The American President

I can remember when I was a little boy, just beginning to understand the profundity of the American President.  The first president I can recall was Ronald Reagan.  As a child I had no ideology, I didn’t care about budget shortfalls or tax policy.  I wasn’t concerned with Iran/Contra.  I didn’t have an appreciation for the blind eye he bore against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Whether Reagan was beginning the trickle-down economics of the 80’s, invading Grenada, or trading weapons for hostages, it was of no matter.  I was enamored with the prestige and regal nature of our President.  I was taught from an early age that the presidency was more than just a man. The office of the President of the United States was transcendent.  It was a position to be honored.  I remember watching President Reagan meeting with Gorbachev.  I remember the wonder of watching this man, our leader, our President, trudging through the tundra of the Cold War.  He projected the strength and resolve of a nation.

I use President Reagan as an example, because his ideology is something that I find repugnant.  He allowed things to happen during his administration that put a blight on American values and tradition.  His actions and lack thereof, had long-lasting, detrimental repercussions. I believe he condemned an entire generation of gay men to death.  He enacted domestic policies that exacerbated the socioeconomic divide in this nation.  He engaged in a plethora of policy prescriptions that hurt many Americans.  What he didn’t engage in was pettiness.  He didn’t act like an enraged toddler every time someone was critical of his actions.  He comported himself with maturity & rational thought.

The respect for the office of the Presidency was long considered sacrosanct.  However, that reverence has eroded.   The 2^nd Bush White House lied to the American people to cajole us into an unnecessary war.  They fleeced the middle class by unfair tax policy, unethical financial policy, and an avoidable collapse of our economy.  Then it was questioning the first minority President’s fidelity to this country.  Questioning his citizenship & patriotism became commonplace.  The nation’s first African-American president derided and jeered.  The accusations were as preposterous as the people making them.  The man leading that pack, sadly, took the oath of office just days ago.

Donald Trump became the 45^th President of the United States two days ago.  He took the same oath that every US President has taken since Washington.  He swore to ‘protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’  His hand upon 2 holy books, promised to ‘faithfully discharge the duties’ of the office of the President of the United States.  In his brief Inaugural speech, he spoke of themes that were very dark & dystopian. His über nationalist sentiment reminded a nation of a frightening time. His isolationism and ‘America First’ ideology is an antiquated and destructive notion. It’s a chilling reminder of the House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 50’s, McCarthyism, and the Hollywood Blacklist.  That witch hunt for supposed communists tore this country in many places.  Division and specious accusations seem to be the preferred tools for this President.  A sad statement for the country Reagan called the “shining city on a hill.”

We now have a President that doesn’t seem interested in anything but controlling his personal image and lining his already full pockets.  In the 2 brief days since his occupancy of the Oval Office, he sent his Press Secretary out to lie about the number of people attending the inauguration.  He spoke at the memorial wall at CIA, seemingly to applaud the work of our intelligence community.  Instead, he did something as petty as rehash the election results and directly suggest that everyone in the room probably voted for him… but he wasn’t asking those that didn’t to identify themselves.  He did all of this in front of the very intelligence community that he has railed against since the revelation of Russian involvement in the US elections.  He has threatened media outlets by denying access to the White House Press Corps.  He’s even suggested moving it out of the White House.  This President has sent a very clear message in his first 2 days in office:   He has no intention of fulfilling his oath to protect and defend the Constitution.  In fact, he’s already taking steps to violate it.  This is who occupies the highest office in the land.  This man, who is arguably the most powerful on Earth, leads this great nation.  The question is:  Will this nation maintain its greatness under the leadership of this self-obsessed, petty, emotionally immature, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic, blow hard?

We must look to ourselves for the answers.  For the true power is with the people.  Only when we turn our backs, when we ignore, when we think it doesn’t affect us…  It is only then that we are truly at risk of destruction.   It may sound quaint.  It may even seem a bit overly optimistic.  But it is enshrined in our governing documents, that this country has a government OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people.  They also remind us that when the boot of tyranny is reigning on the collective neck of the people; we must throw off the yolk of that tyranny with a new government.  We are the last vanguard, protecting ourselves against despotism of any from.  From silencing the media to stamping on the rights of individuals, we must ensure our constitutional destiny.  We, the people, are truly the ones with the power to change course. 

