politicalcivility.com Blog

To the readers of this blog, I need to make an apology to Representative Trish Beck for jumping to conclusions on some data that I pulled from the Lt. Governors campaign disclosure website.  While Rob Miller and I still disagree on the total number of out-of-state contributions, my revised total came out much lower at ~7.5% instead of the 22% I listed on my original post. 

Also, I apologize for the IT problems with comments and for having the post “close” unintentionally.  I still don’t know what’s happened to that post.  Given the inabililty to comment on the post, I have decided to delete it.

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On a separate note, this post gives me the chance to reiterate the commitment to the readers of this blog, namely that I will 1) do my best to give accurate data, 2) be willing to correct a mistake if that data is wrong, and 3) welcome all commentors.

Thank you again to all of you who take the time to read, discuss, correct, and be a part of politicalcivility.com.

Much is now being made of Obama’s radio comments back in 2001.  See: IBD (here) and NYPost (here).

His comments are not surprising to me.  He is a liberal, and as the Post points out he is espousing liberal ideas in a much more candid way than what we get during most elections. The comments are helpful in providing insight into the philosophical orientation of Obama and what kind of a Justice he would appoint if elected.  I think that is very important information.  If anything it’s refreshing to see inside the real Obama.

The down part of this for me is how it will be used for fearmongering, which makes me wonder if it is going to cost Obama.  That “cost” is what bugs me, because when candidates feel like they must hide who they really are, we the voters lose (no matter who “wins” the election.)  The fearmongering of the media on both sides is one of the reasons why we get little more than platitudes from both candidates.

As I have spent the last several months studying Story’s Commentaries on the Constitution i have often pondered the question, why didn’t I hear more about this in middle school and especially high school.  I remember three US history classes in school: 8th grade with Mr. Rosenthal, AP US history with Mr. Williams and finally, AP Gov’t with Mr. Thomas.  Not one of them came close to teaching me about US history or gave me an appreciation for our Republic and constitution like reading Story.  I believe we are failing in large measure to heed Story’s admonition in the closing sentences of his book.

“Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings and blood of their ancestors; and capable, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence…Republics are created by the virture, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens.  They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.”

Because every now and then a string of comments or a topic I write about forces me to take a long hard look in the mirror.  My post from Monday and yesterday and the ensuing comment threads did just that.  After the past couple of days, I am more convinced that Bloom was right that stepping back and looking at our own indignation can be the beginning of true knowledge.  For me, the knowledge nugget that came back again is: the behavior/attitudes which really gets under my skin I find I myself am most guilty of committing or exhibiting.  In other words, that which I most despise in others, I am often most guilty of myself.  CS Lewis said it this way when discussing PRIDE: 

“There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves.  And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.” [italics added for emphasis] 

Perhaps the most poingnant and sad case of this is where abuse takes place.  I have heard and witnessed several examples of the hatred or feelings of betrayal an abused expresses regarding their particular abuser, and then as the numbers suggest, these abused become the abusers and continue the cycle of violence.  They become the very thing they once were indignant about.   

For me the “sin” I so dislike in others is the rush to assume intent on the part of another.  I can’t stand when some one makes some judgement about how self righteous a post or comment of mine may have been when they know absolutely nothing about me, my heart, my intent, etc.. And yet as I sit here writing this post, I can name time after time, when I have been guilty of exactly such a crime.  My natural reaction is to strike back with equal or increased wrath and judgement in response to one who has inappropriately judged me.

Blogging has forced me to confront this incongruous behavior, and while I have by no means eliminated the tendency, I believe progress is in the works. 

So today I say “thank you” to all those who take the time to post, whether that comment derides or applauds any particular post.  You’ve made me think a little deeper and be a little better.

Ponder this quote from Allan Bloom, author of The Closing of the American Mind:

“Indignation is the soul’s defense against the wound of doubt about its own; it reorders the cosmos to support the justice of its cause…Recognizing indignation for what it is constitutes knowledge of the soul.”

Example No.1 from SLCSpin: http://www.slcspin.com/?p=408.