April 2009

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April 30 - Republican Self-Destruction?

The choice made by Arlen Specter to leave the Republican party and join the Democrats is yet another sign that the GOP is in big trouble.   To be sure, Specter’s move is dismissed by the right wing of the party as meaningless — he often sided with Democrats on some red meat issues of the Republican base.   They can also criticize him as having been politically motivated.   Back in the primary season as the Obama-Clinton race reached a crescendo, a lot of liberal Republicans changed their party allegiance to Democratic in order to vote in that primary.   Most haven’t bothered to switch back, leaving a more right wing base of primary voters, ones likely in the current climate to back his opponent.   Specter’s best chance at re-election is as a Democrat.

Yet the driving force of this change is a strong current in the Republican party to shift to the right.  The base, not used to not having power, and believing that the failure of the GOP under Bush was caused too little adherence to the core right wing agenda, believe the best way to get back in power is to firmly grasp conservative “principles” and do all they can to stop the “socialism” of the Obama administration.   Moreover, they are committed to what they call a “culture war” over things like same sex marriage and abortion.   Pragmatic Republicans who compromise and see a ‘culture war’ as a bit silly are skewered as “RINOS” – or ‘Republican in Name Only.”   They want an exclusive club.

The Democrats, on the other hand, have embraced pro-life, pro-gun, and more conservative candidates, including Specter, whose position on labor issues often contradicts Obama’s.   The Democrats learned that the key to winning a majority is to have candidates that speak to the constituency of a particular state.  A pro-gun pro-life conservative Democrat is a better choice for a state like Georgia, while in urban centers you might have Democrats who truly are socialist.   The Obama administration has to ride herd on this cacophony of Democratic voices, but if it can craft compromises and make deals, it can get a lot done.

Here in Maine, moderate pro-choice Republican Olympia Snowe is dismayed by the way the Republican party is changing.  In the northeast, where few Republicans get elected to office, the red meat right wing agenda has little appeal.   To be Republican here is to distrust centralized government, be fiscally conservative, support a strong military, and see individual rights as paramount.   On issues like abortion, gay marriage, and most social issues there are divisions.  The libertarian side of the party is at least as strong as the socially conservative side.  Moreover, there is a New England pragmatism that refuses to look at issues like health care and immigration in purely ideological terms.  There are problems to be solved, let’s make compromises and deal with them.

Looking at the demographics of the country, there is little reason to expect a more ‘ideologically pure’ Republican party to succeed.  Perhaps they think that “when Obama fails” the public will simply turn to them as the only alternative, and then they can implement their agenda.    But that’s delusional thinking.  Bush arguably was failing in 2004, but still defeated Kerry.  And despite the fact the GOP and President Bush were immensely unpopular in 2008, if it wasn’t for the economic crisis and McCain’s weak campaign (and pick of Sarah Palin for VP), the Republicans might have still pulled off a victory.  People compare the parties, they don’t just dismiss one and choose the other.  Obama gave people a sense of hope and confidence, while projecting pragmatism.   If he had spouted left wing slogans, he’d have lost.

This inward spiral of the GOP is, however, typical of parties who lose power.  Not wanting to accept it, or knowing what to do next, the activists — usually the most extreme — push hard and develop a more extreme agenda.   Almost always this leads to electoral defeat after electoral defeat.   This causes party leaders to resign, and their replacements recognize that they need a more inclusive vision.

At first they drift towards mirroring the other party.  This happened in Great Britain after the Labour party fell from power in 1979.  They veered far left, and after a series of loses Tony Blair shifted the party to the center, and accepted many of changes conservative Margaret Thatcher had put in place.   This took the Labour party 18 years.  In Germany the Social Democrats followed a similar path after losing power in 1982, only regaining it 16 years later with Gerhard Schroeder steering the party to the center.

Unlike the UK and Germany, the US has a Presidential rather than a parliamentary system, and therefore it is possible for a charismatic and effective leader to hasten the change.  However, just winning the Presidency isn’t enough, as proven by Nixon in 1968 and Clinton in 1992.   Nixon governed as a rather liberal President, while Clinton turned out relatively conservative.   The cycle tends to be first the losing party goes into the wilderness and tries to figure out its identity in a new political era.  This often leads to activists and extremists defining the agenda.  Then as a new group of leaders get sick of failure, they make compromises and become a “light” version of the dominant party, making inroads as the dominant party starts making errors due to being in power too long or not noticing changes in public opinion.  Finally, the new dominant party loses big as the party that had lost power rebuilds and develops a new creative message with a popular leader.   Such realignments are rare — the last two were in 1980 and now 2008.  The also tend to take place in times of economic trouble.

So what are Republicans to do?   Until they reject playing to the far right and trying to engage in unwinnable culture wars, they are likely to be in the wilderness.   People blame their philosophy for the economic collapse, and criticism of Obama ‘pandering’ to foreign leaders is ineffective given the foreign policy failures laid at the feet of the GOP.  People want a President who gets along with others.   Making gay marriage a rallying issue actually helps the gay marriage cause, that’s how unpopular the far right has become.  Support for gay marriage leaped from 33% to 44% in recent months.  The public isn’t about to get emotional about that issue when the economy seems to be in collapse.

Ultimately, they need to come around to recognizing that while their base has to be listened to, a two party system requires inclusive and diverse parties.  They need a Snowe-Collins-Specter approach to forcing the Democrats to compromise in the Senate.  The strident ‘get rid of the Rinos’ attitude only limits their power, placing less of a check on the Democrats.  And while some may think that will hasten Democratic failure, the policy changes that get put in place may be impossible to turn back.

So to my two Senators — Snowe and Collins — I’d say wait it out.  The party will come back to you.  The country needs moderate Republicans ready to create a functional check and balance system that allows compromise and cooperation.  In fact, you can still serve that function working with conservative Democrats.   In some ways the Northeast is looking today like a mirror of the Southeast after Reagan’s election, when conservative Democrats switched parties and the GOP became dominant.  That’s not healthy, two viable parties are good for the nation, and for individual states.

The GOP is not dead.  But the extremist wing’s agenda is obsolete and anachronistic.  They are holding on to it and have enough support that they think they can revive it.   In time, those illusions will fade, and a new vision will be developed to speak to a new era, and address the Democratic mistakes that are sure to be made in coming years.  C’est la politique.  The political pendulum swings, the Republic endures.

April 29 - Political Principles

(This reflection is motivated in part by responses to yesterday’s post ‘Tortured Logic’ and the principle behind rejecting torture.)

The term “principle” gets used a lot by people to justifytheir political beliefs.  Principle usually means adherence to a particular position, and the more principled one is, the less willing one is to compromise.  But rarely can principles be followed without compromise.

If someone is anti-abortion and wishes to use government force (rule of law) to prevent abortions from occurring, a few things follow.  First, there is a principle of the sanctity of life, defining life at conception.  Second, there is recognition that governmental force to limit freedom can be legitimate.

This can lead to dilemmas.  Someone cannot have a principled position against abortion and yet support the death penalty or the use of war as a policy tool.  War kills.  80% of the deaths in modern war are innocent civilians.  Balancing that cost with the benefit of using war to achieve ends (e.g., protect the country from dangers, overthrow dictators) makes the principle of ‘the sanctity of life’ something which can be compromised for political expediency.    If that’s true for war or the death penalty, it certainly can be true for abortion (which is why the Catholic church opposes all three).

The same goes for government coercion.  If it’s OK here, in principle there is nothing against government using force for anything — how it gets used becomes a political issue, rather than one defined by principle.

Another example:  Anarchists believe that government is immoral, claiming freedom as their principle.   However, in anarchy powerful people can use that power to force others to do their bidding, even without government; if that’s OK, then the core value isn’t freedom, but individualism.  A collective should not be empowered to deny an individual to do what he or she wants.   Yet even a voluntary collective acting to protect individuals within it contradicts the principle of individualism.  To the person being acted upon by this voluntary collective, it may as well be a government limiting their freedom.  When worked through logically, it becomes virtually impossible to justify anarchism on the basis of principle.   Alas, the same is true with taking a principled stand against torture.

The principle behind opposition to torture is opposition to the violation of another person in ways that cause psychological and physical distress.   To hold that principle absolutely would be to become a complete pacifist — more so even than the person who opposes abortion, since there the concern is life, not injury.

If there is ever any reason where doing physical or psychological harm to someone is permissible, and then the issue becomes how those conditions get defined and under what contexts.    Is water boarding torture?  How about pulling out finger nails?   Why one and not the other?  One can point to legal definitions, but those definitions are simply the result of somebody else grappling with these questions.

Approaching it this way, torture is a linguistic marker, delineateing those acts of coercion we consider immoral.   And, since it assumes that some such acts of coercion can be allowed, the drawing of the line is driven by compromise and personal/cultural norms rather than clear analytical principles.    It involves the level of damage to the individual, the amount of pain, long term psychological damage, and perhaps also violation of social norms.   One can build arguments rationalizing virtually no physical or mental coercion, to one that justifies even ripping out finger nails if effective at getting information from an enemy.   Once it becomes a matter of drawing lines, we can find ways to justify drawing the line anywhere.

I would argue this that is true for every issue, the number of people who truly live according to clear, uncompromised principles is exceedingly small.  Even then, their reason for embracing a principle is personal — it appeals to them somehow, probably at an emotional level.   Principles are held because of ones’ personal belief system.   Moreover, both our principles (values we hold as true) and the compromises we make involving them are driven as much (or more) by the heart as the head.  Emotion often trumps reason.  The emotion can be fear, anger, insecurity…or love, concern, and empathy.

So perhaps it’s wrong to look to reason and the head for core principles.  Maybe it’s best to start from things like putting love, empathy, and contentment as core values, and examine our points of view on politics and life by asking whether or not we’re being motivated by something like love, or something like fear.   That won’t give us clear, objective methods for determining what is the right thing to do — but the kind of objectivity offered by using reason is, as noted above,  an illusion.   And, while the head can build complex modes of rationalizing what one wants to believe, the truths of the heart and/or gut might be harder to obscure.

And why love and empathy rather than fear and anger?   After all, many people feel far more comfortable rationalizing fear and hatred, and see love and empathy as ‘wimpy’ and unrealistic.   To me that comes from a deeper principle, a sense of unity in all reality.   Plotinus called it “the one,” while Muslims embrace it as Tawhid.  But if there is a union beneath all reality, then love is acceptance of this reality, while anger and fear is an attempt to flee reality.  Accepting reality usually works best.  And this principle seems to work for me, so I choose to hold it.

So what is torture, when are certain kinds of physical and psychological acts against individuals immoral?   I can’t say for sure, I have to look at the case at hand and then look into my heart and decide.   If I see anger, fear, or hatred as a core behind my thoughts, I step back and question my reactions.  In much of the torture debate it is the rhetoric of fear and anger that drives defense of these practices, while those who see the humanity of the victims have their ability to show love and empathy derided — how can one feel any sympathy for a terrorist.   And the terrorists, I’m sure, feel the same way about American military personnel.  I chose not to participate in that dance of fear and hatred.

Moreover, fear obscures.   It causes the imagination to massively magnify threats, what one imagines suddenly becomes what one expects.  That adds to the capacity to rationalize any act to counter that fear.  And when people sacrifice what they know is right in the name of fear, they start to hate themselves and soon become unable to break loose and get stuck in an edifice of rationalizations and compromises of principle that swallows them up, causing them to see the world as a cold, dangerous, place, full of enemies.   I choose not to live in that kind of world.

April 27 - Tortured Logic

I’m convinced that at some point in the future this era of American politics, lasting from the 9-11 attacks to the election of President Obama, will be one of shame for America.  I’m not talking so much about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Despite problems now in Afghanistan, few people defended the evil Taliban regime and perhaps our biggest error was not to stay and spend the time and money necessary to reconstruct Afghan civil society.  Kabul was a bustling place back in 1978 before the Soviet invasion, the country had problems, but nothing like the current ones.  Done right, we might now have been looking at a military and political success story, perhaps with much of the Taliban and even Bin Laden behind bars.

