RACISM & TRIBALISM

 

 The longer that social and political issues are driven by ethnic or tribal concerns rather than by cross-tribal economic inequalities, the harder it will remain to move democratic institutions, including our own, to a higher plain.  This statement is certainly true for nations in the Mid East, South Asia and Africa, where kinship culture has lead to explosive violence and ethnic cleansing.   Interestingly, this observation is now front and center in connection with the debate over race relations stirred up by the Zimmerman acquittal.  Should we be debating racism, African-American urban culture, or both?  I submit we should take a look at the culture as well as the specific crime.

Let us imagine that St. Peter is not quite sure what to do with Trayvon Martin following his untimely death.  He decides to give Trayvon a choice:  “Son, do you want to be remembered as the victim of racial profiling and stand your ground laws and be assigned to the house with Mr. King, Rosa Parks and a few white freedom riders?  Or would you rather go to the house that Malcom X built.  It is a little on the loud side with all those rappers and angry intercity organizers.  You will be remembered as that proud young black man who got physical with an older, bigger and better armed dude who did not like you walking in his neighborhood.”  Which would be more attractive to Trayvon?  A symbol of racial injustice or a life cut short because he followed the rules of the tribe and did not back down? A victim or an urban legend?

           Political debate in this country has never been so fragmented, with the impossibility of reaching common ground.  One reason for this dilemma is that we are witnessing a “nova burst” of tribalism in America.  Wealthy white conservatives have encouraged and supported tribalism because once this era comes to a close, their political power base is gone forever.  They need the tribes to agree on anything but economic inequality.  They need the tribes to work at cross purposes.  They need the tribes to be afraid of each other and of their government.

 The wealthy conservatives must know, now that they have lost the Latino tribe, it is only a matter of time before the Evangelical tribe decides that pocket book issues are as important as the family value ones.  They need the conversation to be about race, immigration and sexual/birth preferences, not wealth distribution.  Now wealthy conservatives  are the ones who need to be afraid of losing their “trickle down” economy controlled by puppet masters at the top.

          The 1960s saw the consolidation of the African-American tribe that remains with us today.  Following the initial push for civil rights, we saw the emergence of black identity in our universities, in the jungles of Vietnam and in the inner cities.  This was followed by decades of a tough as nails urban culture encouraged by the entertainment industry, professional athletics, and the media.  Being black and supporting the tribe became more important than supporting all of the other folks facing economic inequalities, be they Asian, Appalachian or Latino.  To be fair, each of the other underprivileged groups has gathered around their own tribal leaders.  The Scots-Irish Appalachian tribe goes back hundreds of years.

          I believe that the evolution of the African American tribe was a necessary step in the history of black integration into the American cultural fabric.  I further believe some of the clichés, myths and negative characteristics of being part of the tribe are now hurting that integration. The glorification of urban culture and street justice were responsible, at least in part, for perceptions on both sides leading up to the Zimmerman episode and many others of a similar nature.  These isolating, self centered tribal tendencies are preventing the black community from taking its place at the vanguard of the push for social democracy for all Americans.

          Thankfully, several developments will hasten the decline of the negative characteristics of black tribalism.  First, the election and eight year leadership of Barack Obama, who has politically represented all Americans in need of social democracy, presents a none urban model of black identity; second, an influx of younger Americans who see past color barriers in their relationships and do not believe violent abd sexist urban culture is a positive force for change; and third the obvious need to replace racisim with economic inequality as the major impediment to social progress. Lastly, if “Country-Rap”, also known as “Hick-Hop” is really gaining in popularity, maybe the tribal walls are coming down faster than we imagine.  The music is always the first to know.

SECOND POT OF COFFEE THOUGHTS (2)

·        Most local mayors and state governments are actually doing the work of the people as opposed to federal senators and house representatives who are not.  How did Pennsylvania get stuck with this Governor and legislature which follow the dysfunctional federal model of hurry up and do nothing? Maybe Pennsylvania really is a miniature USA, with democratic east/west boarders, a republican interior and political grid-lock.

 

·       Thank goodness our non responsive federal government has the Sunday talk shows and cable news to vent the country’s build-up frustrations.  It sure beats tanks surrounding Washington’s corridors of power and a million people in the streets demanding a do-over.

