The demise of Tacoma Park
-
Some years ago when I was the president of the Tacoma Park board of
directors, I worked with a woman who was getting a Ph.D. in history. Her
dissertati...
Tripp County Weather
-
A few days ago temperature was around 106F, then the wind shifted to the
north and in about 30 minutes, temperature dropped to around 71F. What
looked like...
Oglala Lakota oddities from 2016 election
-
In South Dakota’s 2016 general election, Oglala Lakota was the only county
to vote yes to accept election-law revisions that the Legislature approved
in th...
The Ledge #652: Covers
-
I've always said that I have a folder on my laptop where I toss any great
cover version that I encounter, and when that folder is "full" it's time
for a...
The End of Another Year
-
I think it's back in 2005 that I started this blog without a clear idea of
where it might go. I got a lot of fun out of it at first, had some
followers and...
Goodbye, South Dakota
-
At 12:55 pm CDT on Friday, May 27, my status as a lifelong South Dakotan
ended. I crossed the state line en route to the city in which my wife and I
now ...
Walking On
-
The sun always sets, no room for regrets I Walk Away – Crowded House This
is somewhat of a difficult entry to write, though it’s likely going to come
as no...
In Between the Mixtapes
-
Five paragraphs about my new writing habit, and how there's more to this
life than writing about your first Def Leppard concert, apparently.
Check out Dakotagraph on Facebook
-
Thanks for stopping by Dakotagraph. I hope it is useful and provides some
inspiration for taking photos in South Dakota and elsewhere. For more
active post...
First look at Floating Horses now available
-
Some great historic film footage and interviews are featured in the first
extended look at *Floating Horse: The Life of Casey Tibbs*. You can view it
on th...
Northern Exposure
-
It was a gorgeous day to be outside. After what seemed like a month of
sub-zero temps, some of which was designated The Great Polar Vortex Event
of 2014, i...
11 years ago
Search This Blog
You're bound to get idears if you go thinkin' about stuff. ["Tom Joad," in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath]
Occasionally, I will mention my job, my public service activities, and other aspects of my life to offer my readers a better perspective on where I'm coming from. But to be clear:
"The views that I express represent my own opinions, based on my own education and experience, not the opinions of any other entity, party, or group to which I belong. I give these opinions in my individual capacity, as a private citizen, and as someone who gives a good gosh darn about his community, his country, and the truth."
In other words: my blog, my words, my point of view. Enjoy!
Madville Times: South Dakota's linkiest and thinkiest political blog, coming to you from the glistening green shores of Lake Herman. Always lakey, never shakey!
Other Analytics
Reread, Reuse, Recycle...
This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
The all-encompassing approach [of the Simpson-Bowles plan] gives citizens the chance for all of us to contribute to fixing a problem that we caused ourselves. We're not going to create the problem and give it to our children. We're going to take responsibility.
This isn't symbolic patriotism like putting up a flag on the Fourth of July. This is real patriotism, where everyone sacrifices for the good of the country, for our future. We can use this crisis as an opportunity to unify our nation once again [Jon Hunter, "Deficit Panel Recommendations Could Actually Unify Americans," Madison Daily Leader, 2010.11.15].
Hunter may be right about the unifying effects of shared austerity. Calling for every American to pay more taxes and accept fewer services from Uncle Sam could give Americans a sense of common purpose. Involving everyone could make the plan itself work better, like when an overweight family diets together, or when a group of friends all choose to quit smoking together.
Simpson and Bowles propose a national austerity plan that would take 27 years just to balance the annual budget; that's a long -term campaign that could keep our national attention focused on a goal rather than on partisan politics for several election cycles. It challenges the Tea Party re-enacters to prove that they aren't just convulsing against President Barack Obama but really can live up to their rhetoric about our grandkids. If they can, we liberals might be able to find common cause with them, pay more taxes, accept cuts to programs we love, and work toward fiscal sanity.
