MLK Day Greeting

During the darkest times, I believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would want us to focus on what we are capable of at our best, rather than at our worst. 

Nine years ago, a mere forty-odd years after Dr. King fought and died for the right for people of color to vote, and to live in dignity, the United States inaugurated a black man to the Presidency – not just a black man, but the son of a mixed marriage – which was still illegal in some states in King’s time.  

Then, four years later, we reelected him. 

We who supported President Obama—and I’d like to think that many who opposed him—did so, not because of the color of his skin, but for of the content of his character (and his policies).  Dr. King dedicated his life, and gave his last full measure of devotion to help steer this country to a place where this would be possible. 

Yes, we are back to a bleak time in our history, when hatred, prejudice and intolerance are again expressed openly.  But we need not look that far back to see a time when we were guided by the better angels of our nature, and take heart that we might soon return to that.  Dr. King shared this from Theodore Parker, “Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  In times like today, this should give us hope – but we must remember, that arc doesn’t bend itself; it bends toward justice only when people of good will grab the end of that sucker, pull it toward justice, and won’t let go, no matter what. 

I wish you all a happy, thoughtful, and grateful Martin Luther King Junior Day.

Embarrassed vs. Ashamed

The last fifteen months have allowed me—all of us, really—the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the difference between the concepts of embarrassment and shame.  

I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of Americans are embarrassed to have the buffoon who occupies the office President Obama left morally and ethically vacant a year ago.  There are certainly exceptions to this state of embarrassment – and it’s worth noting carefully now who they are – before denial and revisionism seek to rewrite history.  Once The Donald has retreated again to his rightful place on the covers of the pulp paper tabloids at the checkout stand, people like Lindsay Graham, Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the Republican congressional caucus will conveniently forget their familiarity.  On the other hand, your neighbor—the gun-nut, who is always grumbling about the 'deep state', the Trilateral Commission, and black helicopters—will remain loyal; at least he is legit.  

On the other hand, I don’t feel the slightest bit of shame about this creep being in office; shame is personal, and I did what I could to prevent it.  The current state of our politics is the result of decades of philosophical and intellectual decay, driven by the leaders and underwriters of the Republican Party.  Though I have never been a Republican, there are many whom I have respected, and still respect.  I have fond childhood memories of people like William F. Buckley, James Kilpatrick, and others, who could espouse and defend a coherent governing philosophy, in a way that posed a challenge to those opposing it.  In my imagination, I would grow up to be that opposing voice, sitting across from Buckley in his Firing Line studio; matching him point for point, fact for fact, smug expression for smug expression – all while holding grudging respect for one another’s skills.  These people are gone, and nobody has taken their place.  Intellectual lightweights like Dinesh D’Sousa, Thomas Sowell, and others presume to carry the mantle.  But they don’t measure up to their forebears – and even if they did, the Republicans no longer point to a coherent philosophy for support.  They have unilaterally surrendered the appeal to logos, and now rely entirely on pathos – whipping up anger among their credulous base.  In this, they have relied on such intellectual lights as Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones.  

Yes, it is embarrassing to know that the Current Occupant will have his portrait hung alongside more worthy predecessors.  But the shame belongs solely to those who have lost the ability, or willingness to use their heads in the attempt to discern reality from paranoid fantasy when selecting the leaders of our country.  

Cults and Outside News

A key step in cementing a cult leader’s hold on his followers is to isolate them from outside sources of information.  This may be done through overt censorship, by disallowing publications, or jamming unauthorized broadcasts, and blocking internet sites – as was done in the old Soviet Union, and is still done in China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere.  But there is a much easier way.  If a cult leader has enough sway over the minds of his followers, all he has to do is repeatedly and consistently discredit outside sources of information.  When this is successful there is no need to block access; cult members will do the censoring themselves, through peer pressure, and their own cognitive dissonance – the phenomenon by which people will reject input that directly conflicts with their core beliefs, rather than address the contradiction. 

Though less expensive to maintain than actual censorship, the brainwashing necessary to get people to self-censor doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes time and consistency – and a somewhat credulous population of cult members, who are willing to single-source a version of the truth. 

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/367156-trump-says-hell-give-dishonest-and-corrupt-media-awards-next-week