Ever since the administration of Woodrow Wilson, Americans have been enamored by the idea that overthrow of a despotic government will advance democracy and make the world a safer place to live.
To examine this idea, we should look back to history. In 1917, Wilson proclaimed that "heartening things that have been happening within the last few weeks in Russia." He was referring to the Bolshevik victory over the czar. That move paved the way for a totalitarian tyranny that killed more political prisoners in a year than the czars had killed in more than 90 years.
Although Wilson proclaimed that the First World War was being fought because "The world must be made safe for democracy," in reality the overthrow of autocratic rule in Germany and Italy led to totalitarian regimes that were far worse. Those today who assume that the overthrow of authoritarian governments in Egypt, Libya, and Syria is a movement toward democracy are following in Wilson's footsteps.
President Wilson is often charged with getting the U.S. into World War I; and secondarily into World War II as a result of that first great war; but the truth must be told. Wilson tried hard to keep the U.S. out of WW I. When, finally, the war forced itself on America, Wilson mobilized the nation to fight it with all our might. The thing that caused WW II was not WW I, it was the ill-conceived treaty of Versailles at the end of that war, which Wilson vehemently opposed until he became so ill that he could no longer negotiate a more effective and sane conclusion to the great war.
Well…we are still involved in the controversy. Will overthrow of autocratic regimes in the Middle East make the world a safer place to live? I certainly think the threat of a nuclear Iran needs to be effectively addressed; but I wonder if Muslim countries are ready and able to accommodate democracy. Hmmm….?
Want to read more about this subject—look at http://bit.ly/FWCNAY .
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Overthrow of a Despotic Government—Does It Do Any Good?
22 March 2012
Ever since the administration of Woodrow Wilson, Americans have been enamored by the idea that overthrow of a despotic government will advance democracy and make the world a safer place to live.
To examine this idea, we should look back to history. In 1917, Wilson proclaimed that "heartening things that have been happening within the last few weeks in Russia." He was referring to the Bolshevik victory over the czar. That move paved the way for a totalitarian tyranny that killed more political prisoners in a year than the czars had killed in more than 90 years.
Although Wilson proclaimed that the First World War was being fought because "The world must be made safe for democracy," in reality the overthrow of autocratic rule in Germany and Italy led to totalitarian regimes that were far worse. Those today who assume that the overthrow of authoritarian governments in Egypt, Libya, and Syria is a movement toward democracy are following in Wilson's footsteps.
President Wilson is often charged with getting the U.S. into World War I; and secondarily into World War II as a result of that first great war; but the truth must be told. Wilson tried hard to keep the U.S. out of WW I. When, finally, the war forced itself on America, Wilson mobilized the nation to fight it with all our might. The thing that caused WW II was not WW I, it was the ill-conceived treaty of Versailles at the end of that war, which Wilson vehemently opposed until he became so ill that he could no longer negotiate a more effective and sane conclusion to the great war.
Well…we are still involved in the controversy. Will overthrow of autocratic regimes in the Middle East make the world a safer place to live? I certainly think the threat of a nuclear Iran needs to be effectively addressed; but I wonder if Muslim countries are ready and able to accommodate democracy. Hmmm….?
Want to read more about this subject—look at http://bit.ly/FWCNAY .
22 March 2012
Ever since the administration of Woodrow Wilson, Americans have been enamored by the idea that overthrow of a despotic government will advance democracy and make the world a safer place to live.
To examine this idea, we should look back to history. In 1917, Wilson proclaimed that "heartening things that have been happening within the last few weeks in Russia." He was referring to the Bolshevik victory over the czar. That move paved the way for a totalitarian tyranny that killed more political prisoners in a year than the czars had killed in more than 90 years.
Although Wilson proclaimed that the First World War was being fought because "The world must be made safe for democracy," in reality the overthrow of autocratic rule in Germany and Italy led to totalitarian regimes that were far worse. Those today who assume that the overthrow of authoritarian governments in Egypt, Libya, and Syria is a movement toward democracy are following in Wilson's footsteps.
President Wilson is often charged with getting the U.S. into World War I; and secondarily into World War II as a result of that first great war; but the truth must be told. Wilson tried hard to keep the U.S. out of WW I. When, finally, the war forced itself on America, Wilson mobilized the nation to fight it with all our might. The thing that caused WW II was not WW I, it was the ill-conceived treaty of Versailles at the end of that war, which Wilson vehemently opposed until he became so ill that he could no longer negotiate a more effective and sane conclusion to the great war.
