321 results for author: Phil Anderson

On Tolerance

Tolerance is essential to our society. But intolerance is increasing in our country. People are increasing divided over religion, politics, ethnicity, race, sexuality and, it seems, just about everything. With the celebration of Juneteenth it seems appropriate to revisit this important topic. This article was originally written in 2017 but is, unfortunately, still relevant. “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” President John F. Kennedy “Tolerance is giving to every other human being every right that you claim for yourself.” Robert G. Ingersoll I ...

Tolerance of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

“Tolerance, n., willingness to accept behavior and beliefs that are different than your own although you may not agree or approve of them.” Cambridge Online Dictionary Republican attacks on LGBTQ and transgender people are increasingly ridiculous. The flap over transgenders playing sports is an example. Transgender people are 0.39% of Wisconsin's population. All people have varying ability to compete in sports regardless of gender. Clearly this is not a problem, nor does it need legislative attention. If anything it needs legislation affirming equal rights and the freedom to be who you are. But even the ridiculous can be dangerous to those ...

Manufacturing Enemies

“Once weapons were manufactured to fight wars. Now wars are manufactured to sell weapons.” Arundhati Roy, novelists, human rights and environmental activist. In order to manufacture wars one must also manufacture enemies. Over the years, our government has been remarkably prolific at manufacturing enemies. Most of these alleged enemies were not a threat to our “national security” in any significant way. Most of these enemies did not have the military, economic or logistical capacity to be a serious threat to anyone. But these enemies did provide the excuse for continuous, ever increasing, military spending. Enemies were manufactured to sell ...

We Don’t Have to Live Like This

"Gun violence is a scourge that is unique to this country, and that is why we are taking action...We don't have to live like this." Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer “They’re banishing books from their schools. We’re banishing hunger from ours.” Minnesota governor Tim Walz Gov. Whitmer was talking about the recently enacted legislation to strengthen gun control laws in Michigan. In 2020 men armed with assault rifles entered the Michigan capital building protesting pandemic safety policies. There was also a failed plot by anti-government extremists to kidnap Gov. Whitmer. Michigan has good reasons to limit access to guns. Minnesota's ...

Living in Fear

“There is something deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you are unwilling to resolve.” Miroslav Volf, theologian and author.   “No amount of words can express the loss our community feels for the fallen heroes of the Village of Cameron Police Department and Chetek Police Department. My prayers continue to go out to the families and loved ones...” Rep. Tom Tiffany on the two police officers recently killed in NW Wisconsin in a traffic stop shootout.   Tiffany has been a strong opponent of all efforts to pass sensible gun control laws. There is something “deeply hypocritical” about his unwillingness to do ...

Gun Violence Needs Action Not Prayers

  “There is something deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you are unwilling to resolve.” These are the words of Miroslav Volf, a protestant theologian. This applies to the recent shooting of two police officers from Cameron and Chetek. Tragically both were killed in a shootout following a traffic stop. It is “deeply hypocritical” to lament the death of these officers (or the tens-of-thousands of gun deaths each year) when we are “unwilling to resolve” the problem of gun violence. The shooter was wanted for not paying child support. He had a history of domestic abuse and violence. Why did he have a loaded gun in ...

No Limits on Craziness

The divisive, destructive culture wars of right wing extremists is increasingly bizarre. Their social and legislative agenda has moved way beyond past conservative, pro-business, patriarchal control. It is no longer about small government, low taxes, unregulated free markets, militarism and anti-communism Their agenda has become completely crazy.   The right wing plutocracy (Koch brothers, et.al.) started all these culture wars as a divide and conquer tactic. It served their political agenda to divide liberal from conservative, black from white, immigrant from native, urban from rural, union from non-union and religious fundamentalists from ...

Taxes and Endless Military Spending

“If the Department of Defense can’t figure out a way to defend the United States on a budget of more than half a trillion dollars a year, then our problems are much bigger than anything that can be cured by a few more ships and planes.” Former Defense Secretary Bob Gates   Sec. Gates was a conservative Republican appointed by President G.W. Bush. He was speaking in 2006 when the budget for the Department of Defense was considerably less than today. But his statement is still valid. The American people have been manipulated and deceived into paying way too much for “defense” with little to show for it.   There are many, ...

Fools Rush In…

Fools Rush In...   “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread” is a line from a famous love song. As with romantic relationships, foolish behavior is common to Homo sapiens. It is universal across societies and history. But Americans – who frequently are told our nation is “exceptional” and God's chosen people –  are exceptionally easy to fool and exceptionally prone to engage in foolish  behavior.   This national trait is more then fools and their money being soon parted. Our foolishness is ubiquitous across a broad range of behaviors, at all levels of our society, with consequences affecting many more people than ...

Ruminations on the Wisconsin Election

The April 4th Wisconsin election was a huge victory for progressives. Judge Janet Protasiewicz soundly trounced the conservative candidate by an 11% margin. This overwhelming victory will have a major positive impact on Wisconsin. The court is now controlled by judges whose rulings will be guided by seeking justice within the law. The highly partisan rulings of the past 15 years will end. The ridiculous notion that judicial rulings on social issues must adhere to the “original intent” of earlier racists and misogynists will no longer limit progress. It will now be possible, as it always should have been, for the law to evolve as knowledge, ...