Month: October 2013

Zakaria to Conservatives: Get Real, Lighten Up

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

This past Sunday on Fareed Zarakia GPS, Fareed provided his take on the Republican party and the conservative movement. Zakaria critiques conservatism as being overly ideological and detached from the practical realities that face the United States.

Progressives will likely find Zarakia’s critique compelling. I suspect Conservatives might not find it entirely fair. What do you think?

Here is a description of the video:

For many conservatives today, the “rot” to be excoriated is not about economics and health care but about culture. A persistent theme of conservative intellectuals and commentators – in print and on Fox News – is the cultural decay of the country. But compared with almost any period in U.S. history, we live in bourgeois times, in a culture that values family, religion, work and, above all, private business. Young people today aspire to become Mark Zuckerberg. They quote the aphorisms of Warren Buffett. They read the Twitter feed of Bill Gates. Even after the worst recession since the Great Depression, there are no obvious radicals, anarchists, Black Panthers or other revolutionary movements – except for the Tea Party.

Now, for some tacticians and consultants, extreme rhetoric is just a way to keep the troops fired up. But rhetoric gives meaning and shape to a political movement. Over the past six decades, conservatives’ language of decay, despair and decline have created a group of Americans who fervently believe in this dark narrative and are determined to stop the country from plunging into what they see as imminent oblivion. They aren’t going to give up just yet.

The era of crises could end, but only when this group of conservatives makes its peace with today’s America. They are misty-eyed in their devotion to a distant republic of myth and memory and yet they are passionate in their dislike of the messy, multiracial, capitalist-and-welfare-state democracy that America actually has been for half a century – a fifth of this country’s history. At some point, will they come to realize that you cannot love America in theory and hate it in fact?

Watch the video for the full Take or read more in the Washington Post.

#FeminismIsForWhiteWomen?

/ Tonastacia Dennis / Leave a comment

The Oxford Dictionary defines feminism as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” The definition is race-neutral, and yet a quick Google search of “feminism” led me down a rabbit’s hole of feminist ideologies — including traditional feminism and black feminism.

Too often, I sit in a room of self-proclaimed feminists, and it dawns on me that I am the only person of color in the room. For a long time, I wondered if my white friends noticed. My question was answered recently as our meeting came to a close.

“Did you notice how the room was full of white women?” my friend, a white woman, asked me anxiously. I nodded, scanning the room as it slowly emptied. We talked about ways to bring in more women and men of color, and the conversation drifted towards a recent trending hashtag on Twitter: #SolidarityisforWhiteWomen. The topic was born of Twitter drama, and provided a forum to discuss an old debate: whether feminism excludes the experiences and testimonies of women of color.

The Twitter drama began when writer Mikki Kendal responded to tweets posted by Hugo Schwyzer, who is an author, blogger, speaker and former college professor. In August, he admitted to targeting black feminists who “got in his way.”

Kendall complained about white feminists who “enabled” Schwyzer for years, instead of standing by the women of color targeted by him.  Interestingly, Schwyzer identifies as a male feminist and promotes inclusivity, saying “Feminism points out ways in which rigid gender roles don’t work out for men and women – particularly for women. But not by any means exclusively for women.”

The conflict between Kendall and Schwyzer sparked a social media debate, in which women of all shades questioned the inclusiveness of mainstream feminism.

Some people, including Schwyzer, complained that the thread was divisive. Others took the “fly-on-a-wall” approach, taking the opportunity to enter the minds of women of color.

And still others took the opportunity to engage in dialogue with other feminists. Women of all ethnicities jumped in the conversation and online writing communities called for testimonies from feminists of color.

For the past couple of years, students of color have made up about 20-25% of the student population at the College of Law, which suggests that meetings need not be so homogenous. An honest conversation about the dynamic between white feminists and feminists of color will help further our common mission of gender equality in all aspects of life. The conversation needs the voices of all women, regardless of color, class, creed, sexual orientation or identity. And yes, diversity encompasses more than racial diversity. Within any group of people are varying values, experiences, and ideas–race is simply one part of who we are.

I challenge you to discuss your differences, and stumble upon your similarities. #FeminismIsForAllOfUs

Profiting from Politics: How Members of Congress Exploit Campaign Finance Laws

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Profiting from Politics: How Members of Congress Exploit Campaign Finance Laws

There is not a lot that unites Republicans and Democrats in this era of hyper-partisanship. However, last evening 60 Minutes posited that there is one thing that is common to both parties–profiting from public office. 

Here is how the story began:   

The government shutdown that finally ended on Wednesday night furloughed 800,000 government workers for the better part of two weeks, but there was one group of federal employees that was able to maintain the lifestyle that many of them have grown accustomed to: members of Congress.

 

With all the talk about their irreconcilable political differences, we wanted to see if they shared any common ground. And we found some. For example, there seems to be a permanent majority in Congress that’s completely satisfied with the current state of campaign financing and congressional ethics and members of both parties have institutionalized ways to skirt the rules.

 

Most Americans believe it’s against the law for congressmen and senators to profit personally from their political office but it’s an open secret in Washington that that’s not the case. As the saying goes the real scandal in Washington isn’t what’s illegal, it’s what is legal.

Sunday Funday: Colbert Shutdown Wedding

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Sunday Funday: Colbert Shutdown Wedding 

The government shutdown is over; American did not default. Although experts estimate that the shutdown cost the American economy $24 billion dollars, the effects of the shutdown were not all bad. For instance, one couple who expected to be married at Jefferson Memorial, instead found themselves on the Colbert Report—with their wedding officiated on live-TV, by none other than one Mr. Stephen Colbert.

Part II of the video can be found here.

For more public policy related videos and podcast, be sure to check out the SLACE Archive.

 

 

Colbert Shutdown Wedding

/ Matthew Clemente / Leave a comment

Colbert Shutdown Wedding

The government shutdown is over; American did not default. Although experts estimate that the shutdown cost the American economy $24 billion dollars, the effects of the shutdown were not all bad. For instance, one couple who expected to be married at Jefferson Memorial, instead found themselves on the Colbert Report—with their wedding officiated on live-TV, by none other than one Mr. Stephen Colbert.

Part II of the video can be found here.

For more public policy related content, be sure to check out the SLACE Forum.