tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41148495139807735702024-02-18T22:45:45.243-05:00Ehlers on EverythingA collection of personal essays and musings on life, politics, baseball, and religion, and an occasional short story.Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-74624881177533485592020-02-09T12:42:00.003-05:002020-02-12T11:22:12.837-05:00The Universal Appeal of Chaim Potok<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3wJg5W0cTUd082U0iRs9lP193XFrJ9mnjfzmzZ-X40iESnJWESimfj3rArkUxGBgrOuztccW7vvlptiv8kHhK57cZQgSqMVtU4cKOskVBpiItYyX5azJWrU108X4UplDWRW3au8jV-o/s1600/The-Chosen_graphic_KCRW500x333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3wJg5W0cTUd082U0iRs9lP193XFrJ9mnjfzmzZ-X40iESnJWESimfj3rArkUxGBgrOuztccW7vvlptiv8kHhK57cZQgSqMVtU4cKOskVBpiItYyX5azJWrU108X4UplDWRW3au8jV-o/s320/The-Chosen_graphic_KCRW500x333.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I first read <i>The Chosen</i>, the wonderful novel by Chaim Potok,
in the summer of 1983 after completing my first year of law school. Potok’s novel captured my imagination and
opened my eyes to a particular time, culture and religious tradition – Orthodox
and Hasidic Judaism in 1940’s Brooklyn – that was worlds apart from my upbringing
in the 1960s and 1970s as the son of a Lutheran minister in suburban New
Jersey. In ways that resonate with me still, I was profoundly moved by the
story, its rich and complex characters, and the internal conflicts that
tormented the novel’s main protagonist, Danny Saunders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Danny was the son of Reb Saunders, the <i>Rebbe</i> and spiritual
leader (<i>tzaddik</i>) of a dynastic Hasidic sect in Brooklyn who had a deeply loyal
following among his people. Danny was in line to someday succeed Reb Saunders
as the <i>Rebbe</i>, but he had secretly developed an interest in psychology and
literature, Freud and Dostoyevsky and Joyce, subjects and books that were
off-limits to the son of a Hasidic <i>tzaddik</i> and serious student of Talmud. Danny
is deeply torn between his devotion and loyalty to his father, whom he greatly
loves and respects, and his desire to break free from the bonds of tradition.
He wants desperately to explore the wider world around him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Danny develops a close friendship with Reuven Malter, a
fellow student who observed a more liberal form of Orthodox Judaism and whose
father had quietly introduced Danny to books on psychology and literature and
Western secular thought. At one point in the story, Danny explains to Reuven
his torment: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Imagine being locked in a cell where you can see the whole
world and everything you want is right outside the window, but you’re not
allowed to look or think or move and you are supposed to stay right there,
trapped, just like that, your whole life. Do you have any idea what that feels
like?</i></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i></i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>… How can I ask questions, and then ignore the answers? How
can I read Freud and then ignore everything I learn? . . . What if there are
some points of view so contradictory that they can’t be reconciled? What then?</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Danny’s expressed anguish hit home with me, as I had begun
to experience internal discord over my own guilt-ridden spiritual and intellectual
journey. My increasingly dispassionate, rational understanding of faith and
religion was causing me to question deeply embedded assumptions and accepted
truths of the first two decades of my life. I felt myself drifting away from
the comfortable and confined Christianity of my upbringing into a more humanistic
encounter with the world. Like Danny, I was torn between two competing forces –
love for family and respect for the religious roots of my upbringing versus my
compelling need to explore a different path and seek answers to longstanding questions
and doubts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite the teachings and creeds of conventional
Christianity, I had believed for a long time that no one religion possesses
absolute truths. Even at a young age, I did not accept that Christianity offers
the exclusive formula for achieving eternal salvation, if such a thing exists.
I believed then, and believe now, that there are many equally valid paths to an
internal peace with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike Danny
Saunders in <i>The Chosen</i>, however, I was fortunate to have a father who was open
to conversation, and who possessed a liberal attitude and open mind on such
topics. My dad was much more like David Malter, Reuven’s kind and loving
father. But my psychological anguish was significant to me, for there was only
so much doubt I was willing to reveal to my father. I greatly respected his
life’s work, which was founded on years of theological education, decades of
service to the Lutheran church and to bearing witness to his sincere and
well-studied religious convictions. But I could not dismiss the questions that
Danny asked: <i>How can I ask questions, and then ignore the answers? What if
there are some points of view so contradictory that they can’t be reconciled?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reading <i>The Chosen</i> did not resolve my internal conflict, but
it helped me place things in perspective and understand that my concerns were not
unique to me. After <i>The Chosen</i>, I was immediately drawn to <i>My Name is Asher Lev</i>,
which became my second favorite Potok novel, and to their respective sequels – <i>The
Promise</i> and <i>The Gift of Asher Lev</i>. I eventually absorbed <i>Davita’s Harp</i> and <i>The
Book of Lights</i>, each of which further sparked my desire to learn of other
cultures, experiences, and time periods, from Communist resistance to fascism
in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War, to a Jewish Army chaplain’s experiences
in Korea and Japan in the 1950s following the Korean War. I would later enjoy
the film and theatrical productions of some of these works, most recently in <i>The
Collected Plays of Chaim Potok</i>, all of which explore, in a variety of contexts,
the tensions between traditional Jewish values and secular culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Potok’s stories are universally appealing because almost all
of us, at some point in our lives, are conflicted by familial expectations and
our individual passions and desires; between the religion of our childhood and
the mind expanding knowledge offered by exposure to other cultures, religions,
and ideas; to science and philosophy, education and travel. Potok’s books and
plays contend persuasively that there exist no absolute truths, but many
co-existing truths. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the introduction to <i>The Collected Plays of Chaim Potok</i>, daughter
Rena Potok suggests that “we cannot confront the core of another culture if we
believe that the core of our own culture holds the singular truth;” and that “to
encounter the core of another culture from within the heart of our own, we must
believe in the inherent existence of multiple, equally valid ways of being in
the world. Once we let go of the idea of a single ‘Truth’ – once we can see
another culture’s truth as equally valid and rich as our own – then we are
primed for core-to-core culture confrontation.” It is for this reason that Potok’s
characters, however different their backgrounds and experiences from our own, are
so relatable. His stories express an ongoing struggle to understand the
humanity of others and the truths of the world they inhabit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In <i>The Chosen</i> and <i>My Name is Asher Lev</i>, Potok’s protagonists
come from insular and strictly confining worlds of rituals and tradition, from
which many expectations are placed on them. And yet, they long to experience
the broader, more expansive world of art and literature, philosophy and
psychology. They are compelled to question and search for meaning beyond the narrowly
defined conventions of their families, to which they are devoutly loyal. They
love their families and do not want to disappoint them. But they see the world
differently than their fathers do, and they are compelled to carve their own
paths in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As Rena Potok explained in <i>The Collected Plays</i>, Potok expressed
“the thoughts and feelings of individuals who are trying to come to terms with
two universes of discourse that they love passionately, and that are, at times,
antithetical to one another.” Like Danny Saunders, Potok himself was raised in
a strictly Orthodox Hasidic household and discovered early in life that “the
boundaries of his world could not contain his growing passion for aesthetic and
intellectual knowledge and experience.” Like Asher Lev, Potok was committed to
his religious traditions, while also committed to his artistic and intellectual
pursuits unrelated to the study of Torah and Talmud. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The characters in Potok’s novels and plays are drawn to the
world of Western secular humanism – to critical thinking, creativity and
expression separated from religious dogma – which ignite their passions and
pull them in opposite directions from their expected destinies. Potok’s stories
are deeply Jewish, embedded in the traditions of a narrow segment of Orthodox
Judaism practiced by a small minority of American Jews, a world to which most
of his readers (Jews and non-Jews alike) have not been exposed. But the themes explored
in those stories, expressed through cultures and settings entirely different
from our own, resonate with audiences of all backgrounds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We connect with Potok’s stories through the compelling portrayals</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of his characters – we care about them and want to know how their conflicts are resolved. T</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">he reader experiences Potok’s longing to reconcile the
conflicts and heal the anguish experienced by his characters. In his play </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Out
of the Depths</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, Potok’s protagonist articulates a message that is fundamental to
Potok’s narratives:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I believe we should respect all the expressions of the
culture, all the people – the religious, the secular, the intellectual, the
factory worker, the shoemaker. I wish to bring the people together. Why is it
necessary, this divisiveness? Does it make us stronger, wiser, kinder,
healthier? Why not reconciliation? Are we that weak? Are we that frightened? Is
there no room among us for all sorts of ideas?</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These pearls of wisdom are interspersed throughout Potok’s
stories. He believed that the essence of life is found in acts of kindness,
empathy, and understanding, and in our search for meaning. In the theatrical
version of <i>The Chosen</i>, David Malter (Reuven’s father), explains to his son that
the choices we make in life have profound consequences:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>God said: "You have toiled and labored, and now you are
worthy of rest." Worthy of rest. We do not live forever. We live less than the
time it takes to blink an eye. So then why do we live? What value is there to
our life if it is nothing more than the blink of an eye? . . . The span of a
life is nothing, but the man who lives may be something if he fills his life
with meaning. Meaning is not automatically given to life. We must choose. And
if we choose to fill our lives with meaning, then perhaps when we die we too
will be worthy of rest.</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To simply meander through life without thinking, reflecting,
questioning and learning is not worthy of the human endeavor. “Merely to live,
to exist,” Malter says to his son, “what sense is there in that? A fly also
lives.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The stories of Chaim Potok will always be special to me, for
they helped me better understand the internal conflicts that all of us, on some
level, struggle to reconcile during key moments of our lives – the pull of tradition
versus the forces of modernity; loyalty to family and convention versus the freedom
to think and act on one’s own terms; the incongruity between religious dogma and
contemporary liberalism. Potok allowed us to respect our surface differences on
equal terms while recognizing how alike we all are at our core, how our dreams
and aspirations overlap, and how the search for a meaningful life transcends
religion, backgrounds, and the origins of our birth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I continue to search for answers and reconcile my own
internal conflicts, I will be forever grateful to Chaim Potok for expressing in
words and stories that I am not alone.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-1500347534803577742020-01-26T12:55:00.000-05:002020-01-27T11:21:10.701-05:00What Would Fred Rogers Do? The Devaluation of Human Kindness in American Society<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-q4aVQrMHKnAKj7_0QEtUtAAZ_xCG7p-kXyRqE0IEkwFo06w1iJho1ygJf7N3aUL2XWXyeiYskYU_nqyliZu32YEg3dIS0iCz2tzoelywvFtT63WyzR8ULDHU5nPJlWD41prIFjDn4R0/s1600/Fred+Rogers_frame_30.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="1400" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-q4aVQrMHKnAKj7_0QEtUtAAZ_xCG7p-kXyRqE0IEkwFo06w1iJho1ygJf7N3aUL2XWXyeiYskYU_nqyliZu32YEg3dIS0iCz2tzoelywvFtT63WyzR8ULDHU5nPJlWD41prIFjDn4R0/s320/Fred+Rogers_frame_30.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have previously written of the <a href="http://ehlersoneverything.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-lost-art-of-disagreement.html?m=0" target="_blank">widening political and cultural divides</a> in American society and the increasing sense of despair many of us feel
over the <a href="http://ehlersoneverything.blogspot.com/2009/08/american-demagogues-and-decline-of.html" target="_blank">depraved state of our public discourse</a>. For the past three years, we
have been led by a president so insecure and intellectually deficient that he
resorts every day to lies, insults, and personally demeaning comments towards
his political opponents, members of the press, foreign leaders, our trusted allies,
even members of his own Cabinet. A perennial bully, he loves to humiliate
people and lacks respect for the institutions over which he presides and to
which the public has entrusted him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I contemplate every day whether there is anything we as
concerned citizens can do as the nation’s political and spiritual crisis becomes
worse by the hour. How can we even begin to respond to the enormous needs and
stakes of this moment in American history?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometimes the answers to such questions are found in
childhood, when the most important lessons we learned were simply to be kind
and to treat people with decency and fairness. In my lifetime, the one person
who best practiced and exemplified these values was Fred Rogers, the creator of
the long-running public television show <i>Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rogers’ life is a reminder that there are certain people we
encounter over the course of our lives – an inspirational teacher, a valued
mentor, a rare public figure – who influence our sense of self-worth and how we
treat those around us, and from whom we gain insightful wisdom about the
meaning of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rogers dedicated his life to childhood education and offered
an important contrast to a mean-spirited political climate and a world consumed
by materialism, competition, cynicism and violence. As explained by Maxwell
King in <i>The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers</i>, “His legacy lives
in the concept of a caring neighborhood where people watch out for one another,
no matter where they come from or what they look like. Far from being
old-fashioned, his vision is in fact more pertinent than ever in a fractured
cultural and political landscape.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A daily glance at the morning news provides a harsh reminder
that the human values championed by Rogers are a thing of the past. And yet, the
kindness and humanity he displayed every day of his life could not be more needed
today. The lessons he imparted were simple and direct; he appealed to the
essence of our humanity. By his example, he showed us that human kindness
enhances our lives and makes the world better, and that meanness and
selfishness degrade all of us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A talented musician, philosopher, theologian, writer, and poet,
Rogers was a serious student of childhood education and psychology. His
intellectual depth far surpassed his image as the lovable “Mr. Rogers”. And yet
his television personality was no act; in real-life, his concern for other
human beings, for what was essential in life, never wavered. Fred Rogers
recognized the goodness, and the child, in everyone he encountered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I cannot say if Donald Trump or Mitch
McConnell – or media personalities Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and so many others
– ever watched <i>Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood</i> when they were younger. But the
overwhelming force of their shameless disdain for American democracy, their
tolerance of racism and bigotry and fear of immigrants, their pervasive mean-spiritedness,
strongly suggests they did not. Indeed, the values taught and instilled by
Rogers to young children for forty years are frighteningly overshadowed in
today’s political climate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unlike Trump and his henchmen, Rogers was the opposite of
macho intensity. He listened, more as a vessel than a force in social
interaction, and displayed a near Christ-like humility. He enhanced the lives
of those around him through constant displays of warmth, humor, and understanding.
He despised depictions of violent and aggressive behavior on television, and the
crass, low-grade quality of most children’s programming. When he created <i>Neighborhood</i>,
his show was one of only a few that spoke to young children on their terms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">An ordained Presbyterian minister, Rogers was strongly
influenced by the theologian Dr. William Orr, a chain-smoking seminary
professor who taught that forgiveness was the essence of human kindness. Although
he was a man of deep Christian faith, Rogers also studied and adopted universal
wisdoms from Buddhism, Judaism, and many other religions, and believed in the
inherent goodness of all of God’s children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rogers appealed to children’s sensibilities with a
combination of slow pacing, simple explanations of complex problems, and a
distinctive emphasis on human kindness. He was not afraid to explore difficult
and sensitive topics – death, divorce, loss, pain, the evils of racism – in
subtle and appropriate ways that resonated with children as young as three and
four years old. This was a truly radical concept in the 1960s and 1970s. The
day after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Rogers wrote a special
program designed to help parents and children cope with tragedy and the graphic
displays of violence then plastering the evening news. As Maxwell King
explained in <i>The Good Neighbor</i>, Rogers’ signature message was that “feelings
are all right, whatever is mentionable is manageable, however confusing and
scary life may become. Even with death and loss and pain, it’s okay to feel all
of it, and then go on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ironically, Rogers was criticized in some circles (including
by Fox News in recent years) as too soft and naïve, and for not helping
children prepare for the rigors of a demanding and competitive world. What
these critics failed to understand, however, was that Rogers consistently
emphasized personal responsibility and self-discipline. He helped children find
and develop their own capacities, which he believed made them stronger adults.
He understood that life was a journey and that the choices we make along the
way, as both children and adults, impact the world for better or worse. In the
last commencement address he ever gave – at Dartmouth College – Rogers said: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’m very much interested in choices, and what it is and who
it is that enable us human beings to make the choices we make all through our
lives. What choices lead to ethnic cleansing? What choices lead to healing?
What choices lead to the destruction of the environment, the erosion of the
Sabbath, suicide bombings, or teenagers shooting teachers? What choices
encourage heroism in the midst of chaos?</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The life and teachings of Fred Rogers offer an important
counterpoint to the meanness and vulgarity in our culture today. Were he alive,
I can imagine the heartbreak he would feel for the state of our political
discourse and the disrespectful, degrading rhetoric of the President. In his
quiet and gentle manner, he would offer alternatives to the gratuitous violence
in our television shows and movies, to rampant commercialism, and to the constant
grab for more, bigger, better, faster that permeates all aspects of American
society. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He would have been especially horrified with the Trump
administration’s family separation policy and images of children in cages at
our borders, with the rising tide of white nationalism, and the emphasis on
America First. Rogers believed fundamentally that how society treats its
children directly impacts how those children develop, mentally and socially,
and who they will become and how they will act as adults. “Childhood is not
just about clowns and balloons,” he said. “In fact, childhood goes to the very
heart of who we will become.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although he understood the importance of traditional
learning and the utility of science, math, and reading, he emphasized the need
to instill values and help children develop socially and mentally. As he told
the American Academy of Child Psychiatry in 1971:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is easy to convince people that children need to learn
the alphabet and numbers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. . . How do
we help people to realize that what matters even more than the superimposition
of adult symbols is how a person’s inner life finally puts together the
alphabet and numbers in his outer life? What really matters is whether he uses
the alphabet for the declaration of war or the description of a sunrise – his
numbers for the final count at Buchenwald or the specifics of a brand-new
bridge.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although Rogers earned a significant degree of fame, he
cared little for it. “What matters is what you do with it,” he said. “In the
one life we have to live, we can choose to demean this life, or to cherish it
in creative, imaginative ways.” Now more than ever, America would do well to heed
the lessons of Fred Rogers and recognize that the presence or absence of human
kindness affects everything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLIAH5vlF12eQI2-BFizFCYV94JeNsEEXlgc3u_7DOkpO1RKMk5tPH9P2zSbWhKws6TeNt9uigEQGMvav-t0iq8wH1SqZkO764uV4tJUJvUacNX5Ky6IB5b-06d82qPwGHSBccqsS3DU/s1600/505322_Fred_Francois_Pool_10_RC1526492878.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1086" data-original-width="1600" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicLIAH5vlF12eQI2-BFizFCYV94JeNsEEXlgc3u_7DOkpO1RKMk5tPH9P2zSbWhKws6TeNt9uigEQGMvav-t0iq8wH1SqZkO764uV4tJUJvUacNX5Ky6IB5b-06d82qPwGHSBccqsS3DU/s320/505322_Fred_Francois_Pool_10_RC1526492878.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We live in a world in which
we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say ‘It’s not my child, not my
community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need
and respond. I consider those people my heroes. – Fred Rogers</i></span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-33397460547123166072019-08-07T21:21:00.000-04:002019-08-07T21:21:04.597-04:00Remembering America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRve8ekPgXEXkXqDl31RPft3oq-y_XrQkJ6MBLfWEKconViszuGJq6Ur4asr9mX26y0wfF9a-uskvSFLBoxvGWave6_nbZm2I-jZESBYubDeFhQcLE0wSlz2xxA9jRuqmKf4U3ZgYDPzA/s1600/Small+town.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="221" data-original-width="468" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRve8ekPgXEXkXqDl31RPft3oq-y_XrQkJ6MBLfWEKconViszuGJq6Ur4asr9mX26y0wfF9a-uskvSFLBoxvGWave6_nbZm2I-jZESBYubDeFhQcLE0wSlz2xxA9jRuqmKf4U3ZgYDPzA/s320/Small+town.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While traveling recently by train through a New England
countryside, I was reminded of a time when life moved at a more moderate
pace; when every small town in America had a distinctive character, with
genteel houses and front porches dating to colonial times, main streets lined
with banners of American flags and lemonade stands. It harkens back to <i>Saturday
Evening Post</i> covers by Norman Rockwell, portraying an idealized slice of
American life that satisfied our longing for a quieter, simpler time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For those of us who grew up in places like Phillipsburg and
Moorestown and Hightstown, small to moderate-sized towns in New Jersey that are
replicated in thousands of towns across America, these images and memories
remain with us long after we become ensnared in busy, pressure-filled lives in
the city, where life is more stimulating, the food more exotic, the people more
diverse; where the arts flourish and everything is available for a price.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Certain memories of our youth remain with us even as we age and the decades blend together. I remember fondly walking several blocks uphill
on Parry Drive as a young boy to peruse the books at the Moorestown Public
Library and then wander into Woolworth’s on Main Street; frequenting the bagel
and hoagie shops with my high school friends on Tuesday afternoons in
Hightstown, and congregating with friends by the duck pond near my house in
East Windsor. In college, I occasionally strayed from Wittenberg University’s
bucolic campus to see a movie or frequent the bars in downtown Springfield, Ohio,
an old industrial town that appeared then more substantial than it does now. These
images were reinforced in the many small towns I passed through when I delivered
grocery supplies throughout New England in the three summers I lived in
Massachusetts during college.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In looking back, our memories suggest more innocent times,
when as children we played outside on summer nights after dark, knowing
that home was within shouting distance, and the moonlight and poetic dance of lightning
bugs would lead us safely to the front porches and unlocked screen doors of our
houses. But remembrances of our childhood are ultimately overcome by the
reality of adulthood. The intervening years add weariness and wisdom born of the
disappointments of unrealized dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The passage of time also imposes a sense of history. As a
young man, I quickly discovered that not everything was so pure in those golden
days of youth. There was a dark underbelly of injustice, prejudice, inequality,
and violence displayed on the nightly news that frequented life in the
United States. While I played hide-and-seek with neighborhood friends in East
Windsor, New Jersey, 19-year old boys were dying in a far-off Asian land more
than halfway around the world, fighting a war our leaders had privately
acknowledged years before was unwinnable, in a place and for a cause we did not
understand. While I hit groundballs to my brother in the backyard on Saturday
afternoons and played touch football with a motley collection of self-satisfied
teenagers on my block, we were oblivious to the ongoing struggle for racial
equality and black empowerment, to the way American corporations profited at
the expense of clean air and clean water, and to ever widening economic inequities
that increasingly left a substantial segment of Americans behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Only as I started to pay attention to the world around me
did I begin to understand how fortunate I was to have a stable, loving family
and a comfortable, middle-class existence. Others were not so lucky. I became
aware that some of my classmates contended with broken homes, domestic
violence, alcoholism and drug abuse, disabilities and mental illness. It was an
intolerant time for people of differing sexual orientations, most of whom
remained closeted in a society that did not allow them to live life on their
God-intended terms. Girls were still treated as subservient to boys despite
rising feminist consciousness, and racial minorities were disproportionately
housed in “the projects” and suffered the suspicion and derision of the local
police and a predominantly white culture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Rockwellian-inspired images of small-town America remain
places of illusion and possibility in part because, like our nostalgic memories
of childhood, they depict America as a land of freedom and opportunity; where
anything is possible; where we are a nation bound together by the rule of law,
the Constitution, and a spirit of engaged citizenship. And yet, it is in the
great American cities where we more frequently achieve the ideals of democracy
and pursue our dreams. Although central New Jersey with its abundant farmland felt
more like Indiana than the east coast, New York and Philadelphia were always in
our line of sight; the excitement of Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, the
Liberty Bell and other historical landmarks, big league sports stadiums and the
hustle and bustle of city life only a one-hour drive away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a young man, my love of baseball reinforced my sense of
America on a grand scale. In the two to three decades following the integration
of major league baseball in 1947, big league ballparks brought to life in a
practical sense the ideals of America, where true racial integration, a sense
of fair play and competition, and the pastoral beauty of green fields and open
landscapes in an urban setting came together as one. As the late author and
baseball lover Philip Roth, who grew up in Newark, New Jersey, wrote in an
essay for <i>The New York Times</i>, baseball allowed him “to understand and
experience patriotism in its tender and humane aspects, lyrical rather than
martial or righteous in spirit, and without the reek of saintly zeal, a
patriotism that could not quite so easily be sloganized.” The game “was a kind
of secular church,” Roth continued, “that reached into every class and region
of the nation and bound us together in common concerns, loyalties, rituals,
enthusiasms, and antagonisms.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Baseball, like the small colonial towns of New England and
the quaint main streets of small-town America, appeals to our yearnings to
restore the symbols of America, to once again believe in our institutions, our
democracy, and our leaders. I grew up with a sense of reverence for America’s
great leaders. Washington, Lincoln, the Roosevelts – and, in my lifetime, John
and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama – shared my
understanding of America as a great country that aspires to be even better. They
appealed to the better angels of our nature, taught us to fear only fear
itself, called us to public service, dreamed of a day when all would be equal,
and sought to unite a divided country. They helped us see the small towns and
beautiful, vibrant cities of America with a sense of history and a larger
purpose in a way that we desperately need to recapture now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In <i>Remembering America: A Voice from the Sixties</i>, Richard N.
