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| A Larger View |
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A Bi-Monthly Newsletter of the Inner Outer Partnership |
| Volume IX Edition 2 |
Mar/Apr |
2004 |
Preemptive First Strike:
Wisdom, Judgment and the Cuban Missile Crisis
The war in Iraq was predicated upon the defense of the United States.
Saddam Hussein, the explanation goes, was seen as possessing weapons of
mass destruction which he was willing to unleash upon the United States at any time. President Bush said he made a choice, that it was "a war of necessity." If for no other reason than what we can learn from history, let us give the administration's rationale the benefit of the doubt, and then let us juxtapose our use of a preemptive first strike in Iraq with the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, an instance where the possibility of nuclear attack has never been so real or so close. Those of us who are old enough to have lived through it can still remember the gravity of a threat that not only loomed imminent but also came from a political regime still under the shadow of its murderous Stalinism where openness was a rare political currency. President Kennedy, not unlike President Bush, was commander-in-chief at a time when American foreign policy was in transition and more fluid than was perhaps desirable. For Kennedy it was a post McCarthy phase of the Cold War, for Bush it is a post 9/11 world. For both, and even more so than with any new administration, the rules behind foreign policy goals had to be forged, a corollary being the opportunity for new and creative solutions.
The impasse came in October 1962 when U.S. intelligence discovered Russian missiles at the American base in Cuba, a clear provocation and one with bellicose overtones. The administration went into war-mode. Aides and staffers worked around the clock napping when they could in their offices. Diplomatic efforts were at warp speed and on several fronts, as well as the U.N. and included an exchange of letters between Kennedy and then Chairman Krushchev. One letter was particularly confrontational. But shortly after, another with a far more conciliatory tone arrived. Since the translation process created a short delay the president hadn't yet answered the confrontational letter, and at the instigation of his brother Robert, he and his advisers chose to ignore it and act like it had somehow not been received. Kennedy then went ahead answering the milder letter as if it was the only one in his possession. This purposeful lapse went unquestioned by the Chairman and his staff and became a turning point in averting a fiery confrontation.
Had Kennedy not ignored the bluster and the threats, he might very well
have ordered a preemptive first strike and the shock and awe could have
been those of a nuclear war. Instead he took a firm but still less militant approach, one that as it turned out permitted Krushchev to back down soon after.
How would our current president have handled the Cuban missile crisis? We can only surmise, but our inferences may be instructive. Wisdom is a potent spiritual value, and its lack is as telling as its presence. If we believe in it as a guiding principle behind any American president's policies, we need to ponder whether it was used before the March 17th campaign in Iraq was ordered.
A Certificate in Casino Gambling:
Fitting the Ethos?
No less than the University of Massachusetts, Tulane University and
Michigan State University are now offering casino gambling classes. They
seem to be joining in the trend that is making gambling mainstream. In San Diego County, home to one of the largest concentration of Indian gambling casinos in the country, some 40,000 people a day visit casinos. Not surprisingly, in California two new programs are underway, one at Grossmont College in El Cajon, and one at San Diego State University. Each has its own focus. Grossmont, for example, includes courses in the culture, history and legal complexities of Indian gaming. The San Diego State University program will be much like the one at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, which offers a minor in gaming management in the College of Business Administration.
The institutions point out that they are responding to a need. In
California, the 5th largest economy in the world, casino gambling is
booming while other economic sectors are stagnant or depressed. It is one
of the few areas where jobs are available and where the number of openings outruns the number of people available to fill them. The California Employment Department says that for the period between July 2002 and 2003 tribal government employment grew 17.8%. The majority of these jobs were in the casinos, hotels and resorts run by the tribes.
Bartending courses and program in the management of the wine business are
hardly new and ethically similar to gambling. Both are behaviors that can
lead to addiction and all the problems that generates. Why should the
legitimization of gambling be of concern? It is a business that has become synonymous with the Indian Nations. While it may be politically incorrect to suggest anything that could be construed as criticism of the many tribes owning gambling casinos, the fact is that they do and are a major force in the industry, which in some areas they dominate. American history may be replete with the unfair and at times brutal treatment of Native Americans, and some even say that all else was denied them safe the running of casinos. Louis Herrera, a musician remembers the commodities truck bringing rations to the trailer in which he lived on the reservation. Such as they were he admits it was better than nothing. Now, because of the casinos, he has income, can afford to concentrate on his music and his mother can live in a two-bedroom apartment. Still the question must be asked. The Indian Nations are proud, enduring and noble peoples with spiritual principles that have and are inspiring generations to learn to live in harmony with all living creatures, to be stewards of the environment, to be caring, thoughtful and sharing. How can the spearheading of gambling as a larger and larger part of the economic pie, be reconciled with the spiritual ethos we all respect?
Religion v Spirituality: Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
Religions are mainly about a given dogma and belief system. They entail
faith and devotion and faith and devotion have implications. They usually
enlist the role of our emotions, and as they do color our thoughts, or at
the very least delineate them. Whenever that happens, it can take a toll on the inevitable inclusiveness of the underlying spirituality as if what is spiritual and what is religious could not be parallels. On the other hand, spirituality as a concept exists beyond the parameters of any one religion.