Well…we are still involved in the controversy. Will overthrow of autocratic regimes in the Middle East make the world a safer place to live? I certainly think the threat of a nuclear Iran needs to be effectively addressed; but I wonder if Muslim countries are ready and able to accommodate democracy. Hmmm….?
Want to read more about this subject—look at http://bit.ly/FWCNAY .
Monday, March 19, 2012
Souls in Transition by Christian Smith
I have been reading a book about Americans after high school and before they assume full adult function and responsibility. I think this is a land mark book to help us understand the confusing world in which we live.
This book presents a study of what happens to the religious and social orientation and characteristics of people transitioning into adulthood from adolescence—it looks at people at the age of 18-23.
The book notes that there are four new determining factors in the development of young people during these years—factors that have not been present in America previously:
a. The dramatic growth of higher education.
b. Delay of marriage.
c. Changes in the American and global economy that undermine stable, lifelong careers and replace them with lower job security, frequent job changes, and an ongoing need to approach careers with a variety of skills, maximal flexibility and readiness to retool as needed.
d. Parental willingness to extend the educational careers of their children even into the 30’s with monetary subsidies. It is the average behavior of parents of this age group to spend $38,340 on each child over the 17 year period from 18 to 34 in order to help them accommodate to adult requirements.
The features marking this stage of emerging adulthood are intense identity exploration, instability, a focus on self, feeling in limbo or in transition or in between, and a sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These are often accompanied by feelings of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, disappointment, and sometimes emotional devastation.
This book presents a study of what happens to the religious and social orientation and characteristics of people transitioning into adulthood from adolescence—it looks at people at the age of 18-23.
The book notes that there are four new determining factors in the development of young people during these years—factors that have not been present in America previously:
a. The dramatic growth of higher education.
b. Delay of marriage.
c. Changes in the American and global economy that undermine stable, lifelong careers and replace them with lower job security, frequent job changes, and an ongoing need to approach careers with a variety of skills, maximal flexibility and readiness to retool as needed.
d. Parental willingness to extend the educational careers of their children even into the 30’s with monetary subsidies. It is the average behavior of parents of this age group to spend $38,340 on each child over the 17 year period from 18 to 34 in order to help them accommodate to adult requirements.
The features marking this stage of emerging adulthood are intense identity exploration, instability, a focus on self, feeling in limbo or in transition or in between, and a sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These are often accompanied by feelings of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, disappointment, and sometimes emotional devastation.
Friday, March 16, 2012
It Costs Too Much To Do Business In America!
Japan has decided to lower its corporate tax rate to 36.8%. Japan previously had the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Now, the United has the highest corporate tax rate--39.2%.
The United States holds the world’s title for highest corporate tax rate, with average combined federal and state profit levies of 39.2%. That's higher than Sweden. Higher than Russia, China, Mexico, Denmark, and even France.
The last four years have seen numerous U.S. economic milestones—four years of trillion-dollar deficits, some $5 trillion in new debt, the loss of America's AAA credit rating, three years of near-zero interest rates (that have not done anything to lower unemployment), postwar records for federal spending as a share of the economy, and now the world's number one corporate tax rate.
To read more about this, go to http://on.wsj.com/AtqNG9.
The United States holds the world’s title for highest corporate tax rate, with average combined federal and state profit levies of 39.2%. That's higher than Sweden. Higher than Russia, China, Mexico, Denmark, and even France.
The last four years have seen numerous U.S. economic milestones—four years of trillion-dollar deficits, some $5 trillion in new debt, the loss of America's AAA credit rating, three years of near-zero interest rates (that have not done anything to lower unemployment), postwar records for federal spending as a share of the economy, and now the world's number one corporate tax rate.
To read more about this, go to http://on.wsj.com/AtqNG9.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Value of Family
Following is a letter from a 12-year-old girl to her grandfather in the retirement community where Nancy and I live. She wrote the letter on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Only the family name has been changed.
“It is amazing how one little act of kindness or one little thing you do can really benefit someone’s life! You have no idea how happy you can make someone feel just by even visiting them! There are many examples of things I learned from the O’Malley family. They have helped me learn the importance of family and how having a good relationship is very important!