 

·       The resent military takeover in Egypt offers an excellent example of why democracy does not equal freedom or pluralism.  A presidential election in a Christian country with a Mormon candidate facing off against the grandchild of an African Muslim, that’s pluralism.

 

·       The new thriller zombie movie World War Z inserts into the “give me liberty or give me death” debate a bit of humor and something to think about.  Apparently the North Korean leadership was able to defeat the zombie threat in its territory by pulling the teeth of all of its citizens so that no individual could infect another.  Ergo, no liberty from mandatory tooth extraction and no death. (I have heard it is impossible to find a good steak in North Korea anyway)

 

 

·       How much liberty would our citizens be willing to surrender in order to locate and disarm a terrorist with a suitcase bomb that had entered the country?

 

·       Knowing that 9/11 spawned the Patriot Act and that a couple of teenagers with pressure cookers have effectively silenced the recent NSA revelations on monitoring our communications, what controls would be accepted if a nuclear device or gas attack decimated an American city?

 

·       The same movie makes a great commentary on building walls to keep out undesirables. (in this case zombies)  The Israeli attempt to do so results in chaos theory prevailing, just like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Despite the tallest walls that special effects could create, the Holy Land is gobbled up faster than the last bagel on Sunday morning.

 

·       These fictional End Days in Israel are not what the evangelical community has predicted, presumably because no Heavenly Father in his right mind is going to rapture hungry zombies into his holy domain.

 

 

·       While walls on our southern boarders certainly have a psychological effect, it is important to remember that foreign nationals are more resourceful than zebra mussels, killer bees and Asian carp, which defeat manmade impediments to migration with amazing efficiency.  

 

·       A decade ago I thought my family was way ahead of the curve in naming children.  My sister and brother in law liked to combine his Italian last name, an Irish middle name and a mystical first name from India.  Today such names are as common as our heritages and worldviews are diverse.

 

·        This does not mean I understand Kayne West naming his new child “North”.

 

·        The mixing of gene pools produces the most beautiful and talented of children.  Barack Obama and Tiger Woods are great examples of a break out of thousands of others who are now at the top of their respective professions.  Somehow, when male gametes from one culture meet female gametes from another, the whole is greater than its parts.

 

·       Kayne West gametes meeting Kim Kardashian gametes to produce North West is not a good example of this phenomenon. Any couple, who would plan a wedding at the Egyptian pyramids in the middle of a “hot” civil war, should not qualify.

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NOBODY KNOWS ANYTHING

 

I have a friend who has a habit of ending many of our discussions with the phrase “nobody knows anything.”  For a long time I simply thought he was a glass half empty kind of guy and too pessimistic when it came to many topics.  I now believe he may be a realist with much wisdom to offer.

          We often talk about the economy.  When I eagerly bring up a new investment scheme, he listens carefully before puncturing my premise and reminding me “nobody knows anything” when it comes to predicting future economic events.  He points out that we are in Star Trek territory with the Federal Reserve money printing, where no man has gone before.  He believes my hours of watching CNBC and reading Barron’s are a waste of time.  For every pundit I quote, he counters with a reliable source who claims the exact opposite will happen.

          I fare little better on world events.  When I make my case for democratic processes flowing from the Arab Spring my friend claims that the Biblical end times are just as likely.  If I point out a probable result because “history repeats itself”, he delivers another version of events with a different ending.

          Because my friend is a retired surgeon I thought I could pin him down on medicine and science.  No such luck. He knows by heart the multiple times the AMA has completed a study only to be refuted a short time later by a new study.  He knows the reversals and revisions in biology, chemistry and physics.  He points out that the brightest theoretical minds in the world cannot begin to offer empirical proof of the “big bang” or string theory.

 I even come up on the short end of our discussions on local sports.  When the penguins lose in the playoffs and the Pirates are playing like one of the best teams in baseball he smiles and says “nobody knows anything.”

          The implications of this view on life are far reaching.  I believe there are four observations that may be made.  Each of them can help us to accept our “humanism” and the fact we are more alike than we think.

