Friday, September 18, 2009

Perception VS Fact in U.S. Policy



From the battle over health care reform to the U.S boycotting the U.N racism conference; why is it that U.S. policy is continuously shaped by the public perception of things rather than actual facts? Last April the United Nations held its second World Conference on Racism and the United States boycotted the event because it was perceived as anti-Semitic. Now how, you may ask, could an event specifically targeted to combat racism be itself racist? Well most of it has to do with the first conference held in Durban, South Africa of 2001. The controversy started at the Non-Government Organization forum where the Arab Lawyers Union handed out a pamphlet depicting Jews with bloody fangs and hook noses. The NGO forum and it's participants are in no way affiliated with the U.N. and it's members; civil gatherings such as these, whether or not they're participants act civil, are standard operating procedure at something like the Durban conference. The resulting Manifesto that came out of the NGO forum was a detestable document that equated Zionism with racism and those sympathetic to Israel, or those simply with a heart beating in their chest, should have been disgusted by it; which is why the U.N. condemned the NGO forum and did not allow one to take place at the second conference known as Durban II. So just to re-cap, U.N. not racist; some people at an event that does not represent the views of the U.N., racist. End of story right? Wrong. Long after Durban I critics still claimed that the conference was an anti-Semitic hate-fest. Here are a few excerpts from the Declaration that resulted from the first conference:


Paragraph 63: We are concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation. We recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of and independent State and we recognize the right of security for all States in the region including Israel, and call upon all States to support the peace process and bring it to an early conclusion.


Paragraph 61: We recognize with deep concern the increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in various parts of the world, as well as the emergence of racial and violent movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities.


Paragraph 58: We recall that the Holocaust must never be forgotten.


Do any of the above statements sound like the ravings of discriminatory lunatics? Of course not. What's even more puzzling is that Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres praised the Durban Declaration as "an accomplishment of the first order for Israel." Then why has the U.S. Government and the public at large perceived the Durban conference's to be a hot bed for bigotry when the facts clearly do not back up that perception?


This phenomenon of allowing perception to trump facts is prevalent in U.S. domestic policy as well. Take for example the, "Deather," movement that was spawned from a benign portion of the Democrats health care proposal. The End of Life Counseling Provision would be a completely voluntary process that would assist seniors in choosing or refusing certain types of health care and other decisions that we all have to make at the end of our lives. Critics, most notably Sara Palin, have managed to twist this into some sort of government mandated euthanasia program. The perception in the mind of the public that President Obama was creating "Death Panels" would soon lead the Democrats to remove the End of Life Counseling provision from the bill.


If these trends continue, what's next? Will Obama cave to the "Birthers?" It seems ridiculous but the very notion that a movement such as the Birther's can catch on is just as ludicrous as the idea that the president would appease these nut cases by admitting that he is in fact not an American citizen! Or perhaps President Bush will finally admit to the "Truthers" that yes, he was in fact behind 9/11! How does this stuff catch on? Are Americans that stupid? Is it the media that fans the flames on these seemingly fringe movements that become more mainstream everyday? I think a case can be made for both arguments. One things for certain though; allowing perceptions rather than facts rule our lives has already cost us what could have been an important moment in battling racism the world over as well as an important measure in health care reform. Until the citizens in this country start dealing in FACTS and demand that their leaders do the same we will continue to make the same mistakes in the future.




Friday, September 11, 2009

Blood Lust At The Civic Center

On August 31, 2009 Congressman Phil Gingrey from the 11th District of Georgia held a town hall meeting to discuss health care reform. Here's, more or less, what happened:



Upon entering the Cobb Civic Center I knew I was a pilgrim in a strange land. I was immediately flanked by a pretty little republican with an Anti-Obama care leaflet, "We're collecting 100,000 signatures to oppose Obama's health care proposal that we plan to hand deliver to Nancy Pelosi," she cried. I politely told her thanks but no thanks and then entered the civic center where the blood lust in the air was palpable. After the obligatory invocation by a local minister, Congressman Phil Gingrey took the stage and was greeted by the crowd like a rock star. Gingrey looks as if he came off an assembly line from a factory that manufactures politicians. He comes complete with a beautifully fitted suit, capped teeth, and a charming southern accent. The crowd from Georgia's 11th district, "The Fighting 11th!" is predominantly Republican so the night was going to be a home run for Gingrey and he knew it. First to wet the crowds appetite for the liberal blood letting to come, a short propaganda film was shown. It was a sloppy piece of work basically comparing the current fight for health care reform to the failed efforts by the Clinton administration in the 90's, better known as "Hillary Care." I don't know that the film had the effect on me that Gingrey was going for but it did serve to remind me that only the Democrats could control the House, Senate, and The White House, and still fuck this thing up.


Next came the Q&A from the audience. From the woman with the pace maker who was afraid that the democrats would not replace her battery to the man who was sure that a public health care plan would disproportionately benefit criminals, it was immediately apparent to me that the Fear had taken hold of these people; and Gingrey feed on that fear like a leach sucking on a bloody wound. Under a government run plan he warned that there would be a "rationing" of care and he also spoke of the dangers of having a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor, which is apparently worse than a bureaucrat at Cigna. Then came the End of Life Counseling provision in the health care bill which is in fact a ploy to pull the plug on Grandma! Well not really. First of all someone should remind the Congressman that this particular provision has been removed from the bill. Secondly it is not in fact a "Death Panel" but simply requires medicare to pay for VOLUNTARY end of life counseling sessions for seniors and the ailing to plan for end of life medical care. The counseling sessions would cover things such as choosing a hospice and a patients right to CHOOSE or refuse certain types of treatment. It it no way enforces euthanasia and to suggest so is a total misrepresentation of the facts. But all this is besides the point point because it's not in the bill anymore! What's sad is that the bill is probably worse for seniors now but what's even more sad is that the people of the 11th district of Georgia are stupid enough to believe this crap coming from a walking Ken doll like Gingrey!


Gingrey rounded out the night with some general Obama bashing and lashed out at the rest of the Democrats for being more focused on suing the CIA than working to refrom health care, or something to that effect. My mind gets a little fuzzy here; for at this point in the evening the Fear and stupidity in the air was formidable and I started to realize my God these people are right! The Democrats really are bunch of fag loving, God hating, pinko commies who want to kill my Granny with socialized medicine! Well to hell with that! I stood up from my chair and yelled at the top of my lungs, "Phil please save us from these Satan worshiping baby killers!" The crowd roared with applause and before I knew it they had hoisted me off my feet and were carrying me out of the civic center. I felt like Julius Caesar returning victoriously to Rome.


When I came to the next morning my lady friend informed that something had come over me at the town hall meeting. Apparently during the Q & A session I began ranting and raving like a lunatic, even speaking in tongues at one point. The police had to remove me by force! I told her no, she must be mistaken. I had seen the light. I finally realized what Obama was up to. "What's that?" she asked.


"Well it's quite simple actually. The Democrats have an evil plan to destroy the country with socialized medicine. That want to kill my Granny!"


"Chris both your Grandparents are dead," she said.


"They have death panels!" I pleaded.


"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."


"Now that you mention it, it does seem kind of stupid."


Sweet Jesus I hadn't seen the light at all! I was simply drunk off all the Fear and stupidity in the air that night. Ah but it felt so good to just give in. To throw out things like logic and reason and just totally embrace, well, ignorance. I guess Orwell was right, it really is bliss.