Why America May Be One Step Away From Becoming An Abomination
Faintly in my memories I recall an America that was beautiful in many ways. We were a righteous national community, in a good way, respectful and hard-working. During my lifetime, I have watched with much helplessness as we reached middle age the beauty started to fade, and our actions became centered on greed and self-fulfilling daily lives with eyes that could only envision a myopic short-term span. More or less we evolved into an “if it feels good, do it” and “whoever has the most toys wins” mentality that forced a massive change in our general climate, as a nation and a people.
The Long Journey To Nowhere Brings Us Back To Ourselves
Faintly in my memories I recall an America that was beautiful in many ways. We were a righteous national community, in a good way, respectful and hard-working. During my lifetime, I have watched with much helplessness as we reached middle age the beauty started to fade, and our actions became centered on greed and self-fulfilling daily lives with eyes that could only envision a myopic short-term span. More or less we evolved into an “if it feels good, do it” and “whoever has the most toys wins” mentality that forced a massive change in our general climate, as a nation and a people.
Perhaps the greed and narcissism were always there, when we were colonial children in the eyes of our controlling and callous English King, rebelling against our “parents” and finding a home of our own. As children often do, it seems that as a nation we continue to carry the baggage inflicted upon us by our parents. For example, as a new nation we wanted a peaceful existence and religious freedom for ourselves and our families and we had a distain of extreme taxation — and yet, here we are in the 21st Century where our military and imperialistic intent invade our global neighbors, forcing our strength and beliefs on each other and throughout the world, with little respect flowing from within to all we do.
I don’t mean to say that I have done nothing to face the rapid transgression, but I am no more than one grain of sand on the vast plain of the Sahara. The winds cause the sands to drift and the powder burns during the intensity of the day; at night they become dark, cold and seem merged as one. We are intermingled as people of the world and some forces change our faces and that one of the planet. Some are natural occurrences, but during the years man-made propulsive forces have taken a blackened toll on all the grains of sand.
“The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.”
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara’s words still make sense when it refers to oppressive and tyrannical leadership. One person cannot start and win a revolution, much as one grain of sand more or less will not alter the Sahara; however, a surging of grains will make a statement upon the desert floor.
“Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a gifted General and President and an intelligent human being, but his words have been forgotten. He understood the dangers inherent in government and leadership. He was a strong Republican who acknowledged the dilemma of strong and fair authority. During his administration, Eisenhower enabled government, military, business and the American community to prosper together, not at the expense of treading one upon the other. In my mind he was the consummate leader, who believed in profiteering while ensuring the common good. Eisenhower believed in maintaining America as a respected world leader by his own actions. How many of our current leaders follow his example?
The U.S. has become the bully on the world block. We seldom think in long-terms and do not consider the total consequences for our behavior and actions. During the past decade we grossly underestimated our “enemies” in Iraq and Afghanistan. How could we think that the insurgents in those countries would be easy to defeat? They have learned to do without modern technology and have retreated back to ancient times. They got rid of their cell phones and instead speak face to face. They have learned to do without conveniences and they have blended into the everyday population. We cannot tell who the bad guys or the good guys are any more. We have invaded their lands and have wreaked havoc upon their lives. They call us “the western infidels” and they may be right. We never were the ones to start a fight, but we did finish them.
Wherever we go we seem disrespect and destroy people and cultures. In contrast, we are simple to destroy because we are in plain sight and we must have our conveniences. We are prime targets and we may still pay for our arrogance and illogical aggression. At this point we may have no alternative but to continue our aggressive actions in the Middle East because if we stop it will permit the insurgents the safety net that would enable them to distribute their wrath upon our nation and soldiers and further attack throughout the world. The U.S. has made many poor decisions and even more enemies. We have acted without much forethought and potential consequences for our actions and thus we have inspired hatred for our nation and for Americans.
The U.S. via President Obama and Congress must stop the worldwide blunders started by previous administrations which have evolved into the ongoing military actions throughout the world. It is time to step-up and become more responsible and respectful towards our world neighbors. During the years the world has become smaller and we all must live in it peacefully. Military actions inspire imperialistic profiteering. Peace can also provide mutual profiteering without the callous loss of lives and friendships. It is time for humane kind to be kind to one another and find the peaceful means to coexist. On the other hand, maybe it’s already one step too late.
