In the Bill of Rights we spell out the rights each person is entitled to in our great nation. Note the use of the word person, not citizen, so those who think it only applies to citizens are already trying to change its very nature.
The rights of the people includes all the people. Of course in the first 70 years we excluded slaves and so it wasn't as inclusive as it should have been, but the language is inclusive.
These are the first 10 amendments to the constitution and we have added additional ones since then to expand and clarify the constitution.
Fundamentally the rights are fairly simple, Most of us take them for granted although far too many ignore them in practice.
Freedom of religion is guaranteed, not just religions the majority approve of.
I see so many attacks on Islam and Muslims simply because of the religion they follow and the assumption that because political terrorists in many cases grew up in that religion, the religion promotes terrorism.
For a bunch of complex reasons, many people in nations in the middle east where Islam is the predominant religion feel that America is the enemy. This is partly because of our support of Israel, our military presence, our support for certain regimes or lack thereof and partly because we represent Western Culture which they view as evil. They become terrorists because of these political motivations not because of their religion.
Irish terrorists were primarily Catholic, but Catholicism doesn't promote or condone terrorism.
Confusing religion with politics is common but wrong. Sometimes the same religion can argue opposing points of view i.e. white and black protestants during the civil rights era.
This is only the first right mentioned in the first Amendment and I would certainly encourage all those people so fond of the second amendment to brush up on the entire document.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
America's Greatness
What makes America great?
Its not the symbols. The flag, the National Anthem, the other symbols of America might reflect its greatness but they certainly don't make it great.
Its not the climate or location, We have wonderful natural resources here but I don't think they have made us great. It not our language, other countries speak it.
The thing that is the greatness of America is its promise.
You can call it the American Dream although I think American Dreams might be more appropriate. The simple idea that you can achieve your desires and live life the way you want to is the true essence of it.
Throughout our existence we have been the lure for immigrants who couldn't improve themselves or live life the way they wanted. Land of opportunity, land of freedom and land of hope.
If we lose those we will lost the essence of America and we will no longer be great. We don't need to be great again, we need to continue to be great.
Since our very early days we have been a hodgepodge of nations and people who were outcasts in their own countries. Whether voluntarily or involuntarily we had English, Africans, Dutch, Swedes, French and Spanish residents as well as, of course Native Americans.
We had a big open country and everyone who find a way to get here was basically welcome and we had waves of immigrants, first from Western Europe and Africa, then Eastern Europe and Asia. As we expanded we acquired additional French and Spanish residents via purchase or conquest.
Not everyone was treated equally, and some were treated as less than human but we had one great equalizer, the ability to move somewhere else where things might be better. We expanded and filled up the Ohio territories, the Louisiana purchase, Texas and the southwest at breakneck speed considering, chasing opportunity and freedom. We endured hardships and inflicted hardships in doing so and for many it didn't turn out well, but we pursued these opportunities and chased them, not just with immigrants but also with our native born citizens.
This has never stopped, there have been large movements of people in every age from farm to city, from city to suburb,from the south to the industrialized north, from the rust belt to the sun belt and always movement to California.
It is what unified us to some extent as a people and allowed us to be great because of this ongoing diversity and churn. In each period we had people resisting the continued influx of immigrants and even the internal movement of our own citizens. However it continued and it has led to this great country.
It is why we are a beacon of hope to the world and to try and stop it is, well, Un-American.
Its not the symbols. The flag, the National Anthem, the other symbols of America might reflect its greatness but they certainly don't make it great.
Its not the climate or location, We have wonderful natural resources here but I don't think they have made us great. It not our language, other countries speak it.
The thing that is the greatness of America is its promise.
You can call it the American Dream although I think American Dreams might be more appropriate. The simple idea that you can achieve your desires and live life the way you want to is the true essence of it.
Throughout our existence we have been the lure for immigrants who couldn't improve themselves or live life the way they wanted. Land of opportunity, land of freedom and land of hope.
If we lose those we will lost the essence of America and we will no longer be great. We don't need to be great again, we need to continue to be great.
Since our very early days we have been a hodgepodge of nations and people who were outcasts in their own countries. Whether voluntarily or involuntarily we had English, Africans, Dutch, Swedes, French and Spanish residents as well as, of course Native Americans.
We had a big open country and everyone who find a way to get here was basically welcome and we had waves of immigrants, first from Western Europe and Africa, then Eastern Europe and Asia. As we expanded we acquired additional French and Spanish residents via purchase or conquest.
