Something Left Behind
Time is a funny thing as wise men as well as the not so smart remark
To the memories, we have etched upon our very souls with fire and blood
And yet we come home to a place that is as foreign to us as the one we just left
To family and friends who remained behind in peaceful ignorant bliss
Cannot help but wonder why we are often silent or suddenly remorseful
Grateful for that blessed ignorance we are for if they knew what we carried inside of us
The horrors and sorrows of the death of our last shreds of innocent so dearly held
We mourn more than just brothers and sisters lost for what seems forgotten reasons
It cuts with a scalpel’s sharpness the pain of those memories returning unbidden and unwanted
It comes at the worst moments and places for it is never at times when you are strongest
The painful recollection something of yourself is lost forever in that blood-soaked hell
A part of you that will never come home and all you want is peace to lay down at indeed rest
The slightest thing can bring those memories back as fresh as the moment you lived them
To feel that knife wound to twist within you once again is unbearable, yet you cannot break
To break is to yield ground to those horrors within you and to admit your failure to silence it
Those of us who feel this way, those who can feel alone in a room full of people they dearly love
Know that we do not stop loving you but are back in that time and place that you can never dwell
We left something behind there in that time and place….
A piece of our soul
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Thursday, January 9, 2020
Friday, July 28, 2017
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
The middle path: Why balance is the hardest to achieve
I have found inspiration in the vigorous discussions that have sprung up from my previous blog and the writings of others. This is a good thing even if we vociferously disagree that we are talking rather than trying to shout each other down. Yet I see the growing cancer of intolerance, disinformation, and excessive hyperbole within the general discourse. It to me is the strongest proof of the growth of tribalism, which I have written on the topic previously, in the United States today.
The issue that I am taking up in this post is the often utter lack of context when we discuss a political, social, or religious issue today. I see the rise of meme's, tweets, and other aspects of social media as tools that are being grossly misused by all of us. Rather than permitting facts as we can research and verify for ourselves we are serving up more "soundbites" that make us feel good about striking a blow for "our" side, whatever side that might be.
I can personally attest to the need for our data to be accurate, factual, and as devoid of bias as possible. Given both my training as an Intelligence Analyst and student of human psychology empiricism isn't just a good idea, it is sacrosanct as without the information is useless. The goal of your research is to provide useful and usable data for analysis and then dissemination to a larger group. It is NOT to allow you to cherry-pick the facts you want to present or ignore those facts that modify your desired end state.
Given the divisive nature of our recent turn in our national politics and rise of what to many are disturbing parallels given the actions of the Trump Administration and Nazi Germany. The fact that such comparisons made regularly are disturbing yet so are the actions by the Trump Administration to draw such ire from concerned citizens. Rumor and innuendo seem to be propelling headlong into our information stream. Blindly parroting the rumor and innuendo is counter-productive to the imperative need for factual information that informs us to move as our intelligence and conscience would guide us.
Something to keep in mind, amidst the sound and fury, be mindful of where and what your data comes from if someone else does the research for you. We must be intellectually honest and hold our integrity dearly in the face of such temptations to fight with our hearts. Our emotions are powerful tools to help us, but unchecked can do far more harm than good to ourselves and others. Outrage at what is perceived injustice, racism, and a host of other ills is justified whenever we find it.
Before we take to the streets and the Internet, let's stop for a moment and gather facts. Groups that have long experienced discrimination have shown us that being armed with factually truthful information is both transformational and infinitely powerful, History provides numerous examples of this such as our revolution against Great Britain. If you separate the propaganda from both sides, you will see that the colonials who fought to break away sought to decide for themselves rather than be told by others, how to rule themselves.
Thus I again sound my refrain of "Stop, listen, research, gather facts, recognize bias both in yourself and your data" before you act. As for me personally, I find it disturbing the amount of concern with our current political and social climate for a lot of reasons. I will fight for those freedoms I have fought for on behalf of all Americans till it is my time to depart the Midgard.
The issue that I am taking up in this post is the often utter lack of context when we discuss a political, social, or religious issue today. I see the rise of meme's, tweets, and other aspects of social media as tools that are being grossly misused by all of us. Rather than permitting facts as we can research and verify for ourselves we are serving up more "soundbites" that make us feel good about striking a blow for "our" side, whatever side that might be.
I can personally attest to the need for our data to be accurate, factual, and as devoid of bias as possible. Given both my training as an Intelligence Analyst and student of human psychology empiricism isn't just a good idea, it is sacrosanct as without the information is useless. The goal of your research is to provide useful and usable data for analysis and then dissemination to a larger group. It is NOT to allow you to cherry-pick the facts you want to present or ignore those facts that modify your desired end state.
Given the divisive nature of our recent turn in our national politics and rise of what to many are disturbing parallels given the actions of the Trump Administration and Nazi Germany. The fact that such comparisons made regularly are disturbing yet so are the actions by the Trump Administration to draw such ire from concerned citizens. Rumor and innuendo seem to be propelling headlong into our information stream. Blindly parroting the rumor and innuendo is counter-productive to the imperative need for factual information that informs us to move as our intelligence and conscience would guide us.
Something to keep in mind, amidst the sound and fury, be mindful of where and what your data comes from if someone else does the research for you. We must be intellectually honest and hold our integrity dearly in the face of such temptations to fight with our hearts. Our emotions are powerful tools to help us, but unchecked can do far more harm than good to ourselves and others. Outrage at what is perceived injustice, racism, and a host of other ills is justified whenever we find it.
Before we take to the streets and the Internet, let's stop for a moment and gather facts. Groups that have long experienced discrimination have shown us that being armed with factually truthful information is both transformational and infinitely powerful, History provides numerous examples of this such as our revolution against Great Britain. If you separate the propaganda from both sides, you will see that the colonials who fought to break away sought to decide for themselves rather than be told by others, how to rule themselves.
Thus I again sound my refrain of "Stop, listen, research, gather facts, recognize bias both in yourself and your data" before you act. As for me personally, I find it disturbing the amount of concern with our current political and social climate for a lot of reasons. I will fight for those freedoms I have fought for on behalf of all Americans till it is my time to depart the Midgard.
Monday, January 23, 2017
The justification for violence against those who hate???
During the events of the inauguration a known white-supremacist, also someone who openly admires the politics of Nazi's, was struck while on camera. I quickly came to see many people who I respect celebrating this act of, in their words "poetic justice", violence. Their reasons for justification of this glee was he was a Nazi and thus unworthy of any sympathy. I will admit that while it was satisfying to see his arrogance breached and for a moment he experienced an awareness that likely eludes him daily otherwise. There are consequences for this action now immortalized via the internet.
I have made no attempt to hide my mistrust of this violence and its potential long-term effects upon the very groups that are the subject of the hideous and vile claptrap that is peddled by the white-supremacy movement be they Nazis or otherwise. I have first hand seen the horrifying results of such beliefs that violence is always justifiable against those who are different for any reason. I have seen marketplaces filled with women and children bombed simply to make a political point. Thus while the individual may have gotten his comeuppance, the one who struck him did not strike a blow for justice in any form.
A World War was fought with the deaths of millions, so much death that the actual human toll is still unfathomable today. With the end of that war the world was ushered in to the nuclear age, promising death on a species scale of annihilation. Thus it is through the lens of history that I see the dangers of violence in kind to the hate spewed by other men. This is not to say that you don't prepare for the worst of their ignorance to cause violence to be used against you and yours. Yet as one who has seen what happens with such thoughts, the human toll is very real when bombs, bullets, and hate are fueled by a desire for revenge being masqueraded as justice.
Violence is a tool that I understand must be employed at times to defend one's self or others lest they be a victim(s) of that violence themselves. Still I cannot state enough why it is and should always be the court of last resort in the face of hate, even when they call for such violence against yourself or others. I am not tolerant of the speech of hate and will oppose it in any form because of my study of history as well as what I have seen it do in real life to innocent people. Yet my first resort is to entrench myself and others against the temptation to become that which we loathe, thus surrendering our moral justification for the use of surgically applied violence when absolutely necessary.
This is not to say to be kind to those who would subjugate or enslave you or any other human being. Only that we must understand fully the consequences of using violent means, however justified, against others. There is a heavy price to be paid for this responsibility and one that as of my experience continues to be paid long after the guns have fallen silent. I live with those images and emotions of being part of such every waking or sleeping moment of my life.
Thus I counsel all of humanity to passionately oppose hate and those who preach it in any fashion, do not be silent or complicit in their oppression. Please be mindful that while in our opposition we do not become that which we fight, this is the greatest trial of the warrior to fight without corruption of the heart and our very souls.
I have made no attempt to hide my mistrust of this violence and its potential long-term effects upon the very groups that are the subject of the hideous and vile claptrap that is peddled by the white-supremacy movement be they Nazis or otherwise. I have first hand seen the horrifying results of such beliefs that violence is always justifiable against those who are different for any reason. I have seen marketplaces filled with women and children bombed simply to make a political point. Thus while the individual may have gotten his comeuppance, the one who struck him did not strike a blow for justice in any form.
A World War was fought with the deaths of millions, so much death that the actual human toll is still unfathomable today. With the end of that war the world was ushered in to the nuclear age, promising death on a species scale of annihilation. Thus it is through the lens of history that I see the dangers of violence in kind to the hate spewed by other men. This is not to say that you don't prepare for the worst of their ignorance to cause violence to be used against you and yours. Yet as one who has seen what happens with such thoughts, the human toll is very real when bombs, bullets, and hate are fueled by a desire for revenge being masqueraded as justice.
Violence is a tool that I understand must be employed at times to defend one's self or others lest they be a victim(s) of that violence themselves. Still I cannot state enough why it is and should always be the court of last resort in the face of hate, even when they call for such violence against yourself or others. I am not tolerant of the speech of hate and will oppose it in any form because of my study of history as well as what I have seen it do in real life to innocent people. Yet my first resort is to entrench myself and others against the temptation to become that which we loathe, thus surrendering our moral justification for the use of surgically applied violence when absolutely necessary.
