Can The Silent Majority Save Healthcare Reform?

Maybe a better title would be “Where is The Silent Majority When You Need One?”

The public discourse over healthcare has degenerated into shouting matches and physical altercations between two highly partisan and passionate minorities. Civil discourse and rational discussion of policy differences and personally held beliefs has been thrown out the window like the proverbial baby with the bath water.

I call these groups’ minorities in the fervent hope that neither the radicals, nincompoops nor political subversives from either the left or the right represent a majority view. In my view there are many who have bought into the hype and scare tactics from the right and the false moral choices from the left. Because of a combination of overriding self interest, inability or unwillingness to thoroughly examine the issues and intellectual laziness many on both sides are exhibiting irrational fear and thought processes.

Though this iteration of political divisiveness, manipulation and gamesmanship is disturbing on multiple levels the lack of civility and increased hostility is somewhat frightening. Last Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopoulos Cokie Roberts opined that the degradation of civility was due to a dearth of Catholic nuns teaching students good manners.

The panel had a good laugh but much truth is spoken in jest. Despite the partisan religious reference, Mrs. Roberts makes a valid point. Our society seemingly becomes more course and violent everyday. Public displays of anger and hostility have become almost blasé. Children from all economic strata display an alarming lack of manners and couth. Adults model the behaviors and their children emulate them or worse.

A society incapable of polite conversation while disagreeing or trying to reach a consensus is a society in moral and intellectual decline. To be sure, much of what has happened of late in the nationwide town hall meetings has been orchestrated chicanery.

That does not change the fact that large numbers of people have displayed a willingness to up the anti in terms of abandoning previously accepted social norms pertaining to polite public behavior. Even more distressing is the very real possibility that the participants lack the usual moral and social conscience necessary to the integrity of our social fabric.

That all being said the debate on healthcare reform has been manipulated and contrived to disseminate fear, obnubilate the real issues and forestall meaningful reform. The issue is allegedly framed by the differing political philosophies of the Republican and Democratic parties.

The right is for private healthcare and opposed to government interference or influence on the current system. The left espouses that quality healthcare is an inherent right and entitlement and anything that it takes to cover everybody is an acceptable cost. Obviously, it is a highly charged and emotional issue because of the impact on individual quality of life considerations. Those currently comfortable with the type and quality of their healthcare are prone to resist change. Those without healthcare or suffering under the enormous financial burden of paying out of pocket, even if only supplementing Medicare on a fixed retirement income, are desperate for relief.

A thorough and contemplative examination of the history of healthcare reform reveals some sobering, even startling facts. Theodore Roosevelt who was president from 1901 to 1909 was the first president to call for universal healthcare and national health insurance. For 100 years now, this country has failed to deliver on that.

Harry Truman, president from 1945 to 1953 delivered a speech on January 5th 1949 where he said that every citizen had a right to expect a fair deal from his government. One aspect of his fair deal was universal healthcare. Every time there has been a serious attempt to implement serious reform, it has been defeated by the insurance companies, their allies and minions.

The two most successful attempts at reform have been Medicare and Medicare part D. The first has a provision that currently pays insurance companies $800:00 dollars per patient per month to manage their Medicare. Part D requires the government to pay retail for subscription drugs resulting in the highest drug prices in the world and the infamous doughnut hole. The fraud, waste and abuse is systemic and of epic proportions.

In this latest battle royal between the forces for and against modifying our healthcare system truth and logic have once again been victimized; primarily by those opposed. Innuendo and outright lies of such a phenomenal nature as not to be believed by even the most obtuse individual are shouted across the landscape.

Even Sarah Palin’s outright prevarication about President Obama espousing death panels to determine who among us will be euthanized has been adopted and propelled forward by no less then three United States Senators. People of this ilk who possess either no usable intellect, moral character or both have no business in public office.

The insurance companies, drug companies and medical conglomerates have publically acknowledged a need for and willingness to participate in meaningful reform. Behind the curtain, they continue to pour millions of dollars into the pockets of the politicians on both sides of the isle willing to sell their souls for the modern day equivalent of thirty pieces of silver.

