General Discussion

months before 9/11, my late friend Rubin Carter met with my sons and nephews. He had been telling me to move my family to Canada. He spent time telling the boys -- who grew up thinking of the Hurricane as an uncle -- to move to Canada, even if I was hesitating. The youngest of the nephews said he considered this country to be worth fighting for, although he was not talking about in the military sense too often associated with "fighting for."

Your response is thoughtful, and much appreciated. I'll say I like the flag as a symbol, and think that we on the left should reclaim it. At the same time, I'm not in the least offended if a football player takes a knee, though I am offended when he loses his career as a result. I'm reminded of reading the Sports Illustrated reporting on Muhammad Ali's title defense again Floyd Patterson -- who before the fight said he was fighting "to bring the title back to America, and paid a severe price in the ring for this and related nonsense. The article reported that when Ali was warming up during the national anthem, someone at ringside demanded he stand at attention. And we all know what happened with Uncle Same to end the Champ's career for 3.5 years of his physical prime, until his comeback and then 8 to 0 win in the Supreme Court. Way bigger than sports.

I also like the history of the Constitution, something much more important than any symbol. This summer, I will be speaking at the 250 year celebration in my hometown. Last spring, while speaking there, I reviewed the history of Franklin's Plan of Union, followed by the Galloway Plan of Union (a relative), the Articles of Confederation, then the Constitution, including the influence of the Iroquois chiefs and clan mothers (Chief Waterman's relatives). I spoke about local influences in that bygone era, and my concerns we were moving away fr5om the Constitution today as a nation.

This year, I will add another local connection, starting with a quote from Rubin's speech on the steps of the capital on July 4, 1976. Then I will tell of how my 10th grade English class learned of Rubin's case (by me), then corresponded with him. The teacher who allowed and participated in this was, of course, fired. Still he and my brother were going to take a group of us to Rahway to visit Rubin in person. However, the state of NJ took steps to prevent that. This would be followed, a few years later, by the FBI visiting campus to advise the deans to shut down a planned fund raiser for Rubin's legal defense.

These kind of things influence my understanding of the shit happening today. I apologize for rambling on! I'm old and have suffered two related back injuries yesterday. Yikes! No let up for old men! So thinking about this stuff is my only task today.