Egyptian Protests

Over the past few days life in Egypt has been anything but normal.  The people have joined together throughout the major cities to protest the countries oppressive government.  They have chosen to organize and rise up against the 30 year ruler which has limited their democratic privileges and done little to prevent or assist an ever growing poverty stricken population.

The young population initially utilized social networking sites to coordinate protest in Cairo, Suez, and Alexandria.  The government dictatorial regime opted to interrupt the signal to stop cell service, including text messaging, and internet, including social networking sites like facebook. 

Most of the public fighting which has left many dead and many more injured was between the protesters and the police.  The police are taking their orders directly from President Hosni Mubarak.  While the police have been the people’s nemesis the army has shown tremendous restraint.  All attempts to stop the protests have been in vain.  Curfews, police harassment, and suppressed access to communication tools have done little to dissuade the people.  They want the president’s resignation.  

As the protests continue, the United States in is in delicate position.  Politically speaking, the United States has had a good relationship with President Mubarak.  Egypt has been our closest Arab ally and has proven to be a valuable friend to the U.S. as we try to protect Israel.  On the other hand the United States will always stand against oppressive government when the civil liberties of people anywhere are being challenged.  Messages from the State Department and the President are urging the people to protest peacefully and for the government to show restraint.  The U.S. has indicated they are encouraging Egypt to recognize the value of the democratic process. 

The outside fear of the United States is if President Mubarak is forced to resign, who is the next leader to be?  The emergence of an extremist could be far worse than the oppressive dictator of today.

What are your thoughts about what is happening in Egypt?  What are your thoughts about the government’s suppression of cell service and internet access?  What, if anything, should the United States government do?

State of the Union

On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, President Barrack Obama will deliver the annual State of the Union address to a joint congressional session and millions of viewers across the country.  The State of the Union has evolved since the dawn of our nation.   Although the address is required by the Constitution, the frequency and format has evolved with each president and the advancement of media technology.

The address is to reflect the condition of the nation and establish the president’s legislative agenda for the coming year.  The use of television has transcended the significance and impact of the speech.  Prior to the 20^th century, the address was primarily written and read to the congressional members by a clerk.  Woodrow Wilson re-initiated the process of personally delivering the address to congress.  Calvin Coolidge’s 1923 speech was the first to be broadcast over the radio, Harry S. Truman’s was the first television broadcast, Lyndon B. Johnson was the first to deliver the address in the evening, and Bill Clinton’s 1997 was the first to be made available through the World Wide Web. 

The audience includes all members of congress, Supreme Court Justices and most members of the president’s cabinet.  Traditionally at least one member of the cabinet is ask not to attend in order to secure the line of succession. 

The address of 2011 should be an interesting and insightful event.  The continuing struggles of the nation’s and world’s economy, the ongoing warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the recent Republican take-over of the House of Representatives should provide the President Obama with ample issues to address and dicey political terrain to navigate.

What do you hope to hear from the president during the address?  How will the opposition party counter the address?  Do you think we place too much emphasis on the State of the Union?  Has the address taken on greater importance or just greater exposure? 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On a hot and sweltering August day in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered one of the most memorable and significant speeches to millions of people present and watching on televisions all over the world.  His call was selfless and peaceful.  He wanted to ensure the rights of all Americans were protected and recognized, regardless of the color of your skin or social circumstances.  His non-violent, rational approached inspired countless people in all generations to examine their conscience and sparked a societal change long overdue. 

Below is the transcript from the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered in Washington, DC.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!³

What are your thoughts after reading his speech?  What inspires you most about the speech or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?  What social problems do we have today in the United States needing to be dealt with?  How should these problems be addressed?

2010 - Year in Review

As the New Year begins, I like to take a look back at the past year to recall the triumphs and tragedies that shaped our live and dominated our media.

January

We began the year with one of the greatest and most tragic natural disasters in recent memory.  The small and poor country of Haiti was struck with a 7.0 earthquake.  The Haiti government stated the quake killed 230,000, injured 300,000 and left close to 1,000,000 homeless.  Relief efforts came from all across the world.

February

The 2010 Olympics provided the world with the chance to learn about the personal triumphs and stories of athletes from around the globe.  When all was said and done, the United States won the most medals with 37.  Additionally we were given the privilege of becoming familiar, either again or for the first time, with now the household names of Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn, Bode Miller, and Apolo Anton Ohno.

February witnessed its second natural disaster in as many months.  Chile suffered from a major earthquake and minor aftershocks spread throughout the country.  While its devastation was not as great as Haiti, it would wreak havoc on the country which will develop into a story later in the year.

April

The I-pad and the next generation I-phone were introduced in April.  The world anxiously awaits the yearly announcement from Apple to find out what is next in the way of technological gadgets that will revolutionize the way we interact with music and other media.

May

May introduced the gulf oil spill.  We became aware of the potential disastrous consequences of drilling for oil in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.  The oil wrecked the fishing, tourism and shrimping industries in the Gulf States.  Clean up efforts continue.  Believe it or not,it is very difficult to get oil out of water.

June

World Cup fever captured the nation.  Many Americans were forced to watch the games with the volume off due to the vuvuzelas.  The traditional South African horn deafened those in attendance and wore down the patience of audiences.  The United States made it past the preliminary round, but continued to disappoint fans by not reaching their potential.

July

LeBron James dominated the media with his free agency decision.  After allowing himself to be courted by a number of NBA teams, during his prime time decision is chose to leave Cleveland and join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. 

October

The tenth month provided inspiration and astonishment as we watched 33 men be reunited with the world after spending more than two months trapped in a Chilean mine.  The personal and collective stories of their survival provided countless hours of enjoyable news.

November

Mid-term elections were great for the Republican and bad for the Democrats.  After more than a year of a lackluster economy and other questionable political decisions, the country chose to revamp the House of Representatives with new Republican congressmen.

What do remember most from 2010?  How do you think 2010 will be remembered in history?  How do you think 2011 will be?  What would need to happen for you to consider 2011 a huge success?