March 12, 2008
America's Racist Society
There is no question that we still live in a very prejudiced society. Whether it is racial, sexual, religious, physical or whatever, we seemed consumed with labeling people in categories, analyzing reactions by categories then try to deny that we are acting in a way which confirms those categories. Yesterday, comments by Geraldine Ferraro came to light which some construed as racist. She said that Barack Obama got to his position partly because of his race. (CNN)
"In her first interview with Daily Breeze, published late last week, Ferraro said "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept," Ferraro told the newspaper. She also said Hillary Clinton had been the victim of a "sexist media."
Is this racist? Is it true? It could very well be. People are certainly voting for these candidates because they are black or a woman or white, depending whether you are Barack, Hillary or John. Pollsters and media folks continually break down voting patterns by race, sex and religion almost daily. Does anyone really think that these candidates have achieved their respective positions without taking advantage of some cultural "wave"? Granted this is not the only reason, but I am sure it is a factor. People are excited about the fact that a "black" (he is half white and half black) and a woman are the two leading Democratic candidates. I would contend that many people are supporting their respective campaigns for that very reason. Now a high profile person points that out, and she is blasted by the media. What is their goal in doing so? Perhaps they are helping to stir the pot to generate more viewers. They certainly do what they can to keep race and sex a big part of the political scene. Whatever the real motives, and I am sure they are multifaceted, it sure is interesting.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:46 PM | Comments (0)
March 11, 2008
That Uncontrollable Urge
Sex, sex, sex. Ah, old Mother Nature sure likes to throw a curve or two into our lives, now doesn't she? Or at least it does for Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York. Of course, he is not the only one who has succumbed to urges that he or she rationally knows will derail their chosen path. Certainly Eliot knew that his actions were illegal and would lead to his downfall if caught. He knew that he was potentially destroying his marriage and family. He knew that he was putting his career in jeopardy. He knew he was being hypocritical, given his prosecutorial history as Attorney General of NY and Governor. And yet, he still hired a prostitute and had her cross state lines.
So, why would someone in his position destroy so much of his life? What is driving him? That is a silly question really, in the sense that it is so complex that one almost shouldn't even bother asking. But of course, we do. Why does anyone go to a prostitute when they are in a supposedly happy marriage? Obviously they are not getting what they sexually want from their spouse. And therein is the problem.
Is it the culture, or is it something that is inherent in the differences between men and women? Why is it that men have had a desire to continually seek sexual satisfaction outside of their marriages? Do men want to cheat? Or perhaps they are inclined to have sex, more often, in many different forms than are acceptable to their mates? I am sure this also has something to do with the quality of their relationship, but not entirely. This condition is so pervasive, and historical that I feel it extends well beyond the quality of a relationship. One can't individually blame all men or women for this. Maybe it is the Venus/Mars thing.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:57 AM
March 20, 2006
Who Are We?
I get up everyday and read the NY Times. Occasionally I finish reading the front page, editorials and op-eds and feel sick. I think how horrible the country is or how disgusted I am with the government. I get discouraged by the thought that we have to endure almost three more years of this administration.
Congressional Republicans support a President who allows torture and misled the country into a war costing hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars. Thousands of American soldiers are killed and injured while VA funding, especially medical services, is cut. Rendition, torture, deception, wiretaps, secret prisons, prisoners dying from torture, wars based on lies, threatening the courts, interpreting laws to suit personal needs, appointing friends and supporters to high positions of power, acting outside the law, suspending habeas corpus, tax cuts for the wealthy and the largest budget deficits in history all occur and yet there are millions of supporters who think this is more than fine. I read today that Bush's Budget proposal cuts cancer prevention programs. The upper 2% in our country get richer while the lower 98% get comparatively poorer.
Internationally, our war inflames anti-American passions around the world. We systematically break international agreements. Global warming might as well be a Disney fantasy film. We accuse three countries of being the "Axis of Evil", invade one of them and then are outraged when the other two refuse to give up their nuclear ambitions. One wonders if they might want to protect themselves. For the most part we have completely ignored Darfur, where thousands die at the hand of government backed genocidal militias.
