I can't seem to get the commentary that followed the first Democratic Debates out of my mind. The media who gas bagged about what a great job they did making a three ring circus out of the Virginia Tech tragedy felt we couldn't live without them and gave us another double dose of blather about a relatively meaningless so called debate. This stuff went on for hours.
Chris Mathews had a round table discussion and one of the very first comments was from Howard Fineman who was complementary to Hillary Clinton for her decisiveness in answering a question that went something like, what would you do if a forceful new terrorist attack occurred on U.S. soil? How quickly she used the word retaliate was his measure for praising her. He went on to say that the others were hesitant or indecisive. He also said that being a women makes it particularly important for her to show her toughness. This answer seemed to give her the edge in the debate according to Fineman although a day later a pole of North Carolinans, where the debate was held, showed Obama coming out on top.
Now, the question was obviously hypothetical and the answers were about winning votes. I'm not saying that what the candidates said doesn't reflect who they are to some extent but you have to keep the context in mind and you must sift through the performance to find the closest thing to the truth as possible. Something like the mantra that good journalist use when putting a story together.
Fineman's response was actually far more interesting to me than most of the candidates answers. He seemed eager to make this point like it was most certainly the opinion of the country and the rest of the panel seemed to agree. Andrea Mitchell only seemed less enthused about Hillary having to prove her toughness but let that slide.
What I gathered from this is that the air is still thick with the might-makes-right, shoot first, ask questions later approach to our security in this country. The standard justification for this is that 9/11 changed us as a nation. It is indisputable that 9/11 changed us and you can't hide under a blanket but what we're doing is not working. I believe 9/11 also gave the green light to a lot of people, mostly men, who for one reason or another were insecure to start with.
Granted, power is part and parcel to our system. If you think not then try to move up the ladder in a corporate environment or any organization for that matter. Capitalism, by it's very nature is no place for the faint of heart. We survive by it and it pervades our every thought.
But power, when used improperly is dangerous, particularly on the world stage and it can allow wimps to play the role of warriors even though real warriors are far better suited to deal with matters of strength.
I grew up in southern California where there was a small Samoan population. If you were lucky enough to have a Samoan friend you could go anywhere and no one would mess with you. Remember this is before hand guns became so prevalent. The Samoan guys I knew were big and tough. It seemed odd at the time that they were also nice guys, very gentle, kind and very sincere. They never started the fights even though their presence sometimes made wise guys want to. They were different than the tough white guy's I knew who were a little crazy. They all seemed to come from hard luck backgrounds, weren't very trustworthy and, they liked to start fights. Not Samoans, they had good families and were loyal to their friends and enjoyed peace.
Later in my life I spent some time working in American Samoa. It's a very interesting place with lots of unique traditions in a beautiful setting.
We were mostly on the outer Islands, actually where Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, did a lot of her work. I was assisted by a local fellow named Puna. He took us to all the villages and a translated for us.
Puna was a big tough guy. He could climb a coconut tree with bare hands. He started fires with a stick and was good with a machete and could run up a mountain in bare feet. Once he and another guy had to pull two big dogs apart that looked to be fighting till death. They were vicious and had their jaws clamped around each others throat. They got them apart somehow with the dogs snapping and biting them the whole time. Puna was fearless and well respected but he was gracious and kind just like the guys back in California.
We got friendly and talked a lot about this and that. He told me stories of the old days when Samoans were warriors navigating the Pacific with stick charts.
One day I was watching how Puna greeted the people in each village. When you spend day after day among people who speak a different language you start to notice non verbal things more. Samoa has a Chieftain system and respect shows up in body language and I'd try to figure out who the chief was but I was usually wrong. Chieftain status wasn't based on clothes, size or strength or appearance at all. When they were pointed out it usually made sense though. They always seemed calm and wise and very gracious and commanded respect. Powerful in their own right.
Another thing I noticed in Puna's greetings was the word Malo. He used it a lot and sometimes with other words and sometimes not. I knew the greeting "talofa," so I asked him once what he meant by "Malo" in greetings. He said, the best in English would be," you win, you know in case there was any problem, then you can get on with business," Well needless to say that has stuck with me my whole life.
