Waving flags and the lesson of Vietnam

I’m in Washington DC still (I’ve been here most of the week for a business conference).  Yesterday was the day of the American flag.  You can see flag-waving everywhere these days.  Americans do focus on the accoutrements of democracy rather than making sure we have a healthy democracy with active citizen participation (e.g., consider our pathetic voter turnouts compared to many other countries).

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We obsess about flags instead of getting our citizens involved in their government.  Our persistent failure to correct this situation is mind-numbing.  It’s like being a baseball player at bat in the 9th inning.  He could tie the game with one swing of the bat, but strikes out.   Instead of focusing on putting the wood of the bat on the ball, he’s obsessing about drinking champaign and having his photo in tomorrow’s newspaper.  He’s spending his energy at the wrong level.  The waving of American flags is like thinking of drinking champaign while at bat.  By waving flags instead of educating and empowering the People, we’re waiving real democracy.

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For a strong democracy we need fewer flags, fewer Pledges of Allegiance and a lot more participation by informed citizens.  This would start with an active and vigorous media. 

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The Church of Shut Up

Did you ever notice how evocative moments of silence are? I’m always emotionally moved when the PA announcer asks for a moment. The silence of tens of thousands of people is powerful, indeed. American culture is usually out-of-control cacophonous. If we aren’t yapping with each other, there’s a TV or radio blaring. We are pummeled with noise everywhere we go, including waiting rooms, stores and airports. We even bring our yapping and music to “quiet” places, such as national parks. We just can’t help ourselves. It is getting much too hard to find quiet places anymore. That’s why it’s such a joy to be reminded to shut up, even for a moment, even if once in a while. I also appreciated this simple attempt to remind the crowd to be quiet out of respect for Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments. Not that this sign worked very well. People still talked, almost as much as ever. Children ran around unrestrained by their parents. People shouted things like, “Hey Bill! Isn’t it about time to go get some hot dogs?”

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Why is Big Money (The Wall Street Journal) so interested in smearing little people?

Whenever we take the time, we are better able to see that all issues are anchored by deep issues.   That’s the kind of day it was for me today. 

I’m in Washington D.C., attending the Consumer Rights Litigation Conference sponsored by the National Consumer Law Center.   NCLC is an invaluable resource for those of us who advocate and litigate for consumer rights.  At one of the afternoon sessions today, I had a chance to hear a panel of consumer advocates discuss recent developments in federal law regarding consumer rights. 

It’s quite depressing, for the most part.  You see, well-monied corporate financial interests own Congress.   Consumer rights are on the ropes.   Many industries are free to lie, cheat, steal and to impose onerous terms on consumers, thanks to the best federal laws money can buy.  They do this through corporate immunity, preemption and the imposition of mandatory binding arbitration before biased arbitrators.  All of these were gifts from Congress in return for huge amounts of money contributed by lobbyists.

I’ve been to Washington D.C. several times before, and I’ve always reveled in the history and the architecture.  

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Now, I can’t help but feel ambivalent.  It’s a city awash in immense amounts of corrupt money. 

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We are a country that preaches that the People are the government, but that is less true than ever.  If you don’t believe me, just try to call your Congressional representative, mentioning that you are a concerned citizen.  See if you can get five minutes with him …

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How material comforts make us politically docile.

Here’s an excerpt from Paul Krugman’s Common Dreams essay, “Wobbled by Wealth.” One of the saddest stories I tell in my book is that of Al Smith, the great reformist governor of New York, who gradually turned into a narrow-minded economic conservative and bitter critic of F.D.R. H. L. Mencken…

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A Poet Laureate For Missouri

The state of Missouri has never had an official poet laureate.  Like many people, I didn't know that, although unlike many of those many people, I should have.  One of the hats I wear (besides the one in the cool profile photo above) is the president of the Missouri Center…

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