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May 25, 2013
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 10 American ABCs We May Soon ForgetPosted on Jan 5, 2012By David Sirota By far, the laziest, most vapid articles annually published during this post-holiday season are lists of the past year’s top 10 words and aphorisms. Admittedly, the sloth of such an endeavor tempts me. But as a new dad obsessed with my 1-year-old son’s future, I think I’ve got a more worthy list to add to the pile—one of current words and phrases that my kid may never know because they might end up as relics of a lost vernacular. Here are those harrowing 10. I hope I’m wrong but fear I’m not. 10. “Civil liberties” My son will surely read the U.S. Constitution in civics class, and he’ll see stuff about rights to jury trials, due process and protection from unreasonable searches. But these freedoms have been extinguished by presidents successively claiming powers of indefinite detention, warrantless surveillance and assassination of American citizens without charge. Assuming there’s still an ACLU that sends me mail and assuming my son sees the mail, he might ask, “What are civil liberties, Dad?” My response: “Good question.” 9. “Public school” Advertisement 8. “Budget surplus” This term will be in the Bill Clinton footnote of my son’s history textbook. But with our refusal to cut bloated defense budgets, embrace single-payer health care and preserve Clinton’s tax rates, he’ll probably have no idea what the term means. 7. “Potable water” No doubt in the ubiquitous shadow of oil and gas rigs, I’ll tell my son of a time when drinkable H2O was widely available. I’ll also tell him that when he was a toddler, lawmakers ignored warnings that oil and gas drilling threatened to contaminate groundwater. Granted, I’ll sound like the Lorax. Unfortunately, my story won’t be a Dr. Seuss tale—it will be real. 6. “Union” With states limiting collective bargaining rights and corporations busting organizing drives, my son will somehow still know this word. The problem is that he’ll insist it’s a Civil War-era synonym for “north”—and that’s all. 5. “Peace” The Afghanistan War presses on unabated. Meanwhile, Wired magazine notes that a permanent presence of private security contractors means our “military efforts in Iraq aren’t coming to an end,” and covert operations continue in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. My son might encounter “peace” when he reads Orwell and sees the phrase “War is peace,” but he’ll probably take that phrase literally in what the Pentagon now deems “the era of persistent conflict.” 4. “Democracy” “How can a presidential candidate win without the most votes?” my son will ask as he approaches voting age. “How can 40 senators filibuster everything? Why are corporations allowed to buy politicians? What’s ‘democracy,’ dad?” Dead silence will follow. 3. “We’re all in this together.” I’ll try to teach my boy the values inherent in that slogan of solidarity. But in this Gilded Age of avarice, I fear I’ll hear in return that American motto: “Greed is good, daddy.” 2. “Newspapers” University of Southern California researchers predict that within five years, “only four major daily newspapers will continue in print.” Tragically, that suggests that when I explain my career and I show my kid a newspaper, I’ll be pointing at a museum’s glass case. 1. “Journalism” At that museum, if I found the very newspaper in which you may be reading this column, I’d show my son the surrounding articles reporting on real issues in local communities. I’ll tell him that he’s looking at the lost art of journalism—and I can only hope he doesn’t respond by asking me if it was “fair and balanced.”
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By oddsox, January 12, 2012 at 9:27 am Link to this comment
Migs, I believe you get my point, as I get yours, too.
“what they do to get it” needs to be addressed in order to level the field for fair competition.
That’s why I’ve been calling for breaking up the Big Banks using existing anti-trust legislation and reinstating Glass-Steagall.
http://open.salon.com/blog/oddsox/2011/10/10/too_big_to_fail_too_big_to_begin_with
Huntsman made a reference to this in an interview with Fareed Zackaria once, never heard any more about it.
Nothing from any other candidate (please correct me if I’m mistaken!)
—
And while we’re at it, we need to stop shooting ourselves in the foot with high taxes on labor (payroll taxes).
We should fund FICA/Medicare under a consumption tax model instead.
Payroll taxes make up over 1/3 of current federal revenues (up from 10% in 1950) and yet we wonder why unemployment is so high?
Obama has taken a couple baby steps in that direction, a now-forgotten and expired 9-month payroll tax exemption for hiring long-term unemployed back in 2010, and the 2% employee payroll tax reduction that was recently renewed for 2 months.
But these efforts are weak tea and employers won’t be moved to hire based on tax breaks with short sundowns or a 2-month extension for a payroll tax break for someone else.
—
One more thing, on David Sirota:
When he gets it right, he gets his props from me.
His recent piece in Salon, while long-winded, is correct—we have checks and balances in our system for good reason & they can help us make sense of our choices.
http://www.salon.com/2012/01/10/what_makes_a_progressive_president/singleton/
http://www.salon.com/2012/01
Thanks for reading my rant.
Report thisBy Migs, January 11, 2012 at 9:35 pm Link to this comment
Class Envy? Nah I don’t want what the 1% have I just resent what they do to get it.