As Bob the Builder says, Can we do it? --------------------------------- If we can't unite around a plan, perhaps we can at east unite around a game. Neighbor John Nelson points me toward the New York Times' interactive checklist that lets each of us take a swing at reducing the deficit. I take a swing and prove that Simpson and Bowles are pikers: instead of waiting until 2037 to balance the budget, I run a $330-billion surplus by 2015. 50% spending cuts, 50% tax increases... with a $1.1-trillion surplus by 2030, I probably wipe out the federal debt by 2030. (Dang: I didn't even cut space-based missile defense.)
Robert Reich will probably jump in and say I also crash the American economy. Oops. Try your hand, and submit your results below!
Bonus! Compare this amazing acoustic rendition of the best American anthem from the 1980s. Mellencamp performed this song in his Cougar days on The New Show, a Lorne Michaels stab at Friday night variety programming. I saw it when I was... what, 13? I still remember that broadcast.
I love the Fourth of July. Even as I criticize the various injustices and foibles of our polticial and economic system, I can celebrate the constitutional guarantees of my right to criticize my country. As an atheist, I can also embrace this wholly secular holiday more whole-heartedly than any of the church holidays that dominate our Western calendar.
Tony Campolo puts it this way: “America may be the best Babylon the world has, but it is still Babylon nonetheless.”
We are exiles living in Babylon, folks. Our corner may be called “America,” or “Canada,” or “France,” but it’s still all a part of the same thing: a world system that transcends borders, is dominated by materialistic consumerism and exploitation, and is fundamentally opposed to the Kingdom of God. And while love and affection for the people living in that system is entirely necessary, and while we should certainly pray for the peace and well-being of the place where God has set us, we need to avoid the mistake we see over and over in Scripture: becoming so enamored with our temporary dwelling—whether that’s called Egypt, Babylon, or even America—that we lose sight of what Hebrews calls “a better place” [Pastor Bob Wyatt, "Be Careful What You Worship on July 4," Out of Ur, 2010.07.01]
Lest you revert to conflating piety and patriotism, take a couple more swigs of that Campolo quote:
"America is the best Babylon in the world. But Babylon is a whore. Whores seduce. Babylon consumes all the resources on the earth, and eats up the souls of men (Rev 18)."
“As the system was collapsing, as Babylon was going down the tubes, this other group of people was saying, 'hallelujah, Babylon is no more! The great whore is dying'.... Don’t get me wrong, I love the United States of America. It’s the best Babylon on the face of the earth, but it’s still Babylon and it’s not the kingdom of God.”
Whew—I'm glad I don't have to reconcile that on Sunday morning. And hey, what is that flag doing up on the Christian altar, anyway?
As some of my more enlightened Christian friends would say, God Bless America... and the rest of the world, too!
Search KELO, and you'll find a dozen half-staff orders in South Dakota in the past year. That's in addition to the five official days of remembrance when everyone should fly the flag at half staff. Once every three weeks is either an awful lot of time to spend grieving... or not enough, considering American soldiers die defending their country each week (though more killed themselves than were killed by Afghani bad guys last year).
I would like someone with a longer memory to help us out: did we fly flags at half staff this frequently in the 1980s? Or during Vietnam? Or World War II?
I do not seek to denigrate the memory of any fellow citizen killed by bad dudes. But on days like today and September 11, when we remember the slaughter of innocents on our own soil, I wonder if the proper response to psychopaths like McVeigh and Atta would be to add an extra foot to the flagpole and fly the flag a little higher, just to say, "See? We're still here. Your plot didn't work."
I love it when bloggers work together to make the same point.
David Newquist doesn't blog as obsessively as some of us—obviously a sign of a well-balanced life. When Newquist does blog, it's worth the read. His latest essay addresses the health insurance reform deabte and the strains of fascism in the right-wing tactics. Newquist highlights the apparent hatred opponents of reform have for those who have the gall to get sick before getting rich. He notes the parallels between the beer-hall putschists who graduated to genocide and today's Tea Bag shouters:
Some people on the right feel that any criticism of the U.S. or any mention of its failings and mistakes is unpatriotic and anti-American.
