HUMAN POLITICS

In order to fully understand the impact of our decisions today, we have to wait for them to be interpreted by the history books of tomorrow. We’re all still struggling to fully understand the legacy President George W. Bush’s administration left behind. And while President Obama’s win in 2008 will inevitably go down in the books as a significant political victory, his presidency and the entire public perspective of American politics hinges on his reelection.

On November 4, 2008, 69 and a half million Americans sent a message to the rest of the nation and the world. By sending a presidential candidate who ran entirely on a message of change and hope to the White House, America bought into the dream that politics could be different, that change was possible.

By not reelecting him, history books will recall his election in 2008 as a fluke. An experiment in a new kind of politics, a politics of hope, that failed.

If Obama fails to get reelected, “He meant to show the unity of America but only underscored its division,” says The Atlantic’s James Fallows.

Historical perspective matters, and one-term Presidents largely look like failures in the eyes of the present looking back. In a country that desperately needs to unite rather than split further apart, President Obama’s reelection holds much more meaning than just the next 4 years.

Much like Christmas, it seems like election season begins earlier and earlier every four years. Republicans began announcing their plans to run as early as May of 2011 (Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain, I’m looking at you). Now, we’re only a week into 2012, and the Republican primary process has already proven one of my biggest predictions: the GOP is going through a major identity crisis.

Flashback to a warm August morning in 2008. John McCain, the Republican Presidential Candidate, has just announced that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. American flags are waving in the air. The crowd is going crazy. What sounds like the theme song from Superman plays over the speakers as Governor Palin takes her time walking to the podium. Looking back now, not only were we watching the beginning of what would be the worst Presidential campaign of all time, but we were also watching the birth of a new Republican party.

By selecting Sarah Palin, John McCain handed a national microphone to one of the most polarizing political figures of recent times. Palin shined the light on a fringe Republican market for folks like Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Herman Cain and Christine O’Donnell. This market, call it whatever you will, values “I believe” over “I know”. Faith over knowledge. Simplicity over comprehension.

The McCain/Palin campaign met its demise on November 4, with Barack Obama winning the Presidency by 10 million votes. But what rose from the ashes of a failed campaign was a movement: the Tea Party.

Four years later, that shift in priorities has been making waves in the Republican Primary of 2012. Stay tuned for Part 2.

It has now been two weeks since protesters have filled the streets of Lower Manhattan in the Occupy Wall Street demonstration. While their demands remain unclear, these activists seem dead set on revolutionizing the way this country works. 

In the last two weeks, there have been several accounts of what many consider police brutality against members of this movement. And while brutality of any kind should never be endorsed or tolerated, the police is not to blame.

When people are expected to act a certain way, the chances of them actually fulfilling that expectation are much higher. This is called the Pygmalion Effect.  Throughout history, the police has always been portrayed as a hand of oppression. Since brutality is expected of them, they are treated like brutes; when we treat them like brutes, they act with brutality. Watch the video below, posted on Occupy Wall Street’s own website (Warning: it’s a bit disturbing):

In the video above, one of the protesters repeatedly calls the police fascists and compares them to Nazi Germany. Several others are screaming at them. How would you expect anyone to react in such a hostile situation? How can a movement claiming to be representing the “99%” be vilifying the Police Department? 

The New York City Police Department is reacting exactly how the protesters expect them to react: aggressively. The protesters are the cause for police brutality, not the police. There is nothing peaceful about the anger in this video. 

This country has so much to work on, and there is so much in this world to be angry about. We must learn to take that anger and turn it into passion. We must then take that passion and make it into a plan. And only through reason, perseverance, and composure should our voices be heard. 

President Obama just held a press conference in response to Speaker Boehner walking away from crucial deficit talks.  President Obama spoke of compromises, saying, ”We’re willing to make the tough cuts and take on the heat - but there’s got to be balance in the process.” The President has been heavily criticized from both the Right and Left for not leading, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. President Obama is a leader by every definition. 

Leading means working together with everyone involved to do what’s right. It means working with those who disagree with you. It means making the right compromises to move forward. 

These deficit negotiations mark a historic moment for the United States, and the White House has been working relentlessly to keep the economic status of this country, and of this global economy. 

