This morning Google News reported the following two stories sequentially [emphasis added]:
An 11th-hour ruling from the Bush administration gives health care workers, hospitals, and insurers more leeway to refuse health services for moral or religious reasons.
The rule, issued today, becomes effective in 30 days. Its main provisions widen the number of health workers and institutions that may refuse, based on "sincere religious belief or moral conviction," to provide care or referrals to patients.
"This rule protects the right of medical providers to care for their patients in accord with their conscience," says Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt....
A wide number of medical groups strongly oppose the new ruling. These groups include the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 27 state medical associations.
"Today's regulation issued by HHS under the guise of 'protecting' the conscience of health care providers, is yet another reminder of the outgoing administration's implicit contempt for women's right to accurate and complete reproductive health information and legal medical procedures," says a statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Shocking revelation: Santa Clara University professor mirrors famous torture study
Replicating one of the most controversial behavioral experiments in history, a Santa Clara University psychologist has found that people will follow orders from an authority figure to administer what they believe are painful electric shocks.
More than two-thirds of volunteers in the research study had to be stopped from administering 150 volt shocks of electricity, despite hearing a person's cries of pain, professor Jerry M. Burger concluded in a study published in the January issue of the journal American Psychologist.
"In a dramatic way, it illustrates that under certain circumstances people will act in very surprising and disturbing ways,'' said Burger.
The study, using paid volunteers from the South Bay, is similar to the famous 1974 "obedience study'' by the late Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram. In the wake of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann's trial, Milgram was troubled by the willingness of people to obey authorities — even if it conflicted with their own conscience.
Because I have often written about Germany's persecution of parents who believe the education of their children is best accomplished outside of the state public schools (this post will lead you to some of the other stories), it's a pleasure to be able to bring some good news as well: Prosecutors are dropping charges against the Brause family, which had faced up to two years in prison and the loss of their children. If this seems a "Well, duh!" kind of accomplisment, it is important to remember that it was not so long ago that we were celebrating such events as great victories in the U. S.
[T]he announcement came after the court received a detailed psychiatric report that there is no psychological harm to the children from homeschooling. The report also stated that the children have not been harmed [academically], which is evidenced by [the] exit exams [of the two oldest children] from high school
Lest we complacently conclude that the plight of homeschoolers in Germany is Germany's problem, not ours, American citizenship is not a sufficient defense if you live in Germany and want to teach your own children. An American family living in Berlin was recently ordered to court because of their homeschooling, and under legal advice the mother and children have fled to the United States until the situation can be resolved.
I'm delighted to see evidence of progress anywhere in the world, and also for the reminder that "watch, work, and pray" never ceases to be necessary.I've known for a long time that the plight of homeschoolers in Germany is dire, as I've written before (for example, here, here, and here); I've also known that the situation in Switzerland is worrisome, legal in some cantons, illegal in others, and sometimes in between. The Swiss are careful to point out that they are not German so I have hope that they will distinguish themselves by moving in the direction of more liberty. It wasn't that long ago, after all, that homeschooling in the United States was similarly at risk. However, Principled Discovery has discovered some alarming news. (Thanks, DSTB.)
According to the Tages Anzeiger, one of the most widely read newspapers in Switzerland, homeschooling is about to become severely restricted in the Canton of Zurich.
Private Education: Parents threaten with disobedience
December 4, 2008
Beginning next summer at the latest, parents will only be allowed to educated their children at home when they have a teacher’s certificate. Eight families are resisting—with all means. Tages Anzeiger
The article goes on to say that this new regulation will affect fifty families, but apparently only these eight families have chosen to fight. The Education Director has thus far rejected all offers of compromise. If they continue and do not win their cases, the families face fines of up to 5000 Francs (about $4,100) and a possible citation for disobedience of official orders.
Read the whole story. Those with a working knowledge of German may want to read the Tages Anzeige article directly; I can only hope it is the translation that makes the language sound strident and authoritarian.
The most chilling words are in the law that was not passed, so perhaps the Swiss will be more resistent to educational tyrrany than the Germans.
