Fraud, Neglect & Crisis Management

Isn't this what we do best in America? By now, I'm sure that most folks know, that there is a mosque proposed for the good people of New York. It happens to be near "Ground Zero". Those that want to bomb it should look the other way, at least until it is finished. When they prove to us that their hate is as strong as the terrorists, we can find them and put them away for a long time. The fraud that the tiny fraction of uneducated New Yorkers are relying on is that the American people, in their urge to look patriotic, will forget that there are as many types and styles of Islam as there are Jewish sects, Christian flavors and Hindu deities. We have nothing against the vast majority of Muslims, in fact we are the country that was founded on free expression of faith. That means "theirs" as well as "ours". Faith is the antithesis of hate but perhaps I will discuss that in another post. Perhaps, in this case, it cuts a little too close to the bone.

Have we forgotten the very premise that our country was founded on? I believe we have and it makes me sick. I cannot abide an educational system that allows bigots to get up in front of children each day and spout hatred and lies, nor one that allows their own self-fulfilling prophesy to keep millions of minorities from getting a leg up on the American Dream. It disgusts me that the Texas Board of "Education" has the power to determine what truths are ignored, glossed over and twisted in textbooks for the entire nation. For far too long, rich white men made all the decisions. As the tables turn, and they become a minority, change will come one way or another. By neglecting our birthright as Americans, or fraudulently claiming it has something to do with "Christian Values", which it most certainly does not, we endanger democracy worldwide. If we can't find our way clear to make our system work in our own country, we better not foist it on another.

Our founding fathers were inspired. They valued Truth, Compassion and the strength that comes from standing together. They knew too well, the problems that would arise if the church gained too much power. Now the Baptists and "Moral Majority" crowd (which by the way are neither moral or a majority) want to stop the "dissolution" of our nation's character, saving it for the saved and returning to fundamental beliefs. Have we not learned anything? Fundament, the root of fundamentalism, means shit. The same fundamentalist beliefs are the basis of tribal law that we hear about in Afghanistan and Pakistan, referred to, I might add, to obfuscate the truth and fuel the fires of hatred for all Muslims. A tiny fraction of the Islamic adherents believe in stoning being the punishment for adultery, just as in our country a tiny fraction believe in an eye for an eye, or vigilante justice. Lies, hate and deception, as far as I can see, are pretty much all that religious leaders have been spewing for millennia. Fraudulent claims about the "end times" are as eternal as the procession of the equinoxes. The more things change, the more they remain the same... Even the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus was plagiarized from earlier cultures, so whatever faith tradition you subscribe to requires belief in one myth or another.

Expecting different outcomes from the same actions is one of the definitions of insanity. In Merry Olde England, the punishment for pickpockets was hanging. Oddly enough, the most likely place to be relieved of one's purse was at the square on hanging day. Redistribution of wealth and the slow rise in standards of living have been the only things that reduced the rate of this sort of theft. With the terrible burden of our current economic hardship falling especially hard on the middle classes, we need to start thinking more pro-actively about where we want to be in the next decade. Waiting for the fundament to hit the fan is unlikely to work out well for anyone. The lower classes have found ways to survive, no matter how harsh the conditions. Now that taxpayers have spent their fair share in funding our nation's recovery, it is time for the non-financial S&P 500 companies to invest their cash on hand in the recovery as well. The amount of cash and liquid assets that they hold is equal to the government's recent bailout, but we are told that even business is having a hard time. Now that is patently untrue. They are holding about $10,000 for every man, woman and child in America, for what, to create jobs after the next election? Are they waiting for the commercial real estate bubble to burst? Do they forget that without jobs or money flowing into the economy, they have nothing to skim for their own profit? I swear, these folks who like to tell us that they are smarter, better educated and more deserving of their positions seem to be the dumbest and most ignorant among us.

Without something to trump up, they are lost. As long as they can afford Harvard for their own children, they could care less about school funding. As long as there is something to get the public whipped into a frenzy about, as long as it doesn't require them to change, they are fine with it. I ask you, when was the last time you confronted truth on the airwaves, or in print? Why do you think the smart money is on continued deception? Where did everyone go who heard John F. Kennedy say, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."? They can't all be dead or suffering from Alzheimer's. We need to put a lot more thought into what we are for than what we are against. We need to work for the common good. If that means standing shoulder to shoulder with people who are different, then we must do it. Truth stands alone and needs no support while lies need constant propping up. Caring for another is often the first step toward caring for oneself and being pro-active rather than anti-active is the only way to head off crises before they grow out of control.