Scary Times?

There was an op-ed in the Wash Post this AM that "these are not the worst of times."  The author might well be right, but they certainly are frightening.

She compares nuclear capabilities and accounts of political rights around the world then and today.  She also notes Vietnam and how millions have escaped poverty (although it's somewhat surprising to see a Wash Post columnist cite "open markets" as a cause).  But I think she misses some points.

There are some very scary things going on out there.  One, of course, is Gaza.  More than 300 Palestinians have died already.  I'm not sure how many Israelis have been killed, but the number is considerably less, but not for want of trying by Hamas.  The Israeli rocket defense dome, the uncovering of the tunnel system used by terrorists, etc., have limited their casualties.  Yet, as Charles Krauthammer notes in his op-ed today, people are still talking (and hand-wringing) about "the cycle of violence."  It's as if, to these people, the results of what the Israelis are doing and what Hamas is doing are morally equivalent.  They aren't, not at all.

Here's Krauthammer's column:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-moral-clarity-in-gaza/2014/07/17/0adabe0c-0de4-11e4-8c9a-923ecc0c7d23_story.html

A disturbing thing is the habit of one side or even ignorant people to redefine terms, such as "moral equivalence."  Read the paragraph, at least, of Krauthammer's piece.  People, all hung up of other things, seem to have forgotten the past.  Krauthammer reminds us of recent history, only ten or twelve years ago.  I remember all those Israeli concessions to the PLO, led by Yassir ("That's My Baby") Arafat and that, after making this demands, he rejected Israel's concessions, at least at first.  Yep, the Israelis gave Arafat everything he demanded, yet he demurred.  Again, read the article and see what the Palestinians of Gaza did with what they were given.  And ask yourself this, "What did all these other nations/people--the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Turks, even the Brits--ever give to the so-called 'Palestinians?'"  These are the people who treated the Palestinians much worse than the Israelis.  Oh, the answer to my question is, essentially, "nothing."

There was an editorial cartoon depicting the Tea Party, with the statement, "We are not extremists...and if you say we are, we'll destroy you."  First, I've never heard any Tea Partier say that and have never seen any Tea Partier write that.  And, what's "extreme" about the Tea Party goals?  What's wrong with wanting lower taxes?  What's wrong with wanting less government spending and less government control over our individual lives?  What's wrong with wanting an end corporate welfare as well as much of the wasted individual welfare, so often abused?  Of course, the Tea Party has targeted the liberals/Democrats, the architects of the now nearly $18 trillion (I can't begin to fathom a billion dollars let alone get my mind around trillions of them) of US debt, which doesn't include five or six times that of unfunded liabilities.  (There we go again, redefining things to make them sound other than what they really are.)  And Establishment Republicans have aided and abetted the spending insanity, not to mention the increasing controls on our freedoms.  The LameStream media go right along with this, too.  Oh, they criticize on occasions, but note, for instance, recent newspaper endorsements of candidates in the upcoming primary elections; they back the same old Establishment candidates, the ones who've wreaked all the damage.  I'm not exactly sure why there has been such massive effort to inaccurately defame the Tea Partiers (OK, I at least have a pretty good  idea.) with so much time, effort, and energy.  But the defamation campaign has worked.

"Freedom of speech," guaranteed in the First Amendment.  Now, there can be legitimate differences about the degree of "freedom" of our expression, for instance, "Yelling fire in a crowded theater."  (How different our government's relationship to free expression than merely ten or twelve years ago when I was teaching government.  Gee, I wonder if I'd get away with telling the truth today, of how government is chipping away little by little and lot by lot, at our freedoms of expression.)  Note the number of journalists who have been targeted by the Justice Dept, not because they've done anything illegal, but merely to monitor sources and how they get their information.  In fact, the Justice Dept has never claimed or alleged these journalists have broken any laws.  Interesting, isn't it, how very silent the LameStream media are with this??????

And, regarding redefining terms, check out this article, very thought-provoking and relevant to what is happening right now.  http://spectator.org/articles/59987/gutting-first-amendment

The author cites this chilling trend among our government officials, including members of Congress and some Supremes:  "freedom of speech isn't an inalienable individual right--[that is] a right to say what you want regardless of what others think--but a privilege [my emphasis] that we exercise at the sufferance of 'the public.'"  If there is any doubt to this, consider our college campuses, supposedly bastions of free thought and expression.  While liberal speakers are invited with open arms, regardless of the legitimacy of their ideas, conservatives are usually not invited or, if they are, are met with hoots and shout-downs.  (And, more and more over the past decades, we find this in our public schools.)  So much for open dialogue, being able to defend thoughts in the face of challenges, or even rethinking one's opinion.  (One of the things great about Abraham Lincoln was that he embraced this.)

Lots of food for thought for us today in the newspapers......