That, alas, is what many people, even in the United States, mean when they talk about the "socialization issue" with homeschoolers. It's not that they worry that homeschooled children won't learn how to get along with other people, but that they will learn to think independently and not conform.Private schools should teach the same world view as taught in public schools.
We bought some luggage today. Amongst the choices, we found an American Tourister set that would do the job, but decided to look a bit further. Then we found some Swiss luggage that made my heart sing. It was billed as being made by the same people who make the Swiss Army knife, was an arresting red color easy to spot on an airport carousel, and was marked with a Swiss cross emblem. Besides, it was Swiss! Must be good, right? It was also more than twice the price of the other set, another supposed indicator of quailty.
After further investigation, we went for the lower cost, because there was no convincing evidence that the construction was any less durable, even if it did lack the je ne sais quoi factor. We would have happily paid the additional money, however, had the luggage really been made in Switzerland. But no, both the Swiss Army bags and the American Tourister were...made in China.What older person hasn't looked into the mirror, whether physical or metaphorical, and noticed, "I'm becoming my mother/father!"? I've observed both tendencies in myself, but the latest revelation is that I'm becoming my husband.
For much of my young life it was illegal in the United States to buy or import products made in China. Aware of this, I looked with awe upon a cheap Chinese toy in a Canadian gift shop, wondering perhaps if it might blow up in my hands or impart some poison into my body. Still, when the ban was lifted, I saw no reason not to buy the Chinese products that began to trickle onto our shelves. I grew frustrated with Porter's insistence on buying products made in the U.S.A. whenever possible, and embarrassed at his constant checking for the origin of items in the stores. I'll admit it: I laughed at his parochialism. After all, don't Chinese families have as much right to live and eat and make money as American families?
I'm no longer laughing. Porter was ahead of his time. The trickle of products became a flood, and our choice now often is buy Chinese or do without. Now I'm the one scrutinizing the labels, and rejoicing when I can find products made in the United States, Canada, the U.K, Switzerland, Indonesia, Bangladesh, even Vietnam, though the last not without some misgivings. I made the transition before the revelation of poisoned toys, toothpaste, medicines, and food products from China, mostly because it had become a challenge, almost a game, to find alternatives. But the game has turned deadly.
I'm glad we've gone beyond the days of pretending that Mainland China did not exist; it's right to continue talk, trade, tourism, and other forms of exchange between our countries. And I'm still in favor of Chinese families eating. But we're fools to put ourselves into a position of dependence with respect to a country so large, so potentially powerful, and so willing to ignore basic standards of decency, like not stealing and not poisoning children. We've already proven how dangerous it is to be dependent on other countries' oil; this is no better.
Three years ago I reviewed The Real War Against America, the story of one company's battle with Chinese pirates. At the time I thought the title a bit over the top; now I'm not so sure. Not that I think the Chinese are deliberately attacking our country—though the weakness is certainly there should they want to exploit it—the actions are more amoral than immoral. But "amoral" is perhaps worse; it might be easier to deal with someone who knows he is doing wrong than one who just doesn't get the point.
Take, for example, a recent article in Coin World, which highlighted a Chinese coin counterfeiter who sells his goods on eBay. The issue is so serious that the magazine has made the articles available for free: Part 1, and Part 2. You need to give them an e-mail address, but nothing more is required. Be sure to uncheck the box asking to be kept informed, however—unless you really want to be added to their mailing list. What I find particularly scary is the man's complete openness about his work, because what he is doing is completely legal as far as China is concerned. That he is lying, cheating, and stealing apparently makes no impression on him.
Then there is this overheard conversation, true in fact but with details blurred to protect the innocent...or a faulty memory, whichever you like. It was between a Chinese (Mainland, not Taiwanese) immigrant to the U. S. and a co-worker, and went something like this.
Co-worker: What religion do people have in China?
Immigrant: No religion at all.
Co-worker: None at all?
Immigrant: Only money. If they can make money by cheating you, they will cheat. If you're not Chinese and they can make money by cheating you, so much the better.