Goodwin, a former speechwriter and aide to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson,
eloquently described what I believe we have lost in today’s political climate,
an idealized vision of America:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>If we believed in our leaders, it was because we believed in
ourselves. If we felt a sense of high possibilities, it was because the
possibilities were real. If our expectations of achievement were great, it was
because we understood the fullness of our own powers and the greatness of our
country.</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I wrote this essay, I learned the distressing news of two more
mass shootings – in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. At least one appears to
be the work of yet another white nationalist terrorist. As is always the case
with these tragic events, there are the predictable calls to action as we are reminded
of the easy access to guns and a culture of violence that is seemingly unique
to America. The president played golf all weekend, making time for a single
tweet about the cowardice of the shooters, while ignoring the seeds of his anti-immigrant vitriol and inflammatory debasement of “rodent
infested” cities that preceded the shootings. And nothing will get done for
the reasons nothing ever gets done when it comes to guns and violence in this
country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There have been 250 mass shootings in the United States in
2019 alone. While the president, Senator Mitch McConnell, and certain members
of Congress are not personally responsible for each individual act of hatred
and violence that occurs, they are responsible for a failure of leadership, for
refusing to enact laws and policies that will enhance public safety, create a more
humane immigration policy, and make life better for the people living in our
small towns and large cities. Most tragically, they are responsible for a
failure of moral leadership, for the harsh tone of our politics and the lack of
civility, respect, and compassion, which have been all but abandoned in our
civic life. “In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still,”
said President Harry Truman. “Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders
seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, when I look at the Norman Rockwell images these days and
think back on the limitless possibilities of youth, I long for an America I can
believe in again, for a president who inspires sacrifice and service and reminds
us of our common aspirations; who helps us recapture a shared sense of history
and idealism symbolized by the American flags that line the streets of those small
colonial towns in New England; and who helps us restore respect and compassion in
our civic and public life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Abraham Lincoln asserted that the object of government was
to “elevate the condition of men – to afford all an unfettered start, and a
fair chance, in the race for life.” Nearly a century later, then presidential
candidate John F. Kennedy spoke of a “New Frontier” and challenged Americans to
examine “uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and
war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of
poverty and surplus.” Only seven years ago, Barack Obama reminded us that “our
destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for
me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or duty or
charity or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died
in their defense.” One need not agree with the policies and political leanings
of our past presidents to appreciate that they spoke in aspirational tones,
lifted us up in times of distress and challenged us always to be better and do
better. They worked for all Americans, even those opposed to them, and more
frequently than not appealed to our common humanity and shared ideals. Moral
leadership does not alone solve society’s problems, but it helps provide the
inspiration we need to solve them. Is it too much to ask?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-91229981340338135572019-06-30T16:52:00.001-04:002019-06-30T16:52:54.762-04:00The Homecoming: Albert Pujols Returns to St. Louis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXHPAa4h5mppoad7KlAb_KhWXp7fcKiJUNwe_KfBYNpwgcgSZLh-XvWPpgRRUlA904OTiIewfc-wf8kGQoo5bmEjwPtxWh8HGMDgfXQgQd9iGuCbrYPSC-NKkKhbtEMAZs2NaQz7BCu0/s1600/Pujols.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDXHPAa4h5mppoad7KlAb_KhWXp7fcKiJUNwe_KfBYNpwgcgSZLh-XvWPpgRRUlA904OTiIewfc-wf8kGQoo5bmEjwPtxWh8HGMDgfXQgQd9iGuCbrYPSC-NKkKhbtEMAZs2NaQz7BCu0/s320/Pujols.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a
place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that
we can find again only by going back home. – Pascal Mercier</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is something about being a baseball fan – a loyal,
devoted lifelong fan of one team – that connects us to certain players in ways
that are beyond comprehension to the non-fan. The players who wear the uniform
of our team become part of our extended family. Like our siblings and our
children, they are the ones we root for every day, who disappoint us regularly
and give us immense joy when they do well, and to whom we confer unconditional
love and grace and forgiveness. The players we grow up with become the heroes
of our youth and fill us with lasting memories of a simpler, more innocent time,
when our concerns were not the complex dimensions of complicated lives, but the
happenings on expansive fields of green grass and dirt basepaths. As we grow
older, the players we root for become adjuncts to our dreams of what might have
been, if only we had the skill and luck and fortitude to have been good enough
to play baseball for a living.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I grew up rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals when Bob
Gibson and Lou Brock and Orlando Cepeda and so many other idols of my young
life – the players whose baseball cards I longed for and who I searched for in
the daily box scores, the names I wrote into the lineups of my Strat-O-Matic
Baseball games through middle school and high school – inspired me to dream of
major league glory. These were the memories of my youth, and they remain the
memories I return to whenever I think back on the joys and heartbreaks of
childhood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I enter my seventh decade of life, I am amazed at the
extent to which I continue to rely on these youthful memories, and how certain
players even today continue to catch my imagination and remind me of what I so
much love about the game. For eleven seasons starting in 2001, Albert Pujols
was the player who captured my attention and restored my faith in the game at a
time when the demands and pressures of everyday life frequently interfered with
the trivial passions of my youth. Although he was not selected until the 13th
round of the 1999 Major League Draft, with 401 players picked ahead of him, by the
spring of 2001, Pujols so impressed the Cardinals in pre-season play that they
had no choice but to include him on the major league roster. He was the
National League Rookie of the Year that first season, batting .329 with 37 HRs
and 130 RBIs. He repeated or exceeded this performance for the next ten seasons,
a uniquely talented ballplayer playing for a city that understood just how
special a player he was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For eleven years, Pujols was among the best players to ever
play the game in St. Louis, a Dominican version of Stan “the Man” Musial. No
one since Musial had produced the numbers that Pujols did in those first eleven
seasons, when he batted a collective .328 and hit 445 home runs. Like Musial,
Pujols was a line drive hitter of incredible consistency. In St. Louis, they
called him El Hombre (“The Man”) because, like Musial, he was a
once-in-a-lifetime player. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Pujols left the Cardinals after their World
Championship season of 2011, it was like losing a family member. When I learned
he had signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels that off-season, I was
shocked and heartbroken. For Cardinals fans, the hurt and bitterness that
followed was not entirely rational, for nothing about being a baseball fan is
rational. It is all about feelings, emotions, magic and destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am certain there are many complicated reasons why Pujols
left St. Louis to play for the Angels, but it seemed at the time that it was
all about the money. For slightly less compensation, he could have stayed in
St. Louis and been the most revered player in Cardinals history. But he is a
proud and complex man, and in the high-profile, high-pressured world of
modern-day professional baseball, there are inevitable slights and
misunderstandings along the way. When he left the Cardinals, I convinced myself
it was just as well. Age would eventually encumber his skills, and with time he
would become less productive and a burden on the team.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But that was eight years ago, and time has a way of
softening one’s outlook. When I learned earlier this year that Albert Pujols
would return to St. Louis in late June for a three-game series with the Angels,
I asked (okay, begged) Andrea if she would mind traveling to The Promised Land
– uh, I mean, St. Louis, Busch Stadium to be precise – for an extended weekend
of baseball in America’s heartland. Something compelled me to be there for
Pujols’ return, for after eight seasons apart, it was time to relive and come
to terms with the lapsed memories and suppressed emotions that Cardinals fans everywhere
needed to confront. Time heals, and a reconciliation, a public group therapy
session, was needed to bring closure to the pain and hurt and misunderstandings
of this modern-day Prodigal Son. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Home is where somebody notices when you are no longer
there,” wrote the Bosnian-American writer Aleksandar Hemon. On June 21, 2019, for
the first time since he left eight years ago and never looked back, Pujols
returned to Busch Stadium. For each of the three weekend games, every time he
came to bat, he encountered wildly enthusiastic, standing ovations from 48,000 cheering
fans. On Friday evening, the second largest crowd in Busch Stadium history turned
out on a day that had experienced heavy rains and a tornado warning to welcome back
El Hombre and convey how much he meant to them. When Pujols came to bat in the
top of the first inning, everyone rose to their feet, politely at first, then
to a growing crescendo of cheers and whistles – 48,423 baseball fans collectively
expressing that we forgive you for leaving us, we appreciate what you gave us,
and we thank you for giving us the best years of your career. As I took it all
in, suddenly I was flooded by a wave of emotions and memories, as if
acknowledging the return of my long, lost brother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yadier Molina, the Cardinals catcher and Pujols’ best
friend, stood several feet in front of home plate to give the crowd time to pay
tribute to El Hombre, who initially ignored the cheering as he dug into the
batter’s box, kicking the dirt around home plate with his head down and bat in
his right hand. Finally, Pujols stepped back and lifted his helmet to the
crowd, circling to acknowledge everyone and gesturing to the Cardinals dugout,
all to the crowd’s utter delight. When Molina started back towards home plate
to resume play, Pujols patted him on the chest and he and Molina embraced –
friends and brothers re-united. The crowd fell apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I felt the tears forming and my chest tightening as I
thought of what once was, what might have been, and what it means to come home
after a long, silent absence. I thought of the people no longer in my life, who
left the world involuntarily, but who I wished at that moment could be there
with me – my older brother Steve, who taught me how to play ball and let me
play with him and his friends in the backyards and sandlots of our youth; my
father, who accepted my irrational love of the Cardinals and once drove with my
mom to St. Louis to spend the weekend with my daughters and me to watch the
Cardinals and Albert Pujols play; and Andrea’s dad, who for most of his life
was not a sports fan, but who became an honorary Cardinals fan in later years
simply because he knew what baseball and the Cardinals meant to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Each time Pujols stepped to the plate throughout the
weekend, the scene repeated itself with standing ovations and enthusiastic
cheers. When Pujols hit a home run on Saturday afternoon – a classic Pujols
line drive that never rose above fifteen feet off the ground until it landed in
the Angels dugout in left field seconds later – the entire stadium erupted as
if the Cardinals had won the World Series. It was a remarkable moment for
which, I confess, I became choked up again, as I thought of the many joyful moments
I experienced, often by myself on summer evenings, watching the beauty and
artistry of Pujols’s outstanding, dominating play. It was a needed reminder of
how quickly time passes in our temporary journey through life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a sense, Pujols’ return to St. Louis was a chance to
reconcile conflicting emotions, to cleanse my soul; to remember, to forgive, and
to once again dream. For Pujols, one sensed that he too needed a collective
embrace from the city and fan base that loved him like no other. After he
rounded the bases and entered the Angels dugout to the congratulatory high
fives of his teammates – a temporary dose of reality that the opposing team had
just hit a home run against us – Pujols returned to the top of the dugout steps
a moment later and donned his cap to the Cardinals faithful, and we erupted in
wild cheers all over again. The Prodigal Son had indeed returned home, and all
was forgiven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, the weekend in St. Louis was also a needed respite
from the noisy and divisive times in which we presently live. For three days, tens of thousands of people of all political persuasions came to one place with one
purpose. With the help of Albert Pujols, we temporarily forgot about all that divides
us and showed that we are united in our passions, our hopes, our dreams, and
our aspirations. He reminded us all once again of why we love baseball, for it
keeps us connected to our youth, when we were defined by our dreams and
embraced the mythological heroes of our favorite teams. The game and its players
let us forget, if only for a moment, that adulthood forces us to grow up, to
put away childish dreams, to go out into the world and confront the harshness
and realities of life. The players we root for everyday become extensions of
ourselves and our family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, we all must grow up and go our own way;
our children leave us and make their own lives; our siblings leave home and
pursue their dreams. Disappointments and sorrow inevitably follow, along with
moments of joy and celebration. Over time, we lose the people we love, some to
death, others to the precariousness of life. But we are always welcomed home to
the embrace of family.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it. -- George Augustus Moore</i></span></blockquote>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-36050173979972401912019-06-19T07:13:00.000-04:002020-02-16T09:50:12.235-05:00Re-Assessing the Carter Presidency<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaLqmOU7ldnhM5IeyoKp78TwDZYGlUts01p6hX_ZWkYbVr1OuokqARfz7ziN8tXXL-9wzdF2RR8rn5oPwSB49I0W3FjqUGo47rO5Sm72xUJBUkKjFRcwQa_V-UbJabD4pkREzKDzOhHQ/s1600/Carter+at+desk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="810" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaLqmOU7ldnhM5IeyoKp78TwDZYGlUts01p6hX_ZWkYbVr1OuokqARfz7ziN8tXXL-9wzdF2RR8rn5oPwSB49I0W3FjqUGo47rO5Sm72xUJBUkKjFRcwQa_V-UbJabD4pkREzKDzOhHQ/s320/Carter+at+desk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“The sad duty of politics,” noted the great 20th Century Protestant
theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, “is to establish justice in a sinful world.” It is
a sentiment most certainly shared by James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, the former
Governor of Georgia and peanut farmer from Plains who became the 39th President
of the United States. Raised in the Southern Baptist tradition of his native
Georgia, Carter was a man of deep religious conviction who talked openly of his
“personal relationship to Jesus Christ” and believed, as he wrote years later
in <i>Faith: A Journey for All</i> (Simon & Shuster, 2018), that “Christians are
called to plunge into the life of the world and to inject the moral and ethical
values of our faith into the processes of governing.” Although he opposed the
rightward shift of most Evangelical Christian leaders of the time, and
respected the separation of church and state, Carter’s faith was often
misunderstood and made some of his supporters uncomfortable. Partly because of
his faith, he remained an enigma as president and never fully connected to the
American people, at least until later in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carter was eight months into the presidency when I left for
college in the fall of 1977. He had been elected president in November 1976 as
a refreshingly honest, reform-minded response to Watergate, corruption, and
growing public cynicism. The United States had recently ended its disastrous
involvement in Vietnam, Nixon had been pardoned for his criminal cover-ups and
dirty tricks, the country was facing increasingly militant demands for social
and political equality on the basis of race and sex, and volatile oil markets
were driving home the reality of limited resources and an interdependent world.
Carter seemed an unlikely candidate for president when he ran in 1976, but there
was something oddly reassuring in his southern charm and toothy grin that juxtaposed
his obvious intellect and seriousness of purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As an undergrad still trying to find his way in the world, I
did not personally consider Carter an exciting or inspirational leader. By the summer
of my sophomore year, I had finished reading <i>Robert Kennedy and His Times</i> (Ballantine
Books, 1978) by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and was moved by Kennedy’s passion and
idealism. I believed the times called for a president who could reconcile
racial and class divisions, bring the country together, and make the United
States a leading force of world peace, environmental protection, social justice
and economic prosperity for all. I wanted a national leader who combined an
appeal to the common good with Kennedy’s charisma, youthfulness, and other
intangible traits that Carter lacked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First impressions are difficult to overcome, and I remained
ambivalent about the 39th President for most of his four-year term. When in
1980, at the age of 21, I voted in my first presidential election, I cast my
ballot for the highly articulate John Anderson, a liberal Republican from
Illinois running as an independent. It was not that I disliked or disapproved
of Carter, and I was fully aware that he had experienced a trifecta of bad luck
with the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, an unprecedented level of stagflation
(high inflation combined with high unemployment), and a world energy crisis,
none of which was the result of anything he did as president. But Anderson proposed
bold energy and environmental policies that I believed better addressed the
pressing issues of the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After he lost his re-election bid to Ronald Reagan in 1980, Carter
was dismissed as a one-termer, his presidency deemed a failure. The pundits
claimed that Carter never embraced the ways of Washington; he disdained
politics and the political deal making that greased the wheels of Congress. He
could be aloof and socially awkward, possessed an off-putting moral pietism,
and micro-managed the minutia of governing, once drafting a detailed memo to
staff on use of the White House tennis courts. He did not effectively
communicate to the American people and – as with his “crisis of confidence”
speech after the 1979 oil shock – lectured when he needed to inspire. Although
the country acknowledged his fundamental decency as a human being, the
sincerity of his religious faith, and his good intentions, and although his
post-presidential life is widely respected and admired, he is generally remembered
as an indecisive and ineffectual president.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fortunately, the passage of time allows us to reflect on the
past with a more expansive historical perspective. In <i>President Carter: The
White House Years</i> (St. Martin’s Press, 2018), Stuart Eizenstat, who served as
Carter’s Chief Domestic Policy Advisor during all four years of his presidency,
persuasively argues that it is time to fundamentally re-assess Carter’s legacy
as president. Eizenstat’s well-written and thoroughly documented 900-page
account of the Carter presidency contends that Carter’s White House years are
underrated and underappreciated. Despite inheriting a troubled economy and contending
with the competing demands of labor unions, civil rights groups, the women’s
movement, northeastern liberals and southern conservatives, Carter left office
with significant achievements in foreign and domestic policy that materially
improved the lives of Americans and our standing in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Energy and the Environment.</b> Carter was the first president
to actively champion energy conservation and environmental protection. He
enacted national fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks and created
federal subsidies for wind and solar power to promote research and development
in clean energy sources. He lifted price controls for domestic oil and gas,
which substantially reduced our energy consumption and reliance on foreign oil
supplies. He protected more than 100 million acres of land from development
through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which Eizenstat notes is “one of the most
important pieces of environmental legislation in the nation’s history,” and he greatly expanded the national park system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Consumer Protection.</b> Carter was also the “most
consumer-friendly president in the nation’s history,” according to Eizenstat.
By deregulating the trucking and airline industries, President Carter enhanced
economic efficiencies that placed downward pressures on prices and democratized
air travel, making it accessible to nearly everyone. He appointed disciples of Ralph
Nader to head key regulatory agencies who implemented significant improvements
to consumer product safety and occupational health and safety, mandated
automobile airbags, placed limits on child advertising, and reformed the banking
industry’s lending practices, all of which we take for granted today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Women’s Equality.</b> Carter was the first president to truly
embrace and materially advance women’s equality. When Carter took office in 1977,
only one of 97 federal appellate judges and five of 399 federal district court judges were women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time he left office in 1981, he had
appointed 40 women to the federal bench, five times more than all the
presidents in U.S. history combined. He issued a presidential executive order
prohibiting sex discrimination in the federal workplace and appointed women to top
positions in the White House, regulatory agencies, and executive branch
departments, including the Department of Defense. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While all these accomplishments have had lasting effects on the
everyday lives of Americans, it was in the realm of foreign policy where Carter
achieved his most historically significant successes: peace between Israel and
Egypt, the elevation of human rights as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy,
and ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Middle East Peace.</b> Eizenstat skillfully writes a detailed
account of the behind-the-scenes maneuvers and negotiations that occurred at
Camp David between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin. Both of those men had deep-seated distrust of the other, and
both were stubborn and tough negotiators. Begin particularly refused to budge
on several key issues, to the point that negotiations seemed hopeless and
destined for defeat until the final minutes of the very last day. It was only
Carter’s perseverance, his grit and determination, and his willingness to
endure extreme domestic political heat – straining relations with the American
Jewish community, which constituted a key base of his support in the 1976
election – that created the successful conditions for a binding agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carter was so personally invested in peace, so knowledgeable
and entrenched in the details of the negotiations, that it is difficult to
imagine any other American president, past or present, who could have
accomplished the cold but firm peace that was agreed to at Camp David in 1979
and which remains embedded in history. “This was Jimmy Carter at his best,”
writes Eizenstat, “his attention to detail, his recognition of the limits to
which he could push Begin and Sadat, and his appreciation of their starkly
different personalities.” Carter’s achievement was “without precedent in
American diplomatic history . . . a peace between two former enemies that has
lasted into the next century – and without a single violation.” The Camp David
Accords will remain indelibly linked to the history of the Middle East and the security
of Israel for decades to come, and it remains a model for future peace deals in
that region. Camp David opened the way to the 1993 Oslo Accords that resulted
in mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO, and the 1994 peace agreement
between Israel and Jordan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Human Rights.</b> Carter was also the first president to
genuinely promote and permanently institute human rights as a formal aspect of
U.S. foreign policy. Indeed, his human rights policy provided inspiration to the
leaders of liberation movements in what were then Communist Bloc countries,
including Vaclav Havel in Czechoslovakia and Lech Walesa in Poland. He
successfully pressured the Kremlin to greatly increase the number of Soviet
Jews allowed to emigrate to Israel and the United States. In Latin America,
Carter’s emphasis on human rights greatly improved our relations with Latin
American democracies and pressured military dictatorships and authoritarian
regimes to lessen human rights abuses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Panama Canal Treaty.</b> On September 7, 1977, Carter
reduced the perception of American hegemony over Latin America by ending U.S.
ownership of the Panama Canal, which had been a sore spot in the region for
decades. The Panama Canal Treaty opened a new chapter in U.S. – Latin American
relations and gave the United States a leg up in its Cold War competition with
the Soviets for allies and friends. “Americans want a more humane and stable
world,” Carter said on that historic day. “We believe in good will and fairness
as well as strength.” Carter understood the intense feelings of many Americans
who opposed the treaty and believed that, because American engineering and
ingenuity had built the canal 75 years earlier, we had a right to permanently
control that strategic passageway. But Carter’s strength as president was that
he did what he believed was right even if it hurt him politically. “This
agreement with Panama is something we want because we know it is right,” he
said. The agreement was “not merely the surest way to protect and save the
canal; it's a strong, positive act of people who are still confident, still
creative, still great.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Carter the Ex-President.</b> Of course, Carter will forever be lauded for his singular devotion to the betterment of humankind during the last
forty years of his life. Since Carter left the White House in January 1981, he
has easily been the most accomplished and substantial ex-president in American
history. Through his work at The Carter Center, which he founded in 1982, he
has helped eradicate diseases in Africa and established village-based health
care delivery systems in thousands of African communities, monitored 105
elections in 39 countries, and mediated peaceful solutions to some of the
world’s most intractable foreign conflicts. Through his work with Habitat for
Humanity, he and Rosalyn, one of the most graceful First Ladies in American
history, have devoted thousands of hours to building houses for impoverished
families. A prolific author, Carter has written over three dozen books on
peace, human rights, women’s equality, democracy, and world affairs. A man of
deep and abiding faith, he continues to teach Sunday school at his church in
Plains, Georgia, while accomplishing more in his post-presidential life than
most presidents accomplished while in office. And he has done it all with a
quiet and sincere humility that is difficult to fully comprehend in the Age of
Trump.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is, admittedly, something unrelatable to me about
Carter, his unwavering seriousness, or aloofness, or maybe his distinct
southern mannerisms, that prevent me from being personally drawn to him in the
ways I have been to Obama and the Kennedys. But the current state of affairs in
the United States, the meanness and selfish individualism that so dominates our
political life today, has appropriately, if belatedly, elevated Jimmy Carter’s
standing in history. He is a statesman, peacemaker, model of human generosity; a
sincere person of faith who lives out his convictions through his actions. He’s
a <i>mensch</i>, a genuinely decent human being. And throughout his life he has done his Niebuhrian-inspired
best to “establish justice in a sinful world.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-47998067184109107382019-06-02T09:12:00.002-04:002019-06-02T09:23:47.297-04:00The End of Privacy: Gary Hart and the Decline of Journalistic Standards<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ps05H-grAfUtteNQq2jCupQPHVWJeNU_jyXAmgGQEbyl6d7k1FeVcfgWJC5H14zmoSraU3QikzTnqezHsn8geAQ5ycSXvej0RTJYJqX7efmdkgEXj7I_rZE9Newf9nYuY46AsO0wl1s/s1600/Gary+Hart+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="620" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ps05H-grAfUtteNQq2jCupQPHVWJeNU_jyXAmgGQEbyl6d7k1FeVcfgWJC5H14zmoSraU3QikzTnqezHsn8geAQ5ycSXvej0RTJYJqX7efmdkgEXj7I_rZE9Newf9nYuY46AsO0wl1s/s320/Gary+Hart+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently finished reading <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Front-Runner-Truth-Movie-Tie/dp/0525566139" target="_blank">The Front Runner</a></i> (originally
published as <i>All the Truth is Out</i>) by Matt Bai, which along with the accompanying
motion picture starring Hugh Jackman by the same title, is an engagingly
piercing retrospective on the collapse of then Colorado Senator Gary Hart’s
presidential campaign in 1987. As anyone over the age of 40 likely recalls, Hart’s
presidential ambitions were destroyed following revelations of his alleged extra-marital
affair with Donna Rice, a young and beautiful pharmaceutical representative and
former actress. The story became front-page news in <i>The Miami Herald</i> after two
of its reporters staked out Hart’s Capitol Hill townhouse and observed Hart and
Rice leave and return together multiple times that weekend. The story,
published on Sunday, May 3, 1987, led to a national media frenzy the likes of
which had not been seen before in presidential campaign history. Hart’s
campaign never recovered, his political career ruined not by financial scandal
or corruption, but by the media’s pietistic concern for his alleged personal
sins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I first took notice of Senator Hart in February 1984 when he
upset former Vice President Walter Mondale in the New Hampshire Democratic primary.
As a young law student with an interest in politics and government, I liked
that Hart was an “ideas” man, socially liberal but not rigidly ideological, well
respected by members of both parties, and refreshingly more thoughtful and
intellectual than the average politician. I perceived Hart as an exceptionally
talented and intelligent public official, who offered new and thoughtful legislative
strategies that looked to the future and discarded the stale, special interest
politics that was then holding back the Democratic Party. As described by
journalist and author Matt Bai, “Hart was invariably described as a brilliant
and serious man, perhaps the most visionary political mind of his generation,
an old-school statesman of the kind Washington had lost its capacity to
produce.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although Mondale ultimately won the Democratic nomination
that year (before losing in a landslide to President Reagan), Hart was well
positioned to become the Democratic nominee for President in 1988. I enthusiastically
supported Hart when he announced his candidacy in the spring of 1987 and promised
to run a campaign focused on ideas. Hart had a prescient understanding of world
economic trends and America’s interconnectedness to the global economy. He
promoted collaboration between government and private enterprise to address
pressing environmental and energy concerns and to transition the United States from
the Industrial Age to the Information Age. As a member of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, Hart had advanced a series of policies (that were eventually widely
embraced) to reform the U.S. military’s reliance on large-scale weapons systems
and better defend against new forms of stateless terrorism. He seemed destined
to lead at a time when the Democratic Party lacked any other true superstars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But then, based on whispered rumors of Hart’s reputation as
a womanizer and a “tip” from someone who claimed to have inside information
about Hart’s marital infidelities, two reporters from <i>The Miami Herald</i> set-up
surveillance of Hart’s D.C. residence. In a moment of “gotcha” journalism one
would expect of <i>The National Enquirer</i>, not a mainstream news organization, <i>The
Herald</i> reported its findings in a front-page story that treated the alleged
Hart-Rice affair as if Hart had committed treason. Suddenly, the Washington
press corps cared nothing about Hart’s ideas for the future of the planet and only
about his sex life. The resulting coverage was relentless. It encompassed all
the major news organizations, print and television. The Hart campaign was blind-sided,
and, in a matter of weeks, he withdrew from the race. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Throughout the fast-moving media circus that followed <i>The
Herald</i>’s stakeout, it seemed that all voices of common sense and good judgment
were drowned out by sensational hype. I recall minimal coverage devoted to thoughtful
reflection on the questions I and others asked at the time: Why is Gary Hart’s sexual
life a relevant consideration to his fitness for office? Why did the press
suddenly believe the private lives of public figures were fair game? If it
didn’t matter that FDR, Dwight Eisenhower, JFK or LBJ were adulterers, why
should it matter if Gary Hart committed adultery? Assuming Hart did in fact
commit adultery (to this day, both Hart and Rice have denied a sexual
relationship and Hart remains married to his wife of nearly sixty years), what
was it about Hart’s private sexual life that was fundamentally different or more
important than the private sex lives of past presidents, prime ministers,
Cabinet officials, or congressional committee chairmen? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Herald</i> defended its reporters’ tactics and the resulting
coverage of Hart by suggesting that Hart’s apparent marital infidelities reflected
negatively upon his “character” and “truthfulness.” Defenders of the media
argued that the real concern was not that Hart may have slept with Donna Rice, but
that he misled and lied to the American people. That a substantial majority of
Americans did not think Hart’s private sex life was relevant seemed not to
matter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Gary Hart has now become the first American victim of
Islamic justice,” wrote Hendrik Hertzberg in <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/89528/gary-hart-donna-rice-sex-scandal-archive-weiner" target="_blank"><i>The New Republic</i> on June 1, 1987</a>,
shortly after Hart dropped out of the presidential race. “He has been
politically stoned to death for adultery. The difference is that in Iran, the
mullahs do not insult the condemned prisoner by telling him that he is being
executed not for adultery but because of ‘concerns about his character,’ ‘questions
about his judgment,’ or ‘doubts about his candor.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even if Hart lied about his private life (in fact, he steadfastly
refused to say anything about his private life), did that mean he would lie
about fundamental matters of public policy, war and peace, or the future
direction of our country? I think not. When I vote for a candidate for public
office, I am not concerned about who the candidate is sleeping with any more
than I care about the candidate’s sexual orientation. Somewhere along the way
we seem to have lost the ability to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant
facts, between the trivial and important matters. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hertzberg accurately noted that, in the past, the private
failings of our political leaders were only deemed a fit subject for public
exposure in respectable news publications if they contained some connection to
one’s fitness for office and the performance of his or her public duties. But
in the spring of 1987, journalistic standards suddenly and dramatically
changed. <i>The Miami Herald</i> story did nothing to test the merits of Hart’s ideas
for leading a nation, or whether he had the leadership qualities to help
prepare the United States for the 21st Century. Instead, in the post-Watergate
mentality which makes journalists aspire to be the next Woodward and Bernstein,
reporters wanted to know why Hart had separated from his wife on two past
occasions, why his family had changed his name from Hartpence to Hart two
decades earlier, why he had altered the look and style of his signature, and why
there appeared to be a one-year discrepancy in his birth certificate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“What all these things have in common,” contended Hertzberg,
“is that they are trivial.” Such questions tell us nothing about a candidate’s
character or “the collection of qualities that make one person distinct from
another . . . the overall moral pattern of a life and work” that “is woven
through the total pattern of a person’s life.” Besides, added Hertzberg:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If Gary Hart is a man of bad character, surely the
voluminous public record of his actions, decisions, statements, writings, and
political maneuvers over the last 15 years must be replete with examples. Those
who have condemned his character on the basis of the Donna Rice affair have
been quite unable to point to such examples. If character is something that
manifests itself solely in a person’s private sexual behavior, yet leaves no
trace in the rest of his life, including his work life, then “character” is not
very important after all—and the sexual details tell us nothing. If character
is something that manifests itself in the totality of life, then we don’t need
the sexual details to discern it.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes, but wasn’t the issue Hart’s lack of candor, his untruthfulness?
He lied about adultery, so therefore he is a liar. Why doesn’t the public have
a right to know this? Because in real life, there are just certain things that even
presidential contenders should have the right to say is “none of your damn
business.” And when you lie about or falsely deny something that is none of anyone’s
damn business, it says little about your overall truthfulness or character – it
simply means there are boundaries to what you will discuss. “The fact that a
person will lie in the context of adultery proves nothing about his general
propensity to lie,” suggested Hertzberg. “[I]f Hart is a liar there must be one
or two more lies among the millions of words he has spoken as a public man. Let
them be produced.” In all the scrutiny of Hart’s life, then or later, I have
seen no examples of lies or misleading statements from Hart on any matters of
substance or public import. Contrast that with the current president, for whom
in two years <i>The Washington Post</i> has compiled <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/29/president-trump-has-made-more-than-false-or-misleading-claims/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.46e42f8c338e" target="_blank">a list of over 10,000 lies</a> and
misleading statements on matters of substance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Character and integrity matter. But character and integrity in
public life has little to do with living a life of saintly purity. History has
proven that many of our greatest presidents were flawed human beings. But their
public virtues outweighed their private moral failings. Give me a president with
the character and fortitude to rise to the occasion and do great things in
times of stress and urgency, to always put the national interest ahead of
personal concerns, and to tell me the truth about the things to which I have a
right to know, and I will happily forgive his human shortcomings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gary Hart will forever be remembered as the politician who
got caught with a woman on his lap on a boat called <i>The Monkey Business</i>. His
entire life of public service essentially erased from public consciousness
because he expected that there remained a circle of privacy even for
presidential candidates. It seems incredibly naïve to think such a thing today,
but that was not so in 1987. Maybe Hart was his own worst enemy. He should have
known better than to be reckless under what he knew to be heightened scrutiny.
Nevertheless, America lost the services of an exceptionally talented
presidential contender in 1987 because the rules of engagement between the
press and political candidates suddenly and unexpectedly changed; the focus
shifted to the trivial and personal at the expense of serious public discourse.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want leaders who genuinely care about the future of our planet,
the quality of our public discourse, and the ideals of American democracy; who favor
peace and diplomacy over war and conflict; and who believe in the dignity of
all human beings. Most importantly, I want men and women of good will and intelligence,
who demonstrate character through acts of kindness, decency, compassion, and empathy,
and who have the backbone to make tough, unpopular decisions for the benefit of
the greater public good. I am simply not interested in the private lives of our
public leaders, so long as such private conduct does not interfere with the
exercise of their public duties. I will continue to distinguish between public
morality and private morality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Matt Bai concludes </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Front Runner</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> by noting that, in the
years since the Hart scandal first broke, Hart has maintained an unwavering
silence about the details of whatever did or did not happen between him and
Donna Rice in 1987. He has done this, Bai contends, because “he harbored a fierce
conviction that private affairs had no place in the public arena, and he was
going to hold fast to that conviction until his dying breath, no matter how
anachronistic it seemed to others. There’s a way to describe a man who holds
that tightly to principle, whatever the cost. The word is character.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-71743437430312438762018-03-31T09:17:00.001-04:002018-03-31T09:17:46.057-04:00Idealism Tempered by Reality: Robert Kennedy in the Shadow of JFK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOsL_3tFg15lx_J82M-VdT8M8t7dZ_aua0h0bsuDXzLUpHuUVA90btDO6ChGQpymB2eqETyiBF6fVAvZlAnvPfEo4xLXZJjVYY91jgmrssc1nodrMDbgi8fPDx51kcsQF4TPycR8Q3EY/s1600/RFKlead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="686" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijOsL_3tFg15lx_J82M-VdT8M8t7dZ_aua0h0bsuDXzLUpHuUVA90btDO6ChGQpymB2eqETyiBF6fVAvZlAnvPfEo4xLXZJjVYY91jgmrssc1nodrMDbgi8fPDx51kcsQF4TPycR8Q3EY/s320/RFKlead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each
of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all
those acts will be written the history of this generation. – Robert F. Kennedy,
South Africa, 1966</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Coming of age in the 1970s, I was fascinated by the Kennedy
brothers, the glamour, the mystique, the all-American mythology. From my
reading of history, I admired the cool dispassion of John and the passionate
moralism of Robert. Later, I would come to admire the legislative skills of
Ted. Despite their many and varied flaws, over the years the Kennedy brothers have
remained a source of inspiration to me, more for what they represented than for
what they accomplished. Their public personas embodied the promise of America
and the ideal of public service. In our collective imagination, the Kennedys
appealed to the better angels of our character and articulated a poetic and aspirational
vision of America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Admittedly, my youthful fascination with the Kennedys has
been tempered by life and maturity, by the recognition that the wealth and
status associated with the Kennedys are matters of fortune and luck; the life
of a Kennedy bears little resemblance to reality for most of us. Camelot was a
myth of our own imagining. The reality of their lives was messier and more
complicated than their public relations machinery presented. But their impact
on the concept of public service left an indelible and inspiring mark on the
fabric of American history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As President, John Kennedy understood that the problems and
challenges America faced in his time were of pre-existent origins. Governing
did not allow for mythological and utopian thinking. JFK made public service
something to be admired and respected. He established the Peace Corps and sent
young men and women to far off lands on missions of goodwill. He encouraged America
to reach the moon and explore the universe. He advocated public support for the
arts. He presided over the Cuban missile crisis with exceptional tact and
competence. He understood the perils of nuclear ambition, the horrific
consequences of nuclear war, and the environmental devastation of atmospheric
testing. Although his presidency was cut short before he could achieve his most
ambitious objectives, he pointed us in the right direction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But to study the Kennedys is to encounter disappointment and
regret for the lost potential of what might have been. Although JFK’s
presidency lasted only 1,000 days, by November 1963, he had developed into a
true national leader. Months earlier he had acknowledged the moral imperative
of civil rights and the injustices of the Jim Crow South. It took Lyndon
Johnson to harness the Kennedy myth and America’s love affair with Camelot to
succeed where Kennedy failed – in civil rights and an assortment of federal
programs that aided the poor and middle class in substantial and lasting ways. But
history treats our fallen heroes more kindly than others. JFK’s mythic legacy
has outlasted Johnson’s hard-scrabbled achievements. And it is a legacy owed in
part to younger brother Bobby, who played a unique role in American history as
Attorney General and the President’s protector, confidante, and advisor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Few people in public life have demonstrated a larger capacity
for personal growth and reflection than Robert “Bobby” Kennedy did in his final
decade of life. In his earlier years, Bobby fought the Cold War and opposed
Communism while otherwise advancing the political interests of his brother.
