Guest Post: Frederick Douglass on the 4th of July and the American Dream, 1852

I hate to be "that guy" on a day of national celebration, pointing out the gross inequities and hypocrisies of an otherwise free and prosperous country. Frederick Douglass had no such qualms, however, in his scathing "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" delivered in Washington D.C. on July 5th, 1852, excerpted here:

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.

Is this sentiment only limited to historical American hypocrisy regarding the slave trade, which President Abraham Lincoln abolished after a bloody civil war? Nay - Susan B. Anthony was not to be outdone, with the National Woman Suffrage Association's "Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States" just 24 years later.

http://news.yahoo.com/y--big-story--lesser-known-truths-about-fourth-of-july.html

As I continue my series on Incarceration in America, here are a couple articles more, food for thought, on this day of liberty. Freedom isn't free - literally and figuratively:


Probation Fees Rise, Firms Profit and the Poor Go to Jail - NYT

Teen on American justice: 'I'm dead' - Sentenced to 162 years in Jail

CR 4TH OF JULY EDITION: 5 GREATEST MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY

A quick post this morning before everyone gets on with their 4th of July celebrations.  With America's mid-summer FESTIVAL OF FREEDOM occurring this year on a Wednesday, time is of the essence.  At least everyone agrees that Thursday, July 5, 2012 will be among the least productive days of the year.

Stephen and I may have our political differences, but as a band of one hit wonders once said, our mutual love for America is like a river running soul deep.  In preparation for the 236th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, we're ranking our top five favorite moments in American history.

These are issued with the qualifier that there was an incomprehensible amount to choose from in this assessment, so while I can't speak for Stephen, my list may be at least as reflective of the first five things that came to my head as it is of a carefully chosen five greatest moments. 

Without further adieu, then, counting down our five greatest moments:   

(5) 

Stephen: US victory over the Axis in WWII - triumph of freedom over fascism

Matt: Going a bit more unconventional with this one, because the Miracle on Ice deserves to be on here somewhere.  If there is one sports victory that symbolizes the story of America, it's the hockey triumph of a team of unheralded amateur Americans over the heavily-favored Russians in the 1980 Olympics.  That the game was in the dregs of the Cold War and had geopolitical significance, even only superficially, makes it all the better.

(4)

Stephen: Manifest Destiny.  The exploration and conquering of the West.

Matt: Building of the railroads, preceded by the building of the canals.  America's first major infrastructure projects, which set the stage for the United States to become an industrial powerhouse.

(3)

Stephen: "We hold these truths to be self evident" - the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and accompanying revolt of a small band of colonists against one of the greatest empires in the history of the world.  From day one it seemed nearly inevitable that this nation would be powerful, if just by the willpower of its people.

Matt: The progressive reform, women's suffrage, and civil rights movements of the 20th century. We've got more work to do, but the task of making good on America's political and economic promises began here.

(2)

Stephen: "One small step" - the NASA moon landing

Matt: Have to agree with Steve here, in addition to a psychological victory over the Soviet Union, the Space Race heralded unprecedented technological advances that remain with us today, including my #1...

(1) 

Stephen: "Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall" the winning of the Cold War, proving economic and political freedom > communism

Matt: The invention of the internet, right here in the United States.  No other modern invention has had such a political, cultural, and economic impact on the world, all while bringing people closer together than ever before.  

If there's something you think we left off the list, be sure to tell us all about it in the comments.   Wherever you are today, be sure to celebrate our great country - if you're looking for a little bit of musical Americana, I would recommend looking no further than one Ray Charles...

Happy Independence Day.

Tuesday Afternoon: ADHD Links

So unlike my typical narrative style links, I wanted to share with you today some links from a variety of different topics that I found interesting over the past few days. Here goes:

The New York Times wrote about how the paralyzed might not be permanently paralyzed for too much longer. I've heard of this technology before and studies where people were able to control computers with sensors plugged to their brains, but this is a huge step. This leap is for controlling robotic limbs with one's mind.

Then there's this in the super-progressive state of Florida: driverless cars are now hitting the road. Florida is just one of a few states that is allowed to test them so far.

But I also found out that wind turbines might not be as great savers of the environment as we thought...turns out that they are responsible for localized climate changes.