I've met wonderful people from China. It's a beautiful country and I'd love to visit it some day. I don't think twice about buying goods from my favorite local Chinese grocery store (though perhaps I should). And I'm not willing (yet) to make the sacrifice of not buying anything that comes from China. Nonetheless, we can't have the harmlessness of the dove for long without the wisdom of the serpent, and I'm being a lot more careful now about my purchases. The Chinese, as a people, are no more steeped in Original Sin than Americans, Bengalis, or Danes. But when counterfeiting accounts for eight percent of a country's GDP, and one instance after another is revealed of poisonous ingredients substituted for legitimate ones to save money, I'd rather—until we have convincing assurance of repentence—I'd rather support countries with better records.
[Li'l Writer Guy is clearly in violation of the rules of his cloister. Must...do...penance....]
A recent news story highlights the perils of giving birth in Afghanistan. It's a great thing that midwives are being trained to help improve the country's appalling maternal mortality rate, which is as bad as it gets unless you give birth in Sierra Leone. However, the article indicates to me that we are training them in the medical model of care when it comes to childbirth. Given that childbirth is a natural and normal process for all but a small percentage of births, lack of access to (or willingness to use) doctors and hospitals is hardly the main problem. Promoting the Midwives' Model of Care along with good nutrition and prenatal care would probably do more than anything else to reduce the grip fear, pain, and death on Afghani mothers.
Afghanistan needs Ina May Gaskin—albeit with a bit of censorship required, especially the part about orgasmic childbirth. That wouldn't go over with the imams, no, not at all....I've said before that most so-called conspiracies can be more readily explained by simple human stupidity. Take, for example, the recent brouhaha over NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, whose climate data for October reported temperatures to be an astonishing three-quarters of a degree above normal. It turns out the data was badly skewed because in several cases September's data had been used rather than October's.
Some of the commentary I've read accuses the GISS of deliberately putting out a false report, but I see no need to propose a more complicated explanation when a simple one will do: The GISS was expecting to see warming, so they didn't question the data. This is why scientific experiments are double-blind whenever possible. In lieu of that, it might be wise to have your enemies proofread your work: those on the other side of the global warming debate found the error quickly.Maybe commenter Phil had the right idea after all. Since the government is bound to foul up even the best plan when it involves too much money and power, doing nothing might have been the better course. We had a liquidity crisis from which we probably could have recovered with relative ease had the government bought up massive amounts of undervalued bank debt and sold it at a profit when stability returned. That would have been a $700 million investment, not a bailout.
Instead, we're all but nationalizing our banks, and now Paulson wants to turn this into a bona fide bailout, pouring money into credit card debt, which must be the worst possible kind short of getting involved with a Mafia moneylender. (A friend's credit card company, which recently raised his interest rate to thirty-four percent, might be taking lessons from the Mafia, except that his kneecaps are still intact.) I know we can't change immediately from a society based on massive debt to something more sane, but do we have to discourage reasonable behavior?
It's like Florida taxing people who know better than to build high-rise condominiums on the beach to support those who don't care if a hurricane blows down the building as long as the state continues to underwrite insurance for them.Thanks to Janet's question about one of my favorite hymn tunes, LLANGLOFFAN, I was reminded this morning of one of my favorite hymns, O God of Earth and Altar, with its amazing and always-timely words by G. K. Chesterton. (KINGS' LYNN is another great tune for this hymn.)
O God of earth and altar, bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter, our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us, the swords of scorn divide;
Take not Thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.
From all that terror teaches, from lies of tongue and pen,
From all the easy speeches that comfort cruel men;
From sale and profanation of honor and the sword;
From sleep and from damnation, deliver us, good Lord!
Bind all our lives together, smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation aflame with faith and free,
Lift up a living nation, a single sword to Thee.
Curbing the time I spend writing doesn't mean there won't be new posts; rather, you'll get less of me and more of links to interesting things I find. Here's one in honor of recently-deceased Michael Crichton, author of (among many others) The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, and Five Patients: The Hospital Explained; you probably have not heard of the last one, but it was my introduction to Crichton and the only of his books to reside in our library.
