Socialism is a vast bureaucracy dictated by the few for the good of the few and the control of the many. A small, elite governing body is responsible for making decisions. Socialism requires total control over the teaching of its citizenry and control over the relationships of its subjects. Citizens are asked, even required, to report their neighbor to government officials for even suspected violations of government directives.
NEED FOR CHECKS AND BALANCES
The beauty, freedom and strength of America, however, and of existence itself lies in a multiplicity of ideas and variations in cultural interpretations. This multiplicity of ideas maintains the checks and balances that prevent abuses of power and encourages evaluation and growth. It is the faith of the free system of government that open and honest debate provides a foundation where the general population can choose what form of laws and regulations will best serve the greatest good. The government is then held accountable to the people for its continuing existence.
U.S. MOVES TOWARD ECONOMIC SOCIALISM
As we watch the economic breakdown in the United States two weeks now before the election of a new president, it becomes evident that decisions by small, elite groups in both business and government have undermined our free economic system and replaced it with economic socialism. We have been misled and misdirected.
We are informed that it is in our best interest to move toward socialism in this time of economic crisis.
POLITICALLY CORRECT SOCIALISM
Socialism has been rampant in the universities for decades. I entered Cornell University to return to graduate school in the early 1970's, another era of social crisis. Watergate trials were playing non-stop on the television. The Vietnam war was waging. Minorities and women were challenging the university system for equal rights. The ideology being presented by the elite academic gurus was that we needed to move toward socialism. 'Benevolent dictatorship' was whispered to be the obvious solution. A chill ran down my spine, because 'benevolent dictatorship' is a contradiction in terms. Socialism continues to be 'politically correct' in the major universities.
In the 1800's, the historian and moralist, Lord Acton, noted the corrupting behavior of absolute power.
"POWER CORRUPTS AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY"
Germany, the Soviet Union, and other communist countries have shown us the tragedies related to socialist perspectives in governance, and how all citizens can be drawn into these tragedies.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, in his book, The Gulag Archpelago, describes the atrocities of the Soviet prison system. He asks, "Where did this wolf-tribe appear from among our people? Does it really stem from our own roots? Our own blood? It is our own."
He concluldes, "If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being."1.
THE BANALITY OF EVIL
In 1961, Hannah Arendt reported on the trial of Otto Adolf Eichmann. She describes the banality of evil, noting that while the deeds Eichmann committed were monstrous, Eichmann, himself, was quite ordinary, neither demonic nor monstrous. What Arendt noticed was thoughtlessness, an inability to think. His responses were cliches, stock phrases, and standardized codes of expression.2.
We revolt in horror when we consider what was done in Nazi Germany by medical doctors. Robert Jay Lifton researched and reported the systematic genocide in Auschwitz and elsewhere. He noted that the Nazi motivation of 'killing as a therapeutic imperative' for the good of the Volk compelled medical doctors to participate in the Nazi eugenic vision. Doctors held no authority in deciding orders. They were powerless cogs in a vast machine, a faceless detached bureaucracy.3.
Lifton outlines the principle of 'doubling' which involves the formation of a second, relatively autonomous self, which enables one to participate in evil, while maintaining a prior self that continues as a family person and humane member of society.
CALL FOR CRITICAL THINKNG
Lifton notes that most Nazi doctors were not beasts, they were very ordinary people with families and children. However, the whole society failed to exercise the faculty of thinking critically.
Our present day 'preachings of political correctness' come dangerously close to careless and thoughtless cliches, stock phrases, and standardized codes of expression. We are being intimidated into accepting behaviors that render atrocious consequences.
Lifton concludes his discussions on doubling by saying, "In light of the recent record of professionals engaged in mass killings, can this be the century of doubling? Or, given the ever greater potential of professionalization of genocide, will that distinction belong to the twenty-first century? Or, may one ask a little more softly, can we interrupt the process - first, by naming it." 4.
COURAGE OF OUR CONVICTIONS
A crisis is that point in an illness where the patient either recovers or dies. The survival of democracy and the maintenance of the free citizen is dependent upon the vital reactivation of citizen awareness and critical thinking on the part of all. Most importantly, it requires the courage to speak out in support of our convictions.
REFERENCES:
1. Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr. The Gulag Archipelago. In Literary Cavalcade. Jan. 1976. Vol. 28, No. 4. Pg. 41.
2. Assy, Bethania. "Eichmann, the Banality of Evil, and Thinking in Arendt's Thought". Pg. 1. http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Cont/ContAssy.htm.
