the University of Chicago, has concisely positioned what’s happening like this:

No. 1: No nominee for the high court can get through the Senate before the election. No one.
No. 2: President Obama and the Democratic candidates for president know that. So do Republicans. All God’s children know it.
No. 3: Since the nominee will not be approved, Obama will use the opportunity to advance other goals. He will propose someone who burnishes his own progressive credentials and shows why control of the court depends on the November election. Putting Senate Republicans in an awkward position would be a nice bonus. But the target is November.
No. 4: Obama will nominate someone whose demographic characteristics help in the contests for president and U.S. Senate. That is not just his main criterion. It is his only one. The candidate could be from a purple state. Or a Latino. Or openly gay. Having finished law school would be a plus.
No. 5: The proposed candidate will not receive a Senate vote before the election or in the lame-duck session. If Mitch McConnell even considered it, he would become the former majority leader.
No. 6: Democrats and Republicans will both use the issue to show voters why it is crucial to elect them — and not the other party. Democrats will add that this again shows we have a “do nothing” Congress. Republicans will say it shows we have “do too much” judges.
No. 7: All the rest is political theater, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Political theater… signifying nothing. Ok, I’ve changed my mind… maybe we should go back to talking about Taylor Swift and Kanye.

Respectfully…
AR

02/16/2016

Scalia

There are all sorts of ramifications surrounding the unexpected death of a Supreme Court justice of the United States of America. Within hours Saturday, after news of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia — described by The Washington Post as “the intellectual cornerstone of the court’s modern conservative wing, whose elegant and acidic opinions inspired a movement of legal thinkers and ignited liberal critics” — politicians, pundits, and all sorts of people were pondering the path advantageous to pursue. In other words, we often become [sigh] political.

I can’t say I knew Scalia nor his opinions extraordinarily well. But fitting with the mantra of the Intramuralist, there is one aspect about him that stands out to me. I speak neither of the “elegant” or “acidic.” I speak of something arguably more profound. Here is an excerpt from the story that ran a year ago in the Los Angeles Times…

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia seem unlikely friends.

Though both grew up in New York City and graduated from Ivy League law schools, Scalia went on to become a lawyer in the Nixon administration and a founder of the conservative Federalist Society, and Ginsburg led the women’s rights project at the American Civil Liberties Union.
He’s brash and burly and believes in strict adherence to the Constitution’s original text. She’s soft-spoken and slight and believes in a “living Constitution” that can change with the times. On controversial cases, they are often the most likely of any pairing of the nine Supreme Court justices to disagree.

Despite their standing as the intellectual lions of the left and right, Ginsburg and Scalia have forged an uncommon bond on a court where close friendships outside of chambers are rare.

Their areas of agreement may be few — which is likely to be the case this month when the justices decide whether gay and lesbian couples have a right to marry — but they maintain a tone of respect. Scalia, 79, and Ginsburg, 82, frequently dine and vacation together. Every Dec. 31, they ring in the new year together. Their relationship has even inspired an opera, set to debut this summer.

In joint appearances, their mutual affinity and gentle joshing delight audiences, particularly at a time of bitter partisan differences that have made friendships across the aisle difficult.
“Call us the odd couple,” Scalia said this year at a George Washington University event with Ginsburg. “She likes opera, and she’s a very nice person. What’s not to like?” he said dryly. “Except her views on the law.”

Seated next to Ginsburg on the stage, Scalia teased her about the minor uproar that occurred after they were photographed together on an elephant during a trip to India in 1994. “Her feminist friends” were upset, Scalia said, that “she rode behind me.” Ginsburg didn’t let him have the last word, noting that the elephant driver had said their placement was “a matter of distribution of weight.” The audience, including Scalia, roared with laughter.

She describes her fondness for “Nino” by recalling the time she first heard him speak at a law conference, before they became judges. “I disagreed with most of what he said, but I loved the way he said it,” Ginsburg recounted…

Their off-the-bench friendship grew over time, aided by Ginsburg’s husband. By day he was a Georgetown law professor and one of the nation’s foremost experts on tax law. But, outgoing and funny, he also was an extraordinary self-taught chef. When Scalia and his wife, Maureen, came for dinner at the Ginsburgs’ Watergate apartment, part of the attraction was the meal Marty prepared.

