Category Archives: Government

May 4, 2020 · 4:59 pm

WOUNDED GIANT

A health worker at a COVID-19 testing site in Inglewood, CA.

DEEPLY WOUNDED – PRE-COVID-19

The world is becoming increasingly eager to get past the COVID-19 nightmare, to return to “life as usual”. In doing that, we tend to think of the things we miss and that, when we have those things back, life will be wonderful again. As a result of that myopia, we forget … there was much about “life as usual” before COVID-19 that wasn’t so great.

The pre-COVID-19 U.S. was miserably split. Nothing exemplified this more than the rift between those who support President Trump and those who oppose him. But, the U.S. population was just as divided on social issues such as; Gun Control, Abortion, Religious Freedom, Climate Change, Traditional Marriage, Immigration, Reparations, etc. While remaining the world’s leading superpower, this ever increasing discord was making the U.S. a deeply wounded giant … perhaps, even, mortally wounded.

SOCIAL HEALING DURING THE CRISIS

California Governor Gavin Newsom Praises President Trump

In spite of holding opposing views of their President and of numerous political issues, the vast majority of Americans have worked harmoniously in facing the COVID-19 crisis. One of the best examples of that, among U.S. leaders, came from California Governor, Gavin Newsom, paying compliments to President Trump. Newsom and Trump hold disparate views on most issues. So much so that, prior to the Coronavirus Pandemic, it would have been most likely to hear them express unflattering opinions of each other. And yet, Governor Newsom has been very complimentary of President Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis, saying, “…  I have to be complimentary. Otherwise, I would simply be lying to you, misleading you …”

Thankfully, seeing Americans work together with one accord, in facing the COVID-19 crisis, hasn’t been limited to its leadership. Many Americans have joyfully embraced the kinship they’ve rediscovered as they came together in battling this pandemic. It’s been obvious that, as a positive side-effect of the current crisis, this affinity has created an ideal environment for the healing of the great wound brought on by America’s deep divisiveness on social issues. But, there has remained a foreboding undercurrent indicating, that, when the U.S. returns to “life as usual”, that could mean the population returning to being miserably split. While many have been treasuring the sense of good will and the considerable potential for healing, it seems that a stubborn group of spoilers have remained who are all too willing to keep picking at America’s great wound.

AGGRAVATING THE WOUND

Surgeon General Adams – Love and Protect Your Elders

Obvious examples of this are Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters, Jerry Nadler, etc.; who, even during this crisis, continue to lurk in the background, awaiting the slightest excuse for trying to bring down President Trump. But, the saddest and most troubling example of this, for me, was the criticism leveled at Surgeon General Jerome Adams by TV Host Claudia Jordan. Jordan’s criticism was aimed at Adams’ use of certain terms of endearment in encouraging Americans to be especially protective of their elders vis-a-vis the Coronavirus. The terms the Surgeon General used included “Abuela” and “Big Mama”. According to Jordan, his use of these terms was offensive to African Americans and Latinos. It should be noted that Adams is African American and in defending his comments, he noted that his Brother-in-law is Puerto Rican.

While the destructive efforts of Pelosi and company are pretty easy to see through, it’s counter-productivity like theirs that feed the foreboding undercurrent evidenced by Jordan’s criticism of Surgeon General Adams. There is much to admire about Jerome Adams, not the least of which is his achieving the high position of Surgeon General. I would argue, however, that the love he showed in caring for his Grandparents’ generation demonstrated an even more admirable quality. Why, then, did Ms. Jordan find his comments to be so offensive? I believe it was, clearly, the result of preconceived notions and looking for any excuse to justify being offended.

CONTINUING THE HEALING

I’ve heard it said that, when a hammer is the only thing you have in your toolbox, everything can look like a nail to you. That may be a fitting explanation for how Claudia Jordan arrived at her conclusions about General Adams’ comments. If we truly aspire to attain a more wonderful “life as usual” following the COVID-19 crisis, attitudes like this must be discouraged. Certainly, once the COVID-19 crisis is past, we need to look back on how we dealt with it. But, in doing this, we should be looking to fix the problem, not to fix the blame.The primary objectives of this review should be: (1) How to avoid such occurrences and (2) How to be better prepared for such occurrences.