Report thisBy oddsox, January 7, 2012 at 12:26 pm Link to this comment
10. Civil liberties
Not to worry, David. If you’re still able to whine 10 years from now, you’ll still have ‘em.
9. Public Schools
Again, not to worry. But you said “decent,” didn’t you? That will largely depend upon local funding levels and parental involvement.
Classroom/teacher ratios, union edicts and federal dollars per student? Not so much.
8. Budget Surplus
See “selected states, only.”
7. “Potable Water”
Perhaps the new oil. But technology gives us a fair chance of supply keeping up.
6. Union(s)
Back stronger than ever, but coupled with double-digit unemployment as the new normal.
Tell your boy “Unions are needed when and where workers are abused. But the abuse can cut both ways. It’s a matter of balance.”
5. Peace
An answer to Isaac:
“It may or may not be mankind’s nature to be at war.
But it is in our nature to compete.
Be at peace with that.
Peace begins within each of us.”
4. Democracy
We’ll still have the Electoral College, David. When your son asks, tell him Democracy is more than 2 wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner.
3. “We’re All in it Together”
Tell your boy, “Class Envy went Global, so now we’re part of the 1%.”
2. Newspapers
Rarities to be sure, but there will be a few old fogies like me who enjoy rustling a paper over morning coffee. So tell your kid not to badger me about how many trees I’m killing, ok?
1. Journalism
Report thisYou mean objective, non-partisan reporting by professionals without activist or revisionist agendas? David, that was gone before YOU were 10, I barely remember it myself.
By atvet, January 7, 2012 at 8:44 am Link to this comment
Thanks for the posted commentaries on the current
Report thisstate of change! It is noteworthy that despite the
injustice often associated with the lack of clear and coherent choices that are practical and affordable. Historically, the existence of a problem itself has never made a change without individuals that step up to the challenges that present themselves. It has always been a person with the ability to start with themselves and then communicate truth in a way that is not partial, but stands the test of time. When personal values are placed above communicating truth,then we ourselves are responsible for the result.
Perhaps if we share these values and concerns described by the author,and individually and live them where they are not
despised by others because of our own day to day
personal needs and lack of time, our nation and every
individual will have the ability to not only read but
maintain those unalienable rights.
Religion by nature is personal, perhaps even allowing the necessary vulnerability for change where a balance to desire can be met.
Our hope as a nation lies in the purpose of not
being single minded, but having a collective ability to present a process for change that truly brings equality for our future generation of Americans and all human beings.
By Bill Britton, January 7, 2012 at 7:04 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Two linked words soon to be forgotten are “common good.”
Report thisBy Textynn, January 6, 2012 at 7:44 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
All of this is really important but the water topic is number one. You can’t live more than a day or so without water. We cannot allow the sociopaths to get control of the water supply or destroy large bodies of water to make water scarce. If the Powers that are running this world get the kind of control over our water they are maneuvering at this point , we will all be bend down, get on your knees slaves like seen in movies like Caligula.
Seriously, if the world’s people are not smart enough to stop this at all costs we might as well think of ourselves as helpless dumb animals completely at the mercy of the likes of Goldman Sachs. Just acting like we would let this happen gives me shivers.
We must not stop. The OnePercent are some the most awful people on the planet and we must never give up this fight until they are completely out of power.
Report thisBy balkas, January 6, 2012 at 4:28 pm Link to this comment
darral the spambot, sorry, but i had been lying so much for so long, i’ve dried out
Report thiscompletely. i cannot invent any more lies; besides, it’s getting to me; i do no sleep as i
used to.
but, by all means, don’t wait for clergy, politicos, generals, msm columnists to dry up
any time soon.
and if they would dry up, there is always quran, bible, constitution, psychitrists,
social/political scienists to revitalize them and show them the old ways! tnx for the Left
or the Right ear? or both!
==========
btw, my wife said to me: Bob, get a new ass! the next day, thinking that she had been a
tad rude, she said to me, Bob, i didn’t say that; i said, Bob you’re three quarters deaf, i
said, Bob get off your ass!
By balkas, January 6, 2012 at 4:10 pm Link to this comment
but, pray, tell me what USA means? or what “americans” mean?
Report thismay i tell you what usa and americans mean to me?
well, usa is a region ruled by iron fist by a few thousand families. it’s neither
a country nor an empire—it’s just a big ranch and bush loves it.
and it’s no wonder world envies/hates bush and the ranch!
pedro an american like samuel, joshua, peter??? ok, maybe at times and
places such as touch football and baseball fileds.
how about running horse jr, muhammad jefferson, abdullah abbas? were they
or are they equal with malcolm, stewart, hillary, zachariah, jeremy?
By gerard, January 6, 2012 at 2:20 pm Link to this comment
To make this sad future disappear, all we have to remember is three words, and act accordingly:
C O U R A G E
Report thisL O V E
A C T I O N
By Inherit The Wind, January 6, 2012 at 5:52 am Link to this comment
This would be funny if it wasn’t so true…Reminds me of when I first read “Dilbert”. I didn’t laugh once the first year I read it because it was just too close to home….
Report this