Flags and Rose Petals

I got up early this morning. It was deeply overcast and as cool as I’ve ever seen it in Chennai. A notice had gone up the day before inviting all the residents of our building to meet on the roof at 9:00 AM sharp for the flag raising. Today is Indian Independence Day.

There were a dozen or more people already up there when we arrived. A candy-striped flagpole had been readied for the ceremony. Somebody had brought a tray of sweets. Someone else had contributed chairs, and a cassette player with a tape set to play the national anthem. More people arrived as we waited.

When the time came, the oldest resident of the building was afforded the honor of raising the flag. It was tied up loosely as in a bundle at the bottom of the pole. As the bundle then approached the top, a draw string was pulled, unfurling the flag. At the same time, red and pink rose petals (which had been wrapped up in the flag) were released. Thereafter, everyone stood and sang the Indian National Anthem in loud, clear voices. The cassette player was never used.

This simple, yet touching ceremony was repeated on rooftops throughout the country today. Last evening, one of the movie channels played Richard Attenborough’s “Gandhi”.

Today, people came to fix our plumbing and service our ceiling fans. The cook and the maid arrived as usual. In addition, the car went in for major repairs. It’s a holiday but, apart from taking a few moments to celebrate the country at a flag raising, people seem to be gratefully engaged in the building of a proud nation.

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Lapses in Logic: sowing dissent

Back when I was working as purchasing agent for a small NJ firm, I was charged with purchasing a dozen new PC’s for the company. My boss asked me to contact a man who had PC’s in stock and was selling them at a huge discount. Further investigation revealed that the computers in question had essentially ‘fallen off a truck’.

I subsequently wrote a letter to a higher boss detailing my concerns. I did not want to be implicated in something that appeared clearly shady in the event it should ever come to light.

My (higher) boss called me into his office and closed the door. He thanked me. I was told that I would remain out of the loop re this particular the purchase; that he would handle it personally. Additionally, he took out my letter and ripped it up. He said that it’s best not to put such things in writing as words tend to assume a life of their own. It was then I came to understand the importance of reading ‘the fine print’.

Curiously, our elected representatives seem not to have learned this lesson yet (or, perhaps, they have learned it too well). They’re expecting us to endorse the passage of a thousand-plus page comprehensive health care bill which will affect every one of us (except members of Congress themselves) without anyone having read it, or intending to read it, not knowing what it says and (as I understand it), which, in large part, has not even been written yet. It reminds me of how Democrats view the Constitution as a living, breathing; constantly evolving document to be amended, changed and ignored at will to suit every purpose.

Such shenanigans opens the way to innumerable contradictions which, in turn, lead to conflict that can be easily exploited to justify introducing additional (non)binding clauses. This is how Chavez runs his shop. Already, it has come to light that our representatives are lying outright when they try to reassure us that no one will be left out of the scheme; that the aged will receive the care they’ve come to expect under the old system; that no one will have to pay more; and that the system will be administered fairly and efficiently. The ‘cash-for-clunkers’ deal has already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Obama-controlled Congress lacks the expertise to efficiently manage even the most pedestrian enterprise.

Words do have meaning, as does a failure to convey. There’s plenty of both coming out of this administration. On the Democrat side, it’s no longer about health care. It’s gone way beyond that. It’s about sowing dissent – dividing the populace along ideological lines. Those of us who’ve connected the dots are now forced consider overall intent in an effort to reconcile lapses in logic. …and we don’t like how it smells.

Yelling Vignettes

Re: "...one of them thrown away..." John - A powerful video indeed! But it’s precisely the ‘yelling vignettes’ that are what’s instructive – the now inevitable confrontation between Americans along racial and ideological lines. It’s revving up. If I were POTUS, I’d be really concerned. I’d worry just as Bush worried about the backlash against Arabs after 9/11. As I remember it, he took considerable pains to keep the situation from getting out of hand. It turns out, he was successful in this – perhaps too successful.