Shortly after her husband died of cancer in June 2010, Justice Ginsburg came to the court to deliver an opinion. As she spoke, Scalia sat a few feet away, wiping tears…

The bond between Scalia and Ginsburg was special. It was authentic.

Said Ginsburg on Saturday: “He was a jurist of captivating brilliance and wit, with a rare talent to make even the most sober judge laugh. The press referred to his ‘energetic fervor,’ ‘astringent intellect,’ ‘peppery prose,’ ‘acumen,’ and ‘affability,’ all apt descriptions. He was eminently quotable, his pungent opinions so clearly stated that his words never slipped from the reader’s grasp.

Justice Scalia once described as the peak of his days on the bench an evening at the Opera Ball when he joined two Washington National Opera tenors at the piano for a medley of songs. He called it the famous Three Tenors performance. He was, indeed, a magnificent performer. It was my great good fortune to have known him as working colleague and treasured friend.”

Antonin Scalia was 79 years old. God be with him and his family. May we learn from his example… and from his sweet friendship with Justice Ginsburg.

Respectfully…
AR

02/09/201602/09/2016

under the micro phone/scope

In case you missed it, there was a bit of a big game on Sunday. Ah, yes, a reported 111.9 million of us tuned in, combining to form history’s third largest Super Bowl viewing audience. And somewhere after arguably most of us left the audience, each team’s quarterback took a turn before the mic.

[Disclaimer notice: as often with our sports posts, I perceive this post to be about far more than sports…]

Winning team QB Peyton Manning was obviously pleased and proud at the mic. Including his repeated, perky promise to “drink a lot of Budweiser” that night, Manning was incredibly gracious and glad in front of the microphone.

Losing team QB Cam Newton was notably sullen and sad. Fielding questions in the same room with a member of the opposing team — who was gleefully sharing how they manhandled Newton — Newton was abrupt with his answers, offered little insight, and in the middle of the session, he got up, despondently walking away.

With no more games then for the next five months (and thus minimal football news flow), many have spent the last two days debating Newton’s behavior. To be clear, Manning said that Newton “couldn’t have been nicer” to him when the two met at midfield after the contest, adding that Newton “was extremely humble.”

Let’s first, though, take note of the regular season… All year, Newton’s behavior has thrilled many fans with his high fives, chest bumps, and joy-filled, flight imitation celebrations. He and his team have had much to celebrate. Some fans, however, saw such exuberance as boastful and brash.

My sense is that one of the reasons Newton’s abrupt appearance stood out at the microphone is because it’s juxtaposed against of the contagious vivaciousness Newton displayed previously throughout the year.

I understand those who have no patience for Newton’s curt, dejected reaction. He’s a grown man, a star in the league, and makes millions of dollars; he is the clear, outspoken leader of his team. A leader must lead through the good, bad, and the ugly. As Hall of Famer Deion Sanders said about Newton, “You are the face of our brand right now; you can’t do that… You’re opening yourself for more criticism, because everybody is going to say you’re dabbing and smiling and smiling and styling. So this is how you go out when you lose?”

Good point. A wise man is gracious in both victory and defeat. The only thing understandably absent in defeat is the grin.

That said, Newton is also only 26 years old.

26.

When I was 26, I admit: I did some incredibly stupid things. (Can I just say again? …thank God Facebook and Instagram weren’t around then…)

But it’s true; it would have been wiser for Newton to act differently… he’s an adult…. he should know better… And sometimes when I was 26, I should have known better, too.

I must also confess… there’s another aspect I actually, oddly find somewhat refreshing — albeit, true, in a rude sort of way. That is, Newton didn’t fake how he felt. Maybe it’s the political season we’re in; maybe it’s this abundance of image branding and rebranding, in which we see continued persons attempt to look better and wiser than they really are; it’s so inauthentic. The fact that Newton didn’t fake the way he felt — the deep dejection after finally getting to the pinnacle of his profession and then losing it — in some ways, makes sense to me.

Thus, while Newton’s public reaction was rude and unsportsmanlike, I also wonder how many other 26 year olds would have had the wisdom and composure to lead well in that moment… under the pressure of the microphone and under the glare of society’s always-watching microscope…

Here’s to leading better, growing in wisdom, and holding onto both the grace and the grin.

