Some thoughts on American Lion, faith and politics

I have joined a new book club that will be focusing on historical books - fiction and non-fiction. For our first book, American Lion by Jon Meacham. This history has had some excellent reviews and was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. This biography focuses on Andrew Jackson and his years in the White House.

The times that Jackson lived through and the politics of Washington seem very familiar. Many people want to go back to a simpler time politically speaking. However, the more I read history, the more I realize that things never really change. Human nature doesn't really change. The ways we communicate, the ways we move in our world may change, but how we deal with our fellow human beings doesn't really change.

Back to the book, while reading Chapter 5, Ladies' Wars Are Always Fierce and Hot, I came upon the figure of Jeremiah Evarts.  "Evarts was one of the great American moral figures of the first decades of the nineteenth century."

What struck me about Evarts was just what kind of person he was. He was moral and religious, but he did not insist on inflicting his beliefs into the government. He wanted the government - and, by extension, the nation - to be virtuous. I believe that many of the evangelicals and those that believe we are an essentially a Christian nation could learn much from him.

One of Evarts great passions was to fight against what he saw as a grave injustice: the forced removal of the Indians from their homes to lands west of the Mississippi. He became a "force calling on the country to respect the rights and dignity of a persecuted people." He was infused with this idea of Christian service while attending Yale in 1798. The president of the college at that time was Timothy Dwight, a grandson of Jonathan Edwards. Dwight suffused the college with the idea of Christian service.  He gave  a sermon entitled "On Personal Happiness" in which he preached:  "In whatever sphere of life you are placed, employ all your powers and all your means of doing good, as diligently and vigorously as you can."

Evarts was influenced by Dwight and the whole atmosphere at Yale. He believed, like Dwight, that "faith was not only about personal conversion but social transformation and the health of the nation." He believed that "there was a direct connection between the godliness of the people and the fate of the country."

This statement really struck me. I imagine many of the evangelicals would say this as well. However, I believe that it is more than putting the word God and Christ into our government. In fact, we cannot do that. In my mind, godliness is more about our actions. By being virtuous and "Christlike" in our actions that is important.

Reading further in this chapter, I discovered that Jackson also believed "that virtue was essential to the maintenance of a republic." But he also believed - and this I believe is an important point - that "religious and philanthropic organizations were as corruptible and susceptible to manipulation by the powerful as any other human institution." Wow.

This is a very important point. I believe that our government does need to be virtuous. This doesn't mean that we should focus on hot button issues like gay marriage, prayer in schools, putting Christ back in Christmas, or abortion. I think it means more important things. It means that we should be more consistent with our values. We espouse the values of freedom of speech and freedom of the press, freedom of religion, and all our equal before the law. Then we should support these values in other countries and not prop up regimes and governments that crack down on these things. If we criticize one government from persecuting a sect, religion, or race, should we not let our allies know when they are committing these abuses as well?

We should put the individual back at the center of our government's responsibility. Our government's primary responsibility should not be protecting businesses and industry over the people that make up our citizenry. It should be protecting our interests. Now, this does not mean socialism - as many on the right erroneously accuse the left of - nor does it have to offend libertarians or fiscal conservatives. It should mean that everyone should have equal rights before the law - regardless of race or financial position. It should mean that government should protect everyone's right to live their life - financially, materially, and spiritually - not dictate their life.

I'll be the first to admit that I lean to the left. I believe that this country needs to provide a social safety net for its citizens. I believe that churches need to stay out of politics and the government. And I support gay marriage and abortion rights. But, I am not a socialist or an atheist. Our country should be more moral and I believe in the free market. But, do we truly have a free market? When we provide tax breaks to big business and industry and bail out companies and financial institutions that made very bad business decisions, can that really be classified as free?

Our politics have become so divisive. Pundits and special interests have created so many false ideologies and muddies the waters that many people cannot see that they have more in common than they think. The left and the right have vilified each other so much that people do not actually talk about the issues. The Republicans have spent three years opposing the Democrats and President Obama's every action over the interests of their constituencies. We need to get back to what really matters. I think we can learn from history.

Recently, a poll showed that people that get their news from Fox News are less informed than those that don't watch the news at all. The best informed get their news from PBS and NPR. Liberal or conservative, I believe that we can all learn from history. Being informed and well-read and educated should not be viewed as being elite. In the past some of our best presidents came from humble beginnings but devoured knowledge and took every chance to better themselves. Two that come to mind are Garfield and Lincoln.

