I read David Brooks column in the New York Times this morning. The Times still gives me plenty of material to analyze and consider, even if it is only a vestige of its old 'get them the objective news and get it to them right now' self. David Brooks wrote a very fetching article about dignity and manners, and how we have, as a culture lost both of those things. He used the incidents of Governor Sanford's blatheringly stupid comments about his own infidelity, Micheal Jackson's conduct of a child-like life, and finally Sarah Palin's applied confusion about life itself, as his examples of a culture gone to the dogs. There is no dignity left, he asserts. There are no manners, public or private, which are consistently followed or applied. It is all out here right in front of us. Brooks rails against self-promotion, even to the extent of running for the office of President of the United States (that insults the dignity of the candidate). But then he turns, in typical, and very modern Republican form, to use Ronald Reagan as an example of a relatively current public figure who had dignity. A bigger self-promoter there never was, except maybe P.T. Barnum, but that is ignored by Brooks.
The entire neo-con rant by Brooks is about being wealthy. You can ignore everything if you are wealthy. You do not need help, or money, or even much in the way of relationship, if you have enough money. That is the man's basic forlorn tenant. He harkens back to a day, George Washington's, to be exact, when a man like our first President could exercise all of the well-mannered characteristics of not promoting himself or herself, speaking when spoken to, standing when spoken to, and, of course, not requesting or even accepting help from anyone. That George Washington was extremely wealthy is not mentioned at all.
You read an article like the one I am discussing and the material almost sounds rational. You almost pine for those old days when such great-seeming principals of conduct supposedly ruled all of social life. Until you begin to think about it. Washington's family had droves of slaves and tons of servants. I wonder how they conducted themselves with respect to the 'rules of dignity.' There were throngs of struggling new Americans trying to barely get by or survive on subsistence farming or in slave-like manufacturing jobs. We still had bond-servant versions of slavery all over the countryside. What a load of dignity they possessed, and displayed.
Today, we are all trying to make it. We are trying to feed our families, just like before. There is absolutely no dignity whatever in not paying your bills or being foreclosed on. None. Not one shred. Try it, if you think there is. I encourage anyone in dire financial straights to self-promote the hell out of him or herself. I absolutely encourage them to ask for assistance from their friends and family before putting their children in shelters or onto the mean streets of our downtown cities. Dignity be damned.
David Brooks is wealthy. Can you tell?
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We should “CUT” the corporate welfare umbilical placed in Iraq by people with a lot to gain. “Sole source” contracts were made for everything from supplying toilet paper to soldiers (KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, Dick Cheney’s old company) to “rebuilding” contracts for reestablishing power, water and communications. The United States military bombed the place to smithereens in the first place.
Whatever happened to the notion that if you make a mess, you clean it up? Those entrusted with these “no-bid” contracts have tended to make an even bigger mess, “outsourcing” or “sub-contracting” to hedge or confuse the accountability, and to skim millions in “profits.” As with dishonest contractors back home (every disaster seems to bring these criminal bloodsuckers out of their slimy holes) the work is not done at all, done poorly, or left unfinished. The USA taxpayers? They are left holding the empty bag -- again.
We need to not only CUT the nation’s reliance on these decidedly unpatriotic contractors, we should be suing each and every one for failure to perform, with not only a REFUND of monies so unaccountably “disappeared,” but with PENALTIES for taking the money and not doing the job. In the business world, as at the corner store, when you take money without giving goods or services in return, that is called STEALING!
We need to CUT off these thieves, immediately!
We also should “RUN” for the exits, whether Army, Navy, Air-Force, Marines or National Guard services. This IS the American Way! George Washington would not have had any soldiers left if he’d insisted on fighting the British on THEIR terms. Several strategic retreats were necessary before the Revolutionary forces began to have success. Their plight was so desperate that the colonial seat of Philadelphia was conquered (with some help from traitor, Benedict Arnold) and the weather so extreme that holed up in Valley Forge, General Washington and his troops were thought to be vanquished. The expression, “He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day,” was not a compliment for cowards, but about facing the truth of a strategic retreat being sometimes altogether necessary. Washington also noted that the Hessians assisting the British were only there for a paycheck – no allegiance whatsoever, and cautioned against his country ever growing dependent on mercenaries. Guess who’s now guarding American embassies and even the Secretary of State in her world travels? It isn’t the Marines, folks!
The ONLY people with an interest in a perpetual “war” that will go on forever are those whose vested interests (i.e. armament or gravestone makers) cause them to value their personal profits above the lives of American soldiers. If you have a lot of money invested in Middle East oil (check and see which multi-national corporations fit this description) then you may have been rejoicing at the obscene profits from American suckers and worldwide chumps paying so much to make you richer and richer. If the USA “redeploys” soldiers from the Iraqi oil fields, cities and villages, that means people will likely continue to suffer as they have suffered since before the USA-led invasion in 2003. The suffering and killing may indeed escalate, but there was NEVER going to be a freely-elected government that aligned with USA interests, from the first rocket fired. None of our American assumptions about what constitutes freedom necessarily agree with what Iraqis consider freedom, moreover, ANY actual government does very poorly where bullets and bombs prevail.