Respectfully…
AR

02/07/2016

super bowl 50

One of the things I love about the Super Bowl is that more than most things, “everyone’s watching.” Let’s attempt to put this in perspective…

In the last presidential election, approximately 12.6 million people voted.

In last year’s Super Bowl, approximately 114.4 million of us tuned in.

Granted, not everyone’s old enough to vote, and one doesn’t have to be registered or an American citizen to watch the Super Bowl.

But as said, “everyone’s watching.”

What is also true is that we’re not all rooting the same amount for the same team…

Some people are lifelong Denver Broncos fans; others are diehard Carolina Panther fans (since they first began play in 1995). Some are motivated to cheer on Denver QB Peyton Manning, in hopes of one more Super Bowl win before the future Hall of Famer seemingly soon retires; others are intrigued by the talent and charisma of Carolina QB Cam Newton. Still more cheer on specific others; i.e. my youngest has great enthusiasm for Denver’s defensive specialist Aqib Talib (I think he likes saying his name), and many where I’m from are cheering on hometown hero Luke Kuechly. Still more, no less, are tuning in for commercials only — and several others are only in the room while the game is being played, paying minimal-at-most attention, enjoying this day as one of the world’s premiere social events.

In other words, we watch for different reasons… possess varied passions… feel it differently… express it differently… and are motivated differently. We are, by all accounts, a bit of a divided people group.

As a divided people group, we will eat chips, watch commercials, and remember forever some of the game’s great moments…

We will enjoy the halftime show, and hope for no wardrobe malfunctions…

We will see if Peyton’s still “got it” and if Cam can keep it going…

Yet what I appreciate most about this division, is that while as a collective whole we root for different teams and players — different people and parties — is that there is very little “take that,” “you idiot,” or any demonizing of the other team.

We play the game, accept the results, congratulate the winners, and act like mature adults.

I think that’s it for me…

In much of the division on this planet, there is too much demonizing… too many cave to believing they have been somehow blessed with the omniscient ability to cast another team, player, people, or party as all evil… all bad… all arrogant… all racist… all sexist… all dishonest… all narcissistic… all ignorant… all idiotic… or all yada yada something. Too many see themselves as all-knowing to do such casting. Too many demonize due to division. Too many more justify following along.

One of the things I love about the Super Bowl, is that we are better at dealing with the division…

… and that we eat a lot of chips.

Respectfully…
AR

02/04/2016

too good

Every now and then a story comes along that prompts a bit of a pregnant pause. There’s something that causes me to stop and take an extra glance. Granted, the reality is that in most of these stories, my perspective is limited as our information is incomplete. Such happened recently in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”… in girls basketball, no less. According to the Minneapolis City Pages, “the definitive source of information for news, music, movies, restaurants, reviews, and events in Minneapolis”…

“Most children are encouraged by parents and coaches to ‘do your best’ and ‘give 100 percent.’ One girls basketball team in Minnesota is being told ‘Hey, that’s way too much.’

The Rogers Area Youth Basketball Association girls high school team was booted from the Northwest Suburban Basketball League for being too good — seriously.

‘We found out Friday at lunchtime that we’re not going to be allowed because according to the league, our girls were too talented,’ coach Jason Hanauska told Fox 9 News.

Hanauska says three teams were threatening to forfeit games or leave the league, so RAYBA was kicked out instead.

Parents of RAYBA players received a letter from the head of their association with this explanation: ‘The Northwest Suburban Basketball League has decided RAYBA does not fit into the league. The main reason they made this decision is because other teams do not want to play RAYBA due to the skill level.’

‘Are we supposed to play worse just to make them happy?’ RAYBA player Tessa McCarthy said.”

After a meeting was held to brainstorm potential solutions on Jan. 25th, the RAYBA team was banned…

…For being too good.

One editorialized report, in fact, read in conjunction with this post, suggested the following spin in regard to the girls’ play:

“They turned out to be monsters, crushing their opponents in the first two games.”

[Emphasis mine.]

I get it. This is tough stuff. It’s hard in the Little and littler leagues when one team dominates. It’s challenging to face another opponent when the chances of winning are seemingly slim. But teenage girls as “monsters”??

