Ralph's commentary on my Independence Day Blog

Ralph's contribution is too long to fit in the comments, so here it is as a post:

Another one of Larry’s awesome blogs on a very complex, but poignant subject. One that I can’t keep still about or answer in just a paragraph or two.

There is no question in my mind that this country is rapidly deteriorating and it is happening for a multitude of reasons – hopefully we  might agree that there aren’t any simple answers to complex problems.

I will, respectfully, contest your assertion that “we now seem to be more polarized than ever.”

We have a very long history of ideologies taking over reason and it does ebb and flow. I could cite many instances throughout our history but would just highlight a few:

• After we signed a peace treaty with Britain in the early 1800s there were calls for President George Washington to be tried for treason and hung if found guilty.
• Let’s not forget the Civil War.
• Prior to our being attacked at Pearl Harbor there was a sharp divide in this country between Isolationists (some of whom were blatantly pro-Nazi) and those who would have us intervene in the European war. One could reasonably argue that the highly successful efforts of Isolationists to keep us from building up our military strength lengthened the war effort and cost innumerable lives.
• The Senator Joseph McCarthy congressional hearings
• The Viet Nam debacle.

Benjamin Franklin wrote, in the infant years of our nation, that those who governed were so enmeshed in their personal ideologies, and prejudices, that it was hard to envision that they could govern in the best interests of the nation.

How much has it really changed?

I see our demise coming from many different aspects:

Arrogance – we still believe we are the greatest country on earth and while much of our nation is deteriorating we beat our chests. We are like an addict who refuses to acknowledge the disease and therefore foregoes any possibility of rehabilitation.

Education – while we still are able to create the greatest innovative ideas, and number of patents, in the world we are rapidly falling behind in education. Our past successes are due to our competitive spirit and desire to conquer the many worlds of science. Other nations teach far more by rote and avoid creativity or challenges in much of their education. This, however, is rapidly changing as through “No Child Left Behind,” and other initiatives, we are teaching more to tests than to knowledge.

Among industrialized nations we rank 9^th in percent of population with a high school degree and 7^th with a college degree (CBS News).

In science we rank 29^th in the world (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and in math we are just as poor.

Stupidity – I don’t know of an index for this but in polls taken from 2005 through 2010 (Gallup, Pew, Newsweek and others) the following came out:

21% believe Obama is a Muslim

Only 39% believe in Evolution – others either believe in Creationism or aren’t sure

21% believe in sorcerers, conjurers and warlocks; 41% in ESP; 32% in ghosts; 25% in astrology

40% of Americans believe that The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (derisively called Obamacare by some) created a panel that makes end of life decisions – remember Senator Charles Grassley telling his constituents that this act would, in fact, “kill Grandma.”

20% believe the sun revolves around the earth

Under 50% believe that Judaism is older than Christianity. I guess over 50% can’t deal with the fact that Jesus was a Jew, born of Jewish parents and, that the Christian religion did not exist during his lifetime.

About 75% can name the 3 stooges (Larry, Curly and Moe) but only about 40% know the 3 branches of government

And so on and so forth

Health:

Face it – we are becoming a fat, lazy and overmedicated nation. The medications are not just the illegal ones but also those prescribed by physicians. Our life expectancy has already dropped to 36^th in the world (CIA – World Fact Book) and by any measure this would indicate that our population is not getting great medical care. We certainly are way behind on preventative care and with almost 40 million Americans without health insurance their primary care is for emergencies only which may, in many cases, be too late.

With the continued increases in the levels of obesity, (bringing on more diabetes, heart attacks, etc) it is anticipated that our life expectancy will actually decline in the near future – a first in our history.

As to prescription medications - this is a huge industry with over 24,000 medicines available including prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs and natural remedies (source: Drugs.com).

World wide prescription drug sales are over $820 billion annually with an annual growth rate of five percent. The United States is the most medicated, or over medicated, nation on the planet. We purchase over 290 billion dollars of this stuff annually. While we have only 4.3% of the planets population we consume over 35% of the drugs (source: Drugs.com).

