Humility

From "Thoughts in Solitude"

It is not speaking that breaks our silence, but the anxiety to be heard. The words of the proud man impose silence on all others, so that he alone may be heard. The humble man speaks only in order to be spoken to. The humble man asks nothing but an alms, then waits and listens.

Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude: 91, 1958

Gentility is a virtue in conversations, listening a service. There is a common thread among arriving presidents in the United States of an appeal to gentility in the population. President George H. W. Bush appealed to a "kinder and gentler" nation; Pres. Clinton appealed to a new, "third way" in politics; George W. Bush likened to a "compassionate conservatism". Listening serves all of these qualities admirably.

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June 14th is U.S. Flag Day

From an email message:

The flag of the United States has not been created by rhetorical sentences in declarations of independence and in bills of rights. It has been created by the experience of a great people, and nothing is written upon it that has not been written by their life. It is the embodiment, not of a sentiment, but of a history.

Woodrow Wilson, 28th U.S. President

June 14th is Flag Day in the USA. Many of us fly our flag in support of our nation and the troops that fight to protect us all. The American Flag is the symbol of the “Great Experiment” of democracy, a politics that has evolved to represent the great country we citizens are very proud of. For us it is not just a flag, it is the spirit behind America.

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Corruption

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

Whatever may be the general endeavor of a community to render its members equal and alike, the personal pride of individuals will always seek to rise above the line, and to form somewhere an inequality to their own advantage.

De Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835

They say that campaign finance reform can never be totally successful- ways will always be found to 'beat the system' if human will is strong enough. Corruption is that undue influence in policy making that makes the resulting policies unfair. Political reformers must prevent corruption, and also be prepared to take action to eliminate corruption whenever it happens anyway.

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Power

From "oxymoronica"

The greatest power available to man is not to use it.

Meister Eckhart

Paradoxically, those who serve others are the most powerful. They build 'political capital'. Political capital is not power, however. Those that lead from their political capital and not by power earn the greatest will of the people.

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Civil discourse

Tea for two
by David Weller


tea for two
for you and me

rather for a cup
to sup, to gather

whether hot or warm
we charm or not

yes, leaves to please
with ease it relieves

tea in a cup
yes, sup with me


Synonymous with the British Empire is the afternoon tea. The ritual of having tea in Japan has survived many centuries; it is an honored tradition, from the preparation of the drink to drinking mannerisms. It is a ritual of civilized culture, with civil speech in a civil setting.

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Trust

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

A man usually has no idea what is being said about him. The entire town may be slandering him, but if he has no friends he will never hear of it.

Balzac

The value of a Republican form of government, is that representatives are given a level of trust from their people to make decisions for them. This trust must be maintained through openness with the people on what the representatives are doing. And, the representatives must hear from their people with a high level of transparency. Democracy encourages a pro-active citizenry such that the trust can be maintained.

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Desperation

From "Walden"

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

Henry David Thoreau, 1854

Nothing quiets the soul like classical music; for others, it may be the great outdoors. The day-to-day existence can catch one up and take them. Life runs its own pace; as Ralph Waldo Emerson quipped, "Hitch your wagon to a star." Enjoy life and all its bounty- it's there for the taking.

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Politics and legacy

From "My Heart is a Large Kingdom: Selected Letters of Margaret Fuller"

Be so good as not to speak of my intended work-- it is known only to a few persons. Precarious health, the pressure of many ties make me fearful of promising what I will do.-- I may die soon-- you may never more hear my name. But the earnest aspiration, the sympathy with greatness never dies-- Es lebt im Asche ["It lives in ashes."]--

Margaret Fuller, Letter to Anna Jameson, Dec. 22, 1837

Ms. Fuller wrote this to a pupil when she was only 27 years old. She is today considered to be one of the greatest American women of the 19th Century. She was a feminist, a very learned partner of the Transcendentalist community of letters; she corresponded with Emerson, Goethe and European political leaders. Margaret Fuller cultivated an independent spirit and had high aspirations for like women in a society where women were restricted to few professional enterprises. Fuller indeed lives today, widely read as an example of studied greatness.

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Power

From "oxymoronica"

The liberals can understand everything but people who don't understand them.

Lenny Bruce

Paradoxically, revolutionaries that attain power "become a conservative the next day" (Hannah Arendt). True reform comes from the outside. Take, for instance, the Prohibition success: it was a colossal government failure; as H. L. Mencken said, "One [government] composed of cynics is often very tolerant and humane. But when fanatics are on top, there is no limit to repression." In a letter to Thomas Jefferson, John Adams wrote:

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service, when it is violating all His laws.

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The Democratic Government

From "oxymoronica"

If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism;
if our government is to function, it must have dissent.

Henry Steele Commager, Freedom, Loyalty, and Dissent, 1954

The historian knows of this inclination of past successful societies, that change is at the heart of endurance. "Reform, that you may preserve," said Thomas Babington Macaulay. In the heart of the patriot is a place for dissent, for "... in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law" (Martin Luther King).

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Contraries and politics

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence.

Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1790-3

Or, Human existence manifests contrariness? It has been experienced time and again the polarization of a population during political contests. I must admit I am puzzled by why and how this happens, except for a desire for a debate over the issues. The prevailing political system directs how many positions will be taken by the people, and how open the debate will be.

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Equality

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

What makes equality such a difficult business is that we only want it with our superiors.

Henry Becque, Querelles litte'raires, 1890

Perhaps tongue-in-cheek, it makes prescient the eternal value of service. But, service can only take you as far as the prevailing system will allow it to. Openness and transparency may accomodate how much equity a system aspires to.

