We can always overcome.
JACK
For some time now, I have been mulling over the impact of news and events flooding us on a daily basis. What seems to emerge in public discussion is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding, and in some cases, a complete lapse of logic. I was triggered by the demonstrations on April 15 around the country protesting our enormous taxation, and the administration's tendency to spend much more than is taken in.
I'm trying to be non-partisan, but I cannot put my arms around the idea that Mr. Obama is responsible for all the problems that we have, and the fact that he is called everything from a "communist" to a "fascist dictator". Perhaps I've been asleep, but haven't the same protestors been in power for eight years and would have to take responsibility for the unbelievable mess in which we found the economy in general, and the plight of individuals in particular? The same group of ultra-conservatives took over the largest surplus in history and in eight short years has converted it into the largest deficit. At the same time, they cannot by any logic claim to have improved our position in the world.
HILLARY
What I find even more disturbing is that the protestors don't really know why they are out there on the street. They are holding pictures of our president dressed in a Nazi uniform, with a Hitler mustache, calling him a fascist. Yet, when they are asked why they believe this and they answer, "because he is one". People are angry, and rightly so, but vitriol for its own sake solves nothing. It doesn't trouble me to have opposition. It doesn't even really bother me when the politicians who have been running the show for the past eight years come out and claim that the sky is falling and it's President Obama's fault. That's politics as usual in the United States. What I find so troubling is the lack of intellectual rigor — a clear alternative plan from the minority, or the people expressing frustration on the street having something specific to say, or demand. The generalized angry that is being fomented in our country is an unfocused powder keg, and the opposition leaders are stirring the pot.
JACK
In reality crowds and demonstrations are stirred by emotion, and in many cases there is very little logic.
HILLARY
I have to jump in right there. I went to protests, and political rallies over the past eight years. And while there were images of President Bush that some could call offensive, there was also a laundry list of complaints, evidence, concise arguments for alternative action. I don't think that ALL crowds and demonstrations show little logic, but the ones we're seen lately certainly are lacking.
JACK
I made no statement on the logic or the truth behind the demonstrations; either those that you think were good or those that you think were bad. I merely say that it takes emotion to get you out into the street. Let's take a look at the simple facts of the recent "Tea Party". The prototype was during the American Revolution when the colonists dumped tea into the harbor in Boston to protest oppressive taxation without representation. I think that we can agree that there was logic, truth and sense, but it also only happened because the colonists were emotional about the issue. This Tea Party of 2009 is punctured with so many misstatements that, in many cases, it became laughable. First of all, whatever taxes we have paid have been levied, and were done so by our own representatives who were elected by a vast majority. Fox News provided the fuel, with a continuous barrage of resentment.
HILLARY
It wasn't just that. They organized these events weeks in advance. Over the last 8 years, it's not as if MSNBC was saying "meet us here" for anti-war protest, and those demonstrations were lucky to get 5 minutes coverage anywhere. What Fox News did was "create" news instead of cover it.
JACK
And there was a vast segment of the population who was aware of this and greatly destroyed the impact when people recognized how little fact and substance was behind the movement. You cannot compare it to the anti-war protests, which carried with it the element of truth. In fact, we were involved in a war for which the public had lost its enthusiasm, if it ever had any. But I don't want to digress from my main points. How do we as individuals digest all of the truths, half-truths, and non-truths, and how do we react positively.
First of all, I refuse to have any illogical debates that really have little or no bearing on our lives. I accept the fact the present Congress and the administration are our duly elected representatives. One of the beauties of American democracy is the right to demonstrate and repeat any outrageous statements that we ourselves believe.
