The end of another year is once again upon us. Though our world seems turbulent, this is the time of year to observe and reflect on the more positive aspects of our existence. As you sit by the fireside and watch your family interact or just simply try to recover from the excessive consumption of turkey, pause for a moment and take account of all the things that you have to be grateful for. At times, we seem more preoccupied with the acquisition of material goods than we should be. In the end, it is the simple thing which should center your soul.
The meaning of family in America has become difficult to define. Oftentimes, families no longer coexist in the same town, county, or even state. Instead, families travel over the holidays in an attempt to maintain some semblance of familial unity. I spent the last two weeks traveling between Oregon, California, and Nevada. I was lucky enough to partake in a family gathering in Nevada. What a joy to watch three generations of a family devour a tasty yuletide dinner and listen to the constant jabbering as each individual jockeyed to be heard. To top off the evening, libations, a fire, and football were available as well. Events such as this, are what constitutes the formation of timeless memories.
Traveling through the Sierras and Cascades was a seasonal delight. The mountains were adorned with a thin covering of snow and the valley floors were frost covered. Cattle breath hung suspended in air as I drove by numerous ranches. Deer loitered in pastures, looking for easy forage in a furious attempt to fight off the winter chill. Waterfowl stood on frozen rivers, lakes, and ponds. For them, open water was at a premium. The landscape has adorned its winter mantel of cold, snow, and ice. Small towns with the names of Quincy, Portola, Chester, Susanville, Alturas, Lakeview, Silver Lake, Lapine, and Bend were alive with Christmas cheer. Decorations were everywhere and the soft glow of Christmas lights could be seen far off in the distance as you approached each small hamlet. Shoppers scampered along icy, snow covered sidewalks, searching for last minute gifts. People waved as I drove by, wishing me Christmas cheer. With the exception of Bend, these small towns are working class, low to middle income enclaves. They represent the very essence of America. They are all inhabited by unique individuals from different walks of life. For example, in Quincy I saw a VW bus driven by a couple of "old hippies", as well as, a logging truck driven by a dude in a cowboy hat. I'll bet that the occupants of each vehicle differed both socially and politically yet, they both claim residence in the same town.
At this time of year it is important to remember those things which unify us. We will have a judicious amount of time in the coming year to bicker over whatever our hearts desire. Be grateful for family, friends, a roof over your head, food, health, or any number of things. Above all, please remember the trials and tribulations of others. For myself, I will be thinking about an uncle recovering from cardiac surgery, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the families left behind by the climbers on Mt. Hood.
De Oppresso Liber
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Ideological Warfare
As Christmas approaches and defeated politicians pack up to leave Washington D.C., the American populace eagerly awaits the New Year. The coming change in power will make for interesting viewing this January. The electorate has voted for change and for now, we all will have to join in the game of wait and see. I fear however, that this change is merely a modified version of the Vietnam era and will only bring in a new form of weak willed politicians who are ill equipped to deal with the reality of what we face.
I spent the past week hauling freight from Oregon down to Los Angeles and back north to Spokane and the Idaho panhandle. In L.A. nobody was talking much about Iraq. Californians tend to think about local issues but then again, maybe that isn't so unique to California. Spokane is a college town with an air base on it's periphery. This makes for a combative view of world affairs. I spent the better part of Friday morning listening to two guys argue over Iraq, democrats versus republicans, the economy, you name it. They were chattering away on the CB. One guy was obviously a young man, more than likely a college student who despised the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq. The other gentleman was probably a trucker. Both of their arguments were long on emotion and short on fact.
The weather was extremely gloomy with temperatures hovering at the freezing point, no wind and the beautiful mountainous terrain obscured by heavy fog cover. As I listened to these two men argue, I got to thinking about the mess we are in over in the Middle East. Who has a well defined, bullet proof solution for this? Nobody! However, this does not mean that we should not bother trying to find an answer. I wonder if we still have not learned the lessons of the Vietnam era? Have we developed a society which will not allow us to identify our current threat? Have secular progressives (Bill O'Reilly's term) changed our social fabric to the point that we no longer recognize an ideological threat to our nation? I don't know the answer to these questions but I often think about them.
