Annabel Park: The Zombification of America

The deep divisions that exist in America along political, economic and cultural lines have led many Americans to take a highly cynical view of government and its power to serve the people. As we count down the final hours and minutes in which our leaders are unable to avert our economic plunge off the fiscal cliff, that cynicism and fatalism is reinforced.

Last November, the week of the 2012 presidential election, I launched an effort to use the transformative power of dialogue and storytelling to better understand and heal America's divide.  When we began filming our project, known as Story of America, our cameras captured just how divided we were as voters even down to our experiences of voting and our views of the candidates. We filmed people from both sides of the political and economic spectrum covering everything from the role of government to the impact of natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy. By sharing these videos via our website and social media pages, we hoped to help people engage in a national dialogue which could one day bring us all closer together.

After the Newtown massacre, I must confess, my faith in dialogue was tested. Two days after the shooting, I wrote a blog post responding to some of the popular pro-gun talking points that generated 50,000 likes and more than 650 comments, including some very angry and derogatory ones.  I started to wonder if most Americans just live in very different realities, where each side views the other as foreign or insane.

As for me, I found myself viewing my angriest critics as living in a post-apocalyptic America of The Walking Dead, people like zombies who are out to get us, while I and many of my friends were living in a Frank Capra movie.

We took our camera to the NRA press conference in late December, their first one after Newtown. We captured NRA protesters shouting at pro-gun activists trying to disrupt their protest. I was confronted face-to-face with the specter of that existential chasm -- it looked like the NRA protesters and the pro-gun activists were utterly alien and zombie-like to each other.

In fact, when I was interviewing one of the pro-gun advocates he even asked me what would happen to us if we declared a zombie-free zone. We'd get eaten by zombies, he concluded. He started out speaking about zombies figuratively, then compared people who are addicted to meth to zombies.

This is my fear about America in a nutshell: Are we feeling so alienated from one another that we see the other as zombie-like and worthless? That is, not deserving of compassion, a voice in the political process, or even life? And, is this alienation creeping into our legislative process? Everything from gun control to the budget, immigration policies and Stand Your Ground laws?

And if that is the case, what are ultimate consequences and what are the remedies?

I do accept the point of my pro-gun friends and perhaps the creators of The Walking Dead that to some extent that civilization (law and order) is more fragile than we'd like to believe it is and there are some truly awful and destructive people out there. I can readily imagine needing to defend myself from chaotic and violent forces in our society.

The problem is that the belief that civilization is breaking down can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. The less you trust and value civilization and the inherent worth of human beings, the more willing you will be to live outside it and see the people inside as weak, parasitic and worthless. This kind of alienation from our society just is destabilizing.

I believe we have a big choice to make right now and this is the bigger point that I think the creators of The Walking Dead are making: Civilization is a choice, not a given. In order to make that choice, we must think about some fundamental questions about our relationship to each other. Do we see value in each other as human beings? As fellow Americans? Do we want to reaffirm the Union? Do we choose to commit to the principles and the experiment that is America? Is so, what does that mean? Do we consent to the social contract? If so, what does that mean? And, how do we (re)commit to the social contract in a meaningful way?

Something interesting happened for me last Friday outside the NRA press conference that helped me answer some of those questions. Despite my fear that the pro-gun folks lived in a different world, we talked.

After a few minutes of talking, they did not seem alien to me at all. I quickly realized that my initial assessment of them was fear-based and way off. I didn't agree with them, but I was able to have a civil and reasonable conversation with them. In engaging them on this polarizing topic, I was trying to make these points: 1) The gun control issue is really a public safety issue. 2) Guns are already regulated so let's not discuss if it should be regulated but how it should be. 3) The central question comes down to, which regulations are actually helpful from the standpoint of public safety and acceptable from the standpoint of self-defense/gun rights of individuals? Surely, we can have a balance of those two.

Beyond the issue of regulating guns, I realized that my anxiety about our alienation from each other, The Walking Dead problem, can be addressed by talking. Moreover, I think dialogue is itself a reaffirmation of the social contract. If we didn't care about that contract at all, we wouldn't be talking; we'd be shooting or eating each other. We would resort to violence much more often than communication. As it is, even though we're often uncivil and ineffective, we're still talking to each other. That says something. The more we talk to each other with respect (speaking our minds and listening), the less alienated we will be from each other, and the stronger our nation will be.