...Liberalism is branded as the great culprit behind all of America's problems....
The de rigueur mode of Republican rhetoric is never to do a fact-based point-by-point analysis of anything you oppose. Rather always, Always, ALWAYs concoct an accusation of intellectual or moral defect or depravity against some person or group. This tactic does not require any knowledge or honesty, but works up a good case of hatred for any ultimate solutions for the vanquishing of the left wing. As the propaganda analysts of the Holocaust have pointed out, the foundations of gas ovens are always built with defamatory words [emphasis mine; David Newquist, "What Happens If Health Care Reform Fails?," Northern Valley Beacon, 2010.03.20].
A perfect example of what Dr. Newquist means:
And while I understand that you desperately want people to be misled about this very real fight for freedom against tyranny, that is exactly what this is about.
You and your Marxist, America-loathing parasites will lose when this is done. Some of you obviously are, but most of the American people aren't ready to be socialist Euro-sheep yet. They realize the legacy of freedom we have, and we will all fight to preserve it [Bob Ellis, comment, Madville Times, 2010.03.21].
For the radical right wing, it's not about policy. It's not about making a better America for everyone. It's about playing war against me, and my wife, and David Newquist, and other decent people... "Marxist America-loathing parasites" all.
Keep screaming your "oaths," Mr. Ellis. You remind us daily of the real dangers to democracy.
------------------------ Democracy (from Wikipedia): "The word "democracy" (Greek: δημοκρατια) combines the elements demos (δημος, which means "people") and kratos (κρατος, which means "force" or "power")." Demos, the people. Not just the people certain ideologues think deserve to live here. Not just the people who pass certain political or religious or sexual litmus tests. The People, all of us.
People think climate change is solely an environmental campaign. And I . . . consider myself strongly in support of the environmental goals of this country. But a lot of people look with a different view on that. This says, "Hey, wait a minute, irrespective of your feeling about environmental concerns, here's a practical effect. Your sons or daughters or next door neighbor might be sent out on a military mission" [John Warner, quoted by Jill Lawrence, Q&A, Politics Daily, 2009.09.04].
Go ahead, stick your head in the sand on climate change. But do you want to stick your sons' and daughters' boots in the sand?
Warner makes the case that climate change has already imposed great costs on us, from spreading bark beetles and devastating forests in Idaho to tipping political instability to chaos in Somalia and Darfur.
Studies show that drought, famine, floods and other consequences of global warming will be worst in regions that already are relatively unstable politically and/or economically. The potential impact includes toppled governments, terrorist breeding grounds, island nations immersed in rising seas, threats to U.S. military installations in coastal areas, and more military and humanitarian demands on the U.S. military -- in many instances the only institution with the resources to make a difference [Jill Lawrence, "National Security Concerns Could Power Energy Bill to Senate Passage," Politics Daily, 2009.09.04].
Clean energy isn't just a green issue. It's a red-white-and-blue issue. Claims that ACESA and other enivronmental efforts show contempt for America are simply absurd. In supporting clean-energy legislation, Senator Warner is doing the same thing as when he signed up for the U.S. Navy in January 1945, and when he volunteered for active duty in the Marines in Korea in 1950: defending the country he loves.
Madison resident and "Fellow Patriot" Jason Lee Bjorklund buys a quarter of page 6 in tonight's Madison Daily Leader to send this message. I republish here in near entirety, because I think it's interesting... and because I'm warming for some serious critique tomorrow.
What is a 9.12er?