Iraq was clearly a major error.  In policy terms, it made it impossible to truly do what was necessary to keep Afghanistan from falling apart, and it became a quagmire that swallowed up the Bush Administration and Republican dominance of US politics.   If you didn’t have the Iraq war, you wouldn’t have President Obama.   It has made it harder to deal with the economic crisis, harmed America’s position in the world, stretched US military capacities and showed the limits of US power.  The idea that success in Iraq would put pressure on Iran and Syria yielded the opposite result: failures in Iraq emboldenend Iran and Syria.

Yet for all the problems associated with Iraq, if it wasn’t for the use of torture and the indefinite detention of/abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and at foreign CIA ‘detention centers’ across the globe, the amount of shame would not be as great.  There was at least a rationale behind the invasion of Iraq and a belief, no matter how naive, that somehow this would ’spread democracy.’  Most of the deaths there have not been at our hands, even if they are the result of US actions igniting a civil war and ethnic violence.  That, at the very least, implies shared blame (and a lot of it going to al qaeda, who did all it could to ignite the violence).

What the US did to suspected terrorists and prisoners by allowing torture (under the euphemism ‘enhanced interrogation techniques,’ perhaps the most vile euphenism since ‘ethnic cleansing’) and anything the top levels of the Bush Administration thought appropriate, is the source of the greatest shame.   This sounds harsh, but we may find comparisons to totalitarian regimes or even Nazi Germany hard to avoid (indeed, such comparisons are made consistently in overseas media).

Are these comparisons valid?   On the one hand, no.   Comparisons to Nazi Germany, for instance, are so steeped in emotion due to the holocaust that even if one can find legitimate points to compare, it will end up being clouded by the enormity of Germany’s crimes.   And, though the public went along with it, guided by the usual mix of nationalism (it’s not hard to find blogs where posters and commentators seem to love the testosterone rush of condoning such techniques and championing them) and naivete (our government is trustworthy, so we should trust them), the real perpetrators were a small group of lawyers and bureaucrats who defined their powers as being able to even suspend the US Constitution and everything the country stands for if they thought it appropriate.

Ron Suskind, quoting Dick Cheney, calls this the “one percent doctrine:” if there is 1% a chance the country could be at risk, then anything goes to work against it, even torture.   This is, at it’s most crass and basic form, a sacrifice of principle to fear.  It is literally a sacrifice of the principles upon which this country was founded.

But, one might argue, after 9-11 there was a kind of paranoia in the country, people feared another strike any day, and panic reigned.  Well, that’s the goal of terrorism.  We should expect our government not to give into panic.  We should expect our leaders to recognize that first of all, compared to the dangers of all out nuclear war which we lived with daily in much of the 20th century, this threat was relatively small and managable.    Or, if you want a less sympathetic read, they should not have used 9-11 to amass unprecedented power and control.   There clearly should have been a firm voice saying “the last thing we can let the terrorists do is force us to give up our core principles.”

Instead, the terrorists won.  The US engaged in vile acts, with photos to prove it, that now can be thrown in our face any time we act self-righteous about our values and human rights.   We have been shown to be hypocritical in terms of what we claim we stand for on the world stage, while being weakened in ill advised conflicts.  Osama Bin Laden and the attacks of 9-11 did little to harm the US in a meaningful way.  Our response, however, has done dramatic harm (including the cheap credit released to keep the stock and housing markets up, helping create a severe economic crisis).

We can’t undo the past.  Prosecutions in cases like this would be very difficult for a variety of reasons.  But we can let the light show on what was done, and how.  We can show who wrote the memos approving the acts, and what the rationale was.  We can be truthful and open, and vow “never again.”   We also can learn from this: it becomes easy in times of fear and uncertainty to give in to the baser instincts and sacrifice principle for political expediency.  And perhaps in the grand scheme of things, there are cases so extreme that such must be done.  But nothing can justify the actions undertaken the last eight years that embraced systematic and approved torture.  We must be open, and cast aside those who say this should be ‘one of life’s mysteries,’ as if we shouldn’t question our leaders if they violate core values.    To be open, honeset and to admit error is strength, not weakness.  The strong apologize, the fearful think apologies show weakness.   We should be strong enough to live according to our principles.

April 24 - Islam and West

I’ve stated many times that I hold no set religious belief — I can’t fit myself into dogmas and theologies created by other humans trying to understand something that remains at least in part a mystery.  I am heartened by similarities across faiths, and a sense that there is a spiritual, even divine side of existence, even if God — or Allah or Brahman — remains incomprehensible to the human mind.  I believe in a unity of experience — or Tawhid or Nirvana or union with the Holy Spirit — that transcends our daily travail.  I’m convinced that this world is only a reflection of something spiritual and transcendent.

Yet we are in this world, at a given time and place in history, and we have to deal with the problems of our experience in the now in the world at hand.   I suspect that if we try to escape it through mystical retreat, drugs, fantasy or even suicide, we’ll just re-experience the same sorts of problems until we confront them.

After the 9-11 attacks  I decided to learn as much as I can about the Islamic faith.  I expected to find something extremely harsh and rigid.  Instead, the more I learned, the more I came to respect and admire Islam, its teachings and its history.   At its best, like Christianity, Islam is a beautiful and exquisite faith.   Islam unites a community in a sense of belonging and caring that is to be admired and respected.

Last summer this led me to start a blog series called “Islam and the West,” which had six posts between mid-May and July 17th, when part six appeared, Jews, Christians, and Muslims.  By July the excitement of the 2008 election and the subsequent economic crisis drew my attention away from that task, and I even took the “page” off my index (it’s back on there now).   As we grapple with economic woes and serious problems in the West, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the fact that our future success is predicated on our ability to forge a respectful partnership with the Muslim world.   So I am restarting that series, hopefully to regain the pace I had last year of about a post a week dedicated to the series (in general I aim for four to six posts a week).

Islam began as a movement to reform Arab customs and replace a harsh polytheistic cacophony with a clear monotheistic faith.  Muhammad’s work is impressive.  Either he was divinely guided as Muslims believe, or he was a genius who brought together aspects of Christian, Jewish and Zorastrian thought, but his teachings were clearly designed to produce a social revolution in Arabia, benefiting especially women and the poor.  Even the poorly understood and often misrepresented concept of jihad was meant primarily as a personal struggle against temptation, akin to St. Paul’s admonition that Christians “fight the good fight of faith.”

Yet as beautiful and profound as each faith may be, religion is something that can be manipulated by the fanatical or ambitious to get people to do their biding.   It might be the Christian televangelist who hauls in massive donations — and then is caught with prostitutes or engaged in corruption.  It could be the angry Arab Muslim who believes his land is being controlled by greedy westerners — and then supports violence and terrorism.    It might be the sociopathic US Congressman who advocates hitting Mecca with a nuclear bomb should al qaeda hit us with nuclear terror.  That was Tom Tancredo, who apparently feels just as comfortable in the soulless extremist role as does Bin Laden.

These people do not reflect the true wisdom and virtues of their respective faiths.  Throughout history people have used the beauty and intuitive pull of spiritual faith to propagandize and warp religious expression.  It could be the Christian Salem witch trials, the Arabs undercutting Muhammad’s reforms in their interpretation of the Haditha, Savanarola in Florence or Cromwell in Great Britain.  It could be Arab Kings who used Islam to justify expansion of their empires, or the Ottomans who embraced Islam to lend legitimacy for their military dictatorship.  As I noted in the a post last year “The Violent West,” no one in the West has any justification to feel our culture superior to that of the Muslim world.  No culture has a history of such violence and lack of concern for other cultures than the West.

That doesn’t mean the West is uniquely evil, as a Bin Laden would claim.   The West also brought about the enlightenment, individualism, and certain notions of universal human rights.   Scientific progress blossomed in Europe, and the West ultimately overcame slavery, the lack of rights for women, and an early capitalism that was originally oppressive and vile.

So I ask readers of all faiths — Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Atheist, whatever — to endeavor to put aside the cultural arrogance that so often leads people to think “we” are somehow better and closer to the truth, while “they” are strange and warped.   That kind of thinking creates biased interpretations of reality which foster miscommunication and misunderstanding.  Rather, let’s start from the assumption that while there are evil and ignorant people in all cultures and societies, most of us are good people, want to live in peace, believe that love is more important than theological differences, and hope for a world of cooperation.

If the good, peaceful people across the planet can reach out to each other and cooperate, then the evil, fearful, hateful folk don’t have a chance to succeed.  I’m under no illusions that my blog’s exploration of these issues makes a huge difference, my readership is small.  But we all know the butterfly effect — a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon can ultimately ignite a series of changes that alter weather patterns.  If we all do our part, whether in blogs, donations, community events, efforts in mosques, churches or synagogues, teaching, and reaching out to others, then who knows how the world might change.

April 23 - Teflon Obama?

Ronald Reagan had it.  Bill Clinton did not.  George W. Bush certainly lacked it.  And, though it’s too early to know for sure, Barack Obama seems to have a coat of teflon rivaling that of Reagan, the original ‘teflon President.’

Teflon, of course, is that substance that used  to coat pans to prevent things from sticking.  Reagan, it seems, could make gaffe after gaffe and do all sorts of controversial things without having it ’stick’ — he remained popular and effective.  Politico’s  Jon Martin wrote a piece yesterday “Obama Skates while the Right Fumes,” noting that Obama is ‘getting away with’ actions that Bill Clinton would have been skewered for.   Easing restrictions on Cuba, long extremely controversial, seemed a minor story.  Gay families at the Easter Egg hunt, shaking hands with Hugo Chavez, listening to an anti-American diatribe from Daniel Ortega, seeming to bow before the Saudi King, or admitting past US “arrogance” before  a French audience would seem to be a red meat feast for the right wing.  Yet while all this causes rage among the right wing talk shows and certain parts of the blogosphere, it hasn’t extended beyond those audiences — people who dislike Obama anyway.  One can imagine a Jedi Reagan looking down “the force is strong in this one.”

There are lots of explanations for this phenomenon.  Perhaps Obama is still in his honeymoon phase with the American people (though that didn’t help Clinton), or maybe the economic problems are so prevalent that people really aren’t focused on sidelight issues like who the President shakes hands with.  None of these issues are substantive, they are all at best symbolic.  When the country is risking depression, people don’t fixate on symbols or worry about gay families at Easter egg hunts. 

I think the answer is more profound.  Larry Sabato, a very highly regarded political scientist, has proclaimed the 2008 election a “re-aligning” election, the first since 1980.   The previous re-alignment was in1932.  Franklin Roosevelt enjoys teflon to this day, and was even cited by Reagan as one of his personal heros.  I believe that the country has shifted politically and culturally in recent years, and the result is a different perspective on issues than one would have had in the past.  Obama is “getting away” with this all because most of the public is fine with what he’s doing.  

Most Americans are convinced that President Bush was far too arrogant in foreign policy.   People elected Obama in part because he represented a change away from an arrogance now associated with the least popular politician in the US (Dick Cheney) and issues like torture.   Attitudes towards homosexuality have undergone a cultural sea change.   20 years ago it was radical to promote civil unions.  Now states are moving towards gay marriage, with the youth having a fundamentally different mindset on the issue than the generation before.  

In fact, the Cold War mentality that still defines much of the right, especially those who call themselves ‘movement conservatives,’ is anachronistic.  Calling people “communist” or “socialist” doesn’t have near the same impact it had thirty years ago.   Decrying Obama’s economic policies — and there is much to be critical about, to be sure — is more difficult when it appears to most people that Republican free market policies led to the meltdown in the first place.  

Bluntly: Republican policies have been judged as failures by the American public, and thus GOP criticism is not seen as credible.  That, combined with the cultural changes of recent years mean this is a new political world, much different than the America of just a decade ago.   Just as liberals had a hard time accepting the changes Reagan brought in 1980, many conservatives are flabbergasted by the transformation taking place now.

Before 1980 it was cool to be liberal, conservatives were made fun of (think Archie Bunker), and the US had an expanding social welfare system, much of it built under Republican Presidents Nixon and Ford.   There was no real “Christian right” with any clout, and Nixon’s “detente” with the Soviets undercut fear of Communism.  After Watergate and the resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974, people even talked about a permanent Democratic majority, wondering if the Republican party could even survive.   Then came a series of foreign policy setbacks, the hostage crisis in Iran, and an economy defined by high inflation and unemployment.   Suddenly people wanted change.