Aliens Cause Global Warming. Check it out with an open mind. Crichton's purpose isn't to tell you (or his Cal Tech audience) there's no other intelligent life in the universe, or that atomic bombs and second-hand smoke are safe, or that there's no such thing as global warming. His concern is that our approach to all these issues (and many more) is that of false prophets, taking the name of Science in vain. (Since apparently Science was Crichton's god, you can see why this would be particularly upsetting to him.) We are invoking Science to back the positions we want to support when in fact there is no truly scientific evidence undergirding our conclusions. The Priests of Science are allowing this to happen, even participating in the abominations, and Science's lesser worshippers follow blindly. If Crichton cannot cleanse the temple, perhaps he can at least clear our minds.My own fears about an Obama presidency and a heavily Democratic Congress notwithstanding, I can see one factor in his election that may do much for both the economy and the country: Hope. Gripe as I may about the messianic adulation of Barack Obama, there are a lot of folks who are happy right now, and people who had all but given up on the American political process who now believe in it. Confidence in the system and hope for a better life can be powerful forces for good.
(Li'l Writer Guy is even now on an airplane, winging his way toward the French Alps. I can still manage short posts on my own, however.)Like it or not, our country has placed itself under the threats I mentioned in Part I, and I can only hope that the mitigating factors of Part II will enable me to say, at the end of four years, "That wasn't so bad." Regardless, although I believe the results of this election will make life more difficult, the important things do not change. Here's some of what I believe we need to do in the coming years.
Who is the "we" in the following ruminations? Mostly I'm speaking for myself, to myself, but often there will be a more general application, anyone who wishes to come along for the ride is welcome.
Part III — How We Can Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"
How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
Psalm 137:1-4
First of all, we pick ourselves up with as much dignity as we have remaining and give respect and support to our new leaders. "Fear God, honor the king" (I Peter 2:17) applies in a democracy, too. Humor has an important place in discourse, but mean-spirited mockery does not. I may have crossed the line with my "Obamanation" comment in Part I—at least two of my respected readers think so—though I'm not convinced it's inappropriate, given the messianic adulation accorded Obama by many of his followers. Still, I'm extremely uncomfortable with the abuse heaped on George W. Bush, just as I was when it was Bill Clinton on the receiving end, and will accord Barack Obama the respect due the President of the United States, as well as that due a human being created in the image of God.
We pray for Barack Obama, and for all "who bear the authority of government." If the Apostle Paul could write, per I Timothy 2:1-2, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made....for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness," while living under the Roman Emperor Nero, we can do the same living under an elected president who is not likely to include among his alternative energy polices the burning of living, human torches.
We attempt to live our lives in the best, most honest, most noble, and most loving way possible. Back to I Peter again (2:15-16): "[I]t is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God." The Republicans would do well to remember that scandal and wrong-doing among office holders has done more than anything else to bring them down. Granted, it's not fair that the Democrats mostly get a pass for their equal or greater sins—although it's actually a compliment that better behavior is expected of Republicans—but the reality is that Republicans were hurt badly first by misbehavior and even more by not visiting swift and sure justice upon the miscreants. To live purely and act rightly, with justice and love and in quiet confidence, will win more hearts than the most reasoned argument.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-18, 21)
Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. (Philippians 2:14-15)
[L]et your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).
We attend to the wisdom of the serpent as well as the harmlessness of the dove. Now is not the time to retreat from the political process, but to be all the more involved that we might be alert to dangers that threaten what we hold dear, and to how we might best meet those threats. History has proven that when we are caught unaware we react hastily, badly, and often ineffectively.
We don't flee to the hills, or to another country (as many threatened after losing the 2000 and 2004 elections), or withdraw from the system in sulky silence. It's not time, yet, for "those who are in Judea to flee to the mountains." If we feel like exiles in our own land, it is time to remember what God said to his people at the time of another exile: "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper" (Jeremiah 29:5-7). We continue to live our lives wisely and without fear. The administration may have changed, but the basic rules of life have not. There's still the Big Ten—don't steal, don't murder, don't mess with someone else's spouse, and all the rest—and the sound-bite version provided by Jesus: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, [and] love your neighbor as yourself."
