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Volume 6 Issue 38…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…September 26, 2003
By John Burl Smith
My great grandfather, Rev. Burl Lee, The Circuit Rider said, "The spirits present lessons from such obtuse angles that at the time, one often misses their blessings. A work in progress, with time and proper reflection, one gains a different perspective." A case in point: When Dot and I voted in 2000, we carried our grandsons, Trévius age 7 and Ty Chi 2, to the polls. We believe early participation in the political process, through observation, helps to reinforce democratic principles.
Ahead of us in the line was a woman with, I assumed, her two sons. I further assumed the same motivation was at work within this family, that is, until I observed the child was in front tugging his mother along. Guiding her from table to table, he repeated the poll attendants' instructions. Though tall and robust, his mother seemed to dangle from his hand, like a robotic teddy bear, repeating softly, "I don't know? I ain't never!" Focused, self-directed and unrestrained, he responded, "That's alright, just do like the other people."
At the time, the unfolding drama was more amusing than profound. However, three years after Bush v Gore whitewashed everything, I wonder does that child still believe the results worthy of the exercise? Not knowing who or what motivated him to become so active in the political process at such an early age, we cannot gauge the force and direction of his disaffection. At ten and older, child soldiers fight and die alongside grandfathers in Third World countries. Children in Palestine throw rocks at Israelis because they do not possess grenades or more lethal weapons; childhood is a shrinking window. Denied self-representation, children are learning to express their will with guns. Disarmed and without a future, they are like land mines buried under mountains of debt in neo-colonial societies.
Emblematic of that mother, America dangles behind thousands of school children capable of the same focus as the young man at the polls. Reconstructing its problems, rather than constructing solutions, lessons like Bush v Gore, ENRON irresponsibility, tax cuts for the wealthy, social injustice, war in Afghanistan and Iraq underpin American values in the future. The USA denies its racist past, while teaching its children Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream is the American dream. Ignoring or talking around the festering canker of slavery and segregation deludes Americans about justice and impairs any efforts to assure fairness and equality.
Had the US tagged along behind the young minds, hearts and hands raised in opposition to war in Iraq, its future would not look so bleak. Children led the trench fighting to overthrow the US' oppressive system of Jim Crow segregation. Need and necessity forced them to drag their parents forward mumbling, "I don't know? I ain't never!" Today, all they are asking us to do is vote. If we fail them, tomorrow they may drive the US forward with guns.
Buddy Voting Project
Highlighting the absence of one-person-one-vote democracy in the presidential election process, Bush v Gore made Election 2000 a slippery slope. Turn Out 75%'s Poor People's Campaign is asking volunteers concerned about securing the promise of one-person-one-vote democracy to help ensure the Buddy Voting Project is a success in terms of increasing voter turnout. Conceptually, since Al Gore beat George Bush by 500,000 votes, if those who voted against Bush in 2000 commit to voting against him in 2004 and find one person in their precinct who did not to partner with and vote, this would double the 2000 total. If you are interested in volunteering to help instill democratic principles in America, email thedish@surfglobal.org or call 404-244-6023 for more information.
A.N.S.W.E.R October Demonstration!
Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.) and United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) call on all those opposed to war to unite on Saturday, October 25 in Washington, D.C. Under the banner: End the Occupation of Iraq, Bring the Troops Home Now! the anti-war protest will also condemn cuts in vital domestic social and economic programs and demand money for jobs, education and healthcare. Since the October 25-26 weekend is the second anniversary of passage of the Patriot Act, authorizing political arrests, indefinite detentions, domestic spying and religious and racial profiling, the demonstration will also be a call to Fight Back Against the Patriot Act. A.N.S.W.E.R. and United for Peace urge you to help bring massive numbers of people to Washington, D.C. on October 25th! For more, info, visit www.internationalanswer.org and www.unitedforpeace.org.
Harold Joseph Laski (1893-1950)
"A State divided into a small number of rich and a large number of poor will always develop a government manipulated by the rich to protect the amenities represented by their property." - Harold Laski
Born in Manchester, England on June 30, 1893, Harold Joseph Laski was drawn to socialism in his youth. He joined the Fabian Society while studying at New College, Oxford. Established 1883-84, the Fabian Society took its name from the delaying tactics of the Roman general Fabius Cunctator. The Fabian Society advocated gradual social change rather than violent revolution. Fabians formed the Labour Representative Committee, which became the Labour Party in 1906.