I know that's a lot of pressure to place on talking and dialogue. However, a sophisticated language is, after all, what distinguishes human beings from the rest of the animal kingdom.

It's tempting to think that the main problem with politics in America is extremism. I think it's a combination of extremism and the silent, browbeaten, apathetic, exhausted, cynical, disengaged and marginalized majority. That majority must now stand together with a roar to reset the course for America by dominating the national dialogue instead of allowing it to be controlled by the loudest and the most divisive few.

Annabel Park is a documentary filmmaker and founder of the Coffee Party USA, a grassroots, non-partisan movement that aims to restore the principles and spirit of democracy in America.

Follow Annabel Park on Twitter: www.twitter.com/annabelpark

Larry Cohen: No More Gentlemen's Agreements

No amount of handshakes or pledges is going to curb obstructionism in the Senate.

The weak package of reforms being offered by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) is not acceptable. It would still provide multiple opportunities for obstructionists to block legislation without any debate and does little to solve the judicial and executive branch vacancy crisis. The silent filibuster would live on for two or more years.

If the Senate's history has taught us anything, we can't afford to go down this road again.

In 2005, the so-called Gang of 14 negotiated a handshake deal to avoid the Republicans' deployment of the "nuclear option," which would have changed the Senate rules mid-session. This bipartisan group of senators agreed to prevent filibusters of judicial nominees except under what they termed "extraordinary circumstances."

But when the balance of power shifted in 2008, Republican senators -- including several who were part of the Gang of 14 -- began blocking President Barack Obama's judicial nominees. Now-California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu and former New York Solicitor General Caitlin Halligan were both denied floor votes on their nominations. On average, it has taken 188 days to confirm a judicial nominee during the current Congress, creating 32 "judicial emergencies," as designated by the Office of U.S. Courts. Today there are more vacancies on the federal courts than when Obama first took office.

The Senate tried again to shake on reform at the start of the 112th Congress. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) vowed to make the Senate "more deliberative and efficient" through "fewer filibusters and procedural delays and more opportunities for debate and amendments." McConnell agreed to limit filibustering on motions to proceed, while Reid promised to cut back on "filling the amendment tree."

This handshake produced no results, as failed cloture votes hit a new record and on the few items that did proceed to the floor, a new record was reached on amendments blocked by the majority leader filling the tree, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Over the past two years, we saw even more gridlock and even less productivity. The chamber passed a record-low 2.8 percent of bills introduced.

We need to overhaul the rules: Eliminate the ability to filibuster the motion to proceed. Force senators wishing to block legislation or nominations to take the floor and actually debate. Demand that those objectors produce 41 votes to sustain a filibuster. Streamline the confirmation process for all nominees.

The Levin-McCain filibuster proposal is without merit. It is not a bipartisan compromise, but an abdication of leadership at a time when meaningful reform is possible. This proposal bows to the entrenched power of the status quo, which has failed our democracy. Senate gridlock is no longer an option for America. Real change is required to restore our democracy, and we expect the Senate majority leader and a majority of senators to do this through the "constitutional option," which allows the senators to change the rules with a simple majority on the first day of a new session.

Jan. 3 begins the new Congress, and we need real change. We have the most expensive Senate money can buy with contested seats in this past election averaging $50 million each, yet there is little likelihood that the issues that divided the candidates will ever be voted on or even debated. Americans have been impatiently waiting for real discussion and debate on immigration, climate change and the economic stagnation that has destroyed the American dream. We're in desperate trouble. The nation's problems can't afford any more delays.

Follow Larry Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cwaunion

Chris Williams: The GOP Congressional Circus

Welcome to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus! Otherwise known as the U.S. Congress, where elephants and donkeys are running amok without cause or concern for the average citizen.

