Living for even just a month in the French Quarter is much more vibrant than a year existing in suburbia. Music, lights, crowds, crawdads, irregular hours. A situational ethical perspective is the prevailing ethical standard, and not many situations arise that appear to require one to act ethically. At least everyone knows the rules. Still not sure what to make of The Confederacy of Dunces even after reading it in country. One must wonder whether the response and recovery would be underway if the National Guards were around to guard the nation. [See the e-ssay dated May 2, 2005 entitled “Ohio – Not Forgettin’ Ohio: The Battleground State Battles On.”] What if 25,000 troops from LA, MS, AB, TX and FL could have been deployed for one year to restore and rebuild the region? They would have been embraced with open arms and could have begun the reconstruction of basic services. They should be rebuilding Biloxi not hiding in Baghdad. Cities and democracies are not really built as much as they emerge. What will emerge is not clear. Will there be much noticeable difference in five years?
Archive for the Society Category
The Residue of Unrelenting Fear: PTSD Afflicts The Populace (August 28, 2006)
Posted in Bush, Society on August 28, 2006 by e-commentary.org“Which is worse, ignorance or apathy,” the lad asked. “I don’t know and I don’t care,” he responded. “The only response is to not think and to not feel,” he proposed. Bush’s observation that his war is “straining the American psyche” is observant. Bush’s power springs from his ability to keep the public in a constant state of fear and dread and anxiety. Bush is terrorizing the populace. The fear paralyzes thought and stifles dissent. If the restive public is given a rest, it may reflect. Bush will proudly proclaim that America is at war as he lifts off from the White House lawn in Marine Corps One in January, 2009. His war; his legacy. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder now afflicts the populace not just tens of thousands of returning vets. Roosevelt’s perspective on fear itself and his reassurances to the public are the marks of a true leader. The world needs hope not fear.
2006 Is A Year of Birthdays (July 10, 2006)
Posted in Society on July 10, 2006 by e-commentary.orgDuring 2006, the rosewood frame and black leather chair and ottoman designed by Charles and Ray Eames turn fifty. The National Interstate Defense Highways Act creating the Interstate Highway System also reached that milepost. One allowed us to sit in modern style, while the other allowed us to move with speed even if we did not see anything. Len Bias died twenty years ago of a cocaine dose. President Johnson reluctantly signed the Privacy Act of 1966 known as the Freedom of Information Act forty years ago on July 4. His presidential signing order stated in part “I signed this measure with a deep sense of pride that the United States is an open society,” although he privately disdained the legislation. Freedom was 230 years young on that very day last week. Thomas Jefferson, with some help from James Madison and Ben Franklin, penned the essay declaring the rationale for independence in a pamphlet captioned “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.” In the same year, Adam Smith published An Inquiry Into The Nature And Causes Of The Wealth Of Nations, the economic declaration of independence, interdependence, competition, choice and free trade.
May Day (May 1, 2006)
Posted in Law, Society on May 1, 2006 by e-commentary.orgMay 1 is May Day. This is Law Day, a day to reflect on our heritage of liberty, justice and equality under the law and to celebrate the rule of law in a democracy. Hundreds of years ago in England, a homeowner behind on his (not her) mortgage could pay the arrears on May 1 and avoid a foreclosure. This is also International Workers Day. Workingmen of the world unite and celebrate their rights. This is also Labor Day in Mexico. Hispanics are laboring this day by boycotting work and business in support of the first National Day Without Immigrants. Today is also “Mission Impossible” Day in the United States, a day of mourning to decry Emperor Bush’s proclamation: “Mission Accomplished.” That it isn’t. Busy day.
McMansions and the (Extended) Family of Tomorrow (April 24, 2006)
Posted in Economics, Housing, Society on April 24, 2006 by e-commentary.orgMcMansions are littering the landscape. Monoliths that consume space and resources. Some McStructures are not even finished on the inside because the goal is to loom large when viewed from the outside. “Potemkin Estates.” The larger structures demand increasingly expensive hvac systems (heating ventilation and air conditioning systems).
Kids are returning home, with and without jobs, and flopping in their former bedroom or on the couch in the basement. They are “failing to launch.” The kids can’t afford a home even if they can find a job. Some parents charge rent or require contributions for food and utilities. This relationship may develop into a permanent and positive lifestyle. Extended families may pool their talents and grow old together in one mega-structure. One sibling may be a single parent; the others can help raise the kids/grandkids. One sibling may go and come at unusual times to juggle two part-time jobs in the craven new economy. There will be no retirement, no social security, and no long-term health care, so the kids will be expected to take care of their parents in this assisted-living situation. The home theater room will be remodeled into another bedroom. Situation comedies (tragedies?) on the tv relocated to its traditional home in the den will chronicle the exploits of the new mega-nuclear family. The McMansion could bring families together in unexpected ways.
“A Man’s Home Is His Gated Community” (April 10, 2006)
Posted in Housing, Law, Society, Supreme Court on April 10, 2006 by e-commentary.org“A man’s home is his castle.” This maxim reflects a fundamental social and economic compact in Anglo-American law. All of us agree to treat each other’s home as if it were a castle which frees each of us to do something more productive than to defend one’s home 24/7/365. A land of fortified castles is far less efficient and creative than a land of homes and businesses respected by all of us.
