Our Leader Speaks to YOU

Have you heard about the plans for President Obama to give a live address that will be piped into our children's classrooms? The Department of Education has bypassed all ordinary channels and is asking principals to allow President Obama this opportunity for unfettered, live access on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

The official Department of Education announcement can be found here.

A "Menu of Classroom Activities" for teachers can be found here.

I think it's a bad idea, inconsistent with the very nature of our Republic. It does not accurately represent the relationship between the President and our citizens, nor the federal government's role in education.

It is creepy -- make all the Big Brother jokes you want, but live political speeches into our schools are indoctrination. And yes, it is proto-fascist -- the American Left is seeking to bring our every aspiration out of the individual and into the public, collective sphere.

Here are some of the questions for students on the teacher's guide the DoE has released:

What do you think the President wants us to do?
Does the speech make you want to do anything?
Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?
What would you like to tell the President?

I suppose there are many who will say we are being alarmist. But I intend to do my part to preserve America as a nation of individuals, individuals who join together only to protect our individual rights. Government should do a small number of things and do them very well (such as provide for the common defense, law and order, and infrastructure)-- and should operate in constant fear of the electorate.

I have already emailed my children's principal. I want to look back on this event and feel that I did the right thing for me and my house. One way or another, my family will not be participating on Tuesday. I encourage others to do the same.

To Boldly Go Where No MAN Has Gone Before . . .

I've just returned from seeing the best Star Trek Movie in about 27 years. J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise was pitch perfect. Finally, mankind seems to have collectively realized what made Star Trek great was the mythology of Kirk and Spock (and to a certain extent their supporting cast). Those stories from the original Star Trek series were great because those characters were great.

It's just not the same to throw a bunch of ships out there with phasers and transporters. If you take away Kirk and Spock, Star Trek is just schlocky military sci-fi, the kind that has been abundant ever since the Cold War. There, I've said it.

[Mild spoilers follow]

And so this movie not only features the story of how Kirk and Spock came to know (and respect) each other, but it says something about who they truly are. The story is a reality bending time travel story that changes certain key facts in their lives, but in doing so reminds us of the indomitable traits of "Kirk-ness" and "Spock-ness."

Due to an alteration in history by the Romulans, Kirk's father never became the great starship captain to inspire Kirk -- yet Kirk's planetary will and fortitude assert themselves in the heart of an orphan. Spock is forced to confront a horrible change in the status quo of his Vulcan heritage, but in doing so Spock reminds us that his human side is what stirs us.

This movie unfolds like somebody sat down and said "You know, we should do a movie about the mythology of Kirk and Spock. And to highlight what is the very essence of each character, let's change history and show that the power of their character would still float to the top no matter what." Just perfect, perfect execution of an idea that preserves the best of the past, but forges the way for a future that is exciting.

Finally, I'm surprised that the tagline for this movie was "This is not your father's Star Trek." Because it so totally was, in spirit and tone. The movie contains countless little homage moments, where the lines and cliches of the original series happen in a wink at the audience. I will close this post with a list of all that I can remember. Feel free to post a comment with the ones you remenber, and I will add them to the list, with credit.

• When Kirk, Sulu, and another guy zoom down to Vulcan in suits to blow up the Romulan drill, the third guy is in a red suit, and he gets smoked almost immediately. Classic redshirt guy moment.
• Bones says "I'm a doctor, not a physicist!"
• Scotty says, referred to the ship's power, "I'm givin' it all she's got!"
• Kirk makes out in bed with a green chick.
• Spock says "fasinating."
• Spock says "I am, and always will be, your friend."
• Kirk says "Energize" when he's in the transporter.

Do You Distrust Government Power, or the Culture?

We live in the aftermath of 20th Century totalitarianism (touching most of the globe), and conservatives and statists took away two different emotional positions. In the Third Reich, Soviet Russia, Mao's China, and all of the other totalitarian dictatorships, government was given unchecked power to transform or "restore" the culture. We saw the ugliest tendencies of mankind (class envy, race envy, and neighbor-snooping) given over to the power of government, which is the monopoly on the use of force.