The counter cultural movement of the late 1960's produced a laissez-faire attitude in many Americans. The so called, if it feels good, it must be good mentality. Members of this movement felt that if we could all just be mellow and groovy there would be no negativity in the world. In their view, the world would be one happy place with no need for warfare or economic competitiveness. Organizations of all types were the antithesis of their desire. A personal sense of right and wrong and long standing social norms were turned on their heads. They weren't "bad" people, just overtly naive about humanity and nation states. Many of the leading players on today's national political scene are products of this generation. These same people seem to feel in their hearts that they can make the entire world a groovy non aggressive place and fail to recognize that the threat we now face would annihilate us if they could.
Why do these folks not recognize this threat? In my opinion, by recognizing the threat of Islamic Jihadists, this group of people would be forced to reanalyze some of the basic tenets of their belief system. They have worked long and hard to develop this social belief system and will stubbornly refuse to relinquish it. In order to avoid doing this, they tend to blame us for the problems in the Middle East. To be sure, our foreign policy has made mistakes in the Middle East since the end of World War II however, these mistakes nor the existence of Israel have created the animosity of the jihadists. The United States and Israel are easy scapegoats for the jihadists. Economic disparity and lack of education are the primary culprits in the development of this hatred.
The current power brokers of the flower power generation would have us believe that all we need to do is talk with our enemies. Enemies of nation states do not agree to talk until they are convinced that negotiations are the only guarantee of their very survival. Sound militaristic? You bet it is. War is ugly however, humanity on a global scale has yet to progress to the point where the act of war between opposing sides becomes extinct. We now face an opponent that wishes to destroy us regardless of how inoffensive we may try to be. The only way to deal with this threat is to make the members of this movement come to realization that their belief in our total destruction will instead, lead to their extinction.
Lastly, in our ongoing struggle to come to terms with just what the separation of church and state means, we fail to recognize that as far as the jihadists are concerned, the church is the state. In our attempt to avoid offending Islam, we fail to call a spade a spade. Yes, we are in an ideological battle for our very existence as a nation and I only hope that the flower power generation who now have gained the reins of power in Congress will recognize the threat. We need to vigorously debate policy issues and search for new solutions to old problems however, we also need to avoid at all costs the deadly snare of existing in the safe, nonthreatening social paradigm that we may have created.
De Oppresso Liber
I spent the past week hauling freight from Oregon down to Los Angeles and back north to Spokane and the Idaho panhandle. In L.A. nobody was talking much about Iraq. Californians tend to think about local issues but then again, maybe that isn't so unique to California. Spokane is a college town with an air base on it's periphery. This makes for a combative view of world affairs. I spent the better part of Friday morning listening to two guys argue over Iraq, democrats versus republicans, the economy, you name it. They were chattering away on the CB. One guy was obviously a young man, more than likely a college student who despised the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq. The other gentleman was probably a trucker. Both of their arguments were long on emotion and short on fact.
The weather was extremely gloomy with temperatures hovering at the freezing point, no wind and the beautiful mountainous terrain obscured by heavy fog cover. As I listened to these two men argue, I got to thinking about the mess we are in over in the Middle East. Who has a well defined, bullet proof solution for this? Nobody! However, this does not mean that we should not bother trying to find an answer. I wonder if we still have not learned the lessons of the Vietnam era? Have we developed a society which will not allow us to identify our current threat? Have secular progressives (Bill O'Reilly's term) changed our social fabric to the point that we no longer recognize an ideological threat to our nation? I don't know the answer to these questions but I often think about them.
The counter cultural movement of the late 1960's produced a laissez-faire attitude in many Americans. The so called, if it feels good, it must be good mentality. Members of this movement felt that if we could all just be mellow and groovy there would be no negativity in the world. In their view, the world would be one happy place with no need for warfare or economic competitiveness. Organizations of all types were the antithesis of their desire. A personal sense of right and wrong and long standing social norms were turned on their heads. They weren't "bad" people, just overtly naive about humanity and nation states. Many of the leading players on today's national political scene are products of this generation. These same people seem to feel in their hearts that they can make the entire world a groovy non aggressive place and fail to recognize that the threat we now face would annihilate us if they could.
