Yearly Archives: 2010

The Morning After

On November 3, all the newly-elected and the survivors of the recent political battles must wake up from the parties and realize a sobering fact: the way forward for America is hard. The difficulties have been exacerbated by Obama’s policies, but neither he nor one political party are responsible for our current state. Our challenges have been a century in the making, with the last forty years accelerating trends of prior generations.

The new Congress and President must confront

  • Runaway federal expansion and spending – but where will the cuts be made?
  • Stasis in Afghanistan and Iraq – but when do our troops return and who is in power in each nation?
  • A psychologically-scarred electorate who intuitively know that government largess must decrease even while a large percentage depend upon it for their livelihood.
  • How to rebuild our infrastructure.
  • Ways to keep all types of jobs in the USA and still be a competitor in a global economy.
  • A Constitutional re-balancing – more power to the states and the people – but this means more accountability from state capitals and from each person.
  • How to transform a “warfare and welfare” nation into a “workfare” land once again. We cannot have federal guns and butter with ever-increasing deficits forever. We can have a strong defense and trim military spending. We can make sure the needy get help – and do it more efficiently and kindly.
  • Allowing some states to go bankrupt and restructure – strong but necessary medicine.

The above list is a partial one and represents the easiest issues. The real challenges are much deeper and will require courage, deft communication and integrity beyond the norm. Here is another list that unveils the full picture. Our class of 2011 must call for

  • A new era of moral and spiritual responsibility. Fathers need to father. Mothers need to mother. Parents need to send their children to school ready to learn. Even the working poor can put a bowl of oatmeal in a child’s stomach, wash behind the ears and give her or him a hug.
  • Local responsibility for welfare. Those who need help of all kinds need to receive it, but with personal care and efficient administration. We DO need basic guidelines from Washington; however, care needs to be as local as possible. The goal of welfare is not jobs for middle-class government workers – it is helping those in need.
  • An end to racism once and for all. Pride in heritage and identity is good, but the politics of anger and bitterness only fuel tensions. Red and Yellow, Black and White – we are all precious in God’s sight. If this is true, we need to hear more about love than about “hate” crimes. All crime is wrong, regardless of perceived ethnic issues.
  • A new way forward on private and public morality. It is nonsense to say, “You cannot legislate morality.” All legislation IS moral – we pass laws and ordinances that reflect principles and values we affirm as part of our social compact. It is possible to protect traditional marriage and give alternative family arrangements legal status. It is possible to allow private adult activity while not forcing public schools students to be subject to radical ideologies.
  • Citizenship must mean something again. Why do my friends from Europe face years of hassle and thousands in lawyer fees to procure legal status while millions of “undocumented” workers await some form of amnesty and brazenly set up consular offices in public schools? We need to welcome everyone – legally. We need to confront Mexico for her corruption and subversion. We need to confront our addictions and greed.
  • Israel must be protected from her enemies while a new peace treaty with a peaceful Palestine is negotiated. Iran must be confronted and not allowed to go nuclear under her current regime.
  • American “exceptionalism” must be reaffirmed, without arrogance or obeisance to foreign leaders. Our exceptionalism is found in our Constitutional principles – and in our continual self-corrections to live up to them! We must not be proud of our colonial and imperial history. But we can take pride in our heritage of religious freedom, economic opportunity and gradual alignment with the Founder’s vision. We must not try to reify some halcyon days that never were. However, we can learn from the sacrifices of generations who laid the foundation for unprecedented prosperity and opportunity.

The morning after…will the new leaders actually arrest spending and make the tough decisions? Will President Obama learn how to compromise? Will “we the people” decide to “love our neighbor as ourselves” and stop calling on the mysterious “someone” to “do something”?

Positive change is possible, but only with a new “great and general awakening” of faith hope and love. In the end, the future begins with our own decisions today.

False Comfort and True Hope

As we approach the 2010 midterm elections, prognostications are everywhere about the extent of the Republican gains and the fractures in the Democratic Party. Of course, two years ago, the Republicans were deeply divided and the Democrats were unstoppable behind their leader of hope and change. Politics is a fickle enterprise and the patience of the electorate is not endless.

