Archive for the ‘World’ Category

In deciding whether or not to re-elect President Obama I think we should be asking an important question.  While I don’t expect my President to be prescient, I do expect him (or her) to have sound judgment and be able to at least sense the direction of the “winds of change”…especially where “change” was touted as an area of expertise.

So, the question is “Has President Obama been able to accurately sense critical change and lead accordingly?”

I will refrain from going into all of the policy issues (Obamacare, the economy, taxes, education etc.) and instead seek a more generalized analysis based upon our security and liberty in an increasingly danger-ridden world.

President Obama took to the airwaves to publicly support the overthrow of the Mubarak regime in Egypt. He lauded the “Arab Spring” and hailed it as a beacon of emerging democratic ideals in the Middle East.  Never mind the undertow of warnings coming from both inside and outside Egypt that the extremist Muslim Brotherhood would likely be the benefactor of the revolution and an Islamic state governed by Sharia Law the outcome.  President Obama’s dismissal of such concerns was because he apparently had more faith in the altruism of the Muslim Brotherhood than did most foreign policy experts or simply freedom-seeking Egyptians, for that matter.

Today is 9/11. The date speaks for itself in the hearts of decent people the world over. But Islamic terrorists love patterns and anniversaries.  So today, in the resultant Egypt presided over by a Muslim Brotherhood President, Mohamed Morsi, the U.S. Embassy is being stormed and the American flag torn from its rightful place.

Last week, opponents of the Morsi government were crucified in public.

It is my unwavering conviction that a President who so grossly erred in interpreting, and then wrongly supporting, a critical event in global politics and human history (as did Neville Chamberlain) is the wrong man for the job of President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America.

I find his continued support of radical Islam and his blindness to the threats and real danger of the Muslim Brotherhood to be not only willful disregard and gross incompetence, but also, on this date of 9/11, a dishonor to all those who died on September 11, 2001.

 

It’s pretty obvious why “The Avengers” has hit a financial home run in its opening  weekend. Perhaps our political candidates running in 2012 would do well to pay attention.  The message is that people are 1) looking for leaders, 2) heroes and 3) anyone capable of cleaning up the mess.  Without real life satisfaction, they are flocking to theaters to get lost in the escape of watching it on screen.

Beware.

While it’s a good sign that people are finally fed up with the deceit and corruption that we’ve permitted and, in too many cases, participated in… threshold moments such as this one have historically been “ripe for the pickings” by less than altruistic individuals.

If we are to survive and establish an ethical and moral code that reflects who we really are and what we are capable of, then we’ll have to be fully conscious and personally responsible in order to avoid being seduced by those who would take advantage of our collective frustration and anger to manipulate us into an even darker reality.

We became a consumer society. As such, we became accustomed to being taken in my promises and marketing ploys that have as their end game making you want to buy what someone else has to sell. In our quest for authentic leadership we bought “Hope and Change” in 2008 with less scrutiny than we buy a car. That abdication of personal responsibility got us where we find ourselves today. To make the same mistake twice will be fatal to the culture and the Nation as we have known them each to be.

Change is filled with opportunity.  This is a time in our history, both national and human, when creative thinking is called for as is the “heavy lifting” required by each of us to see the world through this transition. Metamorphosis is never an easy process; however, when properly accomplished, it’s always a beautiful one.

We each hold in our hearts and our minds the potential for unprecedented growth. The question is “Do we have the wisdom and courage to make good use of it?” We can succeed but only if we, as individuals, identify the hero within and then act accordingly.

I am hardly in the dark when it comes to politics, the news generally and Israel specifically. After all, I write this blog post regularly, do three hours of talk radio a week and I’m a Jew. Which is why I was so surprised to hear today, for the first time ever, the term “Israel-Firsters.”  I had no idea what it meant or whose agenda it was supposedly furthering. It turns out the term may have been created by MJ Rosenberg, writing for the Left’s  Media Matters financed on-line blog “Political Correction.” I am not certain whether Mr. Rosenberg originated the phrase or just likes to use it a lot. But use it he does.

I am somewhat familiar with Mr. Rosenberg from my work several decades ago that involved interaction with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (A.I.P.A.C.). Back then, Mr. Rosenberg had a diametrically opposed position on American-Israeli relations than he has today. While I have no idea what caused his political “conversion,” he is now the prototypical convert. He is a zealot for his new belief system. In his case, that belief system is founded upon a disdain (a mild choice of wording for sure) for all Americans who support the right of Israel to exist as well as any strategic interest common to both the United States and Israel.