There’s a part of me, no less, that’s highly tempted to scream and shout (as much as I actually do scream and shout), wondering if this is a direct result of current culture’s equality bandwagon going too far… having to limit the playing field… giving everyone a trophy… unable to acknowledge differences in performance… unable to affirm excellence in another.

While it is certainly true that “all men were created equal,” it is equally true that “all men” do not possess equal ability.

We have each been uniquely wired by our Creator, doing some things better than others…. possessing some skills better than others… doing some things actually worse (… watch me ice skate sometime; I totally stink). The reality is — which FYI, might actually be a better thing to teach teenage girls — that we are not all equal in terms of ability.

I do confess, that if I was on the other side of that girls basketball team, having to face any so-called kind of “monster,” that would be a hard for me; I don’t like to lose.

But I would also hope that another team being “too good” or more skilled than moi would never be cause for me to quit or them to be kicked out. Otherwise, this embracing of equality — and ignoring of unique ability — has gone too far.

Respectfully…
AR

02/02/201602/02/2016

making the dorito great again

So it seems fairly obvious that instead of wanting to hear any more about..

“Defeat the Washington Machine. Unleash the American Dream.”
“Heal. Inspire. Revive.”
“From Hope to Higher Ground”
“Make America Great Again”
“A New American Century”
“New Possibilities. Real Leadership.”
“A Political Revolution Is Coming”
“Rebuild the American Dream”
“Reigniting the Promise of America”
“Right to Rise”

…or the self-titled “Hillary for America”…

We would rather hear about…

Alec Baldwin and Dan Marino brainstorming for Amazon
Axe encouraging all to “Find your magic.”
“The Bud Light Party Is Coming” from Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen
Campbell’s Chunky Soup finally offering “This One’s For Mom”
George Washington and Lil Wayne utilizing Apartments.com
Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday” for Snickers
“Meet the Marmot Soon”
Serena Williams, Abby Wambach, T-Pain, etal. talk about “Defying Labels” and Mini Coopers
Pokemon 20’s “I Can Do That”
A “Storm’s a-Brewin’ “ for the Death Wish Coffee Company

And anything that clever advertising team for Doritos chooses to deliver.

Yes, to all my friends from Iowa and the surrounding states…

You have been inundated in recents weeks/months with political advertising. You’ve heard slant after slogan and slogan after slant telling you how to think, what to feel, how to vote, what to believe — each attempting to convince you who exactly a person is… and who exactly another is not.

You’ve had person after promo attempting to maximize the positive… and minimize the negative; more than a few previous behaviors seem to want to be buried.

No, they don’t want us to have the most accurate opinion of someone; they only want us to have the most positive opinion of themselves — and often the most negative opinion of others — whether such an opinion be true or not. Opinion matters more than truth.

Hence…

Thank God the Iowa Caucuses are now over. There should be no more (or at least far fewer!) commercials!

And thank God, too, for Sunday. Super Bowl 50 — and the above commercials — will be here!

P.S. The Super Bowl commercials will be better.

(C’mon, Doritos…)

Respectfully…
AR

01/31/2016

we the people

As we watch the current debating and berating — with many of us bugged or baffled by this odd election cycle — a wise friend pointed to me to this… a thought-provoking blog from Matt Walsh, a man who identifies himself as “a blogger, writer, speaker, and professional truth sayer.” In his latest stab at truth saying, he suggests that “America Is Falling Apart And It’s Your [our] Fault.” Ponder the following, little-longer-than-usual, brash but insightful excerpt:

“When deciding who to blame for the current state of affairs in our country, we always run through a familiar list of shadowy villains: the ‘system,’ the ‘establishment,’ politicians, lobbyists, the schools, the media, etc. These are fine suspects in their own right, but I find it ridiculous that, somehow, we skip right over the first and most dastardly culprit: ourselves.

We never blame us, do we? We always get off the hook. All of the misery and misfortune in our culture have been hoist upon us from Washington, D.C. and Hollywood and Ivory Towers, and none of it from us, we claim. We’re victims. We had no say in any of this at all, according to us. Well, at the risk of alienating literally every single person reading this, I’d like to suggest that you are an adult and a voter, and this is your fault. And mine. And your mother’s. And your neighbor Jim’s. And all of our accomplices who generally make up the club known as ‘We The People.’

