As the events unfold throughout the Middle East, it is encouraging to see people take to the streets and challenge their respective governments to finally consider long-ignored reforms.  For Americans who are the hereditary benefactors of a challenge to oppressive and authoritarian rule, it is particularly heartwarming considering our republic’s 200+ years of government by, for, and of the people.  Watching the news then, it is almost understandable that the American media would romanticize the protests and attempt to equate them to the American Revolution.  However, in their rush to show support, the media is willfully and negligently ignoring the potential and likely ramifications of these uprisings.  Thusly, there is an apparent conspiracy to tell only those stories that fit the narrative proving once again that, rather than reporting the truth, the media is more interested in pushing an ideological agenda. 

A particularly appalling story that has occurred is that of CBS reporter Lara Logan.  During her reporting of the situation in Egypt, her crew was attacked by a crowd that was “whipped into a frenzy.” Ms. Logan was “surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.”  As if this wasn’t shocking enough, there are rumors that the crowd chanted “Jew, Jew” as they continued the assault.  Ms. Logan, who is not Jewish, is now recovering in the US but to add insult to her injuries, there are additional reports that CBS and the American media willfully chose to bury this story, perhaps because it didn’t fit the narrative. 

As much as we want to believe these protests capture the Spirit of 76 and will result in governments who acknowledge the natural rights of man, we must be careful to not ignore the spirit of 79.  That year bore witness to several uprisings throughout the Middle East, not the least of which was the revolution that established the Islamic Republic Iran, a movement that many acknowledge was influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood.  Thirty years later, the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious-based organization that wants to enact shari’a law and supports a return to the caliphate, is well-positioned to be the largest benefactor of the current regional crisis. 

Meanwhile, there are those in the US who choose to look at the Muslim Brotherhood through rose-colored glasses and want to cast them as a peaceful organization.  Furthermore, those who have a healthy suspicion of the Muslim Brotherhood are criticized for inciting anti-Islamic hysteria despite the fact that the Brotherhood is an organization that the FBI says supports international terrorism.  Certainly it would be nice to give the Muslim Brotherhood the benefit of the doubt, but I would hope that based on the evidence, the US media would do a better job of vetting before seceding the point. 

If only the US media would convey this same optimism and spirit of forgiveness in their reporting of the Tea Party and the American conservative movement.  Remember, this is the same media that, when there are no actual accounts of racism, create them from thin air if only to disparage American citizens who do not share in their ideology. 

In order to build a democracy from the current crisis, it must be laid on a foundation of truth. That the Lara Logan story was possibly ignored or buried is sad.  But the fact that the American media continues to obscure, hide, or create truth in order to support their agenda is irresponsible and a gross dereliction of their duty to keep government honest.  Unfortunately, Americans are becoming immune to the media’s continued malfeasance.  But as protests continue throughout the Middle East, it is an injustice to those who have never known democratic freedom to report anything but the absolute and unvarnished truth.  Only then will people be able to form their own opinions and decide for themselves the path they should follow. 

Timing is everything.  Whether you are baking a cake, playing baseball, or telling a joke, precise timing matters and is arguably the most important variable that, without it, all else will fail.  Lest we forget though, everything IS relative.  What you are baking is as important as the time it takes to bake.  If you hope to advance the runner, pitch counts and runners on base determine how to approach an at-bat.  And a common and shared experience is crucial if a joke is to be well-received and you want your audience to laugh.  The same holds true in politics.  Just as the timing and context of post 9/11 America are critical to any discussion regarding the use of ‘harsh interrogations,’ they are equally important in the President’s decision to release the so-called “torture memos.”

The first 100 days of Obama’s Presidency are upon us and as curious of a benchmark for a president’s performance it is, it is no less interesting that the national discussion is, to some degree, off the president himself. Because of his egregious flopping on the issue, he’s certainly—and deservedly—drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle by those who wonder why? Why release the memos when he’s repeatedly stated that he would rather turn his attention to the future than investigate the alleged crimes of the past? And once they’ve been released, why not defuse the issue immediately rather than fuel the debate and further obscure his intent by passing the buck over to AG Holder?  And why draw attention to a matter that was all but forgotten except to those on the extreme left who can’t seem to shake their nagging case of Bush Derangement Syndrome.

