FaithZone is the blog of the Institute for Applied Faith, an economic justice advocacy think tank devoted to enhancing the human potential of members of vulnerable communities through the Science of Applied FaithTM.
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

End of the Clintonite Empire

For many years, I had been a bamboozled supporter of the Clintons, owing to their superb Machiavellian gifts. They constructed an empire of sycophants, adherents, apologists, and loyalists from rural, urban, suburban, and exurban America to their Palace on the Potomac in Washington, DC. The crown jewel of their far-reaching empire was an economic windfall that shepherded in one of the most prosperous periods in recent history.

But somehow, my instincts stopped me from fully embracing them, and during the course of the 2008 Presidential Campaign, I saw my reluctance vindicated by their behavior as modern political versions of "Bonnie and Clyde".

Like that infamous team of lore, Billary (as Bill and Hillary are infamously known) has pathetically shown itself lacking grace in defeat, and quite unprofessionalism in its runner-up status to a more civil pair in Barack and Michelle Obama. At the root of the Clinton's acrimony is that same Bonnie and Clyde zero sum game "do or die" mentality that allows no room for compromise. Only we can win; therefore, everyone else must lose.

It seems obvious that the Clintons are gasping for life in these precarious moments of the Democratic National Convention. The political pundits and media, many missing this point, seem perplexed about the strategy and agenda of the convention. What they fail to realize is that the Clinton's preoccupation is with their negotiated deal to save face without acknowledging defeat. All a part of the Clintonite modus operandi.

After losing the delegate race, the Clinton's behavior in defeat has been despicable. The Clintons have been demonstrably sore losers, refusing for days to acknowledge Hillary's defeat and Obama's victory. It is obvious that the Clintons have become rouge players, refusing to acknowledge Obama as the erstwhile leader of the Democrat party and failing to quickly get behind him and his program. And most scurrilous of all, the Clintons were unabashed in publicly extorting Obama to cough up millions to vanquish the Clinton campaign debt in exchange for Hillary's "pledge" to release her delegates to Obama. Promise, promises, promises.

The Clinton's Faustian Drama has assured the end of the Clintonite Empire, and has revealed their contempt for an orderly succession and transfer of power. It has weakened the Democratic Party and Obama's chances, and most importantly has made America's progress more difficult. It turns out that the Clintonite Empire has become as equally harmful as the failed policies of the incumbent Republican administration. The Clintons have colluded with the sentiments of John McCain in their last acts, granting the Republicans free rein to attack presumed - Democratic nominee Barack Obama at will. The Clinton-Obama power gap may have also given rise to the numerous threats on Obama's life during the campaign and convention. After all, Hillary told us that: "Anything can happen between now [end of the primaries] and then [Denver Convention]".

Now that Michelle Obama has finally convinced America that she is patriotic and compassionate for the umpteenth time, it's Hillary's turn to convince America that she fully believes in the Obama candidacy and that she will do whatever he asks her to help him become the next President of the United States of America. That's a lot asking a white woman like Hillary to help a black man like Barack.


And so Hillary's most important speech comes this evening in Denver, when she has the opportunity to authentically throw her full support and that of her delegates behind Barack Obama. What she will say and do will be the subject of scrutiny not heretofore given to the loser of a nomination. Ironically, her lack of class and professionalism makes her the center of attention at a time when the spotlight should be on the Obamas. Hopefully she won't use the dais as an opportunity to launch a political coup to save her empire.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Time for Wisdom

The greatest challenge to humankind is to overcome that which it does not know and understand. That is, to subdue ignorance.

In the midst of so much turmoil in this world, we often forget the true meaning of our individual lives, which is to make the best use of our talents, gifts and assets to contribute something worthwhile to human advancement. We should be constructive and not destructive, wise and not foolish.

Regrettably, we are so indoctrinated in our own ethnocentric ideals that we often miss our opportunities to fulfill this broad purpose. We are distracted with the excesses of life, failing often to benefit from the greatest joys it has to offer.

That's why it is fitting in the current global malaise to remember the catalyst that has been the constant for human progress throughout the ages --- and that is faith. The substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. Faith exercised on all levels of life has enabled us to gain and use wisdom to solve the many problems affecting humanity.

In 1942, Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) eloquently expressed one of the most profound revelations about the workings of faith and wisdom in his Serenity Prayer, often mistakenly attributed to others:

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Niebuhr's incantation has soothed the suffering hearts and minds of millions, and many believe that it triumphs over the many accomplishments of his long theological career.

It reveals at once the frailty and magnificence of the human condition, while urging sensible and courageous action according to the superior will of our creator.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Moral Authority and the Cost of War

I am neither a proponent nor opponent of war. Rather, I believe that the penchant of humankind to fear diversity, disagree on interests, and covet the possessions of others inevitably leads to skirmishes, conflicts, and outright warfare. Furthermore, there are leaders and rulers who believe they have some sacred right to fight and conquer others (if they can) without due provocation.

Therefore, it is proper and prudent that the US, like other countries, take precautionary measures for the preservation of the state through diplomatic and military means as it counts the moral costs of war.


The famous Chinese general Sun Tzu, in his 2500 year old classic the Art of War, advises that:

1. The art of war is of vital [grave] importance to the State.

2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

3.The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field. These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; and (5) Method and discipline.

We’re concerned here with the foremost requirement that our leaders have the moral authority to legitimize their decisions for war. This authority induces citizens to agree with the policy and dictates of their ruler, irrespective of the dangers to their lives. But when lives are unnecessarily endangered, the people either resist, rebel, revolt, or take revolutionary actions against rulers and the state.

Americans have already revolted at the polls, and there is great hope that future rulers understand Sun Tzu’s warning that “if the campaign [War on Terror] is protracted, the resources of the State [US] will not be equal to the strain. Poverty of the State exchequer (US treasury) causes an army to be maintained by contributions (fiat debt money issued by war-profiteering private US and European banking and corporate interests that control the Federal Reserve) from a distance. To maintain an army at a distance (Iraq, Afghanistan, and possibly Iran) causes the people to be impoverished."

We can see war-induced poverty surfacing in insidious and interrelated ways: a record unemployment rate of 5.7% (more like 10%); record 463,000 jobs lost since January 2008; 5000 US soldiers killed and over 40,000 wounded; record high food and fuel prices; record inflation and consumer debt (“keep those machines (money and credit card presses) on . . .keep those machines on"!); a free-falling US dollar (.54 of Euro); $9.5 trillion national debt with WOT projected to cost $2.4 trillion; 10,000 depositors losing $500 million from deposits not covered by FDIC; and the Federal Reserve's $100 billion Wall Street bailout.

You do the math. The lower the moral authority, the higher the cost of war.

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About the Author and Moderator

Gregory Dean
CEO and founder of the Institute for Applied Faith, the FaithZone Blog, and FaithNetTV. Religious Studies and Political Science, Howard University; Public Administration graduate studies and Municipal Management, George Washington University; Sr. Executive in State & Local Government, Harvard-Kennedy School.
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