Jackson thought of himself as a republican - "a man who believed that the best government was the one that meddled least in the affairs of the governed." I think that many Republicans today could identify with that. But, if you look honestly at the party, is it really true? Jackson felt the "primary duty of federal power, once invoked, was to protect the many from the few." I think both the left and the right could surely agree on that. Whether the few are the whites of South Africa suppressing the Africans or if it's the rich 1% suppressing the rest of the American citizens, shouldn't we work at stopping these injustices?

How can we fix campaign finance reform?

This is always a big question. It's always a big buzz word in the media. Today, on my walk with the dogs, I was listening to a podcast with Andrew Bacevich, author of Washington Rules, and I got to thinking about campaign finance reform.

First of all, what is the main problem? One, there is too much corporate involvement in campaigns and, two, there is too much money. My solution may be too simplistic. However, I do think it may have some merit in solving the main problem. So here goes:

1. Only people can donate to campaigns. No corporations, no lobbyists, no PACs. Just people.
2. Only voters in the campaign's constituency. What I mean by this is that people in Washington State shouldn't donate to a campaign in Idaho. 
3. Also, only registered voters. I'm not sure about this. It may be limiting to limit to registered voters. 
4. Finally, I believe that there should be a cap on how much an individual can donate.

I really think that maybe these rules could level the playing field. Perhaps more people that have good ideas could go to Congress. Maybe these rules could simplify our politicians, but also could limit the influence the rich and soulless corporations inflict on them.

Please comment on whether you think this might work.

What's Caught My Attention Lately

Lately, I've been mostly concerned about finances. Probably like most Americans, I'm sure. I am on what is politely know as a "fixed income".  My mine outlays are rent, phone, and health insurance. Even though I am on Medicare for a disability, I still need to get what they call euphemistically an advantage plan. I don't think you can really survive on straight Medicare. Which really begs the question... what is the point? And how do people who are unemployed and whose unemployment reimbursement has expired - how do they survive? And, finally, where are our country's priorities if they are more interested in helping soulless corporations than human beings?

Oh, well, such questions are beyond a single person. To continue, I thought I would share (with whoever actually reads this) some of the items that caught my attention this week. Some I read on-line and some I listened to as I walked my dogs in the morning. All, I expect, demonstrate something about me.

Podcasts I've listened to:
BBC Programme - Click - 06/09/2011
BBC Programme - Beyond Belief - The Three Wise Men
As a non-practicing Mormon, I was fascinated with the idea that the three wise men might be Melchizedek.
BBC - The Today Programme - An end to pain?

Music I listened to:
Song of the Day: Kopecky Family Band - Animal
The Drums – “Money”

Items I've read on-line:
A Rather Befuddled Note From Me To You About September 11 Specials
I read this item wondering if NPR's Linda Holmes felt the same way I did about all this fuss over the anniversary and all the programs. She didn't say it exactly but maybe she was afraid of the backlash, I don't know. Let me go on the record as saying I find all these programs as rather tacky. I can't bring myself to watch any of it. All the sentimentalization and personal stories hit me the same way those "human interest" stories strike me during the Olympics - slightly nauseating. There I said it. If I need to be pilloried, please keep any profanity to yourself.
Where Is Billy? A Giants Fan Goes Missing, And A Team Goes Searching
This story really got my attention. It was moving and mysterious and I really would love an update on the situation. Some baseball fans seem slightly - or significantly - obsessed. But some people become as much a part of the scene as the players. I love the Mariners and when a concession worker passed away recently - he had worked since the start of the franchise - they presented a lovely tribute to him. I really hope they find Billy. The thing with him is that so little is known about him. It's a little sad that it isn't until he's not there that any attention is given to his life away from the ballpark.
Candidate urges Kennewick City Council to take stand on illegal immigration
This guy is at turns frightening, repulsive, and pathetic. What really bothers me is that we have him in our community. I realize we live in a "red" county, but I still was bothered to know that he's here.
Burger King has 'disturbing trend' of serving undercooked meat
Everett Ruess: two new biographies
I love to find new books to read. I especially like stories of real people and real adventures from the past. I had heard about Everett Ruess on an NPR program a few years back, so I think I'll definitely look these two book up:  Everett Ruess: His Short Life, Mysterious Death, and Astonishing Afterlife
Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer
Tacoma Police: Man Asked Permission To Dump Body In Neighbor's Trash Can
Dumb criminal alert!!
Unitasker Wednesday: The Olive Oil Dispenser Pump
I love this website. I look forward to every Wednesday and their crazy items they find. This one isn't as dumb as some of the other ones, though.
Andrea Mitchell: I Have Cancer
Godzilla Cake
I'm a big Godzilla fan, so I had to go see this cake. It's really not so Godzilla-y. Looks more like an iguana or some other lizard. Or maybe that aberration known as the Matthew Broderick Godzilla movie. The real Godzilla stands on two legs!

