"Political Correctness" and The Golden Rule

For years, we've been subjected to people complaining about "political correctness", but in the 2016 election candidate Donald Trump has made it an election issue in itself.

Source: NY Times, Republican Debate Coverage

“I will present the facts plainly and honestly. We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore. So if you want to hear the corporate spin, the carefully-crafted lies, and the media myths the Democrats are holding their convention next week. But here, at our convention, there will be no lies. We will honor the American people with the truth, and nothing else.” Donald Trump GOP Convention speech

Before I even get into the discussion of why I have such a problem with people who proclaim loudly "I'm not PC", let's just unpack the idea that political correctness means lack of truth, by looking at the Politifact record of non-PC "there will be no lies" Donald Trump and the woman he constantly (and immaturely) refers to as "Crooked Hillary."

Source: Politifact

Well, what do you know? It appears Mr. Straight Talk is more crooked than the person at whom he's hurling the epithet.

What was that childhood phrase? “I’m rubber, you’re glue; Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Perhaps Mr. Trump never learned that in the school yard?

Now that we've cleared up the idea that being "not PC" doesn't necessarily equate to being honest, I want to talk about what we mean by the idea of political correctness. When I was a child, it wasn't called political correctness. My parents called it "manners." My parents called it "having respect for other people." My parents called it "respecting and learning from other cultures." My parents called it "treating others the way you'd like to be treated."

This last is what we call "The Golden Rule" and it is common to pretty much every faith and spiritual system in the world.

Judaism

That which is despicable to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary, go and learn it." - Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Christianity

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.
Matthew 7:12 King James Version

"And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31, King James Version.

Islam

"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 3

Native American Spirituality

"Respect for all life is the foundation." The Great Law of Peace.
"All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves. All is really One." Black Elk

"Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself." Pima proverb.

Confucianism

"Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence." Mencius VII.A.4

"Tse-kung asked, 'Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?' Confucius replied, 'It is the word 'shu' -- reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.'" Doctrine of the Mean 13.3

Buddhism

Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.
Udana-Varga 5,1

Hinduism

"This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you." Mahabharata 5:1517

Bahai

"Ascribe not to any soul that which thou wouldst not have ascribed to thee, and say not that which thou doest not." "Blessed is he who preferreth his brother before himself." Baha'u'llah

This is a sampling. You can find more at TheGoldenRuleProject.org

My friend Neal Byles draws the excellent webcomic With the Band and you should totally go follow him right this very minute on Facebook and Twitter. Here's his WWJD take on political correctness:

And another great one from Neal:

Remember The Golden Rule: treat others as you yourself would like to be treated. It might just help prevent you from sounding like a bloody idiot.

The "Malignant Hazard of Privilege"

On the recommendation of my friend Lee Strasburger I'm reading MEMOIRS OF AN ANTI-SEMITE by Gregor Von Rezzori

I haven't even reached Von Rezzori's writing yet, because I've been thinking so much about one of the last paragraphs in Deborah Eisenberg's introduction:

"How many actually evil people does it take to accomplish a genocide and reduce much of a continent to ash? Only a handful, it seems, but that handful requires the passive assistance of many, many other people who glance out of the windows of their secure homes and see a cloudless sky. It's easy enough for most of us to distance ourselves from attitudes of virulent racism, but what about from carelessness, casual snobbery - either social or intellectual - inattentiveness? Rezzori reminds us painfully that the great and malignant hazard of privilege is obtuseness."
...
"Yes, we wonder, what does it take to be a "decent person"? Maybe the most significant component is luck - the good luck to be born into a place and moment that inflicts minimal cruelty and thus does not require from us the courage to discern and resist its tides."

As another politician, one who has a phD in history says things like this:

and politicians and "nice" people in my extremely privileged town behave like this and people fight over which lives matter in more in slogans (seriously Mike Huckabee? I thought this was the Onion, not the Hill) instead of confronting the real structural inequities that exist in our country, Eisenberg's words resonate.

Last December, I wrote an op-ed entitled: Now is the time for moral courage: Politicians can't be bystanders to hate speech. Sadly, moral courage appears to be in short supply. Is it due to the malignant hazard of privilege?

For everyone who had a yellow "Support the Troops" ribbon during the Iraq War: READ THIS

I first "met" my friend Rob Jordan online over 10 years ago on the Happytown listserv, for fans of the singer-songwriter Jill Sobule. We met in several times in real life at Jill's concerts, and have kept in touch through email, MySpace (remember Myspace?) and now over Facebook. Over the past few years, I've read, with increasing anger and frustration, about Rob's health problems and the way he has been treated by government after his long, honorable service in the US Military.  It makes me furious and ashamed.

 I want every single person who was so proud to put one of those yellow ribbon "Support the Troops" magnets or stickers on their cars back in 2003-2004 to read this and start thinking about what supporting the troops REALLY means. Because it's not about waving flags and putting bumper stickers on your car when we go to war. That's not support. That's typical wartime jingoism.

What matters, what really counts, is supporting our people when they come home suffering the physical and mental consequences of their service.

