Tag: politics

Don’t go there…

I think everyone is familiar with this concept:

I can bag on my mom and you can bag on your mom. But under no circumstances can YOU bag on MY mom.

Lately I’m feeling that way about the U.S. and its international relations. I’m not super thrilled about everything they do, but I understand where the decisions are coming from (mostly), because I get who the players are and what motivates them. But when people from elsewhere spout off about how stupid and wrong the actions of the U.S. government are, I get very uncomfortable. I occasionally have to suppress the urge to shout, “Why don’t you stop talking out of your ass?” And if you’ve met me in person, you know just how out of character that is.

As TQE says, I’m an expatriate, not an ex-patriot. Anyone else experience patriotism flare-ups?

“We are a country of God.”

A New York Times article from September 12, 1938, which I found on technoccult.com

Glenn Beck’s rally unfolding on anniversary of King’s speech – CNN.com.

We most certainly are not.  We are a country of individuals, who are guaranteed the freedom to decide for ourselves how, when, and whether to worship.

Beck, a hero to many conservative voters across the country, said, however, that the rally is nonpolitical and its mission is to honor American troops.

Well, then he’s lying on two counts. Honoring troops would include respecting the separation of church and state, that prized principle which used to make such a strong distinction between countries like the U.S.A. and Iran. By stating that we are a country of God, Beck has thumbed his nose at all those troops who thought they were fighting to defend and preserve our separation of church and state. And you can’t tell me in the same breath that a rally at which you say “America today begins to turn back to God” is nonpolitical.

“It was not my intention to select 8-28 because of the Martin Luther King tie. It is the day he made that speech. I had no idea until I announced it,” Beck said on his radio show in June, soon after the announcement of the rally.
“Whites don’t own Abraham Lincoln. Blacks don’t own Martin Luther King. Those are American icons, American ideas, and we should just talk about character, and that’s really what this event is about. It’s about honoring character,” Beck said.

Wouldn’t honoring Dr. King’s character also necessarily mean knowing enough about the man and the movement to realize that you can’t honestly claim not to have known the significance of your own rally’s ostensibly randomly chosen date? Either you dishonor his character by not knowing enough about him to not hold your own rally on that day, in that place, or you dishonor his character by proclaiming your ignorance.

Or just come clean and admit that you’re actively trying to detract from the significance of the “I Have a Dream” rally by having your own Bullshit Party on the same day. I would have a lot more respect for that honesty.

Politics are not the reason that we moved away from the U.S., but they sure are a contributing factor toward not moving back.

Q. What’s in a name?

A. More than I’d have thought.

Or maybe I should not be surprised, given the caning episode. (How did that go down, by the way?) In Malaysia, four Christian churches in three days have been firebombed as protest against a Catholic newspaper’s use of the word “Allah, ” and the court system’s support of that usage. CNN reports that Muslims believe non-Muslims should not use the word at all. Here’s where I get bewildered and need your help:

  1. Does that apply to all Muslims? Or maybe just some of the fundamentalists? Is there a Koran directive or commandment or documentable dogma for this, or is CNN generalizing here?
  2. According to Wikipedia, that word is used by Arabic-speakers in general, and that is the word used for God. Non-muslim speakers of Arabic, wherever you are, do you face your Muslim neighbors’ wrath for using the word?
  3. So, what are the odds that I’d accidentally offend a Muslim, perhaps while on vacation in Malaysia (sure looks nice, Truly Asia and all) talking about God (not that I do that much, except in a historical, philosophical, or cultural context)? Or be misunderstood, talking about something that sounds like “Allah”? (Challah, Valhalla, Lalala, Margot‘s chow Nala, Alexei Lalas, the list goes on…)
  4. The Tourism Malaysia e-brochure on customs and etiquette has lots of tips about Malaysian culture — particularly interesting was the section on naming conventions on page 2 — and useful contact information, but sadly no hints for what to do if you should find yourself in a church on fire.


Commentary: Open your minds, America – CNN.com

Commentary: Open your minds, America – CNN.com.

Just read some thoughts about the debate about health care at the link above, and I have to say, I don’t think the scope is limited to the health care debate.  I am reminded about arguments even within my extended family (so far, the immediate family seems pretty unanimous — but then, we haven’t discussed everything) of the recent political past.

On the other hand, I also remember eavesdropping on the “my country right or wrong” arguments between my mother and great-grandfather back in the ’80s.

What do you think? Was there a time in our collective past when it was not so terrible to consciously change one’s mind on an important and meaningful topic? If we’ve lost that ability (if we even ever had it…), how can we get it back?

We need it, don’t we?

it’s not just Detroit

Got a link to this opinion column from my dad via email today:
http://www.freep.com/article/20081123/COL01/811230371

Fred Albom?It’s by Mitch Albom, whom you probably know of as a sports reporter in the Detroit area who looks like what I thought Fred Savage was going to grow up to look like.

No?

How about as the “Tuesdays With Morrie” guy? Or the “Five People You Meet in Heaven” guy?

Anyway, read the column I linked to above and ask yourself why officials in the government aren’t rushing to bail out the auto industry like they are banks and insurers. This has a big impact on me as well; I’m from the Detroit area originally and work now for a German auto parts supplier. If Ford and GeneralChryslerMotors* can’t buy parts from my company, people get laid off here, and other places, too.

astute observation

A friend of ours was getting her political discourse on and watched this interview in preparation.

Her reaction to it:

She was reminding me of {name removed to protect the nice-but-stupid}. The reason I say that is that she seems like she is totally in over her head, but she can BS enough to look good to people who are as stupid as she is.

That struck me as the most astute observation I’ve heard yet from someone I know personally. Sarah Palin may be able to pull the wool over some or even most of the voting public’s eyes, but that stuff around seven minutes into the interview sure won’t fly as soon as she’s called upon to represent the U.S. in anything international.

I mean, I know she’s evil. Outlawing abortion, pork barrel spending, blurring the separation of church and state, and book bannings: those are all things that I expect from politicians whose positions conflict with my own. From her policy standpoint, clearly, I think she’d be bad for the country. I can sort of accept that those kinds of candidates exist.

But based on her statements in the interview above, where she’s flying solo in response to questions and challenges posed to her instead of charming her supporters and belittling her opponents in prepared statements with no opportunity for spontaneous dialog, it’s clear to me that Sarah Palin is simply unprepared to lead the nation. Matt Damon seems to think so, too:

What exactly did the McCain camp expect her to come up with when the time comes to show what she knows? We know she got elected to govern Alaska because pretty much everyone else in Alaskan government was corrupt and Alaska desperately looked to the least familiar face in the game. And it was pretty. And maybe that and some hockey mom tactics was enough for Alaska. But we as a nation really need more than that.

I am dreading having to explain to my coworkers how she could even be considered for the job.