I have faith in this country.  I have faith in its people.  I have faith in this experiment in democracy that has lasted over 250 years.  We are one nation, indivisible.  We must remember that… Now, more than ever.

It's time.... STAND UP!

The past year could be described in many ways.  Chaotic. Disheartening.  Shocking.  The list could go on ad nauseum.  Many of us, myself included, put our blood, sweat, and tears into promoting a future filled with possibility.  A future where we could build on the amazing progress we’ve seen in the last decade.  The road before us was filled with billboards telling us of the audacious hope we could have faith in.  Our GPS said that we were on the right path.  All indications were, that we had won.  We had defeated the movement of hate that was threatening our very way of life.  It was inconceivable that a man, a movement, was getting so much traction in the modern era.  We, as a society, had grown in our understanding of each other.  We had expanded our collective empathy.  We were beginning to learn that our fellow man now meant people of many faiths, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identity, socio-economic status, and all the other wonderful threads in the tapestry of humanity.  We had begun to overcome.  Overcome our narrow perceptions of things we didn’t understand or agree with.  Overcome the collective need to grasp to a bygone era.  Overcome systemic ignorance and bias.  We were indeed forging toward a brave new future.  A future filled with prosperity & happiness.  A future that would see the world begin to come together as one.  A world that embraces the similarities in culture & society.  A society that began to doff the antiquated notions of growing our differences instead of cultivating our shared interest.  We saw this world.  It was just down the road.  The smallest of distance before we could grasp and embrace our chosen path.  

Then it was gone.  

On the night of November 8th, 2016, I was working in a small office in Cedar Rapids.  The organization I worked for was a PAC that focused on voter turn out.  Turn out for the national, and an emphasis on turn out for local elections.  Getting our US House Representative Candidates elected to Congress. Aiming for the trifecta.  Maintain Democratic control of the White House, and diligently work toward taking back the House & Senate.  It was a lofty goal, I’ll admit.  It has to be noted, however, that we didn’t see the darkness coming on Election Night.  We were brimming with optimism and fervor to continue the work of the last 8 years. Our day progressed into night. We were shaking the bushes to get as many voters to the polls as we could.  Making sure we followed up with all the voters that we had spent the last 6 months talking to.  The night was looking promising.  Our data was showing that our voters were coming out in a very impressive number.  Another sign that our night was going to be celebratory.  Then around 7 - 7:30 things took a turn.  It started to become clear that there was a chance we would lose.  Not just lose the congressional races.  We actually had a chance to lose the White House.  The inconceivable had arrived.  There were tears.  There was silence.  There were looks of defeat and incredulity.  The impossible seemed to become much more possible than we had ever fathomed.  The mood in the office took a precipitous drop.  Our fervor doused with reality.  We had been blindsided.  

I had a 55 minute drive home that night. I had to make the run from Cedar Rapids to the Big Gay Farm in Manchester.  All while the most critical states were about to be called.  These were the moments that would decide the presidency.  NPR was my lifeline.  As I glided down the dark and long highway, the reality began to set in.  We lost.  We didn’t only lose, we were thumped.  The House, the Senate, the Iowa Statehouse.  It was a wash.  Hillary Rodham Clinton, the heir-apparent, the progressive standard bearer, was not to be the 45th President of the United States.  When I finally arrived at the farm, and made my way into the living room to join my friends, the news was all but confirmed.  A sweeping sense of dread washed over me.  The unthinkable was now reality…

Donald J Trump:

Racist, Mysogynist, Islamophobe, Xenophobe, Homophobe, & all around horrible person….    

The President-elect of the United States.  How could it be?