I'm talking to you, Congress. I'm talking to you, Senator Tom Coburn, (R-OK) who voted to send troops to war, but yesterday blocked the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Bill in the Senate.

But don't listen to me. I'm just a writer. Listen to Rob. And please, get as angry as I am and contact your Congressman and Senators.

I sometimes think that maybe I share too much of my personal life on this site. Possibly, but I am essentially alone, have no family nearby , and sometimes I just feel the need to share my thoughts. Thankfully I have a lot of family and friends here. Many of you go back to the days even before memory started to function.

I have been having an internal argument lately and I very recently made a decision that I know that some of you will think is crazy. Please do not argue as it is my decision alone to make. Feel free to save any disagreements that you may feel obligated to voice until such time as you are in a similar situation and have this decision to make on your own.Many of you are well aware of the issues that I have been dealing with for the last 3.5 years. In 2011 I returned home from a deployment to Afghanistan with a rather impressive list of medical issues which were not in existence prior to this time. Since that time the problems have worsened and spread to other areas.

An Air Quality Report that was conducted in the area I was stationed showed that the air we were breathing contained an extreme amount of contaminants due to the use of a very large “burn pit” on base. When cross referencing the identified contaminants with the effects of them on humans I found that all of the problems I had been dealing with could be traced to inhalation of these chemicals. In addition burn pit health problems were just starting to be publicized in the media. I have a fairly extensive collection of these documents if anyone should have any interest in them.

For 3.5 years now I have been attempting to get the government to admit to at least a degree of culpability in this issue. As a matter of fact when I was finally able to present this info to an Air Force Doctor instead of the empathy and direction that I was expecting I was met with derision and scorn. It was obvious that the assumption was that I was in some way trying to take advantage of the system.

In February of this year I was approached by a personnel representative with an idea. I was told that with my health issues I would be able to get a disability retirement through the Federal Government. I took this individuals advice and submitted the application. I even signed resignation paperwork to be submitted upon approval of my application.After a seven month wait I was notified that my application was disapproved. However, my resignation paperwork had already been submitted. As a result me health insurance was cancelled. Coincidentally I was scheduled for a heart procedure the following week. This had to be cancelled since I was no longer insured. I appealed the decision but was notified last month that the appeal was also disapproved.

So I find myself unemployed and uninsured as a result of trusting someone within the system. Of course this has made me extremely leery of accepting any more advice. I am afraid that with the next decision I could end up homeless.

I have run up against all types of personalities while dealing with this issue. Our system is made up of gatekeepers, those who do their best to prevent anyone from achieving benefits lest someone obtain something they are not entitled to. Empire builders who will sacrifice an individuals livelihood rather than admit that they made a mistake and run the risk of appearing less than perfect. And the politicians that will smile to your face and reassure you while siding with the system because, well, it’s just easier that way.After 32 years it has been an extremely jarring reality check. If I could give advice to anyone new in the system, or in almost any career actually, it would be this. Do not live for your job. Make sure that you devote at least as much effort into family, community, or other fulfilling interests. The system does not care about you as an individual.

Remember, the promotions, medals, awards, and other recognition are not given because leadership cares about you as an individual. They are given to recognize what the system has gotten from you. When you are no longer able to contribute, you will probably just be cast aside.

Within the last month or so I have developed some new health issues that have me actually worried for the first time. I have started losing my balance at completely random times while walking. For this reason I usually carry a cane with me to add stability when needed. At least when pride permits. The issue that is bothering me the most is that I have begun experiencing short spells of confusion. There are times when my mind seems to empty out and I could not even tell you my name.

These are the primary reasons that after 3.5 years of this ordeal being at the forefront in my life, after pushing as hard as I could yet still falling backwards, I will fight no more.I believe that it is safe to assume that I will not be living to a ripe old age. I do not want the time that I have left to be taken over by something that just makes me bitter and angry. There are many great people in my life and many things that I enjoy doing. I want to put all of this negative crap out of my head and concentrate on living a life that I enjoy with the people that are important to me.

I know that there are many that will say, “But that means that the system won!” To this I say, “No, I won. I am living a life where their lies and hypocrisy don’t matter“. The system is being run by heartless assholes and idiots. I don’t give a single good goddamn whether they win or lose.

Chief Rob out.

Remember how the government didn't want to admit that contaminants at Ground Zero had anything to do with the respiratory ailments and cancers that first responders and pit workers suffered? It wasn't until massive political pressure was put on them that the Zadroga Act was finally passed in 2010 (it's up for reauthorization next year - make sure you encourage your Congresspeople to vote in favor).

 Congress is rightly perceived by a majority of Americans as being completely dysfunctional. The only way we can get them to do the right thing is by massive political pressure. Please. Contact your reps. Make noise. Do it for Rob, and for all other other vets who answered the call when asked, but are now being treated so horrendously by the nation they served.

Why The Hunger Games is a trilogy for our times

I have two Twitter feeds, one for my author life @sarahdarerlitt and one for my life as a political columnist @realsaramerica. This morning as I was scanning my political feed I came across this article in the International Business Times.