After graduating with first-class honors in the School of Modern History in 1914, Laski briefly wrote editorials for the London Daily Herald. He taught history at McGill University in Montreal, Canada (1914-1916) and Harvard University (1916-1920). At both institutions, Laski's opinions encountered considerable criticism and rejection, which is understandable given Laski's egalitarian views and belief that the community's wants are best met when all people participate in the political process. Segments of both of these societies were disfranchised and in largely marginalized.
Laski returned to England, joining the staff of the London School of Economics. He devoted himself to journalism and writing. In 1926, Laski became professor of political science at the University of London. Active in both the Fabian Society and the Labour Movement, Laski refused to stand for Parliament and never held a cabinet post, although, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Labour Party (1936-1949), he was influential in the first years of Clement Atlee's administration. After the British-Soviet Pact of 1941, he worked to improve relations between the two countries.
A work in progress, Laski's political views changed from a pluralism, which defended the rights of social groups, such as trade unions and churches against the state, through a phase of individualism influenced by the work of John Stuart Mill, to strict Marxian socialism. In 1946, Laski was charged with advocating revolution by violence, a charge upheld by the courts.
Laski's numerous books include Authority in the Modern State (1919), Political Thought from Locke to Bentham (1920), Liberty in the Modern State (1930), Democracy in Crisis (1933), The State in Theory and Practice (1935), The American Presidency (1940), Reflections on the Revolution of Our Time (1943), Faith, Reason, Civilization (1944), and The American Democracy (1948). He died in London on March 24, 1950. (Source: Encyclopedia Americana, www.inequality.org/quotesfr.html and http://www.lse.ac.uk/lsehistory/laski.htm)
Disgruntled says: People talking the loudest about prayer in schools that want prayer sanctioned at public functions and demand the prominent display of the Ten Commandments, even inside government buildings, are suspect. The truly religious pray everyday, anytime, anywhere and everywhere. They do not require crowds of onlookers. Moreover, true Christians, obedient to the Commandments, avoid paying homage to graven imagines, such as Judge Roy Moore's granite monument.
Disgruntled feels: Connected! For international consumption, the USA praises globalization. The latest round of WTO talks reveals flaws in an asymmetrical trade arrangement. To be honest, NAFTA facilitates worldwide labor exploitation. With the World Bank and IMF in its pockets and the UN impotent, the US government furthers the interests of its wealthy citizens and big corporations without impediment. Its tentacles reach out, connect and exploit people globally.
Disgruntled wants to know: In his much-anticipated first address to the UN General Assembly since invading Iraq, there was no mea culpa in George W. Bush's rehashed rhetoric masquerading as a speech to the international community. Bush basically maintained his schoolyard bully hubris and arrogance. With universal recognition that lies were told to justify the violence and violation of UN Charter provisions outlawing unilateral aggression, why are there no sanctions against the US?
Saturday's Child
By Countee Cullen (1903-1946)
Some are teethed on a silver spoon,
With the stars strung for a rattle;
I cut my teeth as the black raccoon -
For implements of battle
Some are swaddled in silk and down,
And heralded by a star;
They swathed my limbs in a sackcloth gown
On a night that was black as tar.
For some, godfather and goddame
The opulent fairies be;
Dame Poverty gave me my name,
And Pain godfathered me.
For I was born on Saturday -
"Bad time for planting a seed,"
Was all my father had to say,
And, "One mouth more to feed."
Death cut the strings that gave me life,
And handed me to Sorrow,
The only kind of middle wife
My folks could beg or borrow.
About Me: A gifted lyrist, Cullen figured prominently among the poets of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. According to Robert Hayden, Cullen's poems on racial themes form a significant part of his work, but cannot be considered more important than those in which Cullen gave lyric expression to the universals of human experience. (Source: Kaleidoscope: Poems by American Negro Poets, edited by Robert Hayden)
Florida Fiasco and Felons' Voting Rights
Prior to Election 2000, Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris' office hired a private firm to remove 94,000 voters from the rolls based on a list of Texas felons. Registered voters with names similar to those on the list were purged. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of those removed were black, Hispanic and innocent.
Narrated by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and produced and directed by investigative reporter Danny Schechter, Counting on Democracy is a new film on this untold story of the Florida fiasco. Critics claim this tale of race, political payback, voter fraud and justice deferred, "is a jaw-dropping, even terrifying account of just how shallow our nation's commitment to democracy can be." Counting on Democracy features investigative reporter Greg Palast, who broke the story in Britain. It is available for purchase at www.votermarch.org.
