Promises

An Open Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama,

Though I didn’t vote for you in the last election, currently I am grateful that you are our president, not because I agree with you so much but rather because I still feel – rightly or wrongly – that you mean what you say. It is rare to feel like you want to trust a politician but you engender that desire in me and I am grateful for it. Though I have to tell you that my trust is being challenged recently.

You won the Presidency because of your pragmatism. You won because politics is clearly broken and in you, we the people found a reason to believe that those same politics could be put back together again. Recently, for good reason (Your secret deal with Pharma for instance) that belief has been tested. You may not change the political landscape. Maybe you’ve given up. Maybe you never meant what you said.

You need to know that it is that realization that you aren’t delivering on the hope of change you offered that has shattered American’s belief in health reform. Government is broken and not just on the Federal level. Most of us simply don’t trust government at all. Let me try to explain…

I work for the government. I am privileged to drive a special needs school bus for Portland Public Schools. It may not be the most glamorous job, but I am paid to love and care for some of the most vulnerable and needy members of our society (well kind of paid – if you average my wages over the course of a year I make less than someone working full time at minimum wage). There are worse positions in which one could find themselves. Having said that, during my tenure at PPS at least three snapshots illustrate why people don’t trust government to manage their health care.

1.         My first year on the job one of our managers stated, “I’ve remade the wheel at least thirteen times. It is job security.” Advancement inour division seems to be made not on the basis of achievement but upon who is least likely to upset the apple cart; who will simply be a good soldier and allow everyone to be comfortable.
2.         In Portland special needs students are often transported from a block away from their neighborhood school across town to another school for no really good reason other than it is the “system” PPS has created.  Routes crisscross each other and are thrown together “willy nilly,” as if someone drew them randomly out of a hat. Busses travel needless miles because the system doesn’t demand efficiency and even works against it. We serve a broken system and the system is served by us rather than the system serving us. Bosses are more interested in the status quo than making things better. Government managers find it much easier to manage than to lead, and are unwilling or unable to lead effectively.
3.             In my small division of PPS we have ten administrators. The joke among the drivers is that the assistant director’s only job description is to mislead drivers and give us false hope, and attend meetings that everyone else managed to get out of. At the very least four administrators in our division are unnecessary. Meanwhile, while we all gag, our director announces that we are already running on a skeleton budget. It simply isn’t true.

        Mr. Obama, given these realities, why would anyone trust government with healthcare? It is a shame, because I believe that a single payer system is the only way to go, but as a group, we who work for the government are failing the people we are paid to serve. We haven’t earned the trust of the people. They have no reason to trust us with healthcare. Before you can embark on changing the private sector, you must re-invent the public sector and at this you are proving woefully inadequate. Secret meetings held after you promised transparency tend to dismantle trust. Broken local school systems destroy trust. 

        I supported Bush until I couldn’t deny his lies any more. Then I turned on him with venom  and anger. I don’t want to do the same with you. Change the public culture. If you continue on the path you are currently walking you will prove no better than he, and America can’t handle a repeat of his reign. We need healthcare reform and we won’t get there until you fix what is already broken.

10th Tradition Follows On

AA 10^th Tradition Short form: Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

And here is the text from the AA Big Book, the long form of the traditions:

No A.A. group or member should ever, in such a way as to implicate A.A., express any opinion on outside controversial issues - particularly those of politics, alcohol reform, or sectarian religion. The Alcoholics Anonymous groups oppose no one. Concerning such matters they can express no views whatever.

Traditions 4, 6, and 10 fit together:  one purpose (tradition 4), do not lend our name to anyone or anything else, (tradition 6) hold no position on outside issues (tradition 10).

Many would say that in a democratic or republican society the church needs to take a position on such things as abortion, assisted suicide, gay rights (specifically gay marriage). Then they add gun rights, health care, immigration reform, etc… Somehow, all of these issues have made their way to the forefront of “Christian concerns”. We lost our

Struggling with Tradition 6

Tradition 6 "An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.”

In the early days of AA a fellow had the idea of setting up a hospital to help drunks get clean. He took it to his AA fellowship. It was a great idea. It would house the medical community and give those who were sympathetic to AA a place to practice and point people to AA for ongoing recovery. This tradition stopped the fellowship from getting involved and a few years later when someone at the hospital almost single-handedly bankrupted the enterprise, AA’s name was not dragged through the mud.

An old timer in AA once said, if I wasn’t in AA I would never know so many millionaires. He wasn’t kidding. Many AA’s are successful type ‘A’ driven people who have made and lost millions and then made them back. There are successful AA doctors, lawyers, entertainers, entrepreneurs, politicians, and authors. AA has members working at the top of Wall Street as well as living on skid row.