When he became Attorney General, Bobby studied first-hand the injustices of
segregation and racism. He reprioritized the Justice Department’s resources to
fight the mafia and its corrupting influence on American institutions,
including labor unions. He immeasurably helped guide JFK through the Cuban
missile crisis. His reputation for being tough and ruthless evolved into one of
a respected and thoughtful public figure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the middle of the 1960s, Bobby’s concerns were focused on
a broader set of issues. By then, he had become the one Kennedy whose passions,
ideals, and intellect were best suited to lead the United States through a time
of division and strife. Like his brother, he did not live long enough to fulfill
his dreams of racial reconciliation, economic justice, and peace, but his personal,
moral, and intellectual growth during his last several years of life was truly impressive.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bobby understood far better than John what it was like to
experience neglect, to be overlooked and forgotten. He was in many ways the
runt of the litter, the smallest and scrappiest of the Kennedy brothers, the
least golden of these all-American golden boys. Not to overplay this – he was
still a rich, privileged Kennedy, with all of the advantages that accompany
wealth and fame. But later in life, when he personally witnessed the extreme
poverty, as described by Michael Harrington in <i>The Other America</i>, of Appalachia
and the Mississippi Delta; rubbed the cheeks of malnourished black children and
saw entire families living in shacks with no running water or sewage – he was sharply
awakened to the reality that, even in America, the richest, most powerful
nation on Earth, injustice and inequality were widespread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A devout Catholic of Jesuit influence, with a strong social
justice instinct, Robert Kennedy was a problem solver who cared little for
political ideology. By the time he became a U.S. Senator from New York, he was
interested only in solutions that worked, that made people’s lives better. When
his eyes were opened to the sufferings of impoverished and underprivileged Americans,
Bobby could not fathom that these injustices existed so epidemically in the
United States. He came to believe the Cold War would be won more effectively in
how we confronted inequity and injustice than by how many nuclear warheads we
possessed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Among the great divides in America today is that between the
cynics and the idealists. There remain few of the latter. Perhaps only Barack
Obama, who wished to unite Americans of every race and ideology, has come
closest to resurrecting the idealism of RFK. Obama’s vision of a people united
in the common good was blocked by Mitch McConnell and his Republican
strategists. And we will never know if RFK could have successfully bridged the wide
gaps that existed in the late 1960s between black and white, rich and poor,
urban and rural. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the last few years of his life, Robert Kennedy had become
a prophetic and unifying voice at a time when our nation was divided over
Vietnam, civil rights, and the sexual revolution. He responded with
sensitivity, intelligence, and compassion in ways that distinguished him as a
uniquely thoughtful leader. He gave voice to reason at a time when many
Americans had lost faith in our institutions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He was liberal without being elitist, and he did not shy
away from telling people things they did not always want to hear. He opposed
the Vietnam War, but told affluent white college students that they should not
be allowed educational deferments from the draft and leave the fighting
overseas to poor whites and racial minorities. He was a champion of civil
rights but strongly supported the rule of law and the prosecution of rioters
and looters. He was a champion of the poor but did not like many traditional
welfare programs, believing they were degrading and humiliating to the
recipients. He called instead for “a massive effort, public and private, to
provide jobs and housing and hope to the people who dwell in the Other
America.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For 82 days in 1968, a time of massive unrest, it appeared that
Robert Kennedy was the only American politician who could successfully bring
America together. Although he took too long to enter the race, once he
announced his candidacy, he presented America with a clear case for why he was
running: to end the war in Vietnam; to bring people of different races and
ethnicities together; and to fight poverty and economic injustice. An awkward,
inconsistent speaker in his younger days, he found a self-confidence and
eloquence that had previously eluded him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We cannot undo history, but must contend with the reality of
today. In looking back over the past 50 years, it is hard not to long for a man
or woman as passionate and idealistic as the Robert Kennedy of the mid- to
late-1960s. As the historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote of Kennedy, “History
changed him, and, had time permitted, he might have changed history.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At a time when few politicians could do so, Bobby Kennedy
forged a coalition of working-class whites and blacks, and helped them
recognize that they shared common interests. It is why the memory of his life
and sudden death haunts us still.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As Thurston Clarke wrote in </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Last Campaign: Robert F.
Kennedy and 82 Days that Inspired America</i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> (Holt, 2008), people from all walks
of life mourned Kennedy’s death “because they sensed that he had tried to
educate rather than manipulate them, reconcile rather than divide them, engage
them in a dialogue rather than feed them the message of the day, appeal to
their better angels instead of their wallets, and demand sacrifice instead of
promising comfort. They mourned him because they ached for a leader who could
heal their wounded nation and restore its tarnished honor, and because they
ached to feel noble again.” America today needs another Bobby Kennedy, his
idealism and unifying spirit. We need someone who will help us feel noble again.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The youthfulness I speak of is not a time of life, but a
state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a
predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the
love of ease. It is the spirit which knows the difference between force and
reason. It does not accept the failures of tomorrow. It knows that we can clasp
the future, and mold it to our will. . . . Leadership which is true to the
spirit will recognize the source of our happiness; it will know that we will
find fulfillment not in the goods we have, but in the good we can do together.
– Robert F. Kennedy, Los Angeles, 1968</i></span></blockquote>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-78571778320765974792018-02-06T08:04:00.000-05:002018-02-09T10:46:27.755-05:00Pride and Prejudice: Remembering the Humanity of Roberto Clemente<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzElW7qInbY5F1npLpeavpJIHh5YVB0XYf7_qphkFnJl6B7tJen9AWvZ2WCw_Laz5kL4jEzIRSQrHd5dCCrTBGDiUZPLKX4counF_nx4bSXY0DY7MCB9El5lSYJMPfLzXrS1Pwz_aUQc/s1600/robertoclemente-1380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="1280" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnzElW7qInbY5F1npLpeavpJIHh5YVB0XYf7_qphkFnJl6B7tJen9AWvZ2WCw_Laz5kL4jEzIRSQrHd5dCCrTBGDiUZPLKX4counF_nx4bSXY0DY7MCB9El5lSYJMPfLzXrS1Pwz_aUQc/s320/robertoclemente-1380.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Legend has it that, during the 1969 season, when the
Pittsburgh Pirates were visiting San Diego, Roberto Clemente walked from his
hotel to a local carry-out chicken place. On his way back, a bag of food in
hand, he was kidnapped by a gang of four young Mexican nationals, shoved into a
car and taken to an abandoned park. As one man held a knife to Clemente, the
gang members took his wallet, chicken dinner, and some of his clothing. About
to leave Clemente stranded in the park, one of the gang members finally
realized that they had kidnapped the great Clemente (one of the items they
stole from him was an All-Star ring with his name on it). Horrified, they
immediately returned to Clemente his wallet and clothes, apologized profusely,
and drove him back to the hotel. Before driving away, a gang member jumped out
of the car and handed to Clemente his chicken dinner. Such was the respect and
admiration for the Latin Prophet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was thirteen years old when Roberto Clemente died on New
Year’s Eve in 1972, after his chartered plane crashed while on a humanitarian
mission to deliver food and clothing to thousands of earthquake victims in Nicaragua.
I still remember the shocking news reports that Clemente’s plane had gone
missing over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean shortly after taking off from
Puerto Rico. For a young teenage boy who idolized the star baseball players
whose pictures appeared on bubblegum cards and in the pages of <i>The Sporting
News</i>, it was an early lesson in the mortality of our heroes and the human
vulnerability of us all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To me, Clemente was a perennial All-Star, one of the elite
and most respected players in all of baseball. That he died trying to better
humanity and bring aid and comfort to people who had lost their homes in a
natural disaster, and who were being denied food and medicine by the corrupt
regime of Nicaraguan military leader Anastasio Somoza, only enhanced Clemente’s
status as a larger-than-life character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At thirteen, I was familiar with Clemente from a distance, as
the star right fielder of the Pittsburgh Pirates and competitive adversary to
my Strat-O-Matic version of the St. Louis Cardinals. I appreciated Clemente’s
stylish athleticism and grace whenever the Pirates were featured on NBC’s game
of the week or during the annual All-Star game and, most memorably, the 1971
World Series when the Pirates surprised the Baltimore Orioles and Clemente
displayed his artistry to a national audience (Roger Angell described Clemente’s
performance in that series as “something close to the level of absolute
perfection”). I recall having seen Clemente play in person only once, against
the Phillies in either 1971 or 1972, but on this point my memory lacks clarity,
and that is a shame. Because he remains one of the most skilled and graceful
athletes to have ever played the game in my lifetime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently, I finished reading about his life and times in
David Maraniss’s biography, <i>Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last
Hero</i> (Simon & Shuster 2006). Maraniss portrayed Clemente in all his human
complexity; as a proud and dignified man, one of baseball’s early Latino stars,
who experienced racism and discrimination and the loneliness of being a
Spanish-speaking player on an all-American ball club, where even the other
black players did not easily relate to him. Despite his dark skin, Clemente
identified as a Latino man, and a representative of his native Puerto Rico, not
as a black man. But while this caused some early misunderstanding in the black
community and African American press, it was due more to the language barrier
than actual differences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clemente was a sensitive soul and did not easily remain
silent in the face of injustice. He felt passionately about civil rights and did
not understand why he and other black and Latino players were forced to stay in
the “colored” side of town during Spring Training in the 1950s and early 1960s when
the Pirates were stationed in Ft. Myers, Florida, then part of the Jim Crow
south. Clemente greatly admired the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who once spoke
at length with Clemente on a visit to Puerto Rico. He shared King’s vision of a
day when all people – rich or poor, black or white – would be treated with
dignity and respect, as human beings, equal in the eyes of God and the law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clemente was equally disturbed by what he considered the unfair
stereotyping of Latino players, as lazy or soft. Clemente frequently played
hurt – he had chronic back and neck pain due to wayward discs from a car accident
in 1954 (which occurred when he was driving home to see his dying brother); bone
chips in his elbow caused inflammation when he threw too much or too hard (he
had the strongest arm in the major leagues, which made him a perennial Gold
Glove winner in the outfield); and he had stomach ailments and frequent tension
headaches. Some critics, including some baseball writers, called him a
hypochondriac and believed him to be a malingerer, a misperception that deeply hurt
Clemente. As his former manager Harry Walker once said, “No man ever gave more
of himself or worked more unselfishly for the good of the team than Roberto.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clemente ran out every ground ball and always hustled on the
bases. In right field, he thought he could catch any fly ball hit in his
vicinity and throw out any runner who tried to take an extra base. Despite the
long, exhausting <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>baseball season, he
continued to play winter ball in Puerto Rico until late in his career. And
through it all he led the National League in hitting four times, accumulated 3,000
career hits and a lifetime .317 batting average, was the outfield assist leader
five times, won twelve Gold Glove awards, and played in eleven All-Star games. Clearly there was nothing lazy or soft about
Clemente.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clemente’s occasional <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>outspokenness led to misunderstandings, in
part because he spoke broken English and lacked nuance in his speech (which
would not have been the case had reporters communicated with him in his native
Spanish). Many reporters back then quoted him phonetically, which made him seem
unintelligent and drove him crazy (e.g., “I hit many what you call the ‘bad
bol’ pitches and get good wood. The ‘bol’ travel like bullet”). It hurt his
dignity. Because Clemente felt he represented the people, history, and struggle
of his fellow Puerto Ricans, any perceived slights to him were insults to his
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite his sometimes superhuman skills on the ball field, Clemente
was a human being with human feelings and flaws. He once punched an
autograph-seeking fan in Philadelphia who became too intrusive (Clemente later apologized), and he
argued with umpires whom he felt did not treat him fairly. But he had a soft,
gentle side as well, which led him to “adopt” a shy teenage girl from Pennsylvania
as his American “sister” and to treat her and her mother as extended family for
many years thereafter, inviting them to games and dinner when he was in town
and to stay with he and wife Vera on visits to Puerto Rico during
the offseason.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clemente had a particular soft spot for children, especially
if they were sick or poor. He quietly and routinely visited hospitalized
children while on the road in National League cities. Although he did not seek
publicity, word quickly spread and requests came in from all over; Clemente
would sort his mail before each road trip and bring with him letters from
children in the cities in which the Pirates were scheduled to play. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He dreamed that after his baseball career ended he would
establish a free “sports city” for the children of Puerto Rico, where kids from
all walks of life could learn to play together and become good citizens. He talked
of inviting Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, and Ted Williams to come and teach the kids fundamental baseball skills. He wanted to start an
exchange program so that kids from Puerto Rico could spend time in the United
States, and kids from the States could spend time in Puerto Rico. Only by
playing together, eating together, and living together, he believed, can people
understand that we share the same dreams in life. “If you have a chance to
accomplish something that will make things better for people coming behind you,”
Clemente said, “and you don’t do that, you are wasting your time on this
earth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“The reality of many
athletes, even those who become hailed as deities, is that they diminish with
time,” wrote Maraniss. “Clemente was the opposite, becoming more sure of
himself and his larger role in life.” After he won the MVP award in 1966 and
finally received the official recognition and respect he felt had been
previously overlooked, he began to relax and feel accepted. And as the Pirates
(like many of the teams in the 1960s and 1970s) added growing numbers of black
and Latino players to their roster, Clemente’s true, fun-loving personality
began to shine in the clubhouse. He became more comfortable in his
surroundings, enjoyed the fun-loving ribbing from his teammates, and dished
back his own gentle jibes. His teammates adored him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clemente was revered throughout Latin America as an almost
mythical figure. He mentored the many young Latino ballplayers who followed him
to the major leagues, including Orlando Cepeda, one of my all-time favorite
players. Clemente was like a big brother to Cepeda, generously giving of his
time, advice, and encouragement even though they never played on the same team.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That Clemente died on a mission in
service of humanity<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>caused him to be
regarded by many people of Spanish-speaking countries as something close to a
prophet. Had Clemente played in New York, Boston, or Los Angeles, he would have
been a national icon. But playing in small-market Pittsburgh, he was among the
best kept secrets in baseball.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“The mythic aspects of baseball,” wrote
Maraniss, “usually draw on clichés of the innocent past, the nostalgia for how
things were. Fields of green. Fathers and sons. But Clemente’s myth arcs the
other way, to the future, not the past, to what people hope they can become.” Roberto
Clemente was a great ballplayer with exceptional talent. He was also a
fundamentally decent human being who understood how fortunate he was in life while
recognizing the misfortunes of others. He knew that his gifts placed on him
special demands and obligations. </span></span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He achieved near perfection as a ballplayer,
but sought to better himself as a human being. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having learned more about his
life and inner passions, I wish I had known more about Clemente when he was
alive. Although I will always admire his extraordinary talents as a baseball
player, in the end, I am even more inspired by his humanity and will remember him
for the complex, dynamic, and passionate human being he was.</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></div>
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Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-65943594791622573982018-01-23T20:40:00.001-05:002018-01-23T20:40:23.648-05:00The Steady Decline of American Democracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0yG51PP4T52YUCjSJqzLKi1bTZZPH9C3TlgQqnxlFHTgj2AZU5q62Z02hfk-_7WrbYESdWSNTdszaeCiR6SxdWoOk4JEy4SLNhwSsOZrlEOmbj-NIICAj8VqGYZFPMpiGJ70xh8eZtU/s1600/trump+%2528002%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0yG51PP4T52YUCjSJqzLKi1bTZZPH9C3TlgQqnxlFHTgj2AZU5q62Z02hfk-_7WrbYESdWSNTdszaeCiR6SxdWoOk4JEy4SLNhwSsOZrlEOmbj-NIICAj8VqGYZFPMpiGJ70xh8eZtU/s320/trump+%2528002%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have refrained this past year from writing about the state
of our political affairs, preferring instead to keep an open mind and to
wait-and-see if things were really as bad as I had feared. They’re worse. The
election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States has caused
daily anxiety and stress, not only for me and other liberal minded,
politically-interested citizens, but for the majority of Americans and the
world at large. Trump as President has changed everything – he has cheapened
our public discourse, undermined the rule of law, degraded our civic values,
and methodically lowered our standards. One need not read Michael Wolff’s new
book <i>Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House</i> to understand that Trump lacks the skills needed to
effectively govern. His actions and words have steadily frayed the societal bonds that
hold us together. For the first time in my life, I awaken each morning with a
sense of dread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We live in dangerous times, with a mentally unstable,
unpredictable leader of the free world; an uninformed, ignorant, angry and
insecure man in the White House. Trump has weakened American democracy, because
he does not respect the political and legal institutions on which our democracy
depends and which have provided stability and security since the end of World
War II. Our alliances have been shattered, trust in U.S. leadership is at an
all-time low, and the country is deeply divided in ways that seem more serious
and permanent than ever before. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I freely acknowledge this is not the first time we have
experienced deep divisions – in my lifetime, the United States was torn apart
by the struggle for civil rights, the Vietnam War, Watergate, abortion, the
rights of gays and lesbians. But it seems different now. Where we used to disagree
about the means to an end, we no longer agree on the ends. We no longer accept
the same facts. The president throws out incendiary, fabricated terms like
“fake news” and “deep state” and promotes paranoid conspiracy theories on such
a routine basis that we risk losing our grip on bedrock reality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has only been one year since Trump’s inaugural address,
when he spoke of “American carnage” and gave the darkest, most sinister and
depressing presidential speech in American history. Over the course of the past
year, Trump has insulted foreign leaders on Twitter, called for the arrest and
prosecution of his political opponents, openly undermined members of his own
Cabinet, mocked and denigrated the FBI and CIA, insulted the leaders of
friendly nations, and sang the praises of some of the world’s worst dictators. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As president, Trump has diminished our 70 year-long alliance
with Western Europe and placed in doubt our commitments under NATO. His calls
for “America first” harken back to the isolationist and anti-Semitic America
First Committee founded by Charles Lindbergh in 1940. His pre-presidential
campaign behavior, when he bragged about the size of his penis, made fun of
his opponents’ wives, and mocked a disabled reporter, has carried over to his similarly
puerile conduct in office. No other president in modern times has treated his
political adversaries in such a disgusting, dishonorable fashion. Being
president has done nothing to sensitize Trump to the majestic arc of American
history, the immense responsibilities of his office, and the reality that he
presides over a diverse nation of 325 million people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump has perhaps irreparably damaged the reputation and
credibility of the United States with the rest of the world. He has threatened
the use of nuclear weapons in ways so irresponsible and immature, it has made a
mockery of America’s traditional role as the world’s foremost superpower. With
no moral compass, no sense of decency or decorum, he has abandoned America’s
commitment to human rights and the maintenance of world order as seminal
principles of U.S. foreign policy. He has withdrawn the United States from the
Paris Climate Accords and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, threatened repeatedly
to withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal, and left a vacuum in world leadership
that is already being filled by Germany, China, and Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At home, he has done nothing to expand his appeal beyond the
approximately one-third of Americans who continue to support him no matter what
he does or says. He fundamentally misunderstands his constitutional
responsibilities, the separation of powers, and his ethical duties, and instead
acts like a morally bankrupt figurehead who has no qualms about exploiting his
position for financial gain. He enjoys sparking the flames of racism and white
identity politics with attacks on political correctness and civility. Having
entered the political arena by promoting the blatantly racist and false claim
that Barack Obama was not born in America, hardly a week goes by when Trump
does not insult Mexicans, immigrants, Muslims, black athletes, or some other
identifiable segment of humanity, including most recently the people of Haiti
and the entire continent of Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Among the most dangerous aspects of the Trump presidency are
his attacks on truth, science, facts, and a free press. As Republican Senator
Jeff Flake of Arizona <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/17/politics/jeff-flake-speech/index.html" target="_blank">articulated on the Senate floor</a> on January 17th, “2017
was a year which saw the truth – objective, empirical, evidence-based truth –
more battered and abused than any other in the history of the country…It was a
year which saw the White House enshrine ‘alternative facts’ into the American
lexicon, as justification for what used to be known simply as good
old-fashioned falsehoods.” This president lies so frequently – as of a few days
ago, <i>The Washington Post </i>had <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.a268ace44c11" target="_blank">documented 2,140 falsehoods</a> told by Trump since
being sworn in as President – that his public pronouncements, and that of his
press spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders, are the source of daily outrage and
embarrassment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His phony cries of “fake news” and his disrespect for an
independent press are direct attacks on the First Amendment. In calling the
press not simply unfair but the “enemy of the American people,” he has
attempted to delegitimize the one institution of our democracy that has any
chance of holding Trump accountable. His personal insults directed at
individual reporters whose stories he dislikes are among the most ugly and
obscene aspects of this presidency, for attacking a free press is a tool
historically used by despots and dictators. The effects are poisonous to
American democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the year unfolded, we have learned just how actively
Russia interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with increasing
evidence that Trump’s closest confidantes exploited and encouraged their
Russian connections to create disinformation and corrupt the electoral process.
I will wait for all of the facts to develop through the Mueller investigation
before commenting further, but it is astonishing to me the lengths to which Trump’s
supporters defend and excuse every aspect of this story. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump and the Republicans have done nothing to retaliate
against the Russians for attacking our sovereignty, discrediting the U.S.
political system, and distorting our democratic process. Instead, the president
has repeatedly called the Russia story a “hoax” and ridiculed the Justice
Department, the FBI, and his own intelligence agencies for telling him what he
wants not to hear. As Senator Flake also warned in his remarks last week, “an
American president who cannot take criticism – who must constantly deflect and
distort and distract – who must find someone else to blame – is charting a very
dangerous path. And a Congress that fails to act as a check on the president
adds to the danger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It may well be for future historians to determine the full
degree to which the Trump presidency has distorted the truth and damaged the
institutions of American democracy. But it is self-evident that serious damage
is being done. Trump has succeeded in lowering our standards and creating a new "normal." He has elevated pettiness and indecency to new heights, reduced
presidential discourse to ignorant and childish Twitter feeds, personal attacks
and insults. He does not read. He is ill informed on almost every policy issue.
He has demonstrated not a scintilla of interest in personal growth since
becoming president. If he had remained the mediocre, publicity-hungry real
estate developer he once was, none of this would matter. But when such behavior
and pettiness emanates from the leader of the free world, it is destructive of
our politics and degrades our moral authority. Leadership requires judgment.
Humility. Character. A true leader does not encourage the ugly and debased
passions of white supremacists and appeal to our darkest impulses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During his inaugural address in 1861, at a time when the
nation was even more divided than we are today, newly elected President Abraham
Lincoln spoke the words of a true leader:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The
mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be,
by the better angels of our nature.</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If only Trump would study the speeches and actions of some
of our past presidents – Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Reagan – men he
claims to respect, who presided over the United States during tumultuous times
in our history. They knew the importance of using the privilege of their office
to heal divisions, to reach out to those who opposed them, and to seek common
ground. No president is perfect. But Trump doesn’t even try.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 1789, at the beginning of the American journey, George
Washington observed that a president should not in any way “demean himself in
his public character” and must act “in such a manner as to maintain the dignity
of office.” It is a gross understatement to suggest that Trump has failed this
test. He demeans himself and the office on a daily basis, and we as a
nation are becoming inured to it. He has done immense damage to the rule of law,
our constitutional system, our social fabric, and our sense of national unity.
Although I would like to believe otherwise, I fear that, like the melting
glaciers in the arctic, there will be a breaking point from which we cannot
recover.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-32298210525064139932018-01-06T13:40:00.000-05:002018-01-06T13:40:10.044-05:00On Love, Laughter, and Good Conversations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9WxFM9qBWV3-fNebPn-gFe-Phmt_7w7Z31V3B9C9b1WcPKWb6c-JmS9v4kKtvdDcV9VihVke0IkK4l33-VEoVXZrEx1PJOgpCW_-2b0EyD-lN4jSoW28uy_dIWMEYrsmD4Bfu7vlerc/s1600/SteveMarty-NoBorder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="514" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9WxFM9qBWV3-fNebPn-gFe-Phmt_7w7Z31V3B9C9b1WcPKWb6c-JmS9v4kKtvdDcV9VihVke0IkK4l33-VEoVXZrEx1PJOgpCW_-2b0EyD-lN4jSoW28uy_dIWMEYrsmD4Bfu7vlerc/s320/SteveMarty-NoBorder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he
acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him
positively. – Bob Marley</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During a recent lunchtime walk, as I admired the sun’s
reflection on the surface of Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River a few blocks from
my office, I reached for my phone to call my brother. For the past several
years, I had called Steve every week or two. We would talk about how things
were going in our respective lives, upcoming travel plans, and anything else
that came to mind. But then I suddenly remembered that Steve was no longer with
us, his number in my phone but a remnant of a past life. I placed the phone
back into my pocket, looked at the still waters beside me and the blue skies
above, and walked silently onward. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This has happened to me a few times since Steve died in
early October. I am not sure why I experience these temporary lapses in memory.
Others have told me it is a common experience and to be expected for anyone who
has lost someone close to them. But it is at moments such as these when I am forced
to contemplate the reality of loss, the certainty of death, and the fragility
of life itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another year has come and gone. Days pass ever so quickly as
the steady drumbeat of life leaves me stranded on the abandoned tracks of time’s
unrelenting forward progress. During a two-week stretch in early autumn, I
forever lost the presence of two men I admired and respected – Andrea’s dad, my
father-in-law, Marty Gelman, and my dear brother Steve. Through their deaths, Marty
to natural causes at the age of 96 and Steve to brain cancer at 61, I am more
intimately familiar with the temporary nature of life, compelled to appreciate
more profoundly the importance of awakening to the wonder of each new day. For
now and forever, it is the memories I will cherish, the shared experiences and
momentary insights, the simple pleasures of a good meal and a good laugh. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember especially the little things, the quiet
conversations with Marty on Sunday afternoons, the golf outings, ballgames, and
childhood memories with Steve. “That’s when I realized that certain moments go
on forever,” writes Lauren Oliver in the novel <i>Before I Fall</i>. “Even after
they’re over they still go on, even after you're dead and buried, those moments
are lasting still, backward and forward, on into infinity. They are everything
and everywhere all at once.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWaOMCdHJ2wm9r70U_myHIBzpOqgnGz8ERYptSADJtwlYTU0SvQrCLgbIvIK1bql7pprmxsfmYURw-BjCIQtNHYVeF65E-Egi9Na24trEUg4STcD54zcgaM94826oDGlYrlfVHvpnRHQ/s1600/Marty+and+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="576" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWaOMCdHJ2wm9r70U_myHIBzpOqgnGz8ERYptSADJtwlYTU0SvQrCLgbIvIK1bql7pprmxsfmYURw-BjCIQtNHYVeF65E-Egi9Na24trEUg4STcD54zcgaM94826oDGlYrlfVHvpnRHQ/s320/Marty+and+me.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marty and me, Thanksgiving 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Martin Gelman was a one-of-a-kind man who lived a full and meaningful
life on his terms. (You can read of his many accomplishments and rich history <a href="http://ehlersoneverything.blogspot.com/2012/12/marty-and-gertrude-american-story.html" target="_blank">here</a>
and <a href="http://jewishexponent.com/2017/10/11/renowned-psychologist-montgomery-county-community-college-professor-dies-96/" target="_blank">here</a>.) But what I will miss most are the many conversations I had with
Marty about religion and politics, life and the world around us. Marty had a
knack for listening and putting things into perspective – he provided a sense
of historical insight, reminding us of the many ways life repeats itself. He
had lived through the Great Depression, fought in World War II, and for fifty
years taught anthropology and psychology at a local community college, where he
became one of its most popular professors. For 35 of those years, he counseled
patients from all walks of life in his center-city Philadelphia clinical psychology
practice, earning the love and respect of countless admirers. He earned the
Distinguished Flying Cross as a B-24 navigator during the Good War and was a
member of the Greatest Generation. And yet, through it all he retained a sense
of humility and unpretentiousness that made you immediately comfortable and at
ease in his presence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was especially inspired by Marty’s life-long love of
learning, for he believed that, as members of the human race, we are on this
planet to learn, think, question, and search. He was often the first person to
read a new essay I had composed. I looked forward to talking with him about what
I had written, eliciting his opinion and, hopefully, affirmation. Our talks typically
led to a much longer conversation about related topics concerning philosophy,
politics, family life, my love of the St. Louis Cardinals (which he admired and
found amusing, even as it perplexed him), and other things about which we
sometimes agreed and sometimes did not. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I debated often with Marty about the nature and existence of
God, with my defense of God’s existence sharply challenged by Marty’s inherent
skepticism. Having survived fifty bombing missions over the skies of Europe in
World War II, having learned of the horrors of the Holocaust, having witnessed
the repeated failures of human morality and humanity’s misuse of technology for
the sake of greed and power, he had many rational and logical reasons to question
God’s existence. But in all of our talks, while he asked good questions, he never
insisted he was right, and he retained a hopeful sense of possibility, which
allowed us always to find common ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was intrigued by my embrace of the teachings of Rabbi
Abraham Joshua Heschel, who believed that God’s presence, though concealed, was
everywhere, and that it was up to human beings to make God’s presence known by
experiencing the everyday wonder of the universe. “Our goal should be to live
life in radical amazement,” wrote Heschel. “[T]o get up in the morning and look
at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal;
everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be
amazed.” I believe this resonated with Marty because, despite his secular rationalism
and deep skepticism born of the evils of 20th Century atrocities, deep down he
shared Heschel’s sense of wonder and amazement. And I loved that about him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will miss Marty and our talks, his wise counsel, and the
love and compassion he had for all who entered his life. Even at the end of his
life, when he had lost his physical agility and needed help with the daily
things of life, with eating and sitting and getting dressed, he never lost his
sense of humor, his compassion and concern for others, and his genuine interest
in the wellbeing of us all. He was a living example of Heschel’s admonition,
“Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MSSynynSGekMxBxDFq-bVNAvIY5_pkX6NM3z7tiIzIM2KoZS1VdayByWL8v3hviQm1HGqtDOiCm9L6ommaU6PKOH1BiFMkmKlHpXxKXflrBuxpa9cY-iZ-Zpc6BHA5gu1OV4sK-eLcQ/s1600/Steve+and+Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MSSynynSGekMxBxDFq-bVNAvIY5_pkX6NM3z7tiIzIM2KoZS1VdayByWL8v3hviQm1HGqtDOiCm9L6ommaU6PKOH1BiFMkmKlHpXxKXflrBuxpa9cY-iZ-Zpc6BHA5gu1OV4sK-eLcQ/s320/Steve+and+Me.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve and me at One World Trade Center<br />Fall 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My conversations with Steve were less intellectual, but he
was my big brother, a source of encouragement and support I have always counted
on. Steve and I shared a bond that went back a half century, to our childhood,
when we found new and creative ways to have fun, played sports together, and
shared life’s many adventures in a suburban New Jersey, Huck Finn sort of way. Steve
was an incredibly fun-loving soul who never took life too seriously. When we
were growing up in Moorestown, and later Hightstown, New Jersey, we did
everything together. Although Steve was three years ahead of me in school, he
let me hang out with his older friends and never excluded me from any activity.
We played touch football in the backyard of our house with neighborhood
friends, competed against each other in one-on-one basketball games, hit ground
balls to each other in our backyard, pitched batting practice to each other at
the local ball fields, and found all sorts of ways to have fun in the days
before video games and technology kept all the kids indoors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although he possessed a perpetually childlike spirit, Steve
was slightly defeated in later years, a touch beaten down by an adult life filled
with heartache. When his first marriage ended in divorce, along with his career as an
ordained Lutheran minister (a long story, to which I will say only that the
then Bishop of the Southeastern Lutheran Synod was a rigid, unforgiving, and
uncompassionate man who represented exactly the opposite of what the Church should
be), he never fully recovered. He made his share of mistakes, but his negative
experience with the church diminished his youthful zest for life. For years
afterwards, though he retained his friendly nature and bright smile, a portion
of his happy-go-lucky style disappeared and he developed emotional defenses
that left him a touch guarded. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet, Steve was among the most resilient and resourceful people
I have ever known. He always found a way to make things work. Whatever sadness
he harbored in later years, he continued on with dignity and fortitude. He found
love and happiness again, restored his relationship with his two children, whom
he dearly loved, and performed well in his new careers in banking and business.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before he became too sick to speak at any length, when he
still had his health and a sense of normalcy, Steve and I spoke nearly every
week by phone. Some days we would talk about the pressures of work, the daily
struggles to succeed and make a living. On other days we talked about politics,
our kids, our shared passion for baseball and our past dreams of baseball
glory. By the time we had reached mid-life, our childhood experiences were but faded
memories of days long past. But even as time and distance came between us, we always
remained friends and knew we would always be there for each other.
