October 9th, 2016

10-09-2016

Against Trump, But Not All Those He Has Inspired

For the third time since 1857, The Atlantic Magazine has endorsed a candidate for President of the United States.

“Today, our position is similar to the one in which The Atlantic’s editors found themselves in 1964. We are impressed by many of the qualities of the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, even as we are exasperated by others, but we are mainly concerned with the Republican Party’s nominee, Donald J. Trump, who might be the most ostentatiously unqualified major-party candidate in the 227-year history of the American presidency. These concerns compel us, for the third time since the magazine’s founding, to endorse a candidate for president. Hillary Rodham Clinton has more than earned, through her service to the country as first lady, as a senator from New York, and as secretary of state, the right to be taken seriously as a White House contender. She has flaws (some legitimately troubling, some exaggerated by her opponents), but she is among the most prepared candidates ever to seek the presidency. We are confident that she understands the role of the United States in the world; we have no doubt that she will apply herself assiduously to the problems confronting this country; and she has demonstrated an aptitude for analysis and hard work. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has no record of public service and no qualifications for public office. His affect is that of an infomercial huckster; he traffics in conspiracy theories and racist invective; he is appallingly sexist; he is erratic, secretive, and xenophobic; he expresses admiration for authoritarian rulers, and evinces authoritarian tendencies himself. He is easily goaded, a poor quality for someone seeking control of America’s nuclear arsenal. He is an enemy of fact-based discourse; he is ignorant of, and indifferent to, the Constitution; he appears not to read.”

The Hannah Arendt Center is not only bi-partisan. It seeks to be beyond partisanship. The very premise of Arendtian thinking is the embrace of plurality. Plurality means that... continue this piece on Medium here.

Form more information visit: https://medium.com/amor-mundi/against-trump-but-not-all-those-he-has-inspired-fc927c375ac3#.u77kykraj

Tolerance Is For Cowards

[caption id="attachment_18411" align="alignright" width="300"] By Robert Scoble - Flickr, CC BY 2.0[/caption] Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, gives a remarkable speech on race and calls for courage in talking about race. He calls for a honest discussion of race at AT&T and says, “If this is a dialogue that is going to start at AT&T, I figure it probably ought to start with me.”

“Let’s talk about race. When we talk about race, let’s begin the discussion with why. Why does my colleague feel this way. If we can understand why, it is so much more likely we can beging to agree on what needs to be done… I’m not asking you to be tolerant of each other. Tolerance is for cowards. Being tolerant requires nothing from you but to be quiet and not make waves, holding tightly to your views and judgments without be challenged. Do not tolerate each other. Work hard. Move into uncomfortable territory and understand each other.”

Form more information visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThO74-oFt_Q&feature=youtu.be

Yoga On The Right Wing

Andrea Jain and Michael Schulson profile Baba Ramdev, the most popular yoga teacher in India, who also happens to be a prominent member of India's nationalist right wing:

"You may find this bizarre. In the United States, yoga and organics seem solidly in the domain of political progressives. Sure, the natural foods movement has its libertarian streak, and Republicans do attend yoga classes, but the holism-seeking scene that enjoys warrior poses and ayurvedic ear drops is heavily urban, educated, and liberal. The ethos with which they’re engaging, though, is not. It’s easy to miss, but some of the very things that animate this American wellness culture—the obsession with purity, the nostalgia for a glorified, pre-industrial past, the pride in the local—lend themselves well to conservative religious nationalism. This is partly what makes the Indian yoga teacher and mega-celebrity Baba Ramdev such a fascinating figure. He is at once a source, reflection, and distortion of so much that feels familiar in American culture. Today, Ramdev is both a monastic and an entrepreneur. He is a proponent of all-natural products and a Hindu nationalist. He’s a TV star. He has a following of millions. He’s getting ready to open a university and a network of schools. And in the past few years, he has emerged as a major ally of India’s ruling right-wing party. It’s no stretch to describe Ramdev as a kind of Jerry Falwell of India—a Falwell that wears saffron robes and teaches yoga. Ramdev’s rise illustrates a worrying turn in Indian politics. But it can also help us understand the appeal of nationalism in the 21st century, and to see the unexpected connections among wellness culture, natural products, and right-wing politics."

Form more information visit: http://religiondispatches.org/baba-ramdev/