The election of Ronald Reagan really brought forward cultural changes that had been brewing in the 70s.  The 70s were perceived by many as being defined by an excessive ‘anything goes’ attitude.   There already was a desire by many to return to earlier values.  Ronald Reagan personified this shift, and by 1984 the term ‘liberal’ — eagerly embraced in the seventies — had become ‘the “l” word that Democrats avoided.  The left early on could not believe things were changing so dramatically, and Reagan did suffer in early opinion polls due to the recession he inherited.  But he recovered, and thus began the era of Republican dominance. 

Bill Clinton was like Richard Nixon.  Nixon had been considered very conservative, yet as President  expanded social welfare programs, allowed Maoist China to take its seat on the UN Security Council, and was unable to challenge liberal dominance.    Clinton was ostensibly liberal, but would cut social welfare programs, and fail to implement health care reform or other liberal agenda items.  Neither 1968 nor 1992 were ‘realignment elections.’

Expect the next thirty years or so to be defined by a different ethic than the last three decades — realigning elections signal political and cultural change.  The US probably will become more cooperative on the world stage.  Culturally, the election of a man named Barack Hussein Obama shows that the public no longer fears difference in the way it used to.  Gay marriage will expand, the Christian ‘right’ is already being written off by Republicans who do  not see political strength in following their agenda.

Realignments are necessary; they reflect changes in society, usually breaking out during a period of crisis and uncertainty.   As such, they can’t be guided by one individual or party.   Obama’s election symbolizes real cultural change, but its form is yet to be determined.

Even the recession is unlikely to alter the course we’re on.  Roosevelt managed to hang on through a long depression; if people believe that the choice is to give Obama more time or go back to the past, they’ll choose Obama.  The teflon is real, and it transcends the man.

April 21 - 21st Century War

We all know what war is.  It’s armies taking on other armies, conflict involving Generals, soldiers in uniforms, and states battling for land or perhaps some kind of ideal.  Such is the war of movies — the Nazis vs. the allies, or the US and the Soviet Union in a Cold War, with fears of a Soviet move through the Fulda Gap, and danger of nuclear annhiliation.

Such a view of warfare is increasingly misguided and anachronistic.  Back in WWI about 90% of the war casualties were soldiers (though, to be sure, the flu epidemic caused in large part by the war led to mass civilian death), in Iraq 90% of those killed are civilian.   Wars blanket sections of Africa, usually not with national armies fighting against each other, but with militias and movements in conflict with governments (which are often corrupt, fragmented units).  Though these movements spout ideological principles, usually they are more like organized crime.  The Tamil Tigers (LTTE) are not really about a Tamil state, and they certainly do not represent the Tamil people on Sri Lanka.  Rather, they traffic in people, drugs and weapons, and are willing to train would be terrorists.   Peace in Sri Lanka — which now appears achievable — means that the leaders will lose a lot of income.

In Sierra Leone Foday Sankoh was not about some kind of socialist alternative to the pro-western governments of the eighties.  He and Charles Taylor of Liberia wanted money from the diamond trade.  Under the guise of a civil war they could use the anarchy and lack of law enforcement to profit handsomely without being accountable in the form of taxes or regulation.  In southern Sudan a 2005 peace agreement is endangered by government and rebel posturing, in part because there is dispute over who will get the profits from the oil fields in the region.

In most of these wars the violence is cover for crime.  As long as the violence is intense, there will be no enforcment of law, and thus anything goes.  They sell women into slavery, put children on the black market, make drug or weapons deals — the dirty underside of the world economy can operate without watchful eyes.    The outside world, still seeing war as a dispute between groups with different goals, believes that somehow mediation or conflict resolution can end the fighting.  But usually it can’t, since the people involved count on the fighting to continue.

If the fighting were to stop they’d lose their anarchy, there would be more attention to their actions, and they might find themselves in legal jeopardy.  To prevent that, they try to assure that the fighting is as brutal as possible in order to make it very difficult for reconciliation.  Children are turned to soldiers at young ages, young girls are forced to become sex slaves to the soldiers, and bodies are mutiliated as child soldiers 12 to 14 years old learn to commit mass murder and horrific atrocities.  Often the young boys have cocaine smeared into open wounds and are given other drugs to keep their minds in a daze as they kill and terrorize.

Even in places where it isn’t that extreme, civilians suffer.  Somalia should be a breadbasket for northern Africa, but instead people suffer famine and starvation due to war lords fighting for power and wealth, using Cold War era weaponry and engaging in crimes such as piracy — something that definitely reflects lack of rule of law!

So war today is less rule bound, more likely to hit civilians, often less about ideology or state interests than criminal acts and money making, and most often found in the third world.   Terrorism can be seen as a tactic of this new kind of war.   It focuses on civilians, does not usually involve states (though states can support or ’sponsor’ terror acts) and often is as much about money as ideology.   The Basque movement, for instance, has become more overtly like an organized criminal gang, while the Taliban and Afghan war lords focus on opium production.  Terrorism is the one tactic that can project this kind of violence into the “civilized West,” potentially subjecting us to the horrors suffered in distant parts of the planet.

Yet most analysts still fixate on states and militaries.   Will Iran get a nuclear warhead, will Israel attack Iran, will the Koreas go to war, what about China and Taiwan?  These are theoretical wars, all very unlikely to occur (even if Iran gets the bomb, they know they’d be obliterated if they attacked Israel), but yet they get the most ‘play’ in the world of punditry.  The Pakistan-India conflict, combining a bit of both the old and new in Kashmir, has even seen all out war become less likely each time they avoid allowing a crisis to go out of control.

Simply, among powerful states the risk of nuclear war is too great to allow a real war to start.  Among wealthy states and stable states aspiring to wealth, globalization and interdependence makes war fundamentally irrational.  We have created a world where war of the sort we’ve known is literally disappearing.  All out European war is certainly a thing of the past, a weakened Russia is more concerned about oil and gas influence than conquest (let alone ’spreading communism’), and China is so involved in the US economy that it fears too deep a US recession.  We are closer to world peace than ever!

Yet, there remains a few pesky problem areas, with the brunt of the real wars involving third world failed states and organized criminal behavior.   We should be able to deal with these.    In most of these conflicts, small bands of criminals (and often as a counter part a small band of criminal government leaders) fight, with most of the population opposed to the fighting and fearful.  It’s usually not major movements fighting each other, more like mafia families in a brutal gang war.    And the only true military threat to the West — terrorism — comes from the prospect of these gang wars projecting themselves outward.

But our pundits remain ‘fighting the last war.’  We’re wedded to the notion of war as a military venture involving states and armies.  While we’ve learned how to use terms like “asymmetrical conflict,” we haven’t really come to grips with what it means when the major form of warfare is now of a sort very different than that which our military was designed to confront — and our inability to really understand how to confront it has been on display in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Rather than focus on weapon systems, technology, military preparedness, and strength, we need to recognize that the solution to the problems driving 21st century war requires a multi-dimensional approach to building stability in regions with poverty, corruption and instability.  It will require states working with NGOs and IGOs (Non-governmental organizations and Inter-governmental organizations) to build transnational civil society and develop local efficacy.   This has started, and in places like Sierra Leone and Rwanda there has been progress.   But while military actions may at various points be necessary, they will more likely be stopping pirates off the coast of Somalia than engaging in an all out war.

It’s hard for Americans to get our heads around this new kind of war.  It’s not what we’re used to, it defies old military stereotypes and threatens the kind of military spending that has become addictive to so many states and districts.  But unless we really grapple with the fact that war in the 21st century is fundamentally different than in the past, we could be setting ourselves up for disaster by commiting the age old mistake of ‘fighting (or preparing for) the last war.’

April 20 - Iran and Roxana Saberi

Iran’s conviction of 31 year old Iranian-American ABC journalist Roxana Saberi on espionage charges has provoked international outrage.  Moreover, it appears to have been both a secretive show trial and perhaps one where the defendant was tricked into saying things that were used against her.  In any event, what could be more angering than having a country falsely imprison a beautiful young journalist, with virtually no one believing she is guilty.  Clearly, now is not the time to be extending an olive branch to Iran, or attempting good faith measures!  Or is it?

The world of global politics is opaque and confusing.  Americans have been conditioned to see foreign countries as acting as a kind of ‘unified rational actor.’  Thus Iran is treated as a fiction-person, an individual who in this case is misbehaving; we should certainly not reward such actions.  On the contrary, we should condemn and punish Iran, just as we would condemn and punish an individual who would violate the liberty of another.

That way of seeing the world yields simplistic analyses of global issues, often allowing emotion to guide public opinion.   Taking a deeper look, however, things aren’t so easy.

First, Iran is a country of political factions.  The hardline faction has been dominant, but does not maintain a monopoly on power.  Moderate and even liberalizing factions exist, and have their own bases of support and power.  And it isn’t all about America, religion, or politics.   There is a lot of oil money involved here, there are economic arrangements and deals that go to those who have the most power and control the action.

Second, this prosecution is likely meant by the hardline faction as a provocation to the West to try to stymie any attempt by the US to improve relations with Iran.   The Iranian hardliners were a weaker lot back in 1999, when President Clinton considered moves to improve the relationship between the US and Iran.  They could not prevail in elections, and some questioned whether their hold on the Guardian Council (the group of clerics that has the final say on Iranian law and who can be a candidate for public office) would remain as solid.    Iran’s clerics are also not a unified group.

The Ayatollah Khomeini, archetect of the revolution that deposed the Shah and installed the current fundamentalist regime was a strong believer in theocracy.  Yet other clerics have different views.  The Iraqi Ayatollah Sistani, who lived in exile in Iran during much of Saddam’s rule, had a different view, one that saw the clergy as absent from most of day to day politics.  Many religious folk in Iran share that view, even if that currently isn’t dominate in the Guardian Council.   Because of the diversity of perspectives, Iran’s religious elite could not embrace complete theocracy as a form of government.  They had to opt for democracy, and currently Iran is the most democratic country in the region, save Israel.

That democracy means that the fundamentalist hold on power is always tenuous, and has to respond to changes in public opinion.   For the extremists, George W. Bush was the best thing to happen to them — a gift from Allah.  First, he made war on their arch enemy — Saddam Hussein — and helped bring their fellow Shi’ite Muslims to power in Iraq.  Shi’ites are only about 10% of the Muslim world, but most Iranians and 65% of the Iraqis are of the Shi’ite sect of Islam.  Iraq went from being a secular Baathist state to an Islamic republic.   Moreover, the bombast of the Bush Administration made it easy for the extremists to arouse anti-American fervor, leading to their first electoral victories since the revolution.  The surprising rise of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was due in large part to growing Iranian anti-Americanism.

Since then, they maintain power by provoking reactions to their statements and policies.   Threats to attack Israel, controversies over Iran’s nuclear program, and the on going conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have bolstered the extremists’ hold on power.  They want the relationship between the West and Iran to be cold, they want provcative anti-Iranian rhetoric and actions to come from the West, they parlay that into anti-American public opinion which supports them.

It is quite likely that the conviction of Saberi is an effort by the extremists in Iran to block any rapproachement between Iran and the US, and to undercut the appeal of Obama to the Iranian public.   The economic problems caused by the drop in oil prices plus a general lack of good governance by the conservatives in power has given Iranian moderates new hope.   If the public moves away from knee jerk anti-Americanism to a sense that cooperation is possible, moderates might again win a majority in the Majles, and perhaps defeat Ahmadinejad in the upcoming Presidential election.

Looked at in that way, using this as an excuse to ostracize, cut back on confidence building measures, and maintain pressure on Iran would be to play into the extremists’ hands, at the expense of the moderates.  We’d be being played as suckers, doing just what the extremists want, ostensibly because we oppose them.   Because most Americans don’t understand the complexity of Iranian politics or world affairs, the reaction to the Saberi conviction is knee jerk and emotional — precisely what the Iranian fundamentalists hope for.

So while the US has to maintain pressure on Iran over this case, this can’t be allowed to torpedo Obama’s efforts to fundamentally alter the relationship.  Iranians are ready for a government that is more open to the world, and more moderate in its approach to religion and international politics.  Iran is a democracy where the people want more control, with limits on the ability of the elite to hinder following the will of the people.