Steve was one of the few people in life with whom I shared deep-seated memories
and formative childhood experiences. And though we never made it to the major
leagues, we understood our baseball dreams for what they were – the longings of
young men learning as we go, providing support and encouragement along the way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, as a new year beckons and life journeys onward, here is
to the memories of two kind and decent people who found a way to enrich the
world with their presence, their dignity, and their generosity of spirit. Though
they were distinctly different individuals, Marty and Steve each in their own
way left the world a little better than they found it. I will miss them both,
but I will forever cherish the many memories, of love, laughter, and good
conversation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-47838333340367561112017-09-03T08:46:00.000-04:002017-09-03T08:46:25.593-04:00HOT OFF THE PRESSES - BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: The Journey Continues: Collected Essays on Life, Baseball, People, and Ideas 2014 - 2016<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjYsMd8iAKO514izhCu0MuDl6kjNT2IbZJSg7IYHd6dE2V9hU1m5qcnNTBIRCLqjLWwbO5lohyDJvnZwhqu67OhYFucPYl86zXsui74qqOTs_ELmNOuclZhkEnRE8xN4jXcRiTYTkJSk/s1600/frontcover-FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="938" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjYsMd8iAKO514izhCu0MuDl6kjNT2IbZJSg7IYHd6dE2V9hU1m5qcnNTBIRCLqjLWwbO5lohyDJvnZwhqu67OhYFucPYl86zXsui74qqOTs_ELmNOuclZhkEnRE8xN4jXcRiTYTkJSk/s320/frontcover-FINAL.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>The Journey Continues</b></i><b><i>: Collected Essays on Life, Baseball, People, and Ideas </i></b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>2014 - 2016</i></b>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"If we
could place time in a bottle, we would have less need for memories and less
regret for wasted days.” So contends Mark J. Ehlers in <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><i><b><a href="http://www.authormarkehlers.com/" target="_blank">The Journey Continues</a></b></i></span>, a
new collection of essays on life, baseball, people and ideas from the author
that brought us <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><i><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Bananas-Follow-Your-Heart/dp/1589099133" target="_blank">Eat Bananas and Follow Your Heart</a></b></i></span> and <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><i><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Life-Goes-Mark-J-Ehlers/dp/1618635018" target="_blank">Life Goes On</a></b></i></span>.
In <i><b>The Journey Continues</b></i>, Ehlers writes about ideas and people who inspire
and intrigue him, reflects on the mystery of life, and struggles out-loud with
the human quest for understanding. He writes about family, of love, loss, and
missed conversations. And he writes about baseball as a game that “embodies the
American spirit, the promise of childhood, and dreams of young boys in old
men’s bodies."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I hope
someday my daughters recall fondly the times they spent in a car with their
Dad, the baseball games we attended, our conversations and shared adventures.
For it is the memories that sustain us and help make sense of the past; that
allow us to live with passion and purpose in the present.” - "Sunday
Mornings and Hot Dog Stands"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"History,
like memory, is elusive; what we choose to remember and document but a collage
of selective images and stories. What seems important one day is lost on
another, set aside in a vacant warehouse filled with old history books and
dusty memoirs. As the years progress, we remember less and immortalize but a
small sampling of men and women who over their lifetimes influenced the course
of human events." - "Angelic Troublemaker: The Quiet Legacy of Bayard
Rustin"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"When
the end of our lives draw near, it will be the friendships we have made, the
kindnesses we have bestowed, the lessons we have taught and learned from each
other that will remain behind; tiny footprints of memory in the lives we have
touched along the way." - "Done Too Soon"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The world
will forever remain a complex place, full of disappointment and despair.
Religious extremism and religious conflict are part of the problem, but so is
religious illiteracy -- the failure to understand the 'other' and the
many dimensions and faces of religious belief and practice in the world today.
Perhaps if we recognize how fortuitous are the origins of our own
religious identities, we will make more meaningful connections to people
of other faiths, or of no faith, and the many who remain conflicted about
faith. Then, too, we may see more clearly that which we have in common -- the
desire for community and fellowship, the need for foundational principles, and
the search for God in a broken world." - "The Interfaith Imperative of the 21st Century"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Only through
art can we achieve perfection. Through poetry and literature, a beautiful
painting, a thoughtful sonnet, or perhaps a prayer for peace, we can put forth
a thought, a story, an image, or a philosophical query that achieves precisely
what the artist or author intended. When I write, I edit and re-write, changing
words and sentences, restructuring paragraphs, until I am satisfied that the
combination of written words has the desired effect. But life, as we know, is not
a work of art; perfection eludes us all." - "Finding Strength in What Remains Behind"</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I understand
that moral reflection is often a non-existent luxury in the heat of war. But it
is imperative that, as citizens and human beings with a moral conscience, we
continue to ask questions of and debate our past actions. For we have, in the
words of Robert Kennedy 'unlocked the mystery of nature . . . [and] must live
with the power of complete self-destruction. This is the power of choice, the
tragedy and glory of man.' The real dangers come from us, from the egos,
passions, prejudices and jealousies of humanity itself. It is these forces we
must together overcome or, in the end, we will defeat ourselves." - "Reflections on the Darker Impulses of Humanity"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Walking the
grounds of Monticello, I thought of the many complexities, the shades of gray
that so often permeate the human condition. Is anyone really ever the
embodiment of pure goodness, or pure evil? So often, we place people and
nations in black-and-white boxes, for it is easier to justify our actions when
we do so. It is how nations build support for warfare and organized violence.
It allows us to place on pedestals our own designated heroes. But rarely are
the people who occupy the nations with whom we disagree full of pure evil, or
the people who inspire us made of pure goodness. Criminals and prostitutes,
businessmen and thieves, generals and inspiring leaders – all are at one time
infants and children; all at some point in life long for the loving embrace of
a mother or the prideful moments of a child’s accomplishments; and all are
imperfect." - "Monticello and the Jefferson Paradox"</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb5DmqnmtE0LJay7xhpABt-wjKOsFFCOwkSMnZ1PjxXC9-k1HaxwOhSGF_Gc-M4oImXfcPoPIww4dSOGmzTj_f7gw_9YwAXZqWJ8N0TamvF6xO1US07OkKv_Bk_qgvqCMtOXVh8-BJJU/s1600/Baseball+UC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="598" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGb5DmqnmtE0LJay7xhpABt-wjKOsFFCOwkSMnZ1PjxXC9-k1HaxwOhSGF_Gc-M4oImXfcPoPIww4dSOGmzTj_f7gw_9YwAXZqWJ8N0TamvF6xO1US07OkKv_Bk_qgvqCMtOXVh8-BJJU/s200/Baseball+UC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"No sport lends
itself to the art of writing and the literary craft more than baseball. It is a
game embedded in the ever changing landscape of America, from the crowded
streets of 1950’s New York and Prohibition Chicago to the westernmost expanse
of coastal California. Through the distractions of war and struggles for the
rights of man, baseball’s appeal remains constant. It is a game that draws us
to the memories of youth, of dirt stains and the scent of freshly cut grass on
a spring day, of perfectly shaped infields and the lonely arc of a fly ball on
a windy, sun-drenched afternoon. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I grow older and my athletic skills recede
ever further into the distant past, I feel a small pain in my heart as I watch
the ease and effortless joy with which today’s major leaguers perform the daily
routines of batting practice and fielding drills. It is a young man’s game. I
long for the rare moments of eternal grace, when the game allows me to stay
forever young and live the romanticized dreams of childhood." - "On Baseball and Writing: Roger Angell and the Summer Game"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"For six
consecutive seasons, I watched with a touch of envy as the Ripken brothers
stood a few feet apart near the second base bag and fielded ground balls
casually tossed from the first basemen between innings, or chatted with each
other during pitching changes as the relief pitcher warmed up. I remember
thinking how fortunate they were to be playing a game they loved and had played
together as children. When most men had long since abandoned their dreams, here
they were as brothers, playing alongside each other in a major league park,
turning double plays for the same team, and sharing the experience of a
lifetime together. It is the stuff of which dreams are made." – “On Brothers and
Baseball”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"When I
attend games in person, whether at the grand cathedrals of major league
baseball or at the local high school fields and parks near my home, I love to
watch the action between innings, when the pitcher takes his warm-up throws,
the first baseman lofts ground balls to the infielders, and the outfielders
play a relaxed game of catch from 200 feet apart. The graceful rhythms of the
ballplayers create a symphony of movement, baseballs flowing in multiple
directions, all with a sense of linear purpose. At these moments, the game
encompasses my imagination, allows me to remember the feelings and love I had
for the game as a player, and reminds me of the dreams I held onto until
reality and life set me straight." – “Why Time Begins on Opening Day” </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(c) 2017 by Mark J. Ehlers</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bookstand Publishing</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.authormarkehlers.com/" target="_blank">ORDER HERE</a></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.authormarkehlers.com/">www.authormarkehlers.com</a></b></span><br />
<br />
_____________________________________________________________</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>OTHER BOOKS BY MARK EHLERS:</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Life Goes On: </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="font-style: italic;">More Essays on Life, Baseball, and Things that Matter</b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Part memoir and part reflection, in <b><i>Life Goes On</i></b>,
Ehlers addresses life in all its dimensions; the passage of time and of unmet
dreams, the conflicts of faith in a secular age, the redeeming quality of the
human spirit, and a lifelong bond with baseball. It is for anyone who believes
that life is too precious to cease thinking and learning, and recognizes that,
in the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel, "There is no human being who does
not carry a treasure in his soul: a moment of insight, a memory of love, a
dream of excellence..." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Some people believe in destiny and fate, others in
free will. For most us, life is but a roll of the dice, a complex mixture of
chance and circumstance that affects the course of our lives. We do not choose
the country of our birth and have no say in the immediate circumstances of our
upbringing. We do not choose our ethnicity, our race, or the major events of
history that coincide with our own personal histories. Some people are born
rich and privileged, while others are born poor and unloved. But all of us must
learn to live with the cards we are dealt and, ultimately, choose how we
live." - "Marty and Gertrude: An American Story"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">"Conventional
wisdom teaches that one should never discuss religion and politics in polite
company. I have never quite understood this, as I believe human interaction is
at its best when people are not afraid to reveal themselves, when we are open
to civil discourse and healthy give-and-take on matters of substance. Besides,
the weather has never been all that interesting to me. But perhaps this is why
I am not invited to many dinner parties." - "On Faith, Politics, and the Christian Divide"</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Being a fan requires certain fortitude and a
willingness to endure pain and heartbreak. Only true fans can really understand
this. When everyone else says, “Grow up” or “Get a life”, we just shake our
heads with the knowledge that the non-fan lacks discernment. A true fan
connects to a team the way one connects to immediate family; we are wrapped up
in our team’s identity, its players form part of our secret inner circle. I can
criticize a player on my team, but if a Phillies fan knocks my second baseman,
he just may find extra spices in his cheese steak, if you catch my drift."- "The End of Winter"</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"If my world were
to end tomorrow, I need only look back on my experience as a father, on the
pleasure, humor, and excitement of watching young minds develop and characters
formed, to know that it was all worthwhile. Whatever sadness my life has
experienced, and whatever regrets about my choices and outcomes, I know that I
am blessed, that life has been easier for me than for most. The small joys, the
little pleasures, these will have been enough." - "Life Goes On"</span></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(c) 2013 by Mark J. Ehlers</span></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bookstand Publishing</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <b><i>Eat Bananas and Follow Your Heart: </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Essays on Life, Politics, Baseball, and Religion</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Eat Bananas and Follow Your Heart</i></b> is Ehlers' first collection of interesting and touching essays on life, politics, baseball, and religion. It is for anyone who believes that life is too short to remain uninvolved, time too precious to cease learning, thinking, caring, and laughing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“It was not until I turned 50
earlier this year . . . that I sensed for the first time that certain of my
dreams may forever be deferred, that time is a gift, its limits felt with the
passing of each year. Though it seems as if I need constant reminding that I am
no longer a young man, fresh from law school, determined to accomplish
high-minded things, I remain confident and sure of myself about certain
matters, full of doubts and insecurities about others. But I now recognize and
feel, gradually, incrementally, the burdens of aging . . . I know now that life
is not forever. Mortality awaits me and, for the first time in my life, I am
truly aware of its dimensions. This is not necessarily a bad thing, for it
forces one to recognize the truly important things in life – family,
relationships, closeness with God, and the true meaning of success. As Albert
Huffstickler wrote, ‘Knowing there's only so much time, I don't rejoice less
but more.’” - “The Meaning of Fifty: A Personal Reflection”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“To study American history
is, in part, to chronicle the distance between the ideals of American democracy
and the realities of American life. One cannot proclaim to love America, yet
ignore its blemishes. A true patriot recognizes the glorious nature of
America’s past, but strives constantly to achieve that which our founders hoped
to achieve – ‘to form a more perfect Union’ as stated in the preamble to the
Constitution – and to narrow the distance between our ideals and our
shortcomings.” - “Notes on Patriotism and Celebrating America”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Somewhere along the way, we
seem to have lost sight of the common good; we have failed to recognize that
the human race is in dire need of a helping hand, some understanding, and
kindness, and that we are all in this journey together. Perhaps a search for
meaning and purpose, in our work, in our relationships, in our lives, will lead
the way to creating a more just and compassionate world, and an economic system
that rewards hard work and success without leaving all others behind.” - “On
Economics, Values, and Meaning”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Perhaps someday I will grow
up, develop perspective, finally realize that baseball is only a game, a
pastime, a place of pastoral beauty, symmetry, and timeless perfection intended
to soothe a weary soul. For now, I am forced to face the fall alone.” - “Life as
a Cardinals Fan: Of Hope and Heartbreak”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“It is during these brief
moments of sanity, in the quiet solitude of an off day, when I understand why
those closest to me may mistakenly believe that my life during baseball season
falls into an abyss of warped priorities.” - “Random Thoughts at the All-Star
Break”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(c) 2011 by Mark J. Ehlers</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bookstand Publishing</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Bananas-Follow-Your-Heart/dp/1589099133" target="_blank">ORDER <i>Eat Bananas and Follow Your Heart</i></a></b></span></div>
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Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-64269873085843577062017-02-19T12:39:00.000-05:002017-02-19T12:43:02.196-05:00What Does it Mean to be "Pro-Israel" in the Age of Trump?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The election of Donald Trump and his nomination of David
Friedman as Ambassador to Israel portends a new phase in the U.S.-Israel
relationship. During the campaign, President Trump boasted that he will be the
most “pro-Israel” president in history. But what does that mean? In the case of Trump, it appears to mean paying little deference to past efforts at diplomacy and long-standing U.S. policy. Thus, Trump repeatedly criticized the U.S. government’s abstention on UN Security
Council Resolution 2334, which <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sc12657.doc.htm" target="_blank">re-affirmed</a> international support for a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and condemned Israeli settlement activity in Palestinian territory as illegal and detrimental to peace. Many of Trump’s advisers and supporters openly questioned the idea of pursuing a two-state solution. The 2016 Republican Party <a href="http://forward.com/news/344738/in-major-shift-gop-rejects-two-state-solution-says-israel-not-occupier/" target="_blank">platform</a> eliminated any mention
of a two-state solution. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Iowa congressman Steve King (R-IA), an early Trump supporter, <a href="http://forward.com/news/national/359263/5-startling-shifts-in-pro-israel-politics-after-vote-by-congress/" target="_blank">said</a> that the two-state solution “has run its course.”</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Israeli right <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/world/middleeast/israel-netanyahu-trump-palestinian-settlements.html" target="_blank">rejoiced</a> at Trump’s election. Naftali
Bennet, leader of the right-wing Jewish Home Party in Israel, <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/11/14/israels-naftali-bennett-with-trump-the-era-of-the-palestinian-state-is-over/" target="_blank">stated</a>, “Trump’s
victory is a tremendous opportunity for Israel to immediately announce its
intention to renege on the idea of establishing Palestine in the heart of the
country. . . . The era of the Palestinian state is over.” In recent months, there
has been increasing talk of “Greater Israel” and a one-state solution. At a
joint press conference in Washington earlier this week, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
engaged in <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/LIVE-1.771849/Trump-Netanyahu-two-state-one-state" target="_blank">verbal somersaults</a> to avoid endorsing a two-state solution.
Netanyahu <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/02/15/remarks-president-trump-and-prime-minister-netanyahu-israel-joint-press" target="_blank">heaped public praise</a> on Trump and the new direction in U.S.-Israel
relations: “There is no greater supporter of the Jewish people and the Jewish
state than President Donald Trump."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump’s Ambassador-designate to Israel, David Friedman, a
lawyer from Long Island with no foreign policy experience, has <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/david-friedman-trump-embassy-israel/510905/" target="_blank">long supported</a>
the Israeli settlement movement and annexation of the West Bank. In an <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/18828" target="_blank">article he wrote</a> for <i>Arutz Sheva</i>, he accused President Obama of “blatant anti-Semitism”
and described supporters of the pro-Israel, pro-peace group J Street as “far worse than kapos – Jews who turned in
their fellow Jews in the Nazi death camps.” When he was later asked by Jeffrey
Goldberg of <i>The Atlantic</i> to clarify what may be among the vilest statements one
Jew can say of another, Friedman <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/david-friedman-trump-embassy-israel/510905/" target="_blank">said</a> of liberal Zionists, “They’re not Jewish,
and they’re not pro-Israel.” Although he attempted to tone down these past
statements at his confirmation hearing last week, there is little doubt as to his true
sentiments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, what does it mean to be “pro-Israel” in the Age of Trump? Does
it require unquestioning acceptance of the policies of the current Israeli
government (or at least no public criticism)? What about the contrary views of a majority of Israeli citizens?
Should not the term “pro-Israel” be reserved to those who support policies that
are in the long-term interests of Israel, its security, and its status as a
Jewish and democratic state? For those of us who care about the future of the Jewish
state and of liberal Zionism, is it right to worry about where the Trump-Netanyahu alliance is headed? Is there any realistic alternative to a two-state solution? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Before his tragic assassination in 1995 by a right-wing
Jewish extremist, then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin understood that the
visionary ideals of Israel’s Zionist founders, of a free and democratic Jewish
state, remained in constant tension with the more expansionist religious and
nationalistic claims to a Greater Israel. As the first Israeli-born Prime
Minister who had fought for Israel’s survival and performed heroically in
defending Israel during the Six-Day War, Rabin understood that the future of
his beloved country, and of Zionism itself, could not withstand a permanent
military occupation of land populated by millions of Palestinians. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Israel is no longer a people that dwells alone,” he said in
1992, alluding to the burdens of occupation. Rabin knew that to achieve peace
great leaders must be willing to negotiate and compromise with their enemies.
Even when destructive forces are determined to sabotage the peace process, Rabin
<a href="http://voiceseducation.org/content/yitzhak-rabin" target="_blank">said</a>, “We must think differently, look at things in a different way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rabin set Israel firmly on course to pursuit of a two-state
solution, believing it was the only way to guarantee that Israel remained both Jewish and democratic. It is a framework that continues to be supported by two-thirds of Israeli
Jews, according to a <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.jstreet.org/images/January_2017_Poll_of_Israelis.pdf" target="_blank">recent poll</a> commissioned by J Street in Israel. The poll,
conducted by a highly respected Israeli pollster on January 8-9, 2017, found that 66% of Israeli
Jews and 68% of Israelis overall continue to support a two-state solution. Even
62% of Likud voters favor a two-state solution. These results should not be surprising. For
those who live in Israel, the complex reality of life on the ground compels
sensitivity to the tenuous nature of the Zionist vision of a Jewish and democratic
state.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two-state solution is also overwhelmingly endorsed by <a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/thegatekeepers/" target="_blank">former leaders of Shin Bet</a>, the Israeli security service, a group of experts who can
hardly be accused of insufficiently understanding Israel’s security needs.
Indeed, it is precisely out of concern for Israel’s long-term security that these
military and intelligence experts <a href="http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/28/six-israeli-security-chiefs-stun-the-world/" target="_blank">support</a> two states for two peoples.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although Prime Minister Netanyahu has at times paid lip
service to a two-state solution, in eight years he has made no serious effort to
pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict and has repeatedly defied U.S. policy by expanding the number of settlements in the West Bank. As <i>New York Times</i> columnist Thomas Friedman
<a href="http://podcast.cnn.com/the-axe-files-david-axelrod/episode/all/XRzyUfgbvbjHuz/qj31p9.html" target="_blank">recently told</a> <i>The Axe Files</i>, Netanyahu is “now the father of one-State Israel;... the Prime Minister of Israel-Palestine.” Friedman (the journalist) noted that the Israeli-right
wants three things: (1) a state that encompasses all the land of Greater Israel (including all or most of the land encompassing East Jerusalem and the West Bank),
(2) a Jewish state, and (3) a democratic state. In reality, given existing demographics and current birth rates, only two of these
choices are achievable. Israel can have all the land of Greater Israel and be
Jewish, but not democratic. Israel can have all the land of Greater Israel and
be democratic, but not Jewish. Or Israel can be Jewish and democratic, but not
have all the land of Greater Israel. These options are clearly delineated and immovable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the J Street-Israel poll demonstrates, most Israelis
understand that Israel can remain true to its Jewish and democratic
character only if it seeks a secure Israel within internationally recognized
borders, side-by-side with a demilitarized Palestinian state. Any other
solution is effectively the end of liberal Zionism. To be truly pro-Israel is
to care about the long-term future of the Jewish state and to seek an Israel that permanently preserves its Zionist ideals and democratic
traditions, while respecting the humanity and equality of Palestinians. The two-state solution is the only realistic path to a permanent peace that preserves Israel's Jewish and democratic character. Supporting the two-state solution, as do a majority of Israelis, is the most pro-Israel position one can take.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Admittedly, peace with the Palestinians may be a long way off. The
Palestinians have a lot to do to get their own house in order. They must overcome
incompetent and corrupt leadership, the Fatah-Hamas divide, and continued attempts by Hamas and others to de-legitimize Israel. But Israel's true supporters will continue to insist on policies (including cessation of West Bank settlements) that help preserve a Jewish homeland as a viable
democracy within secure borders. Any resolution other than one that results in Israel and the
Palestinians living side-by-side within internationally recognized borders irreparably undermines a future of peaceful co-existence and of Israel as a democratic homeland of the Jewish people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have no confidence that President Trump understands what is truly at stake in all of this. Some of his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/world/middleeast/trump-israel-two-state-solution.html?_r=0" target="_blank">public comments</a> ("I am looking at two-states or one state... I can live with either one") demonstrate a baffling degree of ignorance. But the question remains: Will Israel remain true to its Jewish and
democratic values as it searches for a solution to its regional conflicts? We
know where the majority of Israelis stand. I only hope that America under
President Trump will remain pro-Israel in the truest sense of that term and not
seek to undermine the majority sentiment of this Jewish and democratic nation.</span></span><!--EndFragment-->
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Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-30015113495940022102017-01-27T19:15:00.000-05:002017-01-27T19:15:03.796-05:00An Act of Quiet Contemplation: Why Reading Matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1968, when I was nine years old, my parents gave me the Prentice
Hall paperback edition of <i>From Ghetto to Glory</i> by Bob Gibson, the great
starting pitcher of the St. Louis Cardinals. Although I was attracted to the
book’s front cover, which displayed a picture of Gibson on the pitcher’s mound
mid-delivery, <i>From Ghetto to Glory</i> was the first book I ever read from cover to
cover. It was not great literature, or necessarily great writing, but it
allowed me, a white suburban kid from central New Jersey, to better understand the
inner life and struggles of a young, proud, black man in 1960’s America. Born
into extreme poverty in Omaha, Nebraska, during the Great Depression, Gibson’s
modest book described his coming of age as a ballplayer during an era of Jim
Crow and segregation, and later, civil unrest and black power, when America was
awakened from its history of racial oppression. By taking the time to read his
story, I learned to look at the world from another person’s viewpoint, and gained
in knowledge and empathy what I lost in my own narrow experience. Simply reading
this one book made me a better person. In a small but significant way, it changed
my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was struck by the indispensable role books have played
throughout my life when reading the recent interview of President Obama by <i>New
York Times</i> chief book critic Michiko Kakutani. Seven days before departing the
White House, Obama sat down with Kakutani and discussed how reading had nourished
and strengthened his tenure as President. “Not since Lincoln has there been a
president fundamentally shaped – in his life, convictions and outlook on the
world – by reading and writing as Barack Obama,” noted Kakutani. “During his
eight years in the White House – in a noisy era of information overload,
extreme partisanship and knee-jerk reactions – books were a sustaining source
of ideas and inspiration, and gave him a renewed appreciation for the
complexities and ambiguities of the human condition.” There is something
comforting in knowing that our nation’s leaders, at least until now, have taken
books and the ideas they convey seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For President Obama, reading about history helped him
evaluate how past presidents handled major crises or navigated through
difficult times – Lincoln during the Civil War or Franklin Roosevelt in World
War II. Reading literature and fiction helped him to think broadly about humanity and the world. Obama has “a writer’s sensibility,” writes Kakutani, “an
ability to be in the moment while standing apart as an observer, a novelist’s
eye and ear for detail, and a precise but elastic voice capable of moving
easily between the lyrical and the vernacular and the profound.” It is yet one
more reason why I love the 44th president.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Books allow us to slow down and develop a sense of
perspective. A good book opens our eyes to the complexities of the human race, the
follies and frailties of life, the dark acts of cruelty and gracious acts of kindness.
Books help us escape into another world and share with our children, as I once
did, the seven books of <i>Harry Potter</i> by J.K. Rowling. Reading about the trials
and tribulations of Harry, Ron, and Hermione led to discussions with my
daughters about trust and friendship, prejudice and evil, courage and the fear
of death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Classic non-fiction books like <i>Night</i> by Elie Wiesel or <i>The
Diary of Anne Frank</i> can help us develop empathy and experience life from someone
else’s shoes. To understand where other people come from, to learn of their
dreams and aspirations, their hopes and fears, expose our common humanity.
Regardless of one’s politics or religion, a touching novel or moving story
shows that we are all part of the human race, we breathe the same air and inhabit
the same planet; that our destinies are tied together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Books are fundamentally about engagement, for they place us
in the arena and allow us to experience another place and time through the
lenses of another life. Through language and narrative, a good writer
transports her readers into the emotional lives of her characters. I love giving
and receiving books as gifts, because to select the right book for someone else
requires time and thoughtfulness. Implicit in book giving is the message, “I have
been thinking about you, what makes you tick, what inspires you or makes you
laugh and cry. I believe this book will enrich your life.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My two favorite rooms at home are my study, where I read, write,
and think (and yeah, okay, watch a lot of Cardinals games), and the living room,
which is filled with books I have collected and read through the years. Whenever
I enter someone’s house, I can tell immediately by their books (or lack
thereof) how well we are likely to get along, and where the conversation may
ultimately be headed. Good readers make good conversationalists, for a world
enriched by books is a world filled with ideas and thoughts that touch the
heart and mind, that move us, make us think, question assumptions, and give us
the tools to evaluate the events of history and trajectories of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Books allow us to enter intimately into the lives of our
subjects. Although I tend toward non-fiction, there is nothing like a good
novel to escape into another world. My interest in Judaism and Jewish history
was born in <i>The Chosen</i> by Chaim Potok, which led me to <i>My Name is Asher Lev</i>, <i>Davita’s
Harp</i>, and Potok’s other wonderful novels that explore the tension between
tradition and modernity, love and obligation. For me, <i>The Great Gatsby</i> by F.
Scott Fitzgerald remains one of the great American novels, whose moral
dimensions and social commentary are as relevant today as in the Gilded Age of
the 1920’s. <i>Trinity</i> by Leon Uris helped me understand modern Irish history and
the fundamental causes of the Catholic-Protestant divide. <i>A River Runs Through
It</i> by Norman Maclean continues to offer quiet moments of beauty and
contemplation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet, I am mostly drawn to biographies and memoirs,
history, religion and politics, and long-form journalism. I have loved most everything
written by David Halberstam during his lifetime, including <i>The Powers that Be</i>,
about the growth of the major media empires, <i>Breaks of the Game</i>, about
professional basketball, and <i>The Fifties</i>, about the social, cultural,
political, and economic trends of a seminal decade in American history. <i>Robert
Kennedy and His Times</i> by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. remains to this day the single
best biography I have ever read. An incredibly well written book rich with
insight, Schlesinger masterfully explains Kennedy’s evolution and growth as a
man and a politician within the context of the 1950s and 1960s. David Remnick’s
<i>The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama</i> is for me the definitive work on
Obama’s pre-presidential life, just as David Maraniss’s <i>First in His Class</i>
captured Bill Clinton’s early life and career. These books are good not simply
because their subjects are interesting, but because they are written
beautifully and help us think and feel with the people we are endeavoring to
know better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could go on about the many books that have influenced my
thinking and intellectual development during the course of my life. It is one
reason I so much enjoyed the movie <i>Liberal Arts</i>, a quiet film about Jesse, a 35
year-old college admissions officer in New York who longs for the days when he studied
literature at a small liberal arts college in Ohio. In one scene near the
film’s end, he meets Ana, his future love interest who works in a New York book
store. He soon discovers that he and Ana share a love of books:</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ana: I love books. I do, in like the dorkiest way possible.</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesse: Oh, me too. It's a problem.</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ana: Like, I love trees cause they give us books.</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesse: Super cool of the trees to do that, Right?</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ana: I'm actually... this is weird. I'm actually trying to
read less.</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jesse: Why?</i></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ana: I felt like I wasn't watching enough television. No, l
just started to feel like reading about life was taking time away from actually
living life, so I'm trying to, like, accept invitations to things, say
"hi" to the world a little more.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Jesse asks how Ana's increased socializing is working out, Ana reluctantly admits
that, on most occasions, she would really rather be at home with a book. Such
is the life of a good reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Reading is an act of contemplation,” writes author David L.