This is not to say to be kind to those who would subjugate or enslave you or any other human being. Only that we must understand fully the consequences of using violent means, however justified, against others. There is a heavy price to be paid for this responsibility and one that as of my experience continues to be paid long after the guns have fallen silent. I live with those images and emotions of being part of such every waking or sleeping moment of my life.
Thus I counsel all of humanity to passionately oppose hate and those who preach it in any fashion, do not be silent or complicit in their oppression. Please be mindful that while in our opposition we do not become that which we fight, this is the greatest trial of the warrior to fight without corruption of the heart and our very souls.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
An Oath I Swore to My Country and why you should swear it as well..
On July 11, 1991, I found myself inside the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Military Entrance Recruit Processing Station or (MEPS) in a room with about 25 others. I swore the following oath...
I, Jared Michael Royka, to hereby solemnly swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic. To obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me. And to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, so help me God.
Now given our 45th President who was sworn in on January 20, 2017, I am not saying you swear allegiance to Donald J. Trump personally but that we are in service to the nation, her people, and their way of life. That the office of the President of the United States is ultimately as I am bound by that same oath. It is our sacred honor and duty to hold him and ourselves to that oath even when it counters our self-interest.
My oath did not come with an expiration date nor should any oath we swear for it is a reflection of what we hold sacred and honor most about ourselves, our people, and our beloved nation. I call upon all of us to either swear or renew our oaths to support, uphold, and defend our Constitution as well as our ideals that gave birth to this nation. We as a nation have often failed more than we have succeeded but that is where our greatest strength lies, we despite failures continue to move forward to the future.
Let us leave no one behind in that march to our future. All Americans are valuable and necessary to our nation even those we would otherwise shun or ignore. Yes even those who espouse hate and spew venom against their fellow Americans, we will lead by example and answer hate with love, violence with peace, and ignorance with the light of knowledge. Growth and change are constant but always painful in some way, I believe that we are more than capable of this and so much more.
Our nation requires informed and active citizens, if you wish to change things become involved in every single aspect of our government from local all the way through to national level issues. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH and always VERIFY your sources never trust anything that is presented to you by anyone else, remember they have an agenda and it may not be yours. Call your elected officials, hold them accountable, and never give up an inch of ground because its hard.
Support groups and organizations that help do these very things as well for they can magnify our efforts to uphold and defend our Constitution against those foreign and domestic enemies. Do not give in to complacency or brutality given as a response to your efforts to uphold your oaths. I challenge all of us to renew our oaths to our nation, our people, and our way of life. We can do it and I will be right beside you.
I will hold our government accountable, I will educate and inform myself about the issues facing our nation and act vigorously on them. I challenge everyone to do the same with the caveat of remember to love each other when we want most to hate or denigrate one another.
I, Jared Michael Royka, to hereby solemnly swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic. To obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me. And to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, so help me God.
Now given our 45th President who was sworn in on January 20, 2017, I am not saying you swear allegiance to Donald J. Trump personally but that we are in service to the nation, her people, and their way of life. That the office of the President of the United States is ultimately as I am bound by that same oath. It is our sacred honor and duty to hold him and ourselves to that oath even when it counters our self-interest.
My oath did not come with an expiration date nor should any oath we swear for it is a reflection of what we hold sacred and honor most about ourselves, our people, and our beloved nation. I call upon all of us to either swear or renew our oaths to support, uphold, and defend our Constitution as well as our ideals that gave birth to this nation. We as a nation have often failed more than we have succeeded but that is where our greatest strength lies, we despite failures continue to move forward to the future.
Let us leave no one behind in that march to our future. All Americans are valuable and necessary to our nation even those we would otherwise shun or ignore. Yes even those who espouse hate and spew venom against their fellow Americans, we will lead by example and answer hate with love, violence with peace, and ignorance with the light of knowledge. Growth and change are constant but always painful in some way, I believe that we are more than capable of this and so much more.
Our nation requires informed and active citizens, if you wish to change things become involved in every single aspect of our government from local all the way through to national level issues. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH and always VERIFY your sources never trust anything that is presented to you by anyone else, remember they have an agenda and it may not be yours. Call your elected officials, hold them accountable, and never give up an inch of ground because its hard.
Support groups and organizations that help do these very things as well for they can magnify our efforts to uphold and defend our Constitution against those foreign and domestic enemies. Do not give in to complacency or brutality given as a response to your efforts to uphold your oaths. I challenge all of us to renew our oaths to our nation, our people, and our way of life. We can do it and I will be right beside you.
I will hold our government accountable, I will educate and inform myself about the issues facing our nation and act vigorously on them. I challenge everyone to do the same with the caveat of remember to love each other when we want most to hate or denigrate one another.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Fear and Predjudice in America
Today I sit in my comfortable and unafraid in my home, I am not in any danger outside of a really messy diaper today. Yet I have watched the growing storm of protest and counter protest occurring just outside my walls both literally and figuratively Social media has become a battleground and many of us are still confused as to what happened to our country to have fallen so far. I have no answers and according to some I should just sit down and shut up because I am not a marginalized person.
How do I as a white male whom by all appearances who is so blandly "normal" as to make vanilla seem spicy and exciting act? Well folks its confession time to the larger world, I am not the bland individual that I have seemingly been so successful in masquerading as to the larger world. Lets start with one of my personally "sarcasm" favorite topics, religion. I am NOT christian, in point of fact, I am a heathen to be technically correct. I worship and follow the Norse Gods, yes those Norse Gods and no not the ones from the comic books either.
During my first combat tour in Iraq, I found myself praying to my "perceived" identification as "Christian" to help me make sense of the insanity I had found myself in daily there. Yet no small voice came, nothing happened I felt hollow and empty. I went to my Chaplain and described what was happening to me, he spoke to me gently saying "You are having a crisis of faith." This was even more disturbing and frightening to me as I felt adrift when I needed my faith the most.
I made it home and eventually was stationed at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona in 2004. For the next hear or so I watched myself try to reintegrate into a "normal" life of a stateside soldier. 2005 was an eventful year for me as I found my first marriage beyond anyone's ability to fix. Thus I joined yet another statistical grouping in America, those marriages that end in divorce. So yet another blow came to my identity and faith that had already been shaken to its core.
Mutual friends of mine asked me if I would attend a pagan group with them and finally I said yes. It was largely to get myself out of my doldrums and into interactions with other human beings. The first moment I walked into the grove, I hadn't been sleeping well due to stress and nightmares for a while, I felt a peace I had never felt before. While the ceremony went on and I kept silent as I watched and listened to the goings on, I felt something whisper to me and I looked up to see a Raven fly overhead, the voice continued to speak inside my mind.
It was that day I swore upon the oath stone that I had been chosen by my patron God, Odin. This may seem silly to you but it is what I felt and saw that day. I have never looked back since. Yet this is not the only place I break with convention or what is expected of me as a white male in America. In that same time period post divorce I had found myself directing a local branch of what was then the Camarilla Fan Club in Sierra Vista, AZ.
In 2005 we had our International Conclave Convention or ICC in Phoenix, AZ. That year also saw a major hurricane hit the United States so in order to help inspire our domain to give as much as possible to charity, I made a wager. I wagered that the could not raise a thousand dollars or more to donate to the Red Cross in support of their relief efforts. I lost my wager as they raised over 1,200 dollars for that organization.
My payment for that loss was to appear in public at opening ceremonies at the convention in full drag. At the time there were several coordinators, all males, who were making the same statements as I yet I was the only one to show up in full drag and even role-played that night as a female character to cement my honoring the wager. Ask anyone that knows me I don't go in for half measures nor do I hold back in keeping my word.
I spent weeks learning how to walk in heels as a woman walks, yes I spent hours learning how to swing my hips. I went shopping for the full kit, including women's undergarments, ladies you have my respect and I too want to beat the bastard that invented the underwire bra to death because that shit pinches like hell.I even did a few practice runs as well prior to the event, risking my security clearance and job to honor my wagers.
Here is a pic of me at that event;
I went to that event, armed out of acknowledgement of the dangers I could potentially find myself in due to my appearance as woman but clearly a man underneath. So I can understand why Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, and Transgendered people could be afraid of Trump and those who voted him into office. I researched my role and completely got into character and for a few moments I saw into a world that I still only barely scratched the surface of. Yet when I took off the dress and make up I had not changed, I was still employed and enjoyed the benefits of being white and male in the worlds eyes.
That single event by no means makes me any kind of expert on those groups or issues that they face daily. I will never know what it is like to be a Muslim in this country or to be Black and yet still treated as some kind of second class citizen simply because of my skin color. So I can only stand along side them and other groups that are fearful for valid reasons. To say that they don't have at right or a reason is to be a hypocrite of monumental proportions.
Yet I am about to break silence upon something that at this point I feel as though I have no choice. I am bisexual and I have slept with at least one man in my lifetime. Who and why is no one's business and that I will NOT ever share to anyone. This is my first open and public declaration of such and thus I recognize that many will be angered and hurt especially my extended family who did not know this about me.
It pains me to see anyone marginalized and disenfranchised for a simply difference of faith, race, or sexual identification (gender as well as sexuality). I have sought to live my life honorably and faithfully adhering to a code that was taught to me by my parents. To be honest, forthright, and treat everyone equally based upon their character alone. To that end I will raise my children whom I have been blessed with the same way I was raised.
I will stand in defense of my fellow human beings to be who they are as they are without limitations other than they do no harm to themselves or others. I am no one special or unique in who I am, I am simply human like the rest of you. Yet know this, I have yet began to fight for what I believe in and I believe in the inherent goodness of all humankind. I believe in the promise of our nation as dedicated to the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I believe and honor the ones who have come before me and fought for those same things.
I am not afraid, I am not cowed, and I will not be silenced by ignorance or hatred ever. I stand with everyone who desires to be free to choose for themselves a life that is their choosing. I accept responsibility for my obligations as a human being and citizen of the United States, I ask you to answer that calling every day and do not hide yourselves. I love you all and stand with you against those things that would deny us our hard won freedoms.
I believe...do you?