Additionally they fund organizations like 60 plus and other so-called grass root organizations that specialize in spreading the lies and twisted facts designed to scare the American public away from reform.

The left is not without its faults either. President Obama has squandered considerable political capitol and influence in a misguided and halfhearted attempt to reform healthcare. His lack of a clear-cut plan fully delineated and presented from the White House bully pulpit is stunning. The weak and even cowardly talking points he continues to spew forth while leaving it up to congress to come up with a bill shows a remarkable lack of leadership.

His failure to swiftly and aggressively refute the lies and prevarications of the opposition has allowed their propaganda to find fertile soil in which to grow. Scared seniors and others who mistrust the government all over the country have bought into the paranoia of a socialist government run plan that denies and rations care based on ones worth to society.

If people would only stop and think about it they would realize that medical care is rationed now. Insurance companies ration it with claims denials, preexisting conditions, health screenings and ever-increasing premiums. Healthcare like legal services in this country is largely a privilege of the wealthy.

An example is my sister who has worked for the state of Arizona for five years handling long-term care applications to the medicade system. She is supposedly solidly middle class. Still she can barely pay her bills based on her salary and often goes without medications because she cannot pay her co pays and still feed her family.

It is shameful that a hard working American citizen who put herself through collage and holds a meaningful full time job has to scrape by making subsistence wages from a state government. She and many more like her constitute the silent majority. Too busy working and striving for the American dream to protest and march in the streets they are the sleeping giant all politicians should tremble at the thought of.

When you are young and healthy it is possible to have deeply held personal beliefs on whether healthcare is a right of birth or privilege of prosperity. As you age and your health becomes increasingly problematic your view changes based on whether you are inside the system looking out or outside the system looking in.

The inability to care for a loved one stricken with a medical calamity because of a lack of coverage or the fact of a preexisting condition is an all too prevalent happenstance in today’s world. The fact is though that the most altruistic among us shudder at the possibility that reform will have a negative impact on our own care. There is a valid and rising groundswell of governmental distrust.

A healthcare system that goes the way of Amtrak or the Post Office is no improvement over the current state of affairs. Any change leading in that direction would be cold comfort to those currently under or uninsured much less those more fortunate. It is arguably the most important and complex priority facing this country. Our collective quality of life, economic prosperity and social conscience depend on getting this right.

The irrational fear of a government run system leading to socialism is refuted by the fact that there are no volunteers willing to forego their participation in Medicare in exchange for the insurance afforded by the private capitol market. Many countries spend less per capita and deliver better results with their single payer government run programs.

It is a shame that the apolitical pseudo intellectual illuminati that really runs this country is going to again finagle a deal that benefits corporate coffers more then the electorate who put their paid mouthpieces in office. The president has blown the best opportunity we are ever likely to have not from a lack of trying. More like a lack of political sophistication and a profound under estimation of his opponents.

We will get a bill but it will be a Band-Aid on an arterial bleed. It will not include tort reform, which is badly needed. It likely will not include a public option and it will not provide universal coverage. It will not be deficit neutral and it will taste like a sand sandwich to everyone.

The sad thing though is our children or maybe our grandchildren will have to fix what we fail to correct. They will pay the price in reduced life expectancy, poorer quality care and higher taxes. Unless of course that invisible silent majority rises up and like the elephant in the room dominates the conversation and demands meaningful reform now. The ball is in our court. Let’s play ball!

It Is Broken, Let’s Fix It!

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Our government is broken. The house and senate do not represent the people anymore. They are unwilling and unable to put the electorate first because of the obligations they have to the special interest groups.

In 2008 some 15,000 lobbyist spent close to 3.3 billion dollars to win influence with the house, senate and various government agencies. It is no wonder we cannot get term limits passed.

None of the pigs wants to leave the trough. You could probably drag the average congressional representative or senator through a knothole backwards quicker then you could get them to abandon the swill fed them by special interest groups.