The Obama message of hope, change and government spending is facing stiff opposition. His failure to extract US troops from the Afghan and Iranian theaters frustrates his party’s anti-military base. Even the Democratic health care victory is Pyrrhic, with most Americans wanting drastic modifications or outright appeal. Attempts to marginalize Tea Party participants as dangerous extremists get only momentary traction before losing ground to the everyday realities of a bad economy and rising global tensions.
For Republicans, this is an ideal opportunity to make real gains, not only in House and Senate seats, but in clarifying their message and policies and helping to set a new direction. Failure to seize this moment could result in the exact opposite of what conservatives are hoping for – a resurgent Left in 2012. The mistakes of 1994 must not be repeated and the false comfort of political gains must not obscure the hard work ahead if the American ship is going to to be put to rights.
I think there is an opportunity for Truman Democrats and Eisenhower Republicans to find their sea legs again and actually govern wisely. Admirers need to remember that President Reagan’s success rested upon deep moral and philosophical principles and the ability to connect with people with love and respect. The coldness of former Presidents Bush and the condescension of Obama are not the way forward. We will need character, charisma, competence and cooperation in order to solve the serious issues confronting our nation.
Our problems require reversing the 80-year trend toward federal centralization and control of our daily lives. Actually following the intent of the our Founders and releasing more power to the states, local governments and individual citizens is the way forward. But saying this – even sincerely believing it- is one thing; implementing it is quite another. It is easy to say, “Reduce the size of government!” until thousands lose their federal jobs and millions are affected by a loss of federal funds. It is going to take careful thinking, bipartisan planning and real courage to turn the tide toward local responsibility.
We must get spending under control – including military spending. There is a great difference between weakening our security and finding ways to be more efficient. We must work to privatize public employee pensions – and hold the managers of such funds under greater ethical scrutiny. We must have immigration reform without capitulating either to racism or self-destruction of our citizenship process and the rule of law. We must reassert our uniqueness as a nation and refuse bow to any foreign governing authority or monarch, all while leading the world in peacemaking efforts. We must improve education – through local choices and control, not federal mandates.
Even Reagan failed to reduce the size of the federal government. Much to the consternation of conservatives, it was President “Slick Willy” Clinton, in cooperation with Newt Gingrich and company, that came the closest to a balanced budget (albeit during the dot.com boom) and helped four million folks get off welfare. There is no progress without cooperation, sacrifice and temporary traumas.
Republicans need to beware of false comfort and make sure that new power does not intoxicate them and reduce their sensibilities to govern wisely. Just ask Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi how “easy” it is to govern when in power!
Democrats must not take false comfort in their ability to resist the will of the American majority, paralyze attempts at compromise and hope to come roaring back in 2012.
Both parties must work together on deficit spending, infrastructure needs, military strategy, decentralization and re-empowerment of the people, and rediscovering core values that all can agree on for a civil society.
True hope is found in moral and spiritual transformation, not elected officials. True hope is not a new government subsidy, but healthy choices that create a better future. True hope is not wishful thinking, but substantial confidence in God and the principles of liberty our Founders bequeathed to the world. True hope is not libertarian anarchy and narcissism; nor is it centralization and collectivism. True hope is unleashing individual initiative in an environment pf personal and social responsibility guided by the Golden Rule.
Regardless of the outcome of this election, all Americans must reject false comforts offered by power-hungry demagogues in both parties and choose the true hope found in faith, hope and love.

Dissent and Liberty

It is fun to read bumper stickers. My travels take me to many locales across America, and I am intrigued by the language of these ubiquitous message boards.