How do I as a white male whom by all appearances who is so blandly "normal" as to make vanilla seem spicy and exciting act? Well folks its confession time to the larger world, I am not the bland individual that I have seemingly been so successful in masquerading as to the larger world. Lets start with one of my personally "sarcasm" favorite topics, religion. I am NOT christian, in point of fact, I am a heathen to be technically correct. I worship and follow the Norse Gods, yes those Norse Gods and no not the ones from the comic books either.
During my first combat tour in Iraq, I found myself praying to my "perceived" identification as "Christian" to help me make sense of the insanity I had found myself in daily there. Yet no small voice came, nothing happened I felt hollow and empty. I went to my Chaplain and described what was happening to me, he spoke to me gently saying "You are having a crisis of faith." This was even more disturbing and frightening to me as I felt adrift when I needed my faith the most.
I made it home and eventually was stationed at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona in 2004. For the next hear or so I watched myself try to reintegrate into a "normal" life of a stateside soldier. 2005 was an eventful year for me as I found my first marriage beyond anyone's ability to fix. Thus I joined yet another statistical grouping in America, those marriages that end in divorce. So yet another blow came to my identity and faith that had already been shaken to its core.
Mutual friends of mine asked me if I would attend a pagan group with them and finally I said yes. It was largely to get myself out of my doldrums and into interactions with other human beings. The first moment I walked into the grove, I hadn't been sleeping well due to stress and nightmares for a while, I felt a peace I had never felt before. While the ceremony went on and I kept silent as I watched and listened to the goings on, I felt something whisper to me and I looked up to see a Raven fly overhead, the voice continued to speak inside my mind.
It was that day I swore upon the oath stone that I had been chosen by my patron God, Odin. This may seem silly to you but it is what I felt and saw that day. I have never looked back since. Yet this is not the only place I break with convention or what is expected of me as a white male in America. In that same time period post divorce I had found myself directing a local branch of what was then the Camarilla Fan Club in Sierra Vista, AZ.
In 2005 we had our International Conclave Convention or ICC in Phoenix, AZ. That year also saw a major hurricane hit the United States so in order to help inspire our domain to give as much as possible to charity, I made a wager. I wagered that the could not raise a thousand dollars or more to donate to the Red Cross in support of their relief efforts. I lost my wager as they raised over 1,200 dollars for that organization.
My payment for that loss was to appear in public at opening ceremonies at the convention in full drag. At the time there were several coordinators, all males, who were making the same statements as I yet I was the only one to show up in full drag and even role-played that night as a female character to cement my honoring the wager. Ask anyone that knows me I don't go in for half measures nor do I hold back in keeping my word.
I spent weeks learning how to walk in heels as a woman walks, yes I spent hours learning how to swing my hips. I went shopping for the full kit, including women's undergarments, ladies you have my respect and I too want to beat the bastard that invented the underwire bra to death because that shit pinches like hell.I even did a few practice runs as well prior to the event, risking my security clearance and job to honor my wagers.
Here is a pic of me at that event;
I went to that event, armed out of acknowledgement of the dangers I could potentially find myself in due to my appearance as woman but clearly a man underneath. So I can understand why Gays, Lesbians, Bisexual, and Transgendered people could be afraid of Trump and those who voted him into office. I researched my role and completely got into character and for a few moments I saw into a world that I still only barely scratched the surface of. Yet when I took off the dress and make up I had not changed, I was still employed and enjoyed the benefits of being white and male in the worlds eyes.
That single event by no means makes me any kind of expert on those groups or issues that they face daily. I will never know what it is like to be a Muslim in this country or to be Black and yet still treated as some kind of second class citizen simply because of my skin color. So I can only stand along side them and other groups that are fearful for valid reasons. To say that they don't have at right or a reason is to be a hypocrite of monumental proportions.
Yet I am about to break silence upon something that at this point I feel as though I have no choice. I am bisexual and I have slept with at least one man in my lifetime. Who and why is no one's business and that I will NOT ever share to anyone. This is my first open and public declaration of such and thus I recognize that many will be angered and hurt especially my extended family who did not know this about me.
It pains me to see anyone marginalized and disenfranchised for a simply difference of faith, race, or sexual identification (gender as well as sexuality). I have sought to live my life honorably and faithfully adhering to a code that was taught to me by my parents. To be honest, forthright, and treat everyone equally based upon their character alone. To that end I will raise my children whom I have been blessed with the same way I was raised.
I will stand in defense of my fellow human beings to be who they are as they are without limitations other than they do no harm to themselves or others. I am no one special or unique in who I am, I am simply human like the rest of you. Yet know this, I have yet began to fight for what I believe in and I believe in the inherent goodness of all humankind. I believe in the promise of our nation as dedicated to the inalienable rights of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I believe and honor the ones who have come before me and fought for those same things.
I am not afraid, I am not cowed, and I will not be silenced by ignorance or hatred ever. I stand with everyone who desires to be free to choose for themselves a life that is their choosing. I accept responsibility for my obligations as a human being and citizen of the United States, I ask you to answer that calling every day and do not hide yourselves. I love you all and stand with you against those things that would deny us our hard won freedoms.
I believe...do you?
Sunday, November 13, 2016
A few minutes of your time...can change the world
The year was 1863, the place Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where a gathering was going to take place to consecrate the grounds there as a memorial cemetery. President Abraham Lincon was invited at the last minute to speak, he wasn't even originally scheduled to attend. The reason for his invitation was due to the inability of a famous orator who was to speak that day. The "Gettysburg Address" as it is known was written on the way up from Washington DC and was roughly 11 minutes in length. It is considered to be one of the greatest speeches ever given and certainly one that has relevance today.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the idea that all men were created equal" This is the first line of the speech, and we see here that Lincon spoke to the roots of why the United States came to be. While the language could be interpreted to mean "white males" Lincon talked about "men" as to say humanity. Equality of opportunity is the equality of which he spoke and did so with great eloquence.
The next few lines of his speech expound further upon his initial point as follows. "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this." Lincon lays out the reason for why he's speaking and the purpose of his words.
The election of 2016 was vicious and divisive in its entirety, leaving deep scars upon the psyche of our nation. Here in 1863, the United States was in the midst of a greater danger of lost entirely and due to differences in our beliefs as we see today. I am not suggesting that we will face a second American Civil War but that we now see that that struggle for freedom still goes on even today. American's have never shirked their duty to fight for the ideals that founded this nation or to even die for those beliefs. However, it is this author's opinion that we have forgotten to live for our beliefs, martyrdom is not the way forward for our people.
The final paragraph of the address then challenges us as a people and a nation to renew that will to live for our country, its ideals, and most of all to honor those who have sacrificed so much for us. Please read below.
"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion" -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Lincon challenged the nation on that day in 1863 over a hundred and fifty-four years ago. We have elected Donald Trump, yet many feel as though they in the loss of Hillary Clinton, were cheated. Before this President-Elect Trump refused to comment if he would accept the results if he had lost the election. This result disturbed many people, this author included, as such his conduct appeared unpresidential if not outright dangerous. While this nation has endured many trials and tribulations our next four years and beyond will be more so.
We are called upon to stand together to move our country forward, working for that "rebirth of freedom." It is incumbent upon each citizen of the United States of America to become educated in the duties and responsibilities of being a citizen of our Federal Republic. Do not rest on your laurels waiting for someone to show you the way or to do it for you. America does not need or want such people in her borders. Freedom requires hard work and sacrifice, and it is each of us that must do this daily.
Freedom is precious but like life itself, it must be cared for daily and lovingly maintained regardless of the cost. So in this, I say clearly and loudly "I will stand for the rights of all citizens regardless of race, creed, color, or religion to live as they so choose within the laws of our nation." Furthermore I will stand in defense of all human beings for the rights inherent as a member of the human race regardless of where or how they came to be. I ask and humbly beseech the rest of my countrymen to dedicate themselves to the same.
In short a few minutes of your time really can change the world...
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the idea that all men were created equal" This is the first line of the speech, and we see here that Lincon spoke to the roots of why the United States came to be. While the language could be interpreted to mean "white males" Lincon talked about "men" as to say humanity. Equality of opportunity is the equality of which he spoke and did so with great eloquence.
The next few lines of his speech expound further upon his initial point as follows. "Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this." Lincon lays out the reason for why he's speaking and the purpose of his words.
The election of 2016 was vicious and divisive in its entirety, leaving deep scars upon the psyche of our nation. Here in 1863, the United States was in the midst of a greater danger of lost entirely and due to differences in our beliefs as we see today. I am not suggesting that we will face a second American Civil War but that we now see that that struggle for freedom still goes on even today. American's have never shirked their duty to fight for the ideals that founded this nation or to even die for those beliefs. However, it is this author's opinion that we have forgotten to live for our beliefs, martyrdom is not the way forward for our people.
The final paragraph of the address then challenges us as a people and a nation to renew that will to live for our country, its ideals, and most of all to honor those who have sacrificed so much for us. Please read below.
"But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion" -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Lincon challenged the nation on that day in 1863 over a hundred and fifty-four years ago. We have elected Donald Trump, yet many feel as though they in the loss of Hillary Clinton, were cheated. Before this President-Elect Trump refused to comment if he would accept the results if he had lost the election. This result disturbed many people, this author included, as such his conduct appeared unpresidential if not outright dangerous. While this nation has endured many trials and tribulations our next four years and beyond will be more so.
We are called upon to stand together to move our country forward, working for that "rebirth of freedom." It is incumbent upon each citizen of the United States of America to become educated in the duties and responsibilities of being a citizen of our Federal Republic. Do not rest on your laurels waiting for someone to show you the way or to do it for you. America does not need or want such people in her borders. Freedom requires hard work and sacrifice, and it is each of us that must do this daily.
Freedom is precious but like life itself, it must be cared for daily and lovingly maintained regardless of the cost. So in this, I say clearly and loudly "I will stand for the rights of all citizens regardless of race, creed, color, or religion to live as they so choose within the laws of our nation." Furthermore I will stand in defense of all human beings for the rights inherent as a member of the human race regardless of where or how they came to be. I ask and humbly beseech the rest of my countrymen to dedicate themselves to the same.
In short a few minutes of your time really can change the world...
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Questions, Answers, and Truth...why they matter.