According to opensecrets.org, the health care lobby spent over 480 million dollars in 2008 to buy influence on Capitol Hill. These figures are disgusting and revelatory of how impossible meaningful healthcare reform is going to be.

Elected office in this country has become an entitlement to the incumbents. Their so-called public service is a thinly veiled attempt to perpetuate their own self-aggrandizement while they continue to amass wealth and influence at our expense.

The latest imbroglio to raise my ire was reported by the Associated Press today. It seems that Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad both democratic senators from Connecticut and North Dakota respectively are guilty of accepting preferential treatment from Country Wide Mortgage.

These so-called gentlemen have repeatedly denied any wrong doing or intentional malfeasance related to the mortgages they received from Country Wide. The AP storey makes it clear that their default position when caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar is to look everyone in the eye and lie about it.

It will be interesting to see what the various ethics committees will finally conclude in terms of public censure. Even more interesting is how any sane voter could expect someone with the morals of an alley cat to represent their best interest. Unfortunately too many of our current representatives have anything but our best interest at heart.

Under our current laws allowing the purchase and sale of influence, the use and abuse of power and the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street we poor voters do not stand a chance. Our government is no longer of and for the people. It is of and for the special interest groups, lobbying firms, PAC’s and 527’s.

It is disheartening to realize that Harry Truman was the first president to try to implement healthcare reform. That was over 60 years ago. The healthcare lobby did not want reform then and they certainly do not want it now. For six decades, they have used the same tactic to forestall meaningful reform. They delay, stall, obfuscate and use scare tactics to keep it from happening. They also commit what is tantamount to bribery of the house and senate.

As bad as it is, we are getting the government we deserve. As long as we are willing to put up with the malfeasance, incompetence and turpitudes that exemplifies our elected officials nothing will change.

In the words of the immortal bard, if it’s to be it’s up to the collective we.

What's the Real Story?

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To be sure, there is a plethora of newsworthy stories today. The world abounds with people and events that have the potential to change our lives. Friends and foes alike demand our attention to detail across the globe. From Iran to North Korea, from Israel to Russia and from China to Afghanistan there is no dearth of critical potentialities capable of changing our everyday lives.

Here at home there is healthcare, global warming, crime and a whole host of other pressing issues to consume our time and attention. Our leaders have enough on their plates to keep them busy for a very long time. The daily grind of our lives makes it difficult to assimilate even the superficial basics let alone the intricacies of most of these pressing problems.

In the swirl of earning our daily bread and the rush of life’s challenges, we trust that those we have elected to handle the nations business are doing so. Though only a very small percentage of us vote and of that number, it is anybodies guess how many are actually well informed and thoughtful regarding their choices. However, this is not a treaste or encyclical on voting.

Let us assume that most citizens are comfortable trusting their government to keep the country’s best interest at heart. In the way of trust but verify there is always our free and unfettered press to inform us. Or is there?

To be sure, today’s papers, TV shows and radio news programs are chock full of interesting and vital information on a variety of important topics. Even with the, in my view, unwarranted attention paid to inane topics and even less noteworthy celebrities whose accomplishments are nil, the media generally does an adequate job of keeping us informed. Unfortunately, though that is not always the case.

My last post was about the story broken originally by Jeff Sharlet in Harpers Magazine in 2003 and followed by his book The Family in 2008. Rachel Maddow has run a couple of interviews with Sharlet prompted by the recent indiscretions of Governor Sanford, Senator Ensign and former Congressman Pickering who all have ties to the house owned by The Family at 133 C Street in Washington DC. Other then these two there has been precious little commentary on the real gravitas of this story.

The Washington Post ran an article by Manuel Roig-Franzia. It is a rather benign piece focusing on the marital infidelities of Governor Sanford and only peripherally mentioning the secretiveness of the organization behind the house. Seemingly, with our voracious appetite for the salacious and titillating we have passed by the real story.