So President Obama shouldn’t take the easy political route of simply condemning Iran over this, and playing to populist emotion.  This case is a sign that the fundamentalist in Iran are weakened, and they know it.  They want to rachet up the emotion and rekindle anger.  A cool head and rationale, patient response is the best way to assure they do not succeed.

April 17 - Cuba’s Future

One thing that students for the past twenty years have asked is why we continue to have sanctions on Cuba.  The official reason was that we want to pressure them to move towards democracy and improve human rights.  Yet when a policy fails to achieve it’s goals after a half century, it’s pretty clear you have a failed policy.   Indeed, while almost all the rest of the Communist world reformed, Cuba has remained a hold out.   To be sure, it does, along with Europe, thumb its nose at US sanctions, cutting deals and promoting tourism with EU countries.   The US ends up looking like the stubborn child who refuses to admit being wrong out of fear of looking bad.

Of course, the real reason the sanctions weren’t removed is Florida.  Before the year 2000 students were skeptical that the state could be so important in electoral politics.  After the Gore-Bush fight over Florida, they understood.  Yes, it’s more complex than that, tied up in Cold War ideology and right wing causes, but the power of the Cuban exile community in Florida, which until recently was almost universally opposed to opening ties, was key to Presidential timerity on the issue.

President Obama and the new Democratic Congress have finally dropped that failed policy, at least in part, allowing travel and more openings with Cuba.   In response Cuban President Raul Castro announced that Cuba is willing to enter into talks for major human rights reform,  freedom of the press, and anything the US wants to talk about.  It appears that wanting positive change in Cuba was best served by relaxing restrictions rather than maintaining them!

To be sure, Cuba today stands in a different position than during the Cold War, when its Soviet ally bought sugar and supported the island as Castro undertook his socialist experiment.  Since then, despite connections to Europe, Russia and other parts of Latin America — including help from Venzeuelan leader Hugo Chavez — the country has clearly not had sustainable economic policies.   Perhaps driven by the same kind of pride and bravado that led American conservatives to stick to the sanctions so hard over the years, the Cubans were reluctant to make the first move.  Now that Obama has made a gesture of friendship, they have responded positively.

I doubt that this whole conflict with Cuba was necessary.   When Castro overthrew mafia controlled dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, most of the world celebrated.  Castro was young, charismatic, and arguably had the interests of the Cuban people in his heart.   He correctly realized that Latin America needed land reform — it was intolerable that a tiny percentage could control most of the land, with farmers working as illiterate peasants with no health care or education in many places.  This was a remnant of colonialism, and US corporations were more than willing to buy off the corrupt elite to further their profits.

For his part, Castro hoped that the US might tolerate, or even support his calls for reform.  He did not declare himself a Communist originally, nor did he embrace the Soviets.  The Cubans and Americans had discussions, but it became clear there was one thing the US could not tolerate: Castro trying to spread his revolution elsewhere.   Even though the Americans knew that Castro was right about the injustices and inequities throughout Latin America, they feared that revolts against pro-American dictators would both undercut the profitability of American corporations doing business in Latin America, and offer the Soviets opportunities to expand their influence.  Castro refused to accept his movement being limited to Cuba, and that was enough for the US to decide Castro had to go.

The US tried to overthrow the regime in 1961, which led Castro to embrace the Soviets.  The next year that brought us the closest we ever came to a nuclear war.   The Soviets started to place nuclear missiles in Cuba, trying to match US missiles in Turkey.  At one point, the Kennedy White House was willing to use the provocation as an excuse to invade Cuba and take out Castro.  Thanks especially to the objections of Bobby Kennedy, who felt that the US couldn’t be seen as a bully state that overthrew regimes just because we didn’t like them (’my brother cannot be another Tojo,’ he said, warning against a surprise invasion akin to Pearl Harbor), this was rejected.  Good thing too — turns out that the Soviets already had functioning missiles ready to go, and the commander in the field had already decided that if Cuba were attacked, he’d launch.  If we had followed the original plan, we’d have had WWIII back in 1962.  The Soviets took that power away from field commanders afterwards (they weren’t ready for all out war), and luckily both sides stepped away from the crisis.  The US promised to remove the missiles from Turkey and not invade Cuba, the Soviets promised to remove the missiles from Cuba, and remain silent on the connection with removal of the Turkish missiles (which would be a year later).

After that, the US still tried to get rid of Castro, but failed.  Ultimately, after fifty years in power, Castro’s health caused him to relinquish power to his brother.   Castro’s regime was not all bad either — he expanded health care and education to the masses, and arguably made Cubans much better off than they were under Batista, who cared not a wit for the people.  But Castro’s embrace of socialist ideology blinded him to the need for freedom, and ultimately the need to move towards democracy.   He justified human rights abuses in the name of both ideology and fear of American aggression.

Hence the stalemate.  Castro was successful enough that the Cuban people did not revolt — his regime is relatively popular.  But he is repressive enough that many wish to escape, and even those sympathetic to Fidel believe Cuba needs to change.   The time is right for an opening, Barack Obama took the first move, and now it looks like Cuba is reciprocating.

The US need not demand Cuba become an overnight pro-western democratic republic.   As we learned in Eastern Europe, change from communism to democracy is slow and often needs to be gradual.  But both countries can benefit immensely from an improved relationship, and if they treat each other with mutual respect and patience, we may finally be seeing the oddest and once the most dangerous aspect of the Cold War finally fade.

To those who yearn for the victory of Cuban socialism, this will be disappointing.  To those on the right who want to see Castro defeated and disgraced, a gradual, successful transition will be unsatisfying.  To most Cubans, however, it could be the start of a bright future.

April 15 - The New China Syndrome

The term “China syndrome” refers to fear of a catastrophic nuclear meltdown, (where some of the nuclear material might ultimately bore through the earth and reach China).   So far, no nuclear power plant has suffered that extreme of a fate.  But just as fear of nuclear war gives way to fears about the economy, there is danger of a new kind of China syndrome, one involving China holding vast amounts of US dollars and US debt.  The risk, however slight, is of an economic meltdown.

China is the largest holder of foreign currency reserves, having nearly $2 trillion worth of currency assets.    China has also run consistent current accounts surpluses; the trade deficit between the US and China was $84 billion in 2000, but reached $266 billion in 2008.    China has already announced intentions to diversify its foreign currency holdings to replace dollars with other currencies, fearing that the large influx of dollars into mortgage markets, as well as high deficits thanks to the stimulus program, creates an undue risk.  The dollar, China fears, could lose considerable value, thereby depreciating the value of both China’s foreign currency reserves and bond holdings.

The US has about $3 trillion worth of foreign owned treasury bonds out there, just under $1 trillion belongs to China.  China is the largest holder of US debt, followed by Japan.  It’s likely that 70% of China’s currency reserves are currently in dollars, meaning that China’s dollar exposure is well over $2 trillion.   Moreover, that does not include other Chinese investment in the private sector in the US.

Of course, by holding so much debt China puts itself in a relatively weak position in one way — they have to worry about the US economy, the value of the dollar, and the danger of American default (which seems unthinkable, but…)  The idea that China could simply dump loads of currency and bonds, and refuse to buy more bonds, doesn’t make sense.  This would cause a run on the dollar and tremendously higher interest rates within the US, creating ’stagflation on steroids.’   The impact on the US would be devastating, it would be a collapse of our entire system.

The fact China could do that — we are vulnerable to China in a way and at a level that would have seemed unbelievable in the past — scares a lot of people.  Yet for China this would mean that their primary market for Chinese goods would stop buying while China’s dollar and bond assets would rapidly deteriorate in value.   Moreover, given the globalized nature of the world economy, the impact of this on the system could come back with unexpected and severe consequences for China.   Given China’s very conservative approach to foreign policy and economics, it seems inconceivable that China would, out of the blue, choose to torpedo the American economy.

One can, of course, imagine some kind of international crisis that could lead to China deciding to hurt the US, but the US and China are in a kind of economic mutually assured destruction mode.   Most likely, these ties will cause both sides to avoid letting a situation get out of hand.

But what about an accidental meltdown?  What if US fiscal and monetary policy can be likened to a nuclear power plant which is powering the economy by injecting massive amounts of liquidity into the mortgage markets, and going further into debt in order to try to stimulate the economy.    This creates a fear in China that the US, by increasing the money supply and expanding debt is setting up a run on the dollar.  Their goal is to make sure that if the US dollar does lose value, China is not hurt too badly, or in fact finds a way to gain some benefits.

For instance, China joined Russia is calling for some kind of new global currency to replace the dollar.   They were only partially serious.  They know this isn’t likely to happen any time soon — you can’t just get currencies out of nowhere — but they wanted to send a message to the US that we can’t simply throw dollars around, unafraid of the consequences.   They also reportedly cut back on treasury purchases earlier this year, again signalling that we can’t assume continuing low interest rates and a highly valued dollar if we don’t have a responsible monetary policy.   In March, bond purchases went back up.

Still, as with the nuclear arms race, you can’t discount a nightmare scenario.  With nukes, in fact, the incentive to avoid error was greater — everyone knew how dire and devastating nuclear annihilation would be.  The economic stuff is more complicated, and most people really don’t understand how interdependence works.  It’s easy for people to say “stop trading with Communist China” or “protect American jobs.”   Even political leaders who should understand this often give in to populist or ideological mindsets that promote policies that are not rational economically.

One could imagine some kind of row over North Korea, human rights, or trade policy taking place just when the dollar starts showing signs of strains thanks to increased debt.    China might choose that moment to dump a small amount of US currency or stop buying bonds to remind Washington how much the two countries need each other.  The US might, however, decide that backing down in response to such an act would be a sign of weakness, and feel a need for some sort of retaliation.  Populist rage might rise in both states against the “predatory practices” of the other.   And unlike nuclear war, where it becomes clear when the button is or is not pushed, a dollar panic could reach a point of downward spiral unexpectedly fast, catching both the US and China by surprise, forcing them to react to events.  China might decide to shed dollars defensively, forcing the US economy off a cliff.    The result could be an accidental global economic meltdown.

Adding to the pressure is the fact that the current relationship is unsustainable.  The US can’t maintain high debt permanently financed by China.  China can’t simply gather up foreign reserves and US debt forever.  Indeed, China is poised to over time, perhaps decades, slowly lower the value of the dollar and create bargains in the US.   By bargains I mean cheap businesses, corporations, and other valuable assetts that will be relatively cheaper for foreign concerns as the value of the dollar drops.   Such a controlled transfer of economic clout, internationalizing the US economy, would still be traumatic for an America used to independence and skeptical of foreign influence.   This would also coincide with a lengthy decrease in the US standard of living, though if done over time might be tolerable to the American public.

But would the US acquiesce to this loss of control over our economy?  Would we decide that it’s better than economic collapse and learn to live witih it, recoginizing that the alternative might be horrific?  Or would we try to fight back, perhaps igniting the meltdown?

Finally, can we recover?   It seems a long shot, given high debt and deficits, but ultimately the US has a productive work force, a large market and the capacity to remain an economic powerhouse.   Some internationalization of control of the US economy (which has already begun) isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and if the US can get the economy moving again and combine that with decreases to debt (both public and private), it’s possible to manage this in a way that maintains vibrancy.  Yet the unsustainable bubble economy and hyperconsumerism of the last ten to fifteen years cannot return.  Reviving America’s economy will mean having to learn to live within our means.

So the best case scenario is China and the US recognizing that their economic destinies are linked, the US making fundamental readjustments in its economy to make it sustainable (reduce debt, bring the current account back into balance), and China avoiding the temptation of a power grab — to think they can dump dollars and bonds and manage to nonetheless remain on top.

The worst case scenario is a global economic meltdown, with China and the US going into the economic equivalent of total war.

Perhaps the most probable outcome is economic decline in the US due to an inability to get budgets and private debt in line, and an unwillingness to admit that that the old system could not be sustained.  In such a case we may avoid meltdown, but we’ll end up with a devalued dollar and a much lower standard of living.

April 14 - More Nature in Early Spring

Last week I posted some pictures of ‘nature in early spring,’ as a response to ‘healingmagichands’ challenge to look at nature around us.  In so doing, I became intrigued by this time of the year, as winter thaws, but the world has not yet come to life.  I was able to go out with my two sons and walk the trails down to the river.