Then I read about how smart phones are changing the nature of our cultural spaces.

I also found this interesting about what tastes Chinese consumers have as they grow wealthier.

Finally, to keep up the tech theme here, this article from Forbes really hits the nail on the head as to why the Facebook IPO was such a flop.

Lastly, because I know if I don't post it Matt will twist the sh*t out of it, Dems are revolting against Obama's harshness towards capitalism and Bain; and Mark Cuban thinks the next bubble is in student debt.

Week in Review: Occupy US, Baby

From Guy Fawkes to bin Laden, from Obama to the Titanic, Tommy, Iraq, and the burning
Übermensch, we've covered a lot of ground this week on Conflict Revolution. Don't miss a beat in our weekly countdown:

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1) Matt raises the roof on D.C.'s building height ordinances. Is building skyscrapers (or even just above the 20th floor) just about real estate developer greed? Or is the character of the city itself at stake?

2) Speaking of capitalist hubris - and no, I'm not at even at the May Day socialist posts yet - would you like to take a voyage on the new Titanic?

3) We enter the complex and conflicted world of the Middle East with Kennan K. as our guide, as he breaks down Iraq's tenuous present and future dilemmas vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region like a boss;

4) Phil rambles about the unlikely but politically feasible alliance between socialism and anarchy as the Occupy Wall Street movement prepares itself for an "American Spring (& Summer)"

5) The man, it burns! The Burning man and his furry friends;

6) Matt likewise burns some straw men over why we should continue to support American space exploration;

7) And he also burns some Caps fans for leaving the Verizon Center too soon.

8) Tommy's inaugural Take (TiT?) blasts off into cyberspace - believe us when we say, now there will be blood

9) Das Übermensch Brett Aho cometh: "Not everyone needs to go to college...Fraulein."

10) And last but definitely not least, the crown jewel of Conflict Revolution itself, the master-debaters Stephen and Matt:

OSAMA BIN OCCUPIED PART 1: WILL OWS SURVIVE??

OSAMA BIN OCCUPIED PART 2: OBAMA CAN HAZ CREDIT??

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!

Breaking: In Case Anyone Needs Tickets to Burning Man...

You should probably call this guy...

Disclaimer: it's unclear whether you're getting an actual lamb, or its dismembered, meaty remains.  In case you're actually interested: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/tix/2978791723.html).

Don't say Conflict Revolution never did anything for your social life.  Hat tip to CR reader and NorCal resident Sameer Thanawala for the link. 

Tommy's Take: The Beginning

Andy Rooney might be dead (RIP), but his spirit lives on in Conflict Revolution's new resident cultural commentator, knowledge purveyor, and peanut gallery season ticket holder Thomas J. Devine.  Tommy's Take will be a new feature here at CR, appearing on a regular basis to enrich your weekday existence with some straight up insight.  And if knowledge does in fact = power, the fact that it's Wednesday and you're reading our blog instead of getting any work done should be no concern at all.  Your mind may well be blown already, but if it isn't, here's Tommy/Tom/Thomas with a better introduction to his column than I could ever possibly muster:

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There are an incredible amount of blogs on the internet. I’d give you an exact number, but I looked it up and couldn’t find one. Between Tumblr and WordPress, the two most accessible and popular blog hosting services, there are at least one hundred million. Everybody wants to be Editor-in-Chief of their own digital universe.

Conflict Revolution is a tiny drop in a massive sea of blogs in the colossal ocean of the internet. But I’d
be willing to bet that in terms of its unique insight, quality of writing, and personality, this blog ranks somewhere in the top 50 million.

Suffice to say I was floored when I was asked to contribute a weekly column to one of the best blogs
on the internet, especially because I’ve been an ardent supporter of Conflict Revolution from day one. I
was present for the real-life, person to person debates that predated this blog. At times I was an active
participant, other times I looked like a spectator at an ugly and discordant tennis match. I’m glad that
Matt and Steve finally have a structured place to explore in depth their differences of opinion.

My column will touch on policy and politics, but I’ll leave the bulk of the issue analysis to Matt and
Steve. Instead, you can expect a smattering of human interest, art and culture, business, Andy Rooney-esque commentary, and musings on societal trends that I think say something interesting about the human condition.