The Family and its minions have done an incredible job of public relations. As far as anyone knows, the house on C Street is a low cost refuge for Congressman, Senators and other influential members. It is registered as a church for tax purposes and is portrayed as a house of prayer. Prayer to whom and for what is the question we should be asking.

Doug Coe the leader of The Family since 1969 is an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler among others of history’s criminals that are more heinous. He postulates that Hitler knew how to amass and use power. He also frequently opines that to those selected by Christ the rules of society do not apply. The so-called elect are entitled by right of being chosen to ignore societal rules and regulations.

He teaches that mainstream Christianity is passé and that he and his ilk are the new Israel, entitled to all the money and power they can acquire regardless of legalities or means. The masses in his philosophy are only entitled to the dregs of his largess and the remnants of his appetites. He espouses a form of trickle down economics that is truly arrogant and repressive. Nevertheless, even his lust and thirst for power, influence and control of current events is not the real story.

The real story is that this semi secret society hiding in plain sight as a Christian Prayer Group is anything but. The group undoubtedly has different levels of inclusion, knowledge and affinity among its membership. Very disturbing is the fact that so many powerful and elected representatives of our government are included on its membership roles.

Even more disturbing is the foreign dictators and representatives of repressive regimes it is known to have contact with. Yes, the real story is what we have yet to learn about this association of powerful and influential men who think their inability to satisfy their wives is a sign of demonic possession.

Any slight amount of internet research on these people and their organization raises more questions then it answers. I hope that the mainstream media will follow where Jeff Sharlet and Rachel Maddow have led. I hope that they ask the hard questions and demand some accountability from these people about their personal beliefs and political agenda.

I also hope that the American public will demand answers from their duly elected representatives. We deserve to know why any member of our government would join a church that admires anything to do with Adolph Hitler.

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The New World Order

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The New World Order

In Washington DC, there is a house on C Street NW just a few blocks from the Capitol. A group that calls itself The Family apparently owns it. This has only recently come to my attention through the national prominence of the residents and the news worthiness of the marital infidelity of three of them. Their moral turpitudes and peccadilloes aside, this is a very troubling group of power hungry self-styled illuminati. They hide behind a pseudo religiosity loosely based on their supposed admiration of Jesus Christ.

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina made a passing reference to having sought counseling on C Street in Washington DC recently during one of his rambling and barely coherent confessions of a dalliance with an Argentine lover. It seems he is not the only past or present resident of the C Street house whose private morality does not jive with his public professions of faith and family values.

Senator John Ensign, Republican from Nevada and a resident of C Street, when in DC, was recently embroiled in an affair that cost his parents over ninety thousand dollars in hush money. His mistress was a campaign worker, as was her husband. Ensign fired both of them when it became apparent that the affair was going to become public knowledge. No doubt, he regrets his parent’s money was insufficient in buying either discretion or silence.

Then there is the good ole boy Chip Pickering, former Congressman from Mississippi. Pickering is also a former resident of the C street house currently ensconced in a marital fiasco. His wife has reacted to his filing divorce proceedings by counter filing an alienation of affection lawsuit against his mistress. The ex-congressional representative currently works for the company owned by his mistress’s father. All in all a cozy arrangement for everyone but the wife and children left behind.

It is not the predilection for publicly affecting a persona of Christian conservative values while privately embracing personal immorality, which is the most disturbing connection between these three. Neither is it the fact that they were residents and roommates in this so-called church. It is rather their membership in The Family.

In doing a little internet research I find that The Family was outted by Jeff Sharlet writing for Harper’s magazine in 2003. He also published an insiders expose last year titled The Family, the Secret Fundementalism at the Heart of American Power. It is incredible though that they have avoided more attention from then until now. The mainstream media other then Harper’s magazine has ignored them until recently. Only the blatant immorality and public exposure of Messer’s Sanford, Ensign and Pickering has shined the light of journalistic inquiry onto this old and purposely under the radar fellowship.