We are all inspired by the stories of great Presidents. If you really look at the really great ones, they have one thing in common: they inspired their generation to come together and work together for common good. Leaders like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan were very inspirational and surrounded themselves with big thinking resourceful people. These leaders knew how to get the right people and empower them for broad-based action. In other words, they had eagles around them. Eagles in this sense represent leaders of the highest calibre.
The tricky thing about eagles is that they don’t flock; you have to find them ... one at a time. Most leaders end up with turkeys instead of eagles because they are position conscious (look at Hillary surrounding herself only with people who are loyal to her and thus cannot build a coalition). Eagles don’t just show up. They know how to identify other eagles and flock to them. That is what is happening in this broad coalition - people with smart minds and getting together to build a better America and a better world.
Here are six marks of an eagle that can be clearly evidenced in this campaign:
1. Eagles are catalysts of experiences - Every event organized in this movement is an experience - right from the rallies, to the town hall events and to teh grassroots activities. Eagles make things happen based on their skills and abilities. They walk the road less traveled, defying models in order to blaze new trails.
2. Eagles possess great vision and execution - This campaign is a marriage of great vision and excellent execution. Eagles don’t perch on a tree and wait for someone to do something. They go out and look for opportunities. They are not risk averse.
3. Eagles are change agents - Eagles influences others in positive ways. Look at the way people are beginning to come together for the campaign. This is historic because we have eagle minded catalysts of change getting together to influence political change. Eagles are 360° influencers. Their influence is not restricted by attributes like age or profession.
4. Eagles are multipliers of value - The key for success in our campaign has been the value that each of us brings to the table. The average campaign has people who subtract value while the mediocre campaign has people who divide value. The successful campaign has people who multiply value.
5. Eagles empower eagles to lead - Birds of a feather flock together because only they have an uncanny ability to bring out the best in each other. That is what is happening in this movement. People are being drawn in because they are seeing others getting empowered to make a difference in their communities.
6. Eagles are sources of creativity - Eagles hunt for ideas that result in quantum growth for the entire group. Because of this, a movement with eagles will always be a leader of the pack. Our movement is leading the pack because of the eagle mentality.
Something I was thinking about last night..
The opposition argues that Barack does not have enough experience, that he is not ready to be president, that he will not be prepared from day one. Day one, hmmm. I have heard the phrase Day One SO much that I began thinking about America's Day One. Reach into your wallet. Take out a one dollar bill. (Don't feel bad if that was the only thing in there, it was the only thing in mine.) Who is on that dollar bill? How much elected experience did he have? Hmm, he seems to have done a pretty good job, wouldn't you say? Now that you have proven your point to that Clinton or McCain supporter, don't put that dollar bill back in your wallet. Send that dollar to Obama campaign.
P.S. While researching the life of George Washington on the www.whitehouse.gov website I came upon this in his biography, "To his disappointment, two parties were developing by the end of his first term. Wearied of politics, feeling old, he retired at the end of his second. In his Farewell Address, he urged his countrymen to forswear excessive party spirit and geographical distinctions."
YES WE CAN!
ASK ME HOW!
Hello everyone, I haven't communicated much with the group in the past, but I wanted to share something.
In U.S. History (yes, I'm in high school, a junior), we are studying the beginning of our great republic. This period is quite interesting to me, and probably to most people, because all of the successes (and mistakes) that were made then affect us today.
Recently, our teacher handed out to the class a copy of George Washington's farewell address to the country. Now, whether you are a democrat, republican, or Chihuahua, you can agree that Washington was one of the best, if not the best, presidents of this nation. Always keeping the will of the American people in front of personal gain, appointing a brilliant cabinet, and stepping down after only two terms (setting the precedent that would one day become law), Washington led our country at a crucial time in our history. His farewell address is shockingly relevant to our own time, as it warns of divisions amongst political parties, advises against the accumulation of too much debt, and promotes peace with all nations (even the ones we disagree with [points at Iran]).
So, in light of events recent and past, I want everyone, including you, to read Mr. Washington’s farewell address. Not just a gloss over read, but a thorough, intense read, like they taught you how to do in high school. Look up words you don’t know, re-read passages you didn’t quite get, print out a copy to keep on hand at all times… ok, maybe not the last one, but still.
Know where our country has been, and you will know where our country needs to go. Vote Obama, and always, always, have hope for a better tomorrow.
“I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors.” –George Washington (Farewell Address, 1796)
You can find a full text of Washington’s Farewell address here:
http://www.utulsa.edu/law/classes/rice/constitutional/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.htm
