Wije
July 6. 2011
Çortlartb (Observer
Page 7
O pinion
Hijacking America’s ‘Pledge of Allegiance’
■W T
No new taxes
ideology puts
nation at risk
M arian W right E delman
O ver the long ho li­
day w eekend, children
gathered in tow ns and
cities around the co u n ­
try ooh-ing and aah-
in g o v e r fire w o rk s ,
m arching in parades,
proud o f their heritage and proudly
w aving the A m erican flag.
M ost o f them still believe in the
prom ise o f A m erica— a prom ise re­
flected in so m any o f the values and
ideals that underlie the founding
docum ents o f our nation and the
Pledge o f A llegiance so m any o f us
learned as children and repeated
each m orning in school.
B u t to d a y th e p r o m is e o f
A m erica’s Pledge o f A llegiance is in
jeopardy for m illions o f our n a tio n ' s
children, and right now m any o f our
elected officials are letting another
pledge take precedence. A m ericans
for Tax R eform , the organization
headed by G rover N orquist, created
by
4.1 44TW-,
•
•
w-w« • ••
the “T a x p a y ef Protection Pledge
25 years ago and now “asks every
candidate for elected office on the
state and federal level to m ake a
w ritten com m itm en t to their c o n ­
s titu e n ts to ‘o p p o s e a n d v o te
against tax in creases.’”
M any o f o u r current C o n ­
g r e s s io n a l le a d e r s h a v e
signed onto this pledge and
now seem to believe it is the
o n ly p le d g e th ey need to
honor. They are so determ ined
and dug in they are w illing to
d efault on o ur country ’ s obligations
in o rd er to stick to it— and their
loyalty to this n o -new -taxes pledge
is putting m illions o f o ur children
and entire nation at risk.
But w hat about those elected
le ad e rs’ Pledge o f A llegiance to the
flag, and to the republic for w hich it
stands, and to the prom ise o f liberty
and ju stic e for all? D oes that pledge
still m atter? A nd if so, how can there
be liberty for all o u r children w hen
o u r public ed ucation system is co n ­
dem n in g so m any o f them to fail­
ure— unable to read and do math
p roficiently at grade level in this
g lobalizing co m p etitiv e w orld?
H ow can there be justice for our
.4
nation ’ s youngest citizens w hen they
are the poorest age group in rich
A m erica and have gotten poorer—
15.5 million in 2009? How could some
C ongressional leaders consider dis­
m antling the health care program so
many o f our poor children rely on and
propose cuts in federal nutrition pro­
gram s at a time when hunger and food
insecurity are ram pant and grow ing?
And how can there be justice for
our children if the m illionaires and
billionaires and the richest corpora­
tions d o n ’t pay anyw here near their
lair share and have reaped hugely
disparate benefits from Bush-era tax
cuts w hile the nation is mired in debt
contributing to the w idest gap be­
tw een rich and poor ever recorded?
H ow can any m em ber o f C ongress
even consider balancing the budget
on the backs o f our babies and chil­
dren w ho are losing their hom es and
all sense o f security about tom or­
row?
P resident O bam a m ade som e o f
the choices very plain in his recent
press conference.
A s he put it: “ If w e choose to
keep those tax breaks for m illio n ­
aires and billionaires, if we choose
to keep a tax break for corporate je t
Anticipating Supreme Court Blockbusters
Justices should
stay clear of
politics
J udge G reg M athis
T h e U .S . S u p re m e
C ourt ended its spring
term w ith a bang, siding
w ith d is c o u n t re ta ile r
W al-M art and blocking a
sex discrim ination law suit filed on
b eh alf o f w om en w ho w ork for the
com pany. T hough the c o u rt's d eci­
sion in the case will forever im pact
the w ay class action law suits are
handled, it m ay seem like sm all p o ­
tatoes w hen com pared to the cases
the court has on its docket for its fall
term.
by
to not recognize sam e sex m arriages.
C urrently only seven states and
the D istrict o f C olum bia issue m ar­
riage licenses to sam e-sex couples.
F o u r o th e r states allo w
sam e-sex unions. U nfortu­
nately, the federal g o v ern ­
m ent d o e sn 't recognize any
o f these unions. T he D e­
fense o f M arriage A ct was
passed in 1996 and barred
federal recognition o f same-
sex m arriages and allow s states to
do the sam e if they wish. T he Ju s­
tice D epartm ent, spurred on by Presi­
dent O bam a, has decided to stop
defending D O M A in court, paving
the w ay for a reversal o f the law.
