|
It
was reported today that President Obama confronted the president
of China, Hu Jintao, about China’s human rights record.
There
is no question that China’s record on human rights is
nothing to be proud of, but by my way of thinking, Obama’s
record on human rights ought to have earned him his walking
papers by now… by way of impeachment .
This is not to say that his record is any worse than
his predecessor’s, but it surely isn’t any better.
Bush and his entourage ought to have been impeached
early on in his administration and they ought now to be
languishing in prison for the lies they told and crimes they
committed.
For
the principles of truth and justice are universal.
Principles of justice and the truth do not change with
the latitude, longitude or time frame.
The principles of justice, as humanity has discovered
and enumerated them, in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, for example, are steadfast.
It’s only our national character that is not
steadfast. The
truth I am talking about is not some philosophical
unattainable idealistic TRUTH, but rather the simple honor of
having our words, knowledge, understanding, and behavior, all
tempered by intellectual integrity and all being in alignment
with one another.
But
everywhere we look we see people actively deceiving
themselves, each other, and us… particularly those who
hold the most honored positions of trust, power, and
responsibility in our society.
This
state of affairs is a prescription for absolute failure...
it’s a betrayal of life itself.
The ability to tell the simple honest truth of one’s
own understanding is all that’s needed and all that’s
missing. We are a
people afraid of the truth… we are afraid of the
consequences of acknowledging the truth... because of the
mistakes we’ve already made. We fear the loss of
respect, our job, our money, our reputation, whatever... if
the truth be known. Our
fear of being boldly honest with ourselves and others is
destroying our nation and our children’s future.
Unfortunately,
those whose job it is to monitor how they themselves carry out
their duties, almost to a person, have lost the ability to
feel, think, or behave honorably in relation to the
responsibilities with which they’ve been entrusted.
Of
course, the American people especially have a duty to monitor
the behavior of elected officials and to hold them accountable
when they fail to honor their oath of office.
But most citizens, like their elected officials, are
preoccupied with other concerns and are unable to respond
appropriately to their responsibility as citizens.
And so, We The People are descending now in an
accelerating death spiral, heading towards our demise as a
sovereign people, having lost sight of our purpose and
birthright.
Obama
indirectly made reference to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in his comments to the
President of China. Anyone
who has read and understands that document, and has also
followed the policies that this administration has pursued
since it came to power (words spoken by the President
notwithstanding) should instantly recognize the extreme level
of hypocrisy to which this President, has
stooped. He's not
alone. How many citizens or elected officials
have even read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Tragically...
too few.
If
history does not bear me out
in this… if we are unable to turn this tragedy
around… it will only mean that our progeny will have lost
their freedom, their heritage and their birthright.
It will mean that those who came before–having
given their blood in the cause of truth, honor, decency and
liberty–will
have bled and died and failed...
Return to
Commentaries
|