Category: Essays

Black to the Future

~ Deb ~ Leave a comment

A woman in my evening composition class told this story last night.  After leaving the polls for early voting in Nashville yesterday, she happened upon a man she works with.  He asked an interesting question.

“Did you vote right?”

She looked at him a little puzzled.  “Well, I suppose ‘right’ would depend on which side you’re for.”

“What I mean is,” he said with a knowing southern grin, “did you vote black or white?”

As we are approaching the summit of that mountain top Dr. King saw 45 years ago, it must be noted that some Americans remain stuck in a valley of immense ignorance.  For a long time now, we have lived in the delusion that racism was disappearing.  As Barack Obama edges closer to the Oval Office, our baser elements seem to be crawling out of the ooze.

But don’t think for a minute that I would advocate the impossible (and unnecessary) concept of a colorblind election.  This election IS about the economy and the war and education and health care, etc.  But, this election is also about race, and it should be.

The civil war ended 143 years ago and with it the national sin of slavery.  In those 143 years, we have experienced Reconstruction, Jim Crow, lynchings, Plessy v. Ferguson, segregation, Brown v. The Board of Education, lunch counters, sit-ins, fire hoses, police dogs, and church bombings, not to mention the death of a thousand cuts that shows up as that subtle, systemic, sinister, subconscious bigotry that insinuates itself into everything from jobs to jokes.  To a sociologist studying cultural change, 143 years is nothing.   We absolutely cannot elect a black man to the most powerful office in our nation in 2008 and not recognize how profound that moment would be.

When I cast my vote a few weeks ago for Barack Obama, I did so because I believe in his plan for America.  I agree with his economic vision, his policy of diplomacy first and war last, his devotion to equality for all Americans, and his recognition that our diseased health care system must undergo surgery.  But I also felt a personal thrill and undeniable swelling of patriotism that I lived to see the day I could vote for an African American for president.

He shouldn’t be president because he’s black.  But it still does mean something that he is.  And regardless of whether he accomplishes that task or not, we can’t put this genie back into the bottle.  Our national racism has once again come up for healing.  And our national prayer should be that we eradicate this cancer once and for all.

Jesus Marx (or Karl Christ, take your pick)

~ Deb ~ Leave a comment

Recently a local television reporter in Florida attempted to “trap” Joe Biden into admitting Barack Obama is a Marxist.  I won’t delve into the latest reports showing that her husband is involved with the Republican party.  What really caught my eye was the quote she used.  There are many great Karl Marx quotes she could have chosen, but the one she settled on is one of the best.

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need.”

I have to be honest.  Without the refresher, I would not have immediately known that was Marx.  In fact, had I been taking a test and was asked who said it, I probably would have given it my best guess and answered, “Jesus Christ.”  I know the Bible well enough to know that Jesus never said those words, but they just sound so Jesusy that I would have answered that simply to let the professor know that at least I was thinking.

Just for the record, I am not a communist or socialist . . . or even a capitalist for that matter.  I’ve appreciated living in a capitalist system and also appreciated the socialist aspects of that system (i.e., just about anything our taxes have bought for us).  But, I do believe that Truth is Truth no matter where you find it.  And I also believe that this quote from Karl Marx is more Christian than much of what I hear the religious right saying these days.

The most direct command Jesus gave was to love your neighbor as yourself.  (Um? As in, if you are in need, then I will help as I am able?  Kind of like . . . EXACTLY what Marx was saying?)

It doesn’t take a thoughtful person to fling around words like “socialist,” “Marxist,” or even (shudder) “Liberal.”  It only takes someone who lives in fear and wants all of us to join him there.

A Democrat’s Plea to The Republican Party

~ Deb ~ Leave a comment

Let’s get a few facts out of the way first.  I’m a Democrat.  In fact, I’m a progressive Democrat.  Actually, if I ever thought the Green Party had a chance in hell, I’d vote left of Democrat.  But that doesn’t mean I want the entire country to think just like me.  I’m a Democrat who recognizes that we need Republicans (and yes, Republicans, you need Democrats too).  A diverse political discourse is vital to the our national health.  The ultimate example of checks and balances is not found in the constitutional framework for our government, but rather in a balanced two-party system.

So, with the back story out of the way, I’d like to make a personal plea to all Republicans.  Take your party back.

I would like to continue to have intelligent discussions with Republicans about how trickle-down economics has never worked, how rampant deregulation is akin to giving a five-year-old boy an all-you-can-eat day at the candy store, and how free trade will ultimately decimate the middle class until we can bring all those countries we trade with up to our standard of living.  But, those conversations are increasingly difficult to have because of a particular phenomenon in your party which has been made glaringly manifest with this election.

Somewhere along the journey of the past 20-30 years, you sold your soul to the religious right.  The end result is that the things you now have to do to play to your base debase your party.  The extreme right faction of the Republican Party became the party’s core over the past couple of decades and now you are stuck with pandering to a few staunch social positions.  Quite bluntly, if overnight some magical shift happened and the Democrats became the pro-life, pro-gun, anti-gay marriage party, you would lose your “base” to Barack Obama on November 4th in droves.  The true essence of the Republican party has been lost in the strident rhetoric of some very angry people.