It is open and comprehensive, being the proverbial Observer many mystics
have encountered, and often needing to stand aloof from any one religion in an effort to see beyond the possible divisions of dogmas or the potential veils of devotion. It is through that lens that this article is written. Though Mel's Gibson's The Passion of the Christ is an impressive
achievement, what distinguishes it from other attempts at describing the
Passion is the graphic depiction of Jesus' ordeal. It is after all the
story of a sacrifice, and given that Christianity is a religion of love and tolerance, it is a sacrifice based in love. And this is where the issues become tricky. To believers it becomes a movie about love since only love could allow anyone to endure such torture. But because in this case the depiction of the ordeal is, to use Mr. Gibson's own description, "extreme", it looks that, however subtly, the spiritual values inherent in a religion that is based on love may, for many, be eclipsed by the filmmaker's point of view. As an L.A. Times article put it, "In the midst of all the gore, it's unclear how well Christ's messages of tolerance will come through"
The movie reinforces, and for some even explains, Christian dogma. In
doing so, it gives indications that it can deepen faith and devotion. It
would thus involve emotions that much more. Should this assumption hold
validity, we ought to ask whether or not the deepened devotion would
encumber the open-minded-open-hearted outlook required to develop insights into the topics the movie deals with, love, sacrifice, the divine will, obedience, suffering, salvation, redemption. Were it to, it would also encumber our grasp of the spiritual values these topics represent, values that regardless of what, if any, religion they stem from make us into better people or into a less fractured society. Film is a mass medium and the movie is made for general release. At a time when the U.S. is described as polarized, in a culture war and at a low point of popularity abroad, its impact on the general public and on the society at large is a legitimate inquiry. Mr. Gibson did not overtly choose to make a movie about love or about the message of Christianity, but one solely about the crucifixion, certainly a core tenet to being a Christian but also one that stands to be better comprehended through the context of the whole of Jesus' life. With its emphasis on its last 12 hours, the movie prompts a question: Which can best be used to represent the meaning of Christianity, the symbol of the crucified Christ or that of the more contemporary resurrected Christ? While the former tends to appeal to more visceral emotions, the latter tends to open the heart. While a crucified Christ seems to evoke notions of death and underline religious faith, a resurrected Christ seems to speak to life and underline spirituality. Too, it somehow more easily bridges the gap with non-Christians-not a small benefit in a religious climate where tolerance is far too fragile. On a more abstract level the movie becomes the catalyst for us to revisit the relationship between necessarily circumscribed religious dogma and the inclusiveness of spiritual values, a dynamic currently at work in several parts of the world, and one that perhaps sheds light on why religions have tended to divide and spirituality has worked to unite.
Web Site of Interest: www.bartleby.com
Literature and a lot More
Some web sites are more useful than others, and this one is among them. It is about books, and not only covers a wide range of subjects, it also has a big selection of works which one can read on line, the entire Harvard Classics Shelf of Literature for example. One can read Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River's Anthology as easily as Mark Twain Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog or Henry James' Portrait of a Lady. What also makes the site useful is its large reference section. Besides the obligatory dictionary, thesaurus, Bible and encyclopedia, there are also Fannie Farmer's cookbook, Gray's Anatomy and works by Shakespeare. Sites about books are often commercial and except for what seems its undue share of pop up ads this one is not. Although most works are 2, 3 or 4 clicks away, the site is easy to navigate and by the time one gets to the wanted book one still feels glad the site exists.
To Ponder On
Literature and a lot More
In Santo Domingo little Rebeca Martinez was born with a partially formed
head attached to her own. The brain of the conjoined head was growing
faster than Rebeca's and the pressure on her own brain made it imperative
that the conjoined head be removed. If not, she would not be able to raise her head a few weeks hence. Although conjoined twins have successfully been separated, such an operation had never been done before and a team of surgeons headed by Dr. Jorge Lazareff, director of pediatric neurosurgery at UCLA Mattel's Children's Hospital, flew to the Dominican Republic. While the 18 hours operation was a success, the post-operative stress was too much for the 7 weeks old baby. She died a few hours later. And yet it is not a sad story. Maybe somewhere deep down we know that in seven weeks Rebeca's life accomplished more than many do in seven decades. She had a purpose and fulfilled it. No doubt she touched the hearts of her parents, Franklin and Maria, of her doctors, of the other team members, of the staff of Cure International, a Lemoyne, PA charitable organization that paid for the operation and which helps disabled children in developing countries, as well as that of many others. Somehow in touching so many hearts, including perchance our own, we pause and realize that her story fills us with love and her life helps us touch something good.
A Larger View is published by the Inner\Outer Partnership, a tax-exempt educational organization addressing issues of higher values. We are funded through donations. Please send yours-as well as any comments-to P.O.Box 1293, Pac. Pal. CA 90272-1293. Also contact us by email at innerouter@earthlink.net or call 310-8367710 or visit our web site at www.innerouterpartnership.org
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