Waking up this morning was simply another day for me. I woke up in a house with running water, food to eat, and I was safe in the knowledge that the most fearful part of my day would be changing diapers. As I comforted my twins, both are quite ill, this morning my mind does as it is often wont to do, wanders. My thoughts over the past few days have ranged from anger, disappointment, hopefulness, and much more. I have watched my social media pages abound with friends who are terrified of what may happen to them in the incoming Presidential Administration.
I have also watched first hand as friends and family belittle and dismiss those fears as "whining" about losing an election. Worse I have seen media figures and pundits alike attempt to explain how Donald Trump won the election, with some on either side of the political spectrum casually disparaging or outright insulting anyone who disagrees with them. My background from a former life is as an Intelligence Analyst, so my brain has been literally on fire as I try to make sense of all that happens and I am still attempting to gather data.
I am a white male and thus often feel as though I am an outsider in my homeland. I have felt this way for most of my life, never quite fitting in with the norm since I can remember. I am bombarded daily with various snippets of sound or images that leave me feeling even more lost within myself. Images such as a banner on a news site claiming "White men are responsible for 90 of reported rapes" or a commentary from a non-white individual about how "White people are all racists and want to oppress others." I recognize these as hyperbolic generalizations used to grab one's attention to the actual questions asked by the commentators.
It can be hard to see that because of factors that I had no choice over how I to bear some responsibility for the actions of others who look similar to me. I will not say that I do not have racist thoughts or sometimes make judgments based on factors that are rooted in a visible or perceived difference from me. Even among people who look like me, I feel as though I don't belong so what does that mean?
Do I deserve to feel the guilt and shame cast upon me by people who bear the same skin color as I do, even though I don't feel like a part of most of them? A term I have found very useful in attempting to understand myself and how I fit into the world that doesn't ever quite seem to fit me is cognitive dissonance. This cognitive dissonance is what appears to place me at odds with the world around me and other individuals in it.
Human beings are social animals, and it is here that the basis of our shared responsibilities to each other begin. Oppression of one group humanity will have secondary and tertiary effects upon the larger population as it ripples outward. So racial injustice or social inequalities to what we as human beings need to thrive and prosper affects all of us eventually. One of the strongest impulses of humanity is to secure resources designed to ensure the survival of our progeny, biologically we reproduce and then strive to acquire what they need to grow and do the same.
Thus it is the social constructs that we create to share on a larger scale than simply a single family unit, that we find our greatest source of conflict as human beings. This drive for resources impels us to act in our most primitive natures as selfish or at least in obvious self-interest above others around us. Human society as it grew into larger and larger groups saw the need for a common foundation for sharing resources and roles within the community.
As these societies grew and expanded into a size large enough to have to go further and further afield for securing what it needed to survive. Human beings came into contact with other humans who were the same biologically yet seems very different; barriers such as language, cultural norms, and other structures made understanding and acceptance nigh impossible. This led to the actualization our impulse to fear anything that is different or unknown as a threat to our survival thus provoking an aggressive response.
There is a biological root to our divisive nature yet we fail often to see that ultimately we are all biologically the same. Even socially there are commonalities to be found such as the need for protection of children. So why does racism occur? How does it negatively affect society as a whole especially the group that is the oppressor? It can be distilled into a simple concept that conflict without benefit to the whole of society, drains needed resources and energies that could be used to better all into entrenching and attempting to over come barriers that are created by that conflict.
This process can be applied to just about any human conflict and you will see a similar result. Conflict over resources or the power to secure and maintain those resources at the expense of an other group hurts the whole of society due to wasted resources and efforts better applied elsewhere. So how does this deal with our current social anxiety within the United States due to the election of Donald Trump? This event and my explanation of how to understand the base issues gives us a plan to go forward.
Do not allow yourselves to be divided into tribal or sub-groupings, understand that what effects others will eventually affect you. Seek knowledge of differing points of view especially those in oppositions to yours. Critically assess those differences with an understanding of your own biases. Confront and overcome those biases and do not accept them from others either. What we can accomplish as a species is nothing short of amazing when we get beyond those barriers that we have created for each other. This is what I will fight for daily and what I shall teach my children.
I have also watched first hand as friends and family belittle and dismiss those fears as "whining" about losing an election. Worse I have seen media figures and pundits alike attempt to explain how Donald Trump won the election, with some on either side of the political spectrum casually disparaging or outright insulting anyone who disagrees with them. My background from a former life is as an Intelligence Analyst, so my brain has been literally on fire as I try to make sense of all that happens and I am still attempting to gather data.
I am a white male and thus often feel as though I am an outsider in my homeland. I have felt this way for most of my life, never quite fitting in with the norm since I can remember. I am bombarded daily with various snippets of sound or images that leave me feeling even more lost within myself. Images such as a banner on a news site claiming "White men are responsible for 90 of reported rapes" or a commentary from a non-white individual about how "White people are all racists and want to oppress others." I recognize these as hyperbolic generalizations used to grab one's attention to the actual questions asked by the commentators.
It can be hard to see that because of factors that I had no choice over how I to bear some responsibility for the actions of others who look similar to me. I will not say that I do not have racist thoughts or sometimes make judgments based on factors that are rooted in a visible or perceived difference from me. Even among people who look like me, I feel as though I don't belong so what does that mean?
Do I deserve to feel the guilt and shame cast upon me by people who bear the same skin color as I do, even though I don't feel like a part of most of them? A term I have found very useful in attempting to understand myself and how I fit into the world that doesn't ever quite seem to fit me is cognitive dissonance. This cognitive dissonance is what appears to place me at odds with the world around me and other individuals in it.
Human beings are social animals, and it is here that the basis of our shared responsibilities to each other begin. Oppression of one group humanity will have secondary and tertiary effects upon the larger population as it ripples outward. So racial injustice or social inequalities to what we as human beings need to thrive and prosper affects all of us eventually. One of the strongest impulses of humanity is to secure resources designed to ensure the survival of our progeny, biologically we reproduce and then strive to acquire what they need to grow and do the same.
Thus it is the social constructs that we create to share on a larger scale than simply a single family unit, that we find our greatest source of conflict as human beings. This drive for resources impels us to act in our most primitive natures as selfish or at least in obvious self-interest above others around us. Human society as it grew into larger and larger groups saw the need for a common foundation for sharing resources and roles within the community.
As these societies grew and expanded into a size large enough to have to go further and further afield for securing what it needed to survive. Human beings came into contact with other humans who were the same biologically yet seems very different; barriers such as language, cultural norms, and other structures made understanding and acceptance nigh impossible. This led to the actualization our impulse to fear anything that is different or unknown as a threat to our survival thus provoking an aggressive response.
There is a biological root to our divisive nature yet we fail often to see that ultimately we are all biologically the same. Even socially there are commonalities to be found such as the need for protection of children. So why does racism occur? How does it negatively affect society as a whole especially the group that is the oppressor? It can be distilled into a simple concept that conflict without benefit to the whole of society, drains needed resources and energies that could be used to better all into entrenching and attempting to over come barriers that are created by that conflict.
This process can be applied to just about any human conflict and you will see a similar result. Conflict over resources or the power to secure and maintain those resources at the expense of an other group hurts the whole of society due to wasted resources and efforts better applied elsewhere. So how does this deal with our current social anxiety within the United States due to the election of Donald Trump? This event and my explanation of how to understand the base issues gives us a plan to go forward.
Do not allow yourselves to be divided into tribal or sub-groupings, understand that what effects others will eventually affect you. Seek knowledge of differing points of view especially those in oppositions to yours. Critically assess those differences with an understanding of your own biases. Confront and overcome those biases and do not accept them from others either. What we can accomplish as a species is nothing short of amazing when we get beyond those barriers that we have created for each other. This is what I will fight for daily and what I shall teach my children.
Friday, November 11, 2016
A Call to Serve on Veteran's Day and Everyday
Good morning America,
I hope you slept well or at least rested enough to function as a human being. I wanted to take today to discuss a topic that now more than ever is relevant to our daily lives. Aftershocks of the election and the reality to many who fear for themselves or others still ripple across our hearts and minds today. Today is Veteran's Day yet like most holiday's that denote Military Service or honoring our war dead, it will be simply a day off for many American's.
We as a nation after the first World War, this day was known as Armistice Day as today is the day the first World War was ended. Yet like all things Armistice Day changed into something else as our nation grew and moved ever forward. Military service to one's nation is a calling yet many come to this calling out of reasons that are as diverse as we are as a people. My own reason for choosing to serve was as complex as I am as a person, I joined because I was the son of a Vietnam Veteran, the grandson of a Veteran of both World War II and Korea, because I believed in the documents and beliefs that led to the founding of our imperfectly beautiful nation.
Less than one percent of our nation's young men and women have served in our most recent conflicts. Let that sink in for a moment we place our nation's security and sovereignty in not even a full percentage point of American's who are willing to serve. Our nation and its people have a tradition of service to each other and to the world at large. Study our history and along with our darker selves, you will find stories of selfless sacrifice to serve others needs before our own. What makes us do this as a people? What drives our hearts and souls to commit to the larger whole? How do "We the People" find the strength of will to serve like this?
These are not rhetorical questions but ones we should ask ourselves daily as we are the beneficiaries of those sacrifices. How many of us can think of how hard our parents worked to care for us or at least some person who gave a damn about us? When is the last time we went without so others could have something, however, small that was theirs alone? When have we as a people come together and stand against injustice, intolerance, and ignorance? How do we continue forward with honor and dignity for our fellow citizens and even those who are not?
Today I call upon you, my fellow citizens to serve without reward or recognition of your service as so many have before you. I call upon you to think of others before yourself, to stand in defense of those who cannot defend themselves. I call upon you to defy those who abuse and denigrate their fellow American's and humanity for not being "like them." A life of service is NEVER wasted nor is it useless to try. That is the language of the weak and cowardly who speak such that one person "can't do much" or "why try?"
Find a way to be of service to others, do a random act of kindness each day to a random stranger. Look for opportunities in your local communities to take a stand against bigotry, intolerance, and hate. Educate yourself and others as to the rights and responsibilities that are inherent as a citizen of our beloved Federal Republic. We have a calling to serve the needs of others because in doing so we serve ourselves and our future generations.
