Reflections and Plans

 REFLECTIONS:

Most of us view the New Year holiday as a day to stake stock of the year that has passed and make plans for the year ahead. Of course some of us will view this holiday as a time to get over that hang-over from the night before. I don’t do that anymore. My advancing years and growing aversion to pain have taught me not to go down that road again. So for the New Year holiday we just chill out, relax and do a little thinking about the past year and what lies ahead.

To say 2012 has been a big year is a serious understatement. The year got off to a big start with a birth in the family. Our younger daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl in January. Anyone who has read this blog knows I’ve written about Kaya a couple of times and mentioned her several other times in these essays. That’s five grandchildren for us, from age twelve down to (almost) age one. We take particular pride in each one of them. They are very special people in our lives and each one brings a special kind of happiness to our existence. We always keep our grandchildren in mind as my wife and I engage in some of the social/political actions we’ve taken this year, and they are always foremost in our thoughts as we continue to develop ideas and actions related to the world we live in. If there is anything sacred in our belief system, it is that we want to contribute to a better world for our children and our grandchild to inherit.

The past year has been a year of professional change for me and my kids. For me a change has come in the form of a new job with all new areas and subject matters to learn about. This is a return to management in a great organization. The challenges have been many, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I said some time ago in this forum that I enjoy learning new things and I view change as one of those things in life that keep us young at heart. In the past year I’ve also told you about the advances in both my daughters’ careers, and how proud we are for their achievements.

In addition to all the changes and new aspects of life we've experienced, I’ve had many moments of both fun and consternation watching our government and our politics weave its way through our culture and our lives. What a year it has been! In spite of the last gasps of partisanship we’re seeing in these last weeks of this year as we peer over the fiscal cliff, I still believe this was a defining year for the country. I think the country loudly said that the extreme conservatism that has dominated the news is not what this country really wants. Instead, I believe the electorate said in a pretty clear voice that moderation, common sense, and middle class people deserve government’s favor- not the rich or these mythical “job creators” we’ve heard so much about. Several movements sprang up for a while then faded into the mainstream like the Occupy Movement. It didn’t last long as a physical presence, but I think it helped set the stage for those who recognized there is basic economic injustice in our country.  That movement got people to notice the issue, and I believe it mattered in November when we cast our votes.

Of course this was also a year to be remembered for its disasters, natural and man-made. Many people suffered loss from horrendous and unprecedented storms. Many around the world suffered from the ravages of war and domestic conflict. At home, violence claimed the lives of many thousands who died needlessly. The image of the innocents who died was captured momentarily in our conscientiousness by the death of little children in Newtown. Saddest of all is the thought that they are only 20 of the nearly twelve thousand who die each year from gun violence. Perhaps the tragic events this year will finally give rise to a new movement to start ridding our culture of these instruments of death and violence. 2012 may be the year we look back on and say, “We finally decided to do something about it”.

There were so many things of importance that happened in our collective public life that it is impossible to recount them all. Thanks for giving me an outlet to comment on these events and on my family over the last year. Being able to write- just the act of writing- has been a healthy thing for me personally. I have had some very positive responses and some very negative reactions too. It is all good- if we can share some thoughts about the events that affect us, and continue to exchange ideas in respectful ways.

PLANS:

It just so happens, this is the 100^th essay I’ve published since I began doing this blog. It’s kind of strange that this landmark number falls right on the New Year. Believe me; I didn’t plan it that way. These essays have been read over 3500 times and they have been seen in over two dozen counties around the globe. It has been seen on every continent, except the Antarctic. (The blog site keeps track of all this for me, and I’ve enjoyed tracking it) This widespread viewing is not a testament to my writing by a long shot- but it is a testament to the reach of the Internet and it demonstrates the power of this global network connected to our homes, our businesses and our person. It also informs us that movements, causes, and ideas can travel very fast, and that change can happen when just a few determined people have a message the world is ready to hear.

I have really enjoyed the process of writing. My goal when I began doing this was to share some thoughts with anyone who might care to read them, but more importantly to exercise my own brain by writing. For many years I’ve been very regular about exercising my body with consistent visits to the gym. But over the last two years I wanted to make sure that I gave my mind a little more work to do in order to keep it in shape too. I know these aren’t the typical blogs, with one-page or half-page attention grabbers. These take a few minutes to read and they don’t feature many catchy graphics. But I wanted to do something that really got into a subject area for more than just the “quick bite” most of us experience in our media.  For those of you who have read them, I thank you so much.