The organization in various guises has been around since 1923 when one Abraham Vereide conceived it. Vereide opposed President Roosevelt’s New Deal agenda. He also postulated that Seattle, where he lived at the time, was in danger of being dominated by socialist politicians.
To fend off these calamitous and catastrophic consequences of Godless secularism he joined forces with some influential Seattle business leaders to form prayer groups. From that humble and paranoid beginning has sprung a world wide organization of self styled power brokers who have quietly influenced business and political events both known and unknown.

In 1935, he received another revelation from God. This one fleshed out his vision of how the prayer groups should be organized. It also refined the religious philosophy they would embrace. Over the years, the group has evolved into a movement believing in the superiority of its membership as the elect and chosen of Jesus Christ. They espouse a trickle down economic model that accrues wealth and power to them by right and the residue to the masses Vis a vie their charitable benevolence.

Their current leader since 1969 is Doug Coe. Coe in his sermons says that throughout history the leaders who understood the gathering and use of power best were men the ilk of Hitler, Pol Pot and Genghis Kahn. He speaks of a need to hate your parents, siblings, employers and neighbors in order to perfect your commitment to and covenant with Christ.

The group apparently counts among its membership some of the most powerful and influential members of various worldwide governments and industrialist. Among one of the more disconcerting things about the influence this group wields is its sponsorship of the National Prayer Meeting. This meeting is attended every year by three to four thousand of the world’s political, religious and business leaders. The President of the United States traditionally speaks at the meeting.

Among things that go bump in the night and scare people this group surely is one of the potentially most malevolent. The propensity to accrue power as though it is due you by some deity’s Divine Will precludes any empathy for the rights of others not so blessed. In today’s macro, political and economic environment the potential for a group this powerful to start changing the political and democratic landscape is potentially horrific. It certainly does not reek of benign leadership.

As an American citizen, I want answers from those members of our elected government who are affiliated with this group. I think we are entitled to an explanation of their affinity for the kind of philosophical teachings this group embraces. If enough of us ask for accountability and demand answers, we will at least expose the current known members’ rationale for their memberships.

Because of the supposedly religious nature of this group, it will be hard to find a political or journalistic organization with the will to ask the hard questions. Demanding accountability from God’s own chosen members of the new Israel is tantamount to demanding that God be answerable to his subjects. Even though this group’s philosophy is antithetical to mainstream Christianity its influence and power are considerable.

That said if this story scares and concerns you half as much as it does me you need to take action. Write your congressional representatives and senators and ask if they are members and if so why. If they are not you might suggest they support a congressional investigation into the group’s influence peddling and foreign relations policies and actions. Remember that in the end we get the government that we demand and deserve.

Healthcare in America

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Healthcare in America is a convoluted and complex subject. There are many facets, factions and special interest groups representing many different points of view. Some would have you believe that any material change to our present system will result in the end of the republic. Others posit that radical change is the only socially conscious choice. Still others including the administration seek a middle ground that keeps the insurance companies honest and provides coverage options for all Americans.

With over forty-five million American citizens uninsured and many more under insured, it seems apparent to me that the system we have now is failing a large segment of the population. During the campaign both candidates postulated when asked that health care and education were fundamental rights. That said it seems apparent that they should both be within reach of every citizen regardless of their economic status.

One of the fallacies that negate the benefit of capitalism is the introduction of false moral choices brought about by greed and corruption. Typically, these choices are cloaked as conservative principals like deregulation, free and fair competition, ideology driven by PAC contributions and a greed is good mentality. The mantra is that all the profits generated by an unrestrained and unregulated capitalist system will trickle down to the less fortunate through the largesse of the conservative illuminati. Meaning that if we just wait the uninsured among us will eventually have medical insurance bestowed on them by some generous benefactor yet unknown to them.

As long as we have, a congress and senate filled with professional politicians meaningful change will be hard to come by. With long tenure comes an attitude that longevity in office and self-gain outweigh their fiduciary responsibility to their constituents. They will pander to the insurance companies and ignore the fact that their own medical coverage is a privilege obtained by virtue of the office to which their citizen constituents elected them.