Israel-Firsters apparently refers to those Americans who allegedly put the interest of Israel before the best interest of the United States and see it as “Israel first and above all else.” This term is thoroughly expounded upon, in the negative, by Michael Scheuer in a post titled “Turning The Tables on The Israeli-Firsters.”

I’d like to address two points to both Messrs. Rosenberg and Scheuer.

First, when a position is so extreme that it can’t help but be conveyed with a mean spiritedness, such an undertone belies both objectivity and any assertion of neutrality. Both Messrs. Rosenberg and Scheuer cannot help but write about Israel without sounding as if they have either some axe to grind or political agenda to advance. So much for intellectual honesty.

Secondly, Mr. Scheuer’s assertion that the U.S. is inappropriately enmeshed in a “religious war” between Jews (Israel) and Muslims (the Arab world) is another attempt to reframe the reality in order to advance a political agenda. While it is true that the Koran, and thereby Arab nations, seek the annihilation of the State of Israel and all Jews on religious grounds, Israelis and Jews generally simply seek to live in peace within the borders of their state without imposing any religious agenda on those whose belief system is different from their own. Any insertion by the United States into that conflict is for the sole purpose of obstructing the stated intention of the Arab nations to eradicate the only democratic government that remotely resembles and supports principles and values similar to those held by the United States. Simply put, like attracts like and friends stand up for friends.

As a guardian of the Constitution and free speech, I defend Messers. Rosenberg’s and Scheuer’s right to publicly state their opinions. Unfortunately, both are giving voice merely to their “estimates of reality” based upon very limited perspectives and as such, reach conclusions that are grossly imprecise.

I, personally, prefer to draw my conclusions based upon fact, not opinion.

 

Yes, the recently published photos from Afghanistan showing U.S. soldiers posing with maimed body parts of Taliban killed in action is disturbing on many levels. It’s disturbing that the L.A. Times is so lacking in editorial discretion and politically motivated that it would publish the photos. Unfortunately, blood sells papers (and assures traffic to websites, television programs as well as movies) and the “gore of war” supports those who advocate for immediate withdrawal of our troops from that conflict. It’s certainly disturbing that U.S. soldiers would behave in such a fashion.

But mostly, it’s disturbing that humanity has arrived at an acceptance, almost normalization, of extreme violence. We not only act it out in various ways but have an unhealthy interest, also normalized, in following the stories and watching the visuals. While humankind has always been violent, our misuse of the technology has done much to create this normalcy bias. We have grown accustomed to the infliction of pain and suffering and somehow, accept it as part of who we are.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We have the capacity for compassion and unity. It is our birthright. However, it is a choice we must consciously exercise. Being human, with all of the potential for what that entails, requires that we be deliberate in our use of those potentialities and aspire to our highest good.

Violence and war will be part of our reality so long as we “nourish” such thoughts and accept as normal the acting out of them. Each of us must be vigilant in our own lives that we are not contributing to the inevitable end product of the misperception that we are separate form one another and that it is possible to harm another without harming ourselves.

If the story and photos out of Afghanistan are repugnant to you yet you are fighting with a friend, relative, co-worker, or neighbor… you are being part of the problem not the solution. The remedy for what ails the world starts with each one of us and radiates outward.

There are two kinds of chaos. One works in your favor and one against. As we go through personal and global change on so many levels, it’s helpful to be able to distinguish them so you know which one to embrace and which to avoid.

I’ll call one “natural chaos” and the other “staged chaos.”

Natural chaos is the byproduct of anything, or anyone, moving from one state of existence to another. All life exists as a pattern or series of patterns. (In fact, we know that when a pattern is detailed and self-repeating it’s called “fractal”). When an existing pattern is caused to change any aspect of itself, the period of re-organization or self-organizing is chaotic by definition. This is because in the absence of one pattern, and in advance of the formation of a new pattern, a period of uncertainty ensues.  Natural chaos is internal in origin, whether internal to a single organism or a society. It is also a necessary and natural phenomenon indicative of dynamic transition.

Staged chaos is externally driven by applying excessive pressure or strain upon an existing condition for the purpose of confusion and disruption leading to disintegration and/or destruction. It is artificial in origin and manipulated to affect a given outcome. Staged chaos is man-made. It is most often and easily seen in the breakdown of a society where a few individuals band together to create conditions that ultimately benefit them at the expense of the many. Staged chaos is also generally accompanied by force and/or violence.

We humans periodically go through evolutionary leaps in knowledge (information) and conscious awareness (spiritual insight). Such leaps are natural and re-occurring. We are in just such a leap now and so we are experiencing the resulting natural chaos both personally and as co-inhabitants of a global community. The leap is tenuous and fraught with challenges but it will lead to new understandings of both our physical and spiritual existence.

