Unbearable Blackness

There is a suffocating wind choking us almost daily now. It whistles through poor neighborhoods and posh suburbs and city streets and country lanes, a thick, odious sirocco filled with malevolence and meanness that scours away the facade of America as world builder and paragon of democracy. It leaves a deformity behind in our society that is ignored by many and suffered by too many more.

It is the unbearable blackness.

Unbearable, in that several hundred years of sable servitude's savagery was not erased by a continent-shaking war, nor all the legislation committed to reams of paper since. Not even as august a thing as a Constitution could hydraulically fracture out the deep wells of misbegotten bigotry buried so far down in the foundation of a nation. A few hundred, a few thousand years of gauging others by their tongues, their beliefs, and their skin, that pressure could not be released by so many pinpricks of the rough hide of a foreign-born nation.

Our European ancestors, wherever they went, saw the natives as "savages," because they were unaware of or unwilling to hear the words The Bible and absorb the sacrosanct belief that White Anglo-Saxon Protestants had been commanded by a swarthy prophet of the desert kingdom of the Israelites to go out and conquer the world that was rightfully theirs. New Testament churches driven by Old Testament zeal led to the corruption and conscription and dissolution of societies that had existed before Jesus set one foot upon the ground. They took the Savior's name, cloaked it in the God of Abraham's wrath and wrought conversion upon the "unenlightened."

That lust for the conversion of everything into a Christian kingdom overspread the Earth. Fed into its maw were tribes and villages and cities and creeds, to be converted into missions and cathedrals and gold and piety. And where the natives would not be pacified, they would be harnessed, and if that were too hard, exterminated. Commanded to "be fruitful and multiply," these European invaders took that as a tacit command to take what was needed to create God's kingdom there upon the ground and woe to those who stood before his host! If a Black body could be bent to serve the Lord, upright or upon their knees, so be it.

That has been the groundwork, that has been the fire, that has been the catalyst, that consumed all before it, left lands far and wide, barren and sere, removed of their joyous multitudes, now yoked to the plow of progress. With a the human landscape burnt and blasted, the winds could sweep up into a maelstrom, to plunge down upon the scattered children and suffer them further indignities.

Now we see it every day, almost. Darker skin thought cancerous, drawing the evil naturally down upon itself. Lady Macbeth wailed against a spot; now our brothers and sisters wail over the darkness of their skin, that attracts the fingers of death. The whitest among us act as if nothing is wrong, that they brought the stain upon themselves somehow, that their skin was always meant to be beneath the notice of Men. So many voices raised in Christian song on Sunday, spit epithets on Monday at the outrage of thousands of their Black countrymen beweeping the deaths of their brothers and sisters at the hands of White taskmasters thinly cloaked as purveyors of Law & Justice.

Even in our highest halls, those sent to govern instead throw fits when it appears a Black man is more competent, forthright, and knowledgeable than they. They curse The People for their progressiveness and seek to wound them at every turn, casting the orphan out on the street, failing to fill the bellies of hungry, denying the destitute refuge, even shunning those who fought so they might have the freedom to be petulant and peevish. They stammer and stamp their feet as the man duly elected to lead the nation succeeds despite their every impediment and roadblock and remains adored by a nation that not so long ago was on the brink of destruction.

This blackness is unbearable. That it suffocates the living with fear and hatred, that it pervades the souls of so many who claim to be the best of God's flock, that it is draped upon the bodies of too many who are gunned down in the street and left to die... it is a weight that cannot be withstood for much longer. The darkness of skin should not be the arbiter of human value. "All Men are created equal" it says & if we are to interpret that in the spirit it was meant, then no thing, no belief, no skin color, no sexual orientation, no language, no nationality should bar the individual from the Rights that are so inalienably theirs. No Black person should walk down the street with the thought in their mind that there is a target on their back and it is only a matter of time before the hunters come. It is wrong. It is unjust. It is un-American. And it is unbearable.

Worth In The World Of Surety

No one likes the idea of a soldier failing to do his duty. We imbue soldiers with an aura of respectability and integrity that is straight out of a WWII Hollywood propaganda film. We overlook their foibles and failures until they are lain at our doorstep and then we wonder how someone like that could be in the military. The uncomfortable truth often leaves us to simply ignore them once their duty is done, as if they will magically fade back into the soil on which so many bled and died.

I don't know what to make of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, but I do know this: he did something I was unable to do, myself, in joining the Army and fighting in Afghanistan. Whatever personal flaws or failings he showed, he was there, he fought, and wrestled with what he was being asked to do, just as we wrestled with the war as it dragged on and on and on. His was a more personal interest than ours, for he stood in the teeth of the gale, and he saw the ruin it brought. We could only look from afar, knowing it all to be ill-conceived, but seemingly powerless to stop it.

The fact is, most of those now agitating for his head have not now, nor have ever had, the courage of their convictions enough to enlist to defend their home. They flail about, spouting the terms "duty" and "honor" like they are intimately familiar with them, when, in fact, they scarcely throw a glance in their direction at any time. They are willing to pound the pulpit to defend Constitutional rights, but cannot spare the time or their offspring when the hard, warm work of defending them is called for.

And the one chord I don't hear? If his compatriots were worried that he was a little "off," if they thought he might endanger the unit, why didn't they raise the issue with their CO? If they did, why didn't the CO take the concerns seriously enough to order Bergdahl out of the combat zone? If there's someone in your unit you don't fully trust, then why are they there? Maybe he wasn't cut out for combat duty. Maybe he was suffering the slow onset of PTSD. In any event, the road goes both ways, and if he failed his unit by his actions, they failed him by their inaction. But let us not pass judgment until all the facts are known, not just those spouted into a microphone.

Ultimately, that is what this is all about: conjecture and the need of some in our nation to be right. Not right in terms of factual accuracy, but in having their view validated as being the only true one. They see Bergdahl as they want to see him from moment-to-moment; before his release, they agitated just as strongly for that release as they do now to have him hanged. In fact, embarrassingly, many are having to try and cover up the tracks of their advocacy for his release, as if the hypocrisy were so easily erased in an age where, once something hits the Internet, it never goes away. Five years of vehement calls for action on Sgt. Bergdahl's behalf cannot now mysteriously vanish from time or consciousness. The hypocrisy is written and it is done.

The story of Bowe Bergdahl brings us face-to-face with the reality that now surrounds us - a vocal, energized minority in this nation wish nothing more than drag America back against the current of time to an era where things were black-and-white, where ignorant surety trumped change, where many set their heels in the face of change and pulled hard on the reins, hoping desperately to retard our progress as a nation. Their numbers continue to diminish over time, but we allow their voices to drown out those of us of more reasonable nature. We cede the field to them, allow them to impugn and denigrate everyone from our President and First Lady down to the poorest Americans, scooping up so many in between.

We stain a nation by leaving this whirlwind of inchoate rage to tear through the heart of it. We are a better people than these few who spew venom and bluster, whose words and precepts damn them as narrow-minded, foolish, and clownish. America, which prides itself on its place in the world, should not be allowed to devolve into the mire of ignorance because a fraction of us cannot tolerate change. This moment, and how we choose to deal with a single American soldier, may very well mark a page in a history book, where either it is written that we cast off the past and embraced the future fully, or the greatest experiment in democracy in the last three centuries finally came to an ignominious end. It is up to us to write that history for the better.

Founded By Geniuses?

This week I was exposed to the limited thinking of some, more-so than at any time I can remember. It came in the form of a series of statements trying to link current circumstances to the nation the Founding Fathers lay down over two hundred years ago. Each circumstance ended with the phrase: "You may live in a nation founded by geniuses but run by idiots."

