Life’s Rights

I’m a bastard. Literally.

In rural Indiana in the summer of 1946 a thirty-three year old married housewife and mother of two had an affair. Lonely and ignored for the prior 10 years she toiled daily to make a home for her two teenage children and have dinner on the table every night for a neglectful cheating husband. They had not been intimate for a decade. But then it was 1946. It was not a situation where a woman had many options.

In the fall of that year, the housewife had an affair. She soon found herself pregnant. She cried daily for a month. Told no one. The father of the unborn child was also married. A home delivery worker and the father of two girls. Good looking. Charismatic. 

The woman, all of 98 pounds, knew this ‘secret’ would not be a secret much longer. She had to tell someone soon. She cried.

Six weeks into her pregnancy she told the father. He was devastated.  He could not leave his wife and children. He thought he knew where she could get an abortion. He would help pay for it. 

The housewife, raised Catholic, had wandered from the church long ago. But some of those teachings remain like ghosts in your conscience.  She decided to tell her husband.

The husband went into a rage. He threw the woman out of his home. She barely had time to pack. She spent the night in a seedy motel.

A week passed then another. The father helped the woman with small amounts of money.  Her seventeen year old son brought groceries when he could sneak them out. She looked for a job. No one would hire a pregnant woman in her 30's. 

Several weeks had past when the husband came to her. The house was a mess. He had not had a good meal in weeks. The kids were solemn and distant. No one had clean clothes. He needed her back. All would be forgiven if she got an abortion. Although illegal in Indiana, they were not hard to come by. He would pay for it. Nobody had to know. She could come home.

The woman spent that night crying again; her biggest sorrow being her two children, now without a mother at home.  She went to a pay phone and called the husband. She would have the baby. It was up to him if she could come home. He said ‘never’ and hung up. They did not speak again for 12 years.

The father, to his credit, continued to assist with meager funds. But he was not going to acknowledge the child. The woman worked part time for a house cleaning service until she could not. She and the father drifted apart before she gave birth at 2:00am on May 24, 1947. The boy born that day is writing this post.

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I consider myself a progressive. Fiscally conservative. An atheist/humanist. In theory I support a woman’s right to choose. In practice, I may owe my life to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

I think about it often. I now have three children and a grandchild. Only one of which my mother ever met before her early death from lung cancer. I think about my mother’s choice and wonder if I support the fact that, under current law, she could have legally chose to abort.

I have come to peace with my support of a woman’s right to choose. While I reel at the thought of being ‘canceled’ before I was ever born, I must ask myself: Would I have wanted my mother to make her decision to have me based on her faith and convictions - her love for me – or would I rather the government tell her she must?

Does the fact that she did have a choice make my life any more valuable? No. Of course not. But it puts my life in context. In perspective. No one can argue the impact a loving mother has on her children. I experienced a love that came through sacrifice and pain that many women have had to cope with. Her love was unconditional.

I will never let anyone forget I was a choice.

JWB

America - Heal Thyself

The U.S. Constitution puts forth the proposition that we are all entitled to ‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’.  When Thomas Jefferson first wrote those words in 1776 such a thought was so progressive and astonishing that it is said the King of England laughed when he read it.

The thought that someone has the ‘right’ to be happy? Come on. Really?

Yea. Really.

Since its inception the Constitution of the United States of America has been a model of progressive ideals. I find humor in the fact that so many conservative politicians identify with “The Founding Fathers” ideals. Most of them are not even close.

Besides the rule of law, a free press and our democratic institutions, the Constitution affords us unalienable rights to Life and Happiness. If adequate and equal healthcare does not fall in that definition, then nothing does.  Life is dependent on heath.  As my grandfather used to say: “You are nothing without your health!”   

I have no magic bullet for universal healthcare in this country. Obama came close – but penalties for not insuring yourself? Really? Every time we use tax laws and bureaucratic triangulation to solve our problems, we are bound to fall short of expectations.