It’s become apparent that Obama believes that history, defined by that which occurred before his presidency, should have little impact on the issues of today. Whether it’s ties to domestic terrorists or actions of US Presidents that occurred in his infancy, President Obama continues to employ the excuse that although he’s the international face of our country, he can not be held accountable for anything in which he was not personally involved. It must be easy then, for him to ignore the feeling of helplessness most Americans felt after 9/11, an event that took place before he had the chance to slow the rise of oceans and heal our planet. It’s painfully obvious that Obama wants to remove the context of history from his Presidency, particularly the context which most Americans accept as one of American Exceptionalism. Judging by his actions and his contrition to the international community, it shouldn’t be a surprise that President Obama does not share that ideal.

The campaign showed that Obama possess a mastery of nuance and knows the importance of staying on message, even if a complicit media wasn’t willing to veer him off track. But since the election and the Pandora’s Box of Obama’s liberal agenda was opened, a growing number of people—in spite of the media—have begun to realize that his past associations may, in fact, matter. As people begin to realize that his apology tour is perhaps reflective of his own antipathy for America’s history, Obama’s sparkle has started to dull. Even the media was, if not offensively, reluctantly forced to report on the half million Americans who are outraged with the president’s agenda. All of which makes the timing of the release of these memos so curious.

People on both sides of the aisle agree that the release of these memos represents a no-win situation for the president. So why relent and risk the criticism if only those to the extreme left were pushing for their release. And then, as I was watching Sean Hannity interview Vice President Cheney, it occurred to me.  In politics, timing is everything and nothing is relative.

Every news channel and radio show is making this their primary president-related story. Indeed, the discussion is warranted but the longer we talk about this, the more we ignore every other item the President has on his plate; each of which would be big enough to wag any President’s dog. Instead, it seems that Vice President Cheney has been in the public eye more than the 8 years he spent in undisclosed locations and the Bush supporters are out in force reminding the world how they kept the country safe and Obama is making us weaker.

All of this, of course, is a boon to the liberal media who can finally pursue their primary objective without appearing biased or irrelevant. It was getting hard to report the news when most of it would require a subjective look into the president’s agenda. The longer this story is relevant, the longer SorOlberMaddOfalo will have a target for their venom. And, by shoving the responsibility to AG Holder, the President has managed to somewhat remove himself from future debate.

The President now has a vehicle with which to remind America that he’s not President Bush. With his popularity slipping and each day more people voicing their concern with the direction in which this country appears to be headed, the debate over the release of these memos has shifted the national attention. Americans are being inundated with daily reminders of the reasons why a majority voted for President Obama in November; not on the agenda he’s currently pursuing but rather as the anti-Bush. For Obama, nothing is relative and timing is everything.

As I see it, President Obama is more interested in appeasing those who hate the US (European socialists, jihadists, Cuban and Saudi Dictators, etc.) than the 58M Americans who didn’t vote for him. He constantly reminds the right that “he won” and that his budgets will pass in spite of the fact that not a single republican (and a number of democrats) approves. Yet he will go to Europe, a continent that without the United States would have fallen to Hitler’s Germany, and apologize.

Apologize for what? For defeating socialism, fascism, and communism? For fighting and dying on foreign soil and never asking for more spoils or land than that which is necessary to bury our dead? (When asked by Pres Sarkozy, he chose not to go to Normandy so as not to give unfair time to Britain or Germany-I’m sure they would have understood) Is he apologizing for immigration policies that welcome into our country (legally) anyone in the world who wants a fair shot at success where they will live free from oppression? Perhaps he’s apologizing for our military who serves as the world’s police force and protects the international commerce that has resulted in never before imagined global prosperity?

Rather, he apologized for American arrogance. I say until some other country can demonstrate that they are able to accomplish as much and in as little time there is nothing to apologize for. For pete’s sake, it’s taken 22 of them to join together just so their economy can rival ours. And don’t get me started on their militaries. Our smallest service, the Marine Corps, is larger than the militaries of most other countries in the world (not run by despots). There is no comparison.

We’re arrogant because we’re the New York Yankees of the world in a league full of Los Angeles Clippers (I know, I crossed sports but since we play baseball/football and the rest of the world plays soccer/basketball, the metaphor is sound). They have a rich tradition of winning and have dominated their sport (106 years – 26 championships in 39 World Series appearances). There is no team in professional sports that evokes as much visceral emotion and contempt as the New York Yankees. You either love them or hate them but no one lacks an opinion. (Update: it seems even the Reverend who conducted Easter services for the Obamas has an opinion, President Obama’s new pastor lets loose on Yankees in Easter sermon) They matter more than any other team. Like the US, the Yankees are broadly criticized because, at the expense of balanced competition, they have huge resources from which to draw and use those resources to attract the best players which, typically, translates into more wins.