This president does just the opposite. He’s fanning the flames. Whom will we be made to blame if American should turn against American? Will we blame talk radio? Will we blame old people? Who will be the target of our wrath when the storm is unleashed? Will it be ‘global warming’ or smokers or white people? Will it be bloggers?

Poor Obama, who proclaimed himself as uniter. What must he be thinking as he watches it all fly apart? Even the villains he had wanted to court have shut him out. What’s left? Only cold ideology (with the vicious streak of a scorned lover).

Will we ignore the president’s role? Will we excuse him for keeping the throttle down even as the train approaches the terminus?

A Wound that Never Heals

Hey guys! You're losing me. As I see it there are three sides in this (culture) war: those on the left; those on the right; and those who don't believe there's anything going on. I think the latter have it - both in terms of sheer numbers and ennui.

The Left has been rattling the cage somewhat - to wake people up and get them to choose up sides. I'll give them credit for that much. There's people jumping alright, but most are ducking out of the way.

In human history one third is given over to war, while two thirds is given to peace (or the absence of war). War continues to be the domain of the young; the virile; the idealists. It is a tool meant to be grasped by those with the courage to pursue (or protect) a vision. Once one’s own vision has failed, the challenge is never far. One must either fight blind or yield.

War is a wound that never heals. We are forever tempted to scratch it open for the fascination of watching it bleed. Even in peace, the memory of past wars continues to haunt us. Even in peace, the prospect of the next one is just over the horizon. That’s why we urge our populations to support armies that stand idle two-thirds of the time.

Turn the Other Cheek

Ever since Obama burst onto the national scene, Americans have been trying to figure out just who he is. During the presidential campaign, the American media essentially served as the propaganda arm for the Democrats, painting Obama as a blank slate while suppressing any information about him that might be regarded as critical or invasive. The beauty of a ‘blank slate’ is that anyone can write his own wish list on it and make-believe that it will be so. Now, that Obama has been in office for some time, people are beginning to learn just who this man is and, at the same time, growing increasingly concerned.

Perhaps the remarks made by the president at town hall event in Raleigh, NC on July 29th, 2008 gives us the best glimpse yet into our new president’s thinking on a whole range of matters. The following pertains specifically to the current health care debate (but could be applied to other areas as well):

“(we must) change how we reimburse (medical professionals); changes in the delivery system. So, what we're trying to do is we're trying to say, in all these systems, insurance companies, they should reimburse for preventive care. If a health system is making sure that a diabetic is taking their meds or monitoring their diet, they should get reimbursed for that, not just getting reimbursed for the $30,000 foot amputation after somebody gets into real medical trouble. So one thing to do is to change reimbursement so that the incomes of primary care physicians are more comparable with specialists.

What is the president telling us? (Again, the teleprompter must not have been working properly.) One thing: if I were a doctor, I would be outraged. What I’m hearing is that doctors in America are so corrupt, they would rather amputate a limb than do anything short of that because they could collect more money by amputating. Do you know any doctors like that? Does Obama? Surely it must be a crime to amputate when it’s not needed. Why does Obama not name names and pursue legal channels to ferret out abusers?

Obama doesn’t name names because there are no such doctors in America – and if there are, they are dealt with. Obama says such things because it is in his own best interest to target the medical establishment at this point in time – to rhetorically smear and destroy - so that he (government) can take it over and control it. It has been his MO from back in his community organizing days. He has done so consistently, first targeting (banks, oil, pharma, Wal-Mart and God knows what else) – then extorting money and/or favors. Now, as the most powerful man in the world, he is in a position to take anything he wants wholesale, using the very same tactics.

The latest presidential bull’s-eye is being painted on the American people as we speak; the ones that are showing up en masse at town hall events; those who might not share Obama’s ambition of dominating their world. The Megalomaniac-in-Chief in the White House has become a dangerous opponent. All he has to do now is to send out his goons, draw a little blood, and declare 'lock-down'. It’s hardly avoidable at this point, whether we throw the first punch or not. Either way, it’ll be portrayed as our fault. At a recent John Dingell town hall event, it was the Dems who brought in posters that showed Barrack Obama with a Hitler mustache (to make it seem that those protesting health care reform are fascistically inclined). Fortunately, it didn’t work and the ruse was exposed.

