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Thomas Vorce reporting from Grass Valley, CA
Thursday, March 25, 2004
The puzzling question these days seems to be “How do you criticize incompetence?” When John Dean broke stride with Nixon during Watergate, his leanings made him ‘the Judas’ of Nixon’s cabinet. And today the tyranny of silence seems to condone the banishment of whistle blowers with a ‘better you than me’ attitude.
With so many people vicarious about their expressions of courage which are often the propped up certainties that are the result of instant replay and soft porn, it’s hard to make an appeal to common sense. Our insights have been so muddled by media that we are almost certain in not trusting ourselves. Like Michael Eisner’s comment about the making of the Alamo, “I was just trying to capitalize on the post 9/11 patriotism.” Someone is always trying to make a killing on our deepest sympathies. And now a movie star, Mel Gibson (who has courageously dodged all those special effects) feels qualified to expunge the lessons of history with his brand of sadomasochism. Why are we so gullible that we let these lay ministers of God convince us of their infallibility with such impunity? No wonder there is so much inertia.
Such predatory motives are not strange to us and yet we continue to believe that entertainment will somehow provide an escape from the gnawing feeling that someone is taking us for a ride. It’s the voyeur’s dilemma. “Don’t worry,” we are told. “We’ll have a committee investigate the matter.” And what will they do with the findings? In other times, our current revelations would have led to public outrage and heads would have rolled. But now all someone has to do is deny an accusation and the matter is dropped.
It seems that someone is always trying to make us guilty for something and we react by creating a firewall for anything that isn’t a proven certainty. Often morality’s failing is it’s inaccessibility to the patently obvious. Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Sounds great when it’s preached from the podium and even better when it’s practiced by the citizenry.
One of the things that might help when we look to unmask incompetency would be a healthy sense of humor.
With so many people vicarious about their expressions of courage which are often the propped up certainties that are the result of instant replay and soft porn, it’s hard to make an appeal to common sense. Our insights have been so muddled by media that we are almost certain in not trusting ourselves. Like Michael Eisner’s comment about the making of the Alamo, “I was just trying to capitalize on the post 9/11 patriotism.” Someone is always trying to make a killing on our deepest sympathies. And now a movie star, Mel Gibson (who has courageously dodged all those special effects) feels qualified to expunge the lessons of history with his brand of sadomasochism. Why are we so gullible that we let these lay ministers of God convince us of their infallibility with such impunity? No wonder there is so much inertia.
Such predatory motives are not strange to us and yet we continue to believe that entertainment will somehow provide an escape from the gnawing feeling that someone is taking us for a ride. It’s the voyeur’s dilemma. “Don’t worry,” we are told. “We’ll have a committee investigate the matter.” And what will they do with the findings? In other times, our current revelations would have led to public outrage and heads would have rolled. But now all someone has to do is deny an accusation and the matter is dropped.
It seems that someone is always trying to make us guilty for something and we react by creating a firewall for anything that isn’t a proven certainty. Often morality’s failing is it’s inaccessibility to the patently obvious. Thomas Jefferson said, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Sounds great when it’s preached from the podium and even better when it’s practiced by the citizenry.
One of the things that might help when we look to unmask incompetency would be a healthy sense of humor.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Two statements by Aristotle in regards to our rights that we need to remember these days:
“When equals are treated unequally that is injustice.”
Loaded yes? But wait, he also said,
“When unequals are treated equally that is injustice.”
I am reminded of this when I see fundamentalists put in positions of governance over more qualified players. I believe in the Christ but I am not a member of ‘Club Jesus,’ or Pat Robertson’s TV ministry. You would think that a graduate of Yale Divinity School would know about Aristotle’s wisdom but apparently he is too busy masquerading his intentions in Washington D.C. to really address the needs of his flock. And he is, of course, in direct communication with God about the coming election and divinity’s role for Dubya.
The foresight of our founding fathers saw the dangers of entanglement with religion and government when they framed the Constitution and they separated the powers of Church and State. So what is it about morality that has the freedoms we have won from tyrants in the past so methodically abandoned in the here and now? As the Christian right swoons, its elect are walking away with one golf course after another and they are bereft of the beatitudes as they equate family, morality and special interests. When “families” realize that their kids will be coming home dead or manically deranged and the benefits of mindless endorsement manacles them to perpetual sorrow they will ask for change from conscientious leaders who are not out there to convince the oppressed of their personal role in sin.
As the powers that be mock virtue and play 'showdown' with Apocalypse
we might ask, with earnest, what the true meaning of abomination really is.
In the mean time, we are preaching democracy and practicing corporate theocracy and it’s against the law.
“When equals are treated unequally that is injustice.”
Loaded yes? But wait, he also said,
“When unequals are treated equally that is injustice.”
I am reminded of this when I see fundamentalists put in positions of governance over more qualified players. I believe in the Christ but I am not a member of ‘Club Jesus,’ or Pat Robertson’s TV ministry. You would think that a graduate of Yale Divinity School would know about Aristotle’s wisdom but apparently he is too busy masquerading his intentions in Washington D.C. to really address the needs of his flock. And he is, of course, in direct communication with God about the coming election and divinity’s role for Dubya.
The foresight of our founding fathers saw the dangers of entanglement with religion and government when they framed the Constitution and they separated the powers of Church and State. So what is it about morality that has the freedoms we have won from tyrants in the past so methodically abandoned in the here and now? As the Christian right swoons, its elect are walking away with one golf course after another and they are bereft of the beatitudes as they equate family, morality and special interests. When “families” realize that their kids will be coming home dead or manically deranged and the benefits of mindless endorsement manacles them to perpetual sorrow they will ask for change from conscientious leaders who are not out there to convince the oppressed of their personal role in sin.
As the powers that be mock virtue and play 'showdown' with Apocalypse
we might ask, with earnest, what the true meaning of abomination really is.
In the mean time, we are preaching democracy and practicing corporate theocracy and it’s against the law.