Last week on a TV show called Boston Legal James Spader's character ran down a litany of occurences, some of which I mentioned above, the lying about war, the torture, the threat to civil rights, etc. and asked, "Where was the outrage? Where were the protests?" Yes, there are a few small ones, and some of us care; we read blogs, post comments (many of which are rather inflammatory) and support organizations like MoveOn.org, which is a good start and certainly better than nothing. Some of us work for candidates or participate in our communities. But for the most part the country does little. Bush’s poll numbers drop, but folks generally go to work and spend their nights watching television or playing with the latest tech toys.
Too many of us blindly follow our teams; Republicans, Democrats, Green Party, Christians, Jews, Muslims, environmentalists, oil industry, whatever. We suspend our analytical thinking and refuse to question our own decisions. We see too much of the "my team, right or wrong" attitude. How else to explain the thinking of 50,000 people turning out to mourn someone like Slobodan Milosevic, a known torturer and political, murderous thug? The same thing happens here. We are not who we say we are. We do not respect other points of view. We act arrogantly. We do not respect civil or human rights. We are not honest with ourselves, let alone others.
We have allowed Bush to become a leader who does not embody long standing American values. And the fault is ours, as individuals. We must do more, even those who have always opposed the administration. To those who write here, or act in other ways, get more friends involved. Today, do a little more than yesterday. It is our job to continue to seek better means of communication in the hope that somehow we will find a way to get people to listen. We cannot stop trying to find the key, for as James Spader says at the end of Boston Legal , "We have become a very mean country."
Posted by Chip Spear at 2:23 PM | Comments (1)
November 4, 2005
Rant - Questions
So, I need someone to tell me the difference between:
Hard right wing conservative Republicans
Hard right wing Soviet Communists
Hard right wing Chinese Communists
Hard right wing muslim fundamentalists
Specifically with regard to their beliefs in the importance and respect for the individual in society. Think about it in terms of race and sex and what that person can think, read, write, worship and who they can love.
When we look or looked at countries like Communist China, the Soviet Union, Iran, and North Korea, do we or did we side with the hard line conservatives or the liberals? If someone is looking at the United States and applying the same value system, thinking about the improvement of the individual in a society, do they admire the hard line conservatives or the liberals?
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:13 AM | Comments (1)
June 22, 2005
A Little Religious Rant
I am a bit sick of star athletes and people in general thanking Jesus or God or Mohammed or whomever for giving them victory or scoring the touchdown, or making the sale, or winning the race, or even finding the child in the woods. Let's get a little context here. The earth is a small planet revolving around a small star, one of approximately 300 billion stars in a relatively small galaxy, which in turn is one of 80-120 billion galaxies that we estimate exist. This number is probably quite low. Add another metaphor to the mix. If you stretch your arms out to your sides, that represents the history of the earth. Take a small nail file and run it across one nail, once. You have just eliminated all of human history (From Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything).
How arrogant we are to think that God would care about one of us winning the conference championship, or Super Bowl one year, or even finding one child lost in the woods given the way that millions have died.
Posted by Chip Spear at 7:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 5, 2005
Sunday and Church
I just went out roller-blading. It is a beautiful late spring day here in the Northeast. Summer is close. The sky is a deep, rich, blue, puffy clouds float above. I bladed on a "Rails to Trails" path, an old railroad line converted to a bike/blading/walking trail that runs alongside a gorgeous old canal. Large trees hung over the trail for much of the way. The greens jumped out at me, smothering me in warmth and ripeness for what lay ahead this summer. It was one of those moments when life is truly magical. I often feel that this is what I want the world to see. "See this," I want to yell, "and you can never hate, you can only love, for isn't it beautiful?" Children were biking, parents were out with their kids, older couples were walking. A perfect day. And then I thought that in many parts of the world, right at this very moment, thousands, if not millions of people are sitting in churches, temples, mosques, and shrines, learning that the only way to find god is to follow their own particular teaching. Grand Pooh-bahs are teaching young acolytes; Mormons, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jehovah Witnesses, and all the others to sally forth to convert the heatherns and maybe even kill them. Read only "this" book or piece of paper and interpret it "this" way, otherwise you are the devil, an outsider, an unclean person, an enemy, a whatever. I don't know about you, but it makes me scared, and sick.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 12, 2005
French and British Politicians deny link to Saddam payoffs (Rant)
British politician George Galloway and former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua denied U.S. Senate charges that they accepted millions of dollars of oil in exchange for their support. Why is this news? Have you ever heard anyone ever say, in response to accusations, "Oh yes, I did it, I am guilty." Clinton? Bush? Nixon? Who decides to put this garbage in the media?
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack