Don’t rock the boat?

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moral courage, mormon community, public protests, salman rushdie

Salman Rushdie’s opinion piece on moral courage is a wake up call to those complacent in their feelings towards liberty. As the world increasingly shifts from promoting liberty to equality, many voices that we used to admire as courageous are instead being thrown under the bus because they are “rocking the boat”.

As recently as 1989, the image of a man carrying two shopping bags and defying the tanks of Tiananmen Square became, almost at once, a global symbol of courage.

Then, it seems, things changed. The “Tank Man” has been largely forgotten in China, while the pro-democracy protesters, including those who died in the massacre of June 3 and 4, have been successfully redescribed by the Chinese authorities as counterrevolutionaries.

THIS new idea — that writers, scholars and artists who stand against orthodoxy or bigotry are to blame for upsetting people — is spreading fast, even to countries like India that once prided themselves on their freedoms.

We should be careful about painting certain forces as good or evil based on the media’s coverage. As Mr. Rushdie points out, even American’s fall into the trap of seeing protestors as immoral naer-do wells. When the Occupy movement hit full force, media coverage was almost scathing in its disdain for the purpose of the movement, and many viewed the protests as some sort of novelty, rather than a legitimate way to communicate an idea.

Within our own Mormon community, protests of church policies are often seen as heretical attempts to delegitimize church authority, and as such are looked upon with contempt. I believe this feeling goes beyond just church politics and into our political life as well. Though Mormons are happy to resolve disputes through the courts, I feel that minority groups seeking a greater voice through public protests are discriminated against rather than listened to. It is ironic that we (at least in Utah), have arrived at this mindset; we forget that this country would not exist without the tremendous moral courage the founding fathers had when they led a revolution in protest of Britain’s rule.  Perhaps we should reconsider what it means to be a “good citizen”.

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Delusions of Defection

The New York Times reported today that Syria’s government has decided to switch tactics. As fears of islamic extremism in Syria spread, Mr. Assad’s autocratic government has increasingly tried to sell itself as a viable, secular partner for western powers in the middle east. Here is Omran al-Zoubi, an information minister for Syria, describing current conditions in Syria:

[Syria is] a war for civilization, identity and culture. Syria, if you want, is the last real secular state in the Arab world.

Washington’s continuing reluctance to directly arm Syrian rebels seems to have signaled to Damascus that a preservation of the status quo in Syria may be preferable to western powers than the rise of another extremists Islamic regime in the Middle east. With no resolution in sight, I wonder how the Obama administration’s policy of reluctant and indirect support of Syrian rebels will change in the next few months? The fog of war is thick in this conflict; President Obama’s early reluctance to throw the U.S. behind the rebels was a blow to secular forces in the rebel movement. However, at this stage in the conflict, the measured approach is the more wise one. When there are no clear friends or enemies, it does not make sense to ally ourselves in the conflict.

It seems prudent to not try to create an alliance that will eventually spiral because of deep cultural differences (think Pakistan).

The Price of Shadow War

11 days ago, the United States became indirectly responsible  for the deaths of 12 children. After a night raid went awry, 4 C.I.A. advisors and their local militia were ambushed in a house with 12 children inside. Though the irregular military team did not intentionally use the civilians in the home as shields, it became a natural result of the ambush. Eventually, one C.I.A. agent lay dead while the other 3 were med-evacuated, barely escaping the Taliban ambush.

Shortly after the C.I.A. agents were airlifted, airstrikes began raining down on the area to protect the C.I.A.’s covert fighting force, disregarding a Presidential Executive Order from President Karzai that declared drone strikes in residential areas illegal. Eventually this resulted in the collapse of the house containing the trapped civilians.

This is the result

 These children were killed only because of the airstrikes. These (C.I.A. run militias) are … irresponsible armed people, carrying out operations for and on the payroll of the C.I.A.       -President Karzai Spokesman

Who goes around in the middle of the night invading villages and hurting innocent bystanders? That sounds a lot like… who are we? Why has the U.S. traded asymmetric warfare for militias? The C.I.A. is making the military draw down look like a farce. For political reasons, the Obama administration must withdraw standard military forces. But instead of forcing the Afghans to fill the void, we seem to be filling it with a shadow force that has no accountability to anyone but the C.I.A.

Is this an acceptable solution to the American people? We don’t want troops on the ground, but we are ok with relatively uncontrolled untrained militias running free through the Afghani mountains, killing people they think are Taliban? Is the price for using irregular forces worth the cost? Why or why not?

Cycling Past an Afghan Taboo

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/sports/cycling/shannon-galpin-has-a-mission-putting-afghans-on-bikes.html?hp&_r=0

 

We must understand to be tolerant and to try to understand the culture and stop trying to make things the way we think should be,  I totally see this as a bad move from Shannon Galpin, let me know what your thoughts are of this article. I would like know why there is no more people following this movement.

Boston Blasts

Emergency response after blasts (Pictures from NYTimes)

A series of bombs exploded near the finish line at the Boston Marathon on Monday, leaving two people dead and more than two dozen injured

-New York Times

My heart goes out to those caught in the blasts in Boston, may we keep them in our prayers. It is days like today that give us pause as a nation, to consider who we are, and what we represent. How will we respond to these attacks when the perpetrators are identified? The U.S. has become war weary, as we pull out of Afghanistan and Iraq, most Americans have felt a certain relief towards the end of an endless war. However, if this attack can be traced to Al-Qaida or another terrorist movement abroad, how will this affect our retreat from Afghanistan/Pakistan?

Map of explosions

Details are thin at the moment, but I’m sure there will be much more investigative work to do as the FBI begins its investigation. However, if this attack can be traced to a foreign source, how do you think this will shift America’s diplomatic focus? Given America’s recent refocusing on east asia, would a terror attack force the U.S. to rethink its current strategy? If the attacks were home grown, how will politicians respond?

Gold, Long a Secure Investment, Loses Its Luster

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/business/gold-long-a-secure-investment-loses-its-luster.html?hp&_r=0

I feel like at this point of economic uncertancty any kind of investment would be hard to determine it as a safe one. So is gold really loosing its luster as some Wall Street analysts are declaring it to be the end of a golden age of gold. But is 11% to 15% declining in the price of gold, really a big hit to it? I see companies buying gold like if the are buying candy. I disagree with especulators who say think know everything I see something coming and history is the best especulator. But for a generation of investors, the golden decade created the illusion that the metal would keep rising forever. The financial industry seized on such hopes to market a growing range of gold investments, making the current downturn in gold felt more widely than previous ones. That triumph of marketing gold was apparent in an April 2011 poll by Gallup, which found that 34 percent of Americans thought that gold was the best long-term investment, more than another other investment category, including real estate and mutual funds.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324050304578413421108874266.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

In the never ending saga that is the federal budget, there may, possibly, almost, be a glimpse of progress.  Whether or not the olive branch is real remains to be seen, however it appears that at least another effort is being made.  Am I optimistic?  Not in the slightest, but maybe I’m looking for something positive on a Wednesday morning.  Will anything ever get done?  Remains to be seen. Thoughts?

When Good Guys Become the Bad Guys…

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/us/taping-of-farm-cruelty-is-becoming-the-crime.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

Covert videos have documented everything from punching and kicking pigs and burning horses ankles to burning and snapping off the beaks of baby chicks. These farm cruelty videos have led to investigations culminating in guilty as charged. And yet….some hot shot state legislatures have decided to try and pass bills that would make these videos and all undercover actions by animal rights groups illegal. Seriously?

Not only would these bills make illegal the covert videotaping of livestock farms, but it would also be illegal to even apply for a job at one without disclosing any and all ties to animal rights groups. The kicker? Violators would be added to the ‘terrorist registry’. The TERRORIST REGISTRY? You have got to be joking. 

This whole thing is ridiculous, these undercover exposes are making this world a better place, encouraging people to be more aware and take care of the earth’s commodities. And yet, they are gaining an illegal terrorist status. Dumbfounding.

French President’s Pet Camel Killed and Eaten

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/world/europe/hollandes-camel-a-gift-from-mali-becomes-tagine.html?ref=world

This may not seem like relevant news to you, but . . . well it may not be. This article is short and interesting. Malian authorities gave President Hollande a baby camel as a gift of gratitude for his help in Mali. Hollande left his camel in the care of a family in Timbuktu. The family misunderstood the gesture and ate Hollande’s camel. Is Hollande outraged? I know I would be unhappy knowing that my baby camel was had for dinner in Timbuktu. 

I would like to take this topic though and push it into a new one. France did a good thing helping fight rebels in Mali.

As a developed nation do we have a moral obligation to help undeveloped nations? As people we are almost all agreed that we have moral obligations to help others. However, as a whole and as a government what is our moral duty?

France took a moral obligation in helping Mali. Yes there were incentives in their actions, but they stood up and helped. 

Now if we do or do not have moral obligations to help undeveloped nations there are still incentives to do so. Do we gain anything when we help undeveloped nations? Here are two countries just to get your mind working, Afghanistan and Mexico.

The Pakistan Divide

Pakistan’s relationship with the U.S. has been deteriorating rapidly the last few years, this isn’t news. However, what sets apart Mark Mazzetti’s article is the inside look at the tense dynamics between the CIA and the State department. After a “Jason Bourne” style operation went awry, the CIA asked the State department to negotiate the release of one of its agents, Raymond Davis, from a Pakistani jail. The problem? Pakistanis wanted vengeance for the death of three of its citizens, two of which were shot by Davis because they were holding weapons while approaching his car. Nothing short of the death penalty would have been acceptable to the Pakistani people.

The U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan at the time, Cameron Munter, recommended that the CIA confess that it was caught red handed, and ask for the agent’s immediate release. Instead, the CIA refused to acknowledge the agent’s existence, angering the Pakistani secret service head Ahmad Shuja Pasha while spoiling years of effort by the State Department to improve relations within the Pakistani government.

Thus began the “Davis incident” that created a split between the State Department and the CIA that has since widened as the CIA’s drone program expanded within Pakistan. For example; after a particularly bloody drone strike, a shouting match broke out between the CIA’s station chief and the Ambassador Munter. The following is an excerpt from an argument between the two men over whether the Ambassador should have some input on the drone strikes in Pakistan.

You’re not the ambassador!” Munter shouted.

“You’re right, and I don’t want to be the ambassador,” the station chief replied.

Further, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed Ambassador Munter in a meeting with CIA director Leon Panetta, Mr. Panetta denied the state department any say over The Agency’s actions.

Panetta cut Munter off, telling (Munter) that the C.I.A. had the authority to do what it wanted in Pakistan. It didn’t need to get the ambassador’s approval for anything.

“I don’t work for you,” Panetta told Munter, according to several people at the meeting.

But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Munter’s defense. She turned to Panetta and told him that he was wrong to assume he could steamroll the ambassador and launch strikes against his approval.

“No, Hillary,” Panetta said, “it’s you who are flat wrong.”

Is it any wonder that there is no cohesive objective for Pakistan, when the two most critical government entities involved have completely different visions for U.S.’s future in the region? Further, what is the purpose of our continued diplomatic involvement in Pakistan when the drone war destroys all good will? Do we, as citizens of this nation, endorse the slaughter of thousands of people in a foreign country that we still have diplomatic ties with? How did the land of liberty and justice become reliant upon assassination to preserve its way of life? This covert war we tacitly endorse is contradictory of the ideals we claim to stand for.