My point is not about Howard Fineman because I don't know much about the man. But the impression he gives is typical these days and I think completely backwards. They use the tough act, the selfish arrogance, ignoring the rest of the world, picking fights and even suppressing female sensibilities where one might expect some help with perspective at a time like this.
I see it like this, truly wise self confident strong men who are unafraid, the kind that know what man is capable of, good and bad, can figure out ways to clear the air and get down to business. And the other, filled with uncertainty, knowing they're weak, use others to fight for them and try to make up for their shortcomings with a lot of bluff and bluster in the name of strength.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
An old story about a new Iran
In the winter of 1978/79 I was in my twenties and an offer came my way to move a friend of a friend back to Los Angeles from New York city. I accepted as I did any offer in those days that got me anywhere. All expenses paid plus a few bucks-all we had to do was fly there, pack up his belongings and drive a truck back. It was the dead of winter but it sounded like great fun.
The fellow we moved was a successful magazine publisher who was closing his office in New York. It turned out for me to be a peek at how the "other half " lived. His office was maybe 20 stories up in a huge building in Manhattan. Moving some of the things in his office was part of the deal and I remember thinking, what did I get myself into? As it turned out it wasn't a problem. We just pulled the whole damn truck into the "truck elevator," took it right up to his floor and packed up. At the time I didn't know such things existed.
That memory lasted along with being surprised at how nice and friendly everyone was. I'd been warned about New Yorkers so many times I expected they all had horns. It couldn't have been further from the truth. There was one guy on the street we asked for directions, he patiently did his best, then opted to ride on the running board of the truck for what must have been 3 miles to get us to the highway. It was about 30 degrees outside. I'd never heard of that happening in Los Angeles even on a warm day.
It was my first experience in New York city and it had a feel to it that was very different than any other city I'd been to. There were little things I recall like pulling out of the truck elevator onto a street with traffic so tight I thought we would never get out. For me, the Californian, it was hectic and I was out of my element and getting nowhere fast. We had befriended a few of the girls in the office who came along with us. They kept telling me to just move into the lane which I finally did nervously until I put a crease right down the side of a car with the trucks bumper. I thought now I'd really done it, but one of the girls, Holly was here name said, "Go, the next guy will take you a little more seriously now." Well, the guy I hit never even stopped and we laughed and I soaked it all up like a sponge.
We stayed in the apartment of the guy we were moving which was on Beekman Place in a nice part of the city overlooking the East River. His place was wild, it had polished metal ceiling panels with slabs of glass sticking out of the walls for shelves that were backlit making the edges aqua blue.
We would pack up stuff during the day and go to night clubs at night. The place was Disneyland for adults. Everything was new and different. There was more than we could ever see and I finally got to find out what food was supposed to taste like. It was heaven but, sorry, this is going to have to wait for another post. I have a little more serious thought in mind.
The reason I bring this story up in the first place is 2 doors down from the apartment was a townhouse that was obviously of some importance to someone because there was always 2 New York city police officers standing nearby watching. There was also a large security camera above the door. Being young wise guys we would ham it up when we passed by. We would joke about who might live there as we came and went at all hours of the day and night. After about 3 days of this the officers had had enough and approached us and inquired about what we were doing. We explained and got to talking about California and the weather which they loved to hear about. We got pretty friendly and I guess they passed the word on to the next shift because nobody ever bothered us again.
One night we came in late and I remember asking the officers who they were guarding, they said "The Shah of Iran's wife." It sounded important but it didn't mean much to us at the time. We talked a little bit and said goodnight but I'll never forget as we walked away one of them said, "if you guys are gonna blow the place up, let us know first so we can get the hell outta here," we all laughed. I remember thinking New York cops are a lot cooler than L.A. cops.
I barely knew who the Shah of Iran was then but that little kernel of an experience created an interest. As I later found out this was right at the time he was thrown out of Iran. They left as a result of a revolution and I remember thinking that definitely seemed cool.
So fast forward to now and guess who's in the news. A little history and perspective seems in order. 27 years ago Iran has a revolution that succeeded in ousting their western backed leader. I don't know about you but I clearly remember Watergate. A little earlier perhaps but the only recent mildly comparable turbulent time for Americans. I also remember the effect it had on this country.