From the Left – usually plastered on old Volvos or new hybrids – I read phrases such as, “Dissent is the purest form of freedom” and “subvert the dominant paradigm” and even the oxymoronic, “pro-child, pro-choice.”
From the Right, there are numerous digs at our current President: “NObama” and “Impeach Now.” There are also the standard 2nd Amendment symbols and even the humorous, “Buyer’s Remorse?”
In addition to standard political fare, there are environmental, religious and social messages that festoon our autos. From Christian to Darwinian fishes, from “love your [Earth] Mother to “Jesus loves me and my tattoos” we enjoy getting attention with a snappy line.
All of these observations compel me to stop and thing deeply about our public language and the people that are shaping the current debates. America has a long history of acrimonious public debate and it would be categorically wrong to say that our current exchanges are worse than ever. What is different is the meaning of words and how perceptions can be shaped so quickly by a few visuals or a sentence or two.
Words like “dissent” and “freedom” and “liberty” are used by all parties to express their “rage at the machine” or frustration with “the elites” or fatigue concerning “business as usual.” What is interesting about 2010 is that these terms are being used by people who heretofore have been quietly part of the American tapestry, patiently working, voting and hoping for a better future. I am speaking about most of the participants in the grassroots Tea Party movements. Much to the horror of the Established Left, these folks are claiming the right to speak their minds, actually hold elected officials accountable and even be a bit noisy (and properly nosey) in the process.
From the 1960s to the present, the Left has has claimed exclusive rights to certain words and phrases. “Freedom” means sexual experimentation, document theft (OK if it is from the Pentagon, but we will ban you from reading Obama’s school records), flag-burning, anti-military protests, environmental sabotage and other expressions against “the machine.” Ironically, the Left have failed to see that they are “the machine”in so many facets of public life! Consider
  • The stranglehold the Left has over the academic discourse at most universities and their utter disdain for dissenting opinions from well-educated women and men. When guests are verbally and violently forced off platforms at “free” places like Berkeley, there is something wrong. When a defender of Israel is caricatured as a “Nazi”, we have reached the height of deconstructionist hubris and mental torpor.
  • The media monopoly of the networks and newspapers that this elite have enjoyed for years. With the advent of the Internet and Talk Radio, this “machine” is threatened and has to resort to shopworn rages against capitalism and unregulated communication. They will defend the late George Carlin’s foul language, but they want to “balance” public debate. Sorry friends, but the First Amendment includes liberty for conservatives to speak.
  • The ownership of terms connected to “social justice.” Oh my, this term has been the Left’s hammer against the rapacity of capitalism, the evils of American imperialism and the need to levy higher taxes on the productive so that the dependent will keep voting for the candidates of “the people.” For a half-century, the Left has claimed moral superiority because they want to forcibly redistribute wealth, alter the nature of how Americans read the Constitution and redefine what is “fair.” They want “smart-growth” – a euphemism for social planning and control. They want “green” policies – good, but who regulates the regulators?
  • One final set of terms: “Global Climate Disruptions.” Here we see another fabrication of manipulative language to keep Americans in a state of fear and coerce more tax dollars for pet causes. With the current science is turmoil over global “warming” the academic and financial elites whose livelihoods depend on propaganda have to find other ways to advance globalism. Ironically, no one on the Left criticizes Al Gore’s personal fortune or lifestyle. No one exposes George Soros’ amoral destruction of currencies. As long as certain rich folks own a hybrid and give to the right causes, all is forgiven. But woe to the CEO with a smokestack!
Tea Party participants are calling for
  • “Dissent” – this means confronting the awful administrative and budget processes of all elites in power, Democrat or Republican.
  • “Liberty” – this means less government intrusion into all aspects of public and private life.
  • “Accountability” – our elected officials are responsible for how they mange public funds and whether certain projects are needed.
  • “Borders” – this is not a call to vigilantism or xenophobia, just legal immigration and the end to violence.

Having defended the agitators from the Tea Party Movement, let me hasten to add that merely reacting to current policies and trying to reify some kind of nostalgia past will not do in the 21st century. The Right must demonstrate, in real deliverables and dollars:

  • How the “magic of the free market” is going to help the unemployed whose jobs are overseas because of multinationals looking at the bottom line.
  • How”‘family values” will unleash compassion on the single mother who must cope with child rearing, work and the stigma of being abandoned.
  • How “pro-life” translates into policies that protect the unborn and prosecute the truly guilty, while holding parents accountable for their freely-chosen actions.
  • How “strong national defense” can also mean less wasted money for defense contractors, pay-offs for politicians and a leaner, more efficient military.
  • How “more local control” must translate into infrastructure rebuilding a private-public partnerships.
  • “How “equal opportunity” means a fair shake for those still affected by centuries of discrimination and structural rejections.

I commend the right of all Americans to dissent, to make their ideas known and to rigorously debate issues. I condemn, however, the gratuitous attacks of both sides – not one wins when we use terms like “tea bagging” of “femi-nazi.” It may get attention and a chuckle, but it is a destructive diversion from real debate.

For my friends on the Left and the Right – you must want for others the liberties and opportunities you crave for yourself. The Left must make the case that “smart-growth” is not Big Brother creating an Orwellian system rules by an academic elite. The Right must demonstrate that free markets require ethical oversight and that personal responsibility but be balanced by community compassion.