I plan to change my “blogging” habits this year. From the time I began doing this in March of 2010, I have been pretty consistently doing one of these a week. This year I’m going to reduce the frequency of these essays to around one every couple of weeks or so. The new job I began this summer has now expanded and I will have many more responsibilities than when I began. So I’m giving myself a little more room to stretch in my new professional role. I hope in doing that, I can be more thoughtful and better in what I present in this blog- and you won’t have to put up with me every week. Another reason to cut back a bit on this is to revisit some of the other activities I enjoy, but didn’t engage in so much while I concentrated on the writing. I want to get reacquainted with my old love of photography and get back to working on my painting. I have no particular talent in these art forms- but damn, I love doing them. I also want to work on my archery, a new interest I took up last year.  And, just like doing this blog so regularly the last two years or so, I’d just like to do some other things I enjoy too. There is only so much time in a day or a week, and I think we should all do the things that make us happy. I am so lucky to have several interests that I enjoy and the wherewithal to pursue them.

As I plan for the year to come I know that sometimes the best-laid plans can get left by the side of the road. We never know when events, opportunities, or unexpected setbacks put us on a course we didn’t see coming. That was the case for me this last year. Fortunately the unexpected changes I went through were good ones. The lesson for me is that we need to be open to new things, open to new challenges and (forever) open to learning. Learning new things, and experiencing new things is the key to longevity and happiness. I don’t want to ever feel stuck in a life that holds nothing new. 

I am planning to have a great year- but I’ll take whatever comes from 2013. I hope you have a great year too. I’ve written quite a bit about the idea of “community”, because I believe when we act as a community we all prosper. I rely on the community of my family and the community of my friends- but I continue to believe in the greater community we all share. Perhaps this will be a year when the value of “community” will return for all of us.

Happy New Year!!

Thanks for looking in.    

Christmas Card

I'm not sure exactly why, but I've had a very difficult time writing a Christmas message this week. Perhaps the rigors of the difficult political climate we've endured over the last year, with so many people marginalized or blamed for our problems; or thoughts of the constant struggles of economic hardship for many families has finally caught up to me. Perhaps I'm feeling the numbness of sorrow mixed with outrage over the senseless deaths in Newtown just week ago that will surely mare the Christmas season for those families, and many others for years to come. Perhaps I'm just having a week when words don't come to me so easily as they do other weeks.

So I thought I'd just share a simple song of hope this Christmas season. I considered John Lennon's Christmas song: So This Is Christmas (War is Over). I decided not to share it because the video imagery is very difficult to see, particularly this week. Even though the message is good, the video contains many vivid images of child-victims of war and violence. Instead I selected another iconic John Lennon song: Imagine. It isn't a Christmas song per se, but it is a song of hope and speaks of imagining (maybe even creating) a more peaceful world.

Lennon was an artist in every sense of the word- a musician- a poet- and a dreamer. This year more than any in our recent past it might be good to devote this Christmas season to imagining a better world- and maybe doing some small thing to make it happen.

I will be spending a quiet, peaceful holiday with my family. They are the foundation in my life, and I hope all of you can say the same about your family. The best times of my life are the times  when we are all gathered together. Even though we do that often, Christmas is a special gathering and one we all enjoy most of all. All the best to you during the Holiday season.

Happy Holidays!
Thanks for looking in.

Catholic Social Teaching & The Fiscal Cliff

One thing I admire about the Catholic Church is its teachings on social issues and social justice. The Church is a global entity and there is much to be critical of in both its doctrines and its practices in modern times, and throughout its history. But, there are a few areas where I could not agree more.  The Church has a long history of developing its teachings on social justice, and a quick review of the evolution of those teachings shows that they have changed over the years, but never in a way that varies much from the core values they have always reflected. Much of the Church’s doctrine in this area comes from the thoughts and writings of early intellectuals like St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo. In spite of some evidence to the contrary, the Church has always professed its allegiance to helping the poor, and often done remarkable work to aid the poor.