Ulin in <i>The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time</i> (2010),
“perhaps the only act in which we allow ourselves to merge with the
consciousness of another human being. We possess the books we read, animating
the waiting stillness of their language, but they possess us also, filling us
with thoughts and observations, asking us to make them part of ourselves.” It
is why I will continue to live life one book at a time, in a quiet corner and a
comfortable chair, refreshing my spirit and recharging my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like Ana in </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liberal Arts</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, I will always love books and thank
the trees for giving them to us. For me, reading is the lifeblood of
conversation, of thinking and learning and growing, one sentence, one page, one
book at a time. Life is a work in progress. It always will be. A good book
simply makes the journey more meaningful.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-77571909698329480982016-12-31T18:41:00.002-05:002017-01-28T17:26:47.502-05:00God in Search of Man: Experiencing Wonder in an Age of Indifference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2nB33tKVymAP2x_Y5AHXzMF4RKfZLJmRZsg42GdXHOO2SLdY-wSO72xPB_NZbf7RP68tXQTSMOqKUqL32Nyhn3NNgrQTg7eGhWgFZZj-3s95c3G4I4XDVNS1Cr5Sv6KyNWyqBATol7k/s1600/thumbnail_bare-trees-pictured-against-light-blue-sky_medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2nB33tKVymAP2x_Y5AHXzMF4RKfZLJmRZsg42GdXHOO2SLdY-wSO72xPB_NZbf7RP68tXQTSMOqKUqL32Nyhn3NNgrQTg7eGhWgFZZj-3s95c3G4I4XDVNS1Cr5Sv6KyNWyqBATol7k/s320/thumbnail_bare-trees-pictured-against-light-blue-sky_medium.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I sit and look out the window of my study, a blue sky
beckons beyond the trees, their naked branches reaching upward as if calling to
a hidden God. The green moss glides halfway up the trunk of the tallest tree in
my sight and extends beyond the roof and chimney of the house upon whose land
it has rooted. A still breeze causes the evergreens below to bristle. I am
momentarily filled with wonder, amazed that on such a small and insignificant
plot of land – a third of an acre is visible through my study window – there
exists such a complex ecological oasis of life, plants, trees, dirt and grass,
insects and birds, small mammals, everything existing in perfect harmony with
the natural universe. A quiet peace descends over me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With each passing year, memories of life at a younger age
drift further into the distance. Some come easily. I can remember still, as a
seven year-old boy, walking with my sister to the public library up the steep hill
on Parry Drive in Moorestown, New Jersey, with no understanding of where life
would take me, but believing even then that the world was full of wonder and
fascination. I remember at age nine throwing a rubber ball against the brick
chimney on the side of our house, betraying my parents’ wishes as I practiced fielding
ground balls, trying desperately not to throw wildly and risk fracturing a
bordering shingle. I remember as a teenager playing touch football with
neighborhood friends at the ballfields of the local middle school, experiencing
the freedom of the sun and fresh air on my young face as I dodged defenders and
intercepted opposing passes. They are memories of an ordinary life in an
ordinary town. Never certain of my purpose in life, insecure about my place in the world,
and yet living each day with a profound sense of gratitude and good fortune.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I grew older, I began to value the gift of education and
thought, absorbing books and newspapers to help me better understand the world
around me, its history and trends, its people and places. I pursued a career in
law, created a family and developed a life, always uncertain of my destiny and
conscious of my insignificance. For I am but one person among billions, living on
a small planet in a vast galaxy that is, in the end, but a tiny fragment among
many existing galaxies, planetary constellations, and solid masses of matter
that exist beyond our present capacity to imagine and know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The world is at once beautiful and grand, frightening and
scary, full of grace and wonder and acts of barbaric cruelty. As I continue on
the journey of life, trying to do my best as a man fulfilling the roles of
husband and father, citizen and co-worker, fellow traveler on the Spaceship
Earth, I wonder still what it all means. And yet, I am constantly reminded of
what a blessing it is to be alive, to have experienced the love I share with
Andrea, to watch my children grow into kind, caring, thoughtful adults, and to
be blessed with the gift of life and health in a world that does not always dispense
fairly such gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>* * *
*</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Readers of this blog know that I have at times struggled
with questions about God and faith and the meaning of our existence. These
days, I have more questions than answers and doubt the certainty and
exclusivity of much of what passes for religious doctrine. I believe the vast
majority of self-identified religious people have misread, misinterpreted, and
misapplied the Scriptural pretexts of their own faith traditions, or are
otherwise simplistic and misguided in their unquestioning acceptance or
rejection of religion. But I have always believed in a God, an ultimate
Creator, however irrational that may seem to some. I realize that God’s
presence is impossible to prove or discern, and that, if God does exist, he or
she has bestowed humanity with free will, including the freedom to protect or
destroy the planet, to act with love and compassion or to inflict indescribable
cruelty on our fellow human beings. Anyone who takes time to read the daily
papers knows that as a species we are not faring well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It would be easy in modern times to reject completely the
notion of God, or to conclude that God’s existence is irrelevant. Life will go
on as we have always known it, and we will either save the world or destroy the
world without God’s involvement. Still, I refuse to conclude that God, or some
form of higher power, is completely absent from our lives. I continue to
believe that which I wrote in October 2009 (<a href="http://ehlersoneverything.blogspot.com/2009/10/in-defense-of-god-faith-in-age-of.html" target="_blank"><i>In Defense of God: Faith in an Age of Unbelief</i></a>):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. . . [W]hen I walk among the stars; when I stare at the
moon on a warm summer evening; when I acknowledge the beautiful life presence
of my two daughters, I experience God’s presence. When I observe the joy in a
young child's heart over the embrace of a grandparent; when I watch the trees
sway back and forth on a breezy fall day, and feel the moistness of the ocean
at my feet; when I experience all of these things, and the multitude of
ordinary everyday events, I see, first-hand, evidence of God’s existence.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although I may not have realized it then, my notion of God’s
presence as expressed above is not dissimilar from what had been expressed far
more poetically and effectively by Abraham Joshua Heschel throughout the course
of his life. It may be why Heschel’s writings continue to touch me, for his
writings describe the ineffable and affirm the presence of God in a world in
which God often appears absent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In <i>God in Search of Man </i>(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1955), Heschel wrote that “awareness of
the divine begins with wonder” and is “a prerequisite for an authentic
awareness of that which is.” Heschel believed that a world without wonder is a
world closed off to the presence of God. For it is this sense of wonder that
allows us to recognize we are not alone. “You and I have not invented the
grandeur of the sky nor endowed man with the mystery of birth and death,” wrote
Heschel. “We do not create the ineffable, we encounter it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Heschel took the Bible seriously but not literally. He believed,
as do I, that religion and science are entirely compatible, that scientific
knowledge “extends rather than limits the scope of the ineffable, and our
radical amazement is enhanced rather than reduced by the advancement of
knowledge.” Heschel welcomed the interplay between science and faith and
acknowledged that “the sense of wonder and transcendence . . . must not be a
substitute for analysis where analysis is possible; it must not stifle doubt
where doubt is legitimate.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As an observant Jew, Heschel believed with certainty in the existence
of God. But he acknowledged that, for most of humanity and throughout most of
history, God’s presence has been hidden and actively concealed. He believed,
however, that if we are open to the majestic splendor of the universe and the
mystery of creation, and if we are willing to look beyond our sense of self, we
are capable of experiencing the reality of a transcendent God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently finished reading a wonderful and insightful book
by Rabbi Shai Held, Co-Founder of Mechon Hadar, a Jewish educational institution in New York, where he also
directs the Center for Jewish Leadership and Ideas. In <i>Abraham Joshua Heschel:
The Call of Transcendence</i> (Indiana University Press, 2013), Held explains that Heschel
sought “to remind his readers that buried deep within them was the possibility
of a wholly different orientation to the world, one rooted in wonder and
amazement rather than callousness and indifference.” A sense of wonder, Held
notes, was for Heschel:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">…the very antithesis of “taking things for granted.” A sense
of perpetual surprise yields the realization that the world as a whole, and my
life within it, did not have to be. They are not brute facts but rather gifts
bestowed. To cultivate a sense of wonder, then, is to instill in myself the
knowledge, at once cognitive and experiential, that I am not the author of my
own life or of the world that I inhabit. I am, most fundamentally, not a
creator of life, but a recipient thereof.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The question for Heschel was what to do with the sense of
wonder, awe, and mystery that so defines our lives. Underlying his theology was
the belief that God had entered into a covenant with humanity and that, as a
result, something was asked of us. As human beings, we are naturally driven to
focus on our individual needs, to acquire, to enjoy, and to possess. But the
spiritual side of humanity provides a “will to serve higher ends” that
transcends our needs. “The grand purpose of religion,” Heschel contended, is
that “man is able to surpass himself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Heschel feared that the collapse of wonder, from
self-centeredness, greed, cynicism, or indifference, has perilous consequences
for the world and for humanity. Having witnessed in his lifetime the cruelty of
Auschwitz and tragedy of Hiroshima, Heschel believed that only through a moral
and spiritual reawakening could the world overcome its indifference to human
suffering. One need only look at what is happening in the world today, with
countless acts of violence and terrorism, millions of refugees fleeing their
homelands, much of the world’s population living in squalor, and a mostly
indifferent world turning away in apathy, to conclude that much of the world
has lost its sense of wonder and the grace that accompanies it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As Rabbi Held notes, Heschel sought to remind the world that
“we matter not because of how much we can acquire, but because of how deeply we
are able to give.” Real freedom, according to Heschel, is found not in the
power of self-assertion, but in the power to rise above it. To respond to God
is to bring an end to callousness and indifference. It is why Heschel in his
time spoke so powerfully against the Vietnam War, fought for the rights of
Soviet Jews, opposed bigotry and prejudice, and marched arm-in-arm with Martin
Luther King in favor of civil rights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If Heschel were alive today, I have no doubt he would raise
his voice in opposition to the world’s indifference to Syrian refugees and the
destruction of Aleppo; against the rising influence of xenophobia and
anti-Muslim sentiment in Western countries; and against the callousness of the
world’s institutions toward the suffering of our most vulnerable populations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As another year comes to an end and a new year is upon us, my
hope for the world is that we open ourselves to the wonder of the universe, the mystery of life, and the possibility of a God that seeks human partners to
spread love and compassion and defeat hatred and indifference. We must acknowledge that only humanity can pursue peace, protect the environment, and save
us from ourselves. Only humanity can make a better world.</span></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-75442060972392909882016-12-11T12:42:00.001-05:002016-12-11T12:42:07.386-05:00The President as Role Model: The Legacy of Barack Hussein Obama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcEp0yMzRmr34Hu7ABFHNoXCBsf9magX1cBvOkAcESD4v4eFgMOnhvbGCwCUmec0vbtL5AqyEurDJpAbA-2W0IDuOxL6JmnIDNhNp0n9uihw1qG46ms_2IcGnQ-AFXDtXqAKIzMB4T-s/s1600/Obama+family.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcEp0yMzRmr34Hu7ABFHNoXCBsf9magX1cBvOkAcESD4v4eFgMOnhvbGCwCUmec0vbtL5AqyEurDJpAbA-2W0IDuOxL6JmnIDNhNp0n9uihw1qG46ms_2IcGnQ-AFXDtXqAKIzMB4T-s/s320/Obama+family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I'm inspired by the people I meet in my travels--hearing
their stories, seeing the hardships they overcome, their fundamental optimism
and decency. I'm inspired by the love people have for their children. And I'm
inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to
work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a
better man. – Barack Obama</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we approach the end of Barack Obama’s tenure as the 44th
President of the United States, I have reflected upon what the past eight years
has meant to the United States, the world, and to me personally. I cannot speak
for others, though I know there are millions of Americans who feel, as I do,
deeply connected to President Obama and grateful for his leadership and the
example he set in office. For many African Americans, President Obama will
rightfully be a source of great pride and inspiration for generations to come.
For me and many Democrats over the age of 50, Obama is the first president since
John F. Kennedy to inspire a poetic sense of idealism and an aspirational sense
of service. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am aware that not everyone shares my admiration and
respect for this president. But even for those Americans not enamored of President
Obama and who opposed his every action, I believe that history and the passage
of time will solidify this president as a man of character, decency,
compassion, and wisdom. For those are the traits I have witnessed since he took
the oath of office on January 20, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the leader of the free world, Obama represented
everything good and decent about America. As president, he was a consistently inspiring
public speaker, a thoughtful man of ideas, a serious man with a good sense of
humor; an intellectual, a policy wonk, by his own admission a bit of a nerd, a
techie who understood the dynamics of world economic trends and quietly led us
into the digital age. He restored dignity to the nation’s highest elected
office and led a scandal-free administration. He elevated our national
discourse on public affairs. He maintained his composure through some extremely
difficult times. And he was the coolest, hippest president ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His accomplishments while in office are impressive. Although
he inherited one of the worst financial crises in American history, he saved
the U.S. economy from a second Great Depression. He restored stability to the
financial markets, pushed through a massive stimulus bill, and saved the
American auto industry from collapse. He guided the nation through a massive
recession and helped turn devastating and record-breaking job losses into 74
months of consecutive job growth. He achieved the lowest unemployment rate
since the late 1960s without a resurgence of inflation. And though middle class
wages remained stagnant for much of his presidency, there are today 18 million
fewer people without health insurance, a much improved housing market, a
downward trend in deficit spending, a booming stock market, record breaking
corporate profits, and a much improved economic outlook. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He advanced civil rights for gay people by allowing gays to
serve openly in the military. He was the first president to actively support
marriage equality, which is now the law of the land. On matters of race, some
believe Obama underplayed his hand and often ignored some of the racial wounds
and divisions that continue to haunt us. But as the nation’s first black
president, he has mostly led by example, through the love and respect he
displays regularly for his wife and children and the diversity of his
appointments to his administration. His meditation on civil rights in Selma in
2015 and his rendition of Amazing Grace at the funeral of the slain black
church goers in Charleston, South Carolina, were among his best rhetorical
moments. And his reflective, compassionate addresses to the nation following the
tragic mass shootings in Arizona and Newtown helped soothe a grieving nation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He was the most environmentally conscious president in
history. Through his successful negotiation of the Paris Climate Accord, in
which the world’s biggest polluters, including China, agreed to take serious
action against climate change, he established the United States as a world
leader in defense of the planet’s future. He took bold action on fuel
efficiency and planted the seeds for reduced U.S. reliance on fossil fuels. Aided
by market forces, America’s dependence on foreign oil is down 60% from when he
first took office. He has greatly expanded America’s use of wind and solar power,
and begun to phase out our reliance on coal burning, acid-rain-causing power
plants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He advanced the cause of peaceful diplomacy while protecting
American interests abroad. He ended the U.S. military intervention in Iraq and initiated
the eventual withdrawal from Afghanistan. He gave the order that killed bin
Laden. His administration’s successful negotiation of the Iran Nuclear Deal and
efforts to expand trade and improve relations with the countries of Asia and
the Pacific, have greatly improved our standing in the world. And he restored diplomatic
relations with Cuba, a long overdue move with historic implications. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be fair, Obama’s foreign policy record is not entirely
rosy or error-free. His handling of the Arab Spring, his hesitancy in Libya and
Syria, and his inability to make any progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process, have been blemishes on a foreign policy that, while minimizing major
blunders, has sometimes led from behind. And his expanded use of drone warfare
to kill suspected terrorists abroad raises many troubling concerns under U.S.
Constitutional and international law, and may have created more future
terrorists than it killed. But as noted by author and former foreign correspondent James Mann,
“Obama will be viewed as the first president to take seriously the notion that
the dominant role America has played in the world both after World War II and
again after the end of the Cold War cannot be maintained over the long term. In
that sense, he was ahead of his time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apart from the stimulus bill, the Affordable Care Act
remains his most significant legislative achievement. For most of the 20th
Century, U.S. Presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Bill Clinton tried and failed
to enact some form of national health care. Whatever the future of Obamacare,
and whatever its shortcomings (and there are many), as the first president in
American history to succeed in enacting a comprehensive health care law, he
moved us decisively toward universal health care. It remains to be seen if
Trump and the Republicans will repeal and replace Obamacare, but whatever they
do, Obamacare’s key provisions – preventing insurance companies from denying
coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, allowing parents to maintain
coverage for their children to age 26, the use of insurance exchanges, and
expanded eligibility under Medicaid – are likely to remain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FAilLbeufFKRo7btjquTZ0hwaH_SeVW3fmHp2GWPBSmwClvgX3lz0ECxAqcAndt-0GdlzaA97SSXwAh6T8DIsYlWAqeMYYFSZkbLpUi9z5R82vg16fIfFxspgPhvg8ysragYq89O1b8/s1600/obama+school+children+181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FAilLbeufFKRo7btjquTZ0hwaH_SeVW3fmHp2GWPBSmwClvgX3lz0ECxAqcAndt-0GdlzaA97SSXwAh6T8DIsYlWAqeMYYFSZkbLpUi9z5R82vg16fIfFxspgPhvg8ysragYq89O1b8/s320/obama+school+children+181.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Obama ran for the White House, he did not want simply to
be a good president, but a transformative one. Hope and change were his calling
cards. He wished to fundamentally alter the way politics worked and believed he
could unite a deeply divided nation. He called upon Americans to erase the
false dichotomy between “red” states and “blue” states and to instead see America
at its best, as a people united, a multi-cultural mosaic of races, ethnicities,
and faiths bound together by one flag, one Constitution, and a sense of the
common good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eight years later, the lack of civility in our politics and
the entrenched divisions in U.S. society are among Obama’s biggest
disappointments. There are global forces at work in the world today that no one
person or leader can control or counteract. The resurgence of the populist
right and nationalism in Europe, Latin America, and the United States are
forces too large for even an aspirational leader like President Obama to
overcome. I do not blame Obama for this reality. It is not his fault – division
and opposition, organized Republican efforts to defeat his every achievement in
the hopes of making him a “one-term president” was the clearly delineated
strategy of the Republican leadership in Congress. Combined with the rise of
the Tea Party and the increasingly Balkanized media in which everyone’s thought
processes are reinforced and further inflamed, Obama’s vision of a “united
states of America” seems naïve in retrospect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I think that history will look kindly on the Obama Era,
and that many of the people who opposed him these past eight years will someday
come to appreciate his seriousness of purpose and the dignified manner in which
he performed the duties of his Office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCT69CMtjQLDJ0fLToy-WaLq7gbd6exEXzfa56F3AED_-XrskMjfYZaqDlfFbowuQITYsH61VARXp6JlJYUgNOPcFAXvKJw5LXnVljk-zBINCMOZGKF465IB_USrzgV-SfMnjdN__baE/s1600/obama_with+kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheCT69CMtjQLDJ0fLToy-WaLq7gbd6exEXzfa56F3AED_-XrskMjfYZaqDlfFbowuQITYsH61VARXp6JlJYUgNOPcFAXvKJw5LXnVljk-zBINCMOZGKF465IB_USrzgV-SfMnjdN__baE/s320/obama_with+kids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">History will not record Obama as a transformative president
in the same manner as Franklin Roosevelt (on the left) or Ronald Reagan (on the
right); for they changed the way Americans viewed the role of the federal
government and their relationship to it. But Obama’s presidency was
transformative in another sense. His very presence in office for eight years
and the manner in which he and his family conducted themselves were culturally transformative.
Think of the millions of young Americans, children and teenagers, who came of
age with a dignified, good looking, graceful black First Family in the White
House. To younger Americans, who are already more open to differences in race,
gender, sexual orientation, and lifestyles, having a black family living in the
White House was the most natural thing in the world. It is difficult to
underestimate the long-term impact that will have. And Obama connected with
younger people. He understood them and knew how to communicate with them; he
understood their comedy and late night talk shows, their podcasts, their music,
and their uses of social media. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I especially admire the heartfelt thoughtfulness displayed
by Obama in one-on-one interviews. In September 2015, Obama participated in a
lengthy <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/11/05/president-obama-marilynne-robinson-conversation/" target="_blank">two-part conversation</a> with author Marilynne Robinson in <i>The New York
Review of Books</i>, in which they discussed religion, philosophy, literature and
history. It was an extraordinarily candid and intellectual conversation not
regularly witnessed from an American politician. And he has had similar
conversations with a number of journalists, hosts of podcasts, and authors. He is
equally adept at discussing music and sports, and he is genuinely funny. Andrea
and I looked forward every year to watching (on C-SPAN no less) his appearances
at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. His comedic timing and
execution of a good joke is unmatched by past American presidents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am deeply concerned that the ascendancy of Donald Trump to
the White House risks undoing many of President Obama’s accomplishments and
much of his legacy. It is difficult to imagine a more radical shift in
direction than Barack Obama to Donald Trump. For those on the Left who bemoaned
Obama’s shortcomings, his failure to close Guantanamo or to seriously address
rising income inequality, the next four years will make you wish for Obama’s
pragmatic liberalism. For those on the Right who value character and dignified behavior
in our public officials, you should already be missing the current President,
who for eight years has been a model of dignity, an exemplary father and
husband, a role model for our youth and a source of inspiration for anyone
willing to listen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Someday we will look back on the Obama years and recall a
president who acted with grace and poise in extremely difficult circumstances,
who withstood insults and disrespect, and was opposed and ridiculed by the
opposition and in the right-wing and conservative press (and by certain
segments of the left), and handled all of it with extraordinary composure and
goodwill. I will miss President Obama in the White House, not simply because he
was a good president whom I trusted to act in America’s best interests, but
also because he inspired me to be a better citizen, a better man and a better
father, and because he made me feel good about America. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7Is7c6HuuBnhmqAQrOM0p04dnwSbbf_NboKbyCIYnBesV-SZlTqN3H4V7O6jBbIgMIOpz37Vo5Bb94OEqHdTtLU85PzeuuKzOOobkHDkLQd-yJaoKtePnxGnYwiIf6WN27mz36CZzc4/s1600/obama+alone+2+200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM7Is7c6HuuBnhmqAQrOM0p04dnwSbbf_NboKbyCIYnBesV-SZlTqN3H4V7O6jBbIgMIOpz37Vo5Bb94OEqHdTtLU85PzeuuKzOOobkHDkLQd-yJaoKtePnxGnYwiIf6WN27mz36CZzc4/s320/obama+alone+2+200.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>We, the People, recognize that we have
responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that
a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment
to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy
of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense. – President Barack
Obama—September 6, 2012</i></span></span></blockquote>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-70763380422051704702016-11-16T07:15:00.001-05:002016-11-16T07:15:10.287-05:00America Takes a Step Back: Where Do We Go From Here?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjnFjWG-mOtQKhf88zYeWfu0rRREI0cJ1eA7ijbGO68-xbD5Avk4zJ2NpdUjLQVI5tgxJpSA5Y2DzY2dcZhdkrpREj61H6GFBCJHbCEhCgz_XenwPrXbtR2Eh0qSUtgxQwjclPPy3JG0/s1600/clinton+election+loss2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjnFjWG-mOtQKhf88zYeWfu0rRREI0cJ1eA7ijbGO68-xbD5Avk4zJ2NpdUjLQVI5tgxJpSA5Y2DzY2dcZhdkrpREj61H6GFBCJHbCEhCgz_XenwPrXbtR2Eh0qSUtgxQwjclPPy3JG0/s320/clinton+election+loss2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has taken me more than a week to process that Donald
Trump will be the 45th President of the United States. I never really believed
it would happen. Like most of the mainstream press, the academics, the
pollsters, the political establishments of both major parties, I watched with
increasing shock and despair on election night, as first Florida and North
Carolina, and then Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, tilted in favor of Trump. When I
finally accepted that Trump was likely to win – sometime around midnight – I
felt deep despair, as if a large weight had descended into the pit of my gut.
For the first time in my life, I was forced to acknowledge that I know not my
own country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In hindsight, there are many reasons for Hillary Clinton’s
unexpected loss: Her message and appeal failed to capture the trust and
enthusiasm of the white working class communities in Michigan, Pennsylvania,
Wisconsin, and Ohio, including many of the same communities that voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012. Clinton lacked charisma and her speeches failed to inspire.
Her campaign forever played defense and did not invoke a sense of higher
purpose. Americans wanted “change” – whatever that means – and she represented
the status quo. Trump promised to shake things up and was, like it or not, the
“change” candidate. The Latino surge didn’t quite happen. African Americans did
not turn out in the numbers we had hoped. More than half of white women voted
for Trump. Most disappointingly, 60 million Americans willingly overlooked
Trump’s express appeals to bigotry and prejudice, xenophobia and fear, misogyny
and hate, and voted for him nonetheless. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although Clinton is ultimately responsible for her loss, FBI
Director James Comey’s handling of the email investigation unfairly and
improperly impacted the election. His extraneous comments during a press
conference in July, when he announced the FBI’s decision not to pursue a
criminal case, were inappropriate. And his ill-advised letter to Congress
eleven days before the election, which led most people to think the FBI had found
new evidence of wrongdoing, predictably halted Clinton’s momentum. When he
announced eight days later that the FBI had discovered nothing new and there
remained insufficient evidence of illegality, it was too late and the damage
was done. As a former federal prosecutor, I will never understand Comey’s
motives or why he thought he was exempt from Department of Justice policy that prohibits comment on pending or concluded investigations. We may never
really know its full impact, but the FBI’s interference with the American
electoral process was irresponsible and inexcusable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The media, and particularly cable news, also failed at its job in 2016. The single biggest
factor in this election was the media’s embrace of celebrity culture and its
thirst for ratings at the expense of fairness and truth. Almost every day for
the past year, and sometimes several times a day, the cable news networks covered
entire Trump rallies while offering little in the way of critical analysis or
fact checking. And while the cable channels bequeathed to Trump nearly $3
billion of free air time, there was typically no similarly
unabridged coverage of his opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For all of the attention placed on Clinton’s emails, where
were the stories and investigations into the hundreds of past and pending lawsuits
against Trump, many for racial and gender discrimination, fraud, and unethical
business practices? Why did the press fail to highlight and question Trump about
his flagrant lies and distortions that left me speechless on a daily basis? His
childish insults and tweets, his crowd-pleasing mocking of reporters and
protesters, his supporters’ chants of “lock her up” and other hate-filled
rhetoric, were frightening and un-American. And yet, the press routinely dismissed these plentiful horrors merely as "Trump being Trump."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I do not wish to dwell on the negativity of this
election other than to note that the Trump campaign was a low point in American
electoral history. I am shell-shocked and disappointed with the outcome, but I
accept the results. Although Clinton won the popular vote, we elect our
president through the Electoral College, and Trump won according to the rules
as they presently exist. He is legitimately the President elect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although I understand the frustrations and despair of the many protesters
marching and chanting against Trump in some of our cities, I hope that will
soon stop. Among the most offensive aspects of the last eight years were
conservative attacks on the legitimacy of Barack Obama’s presidency, including
the birther movement, fomented by Mr. Trump and magnified by such alt-right
news outlets as Breitbart.com under the guidance of Trump’s campaign manager, and now chief strategist, Steve Bannon. I will not soon forget these thinly-veiled
racist attacks on our nation’s first African American president. It is also wrong,
however, to exclaim that Trump is “Not My President” for this slogan protests
not his policies but the legitimacy of the election. Organize the opposition,
fight implementation of Trump’s policies <i>after</i> he takes office, hold his feet
to the fire and pressure the Republican Congress, but don’t delegitimize the
nation’s institutions of democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So where do we go from here? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First, we need to give Trump a
chance at governing. He will not take the oath of office until January 20,
2017. Let’s see who he picks to fill his Cabinet seats. Let’s give him an
opportunity to moderate his extreme and irresponsible campaign “promises” such
as building a wall (okay, maybe not a wall, he says now, but at least a fence),
repealing the Affordable Care Act (he apparently likes its main provisions and
now only wants to amend it), deporting eleven million undocumented immigrants
(he has largely backed off of this one as well), and putting Hillary Clinton in
jail (following her “gracious” concession, he seems to have lost his
vindictive, banana republic instincts). Of course, we must watch his every
move, because what he says one day means nothing a day later. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trump seems already to be learning what President Obama and
Secretary Clinton already know, that governing a country as large and complex
as the United States is hard. As President, he will be forced to understand and
balance enormous international and diplomatic pressures, intense national
security concerns and foreign entanglements, and conflicting domestic political
interests. The federal bureaucracy is vast and complex and does a lot of really
important things, from protecting our homeland to inspecting our food supply, to keep this country running smoothly. The Affordable Care Act
may require modification, but as Trump has already discovered, there are many
aspects of the law that Americans want and need. You cannot simply cut off the
health care coverage of 20 million people and go back to the way things were
without causing extreme hardship and devastation. Unilaterally revoking treaties
and trade deals will not only endanger international relations, but will cause
massive disruption to our economy. Being Commander-in-Chief is not as easy as
it looks, even for a guy who built a few hotels and thinks he knows more
than the Generals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, the Democratic Party must find a way to better
understand and appeal to the working classes of all races and ethnicities. We
used to be the party of working men and women. Although I personally believe
Democratic policies are much better for working families than Republican
policies, the Democrats need to shake its image as the party of upper crust "elites". We must recognize that at least some of Trump’s support in this
election was motivated, not by bigotry and xenophobia, but by legitimate anxieties
about the American economy and concern for the future. Yes, Trump exploited
these anxieties and inflamed them through racially-tinged and nationalistic
fear-mongering, but for millions of rank-and-file union members, low-wage
workers, farmers, and small business owners, the anxieties caused by an ever
changing economy and globalization are real and legitimate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Third, we must closely scrutinize Trump’s choice for the
vacant Supreme Court seat. This one was not supposed to be his choice. This one was President
Obama's to fill. For nine months the
Republicans refused to hold even a hearing on the nomination of Merrick Garland,
a distinguished and respected jurist with indisputable qualifications. Democrats
should filibuster whomever Trump chooses and not back down unless Trump
nominates a consensus moderate in much the same way President Obama nominated
one in Garland. On most matters I want the Democrats to be the adults in the
room and to not play games with American democracy or damage American interests
as Republicans have so frequently done the past eight years. But on this issue,
we should give the Republicans a taste of their own medicine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, we must remain active and engaged, especially in
this perilous moment of history. We must not allow America to fall victim to
the rising tide of nationalism and xenophobia that has befallen much of Europe.
Trump’s authoritarian instincts must be unequivocally resisted. Attempts to
restrict our civil liberties, to turn away from our moral and historic
obligation as a welcoming nation to refugees and persecuted immigrants, to
discriminate against religious minorities or to foment fear and hatred against whole
classes of people, must be fought with every non-violent tool in our democratic
arsenal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“The worst thing that can happen in a democracy - as well as
in an individual's life,” says Hillary Clinton, “is to become cynical about the
future and lose hope.” It is good advice, for Democrats and all Americans, as
we attempt to make sense of the Trump years. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-47356233083432936682016-10-22T12:28:00.002-04:002016-10-23T12:09:16.844-04:00The Lessons of October 1962: Why Trump Must Be Defeated<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEwXC9bbTeFYFlDMfmjp0WtoPQOVw0gfpDabbjDrfm1BqkOCBwl8VXYL3F8VzDIXxqAfkso_d5tnCz5fE63lf7tC2OBd0XsO5ApC9MtoL-tYbX5dgw2KTc2p-rah_K2Ic5N8Bfx6awa8/s1600/Cuban+Missile+Crisis.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEwXC9bbTeFYFlDMfmjp0WtoPQOVw0gfpDabbjDrfm1BqkOCBwl8VXYL3F8VzDIXxqAfkso_d5tnCz5fE63lf7tC2OBd0XsO5ApC9MtoL-tYbX5dgw2KTc2p-rah_K2Ic5N8Bfx6awa8/s400/Cuban+Missile+Crisis.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">History gives us the tools to analyze and
assess current events with a proper degree of perspective. The study of history reveals lessons learned from past mistakes and the factors that influenced past successes. The knowledge of history helps us make
sense of new threats, the impact of foreign conflicts on our
national interests, and the political and social controversies which affect the long-term direction of the nation. The wisdom of history helps us better judge those who would seek to become the next
President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The noise of our current election process, the incessant
barrage of daily and hourly media stories, accusations and counter-accusations,
and the incessant and indiscrete use of Twitter and social media can overwhelm even the most serious political junkie and overshadow
what is truly at stake in this election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This will be the tenth presidential election in which I will have cast a
vote in my lifetime, but this is the first time I have genuinely feared for the
country and the world should the wrong candidate win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although our individual vote may feel insignificant, cumulatively
our votes have serious consequences. Whom we elect or refrain from electing impacts the
country for years to come – in the conduct of our foreign policy and the nature and extent of our military engagements abroad, in lifetime nominations to the Supreme Court and
federal bench, and in the tone of our civic life at home.
