The weapon of words

"But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought."


― George Orwell, 1984


Over the past year, I have thought often of George Orwell's novel "1984."  Certain aspects of Orwell's dystopian vision of the future have lingered with me since I first read his 1949 novel as a high school student, more years ago than I care to discuss.  One of the parts of the book that made a lasting impression on me, far before my political consciousness fully emerged, was the use of doublespeak, language that deliberately distorts or reverses the meaning of words. 

While Rome Burns

Over the past week, multiple articles and editorials have appeared in Madison print and internet media bearing a central theme:  Now that the recall elections are over, we must put divisiveness aside, forget the sins of the recent past, and move forward together.  The corollary to the primary “let’s all get along” theme is the “get over it, you lost” theme directed at the left.  I read these articles and tried to feel the emotion of reconciliation these articles preached.  I really tried.  Yet, I felt nothing but numbness.  I watched as Governor Walker announced his “beer and brat” summit, while at the same time his communications director Ciara Matthews tweeted taunts and insults at the Democrats for the failure of the recall.  Yet I still felt nothing.  Until, that is, I read an essay published by the Wisconsin State Journal/Madison.com on Saturday, June 9th.  The article was written by Kenneth Mayer, a University of Wisconsin political scientist, and was titled “Time for healing to begin.” Upon reading the superficial yet shockingly condescending piece, I felt anger.  And, as is often the case lately, I felt like writing.

Fitzgerald's contempt, redux

Back in January, I wrote an essay entitled "Contempt, thy name is Fitzgerald."  That piece was, in large part, born from the reservoir of moral outrage and disbelief that pooled in my psyche after watching the events that transpired on March 9, 2011 in the halls of the Wisconsin State Capitol.  The horror of bearing witness to Wisconsin democracy dismantled in the dark of night was a major influence in my decision to start writing this blog.  I also had a front row seat to many of the incredible stories of the Wisconsin protests, and I did not want these stories lost to the passage of time and fading of memory.

Lord of the Flies

"The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away."


                       - William Golding, Lord of the Flies


Question of the day:   What interest would a corporate lobbyist group have in expanding the rights of citizens to shoot and kill each other?

A great deal has been written about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin and Bo Morrison over the past several weeks.  I don't need to rehash that conversation, as there is little I can offer regarding specific facts of those cases.  What I would like to do instead is examine why these Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground Laws have been promoted with such enthusiasm by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

As Lincoln weeps

The morning after the Illinois Republican primary, I was running on a treadmill at my gym watching the morning news.  I just can't stomach Morning Joe on MSNBC anymore, particularly after watching Scarborough pander to the sociopath Grover Norquist while Norquist shamelessly peddled his new book entitled "Poor Children Deserve to Die."  Ok, the book is actually called "Debacle," which is a wonderfully fitting title for a book by the guy who somehow convinced countless politicians to sign a pledge that he conceived when he was twelve years old.   Therefore, I grudgingly settled on CNN to accompany my morning run.  The lead story at the top of the hour was Mitt Romney's win in the Illinois primary.

One year later

What an amazing time of reflection and hope this past weekend was in Madison, Wisconsin.  The sneak preview of We Are Wisconsin was shown to a sold out crowd of over 1,300 at the Orpheum Theater.  Unfortunately, hundreds more were turned away, but the movie is sure to return after the film festival circuit and before the summer recall.  Amie, Kathryn, Melissa and the entire team truly captured the very essence of what occurred in Madison a year ago, and the power of the film has lingered with me for days.  On to Toronto in May for the Canadian International Documentary Film Festival.  This weekend also saw 65,000 Wisconsinites gather together at the State Capitol for a truly inspiring anniversary rally.  The speeches were a tremendous mix of reflection and looking forward to a better future.

Right turn only

In my prior post titled "Not your average liberal," I discussed how the incessant compromise on the part of the political left in this country has assisted radical, corporate conservatism in dramatically pushing our political discourse to the far right.  One of the premises of that piece is that we are at the point in our country where positions which were once considered extreme are now considered moderate, and positions which were once considered moderate are now labeled as socialist or communist.

Rachel Maddow did an extraordinary job of explaining this phenomenon a few nights ago on her show on MSNBC.  She validated, with research and facts, the reality of this political shift in a way that leaves little room for argument to the contrary.