          First is the realization that the information age we are experiencing makes it possible to learn more, from multiple sources, so that we can determine with greater rapidity, how much we do not know.  As our knowledge begins to double every few years we may finally make it out of the first inning on the scale of human evolution.  I have no doubt that today, when it comes to knowledge, we are closer to the Neanderthal than we are to our ancestors 100 years from now.

          Second, the commentator, scientist, politician or theist who claims to have the only/final answers should not command our attention.  If we all adopt the attitude that “nobody knows anything” it would bring us all a bit closer on the journey through life.  Put another way, the truth is like humility, when you say that you have it, you don’t.

          Third, the so-called winners in life and by this I mean the wealthy and powerful are by and large the products of being in the right place at the right time. They really didn’t know anything unique, they were lucky.  This is why reading the bios and theories of self made men to gain wealth and fame (many of which contradict each other) is about as helpful as going to the casino.

          Lastly, while it may be true that “nobody knows anything” access to and accumulation of knowledge does not equal wisdom. There are wise men among us who do not claim to know more than the average individual, but who do understand the path to a live well lived.  They are wise enough to know that they cannot predict how any story will end.  Their wisdom is in making good use of the journey.

 

 

SECOND POT OF COFFEE THOUGHTS

·       According to the President of the Washington County Bar Association, the Court is hoping that its two newest jurists can “robe up” by Labor Day and not be forced to wait until after the November Election. Given the backlog and strain on the local legal system, it cannot come too soon.

 

·       Washington’s Mayor, Brenda Davis is looking more credible by the day in her dust up and recent decisions concerning the police department.  It sure trumps the past “hands off” attitude of East Washington and “hands in the till” approach in Pittsburgh.

 

·       The Washington County legal community is facing its own privacy debate over the efficacy of digital recording in the courtrooms. The issue is technology and cost savings v. protecting privileged communications.  Not quite on par with the national debate over security v. privacy, but important just the same.

 

·       If one government building had been torched in Turkey during the recent demonstrations, the stock market would have come down to my very low buy target for Turkish stocks.  Unfortunately, “buy stocks when there is blood in the streets” is a truism.

 

·       Not so in Syria where that portion of the Mideast will be an economic dead zone for decades.

 

·       As an observer of recent political history, it seems that most state and international violence prior to the Berlin Wall coming done, was based on ideology. (western democracy v. fascism and communism) Since 1989 most state violence and acts of ethnic cleansing have been tribal, sectarian, and/or based on ancient kinship relationships.

 

·       It is entertaining to watch the conservatives and Wall Street Journal editorial page agree with the President’s policy of gathering mega data for national security reasons while attempting to attack him at the same time.

 

·       It is even more entertaining to watch progressive Obama supporters disagree with the Patriot Act, IRS debacle and drone policy while trying to remain loyal to the President.

 

·       When both ends of the political spectrum are unhappy, somewhere there is sound/moderate policy at work and the President is marching right down the middle of the road.

 

·       One important takeaway on the economy: "Fed money printing, which is how its bonds are paid for, has restored wealth for those fortunate to own financial assets. For those still seeking work, the payoff is nowhere in sight." Barron’s 6/8/13

 

·       Over the past several years it has become clear that we need a special rehabilitation program for politicians suffering from “egoism”, with special classes on how to control social media urges.  First step to recovery: “We admitted we were powerless over our egos/social media and that our lives have become unmanageable.” 

 

·       There is a scientific theory, gaining acceptance in energy circles, that recurring deep earth chemical reactions and not fossil fuels are responsible for natural gas deposits.  If this turns out to be true and Washington County is sitting on an inexhaustible supply of the stuff, our backyards will be as important as Texas, the North Slope and Saudi Arabia combined, for the next 100 years. WSJ, MIND AND MATTER, 6/8/13

 

·       The government will soon offer a “triple play special” on monitoring our communications. Those individuals who agree to the monitoring of their mail along with the already monitored phone and internet services will receive a revised edition of the novel 1984 and a prominent bumper sticker that proudly announces: “MY LIFE IS AN OPEN BOOK.  WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO HIDE?”