Both sides of our political divide need to balance a budget and within this context argue passionately for particular priorities. When a millionaire “green” builder calls for an additional dollar-per-gallon gas tax so we can develop more public transit, he is taxing the working poor and still underfunding real research. Answers for long-term problems are almost always a “both-and” approach. For energy, let’s judiciously drill domestically AND fund alternatives. Let’s consider nuclear energy AND solar power. Simply yelling at each other and taxing current habits will not propel us forward!

Word matter and in an era where Truth is up for grabs, we need to be clear what we mean by any words we use. Integrity demands no less, and the future of our nation rests on creating a narrative that aligns with reality and maximizes the potential of each person.

To My Children on 9-11

Today is the ninth anniversary of…my oldest son’s 18th birthday. As we were preparing to celebrate this milestone, multiple attacks stunned our nation and forever changed how we see September 11. There are so many images and words filling the media spaces that I wondered what I could add to the mix.

I dedicate this essay to my oldest son Michael, for whom 9-11 will always cast a shadow over his birthday. I dedicate this work as well to my other two adult children, Charlotte and Christopher, who, together with Michael, make my wife Kathleen and myself the proudest parents on earth. This essay is my letter to the emerging generation of adults who will need to redeem the messes that my generation have bequeathed to them.
My dear children,
On this auspicious day I want to thank you for bringing so much joy to your Mother and myself and offering so much good to a troubled world. All of you have authentic faith, passionate hope and a deep love for God and people. Your community service inspires us and many others.
I am sorry that our generation could not figure out how to avoid unnecessary wars and offer help to the poor compassionately and effectively. The proof of this is the debt we leave for you to manage. Please forgive us for not balancing our checkbook. Our idealism and avoidance of pain have placed you in shark-infested economic waters.
The attacks we remember on this day were not America’s fault. There are millions of militant Muslims who believe in jihad in order to bring the entire world under an Islamic caliphate. If these attacks had occurred in Europe eighty years ago, there might have been some justification, given the colonialism that placed the former Ottoman Empire in the hands of England and France. But “9-11” was neither a right-wing conspiracy nor a legitimate defense of national or religious interests. It was terrorism of the worst kind, carried out by evil men.
You will have to navigate a tightrope between living with the liberties of a pluralistic society and exercising vigilance toward Islamicist leaders. Yes, your Muslim neighbor is most likely friendly, peaceable and a natural ally as you battle the hedonism and narcissism of a culture with theistic amnesia. At the same time, be aware of the difference between enjoying religious freedom (the genius of our First Amendment) and the increasing demands of some radicals for public accommodation of the specific religious practices.
It is my fervent prayer that you will get to see greater peace in the Middle East. But this will only come when Arab leaders stop their dissimulation and unequivocally acknowledge Israel’s right to exist with secure borders and diplomatic and economic cooperation with a new Palestinian state.
Please keep the memory of the Holocaust alive as you learn and teach history, make movies and shape public culture. The events of 1933-1945, especially the systematic murder of millions, must not be normalized, placed in a category with other events, or allowed to fade into the mists of memory. The Shoah is proof that the most educated, scientific and “cultured” nations can lose all moral restraint when they abandon Judeo-Christian beliefs and morality and replace it with pseudo-scientific ideologies of Left or Right.
OK – there are some bright spots in all this darkness!
You will have access to global knowledge and, therefore, the opportunity to forge friendships and partnerships that cross all cultural lines. You will continue to befriend, marry and do business with people that your grandparents would never have met.
You will find cures for many cancers and (we pray) for AIDS. You will offer a healthier life for everyone willing to align their lives with sound habits. Your work ethic and common sense are much greater than ours, so I am confident that future budgets will be better and, if we do not self-destruct soon, we will see an improving economy.
You are a generation committed to justice and compassion and you will find new ways to help the needy and poor move from surviving to thriving.
Dear ones, this is not my last testament. My best days are ahead and I want to work with you to bring glory to God and good to others. Let’s displace
  • Fear with faith
  • Hatred with love and mutual respect
  • Materialism with generosity
  • Hedonism with service
  • Narcissism with care for our neighbor
  • Daydreaming with vision
  • Propaganda with authentic, clear speech
  • Image with integrity
  • “Politically-correct” cliches with careful reasoning
  • Cowardice with courage
Together we can make a difference beginning today.
I love you, my children and thank you for walking onto the future with me.
Dad, Daddy, The Dad-Person, Father, Pater Familias or the Dadster

Clear Thoughts in a Cloudy World

A fringe, small-church pastor wants to burn the Muslim scriptures, the Qur’an. Burning the Qur’an benefits only extremists, and hinders the cause of dialogue and peace.