The election of George W. Bush over Al Gore in 2000 resulted in the U.S.
invasion of Iraq in March 2003, a war Gore opposed from the start and which
became the worst foreign policy blunder in a half century. The election of
Ronald Reagan in 1980 over Jimmy Carter negatively influenced how Americans
viewed the federal government and the meaning of public service. But though I
strongly opposed Reagan and, later, George W. Bush, and though I disagreed
passionately with many of their policies, I never doubted that they acted in good
faith and pursued actions and policies they believed were in the best interests
of the United States. This election is different. If Donald Trump is elected
President, our country is in grave peril. We need only look to history to
understand why this is so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On October 16, 1962, U.S. intelligence officials informed President
John F. Kennedy that a U-2 spy plane flying over Cuba had photographed the
installation of intermediate-range nuclear missiles by Soviet military
personnel. For months it had been rumored that the Soviet Union was engaged in
military activities in Cuba, just 90 miles from the coast of Florida. Now there
was solid proof. The implications were unmistakable. The missiles, if allowed
to remain, would provide the Soviet Union with nuclear first-strike capability
against the United States and its allies in the Western Hemisphere.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pressures immediately confronting the 45 year-old
president for a pre-emptive, offensive military response were intense. Almost
all of Kennedy’s military and security advisers – the high-ranking generals of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, most of Kennedy’s Cabinet, and key members of
Congress – advocated an immediate and forceful response. Kennedy was told he
had no choice but to bomb the Cuban missile sites before they became
operational. As Ted Sorenson recounts in <i>Counselor: A Life at the Edge of
History</i> (Harper Collins 2008), the solution sounded simple: “U.S. bombers could
swoop in, eliminate the sites, and fly away, leaving the problem swiftly,
magically ended. But further questions – JFK always had further questions –
proved that solution illusory.” Kennedy’s questions revealed that the Air Force
could only be certain of eliminating 60 to 90 percent of the missiles. What would
happen when one of the remaining Soviet nuclear missiles was used to retaliate
against the United States? Kennedy also learned that to restore order after the
U.S. bombing campaign would require a full U.S. invasion of Cuba, likely resulting
in the loss of 10,000 American lives “more or less” according to the Joint
Chiefs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kennedy, to his everlasting credit, resisted this advice. He had discovered
eighteen months earlier, during the disastrous Bay of Pigs fiasco, that the
generals had their own biases, did not have all the answers, and were sometimes wrong. There had to be a better approach, one less likely to lead to
all-out war. Kennedy favored a naval blockade to prevent more shipments
of Soviet weaponry while he explored a diplomatic solution. But the
generals argued that only air strikes could remove the missiles quickly and that
the Soviet Union’s actions required a strong and unequivocal response. Merely
imposing a blockade would make Kennedy and the United States look weak and permit
the Soviets to think they could have their way in the future. General Curtis
LeMay, who oversaw the massive firebombing campaign of Japanese cities
during World War II, criticized the blockade as “almost as bad as the
appeasement at Munich.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few days into the crisis, Kennedy sought the advice of
former Secretary of State Dean Acheson, considered a wise man of American
foreign policy and an expert on Soviet motives and conduct. But Acheson agreed
with the generals that the United States should bomb the missile sites. When
Kennedy asked Acheson how the Soviets would respond, Acheson predicted they would
bomb U.S. missile sites in Turkey. Of course, this would require the United
States to honor its NATO commitments and bomb Soviet missile sites in Russia. When
Kennedy asked how the Soviets would react to that, according to Sorenson, “[Acheson]
paused and replied, ‘by then, we hope cooler heads will prevail.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thankfully, Kennedy was consistently cool and level headed from the start. He resisted the overwhelming pressures for war. He sought instead to find a way for the Soviets to withdraw
their missiles from Cuba without losing face. An air strike or invasion was easily the more
popular course of action, but Kennedy favored a blockade while pursuing secret
diplomatic back channels because he thought these actions more likely to lead to
a peaceful outcome. He was right. Kennedy’s courage to trust his own
instincts over that of his hawkish advisers – most of whom
were older and more experienced than he – saved the world from possible
nuclear annihilation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is hard to imagine today just how close to
nuclear war we came during those tense days in October 1962. As Sorenson
retells it, “The discovery that the Soviet Union had secretly rushed nuclear
missiles into Cuba tested JFK’s wisdom, courage, and leadership as no president
since Lincoln and FDR had been tested. No other test so starkly put at stake,
depending on the president’s choices, the survival of our country.” Kennedy’s
decision to pursue a more nuanced path, one involving skillful diplomacy and
which risked cries of appeasement and weakness, demonstrated true presidential
courage and judgment. Had Kennedy succumbed to the immense pressures and demands for
an immediate air strike and invasion – and really, who could have blamed him
given the nature and intensity of the crisis and the “advice” he
received from such distinguished military and security experts – it would
almost certainly have precipitated a nuclear assault on the United States. This
would have led inevitably and rapidly to an all-out nuclear exchange,
potentially rendering much of the world uninhabitable for centuries to come. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Based on the historical record, I believe we are alive today
in no small measure because, for thirteen days in October more than a
half-century ago, JFK exercised all of the attributes we most want and need in
a president – judgment, courage, and moral fortitude. Kennedy combined a healthy
skepticism for quick and easy military solutions with a concern for innocent lives. He listened patiently to his
advisers, sought a wide spectrum of views, and reflected before acting. And he recognized,
as Commander-in-Chief, that every decision has consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I shudder to think what may have happened had Kennedy’s
wisdom and patience not prevailed in October 1962, or if someone with less
judgment on issues of war and peace – LBJ or Nixon, possibly, or God forbid, a
man like Donald Trump. “In the eyes of history,” wrote Sorenson, “our greatest
presidents have proved their qualities of greatness when confronted by great
challenges.” We peacefully prevailed in October 1962 because, under the
leadership of a wise and informed president, “we acted with vigilance,
patience, and restraint.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although the precise circumstances of the Cuban Missile Crisis
will not likely reoccur, some other crisis or series of
crises almost certainly will confront our next President – an act of terrorism on U.S. soil or a
military or security mishap in the Persian Gulf. Who do we trust
with that responsibility? Which candidate has the capacity for thoughtful
analysis? Who is more likely to exercise "vigilance, patience, and restraint" when the heat is on? Who do we trust to maintain responsible custody and control
of the nuclear codes? Who can responsibly guide the nation through a major
crisis? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The prospect of Donald Trump in the oval office under any of
these scenarios is terrifying. Trump lacks even the most rudimentary knowledge
of world affairs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does not understand
the Constitution or the day-to-day workings of government. He shows contempt
for American institutions and American democracy. By all accounts, he does not
read books or engage in serious study. He appears to have no capacity for
self-reflection or informed analysis. He listens to no one and never, ever,
admits that he made a mistake. He becomes easily unhinged, impulsively making outlandish statements disconnected from facts at the slightest provocation. He is emotionally immature, a
boorish narcissist who seems incapable of empathy or compassion. He is the
single most unqualified presidential candidate in American history, which is
why he is opposed by every living U.S. president, Republican or Democrat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have not always agreed with Hillary Clinton on every
policy issue, and I am at times frustrated by her lack of transparency and
politically-motivated shifts on issues like TPP and free trade. But I greatly admire
and respect her intelligence and work ethic. And there is no one at present
more qualified to be our next President. Hillary has the experience, knowledge,
and seriousness to be president. She has demonstrated a willingness to listen,
analyze, and consider the consequences of presidential decisions. She remains
calm under pressure, is deeply prepared, and has an impressive command of
foreign and domestic policy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hillary lacks JFK's charisma and is not a “perfect” candidate. But she has spent her life engaged in matters of policy, in working to improve
the lives of women and children, in forging meaningful compromise with her
political opponents. For the past fifteen years, Trump consistently insulted
women, self-inflated his insatiable ego with buildings bearing his name, and produced
shallow, gimmicky television shows. During that same time, Hillary served on the Senate Armed Services
Committee and as Secretary of State; and she advocated for human rights abroad
while protecting U.S. interests in every hemisphere. Before that, Hillary
worked to improve the lives of women and children and had a front row seat at
the highest levels of state and national government. There is simply no contest between
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the race for president. Yet we have endured false equivalencies and thin polling margins throughout this election season. We are living in dangerous times. There can be little doubt our vote in 2016 is as critical as in 1960 to ensure our existence as a country and as a world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In June 1963, several months after the missile crisis ended
and the Soviets had dismantled and withdrawn their offensive weapons from Cuba,
Kennedy gave a profoundly important and thoughtful speech at American
University in which he argued for a limited nuclear test ban treaty. Kennedy
recognized that, as the leader of the free world, his words mattered to friend
and foe alike, more than many Americans understand. Our allies and enemies
listen carefully to the president’s words. This was especially true of the
Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. In this speech, President Kennedy
acknowledged our common humanity and set the tone for mutual cooperation and
respect:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also
direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those
differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least
we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our
most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe
the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all
mortal.</i></span></blockquote>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is not simply that Donald Trump is a highly
flawed man. Kennedy and many other U.S. presidents were flawed men. But
presidential character and judgment, the moral fortitude we need when the tests
of history arise, have nothing to do with personal shortcomings. It has to do
with experience, intelligence, discernment – qualities that cannot be taught,
or learned on the run, but require a lifetime of study and a willingness
to engage in critical self-reflection. Even great presidents make mistakes. But
the only people we should ever entrust with the solemn obligations and
responsibilities of the presidency are men and women of good will. Donald Trump
is not that person.</span></span><!--EndFragment-->
</div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-44762915472760922722016-10-09T18:47:00.001-04:002016-10-09T18:47:45.669-04:00Six Days in Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlrPhjc_CHfVAalfuL2xrdXB5A1nySTE0fp3Co4Fcx8ZCxPNvXaRn4gaeKaOft6WFpAXsb0qJ8eCv4DwLFcChaz0aCLLfR68CdJBUCyUlKhtYQqE1QpZxlaFdGdAzBlJAHWRIAwhI9i0/s1600/Paris+in+fall3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlrPhjc_CHfVAalfuL2xrdXB5A1nySTE0fp3Co4Fcx8ZCxPNvXaRn4gaeKaOft6WFpAXsb0qJ8eCv4DwLFcChaz0aCLLfR68CdJBUCyUlKhtYQqE1QpZxlaFdGdAzBlJAHWRIAwhI9i0/s320/Paris+in+fall3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will
never do any harm to the world. -- Voltaire</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andrea and I recently returned from Paris, where we spent
six wonderful days exploring the City of Light, its beauty and grandeur, its
history, art and architecture, its culinary delights and wine. Lots of wine. Six
days does not do justice to the splendor of Paris, but it was enough time to
experience its rhythm and daily life. Paris is an ideal place for lovers and
dreamers, intellectuals and historians, artists and philosophers. It is a city
full of grand cathedrals and wide boulevards, narrow medieval streets, some of
the world’s greatest museums, outdoor cafes and charming little bistros
everywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is nothing like traveling to a foreign country to
develop perspective, to see things in a different light. Americans are an
insular breed, and most of my life has been lived within the narrow confines of
an American mindset. I love America. But the world beyond our shores offers other
ways of doing and living from which Americans can learn and benefit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Paris has a fabulous underground metro system far superior
to the old, smelly, decrepit subway systems of most U.S. cities. Public
transportation is simply better in Europe, health care more universally
accessible; the streets are safer, the air cleaner, the traffic less congested.
The food seems fresher too, the portions more reasonable, the use of additives
and pre-fabricated processing less prevalent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Contrary to their reputation for snobbery, most of the native Parisians
we encountered were friendly and delightful, the shopkeepers and wait staff universally
helpful, showing no disdain for our inability to speak French. My few feeble
attempts at <i>“Je suis vraiment desole, je ne parle pas francais”</i> (I am very
sorry, I do not speak French), were met with bemused appreciation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9pv-OkpK5Z5esOe2QJckjiPqtpscHzUa1sjFnwN8xcPlmDzwODzVf0Hifsr8AKjVwJVobGWf8irIuBytVsaICdpFs6MWGemtd6nQ2EW57Oyp8qzEzllQqInSUNkcbhqIIzOhoTunS_g/s1600/Paris+in+fall9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9pv-OkpK5Z5esOe2QJckjiPqtpscHzUa1sjFnwN8xcPlmDzwODzVf0Hifsr8AKjVwJVobGWf8irIuBytVsaICdpFs6MWGemtd6nQ2EW57Oyp8qzEzllQqInSUNkcbhqIIzOhoTunS_g/s320/Paris+in+fall9.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A narrow side street in the Latin Quarter</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Paris is a modern city that has somehow retained its old
world charm and intimacy. Whether exploring the shops on I'le St. Louis or
walking through the winding streets of the Latin Quarter and Saint Germain on
the Left Bank or Le Marais on the Right Bank, climbing the hills of Montmartre
or exploring the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay, each day here was vibrant and
spirited. Although it was her first time in Paris, Andrea repeatedly noted how
familiar it all felt, as if we were visiting family. It may be why Gertrude
Stein once said, “America is my country and Paris is my hometown.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmw4azQ2fXyKpihkEC6zFRL_MljuaFoGOUl9HRyIVGa4NCjflXCTkY7vBE1663ylOxeqs721UKxAefCA4Sp-7-aX-LJXHkG4yUBzJ5zcQkBeoAsAA74WIdhVPTXVmiSj6lm7BAxmX1X0/s1600/Paris+in+fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmw4azQ2fXyKpihkEC6zFRL_MljuaFoGOUl9HRyIVGa4NCjflXCTkY7vBE1663ylOxeqs721UKxAefCA4Sp-7-aX-LJXHkG4yUBzJ5zcQkBeoAsAA74WIdhVPTXVmiSj6lm7BAxmX1X0/s320/Paris+in+fall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The River Seine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To walk along the Seine and breathe the autumn air is to
experience a momentary sense of peace. Paris has a seductive quality that makes
life seem a little more enjoyable and forces you to philosophize and
contemplate the arc of history and our place in the universe. It is easy to
understand why so many famous American writers and artists chose to live here
for portions of their lives. “I guess it goes to show that you just never know
where life will take you,” writes Amy Thomas in <i>Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the
City of Light</i>. “You search for answers. You wonder what it all means. You stumble,
and you soar. And, if you’re lucky, you make it to Paris for a while.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlvZd_YR5uCxeH0HNqg2kyhWF51cA06Al8QafEVSoce7mhxpJUq5b9rMsvPeFoSo-m8OHlvUEoiDpDBDk-cQQiBR2bzuBIk0oDkxvJtWIP2Sl_vKIm-7PrXxPRlowhUKwvuX5ANsKMQs/s1600/Paris+in+fall7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSlvZd_YR5uCxeH0HNqg2kyhWF51cA06Al8QafEVSoce7mhxpJUq5b9rMsvPeFoSo-m8OHlvUEoiDpDBDk-cQQiBR2bzuBIk0oDkxvJtWIP2Sl_vKIm-7PrXxPRlowhUKwvuX5ANsKMQs/s320/Paris+in+fall7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shakespeare and Company - Paris</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On our last day in Paris, I spent a splendid two hours at
Shakespeare and Company, a wonderful and quaint bookstore on the edge of the
Latin Quarter, where famous writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, and William Burroughs hung out in their
respective times. There is something fresh and exhilarating about casually
browsing through a bookstore with such a distinguished history. At one point, I
walked upstairs and pulled a book from the store’s reading library, sat by the
picture window with a view of the Seine and the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and
began reading <i>Interesting Times: A Twentieth Century Life</i> by Eric Hobsbawm, a
self-critical memoir by a British Marxist historian whose life’s experiences
and intellectual reflections impressed me. As I am wont to do in these
circumstances, I began to wonder if my life has lived up to the expectations of
my youth, when I dreamed of conquering the world. Have I endeavored to live an
interesting life? Does my life and work have meaning and purpose?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps I am lazy or less ambitious, but what I most enjoy
about life – to write and think and read – seems at odds with the demands of my
life. Yes, I write and think and read for work, but it is different, the
subjects not of my choosing, the objectives of each assignment driven by the requirements
of clients and budgets. But it is easy to romanticize the life of an artist. Vincent
Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime. By conventional
standards, he was a failure, his art dismissed by critics, who considered it the
product of a mentally disturbed madman. Today, his paintings are the rock
stars of the Musee d’Orsay, where crowds of people flock and take pictures of
his work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQndvt6ujndvjPAmv-_8Sx9DaWiY6dbw3sb22dkvQThm8qsCzV5Tb8-eGKVufBiz7V5dNNFDMlmXzriKHA8tIhO7DBDZselybNZ5DviEM87RF2KZAdt1iNP3_hUMvn1AnFa7t2NvainHw/s1600/Van+Gogh+in+Paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQndvt6ujndvjPAmv-_8Sx9DaWiY6dbw3sb22dkvQThm8qsCzV5Tb8-eGKVufBiz7V5dNNFDMlmXzriKHA8tIhO7DBDZselybNZ5DviEM87RF2KZAdt1iNP3_hUMvn1AnFa7t2NvainHw/s320/Van+Gogh+in+Paris.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Van Gogh Self-Portrait at Musee d'Orsay</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young
man,” wrote Hemingway, “then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it
stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” The city’s imprint has stayed
with me since returning, though work and everyday life do not allow for the
leisurely pace of a Parisian philosopher. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgKzSXjzqf5e6zADzpNmCxGjHl2eENMvgOULl56lIM7wK3EEfC-h3D6BEl_08gZ42ryYaYgR-nGDmxMrtL5l-EmHcE8hy1Z_ARL0wo3JAx033ZlHlz3bZeJ2_YcKXXH0N1_lEjkhEecU/s1600/Paris+in+fall6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSgKzSXjzqf5e6zADzpNmCxGjHl2eENMvgOULl56lIM7wK3EEfC-h3D6BEl_08gZ42ryYaYgR-nGDmxMrtL5l-EmHcE8hy1Z_ARL0wo3JAx033ZlHlz3bZeJ2_YcKXXH0N1_lEjkhEecU/s320/Paris+in+fall6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quiet street in Montmartre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now it is back to work and life and the U.S. presidential
race, which I followed in Paris only from my daily perusal of the Paris-based <i>International
New York Times</i>. Trump had a bad week when we were away and the polls are
finally showing a widening gap between the one qualified candidate and the most
embarrassing excuse for a presidential contender in my lifetime. One evening at
dinner, we engaged in a conversation with a lovely young couple from Amsterdam
– a businessman in the oil and gas industry and his wife, a lawyer with a
prominent London-based law firm – who could not understand what was happening
in America or why the reactionary forces of extremism were threatening to take
hold in the United States. As Europeans who have spent considerable time
abroad, they were quite familiar with the far right forces of xenophobia and
racism that also threaten much of Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most of our time in Paris involved a break from all that, as
if we had stepped back in time to a place of elegance and simplicity, where
humankind has found a way to emphasize the pleasures of life – good food and
wine, great works of art, history and old world charm, casual walks along the
river. But I realize this was a vacation, not everyday life. For life is not so
free and easy. We cannot stay in Paris forever. In reality, we experienced
Paris as American tourists sufficiently privileged to afford six days and five
nights in this beautiful and expensive city. Income inequality and poverty, the
threat of terrorism, the constant struggle to make a living – all of these
things are as prevalent here as in any other city. And yet, my perspective has
been broadened, my senses expanded. As Charles Dickens observed: “What an
immense impression Paris made upon me. It is the most extraordinary place in
the world!”</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFaEjgyNec-WR0FaBkD0ipIeCswdxQJLt4j-AW9qzciFBuKwnh1jdhEEzwXD_125tk55pMHK7T8hC2fFGdSY0Bd2hsH26sF4hET2OYUcaWc-0FMWdTegUZuOeA8GKfk7lJ-W8Obwyj6w/s1600/Paris+in+fall12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFaEjgyNec-WR0FaBkD0ipIeCswdxQJLt4j-AW9qzciFBuKwnh1jdhEEzwXD_125tk55pMHK7T8hC2fFGdSY0Bd2hsH26sF4hET2OYUcaWc-0FMWdTegUZuOeA8GKfk7lJ-W8Obwyj6w/s320/Paris+in+fall12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrea and me at Jardin du Luxembourg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>To know Paris, Bruno began, pulling on his cigarette, you
need to relax, have a glass of wine, and enjoy life. -- Jennifer Coburn, <u>We'll
Always Have Paris</u></i></span></blockquote>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-58580892785392954472016-08-27T14:42:00.001-04:002016-08-28T08:07:46.907-04:00Memories of Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uvHH1wm5amtkmlEHPJTRAefWkeBqTU10l0FiXqWCEJ4tSUgYeiM8ES2bHrB8fLDHZr3h-VV67YWWFFg3rO6cz44cx1U6vq6UVN0sKCFJGoIyaeOD24LH6_Gb_1RHO4S6AeWj9zrg2Ng/s1600/Cards+game+Sunday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8uvHH1wm5amtkmlEHPJTRAefWkeBqTU10l0FiXqWCEJ4tSUgYeiM8ES2bHrB8fLDHZr3h-VV67YWWFFg3rO6cz44cx1U6vq6UVN0sKCFJGoIyaeOD24LH6_Gb_1RHO4S6AeWj9zrg2Ng/s320/Cards+game+Sunday.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I was young and still played the game myself, when I
dreamed of someday playing in a big league ballpark; when the heroes of my
youth were men named Gibson, Brock, Cepeda, and Shannon, the Cardinals came to
life in the box scores of the morning paper, in the statistical nuances of each
year’s Strat-O-Matic cards, and in locally televised games against the Phillies
and Mets. Although my family ventured into Philadelphia or New
York to see a major league game only once or twice a summer, I cherish those
memories. I recall still the smell of fresh peanuts and hot dogs, popcorn and
cigar smoke as we walked from our car towards the grand old cathedrals of
baseball, those round conglomerations of brick and concrete that, once inside, opened
into a vast expanse of green turf and perfectly placed white lines, unblemished
outfield grass, and a diamond shaped infield; the dirt mound patiently awaiting
the start of play as an unused rosin bag and lone white baseball lay idly by
the pitching rubber. It was a beautiful sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This past weekend, the Cardinals arrived for a mid-August
series against the Phillies. Perhaps in part to make up for the lost games of
my youth, I bought tickets to all three games. I cannot explain my continued
need to soak in new baseball experiences year-after-year. But with each game
are memories formed that mark the passage of time and progress of life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Friday night, Andrea and I were seated near the
third-base dugout amidst an impressive contingent of Cardinals enthusiasts, a
pleasant deviation from my usual experience at Citizens Bank Park, where I
feel like an intruder crossing enemy lines. Directly in front of us was a wholesome
looking collection of girls and boys who danced and laughed and cheered every
Cardinals hit and Phillies out while donning bright red-and-white jerseys bearing
the names Wainwright, Molina, Carpenter, and Wong, and an out-of-date Beltran
for good measure. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But despite a second inning home run from Randal Grichuk,
the Cardinals looked lifeless at the plate for much of the game. I suffered
silently as the Cardinals swung and missed at slow changeups and sliders offered
by Phillies starter Adam Morgan. Despite the indignity of it all, my loyalty
was rewarded in the top of the ninth when, down 3-1, Yadier Molina singled to
right and, one out later, as if an answer to a prayer, Jedd Gyorko belted a
long, towering, home run deep into the Philadelphia night. As Gyorko rounded
the bases, the game now tied, I envied these young Cardinals fans dancing in
their seats, exuding a joyful glee that bespoke their youthful innocence. Even
more, they reminded me of the ever present cycle of life and repeated rhythms of
baseball, the heartbreak and occasional sweet rewards of caring about the same
team summer-after-summer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Two extra innings later, with the score tied 3-3, Jhonny Peralta
doubled and Grichuk rocketed a 405-foot drive off the wall in the deepest part
of the ballpark to put the Cards ahead. Our new young friends became euphoric
as Section 129 erupted into spirited celebrations, improvisational dances, jubilation
and delight. I <i>almost</i> felt sorry for the few Phillies fans scattered among these
happy interlopers who had taken over their ballpark. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the bottom of the 11th inning, Cards rookie and future
star Alex Reyes, a big-framed flamethrower who hit the 100 miles-per-hour mark
on three pitches, took the mound with the hope of securing the final three outs
and a Cardinals victory. Reyes looked unfazed by this inherited responsibility and
mounting tension. When he retired the first two batters, I mistakenly allowed
myself to relax and exhale, for it appeared a Cardinals win was at hand. But
then a ground ball just beyond the reach of Peralta, followed by a walk, put
the tying and winning runs on base. The few Phillies fans left in the stands suddenly
regained life. My palms began to sweat and insides turned somersaults, a
wonderful evening at risk of a tragic ending. Why do I put myself through this?
Why does any fan enjoy this? Anyone who believes baseball is a boring game is
not paying attention. The stress almost unbearable – a ball, a strike, a foul
ball – until finally, mercifully, Freddie Galvis hit a sharp ground ball to first
base that was scooped by Matt Carpenter, who touched the bag for the final out.
And a collective sigh of relief from Section 129. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andrea and I watched from ten rows back as the Cardinals finished
their on-field handshakes and congratulatory hugs before disappearing into the
dugout like Shoeless Joe into an Iowa cornfield. As we walked contentedly from our
seats to the parking lot, we left with a momentary sense of peace and another
baseball memory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For game two on Saturday night, Andrea and I were joined by daughter
Hannah and long-time friends Mike and Linda Dennehy. As Mike and I talked of
old times, it soon became clear that the baseball Gods were less favorably
disposed towards me on this night. The Cardinals’ hitters were thrown off
stride by Phillies starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, who struck out eight
Cardinals over seven innings en route to a 4-2 Phils win. Hellickson was
opposed by Cardinals rookie Luke Weaver, who didn’t look to be a day over 15 as
he played in only his second ever big league game. Weaver surrendered a
lead-off home run to Caesar Hernandez in the bottom of the first, followed three
batters later by a double and then a looping line drive that fell into and out
of the outstretched glove of Cardinals left fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker. And just
like that, it was 2-0 Phillies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“What really makes baseball so hard,” Roger Angell has
written, “is it’s retributive capacity for disaster if the smallest thing is
done wrong, and the invisible presence of defeat that attends every game.” I
believed Hazelbaker should have caught the ball, that he did not need to dive
and make a heroic attempt; another step or two, an extended stretch of his
glove hand, and he could have, probably should have, made the catch. Instinctively,
I grumpily exclaimed that “Hazelbaker should have caught the
damn ball” and “that damn rookie cost us another run.” When Andrea, in defense
of Hazelbaker, said, “I guess it looks easy from the cheap seats,” my rebuttal was
limited to mumbled R-rated expletives into my beer. But baseball is a game of
redemption and second chances. And when Hazelbaker launched an opposite field
two-run home run in the third inning to tie the game at 2-2, all was forgiven. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the game continued, its gentle cadence allowed me and Mike to take it all in as we talked about life and families, the music we liked as kids, and whatever else
came to mind. Baseball is a game that allows for long conversations,
interrupted only by a foul ball, a double in the gap, or a pickoff attempt at
first. “Baseball’s time is seamless and invisible,” writes Angell, and “players
move at exactly the same pace and rhythms as all their predecessors. This is the
way the game was played in our youth and in our father’s youth, and even back
then . . . there must have been the same feeling that time could be stopped.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But as I am frequently reminded with each passing day, time
cannot be stopped. Life moves forward at an unforgiving pace. Mike and I have
been friends since the fourth grade, when my parents moved to Hightstown, New
Jersey, and Mike and his family lived on the same block. Now, 48 years later, both
of his parents and my father have left us, our children are mostly grown, and the
memories of childhood fade as our youthful spirits are betrayed by the bodies
of middle-aged men. And yet, on those rare occasions when I see Mike now, it is
as if time has indeed stood still. The Cardinals lost on Saturday night, but as
we said our goodbyes outside the park, I knew that baseball, for all its
nostalgic glory and magnificent history, really is only a game, a temporary
respite from the joys, the sadness and disappointments, and the obligations of
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Sunday, despite predictions of scattered thunderstorms, Hannah and I returned to the ballpark for the final game of
the weekend series. As we watched the pre-game warmups, with the starting
pitchers playing long toss in the outfield before throwing warmup pitches in
the bullpen and players running wind sprints and stretching, I thought back to
my high school days and my own pre-game routines – stretching, a relaxed
game of catch, infield drills and batting practice, staying loose. As I watched
Cards starting pitcher Mike Leake throw long arcing balls with effortless ease in
the outfield, I could envision a younger version of myself in days long past, when
I was a teenager and a summer breeze caressed my face as a ball landed
comfortably into the webbing of my glove. This imaginary time travel happens whenever I watch
baseball in its pre-game form, or between innings, when the players appear
loose and the music plays in the background and the sun and sky form a backdrop to my daydreams. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The game that day approached near perfection. The Cardinals slugged
four home runs as Leake pitched seven scoreless innings en route to a 9-0
Cardinals win. As Hannah and I talked and absorbed the game, experiencing the luxury
of a rare one-sided victory, I felt as if, for three hours on Sunday afternoon,
life was a work of art, with baseball a small brushstroke on a large and
colorful canvas. But life is not a work of art. The rains fall and nighttime
beckons. Three days later, Hannah left to start her post-college life in
another city, reminding an anxious dad once again that time cannot be stopped. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I realize now that my feelings for baseball, though
childish, are shared by scores of fans just like me, and were best described years ago by
Roger Angell:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our national preoccupation with the images and performances
of great athletes is not a simple matter. The obsessive intensity with which we
watch their beautiful movements, their careless energy, their noisy,
narcissistic joy in their own accomplishments is remarkably close to the emotions
we feel when we see very young children at play. While their games last, we
smile with pleasure – but not for long, not forever. Rising from the park bench
at last, we look at our watch and begin to gather up the scattered toys. That’s
enough boys and girls. Time to go in now.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRIVAz3Q4RThfybPznHsx_xLRPB9LNjc5pCDaUdqw0QKXj_1xz31l7fyW_X18PCKVJitVUKiUWzEOj51FWZVMKQaTnH5MAy9rLZL-lqkdpPfZPz1wUbzEUwaSolwhOvQV4zTaD0cXWr8/s1600/Baseball+UC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRIVAz3Q4RThfybPznHsx_xLRPB9LNjc5pCDaUdqw0QKXj_1xz31l7fyW_X18PCKVJitVUKiUWzEOj51FWZVMKQaTnH5MAy9rLZL-lqkdpPfZPz1wUbzEUwaSolwhOvQV4zTaD0cXWr8/s320/Baseball+UC.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-85879392521322803002016-08-03T07:39:00.000-04:002016-08-03T15:04:50.065-04:00Celebrating America: Reflections on the Democratic Convention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYRTEkI7oZ9Koz4Nv6JhLjmX4N56R64wZwGB7TjmOC7YaaSEQ7NLUaj_i9GhCjUeY20MY3DyhTx2fg8loMrL6mDIu2J4Gg_5kMz7IAJSXn8I1yu6IhvI__47YwkmqOo-AazF80-433Ik/s1600/dnc+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYRTEkI7oZ9Koz4Nv6JhLjmX4N56R64wZwGB7TjmOC7YaaSEQ7NLUaj_i9GhCjUeY20MY3DyhTx2fg8loMrL6mDIu2J4Gg_5kMz7IAJSXn8I1yu6IhvI__47YwkmqOo-AazF80-433Ik/s320/dnc+2016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>In no other nation is tomorrow so vivid, yesterday so pale.