What I've watched:
Vandal attacks Rome's famous fountains
Don't know what's sadder - that someone would vandalize such a treasure or that people would just walk by and do nothing.
Dog Hates Bath
The look on this dog's face - and the play-by-play - is priceless!

Advocacy I'm supporting:
Our Lives, Our Laws
House Bill Attacks United Nations, Weakens United States
Such behavior frightens me. People need to realize that we need to accept that we are part of a global community, and that has certain responsibilities. Rules aren't just for other countries.

The Maya, the Civil War, and the Tea Party

I know what you're thinking. What on Earth do those three items have to do with each other? Well, I have been reading the new history of the start of the Civil War by Adam Goodheart, 1861: The Civil War Awakening This is an excellent history and has been very well received. While reading, I have noticed alarmingly the similarities between the atmosphere in 1860s Washington DC and today's Washington. The partisanship, the demonization of your opponent, the demonization of the newly elected president, the sense of impending doom, the emergence of a new movement. The conservatives (not necessarily Republican) were worried about what would happen if civil rights were apportioned to a minority group. Then, it was slaves. Today? It could be the LGBT community, undocumented aliens, Muslims.

From page 77 of 1861:

On January 7, Senator Robert Toombs of Georgia used his departure speech to fire parting shots at "Black Republicans" and abolitionists: "We want no negro equality, no negro citizenship; we want to negro race to degrade our own; and as one man [we] would meet you upon the border with the sword in one hand and the torch in the other."

Alarming, isn't it? Remove the word negro and replace it with homosexual, and it would not be dated at all.

And on page 70:

...Senator Thomas Clingman of North Carolina, seizing the floor by responding to a routine motion about printing a document, swerved sharply into an hour-long attack on the president-elect as a "dangerous man" whose aim was "to make war on my section [of the country] until its social system is destroyed."

 Again, something you have heard in the volatile political atmosphere that we have today. For instance, I have a neighbor - a nice, gentle man - who once told me that President Obama had "Muslims and Communists" in his government. He was an older gentleman who spent his winters in Arizona - a snowbird as they're known. Yet, he thinks that Glenn Beck spreads the truth and that President Obama is one of the greatest threats this country has ever known. It took me back. I have a hard time understanding why wanting to provide healthcare for all, protecting consumers, providing better financial regulation - why are all these interpreted as a threat?

Because it's a change to their "social system" - as Senator Clingman would've said.

Another similarity was that the Senate was filled with younger members at this time. All the "old gentlemen" of the Senate had gone. Senator Crittenden was the lone remnant of the old gentlemen left. The old gentlemen of compromise. Compromising has not always been a dirty word as the Tea Party would have us believe. This country was founded and preserved by compromise. But the old Compromisers were gone: Webster and Clay were dead, as was Thomas Hart Benton, and others like John Bell and Sam Houston had returned home to their states.

Sound familiar? We have lost some of our giants: Robert Byrd and Teddy Kennedy are two I can think of, but there have been others. So, we are left we relatively inexperienced Senators (and Representatives) who do not have as strong a loyalty to the art of compromise and the deal. There was even a strange movement during the 1860's called the Wide Awake movement. These young men marched for change, though, not against it. It spread from New England to the Midwest. And it scared people - it made them think there was actually revolution in the air.

Media - like today - was also in the mix. There may have been no television, radio, or internet - but newprint had spread like wildfire. The average citizen could read about all these events and be roused up by the talent of a scurrilous journalist or editor. People were scared. They were scared that the Union would be destroyed and the stock market was scared as well. Like today.

And this is what takes me to the Maya. The Maya had a very complex calendar system. The Mayan Long Count calendar was divided into segments. One of these was the k'atun which was 260th of the entire Long Count which corresponded to 19.7 years. What makes these significant is that the Maya believed that time came in cycles.

