A Case of Stoopidty No. 1

What we have going on here in Oklahoma is I believe some kind of coup – and I’m kinda liking. The last few weeks, the D-gov has been busy vetoing almost everything coming out of the legislature, then the lej retaliates with overrides or close attempts. Gee whilickers, pass the popcorn.

This got me to wondering – has Governor Brad Henry accomplished anything important for the state in the last 8 years? I posed the question on my Facebook page and after reading 19 hilarious responses, determined this merited more research on my part. I looked him up on Wiki and found this gem:

“… Governor Brad Henry issued Executive Order 04-21, which created the Governor's Ethnic American Advisory Council. The Ethnic American Advisory Council then published an English translation of the Qur'an embossed with the Oklahoma State seal which was then distributed to 149 Oklahoma state legislators. There were 35 lawmakers who declined to accept the copy of the Qur'an that they were offered. After refusing the copy of the Qur'an, Republican State Representative Rex Duncan wrote a letter to his colleagues explaining, "Most Oklahomans do not endorse the idea of killing innocent women and children in the name of ideology." Further, Duncan said during a TV interview "I think it was inappropriate that they used a state centennial seal on a religious item."

Yes, I do remember rolling my eyes at this one! So, I FB-posted it immediately, for the good times. This council’s action was so asinine, it earns the distinction of being my first official Case of Stoopidity.

Why exactly is this a Stoopid Idea? Let me count the ways.

1. Can you FORCE true enlightenment on others who may be resistant? Probably not. I would call that the Futile Gesture. We used to refer to OK as the good ol’ buckle on the Bible Belt, probably not real fertile soil for this kind of thing. A fertilizer issue?
2. How do we know it was translated into English correctly? Or that the Okies perceived the message correctly? Ah, damn details.
3. It could say “plant a flower in the name of Allah” for all I care. I just want to know who paid for this Futile Gesture? Did the embossed state seal cost extra? Can’t they get it at the library? Couldn’t we have taken that money to hire more ESL teachers?
4. My quickie Qur’an Internet research revealed the Original Word of Allah is not supposed to ever be translated – to only be fully appreciated in all its Arabic glory. Oops. Or ever be put on a chair (or anywhere someone’s arse may have been) or on the floor, but to be displayed at the highest point in the room. And oh yeah, you’re supposed to kiss it before opening it and receiving its Wisdom. Whether a menstruating woman can handle it is still up in the air. Did Care Instructions come with the copies given to the good legislators? I mean, how else are they gonna know they are to revere this object above their own religions and personal convictions?
5. See, this is why we have that whole separation of state and religion thing (pun intended). It means we respect people’s differences by not DOING ANYTHING AGAINST it, not by ADVANCING it onto others.

Can I get a big “Amen!” from those seated in the pews! Or in this case a big “As-Salamu Alaykum!” which means “peace be upon you” in Arabic…or ”pieces be upon you” in the case of an Islamic terrorist..

Exactly How Did Americans Respond to Terrorism?

I have long suspected that formal structured government “action” in the form of programs (funded by taxes) is not always necessary in an evolved society such as ours. There are other formal structures in place to respond to social needs – primarily churches and charities. Why is it necessary to impose additional behaviors on individuals through their government, removing their choice to donate time, money, and effort to individual churches and charities?

But I’ve never come across good evidence to back up my theory, until reading in my son’s Sociology text book: Sociology published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2008. The text author had 7 content reviewers and 9 educational reviewers. I try to have the highest standard I possibly can in each situation for evaluating “good evidence” or facts or source material, in order to achieve a level of comfort before broadcasting it to others. I’m feeling pretty good about this one. But keep in mind this chapter is focused on studying the behavior of “collectivities” which are informal groupings of people acting alike.

In the week after the 9/11 attacks, 94% of Americans took some kind of action.
* People trained for emergencies rushed to NYC and DC.
* Blood donation rates ran 2-3 times normal, people waited for hours to donate, and some were turned away when storage facilities were full.
* In the 9 days after, 78% flew US flags. Stores ran out.
* 80% offered prayers, 40% attended religious services for that purpose.
* 60% OF AMERICANS MADE MONETARY DONATIONS.
* Many organized special events: A telethon raised $110 million.
* Children sold lemonade, washed cars, gathered supplies, wrote letters.

NO FORMAL , GOVERNMENT-ASSOCIATED STRUCTURE asked or forced anyone to do this. So, why or how did this happen? The next part focuses on commonality in attitudes.
* 75% felt anxiety over further attacks.
* More than half felt personal safety had been shaken.
* Nearly 3/4s felt depressed about the attacks.
* More than 60% said the unified response made the country stronger.
* Nearly 40% said they felt changed into better Americans.

People have empathy for others? People want to feel good about themselves? It would seem so.

The last part of the case study looks at our “war” response to the situation.
* A large majority favored giving police and security forces greater powers, even though it might adversely affect civil liberties.
* A vast majority strongly supported military action against Afghanistan.
* Most stated a belief the war would be a long one, taking resources from other programs. Half said it would be worth this expense.

Just some random thoughts in response to these statistics:
1. A WHOPPING 80 PERCENT offered prayers?? I thought we were supposedly not a religious country…that we need to remove any and all mention of anything remotely religious from our public space? Hmmm…in light of this data, it would seem that that position is being rammed by a very small minority and a responsive, sympathetic minority in power? I dunno. It just seems that those things aren’t jiving…
2. Civil liberties vs. fight on terrorism: Well. That seems to be another thing that blows around in the wind depending on which day it is. Ted Nugent wrote an awesome editorial for the Washington Times titled “Profile or Die.” I mention this because we all need to own up to the fact that we all PROFILE every day in our lives. I profile every time I go down the grocery aisle and decide whether to buy the blue or the red box of cereal, based on my own personal past experiences with blue and red. I’m actually VERY partial (have had excellent experiences) to purple and yellow cereal boxes (Raisin Bran and Corn Pops). I digress. :^) The point is profiling is a survival instinct we naturally have and to ignore it is stupid.
3. If the federal government was doing such a great job with my tax money of dealing with hunger and poverty, why would a kabillion food charities exist? Can I take the portion of my tax dollar that goes toward hunger (food stamps, WIC vouchers) and donate it to the private and probably far more efficient philanthropies OK Regional Food Bank and Feed the Children et al? I guess it doesn't WORK that way...