Medicare for all might work – but its expense could be crippling – even for the wealthiest country in the world. Not to mention it results in de facto nationalization of insurance companies.  

Free enterprise and competition has always been a pathway to the best possible products at the lowest possible costs. Only when the government steps in with laws and regulations that stifle competition do we falter; like giving drug companies exclusive patent rights to life saving drugs – then they price gouge patients and insurance companies because they have no competition.  

One of the most egregious parts of Obamacare was the limits on profits that insurance companies could claim.  A certain percentage of all premiums paid had to go directly to claims. This may sound good on the surface, but it is socialistic as hell. Regulation is one thing – control is something else altogether. Controlling business and markets has always had unintended consequences. 

The same was true with the Obamacare provisions that taxed people who choose not to have insurance. This too was very socialist in nature and not at all what I would call 'progressive'. 

Obamacare was progressive in respect to eliminating eligibility requirements for hi-risk individuals and those with prior or existing conditions.  But it did little to promote good health or lower drug costs. 

Rather than managing healthcare with individual taxes, market regulations and price controls, maybe we need to take the gloves off altogether.   

Make insurance companies compete and give them tax incentives to be the lowest cost, highest quality providers under a progressive federal plan. Eliminate drug patent protection for any drug costing more than $100 a dose.  Make all states allow and honor policies from insurance companies registered with the federal plan.  

I'm sure there are a dozen more things we can do to give incentives to private insurance companies to adopt the McD volume model (McDonald's found they would rather make .50 cents a piece on a million burgers, than two dollars a piece on a thousand).  The secret is accessible quality - in volume.  The internet is an excellent framework to make this possible for health insurance.

We are smart enough to make something work. I just know it.

JWB

45 & The Rule of Law

We live in a time in which America is changing before our eyes. I am 'typically' a conservative at heart. But as I write this, a sitting U.S. President (#45) acts as much an adolescent as my seventeen year old and offers obnoxious rhetoric daily - and many of my friends and family love him.   

The President is Donald Trump and the time is 2019. Contrary to the belief of many pundits, I believe Trump is not the reason for the change. He is the result of what has not changed.

Those that gravitate to this man’s inept behavior are not ignorant backwoods yokels or inbred losers. They make up 50% of voting Americans. They are lawmakers, first responders, doctors, lawyers, CEOs, professionals, retirees,....

Within my family Trump supporters are ninety percent college graduates. Several are millionaires a few times over. All are religious - or at least profess to be. They send their children to religious colleges and preach their philosophy to them. Their discourse cloaked in abstracts, they swear (on a bible of course) that they are not bigots or racist “...In any way”. "Not a racist bone in my body..." - a sure testament to bigotry.

They used to live in a social closet where they consorted with only like-minded ‘friends’. They ‘understand’ why Nazi’s and white nationalists exist. Welfare is a four letter word. All taxes are liberal waste. Climate change is natural. They are Trump zealots. To them Trump is the white right’s counter to Obama and everything he stood for. The closet is open.

At this writing, Trump is becoming so bold as to think he is a dictator of sorts. So deep and aggressive is his support within the alt-right he appears to be trying to invite impeachment.  Through not so subtle references and innuendo - if he is impeached or voted out of office - he is sowing seeds of discontent and even possible armed conflict. And he just might be able to pull it off, if my family and friends are any indication.

So how did a country of progressives (the entire American system of government was very progressive for its time 250 years ago) enter into an era teetering on the edge of chaos? The answer is as simple as its rise is complex: Social media.

Social media did not create anti-progressive leanings or bigotry or bias. It simply enables what was once marginalized to enter the mainstream. Social media has all but replaced legacy progressive media. 

During its rise, the secret to getting attention in this new medium was to be anti-progressive and anti-establishment. This trend was very evident to several traditional media outlets that realized the time was right to make lots of money from, and obtain a position of power with, those on the fringe. A leader among these was Fox News. They were certainly not alone. There were many purveyors of white right bias and nationalism long before Fox News found the pliable Mr. Trump.