They can be expected to keep trying. I would remind you, good people, that once any of you throw the first punch (or punch back), it’s over. Keep showing up at the town halls, tea parties and rallies, but be prepared to turn the other cheek.

Skin-Whitening Creme

America (in America) has become an orphan that nobody wants. We stand divided between those who bemoan what we have become and those who bemoan what we are not yet. All agree that America's present state is unsustainable. As such, a tug-of-war has developed between the two camps. The eventual outcome of any civil conflict is always heavily favored by tradition. In this case, however, the raw numbers are skewed by propaganda.

Here in India, one gets practically no indication that Obama is opposed at all. Everyone takes Obama's promises at face value. Should he fail, it'll be put down to the (still lethal) death throes of the ineptly evil, radical right-wing George W. Bush. Interesting too is that Obama's intent is seen here as improving America's position in the world; strengthening the dollar; boosting the economy and allowing stocks to soar. At the same time, he is expected to mitigate any weather-related 'acts of God' and bring peace and security to the region.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Here in the East, America remains well respected. When Hillary visited India last month, she received top press. Her words (Obama's words), though without substance, were warmly received. Indians like platitudes, as do Americans. They are pleased to believe that a country that has been good to so many of its own citizens has sent a man to the moon. Not in their wildest dreams do they think that America could be deliberately pushed to devolve into some sort of effete, Soviet-style gulag.

American's in this respect are a bit more up to speed. They've actually taken to protesting. Indians are blissfully unaware of this. They religiously watch the BBC. They are well informed about popular uprisings all around the world - except in America where (they are apt to believe) everything remains hunky-dory.

Eventually, the news is bound to filter out, one way or another. Indians will be shocked by this and attribute it to some sinister plot by extremist elements who cannot countenance a black commander-in-chief – a template with which they themselves are all too familiar. Why else would skin-whitening cream dominate the commercial content of evening TV broadcasting schedules?

Hiroshima/Nagasaki

This represents yet another one of those internationally sanctioned and widely promoted anniversaries where the U.S. is expected to lower its head in shame and endlessly apologize. Like ‘global warming’, slavery, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, Hiroshima/Nagasaki is designed to eclipse every shred of good we have ever done and paint us as a pariah among the nation states.

It remains a puzzle for me to understand how eternally willing we are to play this game; even to the point of creating a brand new position at the very highest level of our government - Apologizer-in-Chief - specifically entrusted to sacrifice our nation on the altar of someone’s open-ended notion of ‘social justice’. It’s almost as if we automatically accept the premise of any argument that has ever been advanced against us. It’s almost as if human sin never existed before we declared our independence; that we immediately thereafter willfully and deliberately agreed to play the role of Eve - the forever condemned temptress of Adam - leading the whole world down the path of ignominy.

Interesting, that every evil ever done finds its way to our doorstep. A car bomb goes off in a busy market in Baghdad and we are at fault. Harare descends into unfathomable chaos, as does Darfur, and (again) the finger points our way. Russia invades Georgia - who else? American swims across a moonlit Myanmar lake... Now we’ve even come to the point of taking blame for ‘acts of God’ – hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, rain, drought and the like.

It’s no wonder that we’ve become desperate to atone for ever so much guilt; the sheer weight of it – unshared by a fatally wounded God – crushes the very breath out of us. How can we possibly continue with this scarlet letter pinned to our collapsing chests, marking us as having dared to survive so much failed history while others merely suffered and died? Is it even possible to atone for so many dead, now that our own arrogance has replaced Him?

It occurs to me that those with their gods still in tact find it infinitely easier to function. They are able to blame both their gods and the godless for their sins, whereas we have only ourselves to punish for transgressions real or imagined.