Not everyone was treated equally, and some were treated as less than human but we had one great equalizer, the ability to move somewhere else where things might be better. We expanded and filled up the Ohio territories, the Louisiana purchase, Texas and the southwest at breakneck speed considering, chasing opportunity and freedom. We endured hardships and inflicted hardships in doing so and for many it didn't turn out well, but we pursued these opportunities and chased them, not just with immigrants but also with our native born citizens.
This has never stopped, there have been large movements of people in every age from farm to city, from city to suburb,from the south to the industrialized north, from the rust belt to the sun belt and always movement to California.
It is what unified us to some extent as a people and allowed us to be great because of this ongoing diversity and churn. In each period we had people resisting the continued influx of immigrants and even the internal movement of our own citizens. However it continued and it has led to this great country.
It is why we are a beacon of hope to the world and to try and stop it is, well, Un-American.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Responsibility
As a society we seem to have a lot of trouble with deciding who is responsible for things. In fact we seem determined to blame someone else when something goes wrong even if it most likely it was no ones fault except our own.
Maybe it was always like this and the only difference is that we hear more and more about the frivolous stuff because there is so much more instant coverage. I can't be sure, it just seems that we spend eternities trying to place blame to the net result that most of our public figures get smeared at some point of another.
Certainly people who are responsible should own up to it, but there are so many things that happen that may be because of a particular policy or a particular prior event which are not really caused by the policy or event, simply and outgrowth of it, maybe. Take gun ownership. Our gun policies put more guns in circulation. However people who use these guns to commit crimes or commit suicide did it for other reasons. The guns were the instrument they used and whether we should increase background checks or not is really unrelated. However if it is your gun that was used, even if it was stolen, the responsibility falls on you for failing to safeguard it.
Of course some things are clearly related like increased greenhouse gases and climate change. That is clearly demonstrated by science but of course we have people unwilling to accept science reality. Who is responsible is another question but I would like to point out that just because someone else also generates dangerous pollutants doesn't make it OK for me to do so.
Deciding someone else is responsible for the ills that befall you is a symptom of failure to recognize or accept responsibility. Take smokers who have had plenty of warnings over the years about the dangers of smoking. Yes we continued to allow these dangerous products to be grown, produced and sold because of special interests but there's been plenty of warnings about the effects. Deciding to roll the dice and smoke ultimately makes you responsible not anyone else. Similarly, failing to prepare yourself for the future and having little or no retirement savings is ultimately your fault. I do understand that certain people had little or no disposable income so they may have had not options, but all of those who spent money on indulgent things could have saved more.
Ultimately we seem to want to place blame in someone else, often the Government for our individual failures. Remember in this country we get to vote so the Government is what we make it.
Maybe it was always like this and the only difference is that we hear more and more about the frivolous stuff because there is so much more instant coverage. I can't be sure, it just seems that we spend eternities trying to place blame to the net result that most of our public figures get smeared at some point of another.
Certainly people who are responsible should own up to it, but there are so many things that happen that may be because of a particular policy or a particular prior event which are not really caused by the policy or event, simply and outgrowth of it, maybe. Take gun ownership. Our gun policies put more guns in circulation. However people who use these guns to commit crimes or commit suicide did it for other reasons. The guns were the instrument they used and whether we should increase background checks or not is really unrelated. However if it is your gun that was used, even if it was stolen, the responsibility falls on you for failing to safeguard it.
Of course some things are clearly related like increased greenhouse gases and climate change. That is clearly demonstrated by science but of course we have people unwilling to accept science reality. Who is responsible is another question but I would like to point out that just because someone else also generates dangerous pollutants doesn't make it OK for me to do so.
Deciding someone else is responsible for the ills that befall you is a symptom of failure to recognize or accept responsibility. Take smokers who have had plenty of warnings over the years about the dangers of smoking. Yes we continued to allow these dangerous products to be grown, produced and sold because of special interests but there's been plenty of warnings about the effects. Deciding to roll the dice and smoke ultimately makes you responsible not anyone else. Similarly, failing to prepare yourself for the future and having little or no retirement savings is ultimately your fault. I do understand that certain people had little or no disposable income so they may have had not options, but all of those who spent money on indulgent things could have saved more.
Ultimately we seem to want to place blame in someone else, often the Government for our individual failures. Remember in this country we get to vote so the Government is what we make it.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Reality
I talked about promises and empty promises in my last post and while we live in a world where information is at everyone's fingertips it sometimes seems that we don't have a clear grasp of reality, or at least many of us don't.
Now, reality is not a relative thing, meaning its the same for everybody even if we feel differently about it. For example, getting shot if a real event. How it happened and who's at fault is another matter but even so there is a real sequence of events that can be determined. In fact our criminal justice system relies on us being able to determine that beyond a reasonable doubt. Obviously its not always possible but ultimately whether we find it or not, it is there.