Rather than reproduce any of them, and thereby lend them credence, let me focus solely on that last portion of each phrase, for it points out a complete and abject failure on the part of the educational systems of our nation that such diatribes could be thought of as some sort of truth. For on neither side of the ledger is the assertion strictly true: most of the Founding Fathers were not geniuses, nor are many of our legislators idiots. That is only a surface appearance that has been spun in to some sort of earthy, down-home "logic" that holds no basis in fact.

It comes from a place of worship and veneration for the founding of the United States of America, based on fractured, incomplete, and often misinterpreted information about the Founders and the state of the Colonies at the time of the Revolutionary War. Some in our nation conflate the Constitution of the United States with the Declaration of Independence, and draw the conclusion that somehow those men who founded our nation -- and yes, they were all men -- were paragons of virtue and thought, which could not be further from the truth. Tarring current legislators with the epithet "idiot" only further seeks to create an undue comparison between past and present, as if they could be compared on some kind of equal footing.

If we take a cold, clear, critical look at the Founding Fathers, we see only two who could roundly be described as "geniuses," and only one of them could be said to be an actual genius: Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. Franklin is certainly a bona fide genius in terms we might relate to Newton, Einstein, or the like; he was a scientist, scholar, inventor, and visionary, and foresaw what it would take for the American Revolution to be successful, trying his utmost to pull the strings quietly but firmly to push everyone in the correct direction. Washington was a genius in a more limited but still highly important role, as leader of troops and a nation. He was confident that Colonial troops, properly trained and equipped, could be a match for the British, and was more than willing to employ unique and unorthodox tactics to gain advantage over his foes. Once made President of the nation he helped forge, he saw how the future would need the nation and its leaders to follow a certain path, to bear good comportment, but be willing to use the power of the nation to quell the more radical elements still extant within it.

As for the rest of the Founding Fathers, many were virtuous in their own ways, men of The Enlightenment, willing to think a few steps outside their comfortable box, but not the geniuses many would now portray them as. Thomas Jefferson wrote stirring prose and helped launch a war of independence, but he thought only men were created equal, not people, and at that, black people were not even considered. He was a slave-owner who took full advantage of his property, even as he expounded on the necessity of his nation to be free. John Adams was a very smart, very clever man, and excellent jurist, but not a leader, not able see much beyond his own inadequate vision. It could be said his wife Abigail often saw what he could not, and perhaps it was she who made him a better man than he could have been alone. Alexander Hamilton was wedded to economics more than people, and while we might applaud for his efforts in trying to establish a collective and regulated financial structure, we have to wonder at how he went about it.

The fact is, they were no better than we are now, these captains of the foundation of our nation. In only one aspect of their forethought can we see true genius: the idea that the people of the United States must be able to govern themselves. But even in that, they did not quite do the most complete job of laying groundwork, riddling the Constitution with firm assurances and vagaries of comprehension we are still teasing out today. Perhaps this was a way to make future generations think, but it's more likely that it was simply the end product of the squabbling and bickering of a group of men who had anointed themselves the smartest people in the room. Whatever the case, the crafted an adequate framework, but left so much undone or in a muddle, that the nation is still trying to tease it our centuries later.

If they were said to be wise in letting We, The People, choose who will govern us from among our peers, it may be said that we have failed the Founding Fathers in that area, by allowing a class of politicians to enmesh themselves in the inner workings of government at all levels. Governance is gone, replaced by style and popularity and money. Rather than sweeping the halls of Congress clean occasionally and allowing for new blood and new life to pervade them, we simply allow the same weak, forlorn, outmoded thinking to persist. If those in positions of governance can be said to be idiots, we are the idiots for putting them there and leaving them there. The great body that is America suffers, for not being allowed to breathe.

Naturally, the "idiocy" we see is not always thus, for much that many would malign is simply the product of ancient ways fighting modern times. In over two hundred years, our nation and world have changed, are no longer the familiar grounds that Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and the like strolled in their day. As these things change, so must we, and we must realize that new ways of think are not of necessity bad ways of thinking, even where they challenge what has held true for centuries. Enslavement of blacks, the denigration and patronization of women, religious and sexual intolerance... these might have been the order of the day one thousand years ago, even two hundred years ago, but they are not now. Change is inevitable, change is constant, and even the Founding Fathers, as men of The Enlightenment  knew this, hence allowing the Constitution to be re-written and providing for a central government that could redress issues unknown to them and alter law to match the times.

The nation we have now is the nation we have wrought from more than two centuries of anguish, triumph, pain, and grief. Founded in imperfection, it was the wish of those founders that we take their work and improve upon it. If we are unhappy with the current results, perhaps that is more an issue with our lack of forethought and courage, than it is with the competence of our current legislators compared with the "genius" of our founders.

We Have Failed You

I will thank Melissa Harris-Perry for lighting a fire under me, to get me back to this blog, because of her message to the 16-year-old victim of rape in Steubenville, who has just seen justice done and seen two young boys shown that hubris and arrogance are not effective shields against law and justice.

You may peruse the video for yourself, and unless you are heartless, it will move you. The one sentence from the whole thing that got to me most was:

“I am sorry we have failed you.”

This simple sentence says more than just about anything, because this shameful and deplorable incident does not merely affect the town of Steubenville, OH, but has repercussions that rippled outward to consume our nation, and possibly the world. For this was not simply a tale of a young girl being drunk and being taken advantage of, which might have disappeared into the fog of youth in decades past. No, this was a moment of degradation broadcast for the world to see, brought to light by those forces of the Internet that seek to goad our society into actually righting wrongs as opposed to our continually claiming that we are a nation that stands on the principles of truth and justice while we turn a blind eye.

The "we" in that sentence is not some ephemeral construct, but the living, breathing condensation of a nation built around the concept of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To allow for those things, our nation is built on law, law crafted out of thousands of years of law and governance and spirituality that have imbued every person on Earth at one time or another with a sense of what counts as "right" and "wrong." Of course, those concepts are not static - as little as one hundred-fifty years ago, the idea that white American landowners could own black slaves was considered not just "right" but couched as  one of the "inalienable" rights oft mentioned. We moved our morality further from that particular stance through the auspices of blood.

I digress.

So, what Melissa Harris-Perry was getting at was, that We -- all of us -- failed this young girl. The failure extended far beyond the confines of the former manufacturing town; it could be said to rest on the dinner table in every American home, inside every public or private classroom, on every news broadcast, within every movie theater... it pervades every corner of our society, a clinging, seeping miasma of privilege and patriarchy that seeks to continue to control us as it has over a thousand generations. Though we no longer wrapped in the ignorance of the Middle Ages or those centuries previous, the faint echo of them continues to wash over us, causing us to live in a bubble of hypocrisy, where we proclaim the freedom of the individual even as we seek to deny it to many and denigrate them for trying to take it as their own, as is their due.

Individual responsibility is the clarion call that rings the rafters of our nation, only to have it fall upon deaf ears when young-and-talented boys engaged in popular sports ply debauchery at the expense of a young girl who is helpless to defend herself. Or when bankers seek to peddle dreams wrapped in tissue paper, then sit back as the world around them collapses, secure in their fortifications of wealth. Or when we will not take the logical precautions that might keep citizens from being gunned down in the streets by maniacs who find it all too easy to arm themselves like combat soldiers. Or when we continue to allow our nation to be so steeped in want, need, and hunger while some simply toss away the plenty they are given.