Does it bother you that our government is stealing trillions of dollars from future generations to try and spend their way out of a recession?!? Do you expect the same government that is bankrupting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to finally get it right with Socialized Medicine?!? Do you want your doctor to check the budget and sort patients by age before scheduling your surgery?!? Does it alarm you that our government is seizing control of banks and automakers? Does it make sense to drain our pockets and jeopardize national security by refusing to drill for our own natural resources to make ourselves energy independent? Do you think Gehl Manufacturing will survive the excessive taxes if Cap and Tradepasses?!? Are you comfortable with surrendering essential liberties for the false security provided by the Patriot Act? Does the word "czar" make your skin crawl?
I am just a regular guy. I absolutely hate politics. I cannot say that strongly enough. I HATE POLITICS! The politicians, through their actions, have forced me to watch them like a hawk. They have forced me to start reading bills that they, themselves, refuse to read. They have forced me to study and relearn American History, American Civics, Philosophy... and I am going to make them pay for it! I was happy carving out my little niche in life, blissfully unaware of the fundamental changes taking place in our government and society. That is, until I noticed those changes affecting every facet of my life and the lives of those around me.
The politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, are building an unsustainable system of government that is out of line with the U.S. Constitution, our founding principles, and common sense. I am learning that the tags of Republican and Democrat are meaningless. They are designed to divide us and set us against one another. Do you believe that your money is best spent by you, not the government? Do you believe that individuals have the right to bear arms? Do you believe that marriage is between a man and a woman? Do you believe that you have a right to own private property? Do you believe that an unborn baby is a living human being? Do you believe that our country's principles, values, beliefs, and traditions should be preserved? Do you believe that our rights are unalienable because they are bestowed by God? Then now is the time to stand up and speak out! We must stand together to preserve the form of government our founders set forth!
The last line of the Declaration of Independence states, "...with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutally pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor." To that end, I firmly pledge to you... my Life, my Fortune, and my sacred Honor. I have drawn a line in the sand. I will stand shoulder to should with you to defend it. To that end, I helped start, and currently lead, the Madison 9.12 Project. The madison 9.12 Project is a grassroots movement to bring together people of common principles and values to make a stand against anything that threatens our right to Life, Liberty, and our pursuit of Happiness.
If you agree with these principles and values, consider joining us! You can get more information at www.meetup.com/madison9-12project.
On Saturday, August 29th at 6:00pm the Madison 9.12 Project is hosting a Potluck Picnic at Westside (Pool) Park. We will be joined by members of the Sioux Falls, Mitchell, and Canton groups. If you agree with our group's principles and values, feel free to join us! Bring your family! The more the merrier!
My friend Jackie points me toward this instructive interview of Frank Schaeffer on MSNBC. I've previously cited Schaeffer's apology for having participated in the right-wing propaganda machine that has fostered violence like the murder of George Tiller. He recognizes the same propaganda tactics in the right-wing lies and shouting over health care reform:
Key passages:
The good news is that it shows a desperation. The far Right knows they have lost... the hearts and minds of most American people for instance who want health care.
But they also know that they have a large group of people who are not well-informed, who listen to only their own sources, who buy the lies, for instance all this nonsense about euthanasia being mandatory and all the rest of it. And these people can be energized to go out and do really dreadful things. And we've seen it in front of abortion clinics. I'm afraid we're going to see it with some of our political leaders. The Glenn Becks of this world literally are responsible for unleashing what I regard as an anti-democratic, anti-American movement in this country that is trying to shut down legitiatmate debate and replace it with straight out intimidation.
And it is ironic that they are drawing a parallel to Hitler. I wouldn't draw such a parallel but I would draw a parallel to the brownshirts of the 1930s who got into a habit of shutting down diseent and maing it look as if they had a majority by spreading out in groups just as these folks do, screaming the loudest, and making debate impossible.
...We're talking about a small, angry group of white people who, to paraphrase Bart Simpson, the election broke their brains.
If Schaeffer's concern about radical right-wing rhetoric inspiring hate and violence sounds extreme to you, consider that mild-mannered reporter Kevin Woster voices a similar concern.