Peter Stern, a former director of information services, university professor and public school administrator, is a disabled Vietnam veteran who lives in Driftwood, Texas.
Primary Mystery
Since I come from Chicago, people often tease me about the politics of my home city and state. South Carolina is starting to take the heat off my homeland when it comes to scandals. First there was Governor Mark Sanford who claimed he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was actually on a trail to his Argentinean mistress. Then Nikki Haley, a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in the recent election was accused of having an extra-marital affair with a “conservative blogger.” Who accused her? The conservative blogger. The latest shocker came when a complete unknown with no ties to powerful politicians, who had not waged a smear campaign, and who made no campaign promises won the Democratic nomination for Governor. Naturally, the professional politicians were outraged.
Since I come from Chicago, people often tease me about the politics of my home city and state. South Carolina is starting to take the heat off my homeland when it comes to scandals. First there was Governor Mark Sanford who claimed he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was actually on a trail to his Argentinean mistress. Then Nikki Haley, a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor in the recent election was accused of having an extra-marital affair with a “conservative blogger.” Who accused her? The conservative blogger. The latest shocker came when a complete unknown with no ties to powerful politicians, who had not waged a smear campaign, and who made no campaign promises won the Democratic nomination for Governor. Naturally, the professional politicians were outraged.
Alvin Greene, an unemployed veteran, beat Vic Rawl, a former judge and state lawmaker, 59% to 41%. Greene said that he ran because he had turned to the office of Republican incumbent (and candidate) U.S. Senator Jim DeMint for help in dealing with his disability, but got nowhere. When you listen to Greene talk, you certainly believe that he could have some sort of disability, so your heart goes out to him. When I first heard the story, it sounded like an old Frank Capra movie in which a non-politician, a man of the people who lives with his elderly father, whips the political insider. It was just too good to be true.
And it might be. In the movie version of this story, Greene would’ve made rousing speeches to the common man. Other veterans would have marched to protest the way in which they are mistreated all too often. He would’ve won debates with his simple, but honest talk. However, none of this happened. So how did he get elected? Also, he’s currently facing charges of showing pornography to a college student. How did that fact elude his opponents? Of course, usually college students are showing the rest of us pornography.
One theory is that since South Carolina holds “open primaries,” plotting Republicans were behind Greene’s election so that Senator DeMint would face an easy foe in the fall election. However, this cynical plot would only work if the bad guy politicians had put Greene’s face in front of the voters, if they got throngs of people to show up for rallies, and if they had organized a huge grass roots movement for him to help him win the election. None of these things happened. So even if you believe that some untrustworthy Republicans got his name on the ballot, how did they make him win while keeping him a secret?
Race has been a staple of political scandal, and it has come into this story. State Senator Robert Ford said that he thinks Greene won because he’s an African American. (He’s not the same Robert Ford who killed Jesse James). Anyway, Ford theorized that the reason Greene won was that even though nobody knew who he was, he got a huge percentage of African American votes because his name ends in an “e.” According to Ford, “No white folks have an ‘e’ on the end of Green. The blacks after they left the plantation couldn’t spell, and they threw an ‘e’ on the end.”
So, he’s saying that when African Americans see “Greene,” they think black. I don’t know. When I see “purple,” I don’t think “orange.”
Besides, what about Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Greene, writer Graham Greene, and, of course, “Bonanza’s” Lorne Greene? They were all “white folks.” To make Ford’s definitely bizarre and seemingly racist statement all the more interesting is that Ford is black.
If we learn that Greene is a seriously disabled man who really is unqualified for the job, it will be a sad situation. But the question will still be there: how did he get elected?
I hope it turns out that Greene is legit. I hope it’s the movie plot in which the simple American citizen defeats the professional politicians just because he is a simple American citizen. On the other hand, if it turns out that chicanery has taken place in the Palmetto State, none of us will be surprised. As I said before, South Carolina is replacing the Windy City and the Land of Lincoln as the home of weird politics. In fact, this replacement might have already taken place. After all, I can’t remember the last time I heard a newscaster or a late night host utter those two famous words: Rod Blagojevich.
Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from “Sesame Street” to “Family Ties” to “Home Improvement” to “Frasier.” He has also read many books, some of them in hardcover. He can be reached at lloydgarver@gmail.com. Check out his website at lloydgarver.com and his podcasts on iTunes.
