Volume 5 Issue 24…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…June 21, 2002

On July 4, 1776, the thirteen British North American colonial possessions rebelled against the policies of King George III. Boldly, their Declaration of Independence enumerated grievances against Great Britain and demanded their right of self-governance. In the ensuing American Revolution, the colonials, led by George Washington, defeated the greatest empire on Earth to secure for themselves the God-given inalienable rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

In the Treaty of Paris (1783), Great Britain recognized the "free, sovereign and independent states." The colonies organized themselves under the Articles of Confederation, which proved too weak and generally inadequate. To secure a more perfect union, a constitutional convention was called to reform the Articles (1787). Ratified in 1789, the Constitution established the United States of America (USA), a republic form of government with three distinct branches, i.e., executive, judicial and legislative.

To secure agreement on the final form for this new government, compromise proved essential on the issues of taxation and representation. Acrimonious debates raged over the summer of 1787 between large and small states over representation to the lower chamber of the bicameral legislature. In the upper chamber or Senate, states received two representatives, an arrangement that favored small states. For the Lower House, large states demanded representation based on population, while smaller states insisted on the equality afforded them under the Articles of Confederation.

A more contentious issue in the debates over taxation and representation concerned the slave population. On July 12, 1787, Oliver Ellsworth proposed that representation for the Lower House be based on the number of free persons and three-fifths of "all other persons," a euphemism for slaves, which were mainly in the large states. The following week delegates agreed that direct taxation be based on representation and that representation in the Lower House be based on white inhabitants and three-fifths of the "other people."

This compromise or grand scheme sacrificed the democratic principle that "all men are created equal." It branded the founding fathers hypocrites and the Constitution an economic document dedicated to preserving the advantage of the propertied class overly represented among the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Though amended a number of times, the constitutional compromise on democracy remains a fixture in American politics as evidenced by the Electoral College, the mechanism used to select the nation's chief executive officer. More important, the socioeconomic and political disparity created when the founding fathers legalized slavery continue to influence the quality of life and the justice accorded white and other Americans.

We stand at the threshold

Poised to move forward into a bright new era.

The fruits of our parents' labors

Lay as fertile soil for our roots to sink deeply.

Out of this foundation shall arise

A grand new empire.

This new state will facilitate

The bond of our continual union.

It will manifest as the vehicle

For communicating love, ideas and information.

Let us, the children be the pinnacle.

A culmination of great efforts,

We rest on the shoulders of giants.

Together,

We shall touch the sun.

While a Milton C. Addington and National Science Foundation Fellow in psychology at the University of Memphis, Prof. Robert Cohen inspired my interest in learning, memory and cognition. A Jean Piaget adherent, Cohen saw information as an active antecedent to human behavior, as opposed to seeing humans as passive empty receptacles. Piagetians see humans as active information processors that veraciously and vicariously acquire a phenomenal amount of information the first five years of life. A rudimentary concept vital to building a survival strategy, survival is directly related to the quality of information received from the environment. Thus, reality theory assesses the survival value of information. Operationally, it is a measure of "goodness of fit" or truthfulness.

The survival value of information is based on threat assessment in a particular environment for a particular organism. Threat assessment identifies the nature and source of environmental stress. A major indicator or independent variable, stress levels determine the immediacy of action. Environmental stress, whether internal or external, initiates response chains or information feedback loops. In humans, these consist of experience, cognition, memory, recognition, strategy sequence (hypothesis) and responses. As a result, humans continually evaluate and adjust to environmental changes or feedback. If the available information accurately reflects real life conditions, humans should be able to reduce, if not eliminate, the assessed threat.

Dr. Frank C. Leeming and others hypothesized a counter reaction based on faulty environmental feedback called "learned helplessness." They claimed that repeated exposure to inconsistent or unpredictable environments force organisms to adopt survival strategies that reduce stress by surrendering to "uncontrollability." At this point, organisms can be taught to respond against their instincts or best interests.

America's claims of equality, freedom and democracy offer perfect examples of this type of uncontrollability relative to slave descendants. An economic document, the US Constitution defines equality in Article 1 Section 2 as white = 1 and other = 3/5. Today's gap in white median income relative to blacks reflects the impact of the 3/5 Compromise. This stable difference has controlled the level of wealth accumulation of black relative to white families. America explains this stark, yet stable, gap by portraying blacks as lazy, stupid, parasites dependent on the social welfare controlled by whites as their survival strategy.