Those who would see the advent of socialized medicine are just as wrong on the other side of the equation. Something for nothing never produces a high quality something. A system devoid of profit is a system devoid of incentive. Insurance companies, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers deserve a return on investment. There needs to be an incentive for research and development of new medicines and medical procedures. Our goal should be the highest possible quality at a fair and equitable cost, which produces a fair and incentivizing profit.

Zig Ziglar is known for saying “if you help enough other people get what they want, you will get what you want.” Zig is a well-known and respected salesperson, sales trainer and motivational speaker. That quote is usually related to the sales effort but it is just as apropos in this situation. If we as a nation solve the healthcare dilemma facing us before it becomes a budget-busting conundrum incapable of being solved, the benefit accrues to us all.

Knowing that a true change of heart in our political leadership that leads to a fundamental paradigm shift is unlikely, what we have left is a popular demand for thoughtful compromise. We should insist that some kind of basic and catastrophic medical coverage be available to all people, even the homeless indigent. We should expect and insist that preexisting conditions be covered by every insurance company without exception. We should demand that the patient in conjunction with the doctor make decisions about tests, treatments, medical procedures and medications, free from any constraint or review by the insurance company.

Additionally, all hospitals, urgent care facilities, labs, and medical providers should be mandated to produce itemized plain language bills for patients to sign off. There is far too much fraud institutionalized in the healthcare system. It is rampant in the billing practices of a majority of medical providers. Also, we should accept and expect some limited tort reform regarding malpractice lawsuits. In cases of egregious negligence, legal remedies are necessary and appropriate. In cases of honest or simple mistake, damages should be limited to the actual damage and punitive damages forgone.

Any country as capable, inventive, courageous and as intellectually gifted as the United States should be able to reform healthcare to the benefit of all the stakeholders. In the process, the life we save might be the one of the little girl who someday cures aids, or the little boy who grows up and cures cancer. It is not only our collective present but also our collective future that we are trying to improve. Someday we will all be judged by our contributions to humanity. Our net worth will not be a function of dollars and cents but rather kindness and consideration for others.

This is an issue of vital interest to every American. The healthcare of your children and other loved ones is at stake. You cannot afford to sit back and let the politicians and insurance companies decide this one. Time is limited, the special interest want some minor reforms quickly so they can get this issue off the table and out of the public eye. Make you opinion known. Call, email and write your state and national representatives and tell them what you want them to do about healthcare. It is your right and responsibility to direct your elected representatives in the performance of their duties. Remember the government you get is the government you deserve.

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The Christmas Truck

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It was cold in the cab. Too much heat would make him drowsy. Better to be a little cold and more alert. There was ice in the low spots and on the curves. Places where the afternoon sun had not been able to reach were slick and treacherous. Occasionally the trailer would swerve and slip on the ice patches threatening disaster but the need to get home was all-consuming, so he pressed on.

He had been gone six months and was driving the last five miles. She had moved while he was gone. For the first time she could stay home with the children rather then work two jobs just to make ends meet. Trucking was lonely and hard work. The hours were long and irregular but the pay was good and the work was steady.

The children, two boys and a girl missed their dad but not the neighborhood they had left. He talked to them everyday on the phone and was bringing a new computer among other presents so they could email each other. The sleeper was stuffed with presents and a young Cocker Spaniel rode shotgun. The puppy would be hard to part with but he looked forward to the children’s reaction to the long awaited pet.

During the last six months he had wanted to quit almost everyday. The driving was ok and the scenery was nice but he missed his family. It was a constant struggle to suppress his need for the companionship of his wife and the joy of being with his children. He consoled himself with the thought that real love is what you do for others and not what you want or need from them. He had a family to support and their safety, comfort and lifestyle were his responsibility.

He was starting to worry about finding the place. It was on a lonely rural route, a high centered country road with deep ditches on both sides. She said the house was a quarter mile off the road in the trees and hard to see. The only landmark was an old 1946 Ford pickup sitting in the field next to the driveway. In the dark, he was afraid he would be past it before he really saw it. There was no telling how easy it might be to back up or turn around this eighty-foot rig. She said she would put a sign up that he could not miss as long as he was looking. Slowing down he started peering intently into the dark in front of his lights anxious for proof that this trip was over and he was home.