The recent Supreme Court case of Georgia v. Randolph, 547 U.S. ___ (2006), threatened to depart in a small way from this cornerstone of the Constitution. The Court addressed whether the police can search a home without a warrant when one occupant gives consent but another objects. The wife allowed the police to enter and search the home despite the objection of her husband who co-inhabited the residence. Other prior cases had allowed the police to enter if consent was given by the one inhabitant who was present. By a 5 to 3 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the search as unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment and invalid as to him. A man’s and a woman’s home is their castle not just his or her castle.
Some of those who are concerned about crime seek to expand the “castle doctrine,” a corollary to the “castle rule” that allows a person to use force including deadly force to protect oneself and others from attack. There is a countervailing “duty to retreat” under some circumstances. The “castle doctrine” has been expanding in recent years to allow one to pursue a possible assailant. The legislatures and courts must balance these concerns with care.
Gated communities are expanding in many regions of the Republic. The communities represent a rejection of the “castle compact” and a return to castles with gates and guards rather than draw bridges and moats. The denizens have their own private McFortress within the larger compound. They send their kids to private schools in equally guarded enclaves detached from the public. Their shelters shelter them from ordinary activities. The reaction is not entirely surprising in the face of criminal activity. However, the moated communities are changing the landscape and lifestyle of America.
Perjury, The American Way (February 20, 2006)
Posted in Law, Perjury/Dishonesty, Society on February 20, 2006 by e-commentary.orgHundreds of thousands of American swear every day to: “tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” and then consciously don’t. They may tell the truth and may tell nothing but the truth, but they don’t tell the whole truth. They are counseled beforehand not to tell the whole truth. They are counseled to lie. That practice does not vary in any state or federal court in the Republic. Lying is formally institutionalized. Alberto “Torture Boy” Gonzales continued the long and storied American tradition. In his confirmation hearings on January 6, 2005, the following exchange occurred:
SPECTER: Thank you very much, Senator Salazar.
Judge Gonzales, would you now stand for the administration of the oath? Raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you will give before the Senate Judiciary Committee will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
GONZALES: I do.
SPECTER: Would you begin, Judge Gonzales, by introducing your beautiful family?
During the questioning, Senator Feingold (D-Wis.) inquired into whether the president could authorize warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens. In response, Torture Boy discounted the possibility and diverted Congress’ attention by referring to the matter as a “hypothetical situation” at a time when it was a settled practice of the president. The whole truth? He lied, but he is in power so lying is de rigueur. Perjury is the American Way.
[See Carol D. Leonnig, “Gonzales Is Challenged On Wiretaps,” The Washington Post, January 31, 2006, page A07.]
King (January 16, 2006)
Posted in Law, Race, Society on January 16, 2006 by e-commentary.orgKing offered the non-violent vision at a time when frustration was fomenting violence. Others fomenting violence made the non-violent course of action more appealing. The non-violent avenue is more likely to overcome in a society that tolerates free speech and protects due process. The success of King was as much a product of his determined and incremental challenge to American apartheid as it was of the resilience of American society to respond to his challenge to injustice.
The Coming Depression Is Not Depressing (May 9, 2005)
Posted in Economics, Society on May 9, 2005 by e-commentary.orgAmerica is on the precipice of a long, harsh and grinding Depression. Don’t get depressed. The experience will be uplifting. Americans have become fat, lazy and arrogant. The coming Depression will make all of us lean, hard working and humble, the true American family values. Those few Americans who have acquired three Burger Heaven franchises have become smug members of the petty bourgeoisie. They have conspired to eliminate the safety net that underpinned life in America. They will be the ones to fall the farthest and land the hardest without the internal fortitude to survive. All of us will be better for it.
Ohio – Not Forgettin’ Ohio; The Battleground State Battles On (May 2, 2005)
Posted in Bush, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Constitution, Crime/Punishment, First Amendment, Military, Politics, Society on May 2, 2005 by e-commentary.org[May 4 is the 35th anniversary of the incident at Kent State]
The battleground in Ohio in the Fall of 2004 could become another battleground in the Fall of 2006 or the Spring of 2007. America engaged in one of its periodic civil wars when the Ohio National Guard attacked kids who disagreed with America’s actions in the earlier Iraq. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (not a law firm) chronicled the activities in the eponymous essay entitled “Ohio.” “Got to get down to it, soldiers are gunning us down.”
The state revealed its character in the last election. Democracy flourishes in places like the Ukraine because the people demand it. The Republicans own Ohio and would not allow democracy to flourish there. With some commendable exceptions, Ohioans did not demand democracy. Not a good start. A cradle of democracy is a better starting place than a graveyard.
The Guard was always a hybrid group of militia that could both “provide for the common defense” and “promote the general welfare.” They were the backup local police and EMTs and weekend warriors who could spell the regular military for a few weeks or months at the front. They have been swept up in a Back Door Draft (BD) with “stop gap” orders in support of an illegal war. Bush has eviscerated the very haven he sought to avoid active military service to his country. Few will go into the Guard in the future except as a last desperate resort. When there is a need for Guardsmen to help after a hurricane in Florida, a tornado in Oklahoma, a wild fire in Montana, or an earthquake in Alaska, there may be no one there to assist. And there will be no one there to assist in a generation.
When the kids get conscripted in the Bush Front Door Draft (FD) to support the Second Crusades, will they resist? Will the few remaining members of the Guard shoot them or lay down their arms? Will this new generation of returning Guardsmen be willing to shoot American kids who don’t want to be departing Guardsmen? Time, they say, will tell. Forgettin’ Ohio? “How can you run when you know.”
e-commentary 