Greetings from
The Publisher . . .
July Fourth: What are we part of? What drummer do we march to?
World traveler and frequent Light Connection columnist Richard Martin shared an interesting perspective a few years ago, which I've been thinking about lately. In his experience there's one country on every continent that doesn't consider itself a part of the rest of “their” continent. From England himself, he states the British definitely don't consider themselves European. Argentina thinks of itself as separate from the rest of South America . Australians are not really part of Asia . And while it may be changing more recently, South Africans don't think of themselves as part of Africa .
In a similar way, it seems more and more that America does not really consider itself to be part of the rest of world. The recent soccer matches to determine the World's Champion caught the attention of people worldwide. Not here.
It's an insignificant example compared to other issues, but we have our own sports. We have our own games. We certainly don't answer to anyone. We don't care what the rest of the world thinks for the most part—and that's especially true when it comes to national defense and our “national interests.” We will not allow our sovereign choices to be foreign made—just our labor, products, and ownership of a growing national debt.
It's interesting that while a large number of us still hope and consider that we have a Great Father in Washington to guide and protect us, the defiantly independent thought process above is more consistent with that of a child than a parent.
I said that we don't care what others think for the most part, because we did seem to respond when the world prodded us into upping our contribution to the tsunami relief efforts. Maybe we aren't totally immune to outsiders' opinions.
In truth, we do have to make our decisions independently and based on what is best for us and consistent with our values. We shouldn't care or allow others to define us/US. It's fine to march to be beat of a different drummer, but when it comes to subjects such as global warming, our separate and independent march is so out of step with everyone else's that the parade stops.
When the rest of the world gathers in Kyoto and makes agreements to improve our common environment, our non-participation undermines meaningful progress. As a nation, we are the world's biggest consumer and polluter. We have to be in step, or at least join in the parade.
Similar international issues include honoring the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Geneva Conventions, which form the basis of international humanitarian law. National security now trumps those agreements, though not the penalties for non-compliance if the world ever decided to enforce the “rules” (of the Geneva Convention).
July Fourth is a time when we often stop to celebrate and embrace the values that define us/US. There are two things to consider if we do: Whether we care what they think or not, the world will be comparing how we define ourselves with our actions. So are our actions and words consistent? Second, if we are the world's leader, where are we leading them?
If pre-emptive strikes are all right for us/US, why isn't it okay for North Korea , Iran , Pakistan or India ? If we can decide for ourselves how to treat prisoners, why can't other nations? Ultimately, don't we teach by example? Is the example we provide consistent with a world we want to live in?
A parent that says “do as I say, not as I do,” hasn't evolved too far from childhood.
A good question to answer might be: Who is this decidedly different drummer we are marching to? In the past that was easy to answer. We have always thought of ourselves as unique because we don't get distracted or altered too drastically by the individual leaders who come and go. None have established dynasties. The drummer we march to is our Constitution. Our laws—not individuals—determine how we govern ourselves. Laws apply to all of us—they are not written for individuals, which is also why a law to keep one Florida woman alive was so inconsistent with our history—and not Constitutional.
While there are many issues that easily become political—tax cuts, medical care, how to conduct the war in Iraq —the rules we play by have been fairly consistent and modified only gradually throughout our history.
While we can get political on many issues, we have always shared the same template for how to play. This is, however, being stretched. The separation of governmental powers has been consistent—until now.
The latest Harper's magazine (July 06, page 11) points out that the Bush Administration has used “signing statements” to exempt itself from provisions of new laws 750 times. The total number of times that all other presidents combined have used signing statements is 568.
When Congress says we should follow the Geneva Conventions and not torture prisoners, and the President says that's okay (but it doesn't apply when I don't want it to apply), that's playing by your own rules, isn't it?
The President has boasted that when he couldn't get Congress to do something, he simply signed an Executive Order to get it done.
Playing by your own rules is not Constitutional. It's impeachable.
As we look at ourselves this July Fourth—as we hear ourselves described—does it fit? Can we consider ourselves democrats—in the sense of supporters of a Constitutional democratic republic?
If, for instance, we say it's OK to use Diebold voting machines that a large number of people think are unreliable? It's not just a theory that one misused memory card can alter an election. Is it absolutely essential to make sure our elections are fair, or is the system good enough as long as your side wins? More importantly, can you embrace the latter idea and then say you believe in democratic elections?
Is it important only to win, or is it important how we play the game? Are there times when we have to restrict our rights to survive as a society? If we do, can we still consider ourselves a democracy?
It's true that the original Constitution is under glass in Washington D.C. It's not true that there is a sign on it that says, “in case of war, break glass and use this one instead.”
The Constitution is our law. It was a starting point that set up how to run the country well. Can we be part of this society and be willing simply to watch or ignore what goes on that is not consistent with our values and agreements as stated in the Constitution? Are we willing to let others mis-define us or mis-represent us without comment?
We are spiritual beings, and know that we need to nurture the spiritual aspect of our Selves. We have physical bodies, and they certainly work better when we care for and nurture them. Can we say “I'm not politically oriented” and live in a society such as ours? If it's one that structures our health-care system, decides how much we can know about the ingredients in our food, determines the balance of power between individuals and corporations, or determines the forms of energy and power choices we have (such as not having electric vehicles)—how can we ignore the system that wants to determine so many of our choices?
Perhaps a better question is, can we live in a democracy, say we support it, and not be involved?
I could suggest ways to be involved. It would be relatively easy to provide list of options. The Apollo Project wants to make us/US energy independent. Black Box Voting wants to ensure that our votes are counted accurately. I mention them because I did mention those issues, but that's enough. The rest is for you to figure out. Democracy isn't supposed to be done for you. It's not supposed to be easy, it's supposed to be participatory. If you're not participating with one solution or another—if you don't say this isn't honest or consistent with us/US when you see it—should you consider yourself someone who supports our Constitutional form of government? Are you a Democrat, or not? Are you/we apart from this, or a part of it?
Have a Great month,
Steve
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