These successes have great ideas and they continually bring them to the fellowship: “We could start a half way house for people on their way back into society… We could create a night club for drunks where they could gather to watch the game drink good coffee and eat good food, dance, and socialize… Do you realize what affect on the political process we could have by marshaling our members… we should create a law firm that not only defends drunks but points them on the road to recovery…” The list is endless. All of these could be really good things. AA has decided not to get involved in any of them, lest it detract them from their primary purpose. This single-mindedness has allowed AA to carry out its mission. THe church has approached it's mission differently. How is it doing?

So, individuals, often members of the fellowship but yet separate from them have put those idea in motion and although, many AA’s benefit from them and use them, they are not connected to AA. Oxford houses sprung up all around the country. These Sober living” houses are not connected to AA or NA but serve their members. When an Oxford house gets into trouble AA does not have divert any of its energy to deal with the problem. They don’t have to pay to help mitigate damages; they are separate and able to focus on their mission of helping drunks recover sanity.

This is a hard tradition. I do not think the missionary enterprise is un-biblical in its current structure. I do think that churches need to be involved with Rescue Missions, etc…

Having said all that, I wonder whether the church would be wise in today’s day and age to re-think lending its name and support to so many things. Many great enterprises are co-sponsored by a church, or group of churches. But should they be? There are others that I'm not so sure about. The Conservative Right is considered by many to be synonymous with evangelicalism. Belonging to Right to Life PAC has replaced baptism in many circles as the rite of initiation into the church. The anti-gay lobby wouldn't survive without the backing of conservative congregations

I’ve blogged else where about the chillingly excessive amount of funds spent on church buildings in the Western World. AA has none of those issues to worry about. Owning property would change its focus from helping struggling drunks to taking care of buildings. Maybe that is part of the problem with the church in the West. It has to concern itself with taking care of billions of dollars of properties and can’t focus its attention on loving and being love for a world that needs it. It has focused on fighting abortion or gay rights, or universal health care (I really don't get how fighting universal health care is a Christian value but somehow it must be) and has forgotten about Love and forgiveness. it has looked outside of itself for the problem and has found it. After all, it is much easier to deal with the problem out there than the problems "in here".

The first time I remember the church lending its support to anyone it was to Constantine, and we all know that proved to be disastrous. We didn't learn our lesson though. We keep doing it today. And every time we do we forget a little bit more about love. 

So I work for Portland Public Schools...

... and as Oregon passes two laws to increase taxes due to necessary budget cuts I don't know what to do...

First, let me make a small digression. I agree with the proposal to increase the tax on individuals who make more than $125k and households that make more than $250k. I disagree strongly with the proposal to tax over 2/3 of the corporations in Oregon, cause I am going to end up having my taxes increased to help cover their bottom lines. You can say you're not taxing the poor or middle class, but that is exactly what this tax increase is going to do... It sucks... but that is not the purpose of this post...

PPS wastes money like you wouldn't believe.Well maybe you would, and the attitude of management is that they are not interested in cost saving measures because doing it the hard way gives them job security. I asked a manager in my office why they didn't simply put the information that they hand out to us on line on something like "google calendar". Their first reply was because that would require everyone to have computer access. When I pointed out that it wasn't the case, they said, "Oh, well, it is job security. I've remade the wheel at least nineteen times."

That is how things work in government. There is a mindset that sickens me cause we the tax payer end up getting stuck with the bill and because there is no other way to get services to kids we end up paying anyway. My gut tells me that an independent auditor could probably save PPS over $100k per year in our department alone.

That does lead to another issue though, cause we have a private contractor working with us and they treat their workers like shit cause all they care about is the bottom line. They blow off law suits they create and delay and delay, dong what only big business with deep pockets can do. I am not happy with them either.

I don't want to see cut throat save money at the expense of your employees approaches. But I also don't want to see waste like I am seeing. Somewhere there has to be some common sense middle ground but for the life of me it eludes me.

A Prayer for the United States Presidential Election

Leighton sent this to me. On the eve of the election it is worthy of posting:

Creator of us all:
you are the source of every blessing,
the judge of every nation
and the hope of earth and heaven:

We pray to you on the eve of this important and historic election.

We call to mind the best that is within us:
That we live under God,
that we are indivisible,
that liberty and justice extend to all.

We acknowledge the sin that runs through our history as a nation:
The displacement of native peoples, racial injustice,
economic inequity, regional separation.

And yet we profess a deep and abiding gratitude
for the goodness of ordinary people who have made sacrifices,
who have sought opportunities,
who have journeyed to this land as immigrants
strengthening its promise in successive generations,
who have found freedom on these shores,
and defended this freedom at tremendous cost.

Be with us in the days that are near.
Remind us that your ways are not our ways,
that your power and might transcend
the plans of every nation,
that you are not mocked.

Let those who follow your Son Jesus Christ be a peaceable people
in the midst of division.

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us,
break down the walls of political partisanship,
and make us one.

Give us wisdom to walk in your ways,
courage to speak in your name,
and humility to trust in your providence.

Amen.

by The Rev. Kenneth H. Carter, Jr

Copyright 2008 by Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., Pastor of Providence United Methodist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. Published by the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Congregations may reprint this resource for local church use, provided the copyright of the author is acknowledged and this website is cited.

