Americans face a spiritual chasm

By Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist

We frame the differences in terms of "conservative" and "liberal," but these are tired old markers that with overuse and misuse have largely lost whatever meaning they used to have and with it, any ability to explain us to us. This isn't liberal vs. conservative, it is yesterday vs. tomorrow, the stress of profound cultural and demographic changes that will leave none of us as we were.

Our story so far:

Last year, Barack Obama was elected president, the first American of African heritage ever to reach that office. If this was regarded as a new beginning by most Americans, it was regarded apocalyptically by others who promptly proceeded to lose both their minds and any pretense of enlightenment.

These are the people who immediately declared it their fervent hope that the new presidency fail, the ones who cheered when the governor of Texas raised the specter of secession, the ones who went online to re-christen the executive mansion the "Black" House, and to picture it with a watermelon patch out front.

On tax day they were the ones who, having apparently just discovered the grim tidings April 15 brings us all each year, launched angry, unruly protests. In the debate over health-care reform, they are the ones who have disrupted town-hall meetings, shouting about the president's supposed plan for "death panels" to euthanize the elderly.

Now, they are the ones bringing firearms to places the president is speaking.

The Washington Post tells us at least a dozen individuals have arrived openly — and, yes, legally — strapped at events in Arizona and New Hampshire, including at least one who carried a semi-automatic assault rifle.

In case the implied threat is not clear, one of them also brought a sign referencing Thomas Jefferson's quote about the need to water the tree of liberty with "the blood of ... tyrants."

It remains unclear, once you get beyond the realm of Internet myth, alarmist rhetoric and blatant lie, what the substance of the president's supposed tyranny might be. "Socialized health care?" Given that our libraries, schools, police and fire departments are all "socialized," that's hard to swallow.

When and if the implied violence comes, perhaps its author will explain. Meanwhile, expect those who stoked his rage — i.e., the makers of Internet myths, alarmist rhetoric and blatant lies — to disdain any and all moral responsibility for the outcome.

These are strange times. They call to mind what historian Henry Adams said in the mid-1800s: "There are grave doubts at the hugeness of the land and whether one government can comprehend the whole."

Adams spoke in geographical terms of a nation rapidly expanding toward the Pacific. Our challenge is less geographical than spiritual, less a question of the distance between Honolulu and New York than between you and the person right next to you. Such as when you look at a guy who thought it a good idea to bring a "gun" to a presidential speech and find yourself stunned by incomprehension. On paper, he is your fellow American, but you absolutely do not know him, recognize nothing of yourself in him. You keep asking yourself: Who "is" this guy?

We frame the differences in terms of "conservative" and "liberal," but these are tired old markers that with overuse and misuse have largely lost whatever meaning they used to have and with it, any ability to explain us to us. This isn't liberal vs. conservative, it is yesterday vs. tomorrow, the stress of profound cultural and demographic changes that will leave none of us as we were.

And change, almost by definition, always comes too fast, always brings a sense of stark dislocation. As in the woman who cried to a reporter, "I want 'my country' back!" Probably the country she meant still had Beaver Cleaver on TV and Doris Day on "Your Hit Parade."

Round and round we go and where we stop, nobody knows. And it is an open question, as it was for Henry Adams, what kind of country we'll have when it's done. "Can" one government comprehend the whole? It may be harder to answer now than it was then.

The distances that divide us cannot be measured in miles.

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts e-mail address is: lpitts@miamiherald.com

2009, The Miami Herald

According to the Washington Post a majority in Post-ABC Poll Say Afghan War Not Worth Fighting Yes, a majority of Americans now see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting and just a quarter say more U.S. troops should be sent to the country, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Most have confidence in the ability of the United States to meet its primary goals — defeating the Taliban, facilitating effective economic development and molding an honest and effective Afghan government — but very few say Thursday’s elections there are likely to produce such a government.

AAPP: "Count me in as one of those Americans who say the Afghan War is not worth fighting. I thoug we elected a Democratic Congress and Barack Obama to get us out of Hell's Kitchen."

Do you support the war on Afghanistan?

Black Guy with a semi automatic assault rifle (video)

What is going on with this black guy with a gun, and other right wing nuts who are going around to Barack Obama Rallies with AR-15, a civilian version of the military's M-16 , semi automatic assault rifles?




I guess peaceful demonstrations are not part of the Right Wing strategy. I don't get why the Secret Service have not arrested these idiots, including the stupid black guy. These right wing nuts Ron Paul supporters, or the few right wing nut bloogers, can't believe that black folks are going to go out and join these wacko right wing groups based on this new strategy for recruiting members and supporters.

It's great to know that bloggers like Rippa, and AverageBro.com and so many other afrospear bloggers are covering this clown, who is active idiot with the wacko group the www.FreedomsPhoenix.com



The Huffington Post is also covering this issue. I hope the Secret Service is following every step this black right wing nut with a gun makes. They should also follow this group Freedoms Phoenix and it's leaders who just may be Americas new and emerging home grown terrorist.

I'm hoping that the Obama Justice Department is analyzing these right-wing terrorists and groups in the United States and are developing effective counterterrorism strategies to prevent these anti-American groups and individuals from growing. I believe these groups need to be dismantled.

UPDATE: According to The Washington Post, in it's article by Alexi Mostrous we should not be expecting Barack Obama to take on the NRA and it's supporters. Get this, Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said people are entitled to carry weapons outside such events if local laws allow it. "There are laws that govern firearms that are done state or locally," he said. "Those laws don't change when the president comes to your state or locality."

AAPP: Like many people, I totally disagree with Gibbs's comments, I fear that the debates over health-care reform are more likely to turn violent if guns to be brought into the equation. "I guess the KKK, White Citizens Council and other right wing groups will be bringing guns to ever rally on every political and social issue in America. This is insane... allowing guns at public events is public endangerment. it's opening up an opportunity to a wild-wild west shoot out. These right wing nuts are wacko. "I'm disappointed that the Obama administration has taken this stand."

But that's my opinion. What do you think?

Marion Barry and his 9 Lives on HBO

I watched the HBO program on the 9 lives of Marion Barry. As the HBO promo states, "To many, Marion Barry is remembered as the philandering drug-addled mayor of the nation's capital. To others, Marion Barry is a folk hero. Hailed as a civil rights champion and defender of the poor, his soaring achievements, catastrophic failures and phoenix-like rebirths have made him a symbol of mythic indestructibility. Today, to the dismay of some and the delight of others, Barry is once again in the political limelight."

AAPP says: "It's a great program that gives a better insight into the man who was Mayor of Washington for 4 terms. It's a must see for all you political junkies."

Check it out and let this Pundit know what you think about the program.