No, the failure is pervasive, and nowhere does it crystallize more than in the rape of this young woman, because it is horrid enough that it should happen, that these young men should be surrounded by a local culture that tells them that who they are gives them the right to do what they want, but that even when justice is finally served, some in that same community would seek to continue to pummel this girl further, to heap degradation upon depredation. What does that say of us, that some cannot so easily see that the rape of a girl, or a woman, or a man, or anyone of any stripe, is solely the province of the victim?

It says that the values we pretend to abide by, the beliefs we claim to live by, and the words we take as gospel are mere phantoms, not at all a part of our moral fiber. You may wave a holy book above your head, expound upon the righteousness of documents over two hundred years old, but at the end of the day, they are worth nothing if you do not understand, but more importantly, practice, what they say. Our society is a contradiction, saying that we as individuals have rights, but we owe a greater debt to all of us as a whole, but that seeming contradiction is not so, when we consider that while our energies individually can sustain only ourselves, it is by combining them, that we accomplish much more than any individual can hope to. Look around you, and see the belts of copper that drive electricity to the far corners of our nation, the ribbons of steel and asphalt that move our goods and ourselves, the invisible waves that blanket our globe and allow us contact with anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Where we have the right to be an individual, we have a responsibility to our fellow citizens. Our individual rights and freedoms are ours as long as we do not intend or attempt to impose them on others. We do not ask everyone to believe the same thing, but we do ask everyone to understand that there are some things that move beyond the realm of individual belief and are best for everyone. Our law is just such a thing, seeking to apply the same level of justice to every person, no matter who they are. Our law says that your right to be yourself is protected; it does not say you may violate the rights of another with impunity.

So yes, We failed. We failed this girl because we have let our society wander from the path that built it, a path that said you would reap what you sowed, a path that said that together we would create a nation of liberty and law. We have let too many in this nation pervert it, weaken laws, weaken public discourse, put their interests above those of the nation. We failed this girl because we allowed hubris to be substituted for judgement, arrogance to be substituted for rights. We failed this girl... and we cannot allow ourselves to fail her, or anyone else, again.

We Vote For Them

The United States of America was founded on the idea that, given the opportunity, the citizenry of that nation could -- through elected representation -- govern itself in accordance with the doctrine of unity and mutual interest. So it was that an electoral system was devised to ensure that every person who was a United States citizen could vote and that their vote would count equally across all the States. A larger State could not necessarily monopolize the election of a President by turning out all its voters, and thus overriding the votes of smaller states. It presumed that anyone wishing to be elected President, would have to show each State that they carried that State's best interests -- and those of the nation as a whole -- to heart.

The idea of One Person, One Vote and all it implies, is pertinent now more than ever, with a modern Presidential election awash in 'soft money,' as rich benefactors with hidden agendas and secret motives look to manipulate public opinion by pouring money into so-called "social welfare" organizations and having them run advertising seeking to paint the current President in the most unflattering light possible in the name of "saving" America. "Saving America" is a code for saving the current system, whereby the wealthiest elite benefit at every turn by the sweat and tears of those "beneath" them without having to care about their welfare.

No matter what this tiny fraction of American society thinks it can accomplish by flooding the election with its money, at the end of the day, it can only buy so much. True, it may have bought patronage from some local and state legislators, in the form of means to suppress the turnout at the polls through execrable "voter identification" laws, though they are always subject to appeal to Federal power. It may have bought hours and hours of radio play and TV commercial time, reams of newspaper advertising, and blocks Internet traffic in which to pour half-truth, innuendo, and outright lies couched as fact, but people are under no obligation to listen, read, or pay attention to any of it. At the end of the day, the one thing they cannot do, under any circumstances -- is use the money directly to do the one thing that would have the greatest impact: buy actual votes.

For if we are to be serious about it, the only way to really influence an election to any great degree, is to pay people to vote for your candidate. But, of course, not only is that patently illegal, it is folly to believe that not one of those so bribed would be able to keep their mouth shut about it. As we have seen, with the era of social media, when a figure crosses a line that they did not see but we as Americans always knew was there, they are exposed to a virulent counter-reaction which leads to the loss of that they so rightfully believe is theirs. Were any scion of wealth to attempt the transparent and buy votes, it would spell the death-knell of corporate "free speech" in elections and bring a tidal wave of condemnation akin to the march of the villagers waving torches and pitchforks as they seek the destruction of the monster in their midst.

It comes down to this: we hold our own counsel and we hold our right to our vote. It is not a light burden, this decision. Many cannot bring themselves to do it. They sit on the sidelines, content to leave the decision to others, some convinced they can't take the chance on voting for the "wrong person," others refusing to "waste" a vote on the "lesser of two evils." It is actually harder to avoid voting than it is to simply accept that it is your responsibility, because to do so means that you do not believe in your fellow American. Now, for some, it easy for them to look at other Americans as impediments, free-loaders, or to dismiss their plight by fobbing off all the responsibility for it on them, as if each American operates as an independent island, connected by no bridge to any other, which is simply fallacious. We are the "United" States of America, and were so from the very beginning, when disparate groups of Colonists came together to fight for and support a worthy cause: their independence from a foreign power and gaining the right to govern themselves.

Our vote is not just a vote for ourselves; it is a vote for each and every other American. We may certainly decide that a candidate holds for us the key to our happiness, our personal wealth, our future, but that cannot be enough of a consideration. When we vote, we vote for our friends, our neighbors, our local business owners, our civil employees, our military personnel, and every American of every stripe. Our vote does not just influence us, but influences everything that happens to every other person, known or unknown to us. We may like what a candidate says or does -- and in the end, it is what they say and do, not what their proxies say about them, that should matter -- but we should keep in mind what effect those policies will have on people who are not us.

Voting is our responsibility and like so many such responsibilities, taking it seriously is paramount. The only vote truly wasted is the vote not cast. But before we so willingly commit that vote to permanence, let us take a moment to look beyond our own interests, at the broader spectrum that will be influenced by our vote. Let us ask ourselves if what is best for us is truly what is best for others. While we may not suffer the ill effects of a poor choice of candidate, so many others may. We are part of a larger collective, an integral whole, that owes its existence and gains its power from all of us. When we vote, we vote for us all... it pays for us to consider that before we step behind the curtain.

You Disappoint Me Some Days, America

You disappoint me when:

• You go on and on about the rights of the individual and personal responsibility, even as you are denying people their civil rights and failing to hold people accountable for their malfeasance.
• You get angry at how government is taking away your free speech, when you can pretty much well rant about it and no cop shows up at your door to arrest you.
• You rail about the size of government, but when someone goes to cut the government program that benefits you, you decide that some government is OK just the way it is.
• You worry about national debt during a recession, when people are being tossed out of their homes, left without food or shelter, all because a bunch of rich people tried to get richer at their expense.
• You accept the lies in the media and from political parties as truth.
• You fail to challenge your legislators to explain themselves when they take positions contrary to the public good.
• You demand to be treated with decency and dignity, even as you turn your back on the disadvantaged and label them as "undesirable" and "worthless."
• You make a big stink about the price of gas, while driving a vehicle that consumes it at a rate that is unsustainable.
• You scream about Socialism in our country, and then proceed to take advantage of all the services that are brought about our social contract with the government.
• You flail about in a frenzy over taxes, but when someone suggests raising taxes on people who have the most money to make the pay a fairer share, you don't support it.
• You complain incessantly about how government doesn't listen to you... and then you elect the same people to Congress to represent you.
• You moan about the state of America, but will not lift a finger to do anything about it, and get furious when anyone else tries.
• You remain silent on the death of a black boy who was bothering no one.

