Moving Forward

A wise man once said:

If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, whatever you do keep moving forward.

This is my single favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quote. He said a great many inspiring and grand things in his time, but this strikes a chord within me. I wear the mantle, proudly, of "Progressive," because it's root is "progress" and that is what Mankind has done throughout its existence: moved forward.

The journey forward is not always easy. Dr. King could certainly attest to that. The journey forward is not always swift. President Barack Obama can attest to that. The journey forward is not always safe. Representative John Lewis can attest to that. Some never get very far in the journey forward. Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and many others can attest to that.

In my heart, I know progress is a slow, painstaking, agonizing road. Most of us who hew to the wisdom of it know we will not see the fruition of the actions we take to bring it about. Every Progressive is heir to Sisyphus, pushing the stone that is the burden of shoving a mewling, kicking, screaming humanity forward, only to occasionally see it roll back.

We stand in that moment now, aware that the stone we have struggled to roll forward stands to kick back toward us. Like Sisyphus, we could see this as a part of our punishment for hubris, and we should, for while we have pushed the stone, some among us have made it harder to move. There are those who will not push, because the stone is not what they want it to be. There are others who see pushing the stone as a waste of time, and look fruitlessly for another stone that will be easier to move. To be true Progressives, we must all push the stone together, and take what little movement it makes as progress nonetheless.

The struggle to move forward is never-ending. There is no stopping for breath, as many are wont to do, when a milestone is reached. For whatever progress we have made up to that point, there is much further still to go. We should never be satisfied, we should never be proud, of where the stone lies; we should always be asking ourselves: Where must the stone go now?

At this moment, the stone is inching backward, threatening to gain momentum and crush us beneath its weight, because we took our eyes off the ultimate goal: freedom and justice for all. All the gains we have made can be erased in an eye-blink of human history if we do not set our feet, place our hands on the stone, and keep pushing. Some may use their Herculean strength, some their full might, some a mere hand, others maybe only a breath, but the sum of all our force is necessary to keep the stone moving forward. No effort can be counted as too small, save no effort at all.

What happens in the coming weeks may well determine the fate of a nation. If it is to be so determined, then let each of us, to whatever level we can, to whatever amount of force we can muster, push this great nation forward against whatever tide opposes its progress. A flake of snow has little weight, but a mass of such can form a mighty avalanche. Let us be that avalanche. Let us be that force. Let us continue to move forward.

The One Hundred Percent

Numbers are bandied about continuously to make a point in the Information Age. Statistics, percentages, tallies, proportions, and the like are becoming the drivers of social change, the mirrors behind which truth is hidden, the towers in which power is created and kept, and the walls that keep groups separated. Even now, across the globe, a battle line is being drawn between the ninety-nine percent of the population that is suffering under the economic and social oppression of the other one percent, in which is invested great wealth and greater power.

While it is all well-and-good to be cognizant of the disparities and divisions that are the heart of our current place in human history, the polarization effected by numerical comparisons in any number of axes, far from delineating and defining the problems and potential solutions of those problems, serves to only increase the divisiveness and demonization extant in human societies all over the planet. If our conscience and social change are to be driven by numbers, then there are only two numbers that should truly count: one and one hundred.

A Body In Motion

Newton's Laws of Motion were the first definitive set of rules that allowed humanity to understand its relationship to the universe. He was the first scientist after Galileo to determine how the inimical forces of nature acted upon things in their environment in a systematic way. Others had nibbled around the edges of the problem – Newton boldly set forth his bible of science, a cookbook for God's works, as it were.

One of the most interesting of the laws states that “a body in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external force.” In the Newtonian world, rolling a ball along an infinite and frictionless floor meant that once imparted with motion, the ball would continue on forever in a straight line unless it encountered something with which to exchange energy (another ball, a bullet, a dip in floor, etc.). A profound bit of thinking, to which Albert Einstein would apply corrections later on to account for all manner of forces unknown at the time of Newton. But this simple rule would provide a deep insight into how the world worked, and prove the driver for scientific inquiry right up to this day.

Are You There, World? It's Me, Haiti...

Six months ago, the region around Port-au-Prince, Haiti was rocked by a titanic earthquake, which leveled buildings, cut essential services, crippled the government, and killed over two hundred thousand people, leaving five times that number homeless. Aid and assistance came in from all over the globe, as the plight of the Haitian people touched hearts and minds everywhere. For a brief moment, Haiti was central to the world, not just the Caribbean Sea. Tent cities were erected to house the homeless, food and water were shipped in continuously, and medical staff from everywhere converged on makeshift hospitals and clinics to treat the wounded.

Now it is six months later, and while rubble has been cleared and some semblance of normalcy is slowly returning to everyday life in Haiti, the problems still remain. Infrastructure -- what little of it there was -- is still in bad shape. Tents dot the landscape, as permanent structures have yet to be built. Hospitals are still crowded. Jobs are scarce. The Haitian government still seems afflicted with the same torpor.

The grand promises of the United States and other nations, in the form of aid money and expertise to help get Haiti on its feet again, are not materializing quickly enough, and where groups and organizations want to make inroads on the critical problems of creating proper water supplies, consistent waste management, and adequate housing, the Haitian government seems incapable or unwilling to act. Six months in, and the average Haitian is still struggling to survive, living in refugee conditions in their own country, clinging to hope and not much more.