Reality takes a back seat all too often to political and social motivations. For example, relatively modest proposals to do additional background checks related to the purchase of assault weapons immediately becomes an effort to take all guns away. A couple of immigrants commit crimes and all immigrants are criminals. There is the reality and then there is the exaggeration. This is so insidious there are times we don't even need a reality to have the exaggeration.
Look at the birther "controversy" that we had and to some extent still have about Obama's birthplace. It had no basis in reality but the exaggeration took on a life of its own. We always had rumors and misinformation, it just seems we have so much more nowadays, maybe because of social media and irresponsible journalism.
Sadly I do believe that the majority of Americans share certain common values and beliefs. However its hard to see that in the phony realities that exist.
Now, reality is not a relative thing, meaning its the same for everybody even if we feel differently about it. For example, getting shot if a real event. How it happened and who's at fault is another matter but even so there is a real sequence of events that can be determined. In fact our criminal justice system relies on us being able to determine that beyond a reasonable doubt. Obviously its not always possible but ultimately whether we find it or not, it is there.
Reality takes a back seat all too often to political and social motivations. For example, relatively modest proposals to do additional background checks related to the purchase of assault weapons immediately becomes an effort to take all guns away. A couple of immigrants commit crimes and all immigrants are criminals. There is the reality and then there is the exaggeration. This is so insidious there are times we don't even need a reality to have the exaggeration.
Look at the birther "controversy" that we had and to some extent still have about Obama's birthplace. It had no basis in reality but the exaggeration took on a life of its own. We always had rumors and misinformation, it just seems we have so much more nowadays, maybe because of social media and irresponsible journalism.
Sadly I do believe that the majority of Americans share certain common values and beliefs. However its hard to see that in the phony realities that exist.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Promises
Making promises is easy, delivering on those promises can be hard.
Politicians make promises, its what they do to quote a current commercial. Being able to deliver is quite another thing. This is true for all politicians and while you clearly want to elect the one that promises the things you want as opposed to one who promises things you don't want, its also important to understand if they are real or empty promises.
In politics two things are required to deliver on a promise in this country. The desire and power to do it. One of the things that has led to the current distrust of Government are all the promises made by candidates that they couldn't deliver on, mostly because they didn't have the power, but sometimes they didn't have the desire either.
It is an infrequent event when one party has enough support in both houses of Congress to make fundamental changes One such scenario was after the election of 2008 when the Democrats were able to pass the Affordable Care Act. An act that is attacked so very much but which has done so much good.
But that is a rare event since the senate rules require a majority of 60 to push through legislation. Few remember that because we lost a senate sear the only way to pass the Affordable Care Act in the Senate was to accept the latest House version without revisions since the Democrats had only 59 votes. A few known issues had to be left in.
However, making promises you can't keep is a time honored political tradition and one that shows no sign of ending. Media coverage really tends to fail here since they repeat the promises without the proper analysis. To the extent the promises simply represent goals to be pursued that's fine, but certain people actually believe these promises. When the promises aren't delivered its because the Government is corrupt or untrustworthy.
I don't know if its always been this way. It seems to me that we used to understand that campaign promises were goals and not guaranteed. I think a lot of us still do understand that but sadly, it seems that when I talk to people, or see what they post on social media, they buy in to the idea that politicians are corrupt and untrustworthy. Of course some are, but the vast majority on both sides aren't. Maybe its the fact that everything is now instantaneous. Further, we live in an age where irresponsible reporting is rampant. Look at how much media was spent on where Obama was born when it wasn't even really an issue. Partisan politics is actually tame compared to the partisan media we now have, but that is another topic.
I wish we could see more facts and less empty promises in our elections, but I'd also like to win the lottery.
Politicians make promises, its what they do to quote a current commercial. Being able to deliver is quite another thing. This is true for all politicians and while you clearly want to elect the one that promises the things you want as opposed to one who promises things you don't want, its also important to understand if they are real or empty promises.
In politics two things are required to deliver on a promise in this country. The desire and power to do it. One of the things that has led to the current distrust of Government are all the promises made by candidates that they couldn't deliver on, mostly because they didn't have the power, but sometimes they didn't have the desire either.
It is an infrequent event when one party has enough support in both houses of Congress to make fundamental changes One such scenario was after the election of 2008 when the Democrats were able to pass the Affordable Care Act. An act that is attacked so very much but which has done so much good.