You are a mass of contradictions, America. We laud achievement in public, but in our schools, the bright kids are bullied and put down by their more ignorant peers. We stand firmly on the bedrock of the rights of the individual, but treat some of our own as if they are less deserving of those rights simple because of who they are. We go on talking about freedom, complaining about how our rights are being infringed, even as our government tortures people in the name of national security. White Americans act as if having to share the nation with non-Whites is some sort of indignity. We praise hard work, and then denigrate the worker when they want a fair wage for it.

You better start asking yourself, America: who are we really? Are we the nation of high ideals and civil liberty and democracy? Or are we the nation of get-what-you-can, keep-your-hands-off-my-stuff, my-rights-are-more-important-than-yours? Are we worthy of the sacrifice of our ancestors in shaping this nation, or do we shame their memory by trampling all over their sacrifice? Is it liberty and justice for all, or just for those with money and influence?

You disappoint me some days, America, but in you I see aged wisdom, youthful indiscretion, backward thinking, forward vision, solidarity, isolationism, democracy, closet totalitarianism, charity, sloth, greed, and hard work, stirred together. At some point, the contents of our nation much match the contents of the character we choose our nation to portray. At some point, we must become the nation we have always thought we were. If not now, we may not get too many more chances.

The People We Elect

If you ever wonder why the United States continually finds itself in dire straits, seemingly rudderless, filled with nothing but invective and inaction, we only need look to the quality of those people elected to govern. Or in many cases, people elected who fail to govern.

To give you some fairly pertinent examples:

Lead By Example

It was customary in ancient times, to put the heads of vanquished foes on pikes or posts, or to leave whole bodies strung up or crucified, so others would get the idea that any attempt to overthrow the current order was futile. Strangely, no matter how often this was done, it did not stop the stout of heart from attempting to do it anyway, fighting back against systems they knew were stifling, corrupt, and tyrannical. Some were not put off by the spilling of blood; others looked upon the vanquished as merely unfit to do what they set out to do.

So, now, we have the conundrum as to whether or not it is right and proper to release pictures of a dead Osama bin Laden. The most strident voices for their release hearken back to those bygone days, assuming that the site of the now defeated bin Laden will deter any other fanatical terrorists from attempting to attack us.

It doesn't work that way.

I, Citizen

I am a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Adams, James Madison, George Washington, Thomas Paine, John Hancock, and their peers. My bloodline passes down through the Declaration of Independence to the Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights. My family lineage is filled with saints and sinners, sages and snakes, mountaineers and mountebanks. It is passed to me through the generations, and it is in this that I am granted title, the most powerful royalty of any nation: Citizen of the United States of America.

The title is not a hollow one, though, for it carries the heavy responsibility of maintaining, protecting, and defending the freedom, liberty, and justice of the nation and its citizenry, from all aggressors, foreign and domestic. I am given the broad and discretionary power to write and re-write law through the auspices of representatives of my choosing, and to install those who would be charged with overseeing the vitality and vigor of the nation in the office of the President of the United States. It is a duty not to be taken lightly, for shirking it endangers not only myself, but all my fellow citizens. We must, together, raise a nation and keep it safe from the vagaries of the world and from our own inner demons.

The Uncivil War Begins

It is interesting to note that this year marks one hundred-fifty years since the start of the American Civil War, April 1861. What began with the bang and flash of cannon at Ft. Sumter, led to a wholesale change in the country that had formed not too far in the past. The sleeping dog of slavery, lying as it had at the feet of the Founding Fathers, tore loose from its chains, and wreaked a might vengeance upon the country. Families were divided and decimated. The poor fought for the rich. There was privation and disease, poverty and decadence. Dirty men fought and died while nattily dressed men harrumphed over the conduct of the war. A President, reluctant to end slavery, but given no choice but use it as a unifying cause, swept his foes from the field, only to have them exact final vengeance upon him. The last true shots would not be fired until the age of President Lyndon Johnson, who would enact sweeping Civil Rights legislation. Even today, the skirmishes are not truly over.

So as the anniversary day approaches, it is unsurprising that we find America at odds again, though the battle lines are not so neatly drawn as North and South. This pending war is being fought in the halls of legislation, in the medium of television, across the breadth of the planet via The Internet. It is a war that incorporates all the worst of human behavior, and at the same time, all that is forthright and true within our hearts. The sides are once more polarized, though it cannot be tied succinctly to one group. It is, instead, a confusing whorl of passions and prejudices, with battle lines so fluid as to be a jumble. If there is a constant in it, it is a fight between those who would look ahead to our destiny, and those who look behind, to pine for days passed. The tug of war between these forces may yet determine the continuation of our nation as the one conceived in freedom and liberty.

Lost America

We are a people who have lost our way, in the rush to buy the latest television, or fight the latest war, or win the latest election. We are so far removed from the nation in its youth, the struggle for freedom and independence, the surge of new land and new opportunities, the unrest that almost split the country in two, that we wax nostalgic about things and times that were important in their day, but have no place in modern America. We act as there is some fundamental flaw in our country, some movement bent on keeping us from our full potential, some dark, creeping cancer eating away at us.

There is -- we are that cancer.

Burning Down The House

A house catches fire. A phone call is made. Within minutes, racing red machines blare a warning of their approach, and stop before the conflagration. Men and women leap from their trucks, clad in their heavy, fire-retardant armor, connect canvas hoses to bright brass connectors, and charge forward, aiming pressurized streams of water at the flames, intent on snuffing them out. Hopefully, no one remains inside at the mercy of the inferno, but if they do, these brave souls will battle heat and flame to pull them to safety. It is the ultimate act of selflessness, to give your life -- potentially -- for a stranger, to put yourself in harm's way, casting aside fear and the desire to flee, to rescue someone you do not know from the jaws of the malevolent beast.

Not more than a few in a thousand have the ability, the guts, and the selflessness, to do this. They become our heroes: firefighters, police officers, soldiers. They would risk life and limb, and not for consequential amounts of money, for they are not paid nearly as well as they should be, but because inside them is a commitment to their fellow citizens, to protect and to serve. They do what they do partly out of honor, but more out of a sense of duty.

Then how horrible must it be to know a fire burns, that lives may be threatened, and a family's life destroyed, and to be told to do nothing, because the family did not pay a fee? That is what happened recently in rural Tennessee. A family's home, set afire by the ill-considered burning of leaves, burns to the ground, because they did not pay a seventy-five dollar fee to the local township, a fee required to extend fire department services into the rural areas. The family forgot to pay the fee, and the result was the destruction of their life. The sad irony: when the fire threatened a neighbor's house, the fire department did respond, because they had paid the fee.

Now, having a fire department is not cheap. The equipment is specialized, the training of firefighters is extensive and on-going, and the maintenance of an effective firefighting force is intensive and expensive. Still, few would argue that letting a home burn down for lack of any firefighting force is a good thing; so how could it be that letting a house burn down when there is a fire company available is allowable or even acceptable? Couldn't a portion of tax revenue in the surrounding county be used to provide the service to rural homes? Did someone really think charging a fee was a good idea? What bureaucrat would let a home burn by quibbling over the payment of a fee?

That this was a shameful occurrence was bad enough; that people are making light of it in national media is worse. A family's home is destroyed, their pets are dead, their possessions gone, and they find themselves homeless, dependent on the kindness of others. What makes this a situation for mirth and offensive humor? Apparently, if you are Glenn Beck, champion of our nation's "honor," that it happened, and that it serves them right. Yes, apparently, if you don't pay your fee, you deserve to have your house burn down:

And it goes nowhere if you go onto “compassion, compassion, compassion, compassion” or well, “they should’ve put it out, what is the fire department for?” [...] If you don’t pay the 75 dollars then that hurts the fire department. They can’t use those resources, and you’d be sponging off your neighbor’s resources. [...] It’s important for America to have this debate. This is the kind of stuff that’s going to have to happen, we are going to have to have these kinds of things.