As I was listening to some political pundits on a Sunday morning talk show I got to thinking about the connection between the big issue of the day (The Fiscal Cliff) and my recollections about Catholic Social Teachings. (On a side note: in my youth I would have been at Sunday Mass during this hour instead of watching TV, but my relationship with the Church has obviously changed) Nonetheless a relationship between these two issues was crystal clear in my mind.  “The Fiscal Cliff” is the name given to a set of government events all scheduled to take place on January 1^st. These events are: 1) The Bush tax cuts on all incomes will expire and old (higher) rates go back into effect, 2) The payroll deduction tax break we got three years ago will vanish, meaning that paychecks will have more taxes taken out, and 3) Massive program cuts will go into effect automatically, based on an agreement (placed in law) - known as the “sequester”. The sequestered cuts were put into place by the Parties themselves to put political pressure on both Parties to get a deal and avoid having to go over the cliff. The sequestered cuts are horrible news for both Parties; there will be massive cuts to social programs Democrats like, and monumental cuts to military programs Republicans like. Many believe that failure to resolve our fiscal problems and going over the cliff will lead to another recession.

The Congress and the President have had about a year and a half to resolve the fiscal issues they created the last time they haggled over the debt ceiling but, of course, they are waiting until the last minute. As of now both sides have shown little movement towards arriving at a compromise. The president wants higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans (among other things) as part of his solution, and the Republicans want to preserve tax breaks for the wealthiest and cut social programs and Entitlement program spending as part of their solution. Both sides seem pretty stuck on their point of view, so little progress is being made as they watch the days pass by. The President believes he should not give up his core position because he won the election campaigning on this very issue, while the Republicans believe their position reflects their constituent’s beliefs and Party doctrine. This is all fairly simple to understand- it’s just that neither side will give in and make room for a deal. All the national polls favor the President’s position and indicate the Republicans need to give in. But they probably won’t.

As the pundits were going over this ground in their panel discussion they began to talk about why the public so overwhelmingly supports the idea of taxing the rich more. That’s when the Catholic teachings hit me. One of the panelist mentioned that over the last thirty (30) years middle-class income has been stagnant- the middle class has not advanced at all. During the same thirty years the wealth of the top 2% of Americans has increased almost 300%. It struck me that our desire to see the rich taxed more is a matter of social justice. The Catholic Church has a saying that “there can be no Peace without Justice”. That is an incredibly profound and accurate statement. I don’t think it is possible for humans to accept peace or negotiate in peace as long as fundamental injustice rules the day. The income disparity in this country today is at its worst level of “unbalance” in our history, and it is fundamentally unjust. I believe this truth was reflected in the results of the last election- many voters connected with the President's message on tax increases for the rich.

The early thinkers in the Catholic Church developed the notion about the injustice of accumulating wealth while others suffered. Those thoughts were first published in an encyclical letter by Pope Leo XIII, in 1891- Rerum Novarum.  This encyclical advocated for Distributism while at the same time condemned the pure capitalist and pure socialist ideologies of the day. Distributism holds that property ownership is a fundamental right and that the means of production should be spread as widely as possible among the general populace, rather than being centralized under the control of the state (pure Socialism), or by accomplished individuals (pure Capitalism). Distributism therefore advocates a society marked by widespread property ownership, and according to some economists, maintains that such a system is key to bringing about a just social order. It basically recognizes that income and wealth should be fairly distributed in a fair and just society. Governments achieve this, and manage it through fiscal and social policies.

The idea of economic justice (promoted by Catholic teachings) is at the heart of overwhelming public opinion supporting higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.  Unfortunately the issue of taxing the wealthy more is the primary stumbling block in resolving the fiscal cliff. I’m not sure how many Catholics are aware of the Church’s teachings on this matter, but these teachings can inform the voting public and those making critical decisions. My guess is that many Catholic voters in the U.S. are unaware of the Church’s position. I say that because (for example) the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops declared the Paul Ryan budget proposals “immoral”, yet many Catholics supported Ryan's candidacy for Vice-President. My point here is that many people of faith profess to vote their moral (faith based) conscience, but in reality tend to pick their positions based on more secular, political  beliefs. For my money making decisions based on secular thinking is just fine- it’s the way I do it. But there are a great many among us who use their religion to guide them in these matters-they just don’t  do it very consistently.  