The subsequent two months since the election have shown a lot of light on what a ‘President Trump’ administration is going to look like.  During his campaign he would amp his crowds, grow their frenzy with notions of cleaning up D.C.  His promises to ‘drain the swamp’ and get all the big money interests out of the government.  A fresh start for the people with someone that has ‘no’ ties to the Beltway Establishment.  We know now, 13 days before his inauguration, that was all lies.  Now, mind you, I’m the first one to acquiesce when pushing for candidates to keep EVERY campaign promise they make.  There are certain realities of governing that take precedent over some lofty assurance given during a political rally.  That being said, the actions taken by the Trump Transition Team over the last month show a stark difference between his campaign style and his governing posture.  

I hear a lot of people ramble on, wondering why people get so worked up about this new president.  They live in the delusion that the people elected to govern our country have no effect on their day-to-day.  Well here’s a wake-up call to all of those people.  Especially people in minority communities.  This is the time that you need to stand.  This is the time that you need to mobilize. I know it all seems rather dramatic.  You may even think it’s an immense overreaction.  Maybe you’re right.  Perhaps the powers that be; the Universe, Fate, God, Nature, will balance this potential atrocity out. Perhaps. But I’m not prepared to hook my wagon to a unreasonable leap of faith.  Mr. Trump has a devious, very likely to be extra-constitutional & illegal, agenda for his time as the most powerful man on Earth.  He hopes to monetize the presidency.  He will sell his mother down the river to ensure that he achieves his goals.  These are not the characteristics or moral credentials I believe anyone truly wants in the President of the United States.

Now, I’d like to bring the focus to our community.  More specifically my community.  The LGBTQ community.  I’ve heard many say that The Donald isn’t going to come after gay rights.  My response to this fallacy has always been the same:  Do you know who his Vice President is?  Mike Pence is perhaps the most homophobic person to reach high political office since equality became a right.  He is intently opposed to marriage equality. He once wanted to divert funding for HIV/AIDS research to conversion therapy.  A practice that has been disavowed by the entire psychiatric & psychological community since the late seventies. He signed a bill as governor of Indiana that codified discrimination against LGBTQ people.  He also supports a similar bill that is floating through the new Congress.  It’s so coyly named: the First Amendment Defense Act. The real purpose of this act is legalize discrimination against the gay community throughout the United States.  The LGBTQ community could soon face similar discrimination to what the African-American community went through in the Fifties and Sixties. Told that you can’t eat at the diner down the street.  That cute little boutique you love has now chosen not to accept your business. The overnight manager at McDonald’s is a ‘devout’ Christian and refuses you your nuggets & McFlurry.  You combine ol’ Mike’s penchant for destroying the LGBTQ community with The Donald’s desire to expel 12 million people from this country.  The imagination runs wild.  A reporter, pundit, advocate, that I greatly respect, Rachel Maddow, was asked what she would put to Donald Trump if he were ever courageous enough to do an interview with her.  Her response sent chills down my bones and made this possibility all too real.  She said she would ask him, “Will I, or any of my friends, be winding up in camps?”  the fact that something so heinous, so evil, so Third Reich, is even a question that someone would be eager to ask.  

He may not try to put gay people into camps.  He may never be able to deport 12 million people.  But when the leader of the free world puts that type of energy out into the universe, it tends to feed certain things.  It feeds the ignorance and hate of people who live to destroy LGBTQ lives.  It feeds the rage and indignation of the White Supremists. People who thrive on hate and ignorance tend to feed from the necrotic disease that is hate speech.  They gain a bolder posture when they think that the President of the United States supports them.  They pursue more provocative actions.  So, no, a President Trump may never put all of the gays in camps.  He may never send 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the country.  But his rhetoric, his posturing, his very tweets, feed the beast that is hate.  Hate groups will feed on it.  You will see a rise in hate crimes. You will see a rise in overt discrimination.  You will see your country and your government turn against you.  That’s not what this country is.  It’s not who she was meant to become.

So now I plea with you.  Take a stand.  Be more proud now, than ever!  Stand shoulder to shoulder with your LGBTQ brethren.  It’s when we stand strong and stand together that we can accomplish anything.   We achieved equality in a brief 40 years. We lost many people over that time.  People who fought and died for the freedoms and ease we so treasure today. The Matachine Society.  The drag queens at Stonewall.  Harvey Milk and his people in San Francisco.  The fight against HIV/AIDS. The fight for protection from discrimination.  The fight for marriage equality.  Our community was born by fire.  We have ran the gauntlet and emerged from the other side stronger, with pride, and love.  All of these fights.  All of the people we lost along the way.  This all leads us to now. 