The response chains or information feedback loops for blacks began in slavery. Emancipation and any hopes of freedom, justice and equality were obliterated by lynchings, segregation and institutionalized racism. Any slave descendant's survival strategy devoid of these realities provide false reads (learned helplessness), which always produce inadequate adjustment responses. Thus, the survival value of information slave descendants receive is very low in value, if it does not reflect the 3/5 Compromise reality in the chasm of inequality. "A good fit," the truth (reality theory) is slavery, lynching, segregation and institutionalized racism will continue to control behavior in the U.S. economy. Consequently, the 3/5 Compromise continues to dictate outcomes in America's marketplace for goods and services. John 2002

While no one officially stated the obvious, the public golf course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, fondly called the Black Course, was redesigned to challenge the game of the world's number one professional golfer. The 7,214-yard, par 70 golf course is the longest in U.S. Open history. Only one player posted an under par four day score. For his 3-under par 277, Tiger Woods won $1 million.

Woods is the first player since Jack Nicklaus (1972) to capture the first two major championships of the year. In an age when NASCAR is the sports du jour, fans drunk on beer were rude and noisy. Out in force on Sunday, white men noisily cheered on whomever seemed to challenge the Black Course and Tiger's prowess.

Once the province of dull elitists, golf is now a spectator sport with skyrocketing participation rates among the common folk. Golf sporting goods stocks look more attractive each time Tiger stalks a major. When Tiger is on the prowl, the television audience-share for the broadcasting network soars. White men are loath to admit it, but Woods has changed the game. President Bush reportedly called the U.S. soccer team to congratulate them on their win over Mexico to reach the final eight in the World Cup. Ironically, no news reported the avid golfer congratulating Tiger on winning the U.S. Open. Kudos Tiger for taming the Black!

Playing on American fears of more terrorist attacks, the Bush Administration creates new rules and acts as judge and jury in handling people accused of terrorist acts or those Bush thinks may be thinking about committing crimes. Americans are mostly silent.

Before 9-11, soldiers were tried in military court; civilians that violated laws became part of the civil or criminal justice systems. By detaining thousands of people without due process, the Administration is violating international and national rules of law.

In this system, white and nonwhite Americans receive different treatment. Typical of America, the constitution protects white men, while others have "no rights white men are bound to respect." Of the three known Americans detained, John Walker Lindh, caught fighting with the Taliban, is white. His parents know his whereabouts; he is represented by an attorney and is scheduled to go on trial in U.S. criminal court in August.

Yasser Hamdi, the second American accused of being involved with the Taliban, was born in America to Saudi Arabian parents. His status is uncertain. No charges have been filed against him. Denied access to an attorney and his relatives, Hamdi exists in legal limbo.

The third American, Jose Padilla, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdullah al-Muhajir, was arrested in early May and held incognito. Suspected of plotting to detonate a dirty bomb, Padilla was in custody for more than a month before John Ashcroft broke the news of his detention and designation as "enemy combatant" in a speech in Moscow. Adbullah al-Muhajir, like Hamdi, is nonwhite. Al-Muhajir is being held without being charged with any crime. He has neither access to a lawyer, nor his family.

On Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia, George Bush unveiled his minority home ownership plan. In remarks made at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Bush stated fewer than 50% of black and Hispanic families own their homes compared with three-quarters of white families. Sounding like a candidate on a whistle-stop tour, Bush pledged to reduce this gap by increasing the number of minority homeowners.

To do this, Bush is calling on Congress to fund his American Dream Downpayment program, which will provide families down payment assistance. The federal home loan banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal corporations that purchase loans made by banks, will increase their commitments to minority markets by more than $440 billion. Freddie Mac will launch 25 initiatives to end barriers to home ownership; one will help people with poor credit lower their interest rate.

Political patronage patterned after other urban renewal programs, Bush is proposing the Single Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit to encourage development in inner cities. The Enterprise Foundation will increase efforts to build and rehabilitate affordable homes by working with local development corporations.

Bush plans to streamline home-buying paperwork to make the process less complicated and educate new homeowners through financial and housing counseling. Fannie Mae will partner with faith-based organizations to provide homebuyer education. The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation will provide its home buyer education program to more minority families, and the Neighborhood Housing Services of America will raise $750 million to promote home ownership initiatives.