I’ve never understood how devout Christians can cling so tightly to extremely conservative ideas. In the last thirty years Christianity and conservatism have become almost synonymous. In a country like ours there is tremendous diversity of ideas, and a great many issues over which to disagree. I know that it is impossible to attach comprehensive, all-encompassing labels (religious and political). For instance a good Catholic could never support the more liberal causes having to do with reproductive choice, but could easily support liberal social and fiscal programs if they go by the Church’s teaching on economic justice.  Often candidates and party policies embody mostly liberal or mostly conservative platforms, thus creating a difficult conflict for the faith-based voter in a secular government. Still I see in the story of Jesus (The New Testament) a great deal more material dealing with the poor and the down trodden, and social justice, than I see about sexual or reproductive matters. That says something to me about where the emphasis of Christian teaching lies, and why I never understood the connection between conservatives and Christians. Conservatives of today are all about shrinking the programs that address the issues Jesus spoke about. It is the opposite of Distributism. They tend to focus on some punitive form of accountability (fairly or unfairly applied) more than on the aspects of charity Christians preach.

Today as we stand at yet another manufactured crossroad of fiscal crisis, the core values we hold as a people should give us the guideposts by which we decide such important issues- not political motives driven by greed and favor for the rich. Whether those guideposts are planted in our path by religion or by our unique human conscience, I think we should look deeply into ourselves and our beliefs to arrive at a place marked by social justice. I hope our leaders can do the same.

Thanks for looking in.

Speaking Truth to Power

Our current gun culture simply ensures that more domestic violence disputes will end in the ultimate tragedy, and that more convenience store confrontations over loud music coming from a car will leave more teenage boys bloodied and dead…Handguns do not enhance our safety. They exacerbate our flaws, tempt us to escalate arguments, and bait us into embracing confrontation rather than avoiding it…What I believe is, that if he didn’t possess/own a gun, he and Cassandra Perkins would be alive today.”                   Jason Whitlock, Fox Sports Columnist

Speaking truth to power is never easy. Power doesn’t want to have the truth spoken. Power wants to control the message and never have it' message challenged. Power will often vilify and punish those who have the courage to speak real truth. Eventually truth wins. Eventually those who try so desperately to convince us that evidence, common sense, and our shared experience isn’t real, will succumb to the truth. It sometimes takes a very long while, but I always have faith that truth wins in the end.

Just a little over a week ago Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, and the mother of his child. He then proceeded to the Chiefs facility where he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head in the presence of his Coach and the team’s General Manager. Sports writer Jason Whitlock wrote an article criticizing the Chiefs organization for going ahead with a game the next day in the face of this horribly tragic event. His column went on to urge a serious conversation in this country over gun violence. The quotation above is part of that column. On the NBC Sunday Night Game that same weekend, sports announcer and commentator Bob Costas made a statement during the half-time show quoting Whitlock’s column and adding comments of his own favoring a real debate in this country over gun control.  As you might guess, Monday morning brought a torrent of criticism and downright hatred aimed at both Whitlock and Costas. The National Rifle Association (NRA) issued a strong statement against both men, and the right-wing talk radio machine ratcheted up to full strength crazy. They referred to Costas’ statement as a “rant”. On and on it went, as it always does. 

As you know the NRA is willing to defend any level of gun ownership, and in fact promotes gun ownership at every opportunity. The NRA has taken the position that gun ownership is an absolute right under the Constitution and is required in order to maintain this nation as a free country. They believe that any attempt to limit gun ownership or limit the types of arms or ammunition in America sets this country on a slippery slope to totalitarian rule and the total loss of our democracy. The NRA also has shown its willingness to use any political or economic means to silence those who would question their point of view or attempt to institute changes that threaten their absolute, intractable position on guns. So it was no surprise that when Costas and Whitlock used the Belcher situation to even raise the question for debate, they were met with the full force of NRA sponsored backlash. There were calls for Costas’ firing and for Whitlock’s dismissal. The more rabid nut-balls and “ditto heads” called for much worse treatment. But we have come to expect that thick-skulled thinking from the Limbaugh and Hannity crowd. Too many of them needed a class in critical thinking, but must have skipped school that day.

Situations like the one in Kansas City and all the other gun violence cases that have populated the news lately grab our attention and hold it for a short while. Then we settle back into the constant drone of the NRA rhetoric until the next horrible and avoidable shooting. It seems we only pay attention to the sensational cases, the athlete/celebrity cases, or the when someone has the audacity to mix an important civic issue with our football. But the real tragedy of the gun issue is that affects many thousands of lives a year that most of us never hear about. Guns are the cause of a pandemic of pain and loss in this country-and we need to change that.