 

JESSIE WHITE AVATARS RUN AMUCK

 

I hope that Representative White does not interpret these remarks as a political attack from one of his enemies.  I believe that he can learn from the events of last week and see the experience as an exercise in humility and not as the culmination of his political opponents trying to humiliate him.

 I am a democrat and not one of his constituents.  I have adamantly disagreed with his position on the Washington County reassessment debate and believe it amounts to political show-boating.  The citizens of Washington County deserve to pay property taxes that are fair and equitable.  His repeated attacks against the lawyers and school districts who seek to achieve this goal have been misplaced, personal and vicious.

            Conversely, I have for the most part, supported Representative White’s efforts to look under the rug of the oil and gas industry in South Western Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately, because of the recent social media disclosures, his work on this important issue has been badly damaged and his actions have caused irreparable harm to the cause, for all of us.

            At the risk of making a point that goes without saying, there is a deep chasm separating the politician who seeks elective office to become a statesman, where there are two sides to every issue, and one who seeks elective office to advance an individual personality cult and/or to acquire a dedicated power base.  The latter type of politician seeks to make enemies in order to carve out a following and make a name for himself, without regard for good governance.

 Similar to the case before us, there are also lawyers who become emotionally attached to their client’s causes and journalists who are unable to stay unbiased when reporting on political events.  In all these cases, professionalism is forgotten; unwarranted blame is assessed against the perceived “enemy” and little of worth is accomplished.

            I would like to make a few observations on social media in this affair.  I have written in the past that those futurists who predict that these new methods of communication will soon become the vehicle for local news and replace newspapers are dead wrong.  Jesse White’s antics help prove my point. Facebook, twitter, hidden e-mail identities and the like are fraught with emotional knee jerk reactions and outright falsehoods that belie accurate reporting. (The O-R was correct in canceling impossible to verify comments to editorial letters on its online site)

On the other hand, there is nothing unique in what Representative White was attempting to do.  Since the invention of the printing press, writers have used false or hidden names to advance their agendas.  Heretical theologians did so to save their heads.  In Paris before the French Revolution, everyone tried to guess the authors of the hundreds of political pamphlets circulating on the streets.  What makes this episode more egregious is that it feels like an attack on our democratic principles when an elected official seeks to boost his political standing by secretly creating online fictitious supporters.  Jesse White avatars run amuck.  A little like science fiction and a little like a trip to the graveyard to manufacture votes on Election Day.

 It is difficult to believe that Representative White could have gained much political traction through these self serving and childish actions.  When his older constituents, who make up a majority of the voters, read about the allegations, they will have little idea what all the fuss is about.  Most of them have never been on facebook or read an e-mail response to an online letter.  They know Mr. White through the newspaper, the last township meeting or the local bingo.

 In other words, his game playing if left undetected, would have had little influence on Jesse White the candidate.  Somehow I think that Mr. White knew this.  His online actions were about “being right” and “getting the enemy” not about getting votes.

Initially lying and blaming the investigation on his political opponents and then changing his story to “my opponents made me do it” was not sound damage control.  He should have done a complete mea culpa and parked his ego in the closet.  Even a loose cannon like ex Congressman Anthony Weiner was able to be more contrite after his social networking exploits.

  Representative White can probably recover from this self inflicted wound by taking some of his boundless energy and directing it in a more statesmanlike manner to the issues at hand.  I hope that he does.  A lot less sniping and a lot more legislating and measured discourse would be good for his district and for his political future.

 

Put the New Judges to Work

 

The voters of Washington County are to be congratulated regarding the recent primary election of judges.  It is unfortunate that many Judicial elections are determined by politics, name recognition and/or ballot position.  In this primary, voters of both parties were able to sift through the white noise of eight candidates to elect two judges who will serve the County for many years to come with hard work and judicial acumen. Certainly the overwhelming vote total for our two new judges in both primaries is a testament to a consensus and good judgment over party affiliation.

Now the Governor and Supreme Court must show the same common sense and agree to immediately appoint both Ms. Costanza and Mr. Lucas to the bench.  There is no reason to deprive the citizens of Washington County of their newest judges who are assured a spot on the bench in November.  The court system is overworked and behind schedule.  These two primary winners should be permitted to put on their robes and dig in as soon as possible.

