Choose Fear Or Principles... But Be Awake While Making The Choice
My blogging efforts have gone on for about six months because the issues that I write about eat at my soul. Being an educated person, a Catholic and an educator with diverse talents and expertise, I find that most people are asleep at the wheel when it comes to the realities of American democracy. That assessment hit me square in the face today when I received an e-mail asking me not to send any further e-mails to a particular e-mail address. Being what I consider a reasonable person with some sense of etiquette, I have no problem honoring requests to stop sending e-mails. During the years that I have been operating in cyberspace I have made that same request and expected it to be honored.
But this particular e-mail bothered me because it came from a person that actually dedicates herself to the care of children suffering through struggles with cancer. She is an activist that has to cope with the red tape and excessively bad policies that is our medical bureaucracy. Throughout her efforts she has probably confronted the greed of pharmaceutical companies, fought with insurance companies and had to pull numerous end-runs to meet the needs of those she and her organization serve.
Certainly I can identify with her view, as expressed in the e-mail, as I have worked in the medical field as a member of the military (US Navy Hospital Corps and US Army National Guard Medic) and as a civilian. My work has extended into the fields of substance abuse counseling, psychiatric care, family & child welfare, as well as teaching at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels. In order to make ends meet, at various times I have operated my own business, worked in the field of facilities management and facilities security, corporate training, all the while working two or three jobs to enable me to follow my passions as a teacher and advocate. Having served as a member of the board for several not-for-profit organizations, especially those oriented toward helping homeless people, victims of family violence and substance abuse, I have worked with local, regional and national efforts to get beyond the harshness and barriers of our various systems.
But I guess that is why the words this person wrote smacked so hard:
My response was not entirely gentile because I honestly feel that it is because people do not make the time to stay on top of the political hacks that entrench themselves into our political process, embed obstructionist rules and administrative obstacles into lawmaking, and create openings for the politically powerful to manipulate the system in perverse ways. It is because people are asleep at the wheel in our democracy that we have so many scandals. So, this is what I stated in my response:
There are a lot of people blogging these days. Some are writing, analyzing and reporting on such things as rap music, whether or not Britney Spears has committed yet another blunder or some other meaningless drivel. There are those that actually get paid for their blogs, as well as those that have seized on blogging to improve their political position for the next election. But among all this chaff are a few kernels of really good wheat. These are the bloggers that are writing out of a genuine sense of conscience and duty. The focus of their efforts is to raise awareness and speak for principles. Their efforts are not focused on merely ridiculing, but sounding an alarm that all is not well in our society.
It is my belief that the overwhelming ultra-conservative control of all three branches of our federal government is creating a constitutional crisis with George W. Bush at the head of the charge forward into a surreptitious form of fascism. It is a slow, creeping form of fascism that has lulled most of us into a deep slumber, making us unaware of the first principles that the framers of our Constitution embodied in the Preamble, Articles and Amendments of that document. We have been so focused on the so-called culture and media wars that we have actually been distracted from our duty to be diligent in our preservation of liberty, justice and good government.
Today those words have become tired clichés, the butt of jokes by those holding extreme views on both sides of the political spectrum, or words of derision used to belittle those that have different perspectives, different beliefs, different values or different orientations. We have arrived at a point where we are so afraid—illegitimately so—that we are willing to sacrifice our basic civil rights, surrender our government to religious ideologies that are narrowly focused on a handful of issues, and live in a constant state of panic rather than a truly vigilant state of security.
Evidence of how our first principles are being eroded surrounds us every day. The news reports are full of scandals involving the purchase of access and influence; cronyism and elitism; dismissal of legitimate concerns and grievances; political denials and unwarranted secrecy; lies and misleading statements; unconscionable infringements into privacy; and more. But many of us remain asleep at the wheel and dismissive of those that are alarmed by the actions robbing us of our rights, freedom and principles.
So, to those that are asleep at the wheel I shout out a warning that we are facing a crisis that could bring our country to the edge of disaster and the brink of dissolution. The destruction of our society will not occur because of abortions, religious beliefs, efforts to curb spending, or corruption. Our destruction will come in the slow whittling away of our first principles, inherent and inalienable rights, loss of our reputation and standing in the international community, and our lackadaisical response to those that are robbing us of our fundamental virtues grounded in reason.