3. Lifton, Robert Jay. The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide. Basic Books. (1986)2000. Pgs. 14-15.
4. Lifton, pg.465.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
It's Not Our Economy, S-------. It's Our Character! What Happened To The Dream?
The economy took a record breaking decline last week, 4 weeks before our presidential election, and the media pundits are telling us that this is all we should be concerned about. The candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, roll out their strategies for economic recovery, although we know, and they know, that they don't have a clue as to what they will be able to do about this. There appears to be enough blame to go around.
As I watch the presidential debates, I am proud that Barack, Hillary, and Sarah have stood up to demonstrate their strength of leadership, alongside John and Joe. As a teacher and professor I have encouraged equal rights for all.
But I am concerned.
What is needed at this junction in history are leaders who have the WISDOM, WILL and COURAGE to help us restore a greater loss than money.
OUR BROKEN DREAM
On August 28th, 1963 my husband and I joined a carload from our (white, suburban) church to attend the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom which was
organized by black ministers, including Dr.,Rev. Martin Luther King,Jr. We stood at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial as Dr. King challenged us to build a country where people were judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I believe that Dr. King, an eloquent Baptist minister, was calling us all to social, personal and moral responsibility.
Somewhere along the line the American Dream moved away from a focus on personal responsibility to a focus on personal indulgence and the acquisition of material goods. Hedonism was placed on the throne, with personal pleasure in the present as our primary goal.
THE DREAM TURNED PLASTIC
Credit card debt has become a major problem to many Americans. Beginning in the 1950's the convenience of plastic money enticed us into a compulsive consumer economy. Instead of saving and buying with cash, we were told that we can have it all now, so 'charge ahead'!
In 2004, the average family owed $8,000 on their credit cards. Credit card companies send us endless invitations telling us that we are preapproved to open an account. Even high school students receive them. 1.
We bought into it, buying cars, boats, houses and all the furniture.
SEX SELLS!
Sex represents the ultimate personal indulgence. Sex, a powerful motivator, is used to sell products.
Advertisements have long used provocative women and sultry men to sell products from cars to cigarettes. Perverse images of sexuality are presented repeatedly to sell us products every seven minutes. When we become bored with one level of perversity, the shock value increases to continue attracting our attention, regardless of what this is doing to our ability to respect each other and our relationships.
Previously young women were raised with the awareness that sex was related to babies and sexuality was sacred, something to be saved for motherhood and family.
When the 'pill' was introduced in 1960, sex for its own sake became possible. Women were enticed into presenting themselves as sexually available and spontaneous.
Young people were drawn into early and promiscuous sexual relationships with tragic consequences.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL TRAGEDIES - SEX SELLS AND WE BOUGHT
The hard truth is that most personal and social problems are the result of our inability to protect and nurture caring family relationships. Female headed households became the single most reason for the rapid increase in poverty for women and children.
Births Out-of-Wedlock
In 1960, 4% of births were to unmarried women. By 2005, out-of-wedlock births accounted for 37% of babies born in the United States. 2.
* In 1950, five out of six black children were born into a 2 parent home, now 70% are born outside of marriage. 3.
Divorce
Following the establishment of no-fault divorce laws in the 1970's, the number of divorces increased rapidly, In 1970, 4 million Americans had divorced. By the year 2000, the number had grown to 22 million. 4.
* Divorce and separation rates for blacks are now 50% higher than for whites. 5.
Fatherless Homes
The breakdown of marriage and family led to fatherless households. Many men are removed from the responsible and nurturing role of parenting.
Sobering federal statistics report that children from fatherless homes include the large majority of behavioral problems, teen suicides, juveniles in detention, school dropouts, children in chemical-abuse centers, youth in prison, and homeless and runaway children. 6.
Abortion
Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, more than 50 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. Over 80% of abortions were performed on unmarried women, and over 50% to women under 25. 7.
*In 2000, blacks made up 17% of live births but 36% of all abortions. 8.
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)
By March of 2008, 1 in 4 teen girls had at least one STD. The most common, the human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer. The second most common, chlamydia, can lead to infertility.
*Nearly half of black teens had one or more STD's. 9.
By 2005, AIDS in the U.S. had claimed over 530,000 lives. The first cases were reported in the U.S. in 1981 in the homosexual community. 77% of those infected with AIDS are males.
*Blacks represent 12% of the U.S. population, but represent over 50% of accumulated AIDS cases. 10.
Bisexual and casual sexual behaviors transferred this disease to women. In 2005, of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., 64% were black, 19% were white, and 15% were Hispanic. 11.