Here’s what I know: If you and me and your mother and your neighbor Jim and the rest of them were prudent, rational, resolute, wise, well-read, morally courageous and intellectually engaged, we wouldn’t be in this fix. What’s more, we wouldn’t have the same sort of politicians because we wouldn’t vote for those sorts of politicians, and we wouldn’t have the same sort of media because we wouldn’t watch that sort of media. Right on down the line like dominoes, everything would change if we changed. Everything.

But there is no accountability. We all say we want accountability, but what we really mean is we want everyone else to be accountable. Very few people will actually hold themselves accountable for anything. Our Republic crumbles while we all sit around pretending we’re victims of a culture we’re actively creating and politicians we actively vote into office. We put torches to our own home and wonder why it’s on fire.

And then, surveying the destruction we wrought upon ourselves, we weep like damsels in distress, crying out for a white knight to save us. Inevitably, a charlatan in a suit of armor comes along and promises to do just that. We faint and fall into his arms, and he proceeds to immediately betray us. Then we weep again for another white knight to save us from the last one, and another comes along, and he betrays us, and we weep again, and another one comes, and so on and so on and so on and so on unto infinity.

In the midst of all of this, nobody ever says: ‘Hey American people, STOP IT YOU FOOLS.’ Instead, even the people who know better continue making patronizing excuses for us. They pontificate about how the ‘blue collar workers’ and the ‘middle class’ are feeling quite sad and angry at the moment, and we can’t very well be expected to take charge of our lives and make better decisions when we’re feeling this way. Nonsense. It’s all nonsense.

Any notion that we’re victims of some mysterious outside force rather than of ourselves should be laid to rest because of this election season. After everything we’ve been through as a nation, suffering the incompetence, corruptions, and failures of one ruling regime after another, look at what we’re doing when given the opportunity to go in a different direction: flocking to Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton.
Some of us support other candidates, but, if polls are any indication, something close to a majority are threatening to vote for one of these three. We could well be looking at a Trump-Clinton or even Trump-Sanders showdown for president. And whose fault will that be?
Ours. Such an election would be a searing indictment not of Washington, D.C. or ‘the establishment’ or any other vague entity, but of us. We the people.

We vote for petty bullies, crooks, and charlatans. We vote for them. We select them. Our politics are a reflection of us. Just like the deterioration of the family, the divorce rate, fatherless homes, the moral bankruptcy of our culture, the decline of faith, collective apathy, ignorance and intellectual laziness are manifestation of our choices, so is the political system. None of this was hoisted upon us by dark overlords or mystical sorcerers. We have made choices, we have done things, we have decided to be a certain way, and that way has proven poisonous to the future of our country…

Besides, what’s shallowly buried in this ‘don’t blame the voters who support bad candidates, blame the system’ stuff is the implication that, essentially, people are incontinent morons who cannot be held responsible for their own actions. Weak-kneed apologists who agree that Trump/Sanders/Clinton/whoever is atrocious but insist that their supporters can’t be criticized, are claiming to be smarter than those supporters. When they say, ‘Yes, I see that this candidate is an insidious despot but you can’t blame the people who don’t see it,’ what they’re really saying is, ‘Yes, I see that this candidate is an insidious despot but you can’t blame the people who don’t see it because they’re stupid.’

So while I’m accusing the American public of wreaking havoc upon their own country, I’m not actually the one insulting the public. I do not believe that people are, by and large, stupid. And if people are stupid, I don’t believe I’m among the small minority of smart people. My access to information and my capacity to understand that information is about on par with everyone else. Yet, while I must claim responsibility for my share of this country’s decline, I’m at least not intent on voting for a socialist, a reality TV game show host, or a criminal. Why is that? Do I have mental capabilities that exceed those who support these reprobates? No, I don’t think so.

If a lack of intelligence were at the core of our nation’s problems, it might be true that our dear leaders in government, media, and education are solely to blame because they’re the smart ones taking advantage of a bunch of drooling imbeciles. But I don’t believe that to be the case. I believe at the core of our nation’s problems — especially our electoral problems, but also everything beyond that — are a collection of common vices, not mental deficiencies: laziness, apathy, greed, pride, envy, hatred, etc.