January 1, 2013 became another date to go down in the annals of modern U.S. history. The GOP members in the House of Representatives finally rejoined us in reality and voted to pass the bill to avoid the "fiscal cliff." In recent years, they've become a laughingstock and they could care less about the severity of the problems facing our nation. When Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) couldn't get his own caucus to agree in principle on his "Plan B," Americans should've known the writing was on the wall. It seems there are rival factions within their ranks who operate on a potent homogenous mixture of limited intelligence.

It is apparent that GOP representatives have really out done themselves this time around. The Tea Party element is dragging down the once proud political party's brand of politics. Let's be clear: This "fiscal cliff" debacle solely rests at their feet and they must do something they haven't done in years; claim full responsibility for these problems they've generated. It is true the Democrats must shoulder some of the blame, but it's hard to work with the opposition when they're incapable of working with each other to solve the numerous issues facing our nation at the moment. There is no doubt that the 112th Congress will go down as one of the most callow in U.S. political history.

Washington, D.C. continues to be a place where dysfunction reigns supreme and the American people deserve much better than we're receiving. If the average citizen were performing at their job with 11 percent efficiency, they would be fired without hesitation. Congress has an abysmal 11 percent approval rating and it is appalling. Perhaps this is a glimpse into the bleak future of U.S. politics. Our system has become totally fractured. Is there a way we can fix it permanently? These temporary healing agents being applied to these longstanding problems repeatedly require the attention of an uninterested body of folks who would rather be playing a round of golf with their lobbying friends while being paid a six figure salary by a country they claim to adore.

Actions speak louder than words.

How many more "crises" do we have to endure before things improve? A government continuously operating under crisis mode can't be what our founding fathers envisioned two hundred and thirty seven years ago. Now there is talk of more "crises" heading our way with the spending side of the cliff equation and the debt limit being revisited this spring. One can only imagine how much political capital will be spent and the amount of venomous vitriol that will be leveled against President Obama and the Democrats during those negotiations. .

Dilettantes comprise the modern day GOP. They have a superficial interest in the three branches of U.S. government. Most of their representatives simply can't fathom true governance because they don't understand the concept behind it. We've elected men and women to positions of power who are influenced more by the power of a dollar rather than the power of the people. Money has always been the common denominator in politics, but it is destroying the fabric of our democracy. Too many politicians are concerned about what's going in their own bank accounts over the average Joe or Jane. When this occurs, one political party fights to preserve altruism to their plutocracy while the other political party galvanizes around what's left of a fleeing democracy.

Logomachies dominate the political discourse in the halls of Congress and, as a result, every day citizens keep on losing. Holding last minute congressional meetings to simply find immediate compromises to long-term uncertainties should make every American pause and decide if these individuals are suited for the positions we've elected them to. The bitter, divisive partisanship is getting as old as Tony Romo throwing interceptions in a crucial NFL game in December.

Averting this "fiscal cliff" is the least of our issues. The incessant juvenile tactics being performed on a daily basis by the GOP need to end once and for all. This unhealthy method of conducting national affairs does nothing to advance the ideals we hold dear and try to promote across the globe. Fiscal irresponsibility and rising class inequalities are two things the nation needs to address sooner rather than later. For the past few years, the GOP's unremitting abuse of the Constitution and rules within the House and Senate has allowed them to successfully obstruct anything that President Obama has put forth as a form of legislation to pass into law.

Moderate voices, balanced budgets and common sense are retired notions. Gerrymandering congressional districts has become the GOP's formula for success. They've fallen victim to fanatical right wing media voices and their monotonous agendas. Lacking a progressive direction and diversity (of thought, gender, class and race) will be their ultimate undoing. Unfortunately, the debt-limit ceiling and "fiscal cliff" crises have become the status quo in U.S. politics.

It is up to the American people to decide if they want to keep their front row seats or demand a refund.

Follow Chris Williams on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CWmsWrites

Pentagon Makes 'Magnificent Gesture' To Honor Veterans

SAN DIEGO -- It's been almost 60 years since James McEachin returned home with a bullet still lodged in his chest, finding an America indifferent toward the troops who fought in Korea. Now he will get the homecoming parade he had expected.