Distancing Oneself From Jeremiah Wright

The cynic in me wonders how much of this is orchestrated... But for what it is worth...

When the story of Jeremiah Wright first broke and Obama gave that incredible speech on race in America. I stood up in front of my TV and cheered for him much in the way I stood up in my living room when Senator Mark O Hatfield stood up before the Senate proclaiming, "I will not vote for war now, nor will I vote for war later..." and was the solitary vote against the first Gulf war... Obama's gutsy move in that speech had the same effect for me.

From the first clips of Wright saying, "God damn America..." I couldn't figure out what the issue was. After all he was giving voice to the African American experience of this nation.

While the pilgrims were trying to create, "a city on a hill," or "a new Jerusalem," Africans were being imported as slaves to build our pyramids. An African American theological image is not of a city on the hill but of the Exodus and God calling the people out of bondage and slavery. An African American pastor as prophet and preacher needs to call the evils of the enslaving society into the open Wright did that.

I don't agree with Wright about Aids or Farrakan, But I don't despise him either and wouldn't repudiate his words as Obama has done -- at least not publicly.

Is what Wright said so much different from what Falwell and Robertson said about God's judgment and 9-11? He is  giving voice to a minority opinion. Lets not crucify him for it. Instead lets try to heal the wounds which caused him to say it in the first place.

Imagine...

...a world where the USA didn't feel the need to maintain a military presence in every corner of the world, where we called our girls and boys  home from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South and Central America, and any other corner of the world we maintain a base.

Imagine the money that would be saved and the good will that would be earned. Imagine the hatred dissipated because we were no longer seen as meddlers, or saviours, or bullies bending the will of the world to our way of thinking and behaving. Imagine what it would be like if we let the world be the world and focused on America...

On one hand it sounds selfish... on the other hand healthy... maybe America as a whole needs to go an Alannon meeting in order to give up our god complex...

Hillary have botox?

Me thinks she did... Her forehead wrinkles no longer exist... Why didn't any of the other candidates?

A Pacifist's view of Lincoln

Please note my biases... From what I understand (and my cousin can correct me) had the South won the War of Succession 1861-1865 my family would not have lost a plantation we owned in the South. My Mother's family has deep southern roots and one of my favourite memories of my mother is the accent she slipped into when she was tired. When that happened she talked like theese.

I studied History at one of America's most truly conservative colleges (Hillsdale College). They still accept no Federal funds whatsoever so as to stay free of government interference. Founded in 1844 by the Free-will Baptists, during the War of Succession it was an abolitionist institution. William WIlberforce is one of my political heroes. I am as anti-slavery as one can be.

Having acknowledged my biases, let me state for the record that one of America's most revered Presidents is proof that history is written by the victors. Not only did  Abraham Lincoln shred the Constitution to support his ideas, paving the way for every president since to do the same, he did so at the cost of 100's of thousands of lives.

Along with Andrew Jackson, Teddy, and Franklin Roosevelt, Lincoln, more than our other presidents, made it legally  possible of Bush to do the things he is doing. Once again the arrogance of a small group of powerfully rich men is costing us 100's of thousands of lives.

States had the right to succeed from the union. Our founding fathers made the constitution the way they made it so that States had the power not the Fed. Lincoln single handedly turned that on its head. (Jackson started it and Roosevelt finished it, and Bush is abusing it).

Lincoln was against slavery. I am glad of that. He should have been, but I think it can be successfully argued that had the Civil War not been fought slavery would have passed without bloodshed and the hatred of black people that the war engendered in the hearts of the defeated South could have been avoided.

None of our history books tell us that... They tell us that it was the fault of Booth and his cronies that assassinated Lincoln that led to Johnson's incompetent handling of the carpet baggers and their dismantling of the South. We can't know that for sure. What I do know is that it wouldn't have been a question at all had the war not been fought. For that Lincoln will have to answer to God.

Me --  I want to stay as pro-life as I can get...  and starting wars in the name of any ideology is not being pro-life. Someone should tell James Dobson and his cronies that when they support the war in Iraq. I guess Focus has no designs on a ministry in Bagdad anyway.   

Primaries

Whaddy do?

So I went out to see what candidates most closely match my views. Amazingly, Christopher Dodd matched up most closely. I can't really vote for him though... Ron Paul is a close second... How does that work? I might vote for him but he won't be our president. Now while that has never stopped me before (I haven't voted for a winner) it'd be nice...

I really do like Obama. And I respect McCain. I guess I have to let it sort itself out... Time will tell I hope... I guess I could always vote the party line and vote a straight Libertarian ticket... might as well vote for Paul...

Oh, and as an aside... Obama as the nominee rightly or wrongly makes Nader a non-factor, but should Hillary manage a remarkable comeback, many who would have voted for Obama suddenly switch and vote for Nader over Hillary... Republicans should be praying for a Hillary win or they stand no real chance... Ann Coulter should be happy bout that....