As another presidential election year draws near, minority voters, felons and non-felons, justifiably fear their names may be purged from voter registries. Felons in Washington challenged the state's practice of taking away felons' voting rights. Minority felons allege it is discriminatory and violates the Voting Rights Act. The US Ninth Circuit sent the case back to the lower court, which will examine whether there is bias in the state's criminal justice system and whether taking away minority felons' voting rights violates the federal act. Washington is one of eight states that deny ex-felons the right to vote unless they take steps to restore those rights. Florida settled a similar lawsuit by agreeing to help nearly 125,000 felons regain their voting rights. As other states employ the felon purge method used in Florida in 2000, citizens must be vigilant in protecting their right to vote.
To Amanpour!
CNN's Christiane Amanpour ignited a firestorm of controversy and criticism over her honest estimation of the media's coverage of the Bush administration, particularly the war in Iraq. According to insiders, CNN's management called her on the carpet for the blunt assessment. Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of a real democracy. Without journalists brave enough to report the truth, there is no free press. Kudos to her bravery! Email CNN with kudos to Amanpour!
Democratization of United Nations
United Nations observers were surprised by the unusually "harsh" language used by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in his General Assembly address on Tuesday. Annan is among a growing group calling for reform of the Security Council in the wake of recent events. Secretive and overly represented by the industrialized countries with permanent member status and veto power, the Security Council is undemocratic.
Troubling for international legal scholars and proponents of democracy is the use of the permanent five members' veto power and the precedent recently set for preemptive aggression. After failing to win a Security Council mandate for the use of force, the United States and Great Britain invaded Iraq. The UN has failed to sanction the two permanent Security Council members for this obvious UN charter violation.
Ironically, as the nation that most vocally claims to champion democratic principles, it was the US that used its veto to protect and support apartheid South Africa. Likewise, the US has and continues to use its veto to block sanctions and resolutions condemning Israeli actions. Last week, the US vetoed a resolution demanding that Israel retract a decision to expel Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. It has vetoed resolutions calling for UN peacekeepers for the region to protect innocent Israelis and Palestinians.
In August, the International Association of Lawyers (IAL) proposed an overhaul of the United Nations' charter. It recommended that the UN headquarters be moved from New York to a "neutral site." Representing lawyers from more than a hundred countries, IAL, which plans to submit its proposals to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in an effort to strengthen the United Nations, called for an end to the veto power exercised by the five permanent members of the 15-member UN Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia. The other ten members are elected for two-year terms.
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes & Telephone Calls
Email qolspony@yahoo.com The prison industrial complex provides cheap labor for some corporations, making them rich. If they did not have prisoners to work for them, these corporations would have to pay at least the minimum wage. This is an important factor in the soaring prison population and another reason blacks are disproportionately represented. The US, a supposedly democratic country, has more prisoners than any other country in the world.
Email ImpeachSonOfaBush@yahoogroups.com I'll get over Chimpy stealing the election and shut up about having an AWOL Idiot-In-Chief squatting in Al Gore's house whenever the Republicans get over Bill Clinton's blow job and shut up about Monica Lewinsky.
Email ditchblair@msn.com According to Blair's War, a book by New Statesman political editor John Kampfner, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw pleaded with Prime Minister Tony Blair to call off the war. The book claims war plans were made in early 2002, the threat of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction diminished in the run-up to the conflict, the 45-minute claim about Saddam's missiles "was a red herring designed to scare," and Blair knew it and Downing Street was kept in the dark when Bush finally ordered US forces into action.
Email www.washingtonpost.com Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said the Bush administration has failed to account for nearly half of the $4 billion the war costs each month. He believes the money is used to bribe foreign leaders to send in troops. He said administration officials relied on distortion, misrepresentation, and selective intelligence to make their case for war. "There was no imminent threat. This was made up in Texas, announced in January to the Republican leadership that war was going to take place and was going to be good politically. This whole thing was a fraud."
Email www.msnbc.com/news Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix attacked the "spin and hype" behind U.S. and British allegations of banned Iraqi weapons. Blix told BBC radio that Bush and Blair "over-interpreted" intelligence about Iraq's weapons and likened their actions to a witch-hunt. 'In the Middle Ages when people were convinced there were witches they certainly found them. This is a bit risky.'
Email connm@cats.ucsc.edu The decision by the Bush Administration to sue the European Union (EU) over its five-year moratorium on genetically modified (GM) foods has all the earmarks of a "shock and awe" campaign targeted at prying open a major potential market. But the suit before the World Trade Organization (WTO) may be aimed less at the EU than at developing nations, which are far more vulnerable to strong-arm tactics.
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