When your best hope for the presidency runs a campaign that is reduced to name calling and race baiting, you must admit that the party is in trouble.  (By the way, Senator McCain, the correct response to someone calling Barack Obama an “Arab” is not, “No, he’s a decent family man.”  The correct response is “There are many decent hard-working Arab-Americans.  However, Barack Obama is not of Arab descent.”)  My personal advice to the Republican Party, should they actually request it, would be to cut your losses and stop putting any more money into the McCain Drain that is this election and focus on restoring your party’s former greatness.

Pandering to the religious right has done more than just shift the focus from what you’re good at to what will get you votes.  It has watered down the very focus of your political philosophy.  Now the party that shouts for smaller government and deregulation is socially commited to putting government smack dab into the middle of a woman’s reproductive choices and regulating the relationships of millions of gay Americans.  If you truly want smaller government, then you can start by eliminating the segments of Capitol Hill that hold meetings in my uterus and my bedroom.

Ah, but I got sidetracked by issues, didn’t I?  And this really isn’t about issues at all.  It’s about who owns your party.  Bay Buchanan insisted on CNN that those radicals who say outlandish things at John McCain’s now wisely-defunct town meeting style rallies represent maybe only 1% of Republicans.  If that’s true, then you guys have some really terrible luck.  What are the odds that 1% of your base would so often have a microphone at a presidential rally?

We’ll debate gay marriage and abortion and taxes and trade policies another time.  Forgive my tangent.  Until then, I humbly ask all thoughtful, balanced, intellectually-curious Republicans out there to please take your party back.   I may disagree with you on economics, but I recognize that you’ve got some pretty impressive economic minds among your ranks, and our country needs them.  I may disagree with you on the way to handle Iraq and Afghanistan, but you’ve got some brilliant foreign affairs brains on your team, and our country needs them.  I may disagree with your party’s official stance on abortion and gay marriage, but I know that you’ve got plenty of moderates in your number who would be willing to work with Democratic moderates to find equitable solutions that we can live with, and our country needs that.

Dear, wonderful Republicans, you won’t get my vote this November 4th, but you will have my support and applause should you return to your core values, restructure your fractured base, and take your party back.

Why I am a Democrat

~ Deb ~ 3 Comments

I wasn’t sure I wanted to get political on this blog, but this is on my mind so it’s showing up here.  I will refrain, however, from delving deeply into the pros and cons of the various candidates.  I will hold myself back from saying that Sarah Palin is a strident, smug, sarcastic woman whose speeches sound more like angry stand-up comedy than problem-solving ideas.  I will resist the urge to point out that John McCain’s “straight talk” is about as forward moving as the Teacup Ride at Disneyworld.   I will not discuss Joe Biden’s place in my heart as one of my all-time favorite politicians, smartass though he may be at times.   And I certainly will not be writing about the way Barack Obama makes me believe he really can heal the world, with our help.

No, instead I want to speak in more general, philosophical terms.  Who is running is somewhat secondary to the ideas behind the two sides, and never before in my lifetime have the two sides been more (pardon the pun) black and white.

I am a Democrat because of my values.  The principles which I hold dear and, yes, would fight for are the same ones espoused by Democrats.

1)   I value civil liberties.  It literally brought a chill to my spine when Sarah Palin thought it was some kind of punch line to state that Barack Obama wants to make sure we have read terrorists their rights.  It brought an even deeper chill when thousands of Republican delegates applauded in response.  There is a little concept called “liberty and justice FOR ALL” which I (call me old-fashioned) still believe is at the core of American values.

2)   I value the people of America over the government, industries, and institutions of America.  The Republicans have a foundational belief that if they take care of business, business will take care of the people.  The Democrats believe that if you take care of the people, the people will take care of business.  You only have to compare the booming economy under Democrats with the floundering economy under Republicans to see which idea has proved true.

3)  I value the Constitution.  Never in my life have I seen our Constitution take such as beating as it has over the past eight years.  The Patriot Act was the most grossly misnamed bill to ever cross a President’s desk.  It is not patriotism to infringe on the basic rights of privacy and due process afforded us by a system that has held strong for 230 years.

4)  I value human rights.  The Republicans seem hell-bent on restricting rights while Democrats would expand them.  Republicans want to tell people how to live.  Democrats want to help people live their best lives in their own unique and creative ways.

5)   I value the separation of church and state.   Regardless of what a person thinks their bible or their preacher tells them about gay marriage, the issue of marriage in our society is a civil issue.  So many issues – abortion, gay rights, faith-based initiatives, gun control, the death penalty – seem to be influenced heavily by the bellows of the religious right.  In the same way that we do not let a Koran or the Tao determine who gets the benefits of our society, neither should we allow the Christian Bible or the Torah.  America seems to have arrived at a point where all presidential candidates have to undergo a religious vetting process.  Our increasing flirtation with theocracy scares the hell out of me ever so much more than any of my grandfather’s sermons ever did.

6)   I believe in the strength of diversity.  All you have to do is recall the audience shots from the two conventions to see who has this area covered.  During the Democratic convention, CNN ran little tidbits of trivia across the bottom of the screen.  These included what percentage of Asians, African-Americans, Gays and Lesbians, Hispanics, and people with disabilities were included among the Democratic delegates to the convention.  Those statistics were glaringly absent during the Republican National Convention.  Perhaps it was too embarassing to announce that “0.03% of delegates are (fill in the blank with something other than white).”

There are more reasons why I’m a Democrat, but these are the biggies.  And they are among the reasons why I will proudly cast my vote for Barack Obama and Joseph Biden this November 4th.