Politics and Religion In America--Post 9/11
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I wish that the Democratic politicians I support would take particular effort to clarify their core values, and build them solidly into their platforms and campaigns. I suspect that Americans would respect them and support them for their clarity and honesty, and I further suspect they would win over many voters who may well be longing for a clear statement of the fundamental values that they implicitly hold. For instance, I highly value any candidate who clearly stands for fairness and equal opportunity under the law for all citizens, whether they are popular or not. This means that one must support equal rights for gays and lesbians, not because we approve of their lifestyle, but because it is the right thing to do, and because it is wrong to deny rights to some individuals simply because of the way they were born or the people they choose to love. It means further that one must support a woman’s right to choose, not because one favors abortion, but because she has a right to determine the course of her life, and because every child has a right to parents who want it and promise to nurture it. No one in their right mind supports or desires abortion wantonly–it is a surgical procedure that always carries some risk, as all surgical procedures do. But we must insist on motivated, capable parents for every child brought into this world in order to give it a fighting chance for a life that already promises to be beset by challenges and problems. I favor political candidates who stand for openness in government, and a free exchange of ideas in understanding and solving problems, not because I like endless debates and demonstrations in our public spaces, but because I understand that this is essential to the proper functioning of a free democracy. I choose openness because I understand the dangers of closed door sessions, and decisions made in the dark cloakrooms of party henchmen, and of "spin doctors" who distort shaky intelligence to deceive the public and win support for wild-eyed schemes of dubious value to the nation. I will vote for the candidate who values honesty and reality, and who resists a macho reassurance in the face of danger and takes the trouble to educate me on the real situations confronting us, and with due regard for the possible hazards awaiting our course of action. I like someone who looks me straight in the eye and doesn’t sugar coat reality and rely on ideology and party dogma to create in me a false sense of security. I want someone who values the kind of straight talk that is backed up by good data and due regard for the counsel of wise experts, and which stands the test of time and experience. Give me the person who talks these values openly, and then follows up with actions that are clearly based on those values, and I will show you the person who will win my vote.
We must also learn to point out the obvious inconsistencies and flaws in the values that are presented by those who would have us believe they are superior. We must be willing to call to account blatant discrepancies between what is said and what is done that belie hypocrisy. Do not tell me that you are a role model for family values when you scream four letter curse words at senators on the floor of the senate. Do not tell me that you advocate equal opportunity for all and then pass legislation that clearly benefits one small segment of our population financially, and sit smugly by as the data comes in describing the increasing gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" in this country. Don’t tell me that you value equality in the face of the law, and then initiate legislation to amend our constitution to specifically prohibit equal rights to gays and lesbians. Don’t tell me how much you value national security, and then appoint a head of FEMA who couldn’t even run a horse show. Don’t even think I will be impressed by how much you value patriotism and sacrifice in the defense of liberty when I know how hard you worked to avoid the draft when your own country was at war. It is long past time when we need to open our eyes and call a spade a spade! If you want to talk values, then we will talk, and lay our cards on the table. Politicians on both sides of the aisle will have more than enough to keep them busy. In particular, those on the Democratic side need to talk up their values more, and make them more obvious to the voting public. These core, fundamental values are more than able to stand on their own, but they must be articulated and presented in a way that people can understand. Voters must also be shown how these values inform and guide your actions and decisions, and be given a chance to evaluate them in these contexts. That is the way to help develop a more educated and enlightened electorate. Our nation deserves this, now more than ever, and we all need to do our part in the process.
All human beings hold basic values that they have adopted over the years. Thoughtful human beings consider these values from time to time, and are not afraid to examine them, to see where they came from, and if they are still useful. The authoritarians and dogmatists amongst us will deny that this is appropriate, and insist that what was good enough for our forefathers is good enough for us. That flies in the face of reality however, and denies that the world changes and that conditions vary from one generation to another. Yes, some fundamental values have retained their full value since the beginning of time, but that shouldn’t preclude revisiting our beliefs when conditions radically change. Thoughtful people also examine their behaviors carefully, across a wide spectrum of experiences, to check and see if they are consistent with the values that they profess to stand for. Consistency between the values we cherish and the behaviors we show to our families and to the world is important to these people. When there are discrepancies, such people are not afraid to admit their lapses, and perhaps c
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About the Book
Dr. Blumberg takes a look at the state of our nation today, and describes what he sees as a variety of problems and areas in which he feels the nation is heading in the wrong direction. In particular, he feels that our politics are being dominated by an atmosphere of hate, and that hot button social issues, driven by religious extremists, are being used to divide and inflame our electorate. Terrorism, abortion and gay rights are at the head of these hot button issues, but there are others. Aside from violating our nation's long standing tradition of separating church and state, the author feels that using such hot button issues to provoke voters leads to potentially long lasting, destructive feelings, which turn us against each other. Such a house divided becomes vulnerable to the worst possible manipulation by clever political operatives. Dr. Blumberg sees fear and anxiety, largely a result of the attacks of 9/11, as being responsible for many of these trends, and offers some insight into how this occurs, and how it can be changed.
About the Author
Dr. Blumberg received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1969, and went on to spend five years as a clinical psychologist in the U.S. Army. His internship was at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, California, and he was later stationed in San Antonio, Texas, assigned as an instructor at the Medical Field Service School. The rest of his professional career was with the Veterans Administration Hospital System, and he retired as Chief of the Psychology Service at the VA Medical Center in Miami, Florida.
Dr. Blumberg has recently published another book entitled WISDOM THROUGH EXPERIENCE, in which he looks at the interpersonal lessons learned from his years as a psychologist, and the importance of being open to life's experiences and integrating them into one's personal philosophy.