We live in paradise.   At least, that’s how I see it.  We have access to numerous trails in the woods, heading to a local stream, with gorgeous views and seemingly unlimited hiking opportunities — all accessed from our backyard.  We hiked down to the river, and then back up a particularly muddy path. At one point Dana (3) had gotten tired so I picked him up to carry him.  I stepped on a ’snow tunnel,’ sunk, and fell, with Dana hitting the ground sideways.  It was slow motion so no one was hurt (we were covered in mud, not blood), but that chunk of the trail can probably wait a week or two.

Some photos.  First, the boys ready to head out from the back yard towards the river:
img_5074 There is still very little green, the gardens are still drying out, but you can see signs of life.   Water is everywhere, and little streams form sounds and images that really define this time of year.

img_5083 This is a typical example — the trail    also  gets used by ATVs, which may sound like a pain but while they are load, they are infrequent and we always have time to move out of the way (most hikes we don’t encounter them).   Moreover, Ryan and Dana may themselves be into ATVs someday, even though we’re not.  The ruts from ATV tracks create pathways for the streams to flow.  This tiny stream flows into a larger one (and is fed by even smaller ones), which goes down to the river.  The boys were excited to ‘follow the water,’ and discover how it all flows down the hill to the river.

img_5099We reach the river at the top of a steep bank, with places eroded.  There are points where it goes pretty much straight down.   Mostly mud, but still I worked to make sure the boys didn’t get too close to the edge.  The river becomes a mere trickle by late summer, especially if we don’t get much rain (it’s really a stream), but at this time of the year it’s flowing well!img_5107 The trail ultimately goes right down to the river, and if we wanted to we could follow it a long ways.  There are also numerous trails going into the woods, some of the with hills and jumps designed for ATVs, some that really can only accommodate people on foot.  If we go the other direction we ultimately cross the trail, or we can veer off and head for miles towards nearby towns.    As we decided to head back a different route, we hit a much more difficult and muddy section, including the infamous “snow tunnels.”  img_5122 Luckily, we’re all wearing mud boats (a must purchase item in this part of the country) so the mud wasn’t a problem — and there’s enough lingering snow that we could clean them off.   The boys could usually walk on the snow OK, but I’m a bit heavy and often hit weak spots (and Ryan had fun stomping on ’snow tunnels’ and causing them to collapse).  And, of course, we could follow the trails of water and think about how the water was making it’s way down to the river.   Ryan, always one to think through things, figured that some water must stay in the ground so that our well could work.  I explained that the well is over 400 feet deep, and there are little lakes down there.  He was surprised that the dirt, rather than making it dirty, actually filtered the water.

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And finally, after about an hour, with Ryan above helping Dana navigate the mud, we near home, coming out in the front yard (seen barely, through the trees).

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As spring continues and drifts into summer and fall I’ll revisit this path, and note the changes.  Summer becomes alive with intense green, and in autumn this path is unbelievably beautiful as the trees turn bright yellow, red and orange.  People take vacations to see foilage like we have right out the door.  Yet for now, it’s still early spring, nature is just starting to awaken.   People are raking and cleaning their yards, with the grass still brown and crushed against the ground after having snow often over four feet deep piled upon it.   The mud was good to see deer tracks, as well as imprints from other small animals (though I had to reassure the boys that wolves and bears weren’t about to jump out).   Ryan even told me he saw a white bunny carrying a basket with colored eggs — I wish I’d had my camera ready for that one!

A walk like this, in fresh air (and as yet no bugs) provides a natural high.  Any stress from the day or the routine disappears.   And I have to count my blessings, having paradise accessible from the front door!

April 12 - Forgiveness

On Sunday morning the Easter bunny comes, spreading around chocolates and jelly beans.  Children get sugared up, and for most of the country spring weather will dominate (alas, we’ll still have snow).   Christians celebrate their belief that Jesus rose from the dead after being crucified.  At the same time Jews celebrate the passover, their belief that God ‘passed them over’ when he killed all first born males in Egypt as a penalty for not freeing the Jews from slavery.  While Islam accepts the passover story, and believes Jesus to be a prophet, they don’t believe he rose from the dead.  Nonetheless, Ahmadinejad on releasing the British prisoners back in 2007 did say it was an “Easter gift” to respect the religious beliefs of the British.

Not believing in any particular mythology, I look at these holidays a bit differently.  First, as with Christmas, I don’t want to deny or disrespect the importance of the holiday for believers.  At the University of Minnesota once when I was registering for classes there was a big banner that said “Merry Christmas” on it.  “Does that offend you?” the student at the registration desk asked.  “No,” I replied, puzzled.  “Oh,” he said, “another Political Science grad student registered today and she lit in to me that this ‘offensive’ sign was up.”  I shook my head.  Political correctness rears its ugly face!

Second, I also respect the cultural/traditional role of religious holidays.   There is something to be said for shared cultural celebrations.  And, as Christmas is a cultural celebration of peace, love, and joy, Easter I take as a celebration of forgiveness.  Christians believe that Jesus died so that God could forgive our sins if we believe.  I don’t share that view, but I think the fundamental importance of forgiveness in the Christian faith is a powerful idea, and perhaps one reason why Christianity has prospered as a faith.

Forgiveness is powerful because it appears we are doing something for others — we are forgiving them, when we could carry a grudge or try for revenge.  But if done right, it is also done for ourselves.  When one carries a grudge or seeks revenge, one is obsessing on a wrong that was done, or on anger to another person.  That gives that other person, or that wrong, continuing power over ones’ emotion and life.  It creates anxiety and stress and eats away from within.  True forgiveness is not just refraining from being nasty back, but it requires that one really let go of any residue anger and resentment.  If one does that, then one has reclaimed for oneself the ability to remain centered and in control.  It liberates oneself from the negative affects of lingering anger.

Moreover, forgiveness has a social consequence — people respect one who can forgive.  Those who have been forgiven, if they can let go of their guilt and lingering anger, often break out of a cycle of tit for tat and are able to look at their actions with a new light, perhaps finally understanding why what they did was perceived as a wrong.  Forgiveness is personally liberating, and can spread and bring peace and increased contentment to a community.  Again, the Christian emphasis on forgiveness is a truly admirable and powerful aspect of that great faith.

So on Easter, forgive those you’ve been resenting.  See this as the day of reflection and forgiveness.  With practice, it becomes easy; one realizes that by forgiving others one is better able to forgive oneself when the inevitable imperfections of human existence come out.  Rather than be obsessed by guilt and self-hatred, the ability to forgive oneself allows one to act with more joy and energy, forgiving others and ultimately playing a part in making the world a better place.  So happy Easter!

April 11 - Freedom and Governance

Only in America do conservatives so readily embrace individual freedom as a primary goal.  In Europe, conservatism retains much of its original collectivist core.  In fact, the differences between the continents leads to linguistic confusion.  Liberal in America tends to mean “to the political left,” while in Europe it means “advocate of free market capitalism and minimal government.”  Once at a talk at the University of Minnesota German guest Professor Wolfgang Wimpermann was introduced as a ‘very liberal’ professor.   He was appalled — he was a leftist, not a liberal!

In Europe, liberals are advocates for minimal government, maximal individual liberty, and a focus on freedom first.  Conservatives have learned to embrace the market, emphasize shared values and duties to society, and try to balance individual and societal interests.  Social Democrats want an activist state to try to reduce economic injustice and protect the rights of workers and those lower on the totem pole.   To round out the spectrum, neo-fascist parties are fiercely nationalistic with hints of racism, while Communist parties believe government control of the economy is necessary to create justice.  The latter two have diminished in strength, thanks largely to failures of their ideologies when put into practice.

If you look at human history, the idea of individualism and personal freedom as a primary value is out of place.  Humans are social animals, and except perhaps back in the early hunter-gatherer days, seem to naturally form collectives.   Be it family clans or clusters of families forming tribes, humans develop collective identities quite easily and readily.  Perhaps we need them.

Moreover, this is not something people tended to fight against in the past, this was simply part of one’s identity.   One didn’t complain about duties to the tribe or clan, it took everyone doing their responsibilities to make life work.   As societies grew, these collective identities expressed themselves through the rise of tradition and custom, ways to celebrate the ties binding members of a society together.   In fact, one could say that the objective definition of a society is “a group bound by and recognizing the value of shared customs, traditions and norms.”

Capitalism might be blamed for this push towards individualism.   Isn’t the market about individual self-interest, and everyone out for themselves?   Not really.  Adam Smith made very clear in his 1776 “Wealth of Nations,” the original “bible” of capitalism, that without ethical core principles capitalism wouldn’t work.  In fact, it appears in looking at the real world that capitalism not buttressed by a strong, stable and cohesive societal base fails.  The only place markets work well is where there is rule of law and social stability.  Where there is anarchy, markets are replaced by organized crime and corrupt thugs.

Capitalism was a product of the enlightenment, and the enlightenment focus on rational thought and reason took a hatchet to tradition, religion, and custom.   Indeed, the entire realm of the symbolic was decreased in importance vis-a-vis the material world at hand.    For awhile people even sought some magic ‘answer key,’ a ‘first principle’ from which all of philosophy would follow.   Religion was dismissed as irrational mythology, tradition and custom as mere habits lingering from an unenlightened era, with reason promsing to guide us to a better future.

The bonds holding societies together were degraded and denigrated.  Even family was under attack.  Sure, you need a male and female to reproduce, and radicals who wanted to separate children from parents for “proper, rational” education had to grudgingly admit that there seemed to be some kind of emotional bond (left over animal instinct, no doubt) causing most parents to want to be with their kids.   But in general, the only reason to associate with others was rational choice.  You shouldn’t be obligated to take care of others due to genetics, biology, or geographic proximity.   Only if you choose to, only if  it is in your self-interest do you need to feel any kind of obligation.

Thus, reason and rational thought led us to sever traditional collective bonds.  Not completely — families are resilient (though extended families have become rare), communities, churches, and clubs still form group identities.  But these are by free choice.   By breaking traditional bonds we made it necessary to create a new agent to take care of tasks that used to get done through tradition and custom.   Government would now have to assure care of the elderly, help to the poor, and protection of the citizens (from both internal and external threats).   Moreover, government had the task of setting the moral rules and principles through law.   Government would even provide new holy symbols — flags, anthems, and pledges would replace (or augment) the less powerful symbols of the cross, hymns and prayers.   Thus government replaces tradition, custom and our personal responsibilities to the collective.  It does the work that needs to be done for a society to function, freeing us to pursue self-interest and define our identities in a more individualistic fashion.

In short, there is a contradiction at work here:  our freedom and individualism is made possible by government taking on more of a role in social life, yet most people see government as the main boogey man threatening that freedom and individualism.

Add to that the fact that our collectives have now become so large that the kind of bonds that existed before are hard to replicate, and it’s inevitable that we end up relying on large, powerful governments.  In history the larger the empire, the more authority the rulers had and tried to use.  Even relatively small countries are the size of some ancient empires, with populations to match.   Is it any wonder that governments grow and are needed to maintain order (and when they fail to fulfill those functions, anarchy, poverty, crime and violence seem to dominate).

Our yearning for freedom and individualism is a result of having created unnatural and authoritarian forms of governance rather than ones we choose to or find it natural to obey.   People in the past would sooner fast for a month to follow a common ritual than fasten their seat belt in response to a government edict.   In the Muslim world the fasting at Ramadan combines a sense of celebration and joy with personal sacrifice.    But when Muslims try to follow it living in the West, without the social bonds and common practices found in predominately Muslim cultures, it can be alienating and difficult.

Thus the irony: in nature we form collectives and choose to maintain them, building traditions and customs that give meaning to daily existence.  When we build larger, denser societies with less social cohesion and whose rationale is  based on self-interest and reason rather than tradition and custom, we form collectives that are bureaucratically governed and maintained by force (or threat of force).  That yields a desire for freedom and individual liberty.