So, yes, the social contract, which is at the heart of organized society, that says despite our differences we shall live as one nation and obey all the same laws and rules, is nothing but a fabrication of "socialism," a desire for the poor and weak to "sponge" off their country. This is the "debate" that Glenn Beck wants to have.

Well, Mr. Beck, I will take you up on your challenge. I will have this debate with you, any time, any place. Because my reading of the Constitution, which makes the general welfare of the people a paramount priority, and my understanding of the social contract, which was the basis of so much of what would become our Constitution and the laws of our land, and the desire of our Founding Fathers to build a nation that ran through the good graces of its citizens, goes contrary to this idea that somehow services that benefit all American citizens are sponging. If anything, the rich in our country are sponging off the hard-working and dedicated employees of the companies that make them their fortunes. Still others are sponging off Americans by filling the airwaves with abject ignorance, petty nonsense, and unsupportable hypocrisy, but you wouldn't know anyone like that, would you, Mr. Beck.

For someone so concerned about the faith and honor of his country, Glenn Beck treats Americans as disposable commodities, nothing more than a cigarette butt to be ground under his heel, as he blathers on, filling the hearts and minds of the sycophantic with delusions and demagoguery. He is more than happy to sit atop his piles of cash, bemoaning the "socialism" he sees as rampant in this country, apparently unaware that the whole idea behind unity as a nation is the support of our fellow citizens. His claims of a need for restored faith fall on deaf ears, where his hypocrisy is so transparent, perfectly willing to watch Americans suffer and do little of substantive value to change the causes, even as he pins targets on the backs of those trying to make the changes necessary to keep our country afloat.

remediate the lives of those touched by misfortune. It is not just the way of religion, but it is the way of the human, our human duty to do whatever we can, however little it is, to help our fellow humans. It is that core value that made civilization rise up from the dirt, and it is a lack of humanity that now threatens to cast us back into the dust. Humanity is burning, and it's time to pick up a pail and put the fire out.

Lack Of Decency

The current climate in the United States is one that makes a fact very plain: the idea of the "decent" American is dying. As sure as the American Dream is slowly sliding into the sunset, it drags along with it the very fabric of the country, the decency and honor of its citizens. It is hard to notice, perhaps because of the shouting and vitriol which spew forth almost constantly. The better angels of our nature are being engulfed in a cacophony of bitterness, bigotry, ignorance, and insolence. We have moved from "one nation, under God," to "Us versus Them."

Americans certainly have a right to be angry, when the inequities of life are so plainly written across the front page of the newspapers or splashed across the bottom of their TV screens. Wall Street, cause of our economic woes, goes from bankrupt to propped up, and all the while no one is called to account for their actions. Big oil, heedless of the cost, sprays oil into the sea, and still manages to reap large profits. Jobs, once so plentiful, are slowly eroded away by cheaper labor overseas, and its attendant lack of quality. Washington, D.C. is awash in partisanship and seat counting, leaving governance at the doorstep to the Capitol. Rogue nations and extremist religious groups wage a campaign of hate against us, attacking us outright, and thumbing their noses at our demands. Families are forced to leave behind all they have worked for, as those who precipitated their poverty continue to reap their profits.

But anger, while prevalent, is the wrong emotion for what ails the nation. Yes, anger is natural, given what we see, but anger does not solve our problems, for after we are through being angry, our problems are still there before us. Anger also blinds us to the truth, to reality, to the root cause of our problems, and makes many simply lash out at targets of opportunity, rather than iniquity. Too broad a brush is applied to some problems, too narrow a focus to others, resulting in wasted energy and effort, and the maintenance of the status quo.

It reaches deeper than that, though, for the cauldron that is stirred up by the rage of our nation feeds the next generation, planting the seeds of newer and greater anger. Passed on from parent or teacher or clergy to the children we raise, is this whirling maelstrom of ignorance, bigotry, malfeasance, obfuscation, and bitterness, swallowing up the innocent and helpless. Children are taught who the bogeyman is, and do not question the motivation that belies this. They believe what they are taught to believe, and dogma replaces reason.

We see it all, in what happens daily: fired people returning to places of business with weapons, exacting revenge. Repressive bullying of homosexuals, driving them to suicide. The shouting down of those who are trying to have reasonable debate. The eruption of bigotry, homophobia, racism, and sexism by varied groups, flung into the light of day from the dark corners where it used to hide. Impartiality replaced by politics. Rampant theft, both at the point of a gun and threw stacks of paper. Hypocrisy in the name of morality. Quashing freedom in the name of "restoring America."

This is not how it should be. This is not the country in which I have so much pride. This is not the country that believes in individual liberty. This has become a nation of ne're-do-wells, fame seekers, hucksters, and reprobates; it is now a home for the greedy, the covetous, the self-righteous, and the conscienceless. Hard work, honesty, reason, and excellence have been subordinated to flashiness, boosterism, abject ignorance, and mediocrity.

America deserves better. If we are truly the nation we think we are, then it should cause us no amount of inconvenience or irritation to work together toward bettering ourselves and our nation. If our Pledge of Allegiance is to be more than a hollow joke, the we must be one nation. It does not mean conformity, or obedience, or rejecting the right to question authority; it does mean that all our laws, all our precepts, everything we hold dear, must apply to everyone who is a United States citizen, no matter their stripe. Nothing of the individual should make them less human, less able to enjoy the fruits of freedom and liberty. There can be no difference between us as individuals that invalidates our ability to be of one nation or one law. Our differences make us unique; our similarities make us strong.

We, Americans all, must unite under the one flag we fly, if for no other reason than to divide us, to erect barriers between ourselves, is to crush that which so many sacrificed to make. As has been said, a house divided against itself cannot stand, and even now, one can hear the creaking and tottering that the shifting fortunes of our nation are causing to reverberate throughout. It is time to strengthen our resolve, and thereby strengthen our nation; only then, will we regain the sense of freedom and liberty handed to us by our ancestors.

These Are The People You Want Leading Us?

As the rabble that is The Tea Party continues to shake the political trees, voter apathy reaches new lows, and partisan bickering and gamesmanship replaces governance, it is probably best to reflect on just what it all means to you and I and our fellow Americans. Perhaps the gravity of the electoral process has lightened over the centuries, to the point that -- in an age of instant communication and the global village -- we feel more disconnected from our leaders than at any time in the past. When the nation was formed, it still had a very close-knit and neighborly feel, but with its expansion in size, distance, and population, perhaps the differences between us are more stark than they were at the time of the Revolutionary War.

Congress, which is the linchpin of Federal Government, being the place where laws are incubated, hatched, and set free to provide all Americans with the protections afforded us by the Constitution, is certainly the most important branch of our tripartite government. The President has very little unitary power, owing to not being a monarch. He/she can only work with what is given to them by Congress. Even a declaration of war, though the purview of the Commander-in-Chief, must still be ratified by Congress. It is by working together, that the Legislative branch and the Executive branch, under the watchful eye of the Judicial branch, bring our nation alive, provide all Americans liberty, protect our freedoms, and protect us from those things which might harm us. The intent of the system was to give average citizens a means to ensure balance and fairness in legislation, by leaving the ultimate responsibility for the composition of the House, Senate, and Presidency to the voting public.