The Republicans and Fox News fear-mongers have, as SD Humanist points out, nothing to offer, no practical policies or solutions. They can only project their paranoia and plead for affirmation from someone, anyone, that their failing fraidy-cat worldview is o.k., that it's o.k. to pretend you're Rambo refighting the Cold War again and again, that it's o.k. to replace questions and conversation with "fistfights, arrests, and hospitalizations."
Meanwhile, we Democrats just want to debate, govern, and solve problems. It's hard to be a decent, civil American like Frank Schaeffer among the reptilian Glenn Beck bullies. But such is the burden of being a true patriot in a civilized society.
Our Jesus is too safe when it turns out he likes and dislikes the same people and things we do. For our church culture, it’s things like success at work, prospering in our finances, achieving our dreams, etc. But every time I read the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, I am immediately comforted and challenged at the same time. It totally freaks me out. If Jesus in the Gospels doesn’t challenge your idols, your worship of them is more entrenched than you realize.
Outrage? I'm having trouble getting there. Can we find grounds for outrage in any of the charges SHS levels at the protestors?
posed a security risk? To whom? What person did they threaten? What security hazard did they create? The protesters may have revealed a lapse in security, but even so, there was no risk to any Mount Rushmore visitor. They didn't bring any hazardous materials into the visitor center. They didn't threaten to push anyone off a cliff. This was a stunningly peaceful protest, worlds removed from the 9/11 doomsday scenarios we've spent big bucks to gird Mount Rushmore against.
harmed the "visitor experience"? Here I will grant that folks come to Mount Rushmore for relaxation, not ruckus. But was their experience ruined? Folks who got pictures and videos lucked into a little bit of news and history. They caught images that they could share with KELO and the papers. They have visual souvenirs that will make their home albums and YouTube videos stand out out from the millions of normal tourist snaps of the impressive monument. Years from now, Wednesday morning's tourists will still have vivid memories of their visit to South Dakota.
wasted taxpayer dollars at the monument? I could be wrong, but didn't this stunt happen during normal work hours? Isn't this the sort of thing we pay rangers to handle?
A few weeks ago, I suggested that the Tea Party rucki scheduled for July 4th were ill-timed. For me, the Fourth of July is the best holiday of the year, a patriotic time when we can put aside our partisan differences and poolicy disagreements and celebrate our common heritage and freedom. If I can see the Fourth of July as a sacred time ("sacred" in the sense of civic religion), I can accept that others could view Mount Rushmore as a similarly sacred place, where we should agree to set aside our differences and celebrate our shared freedoms, achievements, and aspirations.
But if someone chooses to violate the sacred times or spaces of civic religion with political dissent, do they commit an outrage? I found the July 4 Tea Parties bothersome, but not outrageous. And there were a lot more Tea Partiers shouting about socialism than there were skinny hippies unfurling a banner challenging the President to be a true leader (that's an important part of the message that Dr. Newquist astutely observes).
I would suggest that if this year's Tea Parties—and the original—were patriotic, then so was Wednesday's Mount Rushmore protest. The Greenpeacers are every bit as committed to their principles as the fellas in Boston Harbor, willing to break the law to get their message across. In the case of the guy at the bottom of the banner, that patriotism meant being willing to let a 65-foot banner take him for a parachute ride on the side of a mountain... and hang on to complete the mission.
Is it a crime? Sure. But an outrage? The four big fellas on the mountain might have thought otherwise.
------------------------------- p.s.: The Greenpeace activists do deserve credit for well-executed political theater. These weren't drunken anarchist goons out to smash windows. They were highly organized, well-trained climbers who took care not to do damage that could distract from their message.
[Update 07:40 CDT: Sibby says I lied and reminds me that the protesters "intentionally damaged part of the memorial's security system." My apologies, Sibby, for missing that line. But I'm not lying. Whatever the damage (smashed movement sensor? blacked-out lenses on cameras? snipped fences?), the protesters clearly took pains not to do damage to the memorial itself, the work of art that everyone sees.]