No one manages any crisis perfectly. But, metaphorically, I view President Trump and his COVID-19 Task Force as an exceptional team fielded by a skillful Quarterback. And, continuing with that metaphor, the last thing we have needed during this crisis and going forward, is one or more Monday-morning Quarterbacks. That is a sure-fire way to deepen the wounds of the pre-COVID-19 U.S., rather than to heal them. If there’s any justification for fixing blame here, it most rightly belongs to those who chose to keep Monday-morning Quarterbacking during the COVID-19 crisis when they could have been contributing to finding solutions for the crisis rather than exacerbating it.

DON’T REOPEN THE WOUND

In order for the U.S. to emerge from this COVID-19 nightmare to a more wonderful “life as usual”, its citizens must take full advantage of the opportunity for healing afforded by the good will that has been present during this crisis. Furthermore, once this crisis passes, the healing needs to continue and the reopening of wounds should not be tolerated. To accomplish this, every American must first discipline themselves to be as harmonious in working with their fellow-Americans as they have been during the crisis. Candidly, doing so afterwards will be more challenging than it is presently. Striving together for survival of the Coronavirus has made it easy to define common ground. Following the crisis, however, finding common ground on deeply divisive social issues may seem more elusive. The key here will be to maintain the present attitude of good will in earnestly working together to find common ground. That shouldn’t mean compromising deeply held personal values. But, it will require listening to the views of those who see things differently than you and doing so without holding an attitude that they are somehow mentally and/or morally inferior.

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October 9, 2016 · 6:09 am

PATRIOTS ON STRIKE?!

cslewis

The lesser of two evils?

VIABLE ALTERNATIVES?

Is it just me or do many of you wish that you could find a viable alternative to making a choice between a self-serving inept felon and a volatile ego maniacal jackass, as the next President of the United States? Of course, though sarcastic, that’s a rhetorical question. I know that very many, if not most, of my fellow Americans share a similar view. Later, I’ll offer empirical evidence of that.

Some will suggest that throwing your support to a third-party candidate is a viable alternative. That’s only half true. It is an alternative but it isn’t viable. Regardless of your third-party vote, Clinton or Trump will be the next POTUS and you will have changed nothing.

CHANGE-MAKING ALTERNATIVES?

In order to find a viable alternative to this dilemma, I suggest stepping back and taking a fresh look at our concerns about the nominees of the two major parties. Up to now, I’ve seen this assessment include:

• Choose between the lesser of two evils.
• Are they evil or just flawed?
• Are they unfit or just unacceptable?
• Are they immoral or just unwise?
• The fear of what he says versus the fear of what she does.
• For different reasons, neither can be trusted.

Frankly, I find each of these considerations to be somewhat reasonable. But they don’t really lead to a viable alternative that positively impacts the ongoing devolution in American politics. Ironically, I heard the solution summed up in a statement made by Hillary Clinton that was, as usual, meant to demean Donald Trump. She said,

“We need to stand up as a people and say that America is better than (this)!”

I wholeheartedly agree and absent a truly acceptable alternative candidate, I firmly believe it calls for an unorthodox approach to making the changes so many of us have been crying out for in American politics. It means refusing to continue to vote for “the lesser of two evils” and only voting for candidates who are truly deserving of your vote. What I’m recommending is that all of us who share the frustration expressed in my opening paragraph refuse to vote for any of 2016’s presidential candidates, while voting for every down-ticket candidate who deserves our support. I think of it as  … 

… A Presidential Voters Strike for Our Union.

I know that many will, at least initially, say that my recommendation is crazy, it will effect no change and that either Clinton or Trump will still be the next POTUS. No doubt, the latter is true and it’s going to take all of U.S. pulling together, finally setting aside our ever deepening polarization, to survive whichever one is elected. This Voters Strike could be the first step in that movement and I believe it can effect the changes we long for. I want to offer my logic, that I believe is fully sane, by presenting the empirical evidence I alluded to earlier. Continue reading →

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February 14, 2014 · 6:20 am

President Washington’s Day

washington04072012

PRESIDENTS’ DAY

Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it was traditionally celebrated on February 22, Washington’s actual day of birth. However, according to History.com, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and others, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.