Many of us are accustomed to feeling alienated from the general American culture; it may even be easier—or at least clearer—when there's no pretense that "our guys" are in charge. Whether it's financial responsibility, ethical behavior, or wise decision-making, in a democracy the citizens get no better from their government than the majority lives out in their lives. True progress, then, requires that we balance a deliberate counter-cultural structuring of our own lives, families, and communities with a creative engagement of the larger culture. That is how we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land.
Permalink | Comments
Category Politics Random Musings
Part II — Some Mitigating Factors
As I said in Part I, the prospect of the next four years under Barack Obama and a strongly Democratic Congress disturbs me greatly. The following are some of the reasons why the outcome of the election might not matter as much as I fear.- The President of the United States never has as much power as we fear—or he would like. Presidents acquire both credit and blame they don't deserve, for events set in motion long before they took office, or determined by forces over which they have no control. Their campaign promises may tell us about their philosophies and their hopes (or they may not), but presidents by and large are at the mercy of legislators, judges, the press, public opinion, and a host of natural phenomena and international situations beyond their purview. This is a good thing.
- I have yet to find a strong positive correlation between a president's apparent potential and his performance. Ronald Reagan was an actor, once uttered the infamous statement, "A tree's a tree; how many of them to you need to look at?" and his wife consulted horoscopes, yet his presidency encompassed some of the best years in my experience, both domestically and internationally. Bill Clinton's sexual proclivities made a mockery of the office, he lied under oath, and he threatened to take the country on a far-leftward swing complete with nationalized medical care, yet if you look at reality rather than rhetoric you could make a case that George W. Bush was the more liberal president. True, some of Clinton's success came from riding on the coattails of what was accomplished under Reagan, and his administration is probably to blame for some of the conditions that led to our problems with al-Qaeda, and certainly much of the reason he was not the Liberal success many had hoped for lies in Republican opposition in the Legislature—still, the point is that his time in office was not the unmitigated disaster many—including me—had feared. Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, are stellar examples of how good men, with strong morals and a determination to do the right thing in all of life, from the bedroom to the war room, can still be really lousy presidents. I may yet look back on an Obama presidency and say, "This wasn't as bad as I had expected." I doubt it, but you never know.
- George W. Bush did not want to spend most of his presidency embroiled in a war, and whoever wins today's election did not want to spend most of his presidency weighed down by economic woes, but such realities arise and force presidents to set aside their own agendas. Unfortunately, they can also be a smokescreen through which really bad policies are slipped past our distracted eyes, so vigilance is still the order of the day. Our next president must deal not only with the troubling economic situation at home and abroad, but may face political and military challenges most of us would rather not contemplate. Any hopes that our only significant threat comes from Islamic terrorists and rogue dictators of minor countries are foolish at best. Russia is beginning to flex its muscles in a way more frightening than at any time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and as for China—J. R. R. Tolkien said it best: It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations. We attempt to elect the best person for the job, yet the job rarely turns out to be what we expect. Sometimes presidents rise above themselves when the occasion demands.
- One of the advantages of being a Christian is knowing that God's plans can never be thwarted, not by the President of the United States and not even by the Supreme Court. The election results may make our paths more difficult, but they won't change the ultimate direction, and God will be with us through each turning. But that is the subject of Part III.
If I'm going to make a political post before Election Day, I'd better move quickly. This won't have as much as I want to say, nor as much careful crafting as I want to put into it, but it will still be too long and take too much time. It will be in three parts, reflecting my three conflicting and complementing moods as I contemplate the next four years.
Part I — Why This Election Is So Threatening
It is far too tempting to begin this section with a slight alteration of Mark 13:14.
When you see 'the Obomanation that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
I don't actually think that an Obama presidency would be the end of the world, but this was too good to pass up. And I do believe my friend—a calm, rational, wise friend, not given to radical statements—who said the other day, "The world as we know it is about to change drastically." She did not mean for the good. Those whose rallying cry is "Change!" would do well to remember that derivatives can be negative as well as positive.