The point is we each have an area of influence. It usually involves our personal beings and a number of people with whom we are closely associated. I realize that we cannot change all the facts as stated above; I am stating that we have complete control over how we react. There is no doubt, for example, that the ranks of the unemployed are growing at an alarming rate. In addition to what the government does, I think it is incumbent on each individual to do whatever is possible to help his own particular situation. It does little good to hold your head in your hands and commiserate with others suffering the same plight. I founded a company 56 years ago, and I think its survival and prosperity came be attributed to our ability to deal with the real facts. Like almost everybody else we have been hit by the recession, and have suffered a loss in revenues because some of our clients were the very people being held responsible for our predicament. We now have to pursue other avenues of business that are in our capability. Where our major clients in the past have been banks, real estate people, and insurance companies, we are now unearthing an entire new world in the "Green" economy, and in the various businesses that are being spurred by the need for renewable energy and repairs to our infrastructure. We must replace oil as our major source of energy, and suddenly I am finding new clients who are operating wind turbines, and are providing healthcare. Our efforts are spurred by continuing education from the company, and a huge cooperative effort among our employees.
I have on an informal basis consulted with other people and businesses that have suffered, and now must take a good intelligent look at today's world and gear up to service it. I am encouraged by an article that I saw by a group of autoworkers in Michigan who signed up for courses in nursing, a field in which there is huge demands. The old adage still works "find the need and fill it". However, we must be aware of the fact that the need continually changes, and we must change with it.
HILLARY
I think that there is a universal message in here. When dealt a blow, whether it's a pink slip or a bad diagnosis, or the end of a relationship, there is window for a positive or a negative reaction. If you choose to bury your head in your hands, or get drunk or angry, then you will miss the opportunities that a positive reaction brings.
JACK
I would like to add one word of caution. The opportunity does not jump up and hit you in the face. We must all develop the discipline that enables us to separate, analyze, study, then hurdle these obstacles and come out on the other side.
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For 8 years, I heard liberals bash Bush with no political discourse. I didn't see any discussion in your blog about the hanging of Sarah Palin in your state – - of course, that was Halloween. Liberals have crossed the line many times with permission. Jeanne Garfolo calling all the people who went to the tea parties as racist rednecks, the MSN tea bagging jokes. Don't pretend that as a liberal you've taken the high road. Obviously you didn't get any information on the tea parties. People were just as mad at President Bush as President Obama. As for our representatives following the wishes of the people, why when 80 percent of the people didn't want the bail out, it happened. Doesn't sound like representation to me. Also, Mr. Nadel, would you sign a contract without reading it? That's what our representatives did. So why do you think they are acting in our best interests? But since Nancy Peloski doesn't remember the water boarding meetings, I guess voting on bills without reading them is normal in California
J. Smith 04/27/09 @ 5:36 pmTo J. Smith,
Thanks for your comments. It is very enlightening to get the opinion from the other side.
My problem is that I do not consider ourselves to be on 2 sides and I believe that we are all motivated by our love of country and pride of being Americans.
When I refer to the majority I do not mean, by any stretch of the
imagination, that we need to take a poll for the Congress to act in each case by the immediate reaction. Our representatives are elected by the majority of the citizens. Hopefully, we choose them for their intelligence and their ability to reflect the will of the people on how they vote. It is their job to study and understand which they are better equipped to do than by trying to run our system with polls, and opinions by talk show hosts.
I agree with you that these representatives should read all the material and put the right amount of time into study and analyzing each issue.
As a card carrying capitalist, I certainly would not hire anybody who did not read before signing off. I also concur that many parts of the bailout are not in agreement with my own sense of business. My point is that we have to give the present administration time to prove itself. We had 8 years under Bush/Cheney and I do not have to elaborate on the many predicaments in which we now find ourselves.
There is no villain and no right or wrong, but as a practical businessman, we must judge by the results.
