In the President's Own Words

It has been said that a society should be judged by how it treats its weakest members, and prisoners certainly fall in to that category. Before I go much further let me make it clear that I’m not advocating that those who are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt (whatever that is) get to play in meadows with unicorns and rainbows, but I also believe we should treat every human being with dignity and follow the rule of law in all cases. 

Prisoners in Guantánamo are so fed up with their situations that 100 of them are on a hunger strike! According to this document on Guantanamo:

• 86 detainees have been cleared for release since 2009. However, the US government refuses to allow them to return to their homes or otherwise release them. The most common theory on why that is: these detainees have been treated so badly they’ll certainly join the opposition, al-Qaeda, or somehow set out to harm us. Shouldn’t that be a lesson in itself on how we treat people?

• The US doesn’t have sufficient evidence to prosecute 46 prisoners, but those 46 are apparently too dangerous to release. How can we be certain enough to detain someone indefinitely, though, if we don’t have sufficient evidence to prosecute?

• Remember when Obama campaigned on closing Gitmo? Well, it appears he wasn’t incredibly serious about that: 532 prisoners were released by the Bush administration. 72 by the Obama administration. I understand there other powers and factors at work in that numbers game too. If only the President had the power to release prisoners and challenge the flawed system that put them there…

• Only 5% of the prisoners were even captured by American troops.

I’ll stop paraphrasing, but I highly recommend you read the whole thing. It’s an easy read.

Below is a small piece from a first hand account:

I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. But they don’t seem to care how long I sit here, either.

I just hope that because of the pain we are suffering, the eyes of the world will once again look to Guantánamo before it is too late.

Again, I recommend you take the time to read the entire Op Ed.

Out of sign, out of mind. According to President Obama this is one of the reasons closing the prison at Guantánamo is “a hard case to make.” So let’s change that. Let’s put pressure on those in power to move on this ever important issue. Let’s pressure the media to report on the hunger strike and the apparently innocent people imprisoned there. Let’s get people talking about it. Our friends, our families. It has to start somewhere. Let us not continue to ignore the atrocities happening in our name. 

If you’re not convinced this is important simply because what is happening here is morally and ethically wrong, think about this: The 2012 NDAA (signed by Obama) allows for indefinite detention of anyone captured anywhere in the world without charge or trial. That could be you detained indefinitely without sufficient evidence to prosecute. Think that couldn’t possibly happen to an American citizen? Google Anwar al-Awlaki and/or Abdulrahman al-Awlaki. Both American citizens. Both killed by the CIA in targeted drone strikes in Yemen. No trial. No due process.

It's racism and classism, stupid!

I have recently had conversations with people in my life about what money and class mean to them, and what an individual’s relationship to and perception of money and class means for an individual’s spending habits, philanthropic giving, etc.. To say the responses have been varied would be a understatement. These conversations have me thinking about a very complex topic: economics. 

Disclaimer: Although I did achieve an “A” in both micro- and macroeconomics, I am fully aware that I have a limited understanding of the things I will discuss next and am no way an expert on the topic. Bear with me.

Back to economics. We all know that unemployment is “high” in comparison to, say, 15 years ago. I hope we all know that unemployment is always higher for minority groups. If you didn’t know that check this link. It turns out society and mainstream media don't really give a shit until the unemployment affects the “average white male.” Anyway, I digress. 

Econ. Lately we’ve been fed this fallacy that the rich are job creators, and if we tax them they will stop creating jobs. As it turns out our economic system is designed so that the only thing to create jobs is demand, and the rich don’t consume 60% more just because their incomes are 60% higher. Don't believe that? Ask Stephen King. If I were a business owner (rich or not) I wouldn’t hire because my taxes were cut; I would hire when demand reached a point that made an additional employee necessary to maintain a level of customer satisfaction that would ensure continued consumption of my good or service. The way to increase demand is to empower the middle class to consume, but consumption requires money. When wages are stagnant and inflation is anything but the middle class consumes at a slower rate. All of that to make a few points: 1) The rich are not job creators just because they have more money or pay a lower tax rate and 2) We as a society teach and are taught that we will be happy when we consume. This desire to consume (and be “happy”) is what keeps our economic system alive, creates jobs, creates an upper class and middle class, and so much more. 

We as humans are happy when we consume. The more that we consume the more jobs there are for the ‘middle class.’ When there are more jobs for the ‘middle class’ said class has more money. When the ‘middle class' has more money it desires to consume more.

Does consumption really make us happy? If not, how do we go about creating sustainable jobs? Hoarding money isn’t the answer, but buying a bunch of shit has never made me truly happy either. Philanthropic giving can only create so many jobs. We must be more than mice in a wheel, right?