Pulling out all the stops to sweeten up black voters, Bush is recommending full implementation of the Section 8 housing program to provide vouchers that first-time homebuyers can use to pay their mortgage or apply to their down payment. This fall, when the campaign season is in full swing, a White House conference on the home ownership gap will convene to review progress to date and discuss new ideas for increasing black and Hispanic American homeowners voting for Republicans. (Source: www.whitehouse.gov )

Disgruntled feels: Threatened! When the U.S. cracks down on American civil rights, invariably those whose rights are most adversely affected are descendants of those described in the Constitution as "others." Flying flags for patriotism, Americans who fail to see waves of abuses are in for a rude awakening. A clear danger to personal liberty exists; all Americans are threatened by it.

Disgruntled wants to know: In natural resources, Africa is the richest continent on Earth. Despite its tremendous natural wealth, the people of Africa are impoverished; many are starving. Why are black Africans dying like flies of disease and hunger?

Disgruntled says: Given a growing trade and budget deficit, a weak dollar and Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm accused of shredding Enron documents, found guilty of obstruction of justice, most analysts expected stocks to tumble on Monday. However, over the weekend, the U.S. dropped bunker busters on targets in the Iraqi southern no-fly zone. Bush declared Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a threat and gave CIA Director George Tenet the regime change green light. In addition, a Bush preemptive strike doctrine spells an attack against Iraq to gain control of the oil-rich region. The military-industrial complex loved the imperialist saber rattling; stocks shot up more than 200 points.

George Bush has met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on at least six separate occasions to discuss the Middle East situation. On his latest visit to the White House, Sharon departed smiling. Bush agreed that Israel's raids into the West Bank constituted self-defense. Predictably, Bush harshly criticized Palestinian Authority leader Yasser Arafat, whom he has never met.

While Sharon failed to follow explicit Bush instructions on a number of occasions, specifically to end his lethal incursions into Palestinian towns and refugee camps, Bush's harshest criticism to date has been leveled at Arafat for suicide bombings over which he seems to have little control. Moreover, his security apparatus has been effectively demolished by the U.S.- financed Israeli military. While the previous presidential administrations maintained some semblance of an even-handed Middle East policy, all pretense of balance has disappeared under the Bush administration.

Reminiscent of apartheid South Africa, Israel is building an electric fence. Ostensibly to keep out suicide bombers, this wall effectively establishes territorial boundaries that remain in dispute. As if to underscore the futility, on Tuesday a suicide bomber killed 20 and wounded more than forty. This latest suicide bombing preceded Bush's announcement of an interim Palestinian state, which is part of his Middle East peace initiative.

On cue, Sharon criticized the suggestion of a Palestinian state. But then, Palestinians are unlikely to embrace Bush's weak proposal; it does not end Israeli occupation or provide for self-governance. A freedom-loving nation, if any country could identify with the statehood aspirations of Palestinians, it should be the United States of America. Yet, the USA seems suck in the quagmire of a dubious foreign policy.

Email www.news.bbc.co.uk Cherie Blair, wife of the British prime minister, criticized the United States for not ratifying the International Criminal Court (ICC). A senior attorney specializing in human rights law, Blair's comments were published in The Guardian newspaper.

"The prospects for the ICC as a protector of the ideals of the international community as a whole become difficult to imagine, however, when some states elect to exclude themselves from that vision," Blair wrote. "This is particularly true when those states are powerful, and strikingly so when such powerful states, like the US, are traditionally associated with the very values the ICC seeks to endorse." She added: "The impact of the U.S. failure to support the ICC may be symbolically important - a high profile rejection of a major initiative for the rule of law in international affairs. But, it will also be a lost opportunity if a state with a long-standing commitment to human rights does not take a lead in shaping the work of the world's first international criminal court."

The Bush administration fears U.S. soldiers could be vulnerable to prosecution. Last month, the U.S. tried to amend a U.N. Security Council resolution to exempt peacekeeping troops in East Timor from the jurisdiction of the court. The amendment was withdrawn in the face of opposition from other Security Council members. Adopted in 1998, the ICC statute has been signed by 138 states and ratified by 67; it comes into force July 1.

Email www.guardian.co.uk In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, CNN founder Ted Turner accused Israelis and Palestinians of engaging in "terrorism" against each other. "Aren't the Israelis and the Palestinians both terrorizing each other? The Palestinians are fighting with human suicide bombers; that's all they have. The Israelis...they've got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. The Palestinians have nothing. So, who are the terrorists? I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism." Turner's remarks were criticized by Israeli spokespersons and heralded as balanced by Ghassan Khatib, Arafat's labor minister who pointed out, "One of the problems in trying to reduce the violence has been the focus of so much international attention on Israeli rather than Palestinian civilian deaths, although four times as many Palestinians have been killed."

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