On a per capita basis we are well ahead of any other nation purchasing 31% more than the average Japanese citizen and 43% more than the average European in spite of the fact that they have older populations than we do (source: Drugs.com).

If you think that the amount of advertising for drugs and remedies are more than plentiful you are correct. This category ranks as the fourth highest category after retailers, automotive and telecommunications with annual expenditures well over nine billion dollars accounting for 6.2% of all advertising dollars (source: Advertising Age).

While there are those who deride the national health plans of other nations those populations are much healthier and live longer than we. No plan is perfect but ask any German, Englishman or others if they would want to see their plan go away and you will see fire in their eyes.

Essentially the denial of health care to our entire nation is, along with other aspects, a definite form of class warfare and an argument might be made that is a form of genocide against the underprivileged.

Journalism:

We don’t have journalists anymore. What we have are script readers and interviews are almost always condescending. When I would hear the late Tim Russert (on Meet the Press) interview John McCain, the Arizona Senator, sounded like a real moderate. Russert never once brought up McCain’s voting record that was diametrically opposed to the statements he made on the show.

When politicians make outrageous statements they are not challenged in any way, shape or form and the uneducated listener might therefore be led to believe that the statements were true. Michelle Bachman’s assertions that a 2011 trip to Asia by President Obama cost the American taxpayer $200 million per day and that repeal of “Obamacare” would create 800,000 jobs have never been questioned or challenged.

Trying to get real news today is next to impossible unless the networks think it has “sex appeal.” It wasn’t so long ago that we were in mortal fear of North Korea and Iran developing nuclear weapons. What happened? Did they stop building them? Are we longer concerned? Well, I guess Anthony Weiner and Casey Anthony are much more important or whatever the scandal of the day is.

The Economy:

This could be a book unto itself. Yes, we still have the greatest Gross Domestic Product (GDP)in the world and we are still one of the most productive nations but we are rapidly losing our world ranking and in the near future we will be surpassed, in GDP, first by China and then India.

We should also remember that our GDP per capita doesn’t make us look all that good when compared to Japan, Germany and other industrialized nations.

The debt crisis is real and our government will not take the necessary steps to get us headed back in the right direction. Remember that when George W Bush took office we were in our third year of surplus and there were predictions that we could totally eliminate our national debt before the decade was over. Reckless spending, ludicrous tax reductions and two wars rapidly turned our surplus to huge deficits in Bush’s second year in office.

One economist has predicted that we will be the next Greece. I’m not sure that the world has enough resources to bail us out as they are trying to do in Europe. Most of Europe is facing the same problems as we are but they are taking steps to get their economies back in line and they are bravely standing up to the wildly unpopular  measures being enacted. They have determined that the national interest takes precedence over political appeasement. We may have to get to that point before we take real steps but it might be far too late.

A part of the debt crisis, that is not discussed, is the interest costs to our nation. When the government borrows money it has to pay the investors interest. As our debt rises, and questions arise as to our ability to meet our financial obligations arise, those rates will go up. We should remember that every dollar paid in interest is a dollar taken away from education, research, infrastructure, etc.

Interest expense is becoming the third largest item in our Federal Budget after Social programs and Defense.

I could write a lot more but by now you are probably sick of me if you have even gotten this far. - Ralph

Independence Day, 2011

Today is Independence Day.  The United States is 235 years old, and I have to wonder if she’s starting to show her age and there may be a bit of dementia coming out.

It’s like realizing that your elderly aunt is starting to slip a bit – putting metal pans in the microwave, setting the thermostat to 40 degrees and complaining because it’s cold, watering the artificial flower arrangement on the piano or losing her car in the parking lot and calling the fire department because it’s stolen – nothing that’s absolutely life threatening, but is somewhat cause for concern by those who care about her.

When that happens with your relative, you start looking back and seeing the signs that have been coming up for years.  Things that at the time looked like mere forgetfulness or eccentricity but you now realize that they were the early indicators of a greater problem.  As a country, we have the ability to look back to the early 1980's and see when things started to change.

