Democracy: It's in Your Hands

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The foundation of Wisconsin, it's people, awoke democracy from it's brief slumber this year. In past years, many had dismissed their personal responsibility. Some had placed blame for state troubles upon others exonerating their own inattentiveness.

Many are inclined to look at elected representatives saying, "It's their fault" rather than turn to the mirror and realize, "Hey! It's my fault!" Elections are consistently treated like popularity contests with attention to attractiveness in the media and an unquestioning belief in what is sold to us rather than taking the time to examine difficult issues, challenge what is presented, ask the right questions, and openly share with others. Widespread apathy and denial of personal responsibility may explain the present disfunction of government at all levels because, we the people, are the democracy we crave.

Democracy is a political system that begins and is nourished at the individual. It requires us to be individually responsible for being informed about public policy at all levels. It stipulates participation in the civic process. It demands we be tolerant and selfless for the common good.

Democracy calls us all to work toward mutual benefits; to work for unity while respecting differing values and opinions, and preserving the fundamental rights of individuals under our state and federal Constitutions while we practicing tolerance on an unprecedented, unlimited scale.

Democracy dictates nonviolent conflict resolution in a secular sphere where each and everyone is respected. It invites civility in exchanges on public issues where uncompromising fanaticism only discredits and debases intent. Personal responsibility is at the heart of long and stable democratic societies.

I first volunteered for political campaigns before I was eligible to vote. For nearly 40 years while my family relocated through 5 different counties within 2 neighboring states, I served consecutively as an elected political party officer in 4 different positions. My most recent office in Rock County was held for over 20 years. Resigning once, I came out of retirement for yet another 11 years when no one else stepped forward to do the necessary tasks. For far too long, too many have shirked their own role in keeping our democracy a vibrant, living philosophy always expecting "someone else" would just "do it".

In 2010, Wisconsin fell to an omniscient situation; a singularly bought-and-paid-for political ideology that culminated with those in power telling us they knew all that was needed to justify themselves and their actions no matter how it was destroying everything that defined the Wisconsin we love. The people of Wisconsin witnessed the integrity of our state damaged beyond recognition through unlimited corruption, and many political leaders lost all credibility. Legislation is now shaped by the highest bidder rather than by social need, accountability is compromised and totally ineffective, the justice system has been sold and politically manipulated, and most dire, in spite of all their numbers the citizenry remained too weak and ineffectual to check those causing the devastation.

The people know this is NOT what democracy looks like.

In our hearts, we know the political, religious, and economic freedoms provided to American citizens coexist with our promise to be responsible with active civic participation to safeguard those rights for ourselves as well as future generations. When the electorate is not paying attention, not participating, and not making informed choices, they reap the consequences. It took the demise of so much Wisconsin had always valued losing all we held near and dear, for the devastating consequences of inaction to stir many into personal involvement.

If we shy away from public discourse about "touchy" political topics, how will we really know one another to build a strong commonality? If we're fearful of creating controversy, how can we move forward with the truly good and unique ideas that would otherwise die from neglect and want of champions. If we retreat from action, how will future leaders be discovered and ascend?

The call has now gone out for individual responsibility where different ideas, different approaches, and different preferences replace all the apathy. Wisconsin is still a place where we all have a voice that is not just heard but welcomed by the people even if those currently seated in power still refuse to listen.

Labels of liberal or conservative are inclusive but certainly not exclusive when it comes to participation for the collective good. Do not let the cognitive dissonance of those in positions of power reign unchallenged as they tell you what you should think, believe and do. One person CAN change the world but it's far easier and much more fun when there are more sharing the many tasks. Everything you do affects our mutual world, and you, yourself, are responsible. You cannot say it wasn't your fault if you weren't participating. If you weren't paying attention, your languor was a factor.

We will only be able to restore and revive legitimate Wisconsin governance through shared participation developing relationships of common understanding, trust and collective commitment. These are not just "wants" but prerequisites to a functional democracy.

We have seen unbelievable and even miraculous citizen heroism in recent months but preemptive involvement by more people may have prevented our current challenges. Democracy has never been self-sustaining. Your participation is required to restore the best of Wisconsin's honest, transparent, and much revered heritage. It is our duty to make sure the vibrancy and vitality of democracy continues unrestricted and celebrated joyously.

