Freedom to Listen

As a corollary to the First Amendment’s freedom of speech, could we at least have a strong suggestion to listen?

I don’t mean to just zip it, and fidget until it’s our turn to parrot our side’s bumper-sticker; but to really listen.  

That might be the most revolutionary change in this country since 1776.

Tomatoes: Vegetable or Fruit?

Those who consider tomatoes a vegetable can cite support from an unexpected source. It was legally declared such by the US Supreme Court in 1893 (Nix v. Hedden).

During the Civil War, when Union markets were cut off from Confederate produce, this need was backfilled by growers in the Caribbean. After the end of Reconstruction, a tariff was placed on imported vegetables, to help southern growers recover. The application of tariff to tomatoes was challenged, on the basis that tomatoes are a fruit (indisputable from a botanical perspective, less so in culinary practice).

In 1893, the Supreme Court put culinary usage (and powerful agricultural interests) ahead of science, and declared that, legally at least, tomatoes are vegetables.

This is the same court which had ruled seven years earlier that corporations are people (Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad), so their tendency to weigh commercial interests over reality was already established.

Know them by their fruits

Many religions (including my own) claim domain for their deity over all the Earth – not just over their believers.  The irony is that—since none of the foundational mythologies of any of these belief systems can be proven—the only legitimate basis on which we can demand respect for our beliefs is the respect we demonstrate to the others.    

The only legitimate basis for any judgment of another's belief system is by the actions of its followers ('Ye shall know them by their fruits' - Matthew 7:16).  And to evaluate others on this basis is to accept this same criterion in the evaluation of your own faith. 

The New Sword of Damocles

In Greek legend there is the story of Damocles, who learned the lesson of the hazards of high office - demonstrated by a sword dangling above him as he sat upon the throne, suspended by a single hair from a horse's tail.  The moral, 'Uneasy rests the head that wears the crown' is a cautionary lesson about aspiring to great power. 

Ironically, in our society, the safest place to be is at the top.  There are so many safeguard; stock options, retention clauses, golden handshakes, etc., that a fall from grace generally involves a soft landing.  With us, it is the hoi poloi who face the greatest threat.  Though their station is not lofty, it is poised above an abyss.  The loss of a job or a serious illness, can mean social isolation, financial ruin, homelessness, and even untimely death. 

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh - the irritable bowel of the American body politic. 

Peace Dividend

For many of the most powerful, influential players in our economy and body politic, a lowering of global tensions is not a thing devoutly to be desired, but a terrifying contingency.  There is no 'peace dividend' for the giants of the military industrial complex - there is only ruin; with loss of markets, and increased competition for whatever outlets remain for their weapons. 
So far as possible, they will not allow this to occur. 

The Costs of Empire

If the human and financial burden of empire were borne in proportion to the benefits, the extravagant costs would become clear; the very concept of empire would be considered quaint, and be relegated to the dustbin of history.