The Republic which we inherited from our ancestors is still basically no different than that they crafted, with some additions and re-engineering to smooth out inequities and fix some basic flaws. No one would claim that the United States and its government are perfect, but then the Founding Fathers knew that when they created the Constitution, and made provision for the American people to make the necessary changes to allow our government to grow and change with the times. Even as the Revolutionary War was being fought, science and technology were beginning to change things, and the Founders knew that a future nation would have to adapt to the changes brought about by these forces. It would also have to deal, eventually, with those short-comings they, themselves, had written into the Constitution.

So, despite the misgivings of some, the composition and functioning of the Federal Government were left in the hands of the citizens. They would have to find the most capable among them to represent their interests at the capitol, and do that not only for the local constituency, but for the country as a whole. Congressmen would have the daunting task of listening to what the home folks said, and keeping in mind the general welfare of all Americans at the same time. This balancing act would require only those of the most open minds and greatest character, for to go to Washington, D.C. with a personal agenda, bent on making legislation only to benefit themselves and their cronies, would be a mockery of and a perversion of, the legislative process.

It cannot be said that the history of Congress and the Presidency has been filled with only the most stellar and erudite minds; the problem with leaving the decision as to whom will represent them, to the people, is that a great many of the people can be swayed by words that resonate with how they feel, even where those words do not represent the truth. Rhetoric and obfuscation can make a king of a pauper, and as the centuries pass, free government has become less a function of the citizenry and more a function of the power brokers. Party politics has led to rampant abuse of a system meant to protect the citizens of America from the very excesses practiced in Washington, D.C., and the saddest part is that this is done with the tacit approval of Americans, who vote the same barons back into control of their fiefdoms, then are shocked when nothing changes.

It is not enough, however, to simply vote out the incumbents, though that is definitely a start. What is more important, is that the incumbents be replaced by people of good character, who are concerned for general society, and are willing to subsume their personal views to the needs of the country as a whole, and to the Constitution which they serve. Sadly, despite the fervor that has swept the nation, stoked by cries ripped pell-mell from the history books, the citizenry has missed the mark, trying to replace the tyranny of the politician with the tyranny of the ignorant. By subsuming themselves to personal messages and talking points, they have failed to take a good look at the candidates they would support, and find them, as so many of us do, wanting.

Whether it is by racist overtones, through misappropriation of campaign funds, rejection of established fact or convention, or the desire to override the personal liberty of all Americans with their vision of what is right and wrong, these candidates reveal themselves to be unfit to represent all America and provide the kind of leadership required to lift Congress from its muck and the miasma of partisanship. They would simply open up a new front, to create even more stagnation and chaos, and would lead to even less action. They would spend more time on trying to reshape the social structure of America, and less time doing what was necessary to keep the country moving forward and becoming strong again. They would attempt to sow their religious beliefs and have them bloom into new laws, restricting the freedoms and liberties of all Americans, forcing a confrontation with the Supreme Court.

It isn't about talking points. It's not about political gain. It's not about who controls what. In the end, it is about how we govern ourselves, and who we ask to take on the responsibility. Only by choosing wisely and thoughtfully, do we show the world the strength of democracy built by the people, for the people.

The Long, Dark Tea-Time Of America

I must admit some fascination and an admiration for the Tea Party movement, albeit a small amount. That it represents a group of Americans who are tired of politics as usual and want to see lower taxes and a return to the Constitution, is commendable. That those messages come attached to meaningless and nonsensical arguments, specious reasoning, and a general ignorance does not do them any favors. They are, frankly, no different than the parties they have split off from, more about the message than about concrete and reasonable results.

If there's anything that irks me most about them, it's that the more moderate among us, those of us who are well-intentioned, reasonable, compassionate, and capable of compromise, are not making the same amount, if not more, noise that the Tea Party. For all their bluster and bravado, the resounding sound that emanates from a Tea Party rally is a cacophony of worn-out phrase and quarter-baked ideas, most of which have been recycled from the over two hundred-year history of our nation, and have been found to be as wanting in the past as they are now. Yet the moderate Americans, the ones who think for themselves, and who are the eventual swing voters in every election, are not looking upon these people with the decent amount of horror they should, and reacting accordingly. Some of us have taken to blogs and newspapers and web sites trying to sound a rallying cry, yet hearing only crickets.

America is beautiful for its freedom of speech and religion and press and justice for all, but mixed in with all that is the undercurrent of restlessness that attends people who see all of that as the province of a few, not the many, and believe in it only by their rules. The beauty in our Republic is that by using a representative system, we can hold at bay those who would seek to impose their will on all of us only for the reason that it is their will. This is not to say all the ideals they hold are somehow wrong, but many are nonsensical. They are mere sound bites and party plank tropes that are simply uttered every election cycle as if they were powerful incantations that could force us all under the thrall of the chanter. When you hear "smaller government," "lower  taxes," "getting government of our backs," and the like, it stirs a passion, but when you look behind the words, you see very little substance that would give the phrases any power. No one can define just how big the government should be, or how much money should be made available to run it. No one can explain how having regulatory agencies that oversee the safety of all Americans, both physical and financial is truly detrimental. No one can explain why it is all right for the government to tell a woman she cannot have an abortion, while at the same time saying it is wrong for the government to tell us what foods we can eat or what drugs we can take or how safe our cars should be.

Anyone can see -- or should be able to see --  that the solutions to the problems we face in this country are not solved by simple platitudes and shouted exhortations. Nor are they solved merely through foxy, down home wisdom, nor the rallying cries of centuries past. The problems that exist now, are problems of our making, constructed by a headlong technological rush into the 21st Century without a consequent social growth. We are still mired in issues that have been extant since recorded human history began: war, disease, pestilence, racism, sexism, poverty, and scarce resources. We continue to tread the same paths as so many of our ancestors have, because we have been unable to uncouple ourselves from the tired philosophies of the past. It is not enough to advance technologically; we must, concurrently, take the advantages technology gives us, and use it to make normative changes that advance us as a society and a species. To do less is to recycle the past, and tinge it with new illogic and ignorance.

If we want change in America, true change, then it starts with us. It starts with deciding to lay down pat answers and party favoritism, and sitting down at the table and seeing where we are at. We must bring all our minds together, and we must take a reasonable look at what we have and what we need, then proceed to map out a strategy for correcting the long-running ills of society. Whatever path it takes, we must be willing to put aside whatever ideas we may have clung to in the past, to give these new ideas a chance to work. Until we are willing to relinquish our grasp on futility, and place our energies toward truth, compassion, and action, the Tea Party and all other parties will simply go down as a continuation of the same treadmill we have been running on since the country's inception. Let us work together, that all might rise.

The Towers Fall Again

September 11th is being trampled on. It started with the conspiracy theorists and their wild, ridiculous, and unsupported accusations. It continued with an invasion of Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the attack. It was sullied by Rudy Giuliani's insipid and infuriating use of that day as a rallying point for his Presidential bid. It has had dirt cast on it by the ignorant and hate-inspired ramblings of those who would oppose a Muslim cultural center in the same general area as Ground Zero, even though it would not be visible from the site, and would be there to promote peace and understanding. And now, as a pièce de résistance to the creeping morass that engulfs the day, a pastor of a fringe "Christian" sect has been allowed to co-opt the narrative with his reprehensible and ridiculous idea to burn Qurans on the anniversary, which has only served to inflame the passions of devout Muslims with its offensiveness.