Coming around a curve he first saw a huge red stain on the snow, then a car in the ditch with a deer lying across the hood. One headlight pointed brokenly high into the trees and the taillights gave warning to all who approached from the rear. Down shifting, he braked to a stop and turned on his flashers. Setting his brakes and climbing down from the cab he ran back to the vehicle, to see if anyone needed help. Sitting in the driver’s seat was an older man looking a little dazed and confused. He had a trickle of blood running from his brow that he wiped with a cloth as he said “it came jumping out of the woods right into my way!”

Are you OK? Can you get out and stand; he asked the man. Saying yes to both, the fellow got out of the vehicle and leaned on the side of his car. I was going to my sister’s house for the holidays; it’s just up the road a few miles. Do you think you could give me a lift? Of course, he replied. I am on my way home and if we pass my place first, we can stop to change vehicles and let you freshen up a bit.

As he helped the old fellow up into the cab, he explained that he had been away when his family moved out here and he was not sure he would recognize his new home. He said, “The wife said there is an old truck in the field next to the drive and that she would put a sign out.” Keep an eye out on your side and I’ll watch out over here, if you don’t mind. No, no not at all what kind of truck, he asked. She said an old 46 Ford but in the dark, any old truck will be worth checking out. So, what’s your story? That is if you don’t mind me asking, he inquired of the passenger.

Well my sister lives out here and her husband just left her alone with three children. I am not all that well off myself. That car is the only thing of value that I have besides my home. Anyhow, I was hoping she and the children would come home with me for the holidays. I thought maybe we could get a small tree out here somewhere and have a family Christmas at my place. I cannot afford presents and a big fancy meal but I love her and my nephews and niece very much and wanted to try to help the best I could. I guess with my car in the ditch and needing repair I’ll be spending Christmas with them instead.

Well I am sure that your just being there will cheer them up and make this Christmas special he said. Yes, I’m sure you’re right; I just hope the children aren’t too disappointed. Sometimes when you’re young, it’s a little difficult to see past Santa Clause, reindeer and presents. Driving slowly on in silence the driver thought about the man's niece and nephews and what a bleak Christmas they were going to have. It’s sad, he thought, but what are you going to do? You can’t change the world he thought, you just have to take care of your own and hope for the best, for the rest. Suddenly up ahead he saw a multi colored glow on the snow peaking out from the next curve. Slowing even more he down shifted around the curve.

Up ahead on the right was the sign he had been looking for! It was the 46 Ford decorated with Christmas lights shining brightly in the dark. The truck was a beautiful beacon of love and a promise of the peace, joy and security he would find in his home. Laughing aloud he swung left and prepared to turn into the drive as heard his passenger gasp. Looking over he saw the look of amazement on his face and some tears trickling down his cheeks.
He knew then that in a little while, after dropping the trailer, feeding his passenger and talking to his wife that most of these toys would still be in the tractor when he took the old fellow to his sisters. There would be extra food and he would take the family along too. As his heart swelled with love and joy, he knew that this was going to be the best Christmas ever.

What can we do to rid the world of terrorism?

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I originally wrote this in 2007. Though dated the gist of this article is still pertinent. While our own recent elections and the strife currently ongoing in Iran have marginalized the extremist; they have not provided any guarantee that a world wide catastrophe could not be precipitated by a fundamentalist faction from either side of this divisive geo-political issue.

This question has been posed by no less then the President of India, to the entire world via Yahoo. The simplistic answer was given by Rodney King when he asked “can’t we all just get along”? That simple question contains both the answer and a profound glimpse of the reason we will never get rid of not only terrorism but also war, genocide, rape, pedophilia, bullies, gang fights, internecine religious struggles, anger management classes and the people who need them. We cannot just get along.

