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Nobody for President

Nobody for president? Anti-establishment votes winning the day

Fresno Bee, May 14, 2016

  • Republicans are discovering the wisdom of George Carlin and the counterculture
  • Cynicism is a common thread in American politics
  • Voting is difficult when our choices are limited

Henry Ford told his customers they could have a car painted in any color, so long as it was black. That’s a Hobson’s choice. It’s a joke, not a choice.

Something similar is confronting California Republicans. They can choose any candidate they want, provided his name is Donald Trump. Our late primary means that Californians are stuck with a Hobson’s choice.

Some Republicans are fed up. Jeb Bush said he won’t vote for Donald Trump or for Hillary Clinton. The whole Bush family is planning to boycott the Republican convention. And Mitt Romney has said he will not vote for Clinton or Trump.

Romney explained, “I wish we had better choices, and I keep hoping that somehow things will get better, and I just don’t see an easy answer from where we are now.”

Obit CarlinMany of us wish we had better choices. For long decades, we’ve wished for better choices all the way back to when Romney and the Bushes were running things.

Most of us showed up to the polls and cast our ballots anyway, naively thinking that this is what citizenship required.

But a growing number of Americans are taking the advice of the late comedian George Carlin. Carlin proudly proclaimed that he never voted. He described voting as a meaningless exercise in self-gratification. He said he would rather get his jollies doing something more productive.

Carlin would have loved the irony of Romney and the Bushes ending up in his camp. He famously declared, “They call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”

That sort of cynicism is now mainstream. Republican lions are echoing the sentiments of the radicals they would have once disparaged. This election is creating some very strange bedfellows.

Cynics and anti-establishment types have long argued that voting is a mug’s game. A hundred years ago, the anarchist Emma Goldman suggested that if voting changed anything they wouldn’t let us do it. Radicals routinely complain that rich power brokers narrow the field for the masses before we get a ballot. This populist anti-establishment idea is exactly what has propelled Trump and Bernie Sanders into the limelight.

What is remarkable and appalling is the fact that a cynical anti-voting message is exploding in the heart of the establishment. This is a bad sign for the health of our democracy.

THERE IS SOMETHING SYMBOLIC ABOUT A VOTE FOR PRESIDENT. OUR LEADERS SHOULD ATTEND TO THIS SYMBOLISM. THE NEXT GENERATION OF VOTERS IS WATCHING.

Protest votes and abstentions have always existed. But it is ominous when leading politicians, including former presidents and presidential candidates, pick up their marbles and go home. What kind of a message does that send to young people who are being introduced to our democracy?

Young people have often embraced the anti-establishment idea of a protest vote. The icon of Mad Magazine, Alfred E. Neuman, was a protest, write-in candidate in the 1950s and ’60s. In the ’70s, a psychedelic clown from the Bay Area named Wavy Gravy led a campaign to elect “Nobody for President.”

The Nobody for President campaign continues in 2016 with a website that explains its goal. “If a majority of people voted for ‘None of the Above’ rather than ‘voting for the lesser of two evils,’ it might force a situation where Americans would have to find someone competent to lead them.”

The fact that Wavy Gravy and Mitt Romney have stumbled upon a similar idea is enough to make you fear the second coming of George Carlin. These may be the last days of a once-great democracy.

But this side of the apocalypse, the lesser-of-two-evils argument, is worth considering. Is Clinton really worse than Trump? A non-vote could end up getting Trump elected. Are Bush and Romney willing to tolerate that?

A common cliché says that if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain. Carlin claimed the opposite. He said that voters have no right to complain. His cheeky point was that by voting you endorse the process and shouldn’t complain about its outcome.

I doubt that anyone will stop complaining anytime soon. Democracy is more than voting – complaining is part of it, as is comedy. But there is something symbolic about a vote for president. Our leaders should attend to this symbolism. The next generation of voters is watching.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/andrew-fiala/article77421877.html#storylink=cpy
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David Brooks and the Younger Generation

David Brooks, Rory Appleton remind us to celebrate generations

Fresno Bee, May 7, 2016

It’s tough to be young. In a recent column, Rory Appleton asks us to ease up on criticizing youths. He’s right. Rents are rising and job prospects are limited. Political dysfunction, terrorism and ecological disaster haunt the world that our youths will inherit. Meanwhile, we elders gripe and grumble about their music, technology, fashion and work ethic.

The older generation can’t – or won’t – understand the culture and attitudes of the young. Nor can we seem to get out of their way. Or keep our mouths shut.

Old folks have always lamented the moral failings of the young. Plato criticized Athenian youths. Seneca complained that Roman youths failed to restrain their impulses.

Each generation also regrets its own adolescent indiscretions. The 25th Psalm begs, “do not remember the sins of my youth.” Augustine rued the restless turbulence of his own unbridled youth. We project our regrets onto our children, hoping they will not make the same mistakes we have made.