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. We have seen our liberties infringed and abridged before at various times throughout our history. We placed loyal Japanese-Americans in internment camps and destroyed their lives because of our fears. McCarthyism scared us and sent us spinning our wheels while careers and lives were unnecessarily ruined. Our FBI director of long-standing (sometimes in a transvestite state) conducted warrantless spying on numerous Americans, all the while telling us why we should be afraid. The Vietnam War was waged on the basis of regime change based on fears of communist aggression. During that era we also saw our own president involved in a scandal that involved spying with the intent of undermining the political opposition. We spent millions on the defense industry based on our fears.
We have always had terror in our country as well. During the Civil War Era we had John Brown and his followers, as well as bands of Confederate raiders led by Quantrell and others that committed atrocities. During the early 1900s we had anarchists that committed heinous acts of terror. During that time we also had labor riots and violence. Subsequent to the rise of organized crime around alcohol bootlegging, prostitution, gambling and extortion we had massacres in our streets, complete with bombs and machine guns. During the late 1960s and the 1970s we had terrorist actions by such groups as the SLA that took Patty Hearst, not to mention the Helter Skelter of the Manson family. Throughout the Reconstruction Era right up into recent times we have had white supremacists of various stripes that have lynched, bombed and used violence to intimidate us. We have environmental and animal advocates that have crossed the line of protest and become eco-terrorists. We have had people send bombs and biologicals through our postal service. Numerous massacres and heinous acts of terror are committed by those trafficking in drugs. We have even had our own law enforcement and military commit domestic acts that some consider heinous enough to cause terror, including Kent State, the Chicago Democratic Convention, Waco and Ruby Ridge.
Terror is not new to us. Neither is fear mongering or infringement of our rights. But now we seem more afraid, more willing to surrender our rights and principles to feel better or more secure. We are being told lies and we are believing enough of them to cast aside our checks and balances to allow tyranny, despotism and fascism to creep back into our way of doing things. These are the very things that caused our founding fathers to declare independence and put their very lives on the line. We should be very careful how we surrender that legacy and the “great experiment” that they provided us in the form of our Constitution. We should check our fears to see that they are real and not imaginary or exaggerated. We should call for discourse grounded in reason and actions that are grounded in our first principles. The sacrifices we make must be temporary. We should have a clear restoration plan for anything we surrender in the moment. We should be careful as to what we ask our brave service members to risk their lives for in pursuit of our policies. Most of all we should never completely surrender our first principles by remaining asleep at the wheel.
But this particular e-mail bothered me because it came from a person that actually dedicates herself to the care of children suffering through struggles with cancer. She is an activist that has to cope with the red tape and excessively bad policies that is our medical bureaucracy. Throughout her efforts she has probably confronted the greed of pharmaceutical companies, fought with insurance companies and had to pull numerous end-runs to meet the needs of those she and her organization serve.
Certainly I can identify with her view, as expressed in the e-mail, as I have worked in the medical field as a member of the military (US Navy Hospital Corps and US Army National Guard Medic) and as a civilian. My work has extended into the fields of substance abuse counseling, psychiatric care, family & child welfare, as well as teaching at the K-12, undergraduate and graduate levels. In order to make ends meet, at various times I have operated my own business, worked in the field of facilities management and facilities security, corporate training, all the while working two or three jobs to enable me to follow my passions as a teacher and advocate. Having served as a member of the board for several not-for-profit organizations, especially those oriented toward helping homeless people, victims of family violence and substance abuse, I have worked with local, regional and national efforts to get beyond the harshness and barriers of our various systems.
But I guess that is why the words this person wrote smacked so hard:
“Honestly if more people spent their spare time being the change they’d like to see if the world as opposed to sitting around making judgments and complaining, we’d be far better off. Who in the world has TIME to visit these sites? Seriously….”
My response was not entirely gentile because I honestly feel that it is because people do not make the time to stay on top of the political hacks that entrench themselves into our political process, embed obstructionist rules and administrative obstacles into lawmaking, and create openings for the politically powerful to manipulate the system in perverse ways. It is because people are asleep at the wheel in our democracy that we have so many scandals. So, this is what I stated in my response:
“As for your comment, there are those of us that actually fight for liberty and stand up for the rights of others by writing, raising awareness, and taking action. It is an American tradition... Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jane Addams, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Bobby Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, Corretta Scott King, Eugene McCarthy, Edward R. Murrow... and every single one of us that served, or are serving, in the US military under an oath to "defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign or domestic"... and it is a very serious effort. Have a good day... and thank a patriot or veteran for your right to do so.”
