Fear and the 4th

The 4th of July is a day to celebrate. We celebrate our freedom as a country. We celebrate the principles of liberty endowed in our Constitution. And we celebrate the many blessings and tremendous comparative wealth that characterize our lives.

However, just as we celebrate the many things for which we have to give thanks, it also behooves us to take a step back and assess the current state of our republic. For that, I must confess I am fearful. We seem to have reached a point of disfunction in our political dialogue. Elected officials don't listen to one another, and the most important challenges facing the American people- unemployment, climate change, finanicial regulatory reform, immigration, terrorism, and a sub-par soccer team (c'mon- there's always a role for humor!) are not being addressed in anything resembling a constructive manner.

My belief is that our country's increasing ineffectual political discourse stems from the rules and regulations surrounding campaign finance. Candidates for elected office need to spend a gazillion dollars just to be relevant, and to get this money, they need to win the favor of large corporations and wealthy backers, all of whom have their own agenda, which is often, if not usually, out of step with the needs of most Americans.

For example, large corporations who fear the impact that legislation restricting carbon emissions would have on their profit margin have, through eye-popping campaign contributions, convinced lawmakers to continue a debate over whether or not climate change is truly a concern. Are we seriously still having this debate, despite everything science and, increasingly, the vast environmental changes before our own eyes are telling us?

We're also still debating the merits of revamping our country's finacial regulatory system, even thought the one currently in place allowed complex, largely unregulated financial products to bring the global economy to the brink of collapse. The reality that a) it has taken so long to bring regulatory reform legislation to near passage and b) that this passage is still not guaranteed would be unthinkable, if not for the incredible sums of money financial giants have thrown at politicians to do their bidding and maintain a system that enables them to take huge risks, the pay-off from which will accrue to a small ellite and the fall-out of which translates into financial ruin for millions.

And, perhaps most biting of all on this 4th of July holiday, millions across the country are calling for the effective closing of our borders to persons who want to come here in pursuit of a better, safer, more properous way of life. This, despite the fact that people who most vociferously promote things like border walls, racial profiling laws, and other measures designed to restrict the "other" from penetrating into U.S. territory are themselves the product of the large-scale immigration responsible for not only our country's unique and beautiful ethnic and cultural mosaic, but our political and financial dynamism. That these folks, such as Janet Brewer in Arizona, Tea Party adherents throughout the country, and Republican Party leadership would use drug violence in Mexico and our country's current challenging economic state as cover for trying to halt U.S.-bound immigration is beyond illogical- it's appalling.

So, as we take time to celebrate fireworks, BBQs, and our nation's freedom, let us also keep in mind and reflect upon the many ways in which we still need to improve.

Our prosperity during the second 234 years of independence depends on it.

Berdych Advances to Wimbledon Finals (for the Federer haters...)

Tomas Berdych, who beat Federer in a tight, four-set quarter-final match, just casually dismissed 3 seed and world #2 Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, to move into the Wimbledon Finals. While many called his victory over Federer an upset, I disagree. As a Fed fan, I had been worried about the prospect of that match-up for several rounds and was not surprised when Berdych advanced. The 6’5” Czeck bomber has always been loaded with talent but, while he has been inside or just on the cusp of the world top ten for many years, the story line on him is that he’s never quite lived up to his full potential. That seems to be changing. Berdych made it to the semis at last month’s French Open, where he narrowly lost a five-set thriller to Robin Soderling, a match in which he was up two sets to one. While the spread will show Berdych as the underdog in Sunday’s final, regardless of whether he plays world #1 Rafael Nadal or British hope Andy Murray, I think he has at least a fighting chance of landing his first major title.