Brooks_New-articleInlineI have been thinking about this while reading David Brooks’ new book, “The Road to Character.” Brooks is a New York Times columnist and PBS regular. He will speak at Fresno State on May 10. His book outlines a path to moral maturity while providing critical insight into American culture.

Brooks is nostalgic for a time when people were more interested in their souls than their résumés. He thinks that fawning parents have spoiled today’s children by incessantly telling their kids how “special” they are. He laments a narcissistic culture in which shallow self-esteem floats free of depth of character. And he dwells upon the idea that virtue must be built with great effort from the crooked timber of the human spirit.

I don’t agree with everything he suggests. But Brooks does offer perennial wisdom about a meaningful life. Work hard. Don’t crumble with adversity. Find a calling. Devote yourself to others. Be modest and disciplined. Find redemptive assistance from outside yourself. Accept the gifts of grace with gratitude and humility.

Maturity is the final step on the road to character. Brooks explains, “a mature person possesses a settled unity of purpose. The mature person has moved from fragmentation to centeredness, has achieved a state in which the restlessness is over, the confusion about the meaning and purpose of life is calmed.”

I’ve been discussing the book with students. Some feel Brooks unfairly picks on their generation. And like Rory Appleton, they generally worry that moralistic old codgers don’t understand their plight.

TO YOUTHS, I OFFER THIS APOLOGY: WE PREACH BECAUSE WE LOVE YOU.

It’s never easy to be young. Nor is it easy for old people to stop pontificating. Old folks feel that we know something about life and its meaning. But we forget that life is an adventure to be lived.

We want to save our children from regret. But young life is impetuous, audacious and experimental. Dynamic young people run and leap down the road. Sometimes they stumble. But failure is part of the process.

Young people need to make their own mistakes. Regrets and failures provide the soil for success. Maturity is a great gift. But it only grows out of the school of hard knocks.

Of course, youths won’t heed our sage advice. Hindsight only develops after the voracious eyes of youth grow dim. And wise words from graybeards don’t resonate in young ears. To age with grace is to allow the young their day in the sun.

EACH GENERATION REGRETS ITS OWN ADOLESCENT INDISCRETIONS.

The fruits of each season are unique. An unbridled elder is an embarrassment. But a prematurely sober child is tragic.

The glory of youth is carefree enthusiasm and reckless abandon. The exuberant joy of innocent adolescents is something to savor. Too soon, life’s cruel necessities require sober maturity.

Mellow moderation grows from the scars and callouses of life. Eventually life demands discipline, humility and acceptance. But there is no need to rush on the road to maturity.

To youths, I offer this apology: We preach because we love you. We know the challenges you will face in the world we created. If we could spare you tears and regrets, we would. Take our advice when you are ready. And when we finally get out of your way, I hope you make us proud.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/andrew-fiala/article76068392.html#storylink=cpy
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Restroom politics

We all need clean, well-lit place to heed call of nature

Fresno Bee, April 30, 2016

  • Transgender toilet issue points toward larger question of bathroom ethics
  • Equality, access, justice and basic hygiene are important issues
  • Recommendations for restroom reconstruction are considered

Transgender people appeal to a basic principle of excretory equality. We build special stalls for the handicapped. Why not also help transgender people? A bathroom revolution would help trans people and the rest of us as well.

Lavatory access is far from equal. Those long, slow lines for the ladies room at public events are not fair. Women suffer from a toilet deficit. The men who wait for these ladies suffer also.

Unisex bathrooms would solve these problems. This works at outdoor festivals, where the port-a-potty lines are gender neutral. Our home toilets are not segregated by sex. A unisex bathroom revolution seems like a no-brainer.

Critics worry about public safety. The Rev. Franklin Graham opposes transgender bathroom access, warning that we need to “protect young girls, boys, and women from sexual predators and perverts.”

Of course, perverts can haunt mono-sex facilities. One solution is bathroom attendants. Unisex toilets in European cities are staffed by attendants. That might deter the predators. Attendants also keep the place clean. This is as important as equality and safety. After we solve the transgender issue, let’s move on to basic hygiene.

You can judge the quality of a culture by the cleanness of its commodes. I’d love a politician to promise an unsoiled seat for everyone and soap in every dispenser.

While we’re at it, here are some reminders of toilet etiquette. Be discrete, be quick and be clean. Flush when done. Keep the seat dry. If you use the last piece of paper, change the roll. And don’t forget the most important imperative of lavatory virtue: wash your hands.

As we reconstruct our toilet culture, I suggest eliminating urinals. They are messy and, frankly, a bit weird – especially the open-trough variety. In the meantime, some men need lessons in urinal decorum. Leave a space, where possible, between yourself and the next guy. Stand as close to the device as you can. Don’t look at what the other guy is doing. Please don’t start up a conversation. And stop pretending that using a urinal absolves you from the need to wash your hands.