The Defense Department for the first time will put a float in Pasadena's Tournament of Roses ' one of the most watched parades ' to commemorate the veterans from a conflict that still casts a shadow over the world.

"I think it's a magnificent gesture and it cures a lot of ills," said McEachin, who will be among six veterans who will ride on the float Tuesday. The 82-year-old author and actor starred in Perry Mason TV movies, among other things.

The $247,000 flower-covered float will be a replica of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Pentagon's debut comes ahead of events marking the 60th anniversary of the July 1953 armistice that halted the bloodshed but did not declare peace.

Col. David Clark said the Pentagon decided to seize the opportunity to sponsor one of the 42 floats in the 124-year-old New Year's Day parade to raise awareness about what has been called "The Forgotten War."

It has taken decades for the success of the war's efforts to be recognized, and the department wanted to remind Americans about the sacrifices that were made by the veterans, most of whom are now in their 80s, Clark said.

The war resulted in South Korea developing into a thriving democratic ally in sharp contrast to its bitterly poor, communist neighbor that is seen as a global threat.

"As a nation, this may be our last opportunity to say `thank you' to them and honor their service," said Clark, director of the department's 60th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee.

The war began when North Korea invaded the South to try to reunify the nation, a liberated Japanese colony sliced in two in 1945 by the U.S. and Soviet victors of World War II.

North Korea had the upper hand at first, almost pushing a weak South Korean-U.S. force off the peninsula, but then U.S. reinforcements poured in and pushed them back.

Then, in late 1950, communist China stepped in and the Americans and South Koreans were forced back to the peninsula's midsection. The two sides battled there for two years before ending with a stalemate.

"We didn't march home in victory. We did what we were supposed to do, which is stop this aggressive force called communism," said McEachin, a Silver Star recipient.

Edward Chang, director of the Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies at the University of California, Riverside, said U.S. intervention gave South Korea the opportunity to become one of the world's major economies.

"Most Americans simply are not aware of what is happening in Korea and how it happened," he said.

More than 36,000 U.S. service members were killed in the conflict, and millions overall.

The government did not talk to troops at the time about how pivotal the war was in stopping communism. After the victory in World War II, the Korean conflict seemed to almost provoke shame for Americans, McEachin said.

The American public also felt no connection to the fighting in a faraway Asian country unlike during World War II when airwaves filled with patriotic fight songs, he said.

McEachin not only returned to indifference but discrimination as an African American soldier.

After the plane carrying returning troops was delayed in Montana by snow, he was turned away from a hotel where his fellow white soldiers were staying.

Korea was the first conflict in which all U.S. military units were integrated racially. Clark said the float's veterans reflect that important historical milestone.

Clark said it's important Americans learn the war's history because the problem is ever present, a point driven home by the heavily mined armistice line, a 4-kilometer-wide (2.5-mile-wide) demilitarized strip stretching 220 kilometers (135 miles) across the peninsula.

"This serves as a reminder that there is unfinished business on the Korean peninsula," he said.

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  Homeless U.S. military veterans salute the flag during the Pledge of Allegiance at a 'Stand Down' event hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs on November 3, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. A week ahead of Veterans Day, more than 500 homeless veterans were expected to attend the event, where they received free clothing, medical care, employment assistance and were able to see a judge to resolve legal issues. Organizers say the homeless veterans population has surged in recent years with the high national unemployment rate. Stand Down is a military term that means a temporary stop of offensive military action. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

• Help For Heroes Preview Of New Facilities At Tedworth House

  A injured serviceman laughs as he uses a exercise bike in the new Help for Heroes' Tedworth House rehabilitation centre for wounded servicemen and women during a press preview day on October 18, 2012 in Tidworth, England. The new facilities are part of a multi-million pound renovation project at Tedworth House, Help for Heroes' flagship Recovery Centre, which aims to inspire wounded, injured, sick and returning veterans to lead active independent and fulfilling lives. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Bachmann Mounts Fight Against Obama Order

In SC, Michele Bachmann wishes Elvis a happy birthday....but it's the anniversary of his death (VIDEO).

