Small-town, provincial civics

A few days ago, I was invited to attend a Rotary meeting in which the club would be honoring my father for his involvement. Dad was an avid Rotarian right up to his death. It was important to him, so of course I went. I admire Rotary's motto, "Service above Self" and the work that individual members of the club, and the club as a whole, is worthwhile and even meaningful.
Rotary's international campaign to rid the world of polio, the exchange programs for high schoolers and young professionals, and links between individual clubs accross national boundaries increase international cohesion. However, I've always been uneasy with the clubbiness of this service group. Well-fed, comfortable men and women congratualating themselves on how well they are doing. Rotary is a professional club--with members representing their segments of their profession be it law, advertising, journalism,
government, retail, ministry. And there is lots of networking and social conviviality. It could be termed a bastion of middle-class privilege.

But on Wednesday, I observed another aspect of this group, one that I admired, and which made me hopeful. And one, even, that I hope I can emulate. The meeting started with a song. We all stood, faced the front of the hall where the flag stood (there's always a flag), and sang
America the Beautiful. There were 500 voices singing to a symbol. It was not invested with extra meaning. It was not sentimental. It was simple.

Then they sat down, and listened for fourty minutes to the day's program, which consisted of some awards, brief announcements, and a talk by Dr. Gary Sick on Iran and the Middle East. Dr. Sick (author of All Fall Down, America's Tragic Encounter with Iran) spoke for about 20 minutes on the emergeing power of Iran in the Middle-east, how it got there, and what
might happen. He pointed out that the impact of American involvement in the last 10 years, invading Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban, and deposing Hussein in Iraq, had increased Iran's regional political security and power. And he talked about Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, and opined that despite the global press he's getting, he's not popular at home and may well lose
the next elections.

And 400 people listened, avidly. Took time out of their day to think about the world. Many asked questions after the talk, showing that they were concerned about the role of oil in US foreign policy, about our relationship with Russia, about the likelihood of a war with Iran. People paid attention.

Somehow, this Rotary club at least, has made a connection between the local and the global. Members of the club sit next to one another, have in many instances known each other for years, visit with each other, serve in each other's board rooms, go to church, volunteer for each other's causes, and give money (there's always money). But they also are making the connection between their actions and the actions of our administration.

When a member asked a question about the what role the global trade of oil had in the wars we're in, he linked his question to our own actions in reducing our energy usage.
What I was seeing was civic involvement, of the kind that made America. People standing up and caring about what was happening, and thinking, even blindly, that they can change the world. They believed that they matter. It's this kind of confidence that I both find most irritating and most admirable.


Guiliani should have been at Wednesday's meeting...his team includes neo-con Norman Podhoretz, who advocates "bombing Iran as soon as it is logistically possible" .

Determinination of policy should not only come from the top, but from the middle and the bottom. Leaders need to know that people do NOT want a war with Iran.

Pew Global Attitudes Survey

The Pew Research Center has just released its new survey on Global Attitudes. They interviewed 45,239 people in 47 countries
The NYT gives a fine summary of the portion of the survey that deals with attitudes towards global trade, immigration, and to a lesser extent, democracy.

I, however, would like to focus on the section of the survey entitled "Values and American Exceptionalism"

We stand out. How?
The survey finds that there is a strong negative correlation between wealth and strength of religious beliefs. Poor countries, like many African nations, sow high scores in questions dealing with the role of God and morality. Wealthy Western European countries show low scores that reflect a mostly secular population.

The US, however, the wealthiest nation, comes out in the middle of the religious index, on par with Mexico and Lebanon.

Success and Individualism
According to the survey Americans are also more likely than any other respondants to disagree with the idea that success in life is due to foces ousde our control. Unless they are poorer. People with incomes under 30K are on the other end of the scale, and have less faith that success comes from an personal effort.

Why is this?
The overall finding that believe in the importance of religion is higher under conditions of poverty is understandable. God sustains those who have little to rely on in this world. But what does it say that Americans are so faithful to traditional beliefs in morality and the role of God in our lives--all the while living high on the food chain?

Is it our history...our founding as a Christian nation (yes, this can be debated, and should be), the religious cycles we've gone through (Great Awakening I, Great Awakening II), Or is it what David Brooks has called the American belief in providence and progress--that we are on a God-given path, that our wealth is a direct correlation to our believe in God...we are being rewarded. We are the chosen people.

And to finish. The final question on this section may bolster this conclusion. 55% percent of Americans are of the opinion that our culture is superior to others'

Note, the Italians don't agree. 68% of them were trancendentally proud of their culture, compared to only 31% of the British respondents feeling that way about British culture.

Schlesinger's Journals

Journals: 1952-2000, historian Arthur Schlesinger's memoire has been released.

The New York Times Review makes it sound delightful.

Socialism...Capitalism

Dominique Strauss-Kanh, a former French president, and Socialist, has been named the director of the International Monetary Fund, a key capitalist organization.