Monday, August 29, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Pearl Buck to Barack Obama
In Pearl Buck's novel Pavilion of Women published in 1948, protagonist Madame Wu recalls a conversation she once had with her beloved and wise father-in-law about the nature of intelligence. Old Gentleman says to her,
"This matter of intelligence--it is so great a gift, so heavy a burden. Intelligence, more than poverty and riches, divides human beings and makes them friends or enemies. The stupid person fears and hates the intelligent person. Whatever the goodness of the intelligent man, he must also know that it will not win him love from one whose mind is less than his." (Emphasis mine)
Barack Obama, take note. You will not win the love of those obstructionist Republican congressmen who seek to bring you down. It's time to speak to the rest of us as the fellow intelligent humans that we are and govern from your head and not from your heart.
"This matter of intelligence--it is so great a gift, so heavy a burden. Intelligence, more than poverty and riches, divides human beings and makes them friends or enemies. The stupid person fears and hates the intelligent person. Whatever the goodness of the intelligent man, he must also know that it will not win him love from one whose mind is less than his." (Emphasis mine)
Barack Obama, take note. You will not win the love of those obstructionist Republican congressmen who seek to bring you down. It's time to speak to the rest of us as the fellow intelligent humans that we are and govern from your head and not from your heart.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Rick Perry Enters the Race
Based on "I do not like thee, Doctor Fell," a Mother Goose poem:
I do not like thee, Governor Perry,
With you as prez I'd feel quite wary
Of how you'd manage climate change
And how you'd treat poor Ben Bernan-ky.
I do not like thee, Governor Perry,
With you as prez I'd feel quite wary
Of how you'd manage climate change
And how you'd treat poor Ben Bernan-ky.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Words to Live By
The Reverend Paul Byer, my childhood minister at Salem United Church of Christ in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, often concluded Sunday services with this benediction:
Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast that which is good.
Render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted,
Support the weak,
Help the afflicted,
Honor all people.
Love and serve the Lord
Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Instructions for life that celebrate its mystery. I'm glad I grew up with these words etched in my memory.
Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast that which is good.
Render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted,
Support the weak,
Help the afflicted,
Honor all people.
Love and serve the Lord
Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Instructions for life that celebrate its mystery. I'm glad I grew up with these words etched in my memory.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Barack Obama: Part 2
A thoughtful, thorough analysis of Barack Obama's disappointing presidency appeared in yesterday's New York Times. Written by Drew Westin, psychology professor at Emory University, it's 4 pages long and well worth reading--though the final paragraph captures the essence of Professor Westin's lament:
"But the arc of history does not bend toward justice through capitulation cast as compromise. It does not bend when 400 people control more of the wealth than 150 million of their fellow Americans. It does not bend when the average middle-class family has seen its income stagnate over the last 30 years while the richest 1 percent has seen its income rise astronomically. It does not bend when we cut the fixed incomes of our parents and grandparents so hedge fund managers can keep their 15 percent tax rates. It does not bend when only one side in negotiations between workers and their bosses is allowed representation. And it does not bend when, as political scientists have shown, it is not public opinion but the opinions of the wealthy that predict the votes of the Senate. The arc of history can bend only so far before it breaks."
Read "What Happened to Obama" and weep.
"But the arc of history does not bend toward justice through capitulation cast as compromise. It does not bend when 400 people control more of the wealth than 150 million of their fellow Americans. It does not bend when the average middle-class family has seen its income stagnate over the last 30 years while the richest 1 percent has seen its income rise astronomically. It does not bend when we cut the fixed incomes of our parents and grandparents so hedge fund managers can keep their 15 percent tax rates. It does not bend when only one side in negotiations between workers and their bosses is allowed representation. And it does not bend when, as political scientists have shown, it is not public opinion but the opinions of the wealthy that predict the votes of the Senate. The arc of history can bend only so far before it breaks."
Read "What Happened to Obama" and weep.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Random Thoughts on President Obama. . .
on the occasion of his 50th birthday.
1. He gives good speeches, often excellent ones.
2. He caves to his opponents.
3. He negotiates from a position of weakness.
4. He defers too much to Congress.
5. He betrays his base.
I don't know what to make of this guy. Most of the time I agree with what he says, but somehow what he says doesn't translate into action. Is he getting bad advice, or does he have some larger plan in mind?
Whatever's going on, I'm discouraged. I feel like we're all drifting along towards catastrophe--financial and environmental, especially--and the captain still doesn't grasp his job.
Unfortunately, his opponents have spotted the vacuum and they've taken control of the ship, steering us in the wrong direction. The iceberg looms, it's not even hidden, and we're headed right for it.
1. He gives good speeches, often excellent ones.
2. He caves to his opponents.
3. He negotiates from a position of weakness.
4. He defers too much to Congress.
5. He betrays his base.
I don't know what to make of this guy. Most of the time I agree with what he says, but somehow what he says doesn't translate into action. Is he getting bad advice, or does he have some larger plan in mind?
Whatever's going on, I'm discouraged. I feel like we're all drifting along towards catastrophe--financial and environmental, especially--and the captain still doesn't grasp his job.
Unfortunately, his opponents have spotted the vacuum and they've taken control of the ship, steering us in the wrong direction. The iceberg looms, it's not even hidden, and we're headed right for it.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Real Lives
As the charade in Washington continues, with the Republican Party leading the way in idiocy and irresponsibility, the rest of us are going about our lives with quiet dignity. Family members are taking care of critically ill loved ones and grieving the loss of a baby. Friends are tending to their elderly parents, helping them find comfort in the last years of their lives. Children and young adults are going about the business of growing up.
Sometimes our political system seems so out of touch with the way most of us live and with the concerns most of us have as to be an absurd sideshow. Can't we do better than this?
Sometimes our political system seems so out of touch with the way most of us live and with the concerns most of us have as to be an absurd sideshow. Can't we do better than this?
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