Where you came from yields to American rebirth. There is no real America to take
back, as Trump insists, because America’s many-hued reality is a ceaseless
becoming. It is a mosaic . . . the country where, as [President] Obama said in
2004, a “skinny kid with a funny name” finds his place. – Roger Cohen, <u>The New
York Times</u>, August 2, 2016.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This past week brought the Democratic National Convention to
Philadelphia. The city was invaded by the national press corps, political consultants,
delegates from across the country, advocacy groups and activists of every stripe. It was a fascinating mix of
Establishment elites in business attire and gruff, tee shirt wearing, placard
waving protesters hoping to influence the future of the nation. As a long-time
Democrat who takes more than a passing interest in the state of American
political affairs, it was an exciting week. Philadelphia was vibrant and alive,
intellectually engaging, and politically-spirited. Each day could be found panel
discussions and issue-oriented talks addressing many engaging and important
issues. Not since my senior year in college, when I participated in the
Washington Semester Program at American University during the height of the 1980
presidential election, were so many politically oriented lectures and events so
easily accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Democratic convention provided a stark contrast to the
dark and brooding, deeply disturbing Republican National Convention in
Cleveland. The Republican convention was a painful doom-and-gloom fest of negativity
and lynch-mob cries of “lock her up,” with one Trump adviser publicly calling
for Hillary’s execution by firing squad. For all of my past differences with
the Republican Party and Republican policies, this election season is a sad
spectacle. We are witnessing the decline and dismemberment of a proud political
tradition. There once was a time when the Republicans were a party of ideas, expounding
a philosophy of limited government, individual responsibility, and free trade,
while also advancing an internationalist foreign policy. That has all changed. As
President Obama noted in his speech at the Democratic convention, what happened
in Cleveland "wasn't particularly Republican -- and it sure wasn't conservative.” Today the Republicans
are led by an autocratic, narcissistic, demagogue who abides by the motto, “I
alone can fix it.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the most important presidential election since the dawn of the nuclear age, and certainly of my
lifetime. At stake is the future of American democracy and the Constitution
itself. Trump’s rhetoric and campaign is a horrifying display of intolerance,
bigotry, fear and ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
increasing frequency I find myself speechless, paralyzed by disbelief, whenever
Trump opens his mouth. He is temperamentally unfit to be president, a
charlatan, lacking the most basic knowledge of world affairs, dismissive of our
historic alliances. He possesses the emotional intelligence of a third-grade
bully. He lacks any semblance of empathy or compassion. He is fundamentally
dishonest, a man of poor character, morality, and judgment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although the Democrats produced a Broadway blockbuster
compared to the Republican’s middle-school play, how the next 100 days will
play out, what external events may impact the election, is anyone’s guess. The
Democrats displayed a tremendous roster of star power, with inspiring and
uplifting speeches from Michelle Obama, Corey Booker, Bernie Sanders, Bill
Clinton, Joe Biden, and President Obama, and solid performances by Hillary and
her running mate, Tim Kaine. But the week’s most memorable moment was the
emotionally powerful testimonial from Khizr Kahn, the grieving father of a
Muslim American soldier killed in combat. Kahn told the story of how it felt to
lose a son to war – an American hero who died fighting for the country he loved
– and then be told by Donald Trump that, because of their religious faith, Khan’s
family is not wanted here. When Mr. Kahn produced a copy of his pocket
constitution and urged Mr. Trump to read it, the moment rivaled the
Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954, when Special Counsel for the Army Joseph Welch challenged
Senator Joe McCarthy with the words, “Have you no sense of decency, Sir, at
long last?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Joe Scarborough and others have suggested that the Democrats
co-opted from the Republicans the themes of patriotism, love of country, and a
belief in American exceptionalism. This is not entirely correct. Although the Democrats’
messaging in Philadelphia was far more positive and patriotic than anything
that happened in Cleveland, the Democrats’ expressions of patriotism were
neither new nor superficial. Yes, the Democrats talked a lot this past week
about how great America is – with the Obamas in particular among the most
enthusiastic cheerleaders – but this was done in part to counter Trump’s absurd
claim that, if elected, he will “make America great again.” Trump and the Republicans
presented America as a land of rampant crime and murder, helpless to acts of terrorism, a subject of international humiliation; a nation befuddled with a weak military,
dysfunctional government, and incompetent leaders. The Democrats shined light
on Trump’s darkness and countered the Republican convention with stories of
uplift and hope, a celebration of American diversity, ideals, and values.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Contrary to what some on the right have implied, Democrats always
have believed in American greatness. But we distinguish patriotism from
nationalism. We believe in the promise of America, not its superiority; in
equality, liberty, fairness, and inclusiveness, and that “all men [and women]
are created equal.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Democrats do not shy away from America’s structural and
historic imperfections. We acknowledge that the United States has not always lived
up to its ultimate promise and potential, and yet we aspire to achieve a “more
perfect Union” and make our great country even better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unlike Trump and his dangerous bigotry, Democrats believe
that an exceptional America is a welcoming, compassionate America. What makes
us exceptional is our history of accepting immigrants to our shores and
creating the conditions in which a black, half-Kenyan son of a single mother
from Kansas can become President of the United States. America is exceptional when
we fulfill the ideals of our founding principles, when we respect human rights
at home and abroad, and allow all citizens, regardless of race, religion,
ethnicity, or class, to achieve their full potential. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But this is nothing new. Ever since I began watching
political conventions as a nine year-old boy in 1968, I have observed that much of what is said at
Democratic conventions could easily be accepted and cheered at Republican
conventions. Even this year, Republicans loved Melania Trump’s speech until
they discovered that parts of the speech were plagiarized from Michelle Obama. Ivanka
Trump’s talk of equal pay for equal work would have received an enthusiastic
reception at the Democratic convention. Take away the specific policy proposals
in most years and much of what is said about American democracy, the strength
of our military, the importance of national security, the desire for good jobs
and a growing economy, the beauty of our land and our people, is asserted at
both conventions. The optics may be different, the speakers and their
ideological dispositions different, but the dreams, aspirations, and love of
country are the same. What is new this year is the extraordinary negativity, the
anger and bitterness, the dark and dangerous rhetoric coming from the
Republican nominee.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“So if it seems strange to you that these days Democrats are
sounding patriotic while Republicans aren’t,” writes Paul Krugman in <i>The New
York Times</i>, “you just weren’t paying attention. The people who now seem to love
America always did; the people who suddenly no longer sound like patriots never
were.” To love America does not require idol worship or blind trust in
everything our leaders do or every war in which we are embroiled. It does
require a genuine desire to search for the better angels of our nature; to
strive for justice for all, for peace and widely shared prosperity; and to seek
in the words of our beloved Constitution, a “more perfect Union.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-90991825008022562732016-07-11T08:06:00.000-04:002016-08-30T07:09:04.539-04:00The Right-Wing Benghazi Obsession: A Shameful, Irresponsible Waste of Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_E8j4lj27JPDBGkAlrMCmFsI62Eh6T2zIB8yPCPn8ENBpt-fvLCQ3Nn_IEmWVXk9c8u5K-lxry0siiaL3qH1SxV66CoSWEmU8Q4S28ab8lgdl_gQsmIUI7sy9TZgZiYXLgeFfWU7miYA/s1600/hillary+at+benghaz+hearing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_E8j4lj27JPDBGkAlrMCmFsI62Eh6T2zIB8yPCPn8ENBpt-fvLCQ3Nn_IEmWVXk9c8u5K-lxry0siiaL3qH1SxV66CoSWEmU8Q4S28ab8lgdl_gQsmIUI7sy9TZgZiYXLgeFfWU7miYA/s320/hillary+at+benghaz+hearing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>[T]he eighth investigation into the Benghazi attacks has
finally issued its report, the culmination of a massive wasted effort that can
only be seen as a Republican political vendetta against Hillary Clinton <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>. . . In essence, the panel came to the same
conclusion that the previous seven investigations had reached: that while there
were serious security gaps at the American consulate in Benghazi and at a
separate annex run by the CIA, American forces could not have reached Benghazi
in time to save the Americans. – Carol Giacomo, <u>The New York Times</u>, June 29,
2016</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Any review of what happened in Benghazi on September 11,
2012, must begin with an understanding of some basic facts. The U.S. government
manages and oversees U.S. embassies, consulates, and diplomatic facilities in
virtually every country around the world, employing thousands of diplomats,
Foreign Service Officers, military and intelligence personnel, and others. Many
of these facilities are located in dangerous and unstable places and sometimes
bad things happen. The temporary mission facility in Benghazi was but one of
over 300 trouble spots in which U.S. missions were located at the time of the
attack in 2012. While it is incumbent upon the government to do everything it
can to protect its people and property, there are limitations on how much
protection can be provided and what events can be foreseen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not including Iraq and Afghanistan, in the past 15 years
alone, there have been approximately 21 attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions
abroad, including 13 such incidents during the Bush administration (e.g., the
2008 attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in which three people
died; the 2008 attack on the American embassy in Yemen in which 10 people
died). Every such incident is painful and tragic. In most of these attacks, it
is likely that more could have been done to prevent or respond to them. Inevitably,
more such incidents will occur in the years ahead. They are the unfortunate
cost of engaging diplomatically in a dangerous world and are part of the price
of being a major world power. But they should never be turned into
politically-generated scandals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As someone who has spent 18 years as a federal prosecutor
and the past ten years conducting internal investigations on behalf of a global
investigations firm, I have followed with interest and dismay the
investigations – nine in total – into the tragic events of Benghazi, Libya, on
September 11, 2012. That night, Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other
Americans died in a terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate facility, a
temporary mission outpost, stationed there. I have always been convinced that
Benghazi was a tragedy. It was not a scandal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Soon after the attack, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
appropriately convened an internal Accountability Review Board (ARB), chaired
by Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Mike Mullen, to review what happened
the night of the attack and make findings and recommendations in the hope that
such an event would never be repeated. The ARB interviewed over 100 witnesses,
reviewed thousands of pages of documents and hours of security video, and did
the same things my firm would have done had we been asked to conduct the
review. The ARB’s report in December 2012 criticized the State Department for
several security lapses it had failed to correct in advance of the attack. The
report also recommended steps the Department should take to enhance security
and to prevent such events from happening again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In essence, the State Department did what any responsible
organization should do following a critical incident. It conducted a thorough review,
determined what went wrong, and recommended measures to decrease the likelihood
of future occurrences. To her credit, Secretary Clinton accepted full
responsibility for the lapse in security that occurred that night. The State
Department implemented the recommended security enhancements. Indeed, the
procedures put in place since the Benghazi attacks fundamentally changed the
manner in which U.S. embassies and consulates operate abroad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In normal circumstances, that would have been the end of it.
But Fox News and congressional Republicans were feverish with conspiracy
theories, smarting over President Obama’s re-election, and unwilling to let
what was an attack on U.S. assets located in a dangerous part of the world be
treated as anything other than a chance to make political waves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has always been difficult for me to comprehend precisely
what it was about the Benghazi incident that got a certain element of the
Republican Party and the right-wing media so up in arms. That they would try to
exploit it during an election year – the attack occurred less than two months
before the 2012 presidential election – is disappointing, though not surprising.
But that it would drag on for nearly four more years and include eight separate
congressional investigations is so beyond the pale that I am at a loss as to
explain this obsession. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Benghazi quickly became a right-wing code word. Initially it
was all about undermining the legitimacy of President Obama and his
administration. When that failed, the onus of Republican attacks eventually shifted
toward undermining Hillary Clinton’s presidential election chances. First it
was suggested that then UN Ambassador Susan Rice, who went on the Sunday
morning talk shows five days after the attack, had intentionally misled the
public about the cause of the attack, allegedly downplaying the “terrorist”
nature of it. Then it was suggested that U.S. officials had intelligence of the
pre-planned attack and failed to share that with personnel in Benghazi. Another
suspicion concerned the widely-held belief among the conspiracy buffs that
President Obama or someone in the administration had ordered would-be rescuers to
“stand down” rather than head to the facility to try to rescue Ambassador
Stevens and his colleagues. Republicans claimed that the President or the
Secretary or both had acted with indifference to the attack and failed to
adequately respond; that they lied about the attack and tried to cover-up the
administration’s response. None of the allegations turned out to be true, but
despite multiple investigations refuting these sordid allegations, the shrill cries
of “Benghazi” continued unabated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZNJUiayFPTfZyLHc6SKEy8NNWb5I0vXeOQH9bqdZpP7HjlLjFAut0dK7H9gxzhZ63WWQT55hW7UnM8OI1KseXU1Uvvjza5y6U8GqsIynUJhJkjACMnFsQiPZzaTqo176jgOnt3brB_g/s1600/obama-benghazi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZNJUiayFPTfZyLHc6SKEy8NNWb5I0vXeOQH9bqdZpP7HjlLjFAut0dK7H9gxzhZ63WWQT55hW7UnM8OI1KseXU1Uvvjza5y6U8GqsIynUJhJkjACMnFsQiPZzaTqo176jgOnt3brB_g/s320/obama-benghazi.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">President Obama and Vice President Biden conferring with <br />
national security team on the night of September 11, 2012</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Only ten years before, it seemed that the nation behaved
better. One year after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when nearly
three thousand people died in Lower Manhattan, on a field in Pennsylvania, and
along the banks of the Potomac River, President George W. Bush and both parties
of Congress established an independent, bipartisan panel to examine the facts
and circumstances surrounding the September 11 attacks. The 9/11 Commission reviewed
more than 2.5 million pages of documents and interviewed more than 1,200
witnesses in ten countries. It held 19 days of hearings and took public
testimony from 160 witnesses. The panel sought at all times to remain
independent, impartial, and nonpartisan. The findings and recommendations of <i>The
9/11 Commission Report</i> were immediately accepted as a credible and unbiased effort
to understand what happened and to safeguard the nation against future attacks.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now consider how the Republican Congress handled the events
of Benghazi. Ever since four Americans died in the attack on the temporary
mission compound in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, there has been one congressional
investigation after another and nearly four years of wild and unsubstantiated
partisan accusations; millions of dollars wasted on what can only be considered
a political witch hunt. And yet, the Republican-controlled investigations have mostly come to similar conclusions – that while there were shortcomings in the pre-attack
intelligence and the security of the U.S. facility in Benghazi, there was no
official wrongdoing, no stand down orders and no cover-up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The eighth and (hopefully) final congressional investigation
into Benghazi lasted longer than the congressional inquiries into 9/11, the
assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the attack on Pearl Harbor. And
while those historical inquiries were conducted in a bipartisan and
non-political manner, the most recent investigation, led by South Carolina
Republican Trey Gowdy, was highlighted by the admission of Republican Kevin
McCarthy that the whole point of the investigation was to bring down the poll
numbers of Hillary Clinton [McCarthy on Fox News, September 2015: “Everybody
thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable, right? But we put together a Benghazi
special committee, a select committee. What are her numbers today? Her numbers
are dropping.”] Thus, the 800-page report released by the Gowdy committee has
no credibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbmyq6EqNf7gwaZeeEsgA37hsBk9XJ0vF0axnPP1d-erBSnn145OOwipmzDGbZMI_fzb7finbnTjwZ5Ez-xI9uBXfaV1-_O8jOy48XR2OcV7nKW4o157APqGIFTHQMl9i1ai9pacbrzA/s1600/susan%252520rice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDbmyq6EqNf7gwaZeeEsgA37hsBk9XJ0vF0axnPP1d-erBSnn145OOwipmzDGbZMI_fzb7finbnTjwZ5Ez-xI9uBXfaV1-_O8jOy48XR2OcV7nKW4o157APqGIFTHQMl9i1ai9pacbrzA/s320/susan%252520rice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, what exactly are the Republican critiques with Benghazi?
The one that is repeated over and over again, that seems to have the most
lasting appeal, are the so-called “Susan Rice talking points.” Republicans
contend that, on September 16, 2012, five days after the attack, when then UN
Ambassador Susan Rice appeared on the Sunday talk shows, she deliberately
downplayed the involvement of al-Qaeda and suggested that the attack was the
result of a spontaneous protest in reaction to an anti-Islam video. The video
at issue was a 14-minute movie trailer about a film called <i>Innocence of Muslims</i>
produced by an Egyptian-born Coptic Christian living in the United States. The
film included offensive depictions of the Prophet Muhammad and was posted on You
Tube as early as July 2012. It was then dubbed in Arabic in early September
2012. Demonstrations and in some cases violent protests erupted throughout the
Arab and Muslim world over the next two weeks, resulting in hundreds of
injuries and more than 50 deaths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is what Rice told Jake Tapper of ABC News on This Week
with George Stephanopoulos on September 16, 2012:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Well, Jake, first of all, it's important to know that
there's an FBI investigation that has begun and will take some time to be
completed. That will tell us with certainty what transpired.</i></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>But our current best assessment, based on the information
that we have at present, is that, in fact, what this began as, it was a
spontaneous -- not a premeditated -- response to what had transpired in Cairo.
In Cairo, as you know, a few hours earlier, there was a violent protest that
was undertaken in reaction to this very offensive video that was disseminated.</i></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>We believe that folks in Benghazi, a small number of people
came to the embassy to -- or to the consulate, rather, to replicate the sort of
challenge that was posed in Cairo. And then as that unfolded, it seems to have
been hijacked, let us say, by some individual clusters of extremists who came
with heavier weapons, weapons that as you know in -- in the wake of the
revolution in Libya are -- are quite common and accessible. And it then evolved
from there.</i></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We'll wait to see exactly what the investigation finally
confirms, but that's the best information we have at present.</i></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rice made similar statements on the other Sunday talk shows that morning as well. The Republicans have always been apoplectic that
Rice allegedly blamed the attack on spontaneous protests in response to the
anti-Islam video, even though some in the intelligence community suspected even
then that the attack was carried out by mostly al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists. First,
note what Rice said: <b>“it's important to know that there's an FBI investigation
that has begun and will take some time to be completed. That will tell us with
certainty what transpired.”</b> And then again: <b>“We'll wait to see exactly what the
investigation finally confirms, but that's the best information we have at
present.”</b> Rice stated clearly that she did not have all of the facts and that
more was likely to come out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second, the White House talking points upon which Rice based
her comments were consistent with the talking points that had been provided by
the CIA. As typically occurs in all rapidly moving crises, American
intelligence officials were sifting through conflicting information to
determine what had happened four to five days earlier. CIA analysts had written
a report stating that the evidence suggested the Benghazi attack grew
spontaneously out of the protests. Later, a senior CIA editor with no direct
knowledge of the Benghazi events but who knew about military weaponry added a
sentence noting that the weapons possessed by the attackers suggested the
attack was planned. Secretary Clinton received one report that Ansar al-Sharia
was involved. Then that group disavowed any role in the attack. On September
13, 2012, a CIA report entitled, “Extremists Capitalized on Benghazi Protests”
assessed that the attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi “began spontaneously
following the protests at the U.S. embassy in Cairo.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, protests had
erupted in many parts of the Arab world as a result of the anti-Islam video, with the
largest and most notorious protest occurring in Cairo. Other conflicting
accounts concerning involvement by al-Qaeda and alleged connections or lack
thereof between al-Qaeda and Ansar al-Sharia continued to come in. As is often
true in response to fast-moving events, much of the early information was not
entirely accurate or consistent. (See House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
report, November 21, 2014: “Much of the early intelligence was conflicting, and
two years later, intelligence gaps remain.”)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The intelligence community assembled the information into
talking points for Rice to use on the Sunday morning talk shows. Her statements
that morning were consistent with those talking points. Were the talking points
edited by State Department officials? Of course, but this is standard operating
procedure for government officials in both major parties. But as an
intelligence official explained to one congressional panel, "The points
were not, as has been insinuated by some, edited to minimize the role of
extremists, diminish terrorist affiliations, or play down that this was an
attack." This official noted that there were "legitimate intelligence
and legal issues to consider, as is almost always the case when explaining
classified assessments publicly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To this day, as noted by the House Select Committee minority
report on June 27, 2016, “it remains unclear precisely what motivated all of
the individuals in Benghazi on the night of the attacks.” Former CIA Director
David Petraeus testified, “I’m still not absolutely certain what absolutely
took place . . . and to be candid with you, I am not sure that the amount of
scrutiny spent on this has been in the least bit worth it.” Former CIA acting
director Mike Morrell testified that the CIA chief of station in Libya believed
at the time that the anti-Muslim video might have motivated the attackers. As
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reported on January 15, 2014:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>It remains unclear if any group or person exercised overall
command and control of the attacks or whether extremist group leaders directed
their members to participate. Some intelligence suggests the attacks were
likely put together in short order, following that day's violent protests in
Cairo against an inflammatory video, suggesting that these and other terrorist
groups could conduct similar attacks with little advance warning.</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lengthy and detailed <i>New York Times</i> investigation
published in six parts in 2014 concluded, based on extensive interviews and
reviews of official documents: “The attack does not appear to have been
meticulously planned, but neither was it spontaneous or without warning signs.”
However, it was “fueled in large part by anger at an American-made video
denigrating [Muslims].” Indeed, Ahmed Abu Khattala, who was captured in June
2014 by the U.S. military in connection with his role as a suspected ringleader
of the Benghazi attack, "told fellow Islamist fighters" on the night
of the attack "and others that the assault was retaliation for the same
insulting video" mocking Islam that inspired demonstrations in Cairo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Much has also been made of certain emails showing that then Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton and others seemed to have come to different
conclusions about the nature of the attack than was stated in some of their
public statements. But Clinton has explained that she personally changed views
several times in the week following the attack about the possible motivations
of the attackers, including about whether there was a protest and whether the
attacks were preplanned. Here, I find Clinton’s own statements, made in her
book <i>Hard Choices</i>, reflective of common sense and the reality described above:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>In the heat of the crisis we had no way of knowing for sure
what combination of factors motivated the assault or whether and how long it
had been planned. I was clear about this in my remarks the next morning, and in
the days that followed administration officials continued to tell the American
people that we had incomplete information and were still looking for answers.
There were many theories-- but still little evidence. I myself went back and
forth on what likely happened, who did it, and what mix of factors--like the
video--played a part. But it was unquestionably inciting the region and
triggering protests all over, so it would have been strange not to consider, as
days of protests unfolded, that it might have had the same effect here, too.
That's just common sense. Later investigation and reporting confirmed that the
video was indeed a factor. All we knew at that time with complete certainty was
that Americans had been killed and others were still in danger.</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, although there is less consistency and a great deal
of partisanship in some of the congressional reports on this issue, multiple congressional
investigations concluded that, while the talking points may have been flawed in
underplaying some of the intelligence about the involvement of terrorist groups
in the attack, they were not significantly edited or altered from the original
CIA talking points. See Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report, January
2014 (The “CIA talking points were flawed but . . . painted a mostly accurate
picture of the [intelligence community's] analysis of the Benghazi attacks at
that time."); House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Report,
November 2014 (concludes that the CIA, which was dealing with conflicting intelligence
reports from multiple sources, was primarily responsible for editing Rice's
talking points and using what the report called "imprecise language"
to describe the incident.). But see House Foreign Affairs Committee Report,
February 2014 (criticized "the extent to which senior State Department
officials repeatedly objected to the inclusion of any information that might
cast the Department in an unflattering light.")</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So it appears that the Susan Rice talking points were not
that far off the mark. But even if Rice overstated the spontaneous nature of
the attack, or downplayed the pre-planned nature of it, she made clear it was a
fluid situation and that a lot more needed to be sorted out before final conclusions
could be drawn. This was hardly the stuff of national scandal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcsxU_14PJqPm0hZ-6s9NNngJG2QvzL0GcjrDVvJn3kUBLwFkn62MubUy2LHFfyen8ETpeC3-QyDJ5O282QcWfBrKthxThI4wEDuPcvOHWjwOtgJaXSJowxJUtJ0k9IzRd_7jLT4dDRM/s1600/clinton+and+obama+at+funeral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcsxU_14PJqPm0hZ-6s9NNngJG2QvzL0GcjrDVvJn3kUBLwFkn62MubUy2LHFfyen8ETpeC3-QyDJ5O282QcWfBrKthxThI4wEDuPcvOHWjwOtgJaXSJowxJUtJ0k9IzRd_7jLT4dDRM/s320/clinton+and+obama+at+funeral.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That the administration somehow tried to make people believe
the Benghazi attack was not a terrorist act in an effort to help Obama get
re-elected has never made much sense to me. After all, Obama was the President
and a U.S. diplomatic mission was attacked under his watch, resulting in four
American deaths. He would be held responsible regardless of the precise cause
of the attack. Was there something magical about the word “terrorism”? Was the presidential
election really going to be decided on whether a violent attack on the U.S.
diplomatic mission in Benghazi resulted from a terrorist attack vs. an out-of-control
protest scenario or, as Susan Rice actually said on September 16, 2012,
“individual clusters of extremists” armed with heavy weaponry? As Secretary
Clinton said at a subsequent congressional hearing: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead
Americans. Was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk
one night who decided that they’d go kill some Americans? What difference at
this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do
everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again. Senator, now
honestly, I will do my best to answer your questions about this, but the fact is
that people were trying in real time to get to the best information.</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She was absolutely right. Really, what difference did it
make in those first few days whether it was a pre-planned or spontaneous attack?
As Ambassador Stevens’s sister, Dr. Anne Stevens, said in an interview with <i>The
New Yorker</i> published on June 28, 2016, “it doesn’t matter” what the initial
thinking was “about why the attack occurred. It’s irrelevant to bring that up
again and again. It is done for purely political reasons.” (“Chris Stevens’s
Family: Don’t Blame Hillary Clinton for Benghazi” by Robin Wright, <i>The New
Yorker</i>, June 28, 2016).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But according to the Fox News spin doctors, the president refused
to say that the attackers were “terrorists” because to do so would undermine
his chances for re-election. In fact, three times in the two days following the
attack, the President called it “an act of terror.” Within eight days of the
attack, on September 19, 2012, Matt Olsen, the then Director of the National
Counterterrorism Center, testified before a congressional hearing that the
Benghazi incident was a “terrorist attack.” Two days later, so did Secretary
Clinton (speaking to reporters before a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister
Hina Rabbani Khar): “Yesterday afternoon when I briefed the Congress, I made it
clear that keeping our people everywhere in the world safe is our top priority.
What happened in Benghazi was a terrorist attack, and we will not rest until we
have tracked down and brought to justice the terrorists who murdered four
Americans.” Some cover-up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those obsessed with Benghazi are also convinced to this day
that someone in the administration ordered U.S. military forces to stand down
from any effort to rescue Ambassador Stevens and his colleagues. They also believe
that U.S. officials concealed intelligence information about a pre-planned
attack with personnel in Benghazi. As noted below, even the Republican
controlled inquiries have consistently refuted these false allegations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Were would-be rescuers ordered to stand down rather than
head to the facility to try to rescue Ambassador Stevens and his colleagues?</b> Fox
News, among others, repeatedly advanced the myth that someone in the Obama
administration ordered CIA and American military personnel to “stand down” thus
hindering their ability to save the Americans in the diplomatic mission in
Benghazi. The evidence clearly shows otherwise: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Report,
November 2014 (“Appropriate U.S. personnel made reasonable tactical decisions
that night, and the committee found no evidence that there was either a
stand-down order or a denial of available air support.")</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">House Republican Conference Progress Report, April 2013
("The progress report finds that officials at the Defense Department were
monitoring the situation throughout and kept the forces that were initially
deployed flowing into the region. No evidence has been provided to suggest
these officials refused to deploy resources.")</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">House Armed Services Committee Report, February 2014
("There was no 'stand down' order issued to U.S. military personnel in
Tripoli who sought to join the fight in Benghazi.")</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report, January 2014
(“There were no U.S. military resources in a position to intervene in short
order in Benghazi to help defend the Temporary Mission Facility and its Annex
on September 11 and 12, 2012. . . . The Committee has reviewed the allegations
that U.S. personnel, including in the [Intelligence Community] or [Department
of Defense], prevented the mounting of any military relief effort during the
attacks, but the Committee has not found any of these allegations to be
substantiated.”)</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, CIA operatives arrived on the scene in less than 30
minutes and rescue efforts helped save the lives of several personnel at the
compound that night. Even the Gowdy Report acknowledged that President Obama
and then Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta gave clear orders that night to
deploy all available military assets. Any military assets that failed to arrive
on the scene were due to military command decisions and logistical deployment
capabilities, not to administration orders. Whatever one thinks of the response
time of U.S. forces, the surviving Americans were evacuated from the consulate
facility and, along with the CIA Station Chief, flown to safety.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Did U.S. officials have intelligence that predicted the
attack and did they fail to share such information with personnel in Benghazi?</b> This
allegation has also been repeatedly proven false.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Report, January 2014
("There was no singular 'tactical warning' in the intelligence reporting
leading up to the events on September 11, 2012, predicting an attack on U.S.
facilities in Benghazi on the 9/11 anniversary.")</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">House Armed Services Committee Report, February 2014
("The majority members note the absence of an imminent threat in
Benghazi.... In Benghazi, U.S. forces were confronted with the
unexpected.")</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Was it known that Benghazi was a dangerous place with a lot
of risk? Of course. Did the administration have advanced warning of the attack
and then do nothing to prepare? No.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is true that nearly all the investigative reports have
been critical of the State Department's pre-attack planning and security. But in
this respect the congressional investigations only confirmed what the ARB had
found within three months of the attack. In response to the ARB report, the State
Department took responsibility for the security lapses and implemented
recommendations to improve security and reduce the chances that such an
attack would happen again. Why we needed eight more investigations to come to
this same conclusion is beyond me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAid40byPaMSzNYS_quTmZcADJNnawzztAKdjnU1Z44yUyYzFSgQROq3zJHShNthnKB9GyfF-fodgmgQcODvUalfxit2xWmJiyhuLoEbx0gdkBN9l0eoq37N86Gau_TTLSAdts3YpwPic/s1600/time-beirutbombing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAid40byPaMSzNYS_quTmZcADJNnawzztAKdjnU1Z44yUyYzFSgQROq3zJHShNthnKB9GyfF-fodgmgQcODvUalfxit2xWmJiyhuLoEbx0gdkBN9l0eoq37N86Gau_TTLSAdts3YpwPic/s320/time-beirutbombing.jpg" width="242" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Finally, it is worth comparing the congressional reaction to
Benghazi to the congressional response three decades before when a series of
far more tragic events occurred during the administration of Ronald Reagan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On October 23, 1983, a suicide bomber drove a truck laden
with explosives into a U.S. Marine compound, killing 241 American servicemen
(13 more later died of injuries). The Beirut bombing was the single deadliest
attack on U.S. Marines since the Battle of Iwo Jima. The suicide bomber easily
entered the compound because a vehicle gate was left wide open and the U.S.
military command had ordered the soldiers on guard to keep their weapons
unloaded. To make matters worse, the attack occurred only six months after
terrorists had bombed the U.S. embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people, including
seven CIA officers and ten other Americans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unlike today’s Benghazi-crazed Congress, the Democratic
controlled House of Representatives, led by Speaker Tip O’Neill, did not call
for President Reagan’s impeachment or accuse members of his administration of
nefarious conspiracies or wrongful actions. Instead, a bipartisan House
committee was convened to conduct an investigation into what went wrong at the
Marine barracks in Beirut. The investigation was completed in three months.
