What happened to "indivisible?"

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Thursday November 05, 2009 · 11:19 PM PST

2009/11/05 · 23:19

I was watching video of the rally of teabaggers on the capital steps, which took place today at noon. In particular, I wanted to hear them say the pledge of allegiance.

This was of interest to me because they made a big deal about the "one nation under God" part. However, the part right after that is "indivisible."

I am always perplexed by guys like the Governor of Texas who threaten secession, but have no problem taking a pledge which specifically affirms that the United States is indivisible.

This is the full text of the pledge:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Wandering mind

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Wednesday October 21, 2009 · 9:38 AM PDT

2009/10/21 · 09:38

You may have seen this column by Pat Buchanan, which TPM linked to:

http://www.wnd.com/...

The Oath Keepers bring to the fore a fundamental dilemma in U.S. political philosophy, one that is also part of the Heller gun case.

The issue is this: How does a government which was founded on the right of the people to make violent revolution if the felt they were too oppressed exercise its authority over its own people?

Wandering mind

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Monday September 28, 2009 · 10:15 AM PDT

2009/09/28 · 10:15

I think looking at the historical use of race in this country helps to place the current situation of opposition to a President who is of African descent into proper perspective.

I come at this from the assumption that there is nothing biologically significant about the things that we use to categorize people under our racial system. However, in spite of this, we have had and currently have a very real system based on the false idea that there is some connection between a person's ancestry and their behavior.

Wandering mind

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Saturday April 18, 2009 · 9:54 AM PDT

2009/04/18 · 09:54

NCrissieB's diary today motivated me to write this diary, which is on a topic I've been thinking about for some time.

It is a variation on the story of the blind men and the elephant. You know, the one where several blind men are asked to identify an elephant and, because each one can only touch part of the elephant, fail to get it right.

Wandering mind

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Monday March 30, 2009 · 10:56 AM PDT

2009/03/30 · 10:56

I have been reading here and there about the proposal by the Treasury department to create a market for the assets which banks are holding and which now are worth far less than anyone is willing to pay for them. I have yet to see anything about how this is going to help homeowners.

Wandering mind

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Sunday March 01, 2009 · 7:02 PM PST

2009/03/01 · 19:02

At CPAC, Rush Limbaugh used a football analogy to explain why he wants President Obama to fail. Ignoring for the moment that sports analogies, in general, are not very good in these types of situations, what did his mean?

Wandering mind

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Wednesday October 08, 2008 · 7:36 AM PDT

2008/10/08 · 07:36

As of today, I consider the election already won.

I know that democratic defeats from the past still haunt many who visit this site, but there are larger forces at work here which make it virtually impossible for Republicans to win.

And those larger forces bring up a couple of points about Barack Obama and what will happen after he is elected.

Wandering mind

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Wednesday June 11, 2008 · 1:07 PM PDT

2008/06/11 · 13:07

John McCain has attempted to justify his comments about keeping troops in Iraq for "100 years" and his statement that "it doesn't matter" when the troops come home from Iraq by comparing the (future) situation in Iraq to the (current) situation in Korea.

He said in his appearance this morning (video here) that the important question was casualties, citing Korea as an example of a place where there are lots of U.S. troops who are not "coming home" any time soon, but where there are no casualties, so it is not a problem.

However, this is mixing apples and oranges.

Wandering mind

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Wednesday March 19, 2008 · 1:48 PM PDT

2008/03/19 · 13:48

For all of the incessant talk of "black" and "white" and "multi-racial" and "race" which has filled the airways over the past weeks, Americans are incredible in their disconnect from the reality of the racial system and the way in which they resist being dragged from their cocoon.

"Race" as a concept is as "real" as witches were in colonial Salem, MA. Looking back on that time from our perspective, we can see that the guys who decided to hang people for consorting with the devil were more than a little wacky.

But, be that as it may, the wackiness of it didn't prevent the people who were accused of witchcraft from being hanged. They suffered the effects of witchcraft just as thoroughly as if they had been accused of capital murder and hanged for that. Race in America is similar.

Wandering mind

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Thursday February 21, 2008 · 10:13 AM PST

2008/02/21 · 10:13

Barack Obama has eloquence (a.k.a. "just words") and has obviously struck a chord among many voters (a.k.a. "the cult").

These things some find disturbing. (e.g. Sen. Clinton and Paul Krugman) The idea that voters would be excited about someone's words and have gotten the idea that they, too, might have some influence on their country's future and political life by:

Voting,

Making small contributions and

Volunteering

is apparently so rare that even persons over 50 can't seem to remember

Wandering mind

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Tuesday January 22, 2008 · 8:56 PM PST

2008/01/22 · 20:56

Earlier today hunter blogged about Christopher Hitchens' recent Wall Street Journal Editorial.

Although there is much to disagree with in Hitchen's editorial, it is not as obviously the product of an alcohol addled brain as Hunter might think.

The problem for Hitchens is that he gets the first step in analyzing race in America right. It's the second step which he screws up.

Wandering mind

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Monday December 31, 2007 · 11:38 AM PST

2007/12/31 · 11:38

The New York Times has recently featured a story on how Barack Obama and some other politicians of his generation have down-played the issue of race in their campaigns and in their approach to politics.

The underlying assumption seems to be that we are now in a "post-racial" period in this country. To me, it is more accurate to say that we have entered into a period of avoiding close examination of the system of race in this country.

What I was hoping for from the discussion in the New York Times was at least some tacit acknowledgment that race is an invention. But instead, as usual, the underlying premise remained unquestioned.

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Hitchens, Obama and Race

Barack Obama and a new, usable American past.