Thursday, April 3, 2003

The Erosion of Rights Although a huge topic (which will be dealt with over the next several weeks), there's a bill out there now that highlights what some Americans are thinking: "An Oregon anti-terrorism bill would jail street-blocking protesters for at least 25 years." Minnesota is in the act too. Governor Tim Pawlenty wants arrested anti-war protestors "to pay the law-enforcement costs they incur or face prosecution." So much for "free" speech, I guess. comment []  permalink  posted by: jgh  9:39:05 AM

Jessica's Future It is assured for the moment. The governor of West Virginia has presented her family with a four-year full scholarship for her to college. Her high school is keeping a teaching job open for her for when she graduates. (I wonder how this fits into affirmatie action decisions, credentialing issues, and GPAs.. or perhaps for those who are fotunate enough to be struggling in school now, we just want them to know, none of that matters if you become a media hero?) Jessica deserves praise and gratitude and she does have mine. She had a goal and chose a path that might help lead her there; she knew her route might be fraught with discomfort and danger, and still did it; she knew the route she chose nobly advocated protecting others; she endured (and none of us reading this have any clue what that entailed - something even anti-war protestors admire); and she is courageous, for she (likely) went into a situation that scared the crap out of her, assuming she was human. But, so have millions of others. What do they get, besides being shot at? Heroism comes from actions, not circumstance. This is not to diminsih PFC Jessica's work. It is to acknowledge that others deserve the same. There are still veterans of other U.S. wars who cant even find a place to live... or people to listen to them, or... comment []  permalink  posted by: jgh  12:40:22 AM

Why Is This a Surprise? "Two weeks into the war in Iraq, some senior military commanders are beginning to admit that American understanding of the Arab world is limited and that they still have to convince the Iraqis that they are liberators, not occupiers," writes a reporter. Ummm... Let's see. As a monolingual, melting-potted so to be mono-cultural, mono-maniacal society, why are we surprised? You mean, not everyone thinks like us? Talks like us? Reasons like us? Believes as us? Wasn't dissension in the UN a signal that this could happen? Wasn't all that was written - prior to our invasion - by military experts also a signal? Weren't the worldwide protests? I find myself, quixotically, 'feeling' more American... perhaps in desperation, perhaps as a response to the perceptions of us that I want to ameliorate... Perhaps our military overseers could read (the not-even leftist) Dinesh D'Sousa? Or better yet, follow Marilyn Manson's suggestion in Bowling for Columbine, "I wouldn't tell them anything. I'd listen. I'd listen to what they'd have to say. Nobody did that." comment []  permalink  posted by: jgh  12:02:17 AM

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