 

A WORD TO THE GRADUATES

 

"May you live in interesting times" often referred to as the Chinese curse and quoted to good effect by Robert Kennedy certainly has come true for our recent college graduates.  The class of 2013 has unlimited opportunity to fix what their parents have blown asunder.  I believe with a little help, they will be up for the task and do us all proud.

For the young political science graduate, there is a daily open classroom of American democracy to study and repair.  With gun violence, immigration reform, global warming and unemployment begging for congressional attention, one third of the committees in the House of Representatives are instead, investigating the White House administration.  The opportunity for meaningful legislation is slipping away as the political barricades go up.  The president’s second term is becoming an ongoing battle to defend his legacy from the first term.

It feels like my graduation in 1973, when I was still wondering what a newly minted political science major did for a living.  I spent the summer of 1973 traveling through Mexico and the West Coast, drinking beer and watching congressional hearings from another time and place. After the helicopter took the president away, I was not sure what kind of country my generation was inheriting and whether it was worth fixing.  Like so many of my peers, I shrugged my shoulders and entered law school.

In today’s world there are far too many lawyers out there cannibalizing each other.  I recommend sticking with political science as a career and studying how to make our democracy last another century or two. We boomers, for the most part, became lawyers and look how that turned out.

The graduate with a degree in journalism, who actually wants to report or write about national and world events beyond sound bites, facebook and twitter has some interesting choices to make.  First, where to work?  Print journalism is disappearing faster than the old journalists are hanging up their columns.  Second, do we really need another memoir by a member of the millennial generation or more books about vampires in love?

 I hope that those graduates who are debating whether to stick with the writing profession go see Lucky Guy with Tom Hanks and read the April 29, 2013 piece by NYT columnist David Brooks entitled Engaged or Detached?  I suggest the play, which recently opened in New York, because it shows that good old fashion investigative reporting can make a difference.  I recommend the David Brooks’ article because it struck a chord with me on how the journalist impacts the reader. 

Brooks maintains that the engaged journalist reminds his audience: “of the errors and villainy of the opposing side.”  In short, the engaged journalist aligns with a specific political team.  On the other hand, he suggests that the detached writer has a different worldview.  The goal here is to: “remain mentally independent because {the writer} sees politics as a competition between partial truths, and wants to find the proper balance between them, issue by issue.”  I have a hunch that our newest crop of journalists may make excellent detached writers and give us years of insight that: “spark conversation about underlying concepts, underlying reality and the underlying frame of debate.”

I will lump math and economics majors together because of their affinity for getting MBA’s and going into finance.  We need more math majors to teach math and economics majors to teach economics and go into research. We need to properly compensate them so that they will do so. Goldman Sacks should not be permitted to suck up all of our best and brightest in these fields to produce new algorithms that will hasten the next financial crash.    

You future engineers, teachers and physicians are easy to address.  Simply continue to learn your vocation and begin to practice your professions with all possible haste.  The need for new blood to build and fix infrastructure as well as to manage industrial concerns is paramount.  Government must give engineers the necessary funding to fix a crumbling America.  The same is true with teaching, where the Scandinavian model deserves a close look.  In Northern Europe teachers are paid and valued as top line professionals.  Our future physicians will need to learn the ever changing medical trade within the framework of the ever changing health care environment.

Those graduates who pursue the classics, drama, the fine arts and languages are to be encouraged and supported because our country is not simply a day to day concern, divorced from history.  We are also part of civilization and everything that being “civilized” entails.  A country without these career paths will wither on the vine.  We must remember that saving a place for the classics does not mean that every plumber must read Homer in the original text.

Lastly, a word of apology to all of our graduates. Your elders have saddled you with enormous debt, both personally and as a nation.  Many of us gave up our idealism and our parents’ role modeling to live beyond our means instead of saving and providing for you.  We are now scrambling for the exits with a larger piece of the national pie that we deserve.

Please forgive us and do not totally forsake us.  We have gained a bit of practical wisdom along the way that may be of some assistance. However, in the last analysis, it will be your own enthusiasm and instinct that will save the day.