In the case of the United States, we now seem to be more polarized than ever before.  Everyone is either “one of us” or “one of them”, without much opportunity for an exchange of ideas or compromise in between.  We don’t discuss, we shout over each other with the apparent belief that the loudest voice will “be right” and win.

On top of that, we have elected officials who are concerned not with furthering the legitimate business of the United States – reasonable defense, healthcare, the economy, employment and other societal concerns that affect broad sectors of the population – but rather having accepted money from what in times past would have been considered a radical fringe group are intent on pushing their social agenda in order to keep that flow of money coming to them individually.

The flash from one extreme to the other is therefore disconcerting.  Both sides not only want to hold onto the power and influence they have, but they seem to feel that they have to annihilate anyone who opposes their point of view at the same time.

You are one of us, or one of them.  If you are one of them, you must be eradicated.

I have to say here, I think that position originates largely from the conservative viewpoint since it is primarily religious based.  Extreme religions (and make no mistake, most forms of Christianity fall into that category) simply don’t tolerate either being questioned or disagreed with.  On the other hand, more liberal points of view tend to be of the “whatever you want to believe is fine, as long as you leave me alone” type.

The left is therefore precluded from reaching any type of compromise because of the right's position as holder of tactics from the Conquistadores (i.e. “Convert or die”), neither of which is a viable option from their perspectives.  The right has the religious zeal to “save the heathen” and make them see the error of their ways and change their entire way of thinking in order to reap a greater reward in the afterlife.

A position that seems somewhat antithetical to the "free will" concept to which most of Christianity  subscribes, but that's a discussion for another time.

Compromise usually happens in the areas of overlap; without some commonality between disagreeing groups, it’s hard to forge a consensus.  Right now, our country seems to be comprised of extremes at one end of the spectrum or the other.

Those in the middle – Nixon’s “silent majority” -- are either cowed into silence out of self-preservation or exhausted from all the screaming coming at them from both sides and simply don’t have the energy to sort it out for themselves between trying to make a living, keep the mortgage paid, the plumbing unstopped and the kids to soccer practice.

They leave the fighting to others and try to stay out of the line of fire as much as possible.

So the US at 235 years of age is acting a bit demented and I’m beginning to have doubts about whether or not they make a gigantic patch of the medicine to slow the progress of the societal Alzheimers from which we suffer.

Is this the end?  Will we see our nation collapse through years of demise after such a short period of productivity?

Maybe this is the natural order of things, just as humans are born, grow, age and die.  Countries rarely stay at the top of their game forever.  Countries which might now be considered as minor players – the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Egypt – were once the rulers of the world with vast empires.  Is it possible that the United States has started its own demise?  Should we follow the precepts contained in the Living Wills that many of us sign and simply allow nature to take it's course, for our government and society to end whenever things start to exceed the parameters that a caring and conscious caregiver would allow?

The signs are there – our government doesn’t have acceptable safety nets for the most vulnerable of it’s members, a wealthy minority controls those who are supposed to take care of all of the citizens and safeguards that are intended to protect our common resources and citizens are routinely disregarded for the benefit of a powerful few.  If something doesn't change soon, I suspect that we will reach a tipping point and see a new government or governments formed to accommodate specific population groups.

One of the great casualties of the current state of affairs is education and knowledge.  Basic schools are not funded to create a workforce to feed our economy with innovative products or ideas, and the media – both liberal and conservative – spews out a series of half-truths, misinformation and outright lies in 30 second sound bites that are rarely questioned or examined closely.

Our children and young adults – and by that, I mean much of the population under 50 since more and more people seem to be experiencing an extended adolescence – no longer have the intellectual backgrounds to discuss, debate and argue ideas so that they can then accept or reject concepts as legitimate and rational.  We have grown up on tests that don’t require essays, with the organization of reasoning and logic, but rather have chosen a curriculum of classes that rely on multiple-choice tests which require only that we pick A, B, C or D and color in the dot.  