Why do these folks not recognize this threat? In my opinion, by recognizing the threat of Islamic Jihadists, this group of people would be forced to reanalyze some of the basic tenets of their belief system. They have worked long and hard to develop this social belief system and will stubbornly refuse to relinquish it. In order to avoid doing this, they tend to blame us for the problems in the Middle East. To be sure, our foreign policy has made mistakes in the Middle East since the end of World War II however, these mistakes nor the existence of Israel have created the animosity of the jihadists. The United States and Israel are easy scapegoats for the jihadists. Economic disparity and lack of education are the primary culprits in the development of this hatred.
The current power brokers of the flower power generation would have us believe that all we need to do is talk with our enemies. Enemies of nation states do not agree to talk until they are convinced that negotiations are the only guarantee of their very survival. Sound militaristic? You bet it is. War is ugly however, humanity on a global scale has yet to progress to the point where the act of war between opposing sides becomes extinct. We now face an opponent that wishes to destroy us regardless of how inoffensive we may try to be. The only way to deal with this threat is to make the members of this movement come to realization that their belief in our total destruction will instead, lead to their extinction.
Lastly, in our ongoing struggle to come to terms with just what the separation of church and state means, we fail to recognize that as far as the jihadists are concerned, the church is the state. In our attempt to avoid offending Islam, we fail to call a spade a spade. Yes, we are in an ideological battle for our very existence as a nation and I only hope that the flower power generation who now have gained the reins of power in Congress will recognize the threat. We need to vigorously debate policy issues and search for new solutions to old problems however, we also need to avoid at all costs the deadly snare of existing in the safe, nonthreatening social paradigm that we may have created.
De Oppresso Liber
Saturday, December 02, 2006
The Long Winter
Here we are, December is upon us and the long winter nights have begun. Temperatures hover at the freezing mark and we anxiously await the first signs of burgeoning life once April arrives. Politically speaking, life in our nation's capital will remain in a deep freeze for the next two years. The electorate has spoken and voted for change. The requisite question however, is what change, specifically, have we voted for? Change, in and of itself, need not necessarily lead to positive outcomes. The Democrats have been long on condemnation and short on policy reformation. Well, the proverbial ball is now in their court. Their sole objective for the next two years will be to position their party for victory in 2008. If the electorate believes that they will discover a new light shining out of Washington D.C. then, they have deluded themselves. The Beltway has always been isolated from the electorate and its search for, "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".
The month of November was a busy travel month. I was provided with the opportunity to observe Americans from all walks of life as I moved about. The month started in the vastness of the Idaho panhandle, Montana, and Wyoming. My travels took me from Billings north to the Mussellshell River basin where I loaded rock from a quarry run exclusively by women hardened by life on the northern plains. They were a tough looking bunch with wind whipped hair, straight backs, a plethora of wise cracks, and painted finger nails. They seemed more concerned with running their quarry, friendships, raising their kids, and making a slim profit from their toil. The self important postulating from politicos back East seemed far away. I took the rock to Jackson, Wyoming and delivered it to the new residence of a TV actress. Luckily for me, she wasn't on site thus enabling me to stare at the luxurious homes and barb wire fences dotting the winter range of the local mule deer and elk herds. I wonder if these folks ever think about the ecosystem that they have disrupted in order to maintain an elevated social status within the fabric of Hollywood social circles? They regularly search out available microphones to tout their concern for the environment so the question begs to be asked, why build obnoxiously extravagant homes in a pristine, fragile alpine environment?
From Jackson, I crossed the Continental Divide, drove along the Wind River to Riverton, Wyoming and then turned north through Thermopolis and on to Cody. I wonder if those rich folks over in Jackson have ever spent any time on the Wind River Indian Reservation? The Continental Divide does a magnificent job of hiding the reservation's poverty from the self indulgent crowd in Jackson.