Your choices today will have consequences tomorrow for democracy is, and always has been, a work in progress. In spite of whatever your level of involvement, you are a most important person in our world and how you act either reinforces or diminishes how we are all governed in Wisconsin. It either assists those who are already active or it places your share of duties upon them. Whether it be through philanthropic service, through civic development projects, by social enrichment endeavors, or even simply by staying informed and educating others, choose your task and engage it.

Do not let the Wisconsin’s forward momentum drift and die by neglect. Democracy is in our hands. It’s future and vigor is depending upon you.

Krupp Calls For More U.S. Help in Myanmar

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Krupp For Congress Press Release

The world wants to see the United States lead again, it is now
time for the United States to act and to provide that leadership.

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wisconsin -- With a reported death toll of more than 34,000 and as many as 100,000 suspected to have perished as a result of Saturday's deadly cyclone, Marge Krupp is calling on more pressure from the U.S. government to allow relief workers to enter the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. Myanmar's military regime has barred large-scale relief efforts, and at press, the United Nations is reporting that less than a quarter of the nation's affected are having their issues met. Without proper attention from experts trained in responding to natural disasters of this kind, the death toll is expected to climb rapidly.

Krupp, Democratic Candidate for Wisconsin's First Congressional District criticized the sluggish relief response by the U.S., "The lessons learned from the tragically slow response to Hurricane Katrina in our own nation should be applied to what could amount to a regional refugee crisis in Southeast Asia." Krupp also called on more pressure to be applied by Washington on Myanmar's military dictatorship, "The time to act is now."

Joint communication and aid in the form of relief workers and supplies between the U.S. and Myanmar could avert the possibility of more deaths and a flood of refugees to surrounding nations.

Marge Krupp is a highly qualified Democratic candidate for Congress who will fight to end the war in Iraq, strongly support working families and work hard to ensure a more peaceful and prosperous world. For more information, please visit her web site at Krupp for Congress.

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Note: Rock Netroots Commentary is NOT affiliated with any campaigns for Congress, but will eagerly post information on all 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin democratic candidates as it becomes available.

LIBERATION THEOLOGY IN AMERICA

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Written by Rev. Howard Bess

This past Sunday evening I listened to the entire speech that was given by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in Detroit before a gathering of 12,000 members of the NAACP. The speech was brilliantly conceived, masterfully delivered and wildly cheered by the audience to which he was speaking.

Most people who watched and listened had little understanding of what was being said. Welcome to Black theology. Black theology is a particular application of liberation theology. And what is liberation theology?

The roots of modern liberation theology are found in Central and South America. In its inception, liberation theology was firmly rooted in the Roman Catholic Church. Catholic priests and bishops took note that the post-World War II prosperity in Europe and in the United States did not translate into prosperity for the poor of Central and South America. The rich were getting richer and the poor were getting poorer.

They took note that Jesus was poor and identified with the poor of his day. Jesus had found himself in an intense struggle with the wealthy and the powerful. Those with wealth and power killed him. A considerable body of Central and South American Catholic writers began identifying themselves with the Jesus who spoke out for the poor.

Peruvian Catholic Priest Gustavo Gutterrez gave the movement intellectual integrity when he published “A Theology of Liberation” in 1972. It was the definitive volume on liberation theology.

At first the Vatican was supportive of the movement. Pope John XXIII and Vatican II were seedbeds of encouragement. However, since the mid-1970s the Catholic hierarchy has become increasingly negative about the movement. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, has been especially condemning of liberation theology. The Vatican silenced Gutterrez.

By the time Pope Benedict XVI visited Brazil in 2007, The New York Times estimated that there were at least one million Bible study groups in Brazil with an orientation to liberation theology.

Educator/sociologist Paul Freire was born into a middle class family in Brazil. His family lost everything in the great depression of the 1930s. Freire identified with the poor and never forsook them when he became a successful academic. His book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” published in 1973, is a classic in the liberation movement.

According to Freire the biggest problem with the poor is their “culture of silence.” After suffering poverty and oppression over a long period of time, poor people accept their fate in silence. The greatest challenge of any oppressed people is to break that silence.