“The importance of family is that family comes first, always! You have to take care of each other so when they have families of their own; they know how to take care of them too!
“You have to spend time together if you want to create memories! Laughing and sharing moments together is good for your soul! Doing things together helps you remember that family is the best of friends that you will never lose, and that will always be right by your side no matter what! The more time that you spend together, the better relationship and the better memories, you will share together!
“I know that the little things that you do for your family and friends, can make them happier than ever before! An example of this is when my whole family went to visit my grandpa on his 80th birthday. We had dinner with him and he opened up presents. That night we talked, laughed, and laughed some more! We made him a book of memories and photos of the family! It was a great way to display such happy and memorable moments! My grandpa was so happy! It was a simple thing to do, and a very easy way to make him happy! This taught me that we should all try to do something nice/kind to make someone happy every day!
“Family is the most powerful love, greatest love that you could ever have! Family encourages you to follow your dreams and to take chances! Family does things for each other that they would not do for anyone else. Family is just, super exciting! There is never a dull moment! Sometimes you lose friends easily, just from something stupid or something that you said. But family will NEVER leave you! They learn to forgive after you make a mistake! Nothing is more important and powerful than family!”
“It is amazing how one little act of kindness or one little thing you do can really benefit someone’s life! You have no idea how happy you can make someone feel just by even visiting them! There are many examples of things I learned from the O’Malley family. They have helped me learn the importance of family and how having a good relationship is very important!
“The importance of family is that family comes first, always! You have to take care of each other so when they have families of their own; they know how to take care of them too!
“You have to spend time together if you want to create memories! Laughing and sharing moments together is good for your soul! Doing things together helps you remember that family is the best of friends that you will never lose, and that will always be right by your side no matter what! The more time that you spend together, the better relationship and the better memories, you will share together!
“I know that the little things that you do for your family and friends, can make them happier than ever before! An example of this is when my whole family went to visit my grandpa on his 80th birthday. We had dinner with him and he opened up presents. That night we talked, laughed, and laughed some more! We made him a book of memories and photos of the family! It was a great way to display such happy and memorable moments! My grandpa was so happy! It was a simple thing to do, and a very easy way to make him happy! This taught me that we should all try to do something nice/kind to make someone happy every day!
“Family is the most powerful love, greatest love that you could ever have! Family encourages you to follow your dreams and to take chances! Family does things for each other that they would not do for anyone else. Family is just, super exciting! There is never a dull moment! Sometimes you lose friends easily, just from something stupid or something that you said. But family will NEVER leave you! They learn to forgive after you make a mistake! Nothing is more important and powerful than family!”
Monday, March 12, 2012
Coming Apart—The State Of White America
Charles Murray has written an important book with the above title. This book has received 3 top level reviews lately, 2 in the Wall Street Journal and 1 in the New York Times.
The book describes the development of two, here to fore, new classes of people in White America, i.e., the new upper class and the new lower class. I’ll make some comments on the new upper class in this blog post.
The new upper class is a group of people who were selected out of the upper middle class by their superior intelligence and by their elite educations at premier universities, such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Wellesley, etc. These people are the upper level of our present day movers and shakers in government, business, communications, and education. They are the drivers of the new and important cultural, financial, and social changes we see in our country. They were raised in homes of very affluent parents and born into the baby boom generation.
One characteristic of this new class of people is their isolation from mainstream America. They do not participate in the activities of ordinary Americans to a great extent. They make much more money; they live in their own residential compounds, mostly in the neighborhood of New York, Washington, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; they maintain stable families; they do not smoke; they take different vacations from ordinary Americans; they exercise a lot; they are not overweight; etc., etc.
We have a lot of things in our lives for which we can thank this new upper class. They are the innovators of most of the good material things we have in our lives, e.g., advances in technology and medicine. While the author accurately describes this new upper class of Americans, he fails to assess the value of spiritual life they manifest.
I would imagine that when God looks at this group of overeducated, elitist, snobs, He might not have a very rosy appreciation of them. Nevertheless, they are with us; and we had better understand them—they control our lives more than we, perhaps, know.
The book describes the development of two, here to fore, new classes of people in White America, i.e., the new upper class and the new lower class. I’ll make some comments on the new upper class in this blog post.