Today I call upon all LGBTQ people.  I call upon our allies.  I ask you to rise up.  I ask you to take notice.  I ask you to fight. Fight not only for your rights, fight for the rights of our entire community.  Separately we can make noise, and get noticed.  Together… Unified… Speaking with one voice. We will not only be noticed.  They will have to listen to us.  They will hear us demand social justice.  They will hear us chant for equality.  They will see us stand our ground.  See our courage and conviction.  We, as a community, are capable of so much.  So much good.  The agents of positive change. And now is the time.  

Will you stand with me?  Stand with me against the coming tide of injustice?  If you’re reading this and you don’t live near us, get your community to stand up.  If we rally our communities, stoke the fires of courage, and make our stand.  We will make change.

Thanks for reading!  If you would like to contact me directly, you can do so at scott.dbq@gmail.com.  I would love to hear your comments, or critiques.

Again, thanks for reading…  Until next time!!

Q

The Lessons of my Mother

In the beginning, there were issues.  In the beginning, it was all about opinion.  In the beginning, things were different.

When I started this blog around 3 years ago, my intention was to blog about various issues, pop culture events, politics, and the other things that happen in the world.  The one thing that I had no intention to write about was me, or my life.  However, the events of the last 3 years have changed my perspective, my vantage point if you will.  

This year, 2013, has been an especially transformative year for me.  In the waning days of 2012, the most emotionally crippling event of my life occurred   I lost my mother to a long struggle with vascular disease.  The relationship I had with my mom certainly wasn't a standard one to be sure.  Like many, our dynamic was formed over decades of trials and tribulations.  We had to adapt to the circumstances of our lives, and that meant we were going to have to transcend the simple wonder of a mother/son relationship.  We had to have each other's back.  We had to be able to know that the other was there.  We argued viciously.  We laughed from our bellies.  We shared passions for what we thought should be right in the world, and what was crippling us as a society.  It was all too often apparent to me, that I gained my obstinate sense of right and wrong from her.  She gave me my sense of social justice & how important it is to appeal to the better angels of our nature.  My mother was far from perfect.  She was thrice divorced.  She had incredible successes, and inconsolable failures.  She wasn't the perfect sister, daughter, friend, or parent.  It was from those personal failings, however, that she taught me the most important life lessons.  It's within those lessons that I have come out of the vacuous abyss of grief.  

In the days following her passing, all of the traditional tasks began.  We were planning the wake and funeral. Consoling those that were supposed to be consoling us.  We were pushing on.  Trudging forward in life through what seemed like an impassable trench.  It was somewhere during these inane tasks, that it struck me like a lightning bolt from a clear blue sky.  Unexpected and sudden, I realized that the lessons of her life had prepared me for her death.  In that moment of clarity, the gates opened, and I would never be the same.

I mourn the passing of my mother with intense grief and sadness   However my mourning isn't one of black veils & sullen eyes.  In the mourning of my mother, I found access to all the things she taught me.  The things I didn't realize during her life, but in the months since her death, have become the guiding beacons of my life.

2013...  What a year so far.  

Over the last few months, I found myself discarding the various pieces of my life that were either unnecessary or unwanted.  I'm reminded of an old quote about sculpting.

  "Sculpting is the art of knowing what to get rid of."  

I've noticed that this applies across the board of life.  When I first heard that quote, I found it metaphorically profound, but really didn't get the profundity of it.  When the sculptor approaches the block of rock or the huge marble chunk, they have to see what needs to go.  Where to apply the chisel, where to smooth an edge.  In life, this couldn't be more true.  There are pieces of life that can be formed and sanded down to a smooth finish.  On the other hand, there are pieces that need to be chiseled off, tossed to the scrap pile, and used for bathroom tile.  

This may all sound harsh.  Perhaps it is.  

