Global
Traveling around the world, there’s no question that Trump has made it harder to be American. There has always been a fair amount of explaining involved, but there’s no way to rationalize the inexplicable and indefensible, except to note that we are all involved in fighting for freedom in our home countries now. We have to stand tall and accept that being an American now involves a certain amount of embarrassment over the greed, racism, and chauvanism spewing from the White House.
We’ve gotten some rare respite from these feelings surprisingly by hosting the World Cup. Most of us are pretty ignorant of the beautiful game. Who knew a red card meant that a player was ejected from than game and one more, but it’s been wonderful to see and hear the oohhs and aahhs from foreign visitors first discovering America, even if it’s a hard swallow to take pride in Buc-cee’s, knowing that every dollar spent is enriching its far right, archconservative Texas owner.
The 250th bloodyversary brings few surprises, all bad. Between white supremes and supreme right justices, we can’t tell bait and switch from any other shell game. But people are on the peacepath, closing accounts at bad actor banks (all/most-all) and partying on the grave of Alligator Alcatraz, while keeping vigil at Delaney Maul and the California coast, which the Don would be pleased to obliterate. Sorry, not a Good News week.
The U.S. Congress has always given dramatically larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to solar or wind. Yet, just now, in the middle of a heat wave, with renewables having just become the world's largest source of electricity, not to mention the most affordable, the Energy Secretary has announced an end to all subsidies for solar and wind and the removal of energy efficiency rules for home appliances, risking disastrous power outages.
Congress could make this country a leader in renewable energy in a short period of time for a fraction of what it spends on wars that the President openly says are fought for fossil fuels. (Or do we keep using fossil fuels in order to have wars over them?)
The United States has done more damage to the climate than any other nation, and its current level of climate damage is rivaled only by China, which has four times as many people and is now engaged in the world's largest investment in green energy.
As we celebrate July 4th and America’s 250th, let’s hold space for the lives around the world who have been touched by America’s military actions abroad. Such as in Palestine, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and Lebanon to mention few.
Commemoration is not only about honoring our own story — it’s about recognizing our shared humanity and remembering those who have suffered, struggled, or been displaced.
Mahmoud El-Yousseph, Ret. USAF veteran, Westerville, Ohio
“When the Earth Speaks” was the title last month of the world premiere of a production in which highly effective photos synchronized with extraordinary music performed by a talented string quartet from the Yale School of Music brought home the global warming crisis.
It took place before a packed audience at the North Fork Arts Center’s Sapan Greenport Theatre in Greenport, Long Island.
The combination of the photos, from 86 countries, selections from the international BarTur Photo Awards competition, and the music conveyed well the rapidly increasing calamity of climate change.
The award program was created by Amnon BarTur, a veteran photojournalist. He spoke at the event as did José García-León, the dean of music at Yale University, among others. Composers of the music and musicians who performed it, also spoke.
There was a panel from which I was privileged to make a presentation.
As Americans and people of other former colonies recognize, there’s a great deal to be said for national independence.
But, at times, we might also wonder: is it sufficient?
Until recently in human history, imperialism was widespread. In 1939, Britain’s Empire and Commonwealth alone had direct or de facto political and economic control of 25 percent of the world’s population and 30 percent of its land mass. In fact, only a century ago, nearly half of today’s independent nations were European colonies.