The World Trade Center Towers, symbols of American preeminence and pride, linchpins of the lower Manhattan skyline, victims of hatred and hubris, are being torn asunder once again, not by planes loaded with volatile fuel, but people filled with volatile rhetoric. Unlike when Francis Scott Key was moved to write The Star Spangled Banner, this moment, which could have been made the rallying cry for further unity of purpose and of people, has been turned into a divisive and discordant event. The shock, and dismay, and grief of the day, has been replaced by hyperbole, bigotry, and hypocrisy.

Why?

I was there, in that city, on that day, miles from the epicenter of destruction, but still tied to it by the company I worked for, which had a large amount of office space in the World Trade Center, and by memories of the very first job I held in New York City, not far from it. I had lunched amidst their tall shadows. I had marveled at their sheer height, and bulk, and beauty against the sky. I had shopped in the Borders bookstore there, and still have the bookmark I received when I made my last purchase there. Those buildings were as much a part of me as anyone, for beneath them I had heaved a sigh as my first job in Manhattan went away, the company shriveling up as so many did at the end of the Dot Com bubble. On the day I filed for unemployment, I walked all the way from Midtown to Downtown, just to stand near them, and try to absorb, even minutely, their strength. Ever night, when I walked along the heights across the Hudson River in New Jersey, I would look longingly toward them, towering in the dark, hoping I would return.

Then they were gone.

As much as one can feel for those who lost loved ones that day, and my heart is forever scarred by the thought of the pain they suffered, especially those whose family and friends had to experience the suicidal plunges of the planes they were riding on, the death those people suffered was merciful and at least they know that those they loved are in a better place, brought to peace. For those of us who lived, even those of us who were not covered in dust, showered in concrete, or standing amidst the paper falling from the sky like snow, the death is slower, more tenuous, and more painful. For though we bear not a physical scar of the day, a part of us died that day, too. A small part, to be sure, but in us lies the death of our innocence and the world we know. Hopes, aspirations, peace, tranquility, shattered just as sure as steel was shattered by the force of an airplane impact.

Perhaps it was good that our naiveté died that day, that, not unlike Pearl Harbor, we were brought back to the reality of our place in the world. However, the price we paid was the opening of Pandora's box, loosing a new round of the evils of humanity into the daylight. Bigotry, hatred, intolerance, ignorance -- all these things that had lain dormant, not cast back upon the wind, to rain down on a hapless and anxious country. It was not long before those who lived by these negative associations began to absorb them, and turn them to their purposes. The end result: a country that could have used such a horrific event to fuse itself together even more tightly, is, instead, tearing itself apart and chewing itself away.

If the mass death of the innocent is not enough for us to demand better, if we do not see this as the opportunity to unite as one, stand atop our loftiest principles, and say to our foes "you cannot hurt us while we have our freedom and liberty," then the anniversary of that day is a sad one indeed, because beyond the toll of mortal beings, and the remaining collateral damage of those of us who still suffer with the memory, there is the damage to the American spirit. By casting aside that which made us strongest, our dedication to our principles and our belief in our Constitution as the blueprint for a truly democratic country, we cease to be an ennobled. If we wish to wallow in the mud of our enemies, so be it, but that removes any honor in our actions; to do precisely what our enemies say we do, is to hand them victory in their nonsensical and reprehensible war against us.

Fear Factory

Fear is a great motivator. It will take the timid, the weak, the ignorant, and the faithless, and whip them into a frenzied mob, easily led by the mountebank willing to stoke them with the fire of inflamed rhetoric and subtle prevarication. It easier to point to the ills of the world and claim they emanate from a source other than the individual, to a person, or group, or government that is callous or unresponsive or traitorous. It is far easier to spread lies and deceit, than to sow seeds of compassion and compromise.

We live in a time where, given the situation in the world, the turmoil we see, and the information so readily available, that the fear mongers and hate baiters can take their messages of discontent and fury to a wider audience, an audience soaked and steeped in the ichor of marketing, which tells them what they should have, what they must do, and how they must not think about things, but "take our word for it." Generation after generation, as education continues to fail to teach the basic skills needed for critical reason and common sense, when parents have children merely because they are told "that's what society/god wants," and we are told we are not good Americans unless we mortgage ourselves to afford bigger houses, cars, and televisions, the idea that the words uttered by anyone should bear closer scrutiny is as foreign a concept as the idea of the tall sailing ship or the horse and buggy.

So, the fear merchants peddle their talking points in the common market, a new and insidious form of Town Crier, who, rather than seeking to inform, is trying to inflame. The crowds gather around their glowing boxes, bombarded by light that does not illuminate, does not educate, but does prevaricate. Facts, even where they are evident, are glossed over as inconvenient, or flawed, or "propaganda." Those who seek to warn the town of the approach of the wolves are merely "trying to scare us." There are no wolves we are told; only sheep with different haircuts. How can they harm us?

The wolves are not the sheep -- we, the Americans, are. Meekly, we accept, without reservations, the fiery oration of others as gospel, checking our curiosity at the door, placing our common sense in abeyance, chalking up any lingering doubts to random thought. We do not question, do not confront, do not interrogate those who seek to tell us how we should act and what we should do and what we should think. We accept that, somehow, their judgment is greater than ours, even though there is nothing upon which to base such a thought. We would be led, en masse, to the slaughter, none the wiser.

If we do nothing else, we must awaken, must set forth with hungry eyes and hungrier minds, to test the words of these purveyors of "truth." Truth in and of itself, is an ephemeral concept, subject to interpretation, but facts are in evidence, capable of rational analysis, and subject to scrutiny. We must ask ourselves the tough questions. Does the thing harm me? Are we as beset as they would make us out to be? Have we lost anything tangible in the way of rights? Where did they come by their information? How credible is it? Have they lied to us before?

Until we decide to loose the chains that fetter us to the unreal world of fear, hate, and ignorance, and soar up to the heights of human intellect, to think for ourselves, and challenge those who simply believe we have no choice but to believe them, we will be forced to muddle around in the dark, forever the sheep to be shorn by those who would buy the wool and burn it, rather than clothe all humanity in it. We can no longer afford to be complacent -- the future of us all depends on it.

America, The Dissonant

The United States of America is the land of the dichotomy; that is to say, we are the nation that embodies both the best and the worst of attributes of humanity simultaneously. It is at once a privilege to live in a free nation such as this, and a travesty having to live with the hypocrisy and ignorance so rampant. People would wave the flag and the Constitution at you, as if to say they are our country, but the flag is a mere identifier, and the Constitution, while grand, is but words on paper. It is what we do with these things that gives them meaning, and makes us angels, or demons, or both.

We live in a country where we are told there is an epidemic of obesity -- just look around. Even as this is said with breathless alarm, there are those who, with a meager income, public assistance, and the charity of food banks, still find themselves hungry several days out of the month.

There are those in this country who have city apartments or country mansions worth thousands of dollars a square foot, and those are only second homes. Meanwhile, families are being forced by economic chaos, to abandon homes they can no longer afford, to join the roles of the homeless, forced to seek shelter wherever it can be found.

Corporations beg, plead, and pay to receive tax incentives to create new jobs, claiming they cannot while they are so oppressed by the poor economy. This, when during the good times, they were cutting jobs, fattening profit margins, and driving up productivity, working the remaining workers harder and for lower pay.

We are outraged by the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster, scandalized by the way oil companies and the government have acted, even as we continue to fill up our SUVs and drive a mile for a gallon of milk.

Our immigrant heritage is celebrated, the bravery of those who voyaged here to start a new life held up as a shining example of the strength of our nation, even as we seek to expel immigrants who fill some of the most unwanted and back-breaking jobs in our country, because we could not find a way to let them enter legally, nor help them escape poverty in their own country.

