What the Huck?

Mike Huckabee’s recent comments on Obama and Kenya are truly perplexing. Most of the media has focussed on the fact that Huckabee is factually wrong – Obama didn’t grow up in Kenya. What I find more interesting is the theory Huck is trying to float. According to Huck:

[Obama's] having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, very different than the average American…But then if you think about it, his perspective as growing up in Kenya with a Kenyan father and grandfather, their view of the Mau Mau Revolution in Kenya is very different than ours because he probably grew up hearing that the British were a bunch of imperialists who persecuted his grandfather.

Umm…okay. I’m not quite sure what Huck is getting at here. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Kenya isn’t the only country that ever fought a liberation movement against the mighty British Empire. Nor are the Kenyans the only colonists that felt persecuted by the British colonial apparatus. Lots of people who lived in Britain’s colonies felt this way and some even fought successful rebellions against the mother country…such as those living in what we call today the United States of America! So if Huck is trying to say that rebelling against Britain is somehow an un-American activity, what, exactly, would constitute an American activity? Huck might want to check out a rather important document in US history called “The Declaration of Independence” and rethink his position. By the way, since when did the GOP become pro-colonialism?

Why do we need to share the pain?

What fascinates me most about the way the debate over collective bargaining rights is unfolding in Wisconsin are the GOP’s attempts to pit pampered public sector workers against their struggling private sector counterparts. The argument seems to be that public sector workers need to share the pain. Yet the oddity here is that corporate profits are at an all-time high. Seems to me that we could make the argument that scrooges in management in the private sector ought to be sharing a bit more of the pie with labor. I sense a political logic, rather than an economic one here. Pitting middle class workers in the public sector against those in the private sector is a very effective way of marginalizing the political influence of the middle class.

Protests in Wisconsin & American Democracy

Generally I do my best to focus my writing on events abroad, and there is certainly no shortage of quality subject matter at the moment as political uprisings and threats of change continue to roll through the Middle East.  Today however I wanted to take time to comment on a domestic issue, the subject of the day is the growing protests in Wisconsin in response to proposed legislation targeting union rights in the state.  These massive protests have taken the spotlight in our news media the last few days and set the stage once again for another fight over America’s economic principles.

Some of my more liberal friends point to the recent protests in Wisconsin as a sign of budding resistance from the non-conservative side of the United States’ citizenry, but I’m not so sure I can leap to that conclusion.  As these protests begin to spread around the country and are increasingly politicized by our news media and representatives, I have to wonder if it’s for the best that the subject of worker’s rights is being taken up as a purely liberal issue.  Politically that’s certainly not a bad thing for the Democratic Party, but in terms of the value to society, I question this subject historically being perceived as a concern solely of America’s “far left”, while the issue of “protecting business interests” is seen as a more bipartisan issue.

American politics in general can be something of a nightmare.  As a nation we can be fiercely polarized on just about any issue, few of which our elected officials seem to care about as much as being re-elected.  Constantly dependable to add fuel to this ever-burning fire, our “more news more immediately” approach to media favors punditry over impartial and informative reporting.  Despite all of this, it’s excellent seeing the American people riled up about just about anything.  I am of the mind that political activity in the United States, regardless of who spawns it, is a social good for all of us.  If nothing else after all, a functional Democracy requires the interest and involvement of its populace.

Reactions to Political Change

Image courtesy of Boise Weekly & Getty Images

I was initially uncertain about writing more on the continuing crisis in Egypt.  Largely my purpose in blog writing tends toward discussing issues outside the spotlight of mainstream political news media, but the relevance of the current crisis to democracy promotion is such that it would be folly not to discuss the subject further.  The political change currently rolling through the Middle East has the potential to shape the region for the foreseeable future, and so I thought it would be worth taking a moment to discuss the reactions of other world powers to the current political change.  More specifically, the political reactions in the United States, European Union, China and Israel are vastly different and illuminating in regard to the nation’s issues with the Middle East and the ideological promotion of democracy.

In Israel, as in most nations, standards and opinions vary among the populace, the government and most obviously the media.  That being said the most regular sentiments expressed by Israel’s media have been of resistance to potential change and concern over “extremism”.  Of particular note has been the series of harsh critiques of President Obama’s approach to the crisis as naïve, ill informed and unaware of the region’s history. Continue reading »

What do Egyptians think of the US?

It’s a hard question to answer and I know that I can’t. Instead, dear reader, I will provide you with an anecdote to consider:

Egyptian riot police are firing tear gas canisters bearing the label “Made in U.S.A” against street demonstrations in Cairo, according to protesters who provided ABC News with pictures of the canisters…

The label urges anyone who comes in contact with the gas “to seek assistance as soon as possible.”

According to the canister labels, the tear gas is produced by Combined Systems International of Jamestown, Pennsylvania…

Egyptians who are part of the street demonstrations told ABC News that the evidence of the U.S.-made tear gas sends a powerful signal.

“The way I see it the U.S. administration supports dictators,” said Aly Eltayeb, 26, who has participated in the protests since Tuesday.

Yes, well… Hmm… You see, the thing is…of course the US supports democracy in Egypt, but, you know, even democracies need armies and police. And, obviously, mistakes were made, but you can’t hold us accountable for that, can you? There, that’s clear…isn’t it?