A Few Thoughts on the Dreamers

In my mind, one analogy keeps returning: The world is a stormy place and many countries are like capsized ships where decent people can be found treading water.

As American citizens we don’t always appreciate the rights, freedoms, and privileges we have. Perhaps we never fully appreciate them. Unless we are Native Americans we are, in fact, immigrants or descendants of immigrants. I know you’ve heard this before. However, please focus on the idea that an immigrant is someone who swam from a capsized ship to what appeared to be a rescue boat. A shining light. A beacon. An ideal.

Think about the capsized ship scenario. Some people will drift forever clinging to pieces of the ship. Others will have the initiative and courage it takes to swim away. Initiative and courage are traits we should all aspire to have.

When we speak of Dreamers we are talking about the children of the most recent swimmers. They are in our churches, our schools, working and making positive contributions everywhere. Some contribute more than others, of course, but on average they contribute more good things to our societies than native born American citizens. On average Dreamers achieve more. They make our country better in uncountable ways. There is really no doubt about that.

Dreamers are simply a more recent version of our own history, only without a certain piece of paper. They cannot be lumped together and classified as good or bad. They are essentially us. I submit to you that we are all Dreamers.

The world keeps turning and time cruises along. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow will become history. Is it fair to arbitrarily draw a line and say, “This country is ours because we’ve been here longer.”? I think not.

When you make that statement you are placing yourself in a certain group of people: The people who reach the rescue boat and pull the ladder up behind them because being safe is the culmination of their little universe. I tend to refer to those people as assholes.

When pressed, most of us will admit that we need to choose leaders who are ethically superior enough to give the order to leave the ladder alone. We know there may be a time when a hurricane strikes, or an enemy attacks, and we find ourselves needing a ladder to climb out of a disaster. The ladder should remain available.

Case in point, a hurricane strikes an island devastating everything. A “leader” will send aid and dump it in the center of the island proclaiming, “Look at me. I did a wonderful thing! Too bad that incompetent local government didn’t distribute the aid I sent.” While a real leader of conscience and compassion will understand that every single individual comprising the local government is also a victim of the hurricane. The right thing to do is much, much more than a supply dump followed by a photo op, followed by a ladder removal.

As an American I am truly embarrassed by the actions of our current leadership. The world is watching. The world is actively protesting us. It’s surreal. This is not making America great again by any sociopathic stretch of the imagination.

I’ve heard it said recently that the United States should place the same filtering system on immigrants that many other countries have. You know, follow the crowd. I will argue that greatness does not come from copying others, but by taking risks with those who show courage and initiative.

Advertisement

A Few Practical Words on Islamophobia

The number of Muslims in the world is somewhere between 1.6 bil. and 2 bil. That’s a really hard number to fathom. Too many to assimilate through conversion. Too many to kill with bombs. And certainly too many to paint with one broad brush.

By comparison, at it’s height the number of active ISIS fighters was around 30,000. That number is easier to understand. Let’s say it’s the number of people at a Major League Baseball game.

If you created a bar graph where 1.6 bil. were represented by a 6 inch bar, the bar representing 30,000 would be imperceptible. Try to let that sink in.

The extremists claiming to represent Islam are, no doubt, extremely dangerous. When they strike, it gets magnified by ubiquitous media. It’s a scary thing.

But here’s the deal. There is a war of recruitment going on.

You really, really don’t want to piss off 1.6 bil. otherwise benign citizens. Angry, unenlightened, fearful rhetoric against Islam is a very dangerous thing. When this gets spouted by your leader, it increases the chance that you will become a target for the bad guys. It lessens the chance that the good Muslims will cooperate with you.

That’s just stupid talking.

We have to live together on this planet until we die. There are passages in the Quran and the Bible that, when wielded by the wrong people, are extremely intolerant and inhumane. Over time we must decipher, evaluate and, ultimately, evolve into compatible communities.

I have faith that all people are generally good, but easily manipulated by angry rhetoric and hidden agendas.

Love your neighbor.

———————————

I recently took some grief for saying I felt safer in Indonesia than walking the streets of New Orleans at night. People were quick to point out that I was a man in a misogynistic culture.

True.

However, one thing I will point out is that there are over 340 mil. guns in the private sector of the United States. If properly organized, that fire power could conquer much of the world without using our military.

In Indonesia it is almost impossible to get a license to own a weapon. Just something to think about.