However, it’s important to distinguish between what natural development is causing us to do and what political agendas, powerful financial organizations and tyrants would cause us to do.  The way to make this distinction is to ask yourself if external force and artificially generated pressure are the means to the end. If the answer is “yes” then avoid such chaos. Refuse to participate. Refuse to be manipulated. When the mob says “Go” make certain you remain very, very still.

When you are able to make this distinction for yourself, and when in each situation use your Free Will to choose your response, you will remove yourself from the effects of staged chaos. You will no longer be the puppet dancing to someone’s pulling of the strings.

So, now, which type of chaos is accompanying the Trayvon Martin saga?

And how will you respond?

 

I think it’s important to disclose a vested interest up front. I am an American Jew, so the fate of U.S.-Israeli relations matters to me for three reasons. As an American, I want to keep close those nations that are democratic in nature and founded upon principles and values similar to those of my country.  As a Jew, I am emotionally and historically tied to the land of Israel and, particularly, its reestablishment as the Jewish homeland in 1948. As an inhabitant of planet Earth, I want the highest good for all concerned.  Having now indicated that I have a “dog in this hunt” (actually, three dogs), I now approach the topic of a recent U.S. State Department action.

Yesterday, our State Department issued an official communication regarding travel by one of its representatives. A screen shot of the original release looked like this:

The problem with the release is that it distinguished Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, from Israel itself. The other names in the title of the release are countries, as is Israel. So, the implication is that in some way Jerusalem is independent of Israel. This is a fiction but one which I believe the Obama Administration would like to foster as it has previously. This is not the first time Jerusalem has been singled out by this Administration and referenced as being separate from Israel. And as happened on prior occasions, when called on it, the Administration made a “correction.” Now, the corrected version reads “Acting Under Secretary Kathleen Stephens Travels to Algiers, Doha, Amman, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. (italics added).

So, where’s the harm? Well, none… if it were a one time, isolated “mistake.” But it is instead a pattern of words and actions by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, this State Department and this White House that have been hostile to a longtime friend and ally.

In so many ways we are living through an extraordinary time of change. What accompanies change is chaos. In times of chaos it is best to know what is at your core and be able to access it should you need to stabilize and even, perhaps, defend what you believe in and value. The same is true for nations.

In a technological world experiencing rapid, global, political upheaval we are both connected and reliant upon one another to a greater degree than has ever historically been the case. For any nation, ours included, seeking to self-organize within the larger self-organization taking place globally, we would be wise to know who our friends are and treat them as such.

For our government to willfully, blatantly and repeatedly disregard both U.S. law, which recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as well as Israel’s decision as where it chooses to place its capital within its own borders, is not only a violation of the Jerusalem Embassy Act passed by the U.S. Congressional in 1995 but also an insult to Israel. Worth noting is that only when Israel has been in political, military and geographic control of Jerusalem have all three major world religions had the right and the access to worship.

In case you haven’t had the experience, friendships don’t survive repeated insults. It makes one wonder if that’s the real purpose after all.

So I’m wondering out loud because if I’ve learned one thing from history its to not be quiet and to not sit down.

 

 

Much has been written, and much more will be written, about the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman.  As a former practicing attorney, I will leave all of the media hype and speculation to those who have forgotten (or have an agenda and choose to ignore) the fact that we remain, thankfully, a nation bound by  the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise in a court of law.

My concern over this killing is the misuse of the tragedy by those who seek to further divide and alienate us from one another. As we go through rough economic times, the need for a scapegoat, or an object upon which we can vent our personal frustrations and difficulties, will be great.  This, historically, has always been the case no matter what the culture. Giving in to this need remains, sadly, a flaw of human nature.

If we allow ourselves to be used to polarize black against white, or be seduced to participate in a cause that advocates retaliation or vengeance as a remedy, this may well turn out to be the equivalent of the Tunisia man, Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire and sparked the Arab Spring.  The lesson there being that his cause was hijacked by those with a radical agenda who used the sincere intentions of the majority of participants to gain a result that few foresaw and less intended.

Here, a young boy is dead. If it was in self-defense no crime was committed. If it was an act of aggression on the part of the other, then justice needs to ensue and punishment to follow. For that determination we must be patient.

While we are waiting, let us remember that we rise or fall together…as a people, as a Nation, as a planet. Unless we comprehend exactly what that means and what it entails, we will continue to be pawns in a much larger game where the few triumph over the many and freedom becomes a fading memory.