The loss of those critical thinking skills is beginning to show.

In many ways, we are very similar to Europe during the dark ages, when religious institutions controlled much of the thinking and heretics were burned at the stake.

While there are admittedly few human bonfires lately, our society has developed more devious ways to eliminate those faint voices crying in the wilderness that dare to question the tumult about them.

Character Assassination.

Denial of Employment.

Hate Crimes and Violence.

Denial of basic human rights.

So what’s the outcome?  Do we see the United States separate into a variety of smaller countries, with regional ideologies more fitting to those populations?  While that may seem appealing in some regards will it lead to border wars like we see in Middle Eastern or African nations?  Let’s not forget that religious and cultural differences (some of which seem relatively minor to the western mind) are at the heart of those conflicts as well.

More pragmatically, how do we fund those big-ticket items that only a national government can handle, like defense, highway construction, utility production, or responses to natural disasters?  One reason that the US is able to bounce-back as well as it does is that we can spread the cost of a product that may not directly help a particular region out over a broad population base.  Will we loose that and an area that’s hit with an earthquake remain in ruins, with the population living in tents and without the basic necessities of shelter, clean water and adequate food simply for years? 

One need only look as far as the devastation in Haiti to see the impact of a natural disaster in a small country.

I don’t think we’re there yet.  At least, I hope not.

But if those in the middle --  those reasonable individuals who are friends and neighbors despite our differences, who borrow things back and forth, attend each other’s BBQ’s and wave at the Post Office -- don’t begin to speak up when someone from either end of the spectrum once again goes off on some radical tangent that may not impact them directly, we could get there very quickly.

There are two ways to turn the tide.  The first is to vote.  Not just a party line, but to actively learn who is behind a particular candidate and determine where they stand on a spectrum of issues, rather than just the one or two hot-buttons that appear in the television commercials.

The next is to communicate with those elected officials – whether you voted for them or not – and make your positions known, to let them know that you are interested and watching their actions, and to make it clear that their actions with regard to a number of issues will guide your voting at the next opportunity.

Inappropriate things happen because those in charge think that nobody is watching.  It’s time to let them know that we are watching and will be holding them accountable.  We can save our country and restore it to its former position as a world leader, but not if we don’t actively start working that direction right now.

For the next few days . . . .

we're off celebrating the high school graduation of the twins and some of their friends.  You can read about this adventure at http://cruisers2011.blogspot.com.

High School Graduation

June 10, 2011

High School Graduation

Dear Taylor,

          The first time I saw you, you were wearing footie pajamas and you hugged me.  It was sweet and spontaneous, and I came to understand that it was a part of your nature to do such things.

          I’m very proud of you.  You have grown into a person who is liked and respected by others, but more importantly you are someone who respects others and appreciates the gifts they have to offer.

          Rotary has a concept called the “Four Way Test” – Is it the Truth; Is it Fair to All Concerned; Will it Build Goodwill and Better Friendships; Will it be Beneficial to all Concerned.  If you are faced with a decision and ask these questions, you will make the appropriate decision almost always.

          I’m very proud to consider you my son, regardless of the biology involved.  Go out and change the world, or at least have a good time trying.

Much love,

Larry J.

June 10, 2011

High School Graduation

Dear Jordan,

          Wow, it’s hard to believe that you’re all grown up.  It doesn’t seem like that many years ago that I first met you.  I’m so glad that I’ve had the opportunity to become a part of your life.

          I’m very proud of the person you’ve become, and how you are able to set goals for yourself and then work to achieve them.  Many young people your age don’t have that skill set, and I am confident that because you do you’ll go far.

          When you go out into the world, you’ll be faced with the opportunities to do the “easy” thing or the “not so easy” thing.  Remember that just because something is “easy”, it isn’t necessarily wrong, nor is it right just because it’s the more difficult of the paths.  Chose wisely using the best information and don’t look back at what coulda or shoulda been.  Go forward with the knowledge that you made the best choice at the time and trust that things will work themselves out the way they were intended to be.