Although the final report found “very serious errors of judgment” by officers
on the ground and recommended better security measures against terrorism in
U.S. facilities all over the world, that was the end of the congressional
inquiries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the story did not end there. In March 1984, three months
after the congressional report was released, militants kidnapped, tortured, and
eventually murdered the CIA station chief in Beirut. And when, in September
1984, terrorists again bombed a U.S. government outpost in Beirut, President
Reagan acknowledged that the security precautions previously recommended by
Congress had not yet been implemented. “Anyone who’s ever had their kitchen
done over,” remarked President Reagan, “knows that it never gets done as soon
as you wish it would.” Now just imagine if President Obama or Secretary Clinton
had said something like that. Yeah, precisely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 1984, the Democratic Congress did not play politics with
tragic attacks on Americans in Lebanon. The Beirut bombings and the deaths of
254 Marines were not significant factors in the 1984 presidential elections,
and there were no allegations of grand conspiracies and cover-ups. There was no
Darrell Issa or Trey Gowdy falsely accusing the administration of stand down
orders and neglect of Americans abroad. There was one congressional
investigation, not eight. Official reactions to the far more tragic series of
Beirut bombings were qualitatively and quantitatively different than the
right-wing media and Republican response to Benghazi. In 1984, no one in
Congress would have even contemplated multiple investigations – the last one at
a cost of $7 million – convened because a small group of House Republicans were
frustrated that prior investigations failed to damage the presumptive Democratic
nominee for President. As noted by Jane Mayer of <i>The New Yorker</i> (“Ronald
Reagan’s Benghazi,” May 5, 2014), if one compares the Reagan administration’s
security lapses in Beirut to those in Benghazi, “it’s clear what has really
deteriorated in the intervening three decades. It’s not the security of
American government personnel working abroad. It’s the behavior of American
congressmen at home.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is long past time for the Benghazi-related witch hunts to
end.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-60402479085294381362016-06-29T07:51:00.000-04:002016-06-29T07:51:12.234-04:00Going it Alone: Trump, Brexit and the Dangers of Nationalism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pWQR8XieFuf4b3TxTSOypGPrD3jZLVLMFY_Aqgm_YFtGHkosRXSYDhOOyB_9AE_nrMesK-x5a2-FUJ3yBFRpSgWIXa4Md9JBPg9jEXue1Mj2L7-dqUgMlkMZhS-xC4eJze7cJTfbkZE/s1600/brexit-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pWQR8XieFuf4b3TxTSOypGPrD3jZLVLMFY_Aqgm_YFtGHkosRXSYDhOOyB_9AE_nrMesK-x5a2-FUJ3yBFRpSgWIXa4Md9JBPg9jEXue1Mj2L7-dqUgMlkMZhS-xC4eJze7cJTfbkZE/s320/brexit-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The policies pursued by the West have sometimes been flawed
and sometimes failed, but the system that linked America and Europe in a common
defense and common political cause ended the Cold War, reunited Germany, built
a new Europe and sought in one way or another to address every other major
threat. A crucial brick in that system is now in danger of being removed. – <u>New
York Times</u> editorial, June 25, 2016</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Admittedly, when I first heard the term “Brexit” a few weeks
ago, I thought it was the name of a new breakfast cereal. Not for a moment did
I believe that Britain would actually vote to leave the European Union. By a
vote of 52 to 48 percent, after a contentious campaign that exposed the divisions
in British society based on age, education, class levels, and geography,
Britain has sought to go it alone. The world today is less secure; shaken is
the foundation of our postwar alliance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The concept of European unity arose from the ashes of World War
II with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars that had plagued the
continent. Anyone with a respect for history understands that to support
European unity is to support peace and cooperation among neighbors. Inspired by
visionary leaders like Konrad Adenauer and Winston Churchill, what would become
the European Union underpins the postwar global order and is an anchor of
global democracy. Consisting of 28 (soon to be 27) member states and “founded
on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality,
the rule of law and respect for human rights” (Article 2, Treaty on
European Union), its policies aim to ensure the free movement of people,
goods, services, and capital. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It should come as no surprise that Donald Trump, having arrived
in Scotland to inspect his golf course, quickly declared that the UK’s decision
to leave the European Union was a “great thing”. Like his supporters in the
United States, Trump said, the voters in Britain were exercising their “sacred right”
to take back their country and their borders and choosing “to reject today’s rule
by the global elite.” Indeed, the impulses behind the vote for Brexit share
many parallels to Trump’s appeal with certain elements of American society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The “Leave” campaign exploited deep-seated resentment of the
European “elite” and made emotional appeals to British nationalism and a sense
of lost independence. But like much of Trump’s appeal in the United States, the
Brexit vote at its heart was about immigration and xenophobia. The Brexit vote was
a referendum not so much on Europe as on migration and fear of the Other. As
Jonathan Freedland has written in a recent issue of the <i>New York Review of
Books</i>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The argument was seductively simple. Membership of the EU
requires each state to accept the free movement of people between EU countries.
Therefore the only way to halt hundreds of thousands of EU citizens coming into
the UK was to get out of the EU. Only that way, in the words of Leave’s
powerful and defining slogan, could we “take back control.” There are
differences of course: the Leavers did not voice overtly a desire to keep out
Muslims, as Donald Trump does. But “take back control” was for Brexit what
“build a wall” is for Trump: a three-word promise that taps into a seething
geyser of anti-immigrant sentiment.</span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Proponents of the Leave campaign ignored appeals to facts
and evidence, including data showing that migrants positively contribute to the
British economy, adding far more in tax revenues than they receive in welfare
payments. Dismissed outright were rational, policy-based arguments for why Brexit
would result in economic instability and increased social and political
division. Indeed, when the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of
Economic Cooperation and Development, and Britain’s independent Institute of
Fiscal Studies each offered objective analyses of the likely economic and
political consequences of Brexit, they were ridiculed and accused of elitism.
“The people of this country have had enough of experts,” declared Michael Gove,
a leader of the Leave movement. As with journalists and the “establishment” at
a Trump rally, to be considered an “expert” became the ultimate insult. The
Leave movement was marked by lies and half-truths, including a campaign ad falsely
claiming that Britain sends £350 million a week to the European Union. “As with
Trump,” noted Freedland, “this disdain for the elite and for authority rode in
harness with a slippery approach to the truth.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are living in interesting, if perilous times. I worry for
the future of the United Kingdom, for European unity, and for the United
States. An anti-intellectualism fed by a disdain for experts, facts, knowledge,
history, and established institutions of government has been fueled by the simmering
anger of a mostly uneducated, bitter, and resentful strain of citizens who feel
that the forces of progress are stacked against them. This is something we have seen before: Ideologically and
politically motivated forces exploiting the fears of less educated, less
skilled workers who have been displaced by globalism and technology and fomenting resentment against immigrants, foreigners, the global elite, and those unseen
power brokers conspiring to make their lives miserable. What worries me, though, is the potential for a strong-willed
narcissist to stir and manipulate popular resentment, for this is how
demagogues rise to power and fascism rears its ugly head. As conservative
commentator Jennifer Rubin (with whom I rarely agree) noted in Sunday’s <i>Washington
Post</i>, “Coupled with a sense that their country – much like themselves – has
been disrespected and buffeted by ominous forces, the temptation is to indulge
in conspiracy theories, blame outsiders, and resort to political nihilism.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Britain’s shocking referendum proves that such feelings and
trends are not unique to the United States. Right-wing populist movements exist
throughout Europe – in France, the Netherlands, Austria and Finland – each
seeking to “take their country back” and restore order in a chaotic world. The
same wave of fear and resentment that Trump is riding in the United States –
promising to ban Muslims, to build a great wall and get Mexico to pay for it,
to deport 11 million illegal aliens, to “make America great again” – correlates
closely to the Leave movement’s appeals to fear of war-torn refugees and open
borders, and to xenophobia and racism. As foreign correspondent Trudy Rubin noted
in the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i>, “nearly every Leave voter I met believed that
Brexit would effectively wall off Britain from foreigners and would somehow
permit the country to renew its historic standing in the world.” Unfortunately,
this is precisely the opposite of what will happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Brexit vote immediately plunged the United Kingdom into
uncertain economic terrain. The value of the pound plummeted and Britain’s
international standing and body politic were shaken. Scotland, which voted overwhelmingly
to stay in the European Union, already has pledged another independence
referendum and placed the future of the UK itself up in the air. I don’t see
how any of this is good for Britain, for Europe, or the world economy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trump, of course, thinks all of this is fine. As does
Vladimir Putin, who has hoped for years that something would come along to
divide and destabilize Europe. Brexit is a gift to Putin, who is giddy over the
thought of European unity dissolving over national rivalries, infighting, and a
weakened international governing structure. As an article in the Sunday <i>Times</i> noted, Britain’s decision to leave the EU threatens to undermine “the
postwar consensus that alliances among nations are essential in maintaining
stability and in diluting the nationalism that once plunged Europe into bloody
conflict – even as nationalism is surging again.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 20th Century has seen what happens when a strong leader
takes advantage of popular fear and resentment and promises to “take back
control” from perceived enemies and outside forces. No one knows this better
than German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who commented after the Brexit vote: “The
idea of European unity is the idea of European peace . . . after centuries of
terrible bloodshed [this] is not to be taken for granted. In Europe we still
feel the effect of wars.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since World War II, the United States and Britain have led
the way in reducing the potential for international conflict. By promoting free
markets, supporting international governing structures, bolstering military
alliances, strengthening NATO, and funding international development and
financial organizations, we have together overseen seventy years of European peace
and prosperity. All of that is weakened by Britain’s exit from the European
Union and stands as a stark warning of the dark forces brooding in America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“There are lessons here aplenty for Americans contemplating
their own appointment with nationalist, nativist populism in November,” writes
Freedland. Complacent Democrats, cynical Bernie supporters contemplating
sitting this election out, and establishment Republicans still bruising from the
shock of Trump’s rise may believe there are not enough angry white voters who
feel left-behind to win an election. “But Brexit suggests that when that
constituency can be allied to a conservative cause that has millions of other,
more ideologically-motivated devotees, victory is possible. It suggests that
hostility to migrants, a cynical trampling on the truth, and a cavalier disdain
for expertise can work wonders, such is the loathing of anything that can be
associated with the ‘elite.’ And it suggests that even great nations, those
whose democratic arrangements were once regarded as a beacon to the world, are
capable of acts of grievous, enduring self-harm.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The right to vote is sacred and must be nourished and
respected. Once votes are cast and the results are tallied, you cannot later
claim that you did not truly understand the consequences. “It was already clear
before the Brexit vote that modern populist movements could take control of
political parties,” wrote former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the <i>New
York Times</i>. “What wasn’t clear was whether they could take over a country like
Britain. Now we know they can.” The challenges of globalization cannot be met
by building walls and closing off borders. With Donald Trump and the November
election on the horizon, let Brexit be a wake-up call to the United States.</span></div>
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Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-85039801078200726412016-05-28T12:11:00.000-04:002016-05-28T12:11:07.020-04:00Live Life with Joy and Passion: Some Graduation Advice for My Youngest Daughter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0FslVtOZEWgncwiQodpLNZyeosr98Dw9JVehAGnVYR2TyXqDaxsXoWfvvo_yL1a8gRdKD1Mow_Ot621vMoIvU3ZYhzoJ4AIEFBjUixAAOrARP0nS0bvqPy0xz_mF6MJNt9jXa5cTJzY/s1600/Hannah+at+Awards+Ceremony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0FslVtOZEWgncwiQodpLNZyeosr98Dw9JVehAGnVYR2TyXqDaxsXoWfvvo_yL1a8gRdKD1Mow_Ot621vMoIvU3ZYhzoJ4AIEFBjUixAAOrARP0nS0bvqPy0xz_mF6MJNt9jXa5cTJzY/s320/Hannah+at+Awards+Ceremony.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hannah at Senior Awards Ceremony, American University Honors Program</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This is the hard work of life in the world, to acknowledge
within yourself the introvert, the clown, the artist, the homebody, the
goofball, the thinker. Look inside. That way lies dancing to the melodies spun
out by your own heart. – Anna Quindlen</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dear Hannah:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four years come and go, swiftly, like the changing seasons.
When college ends, there is the sense that something significant is over, a
phase of life, something safe and protected. Graduation ceremonies help us
declare that another milestone has passed and something new is about to happen.
A life remains to be lived and experienced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this month, you graduated from college, joining
older sister Jen among the ranks of American University alumni. On a cool
Sunday afternoon in Washington, D.C., I sat in the bleachers of Bender Arena
and proudly watched you in a sea of blue cap-and-gowns as you received your
degree. Your smile that day warmed my heart. As your father, I know first-hand
just how hard you worked to get where you are today. And I could not help but
admire the beautiful and diverse collection of young men and women who
graduated alongside you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By traditional measurements, you (like your sister before
you) are on a path to a successful life. You did well in all of the areas needed
to build a good resume. You earned high grades and academic honors, gained
valuable internship experience, published a number of essays and poems, and
held student leadership positions. All of your hard work, the long hours in the
library and the late night study sessions were rewarded with distinctions of
high praise, with <i>summa cum laude</i> and Phi Beta Kappa. For these honors, you
should be immensely proud, for you earned them through individual effort and
achievement. But unfortunately, while these distinctions signify academic
success in college, they will not guarantee a life filled with joy and passion.
Now you must engage the world outside of academia and begin to develop a life
of your own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the morning of your graduation, I gave you two small
books by Anna Quindlen, a writer and former columnist for <i>The New York Times</i> whom
I admire for her wit and wisdom about everyday life. Both books originated from
commencement addresses Quindlen has given over the years, and each contains a
wealth of good advice that I hope you take to heart and occasionally come back
to when you feel adrift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is
giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself,”
suggests Quindlen in <i>Being Perfect</i>. Like many young women in today’s world, you
tend to internalize the many and varied societal pressures to perform at levels
of perfection that are not sustainable or possible. Trying always to be perfect
is counter-productive. We learn from our mistakes, not our successes. Besides,
as Quindlen notes in <i>A Short Guide to a Happy Life</i>, “It’s so much easier to
write a resume than to craft a spirit.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I graduated college in 1981, I also claimed good grades
and academic honors (which you easily exceeded). But as I quickly discovered,
once I landed my first job, no one really cared how well I did in school. Later
in law school and in every job since then, I learned that there will always be people
who are smarter, more talented, and more driven than me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Quindlen notes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>When you leave college, there are thousands of people out
there with the same degree you have; when you get a job, there will be
thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you are the
only person alive who has sole custody of your life.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American society has a remarkable ability to resist change. Since
the Industrial Revolution, many Americans have preached the Gospel of Success
and bought into the belief that success equals money, wealth, fame, power, and
prestige. Our educational system does little to resist these conventional parameters.
Colleges and universities market success by touting their famous alumni and most
generous donors. Donald Trump has built his entire presidential campaign on a
series of inflated half-truths, boasting of how “successful” he is and defining
success by how much money he has made and how famous he has become. And yet, if
the Donald drops dead tomorrow, the world will remember him only for his
boastfulness, not for any meaningful achievements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Donald Trump’s version of success – the egotistical,
narcissistic version that our celebrity and sports-obsessed culture embraces –
is morally and spiritually bankrupt. Americans love successful people, as long
as they are winning (in sports), young and good looking (in television and
entertainment), and ostentatiously wealthy (in business). We know that not
everyone can be a super-rich celebrity, but we nevertheless connect success to
having a high-paying job, knowing the “right” people, living in the “best”
neighborhoods, meeting and marrying a “successful” life partner, raising smart and
“successful” children, and advancing the legacy of one’s good family name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Except for a rare few, real life does not actually work this
way. If you dig beneath the surface of most lives – even conventionally
successful ones – you will find deep-seated insecurities, personal failings, rejected
job offers, family struggles. Life is messy and complicated. Most of us are
learning as we go. Everyone, even those who appear on the outside as if they
have “made it,” stumble and fall many times. Whatever success they have
achieved has been due to their willingness to pick themselves up and try again.
Luck plays a much greater role in our lives than many of us care to
acknowledge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As young women, you and Jen will continue to face challenges
and obstacles with which I never had to contend. The world is a far different
place than when I graduated from college 35 years ago. Women then were only
beginning to make strides for equality in law, medicine, business, and
academia. Today, there are many women doctors and lawyers, CEOs, television anchors,
clergy, Senators and presidential candidates. Due to the pioneering spirit of
earlier generations of women, Jen and you can advance further and pursue your
interests and dreams in ways almost unheard of a half-century ago. At the same
time, you should not underestimate how much antagonism there remains against
women and how many people would like to “make America great again” by returning
to the “good old days” when women (and African Americans) were second class
citizens. Our advertisements, our movies, our television shows, even a certain
presidential candidate, continue to objectify women and value them only by how
they look in a bathing suit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As your father, I want you and Jen to be happy, healthy, and
engaged with the world. I want you both to be comfortable with who you are.
Understand that you are loved by many people and admired by those who count.
You are smart, generous, and kind. Don’t ever diminish those qualities. Always
work to improve yourself and enlarge your capacity for compassion. Develop dreams,
but don’t be trapped by them. Life is not something that starts when you are
older, after you have achieved more milestones. This is life. Embrace it,
welcome it, accept it, and build on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember that success in life is not tied to how much money
you make or your status in the social hierarchy. True success is how much love
and compassion you are able to spread in this world, whether you have
transformed the lives of the people around you and the community in which you
live and work. As Anna Quindlen suggests, “If your success is not on your own
terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it
is not success at all.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As much as we try, it is not easy to find one’s direction in
life; a sense of purpose that gives meaning and fulfillment to our everyday
existence. But as the writer Omid Safi recently told the graduating class of
Colgate University: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Know your heart well enough to know what recharges you. It
is going to be different for every single one of us, and it is going to be
different for each of us at each point in our lives. For some of us it may be
prayer, meditation, music, yoga, a really good book, walking in the woods, a
wonderful conversation with a beloved friend, sitting down with your family,
silence, a great poem . . . if that is what nurtures your soul, learn it. Make
it a habit. Make time for it. And if you find that you are running on fumes,
recharge yourself.</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Your education is a dress rehearsal for the life you choose
to lead,” said the late Nora Ephron at a Wellesley College commencement address
several years ago. “Be the heroine of your own life, not the victim.” Life is
messy, but you should embrace the mess. The future will be complicated and
unpredictable. But you always have the power to move your life in another
direction. The things that are most important to you today may be less
important in ten or twenty years. Don’t be afraid to shift course. As Anna
Quindlen advises, “Think of life as a terminal illness, because, if you do, you
will live it with joy and passion, as it ought to be lived.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of all, be true to yourself. The best years of your
life are ahead of you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-11360450693626847332016-05-01T09:00:00.000-04:002016-05-01T15:21:14.756-04:00Growing, Learning, Thinking: The Value of Religious Pluralism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9MLCFyVyUpMykbW0P8g5SgUnOkYfbOVteAhXDIJGmBrtkR3nQUqT4ELk9f9zSOthuxkOaCngnbWCcq0beKKBYQYguafx-t9oP2R4mSGw2H1U1lWjxCXuIhYVhRgyXfWr_0XswL5JzpM/s1600/Co-existence5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9MLCFyVyUpMykbW0P8g5SgUnOkYfbOVteAhXDIJGmBrtkR3nQUqT4ELk9f9zSOthuxkOaCngnbWCcq0beKKBYQYguafx-t9oP2R4mSGw2H1U1lWjxCXuIhYVhRgyXfWr_0XswL5JzpM/s320/Co-existence5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I suggest that the most significant basis for meeting men of
different religious traditions is the level of fear and trembling, of humility,
of contrition, where our individual moments of faith are mere waves in the
endless ocean of mankind’s reaching out for God . . . – Abraham Joshua Heschel</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In <i>The Book of Lights</i>, Chaim Potok writes about a Jewish army
chaplain in Korea and Japan in the 1950s who confronts challenging questions
about the meaning of his faith. In one scene, the chaplain and a Jewish soldier
watch an old Japanese man praying at a Shinto shrine. “Do you think our God is
listening to him?” the rabbi asks his companion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“I don’t know . . . I never thought of it,” replies the
soldier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“Neither did I until now,” says the rabbi. “If [God]’s not
listening, why not? If [God] is listening, then-well, what are we all about?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rabbi’s questions are profoundly important ones for
people of every faith. Does God listen only to the prayers of one particular
faith? Do we all worship different Gods or the same God in different ways? What
kind of God would refuse to listen to the prayers of this Buddhist man? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“If prayer is a human response to God,” asks Lutheran
theologian J. Paul Rajashekar in <i><a href="http://www.lutheranupress.org/Books/Engaging_Others_Knowing_Ourselves" target="_blank">Engaging Others Knowing Ourselves: A Lutheran Calling in a Multi-Religious World</a></i> (Lutheran University Press, 2016), “then
aren’t all prayers offered by people irrespective of their faith convictions
legitimate responses to God? Are their responses to God whether in prayer or in
their articulation of religious beliefs any less legitimate than our own?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite two centuries of Christian mission and evangelization,
nearly two-thirds of the world’s population continues to adhere to other
beliefs or no belief. Christians are taught to believe that Christ died for <i>all</i>
people, and yet, some Christians continue to struggle with whether God is
accessible to those who choose a different path. Does God hear only the prayers
of those who accept Jesus as savior? Christians often talk of reaching the
unreached. But unreached by whom? Do we assume God is absent in the lives of
others?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In December 2015, Lacrycia Hawkins, a political science
professor at Wheaton College in Illinois, posted a photo of herself on Facebook
wearing a hijab, or traditional Muslim head scarf. “I stand in religious
solidarity with Muslims,” she wrote, “because they, like me, a Christian, are
people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same
God.” Although a seemingly innocuous statement – after all, Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam each espouse monotheism and trace their common lineage
to Abraham – Hawkins was immediately suspended from her tenured professorship and
later terminated by confidential agreement. According to a Wheaton College
press release on December 16, 2015, the professor’s “expressed views, including
that Muslims and Christians worship the same God,” conflicted with the
college’s Statement of Faith because Muslims do not accept God’s revelation in
Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Wheaton College controversy reflects a long history of
Christian hostility toward other religions. That there exist competing belief
systems is disturbing to some. But the more we learn of other religions, and
the more we engage with and understand people of other faith traditions, the
harder it becomes to justify claims of absolute truth. Pluralism implicitly
questions the legitimacy of religious claims that there exists only one true
way to achieve salvation or enlightenment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many religious people are threatened by theological and
doctrinal differences and view other faith traditions as in opposition to one’s
own faith. This insecurity results in an inward focus that shies away from
difficult questions and ambiguous answers. However well we think we know our
own religious traditions, we are often wrong in what we assume about others. Religious
illiteracy breeds misunderstanding and a tendency to notice only the bad traits
of other religions – acts of religiously-inspired terrorism, for example – and the
good points of one’s own faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Contrary to what the administrators of Wheaton College may
think, it violates our monotheistic concept to think there is a Muslim God, a
Jewish God, and a Christian God. As Professor Hawkins understood, to accept
that God hears the prayers of all people regardless of one’s religious
tradition is not to suggest that theological differences are meaningless or
insignificant. But differences do not necessarily imply right or wrong. The
goal of religious pluralism is mutual understanding, not conversion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have suggested in past writings that one’s religious
affiliation is mostly determined in the first instance by the happenstance of
birth. We typically adopt the religion of our parents. In light of this, how do
some confidently claim exclusive possession of God’s truth? Most often, claims
of exclusivity are based on Scripture, such as the Christian Gospel John at
14:6 (“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.”). Theologians have long debated the contextual meaning of
this and similar passages and there is good reason to think the text is less
clear than most Bible-quoting Christians acknowledge. Of course, other faiths
make their own claims of absolute truth based on their holy books. Because we
live not only in a multi-religious society, we also live in a multi-scriptural
society. There is not one scripture, but many. How does one properly navigate
conflicting claims of scripture? Is one Holy Book necessarily more
authoritative than another? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I recently attended a course on religious pluralism at the
Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia. During one class, we watched a
film entitled, <i><a href="https://www.aptonline.org/catalog.nsf/vLinkTitle/ASIAN+AND+ABRAHAMIC+RELIGIONS+THE+A+DIVINE+ENCOUNTER+IN+AMERICA" target="_blank">The Asian and Abrahamic Religions: A Divine Encounter in America</a></i>, which explores
the surprising similarities among the Asian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism,
Jainism, and Sikhism) and the Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam). The film contains scenes of prayer, of worship, of wedding celebrations
and funerals in places of worship across the country – in churches, synagogues,
mosques, Buddhist and Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras, and many others. In
watching the film, it occurred to me that the various religions are simply different
human interpretations and manifestations of the divine. Although each faith has
adopted different symbols and styles of worship, different words to describe God
or the search for enlightenment, all provide a communal experience, a sense of
order, an attempt to more deeply understand the world and find meaning in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As noted by our professor, J. Paul Rajashekar, a Lutheran
theologian originally from India, the specific faith claims of different
religions are often based on cultural, linguistic, and social distinctions. Christians
often speak in terms of salvation, but this is specifically a Christian term
and there is no singular understanding of what salvation means in the Bible. Other
faiths use terms such as enlightenment, atonement, harmony and rebirth. Hindus
seek spiritual oneness. Sikhs speak of moving from darkness to light. Buddhists
strive for wholeness and <i>nirvana</i>. Each religion offers a view of life and a guide
to living. In reality, it matters less what one believes, than how one’s faith is
practiced in relation to others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If we allow ourselves to grow and be challenged, there is
much to learn from persons of other faiths. To engage in dialogue, to listen
and understand what others believe, is to acknowledge our shared humanity.
Pluralism invites dialogue and engagement with others. To take seriously the
faith of others allows us to explore the richness of our own faith. To ignore
or refuse to learn about other faiths is to deprive us of the opportunity to
grow, think, and learn. Is this what God desires?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometimes we confuse faith with ideology. Pluralism
challenges all claims to absoluteness and exclusive truth. It is perhaps why
exposure to pluralism, to multi-religious societies, breeds fundamentalism –
particularly Christian and Islamic fundamentalism. Indeed, Christian
fundamentalism is a 20th Century American phenomenon that coincided with
increasing religious diversity in American society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Christian fundamentalists and some conservative evangelical
Christians love to cite the Bible in support of their beliefs. But what many
refuse to acknowledge is that our understanding of scripture is influenced by
2,000 years of history and how it has been interpreted. The Bible has been
translated in nearly 2,500 languages and there are over 900 different English
translations of the Bible. Each version contains linguistic differences that deviate
further from the original sources. Similarly, religious creeds and doctrines
are merely human attempts to comprehend a mystery that transcends human understanding.
In the words of Professor Rajashekar, “Some theological questions will always
remain unanswered on this side of humanity.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Perhaps all we can do is search for God’s
presence, in whatever form, whatever language, in light of our human
predicament. To engage in inter-religious dialogue requires courage and a
commitment to more deeply understand our own faith. It requires a willingness
to listen to what others believe and profess. Doing so may allow us to better
understand who we are and what we believe. As the late Rabbi Heschel advised,
“The world is too small for anything but mutual care and deep respect; the
world is too great for anything but responsibility for one another.”</span></span><!--EndFragment-->
</div>
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Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114849513980773570.post-79183863010566014112016-04-09T12:35:00.000-04:002016-04-09T12:35:34.665-04:00Why Time Begins on Opening Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Born to an age where horror has become commonplace . . . we
need to fence off a few parks where humans try to be fair, when skill has some
hope of reward, where absurdity has a harder time than usual getting a ticket.
– Thomas Boswell, <u>Why Time Begins on Opening Day</u> (Penguin Books, 1984)</i></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The annual rite of spring has arrived, winter’s frost having
given way to the April sun. After four months of darkness, a new baseball season
is upon us, marked these first two weeks with opening day ceremonies in big
league parks across North America. All 30 major league teams have ascended from
Florida and Arizona after preparing for another long season. Six weeks of wind
sprints and fielding drills, of shagging flies and picking grounders, of
hitters dropping down bunts and slicing balls to the opposite field. Baseball
players at work, perfecting their trade; hitters working on timing, outfielders
on hitting the cut-off man, pitchers on commanding their fastballs; middle
infielders perfecting their footwork, pivoting and slide-stepping the bag to
turn a double play, catchers blocking pitches in the dirt, first basemen
scooping errant throws. The field work of spring ball finally completed, it is
time for the season to start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although the Cardinals won a major-league-leading 100 games
last season, I feel uneasy about this team. It could be me, but they look flat
and uninspired as season play begins (losing the first three games to the
Pirates did nothing to alleviate my concerns). Injuries have already claimed
their starting shortstop and an assortment of other players. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet . . . I hope. It is why the start of a new season is
like opening a new book, the pages promising an intriguing story with a happy
ending. On good days, I see what could be the best starting rotation in
baseball, anchored by the crafty veterans Wainwright and Leake, the
hard-throwing youngsters Wacha and Martinez, and the soft-tossing southpaw
Garcia. And I see a lineup filled with the bright lights of Piscotty and
Grichuk in the outfield, Wong and Carpenter in the infield, and I hope some
more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most fans at this time of year are filled with hope,
ignoring the gloomy predictions of the baseball prognosticators on ESPN and MLB
TV. Like shifting trade winds on the high seas, much can happen over the
marathon of a baseball season that alters the course of a pennant race.
Injuries and luck – bad and good (though mostly bad) – are part of the game.
How a team resolves adversity is the best predictor of how well its season
ends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In <i>Why Time Begins on Opening Day</i>, Thomas Boswell writes
that baseball is “merely one of our many refuges within the real where we try
to create a sense of order on our own terms.” Baseball offers us continuity and
new beginnings, symmetry and timelessness. The ballpark itself is “living
theater and physical poetry.” It possesses a pastoral beauty rooted in American
history, memory, grass and dirt, wind and sun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the baseball fan, opening day is the start of a new
year. Our calendar begins in April and ends in October. For me personally, the
next seven months demands that all social plans be cleared through the
Cardinals’ schedule. <i>Tickets to the play on Sunday afternoon?</i> Uh, I’m afraid
not, the Cards have a day game against the Cubs. <i>Saturday night at the movies?</i>
I don’t think so – but if we see an afternoon show, we can have dinner and make
it back for the 8:15 start. I know, don’t say it. But that’s how it would go in
a perfect world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever Andrea complains about my obsessive baseball
watching, I remind her of when I binge-watched re-runs of <i>The Sopranos</i> through
the winter of 2015. More recently, it was five full seasons of <i>Breaking Bad</i>.
She quickly relents. When confronted with the alternative of murder, blood,
vile crime, and petty corruption, the sweet innocence of our national pastime
looks pretty good. Andrea now sighs in relief when the Cardinals come on the
tube. She freely acknowledges the subtle beauty and elegance of the sport. And
she appreciates, though she remains somewhat perplexed, by my life-long loyalty
to the Cardinals. It is a loyalty grounded in childhood, in years of box scores
and baseball cards, Strat-O-Matic games and the imagination of a ten-year-old
boy throwing a ball against a pitching net in his back yard. It is why, as
Boswell suggests, my “affection for the game has held steady for decades, maybe
even grown with age.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins
again,” wrote the late A. Bartlett Giamatti before he became Commissioner of
Major League Baseball, when he was still President of Yale University. It is a
common theme in baseball literature, this linking of baseball to time, to
history, to seasons past and present. The game “blossoms in the summer, filling
the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops
and leaves you to face the fall alone.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like Giamatti, I rely on the games “to buffer the passage of
time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive,” and through its transparent
simplicity, “to set the order of the day and to organize the daylight.” In
quiet moments of reflection, I understand it is possible that I put too much
emphasis on baseball’s importance in my life. To this day, when the Cardinals
lose, I sometimes enter the darker, brooding, depressed impulses of my soul.
But I understand how difficult the game is, and I feel for players in a slump.
Although I often dreamed of playing professional baseball, deep down I always
knew I lacked the mental toughness and skill required to succeed at higher
levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I attend games in person, whether at the grand
cathedrals of major league baseball or at the local high school fields and
parks near my home, I love to watch the action between innings, when the
pitcher takes his warm-up throws, the first baseman lofts ground balls to the
infielders, and the outfielders play a relaxed game of catch from 200 feet
apart. The graceful rhythms of the ballplayers create a symphony of movement,
baseballs flowing in multiple directions, all with a sense of linear purpose.
At these moments, the game encompasses my imagination, allows me to remember
the feelings and love I had for the game as a player, and reminds me of the
dreams I held onto until reality and life set me straight. It is then I
realize, as did Giamatti in his brilliant essay on baseball, that some<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>. . . were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts.
These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or
without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a
simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think
something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a
game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amen. Opening day has arrived. Let the season begin.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mark J. Ehlershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410705618925284448noreply@blogger.com2