Symbolically, Mount Rushmore may have been the best place in the world to carry off this specific protest action. The activists ventured into the heart of the conservative West (I can't help thinking some of the Greenpeacers would rather have been back in the big city) to stand up for what here is a very unpopular position. They juxtaposed a gray image of President Obama next to the most famous stone representations of American Presidents, a setting that echoed exactly what their banner said: we memorialize Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln for brave leadership, not political craft.
To top it off, they achieved instant global attention, in a way no chanting in the streets of New York or Paris can. Not a bad day's work.
---------------------------- pp.s.: And don't forget the perspective from the last owners of Mount Rushmore: South Dakota Oglala Sioux Melvin Martin expresses "heartfelt admiration for this brave act."
Among the comments: "Hang 'em high!" and "Go back to Russia!" Har har. But what bothers me most: "Shut up!" Not exactly appropriate comments in the Shrine to Democracy.
-------------------------- Update 2009.07.10 11:02 CDT: Meanwhile, debris leftover from the July 3 fireworks display is still harming the Mount Rushmore visitor experience and incurring "huge expense." Trash on the trails! Fire danger! Where's the outrage?!
Update 2009.07.11 07:10 CDT: See Matt Leonard, member of the Rushmore 12, discussing the protest (they hiked in through the woods!) and the climate change bill ("so watered down by industry interests that it’s really lost its basis in science") on Democracy Now!
When I was a kid, there could be no greater summer disappointment than a cloudy, drizzly 4th of July. How can you enjoy a cool dip in Lake Herman when you're already wet? But hey, at least the fireworks won't set the drfits of cottonwood seeds on fire.
While I wait for the sun to break through for my Fourth of July bike tour of the local land of the free, here are some notes on rockets and freedom:
North Korea is getting into the Independence Day spirit, firing rockets off its east coast. I'm thinking that's great: the more they test, the fewer rockets they have left in their stockpile for genuine mischief. Meanwhile, some North Koreans are making a run for real independence, with the help of a few brave Americans.
Sarah Palin's Google juice is surely rocketing skyward this weekend. The only way I can make sense of her declaration of independence from political responsibility yesterday: she's getting ready to serve all Americans ("...and I don’t care what party they’re in or no party at all") by starting her own talk radio program. Or she's going to start a blog.
Another reasons rockets are cool: they take us to space, where we can get amazing views like these of the Sarychev Volcano eruption (June 12). Watching Earth's fireworks from orbit: ooooh! aaaah!
I still think shooting off bottle rockets in a target-rich environment (like downtown Brookings) is unwise, but the Moonies at the Washington Times say fire away! They note that states that ban fireworks see a higher rate of death-by-firecracker than states with free-fire(cracker) zones. Firecracker-lover Dick Cavett reminds as that his beloved ordnance "can be hellishly, horribly dangerous." But as the WashTimes Moonies insist, what good is freedom if you can't blow stuff up?
Or, as John Adams put it, we ought to celebrate America's independence "by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."
Hey! The clouds are breaking on Lake Herman! Rain or no, celebrate the best holiday of all... and remember what Captain Kirk says about We the People: "These words and the words that follow were not written only for the Yangs, but for the Kohms as well. They must apply to everyone, or they mean nothing!"
Mr. Powers is kind enough to extend an invitation to all taxpayers to attend the Grand South Dakota Tax Day Tea Party, April 15, noon to 13:30, at Terrace Park in Sioux Falls. According to the event's Facebook page, cranky patriots will gather "To Protest Political Pork Barrel Spending and Government Waste. See an re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party - The spark that ignited the Revolutionary War."
Hmm... are we to derive some meaning from that last phrase?