There is a unique opportunity here, to rebuild Haiti in such a way, as to make it more self-sustaining and prosperous. It as if the earthquake has provided a blank canvas for the world to work on, and here is the chance to put theories to the test. Earthquake and hurricane resistant housing could be built, to minimize damage from catastrophes. Sewer systems and water purification plants could provide clean drinking water and sanitation to everyone. Solar power could be used to provide everyone with clean and cheap electricity. A fiber-optic network could be constructed, to give Port-au-Prince the latest in communications capabilities. Between construction and operation of these systems, jobs would be created, and the tourist industry could be revitalized. Finally, the poorest members of this proud nation might be brought up from the depths of their poverty, to share in the wealth that is available.

Such a revitalization would be a draw for global businesses, bringing badly needed investment and jobs to an island with few natural resources. Proper business and tax law would ensure that Haiti remained attractive to business and commerce, while supplying it with the revenue necessary to maintain and expand on the systems that promote growth. In essence, Haiti could be an incubator for new ideas and concepts in business, infrastructure development, renewable energy generation, and telecommunications. Investment would allow the government to properly fund the school system, assuring future generations the education require to work in the wider global marketplace.

Maybe this is all a pipe dream, but the potential is there, if only someone or some group will seize the reins and drive it. Haiti deserves no less for the depredations it has suffered over the decades. It is time for the world to make good on its promises.

End Big Government Excess

Yes, that's right -- it's time to end big government's grip. It has done nothing but make us slaves to our own country. Take this health care bill -- just another attempt to pick our pockets to pay for those who cannot support themselves. That's not what America is about; we're about independence, charting our own course, exceptionalism. So let's repeal this bill, before it takes our hard-earned money and gives it away.

And while we're at it... let's do away with some other big government excesses!

Let's take back the auto industry bailout; those companies made their messes, let them clean them up. If a few hundred thousand more people are unemployed, well, serves them right for not working harder, better, and cheaper.

Let's take back the T.A.R.P. funds; those banks should have just been allowed to fail. OK, so it would have plunged us into a depression, but people just need to hitch up their bootstraps and hunker down.

Let's get rid of S.C.H.I.P.; I'm sorry your kid can't get decent health care, but that's your problem, not mine.

Let's repeal Medicare and Medicaid; why should our taxes be paying for health care for the old, the disadvantaged, for the developmentally disabled? What have they done for us? They should be paying their own way, like everyone else.

Let's repeal the Civil Rights Act; there's no reason we can't live separate-but-equal lives in this country. Why should we be forced to live in the same places, eat at the same restaurants, and shop at the same stores that they do?

Let's tear up the Interstate Highways; we had perfectly good roads before, that went where we wanted to go. There isn't enough money to build and maintain them -- it's another government boondoggle.

Let's be rid of Unemployment Compensation; if you lose your job, that's a shame, but if you did your job, your company would never have let you go. Don't be taking money out of a company's pockets to prop up a bunch of freeloaders.

Let's dissolve Social Security; if you're too lazy to save for your retirement, there's no reason the rest of us should be helping you. If you end up poor, it's your own fault for not planning better.

Let's knock down Hoover Dam; the government had no business building a dam to generate electricity, when we have abundant coal and oil resources.

Let's tear up sidewalks and bridges built by the W.P.A.; what was the government doing, giving away tax money to unemployed layabouts to build these things? They took jobs away from good union labor.

Let's repeal the 19th Amendment; giving women the right to vote was a mistake. They were better off doing what they were told by their husbands and fathers.

Let's re-impose slavery; look at how many lives were lost in The Civil War, just to free a bunch of people we brought here to serve us. Waste of lives and money.

Let's give back the Louisiana Purchase; what business did the government have, buying up all that land, when they didn't even know if it was going to be worth anything?

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The purpose of our Federal government is to ensure the essential rights, freedoms, and liberties of all Americans, not just those we like or agree with. What applies to one, must apply to all. To "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity," requires a central government, to oversee these sweeping needs, to coordinate them, and to ensure that every American receives the fullest measure of the rights and privileges given to them by the Constitution. For a central government to work, it requires the people to take ownership of that government, provide it with the resources to carry out these duties, and install people capable of managing the government effectively and efficiently. While the government must be "of, by, and for" the citizens who created it, it must also be willing to go beyond the will of the citizenry, to ensure that the greatest number of Americans receive the benefits of liberty.

The world, and the societies that inhabit it, are subject to change, both from internal pressures and external forces. No society can remain static in the face of change; it must, of need, flow like water, around obstacles, seeking its level. A society must change with its times, and a government must ensure that its citizens are not subject to the vagaries of change, where it can. It is there to ensure that all its citizens need never fear that their way of life will be destroyed by forces beyond their ken or control. Government is protector and defender, educator and jurist, mother and father, champion of liberty and denier of oppression. If our government fails at these things, it is only because we, the people, the stakeholders in this enterprise, have let it happen. We have not reasoned critically, we have become apathetic, content to send the same shirkers, malingerers, and power-seekers back time-and-again, to take our precious resources and squander them. We have the power, granted us by the Constitution, to hold our elected officials to account, and to remove them when they fail us. If we do not do this, we have only ourselves to blame.

Like it, or not, we are in this together. Every person who is a citizen of the Unites States, has a duty and an obligation to ensure the proper operation of the Federal government. Every citizen is accorded the same rights and privileges, without exception, and no one must be allowed to prevent this. We are many, and we are one, and while we are not all alike as people, we are all alike as citizens, and should all be accorded the same level of respect. Our personal inclinations aside, if we are to be a Union, a nation united, then that uniting must be greater than our individual differences. We must speak with deference, agree to disagree where we must, and in the end, we must do what is best for us all. Only in that way, do we honor those who brought our nation into being, and perpetuate their dream of "a more perfect Union."