But that is a rare event since the senate rules require a majority of 60 to push through legislation. Few remember that because we lost a senate sear the only way to pass the Affordable Care Act in the Senate was to accept the latest House version without revisions since the Democrats had only 59 votes. A few known issues had to be left in.
However, making promises you can't keep is a time honored political tradition and one that shows no sign of ending. Media coverage really tends to fail here since they repeat the promises without the proper analysis. To the extent the promises simply represent goals to be pursued that's fine, but certain people actually believe these promises. When the promises aren't delivered its because the Government is corrupt or untrustworthy.
I don't know if its always been this way. It seems to me that we used to understand that campaign promises were goals and not guaranteed. I think a lot of us still do understand that but sadly, it seems that when I talk to people, or see what they post on social media, they buy in to the idea that politicians are corrupt and untrustworthy. Of course some are, but the vast majority on both sides aren't. Maybe its the fact that everything is now instantaneous. Further, we live in an age where irresponsible reporting is rampant. Look at how much media was spent on where Obama was born when it wasn't even really an issue. Partisan politics is actually tame compared to the partisan media we now have, but that is another topic.
I wish we could see more facts and less empty promises in our elections, but I'd also like to win the lottery.
Friday, August 5, 2016
The American Way
Many of us grew up watching a TV show where the superhero stood for Truth, Justice and the American way. What was of course left undefined was what is the American way.
I was probably naive but it didn't seem like there was much disagreement that it represented the values om the books and movies we had, values like work hard, give everyone a fair shake, stand up for the little guy, do your part and support the country. However if I had to pick one work that I equate with the American way its would be winners.
This was the era after the great depression and World War 2 where the President was the General who had led us to victory and we had a clear enemy in communism. We had won every war (Korea was sort of ignored as a police action) and we were the best in pretty much everything, thanks in large part to the fact that most of our competitors had been devastated by the war.
Yes this was the America of winners that I and many of my compatriots grew up with, even if there were racial and economic problems beneath the surface that were getting ready to erupt. It was an era where we faced nuclear elimination constantly but pretty much ignored it except when there was a crisis. We had all those new suburban houses, everyone had a car, everyone had a job and life was as good as it gets, although of course it wasn't except on TV shows.
If you were to ask most of the Trump supporters this is when America was great and what they think he will bring back. Its an empty promise since the world is a very different place and we have so much history since then, Vietnam, imported products, terrorism, computers and technology and the diversification of America, both socially and by nationality.
By almost any objective standard the world is better than it was back then. More people have been lifted out of poverty, more countries are democracies, we have instant information at our fingertips and we have developed technologies that allow us to provide food (the green revolution) for everybody. However as I pointed out this has not included the people who lived a privileged existence when American products dominated the world and good paying, union jobs were widely available.
There is no going back to that, no matter what vague promises are made. You can't put humpty dumpty together again, time to enjoy the omelette.
I was probably naive but it didn't seem like there was much disagreement that it represented the values om the books and movies we had, values like work hard, give everyone a fair shake, stand up for the little guy, do your part and support the country. However if I had to pick one work that I equate with the American way its would be winners.
This was the era after the great depression and World War 2 where the President was the General who had led us to victory and we had a clear enemy in communism. We had won every war (Korea was sort of ignored as a police action) and we were the best in pretty much everything, thanks in large part to the fact that most of our competitors had been devastated by the war.
Yes this was the America of winners that I and many of my compatriots grew up with, even if there were racial and economic problems beneath the surface that were getting ready to erupt. It was an era where we faced nuclear elimination constantly but pretty much ignored it except when there was a crisis. We had all those new suburban houses, everyone had a car, everyone had a job and life was as good as it gets, although of course it wasn't except on TV shows.
If you were to ask most of the Trump supporters this is when America was great and what they think he will bring back. Its an empty promise since the world is a very different place and we have so much history since then, Vietnam, imported products, terrorism, computers and technology and the diversification of America, both socially and by nationality.
By almost any objective standard the world is better than it was back then. More people have been lifted out of poverty, more countries are democracies, we have instant information at our fingertips and we have developed technologies that allow us to provide food (the green revolution) for everybody. However as I pointed out this has not included the people who lived a privileged existence when American products dominated the world and good paying, union jobs were widely available.
There is no going back to that, no matter what vague promises are made. You can't put humpty dumpty together again, time to enjoy the omelette.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Fairness
If you have been reading these, thanks, but today I want to continue more or less where I left off yesterday.