Fox News’ opposition to Obama due to his race and namesake was obvious and palpable during his presidency. That made them stand out. Exactly what they wanted. Apparently, the thought process was that progressive government was going to kill the America that was built by, well, former progressives.  While the rationale seems a bit sketchy - the results were not. 

The popularity of releasing the pent up self-importance of the white right went viral. Numerous conspiracy and alt-right social media outlets prevailed and they fed off each other. The outbreak became a feeding frenzy of self interest - and popularity. Facts be damned. It was making many people powerful and popular - people that would never have been heard of otherwise. Under pressure from friends and family many whites that were on the moderate fence fell to the right.

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Many believe the cornerstone of the American system of democracy is the right to vote. While the most visible right we enjoy, it is not the cornerstone. The cornerstone of our unique America is, and shall always be, our Rule of Law.  

The phrase ‘Rule of Law’ is steeped in mystery to many. It has not always lived up to its promise. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are the mouthpiece for the Rule of Law. The Constitution is supposed to guarantee a balance of power, free press, no religious bias, equality under the law, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  All of which was as progressive as you could get back in 1776 - as it still is in much of today’s world.

When conservatives cite what the founding fathers intended, they often pervert the truth. What they intended was a progressive nation that could move forward through any obstacle, threat or injustice. The promise of the Rule of Law was not a guarantee; it’s simply a tool kit. How we use it is up to us.

The alt-right led by Trump is threatening the Rule of Law in a manner which has not been seen since the days of Joe McCarthy.  It would not have been possible without social media.

Nothing about our unique and progressive constitution or the Rule of Law stands in the way of social media. Lies, fabrications, fake conspiracies and otherwise ‘fake news’ abounds.  Enemies of the Rule of Law and our progressive form of government (both foreign and domestic) have learned to use this new tool effectively. They call truth lies, and lies truth. Where the thoughtful and reasonable person reads an obviously fabricated story and laughs, half of America finds a call to arms - their bias reinforced.  It’s scary.

So what to do?  How do we keep one of the most popular, important social inventions of our time healthy?  How can we insure reality and truth are protected in social media discourse - while protecting freedom of speech, opinion and dissent?

The 2020 presidential campaign may end up being the biggest test yet for the progressive experiment that is America. If it goes the way it might – it could put our nation’s vulnerable social fabric on life support.

The solution does not - and cannot - rely on government.  A complete solution does not exist. However a big step may lie with the press itself. It's my belief we need an independent better business bureau of news publishers. A place where any story or theory can be tested; verified; Given a weighted score of accuracy and fact:  Clearly marked fact, fiction or opinion. And it needs to be paid for by - and staffed from - leading media outlets - printed and electronic. All of them. If a ‘source of truth’ is not a member of the bureau, you need to take the information with a grain of salt. This needs to be advertised and marketed aggressively..

There are online ‘Fact Checking’ resources available today. But most of them are aligned with legacy progressive media or publications. That makes many call into question the facts presented.  More to the point - fact checking sources are not as accessible as the social media trolls. Real facts are not often advertised as 'news'. So if you are like 80% of America that gets information pushed to them - they never see the facts unless they pull them from another source. 

The key to making an independent fact bureau work is for all major media outlets to subscribe and give carte blanche to the bureau to review any story or article published regardless of sources, copywrites, etc.. Members must provide support for, and links to, the bureau website in all their publications and broadcasts.

Would an independent fact bureau be difficult to establish? Oh yes. Competitive? Combative? Controversial? Hell yes. But - a poison and false social media will slowly crumble our society and its institutions. And the first to fall will be the fifth estate. They need to be the first to fight in this conflict.

Have a better idea? Let me know.

JWB

And yes, I have a seventeen year old. Don’t ask.