ALCOHOL ABUSE 12.
The tragedies of nicotine use and illegal drugs cause immense personal and social problems, but my focus here is on problems caused by the legal and socially accepted drug of alcohol.
Alcohol is used for sociability in our society and advertisers present it as the life of the party, without presenting the tragic consequences that often result.
Binge drinking is a major problem at colleges. Even one-third of high school students report binge drinking.
Alcohol impairs muscular coodination and mental judgment and is responsible for 22% of all auto fatalities. Over 17,000 deaths occur each year in alcohol related accidents.
The bill for alcohol related abuse may run as high as $100 billion a year in responding to lost employment, crime, date rape, family abuse and family breakdown.
About 43% of adults have experienced alcoholism in their family.
Each year 5,000 children are born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
A CALL FOR WISDOM, WILL AND COURAGE
In three weeks we will vote for the next president of the United States of America.
Who will have the wisdom, will, and courage to call us to restore the content of our character?
Who can lead us back to citizenship and social, personal, and moral responsibility so the foundation of our country can be protected and restored?
There is enough blame to go around.
Let's all decide to get rich a little bit slower and care for each other.
REFERENCES
1. "Secret History of the Credit Card". Frontline. Posted Nov. 23, 2004. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/view.
2. Associated Press. Nov. 21, 2006. MSNBC.com.
3.Cosby, Bill and Alvin F. Poussaint, MD.Come On People. Thomas Nelson. Nashville. 2007:2,14.
4. Henslin, James M. Social Problems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2000:371
5. Cosby, pg. 17.
6. Alexander, Mark M. "Fatherless in America". June 17, 2005. www.townhall.com/Common.
7. Center for Disease Control- Abortion Surveillance - U.S. 2000.
8. Lott, John R. and Sonya D. Jones. "Abortion Rate Among Black Women Far Exceeds Rate for Other Groups". April 9, 2008. http://www.foxnews.com.
9. The Associated Press. March 11, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23574940.
10. Center for Disease Control HIV/AIDS. 9/8/2007. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance.
11. HIV/AIDS Among Women. 5/26/2008. http://www.cdc/gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets.
12. Henslin, James M. Social Problems Prentice Hall. Saddle River, NJ. 2000:105-106.
Palen, J. John. Social Problems for the Twenty-first Century.McGraw Hill. 2001:370-371.
Parrillo, Vincent N., John Stimson and Ardyth Stimson. Contemporary Social Problems. Allyn and Bacon. 1999:58-59.
As I watch the presidential debates, I am proud that Barack, Hillary, and Sarah have stood up to demonstrate their strength of leadership, alongside John and Joe. As a teacher and professor I have encouraged equal rights for all.
But I am concerned.
What is needed at this junction in history are leaders who have the WISDOM, WILL and COURAGE to help us restore a greater loss than money.
OUR BROKEN DREAM
On August 28th, 1963 my husband and I joined a carload from our (white, suburban) church to attend the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom which was
organized by black ministers, including Dr.,Rev. Martin Luther King,Jr. We stood at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial as Dr. King challenged us to build a country where people were judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I believe that Dr. King, an eloquent Baptist minister, was calling us all to social, personal and moral responsibility.
Somewhere along the line the American Dream moved away from a focus on personal responsibility to a focus on personal indulgence and the acquisition of material goods. Hedonism was placed on the throne, with personal pleasure in the present as our primary goal.
THE DREAM TURNED PLASTIC
Credit card debt has become a major problem to many Americans. Beginning in the 1950's the convenience of plastic money enticed us into a compulsive consumer economy. Instead of saving and buying with cash, we were told that we can have it all now, so 'charge ahead'!
In 2004, the average family owed $8,000 on their credit cards. Credit card companies send us endless invitations telling us that we are preapproved to open an account. Even high school students receive them. 1.
We bought into it, buying cars, boats, houses and all the furniture.
SEX SELLS!
Sex represents the ultimate personal indulgence. Sex, a powerful motivator, is used to sell products.
Advertisements have long used provocative women and sultry men to sell products from cars to cigarettes. Perverse images of sexuality are presented repeatedly to sell us products every seven minutes. When we become bored with one level of perversity, the shock value increases to continue attracting our attention, regardless of what this is doing to our ability to respect each other and our relationships.
Previously young women were raised with the awareness that sex was related to babies and sexuality was sacred, something to be saved for motherhood and family.
When the 'pill' was introduced in 1960, sex for its own sake became possible. Women were enticed into presenting themselves as sexually available and spontaneous.
