Fragment -- #71

[19 October 2008]
My wife, youngest daughter, and I were privileged to be among the 100,000+ who gathered yesterday at the St. Louis arch as a demonstration of Obama's integrating vision. I have included a Wall Street Journal photograph from that memorable experience, to which I have inserted an arrow to point to our approximate location. I have also included a few photographs I took from amidst the crowd. Obama would be an even stronger candidate/president with a few more years’ experience, but I cannot imagine he could have a more credible/seasoned community of counselors/advisors. I sadly admit the past twenty years have demonstrated that my generation – the Vietnam War generation – is too torn/scared by that war/era to produce leaders capable of drawing together a commanding majority or of stimulating a working consensus.


[25 October 2008]
It is very energizing to now be living in a swing state and in a city/neighborhood that is so decidedly supportive of the new directions represented by the Obama/Biden ticket. Soon after moving into our St. Louis home in late August, Barbara and I placed a campaign poster in our front yard. Barbara has been volunteering at a nearby Obama campaign office. Here are a few examples (in no particular order) of numerous reflections/concerns this election and the larger national/global context –

1. Critically thoughtful and politically responsible Congressional Republicans – they seem to be disappearing as the Republican Party increasingly has during this campaign season identified with the social/religious ‘far right’. Where are Senators Hagel, Snow, Collins, et al? Where and with whom will they stand now?
2. I am ‘liberal’ in the classic sense of championing freedom of critical thought and responsible action. And I am ‘liberal’ in being aligned with so many changes that are now rooted in our society due to the tireless/courageous efforts of ‘liberals’ in the past – e.g., the abolition of slavery, the abolition of abusive child labor, the liberty of women to vote, desegregation, civil and human rights for minorities, reproductive freedom/choice for women, environmental protections, . . . . Without ‘liberals’ none of these battles would have been won.
3. Restudying the text and the origins of the Constitution over the past several months has deepened my criticism of and opposition to a ‘strict constructionist’ approach to the Constitution.
4. I checked the etymology/meaning of ‘maverick’ which turns out to be an ‘Old West’ term coined when a Texas cattle rancher Samuel Maverick (d. 1870) persisted in refusing to brand his calves. Thus the metaphorical image of a ‘maverick’ as unclassified, independent, nonconformist, dissenting. Erratic, illogical, inconsistent – i.e., the way the McCain/Palin campaign have looked to me -- have nothing to do with the ‘maverick’ metaphor.
5. I definitely agree changes are needed at the national level. I find it very odd that McCain and – even more blatantly – Palin have undermined every incumbent Republican Representative and Senator as they have attempted to dissociate from and criticize the Bush/Cheney administration. I watched in vain for McCain or Palin to specify the changes they would pursue if in office – more executive secrecy? more power to the executive branch (including VP)? more Guantanamo Bays? more torture of prisoners? more surveillance? more tax cuts? new preemptive invasions? more deregulation? larger national debt? more manipulation of scientific data? more ‘fundamentalism’ in the White House? . . . ? If not, then what? Confronting/reducing greed would be helpful (if attainable), but hardly sufficient.
6. My deepest objection to ‘fundamentalism’ is to ‘fundamentalism’ as a mindset – whether expressed religiously, socially, or politically. When truth ceases to be sought (even after years of searching) and honesty ceases to be valued, a fundamentalist mindset begins.

[30 October 2008]
Re the United States presidential election -- I continue to be hopeful and cautiously confident that Barack Obama will be elected next Tuesday. My wife and I are very active supporters. Our youngest daughter -- 19 years old -- is having her political awakening at this very important time. I am pleased the Obama campaign has conducted a very honorable and impressively sophisticated campaign. The McCain campaign has instead opted for the very dark path taken by the past two Bush campaigns, seeking to capitalize on fear and prejudices. The reality I find disheartening and embarrassing is that 30-35% of the United States voting public lives and thinks in a very anti-modern/anti-scientific worldview. Add another 10% of the United States voting public that is uncertain and inexperienced in finding an alternative worldview and the cultural divide in the United States becomes evident. A massive landslide is needed as a statement to the 30-35% + 10% in our society that we are closing the proverbial book on being defined, constrained, or intimidated by a fundamentalist mindset/worldview that is antithetical to democracy, individual freedom/accountability, respect, science, . . . . I have experienced the struggle and sacrifice required to escape from this black hole. A fundamentalist mindset/worldview only has capacity for controlling all or retreating with no control. Having committed for more than 30 years to grasping for full control, the fundamentalist mindset/worldview to which McCain sold his soul in his attempt to win the presidency will not retreat without a desperate last gasp. A massive landslide will be a crucial step forward.

[5 November 2008]
It is truly a ‘new day’! Barack Obama’s decisive margins of victory -- popular vote and electoral college vote -- are similar to Bill Clinton’s margins of victory (in stark contrast to the razor-thin differences in 2000 and 2004). I sense the potential in Obama’s election in the enthusiasm and renewed joy/hope that has risen as a steady crescendo among a marvelously diverse majority of the United States voting public over the past several months. I certainly shared with many others a deep sigh of relief when Obama’s election was confirmed with results that could not be contested in court by the cadre of lawyers the McCain campaign had assembled. I view this election as the first of many necessary steps toward the United States accepting accountability for and working to repair the profound damage inflicted by the Bush/Cheney/et al administration on our country, on the international community, and on the natural environment we all share. I am thinking of this election as analogous to a very difficulty pregnancy. Now the parenting of these freshly born ideas and encompassing vision begins!