Those on the modern American Left (which I will call "statists" after Mark Levin) took from our shared experience of history that the deepest impulses within our American culture are to be distrusted -- they see the potential for the "majority," if left alone, to usher in a Berlin kind of terror.

Those on the modern American Right took away a profound distrust of government power, that is, a belief that a government that is given sway over every sector of society tends to remake it into something ugly.

Those on the Left distrust our culture and trust our government. Those on the Right tend towards the opposite.

Anti-racism Is the Broadest Moral Consensus of Our Time

Do you ever find yourself thinking we live in a time when the concept of morality itself is fading? That "tolerance" has been elevated to such a high level, that nothing can be condemned? That the highest crime you can commit is "judging" someone.

No, we don't live in such a time. We have moral codes that are widely held in the culture that are just as strong as there have ever been. In fact, they are so strong that it arouses suspicion if one fails to "judge" them with enough swift brutality. But they are not Victorian codes, which elevate Society over individual. And they are not Judeo-Christian norms, which make deep claims about the duties of man to direct his life in a certain way.

The morals of today, the ones which have been ushered in by elites into the high culture and the pop culture, are about identity -- an absolute zero tolerance for any type of bigotry or prejudice. Consider this letter column from the most recent issue of The Atlantic (March 2009):

To Columnist Jeffrey Goldberg:

I have just realized fully, after seven years, that I am married to a racist. He’s used the “N word” a number of times over the years, and we always fought about it. But he has always claimed to be directing the slur toward somebody “acting” like one, and not toward people of color generally. Well, I recently learned how he truly feels. He voted for McCain and I voted for Obama. He said, “Looks like we have an ‘N’ for president.” I was saddened and disgusted by his remark. I don’t believe I can live with anyone who thinks like this, and I’m planning to get a divorce. This is not the only reason, but it’s certainly the icing on the cake. Do you think we can change racists’ minds?
Name withheld, Virginia Beach, Va.

Dear Mildred (may I call you Mildred?),

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but wasn’t the first, or second, deployment of the N word enough to convince you that something was desperately wrong with your husband’s moral wiring? I know: it’s often very hard to see what’s right before your eyes, so I congratulate you for realizing, even belatedly, the depth of your problem, and I wish you luck on your extraction. To answer your deeper question with a question: Why try to change their minds at all? Racism isn’t a burden for us; it’s a burden for racists. In any case, trying to bring a racist to civilization is like trying to teach a dog to sing Verdi.

Bye-bye marriage. Hope there are no children to think of. Yep, he said the N-word. There's no hope for him. He should have robbed a bank, cheated on his taxes, committed adultery, or done any number of things that would have been redeemable. But he committed the unpardonable sin. And be honest -- you're not that surprised at Goldberg's response, are you? You saw it coming.

Now, I applaud the condemnation of bigotry and prejudice. But I think we've thrown out the moral hook to hang the coat on. I'm always up for a good condemnation -- whether it be for bigotry, for appeasing terrorists, for a man not supporting the children he sires, for drunk driving, for any number of things. But I'm supposed to be one of those terrible ones who "judges."

We still judge in this culture. We just reserve our swiftest judgments for anyone who seems not to understand the new rules of identity politics. If I expressed my position that men and women should be ladies and gentlemen around each other, not given to sexually vulgar talk and behavior, I'd be cast as a judgmental hick. But what about sexual harassment? That's different. It's wrong because there's an aggrieved identity involved. Okay, fine for you -- but you judge, don't you?

Making a strong moral judgment, even moral condemnation, is something we do all the time in this culture. Only the standards by which we judge and condemn have changed.

Wile E. Coyote Is Better Than the Road Runner

I was recently asked what my favorite cartoon animal character is. That's an easy one.

Wile E. Coyote. He's presented and drawn almost like a bad guy and, at times, you enjoy the boundless energy and power of the Road Runner. The Road Runner reminds us of trickster who always gets away -- Br'ere Rabbit or perhaps Anansi.

But deep down, don't you identify with the Coyote? Aren't you really impressed by his tenacity, and wishing he could devour the carcass of Road Runner like a plate at Zaxby's?