These plausibly harsh methods have had some amazing results.  

Some of the fundamental things that changed within me following my mom's death, have allowed for a much more fulfilled sense of me.

I've gotten rid of aberrant liars. Not because of the lies, but because of the disrespect.

I've finally smoothed down the rough edges of my heart and learned that I can be happy. I learned that I can still love & be loved.  It comes with risk, but that risk is well worth the reward.  Whether the happiness is long lived or burns like the sun for only a short time.

I've been reminded of the simple truth: 

"With a small group of dedicated friends, you can survive anything."

I've regained the pilot's seat of my life.

I embrace the lessons of my mother.

Our Resposibility

I think to start this conversation, we have to go back to 1998.  In a quiet rural town in Wyoming, the horrific beating, torture, & subsequent death of Matthew Shepard brought to light the need of Hate Crimes legislation.  Matthew was targeted, humiliated, tortured, beaten, and left to die.  What was his transgression?  He was gay.  That's all it took.  An enraged nation rallied together, from coast to coast, from urban to rural, to combat this particularly atrocious type of crime.  The discussion about the treatment & attitudes toward LGBT people was reignited.  The push for local, state, & federal hate crimes legislation began.  National Gay Rights organizations began their work in earnest to ensure this wouldn't happen again.  Matthew Shepard became the newest unfortunate martyr of the cause.

Now, almost 15 years later, we have made great strides in the fight for equality.  Gay Marriage is legal in 6 states, with more to come.  The Matthew Shepard Act added protections to the Federal Hate Crimes Act that included actual or perceived gender identity & sexual orientation.  Localities have added sexual orientation to the languages of their Human Rights ordinances.  The momentum seemed to have finally been on the side of progress.  We had made a big dent in homophobic behavior, until we realized an old & most insidious plague had gone forgotten & unmentioned. 

Bullying has been in the world since time immemorial.  Everyone tasted the bitter sting of a school yard bully, or the ignorant colleague that hadn't grown up. It was long considered that taking a little bullying was part of the 'growing up' process. It helps to grow a thick skin for that hard & unforgiving world that we were being sent into.  When it became to much, there was escape at home, or in the simple company of friends.  However, the world has gotten smaller with the advent of Facebook, Twitter, & smartphones.  Finding a reprieve from the school yard bully wasn't as simple as it used to be.  The anonymous nature of the Internet had multiplied the bully population like a gremlin who broke into Wal-Mart at midnight.  They can be faceless, nameless entities calling you things that people would have never considered saying in person.  They belittle from a distance, without the risk of reproach or culpability.  This simple coming-of-age torment has grown into a life & death struggle.

Young people who show the slightest bit of deviation from perceived norms are walking, talking targets for the neo-bully.  Those that are bullied, bully others, and down the line it goes until it meets a fateful & tragic end.  We are empowered to lead by example.  The next generation looks to the one before it for the guidelines of acceptable behavior.  Sadly, the next generation has been lead down the primrose path regarding the treatment of their fellow human.

What do they see when they look for guidance in what they are supposed to perceive as acceptable?  It's certainly not what I was sold as 'acceptable' when I grew up.  Everyone from parents and teachers to our politicians and leaders have let down an entire generation of Americans.  The next generation is modeling their behavior on bigotry, hate speech, marginalization of those that are different from them, and indoctrinating intolerance.  

We see on a weekly basis, young gay kids killing themselves because they are being humiliated, torn down, & thrown to the side.  Our schools fail to respond to this epidemic.  The adults that are supposed to protect them, turn their backs.  The politicians that seek high elected office, tell them in no uncertain terms, they are less than, unequal, immoral, and unwanted.  Where are they supposed to turn?

Our current political climate has raised the stakes even further.  I thought that openly spreading hate & bigotry was a thing of the all too recent past.  We find Rick Perry staging gay people as the primary weapon in the destruction of religion.  Michelle Bachman and her husband openly run a clinic that attempts to 'cure' homosexuality. Rick Santorum seriously believes that waging war against the homosexuals is more important than the economy!