Jack Nadel
Jack Nadel 04/28/09 @ 12:44 pmI think you were too kind to Mr. Smith's position. He obviously sees things in terms of ideology and not practicality. Palin deserves to be ridiculed as she was not qualified to be the leader of this country. It was an insult to our country that McCain selected her as his running mate. It is an insult to our country that a major political party chooses to oppose all reasonable attempts to restore our economy and image in the world and seeks to punish those of its members who supported the President in these efforts. It is an insult to our country for the opposition minority party to propose a budget without any numbers in it. They deserve to be ridiculed for their blind devotion to outdated and rejected ideologies. And finally, it is pure political theatre and posturing to constantly attack the only sensible proposals that have been made by the current administration by stirring up fears of increased taxation when the administration has argued cogently rom the beginning that taxes will be reduced for 95% of all taxpayers. Yes there is a risk of inflation and higher deficits but these have been admitted and publically announced and plans to deal with them have been offered. The minority party has every right to raise these issues but surely some of them must agree with the administration proposals and yet are cowed into opposing them for pure political purposes. Let's ask Mr. Smith and his cohorts what he proposes to do to right the economy and create new jobs. So far all I have heard is the argument that taxes should remain lower on high income people as though that was the magic move that would make the world better. No substantive proposals have come from the minority party. They have failed to honor their obligations in a democratic society. They should put up or shut up.
David Braun 04/30/09 @ 9:39 pmIt's called projection:
–He obviously sees things in terms of ideology and not practicality.
Obama is the first hardcore leftist ideologue this country has ever had as president.
–Palin deserves to be ridiculed as she was not qualified to be the leader of this country.
If that is the case, then Obama was even less qualified, which he has already proven in abundance
–It was an insult to our country that McCain selected her as his running mate.
Joe Biden?
–It is an insult to our country that a major political party chooses to oppose all reasonable attempts to restore our economy and image in the world and seeks to punish those of its members who supported the President in these efforts.
It is an insult to the country that a president hides behind discredited Keynesian economic theories to engage in the largest transfer of wealth from the politically unconnected to the politically well-connected in the country's history.
–It is an insult to our country for the opposition minority party to propose a budget without any numbers in it.
It is an insult to the country for a president to propose a budget that gives us more debt than all previous presidents combined, and which will never be paid off (bear in mind that we're still paying for the American Revolution, since the debt has never been zero, and you get the picture of what Obama's spending will do to future generations).
–They deserve to be ridiculed for their blind devotion to outdated and rejected ideologies.
Obama-Reid-Pelsoi deserve to be ridiculed for their blind devotion to outdated and rejected neo-Marxist ideologies.
–And finally, it is pure political theatre and posturing to constantly attack the only sensible proposals that have been made by the current administration by stirring up fears of increased taxation when the administration has argued cogently rom the beginning that taxes will be reduced for 95% of all taxpayers.
–Only 50% of people pay taxes, so this is a brazen lie. They are simply being given money taken from others as a payoff for voting Democrat. And to say that the only solution to this recession is to spend ourselves into oblivion is pure hooey. Indeed, just the other day, Obama said that we're already coming out of the recession, and not a cent of his budget has even had any effect yet! And yet, we'll all be stuck with the bill, not to mention the inflation and tax hikes that are sure to follow as night follows day.
–Yes there is a risk of inflation and higher deficits but these have been admitted and publically announced and plans to deal with them have been offered.
Oh, really? What is the plan to deal with the deficits and the inflation? And are you foolish enough to believe it? We already know they're lying about the numbers, so you must be rather naive about political rhetoric. (And don't forget, the cap-and- trade scheme will be the equivalent of a huge tax increase.)
–The minority party has every right to raise these issues but surely some of them must agree with the administration proposals and yet are cowed into opposing them for pure political purposes.
That makes no sense. Liberal conservatism is the polar opposite of illiberal leftism, so any "conservative" who agrees with Obama is not a conservative, precisely.
–Let’s ask Mr. Smith and his cohorts what he proposes to do to right the economy and create new jobs.
Reduce the size of government and lower taxes. It works every time. Let people keep more of their own money, and cut out the obscene government waste that acts as a perpetual drag on the whole economy.
–So far all I have heard is the argument that taxes should remain lower on high income people as though that was the magic move that would make the world better.
You need to read an economics book. Start with Basic Economics, by Thomas Sowell.
Curious George 05/9/09 @ 1:49 pm