Polianiac

Naomi Wolf’s latest book, The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot (2007: Chelsea Green Publishing) ranks as one of the most uncomfortable reads of my life. I also believe it ranks as “must read” for anyone interested in the preservation of the republic we know as The United States of America. The book is under 200 pages and retails for $13.96–I got mine on Amazon for significantly less.

Wolf’s greatest success in this work lies in her ability to resurrect and interject world history as the greatest of teachers. Present day circumstances are examined as unfolding within the continuum of historical continuity—which is, sad to say, novel here in present day America.  

The book opens with a quote from Justice William O. Douglas:

            As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all    must be most aware of change in the air–however slight–lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.

If this quote resonates with your personal level of  political discomfort over the past decade or so, then give End of America a read—you might find it affirming. But be warned, the affirmation is accompanied by a “call to action” which can not be ignored.

Senator Obama has evidently decided to personally ring in (his well-put) “Silly Season”: The Clinton Campaign Debt…why is this a public concern? Is it like a “love offering” at church? For many people who are watching this unfold, in a time of national financial upheaval, where is the logic? People are not hanging up on the issue of party unity; they are hanging up on the rule they are forced to live by: “If you can’t afford it, you can’t spend it…”<period.> People are watching this campaign as a preview to an Obama Administration. For those first time voters, those “grass-roots” citizens, those who believe a message of change is actually possible, what might this action suggest regarding future fiduciary decisions; and, who will be expected to ‘pony up’? (Can we just take a breath and think about this?)
North Korea: “Evil No More”… In what played like another manifestation of ‘foreign policy schizophrenia’, President Bush announced Thursday: “First, I’m issuing a proclamation that lifts the provisions of the Trading with the Enemy Act with respect to North Korea.  And secondly, I am notifying Congress of my intent to rescind North Korea’s designation as a state sponsor of terror” (White House News Archives, June 26, 2008).  

So now North Korea is out of the “Axis of Evil” doghouse. You know, if this were an episode of Comedy Central’s “Lil Bush” it might actually bring a smile. The sad reality is U.S. citizens expect leaders to say what they mean and mean what they say. Yes, even after all we have been through, we still hold that expectation. This administration just made manifest the cavalier constitution (not to mention ease in de-constitution) of the cast of characters in their War on Terror. Obama’s response, which was typically loquacious, rational and reasoned, found itself reduced to simplistic sound-bites of “praise for Bush’s new policy on N. Korea”. There is a concept called proximity—Obama’s temporally quick game of “told you so” might be perceived as a pitiful rendition of “We are Family” when viewed through the eyes of those “low information voters”. (Where do we get these terms?) The cautionary tale can be simplistically stated: “Simply Irresistible” might turn into “Obama is Predictable” without missing a single beat. Maybe it is time for a vacation.

It is the third week of June and already it is easy to see how one could be thinking “dog days of summer” when it comes to cable news stories. I am talking about the good, the bad, and the ugly underwear stories <cue the music>.  This week, we have cringed in pain (and amazement) as an L.A. woman filed a law suit against Victoria’s Secret after being attacked by her thong; and, reveled in the McGuiver-ness of the American climber whose life was saved thanks to her sports bra. Thong v. Sports Bra…some serious poetic justice.

The thong takes heavy hits from all sides. The Smoking Gun leads with “Dinged by a G-String” (June 17, 2008) while other sites jump quickly into “attack mode”—that is, the vilification of the thong as an attacking entity… Is it possible we are witnessing media bias? UK’s The Sun (June 21, 2008) quotes the injured woman, a traffic officer (read:  policeman?), as she described the incident, “I was putting on my underwear when the metal popped in my eye…” Metal…seriously? Well, not so much. The metal was actually a small ornamental attachment which mysteriously made its way into the woman’s eye. It is curious that some have actually attempted to explain this bizarre phenomenon by employing the laws of physics. I for one will take the woman’s word if it will spare me further details.

The sports bra (as every woman knows) is the hero of the week. The AP proclaims, “Sports bra saves US hiker in German Alps” (June 24, 2008). There is no mystery here. The climber, a woman from
Colorado, tied her bra to a cable used for moving lumber up and down the mountain. She was extolled by one of the Berchtesgaden police officers who rescued her, “She’s a very smart girl, and she acted very resourcefully…” Definitely a McGuiver moment. It just goes to show that underwear does matter and sometimes, beauty is not best. As for Thong v. Sports Bra: it remains a ‘split decision’.

The following comment appeared last week in an emailed newsletter from a church in Texas [reproduced exactly as it appeared]: We now have two Presidential Candidates: John McCain and Barak Obama (named in alphabetical order) Jesus teaches us to “Pray for our enemies”-that means anyone who opposes us in any arena of our lives including politics. As Christian American citizens I encourage all of us to pray for these candidates and their families by name each day.  Pray especially for the person you oppose so that you may “be a child of your Father in heaven” who loves and desires the best for all -even His enemies. Wow. Where do you start with this one? I had to start by seeking immediate treatment for the whiplash effect I suffered during the giant leap from “praying for presidential candidates” to “enemies of God”. Are you kidding me? The obvious answer is no, this particular pastor is not kidding. How scary is that?

If we were to accept the underlying belief that any opponent constitutes enemy, where does that leave us? Seems to me the answer is something like isolated or remote-from-others. I see nothing constructive or appealing in that outcome. I also see no point in the adoption of this world-view. Where does this stuff come from? One thing I do know is that God may have commanded that we “pray for our enemies”; but, I also think He had something to say about how we each view and treat our fellow man.

I could spend time analyzing what might lie at the heart of this statement or rag on about crafting a statement to include “alphabetical order” (followed by the glaring misspelling of a particular candidates name); but, I won’t. I think I will just allow this to stand as the most vivid illustration I have found for the inherent wisdom behind Separation of Church and State.