So here I join the league of internet commentators. The grand Opiners of Opinions. The Pop Culture
Pontificates. Savants of the Soapbox. They-Who-Have-Something-To-Say. You get the point. I won’t
make the mistake, as so many people do today, of inflating the importance of my ideas just because I
have a forum. I keep in mind the advice Jean Sibelius gave to a young composer who felt dejected after a negative review: “Always remember, there is no city in the world which has erected a statue to a critic.” After all, this blog is only one of a hundred million.

-Tommy

Hump de Bump: Wednesday Links After the Jump

As we hurtle into the middle of the week, it's time for another morning update - this one, Politico-themed:

- President Obama made a "surprise visit" to troops and Afghan leadership yesterday in Kabul, pledging to abide by existing plans for a full withdrawal of U.S. troops in Afghanistan by 2014. NATO troops will stay in the country for at least a decade after 2014, ensuring that some U.S. presence in the region will remain [Politico; CNN].

- Ric Grenell, Foreign Policy spokesman for Mitt Romney's campaign, has resigned over "personal issues"

- Think you've seen it all before? Think again: Congress is getting even more bipartisan and split along the "core ideologies" of both parties. But does this necessarily preclude passing critical legislation?

Speaking of seen it all...Anyone familiar with The Burning Man festival?



one of the tamer images that come up in a search. He will be burning.


We've been speaking of anarchy for the past day, and The Burning Man is like the anarchist's Mecca - "radical inclusion," "decommodification," "radical self-expression" are the order of the day, but now the festival's organizers and lobbyists have descended upon the Capitol (as in D.C., not Hunger Games) to promote the event. The festival has been placed on probation this year by the Bureau of Land Management for exceeding its 53,000 capacity limit, but hopes to expand to 70,000 in the future.

The festival has captured the imagination of popular culture along with the likes of DayGlow, Warped Tour, Coachella et. al., but still retains its original indie vibe and distinctive character. In fact, long-time "burners" would probably regurgitate at my comparison of TBM with the aforementioned festivals.

- New York Times readership up, Washington Post not so lucky - although at less than a million online subscribers, the NYT can hardly be compared with the dedicated userbases of the social networking giants. I wonder how much the "Social Reader" app can help or harm the struggling journalism industry in general?

- Politico's Roger Simon: Stay outraged at the Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) blatant partisanship

- And finally, more of our favorite Secretary of State: Hillary sends rejection letter to Jason Segal

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Morning Links: Uniting Monday Haters with the Crazies who Love to Get Back to Work

So in case you started your weekend really early and spent most of it in a blacked out haze with uncomfortable periods of sobriety/hung-overness, I'm sure you are aware that your favorite NFL team just made some pretty big decisions over the weekend at the 2012 NFL Draft. If you're really not happy to be back at work right now, this is probably a pretty excellent thing to review as it can probably get you to at least lunchtime before you have to get into an excel spreadsheet to do some real work. CR is pretty happy with our pick, especially since if it doesn't work the Giants could probably just start a circus.

Daily Link Digest: 4/13/12

1) Grantland's Brian Phillips takes a critical look at how the world of Mad Men is represented during the Masters golf tournament (Grantland)

2) David Brooks interprets the country's political divide through the lens of a fundamentally changing economic landscape (The New York Times)

3) The Obama Campaign shows a bit of hypocrisy on fair pay - women working at the White House earned 18 percent less than men in 2011 (Washington Free Beacon)

4) A liberal writer argues that the president must better articulate how economic fairness will lead to economic growth (The Daily Beast)

5) Author Jim Robbins on the importance of trees (New York Times)

We would also like to welcome Philip Hsu of Social Media Consulting, LLC to Conflict Revolution. Phil will be helping to handle our social media outreach in addition to contributing occasional written content. Look out for his name at the bottom of our posts and be sure to contribute your thoughts on what he has to say. Welcome again, Phil!

It's Friday the 13th and it's 2012... so stay out of trouble today, readers. Stay tuned for an email debate between Steve and I later in the day and, as always, be sure to share your thoughts on today's links in our comments section.