Don't let so few of us sacrifice so much without your contribution, let us renew our faith in the goodness found within the promise of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." We stand on the shoulders of giants who have bled for us and continue to do so to this day. Find it within yourself to look outwards against what is wrong or unjust, act vigorously but tempering that vigor with civility and humility. This not a call to crusade but a call to serve as so few of us have both living and dead.
I will close with this thought, in the face of confusion and terror do not falter nor let your heart quail in fear, stand boldly and firmly against the darkness around you and say "No you move..."
I hope you slept well or at least rested enough to function as a human being. I wanted to take today to discuss a topic that now more than ever is relevant to our daily lives. Aftershocks of the election and the reality to many who fear for themselves or others still ripple across our hearts and minds today. Today is Veteran's Day yet like most holiday's that denote Military Service or honoring our war dead, it will be simply a day off for many American's.
We as a nation after the first World War, this day was known as Armistice Day as today is the day the first World War was ended. Yet like all things Armistice Day changed into something else as our nation grew and moved ever forward. Military service to one's nation is a calling yet many come to this calling out of reasons that are as diverse as we are as a people. My own reason for choosing to serve was as complex as I am as a person, I joined because I was the son of a Vietnam Veteran, the grandson of a Veteran of both World War II and Korea, because I believed in the documents and beliefs that led to the founding of our imperfectly beautiful nation.
Less than one percent of our nation's young men and women have served in our most recent conflicts. Let that sink in for a moment we place our nation's security and sovereignty in not even a full percentage point of American's who are willing to serve. Our nation and its people have a tradition of service to each other and to the world at large. Study our history and along with our darker selves, you will find stories of selfless sacrifice to serve others needs before our own. What makes us do this as a people? What drives our hearts and souls to commit to the larger whole? How do "We the People" find the strength of will to serve like this?
These are not rhetorical questions but ones we should ask ourselves daily as we are the beneficiaries of those sacrifices. How many of us can think of how hard our parents worked to care for us or at least some person who gave a damn about us? When is the last time we went without so others could have something, however, small that was theirs alone? When have we as a people come together and stand against injustice, intolerance, and ignorance? How do we continue forward with honor and dignity for our fellow citizens and even those who are not?
Today I call upon you, my fellow citizens to serve without reward or recognition of your service as so many have before you. I call upon you to think of others before yourself, to stand in defense of those who cannot defend themselves. I call upon you to defy those who abuse and denigrate their fellow American's and humanity for not being "like them." A life of service is NEVER wasted nor is it useless to try. That is the language of the weak and cowardly who speak such that one person "can't do much" or "why try?"
Find a way to be of service to others, do a random act of kindness each day to a random stranger. Look for opportunities in your local communities to take a stand against bigotry, intolerance, and hate. Educate yourself and others as to the rights and responsibilities that are inherent as a citizen of our beloved Federal Republic. We have a calling to serve the needs of others because in doing so we serve ourselves and our future generations.
Don't let so few of us sacrifice so much without your contribution, let us renew our faith in the goodness found within the promise of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." We stand on the shoulders of giants who have bled for us and continue to do so to this day. Find it within yourself to look outwards against what is wrong or unjust, act vigorously but tempering that vigor with civility and humility. This not a call to crusade but a call to serve as so few of us have both living and dead.
I will close with this thought, in the face of confusion and terror do not falter nor let your heart quail in fear, stand boldly and firmly against the darkness around you and say "No you move..."
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Violence as a political expression and why its threat to all of us
On November 8th of 2016, Donald J. Trump won soundly within the confines of the law as far as the election for the Presidency goes. Yet this election cycle normally quite peaceful was marred by recurring violence by political partisans of both sides. While no one was killed or severely injured in the violence, it sets a disturbing trend for American politics. Such violence lends credibility to the extremist groups throughout the American political spectrum for advocating their adherents to prepare for more of the same.
While there has always been low and somewhat discrete amounts violence due to strong and deeply held beliefs throughout our history. The overall history of our nation even in the midst of a civil war was a peaceful and smooth transition of power during the election process. It has become a point of pride that we tell the world of our ability despite deeply held beliefs that often divide us, America respects the rule of law above all else. Thus any violence reported is quite shocking to see reported as we have become so accustomed to a peaceful political process and transition of power between Presidential administrations.
President-Elect Donald Trump ran a campaign using language and at times clearly urging his adherents to commit themselves to violent actions due to their strong revulsion to the "Establishment and Liberal Elitists." This combined with language that was highly inflammatory remarks regarding various racial groups such as Americans of Latino extraction particularly those of Mexican descent among others lent credibility to those who sought to violently oppose the participation in our political process. Groups that were once nationally shut out of open participation in the process such as the KKK were now openly endorsing Trump and his rhetorical vision of "Making America Great Again."
Yet the violence and the encouragement of such was not entirely one sided to the Trump camp. Various protests against Trump such as San Jose, June 6, 2016, were marred by violence directed at attendants to those rallies (1), This bodes ill for what is seen by many as a rise in partisan violence directed towards differing points of view on how the United States should govern itself. While political campaigns are infamous for their brutal and nasty effects those are largely restricted to character insults and other items using nonviolent methods to disrupt one's opponent
Violence within the American social and political process is a direct assault on one of the most clearly defined elements of our Constitution, the right to peaceful assembly and to demand redress of grievances. We are too large and diverse a group to have a homogenous vision of our culture and that is what makes us such a strong nation. Americans draw from cultures from around the world and this dynamic energy thrusts us firmly towards the future. We are not a nation that idly waits for the future but instead seeks it out.
I would call upon all who read these words to remember that tradition of peaceful protest and respect the rule of law. If we fail in this the consequences are very dire and could spell the end of our "great experiment". While I detest the rhetoric and actions of President-Elect Trump and the various extremist groups that have sought legitimacy under his banner, we must not lose ourselves in the opposition by resorting to violent means to "end" or "stop" his tenure as our elected President. It is beyond my comprehension that we elected a man who was so clearly willing to encourage violent action on his behalf or at least to benefit from his "passionate followers".
We are the American people and while we may be divided into many issues, it is clear we must respect the rule of law lest we descend into barbarism. It is the goal of this author to encourage all of us to educate ourselves on the laws and nature of our government intimately. Our Federal Republic requires us to be active and knowledgeable, passively accepting what we are told IS NOT an American trait or tradition. But please leave the violence to your imaginations regardless of what side you march upon, it is unbecoming and dangerous to our cherished freedoms.
1: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/anti-trump-protesters-attacked-all-of-us-in-san-jose/485444/)
While there has always been low and somewhat discrete amounts violence due to strong and deeply held beliefs throughout our history. The overall history of our nation even in the midst of a civil war was a peaceful and smooth transition of power during the election process. It has become a point of pride that we tell the world of our ability despite deeply held beliefs that often divide us, America respects the rule of law above all else. Thus any violence reported is quite shocking to see reported as we have become so accustomed to a peaceful political process and transition of power between Presidential administrations.
President-Elect Donald Trump ran a campaign using language and at times clearly urging his adherents to commit themselves to violent actions due to their strong revulsion to the "Establishment and Liberal Elitists." This combined with language that was highly inflammatory remarks regarding various racial groups such as Americans of Latino extraction particularly those of Mexican descent among others lent credibility to those who sought to violently oppose the participation in our political process. Groups that were once nationally shut out of open participation in the process such as the KKK were now openly endorsing Trump and his rhetorical vision of "Making America Great Again."
Yet the violence and the encouragement of such was not entirely one sided to the Trump camp. Various protests against Trump such as San Jose, June 6, 2016, were marred by violence directed at attendants to those rallies (1), This bodes ill for what is seen by many as a rise in partisan violence directed towards differing points of view on how the United States should govern itself. While political campaigns are infamous for their brutal and nasty effects those are largely restricted to character insults and other items using nonviolent methods to disrupt one's opponent
Violence within the American social and political process is a direct assault on one of the most clearly defined elements of our Constitution, the right to peaceful assembly and to demand redress of grievances. We are too large and diverse a group to have a homogenous vision of our culture and that is what makes us such a strong nation. Americans draw from cultures from around the world and this dynamic energy thrusts us firmly towards the future. We are not a nation that idly waits for the future but instead seeks it out.
I would call upon all who read these words to remember that tradition of peaceful protest and respect the rule of law. If we fail in this the consequences are very dire and could spell the end of our "great experiment". While I detest the rhetoric and actions of President-Elect Trump and the various extremist groups that have sought legitimacy under his banner, we must not lose ourselves in the opposition by resorting to violent means to "end" or "stop" his tenure as our elected President. It is beyond my comprehension that we elected a man who was so clearly willing to encourage violent action on his behalf or at least to benefit from his "passionate followers".
We are the American people and while we may be divided into many issues, it is clear we must respect the rule of law lest we descend into barbarism. It is the goal of this author to encourage all of us to educate ourselves on the laws and nature of our government intimately. Our Federal Republic requires us to be active and knowledgeable, passively accepting what we are told IS NOT an American trait or tradition. But please leave the violence to your imaginations regardless of what side you march upon, it is unbecoming and dangerous to our cherished freedoms.
1: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/anti-trump-protesters-attacked-all-of-us-in-san-jose/485444/)
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
This We'll Defend...
To all my fellows who follow my silliness and general misanthropic adventures in being an Adult :)
We have just ended one of the, if not the most divisive, election year in my lifetime. I have posted to my friends and to anyone who could read my words that I do not share the enthusiasm that half of our nation does at this moment. You see I started out with my political identity as solidly conservative with an eye towards a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution with a firm mindset on the checks and balances contained within that document. I still believe in our constitution and our Federal Republic to which I swore an oath that has no expiration date.
Normally I do not disclose whom I voted for as I firmly believe in the absolute sanctity of "hidden" or "secret" ballot. Yet in the ever charged and negatively so, the swirl of my beloved nation's political discourse. I find myself needed to break with tradition that I have set for myself. I fully expect to be ridiculed and ostracized for my choice but I hope to explain why I fee the way I do. I pray that you do me the basic courtesy and respect my choices as I respect yours.