 What has happened in this society, that these people raise to the level of 'Presidential Candidate?'  The majority of Republican candidates, and the party as a whole, railed against the repeal of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell.'  They spouted far and wide, well within our children's influential ears, that gay people would destabilize our national security.  The LGBT community is one of the biggest targets of the so-called 'Religious Right' and 'Conservative Ideology.'  All to often, I hear parents regurgitating this garbage as if it was handed down to them in a gospel.  How are the young people that look to 'respected adults' for guidance supposed to act?

The bullies are taking their queues from us.  We give them the ammunition they need to continue this war on each other.  We are on the precipice of unraveling 40 years of social progress because we are failing to keep the most ignorant and hate-filled among us in check.  I don't propose that they shouldn't be allowed to say whatever indignant, venomous, vicious, & antiquated slop they choose to.  I would fight for their right to free speech as much as for my own.  

I say, it is our responsibility in this society to raise up our voices to drown out the spewing of acidic hate.  It is our responsibility to exercise our right to free speech, and take to task each and every bigoted, racist, homophobic, misogynistic  hate monger that stands up.  We have an entire generation of children under attack.  

It is our responsibility to protect them.

It is our responsibility to teach them.

It is our responsibility to keep them alive.  

It is OUR responsibility.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat

The rivers haven’t turned to blood.  The locusts haven’t consumed the harvest.  Dogs still chase cats.  The world hasn’t stopped spinning around the sun.

**BREAKING NEWS**

GAY MARRIAGE DIDN’T END THE WORLD!

Almost two years have passed since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that barring gay couples from the right to marry is unconstitutional.  In that time, the prognostications of the religious right have fallen flat.  The ridiculous fears and bigoted rhetoric that encompassed the Court’s decision have been proven just that, bigoted rhetoric.  A survey conducted 18 months after the ban was lifted, showed that 92% of Iowans felt that their lives were ‘unaffected’ by the ruling.

All of that being said, we find ourselves once again being bombarded by hate speech.  A public hearing was held tonight in Des Moines where people were given the opportunity to speak their mind on this issue.  The divisive nature of this gathering was made eerily clear by the wearing of colors.  Blue vs. Red.  Sounds familiar right?  Who wore the colors shouldn’t surprise you either!  The pro-equality crowd donned as much blue as their frames could support, while the pro-discrimination crowd wore all red their hate could muster.  Now that the Iowa Governor’s Mansion is occupied by Terry Branstad, and half of the Statehouse is under the control of Republicans, the shadow of hate and bigotry has once again befallen Iowa.

Iowans have been historically proud of their progressive roots.  The first amendment of Article One in the Iowa State Constitution reads,

“All men and women are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights--among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.”

As Iowans, we have had a history of progressive policies & equality for all.  The first decision ever handed down from the newly minted Iowa Supreme Court, was to abolish slavery.  They did this 20 years before the US Supreme Court ever heard the issue.  Iowa was the first to end “Separate but Equal,” 80 years in advance of the US Supreme Court.  Iowa was the first to grant equal access to education, interracial marriage, and the list goes on.  So why now, when Iowa has broken down yet another barrier of discrimination, are our leaders & some of our citizenry, trying to turn back the clock?  

The history of our great nation is one of escaping the tyrannical boot heel of religious and political oppression.  “He who does not learn from history, is condemned to repeat it!”  This turn of phrase has such relevance now.  Our nation was besmirched with the lasting stains of slavery & Jim Crow.  Women’s Suffrage was a long and hard fought battle to grant their right to vote.  Does our history not give us lessons?  Does it not teach us the consequences of blatant hatred & ignorance?  The fight for civil rights in this country have gone on long enough!  This is the 21st century.  We have long reflected on the painful mistakes of our past.  The lifting of obvious infringements on civil rights shouldn’t require debate or moral equivocation.  

I am at a loss to understand the so-called ‘conservative’ ideology.  When did it become acceptable to advocate bigotry on such a pervasive level.  Who walked up to the metaphorical clock, and spun it like the wheel on the Price is Right?  It frightens me that the message we’re sending to our future generations is so filled with ignorance.  What will they say when they look back and see their fore-bearers were advocates of creating a second-class of citizens.  