While hundreds of black celebrities have happily doused themselves in freezing water for the Ice Bucket Challenge, news outlets like Hip Hop DX, Ebony and Buzzfeed, as well as social media users, have accused prominent African-Americans of being too quiet about the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, two weeks ago.



“I think there is definitely a lack of articulation in public forums,” Mark Anthony Neal, a professor in African and African-American studies at Duke University in North Carolina, told International Business Times.“The weird irony behind getting black celebrities to weigh in on Ferguson is that every five minutes you see another one of them doing an Ice Bucket Challenge.”

I don't feel it's my place to comment on that. The quote that I'm here to talk about is from Neal Lester, an African-American literary and cultural studies professor at Arizona State University:

“At end of the day what preoccupies people’s minds is what’s happening on TMZ, not what’s happening on CNN.”

When I read that, all I could think of, once again, was how Suzanne Collins' THE HUNGER GAMES is the trilogy for our times.

I've written about my admiration for the Hunger Games before - I have an essay, The Politics of Mockingjay in the SmartPop anthology The Girl Who Was on Fire, and an additional essay, "Occupy Panem" that comes as extra digital content with the movie edition of the book.

I've seen some great discussions lately about books to use to talk about Ferguson. School library Journal had a piece focusing on "Resources on Protest, Nonviolent Resistance, and Civil Rights". But the reason I think The Hunger Games is also a great discussion resource is this: inequality and distraction. Panem and Circenses.

I don't want to take anything away from the very real issue of race that is at the core of what happened in Ferguson. I have friends who have been stopped for "driving while black." My boyfriend got lost while driving in the exclusive private area of Greenwich known as Belle Haven the other day, and the security guard just waved at him because he was white and driving a nice car. We both imagined how things would have gone if neither of those factors had been true. Somehow I doubt the security guard would have just waved.

But there's another important issue at playing out simultaneously worldwide that we cannot and must not ignore - inequality.

Collins' trilogy is a wonderful way to start kids thinking about these ideas - leading to discussions of the political strategy of "bread and circuses", reality TV and media literacy.

The problems in our country stem from complex sources and it's important to have our kids understand that we need to attack them from all fronts if we're going to make headway.

Movie Recommendation: Go see ARGO.

I've got deeply personal reasons for my fascination with covert operations and trade craft (Dad,who unfortunately has Alzheimer's now, was a proud member of AFIO. A few years ago I started playing around with an idea for a middle grade spy novel but I was approaching it from the wrong angle and it went nowhere.

In the course of my research, though, I read Ted Gup's The Book of Honor, The Secret Lives and Deaths of CIA Operatives, which made me appreciate how the clandestine services risk their lives in the shadows, often pulling off heroic acts which can never be recognized by the public because they are classified.

In light of the recent controversies about the "truth" of the Osama Bin Laden operation and the current politicking about the deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and others in Benghaz it's important to remember that while obtaining information is a critical part of espionage,its counterpart is disinformation.

Which brings me to ARGO, a movie I've been desperate to see ever since I first read about it. My only regret is that my father isn't compos mentis enough to have seen the film with us, because he would have loved it.



ARGO is loosely based on the Canadian Caper, a true life covert operation between the CIA and the Canadian Government to exfiltrate six American diplomats who escaped from the Consulate building in Teheran when the Embassy next door was seized and the entire staff taken hostage on November 4th, 1979.

The result is a suspenseful, pulse-pounding, my-boyfriend's-hand-has-nail-marks-in-it-from-the-airport-scene film that does not disappoint. Terrific performances by Affleck, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, and John Goodman.

Two important takeaways from the film, IMHO:

1. Disinformation and classified information: The CIA's role in the exfiltration of the six diplomats, particularly the part played by Tony Mendez, wasn't known until 18 years after the fact when the operation was declassified by President Clinton. Knowledge of CIA involvement might well have jeopardized the safety of the Embassy hostages, so full credit for the operation was given to the Canadian Government - which deserved a LOT of credit, don't get me wrong. But this is why I get SERIOUSLY pissed off when certain Presidential candidates try to make political capital out of inflamed situations. And even more pissed off when, in trying to make even more political capital out of that situation, Congressmen blow CIA cover on CSPAN. We don't want to have to add more black stars to the wall at Langley, dammit!

2. Pay attention, really close attention, to the intro, before the movie starts. The history of US involvement in Iran isn't pretty. In 1953, the US staged a coup to overthrow the government of democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq. Mossadeq pissed off the Brits when he nationalized the Anglo-Iranian Oil company (these days known as BP, Gulf polluter), prompting the US and UK to oust him (OIL, $$$, OIL, $$$, sense a theme here?)leaving the Iranian people under the repressive dictatorship of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi for twenty years.

Here's a link to an interesting Canadian Broadcasting piece about Tony Mendez that gives background on the real Canadian Caper.


http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/Shows/The+National/World/ID/2276947408/