I don't drink the Jesus juice much. But given good preaching like the benediction offered by Reverend Joseph E. Lowery from the Inaugural podium, I'll take an other swig.
I heard Lowery's prayer on the radio. At first, it seemed hard to understand, and I imagined an old man shivering in the cold, struggling to make the words clear. In a way, that strengthened the impact of the words, the sincere good wishes for the new President, the country, and the world.
God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.
We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States, his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.
How often I hear "God Bless America" and wish I could speak up and add "...and God bless everyone else, too!" Reverend Lowery understands that.
For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.
Preach it, brother. Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable, just like Jesus did.
We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.
If I had any trouble understanding Reverend Lowery's words at the beginning, he was coming through loud and clear now. He found his rhythm and made the words sing.
And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.
And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.
Love. Inclusion. Reaching out to the margins. Wherever.
Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.
We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.
Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.
Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: Say amen --
AUDIENCE: Amen!
REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.
AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)
And yes, even this non-believer (and Obama mentioned us non-believers in his speech! we must be Americans!) said Amen, right along with what a fella on the radio today described as "a couple million of my closest friends." Several million, 300 million friends, my fellow Americans.
Preaching like that could set this country right. Amen. Amen.
When one man said he was scared to raise his unborn child under a President Barack Obama, Senator McCain said of Senator Obama, "I have to tell you, he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as President of the United States." McCain drew angry hoots and catcalls from his audience, but he defended Obama anyway.
When local McCain campaign volunteer Gayle Quinnell* said she can't trust Obama because "he's an Arab," McCain took the microphone away from her and said, "No, ma'am. No, ma'am. He's a decent family man, a citizen who I just happen to have serious differences with on fundamental questions" (as if Arabs can't also be decent family men?).
Senator McCain is seeing firsthand the anger, the delusions, and even (dare I say it, Dr. Newquist?) the fascist tendencies that his own Rove-Atwater tacticians have helped unleash. And in Senator McCain's response, I see—I want to see—a man who is realizing that winning an election is not worth losing one's honor... or destroying another's honor.
At the very least, Senator McCain may be looking out into those angry crowds and realizing those people don't support him; they just oppose Barack Obama. And having a bunch of people who hate the other guy might help you win the election (though it didn't work for Kerry in 2004), but those people won't help you govern. Once they've beaten their boogeyman on Election Day, they quit. They won't give you a mandate. They won't rally to support your efforts to reform government and forge new policies. Those spiteful voters are about personal destruction, not constructive policy-making... and John McCain may be realizing that those "supporters" make up far too large a portion of his dwindling base.
I still have serious differences with Senator McCain on fundamental questions, and we should still hold him responsible for the harmful tactics of his campaign. But I respect his brave service to his country, and Friday, he performed another brave patriotic service, defending a fellow Senator—a fellow American—from the unjust attacks of a hostile crowd.
---------- p.s.: My Sunday fantasy: Senator McCain goes back to his maverick roots. He suspends his campaign—for good. He goes on David Letterman's show, fills out his absentee ballot on camera, and votes for Barack Obama. President Obama appoints Senator McCain Secretary of Defense... and on January 20, 2009, issues a pre-emptive pardon to Governor Sarah Palin.
*After the rally, Quinnell rejected McCain's defense, insisting Obama is "a Muslim and a terrorist."
The Brookings Register covers the work of Robb Rasmussen, owner of Sioux River Bicycles and Fitness, to establish a Safe Routes to School program in Brookings. His efforts with the local SRTS subcommittee helped bring $93K to Brookings to support creating bicycle safety lanes on roads to schools, training kids in safe biking and walking, and sponsoring events like walk-to-school days.