The logic behind these backward and twisted arguments is one that, frankly, shouldn’t be in the debate.  The freedom of religion, is also freedom FROM religion.  Marriage is a civil contract.  There haven’t been any attempts to tell churches they have to marry same-sex couples.  When the first amendment says, “Congress shall pass no law regarding the establishment of Religion,” it is also meant to protect us from Religion establishing law.  The basis of this entire issue boils down to one response uttered tonight at a public hearing in Des Moines,

“The only proof I need to define marriage between one man and one woman the Bible, God’s word.  God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”

I often wonder if these people have ever really read the bible?  Do they think that we should kill people for eating shrimp and lobster?  Do they believe we should still have slaves?  Do they believe that stoning someone to death in the town square is an ‘ok’ punishment for missing Sunday Service?  All of these things are in the Bible too.

America, Iowa especially, isn’t supposed to be a place of exclusion & bigotry.  We are a land of freedom and equality.  I think it’s time people start to remember that!

All Politics Are Local

This is a letter I sent to the Editor of the Telegraph Herald here in Dubuque.  So, I decided that I should post it here too.  

Letter to the Editor

Telegraph Herald

Dubuque, Iowa

1.13.11

The recent tragedies in Tucson, AZ have forced our national community to examine many facets of our public discourse. We must examine everything from political rhetoric to gun control laws. This devastating horror may have occurred thousands of miles for our Dubuque neighborhoods, yet, the message has a very local tenor. Our local community has been fortunate not to have to endure the indescribable sorrow brought by the indefensible actions of a crazed gunman. However, our own local issues and the means by which we engage them has to be examined. 

One of the most divisive & tumultuous issues our Midwestern hamlet has had to debate recently, is one the nation has been debating for decades. The existence of a local Planned Parenthood clinic in Dubuque has brought out the passion and the fervor of our local denizens. While passionate and engaging discourse is critical to our democracy, the means by which we carry out this conversation is critical. In his speech at the Tucson Memorial, President Obama implored our national conscience to respond the better angels of our nature.  There is a great deal of intensity on both sides of this issue. One of the most important privileges living in this great nation is the right to engage is fervent debate. However, while exercising this right, we must call upon all sides to do so in a civilized manner. 

The first amendment to our grand Constitution bestows upon us the many rights that have created the greatest democracy the world has known. Sadly, some have chosen to pervert this freedom. Protesting serves a purpose. It gives the broader community a chance to see, and take in your opinions. It does not give anyone the right to harass. The Planned Parenthood clinic in Dubuque provides a multitude of medical services to their patients. A very small part of that service regimen is abortions. The dedicated protesters who have planted their roots outside the clinic since it’s inception, do not seem to understand this. They also do not seem to understand limits. Harassing patients as they enter and depart, following them down the street, taking photos of cars and their license plates. These are not the means by which we should engage. This is a tactic of fear, persecution, & intimidation. Using information gathered from their privacy-violating tactics, they send graphic & tasteless images of stillborn children on postcards. Is this really what was intended by our founders? I think not. 

The recent horrors our nation has witnessed has brought to the forefront the manner in which we engage each other. We are purported to be a civilized nation, able to engage in civilized debate to discuss the issues of our time. These tactics used by Dubuque Right To Life and other organizations must be condemned. The supporters of these organizations must be told that should these tactics continue, they will withdraw support. Our national interests are not served by fear and intimidation. There must be an outcry. There must be a civilized nature to our discourse. I call upon the Dubuque community to let these organization know we do not support these tactics. It’s time we regain a semblance of civility. This isn’t the manner a civilized community behaves.

Second Amendment Remedies

The recent events in Tucson, AZ have sent waves of horror and shock throughout the nation.  A perfectly calm Saturday morning in a calm and humble Southwestern suburb…   Isn’t that the way these scenarios always play out?  The serene nature of our society rocked by bedlam.  