Thus I ask you please to not respond at all if you have to respond with insults to either my parentage, my mental status, or my basic human decency. I have earned the right to speak as I will within the confines of civil discourse and the rule of law as well as the time-honored principles upon which our nation has relied upon from inception. I served my country in a time of war as did my father and his father before him. Royka's now have bled for 3 consecutive generations in our Nation's conflicts for those rights we exercised yesterday and every day.
I voted for Hilary Clinton, a woman whom I had serious issues with on multiple levels. I voted for her not because I was deranged or deluded, I searched the facts as they were available and made my decision to give her my vote. I can already here the divestiture of friendship due to the above statement. While she was and is an extremely flawed candidate and I believe the Democratic Party did us all a disservice by their unabashed push to cement her as the "heir apparent." Hillary was one of the most qualified political figures of the past 30 years, even more so than her husband who did serve two terms as President, in my personal assessment.
I felt that even with her flaws she was a better and stronger choice for our country. It is clear that my fellow citizens disagreed with me and that IS their right to do so. That is the risk we take in engaging in a Federal Republican form of governance, we risk not choosing the winning side of the ticket. To President-Elect Trump and his supporters, I congratulate you on your victory. Yet let it be known that I will oppose vociferously any attempt to harm those very freedoms I have fought for personally.
To that end, I will call anyone out that tries to push an agenda that harms or seeks to subvert the inalienable right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I welcome those who flee oppression and tyranny to seek a better life here in the United States for themselves and their families. I believe in the fundamental rights of all our citizens and even would-be citizens to a basic respect of their humanity and individual persons.
I believe in the sanctity of private property and ownership of said property this includes one's body. Yes, I know I am jumping right into the rabbit hole from hell on the thorny Abortion issue. I fundamentally disagree with "Roe v. Wade" as it violated the Constitution as the Judicial branch overstepped their authority to "legislate" an issue that clearly belonged to the legislative branch yet they felt compelled due to the political climate of the day.
Yet I firmly believe in the right of a woman to do with her body as she sees fit. Yet we must acknowledge that there is something that must occur in this regard if we are as men to be held equally responsible for the creation of life. I do not wish to delve solely into this issue but to use it as a highlight as to why my political views are not black and white or some other shade of tribalistic purity. They are complex and thorny like most human beliefs and ideas.
Yet I am always looking for empirical evidence to disprove my beliefs as well as my ethics and morals to guide those beliefs. I am a lover of freedom and the right to be wrong, I despise those who cloak themselves in the flag or in religious rhetoric that if it came from a follower of the Muslim faith, would cause a firestorm of rage and rightfully so.
We are a nation founded on the clear separation of church and state. This separation must be clear and unequivocal that NO religion or spiritual belief should be used to oppress anyone's faith or lack thereof. Even the most hateful speech used by Trump during his candidacy for the Presidency is still his right as a US Citizen to do so. But this freedom of speech comes the price of the consequences of one's actions or words, so long as you are willing to accept them fully and without limitation or exception.
I have uttered and will continue to do so the words of Voltaire "Sir, I may not agree with what you say but I will defend unto the death your right to say it." I will spend the next 4 years and beyond watching and researching for those who would abuse or erode that which I have shed blood and soul to defend. I am not a liberal or a conservative, I am not Christian nor am I an atheist. I am a patriot who believes in the inherent goodness of my nation and her people and in the motto of the United States Army, "This We'll Defend"...
There Will Be MORE to follow so please read and offer your thoughts if you can do so respectfully.
We have just ended one of the, if not the most divisive, election year in my lifetime. I have posted to my friends and to anyone who could read my words that I do not share the enthusiasm that half of our nation does at this moment. You see I started out with my political identity as solidly conservative with an eye towards a strict interpretation of the United States Constitution with a firm mindset on the checks and balances contained within that document. I still believe in our constitution and our Federal Republic to which I swore an oath that has no expiration date.
Normally I do not disclose whom I voted for as I firmly believe in the absolute sanctity of "hidden" or "secret" ballot. Yet in the ever charged and negatively so, the swirl of my beloved nation's political discourse. I find myself needed to break with tradition that I have set for myself. I fully expect to be ridiculed and ostracized for my choice but I hope to explain why I fee the way I do. I pray that you do me the basic courtesy and respect my choices as I respect yours.
Thus I ask you please to not respond at all if you have to respond with insults to either my parentage, my mental status, or my basic human decency. I have earned the right to speak as I will within the confines of civil discourse and the rule of law as well as the time-honored principles upon which our nation has relied upon from inception. I served my country in a time of war as did my father and his father before him. Royka's now have bled for 3 consecutive generations in our Nation's conflicts for those rights we exercised yesterday and every day.
I voted for Hilary Clinton, a woman whom I had serious issues with on multiple levels. I voted for her not because I was deranged or deluded, I searched the facts as they were available and made my decision to give her my vote. I can already here the divestiture of friendship due to the above statement. While she was and is an extremely flawed candidate and I believe the Democratic Party did us all a disservice by their unabashed push to cement her as the "heir apparent." Hillary was one of the most qualified political figures of the past 30 years, even more so than her husband who did serve two terms as President, in my personal assessment.
I felt that even with her flaws she was a better and stronger choice for our country. It is clear that my fellow citizens disagreed with me and that IS their right to do so. That is the risk we take in engaging in a Federal Republican form of governance, we risk not choosing the winning side of the ticket. To President-Elect Trump and his supporters, I congratulate you on your victory. Yet let it be known that I will oppose vociferously any attempt to harm those very freedoms I have fought for personally.
To that end, I will call anyone out that tries to push an agenda that harms or seeks to subvert the inalienable right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." I welcome those who flee oppression and tyranny to seek a better life here in the United States for themselves and their families. I believe in the fundamental rights of all our citizens and even would-be citizens to a basic respect of their humanity and individual persons.
I believe in the sanctity of private property and ownership of said property this includes one's body. Yes, I know I am jumping right into the rabbit hole from hell on the thorny Abortion issue. I fundamentally disagree with "Roe v. Wade" as it violated the Constitution as the Judicial branch overstepped their authority to "legislate" an issue that clearly belonged to the legislative branch yet they felt compelled due to the political climate of the day.
Yet I firmly believe in the right of a woman to do with her body as she sees fit. Yet we must acknowledge that there is something that must occur in this regard if we are as men to be held equally responsible for the creation of life. I do not wish to delve solely into this issue but to use it as a highlight as to why my political views are not black and white or some other shade of tribalistic purity. They are complex and thorny like most human beliefs and ideas.
Yet I am always looking for empirical evidence to disprove my beliefs as well as my ethics and morals to guide those beliefs. I am a lover of freedom and the right to be wrong, I despise those who cloak themselves in the flag or in religious rhetoric that if it came from a follower of the Muslim faith, would cause a firestorm of rage and rightfully so.
We are a nation founded on the clear separation of church and state. This separation must be clear and unequivocal that NO religion or spiritual belief should be used to oppress anyone's faith or lack thereof. Even the most hateful speech used by Trump during his candidacy for the Presidency is still his right as a US Citizen to do so. But this freedom of speech comes the price of the consequences of one's actions or words, so long as you are willing to accept them fully and without limitation or exception.
I have uttered and will continue to do so the words of Voltaire "Sir, I may not agree with what you say but I will defend unto the death your right to say it." I will spend the next 4 years and beyond watching and researching for those who would abuse or erode that which I have shed blood and soul to defend. I am not a liberal or a conservative, I am not Christian nor am I an atheist. I am a patriot who believes in the inherent goodness of my nation and her people and in the motto of the United States Army, "This We'll Defend"...
There Will Be MORE to follow so please read and offer your thoughts if you can do so respectfully.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Tribalism, the greatest threat to humanity itself.
In the recent light of the electronic haze of the latest 2016 US Presidential Election coverage
kerfuffle, Saturday Night Live among others has taken a swipe at the candidacy of Donald Trump. The skit features several white comedians being unusually normal, till at some point the connection is made to Trump and his dance with the ugly side of white tribalism in the United States. Yet this candidate appears to be willing to embrace that ugly side, at least for the sake of electioneering and ultimately winning the Republican nomination for President. I have viewed the clip and want to try and use it as an example of why my title for this post matters.
The Federal Representative Republic that the founding fathers left for us is ultimately a human institution, thus they recognized the frailty of the human condition when power is granted or used by any governing body. They saw the need to instill within their documentation of the guidelines of how that power was to be structured and used but more importantly how to restrict that use of power to avoid the dangers of tyranny of the majority. And while our history is replete with examples of "legitimate" use of that power as we have advanced within the understanding the unifying bonds of our shared humanity, that now in the aftermath were not morally just or ethical uses of that power.
The repeated commentary that Mr. Donald Trump is a lesser demagogue in the vein of an "American Hitler" is profoundly disturbing to this author and a great many others. Yet his rise to national fame is not some unknown effect of a societal pressures and fears being manipulated. Nor is he alone in his manipulations of symbols and imagery that evoke the justification for those comparisons to the epitome of the "Evil Empire" of Nazi Germany. Sadly he is yet another willing to exploit a need within the human psyche, that need to belong and to identify with others of like mind or of social, cultural, religious, or even political views.
I am referring to the concept of "tribalism" or as I define it, "the need to belong to a group that provides an identity that marks those who belong as somehow superior or worthy of greater power". This compelling need for many if not most of humanity to belong and to be deemed worthy of their tribe's place as first among equals, in and of itself has no moral or ethical value. But the actions taken to secure and retain that tribal identity and then the use of that tribal's rightful place or power to subjugate those who are not apart of the tribe is, in point of fact what makes such actions utterly devoid of any redeeming value or bluntly stated "evil".
We must recognize the inherent call to action that our history compels us to act in defense of humanity and ultimately ourselves. Tribalism in all its forms must be completely and utterly rejected if we are to truly achieve the "American Dream." Identity must be shaped to recognize that all life is sacred and holy, that all human beings are united in the common bond of existence and that all have the right to exist. The cults of individuality and self are dangerous in their seductions of our will to move forward as a society and people.
