Independence Day... Do We Really Understand The Celebration?
Here it is the Fourth of July. The year 2006 is rushing by and we have reached a celebration of our independence from oppression, tyranny and oppression from what essentially became a foreign power. We are lighting off fireworks, having barbeques in the backyard and flying flags in honor of the occassion. But how many of us really understand the significance of the day?
Again we have to contrast our political behaviors with those of nations where our troops are currently deployed. Over there, people came from miles around to get their finger inked purple as proof they exercised their franchise to vote. Here, we barely get 50% of the eligible population to register to vote, and only about 20%-30% of the registered voters to show up at the polls. We have all sorts of pundits touting their personal ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal ideologies, but very few are really knowledgeable about the fundamental constitutional principles that are essential to our system of government and form the first principles that are the bedrock of American values. In place of real dialogue on the issues, we engage in diatribes over religious ideological and doctrinal battles that essentially exclude over 40% of our nation's population merely because they do not practice Christianity. Yet, we seem to have no end to the number of people that seem to want to negate the First Amendment protections on speech, worship and political activities in favor of ideological tripe offered by the likes of Ann Coulter, James Dobson, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, James Kennedy and others.
Conservativism has abandoned reason and turned to uninformed ideology just as liberalism did in the 1960s-late 1970s. Politically correct speech is pushed forward by both sides of the extremes. We have a congress, a White House, an executive branch and a judiciary that is almost devoid of the reason and principles that were the legacy of our framers and founders. And we have all but ceased to engage in any discourse that would lead to the best solutions for the problems we face.
Under the current regime of ultra-conservatives, led by the Bible-thumping Christian Right that IS seeking to control (or convert) the nation (if not the world), civil liberties, constitutional principle and international treaties have been set aside merely on the word of an ill-informed set of elected and appointed officials. While the Supreme Court has set aside some of the provisions proffered by the Bush administration, it has taken 3-5 years to do so... and justice has been long ignored in the process. We have a nation where innocent citizens are being spied upon without probable cause or duly authorized warrants, private business records are being used as a de facto extension of law enforcement in an attempt to circumvent constitutional and civil rights protections. All the while our attention is being distracted from the corruption, waste, scandal and piss-poor management of our government by such trivial things as gay marriage and flag burning... when the issues of economics, fair taxation, corporate crime, military misconduct, failure to provide our troops with adequate resources, and a never-ending agenda to dominate the world seem to be completely ignored or swept under the rug.
While we should be celebrating the Fourth of July in full regale, we should also be living up to the principles that made the celebration possible. So go forth to celebrate, but on July 5, 2006, go find a real problem to sink you teeth into and take a big bite out of the political realities we face.
Happy Independence Day!
Again we have to contrast our political behaviors with those of nations where our troops are currently deployed. Over there, people came from miles around to get their finger inked purple as proof they exercised their franchise to vote. Here, we barely get 50% of the eligible population to register to vote, and only about 20%-30% of the registered voters to show up at the polls. We have all sorts of pundits touting their personal ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal ideologies, but very few are really knowledgeable about the fundamental constitutional principles that are essential to our system of government and form the first principles that are the bedrock of American values. In place of real dialogue on the issues, we engage in diatribes over religious ideological and doctrinal battles that essentially exclude over 40% of our nation's population merely because they do not practice Christianity. Yet, we seem to have no end to the number of people that seem to want to negate the First Amendment protections on speech, worship and political activities in favor of ideological tripe offered by the likes of Ann Coulter, James Dobson, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, Pat Robertson, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, James Kennedy and others.
Conservativism has abandoned reason and turned to uninformed ideology just as liberalism did in the 1960s-late 1970s. Politically correct speech is pushed forward by both sides of the extremes. We have a congress, a White House, an executive branch and a judiciary that is almost devoid of the reason and principles that were the legacy of our framers and founders. And we have all but ceased to engage in any discourse that would lead to the best solutions for the problems we face.
Under the current regime of ultra-conservatives, led by the Bible-thumping Christian Right that IS seeking to control (or convert) the nation (if not the world), civil liberties, constitutional principle and international treaties have been set aside merely on the word of an ill-informed set of elected and appointed officials. While the Supreme Court has set aside some of the provisions proffered by the Bush administration, it has taken 3-5 years to do so... and justice has been long ignored in the process. We have a nation where innocent citizens are being spied upon without probable cause or duly authorized warrants, private business records are being used as a de facto extension of law enforcement in an attempt to circumvent constitutional and civil rights protections. All the while our attention is being distracted from the corruption, waste, scandal and piss-poor management of our government by such trivial things as gay marriage and flag burning... when the issues of economics, fair taxation, corporate crime, military misconduct, failure to provide our troops with adequate resources, and a never-ending agenda to dominate the world seem to be completely ignored or swept under the rug.
While we should be celebrating the Fourth of July in full regale, we should also be living up to the principles that made the celebration possible. So go forth to celebrate, but on July 5, 2006, go find a real problem to sink you teeth into and take a big bite out of the political realities we face.
Happy Independence Day!
posted by Jim Downey at 9:00 PM
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