Our sin is our undoing. I’m as irritated with ‘the establishment’ as you are — or at least I would be if I knew what that phrase meant — but ‘the establishment,’ whatever it is, isn’t responsible for your sloth and your selfishness. Although nobody will acknowledge it, there is indeed a profound selfishness in the person who interjects himself into the democratic process yet refuses to think deeply, evaluate all the evidence, listen to opposing arguments, and scrutinize the principles, character, and integrity of the candidate he supports. To plug your ears and put on your blinders and plunge determinedly into the voting booth, having spent months aggressively refusing to apply any serious and considered thought to your decision, is an act of supreme self-centeredness. Even more so in the case of the people who vote for the politicians who promise to give them money appropriated from their fellow citizens. That’s greed and self-indulgence, not mere gullibility. In fact, these people are anything but gullible. They know exactly what they’re doing.

Ignorance, especially, can no longer be the stock explanation. We all carry around little devices that grant us access to all of the information in the world. The sum total of human knowledge is contained tidily in our pockets. We may choose to use this godlike tool to watch porn and take pictures of our own faces, but the fact remains that none of us have an excuse to be ill-informed. We continue to make reckless and shortsighted decisions as voters not because we lack information, but because we’ve seen the information and don’t care, or perhaps because we don’t care about seeing the information. In both cases, again, the fault is ours and ours alone…

Our bad choices and our flaws and our sins have brought us here politically, culturally, and in every other sense. That’s the truth. So if you want things in this country to improve, stop whining about the system and look in the mirror. We aren’t the victims, we’re the cause. If America is ever going to be ‘Great Again,’ it has to start with a little personal accountability.”

[Truth?]

Respectfully…
AR

01/24/201601/24/2016

let it snow

This weekend a blizzard has battered the Northeast. In some places there are more than two feet of snow. Over 8,000 flights have been cancelled, and over 1,000 power outages have been reported up the East Coast.

The New York Governor went so far as to issue a travel ban on New York City and Long Island highways and roads over the weekend. The snow was so significant, actually, that yesterday, all shows — both matinees and evening performances — were cancelled on Broadway. This is big.

This can also be dangerous. Let us first recognize that such a heavy amount of snow and the accompanying cold can be perilous for many people. Tragically, in fact, initial reports from this particular snow storm indicate at least 18 people have lost their lives in snow-related deaths thus far. The cold and ice and regional potential flooding bring an added, unpredictable risk.

I think, too, of those in distinct danger… I think of the elderly; I think of the homeless. My heart breaks for those who have no roof over their head nor food on their table. They are truly among the so-called “least of these.” We cannot forget them especially during times like this.

That said first — always attempting to acknowledge what’s most important — there is one thing I absolutely love about such significant snowfall…

The big flakes… pouring down… the accumulation…

It makes us stop.

That’s it; it makes us stop.

Years ago I heard a wise man say, “If Satan can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.” I think there’s a lot of truth in that; we are a busy people. We go from one thing to the next to the next. We have overflowing to do lists and seemingly way too much to accomplish on a daily basis. We don’t have enough time, energy, sleep, rest, you-name-it, because we are so busy. And when we are so busy, we don’t take the time to engage in some of the basic caring, polite, and subtle respectful tasks a wise one would always embrace…

We don’t have time to be selfless, to put someone else first, to put their needs ahead of our own…

We don’t have time to listen well, as it’s far more efficient for us time-wise to simply tell others what we think rather than listen to what they have to say…

We don’t have time for interactive dialogue, as Twitter’s tweets and Facebook rants are far easier, allowing us to still vent and spew our opinions and then actually think we had a conversation…

In other words, as busy people with full schedules who are so often on the go, we don’t perceive ourselves as having the actual time to be patient, respectful, or empathetic. We then begin to seemingly subconsciously dismiss those contagious, fruitful, and beautifully encouraging character traits because they take too much time.

It is true; patience, respect, and empathy take time.

When the snow comes, however, in such significant amounts, we have no choice; we have to slow down; we have to stop.

I love the fact that something makes us stop, being still, reflecting, thinking, thinking of others, and taking a break from those to do lists.

Hmmm… I wonder… I wonder if that’s why God created snow.

Respectfully…
AR