ALL PRESIDENTS, GREAT AND SMALL?!

I think it was a damaging mistake to change from honoring the best of our presidents, as we did when I was growing up, to celebrating them all, as is done today. No doubt, some will say that my lament here is nothing more than me being sentimental about how things were “back in the day” but I truly see this shift as resulting in a loss for our culture. I see it as being akin to the philosophies of “no winners or losers” and “everyone gets a trophy”. With these, in what is likely to have started as a well-intentioned attempt to protect those with lesser abilities from being mistreated, the result is a homogenous society where all are rewarded equally, regardless of what effort is applied to their varying sets of talent. And, since there is no greater reward associated with greater effort and/or greater ability, the incentive to actually strive for greatness has been dramatically diminished. That seems to me like just the opposite of the standard we should be setting in establishing a holiday in recognition of America’s presidents.

Of course, I recognize that some may view Presidents’ Day as just being meant to honor the office. I’m OK with that but I believe most Americans look at Presidents’ Day in the way History.com described it, “… a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.” With that being the case, I ask: Have they all been great and are they all deserving of being honored as such? In looking at the list of 44 U.S. Presidents, I think it’s pretty obvious that the answers to these questions are no and no. As a matter of fact, there have been two in my lifetime who have so dishonored the office that I would object to their being honored with their own holiday. One of these famously said, “I am not a crook.” He was. The other just as famously said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” He did. Ironically, with both of these, if not for their acts which truly dishonored the office, they might have been remembered as among our best presidents, if not among the greatest.

THE GREATEST OF THE GREAT

Thankfully, many of our 44 presidents have been distinguished. But I think there are just a few who were truly great. Chief among them is President Washington. In addition to the fact that he will always hold a unique position, as Father of Our Country, there are many other aspects of his life that can be pointed to as great. Arguably, one of the greatest things about his presidency was something that he didn’t do. He could have become King George I of the USA or U.S. President for lifetime. But, in keeping with the objectives set forth in the U.S. Constitution, that were ‘in order to form a more perfect union”, Washington willingly relinquished his presidential authority in 1796, at the end of his second term. In an article entitled The Wisdom of George Washington, Hoover.org provides the following comparison to illustrate how very exceptional this act was:

The world’s most generous prize money is attached not to the Nobel Prize but to the Mo Ibrahim Prize, awarded for good governance in Africa, as determined by a very simple test: a democratically elected leader who actually leaves office at the end of his term. The winner receives five million dollars plus two hundred thousand dollars a year for life. The 53 African nations yielded one claimant in 2011, but none for the two years previous. The precedent set by George Washington has not been easy to establish elsewhere, prize money or not.

With this in mind, rather than continuing with a Presidents’ Day that honors all U.S. presidents past and present, I’d like to see us return to honoring George Washington, as the Father of Our Country and as the U.S. President who set the standard for true greatness in that office. Whether we do this on the third Monday in February or on February 22, Washington’s actual day of birth, doesn’t matter to me. What does matter to me is preserving America’s founding ideals. As this relates to the subject at hand, I see it as inappropriate to include those who may have only been great at getting elected but who were inferior leaders, when we set aside a special day in appreciation of the office of U.S. President. Rather, I see it as most fitting to observe a President’s Day … President Washington’s Day, to recognize the one who showed the most honor to the office through greater effort applied to greater ability, as our nation’s leader.

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January 11, 2014 · 10:40 am

Above Reproach

Christie Press CongerenceThis past Thursday, in addressing a scandal in his administration, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie conducted himself in a way I’d like to see emulated by every government official. Not surprisingly, political pundits are weighing in with their views on various ramifications of this crisis. The impact of this on Christie’s potential 2016 run for U.S. President seems to be chief among these observations. I believe it’s thanks to this mentality, fomented by the press and how this influences government officials (especially the elected ones), that forthright behavior, like this example of Governor Christie’s, has become so rare in our public office holders.