Why am I so worried about an Obama presidency? First, let me state that if there were a solid Republican majority in both the House and the Senate, with every prospect for a super majority of Republicans in the Senate, I would probably support the Democratic candidate for president: no party should have that kind of control over both the Executive and the Legislative branches. We all—Democrats, Republicans, and Others—are fallen human beings and without effective checks and balances (especially checks) on our actions, we are likely to make bad decisions. Add conditions of confusion, fear, and anger, and we can expect very bad decisions. Thus I find the perfect storm of financial and political chaos with a Democratic President, House, and Senate frightening indeed. If you think the panic after the September 11 attacks caused us to accept significant compromises to our freedoms, just wait till you see what the combination of an activist government and financial insecurity will do.
For several elections now, one of the primary determiners of my choice has been the possibility of openings on the Supreme Court. I'd love to be able to believe that the Supreme Court Justices are above politics and look at the Constitution objectively, without regard to their own social, political, and religious beliefs, but I know better. Leery as I am about having both the Presidency and the Legislature strongly on the Left side of the political spectrum, when I think about a Leftist Judiciary completing the triumvirate I see Category 5 damage coming that may never be undone. I suspect there are several Liberal judges who have been hanging on by their fingernails just waiting for the Democrats to be able to control the nomination and confirmation of their replacements. Skewing the Supreme Court in the direction of further judicial activism and greater regard for social engineering than for the Constitution they are interpreting will do more damage to America than anything else our president and legislators can do. Elected officials and parties can be voted out; Supreme Court justices and their decisions are out of our hands.
On the other issues of concern I can barely touch, for each is worth a post (or several) in itself. Foreign policy? Whoever wins this election is in for a rough ride. Obama may find himself in what appears to be a honeymoon for a while, but he's neither experienced nor stalwart enough to avoid being at a substantial disadvantage in the diplomacy game and weakening our country significantly. Believe me, I'm not saying Bush is doing well—anyone who can "look into Putin's soul" and not see the KGB ought to leave the negotiations to someone with better eyesight—but I fear we are about to go from bad to worse. Domestically? Whether it's economics, education, health care, or any other issue in which freedom of choice is our best hope, we are looking at disastrous policies ahead. Our country is experiencing a strong slide towards socialism and I'm afraid a McCain presidency can't stop it, but he might slow it enough for us to get our bearings again, while with Obama I see wild careering in that direction. The Democrats claim to be the party for "choice," but just as with "change," we must look beyond the mantra. Although many homeschoolers and home birthing families are Democrats and vote accordingly, the party itself appears committed to creating, supporting, and enforcing educational and medical near-monopolies. While I believe that there are some functions that governments do best, making life decisions for individuals and families is not one of them. I mention these topics specifically because they are close to my heart and I know more than most about them, but the general principles, policies, and attitudes apply widely.
It is now Election Day itself, and I'm splitting off Part II and Part III so I can get this posted. I'll close Part I with an observation. I've said before (for example here, and here) that one thing that frightens me about Barack Obama is that he is so charismatic he might actually accomplish some of his goals. Lately I've come to realize that the danger goes beyond that. What I'm hearing from so many of Obama's followers has gone far beyond what they like about his ideas to an open adulation of the man himself. Adolf Hitler was before my time, and I don't know enough about Chinese and Islamic cultures to understand the attractions of Chairman Mao or the Ayatollah Khomeini, but I'm old enough to remember the adoration inspired by John F. Kennedy and later Robert Kennedy. No, I'm not saying that Obama is another Hitler! But we would do well to remember that we are in no way morally superior to the Germans of Hitler's day who responded to political humiliation and a severe economic crisis by embracing a charismatic leader who made them feel better about themselves. If Barack Obama is elected today, as I believe he will be, we would all do well to keep our eyes wide open and consider well the probable effects of his policies and proposed actions rather than being swept away by rhetoric. Come to think of it, that's a wise idea no matter who wins the election.