If international politics were a sport, maybe the lack of competitive balance would warrant an apology. However, what separates conservatives from liberals is the understanding that politics is like sport in one way only, that there are winners and losers. By ignoring the truth that there are fundamental differences in the capabilities—as well as the willingness to achieve—of certain teams, we’re only kowtowing to those who will attempt to win at all costs and could not care less about the rules established in the international playing field. As much as we’d like the world to be fair, there are teams that—rather than searching for a competitive edge—would prefer to destroy Yankee Stadium and kill all the players.

Unfortunately, however, the Yankees analogy works better than I’d like.  The US is not playing its best ball right now and Americans are looking to regain that winning form. International and domestic perception of our strength has waned since its apogee in 2001. Perhaps it’s no coincidence then that 2001 was the year the Yankees lost to the upstart Diamondbacks in the World Series. After a couple of failed playoff runs in subsequent years, the Yankees opted to go against what made them dominate and earned championships in 4 of 5 years. Those Yankee teams of the late 90s were comprised of players who valued teamwork, hard work, and sacrificed individual accolades for unity of purpose. Intolerant of their recent lack of success, the Yankees signed the most dominant player in the game (even if he was using performance enhancing drugs). In addition to being a talented player, by all accounts Alex Rodriquez is articulate, handsome, possesses mass appeal but is largely concerned with the public’s perception of him. His presence though, has not translated into wins and last year the Yankees failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 seasons.

Americans too are looking toward a new player and are hoping that he will lead the team into championship form. Like A-Rod, he’s talented, articulate, possesses mass appeal and possibly cares too much about how he’s viewed than how well he serves. But rather than returning to the form that made the US great, President Obama is crippling his own team in order to make every other team more competitive. He’s using the current crisis to enact policies that have never proven to have long term effectiveness let alone achieved success. To continue the sport analogy, he wants a nation of baseball players to start playing soccer. Worse yet, he believes that no one team, especially not the United States, should be the undisputed winner. In this game, he wants everyone to have a trophy. Sorry Mr. President, just like sports, politics don’t work that way.

That which does not kill you, only makes you stronger

– Friedrich Nietzsche

Americans, who—for the last 30 years—were preoccupied with avarice and gluttony and unconcerned with the virtues of thrift and saving for a rainy day, are currently enduring a crisis of confidence. While blame for our collective economic misfortune has been cast around, both the previous and current administrations are culpable since their cure for over-indulgence has been a booster shot of debt spending. In the wake of 9/11 and with a recession looming, President Bush was asked what Americans could do. Rather than ask for sacrifice and service from an energized and united public, President Bush told them to go shopping. Eight years later, following a period of growing government and increased spending of borrowed money, the crash of the credit and housing markets created an economic crisis in which “bailouts” and “stimulus” have become four letter words. In an apparent effort to not let a good crisis go to waste, President Obama and a complicit Congress have authorized trillions of dollars of additional debt-spending in order to advance a radical liberal agenda. He could have used his promise of hope and change to encourage a willing constituency to learn from our tradition of gluttony and seek opportunities in which we could serve others rather than ourselves, to sacrifice for the good of the whole, and to unite America with a common purpose. Instead, President Obama used his political capital and popularity in a polarizing campaign of fear-mongering that threatens to incite class warfare as he seeks to redistribute wealth. While markedly different in scope and impact, the President unfortunately and inaccurately compares the current crisis with the Great Depression. Judging by the numbers though, it would seem the only cause for comparison is to exaggerate our current dilemma in order to enact spending measures otherwise unacceptable or unimaginable. Based on his apocalyptic rhetoric, President Obama must believe that these are desperate times that require even more desperate measures in order to stave off catastrophe; however, there is reason to believe that perhaps it is best if Americans are allowed to endure some sort of generational struggle.

