Kerry Tees Up Keystone for Obama Veto

For those in the business of reading political tea leaves the speech last week in Jakarta by Secretary of State John Kerry is an important milestone.

Ok so I'm mixing metaphors, its an important lump of tea leaves just doesn't do it and furthermore makes light of an issue far too important for us to make light of.

Kerry's speech was the strongest statement yet from an administration that has already made Climate change a cornerstone issue. Most important, Kerry did not mince words. He spoke more like a scientist than as a politician, noting that when 98.9 percent of the scientists say that the world is round, we don't give equal time to the Flat Earth Society and we should treat climate change the same way or we will destroy the only home we have.

Kerry did not polish the rough edges of his speech, he did not "put a shine on it" as some would say; he came right out and said that Climate change was a weapon of mass destruction that we were arming against our own future.

A speech like this is not done in a vacuum. The Secretary of State has plenty of latitude to do his/her job of course but when he makes a speech as powerful as this one, he has to have run it up the flagpole with the White House.

If John Kerry has not intentionally teed up the Keystone Pipeline for a veto by President Obama then he has at the very least put his hand on the scales. Kudos to him for that.

Keystone is bad for the planet but the root problem is not the pipeline, it is the harvesting of the Tar Sands themselves and until we find a way to address the root problem, a Keystone veto will only be a wrinkle in the rug that will pop up somewhere else in the house of cards we call Planet Earth.

~wdk

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Critical Thinking and the Paradox of History

Critical Thinking and the Paradox of History
Advice from a Lifelong Student (and sometimes Teacher) of History
Wayne D. King

Skepticism is the chastity of the intellect, and it is shameful to surrender it too soon or to the first comer: there is nobility in preserving it coolly and proudly through long youth, until at last, in the ripeness of instinct and discretion, it can be safely exchanged for fidelity and happiness.
George Santayana
US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)

History and politics must be approached with a large dose of skepticism whether from the left or the right because, after all, history is generally written by the "winners" whether their cause was just or not. While I may have coined, or simply adopted, the phrase "The Paradox of History" neither the phrase itself, nor the thought, is unique or original.

Economist John Maynard Keynes coined the phrase the “Paradox of Thrift” to describe that point in a recession when the public is inclined to save as much as possible and spend as little as possible, while at the same time massive spending is the only way to alleviate the economic peril that the country faces. The Paradox of history is simply that history is written by the “winners” who have a vested interest in the narrative, while at the same time, history's greatest benefit to us is what might be learned from an unbiased narrative that provides us an opportunity to see both the good and bad in its events, personas and results. Stated more eloquently by Gordon Craig, “the duty of the historian is to restore to the past the options it once had.”

So, therefore, a good teacher's first responsibility to his or her students is to convince them that they should believe as little as possible of what he or she is about to tell them. Let's call that the "educators corollary" to the Paradox of History.

Having admitted to complete and utter fallibility, a good teacher must then impart his/her knowledge assertively, as if no other source was closer to the oracle of knowledge.

A worthy teacher, then, seeks not to serve answers or truths but to urge students toward the development of critical thinking skills and a healthy skepticism, from which they can derive their own narrative.

This does not in any way alleviate the burden upon you, the student. Quite the contrary in fact - it imposes a larger responsibility because you must find a way to demonstrate a modicum of deference to my years of experience and knowledge while, at the same time, double checking the veracity of everything you learn from me.

One of the first things that you will learn is that a good critical thinker does not mistake opinion or "common sense" for fact. Opinion, after all is just that; one person’s view of something. Common sense, that stalwart beacon of logic and wisdom with which your elders have urged you to imbue your thoughts and behavior, is an even more devilish force because it is empowered by the vast influence of majority thought.

Stephen Hawking, in his extraordinary "Science in the New Millennium" speech, said “. . . common sense is just another name for the prejudices that we have been brought up with.”

Facts, on the other hand, as Mark Twain said, are "stubborn things"
they may stand by themselves or they may be turned into thought, but without them thought has no basis in reality; and, ultimately, no power.

So, as we begin this term, make it your goal to keep both your eyes and your mind wide open. Take joy in the moments in which your notion of the world is turned upside down because that is the surest sign that something useful is happening to you.

The Best Leader

A leader is best
When people barely know
That he exists,

Less good when
They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when
They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people
And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,
When his work is done,
His aim fulfilled,
they will all say,
'We did this ourselves.’

Lao-Tzu
Chinese philosopher

Wayne D. King

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Time to Stand OUR Ground

In the years to come the trial and verdict in the murder of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn will be remembered as a cultural touchstone.   A tipping point where suddenly the veil fell away and left all of us who are rational, thinking people asking ourselves how we came to this place and how we find our way out. 

Like many others, I have been transfixed by this trial, gathering up news as it came through the filters of the various news sources. I was stunned at the confluence of evidence and testimony. Stunned that Michael Dunn had the gall to try and describe a crime scene narrative totally inconsistent with the physical evidence and the eye witness testimony. A listing of these inconsistencies could run 

But what has been the most shocking and ultimately the most hopeful on the flip side is the reaction. In short Black people are pissed. Here we are seemingly on the verge of a post racial America only five years ago when President Obama was elected and suddenly we find ourselves face to face with Jim Crow himself.

It isn’t just the usual suspects who are outraged. We expect indignation from Rev Al or Cornell West who sometimes seem to see the world through mud crusted glasses but even the voices of moderation have suddenly found themselves radicalized by the realization that this is all bigger than any of us thought. When moderates like Michelle Bernard  or even the usually apolitical Wayne Brady are compelled to speak out something is in the air. 

Jon Stewart and Jessica Williams teamed up on the Daily Show Tuesday night to do a sharp and biting analysis of the case and the verdict but even the humor of the moment could not mask the message - the message that for black mothers their baby boys were in danger and even those who are fortunate enough to be a part of the 1% could not sit easily. 

And therein lies the seeds of change. . .

Last night I spoke with an old friend from High School. He was the black kid in an almost all white high school in the 70’s. The kid that everyone loved. He’s usually as upbeat as any human being I know but last night the sadness in his tone was palpable. I got off the phone and turned to my wife and said simply; “Black people are pissed.” and she did the oddest thing. She raised her hand as if she was in school. I looked at her questioningly and she said “So am I!”  

Its not just black people who are outraged. Its a whole lot of us of every color. It is just the army that will be needed to take on the institutional Frankenstein that we have created with Stand your Ground laws, Voter “Fraud" legislation intended to tamp down the minority and low income vote and a host of other stalking horse laws intended to match the growing wealth gap with its evil twin - The justice gap.

The fight is on. Choose your side because its going to be a battle. Either we kill the monster or it controls our country for another 100 years. It's time to Stand OUR Ground and say that we will not go back. 

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