What if water is the Earth’s cerebral-spinal fluid and oil is her blood?

What if the starving child in Africa or Tennessee is your belly aching?

What if breath is a gift given anew every second and you haven’t said “thank you” lately or ever.

What if thinking is not the same as being Conscious?

What if forgiving yourself and others neutralizes every bad choice ever made and you get to choose again?

What if living on the edge is a good thing if the edge is where Spirit and matter intersect?

What if miracles only happen to people who believe they exist?

What if laughter heals and you’ve lost your joy for life?

What if God is a verb and Its you in action?

What if messianic isn’t an adjective but an awareness?

What if every one of these is true?

What if there is only One of Us?

Then Who wrote this and Who’s reading it?

When I was in law school, my closest friend had a philosophy by which she lived. “Prepare for the worst and hope for the best” was her motto. When I asked why she felt as she did, her reply was “because I want to stay positive and if I am prepared for the worst I can then put it out of my mind and focus on the good.”  As someone with a propensity to worry, I took it as good advice and have lived by it ever since.

So I find misguided all the condescension toward people who choose food storage or a contingency plan for their family in case of emergency. At best it’s misguide but at worst it’s irresponsible. After all, we are living in rather precarious times.

Economic chaos, terrorist threats, and natural disasters hover, most days, just beyond the horizon. Any one of them is enough to cause worry and stress yet all three remain immanent and ongoing potentialities. But for being motivated by intolerance or political agenda, I see no good reason to disparage anyone who chooses to provide for themselves or their loved ones in the face of potential harm.

I am willing to bet that most of the people who seek to condemn or condescend others for preparation, carry comprehensive coverage on their auto insurance. You know, the coverage that assures you that if your car gets stolen, burned, vandalized, weather damaged, or is in a riot or missile attack etc. you’ll be able to return it to its pre-damaged condition with the assistance of the insurance company’s funds.  So let’s see. It’s not crazy, in fact it’s prudent, to prepare in advance for your car’s well-being but not for that of your life or the life of loved ones?

Please.

This is about intolerance and politics. It’s about divide and conquer. It’s about “us” against “them.” It’s primarily about Progressives against Conservatives…since it’s mostly Conservatives who do this kind of preparation. As for me, I’m an Independent. Not just politically but in my thinking as well. I live life as I see fit and draw my own conclusions after a reasoned and thorough study of the facts.

It seems to me that in a nation where Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve print money as if life is a game of Monopoly, a world where terrorists plot globally to destroy the values and principles upon which this country was founded, and where Nature has had just about enough of humankind’s lack of appreciation and disregard for balance…a little extra food, water, protection and a contingency plan seem to fit just fine into my law school colleague’s philosophy.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., a devout Muslim, is Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, “created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States as an effort to provide an American Muslim voice advocating for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, and the separation of mosque and state.” When looking for what is often called a “moderate Muslim” Dr. Jasser is the prototype and an admirable representative of that group.

When Dr. Jasser was asked in a recent interview about Islamic extremism he said “It’s not so much Islam against the West as it is a civil war within Islam.”  This statement fascinated me and got me thinking about the problem and the solution to radical Islam. United States history can be instructive.

During the founding of this Nation, and through the end of the 19^th century, we too were internally torn apart by a philosophically, and even religiously, sanctioned belief that physical and psychological enslavement of a targeted group of people was acceptable behavior and policy. Such is the well-documented history of African-Americans. However, this shameful time in our cultural evolution led good and decent people to stand for what was right, even at the price of brother against brother and the loss of 620,000 lives.

If we have been conditioned to perceive Islamic terrorism as a war against all Western nations then we may be misguided in our response and efforts to combat it. Further, we may altogether miss the instructive view that Dr. Jasser sets forth.

If, instead, there is a civil war occurring within Islam generally, then would it not behoove all freedom loving nations to seek out and support the internal Islamic opposition that itself seeks freedom from the fear of living under Sharia law as promulgated by the extremists?

Perhaps the greatest blunder by Barack Obama and the current U.S. foreign policy approach is the recognition and credibility given Islamic extremist groups (e.g. the Muslim Brotherhood) at the expense of marginalizing moderates such as those represented by Dr. Jasser.

This is not to say that it is unnecessary for us to be prepared to defend against Islamic terrorism. However, should we not simultaneously allow for such insight as that expressed by Dr. Jasser then we may have no one to blame for the outcome but ourselves.  Having failed to support, and even abandoned, those Muslims who similarly revere life and freedom as do we in the West, we will find ourselves overcome by the forces of darkness simply because we did not stand with and  for what was right.