A Message to Friends Regarding the Muslim Ban

Just sharing a little personal experience here. A stream of conscience, if you will.

I understand that fear of the unknown is natural. Seeing a Muslim extremist on television about to chop off someone’s head is frightening indeed. So many of my friends have strong opinions on this and yet the vast majority of those friends don’t even know a single Muslim. Not one.

While working with government contractors and associations I’ve had the opportunity to work with quite a few Muslims. I’ve had a Muslim supervisor. I’ve worked for a company with an Iranian president I assume to be Muslim. I recall being in meetings where no two people were from the same country. There was a harmony of purpose to achieve common goals together. No one blinked. No one regarded anyone else with suspicion. On several occasions it was a Muslim who had my back, so to speak.

I’ve also performed music regularly at a restaurant owned by a Muslim. My music wasn’t censored. The money was green. All good stuff.

How strange is it that some people are willing to include dogs and cats within their concept of friendship, but not Muslims.

I make no claims to any expertise in this area, but I’ve noticed that the countries in Europe where terrorism is the biggest concern have Muslim communities that are marginalized. In those countries most of the Muslim population live in ghettos segregated from the main population. Laws are passed controlling the way they live and dress. Some sensible, some merely exclusive.

It’s always been different here in the U.S. Muslims come here, albeit in fewer numbers, and assimilate seamlessly for the most part. They are happy, productive and patriotic.

Your new president (sorry, I just can’t bring myself to say “our”) has the power to change this. His actions are that of a reactionary rather than an intellectual. I want to say he’s just f@/king dumb, but I’m trying to write with some degree of sophistication.

Banning Muslims sends a huge message. A message large enough to cause a sensitive high school kid to abandon his plans on medical school because he now feels disenfranchised—a potential ISIS recruit in the making.

Sure, some of the Islamic traditions seem backwards and primitive to the western world. I certainly believe they need to evolve. But I really doubt that ostracizing them or cramming our culture down their collective throats is going to have the desired effect. We should live by example and watch as they adopt over time to a more progressive world. We should punish them when they actually break a law, not before.

There are Islamic extremist nutcases out there—foreign and domestic. It seems they don’t pick their targets randomly. I don’t plan to live in fear, but neither do I want my country to adopt policies guaranteed to make us more of a target.

But really, I guess that’s my way of saying if you don’t actually know any Muslims you have no credibility with me.

The Alternative Candidate

At this point I imagine there is not much left to say about our major party presidential candidates. The facts are out there along with the possible endictments, law suits, and conspiracy theories. Pundits have analyzed and spun like gyroscopes. Emotions are flying. Rational thought is as rare as finding an albino manatee in a blue bikini. It has been, at times, envigorating, but more often embarrassing.

Over the years I have often wondered how nuts and tyrants around the world have come to power. How could people allow such a thing? Ahmadinejad, Gadaffi, Idi Amin, Kim Jong Un – Don’t try to complete the list for me, your head might explode. Yet my egocentric view of the world has never allowed for the possibility that something like that could happen in the USA. Maybe I was sleeping or swimming in denial during the last Bush administration.

Alas.

As I write this Senator Sanders seems to have been effectively eliminated. I confess his candidacy was the one which gave me hope for the future. It was nothing short of inspirational to see younger voters in the primaries, unsullied by the Cold War propoganda machine that brainwashed an older generation of Americans into thinking any mention of socialism was traitorous, embracing the idea of standing up to the established oligarchy. Yay, young people!

So that leaves us with the remaining candidates, and me searching for something constructive to say. Something not said often enough. Here goes: Consider making your vote really count.

We are told there are only two sides to the coin – steered into a corner where only two candidates exist. Any other candidate appearing on the ballot is just a waste of toner. Perhaps that is not true.

What is irrefutable is the fact that both major parties have handed us candidates with record breaking negatives. And the media continuously directs us to chose between Wall Street Wonder Woman and Assclown Man Baby. It’s as though there are no other choices.

But there are.

If you believe in small government and don’t want to be associated with Assclown Man Baby, you may want to consider the Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson.

If you are like me and feel disappointed by Senator Sanders losing in the primary, you may want to consider another Progressive, Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Send a message to Wall Street Wonder Woman that she’s not necessarily entitled to Sanders’ supporters.

However, you will probably need to work for sufficient information to make such an important decision. Network and cable news services are probably not going to help you with this.