          I couldn’t ask for a better daughter, and I consider you that whether we are related by biology or not.  Go chase your dreams and have a great time doing it.

Much love,

Larry J.   

AARP Flip Flops

We were at dinner yesterday evening – all men “of a certain age” (somewhere between college and death) and the subject of the AARP came up. Some had already qualified for membership (i.e. over age 50) and others of us are fast approaching the benchmark.

Anyone over about 45 starts getting all kinds of promotional crap from them – used to it was pens and key chains and things like that.  Since the economy crashed, now it's mostly lots of paper goods to encourage you to join the organization and be assimilated.

Without a doubt, though, the stupidest one was the “AARP Flip Flops”.

Yeah, those shoes we wear on the beach. They had the organization’s logo printed on the bottom in such a way that you left little foot-sized advertising billboards along the shoreline as you walked.

The same feet protectors that almost everyone has caught either in the sand or on the steps or somewhere and been caused to fall.

Just at the age where breaking a hip becomes a bit more of a concern, they’re sending you “gifts” designed to promote that very action.

It’s like they WANT you to have to use their health insurance.

Tennessee's Hateful New Law

Tennessee’s governor just signed a law that prohibits any local government (towns, cities, counties, etc.) from passing any ordinance or regulation that gives rights to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered individuals. This appears to be in direct response to a Nashville ordinance that was recently passed that prohibited discrimination based upon sexual orientation, whether actual or perceived.

It makes me sad. Even more, it makes me tired all over.

There are those who claim to be for less government regulation and interference. They purport to proclaim greater rights for the local elected bodies to determine what is most appropriate for their community.

Yet they continue to promote laws, rules, regulations and constitutional amendments that attempt to impose the religious tyranny of a small group upon the entire population.

Polls show that the majority of people don’t believe in this restriction of rights.  The "silent majority" tend to be more inclusive than the vocal minority, but that same majority holds true to form and stands silently by and says nothing.

Even though I don’t live in Tennessee, this legislation affects me. It encourages the those extremely conservative individuals to continue imposing their brand of morality and judgment upon individuals who believe differently.

Let’s not even get into the “nature vs. nurture” thing or “choosing a lifestyle”. Let’s just talk about a basic, fundamental concept that many of us were brought up with.

Specifically, “Mind your own business”.

The rights which LGBT people want have nothing to do with your religiousity. Speak in tongues, handle snakes, say the Rosary or sacrifice a white chicken – it matters not to me as long as they don’t insist that I either participate or agree with them.  Conversely, I will not insist that they drink alcohol or marry someone of the same gender if they don't want to.  That is the epitome of freedom of choice.

Why then, do they feel that I must be converted to their specific ideology? The rights we are talking about are civil rights, based upon our form of government, and are supposed to be immune from the influence of any specific religion.

Yet those purporting to act continually cite the Christian Bible as the basis for their authority.

It is no more any of their business whom I live with or love than it is whether I have a religious ideology that agrees with yours, whether I go to church or temple or mosque or what God or Gods I worship, if any. Our country was founded on the premise of freedom of ideology – it therefore confounds me as to why so many people who claim to cherish those ideals seem so dead set on imposing their philosophy on other people who haven’t expressed even the slightest interest in hearing it, much less subscribing to it.

The result is that now in Tennessee, as in many other places in the United States, you can be fired or denied housing or discriminated against any number of ways if you are (or are perceived to be) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered. Regardless of your skills or abilities or anything else, you have none of the civil legal protections that are offered if you are African-American or Asian or female or physically challenged or virtually any other minority.

And this concept continues to grow throughout the land every day with the proposal of new laws and constitutional amendments that perpetually pigeonhole one group of people and deny them rights that are offered to every other citizen in this country.

It makes me sad to the very center of my being.

