Saturday, January 21, 2012

No apologies necessary...


It’s been said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I am sure of something else: exceptionalism is the first refuge of an idiot.

Whenever I hear politicians – especially Republican presidential aspirants but not excluding the Big O – cheerleading for America, I have to wonder what fantasy world they’re living in. They hype freedom while ignoring their ongoing efforts to curb it (e.g. overturning Roe or keeping marijuana illegal or standing in the way of gay marriage or supporting 21st century versions of the Alien and Sedition Acts). They sing praises to the land of opportunity while tap-dancing around our outrageous and growing income disparity. They extol the American worker while undermining labor unions and turning a blind eye to big business’s tax loopholes that send jobs offshore. They call this the greatest country on earth even while we lag behind other industrialized nations in health care and education and workers’ benefits. And they cite our greatness as justification for doing whatever we please – to whomever we please – on the world stage.

This patriotic claptrap is exacerbated by the notion that our supposed greatness is attributable to God – that He has singled out this country for a special role in history and endowed us with super powers for the task. If so, it’s too bad we misuse them. Either that or we misunderstand Him. (Speak English, Dude!)

Those who challenge American exceptionalism usually find themselves in a have-you-stopped-beating-your-wife predicament, since to deny it is to be lumped with what conservatives love to call the “blame America first crowd.” Since we’re perfect, we can’t be faulted for anything, so criticizing America is clearly unpatriotic.

Exceptionalism – being so head-over-heels in love with your country you’re oblivious to all its faults and bad habits, not to mention the big zit on its nose that won’t go away – means never having to say you’re sorry. It’s all God’s plan. And the Big Guy never apologizes for anything.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Obamastinacy


I don’t go to concerts much anymore, but over the past few years I’ve attended a couple given by my favorite performer, David Bromberg. And as the crowd yells out requests, he slowly shakes his head and says, “Don’t you people realize that if you ask for something I’m not gonna do it?”

I fear for such obstinacy in politics now that the notion of Hillary and Joe swapping jobs has been broached.

It’s a natural: she’s burnt out on all that travel, he’s a foreign policy wonk. With his track record for gaffes he’d be a drag on the ticket; meanwhile she’s as popular as ever. Maybe most important, he’d never be a serious contender for president after O’s second term, but she’d still be in her 60s.

Now that the idea’s been floated, heaven forfend that they’d put it into action since it would seem like they were picking up on somebody else’s brainstorm. It would be like producers of a soap opera listening to fans about how a plot should play out, no matter how sensible. Only original ideas count. Typical no-drama-Obama.

So surprise us and do it anyway. Admit that it’s a great idea. Indie voters and disillusioned Democrats need some reason to believe another four years might be different. Besides, it would give Limbaugh and the teabaggers apoplexy. That alone should make it worth the price of admission.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Canyon/Winter/Tao



Grand Canyon in winter is altogether different from its summertime persona. There’s hardly any traffic, and the absence of crowds means that at some lookouts you feel like you have the place all to yourself (although you still tend to overhear German just as much as English). Walking along the rim in the village in the cold air at night, the full moon ghosting the canyon walls, we saw practically no other living being except for a few elk and deer. It was truly tranquil.

The Canyon is a mecca for geologists, and we came across a feature we hadn’t noticed on our last visit: the rim walk east of the village features a “journey through time” with displays of rock specimens indicating their age. We’re talking hundreds of millions of years, and it made us laugh to recall that there are some fools who insist that our planet is no older than can be deduced from the Bible – something on the order of six millennia. They twist the evidence to serve their need to believe in the infallibility of a document, never mind the exacting science behind the dating process.

Beyond the west end of the village, the rim walk leads to a small area with a simple stone altar where ecumenical services are held during the tourist season. We’ve never attended one, but can imagine that they focus on the majesty of the place without pretending that an old guy in the sky created it as part of a six-day creation binge. The very fact that many of the Canyon’s landmarks were named for Asian religious figures attests to its transcending the limitations of any one belief system.

But I’d like to propose that the Grand Canyon is more than anything else a temple to Taoist thought. We see the persistence of water in a place carved by it: “the softest thing in the universe overcomes the hardest” (ch. 43); “nothing is more soft and yielding that water, yet for attacking the solid and strong nothing is better” (78); “it flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao” (8). We also see the ultimate representation of the Tao as an empty vessel (4) in a place that allows us to fully exalt “the valley spirit” (6).

Taoists value the strength of low position, and here is a place that takes you constantly lower, where the immutability of time is on permanent display. And, especially in the winter, we find the rejuvenating power of tranquility. “Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature. The way of nature is unchanging” (16). (All quotes from Feng/English translation.)

So rant on, young-earthers. But after sitting on the edge of the rim, I’d have to agree with Lao Tzu, that “ignoring knowledge is sickness” (71).