I won’t bore you with the volume of evidence that supports gun control. The numbers are there-and they paint an unmistakable picture of a culture that is destroying itself because it clings to outdated notions instead of recognizing the plain facts staring us in the face. Reciting those same statistics now would be a useless waste of time. Instead I simply urge people to stop believing the old lines and allow yourself to speak truth and hear truth. The truth is that we need to control fire arms in America. My position would be to simply eliminate handguns from our culture. Go ahead, keep your shotguns and hunting rifles- but get rid of the handguns. There is only one purpose for handguns -and that purpose is to shoot people. The NRA is fond of its saying: guns don’t kill people-people kill people. The real truth is: people with guns kill people. Every legitimate study proves that guns kill hundreds of times more people than are ever protected by guns. It is time to re-examine the old myth that guns keep us free and protect us from our own government? Does anyone really believe that armed citizens would be any match for the US military- the most powerful armed force in the history of man? So don’t keep perpetuating the macho fantasy that our government would fear a bunch of guys with .38s and .357s. The Constitution is rarely absolute- it is subject to new interpretations and the 2^nd Amendment is not immune from legal re-examination. That's the real beauty of the Constitution. Remember that slavery was sanctioned in Article 1 of the Constitution- but that got changed.

The power that opposes rational debate over guns is the NRA and the congressmen they own. The NRA has been able to get its way in spite of all evidence to the contrary, because they are willing to walk into a congressman’s office and threat to fully finance a campaign against them if they cross the NRA. This act of political blackmail has been effective in preventing reasonable laws controlling guns and led to 11,700 gun deaths a year in this country. It is so important to learn the truth, then speak that truth over and over until it is heard.

Guns are just the latest example of our willingness as a culture to “believe” instead of “think”. We have seen the same pattern of thinking on global climate change. Those who denied the truth are far fewer now than just a few years ago- because we’ve decided to look at the undeniable evidence of climate change. We are finally accepting the truth that giving rich guys tax breaks doesn’t create jobs, and that wealth doesn’t “trickle down”. Why? Because there is no evidence of it- it’s just the opposite. For thirty years those who had a stake in us believing falsehoods got away with foisting economic lies on us. All along there were those who spoke truth to power and were shouted down, marginalized, made fun of, or just ignored- until they couldn’t be ignored any longer.

I am not a person of religious faith- but I have unshakable faith that the truth of things wins out in the end. History informs us that every myth eventually falls prey to evidence, rational thought, and undeniable evidence of truth. Some see the truth before others and I hope they keep shouting it at the powers that be. When it comes to guns, shouting the truth before another year passes will save thousands of lives.  We should be thanking Jason Whitlock and Bob Costas for their willingness to speak truth to power, as they give all of us the courage to do the same.

Thanks for looking in.

Greatness!

It isn’t very often that we get to witness greatness. Greatness in leadership usually only occurs when the times, and a special person come together at a moment when they are most needed.  That’s happened only a few times in our short history as a nation. I began re-thinking my notions about greatness after seeing the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln. I’ve always been very interested in our 14^th President, having read three different Abraham Lincoln biographies over the years. So, it was a special treat for me to see this movie. The portion of Lincoln’s life covered in the film only involves the last four or five months of his life. It’s based in the Doris Kearns Goodwin book Team of Rivals and concentrates on Lincoln’s efforts to get the Congress to pass the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery. The movie provided a truly fascinating glimpse into Lincoln’s life and character, as well as giving us a good look at the political atmosphere of the times. To top off the experience of that film, Daniel Day Lewis gave an extraordinary performance as Abraham Lincoln. When the film ended I felt as if I had actually seen the real Lincoln. Some years ago I had the chance to be in Washington D.C. and visit the Lincoln Memorial. For me, it was the most moving part of our visit to the Capital. Being there at the memorial, I could actually feel the greatness of Lincoln.

Reflecting on that experience and other thoughts I’ve had about great leaders in our history, I recognized that greatness is hardly ever recognized in its own time. For good reasons I think, greatness can only be truly appreciated when viewed through the long lens of time. For that matter some evils and other mischief also require a bit of time before we see it for what it is. An example would be the horrible Communist witch hunts of the 1950’s spearheaded by Senator Joe McCarthy. His particular brand of evil went on for several years before anyone dared rise up to stop it-meanwhile so many lives and careers got ruined. Returning to Lincoln, his greatness was not appreciated in his time in spite of the fact that he presided over the secession of half the country and the bloodiest war in our history in order to restore the country. No other President had, or has had to contend with a challenge of that magnitude. He met that challenge and saved the country while at the same time changing the very nature of the nation by leading the way to abolish slavery. Nonetheless, he faced unbelievably harsh criticism at every turn and was roundly despised by many in the country and by many in the government. Today’s political chicanery, name calling, and ugliness are nothing compared to the practices in Lincoln’s time. Through it all,he stayed very true to his duty as President. He preserved the nation- he preserved the Constitution- and he altered the social fabric of the country by causing those around him to heed the call of freedom upon which the whole thing was based. He did so largely by the force of his will and his indomitable character. That is greatness!