Think about it. Wile E. Coyote's pursuit of the Road Runner is completely moral and fully justified, as he must eat to live. He is tireless, toiling constantly to come up with new ways to capture the bird. He does not ask for a handout or a "bailout." He gets up every morning with an unquenchable fire in his breast to conquer the horizon, to catch and subdue what is before him. He acquires "ACME" weapons and gadgets, using technology to try and best nature.

I can only imagine that he has little baby wileys who are hungry, hopeful each day he will bring home meat for them. "Not today, kids. But I will never stop trying as long as there is life in me."

Is it really fair that Road Runner is endowed with super powers of near limitless speed and the ability to defy gravity? Such is life. Such is what the Universe throws at man. But he shakes his fist and presses on. And so does the Coyote.

The Inauguration

At about noon today, I was leaving my building to eat lunch with a group of fatcat lawyers. We stepped out of the elevator, laughing and joking. We noticed that President Obama was being sworn in on the big screen in the lobby.

Behind us, our regular security lady "Beth" sat at her security desk, watching the swearing in on the screen. She is black. We all got sort of quiet and serious, shuffling to a stop with an awkwardness that resembled guilt. We watched the President finish up the oath, and paused for what seemed like a respectful moment. But then you think, better get moving before another big swooping thing starts. We nodded, as if to say "How respectful we are being." I stole a glance in Beth's direction.

We had thai for lunch. It was good.

Gran Torino: You Like This Car, Punk?

I saw Gran Torino tonight, the acclaimed new film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood. The story is about a retired and widowed Detroit auto man who angrily watches his neighborhood (and the world) turn into something he hates, but who might find redemption in the relationship he forges with the Hmong family next door.

You want the even shorter version? Dirty Harry as an old retired guy. Eastwood spends about 90 minutes wearing the facial expression he wore when he delivered the "Do you feel lucky, punk?" line in Dirty Harry. He's also got guns. Lots of guns. In the same way that Unforgiven felt like a late-in-life deconstruction of the western "hero" Eastwood had played again and again (in various roles and incarnations), Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino feels like the geezer version of every cop role Clint played (whether it was Dirty Harry or the guy in The Gauntlet.) On the way home, I was wondering if Million Dollar Baby matched up as a tribute to some series of roles he played. Could Hillary Swank have been a stand-in for the baboon in all those Whatever Which Whoozy Whatsit movies he did? (I know. It was an orangutan. But baboon is funnier. Try it.)

Eastwood once again portrays a faithless man in a dialogue with an annoying young priest (as he did in Million Dollar Baby). The priest in Gran Torino has about as much gravitas as Skippy from Family Ties. Upon finding him at his door soon after his wife's funeral, Walt tells the padre that "You hold the hands of superstitious women and tell them they're going to be all right in eternity," or similar words. Throughout the film, Walt struggles with his need for forgiveness for is Korean War wrongs. One wonders if Eastwood is dealing with some of his own "sins past" as he returns to these characters of old, faithless men who seem compelled by a force to do Something Good.

New ground for Eastwood (at least Eastwood of late) is the racial prejudice (replaced by brotherhood) in the movie. Walt drops bombs right and left that drew snickers from the audience, but which are blatantly unaccepted in today's society. In one memorable scene, he takes on a band of three black youths, stereotypical in their aggression and lawlessness. And the film has no postive black characters to balance this out, as is usually the practice. Walt ends up befriending the Hmong family nextdoor, and becomes almost a father figure to youg Tao (who he calls "Toad."). The Hmong are ethnically Asian, refugees from the various conflicts in Indochina and the Vietnam War.

The movie had lots of sincere laughs, and some stirring dramatic strokes. Howeve, it was poorly acted by almost everyone but Clint. And, despite the cynical nature of the character Clint plays, the film ends up being a bit cloying and sentimental. It felt a little bit like one of the "After School Specials" of my youth. I knew where it was going and there weren't many surprises.

Cool movie though. Clint Eastwood might be the greatest filmmaker of this era.