States  that function best, are ones more closely in accord with the cultural values of  a polity; in Scandinavia and many small European states the natural fit of state governance yields few cries of tyranny or anti-statist movements.  Larger states like the US and larger European states strike the balance, gaining strong support for democratic ideals and even historical myths.   Outside Europe, where the state is an imposed artifact often linking diverse ethnic groups, states have ceased to function, yielding wars and anarchy on the one hand, or tyranny and corruption on the other.

I wonder — is modern state government the best way to handle collective responsibilities absent the customs, traditions and bonds of the past?  Was it wrong to impose sovereign states on former European colonies, could another form of governance have been developed?  And now, in an era of globalization where states and sovereignty are being transformed, can we develop a new  way of handling this dilemma that gives us a sense of solidarity with fellow citizens while not denying our desire to be free?

April 9 - Time for Immigration Reform

Immigration is an issue sure to appeal to the most xenophobic, racist and jingoistic impulses in American politics.   Even relatively progressive people harbor some sense that those “Mexicans” are “different,” and thus react strongly against the idea of immigration reform that either makes it easier to move to the US, or for those here illegally to gain citizenship.

To be sure, there are legitimate issues on both sides of the debate.  Many legal immigrants resent the idea that others can come illegally and gain what they worked hard for.  Others are genuinely concerned about the economic impact, rule of law, or other issues which immigration reform may seem to threaten.   Those in favor recognize that there are 12 million illegal immigrants here, and there are no resources to enforce bans against them working under the table or living in the US.   The only way to fix the system is to accept this reality, and find a workable plan for the future.

To me, the issue is more profound.  America is changing.   The demographic profile of the country is shifting.  In not too long whites will constitute less than 50% of the population, and the “European” nature of American identity, already weakened, will be hard to maintain.  Moreover, this change is inevitable and can be a source for future strength of American ideals, even as those ideals continue their evolution.

Fox News’s John Gibson made headlines when he told people — white people — to make more babies (here’s the clip).   The threat he sees is that Hispanics might become the majority population in America, and Europe might become “Eurabia”.    To be fair, he tries to soften it at the end by saying “Hispanics can’t carry the whole load,” suggesting that we’re in this together, but the general feel of the piece is that there is a fear that western civilization is about to give way to the ‘darkies’ - Arabs, Hispanics, blacks, whatever.

Those fearing immigration often compare the US to the Roman Empire, noting how the Romans allowed “barbarians” to settle on Roman lands.   These Visigoths, Vandals, Huns and Ostrogoths adapted to Roman ways in order to prosper, but ultimately overthrew the empire and sacked Rome.   They see a parallel to how Mexicans are welcomed into the US, and fear we’ll become Mexamerica.

That comparison — and fear — is wrong on a number of counts.  First, in Rome the “barbarians” had been living in Rome for centuries, serving the Empire well, before Rome collapsed.  Rome’s collapse was not due to barbarian immigration but stagnation of their society.   It was a slow, steady decline, with no clear end point.  Even the popular 476 date, marking the end of the reign of Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the western empire, is misleading.  The new ruler simply became King of that region, and life went on pretty much as it had.  Alaric, the Visigoth who sacked Rome in 410 had been an officer in the Roman legions.   The problem did not stem from the “barbarians” wanting to overthrow the empire, but the steady decline of the empire.

And if you want to make the comparison, the best one is found in Cullen Murphy’s book Are We Rome.   Our country and economy has given way to foreign capital.   Our debt and trade deficits depend on it.  If China or other  countries wanted, they could drive us into hyperinflation by refusing to finance, or in fact trying to cash in our debt.  The dollar would collapse, and then they could buy up our businesses and industries at cut rate prices.    If this happens slowly, over decades, we’ll gradually see increased foreign control over American business, and less sovereignty in terms of economic and foreign policies.   This would be the equivalent of the barbarians occupying Rome — foreign concerns controlling the American economy.  The cause wouldn’t be Chinese “barbarism,” but rather American decadence, greediness and poor judgment.    That is a better comparison with Rome than fear of Mexicans!

This phobia about Mexicans is also irrational given America’s past.   In 1790 nearly half of the country was of English descent, with about 20% more from Africa, mostly slaves.   About 15% were Irish, Scottish or Welsh.   Now the largest ethnic group is German, with 15.2%.   African Americans are about 13%, with the Irish about 11%.   The English, Welsh and Scots make up less than 10%.  Waves of immigration altered the country from being an extension of Great Britian to become a mix of groups.  Mexicans make up 8%, the fifth largest ethnic group in the US.   Hispanics (non-Mexicans) make up about 4% more.

In short, the US is not defined by ethnicity.   Nobody doubted General Richard Sanchez claim to be a true American general, or Colin Powell’s credentials.   A core of loons tried to question whether or not Barack Obama was a true American with stories that he was born in Kenya or had Indonesian citizenship, but they were laughed off.   Simply, America’s identity is not defined by ethnicity, but by core values.

The anti-immigrants know this.  They self-righteously (some honestly, some simply to avoid political incorrectness) talk about ‘rule of law’ and not rewarding illegal behavior.   Yet, of course, it was the rewarding of illegal behavior that brought this problem here.  We sustained an economic boom in the 90s on the backs of mostly Mexican immigrants, a large percentage coming illegally.  They were given jobs.  We needed their labor.  We benefited.  And now, as this becomes unsustainable over the long run due to the sheer numbers involved, we want to declare them the criminals, and pretend to be victims of some foreign invasion.   Thank you for your cheap labor that we lured you over here to provide, now we’ll return the favor by locking you up, destroying your lives, breaking up your families, and demonizing you as criminals.   Hypocrisy on parade yet again!

Another self-righteous argument is fear of terrorism.  But there are so many ways would be terrorists can enter the country that this is a fallacious argument.   Granting a path to citizenship to those already here in no way increases terror threats, after all!  And drug trade and the drug wars on the Mexican border?  Well, that is a problem Mexico has thanks to the fact Americans are so willing to large amounts for illegal drugs.  Either we need to clean up our act and stop demanding illegal substances, or we need to legalize them and regulate trade.

So let’s put  aside the racism, xenophobia, or fantasies that the US is a country defined by European heritage.  True, the “West” emerged from Europe — from the Roman Empire in fact — and we represent “western civilization.”   It’s a civilization we’ve tried to force on others through armed conflict, trying to spread ‘democracy and markets’ to places like Iraq and Afghanistan.   That hasn’t worked.  Perhaps the best way for the West to thrive is simply to stay open to others, and make it clear that the “West” is a set of ideas and principles, not defined by ethnic background or even economic development.

Now is the time for real immigration reform, recognizing the reality of shared interests between the US and Mexico, the need to give those who have been living here a path to citizenship, and a workable system of allowing work permits and immigration that reduces the temptation to cross illegally.  And sure, make the borders more secure at the same time, that can’t hurt.  Frankly, given the times we’re in, we need to unify as a country and not risk ethnic divisions that contradict our core values.

April 8 - Targeting the Media

Six years ago today three reporters were killed by American attacks on independent media sources in Baghdad covering the war. At the time the Pentagon said that only embedded reporters were safe, and this was simply the danger of being in a war zone. The next day, the US pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein to symbolize the end of the regime, and the attacks on Al Jazeera and other Arab media sources were forgotten.

In time we learned that these were indeed deliberate attacks targeting media the US felt was undercutting the American mission by spreading “enemy propaganda,” and that the reporters were killed by a pre-meditated military strike. The “propaganda” these stations were allegedly spreading was to show that the war was not clean. They veered from the American script of the US coming in as heroic liberators to defeat the evil regime and help the thankful civilians. They showed dead Iraqi children, American POWs (footage from Iraqi TV) and the large number of civilians who had been caught up in “shock and awe.”

As it became clear to the US that the Iraqis were not exuding gratitude, and that we were being seen as an occupying force, the Secretary Rumsfeld blamed al Jazeera.  The Arab media were whipping up anti-American sentiment with these images — with the truth.  If they were silenced, then the US could control the story line and shape reality.  But that didn’t happen. Al Jazeera and other Arab media sources continued to report on real conditions in Iraq, and it soon became obvious that the problem wasn’t that people were being whipped into an anti-American fervor by Arab media, but that the Iraqis didn’t like the American invasion, and they didn’t need the television to show them how Iraqis were being killed, injured and humiliated by the American forces.  They had no love for Saddam, but the level of violence, the looting after the war, and the treatment they received from suspicious Americans after the insurgency begun caused them to sour on the US.   It wasn’t the media that ignited the insurgency, or pushed the Shi’ites to form anti-American and anti-Sunni militias.

Six years ago today, the lie underlying the Iraq war was made evident, even though it would take awhile for it to sink in. The US thought it could script this war, control the message, and therefore shape the outcome. It did not understand the culture and the problems involved in trying to actually make Iraq some kind of model democracy. And, as the script started to unravel with negative Iraqi reaction to the American presence — no flowers and chocolates — they refused to rethink their premises and instead killed some reporters and tried to intimidate those people out there trying to bring the real story to the public. Truth was dangerous to the American goal, truth did not fit the script.  The effort was to silence getting the human side of the war to the public: that war is not clean, sanitary, or like a hollywood movie.

Think about what this means.  Our leaders deliberately killed journalists covering a war.  It was not an accident.  They did this to try to control what the public saw, perhaps really believing that al jazeera and other Arab stations were biased.  Of course, the American media was biased as well, but biased in favor of the war.  That bias was acceptable.  Since then we’ve learned that Vice President Cheney may have had “roving gangs of assassins” at his disposal, killing people in foreign countries without answering to either the CIA or Congress.   Add that to the use of torture and the indefinite detention of people suspected to be terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, and probably the biggest casualty of the Iraq war was American integrity and honor.

We can get it back.   We elected President Obama because most Americans think he may be the kind of leader to restore what was squandered in the last eight years (or even the last sixteen).  But first and foremost, whether one supports Obama’s policies or not, no matter what party one belongs in, or what ones’ views are on foreign policy and even the Iraq war, we should all reaffirm our core values.  We should be ashamed that our leaders chose to target foreign media sources — how do we react when Islamic extremists target or kidnap our journalists, after all?   We should be ashamed of torture, investigate claims of assassination teams acting above the law, and stop detentions where we can’t show just cause and undertake legal proceedings.   We need to reaffirm our core values, shared by Americans from all parts of the political spectrum.

April 8, 2003 was a day of shame.  Three journalists were killed for trying to get out the story, we worked against free speech and a free press.  It appeared to be quickly forgotten the next day as Baghdad “fell.”   I think it’s important to make sure we remember this event, and its meaning.

 

April 7 - Haven’t We Been Here Before?
 

Back in 1980 I was one of the first in Sioux Falls to purchase Paradise Theater by the band Styx.  It quickly became one of my all time favorites, as it combines a riveting social commentary with powerful music.   As I listened to it again tonight, I realized that the album could have been written for the present.  It was, in essence, a call for the road not taken, and a warning against the road that, unfortunately, we were about to travel:

Dont need no fast buck lame duck profits for fun
Quick trick plans, take the money and run
We need long term, slow burn, getting it done
And some straight talking, hard working son of a gun.
Whatcha doin tonight, I got faith in our generation
Lets stick together and futurize our attitudes
I aint lookin to fight, but I know with determination
We can challenge the schemers who cheat all the rules
- From “Rockin’ the Paradise,’ Styx (Lyrics: Dennis DeYoung)

What we would get from 1980 to 2008 is “fast buck lame duck profits for fun, quick trick plans, take the money and run.”  We sent jobs producing goods overseas, while increasing consumption.    Producing less and consuming more is not a sustainable practice, but we made an art of it.   ‘Take the money and run’ does not just describe Bernie Madoff, but the culture of corporate America in recent decades.  Make a quick buck, get a bonus, and focus on short term profit at long term costs.  We all got in on it, going into debt, and believing that somehow we could just consume and enjoy the fruits of foreign labor.

What we needed was “long term, slow burn, getting it done;” we needed to focus on reinvesting in the US infrastructure, assuring quality jobs; instead, we got unsustainable current accounts deficits and debt.   We became addicted to credit card debt and bought into the ‘grand illusion’ of consumerism (that 1977 Styx song - ‘The Grand Illusion,’ also written by DeYoung,  really resonates with the themes I’ve developed on this blog about the dangers of hyper-consumerism).   We sought meaning by indulging in “someone else’s fantasy,” and as a culture lost a sense of purpose.  We didn’t challenge the schemers who cheat all the rules, we let them run the show, and thought we were doing grand.