Liberation theology in Central and South America, led by people like Freire and Gutterrez, broke down the control gates. They broke people out of their chains of silence. Things will never be the same in the South American hemisphere. Just as liberation theology comes out of the experience of the poor and oppressed in Central and South America, black theology flows out of black experience in America. It is an ugly history. First slavery, then segregation, then educational and economic discrimination.

The amazing part of the black story is the “culture of silence” that developed over the centuries. This is exactly the same “culture of silence” that Paulo Freire found among the poor in Brazil. People like Freire and Gutterrez broke the silence of the oppressed in our south hemisphere. Who will break the culture of silence for our oppressed black neighbors? Black movie stars, black writers, black musicians, black academics, and black athletes are making a contribution. However, the key is the black preacher. Martin Luther King Jr. was the prototype. Americans are almost totally ignorant about what is going on in American black churches and the leadership being given by very capable black preachers.

Jeremiah Wright is not a lonely voice. He is a part of a huge chorus of intelligent, educated, talented black preachers who understand how badly African Americans have been treated by their European American neighbors.

What is going on is much bigger than the 2008 presidential election. Wright is correct when he says that the attacks on him are really attacks on the black religious community. All Americans need to be listening.

And then there is feminist theology, gay theology and Hispanic theology. Straight, European American male dominated leadership is looking at rough times.

The Rev. Howard Bess is pastor of Church of the Covenant, an American Baptist church in Palmer. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.

Gang Vandals Avoiding Nuisance Prosecution

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FREE SPEECH ZONE

submitted by Green Consciousness

Our home was vandalized. My mother who owns it is 89. We had been trying to
find some way to pay for normal repairs and we still owe on property taxes.

Then juvenile delinquents spray painted "Latin Kings" on our house. With all
our bills we cannot afford to clean it off. Allstate Insurance will not pay because we don't have a special vandalism rider. You should think of adding that to your home
owner's insurance because the gang problem has come to Janesville whether you call them wannabe or whatever to minimize the problem.

This is not happening because kids have nothing to do - this is about who controls
territory. Who sells dope in that area. Who can be there. This is marking an area so
other gangs know that if they enter, there will be a fight.

These are Hispanic gangs whose parents, many who are not in the country legally, have been attracted to Janesville by employers who want cheap labor. But tax payers are the ones who pay the real price, in our property taxes and public services.

It is important to see the big picture. Unless you want thug mentality to destroy your way of life, you have to fight the contractors, restaurant owners and bakeries that are hiring the gang's parents for substandard wages and no benefits. Along with the parents come the gangs, the dog fighting and all the crime associated with it.

Show up at Council meetings and ask them what they are doing about the over 5 thousand illegal in Janesville and Beloit in terms of sanctions against those who employ them.

Ask them to call ICE into the Janesville Beloit area.

Ask them to require all our employers comply with the social security checks Homeland Security has proposed.

Ask them to appoint citizens to a Gang Task Force.

Next, let's look at the criminal justice system. We have 3 excellent police officers on the gang squad to cover approximately 100 gang members, morning, noon, and night.
Impossible. They receive excellent cooperation from Parker School but no citizen support. This is another reason for the Gang Task Force to be formed.

The real and ultimate failure is with the District Attorney's Office which has utterly failed this community in terms of curbing gang growth. Employers who hire illegal parents need to pay for the damage the children do in the community.

Our Courts should be fining employers. Those fines should be restitution for the innocent that pay for their cheap labor by being victims of crimes. The Courts have not had a chance to show us their attitude toward gang crime. The employers are not being prosecuted. The juvenile delinquent's crimes are not being prosecuted but instead referred to social services.

The Juvenile prosecutor, Dan Niedfeldt and his boss, DA David O' Leary are to blame. I guess if you are not the Rotary Garden, your property does not deserve legal protection.

There are provisions in the law that would allow a Judge to sentence these thugs to clean up the mess and/or pay for the clean up. But that cannot happen if DA Dan Niedfeldt keeps kicking these boys out of the legal system into social services.

We need to tell DA David O' Leary that if he is not going to clean up the gangs in
Janesville by at least prosecuting the juvenile delinquents, the next election we'll sweep him out of office.

I am planning to meet with the other property owners who have been vandalized. Perhaps together we can make a difference.

Please care about the victims because if we do not stop this now, it could be your home or your mother.