The challenges of excretory ethics could be solved with proper education. Universities are leading the way. Unisex bathrooms already exist on some campuses. In dorms on some campuses, there are co-ed bathrooms where men and women attend to their needs side by side – yes, even showering in closed stalls.

I’ve heard that this helps keep things clean. Men do a better job of cleaning up after themselves when they share the facilities with women. After all, that’s how it works at home. A gentleman always puts the seat back down.

THE GOLDEN RULE APPLIES IN THE BATHROOM. LEAVE THE TOILET AS YOU WOULD HAVE OTHERS LEAVE IT FOR YOU. WHEN YOU MAKE A MESS, CLEAN IT UP. WASH YOUR HANDS. AND HAVE COMPASSION FOR THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE ANYWHERE TO GO.

Basic bathroom justice should also be considered. The transgender issue is an important reminder of the need for access. But there are fewer transgender people than there are poor, toilet-less people. About 700,000 people in the U.S. are transgendered. Nearly three times that many Americans do not have a working bathroom. 1.6 million Americans live in homes that lack indoor plumbing. Another half a million are homeless. That means that about 2.1 million people lack a private, indoor toilet.

Meanwhile, the affluent enjoy luxurious facilities. The number of toilets per house is growing. It used to be standard to have one bathroom for an entire family. Newer homes now have three and even four bathrooms. The average person goes to the bathroom once every four hours. In some houses you could use a different toilet each time the need arises, while just down the street homeless people can’t find anywhere to go.

It must be tough to be transgendered, homeless or toilet-less. Imagine the indignity of finding yourself locked out when nature calls. We all need a clean, well-lighted place to heed the call of nature.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/andrew-fiala/article74494232.html#storylink=cpy

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Earth Day

Earth Day reminds us of the challenges of cooperation

Fresno Bee, April 22, 2016

  • Earth Day was not always on the same date
  • The history of Earth Day shows us the challenges we face
  • The goal is peace, justice and living well on a stormy Earth

 April 22 is Earth Day. Or is it? People disagree.

One version of the Earth Day story begins with a peace activist named John McConnell. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, McConnell came up with the idea of pausing for a “Minute for Peace.” This idea evolved. In 1969, McConnell proposed the idea of celebrating an entire day dedicated to what he called “Earth-keeping.”Activists celebrate the global climate change agreement reached in December 2015 in Paris. Officials from more than 170 nations came to New York on Earth Day to sign the pact in a ceremony at the United Nations.

McConnell was inspired by a picture of the Earth taken from space that appeared on the cover of Life in 1969. McConnell designed an “Earth flag” using that image. He set the date for Earth Day as March 21, 1970, the vernal equinox.

Meanwhile, Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. senator from Wisconsin, had a similar idea. In 1969, Nelson proposed the idea of a national environmental teach-in to be held on April 22, 1970. Nelson called this “Earth Day” without giving McConnell credit. McConnell was encouraged to sue. But a lawsuit was against his idealistic principles.

Nelson is now widely viewed as the father of Earth Day. He explained his vision of Earth Day in 1970 as creating “an environment of decency, quality and mutual respect for all other human beings and all other living creatures.”

For many years, the United Nations commemorated Earth Day on the equinox, as McConnell had imagined. But the April 22 date has caught on. This year, for example, the latest international climate change agreement – the Paris Agreement – was open for signatures Friday.

The date of Earth Day is unimportant – after all, Nelson and McConnell were both on the same side and agreed about much. But the fact that we squabble about a date reminds us that there is always more than one point of view – even among like-minded people. McConnell was an idealist. His original Earth Day proclamation called for love as well as peace and justice. Nelson was more pragmatic and political. He was more strategic and incremental in his approach.

OUR PETTY SQUABBLES AND POLITICAL MACHINATIONS ARE MERE DUST IN THE COSMIC WIND. THE STORMS OF EARTH WILL EVENTUALLY OVERTAKE EVERY SPECIES. THE CHALLENGE IS TO LIVE WELL WITHIN THE MAELSTROM.

If this sort of conflict arises among folks who basically agree, we might despair of creating truly planetary cooperation. But we might also suggest that friendly disputes and mutual competition are actually beneficial. They provide us with motivation and inspiration. At any rate, a good idea remains a good idea, no matter who thought it up. And Earth Day is important regardless of the date.

To my mind, the vernal equinox is nicely symbolic as a moment of planetary equipoise. The April 22 date has no symbolic resonance. It was originally chosen because of practical scheduling concerns. Some critics complain that April 22 is unfortunate because it is also Vladimir Lenin’s birthday.

But on the other hand, this is the day after John Muir’s birthday, which is April 21. Long before the Earth was photographed from space, Muir had imagined viewing the Earth from a cosmic vantage point. He wrote, “when we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.”