A little over six years ago, in an article entitled Honest Politician , I discussed the sad reality that this term, Honest Politician, is accepted as an oxymoron in America. This is a key reason why, since that time, I’ve chosen to withdraw from my once fairly active role in politics. However, that decision was based on what I saw happening throughout the political spectrum, not just at the national level. In fact, the “straws that broke the camels back” in my case came more from experiences in local politics. And, to a great degree, they involved individuals I’ve supported, who I thought were well aligned with my views. It’s not that I expected perfection from these individuals but I did expect that, when blunders were made, they would own up to them. Sadly, what I saw were some really bone-headed decisions being made and these were accompanied by a complete unwillingness to admit to any errors in judgment. Added to this was the disappointment of seeing those with whom I’d placed my trust being willing to associate with anyone who could offer them some political advantage, no matter how despicable the ally is otherwise. Frankly, I just got to a point where I could no longer stomach having any part in this.

So, maybe American politicians are getting what they deserve with “Honest Politician” being accepted as an oxymoron. But, what about the American public, are we getting what we deserve? I have to say, “I think so.” One of the most recent glaring examples of this was having President Obama repeatedly state, “We will keep this promise to the American people. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. Period. If you like your healthcare plan, you will be able to keep your healthcare plan. Period.” He, clearly, knew this wasn’t true every time he said it and yet he hasn’t owned up to that. Furthermore, he’s taken no corrective action regarding the circumstances that led him to do something so foolish and harmful to so many. I’ve been encouraged that, in response to this, according to recent CNN/ORC polling, a growing majority of Americans are finding President Obama to not be trustworthy or honest. But, let’s not forget, it hasn’t been that long since we twice-elected an adulterous Presidential Candidate who dodged the culpability of his philandering by questioning the meaning of what the word “is” is. And yet, instead of mocking and rejection, many still regard him as a heroic figure.

If we are getting what we deserve in this regard, I say, “It doesn’t have to remain that way.” When you think about it, we’re actually getting what we are letting ourselves deserve. So, I say, “Let’s change that!” Let’s stop putting up with American politicians dodging the truth by letting them debate what the meaning of the word “is” is. Let’s stop accepting allegory, as an excuse for not being genuine. And, by all means, let’s continue to express skepticism with things that don’t seem credible. But, shouldn’t we, at least, allow the possibility of an American politician saying what they mean and meaning what they say? If we don’t, what is their incentive to do so? Moreover, shouldn’t we be demanding this of our politicians instead of just accepting that, in our nation, “Honest Politician” is an oxymoron? By doing so, I think we end up deserving better and thus, getting better. So, whether or not you endorse any other thing about Chris Christie, I say it’s to our benefit to laud him for his courageous handling of the current scandalous crisis in his administration.

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January 7, 2014 · 8:42 am

How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go

From: Trevin Wax

Piers-Morgan-cnn-debut-007-300x180Just once, I’d like to see a TV interview go more like this:

Host: You are a Christian pastor, and you say you believe the Bible, which means you are supposed to love all people.

Pastor: That’s right.

Host: But it appears to me that you and your church take a rather unloving position when it comes to gay people. Are homosexuals welcome to come to your church?

Pastor: Of course. We believe that the gospel is a message relevant for every person on the planet, and we want everyone to hear the gospel and find salvation in Jesus Christ. So at our church, our arms are outstretched to people from every background, every race, every ethnicity and culture. We’re a place for all kinds of sinners and people with all kinds of problems.

Host: But you said there, “We’re a place for sinners.” So you do believe that homosexuality is sinful, right?

Pastor: Yes, I do.

Host: So how do you reconcile the command to love all people with a position on homosexuality that some would say is radically intolerant?

Pastor: (smiling) If you think my position on homosexuality is radical, just wait until you hear what else I believe! I believe that a teenage guy and girl who have sex in the backseat of a pick-up are sinning. The unmarried heterosexual couple living down the street from me is sinning. In fact, any sexual activity that takes place outside of the marriage covenant between a husband and wife is sinful. What’s more, Jesus takes this sexual ethic a step further and goes to the heart of the matter. That means that any time I even lust after someone else, I am sinning. Jesus’ radical view of sexuality shows all of us up as sexual sinners, and that’s why He came to die. Jesus died to save lustful, homo- and heterosexual sinners and transform our hearts and minds and behavior. Because He died for me, I owe Him my all. And as a follower of Jesus, I’m bound to what He says about sex and morality.

Host: But Jesus didn’t condemn homosexuality outright, did He?

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