Young people were drawn into early and promiscuous sexual relationships with tragic consequences.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL TRAGEDIES - SEX SELLS AND WE BOUGHT
The hard truth is that most personal and social problems are the result of our inability to protect and nurture caring family relationships. Female headed households became the single most reason for the rapid increase in poverty for women and children.
Births Out-of-Wedlock
In 1960, 4% of births were to unmarried women. By 2005, out-of-wedlock births accounted for 37% of babies born in the United States. 2.
* In 1950, five out of six black children were born into a 2 parent home, now 70% are born outside of marriage. 3.
Divorce
Following the establishment of no-fault divorce laws in the 1970's, the number of divorces increased rapidly, In 1970, 4 million Americans had divorced. By the year 2000, the number had grown to 22 million. 4.
* Divorce and separation rates for blacks are now 50% higher than for whites. 5.
Fatherless Homes
The breakdown of marriage and family led to fatherless households. Many men are removed from the responsible and nurturing role of parenting.
Sobering federal statistics report that children from fatherless homes include the large majority of behavioral problems, teen suicides, juveniles in detention, school dropouts, children in chemical-abuse centers, youth in prison, and homeless and runaway children. 6.
Abortion
Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, more than 50 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. Over 80% of abortions were performed on unmarried women, and over 50% to women under 25. 7.
*In 2000, blacks made up 17% of live births but 36% of all abortions. 8.
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)
By March of 2008, 1 in 4 teen girls had at least one STD. The most common, the human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer. The second most common, chlamydia, can lead to infertility.
*Nearly half of black teens had one or more STD's. 9.
By 2005, AIDS in the U.S. had claimed over 530,000 lives. The first cases were reported in the U.S. in 1981 in the homosexual community. 77% of those infected with AIDS are males.
*Blacks represent 12% of the U.S. population, but represent over 50% of accumulated AIDS cases. 10.
Bisexual and casual sexual behaviors transferred this disease to women. In 2005, of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., 64% were black, 19% were white, and 15% were Hispanic. 11.
ALCOHOL ABUSE 12.
The tragedies of nicotine use and illegal drugs cause immense personal and social problems, but my focus here is on problems caused by the legal and socially accepted drug of alcohol.
Alcohol is used for sociability in our society and advertisers present it as the life of the party, without presenting the tragic consequences that often result.
Binge drinking is a major problem at colleges. Even one-third of high school students report binge drinking.
Alcohol impairs muscular coodination and mental judgment and is responsible for 22% of all auto fatalities. Over 17,000 deaths occur each year in alcohol related accidents.
The bill for alcohol related abuse may run as high as $100 billion a year in responding to lost employment, crime, date rape, family abuse and family breakdown.
About 43% of adults have experienced alcoholism in their family.
Each year 5,000 children are born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
A CALL FOR WISDOM, WILL AND COURAGE
In three weeks we will vote for the next president of the United States of America.
Who will have the wisdom, will, and courage to call us to restore the content of our character?
Who can lead us back to citizenship and social, personal, and moral responsibility so the foundation of our country can be protected and restored?
There is enough blame to go around.
Let's all decide to get rich a little bit slower and care for each other.
REFERENCES
1. "Secret History of the Credit Card". Frontline. Posted Nov. 23, 2004. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/view.
2. Associated Press. Nov. 21, 2006. MSNBC.com.
3.Cosby, Bill and Alvin F. Poussaint, MD.Come On People. Thomas Nelson. Nashville. 2007:2,14.
4. Henslin, James M. Social Problems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2000:371
5. Cosby, pg. 17.
6. Alexander, Mark M. "Fatherless in America". June 17, 2005. www.townhall.com/Common.
7. Center for Disease Control- Abortion Surveillance - U.S. 2000.
8. Lott, John R. and Sonya D. Jones. "Abortion Rate Among Black Women Far Exceeds Rate for Other Groups". April 9, 2008. http://www.foxnews.com.
9. The Associated Press. March 11, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23574940.
10. Center for Disease Control HIV/AIDS. 9/8/2007. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance.
11. HIV/AIDS Among Women. 5/26/2008. http://www.cdc/gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets.
12. Henslin, James M. Social Problems Prentice Hall. Saddle River, NJ. 2000:105-106.
Palen, J. John. Social Problems for the Twenty-first Century.McGraw Hill. 2001:370-371.
Parrillo, Vincent N., John Stimson and Ardyth Stimson. Contemporary Social Problems. Allyn and Bacon. 1999:58-59.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Economic Socialism Endangers Our Freedoms!
