Independence from Useless Political Ideas (7/4/06)
by Dean Hartwell
We've celebrated July 4th again but we still need our independence. Not from the British but from the grip of terrible ideas that make our nation suffer.
For starters, we need independence from divisive issues that only serve to "rally the base." These issues either make no difference to the vast majority of people (flag burning) or they should make no difference (school vouchers).
Even supporters of a Constitutional amendment to outlaw desecration of the United States flag, mostly Republicans, admit that fewer than ten documented cases of flag burning come up each year. And yet they still want states to have the right to incarcerate people for this free speech conduct. As Molly Ivins says, "It is better for someone to burn the flag and wrap themselves up in the Constitution than to burn the Constitution and wrap themselves up in the flag."
Just recently, the United States Senate missed passing the amendment by one vote. I am sure they will be back again, telling us that flag burning isn't really free speech. They might have a point if people were burning draft cards because by doing so, they would hamper the ability of the government to function. But who is harmed by flag burning? Some are offended, yes. But not harmed. This issue serves merely to light a fire under self-styled patriots who have no other way to reach the moral high ground.
On the Democratic side, I was one of many who opposed school vouchers for years. I was concerned that the use of vouchers violated the separation of church and state because parents could use public money to send their children to private religious schools. But the United States Supreme Court held in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris in 2002 that there was no such violation.
Some of my fellow Democrats say vouchers will destroy our public school system. Maybe they will and maybe they won't. I went to very good public schools but I realize that not everyone has that sort of luck. Quality education should be available to all and many public schools are not adequate. We are struggling compared to other nations. John Stossel of "Give Me a Break" fame on ABC Television said that his company gave the same test to leading students in New York and students from Belgium. "Belgian kids cleaned the [U.S.] kids' clocks and called them 'stupid.'"
Then we have special interest groups whom we need to declare our independence from, like the religious right. Through a series of Supreme Court decisions, our nation made progress in separating church from state. The Court banned prayer in public school, Bible reading and the teaching of creationism in public school. Now the religious right wants to fight these battles all over again. Anyone who thinks the Bible is a science book should be banned from voting.
Meanwhile, instead of debating these issues, we could be debating how to replace the Electoral College without changing the Constitution, how to make industries curb the amount of pollution they release into the air, how to implement national health care, and so on. We hold the key to our own prison.