The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man without trials.
– Confucius

Borne of a revolution against tyranny, subsequent generations of Americans have become familiar with struggle yet have triumphed time and time again. Within a generation of the revolution and the subsequent wars which forged our constitution and our nation’s borders, the Civil War threatened to tear them apart. That great ideological divide was followed by a reunion of purpose and ascension into the industrial age. Likewise, after the Great Depression and World War II and through much toil and fortitude, the heralded Greatest Generation of Americans rose up and propelled this country into economic and technological superiority unmatched around the world. For that, the current generation of Americans owes our most recent standard bearers an eternity of gratitude. Because, unlike the Greatest Generation, who personified service and sacrifice over struggle and adversity, this generation of Americans has grown up under a blanket of security that has rendered us unable to cope with even the slightest threat to our pampered existence. Let’s not ever forget that America’s story is one of triumph over adversity succeeded by long periods of unity and significant growth. That we are again faced with an opportunity to atone for the collective mishandling of the endeavor in Southeast Asia is indication that our creator still has hope in us as a nation.

There is no education like adversity.
– Disraeli

In the spirit of John F. Kennedy who set a course for the moon, President Obama told the American people in a joint session of Congress that his plan will—among other things—curb climate change, “double our renewable energy supply,” and “seek a cure for cancer in our time.” Taken independent of each other, it is undeniable that these goals are laudable and reachable in normal circumstances. Their achievement would undoubtedly catapult the United States into unparalleled greatness. Together though, and with consideration to our current dilemma, these goals reflect the same avarice of ambition—absent of introspection—that has contributed to the over-extension of our country’s dwindling resources. Unbounded by fiscal constraint or responsibility to future generations, no idea is a bad one and all spending on social ills have merit. However, faced with a crippling economic crisis in which the majority of our debt is held by our nearest military and technological competitor, it seems disingenuous to establish exorbitant goals without first addressing our current economic condition. If our current situation has taught us anything, we should have at least learned the hazards of biting off more than we can chew.

Included in the recovery plan and the ironically titled budget “A New Era of Responsibility,” President Obama proposes fantastic new and increased spending on entitlement programs like healthcare, welfare, unemployment, and education. While the initial spending has been tallied around the $3.6 trillion mark, many analysts predict that the final cost of these programs will double the national debt over the next four years and will likely lead to trillion dollar annual deficits for the next ten years. Nevertheless, President Obama believes that this investment into our country is necessary if we are to again achieve the greatness ascribed to our ancestors. Included in his address last Tuesday, President Obama offered this lofty goal, “we will provide the support necessary for all young Americans to complete college and meet a new goal: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” Of course education is important and is certainly necessary for our citizenry to able to achieve the marks set by our President. Ironically though, it would seem that even education has failed to teach our leadership the lessons that perhaps adversity would.

Pain is weakness leaving the body

– Popular Marine Corps motto

Twenty years ago, in the desert south of Phoenix, the Bio-Dome was built in which scientists studied the possibility of creating a self-contained and self-sustaining environment. In the process, they quickly discovered that trees were unable to reach their full potential because they could not bear their own weight. Scientists had overlooked the importance of wind in the development of a tree’s strength. Without struggle, a tree could not develop strong roots and thus, could not bear fruit. Similarly, the moments in our life when we grow in character and develop focus of mission are usually preceded by periods of suffering or adversity (it’s cliché because it’s true). Unfortunately, America has a growing mindset that we shouldn’t allow any sort of struggle, challenge, or adversity. There’s a notion that kids shouldn’t have to fail a grade because it hurts their self-esteem. Or that every player on every team should get a trophy whether they win or lose so as not to discourage them from trying again. Now, our president seems dedicated to prevent any more Americans from enduring any struggle (rather, any more), but it just may be the remedy our country needs to remind us of just how fortunate we are. Of course Americans are still capable of greatness, it’s in our heritage, bestowed by those who have suffered and fought before us. However, as a nation, we are losing our ability to manage adversity and the more we attempt to prevent it from happening, the worse it’s going to be when all our best laid plans fail.

For added emphasis, below is the famous “Man in the Arena” portion of President Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship in a Republic” speech which spells out, in detail, the responsibility Americans have to one another if we are to excel as a nation. Not apologetic for those who achieve great wealth through ambition nor ignorant of those who suffer in poverty through no cause of their own; Roosevelt’s speech condemns those—rich and poor alike, through greed or by sloth—who are burdens to their fellow man or who contribute nothing for the greater good. Rather, Roosevelt reveres those who “strive valiantly” yet “who errs…again and again.” Only then, can we truly know and come to appreciate the “triumph of high achievement.”

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.