Now imagine a Nixon Monarchy including his father before him ruling America since WWI. Around WWII the father is removed and the son is installed by outsiders so they can help themselves to your natural resources, pay an unfair price and attempt to change the culture in the process. There are steady reminders along the way who the real boss is. There is political trickery, unfair programs, corruption, violent coups and no real democratic representation. Your autocratic leader slowly becomes known as a puppet for outside interests. Having no more of it you rise up and revolt. Then starting your country over and weakened from revolution your attacked by your outsider backed neighbor and suffer casualties of up to 1 million of which 100,000 are killed by chemical weapons.
The fact that this was an Islamic Revolution should have been a strong message to the world how sick and tired Iran was of the interventions in it's affairs and that western ways were not a good fit. A little generalization could have convinced smart people that it wasn't a good fit for much of the region but that's another topic.
I'm not going any deeper into the history of Iran and to say they haven't contributed to their own problems would be wrong but, if your not inclined to study the subject, know that the west, without question, played a huge role in the affairs of Iran and being fair had little to do with that involvement. You have heard it before and it's true, it was primarily about oil.
Unfortunately the actions against Iran in pursuit of this goal has hardened Iranians dislike for Americans to the extent that dealing with them today is nearly impossible. Add clever politicians exploiting these hatreds and fears and you have modern day Iran.
The sad thing is the damage is done and in light of possible new discoveries about Iran's uranium enrichment efforts there will at some point likely be a response from the west. My only hope is that whoever ultimately negotiates with the Iranians will be fair minded and able to know and embrace their troubled history.
The fellow we moved was a successful magazine publisher who was closing his office in New York. It turned out for me to be a peek at how the "other half " lived. His office was maybe 20 stories up in a huge building in Manhattan. Moving some of the things in his office was part of the deal and I remember thinking, what did I get myself into? As it turned out it wasn't a problem. We just pulled the whole damn truck into the "truck elevator," took it right up to his floor and packed up. At the time I didn't know such things existed.
That memory lasted along with being surprised at how nice and friendly everyone was. I'd been warned about New Yorkers so many times I expected they all had horns. It couldn't have been further from the truth. There was one guy on the street we asked for directions, he patiently did his best, then opted to ride on the running board of the truck for what must have been 3 miles to get us to the highway. It was about 30 degrees outside. I'd never heard of that happening in Los Angeles even on a warm day.
It was my first experience in New York city and it had a feel to it that was very different than any other city I'd been to. There were little things I recall like pulling out of the truck elevator onto a street with traffic so tight I thought we would never get out. For me, the Californian, it was hectic and I was out of my element and getting nowhere fast. We had befriended a few of the girls in the office who came along with us. They kept telling me to just move into the lane which I finally did nervously until I put a crease right down the side of a car with the trucks bumper. I thought now I'd really done it, but one of the girls, Holly was here name said, "Go, the next guy will take you a little more seriously now." Well, the guy I hit never even stopped and we laughed and I soaked it all up like a sponge.
We stayed in the apartment of the guy we were moving which was on Beekman Place in a nice part of the city overlooking the East River. His place was wild, it had polished metal ceiling panels with slabs of glass sticking out of the walls for shelves that were backlit making the edges aqua blue.
We would pack up stuff during the day and go to night clubs at night. The place was Disneyland for adults. Everything was new and different. There was more than we could ever see and I finally got to find out what food was supposed to taste like. It was heaven but, sorry, this is going to have to wait for another post. I have a little more serious thought in mind.
The reason I bring this story up in the first place is 2 doors down from the apartment was a townhouse that was obviously of some importance to someone because there was always 2 New York city police officers standing nearby watching. There was also a large security camera above the door. Being young wise guys we would ham it up when we passed by. We would joke about who might live there as we came and went at all hours of the day and night. After about 3 days of this the officers had had enough and approached us and inquired about what we were doing. We explained and got to talking about California and the weather which they loved to hear about. We got pretty friendly and I guess they passed the word on to the next shift because nobody ever bothered us again.