President Obama ended his press conference by saying, “If you want to be a leader, then you’ve got to lead.” As this story unfolds, the GOP will be remembered for walking away during one of the most crucial moments in our history. 

Below is a video of President Obama discussing leadership, compromises, and democracy. As the press conference video posts, I will update this article.

While the battle over debt and deficit rages on in Washington D.C, you may be wondering what is actually going on. The debt ceiling is a strange and complicated issue, and it has suddenly surfaced to the front pages of every major news source. This has been an issue for several months, if not years. We could all see this coming. Congress seems to have waited until the last moments to put this issue on the table. The clock is ticking, and if no deal is reached by August 2, “It would create a very severe financial shock that would have effects not only on the U.S. economy but the global economy,” says Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (Source: CNN.com). HUMAN POLITICS has been covering the Debt Ceiling issue for a few months. Here’s where you can go to learn more:

Raising the Debt Ceiling (January 16, 2011)

Ignoring the Elephant (March 6, 2011)

Shutting it Down (April 7, 2011)

If no progress is made, at midnight this Friday, April 8, government will partially shutdown. Many of us will not notice a big difference in our day to day lives. Residents of the Washington D.C area will notice their trash pile up. It’ll be that much more difficult to check out that book you’ve been meaning to read at the library. But that’s not to say that this isn’t a major political event.

It’s like Cinderella, if instead of a Princess, it’s the President. And the carriage that turns into a pumpkin is 600,000 suspended employees.

We’re witnessing a pretty incredible game of political chicken, and the Republicans don’t seem to be going anywhere. In fact, the Democrats have pretty much thrown in the towel at this point.

“We meet them halfway, they say no. We meet them more than halfway, they still say no. We meet them all the way, they still say no. If Republicans were really worried about keeping the government running, all they would have to do is say yes,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

Republicans will take this as far as they need to, and then pull out. This stunt buys Republicans something more important than budget cuts: campaign material. The Right has made their message for 2012 pretty clear: cut spending. Threatening a partial shutdown is the most dramatic way for them to prove that they’re serious. Worst case scenario: 600,000 people are suspended for a short period of time, and when a budget is finally passed, the House will blame it on the fact that President Obama was not leading.

Making stupid decisions to prove a point at the sake of thousands of librarians, soldiers, and trash collectors does not make you a leader Mr. Boehner.

Tomorrow, March 26, marks the 5th annual Earth Hour. Earth Hour began in 2007 as an effort to spread the message of sustainability and the environment. The concept of Earth Hour is simple: on March 26 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm, turn off all of your lights. 2.2 Million people participated during the first Earth Hour, and since then, it has grown to a global movement, with 128 countries participating in 2010. 

So why am I talking about Earth Hour (other than it being an awesome idea)?

Because The Competitive Enterprise Institution (CEI), a libertarian think tank, has announced its own event tomorrow. The Human Achievement Hour was created to compete with Earth Hour. CEI is asking participants to “Leave your lights on to express your appreciation for the inventions and innovations that make today the best time to be alive ” (Source: CEI)

The CEI has captured the essence of Global Warming skeptics. Those who do not believe in climate change not only feel like the entire theory is part of a government conspiracy, but that it’s an attack on individual liberty, innovation, and business. The CEI could not be more wrong. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that Earth Hour is all about individual responsibility, innovation, and business. 

The environment and capitalism are not worlds apart. We can continue being a capitalist based economy while still being environmentally conscious. To create a more sustainable world, we’ll need to innovate and re-think everything we do to better use our resources. That means individual responsibility and corporate responsibility to their community and consumers. 

If anything, the Libertarian party should be leading the charge in the fight against climate change and the path towards sustainability. 

Click here to find out more about Earth Hour. 

This week, the people of Japan have faced, and continue to face, a level of despair that most of us could never fathom. Writing stories about politics hasn’t felt like the right thing to do. What began as a historic earthquake turned into a sea of destruction, and then into a nuclear catastrophe. I don’t want to even pretend to know what the people of Japan are going through right now. 

I was taught from a very early age that there’s no point in anticipating and panicking over that which we cannot control. In these events, all we can do is prepare to the best of our abilities. 