Jobs that used to be available to "working class" Americans have been disappearing. To a certain extent this is because they have moved overseas as economic reality forces the management to reduce production costs. Those who want to bring those jobs back and restore America to what it once was could only achieve that by effectively taxing consumers with increased costs and giving that money to the working class, or hidden welfare. This wouldn't be the only example of this, we subsidize farmers and prop up food prices and of course we already provide tax breaks to many industries to promote jobs.
Whether these policies are good or bad is probably a whole different discussion. The topic today is fairness and the fact that capitalists have made the most from this movement of jobs is viewed as unfair by many who want them to bring the jobs back. To do this they demand the Government intervene even while decrying big Government. They argue this movement of jobs has been unfair to them, since they did what they were told they needed to do, finish high school, serve in the military, work hard, raise a family, and find themselves on the short end of the stick. Of course they also defend rugged individualism while failing to be those rugged individuals themselves, failing to prepare themselves for this future.
I would also like to point out that the loss of jobs is also related to improved technology, not just movement. Even had all the manufacturing stayed in this country there would be less jobs and those jobs would require a higher skill level. It is fairly common that companies have trouble filling the jobs they do have because the available applicants lack the right skills.
Once again viewed as unfair by many. There may actually be a point to be made there since the productivity gains primarily benefited the owners and managers and not the displaced workers. Its a bit ironic that the only organizations likely to argue for workers sharing in these gains are unions which have become less and less popular since they are viewed as causing job loses by driving up costs. This leaves the working class more unrepresented and resentful because, well, it just isn't fair.
Capitalism by its nature is fair but cruel. Similar to nature, the strong survive and the weak perish. While it might be unfair to get a head start because your parents were successful, its in the long run simply a predictable outcome. If we want to level the playing field we have to adopt policies that are social in nature, like free education, health care, unemployment insurance, etc. etc. Everyone accepts the idea that we provide public education through high school which at one time was enough, but were not ready to do the same for college. This of course requires Government intervention and we have a large group of people convinced that Government intervention is always a bad thing. Of course the people who benefit from that happen to be the people who already have the money and don't want to share it.
You have to give them credit for the scam. Big Government has made us move your jobs overseas by signing trade deals. Therefore big Government is bad and look they give things to undeserving people and make deserving people pay taxes. Reduce Government interference, let us run our businesses and everything will get better. PT Barnum would be proud.
Jobs that used to be available to "working class" Americans have been disappearing. To a certain extent this is because they have moved overseas as economic reality forces the management to reduce production costs. Those who want to bring those jobs back and restore America to what it once was could only achieve that by effectively taxing consumers with increased costs and giving that money to the working class, or hidden welfare. This wouldn't be the only example of this, we subsidize farmers and prop up food prices and of course we already provide tax breaks to many industries to promote jobs.
Whether these policies are good or bad is probably a whole different discussion. The topic today is fairness and the fact that capitalists have made the most from this movement of jobs is viewed as unfair by many who want them to bring the jobs back. To do this they demand the Government intervene even while decrying big Government. They argue this movement of jobs has been unfair to them, since they did what they were told they needed to do, finish high school, serve in the military, work hard, raise a family, and find themselves on the short end of the stick. Of course they also defend rugged individualism while failing to be those rugged individuals themselves, failing to prepare themselves for this future.
I would also like to point out that the loss of jobs is also related to improved technology, not just movement. Even had all the manufacturing stayed in this country there would be less jobs and those jobs would require a higher skill level. It is fairly common that companies have trouble filling the jobs they do have because the available applicants lack the right skills.
Once again viewed as unfair by many. There may actually be a point to be made there since the productivity gains primarily benefited the owners and managers and not the displaced workers. Its a bit ironic that the only organizations likely to argue for workers sharing in these gains are unions which have become less and less popular since they are viewed as causing job loses by driving up costs. This leaves the working class more unrepresented and resentful because, well, it just isn't fair.
Capitalism by its nature is fair but cruel. Similar to nature, the strong survive and the weak perish. While it might be unfair to get a head start because your parents were successful, its in the long run simply a predictable outcome. If we want to level the playing field we have to adopt policies that are social in nature, like free education, health care, unemployment insurance, etc. etc. Everyone accepts the idea that we provide public education through high school which at one time was enough, but were not ready to do the same for college. This of course requires Government intervention and we have a large group of people convinced that Government intervention is always a bad thing. Of course the people who benefit from that happen to be the people who already have the money and don't want to share it.
You have to give them credit for the scam. Big Government has made us move your jobs overseas by signing trade deals. Therefore big Government is bad and look they give things to undeserving people and make deserving people pay taxes. Reduce Government interference, let us run our businesses and everything will get better. PT Barnum would be proud.
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