What we have learned so far is that our democracy is far, far from perfect. The system of PACs and super PACs, delegates and super delegates, convoluted caucuses, etc. – with each state doing its own thing ultimately is not democratic at all.

If you are a Conservative in a blue state throwing all its electoral votes to the Democrat candidate, does your vote really count? Of course the same can be said of the Liberal voter in a red state.

If you really want to thumb your nose at the establishment, consider voting for the underdog. If enough people do that who knows where it may lead?

That’s my plan.

The New Colossus

I believe it is safe to assume Emma Lazarus, author of “The New Colossus” which graces the inner wall of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, would not vote for Donald Trump.

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Let’s forget for a moment the completely insane notion that it’s actually possible to deport 13 million people of any race or origin. A nation that couldn’t find takers for a handful of Guantanamo prisoners can pull this off? Sure.

Let’s also forget the cost to execute such an undertaking would run into billions of dollars, but certainly wouldn’t end there because the bulk of those deported would no longer be contributing to the tax base. Yes, they pay taxes and do so without the loopholes.

Let’s also forget the destabilizing effect of losing those “aliens” whose lives are so intertwined with our own. Many of us love them and need them.

Instead, let’s focus on the ideal of the sonnet.

“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

Storied pomp? Arrogance? Apparently many in this country have decided to embrace the temperament of those ancient lands from which our predecessors fled.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me

Who could have dreamed that people of such desperation would contribute so much beauty in music, art, philosophy, and well — everything? Perhaps people who are made to feel like outsiders work a little harder for acceptance. Perhaps those who feel entitled need to be made aware of the whole picture, not just the dirty little fringe aspects that are common to the low lifes of every society.

Let me sum this up. I’m not afraid of xenophobic idiots and self righteous thinly-veiled racists who spout this nonsense. You will lose. Your numbers are dwindling. Your flag has been taken down.

Our current president is living proof that when push comes to shove, a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, will show up at the polls and kick your deluded asses. Enjoy the banter while you can.

Be Nice

In the late ’70s and early ’80s I was involved in a Christian Pentecostal church which subsequently became very controversial because of its association with a high profile evangelist of dubious sincerity. I was young, inexperienced and, for the most part, dumber than a rock. However, in retrospect there were many great lessons to be learned apart from faith and scripture. Also, this experience exposed me to many fascinating characters; some good, some outright disdainful.

One of the good ones was an elderly preacher by the name of Glen Miller. As a musician I will never forget his name for obvious reasons. He was a sweet man who was extremely fond of the adage “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” In that regard he practiced what he preached. I once witnessed him in a heated debate with another preacher during which he remained kind and respectful throughout. All the heat came from his opposition.

The United States is moving forward with some historic Supreme Court decisions that step on very sensitive areas in our communities. Many people feel their rights and traditions are under attack. Perhaps the latter is true. I think it’s clear some traditions need to be attacked. After all, sacrificing virgins to the Sun God was once an acceptable tradition somewhere. With the way we are able to exchange information in modern times, there is no excuse for failing to evolve and become more enlightened.

The momentum of social progress can rise gradually like the tide, or come crashing like a wave. It’s the wave that concerns me. As we debate the issues of today, we need to understand that the adage is true. Human nature can be extremely defensive. If you start an argument with an insult, your words are completely wasted beyond their contribution to a mob mentality. You will not convert anyone regardless of the strength of your logic. However, if inciting a mob reaction is what you intend, be prepared for the consequences.

Am I guilty of this? Oh, hell yeah. That’s why I decided to do a little blog writing as self penance.

We are truly divided. There will never be a time when everyone becomes liberal or conservative. In fact, there are studies that indicate our political views may be more in our DNA than in our souls. Is it not wrong to attack someone for having tendencies that they were born with? I know this is a fuzzy line. Even I have moved from one end of the political spectrum to the other as the result of arguments put forth with the correct recipe of logic, diplomacy and persistence.

Keeping it real, I know that at my self righteous best I am still dumber than a rock in the greater scheme of things. When you spend enough time looking at Earth from the perspective of the Hubble Space Telescope you are forced to realize there will always be more questions than answers. It’s an exercise in humility. Like that line in the Lee Ann Womack song “I Hope You Dance”: I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. Humility and diplomacy go hand in hand.

The country is experiencing growing pains. Everyone is cranky. The best advice I can give was better delivered by the Patrick Swayze character in the 1989 film Road House. Be nice.