Lincoln’ claim to greatness came from his deep convictions and core values. That is not to say that he was always resolute in every position or solution. His election itself was the beginning of secession. Lincoln was the first President elected as a member of the relatively new Republican Party. Republicans were the more radical party of the day, replacing the Whigs, and were solidly anti-slavery. As Lincoln launched the Civil War to restore the Union and bring rebellious states back into the country he often struggled with the issue of slavery. He was deeply opposed to slavery but felt his obligation to preserve the Union was greater. Because of that conflict in his heart, he had some rather “inventive” thoughts to deal with slavery. For instance, he proposed moving all slaves back to Africa- to the country of Liberia (which he helped establish for that purpose). He also proposed moving freed slaves to western territories or just having the Federal Government simply buy all the slaves, then free them. For the first two years of his Presidency he was singled-mindedly determined to bring the Union back together and deal with the slavery issue separately. That strategy neither advanced the war effort nor paved the way to ending slavery. It finally came to Lincoln that freeing the slaves was the best way to achieve his goal of restoring the Union AND abolishing slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was his temporary solution to give more popular purpose to the war for Northerners, and set clear boundaries about reunification for Southerners. As the Civil War was ending, Lincoln needed to abolish slavery by law once and for all, and do it before the Southern states rejoined the Union; because he knew it could not pass with Southerners back in the Congress. Greatness was on display in his genius for molding the events and the times to achieve great ends. He was both cunning and determined achieve his ends.

Lincoln wasn't our only leader to demonstrate greatness that passes the test of time. Woodrow Wilson took us the through the “war to end all wars” and conceived of a planet governed by reason instead of global war. His idea for a League of Nations never came to be. Instead the world punished Germany and returned to isolationism which gave rise to the Nazi party, National Socialist movements, militaristic empires, and even more unspeakable death and destruction. It took two World Wars to see the greatness in Wilson’s vision. FDR was also a man of greatness. Often facing a fiery minority opposition, he led the country out of Depression by replacing fear with hope and crafting social changes that define our country to this day. Incidentally he also led us through (along with other great men) through WWII, the most devastating war in the history of man.  Lyndon Johnson’s greatness was in his willingness to forsake future political power to continue Lincoln’s work of ensuring civil rights for African Americans, and continuing FDR’s work of providing dignity to working men and women through the passage of Medicare and other social programs.   

Greatness is an amazing thing to behold and appreciate for its achievements, and for its rarity. We are facing huge fiscal, social, and international diplomatic issues today-most of them near crisis level. I believe that greatness lives somewhere in the mix of current events and today’s leaders, and is waiting to show itself. We have extraordinary men and women in leadership positions today. Like those who found greatness in the past, today’s leaders are suffering the pettiness of small-minded detractors who cannot recognize the core principals upon which greatness is built. These detractors harp at the small issues, mired in their partisan ideologies. Today we see that at work in the petty efforts by a few Senators to pick on Susan Rice in a desperate search for a scandal to pin on the President, or stick to non-sense pledges made to lobbyists in place of their duty to govern.  Folks like this have always been part of the American political landscape, but they have always faded in history’s memory because history prefers greatness to pettiness. Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, FDR, and all those who advanced our country dealt with the worst elements of political life, but overcame obstacles placed in their way by the puny and ignorant because they had a vision, and values that transcended pettiness.

Today’s fight is to rescue and restore the middle class from the ravages of economic and social unfairness and injustice. This turning point in our history will determine whether greed and selfishness robs the country of its remaining wealth and we fail, as other great societies of the past failed, when too few had too many riches; or whether government will stand for the middle class to create growth and prosperity as it did during other periods of prosperity in our past when the emphasis was on building the middle class, not catering to the obscenely wealthy. My best hope is that those who look through the long lens of history generations form now, will see that greatness overcame all obstacles once again.

Thanks for looking in.