O n the healthcare front, states
a re c h a ll e n g in g th e fe d e ra l
g o v ern m en t’s right to require citi­
zens to purchase health insurance.
T he sw eeping healthcare reform
u sh ered in by P resid en t O bam a
m andates that all individuals be
co v ered under a health insurance
policy. The law s o p p o n en ts say
C ongress overstepped its C o n sti­
tutional authority. If the C ourt
shares this view point, the reform we
all pushed for could fall flat. If it does
not, the la w 's detractors will have
suffered a m ajor legal and political
blow.
the U .S. fo ld s c u rre n t u n d o c u ­
m ented im m igrants into society and
will affect the w ay w e protect o ur
borders. A rizona and a sm attering
o f other states w ith hardline im m i­
gration laws where illegal immigrants
are aggressively identified, p ro s­
ecuted and deported, m ay very well
learn w hether or not those law s are
legal under the U.S. C onstitution.
T h e re 's no w ay o f te llin g how
the C o u rt w ill vote. W e m u st te m ­
p e r o u r o p tim ism fo r p ro g re ssiv e
ru lin g s w ith the fact th a t th e c u r­
ren t c o u rt is d o m in a te d by J u s ­
tic e s a p p o in te d by R e p u b lic a n
p re sid en ts. T h o u g h th e J u stic e 's
d e c isio n s sh o u ld no t be b ased on
p o litic s, it is not u n re a so n a b le to
th in k the J u stic e s sh are th e sam e
id e o lo g y as th e p a rtic u la r p re s i­
d en t w ho a p p o in te d th em .
L e t’s hope that the Justices will
stay far aw ay from politics w hen
they resum e court in the fall. It has
been decades since the court has
heard cases that have such a far
reaching im pact on A m erican so ci­
ety; we need them to in their assess­
m ents and interpretations o f the laws
and not lean on their conservative
view points.
W hen the C ourt resum es this fall,
the Justices w ill rule on som e o f
to d a y ’s hottest and m ost c o n tro ­
versial issues, including sam e sex
m arriage; the health care law, im m i­
gration and, perhaps, affirm ative
action. T heir final rulings will impact
A m erican life in asignificant way for
decades to com e.
The gay rights m ovem ent has
picked up steam in recent years and,
now , a key issue in that fight w ill be
Greg Mathis is a form er M ichi­
argued in front o f the court. Justices
gan District Court Judge and cur­
w ill decide w hether or not it is u n ­
T he C o u rt’s ruling on im m igra­ rent syndicated television show
constitutional for the governm ent tion reform w ould influence the way judge.
ow ners, if w e choose to keep tax
breaks for oil and gas com panies
that are m aking hundreds o f billions
of dollars, then that m eans w e have
to cut som e kids o ff from getting a
college sch o larsh ip .,. Before we ask
our seniors to pay m ore for health
care, before we cut o u r ch ild re n ’s
education, before we sacrifice our
com m itm en t to the research and in­
novation that w ill help create m ore
jo b s in the econom y, I think it’s only
fair to ask an oil com pany or a c o r­
porate je t o w n er that has done so
w ell to give up a tax break that no
other business e n jo y s.”
O ur nation does have a huge
deficit problem — but C ongress has
tunnel vision on the w rong one. O ur
m ost d an g ero u s deficits are o ur
values deficit and narrow self inter­
est w hich pose the biggest threat to
our future and o ur c h ild ren ’s future
and the very idea o f A m erica.
O ur failure to invest in our ch il­
dren has already led to a deficit in
hum an capital and com panies are
tro u b le d by an u n d e re d u c a te d
w orkforce that can barely keep up
w ith business today. If w e d o n ’t fix
o ur education system and prepare
all o f o ur children to thrive in the
global econom y, A m erica’s prom ­
ise m ay die forever.
A s w e c e le b ra te o u r stro n g
n a tio n ’s independence, let us all
pledge to ensure all o ur children a
m ore— not less—ju st land.
Let us dem and that all o ur politi­
cal leaders pledge not to ask ch il­
dren to sacrifice their hopes and
health and food and education w hile
asking for no sacrifice from pow er­
ful b illio n aires and co rp o ratio n s
w ho have gained far m ore than their
fair share.
Marian Wright Edelman is presi­
dent o f the Children's Defense Fund.
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