Darn good program, and something more people, kids and adults, should do in their communities. Robb recalls riding his bike six miles each way to baseball practice when he was a kid. Now, he sees the SUV culture making kids and adults lazy. That may sound like typical curmudgeonly grousing about the woeful state of our youth, but stats back up what Robb is saying:
Forty years ago, childhood obesity in the U.S. was at 10 percent, and a reported 50 percent of students were walking or biking to school every day. Today, the obesity rate has soared to more than 50 percent, and fewer than 3 percent of students today report that they walk or cycle to school on a daily basis [Amanda Palluck, "Bikers Get 'Safe Route' Protection," Brookings Register, 2008.10.01].
Only three percent of kids get to school under their own power? Come on, kids: you're not all living 20 miles out in the country, and you're not facing a shoulder-to-shoulder gauntlet of stalkers and sex fiends on the road to school. Moms, dads, oil up those bike chains, get your kids some sturdy hiking shoes (enough with those flip-flops!), and tell your kids to hit the road!
Palluck also notes that "The U.S. could save 462 million gallons of gas a year by increasing cycling from 1 to 1.5 percent of all trips." Now the U.S. burns through 390 million gallons of gasoline a day, so maybe those savings don't sound like much. But every drop helps. Think of it this way: That decrease in gasoline usage would come from every American replacing a car trip with a walk or a bike ride maybe four times a year. You could make it a monthly habit to make up for your whiner neighbors and produce even more savings.
Once a month. You've got National Guard soldiers making their second tours in Iraq to keep the world safe from terrorism and disruptions in the flow of Mideast oil. Is pounding the pavement and the pedals once a month that much of a sacrifice to ask of you and your kids?
Park the car. Ride your bike. Use your feet. Burn fat, not oil.
Say what? So Republicans will cheer for someone who suggests he hasn't loved his country for his entire life? Did he not love his country when he enrolled at Annapolis? Did he not love his country when it was led by great men like Eisenhower and Kennedy? Did he not love his country when it stood up to the Soviet threat in Cuba? Did he not love his country when blacks marched with Martin Luther King to desegregate the schools and lunch counters and win full voting rights?
You're right: I'm a hyperpartisan jerk to take one line from Senator McCain's speech and blow it out of context into an indictment of his otherwise clear commitment to his country.
So how about the Republicans who raised a hyperpartisan stink over Michelle Obama's comment back in February about finding a new pride in her country?
Becky Akers wonders in the Christian Science Monitor asks a question my resident theologian and I have also considered: what's the American flag doing at the altar of Christian churches? Akers points to a long history of Christians ending up on the wrong side of government, even when they try to escape oppression by "grabbing government's reins" themselves:
The trouble doesn't lie with Christianity but with power. The two have always been at odds. Political power is a synonym for "physical force," for bending people to government's will regardless of their inclinations, interests, or welfare. But Christianity is love – power's antidote. Anyone who sincerely follows Jesus Christ will never try to compel others – because he didn't. Jesus sought to persuade by word and example, loving men so much that he let them judge for themselves the truth of his teachings [Becky Akers, "Does the American Flag Belong in Church?" Christian Science Monitor, 2008.07.28].
Give the full article a read: Akers makes some discussion-worthy points about her approach to citizenship and Christian faith.
Should the national flag, a symbol of earthly power, really occupy such a hallowed place at the front of a Christian church? Perhaps the more Christian approach would be to display the flags of every nation at the altar, to symbolize all of God's children. 190-some flags would make for a crowded altar... but then no one says Christian love is easy.
Avenue of Flags, Lake County Courthouse, Madison, South Dakota, Memorial Day, 2008.05.26
Memorial Day brings the Avenue of Flags display to the Lake County Courthouse here in Madison.
Volunteer walks the rows, checking the flags
Flag honoring Lake County soldier Captain M. P. O'Loughlen
Each flag honors a Lake County veteran. Each pole also carries a small plaque honoring a veteran. Flags in stiff morning breeze; view toward Madison Post Office
The flags fly until 4 p.m. this afternoon. (Volunteers are welcome -- if you have a moment this afternoon, come help take these flags down.)
Veterans Memorial in front of Lake County Courthouse