It’s not over, of course. Everyone will “Lawyer up” with challenges, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars determining who is right in the argument – money that could otherwise be spent housing the homeless or feeding the poor or just figuring out why the hell gas remains at $4.00 a gallon and oil companies continue to get monstrous tax breaks while reaping obscene profits.

It is exhausting to keep fighting. Unfortunately, it’s not a battle from which LGBT people can withdraw, any more than the Jews could withdraw from the persecution of the Nazi's in the 1930's, so the fight will continue.

What is the saddest, though, is that so many people – good, moral folks who do not believe that what is happening with legislation like this is right – stand idly by and say nothing. It may not seem to impact them, but eventually it will.

It will impact them first because someone they know is gay, although they may not realize it. Eventually, though, everyone will be confronted with a son, daughter, grandchild, or parent whom they realize is homosexual. With some, you’ll know because they’ve told you – or they couldn’t hide it if they tried.  With others, we'll find out eventually, because some action has been taken against them because they are LGBT.

Here’s why everyone should be concerned about this creeping invasion of the personal rights of LGBT people, though -- after the people who are encouraging the persecuting are done with the gay folks, they’re going to find another group to go after, whether it be people of color or the differently abled or Presbyterians or people with green eyes. Eventually, all of those people who stand by now and say nothing will find themselves confronted with the same “us vs. them” mindset, and they'll be one of the "thems" rather than an "us". 

Once the easy folks have been picked off, those who are obviously different because of their appearance or actions, the persecutors will look around for whom next to go after.

Because a bully without a victim loses power, and after having taken out the weakest victims, they will look for the next weakest and so on up the chain.

And when they get to those who stand by now and say nothing, those who would help speak up for those who are now standing silently by may already be gone.

The End of the World

I haven’t posted lately. I attribute it to the coming end of the world.

That’s not really the reason, but it’s as good an excuse for laziness as anything.

Have you heard? The world is supposed to end on May 21. At least, that what one fundamentalist Christian group claims, having ascertained from it’s careful reading of the King James Bible the exact date of the end of the world.

http://www.ebiblefellowship.com/

Of course, they also maintain that the people who will go on to Heaven have already been selected and the rest of the poor schmucks who inhabit the earth are just outta luck. There doesn’t seem to be any clear indication on how a person can tell if they’ve won that particular lottery, though, which kinda kills the incentive to do anything good in the name of their particular brand of religion in my opinion.

It also kind of flies in the face of the fact that several of them have abandoned their homes and families to drive around the country for the last several months in vehicles with their message plastered all over the side of them warning of the impending end of the earth.

I mean if the end is at hand, and the outcomes are already fixed, it seems like little more than gloating to drive around promoting yourself and your group as some of the lucky lottery winners who are going to move on to eternal bliss.

After all, what’s the point in talking about a party if the invitation list is already set? It’s not like you can hope someone cancels and you get moved up to the “A” list.

I can’t say that I’m terribly worried. People have been forecasting the end of the world since the beginning of time. They tend to lose credibility, though, when you find out that the leaders of the group renew leases on real estate and automobiles not long before their predicted Judgment Day – even when they aren’t expired and won’t renew until after the big day.

If you’re that convinced, why plan ahead? It’d be like booking a study booth in the college library for the week after graduation. Sure, you can, but what’s the point?

It’s much like when Oral Roberts famously said that God would call him home if he didn’t raise an astronomical amount of money.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/decemberweb-only/151-21.0.html

It didn’t happen, and yet he was back on television shilling for donations the next week. I guess he did eventually get called home, since he died in 2009, but the time on hold for that call seems a bit excessive to maintain any level of credibility.

You wanna make me a believer in that kind of crap, let’s see the pics of you floatin’ up to the sky – or even laid out in a casket – on the day it’s supposed to happen, not twelve years later.

So I guess next Saturday sometime we’ll know who’s right. I may change my schedule around a little, just in case – there’s no point in getting the oil changed in the truck if it’s just going to be sitting there after next Saturday, and I’ll probably hold off on mowing the yard until Sunday.

But I am having dessert at every meal this week.