Our mad rush to be unique or at least be part of that special group is what allows us to commit horrors upon each other with depressing frequency. I call upon each of us to examine our inner-most thoughts and feelings, so as to identify that which would lend itself to a tribalistic view of the world around us. Recognize where that tribalism could and can does lead us towards inhumanity towards those who are not part of our tribe. Active and conscious, we must be in combating this darkness that resides within us all.
If we fail to do this, we do so at our own peril....
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
20 Weeks: Trial by Fire
20 Weeks: Trial by
Fire
Rights, Groups, and
Intersectionality in the United States Today
By
Jared Michael Royka
Well dear readers I have been bitten
again by the writing bug and its finals week for the 1st half of my
summer semester at ASU. I have the privilege of having several friends whom are
professional writers so any time I put my thoughts to paper, I feel that I have
tall shoes to fill. One of my longest and dearest friends, Paul Matuzsak, is a
professional journalist in the wide open realm of modern journalism,
specifically blogging on political, social, and personal issues.
While I do not always agree with my
dearest friend he does manage to make a strong point on a single topic. That
topic is to get oneself informed and ready to take action in regards to how our
nation is ran. I tend to be a bit more prosaic in how I get to the same point
but on this we both adamantly agree, it is critical to be active and demand your
government works. Without active citizen participation we get what has become a
political system mired in partisan rhetoric and the pervasive influence of
those whom think they know better than you what it is you need.
Again I do not endorse any given party
or political faction as I tend to rate most of them with the leadership skills that
are best defined as; they couldn’t lead starving wolves to fresh meat. Yet as I
slowly it seems finding myself drift politically into that no-man’s land of a
blend of libertarianism/constitutionalist/moderate or as I call it the “Leave
me the Hell Alone Party.” I have become a cynic when I “Insert hated opposition
group/ideology/ect here” is ruining our nation. Frankly I have become violently
ill at vitriolic sewage that we call political discourse, my blame gun is
locked, loaded, and I have ammo enough for both sides.
If you have to blame someone for my
rising need to speak out on many issues blame my friends, my wife, my growing
education, and lastly my family for instilling in me a love of my nation. We
have a lot of issues that this country needs looking at and having real
solutions suggested, not hey this group or this really rich person or industry
wants me to do this? In fact I find that my friends like Paul and my lovely
wife do much to show me intelligent dialogue that while in disagreement is done
with respectful candor. So I am challenging myself to do at least one post on a
social/political/economic issue for the next 20 weeks. I have to admit that in
my own estimation of this goal being successful is well about as likely as me
getting returned to active duty and then being allowed to retire from the
military.
I am further challenging myself to
approach these issues that I will write upon from a neutral perspective as
possible. I am likely to be all over the map as I am finding my own opinions
somewhat broader than they were 20 years ago. So dear readers I challenge you
to give me a new topic to write about each week. I will pick one and do the best
job I can to provide information and my own assessment of the topic as I see
it. Please take me upon this challenge as I need to continue work on improving
my research and analytical skills. Throw me some good ones and before someone
goes there, yes I will discuss just about any topic that is relevant to us as a
nation and a people today.
So let’s see what trouble we can get
into together, eh? It is often said that knowledge is power, so let’s all get
empowered off facts, information, and the consistent ability to apply critical
thinking skills. Oh and I challenge you dear reader to do the same thing
yourself. The more voices heard the more likely we will connect as a people and
make the decisions that have to be made. Let’s get to work and I am excitedly
waiting your suggested topics.
Very
Respectfully,
Jared
M. Royka
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Liberalism? Conservatism? The duality and duplicity of our modern political reality.
An inquiry posted to all,
I wish to posit a question to any whom honor my thoughts with a few moments of your time in reading my humble blog. If we look back in the last 33 years of American political development we can see two major shifts in our political cosmology. We have seen the rhetoric approach unprecedented levels of openly partisan warfare both in our Federal, State, County, and even Municipal levels of governance. While this is in many ways nothing earthshaking or all that noteworthy in regards to political partisanship in our nation's history.
What is noteworthy is that while our "political" leaders seem to grow farther and farther apart. The American people seem to be continuing their intent on a balanced political philosophy. This in my humble opinion is the first trend of the disconnect between our leaders and us the citizen. We here terms like "War on Women" and "Socialist/Marxist" being thrown about carelessly even worse recklessly. The tea party is decrying what they see as "Casus belli" in regards to the IRS targeting their non-profit groups because of their political orientation.
We see the specter of "abuse of power" in the recent revelation of the NSA's Operation Prism. Neither party is without sin in this regard. While I am glad to see open opposition and policing of the opposing viewpoints by both political philosophies and parties. I am not glad at all, in point of fact, rather angry at the utter lack of civility towards those whom are being treated as unclean for daring to disagree with the "mother church" in the form of a chosen political identity or association with a political party.
We see the Democratic party and its liberal/progressive leadership guilty of their own "war on women." The largely white male Democratic leadership in both houses of Congress are guilty of cowardice by forcing female party members to "take the lead" in chastising the Republican ergo "conservative" groups. This is both unethical as well as immoral to so deliberately use the women of your part as a bludgeon to score points against the other side. Women's issues affect all of us and men as well as women need to recognize and speak on these issues.
Our sitting President for all his claims to his liberal ideals has acted in parallel to his predecessor rather than honoring his promises a more liberal form of governance. The Republican party is no less guilty in their duality and duplicity towards the citizens of this nation. We see the Republican party oppose the serious need for reforms in the areas of health care, taxation, and overt discrimination towards the issues of same sex marriage. This is not a party that was founded prior to the Civil War and openly took the stance against the evils of slavery.
We permit the open demagoguery and demonizing of anyone whom does not march in lockstep with their chosen or given political identification. By this statement I am referring towards the behavior of both ideologies and parties not agreeing to disagree and striving to find a middle ground for what is in the best interests of our nation. Both parties give an unfair amount of influence to those whom have wealth in determining what is in the best interests of our nation.
Our nation has accepted that it is ethical and moral to classify "money" as a form of free speech. I do not think our founding fathers would see this trend as healthy for our Republican form of government. Rather than seeking to work with each other for the betterment of all our citizens, our people are divided in to racial, social, economic, sexual, and religious camps. This division does not serve to strengthen our people rather it permits to control a given group through fear and manipulation.
Why do we permit this behavior? Who bears the blame for this situation, I believe that it is ourselves that are to blame. The intersectionality of our modern lives does not permit a single issue approach to handling the complex issues that our nation face now and will face in the future. I don't see liberals or conservatives as inherently wrong nor are the parties themselves. We must as a people commit ourselves to active citizenship. It is our duty to vote and to actively participate in our political process.
If you wish to see change occur then get out there, get active, and educate yourself with facts. Avoid the overly emotional reactions to an issue but understand that issues that affect others will eventually affect you. The information you need is out there and it only requires basic research skills to find what you need to make informed decisions. Do not passively accept anything fed to you as "news" or "information." Make decision for yourselves and act in what you understand based upon those facts as what is in the best interests of our nation.
I wish to posit a question to any whom honor my thoughts with a few moments of your time in reading my humble blog. If we look back in the last 33 years of American political development we can see two major shifts in our political cosmology. We have seen the rhetoric approach unprecedented levels of openly partisan warfare both in our Federal, State, County, and even Municipal levels of governance. While this is in many ways nothing earthshaking or all that noteworthy in regards to political partisanship in our nation's history.
What is noteworthy is that while our "political" leaders seem to grow farther and farther apart. The American people seem to be continuing their intent on a balanced political philosophy. This in my humble opinion is the first trend of the disconnect between our leaders and us the citizen. We here terms like "War on Women" and "Socialist/Marxist" being thrown about carelessly even worse recklessly. The tea party is decrying what they see as "Casus belli" in regards to the IRS targeting their non-profit groups because of their political orientation.
We see the specter of "abuse of power" in the recent revelation of the NSA's Operation Prism. Neither party is without sin in this regard. While I am glad to see open opposition and policing of the opposing viewpoints by both political philosophies and parties. I am not glad at all, in point of fact, rather angry at the utter lack of civility towards those whom are being treated as unclean for daring to disagree with the "mother church" in the form of a chosen political identity or association with a political party.
We see the Democratic party and its liberal/progressive leadership guilty of their own "war on women." The largely white male Democratic leadership in both houses of Congress are guilty of cowardice by forcing female party members to "take the lead" in chastising the Republican ergo "conservative" groups. This is both unethical as well as immoral to so deliberately use the women of your part as a bludgeon to score points against the other side. Women's issues affect all of us and men as well as women need to recognize and speak on these issues.
Our sitting President for all his claims to his liberal ideals has acted in parallel to his predecessor rather than honoring his promises a more liberal form of governance. The Republican party is no less guilty in their duality and duplicity towards the citizens of this nation. We see the Republican party oppose the serious need for reforms in the areas of health care, taxation, and overt discrimination towards the issues of same sex marriage. This is not a party that was founded prior to the Civil War and openly took the stance against the evils of slavery.
We permit the open demagoguery and demonizing of anyone whom does not march in lockstep with their chosen or given political identification. By this statement I am referring towards the behavior of both ideologies and parties not agreeing to disagree and striving to find a middle ground for what is in the best interests of our nation. Both parties give an unfair amount of influence to those whom have wealth in determining what is in the best interests of our nation.
Our nation has accepted that it is ethical and moral to classify "money" as a form of free speech. I do not think our founding fathers would see this trend as healthy for our Republican form of government. Rather than seeking to work with each other for the betterment of all our citizens, our people are divided in to racial, social, economic, sexual, and religious camps. This division does not serve to strengthen our people rather it permits to control a given group through fear and manipulation.
Why do we permit this behavior? Who bears the blame for this situation, I believe that it is ourselves that are to blame. The intersectionality of our modern lives does not permit a single issue approach to handling the complex issues that our nation face now and will face in the future. I don't see liberals or conservatives as inherently wrong nor are the parties themselves. We must as a people commit ourselves to active citizenship. It is our duty to vote and to actively participate in our political process.