Maybe they are right. It seems like we go through the same cycles here. Perhaps that gives me a little hope. If we go through cycles, doesn't that mean we will come through this to better times? I'd like to think so. However, we should also take responsibility of the world we are in. Another time that this is like is the 1930's - and I am not just thinking of the Great Depression. I am thinking of the rise of fascism. The union busting in Wisconsin and other states is similar to how corporations acted in that time. FDR was also demonized. But, remember, it was not a pleasant time to be alive. Think of the fascist takeovers. The populist groups like Mussolini's black shirts and Hitler's brown shirts. We all need to be aware and not swayed by the next talking head on the television or radio. Make sure your facts are right. And, above all, do not trust your neighbors to make the right decision with their vote. Democracy is a privilege - exercise it.

Sunshine, the Theater, and Comic Book History

The temperature says 75 degrees but it feels much warmer. It's a beautiful day. Everyone seemed to be walking their dogs or doing yard work. (Why people want to work on a nice day seems odd to me.) There were even some poor people on the roof of the house ripping the roof off! Way too warm for that. I never felt up to walking yesterday so it was nice to go out today. The girls and I walked 3+ miles today; they were so happy when we got to the creek on the home stretch and they could wade through it. Misty especially likes it - she actually lays down in the water. Looked very inviting actually.

I listened to several different podcasts from NPR regarding the Theater. Several of them dealt with the tragic Spider-Man musical. It seemed crazy how many different things could go wrong with one show and how many people wanted it too fail. I'm not too sure of the idea of a Spider-Man musical - or any comic book musical - but people should really give it a chance.

Book of the Day: The Ten Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hajdu. I am a big history nut and usually am reading at least one history or historical fiction book at any given time. This book is a great history of the rise of comic books as well as the great tragedy that befell them after the Second World War. It is always horrifying to hear of the terrible crimes against free speech that occurred against Americans in the '50s. The House Committee on Un-American Activities. Just the name gives you chills. But it is even scarier when you realize that many people on Capitol Hill learned nothing from this time. You just have to hear Congressman King to speak about Muslims to realize that these things can happen again. The so-called enemy has changed, that is all. FDR was right to say all we had to fear was fear itself. Fear can tear our democracy apart.

Without a reading, Alexie's book banned in Richland | KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest

This is a fine example of the reactionary and conservative political atmosphere that can - unfortunately - be found in the Benton and Franklin communities. We like to pride ourselves in Washington State as well-educated and tolerant. That ends at the western edge of the Cascade Range. Here, in the east, the people like to watch and play sports, work on their cars, fish and hunt, and go to church. We have very large Catholic, Mormon, Protestant, and Evangelical communities. In Richland - especially - they control city government completely. Why? And why Richland especially? Because two of the biggest churches are there: Christ the King Catholic and Central United Protestant. Nearly everyone in Richland belongs to one of these two churches. And, so, censorship is alive and well in the Tri-Cities. We always seem to elect Republicans. Most people here probably do not believe in global warming. If you go to a restaurant or a bar with a TV, chances are Fox News is on - unless there's a game on. It's a hard place to be a Democrat, Progressive, or Liberal. But we struggle on...

Without a reading, Alexie's book banned in Richland | KPLU News for Seattle and the Northwest

Typical Kennewick Day

It seems to be one of our typical days here today. Sunny and very warm - 75 degrees as I write this - with a gusty breeze. The breeze is consistent and warm, but not quite up to wind stage. You can watch the tall grasses sway in the gully behind our house. It's a lovely sight - makes me think of Little House on the Prairie (which I never really read or watched), but it makes you think that's what those amber fields of grain looked like. The dreaded Russian Olive trees rustle in the breeze and - if you look carefully - you'll see quail, pheasant, and even a coyote if you're lucky.

Sometimes, I even think the sunlight is brighter here, the air cleaner. We are hardly in the wilderness. It just sometimes feel that we are somehow separate from the problems you see on the news. You feel it even more here in south Kennewick - away from the more urban areas. However, urbanization is even seen up here. I guess when you're at my age - I can't believe I just said that! - you look at your home through the lenses of your childhood.

We walked 3+ miles today - going along the canal path. The ducks and their families were out, goats and their kids, and mares and their colts (or were they fillies?). It always reminds me of Bambi (Two-Disc Diamond Edition) and how everything was transformed for spring. (It's just too bad it's a couple of days near summer).

Book of the Day: Blood Brothers (Sign of Seven Series) by Nora Roberts.  I've read plenty of books by Nora, but all under the name of J. D. Robb, the "In Death" series. I really love that series and I come back again and again. So, I decided to download one of the Nora Roberts' book from Overdrive (via my local library). So far - and I am halfway done - it is really well crafted and plotted - however, I don't feel the romance and suspense that I get from a J. D. Robb novel.

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