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Archive for April, 2010

Need A Place to Party?

25 Apr
In the aftermath of the Plaza melee a few weekends ago, we are hearing the familiar cry of teens, a cry that echoes through the decades:  There’s nothing to do!
When I was a teen in the late 50s, my friends and I said that.  When Parks was a teen in the 80s, he and his friends were saying that.
Regardless of your age, I‘m confident you said that.
It’s a particularly silly argument today.  No generation in history has had more things to do and more opportunities to do them.
Yet, civic and political leaders won‘t say that.  Instead they argue the need for more diversions, more recreational outlets, more entertainment.
Teen summits are held and the summiteers are asked what needs to be done. (That’s like asking homeless people to design a housing plan for the community.)
My favorite quote from a recent meeting is this.  A teenage girl told city officials, “We need a place to party!”
Will the financially strapped city government of Kansas City, Missouri, be able to offer a place to party?  And, even if it could, should it?
Are you kidding?

In the aftermath of the Plaza melee a few weekends ago, we are hearing the familiar cry of teens, a cry that echoes through the decades:  There’s nothing to do!When I was a teen in the late 50s, my friends and I said that.  When Parks was a teen in the 80s, he and his friends were saying that.Regardless of your age, I‘m confident you said that.It’s a particularly silly argument today.  No generation in history has had more things to do and more opportunities to do them.Yet, civic and political leaders won‘t say that.  Instead they argue the need for more diversions, more recreational outlets, more entertainment.  Teen summits are held and the summiteers are asked what needs to be done. (That’s like asking homeless people to design a housing plan for the community.)  My favorite quote from a recent meeting is this.  A teenage girl told city officials, “We need a place to party!”  Will the financially strapped city government of Kansas City, Missouri, be able to offer a place to party?  And, even if it could, should it? Are you kidding?

 
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Mayor, not mama!

16 Apr
Mayor Mark Funkhouser of Kansas City, Missouri, is wrestling with the problems caused by last weekend’s melee on the Country Club Plaza.  To his credit, he does not seem to buy into the silliness that the 700 teens, mostly black according to eyewitness and other accounts, were causing injury, destruction and fear because “they had nowhere to go and nothing to do.”  No generation in the history of the world has enjoyed the entertainment and recreation opportunities afforded today’s teens.  Obviously, not all the kids were complicit in the  lawlessness.  But all were part of the large crowd that gathered on purpose for no apparent purpose except, perhaps, to create disorder. Funkhouser, an ex-officio member of the police board, also rejected the lame suggestion that officers “over-reacted” in their use of pepper spray, thus inflaming the situation.
The mayor, city council and police board now have two important responsibilities to fulfill.
1)  Give police personnel all  the support they need and encourage the department to make a show of force on the Plaza this weekend.
2)  Don’t “commit Sociology” by trying to create programs and projects to occupy the time of errant teens.  There are more important issues to contemplate and better ways to spend the public’s money.
Funkhouser recently visited with the Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, who is a black man.
Philadelphia has also recently experienced “flash mobs” and “wilding” incidents.  Nutter gave Funkhouser his perspective.  It‘s a good one.  “I was elected to be mayor, not mama!”

Mayor Mark Funkhouser of Kansas City, Missouri, is wrestling with the problems caused by last weekend’s melee on the Country Club Plaza.  To his credit, he does not seem to buy into the silliness that the 700 teens, mostly black according to eyewitness and other accounts, were causing injury, destruction and fear because “they had nowhere to go and nothing to do.”  No generation in the history of the world has enjoyed the entertainment and recreation opportunities afforded today’s teens.  Obviously, not all the kids were complicit in the  lawlessness.  But all were part of the large crowd that gathered on purpose for no apparent purpose except, perhaps, to create disorder. Funkhouser, an ex-officio member of the police board, also rejected the lame suggestion that officers “over-reacted” in their use of pepper spray, thus inflaming the situation.  The mayor, city council and police board now have two important responsibilities to fulfill.1)  Give police personnel all  the support they need and encourage the department to make a show of force on the Plaza this weekend.2)  Don’t “commit Sociology” by trying to create programs and projects to occupy the time of errant teens.  There are more important issues to contemplate and better ways to spend the public’s money.Funkhouser recently visited with the Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, who is a black man.Philadelphia has also recently experienced “flash mobs” and “wilding” incidents.  Nutter gave Funkhouser his perspective.  It‘s a good one.  “I was elected to be mayor, not mama!”

 
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A “D” for “W”

11 Apr

The other night the movie “W” was showing on cable. I saw alleged biography of the 43rd president when it was first released. I commented about it then. I wondered if a second viewing would change my mind. It did not.
I repeat my commentary from a couple of years ago:
“W” is another film that presents psycho-babble as historical fact. Stone’s delusion that Bush 43’s sole purpose for existence is to gain his father’s approval is the film’s underlying…emphasis on lying…theme.
The movie is replete with the familiar whines of the far-left fringe: Bush is moron-in-chief. Condi Rice is a conniving sycophant. Dick Cheney is only interested in the accumulation of wealth for himself and his friends in the oil business. Colin Powell is an omniscient seer whose wise counsel was rejected by the neo-cons who surrounded the president.
There were some bright spots. Josh Brolin who plays Bush looks and sounds like him. Ditto Richard Dreyfuss who plays Cheney. I was extremely impressed by Elizabeth Banks who plays Laura Bush to an understated hilt.
Movie reviewers—even the amateur ones—are obliged to grade the films they see. And so I will.
I give “W” a D.
But as my former students will testify, I was always a generous grader.

 
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Christian nation?

03 Apr
A caller recently committed a common error.  He said “America is a Christian nation.”  More specifically, he claimed Barak Obama was the first president to say it is not a Christian nation.
I don’t know if Obama made that observation.  If he did, he’s right.
Civics 101 should have taught us all that America is a land populated primarily by people whose religion is Christianity. Christianity, however, is not a state religion.  We are not a Theocracy; rather, we are a Republic or, if you prefer, a Democracy.
When I reminded our caller of these basic facts, he proclaimed “Majority rules!”  Again, a fundamental misunderstanding of the nation in which he lives.  Our Constitution is in place to protect not only the rights of the majority, but the rights of the minority, as well.
For example, we have the right to practice our religious faith.  By the same token, we have the right to not practice any faith.  We have the right of free speech. And we have the right to keep our mouth shut if we prefer. Our caller should have followed the latter course.
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