OUR FREEDOMS AT STAKE!
Our very freedoms are at stake in the horrendous request that asks taxpayers to give the government SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS of their hard earned money to bail out fiascos on wall street.
Our free enterprise system is the foundation that allows many voices to be heard and considered and many enterprises to be established to support values.
IT'S TIME TO STOP ALL THE POLITICAL RHETORIC AND INVESTIGATE WHAT AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DEBACLE.
Giving government bureaucrats at the treasury department centralized control over the money available for making business loans and more importantly giving them the authority to decide the eligibility rules as to who will receive these loans moves us into the realm of economic socialism.
Government bureaucracies are under the control of 'political correctness' that is being orchestrated by the far left. This concern becomes evident as we examine government control of the public school system.
POLITICALLY CORRECT BUREAUCRATS AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Moral and religious values of many, I would suggest most, of the students and parents are held in contempt as educational bureaucrats use the public school system to present promiscuous teenage sexuality, homosexuality and abortion as normalized behaviors, even in the elementary grades.
The importance of our religious values and heritage are dismissed within the public schools. My own 8 year old grandson informed me that "We're not allowed to talk about God in school".
As a teacher and professor I have sat through at least 4 extended 'politically correct' indoctrination sessions incorrectly promoted as diversity training. I have watched students and teachers who were 'put down' or even dismissed from their profession for failing to buy into the 'diversified indoctrination".
POLITICALLY CORRECT BUREAUCRATS AND OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Now we want to put government bureaucrats in charge of deciding who or what economic loans are justified and possible? Will similar 'politically correct' criteria be used to make these decisions? Will health industries, private schools, books stores, theaters, department stores, etc. first be required to adjust their offerings to 'political correctness' before they can receive loans? Will the 'I Love Jesus Tire and Brake Service' be required to change its name before a loan is made?
Our foremothers and forefathers, often leaving all behind, came to this country to escape the tyranny of government control over their minds and souls.
Our greed to consume is undermining the spiritual and moral values that have made our country strong. The demand for easy credit and living beyond our means is undermining our integrity.
Dying of consumption is not a good way to go!
IT'S TIME TO EXAMINE OURSELVES! IT'S TIME TO BE ECONOMICALLY RESPONSIBLE AND PROTECT OUR ECONOMIC FREEDOMS!
Our very freedoms are at stake in the horrendous request that asks taxpayers to give the government SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS of their hard earned money to bail out fiascos on wall street.
Our free enterprise system is the foundation that allows many voices to be heard and considered and many enterprises to be established to support values.
IT'S TIME TO STOP ALL THE POLITICAL RHETORIC AND INVESTIGATE WHAT AND WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS DEBACLE.
Giving government bureaucrats at the treasury department centralized control over the money available for making business loans and more importantly giving them the authority to decide the eligibility rules as to who will receive these loans moves us into the realm of economic socialism.
Government bureaucracies are under the control of 'political correctness' that is being orchestrated by the far left. This concern becomes evident as we examine government control of the public school system.
POLITICALLY CORRECT BUREAUCRATS AND THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Moral and religious values of many, I would suggest most, of the students and parents are held in contempt as educational bureaucrats use the public school system to present promiscuous teenage sexuality, homosexuality and abortion as normalized behaviors, even in the elementary grades.
The importance of our religious values and heritage are dismissed within the public schools. My own 8 year old grandson informed me that "We're not allowed to talk about God in school".
As a teacher and professor I have sat through at least 4 extended 'politically correct' indoctrination sessions incorrectly promoted as diversity training. I have watched students and teachers who were 'put down' or even dismissed from their profession for failing to buy into the 'diversified indoctrination".
POLITICALLY CORRECT BUREAUCRATS AND OUR ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Now we want to put government bureaucrats in charge of deciding who or what economic loans are justified and possible? Will similar 'politically correct' criteria be used to make these decisions? Will health industries, private schools, books stores, theaters, department stores, etc. first be required to adjust their offerings to 'political correctness' before they can receive loans? Will the 'I Love Jesus Tire and Brake Service' be required to change its name before a loan is made?
Our foremothers and forefathers, often leaving all behind, came to this country to escape the tyranny of government control over their minds and souls.
Our greed to consume is undermining the spiritual and moral values that have made our country strong. The demand for easy credit and living beyond our means is undermining our integrity.
Dying of consumption is not a good way to go!
IT'S TIME TO EXAMINE OURSELVES! IT'S TIME TO BE ECONOMICALLY RESPONSIBLE AND PROTECT OUR ECONOMIC FREEDOMS!
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