Japan’s tragedy was caused by natural forces. Yet, on the larger scale of suffering, most of our troubles are man-made. From world events like Egypt and Libya, national issues like budget cuts and gay marriage, to personal problems between each of us. We create our own personal earthquakes. We choose to flood our lives with suffering. 

The natural disasters in Japan put life in perspective. We cannot blame the tectonic plates or the waves of water. They never chose to create misery. They do not have the capability to be malicious like we do. We have an incredible capacity to create a massive amount of joy and misery. Every choice we make has a real human impact, both positive and negative. These are choices we can control. We are all at the mercy of nature. Let’s not be at the mercy of each other. 

At the fear of sounding preachy, I’ll end here. More stories about politics coming soon. Meanwhile, you can choose to help Japan by donating here.

On my last day of my first semester in college, my American Government professor, Dr. Howard Smith, sat my entire class down and gave us the talk. This, he said, is the biggest threat to your future. The imagine behind him was not that of terrorism, disease, or war. It was a pie chart of the entitlement programs budget. Comprised of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, entitlement programs are devouring the entire federal budget, Dr. Smith explained. And soon, and not 50 to 100 years soon, but this generation soon, we will not longer be able to pay for education, infrastructure, science, development, or homeland security.

We are amid another budget debate between the White House, Congress, the Federal Government, and individual States. The budget war has spilled onto Main Street, where teachers and public workers are watching their pay and benefits being cut right infront of their eyes. Massive cuts to the discretionary budget are being proposed because we simply cannot live within our means. Yet, we are not addressing the real issue. The elephant in the room that no one wants to deal with. Entitlement Programs.

Americans are looking for low taxes and extraordinary benefits, and that is simply not realistic. And rather than raise taxes, or proposing drastic reforms to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicade, we’re cutting the programs and sectors that are key to the country’s development.

We’re selling our furniture because we can’t afford the car insurance for our Ferrari. Rather than escorting the elephant out of the room, or looking for a smaller pet, we’re trying to push the walls out further and further.

Budget cuts don’t work because they don’t address the issue. We’re trying to fix the cracks while ignoring the gaping hole that is flooding and sinking the ship. And the further we allow this to continue, the more difficult it will be to fix the problem.

On February 23, President Obama urged the Justice Department to no longer uphold the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). DOMA defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman, representing a massive roadblock to gay marriage. This is the first step towards repeal from a President since the law’s original passing in 1996.

Since President Obama’s announcement, Republicans have made their stance clear: Obama’s opposition to a standing law is unconstitutional. 

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor argues that “[Obama] not defending the law of the land is something very troubling I think to most members of the House.”  (Source: CNN.com)

Newt Gingrich goes even further. In a recent interview, Mr. Gingrich describes President Obama’s announcement as an act to “pay off allies in the gay community, and to do something that they thought was clever.” Gingrich goes on to say that “it is a violation of duty” and a “very unconstitutional act” for the President to fight against DOMA. “He is not a one person Supreme Court,” he says, “his job is to enforce the rule of law.” (Source: Salon.com)

While the Presidential Oath of Office certainly backs up Mr. Gingrich’s argument, there is a larger question to be asked here. If a certain law is oppressive to a large group of people, is it the President’s job to protect that law, or to protect the people that law is oppressing? 

This is not a debate over what the President’s Oath of Office is, but more about what it should be. Rather than swearing to uphold and protect the Constitution, the President should swear to protect the American people from violence, poverty, hunger, disease, and oppression. This, of course, isn’t the most practical suggestion. The Constitution is a set document, and we swear to it for a reason. If the President weren’t held to Constitutional duties, we would have a Government more bi-polar than a sober Charlie Sheen.

While Mr. Gingrich makes the hard Constitutional point, he misses the big picture. Laws are put in place to protect people. Laws are not restrictions, but guard rails. They are put in place to make sure that greed, power, pride, and prejudice (ladies?) do not overtake the basic rights of all people. 

Yes, President Obama’s duty as the Commander-in-Chief is to protect and uphold the Constitution and Laws of this country, but only for the sake of our people. As times change and perspectives widen, laws must change to fit our better understanding of what is ethical. By fighting against DOMA, President Obama is fulfilling the most basic duty of a leader: protecting his people and moving this country forward.