The new upper class is a group of people who were selected out of the upper middle class by their superior intelligence and by their elite educations at premier universities, such as Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Wellesley, etc. These people are the upper level of our present day movers and shakers in government, business, communications, and education. They are the drivers of the new and important cultural, financial, and social changes we see in our country. They were raised in homes of very affluent parents and born into the baby boom generation.
One characteristic of this new class of people is their isolation from mainstream America. They do not participate in the activities of ordinary Americans to a great extent. They make much more money; they live in their own residential compounds, mostly in the neighborhood of New York, Washington, San Francisco, and Los Angeles; they maintain stable families; they do not smoke; they take different vacations from ordinary Americans; they exercise a lot; they are not overweight; etc., etc.
We have a lot of things in our lives for which we can thank this new upper class. They are the innovators of most of the good material things we have in our lives, e.g., advances in technology and medicine. While the author accurately describes this new upper class of Americans, he fails to assess the value of spiritual life they manifest.
I would imagine that when God looks at this group of overeducated, elitist, snobs, He might not have a very rosy appreciation of them. Nevertheless, they are with us; and we had better understand them—they control our lives more than we, perhaps, know.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Divorce In Old Age—Getting More and More Common
Divorce in America spiked in incidence in the 1980’s and has been decreasing since then. However, the story is different for old people—their divorce rate is increasing. In 1990, only one in 10 who got divorced was 50 or older, but by 2009, the number was roughly one in four.
Infidelity is stated as the cause of 27% of divorces in the elderly; and that is the same as for all divorces in general. Women are the ones in marriages seeking the split—they file for divorce 66% of the time.
One must wonder—what could be the reason for these elderly people seeking divorce? To answer this question, it is useful to look at the reason they got married in the first place. Before World War II, I am told that people got married primarily for “economic” reasons. My own parents married in 1934; and they told me that was the reason they married. I am not sure what “economic” reasons are; but I assume that they thought they could cope better money-wise if they divided the work of raising a family and supporting themselves. In the decades of the 50’s and 60’s, sociologists say that spouses married for reasons defined by the degree to which each spouse could fulfill his or her role. Husbands were measured by their prowess as providers and wives by their skills in homemaking and motherhood. Whatever the reasons for these older marriages, the partners respected one another and did their best to help and support one another in the partnership. These marriages held tightly together for the most part.
After 1970, however, I believe that people got married for different reasons. These marriage partners were baby boomers who set much higher expectations on self-actualization. They saw marriage as a way to develop their personal skills and professional advancement in various ways. Their emphases were not on building up one another—they sought to advance themselves! This was the “Me Generation.” That idea has finally come home to roost. Marriages built on a desire to advance oneself will not last—stable marriages will only be established by people bent on helping the other member of the arrangement.
If you are interested in following this idea further, I would suggest that you look at http://on.wsj.com/wF6HrH.
Infidelity is stated as the cause of 27% of divorces in the elderly; and that is the same as for all divorces in general. Women are the ones in marriages seeking the split—they file for divorce 66% of the time.
One must wonder—what could be the reason for these elderly people seeking divorce? To answer this question, it is useful to look at the reason they got married in the first place. Before World War II, I am told that people got married primarily for “economic” reasons. My own parents married in 1934; and they told me that was the reason they married. I am not sure what “economic” reasons are; but I assume that they thought they could cope better money-wise if they divided the work of raising a family and supporting themselves. In the decades of the 50’s and 60’s, sociologists say that spouses married for reasons defined by the degree to which each spouse could fulfill his or her role. Husbands were measured by their prowess as providers and wives by their skills in homemaking and motherhood. Whatever the reasons for these older marriages, the partners respected one another and did their best to help and support one another in the partnership. These marriages held tightly together for the most part.
After 1970, however, I believe that people got married for different reasons. These marriage partners were baby boomers who set much higher expectations on self-actualization. They saw marriage as a way to develop their personal skills and professional advancement in various ways. Their emphases were not on building up one another—they sought to advance themselves! This was the “Me Generation.” That idea has finally come home to roost. Marriages built on a desire to advance oneself will not last—stable marriages will only be established by people bent on helping the other member of the arrangement.
If you are interested in following this idea further, I would suggest that you look at http://on.wsj.com/wF6HrH.
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