Many trumpet their right to speak their mind, even as they shout down those who try and voice an opposing opinion.

There are those who claim that the American family is under siege, and that family values must be restored, even as they cheat on their spouses, to great public scandal.

Some firmly believe that the current administration is tearing down the Constitution, even though not one Amendment has been repealed and the Supreme Court of the United States continues to function as it ever did. Their right to freedom of speech is undiminished, yet they claim they are not being heard, even as they spout their vitriol on TV, the radio, and via the Internet, unfettered, all the while not complaining about the fact that the Federal government was ceded the power to monitor communications virtually without oversight.

Freedom, liberty, and justice are touted as our birthright, even as some seek to deny them to people who happen to be homosexual.

We are allowed to worship as we choose -- so long as "Christian" values take precedence over any other.

Americans are proud that they continue to have the right to bear arms, so long as the right is not infringed by pesky laws requiring background checks that might keep chronic abusers, criminals, and the mentally unstable from owning guns, and guns can be sold to anyone, no questions asked.

Public figures constantly tell us we are a "Christian" nation, even as the poor get poorer, the hungry get hungrier, and intolerance rises. Christian virtues of charity, compassion, and fellowship are espoused, if not practiced.

We seek perfection in our public servants, even as we elect the same crooks and charlatans again and again, never holding them to account for failing to provide a decent life for all Americans, even as they enjoy the fruits of American taxes.

Some are afraid that government is too large, though they would be hard-pressed to say just how large government should be.

Senators and Representatives from some quarters do not believe that tax money should be used to fund entitlements and social programs, even though they are charged with the welfare of all Americans. They instead believe that lining the pockets of the rich is the best way to provide for all Americans, even though the rich are under no obligation to spend the money. They decry the inflation of the national debt, even as they, themselves, pile onto it with their pet projects and spendthrift boondoggles.

The "free" market is the cure for all our ills, even though our choices are limited by the arbitrary decisions of out-of-touch corporations, and our consumerism is driven by marketing, not quality, costs passed back to us at every turn.

We cannot fail to see that such dichotomy is our ruination; to push ourselves to the margins, rather than move toward the center, where the bulk of humanity lies, is to divide ourselves, and a house divided cannot stand. If we are true to our founding, true to the words in the Constitution, true to freedom and liberty, then it is up to all of us to ensure that every American receives these benefits, regardless of individual belief. It is the protection of our individuality, while at the same time being knit together under one banner, that is what is truly great about America. Let us no longer allow the disparities between what is and what must be divide us -- let us seek to unite behind the proposition that every one of us is of worth, and deserves decency and respect. Only then will we truly be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

[Insert Adjective Here] American

It is interesting to note the number of people who wear the appellation "Real" American proudly, as if it were a designation to be found on a job application or a Census form or in the Constitution. The ridiculous nature of the proclamation, that somehow one American can be more "real" than another, points to a fundamental flaw in our character as a nation, that we have not overcome in over two hundred years. Whereas, at the time of the Revolutionary War, it was still possible for Colonists to consider themselves subjects of Great Britain and not Americans, no such divide exists today. Those born here, or who have taken the oath of citizenship, are Americans, plain and simple.

That should be enough for anyone; the concept could not be simpler. Yet, deep within the American subconscious, there still resides the need to categorize and catalog, to provide some sort of delineation as to where any particular person falls. Though the Constitution would count all Americans as equal, subject to the same laws, awarded the same rights and privileges, free to live in perpetual liberty under our flag, some find it necessary to divvy up freedom and partial it out based on sometimes arbitrary and mainly discriminatory grounds, as if some are owed a greater degree of it than others.

When you can subject people to categorization, it is easier to minimize and dismiss their attitudes, their questions, their concerns, and their objections. It is also easier to foist upon them stereotypes, that can easily justify your negative view of the group. Why take a person as they are, when you can tar-and-feather them with a broad brush? Lumping them together with their "disreputable" counterparts allows you to assuage nagging guilt and reinforce your own superiority. Such self-fulfilling and self-serving schemas ensure that everyone is in their proper place. This allows "real" Americans to distance themselves from the rest of us.

While pride in the heritage of our ancestors is not to be dismissed, it cannot become the yardstick by which we are measured. To be African American, Indian American, Vietnamese American, Italian American, etc., is only important in terms of that heritage, not as a means to erect fences around groups. Each and every American, regardless of heritage, wealth, education or employment, deserves the same level of respect and decency, the same full and total access to liberty and justice, and the same right to pursue prosperity.

Anyone who wishes to wrap themselves in the American flag and the Constitution, must first accept that they have no greater claim to those things and what they represent, than anyone else who is an American citizen. This country is strong through its diversity, not just in people, but in ideas; those who journeyed here over the centuries brought with them hopes, dreams, aspirations, innovations, and a desire to be free, and we are the caretakers of that spirit. America stands or falls through all of us, not just a select few; it is up to every one of us to do our utmost to maintain the freedom and liberty of all of us. That is what should define a real American.

Subdivisions

It is remarkable that we live on one world, come from one common genetic stock, and yet, even so, find myriad ways to divide ourselves. Gender. Skin color. Religious preference. State. Country. Designations that are artificially enforced as making us different, even though they are ephemeral things that do not keep us from being the same underneath. It is ironic, because the history of humanity has been a story of unification, of moving to larger and larger groups, for protection or to share resources, or provide stability. Disparate groups constantly merging and melding: nomadic tribes becoming village dwellers, villagers becoming townsfolk, townsfolk moving to cities, and cities locking together to form nation-states.

While the impetus is always to the larger and stronger grouping, those groupings are rife with the cracks of difference. Nowhere is that seen more starkly, than in the United States, an agglomeration of almost every culture known to human kind, wrapped together under the cloak of liberty and justice, shot through with the fractures and fissures of antipathy and suspicion. A nation founded on noble ideals, we in America strive to maintain our strength even as we chisel away at the foundation of our strength: our diversity. The great breadth of cultures that have come together to form a world superpower, and the range of skills, abilities, and knowledge therein, simultaneously are our great strength, and inherent weakness. It is only the rule of law and our basic humanity that make this nation possible.

In recent years, however, it seems our differences are trending more toward separating us than uniting us. Despite being over two-hundred years old, and surviving civil and world strife, our country sometimes feels as if it is straining at the seams. Rather than becoming a stew, a mixture of distinct parts that create one nourishing meal, we are more a buffet, a pick-and-choose collection of dishes that are kept separate, and only rarely come together on one plate. We take only what we prefer, and leave the rest disregarded.

We cannot continue to deny our future together as one people by spending our time separating each other into groups. Like it or not we are one people, one humanity, and though we may live in distant parts of the Earth, we are all intrinsically tied together. No nation on Earth represents the spread of humanity quite like America, however we seem to be destined to reject our uniqueness, taking refuge in old social mores which no longer serve us in the modern age. It is time for us to grow up to, become more than we are, and to chart the destiny of our planet. Our nation is the only nation where of the disparate groups of our planet live together as one, and if we are true to that, then together we can solve any problem that lies in humanity's future.

We have a choice -- come together as one, as we are, or, to tear ourselves apart at the roots. a house divided against itself cannot stand, and right now we are that house. The possible collapse of our home is in our hands and in our hearts; it will be up to us to decide whether or humanity lives or dies. We must now turn our energies towards solving the intractable problems that confront us, and we must do it soon, lest we wake up one morning and discover that we are far too late.