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Liberty and law

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

The sense of liberty is a message read between the lines of constraint. Real liberty is as transparent, as odourless and tasteless, as water.

Michael Frayn, Constructions, 1974

Laws always are a constraint on the lives of its subjects. Liberty is freedom from law. Can a nation set at liberty its own citizens? Only with faith in the nature of man; in lawlessness, imperfections in the citizenry are not restrained.

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Public service is a calling

From "365 Daily Treasures of Wisdom"

... Thou, Almighty, Who art with me, yea, before I am with Thee. To such then whom Thou commandest me to serve will I discover, not what I have been, but what I now am and what I yet am. But neither do I judge myself. Thus therefore I would be heard.

Saint Augustine (354-430A.D.)

Service is the highest calling of God. Jesus exhorts, "Love God with your whole heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself." Hence, the term for our own legislators as 'public servants'. All eligible candidates for- and holders of- public office feel a calling to serve their community; and by serving others they, creatures of God, serves themselves. By serving others we do not judge ourselves but speak to God.

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Corrupt government

From the Facebook.com page of Daniel De Bonis:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

Often attributed to Abraham Lincoln

Indeed, in the United States we have, since this quote was given, reached this critical democratic problem twice: once in the late 1800's- early 1900's, when this economic crisis was relieved during the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, and today, in the early 21st Century. The U.S. Constitution allows the people to take recourse if we believe our Republican form of government needs fundamental correction; the U.S. Bill of Rights asserts this right for all of its citizens. As happened 100 years ago, we in the U.S.A. may rightfully restore our democratic system from the corrupting hands of the monied few.

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Faith and the Roman Empire

From "The World's Great Letters"

Well may we be unhappy, for it is our sins that have made the barbarians strong; as in the days of Hezekiah, so today is God using the fury of the barbarian to execute His fierce anger. Rome's army, once the lord of the world, trembles today at sight of the foe.

Saint Jerome, letter to a friend, 410A.D.

"... the wolves of the North have been let loose..." writes Saint Jerome as he hears of the first sack of Rome. Among his accomplishments was the first translation of the Holy Bible into latin, the Vulgate; Saint Jerome had lived much of the first 70 years of his life under the safe and wealthy governance of the "mother of nations." And yet his Christian faith assures his eternal service to the one eternal God- he tells this tale after the second sack "to those that come after..."

"... so that they may know that even in the midst of swords and deserts and wild beasts virtue is never made a captive, and that he who has surrendered himself to Christ may be slain but cannot be conquered."

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In Memory

From "The Spirit of Seventy-Six: The Story of the American Revolution as Told by Participants"

Letter of an unknown Patriot soldier.

New York, September 1, 1776

... Most of our generals, on a high hill in the lines, viewed us with glasses as we were retreating, and saw the enemy we had to pass through, though we could not. Many thought we would surrender in a body without fighting. When we began the attack, Gen. Washington wrung his hands and cried out, "Good God! what brave fellows I must this day lose!"

Onderdonk, Revolutionary Incidents, pp. 147-148.

We shall aways remember the brave men and women who have fought and died for us, that we may live in freedom from tyranny. The general was viewing the most stirring action of the one-day Battle of Long Island, Aug. 27, 1776. For heroism, nothing matched the actions of a band of close to 400 gallant men from Maryland led by American Brig. Gen. William Alexander, better known as Lord Stirling. When the effort finally collapsed, 259 American men lay dead, and another 100 or so were wounded.

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Liberty

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

Liberty is the right to do whatever the law permits.

Montesquieu, De l'esprit des lois, 1748

Politically speaking, the rule of thumb is: the less laws one is under, the more liberty he has. To measure one's liberties, one has to consider the number and weight of the laws, rules and regulations his government has imposed on him. To increase or decrease one's liberties, one must advocate for the respective decrease or increase of such laws; this applies to all levels of government, from local to international.

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At the polls: a song

AT THE POLLS: A SONG
By David Weller


Lasting in Line
is a crazy thing...
There is so much to do
before you can be voting

there is the heartfelt
chatter of hazing,
by those that have voted...

there is the cute
crashing of the computer,
by those that sell to voters...

there is the quaint
intimidation,
by those that legislate the vote...

Yes, Lasting in Line
is a crazy thing...
There is so much to do
by those that help voting

Oh, Lasting in Line
is a crazy thing...
There is so much to do
by those that help voting

This is a tongue-in-cheek look at the polling place during election day. As nerves get frayed waiting for the final count of delegates for each of the remaining presidential hopefuls this election season, a little light humor is quite called for! And, as they say, there is a little truth in humor, as, in fact, yours truly has experienced the same things mentioned in this poem at one polling place in one voting session! Seriously, though, we must honor the men and women who take time off their own busy schedules for the oft-maligned job of poll worker and thank them for the thankless work they do.

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Intellectual hatred

From "The Oxford Book of Aphorisms"

An intellectual hatred is the worst.

W. B. Yeats, 'A Prayer for My Daughter', 1919

A legislature, such as the US Congress, is a deliberative body during its legislative process; the president may deliberate with Congress during a bill's debates. In the interest of the public, an intellectual curiosity must be sustained until a final bill is passed or failed. The federal government must reflect the diversity of opinion of the people at all times- a thorough understanding of the bill in question, reception of constituents' input, arms-length advise from experts and an open legislative process are critical to a well-thought-out final vote.


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