Palestinian leader Abbas’ vision of a new state includes no Israeli political or security presence. On the surface, this sounds reasonable, until one realizes that neither Abbas nor any other Arab leader has given unconditional recognition of Israel’s right to exist in secure borders. They also flatly refuse to have any shared capital in Jerusalem. Now is the time for all people of conscience to urge Israel to extend the freeze on new settlements in exchange for real progress and for Abbas to look for ways to agree on terms instead of excuses to exit the talks. Oh yes, and the current vision has no room for Jewish citizens either, unlike Israel, which gives full rights to its Arab citizens. By the way – in 1947 the U.N mandate gave 80% to a new Arab nation, today called Jordan. The other 20% was divided between Jewish and Arab Palestinians. Israel’s original borders contained a majority Jewish population. In essence, Arabs were given 90% of the territory and still refused to live in peace. Notice that Israel has prospered while most nations around her are awash in poverty. The refugee camps are a deliberate strategy of the Arab states to keep hatred of Israel alive – so that radical Islam will not topple their regimes! Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PA are all funded by the Saudis and others to make sure they keep the pressure on Israel and off of their benefactors.

The Ground Zero Mosque is not illegal; however, it is unwise and a deliberate flash point conceived by radicals to further their agenda. It is amazing that the Left will defend this construction while shrilly condemning any Jewish or Christian symbols and words in public space. The demonic alliance of the radical Left and militant Islam have one shared aim: the destruction of the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of the American life. Each of these subversive forces thinks they will win the battle for the public square once the old religious influences are gone. The tragedy of such thinking is that the removal of our lasting values will end in either religious or secular totalitarianism and the loss of liberties gained over hundreds of years.

Too much governmental control of the economy yields stasis and decline as creativity and wealth production yield to mind-numbing bureaucracy and zero-sum thinking. No ethical or regulatory oversight yields Love Canals, foul air, lakes and rives. We must encourage private initiative and public responsibility. We must protect profits and property rights while promoting community well-being and opportunity. Whenever taxes are low, government revenues increase. The Democrats refuse to see this simple math because they cannot imagine any restraints on spending. The Republicans have to demonstrate an intelligent understanding of what federal, local and state governments should do – and what prerogatives must be left to the people.

Historical ignorance is fueling folly in the public square. Freedom without morality and reverence becomes anarchy and eventual totalitarianism – hence Nazi Germany in 1933. Centralized control gives us Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. Today’s “liberal” foundations were yesterday’s “robber barons.” The problem is not that the rich should not give back. The deeper problem is that the compassionate, non-profit sector forgets where all the money comes from! At some point, wealth must be created. Risk and reward are vital to progress.

“Social justice” must include not only fair trade practices and public accountability – it must empower wealth creation and understand that there will be differences in income levels. I do not see Al Gore divesting himself of the more than $100M he has made since losing the 2000 election. George Soros may give to liberal causes, but his wealth comes at the expense of whole nations. Conversely, the Right has not articulated who should be the recipients of public generosity and how to help people in times of economic upheaval. It is not enough to say, “get a job” when there are no jobs. Jim Wallis of the Evangelical Left needs to realize that conservatives are not against fairness and generosity – they just think such values are best administrated locally and privately. Glen Beck needs to stop castigating those to promote social justice and demonstrate by his words and deeds creative ways to partner with folks outside the conservative bubble.

We can trim the federal budget and balance it within three years. Of course this means 10 new fighter jets instead of 15 and hammers that cost $20 instead of $900. It also means decentralizing all humanitarian aid and helping thousands of federal workers find jobs in the private sector. It means privatizing all political and public employee pensions. It means inviting ethical business execs to examine all levels of government and streamline the systems. It means that we cannot prosecute wars and have a welfare state. Europe is more generous with her public benefits because the USA has borne the major military costs for two generations.

The clouds are still in the sky, but I hope I have been clear. There are ways forward, but they are the “road[s] less traveled” and only faith, hope and love in large amounts will propel us forward.