I admit, I’m a Styx fan, especially a Dennis DeYoung fan — though not the type that joins fan clubs or follows closely the rumors and details of the band (I had to look up their websites for the links, I’d not visited them before).  I’m a fan of the music and the message, and clearly bands like Styx had an impact on how I think.  The band itself was unappreciated by the critics, who generally dissed Midwest rock bands like Styx, REO, Kansas or their Canadian counterparts Rush and Triumph.   But that was my music.  Styx itself had only five top selling peak LPs before what made them great broke them apart.   They were built around three very different yet creative artists (DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, and James Young),  who fused distinct styles together for a unique and compelling sound.  Holding them together was the rhythmic core of Chuck and John Panozzo on bass and drums.   Ultimately creative and personal differences tore them apart.  There have been three later CDs, the most recent being “Cyclorama,” the only one without Dennis DeYoung, but yet an excellent album.

On the LP Equinox in 1975, before they made it big, the band put out its first real social commentary with “Suite Madam Blue,” a song about America in danger of decline, needing a ‘new start’ as we neared the bi-centennial.   But in “Grand Illusion” and “Pieces of Eight” the commentary on consumerism, materialism, and a country losing its way really became strong.  DeYoung noted how we were grasping for stuff, that we can have everything yet be haunted by an emptiness we can’t explain.   I’m not sure how much that was appreciated by other fans, but it is what drew me to their music.   The 1979 song “Borrowed Time” (from the “Cornerstone” LP) — “We’re living high, living fine, living high on borrowed time…” would unfortunately became prophetic for the decades to come.

So as I listen to some of these old LPs I can’t help but compare what we’re facing now with when we first confronted the challenges in the late seventies.   Haven’t we been here before?   Last time we had a popular President inspire the country and seem to lead us to ‘morning in America.’  It was another illusion, factories continued to close, and ultimately a spiral of debt and trade deficits (meaning we were producing less and consuming more), hidden by a bubble economy providing an illusion of wealth, brought us to the abyss.   The problems are the same now as they were in 1980, except with tenfold intensity.

Is Barack Obama the “straight talking hard working son of a gun” that will lead us away from here?  Or is he another Ronald Reagan, creating the illusion of improvement at long term cost?    There is evidence for both interpretations now, but really, it depends more on us than on the leader.   We need to look to the future, we need to ‘challenge the schemers,’ we need to put aside that ‘fast buck profits for fun’ mentality that seemed to define the last decades, and instead take responsibility for reshaping this country.   Looking at our wars, our oil addiction, our refusal to see the human cost of our actions and consumption, we’ve clearly let ‘our treasures turn our hearts to stone.’

And, for all the pundits and social critics out there who try to figure out the state of the culture, sometimes the most prophetic voices are found in the unlikeliest of places.   In both his solo work and Styx reunion albums, DeYoung seems to hit a chord that connects with the times.  “Show me the Way” at the time of the Gulf War, or “Hip Hop Hypocrisy” during the Lewinsky scandal, which showed both the President and the rival party to be hypocritical at the core.   It’s strange as a social scientist to be reflecting on the music I grew up with in this way, seeing profound  insight in what at the time was often ignored or dismissed by the cultural elite.    Yet perhaps that was one reason why they were so popular.

I sometimes wonder how much that music affected my views today.  Did I connect with DeYoung’s songs because they reflect values I have, or did they help shape the values of an impressionable kid going from high school to college?   I just got on amazon.com and found he has a new solo album out “100 Years from Now”, so I ordered it, and look forward to its arrival, as much as I had anticipated Paradise Theater in 1980.   That tour was also the one time I saw Styx in concert, in Sioux Falls.   Most importantly, though, I wonder if we’ll actually find a way to “lift up our hearts and make a new start?”

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April 5 - The Brain and Reality

Ever wonder what an ant or a bat experiences as reality?   The bat is blind, but uses sonar to give it a map of the world that works very well for flying, feeding and surviving.  How does the world feel — what kind of world does that bad experience?  We can imagine the sonar map being turned into a visual map because, as visual creatures, that’s what we relate to.  The bat, however, cannot even imagine the sense of sight, any more than we could imagine a new sense that would suddenly reveal to us facets of this reality that we cannot perceive.  To the bat, the world is not a visible one.

Meanwhile an ant or a fly experiences a tiny section of reality, but one that no doubt seems to be reality as it can only be.  An ant crawling along Sasha and Malia Obama’s swingset at the White House, and having a famous first daughter show mercy by moving the ant away rather than squishing it, experiences nothing special.  The ant doesn’t even conceive of or perceive reality that way.  Whether flying in the oval office or in the room of a south side Chicago crack dealer, the fly is oblivious to what us would be major differences in reality.

Simply, we get the reality our brain is able to give us.   Limited by the brain, most people (and no doubt animals) assume that they experience the reality that matters.   True, we know there are subatomic particles and things too tiny to see, and that we are on a speck of dust in the universe.  But we can build instruments try to to uncover the secrets of that which we cannot see, and assume that this is enough.  Anything outside our brains capacity to perceive or imagine is by definition irrelevant.

Yet if a bat or an ant or a fly can have existences so limited that they could be utterly oblivious to the great forces of history around them, might not our brain also have limits?  Just as the fly wouldn’t notice the limits — they would be outside its conceptual and perceptual capacity — we might not notice ours.   Any imagination of something outside our brain’s limits is created by the brain — and thus takes the form of things we can comprehend.

Scientists, for instance, have become convinced that our theories of the universe cannot function unless they postulate some form of “dark matter,” which may make up over three fourths of mass in the universe.  Yet what could this be like?  We can’t conceive of it, our instruments only notice its impact by noting a disconnect between our evidence and our theories about the cosmos.  Quantum mechanics postulates processes and situations that are completely at odds with our understanding of how the world works.  Quantum tunnelling, non-locality, the simulatenous nature of all space-time, paradoxes galore…we don’t know what to do with them.   To take them seriously simply leads us to see the world as far more bizarre than we’ve imagined.  Many physicists don’t want to have science used for such rampant speculation, so they take they view ’shut up and calculate.’  Don’t worry about the implications of the theory; it works, so use it!

In a post last September, I wrote on whether or not the universe is a hologram, pointing to research in both physics and on the brain.  The brain seems to have capacities that are inexplicable, and we seem to be only conscious of part of what the brain can do.   Moreover, once you open up to theories from quantum physics and other “out there” ideas, it’s not impossible to see the brain as part of a larger unit, a kind of collective soul if you will.  All of this sounds weird given that we perceive reality as distinct units with us as distinct individuals.  But that’s what the brain gives us for our world.   If we have a collective linked nature, it is to our experience what sight is to the bat’s.   It’s not in the realm of our experience.

This kind of thinking, of course, is not new.  Over 2500 years ago Plato’s Allegory of the Cave posited similar ideas — if you spent your life in a cave and never experienced true reality, you’d consider the cave to be reality as it is.  Bishop Berkeley considered material reality a “persuasive illusion;” all we have is interpretations of experience.   But with modern studies of the brain, it becomes increasingly clear that we are creatures in world with distinct limits on how we can perceive and interpret this world.   We wear blinders, we see only a small sliver of reality, with no way of knowing how indicative that which we perceive is of the whole.

And, of course, that works.  Just as the bat doesn’t need to see the color red, or an ant doesn’t care about whose house it occupies, we can live our lives and go about existence without having to think about what may be outside that which our brains allow us to perceive.   Most of us do.

Yet I doubt the bat can truly reflect on the possibility of its limits.   Even dogs, which science says can use reason (it appears a number of animals are capable of using reason — that human arrogance is being pushed aside), probably don’t have our mental capacity to question our understandings of the world in which we find ourselves.   The brain tells us what bits about reality we need to know to operate as humans ; it might also contain secrets about the reality beyond us that for whatever reason we are unable to access (except, perhaps, through instinct).   Perhaps the difference between us and ants is matched by the difference between us and other entities, who can perceive our acts, but of whom we are generally oblivious.

To discover this, we might explore dreams, meditations, and other ways to stretch our brain’s experience.   Some have used psychadelic drugs to do this, but frankly, that would scare the hell out of me so I stay far away from those.   I find it comforting to realize that the brain is setting these limits.  It frees me from thinking I need to correctly figure out the world; that capacity is beyond me.  It allows me to focus instead on doing what seems to work in the world, and then considering how that might be reflected in a greater reality.

What works in the world is what brings happiness.  Greed, envy, anger, and hate do not work, they may bring success, but rarely do they get associated with joy.  Forgiveness, love, tolerance, community, family and even temperment seem to work much better.   Perhaps those hold a key to figuring out what’s on the other side.  And who knows — scientists say we only use about ten percent of our brain or less, maybe we do have the capacity to experience reality more fully.   For me, that’s enough to keep learning and exploring that part of existence as well.   Moreover, it’s playful.  By going with what seems to work rather than needing to know precisely what’s true, one avoids dogma and instead can have fun with ideas and possibilities.

April 3 - Six Years

Six years ago today my life changed.   At 11:47 PM Ryan was born, and I became a father.   Ryan is now in Kindergarten, celebrating his sixth birthday as he continues to surprise me, whether it’s reading signs as we drive, skiing down Mt. Titcomb in control, or coming up with imaginative theories and stories.

Six years ago, the United States was ready to enter Baghdad.   President Bush, Vice President Cheney and especially the neo-conservatives in thea Adminsitration were feeling vindicated.   Iraq not only didn’t put up much of a fight, but it was clear that we were unlikely to be hit by chemical or nuclear weapons.    Awesome American firepower and the will to use it was yielding a major victory.  Within a week the statue of Saddam would be pulled down, and the in the minds of the Washington elite, the US was showing itself to be the master of the post war world.  Talk about “taking a left turn and heading to Syria” or “turning up the pressure on Iran” was starting to come from the war hawks, already assuming that Iraq was won, and we could think about the next “liberation.”

Six years ago I thought about the new, vulnerable life that had just entered the world.   I noticed how much more emotional I was in response to stories involving children — becoming a father changed the way I looked at the world.   I think it peeled away a layer of abstraction, connecting me more directly with the meaning of what was happening.

To be sure, when the 1991 Gulf War started I found out something about myself that surprised me.  I had opposed that war on intellectual grounds, but when I started seeing the bombs fall on TV, and thinking about the impact on average Iraqis, I was horrified.  How could my country be causing so much death and destruction?   How can we rationalize killing children by pointing at Saddam?   How can we bomb a whole country, causing intense civilian death, or traumatize Iraqi armed forces with round the clock carpet bombing, when they themselves were often conscripts who would have prefered not be abused by Saddam?

The utter immorality of our actions, even if endorsed by the UN, and protected by an alliance seemed self-evident and clear.  Yet, as I looked at my culture and fellow citizens, I saw they were caught up in the rush of a televised war.  “Let’s get that SOB,” “no one will mess with America,” “wow, what technology we have.”  I felt alienated in my own country, finding it hard to believe that people weren’t thinking about the Iraqi people as fellow humans.  All that mattered was our experience, worrying about the Iraqis was not something we did.

Six years ago I reflected on how we had gotten used to war.  Each war had its own graphics and theme music.   Whether Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan or Iraq, a generation was growing up which would be used to war.   They would rationalize the killing by believing the government story.  The Clinton PR machine sold Kosovo as a success, when the reality was far more ambiguous.  Iraq was done to “liberate” the Iraqi people — though no real concern was shown for what they were going through.   Ironically (and in a way that inspires hope) the soldiers we sent over to Iraq and Afghanistan seemed to care more about the people they encountered then we did at home.  Despite many abuses of power, there are even more stories of soldiers trying to raise money for children, and seeing the humanity of the people they had been sent to ‘liberate.’     But for most people at home, dead bodies weren’t seen, suffering was abstract, and the focus was on politics and power.  3000 people were killed on 9-11, we were outraged.  We reign much more destruction on a country and its innocents, but somehow that’s different.