Humans are competitive by nature and have an insatiable need to validate themselves by winning at everything. From games to conversation, we strive to come out on top. Parents playing with young children often would rather win time after time at their children’s expense, rather then let the little one experience winning. We harbor the hope if not the belief that we are smarter then everyone, even when we really know we are not. How often have you seen someone or have you yourself clung to a position you were not comfortable with because to agree with someone else is to lose.

All Christians, Jews, Muslims, and agnostics (when in extremis) believe that God is on their side. We have a plethora of religions and only one God, but we keep killing each other over whom he likes best. As a species we prefer to concentrate on which religion is the true religion instead of on how we might be of service to our fellow man and leaving the education of the unenlightened up to God. We are so convinced that we know the mind of God that we would rather force-feed it to the rest of the world then just love them for who they are.

Look at Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran. He recently told the UN that and I quote “People driven by their divine nature, intrinsically seek good, virtue, perfection and beauty.” He then went on to say, “Relying on our people, we can take giant steps toward reform and pave the road for human perfection. Whether we like it or not, justice, peace, and virtue will sooner or later prevail in the world with the will of almighty God.”

Human perfection, whether we like it or not, imposed by a beneficent and omnipotent God, along with justice, peace and virtue, is not a new concept. It has been present in all three of the great monotheisms throughout history. It comes from the complete and utter certainty of those who say they have seen the face of God and use the books of all three faiths (the Koran, the Bible and the Torah) to justify their views.

In today’s unnerving, globalizing, sometimes terrifying world, such religious certainty is more in demand then ever. Muslims are not the only faithful who teach submission to divinely inspired authority. The new Pope, despite his criticism of extremist religion and religious violence, represents a return to a more authoritarian form of Catholicism. In the Catholic, triad of how we discern truth- a dialogue between papal authority, scriptural guidance and the experience of the faithful- Benedict XVI has tilted the balance back towards his own unanswerable truth.

In his recent remarks on Islam, he made it clear that if your conscience tells you something different from his teaching it is not only a false conscience but also sinful thought. A conscience that reaches different conclusions is not a sign of personal integrity but rather a wayward soul lost in confusion.

Protestant Christianity, especially in the U.S. is becoming more and more certain and uncompromising in its views. The churches, which teach absolute adherence to inerrant scripture, are becoming megalithic congregations and other more moderate views are in decline. This sense of certainty is nowhere more obvious and dangerous then in democratic politics. We have a proudly born again, President who is more certain then most about what God expects from him. His mistakes in Iraq cannot be disentangled, from his religious views. He has written, “My faith frees me, frees me to make decisions others might not like. Frees me to do the right thing even though it might not poll well. Frees me to enjoy life and not worry about what comes next.” He is certain beyond any doubt that he knows the mind of God and is led in all his actions by Gods counsel.

So here, we are in a world of thermonuclear weapons with fundamentalist zealots on both sides returning to the rhetoric of the sixteenth century when Muslims and Christians neither asked for nor granted any quarter to each other. See the problem.

Religious absolutism by definition belittles and demeans God in my opinion. By virtue of the fact that he is God there is something unknowable about Him that surpasses our ability to understand. Not entirely, we have scripture, we have revelation, we have religious authority and finally we have our own spiritual experience of the divine, but there is also that which we cannot grasp. There is that part of God beyond our human understanding that makes God, God, and that without it He would not be God.

To get rid of terrorism, strife and inter-human struggles like war we all have to give up the notion that we know the only truth. We have to give up the notion that in knowing it we are endowed with a moral authority over our fellow humans. We have to learn to ignore the minutia of religious belief that entitles us to feel superior to others and concentrate on the wider application of brotherly love taught by all religions. We will have to suppress our egos and surrender our prejudices so that we might be able to ask first how may I be of service to my fellow man, not how may I convert him.

If we ever get to the point where we are willing to try to ease the burden of our neighbors regardless of the weight of our own burden we might just learn to get along with each other. We would do better to follow the examples of people like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jesus Christ, all of whom rejected violence and put service to others first. I hope that we find a way.