Tuesday, July 28, 2009

A World Gone Crazy


A lot has happened since my last post. I took some time off to do some serious soul searching and self reflection. It seems as if in the last two months the entire political reality of our nation has finally lost all semblance of coherence and effectiveness. So many problems, and so little time to bring common sense to the table.

The first issue I will address is the whole so-called "birther movement". There are still idiots on the far right who insist that the Obama administration is illegitimate because Obama himself is supposedly not a US citizen. Everyone knows that in order to be President one of the requirements is that the prospective candidate be a natural born citizen. This nonsense first came up during the campaign for presidency in 2008. The Obama camp did a wonderful job of not stooping to the mudslinging tactics of their adversaries. Instead they produced official government documents from the state of Hawaii that proved that Obama was a natural born US citizen. Unfortunately this official documentation is not enough for some people. A few days ago MSNBC showed a clip from a journalist from the Huffington Post who walked around Capitol Hill interviewing Republican congressmen about the scandal. To my surprise, several of them had the gall to continue this ignorant charade. Responses ranged from "I would still like to see more proof" to "The matter is still under investigation". Only one person had the courage to do the right thing, to tell the truth instead of playing party politics. One Representative looked straight into the camera and said that "documentation has been provided. I believe President Obama was born where he said he was born". Now in the overall political landscape such a scandal is really unimportant. I started out with this topic only to point out the fact that grown men and women are actually still spending time debating a subject that never should have been brought up in the first place. If the Republicans really want to make a positive showing to the American people, then offer up suggestions on health care reform that are also money savvy so that the American people are taken care of without tanking the rest of our ailing economy. Instead of dealing with real issues, the House actually spent time today drafting and voting on a resolution dealing with the birthplace of our first Black president. Talk about wasting time and energy. They wonder why no one like politicians. Its because they are spending time playing games while the common Americans suffer from the credit crisis and a messed up health care system.

In other news, a prominent Black professor at Harvard was recently arrested for breaking into his own home. The controversy continues about whether or not the incident involved racism or racial profiling. It turns out that the professor was locked out of his home, he forced entry into the front door and while in the process was observed by some of the neighbors. They thought the place was being robbed and called the cops. A white officer showed up and the professor got indignant, asking if he was being harrassed because he was a black man. The exchange went on for awhile and ultimately the professor was arrested for disorderly conduct. There are all kinds of problems with this scenario. The officer should have had the common sense to realize it was the man's home, especially after he provided identification information. Also the verbal exchange, while unnecessary on the professor's part, didn't warrant an arrest. A black officer was also present while all of this was taking place and the 911 caller never assumed that the culprit was black. This doesn't appear to be a case of racial profiling like everyone keeps calling it, even though this evil is still very real and relevant in a supposedly post-racial America. However I would like to focus on the political pundits response to comments that Barack Obama made after the incident occurred. The president made an off the cuff remark that the arrest was "stupid". Thats it. Thats all he said. And the political world is up in a firestorm, once again over nothing. All week Fox News has had people on TV talking about how Barack had "undone all of the wonderful progress towards healing the racial tensions in America." Why because he called a stupid act what it was, stupid? Putting myself in the professor's shoes, I would be more than a little annoyed if ANYBODY showed up to my doorstep uninvited demanding that I show identification and treating me like I was a possible suspect. Color would have nothing to do with it. Much like the professor I would have complied with the police and produced the necessary information. So what if my language during the entire exchange is less than apropriate? Since when is that ever grounds for an arrest? There is no law that says I can't swear at an officer that is treating me like a criminal in MY OWN HOUSE. It is amazing how a simple understanding can be blown so out of proportion. What started out as a bad day for a professor and a well-intentioned deed by a neighbor suddenly took teh whole country back to the days before Martin Luther King's dream, at least thats what the media wants us to believe.

But don't worry, it gets a whole lot better. Because not only is Barack Obama not a citizen, and not only is he a racist for insulting all White cops in America for something that never happened and something he never said they did, but apparently our president is also a racist because he it being tough on Israel. That's right, according to the current administration, it is time for Israel to treat the Palestinians like human beings. Wow imagine that! People actually treating their neighbors like people and not animals or some plague or virus that needs to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Just imagine if someone would have had the guts to get tough with Hitler and demand that he stop the the Holocaust... before it actually happened. A novel idea that the country that claims to be the champion defender of equality, democracy and justice would stand up for the rights of people who have been silenced. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has repeatedly called on all Israeli settlements in current Palestinian lands to be dismantled. The Israeli government basically laughed in our face and continued building, claiming natural growth as some kind of justification for stealing land and resources that are not theirs. This behavior is just as evil as America wiping out the native indian population in the name of "Manifest Destiny" of Hitler annexing the Sudetenland to "unite all German speaking peoples. They ignore our demands for equality and civil rights, yet they demand our protection from Iran and the threat of nuclear weapons. Nevermind the fact that America has mad sure that Israel is the dominant military and economic power in the region. Nevermind the fact that Israel has its own not so secret nuclear weapons program that we ever so nicely asked them to disband. Of course those demands went no where too. This is what I like to call a dysfunctional relationship. We do all the work and yet when we ask them to play by our rules, then suddenly we have overstepped our bounds. Its like the kid who brings all the toys out to the playground and then doesn't get to play with any because all the other kids took them and won't share. Or its like the crazy girlfriend who gets jealous whenever you talk to any girl no matter who it is but she can talk to her ex at anytime of the night. Israel has to learn to play by the rules. American power can no longer be used as a tool to help the strong oppress the weak. Notice I said nothing about Israel not protecting itself. I believe that a two state solution is the only viable solution for peace in the middle east. While Israel cries and whines about the rantings and ravings of madmen, it should take a close look at the hardliner they just chose to lead their own country. Ahmadinejad is a crazy man, but he is not the one pulling the strings. As I said in earlier posts, if Iran acquires the bomb it will be purely for defensive purposes only. I refuse to believe that they are stupid and suicidal enough to actually launch an attack on the most powerful country in the region. Some tough love is the best thing for Israel right now. Maybe if the US steps back and lets them feel the heat they will come to their senses. I have just summarized the president's position on the matter. None of it was Anti-Semitic in the slightest, however those are the words that are wonderful political pundits are now using.

In short, I'm back and I'm here to stay. Better than ever and ready to sort through the craziness that we call life, one stupid problem at a time.