Six years ago I realized I would have to protect my children from buying into the lies our culture teaches, the most insidious being the lie that our lives are more valuable and important than the lives of non-Americans.  I would have to protect him from vultures who will try to lure him to the armed forces when he gets to be 16 or 17, with promises of adventure and money.   If it were to defend the country that would be one thing; instead, we kill and destroy to try to maintain power.  Young men and women join with honorable intentions; I feel they are being used by cynical politicians.

Six years ago I wondered what kind of world Ryan would grow up in.  I already worried about the current account deficit, the unsustainable economy, and the real possibility that he would find a world with fewer opportunities.  Those worries obviously remain.

Six years on, the country is much wiser.  We learned that we can’t simply spread democracy by force, the neo-conservative theory has joined Soviet communism on the ash heap of history.   We’re still in Iraq, but almost everyone realizes that the war was unnecessary, a mistake, and has weakened us.  The key now is to find a way out that doesn’t do more harm than good.  But even that is likely to be an elusive goal, given that many groups there are biding their time, ready for a power play when we leave.  Now the optimists hope not for a functioning pro-American democracy, but maybe a strong man, a new Saddam like character, actually bringing stability.  Ironic.

We are still in Afghanistan.  As much as we’ve learned about the limits of military power, we still are afraid to leave, to “cut and run.”   Yet we also haven’t really addressed the moral issue of how we have used our massive power to destroy so many lives, and shatter families, communities and whole societies.   We point to other evil doers as providing rationale for our acts, but that rings hollow.  We still don’t get it, the debate about whether we ‘win or lose’ or ‘America’s role in the world.’   The innocents remain collateral damage, unimportant bit players in our strategic drama.

Yet, as we spend ourselves into deeper debt, continue to see how our wars and power grabs have hurt more than helped, I also have hope.  No, not because of Barack Obama and the change he promised — change that so far is still unrealized.  Rather, six years ago I witnessed a child come into the world, and comforted him as they washed, measured, and clothed him.   I recall how thunderstuck I was by the emotion of the experience, not expecting to feel so much unconditional and powerful love for this tiny creature.

Six years later my goal is to recognize that the love I feel for my family, that hit me when I first experienced fatherhood, is love that is deserved by all humans.  My goal is to look at life — how I treat others, how I look at war, the world economy, the environment, my teaching, and all aspects of life — with that love in mind.  Love gives life meaning.  Love wipes away the blinders that allow us to rationalize war, theft, lies, and mean spiritedness.   Love trumps guilt.

Six years ago I lost a lot of freedom.  Money started to get diverted from  travel  to toys, and time spent on leisure — going to play golf, tennis, hiking — disappeared.   It became diapers, late nights going to rock Ryan and then his brother Dana a few years later to sleep (I’m a lighter sleeper than Natasha, so I had night duty).   No more watching my shows, no more Sunday football.   Virtually all free time became kid-related.   It was two years before we’d go to a movie, and we hardly ever ate out.  I had lived four decades free and able to do as I wanted, six years ago that all changed.

My mom told me that the birth of a child will patch a hole in your heart you never knew you had.  Six years ago, that hole was patched.  Six years ago my abstract belief in the power of love was put in undeniable concrete form — and reinforced nearly three years later with Dana’s birth.   Six years ago today was the most important day in my life.

April 2 - Nature in Late Winter
 

 

Healingmagichands made a blog challenge to go into nature and explore the world at hand.  So I went out of my house today to go for my first walk in the woods around the house and into the backyard.  Except for a path shoveled around the house, most of the winter found the snow too deep for any kind of walk into the woods.  Now, though the snow has mostly melted, I caught the last bits of snow hanging on to the back roof — a roof so covered I was just about ready to go shovel it off in early March before the promise of warmer weather caused me to leave it to nature.

Last bits of snow hanging on

Last bits of snow hanging on

The snow is melting, and we live part way down a hill which heads towards a stream.  That means that water flows from above us to below us, causing spring time to be full of streams and a very soggy back yard.   Luckily the builders did a good job positioning us so the basement — which is finished living space — remains dry.  But the yard is wet!  We have a series of trails near the house which lead down to

A stream of snow melt

a small river.   I had planned to go there today, it’s not far.  But the mud was a bit too intense, I’ll make it there in a few weeks and post another nature blog.    Below is a view into the woods from our driveway.   The hill on the other side is on the other side of the river.  While I was outside I could hear dogs — neighbors have husky dogs they run on the trials to train them.   Despite numerous hikes I’ve never actually run across them, but at times they can easily be heard!

The woods are absolutely beautiful this time of year, even though one might

Looking out towards the river (not visible)

Looking out towards the river (not visible)

think them as barren and sparse.  There is little color; the evergreens provide the only green, the grass poking through the snow is still brown, and the snow adds white.  But this is the moment just before life awakes, the streams of water and disappearing snow banks will soon give way to vibrant green!  Our gardens are ready to come alive!   They are small, though we hope to be part of  a larger community garden the builders started to organize last fall.

The front garden

The front garden

The back garden (protected by deer fence)

The back garden (protected by deer fence)

The front garden was installed last year.  We bought this house in April 2007, two years ago, and the lawn came up to the house.  Natasha and her dad did most of the work of installing this when her folks visited from Russia last year.  The back garden came into being in the spring.   We have great builders, but they used rocky fill, so it was a pain to dig out these gardens (which we use for veggies, particularly tomatoes and cucumbers, also some spices).   Obviously as the snow shows, we have to wait awhile before getting ready for this year’s planting.

We also are waiting for neighbors.  Thanks to the housing crunch, work on this development has stopped.  Our builders, who own the land and live close by, have yet to sell the house just up from ours, built in the summer of 2007.  The plan is to next build one down a bit from ours, but they’re holding off until that one sells.  It’s very nice.  We want neighbors!  We’re hoping we’ll get some this summer!

Through the woods, a house for sale

Through the woods, a house for sale

So, no beautiful pictures of flowers, or green landscape.  Yet, somehow, this is one of my favorite times of the year to wander around on the soggy grass.  The air is fresh, and the sound of the water as it forms little streams heading down the hill is magical.   One also gets the sense that a kind of rebirth is occurring.  All of this appears dead, and so far no buds are on the trees, and only a few birds and spiders seem to indicate the coming onslaught of green.    Below is a photo from winter, showing the utter white that defines that season:

Our driveway in February

Our driveway in February

I really love winter, the snow stays clean and crisp, and there is something snug about having the house buried in deep snow.  Sure, I have to keep a path shoveled for oil deliveries, and so the meter reader can read how much electricity we’ve used.  And, thanks to extremely heavy snowfall the last two years (last year was worse than this year) I shovel around the foundation to try to relieve stress on the basement when the snow melts.

 

Our driveway early April

Our driveway early April

So it was an inspiring walk in nature today, even if the spring awakening is still a couple weeks away.   Ryan, who turns six this Friday, was asking about life in “heavens,” wondering what it is like when we die.  After my walk today I look him to the window and said, “do all those trees, grass and plants out there look alive or dead?”

“Dead,” he answered matter of factly.

“Will they be dead in a few weeks?”  I responded.  He said, no, in summer everything comes alive.

“That’s what it’s like with people too.   We never really die, we just leave this world for another.   And sometimes we come back to this one.   Who knows, maybe you were my daddy in your last life.”  He laughed at that.  My dad died of pancreas cancer at age 60, eight years before Ryan was born.   I thought of my dad as I walked around outside, wondering what he would think of his ‘professional student’ son who was still single and living in a one room apartment despite being over 30 when my dad passed away.   I had my interview scheduled with Farmington before my dad died, and he assured me I’d get this job.  I flew off to the job interview the day after I gave the eulogy at his funeral.   And if this late winter nature tells me anything, it’s that death is not permanent, it’s just a natural transition.

April 1 - In Praise of Merkel and Sarkozy

The early news from the G20 in Europe is a supposed standoff between Obama and the continental conservatives, Angela Merkel of Germany and Nicolas Sarkozy of France.

I have trouble finding a political home in the American political spectrum, but connect well with European conservatives.   European conservatives support national health insurance, oppose the death penalty, and support basic social welfare programs.  They tend to be pro-life, but without the vitriol or accusations of murder that Americans often engage in.  They appear principled rather than fanatical.

European conservatives avoid the free market extremism of some American conservatives, as well as the religious fundamentalism that has defined conservatism in the US.  To a West European conservative the kind of rhetoric that Sean Hannity engages in (’the US is the greatest country God has ever given man’) would sound fascistic and bizarre.  In other words, European conservatives generally avoid the things I dislike about American conservatism.

On the positive side, they avoid the kind of ideological anti-market thinking of some on the left, and they recognize the importance of community and tradition.  Where American conservatives are often hyper-individualist, European conservatives still have their roots in the notion of the importance of society.  That makes them less ideological, and more pragmatic.

Merkel and Sarkozy disagree with Obama’s call for increased deficit spending in Europe to stimulate the economy.   A physicist by training, Merkel finds it irrational to think the cure for a debt induced bubble is more debt.  Along with Sarkozy she is calling for a new regulatory regime to make sure that global finance is held accountable to rule of law.   Globalization, they believe, created a situation outside the scope of the regulatory regimes of the states.  States had developed sound policies for domestic regulation, but once capital was freed from having to stay within national borders, it found loopholes and opportunities to exploit.

This isn’t a new argument.  The famous political scientist Susan Strange, writing back in 1999 before her death, talked about the demise of the Westphalian state system in an article “The Westfailure system.”   Of the three crises she saw threatening the system, the most dangerous was the possibility of a global credit crisis due to how ineffective international regulations had become in an era of globalization.  With the US gripped by an ideological free market mindset, people didn’t see the need to develop a transnational regulatory scheme, thus allowing predatory practices to grow.

Germany and France are also signalling the US that just as they did not automatically support the 2003 Iraq war, which they saw as foolhardy and dangerous, they won’t buy in to a massive stimulus which they fear will cause inflation and/or stagflation.   They are worried that this spending will cause a collapse in value of the dollar, and potentially make world recovery more difficult.

These arguments are compelling.  I still think the stimulus is probably worth the gamble, but it will be meaningless without an overhaul of global regulation on finance capital.   The belief that the market can self-regulate has been proven false; those on the inside are privvy to information and abilities to act that allow them to manipulate markets for excessive profit.  That has to be stopped, and can only be stopped with a coordinated international regulatory regime.   This needs to be as profound a change as the Bretton Woods system provided after World War II.

And, though I’ve accepted Obama’s argument that a stimulus is needed and worth the risk, pressure has to be put on the US not to simply try to get out of this on the cheap, expecting the rest of the world to absorb the cost of our higher debt by maintaining an inflated value for the dollar.   This means renewed pressure for the US to cut its budget where possible (especially in areas that do not support the creation of jobs, infrastructure, and  economic growth) and recognize that without fiscal discipline, economic recovery could be very short lived.

Sarkozy especially has made it clear he blames the “Anglos” — the British and Americans — for this mess.  Their penchant for debt, deregulation and speculation pushed the world into the abyss; many of Europe’s problems are contagion from the US.   Obama should acknowledge as much, and make clear that we understand that our laissez faire approach to global capital and our penchant for debt (without savings) were causal factors in creating this crisis.   In so doing, we have to avoid the same kind of borrow and spend policies Reagan used to get us out of the last recession — this time, we’re in too deep, such policies won’t work.

Moreover, Merkel and Sarkozy can set the tone for a strong European voice in world politics, filling a gap that the US is leaving as US power and moral authority remains discredited due to both Iraq and the global economic crisis.   Unlike the Bush Administration, which bristled at the threat (Rumsfeld ridiculing France and Germany as “old Europe”), Obama has to recognize that this isn’t the late 20th century, and the US isn’t the ‘unipolar power.’  We need partnerships, and we need to listen.

Merkel and Sarkozy’s conservatism is a good balance to Obama’s aggressive interventionism.  I find myself in the middle, glad that the continental Europeans are working to make sure that the US approach is not uncritically accepted.   The US must think hard about the consequences of  increased debt, and accept the need for a new regulatory regime for global capital.

Many people ridicule meetings like that of G20 as just for show and unproductive — more to allow leaders to get to know each other than to really achieve results.  This time, however, this meeting could be very important as the start towards figuring out a way to deal with the worst global economic crisis in over 70 years.

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