One night we came in late and I remember asking the officers who they were guarding, they said "The Shah of Iran's wife." It sounded important but it didn't mean much to us at the time. We talked a little bit and said goodnight but I'll never forget as we walked away one of them said, "if you guys are gonna blow the place up, let us know first so we can get the hell outta here," we all laughed. I remember thinking New York cops are a lot cooler than L.A. cops.
I barely knew who the Shah of Iran was then but that little kernel of an experience created an interest. As I later found out this was right at the time he was thrown out of Iran. They left as a result of a revolution and I remember thinking that definitely seemed cool.
So fast forward to now and guess who's in the news. A little history and perspective seems in order. 27 years ago Iran has a revolution that succeeded in ousting their western backed leader. I don't know about you but I clearly remember Watergate. A little earlier perhaps but the only recent mildly comparable turbulent time for Americans. I also remember the effect it had on this country.
Now imagine a Nixon Monarchy including his father before him ruling America since WWI. Around WWII the father is removed and the son is installed by outsiders so they can help themselves to your natural resources, pay an unfair price and attempt to change the culture in the process. There are steady reminders along the way who the real boss is. There is political trickery, unfair programs, corruption, violent coups and no real democratic representation. Your autocratic leader slowly becomes known as a puppet for outside interests. Having no more of it you rise up and revolt. Then starting your country over and weakened from revolution your attacked by your outsider backed neighbor and suffer casualties of up to 1 million of which 100,000 are killed by chemical weapons.
The fact that this was an Islamic Revolution should have been a strong message to the world how sick and tired Iran was of the interventions in it's affairs and that western ways were not a good fit. A little generalization could have convinced smart people that it wasn't a good fit for much of the region but that's another topic.
I'm not going any deeper into the history of Iran and to say they haven't contributed to their own problems would be wrong but, if your not inclined to study the subject, know that the west, without question, played a huge role in the affairs of Iran and being fair had little to do with that involvement. You have heard it before and it's true, it was primarily about oil.
Unfortunately the actions against Iran in pursuit of this goal has hardened Iranians dislike for Americans to the extent that dealing with them today is nearly impossible. Add clever politicians exploiting these hatreds and fears and you have modern day Iran.
The sad thing is the damage is done and in light of possible new discoveries about Iran's uranium enrichment efforts there will at some point likely be a response from the west. My only hope is that whoever ultimately negotiates with the Iranians will be fair minded and able to know and embrace their troubled history.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Pretty good week
What a week this was. Bad behavior caught up with more than just Don Imus. Moral and ethics proponents around the country have a lot to rejoice. Paul Wolfowitz, the hawkish so called brains behind the Iraq war took the apology route under cover of the Imus melt down about his involvement in his girl friends job transfer and raise to $193k(tax free) at a U.S. funded foundation. Hopefully his luck has run out. An association of employees at the World Bank has asked him to resign. It sounds like he didn't take Casey Stengel's advice and keep the guy's who hated him away from the guy's who were undecided!
Wolfowitz is a might-makes-right gun boat diplomat who's stuck in the past and would do us all a favor by just fading away. He got us into this war and has been wrong in nearly every aspect of it and now makes $300k a year at a cushy job and can't stay out of trouble and how's this for irony, his emphasis while there has been to reduce corruption and require accountability of recipients of World Bank aid.
And then you have the Justice Department caught in a lie saying that 7 of 8 prosecutors were removed without replacements in mind. I bet someones hating computers about now. I noticed the Vice President was washing his hands of the matter or "distancing the administration" as the euphemism goes. The crazy thing here is that the best I can tell there wasn't much wrongdoing until they decided to start lying about it. Hopefully we will get a little closer to the truth now.
But as a father of a young daughter what made my week was the deeper legal hole Joe Francis, the head pimp of the "girls gone wild" farce empire, got himself into. What I wouldn't give to see this degenerate disappear. He doesn't deserve further discussion.
So it's been a good week and by the way please don't listen to what you'll surely start hearing about the loss of Don Imus as a blow to freedom and the American way. Instead, fill a bucket of water, place your hand in the water and remove it and wait 10 seconds. The impression your hand made is about the extent of the impression Don Imus's work on the radio will have made on the world in a year from now. Trust me.