Later in the month I traveled from Oregon to Tennessee. For all of the turmoil boiling out of Washington D.C., all seemed uneasily quiet in our heartland. I wonder if Congress even recognizes the fact that the common citizen has grown tired of their inability to function effectively as a governing body? Historically, our Congress has never enjoyed anything much better than a tenuous existence with the American public so, our current situation is really not all that unique. The difference this time is the fact that while the two parties bicker over power, and the electorate loses interest, our enemies abroad are salivating at upcoming opportunities for operations against us. Our government's refusal to acknowledge the ideological aspect of our battle with Islamic Fundamentalists has blindfolded the public and created a national disinterest in our activities abroad.
Political hacks from both sides of the aisle can point fingers at President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Senators Clinton, Schumer, Durbin, Kennedy, Kerry, Congresswoman Pelosi and the like, however, this battle we now find ourselves in transcends transient political personalities. We often feel ourselves to be untouchable however, I must remind you that once again December 7th is upon us and September 11th will soon follow. While we need not live in fear, we must acknowledge the fact that we can never be all things to all nations or people and some will live to destroy our way of life. It is up to the common man to defeat our opponents, not Washington D.C. Informed, polite debate is requisite for the survival of our republic but the overreaching component which binds us together must forever be our unified stance as proud Americans.
De Oppresso Liber
The month of November was a busy travel month. I was provided with the opportunity to observe Americans from all walks of life as I moved about. The month started in the vastness of the Idaho panhandle, Montana, and Wyoming. My travels took me from Billings north to the Mussellshell River basin where I loaded rock from a quarry run exclusively by women hardened by life on the northern plains. They were a tough looking bunch with wind whipped hair, straight backs, a plethora of wise cracks, and painted finger nails. They seemed more concerned with running their quarry, friendships, raising their kids, and making a slim profit from their toil. The self important postulating from politicos back East seemed far away. I took the rock to Jackson, Wyoming and delivered it to the new residence of a TV actress. Luckily for me, she wasn't on site thus enabling me to stare at the luxurious homes and barb wire fences dotting the winter range of the local mule deer and elk herds. I wonder if these folks ever think about the ecosystem that they have disrupted in order to maintain an elevated social status within the fabric of Hollywood social circles? They regularly search out available microphones to tout their concern for the environment so the question begs to be asked, why build obnoxiously extravagant homes in a pristine, fragile alpine environment?
From Jackson, I crossed the Continental Divide, drove along the Wind River to Riverton, Wyoming and then turned north through Thermopolis and on to Cody. I wonder if those rich folks over in Jackson have ever spent any time on the Wind River Indian Reservation? The Continental Divide does a magnificent job of hiding the reservation's poverty from the self indulgent crowd in Jackson.
Later in the month I traveled from Oregon to Tennessee. For all of the turmoil boiling out of Washington D.C., all seemed uneasily quiet in our heartland. I wonder if Congress even recognizes the fact that the common citizen has grown tired of their inability to function effectively as a governing body? Historically, our Congress has never enjoyed anything much better than a tenuous existence with the American public so, our current situation is really not all that unique. The difference this time is the fact that while the two parties bicker over power, and the electorate loses interest, our enemies abroad are salivating at upcoming opportunities for operations against us. Our government's refusal to acknowledge the ideological aspect of our battle with Islamic Fundamentalists has blindfolded the public and created a national disinterest in our activities abroad.
Political hacks from both sides of the aisle can point fingers at President Bush, Vice-President Cheney, Secretary Rumsfeld, Senators Clinton, Schumer, Durbin, Kennedy, Kerry, Congresswoman Pelosi and the like, however, this battle we now find ourselves in transcends transient political personalities. We often feel ourselves to be untouchable however, I must remind you that once again December 7th is upon us and September 11th will soon follow. While we need not live in fear, we must acknowledge the fact that we can never be all things to all nations or people and some will live to destroy our way of life. It is up to the common man to defeat our opponents, not Washington D.C. Informed, polite debate is requisite for the survival of our republic but the overreaching component which binds us together must forever be our unified stance as proud Americans.
De Oppresso Liber
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