There are a lot of people blogging these days. Some are writing, analyzing and reporting on such things as rap music, whether or not Britney Spears has committed yet another blunder or some other meaningless drivel. There are those that actually get paid for their blogs, as well as those that have seized on blogging to improve their political position for the next election. But among all this chaff are a few kernels of really good wheat. These are the bloggers that are writing out of a genuine sense of conscience and duty. The focus of their efforts is to raise awareness and speak for principles. Their efforts are not focused on merely ridiculing, but sounding an alarm that all is not well in our society.
It is my belief that the overwhelming ultra-conservative control of all three branches of our federal government is creating a constitutional crisis with George W. Bush at the head of the charge forward into a surreptitious form of fascism. It is a slow, creeping form of fascism that has lulled most of us into a deep slumber, making us unaware of the first principles that the framers of our Constitution embodied in the Preamble, Articles and Amendments of that document. We have been so focused on the so-called culture and media wars that we have actually been distracted from our duty to be diligent in our preservation of liberty, justice and good government.
Today those words have become tired clichés, the butt of jokes by those holding extreme views on both sides of the political spectrum, or words of derision used to belittle those that have different perspectives, different beliefs, different values or different orientations. We have arrived at a point where we are so afraid—illegitimately so—that we are willing to sacrifice our basic civil rights, surrender our government to religious ideologies that are narrowly focused on a handful of issues, and live in a constant state of panic rather than a truly vigilant state of security.
Evidence of how our first principles are being eroded surrounds us every day. The news reports are full of scandals involving the purchase of access and influence; cronyism and elitism; dismissal of legitimate concerns and grievances; political denials and unwarranted secrecy; lies and misleading statements; unconscionable infringements into privacy; and more. But many of us remain asleep at the wheel and dismissive of those that are alarmed by the actions robbing us of our rights, freedom and principles.
So, to those that are asleep at the wheel I shout out a warning that we are facing a crisis that could bring our country to the edge of disaster and the brink of dissolution. The destruction of our society will not occur because of abortions, religious beliefs, efforts to curb spending, or corruption. Our destruction will come in the slow whittling away of our first principles, inherent and inalienable rights, loss of our reputation and standing in the international community, and our lackadaisical response to those that are robbing us of our fundamental virtues grounded in reason.
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. We have seen our liberties infringed and abridged before at various times throughout our history. We placed loyal Japanese-Americans in internment camps and destroyed their lives because of our fears. McCarthyism scared us and sent us spinning our wheels while careers and lives were unnecessarily ruined. Our FBI director of long-standing (sometimes in a transvestite state) conducted warrantless spying on numerous Americans, all the while telling us why we should be afraid. The Vietnam War was waged on the basis of regime change based on fears of communist aggression. During that era we also saw our own president involved in a scandal that involved spying with the intent of undermining the political opposition. We spent millions on the defense industry based on our fears.
We have always had terror in our country as well. During the Civil War Era we had John Brown and his followers, as well as bands of Confederate raiders led by Quantrell and others that committed atrocities. During the early 1900s we had anarchists that committed heinous acts of terror. During that time we also had labor riots and violence. Subsequent to the rise of organized crime around alcohol bootlegging, prostitution, gambling and extortion we had massacres in our streets, complete with bombs and machine guns. During the late 1960s and the 1970s we had terrorist actions by such groups as the SLA that took Patty Hearst, not to mention the Helter Skelter of the Manson family. Throughout the Reconstruction Era right up into recent times we have had white supremacists of various stripes that have lynched, bombed and used violence to intimidate us. We have environmental and animal advocates that have crossed the line of protest and become eco-terrorists. We have had people send bombs and biologicals through our postal service. Numerous massacres and heinous acts of terror are committed by those trafficking in drugs. We have even had our own law enforcement and military commit domestic acts that some consider heinous enough to cause terror, including Kent State, the Chicago Democratic Convention, Waco and Ruby Ridge.
Terror is not new to us. Neither is fear mongering or infringement of our rights. But now we seem more afraid, more willing to surrender our rights and principles to feel better or more secure. We are being told lies and we are believing enough of them to cast aside our checks and balances to allow tyranny, despotism and fascism to creep back into our way of doing things. These are the very things that caused our founding fathers to declare independence and put their very lives on the line. We should be very careful how we surrender that legacy and the “great experiment” that they provided us in the form of our Constitution. We should check our fears to see that they are real and not imaginary or exaggerated. We should call for discourse grounded in reason and actions that are grounded in our first principles. The sacrifices we make must be temporary. We should have a clear restoration plan for anything we surrender in the moment. We should be careful as to what we ask our brave service members to risk their lives for in pursuit of our policies. Most of all we should never completely surrender our first principles by remaining asleep at the wheel.
posted by Jim Downey at 9:54 PM
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