12 years later

As we mourn another year of the tragedy that took place in New York City, a larger question remains unanswered:

What have we learned?

We have learned that we can be very bitter and have revenge.
We have learned that we still believe we're the center of the universe and that we're better than anyone.
We have learned that it's better to hate than to educate.
We have learned that when it comes to revenge, we have no qualms destroying other countries in retaliation.

Harsh?

Absolutely.

The problem is - we haven't learned one thing from our history.

What we should have learned.

We have a responsibility to other cultures and countries across the marble we all live on.

We should respect one another and thoroughly learn those who disagree with us so that we can better understand their complaints against us.

We have the ability to destroy thousands of lives ... but we don't need to.

We have the ability to look in the mirror.

We have the ability to learn from our mistakes.

We have the ability to learn more about those that have grievances against us.

Contrary to what you may believe, I still deeply feel the loss our nation went through on 9/11.  It was senseless.  It was tragic.  It made me angry.  It made me question a lot about myself.  It made me reconsider how I view our foreign policy and the aftermath that would soon follow in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For when it was all said and done, our vengeance was taken out on a middle eastern country whose leader we had long since despised.  It was a convenient target even though the mission was horribly contrived and concocted.  We got our "blood thirst" temporarily satiated in the countless slaughter of Iraq's own population.  When you consider the loss of their lives - significantly pales in comparison to the loss of our nation's families on 9/11 ... if you can wrap your mind around that notion, then you're beginning to realize that we are equally burdened by our revenge spurt that happened over the last decade.

I was not in favor of our actions in Iraq, but I was in favor of going after the guy that did it - who was in Afghanistan then moved to Pakistan.  I was in favor of putting an end to the regime in Libya and I am not a fan of the despot in Syria.  Civil wars are always going to be the bane of the world around us.  I'm not one of these folks that believes we need to be interfering in the plight of every conflict that happens.  It's deeply tragic what's happening when a nation gases and neutralizes their citizens by way of chemical warfare.  It's abominable.  It's atrocious.

Just because we can do something about it - doesn't mean we always should.  I'm not sure where the line is.  As much as I'd want to put a stop to all the senseless crap in the world - I know we simply can't.  It's impossible.

What we can do is start improving the way we view the world around us.  We can educate ourselves about other cultures, we can teach compassion and sympathy.  We can set a new example of how citizens are supposed to behave - like adults - rather than petulant children who simply aren't getting their way.  Pitching a fit isn't going to resolve anything in the world.

We can stop the war drum beating, the inflaming "journalism" and eliminate the dazzling political punditry that seeks to divide us from the world than unite us.  The United Nations was founded on the principle that we can mutually meet to resolve our differences ... but as long as there are those out there that continually berate the actions of the U.N. without fully understanding the scope and cause of the organization - then the world will continue to be in peril and conflict.

We need clarity when it comes to our resolve ... but we need to be open, understanding and educated participants of the world to make that happen.

Paula Dean

I think it would be really hard to find ANYONE who has NEVER used a racial remark.  She was being honest - as all of us should.

Where I think the difference is ... is when a racial remark is uttered - that we then go: "oh - that's wrong" ... not because you're going to get fired, released or cancelled ... but because we shouldn't be using offensive inflaming language in the first place.

If you want the 1st Amendment to protect your speech - it does ... and if you think that it protects your bias - then you're right.  You're protected.  Just realize though: just because the law protects your bias, doesn't make your bias morally and civilly right.

You can't claim to be moral - and yet think having a bias is acceptable.

If it's all about accountability - then where is it?

I find an inherent flaw in the Conservative mindset which posits:

"We need people to be more responsible for themselves."

Whether we're talking about food stamps, welfare, even unemployment ... conservatives love to throw out the notion that we should all be personally responsible for the things we do and the things we involve ourselves in.

Where's the personal responsibility come out morally when we balance life and health against profit?  It seems incredibly immoral to protect profits over one that seeks health assistance because they are needing help.

Where's the personal responsibility when it comes to gas prices?  Crippling economies just for profit?  How is that just?

Where's the personal responsibility for registering your gun?  We have to register our children when they're born.  We register our cars that we drive.  We register the jobs we work at.  We register the homes we live in.  We register our LIVES every time one of us turns 18 years old.  The notion of registration isn't a new one - and if you're that damn afraid of the government having knowledge of the firearms in your house - then put yourselves in the shoes of the officer who knocks on your door - unknowing of the danger he may be confronting.  Where's your personal responsibility then?

Where's the personal responsibility when BP incidents or West Texas "accidents" happen?  Oh - we'll cap those ... so - while people lose their homes, their lives, their families - as long as it doesn't hurt my stock portfolio - I'm tickled pink.  So a person who steals from a bank or a liquor store or a convenience store ... because they have no money otherwise - needs to exert more personal responsibility than the companies and corporations that commit egregious acts of negligence to the point where people die ... and they don't need to spend time with ol' sparky?  But the common criminal does?

Where exactly IS personal responsibility then - I ask you?

When you hide behind the personal responsibility argument - then your credibility and ability to navigate becomes extremely limited.  Especially if you hold the belief that the items I just listed should somehow be exempt.

The Message Problem ....

Republicans continue to scratch their heads in trying to figure out what happened last November.  While the finger-pointing continued for several months ... they finally decided that they needed to look at themselves to figure out what went wrong.

Their conclusion?

It's a message problem.

Good, they finally realized ... wait - What?

Let me see if I get this straight.  They think that they lost track of how to convey their message to the American people.  They believed that Obama and the Democrats have a better reach, can articulate their message better and sold the American people on the Path we're on.  The Republicans look to themselves as failing to deliver the message to the American people that would've swayed them to their side.

But there's a problem with that analysis ...

... it's not a message problem.

... it's a belief problem.

If you took a long line and called it the spectrum of politics, the Republicans are in full retreat to their side of the spectrum.  Democrats have shifted more central and that's why a lot of libertarians and many progressive conservatives swung to the left this past election.

A message problem is: "you're confused with what I'm telling you, let me try to put it a different way."
A belief problem is: "you're not thinking along the same lines I am."

And Republicans are notoriously blind and deaf to that notion.

Take health care reform as your example.  The majority of Americans want it.  Majority - which means not just the Democrats or the left-leaners ... this also includes a lot of conservatives - the majority.  Republicans have battered the process - not because they LISTENED to what their constituency said ... it's because they LISTENED to those who are lining their coffers handsomely.

The Republicans have become the advocate for big corporations - and they don't blink an eye at that or try to deny it ... they KNOW that's who they are advocates for because the majority of Americans are signing on with the Democrats.  If you took campaign finance reform - and did away with rich corporate donations - I'm doubtful the Republicans could muster anything beyond a bake sale...

So how did this shift happen?  Reagan won in the 1980's because he continually reached to the center ... and that won him two terms.  It's the same basic formula that Obama has used ... and if the Democrats were smart (not saying they are - but if they were) - then they will keep working the formula they will inherit.

As for Republicans - my only advice is this: start listening to the American people and start paying less attention to those holding the bling at the end of the line.  Remember who you represent - and who the founding fathers told you to represent.  Corporations is not a word in the Constitution, nor is the word "business" or "capitalism."  You guys keep waiving the Constitution like it's a flag - but you fail to administer your own responsibilities to our fabled document.

I dream of a day when our representatives start representing the people that pull the levers every election cycle.  I realize it's a pipe dream - but you have to start somewhere, right?