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Funniest Michele Bachmann Presidential Campaign Announcement Tweets So Far (SLIDESHOW)

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Here's What Steve Buscemi Would Look Like With Michele Bachmann Eyes - New York News - Runnin' Scared

Fiscal Cliff Deal To Block Pay Hike For Congress

And Now, A Poem From Ted Poe

From Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas): <i>It came on two pages, It has withstood the ages. / The word "shall,'' is only 10 times mentioned, But enough to get one's attention. / No taxes did this law raise, To this day it continues to create much praise; / Two great religions does it claim, The "Law of the Ten Commandments'' is its name. / A current writing, 1,990 pages long, Has a socialist philosophy that is all wrong; / Difficult for the people to understand, And troubling what big government doth demand. / Over 3,445 "shalls'' it does loudly shout, New massive taxes does it proudly tout; / Written in secret by the bureaucrats, For exclusive use of the taxacrats. / The Congressional bill called "Health Care Reform," Is illusionary, the authors are still ill-informed; / Government ought not take over America's health biz. / And that's just the way it is."</i> And so, America, this is why you should have to die of easily treated medical conditions.

Eva M. Clayton: Together We Must Show Leadership for Safe Schools and Communities

For many young people across America, especially in communities of color, gun violence is sadly a normal way of life. In both urban and rural cities and towns from Henderson, NC or Laredo, TX to Chicago or South Central Los Angeles our young people too often die as a result of gun violence. While the massacre of elementary-aged students and a few dedicated adults in Newtown, CT is a national tragedy, we should see it as one example of the failure of our nation's policymakers to be serious about gun safety.

Shortly after the Newtown tragedy, President Barack Obama directed Vice President Joseph Biden to lead an interagency effort to develop "a multifaceted approach... to preventing mass shootings in the future." This is welcomed leadership on a critical issue affecting thousands of lives each year. Consider these facts: There are 129,817 federally licensed firearms in the United States, the most heavily armed country compared to other democratic and industrialized countries, with close to 89 guns for every 100 Americans. In the UK, on the other hand, there are just six guns per 100 citizens.

What's more, every day 87 people die from gun violence. In 2011, my state of North Carolina reported 335 deaths by firearms, which represents an increase of 17 percent over the previous year. This is simply unacceptable -- and we need to take action to ensure these statistics improve and to ensure the safety of our children. With that in mind, it is my sincere hope that Vice President Biden's effort will result in bringing a wide spectrum of our electorate, including those who hold the Second Amendment as sacrosanct, closer together as a community focused on safety first and will ultimately help us all accept that having more guns does not ensure our security and freedom as a nation. As the vice p resident pulls together his team, the focus should be on gun safety and the tangential issues that are part and parcel to increased gun violence.

The Second Amendment should not be used as a deterrent to finding ways to make gun ownership more secure for our society. Our goal must be to reduce the likelihood of future shootings and tragedies. I believe most gun owners, especially our sportsmen, respect and welcome reasonable gun safety regulations and background checks. They understand that a handgun or rifle in the hands of the wrong person is the difference between controlled security and uncontrolled violence and terror.

However, the onus is not on the gun lobby alone. Individually and collectively we will need to make a commitment to examining the role of mental health, our fascination with violent entertainment on television as well as in movies and video games, as the root cause of gun violence in cities and towns across America. For that reason, the approach by the administration must be holistic, engaging all interests to identify actionable goals toward gun safety.

Hopefully, as Americans we will do more than just talk, and will demonstrate a commitment of working together for the common good, of a more safe and more secure neighborhood, community and nation. We need to emerge from our reflection with renewed determination to address the challenges of the tragic and horrific act of violence which occurred in Newtown. We all pray that the loss of lives of those young, innocent children and those dedicated adults will be honored by serious dialogue and as a result concrete action by our elected officials to prevent more mass shootings from becoming a regular occurrence.

Now is the time for all citizens to come together to find a policy solution that makes us all a little safer. Let's not wait for another violent shooting by an unstable or violent person wielding an assault weapon to take and destroy more innocent lives. As citizens, we have to play our parts by holding our elected and organizational leaders accountable. The SOS is clear: we must begin this dialogue and take action now.

Follow Eva M. Clayton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/evamclayton