If you wish to see change occur then get out there, get active, and educate yourself with facts. Avoid the overly emotional reactions to an issue but understand that issues that affect others will eventually affect you. The information you need is out there and it only requires basic research skills to find what you need to make informed decisions. Do not passively accept anything fed to you as "news" or "information." Make decision for yourselves and act in what you understand based upon those facts as what is in the best interests of our nation.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Torture of Suspected Terrorists
We have been at war with terrorism at
least in the United States since Sept 11, 2001. Yet we can trace the history of
terrorism long before that infamous date in the history of the United States.
Terrorism is defined roughly as the usage of “violent means or activities to
achieve a political or social goal.” Torture is derived (from the Latin torquere,
“to twist, distort”) (Taylor,
2007, p. 710) and is by no means a simple topic of discussion.
In fact, we have since the 2nd
World War promulgated international laws and policies that define both torture
and the general prohibition against its usage (Van der Vyer, 2003). This was
largely the result of the reaction of the Allies in regards to the activities
that were discovered in the Nazi concentration camps spread throughout Eastern
Europe. Medical experimentation among other activities was performed on Jewish
prisoners as well as other inmates. These and other activities were conducted
without any consent from the prisoners and done without any concern for pain or
suffering of the participants.
Largely due to the holocaust and its
horrors laid bare for the world to see. The world began to recognize torture as
a serious issue. Led by the United States and the impetus to deal with anything
deemed a threat to humanity itself, gave rise to the United Nations as well as
various documents in the later part of the 20th century such as the
Declaration of Human Rights (Van
der Vyer, 2003). And events that
occurred since the ending of the 2nd World War, such as the
disintegration the former Yugoslavia as well as the events in Rwanda all
involved torture and state sanctioning of such behavior.
We shall discuss
three main themes in this paper. The first is the definition of torture as
defined in International Law and how that definition is treated when torture is
apparently sanctioned. Second we shall look at the moral arguments both for and
against the usage of torture. Third we
shall see how the United States itself has acted both in the usage of torture
and the prohibition of such activities. Finally
we shall close with a summation of what we have discussed in the body of this
paper.
The definition of
what is torture or the legal standard applied what exactly constitutes torture
is still hotly debated. Yet we can find from the Convention against Torture
which was passed in 1984 and the United States is a signatory member of this
convention. Article 1 defines torture as: “For
the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by
which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally
inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person
information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him
or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when
such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the
consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an
official capacity. Article 1 of the CAT, does not include pain or suffering
arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions” (Weissbrod & Heilman, 2011, p.
354). Yet there are numerous other documents that modify, enhance, or
remove certain language as to what exactly constitutes torture.
The sanction or
prohibition of torture has been energized by the recent moral and ethical
debates that have occurred since the events of Sept 11. The Bush administration
bears the largest amount of blame or praise in regards to the USG’s usage of
the enhanced methods of interrogation. This is not to exclude events such as,
Agiza vs. Sweden, where such interrogations were “outsourced” to allied nations
whose legal standards permitted a greater degree of freedom to engage such
methods as decried by international anti-torture entities or agencies (Joseph, 2005, p. 340).
Yet the debate on
torture of suspected terrorists has not abated since the election of President
Barrack Obama in 2008. The USG’s
definition of torture has conflicted with what is recognized as the legal
standards as promulgated in the Convention Against Torture. The USG has stated
that its usage of enhanced interrogation methods does not in fact constitute a
breach of international law and treaties of which the USG is a signatory party
to (Allhoff, 2012). We see
that both sides still debate what the definition that constitutes “torture” is
even to present day.
This renders the
question as to who decides such a definition and how does that definition apply
to a sovereign government or its designated agents. The definition of torture
is generally agreed upon by most governments and international bodies. Where we
have a conflict then is in the application of that definition at the tactical,
operational, and strategic levels of the “War on Terror”. This conflicts with
the opinions of the average person that opposes the use of any form of
“torture” including such enhanced methods of interrogation (Gronke et al., 2010).
Let us delve into
our next theme, the moral and ethical arguments for and against the usage of
torture against suspected terrorists. We will first look at the arguments that
support the usage of torture against suspected terrorists. The first and most
likely argument is to permit the usage of torture of a suspected terrorist to
save innocent civilian lives from an immediate threat. The argument that has been most often used at
least in a moral sense is the “Ticking Time Bomb” argument as argued by Fritz Allhoff in his
book bearing the same title (Allhoff, 2012).
In the post 9-11
environs the United States Government or USG, through the Office of Legal
Counsel, promulgated via official memorandums the authorization for “enhanced”
interrogation methods (Weissbrod
& Heilman, 2011, p. 345).
Enhanced interrogation methods were permitted until the Abu Ghraib
scandal was made public (Posner
& Vermeule, 2006, p. 673). Yet the USG is still accused of engaging in
practices that circumvent international law and even elements of its own laws in regards to the “torture statute”
(Gronke et al., 2010)
(Weissbrod & Heilman, 2011).
What is “enhanced
interrogation”; this can be seen as various methodologies such “water
boarding”, “sleep deprivation”, or any methodology that permits a more
aggressive form of interrogation of a suspected terrorist. The USG argues that such enhanced methods do
not meet the international legal standard of torture. This argument is extended
to the “out-sourcing” to other nations that have a less legal restriction in
regards to the interrogation of terrorist suspects (Posner & Vermeule, 2006).
In the arguments
against the usage of torture as a method to gain information from a suspected
terrorist, the common theme is its antithetical nature in regards to basic
human rights (Iacopino, Keller,
& Oksenberg, 2002). Another
element that is commonly found within arguments against the usage of torture is
the moral erosion of the democratic ideals of any sovereign nation that permits
its usage (Taylor, 2007). We
often see in the arguments against torture, as parallels drawn between the
permitted use of sanctioned torture and “war-crimes” (Van der Vyer, 2003). The
argument of the unreliability of information gained through torture, mostly due
to the supposition that the person being tortured will say anything to make it
stop (Taylor, 2007), (Posner & Vermeule, 2006),
and (Van der Vyer, 2003).
The strongest argument against torture is that any benefit gained is severely
degraded by the costs associated with its usage (Posner & Vermeule, 2006, p. 8).
Next we
specifically see how the United States Government has acted in regards to the
usage or prohibition of the usage of torture in regards to suspected
terrorists. This theme has been dramatically increased since the events of
September 11, 2001. The USG has often
argued that its activities were permissible in light of extenuating
circumstances in regards to the difficult nature of targeting terrorist
organizations such as Al-Qaida.
The interrogation
facility that sprang up at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba shortly after the events of
September 11th is often the first place mentioned in regards to USG
activities in the interrogation of suspected terrorists (Posner & Vermeule, 2006). The USG insists that anyone detained is
considered an “unlawful combatant” thus not subject to the legal principal of
“habeas corpus” (Weissbrod &
Heilman, 2011). Yet as of this paper
the facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is pending closure via executive order
signed by President Barrack Obama in response to pressure to close the
facility.
Something that has
not been widely discussed until recently was the permitted practice of
indefinite detention of suspected terrorists (Posner
& Vermeule, 2006)
(Weissbrod & Heilman, 2011). This has become strenuously opposed as
it could include US citizens that would be potentially denied their civil
rights as guaranteed by the United States Constitution, specifically the 5th,
8th, 10th, and 14th amendments to the Bill of
Rights (Weissbrod & Heilman,
2011). The USG has argued in the case of the “dirty bomber” Richard Padilla
that he should be ruled as an “unlawful combatant” as he is suspected of ties
to Al-Qaida despite his US citizenship. This “unlawful combatant” standard has
been applied to any area outside of the United States (Van der Vyer, 2003) (Weissbrod & Heilman, 2011).
Also of note as
previously mentioned is the USG practice of “out-sourcing” interrogation of
suspected terrorists to countries that are accused of using interrogation
methods that meet the international definition of torture (Van der Vyer, 2003)
(Weissbrod & Heilman, 2011). In fact this was not known until the end of
the 2nd Bush Administration circa 2006; that the USG was sending
suspected terror suspects to foreign nations for interrogations in secret
prisons (Taylor, 2007) (Weissbrod & Heilman, 2011).
This leaves us with
the question as to why the USG felt this was both acceptable risk and legally
defensible? We can see that given the
slow introduction of information that could possibly be construed as sanctioned
torture by the USG to the general populace within the United States as well as
international interests. It appears that while not directly engaging at least
in a public manner of condoning torture there have been some serious questions
raised as to this issue.
Given the shadowy
nature of terrorism itself as an entity, this makes direct prosecution of
suspects supremely difficult via normal methods of investigation. The legal statues of the United States shows
a clear prohibition to the use of “torture” as a method of gaining information
from a suspected terrorist (Weissbrod
& Heilman, 2011). Also the United States is a signatory to many
international agreements, thus could be considered to be legally bound to
adhere to such as the CAT (Weissbrod
& Heilman, 2011).
How then do we as
citizens of the United States construe our government’s activities often taken
allegedly upon our behalves? I see this as the greatest argument towards the necessity
of critical thinking and the education of such skills. Given the morally
ambiguous nature of terrorism and what role torture of suspected terrorists
plays within our moral, ethical, and legal institutions as well as our belief.
We can see that throughout
all the themes discussed in this paper, a common thread that shows on a public
level there appears to be a universal condemnation of torture. Yet in the post
9-11 world that we now live it seems to be a “grey area” that has no hard and
fast rules in regards to its usage as a tool to protect society from acts of
terror like the events of 9-11. We
struggle to balance the need for security and safety against the concerns of
the damage that torture causes to our moral, ethical, and social framework both
at a national and international level.
In summary, we have
discussed the following themes within this paper. The first we discussed the
definition of torture as defined in International Law and how that definition
is treated when torture is apparently sanctioned. Second we have looked at the
moral arguments both for and against the usage of torture. Third we have discussed how the United States
itself has acted both in the usage of torture and the prohibition of such
activities.
References
Taylor, D. (2007). Double‐Blind: The torture case. Critical Inquiry, 33(4), 710-733. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/521566
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