Wolfowitz is a might-makes-right gun boat diplomat who's stuck in the past and would do us all a favor by just fading away. He got us into this war and has been wrong in nearly every aspect of it and now makes $300k a year at a cushy job and can't stay out of trouble and how's this for irony, his emphasis while there has been to reduce corruption and require accountability of recipients of World Bank aid.
And then you have the Justice Department caught in a lie saying that 7 of 8 prosecutors were removed without replacements in mind. I bet someones hating computers about now. I noticed the Vice President was washing his hands of the matter or "distancing the administration" as the euphemism goes. The crazy thing here is that the best I can tell there wasn't much wrongdoing until they decided to start lying about it. Hopefully we will get a little closer to the truth now.
But as a father of a young daughter what made my week was the deeper legal hole Joe Francis, the head pimp of the "girls gone wild" farce empire, got himself into. What I wouldn't give to see this degenerate disappear. He doesn't deserve further discussion.
So it's been a good week and by the way please don't listen to what you'll surely start hearing about the loss of Don Imus as a blow to freedom and the American way. Instead, fill a bucket of water, place your hand in the water and remove it and wait 10 seconds. The impression your hand made is about the extent of the impression Don Imus's work on the radio will have made on the world in a year from now. Trust me.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Don Imus in a nut shell
The Don Imus spectacle brings to mind Victor Frankl, the Austrian Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor who said there are only two races of men, decent and non-decent. Harsh? Absolutely but, I can't imagine any of the truly decent people I've met in my life ever uttering such words.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Wrestling with Religion
I know that I mentioned Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday but Easter is a perfectly reasonable holiday to. Colorfully dye and hide some hard boiled eggs, put out some baskets filled with a lot of egg and bunny shaped chocolates, watch the joy in children's faces and your good to go. Go where? If your me Church, and that would be Catholic Church and again, for me, a quandary. Why? Because believe me, I've tried to accept my religion without a fight and I sincerely envy those people who do and especially the ones who attribute their seeming bliss to it but, I just wasn't made that way. In fact you could call the questioning part of my life my religion. Without it my world doesn't make sense. For me, the quest for knowledge gives meaning to life and hope is as close to God as I know. What feels like blind acceptance of something this important is no more in my nature than attempting to fly without some form of airplane.
I do think organized religions around the world are important. They provide lots of hope and far be it from me to decide the role of spirituality in someone else's life, especially someone who wasn't as fortunate as I to have been born in a place like the U.S.
Religion is here to stay and although often criticized and rightly so as a continuing source of conflict, I believe that civilization would have evolved in a far less desirable way without it. I do wish moderation could receive a more important role, perhaps as an important pillar in their teachings but religion fills a void left by the enormous complexity of our lives which leaves most people unfulfilled.
In fact accepting certain truths without question frequently seems very appealing to me and at some point when I believe I've begun to chase my tail perhaps I'll reconsider. How does that square with now? Well I no longer feel the burden of guilt I once did about being askew with the Catholic religion and in fact we co-exist quite nicely. I've just learned like so many areas of my life to take it all far less seriously than I once did. And even in the convoluted world of religion I don't think anyone can argue that in the end it isn't all about hope.
I do think organized religions around the world are important. They provide lots of hope and far be it from me to decide the role of spirituality in someone else's life, especially someone who wasn't as fortunate as I to have been born in a place like the U.S.
Religion is here to stay and although often criticized and rightly so as a continuing source of conflict, I believe that civilization would have evolved in a far less desirable way without it. I do wish moderation could receive a more important role, perhaps as an important pillar in their teachings but religion fills a void left by the enormous complexity of our lives which leaves most people unfulfilled.
In fact accepting certain truths without question frequently seems very appealing to me and at some point when I believe I've begun to chase my tail perhaps I'll reconsider. How does that square with now? Well I no longer feel the burden of guilt I once did about being askew with the Catholic religion and in fact we co-exist quite nicely. I've just learned like so many areas of my life to take it all far less seriously than I once did. And even in the convoluted world of religion I don't think anyone can argue that in the end it isn't all about hope.
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