Muir’s image is worth consideration. He sees beauty in the cosmic storm. The Earth is indeed a tempestuous planet. It is a closed ecosystem containing antagonistic elements. There is conflict throughout the whole. The shining dewdrop of earth also contains nature red in tooth and claw. Competition is woven into the web of life.

Our petty squabbles and political machinations are mere dust in the cosmic wind. The storms of Earth will eventually overtake every species. The challenge is to live well within the maelstrom.

McConnell’s Earth Day proclamation wanted to create “a global feeling of community” and awareness of “our mutual dependence on each other.” This may seem like a nostalgic hippie dream. But more recent globalization means that viruses, pollution and new ideas are of planetary concern. We are increasingly aware of our terrestrial interdependence.

This should lead us to be more sensitive to the fragile balance of the whole. We have no choice but to care for the Earth and each other. The storm clouds are gathering. And there is nowhere else for us to go.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/andrew-fiala/article73310167.html#storylink=cpy
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Tax Reform

Couldn’t we find a better way to collect taxes?

Fresno Bee, April 15, 2016

  • The tax system provokes anxiety
  • A simplified tax code would inspire confidence
  • Tax day could be a patriotic holiday

Revelations about offshore tax havens and tax evasion do not inspire confidence. A recent story indicates that 20 percent of profitable American corporations don’t pay any tax. Loopholes and exemptions benefit some. But most of us pay, without imagining ways to evade the tax collector.

Taxation leaves us cold. Voting warms the heart. The Fourth of July is fun. But no one celebrates tax day or pledges allegiance to the IRS. The country might benefit from a rebranded tax system.

April is certainly a good month to reflect on taxation. According to the Tax Foundation, Tax Freedom Day will occur this year on April 24. That’s when we will have paid off our collective tax bill. April 19 is Patriot’s Day, which commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, fought in 1775. Emancipation Day is celebrated in Washington, D.C., on April 16, commemorating the emancipation of slaves in the District of Columbia in 1862. These holidays are among the reason our taxes are not due this year until April 18.

Why not combine all of this in a patriotic holiday that celebrates liberty and the need to pay for it? Some libertarians may object that taxation is a form of slavery. But real slavery involves whips and chains. Taxation may be a drag. But it is not slavery. Instead, it is the cost of living in our country.

Of course, no one pays more than the minimum. And if you don’t pay, you’ll get arrested. If taxation is not quite slavery, it is also not a freely given gift. But taxes pay for obvious benefits: schools, roads, insurance and protection.

Not everyone agrees about how our tax dollars are spent or how much should be collected. Our elected representatives are supposed to make sure that there is no taxation without representation. They might also consider simplifying the tax code.

Even for those who understand taxation as a civic obligation, tax documents are infuriating. Those brave and deluded souls who file their own tax returns confront a system as convoluted as anything Franz Kafka could have imagined.

IN THE END, THEY KNOW WHAT WE OWE. SO WHY CAN’T THEY SEND US A SIMPLE BILL, AND SAVE US HOURS OF TEDIOUS TAX PREPARATION?

Kafka’s characters often suffer at the hands of alienating bureaucracies. Kafka once said, “the chains of tormented mankind are made out of red tape.” The tormenting red tape of April flows out of the dreaded 1040 form, its inscrutable instructions, and its tiresome schedules.

The problem begins with the impersonal and unimaginative name for this document. Why is it called “1040”? For that matter, who named the W-2 and 1099 forms? The authors of these torturous documents should be given a course in basic composition. Alienating and bureaucratic jargon infect the whole. The taxpayer is victim to indecipherable prose.

Leaving rhetoric aside, you would think that the government would simply tell us what we owe. Other bill collectors send an invoice. But income tax returns are different. You tell the government what you think you owe.

The IRS already has some idea, of course. They have our W-2s, 1099s and the withholding taxes we’ve paid. It is up to you to inform them of adjustments, deductions and exemptions. The process is absurdly convoluted. When you make a mistake on your return, the government sends a correction. In the end, they know what we owe. So why can’t they send us a simple bill, and save us hours of tedious tax preparation?

One explanation looks to the interests of tax accountants. A 2013 report from the Sunlight Foundation indicates that the tax preparation industry spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying against proposals to simplify the tax system. According to one industry website, the tax preparation industry generated $9 billion in revenue in 2012, with expected growth toward $11 billion in 2018.

April is certainly a good month for accountants. It is also a good month to reflect on the cost of good government and the need for a transparent tax system. Our byzantine tax code and its loopholes provoke angst and outrage. Liberty is lost in this labyrinth.

They say that nothing is certain except death and taxes. But there are better and worse ways to die. And there should be a better way to collect taxes.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/andrew-fiala/article72043462.html#storylink=cpy