Once again, an all too familiar play acted itself out in an American city.  A crazed gunman, bent on death, dealt a hand of devastation.  This time around, even more attention and hand ringing comes to bear because one of the victims is a member of Congress.  Headlines screaming, “6 DEAD, 14 WOUNDED” flair the worries and fears of a nation.  A moment of silence, a somber statement from the White House, political finger pointing, and the thoughts and prayers of a nation are all too common.  It would seem that there is a playbook that doesn’t even require dusting.  

Once again, we try to place the blame.  Was this troubled 22 year old man influenced by overly heated political vitriol?  Did all the right people miss all the signs?  How was this crazed lunatic able to purchase a gun?  All of these questions are viable.  They all need to be answered.  

Our country is touted as the greatest hope for freedom across the globe.  The opportunities run aplenty. The unending chase for the American dream seduces the hopes of the masses.  Yet, in the midst of this great experiment in democracy, we find ourselves amidst inconceivable horror time and time again.  In the shadow of the tragedy in Tucson, I found myself asking the same questions as most in the country were.  What caused this? What failure in our society allowed this to happen?  I firmly understand that the unhinged & tortured minds of people that commit these acts are not always able to be stopped.  So then, is it not incumbent upon us, as a society, to find ways to make it as difficult as possible for the fringed minds to accomplish these tasks.

It leads me to one inescapable conclusion:  GUNS.  That’s right.  I’m going to go down that road.  If this demented soul hadn’t have been able to go down to his local “sportsman’s” depot, and buy a handgun, would this have happened?  The pundits on the side of the NRA and so-called “gun rights” say he slipped through the cracks.  His mental instabilities were noticed by college faculty, friends, and his parents were informed of his “problems.”  Yet, because he was never found to be “mentally ill” by a court, and he had no felonies…  The “instant” background check said he was free and clear to bear arms.  The gunman at Virginia Tech, same scenario.  This has been the situation time and time again.  People slipping through the cracks of a system that is so politicized, it’s practical uses are marginal.

“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

When our nation’s forefathers and framers of the US Constitution penned these ubiquitous words, the need was immanent.  We had just rebelled against the largest empire in the world.  The brave and noble founders of our country were compelled to protect our fledgling nation.  We had no real military to speak of.  We were a ragtag group of colonists that demanded our freedom.  We repelled the boot of tyranny and oppression, and began the greatest experiment of government in human history.  Our minimal population, in order to keep and protect the values that compelled our revolution, required a means to maintain it.  The former colonists, now citizens of a new nation, required the protections from any that would impinge our capability to defend, and if necessary, repel. It all made sense.

In the intervening centuries, we have become the most powerful nation in the history of the world.  Our economic, political, and military force can alter the very fabric of the global society.  We have built a defensive force in our armed services that has defeated some of the greatest threats civilization has known.  Do we attribute these great strides to the right of our populous to arm themselves?  No.  We attribute our strength to the resolve and determination of generations of Americans who have fought and died to protect the freedoms that guided our nation’s founding.  We, not even once, have had to repel our borders from foreign threat.

The terms, ‘A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state…’ are now antiquated.  The very fabric of our democracy is based on the right of ‘One Person, One Vote.’ We make changes to our government at the ballot box, not within a box of bullets.  So then, why must we maintain the ability ‘keep and bear arms?’  The purpose of the Second Amendment has faded into the rich history of our country.  We no longer need to maintain a militia. We have local, state, and federal law enforcement.  We have our military.  Only the fringe elements see the need to overthrow our government by force.  Yet, somewhere in our national consciousness, there is a need for this archaic ‘right.’  

I think it not only necessary, but vital, that our leaders act as such.  It’s time for the ‘adults’ to talk.  The flimsy arguments that we are going to stop sportsmen from hunting, or creating a society that cannot protect itself are blatantly false.  Our nation is on the precipice of unthinkable devolution to a time long forgotten.  This is not the Wild West.  There is no need to carry a weapon on your hip, to keep an arsenal in your closet.  It’s time, as a nation, we grow up.  The tragic lessons of Tucson, Virginia Tech, and all the senseless tragedies we have endured must be heeded.  

It’s time to grow up.