U.S. - Russia

I have for some time now been planning a panel discussion on U.S. – Russia relations as part of the Institute’s program this Spring. It seems appropriate in the context of the actions of Vice President Biden to change the focus of foreign policy of the country. It appears that the new administration will work towards fixing the impaired relationship with Russia. The moving force behind this change is the shift in foreign policy priorities by the new administration towards focusing on Iran and Afghanistan, and the desire to ensure support on the matter from the Russian side. A stated change of attitudes on the issue of Georgia’s joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is believed to have followed after proposals for the U.S. to leave Kyrgyzstan’s Manas air base through which NATO and U.S. troops are supplied in Afghanistan. It has been argued that Russia influenced the decision to request the eviction. The most recent developments come after the meeting between Vice President Biden and Deputy Prime Minister Ivanov in Munich as both have expressed the intention to work towards better co-operation between the two countries.

Last week...

I would like to briefly mention two important and interesting events from last week.

First, the House of Representatives passed the $819 billion stimulus package proposed by President Obama with a vote of 244 to 188, which meant zero Republican support together with some Democrats (11) voting against it as well. Definitely, not a bipartisan bill. In an earlier post, I mentioned the discussion of the natural lags associated with the infrastructure part of the stimulus package. Even though, it is appropriate to question the immediate efficiency of the stimulus in light of this, it is also appropriate to ask the question whether this is just a temporary measure to strengthen the economy or an effort to ensure sustainable growth even after it heals.

The second event was President Obama’s signing of a measure which would again permit the funding of health organizations which promote or provide abortions in developing countries. I found this interesting because of its possible implications for the perception of the US among such countries as I remembered a comment by one of the Eisenhower Institute’s guest speakers last semester. The guest spoke on the fears expressed by international participants years after the Fourth World Conference in Beijing of a possible retraction of the advancements made with respect to women’s reproductive health provoked by the election of President Bush in 2001. Most of you probably remember that one of the first acts by the then President Bush was to reinstate the Global Gag Rule.

Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Education & Access Revisited

Throughout the week, I've been preoccupied with evaluating, or perhaps reevaluating, the meaning of Martin Luther King Jr's (MLK) legacy as we have elected the first African American president of the United States, Barack Obama. I reflect upon some of the wisdom contained in Martin Luther King's letter he wrote in a Birmingham jail, with some excerpts:

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society…when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"…Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?"

…Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal. Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Can any law enacted under such circumstances be considered democratically structured? (Read the whole letter)

After contemplation, I think there one particular area that impedes our country from fully realizing MLK's dream: Education and access.

Access & Education

Having an African American president is an accomplishment for our country--in many ways we still haven't yet realized--but we need to face that reality that inequality exists. Furthermore, it's not the time to become apathetic to the continued need to restore access for all, since access for minority groups in the United States still varies greatly. We are fortunate that President Obama can serve as an example as the type of achievement possible in the United States for minorities. Unfortunately it doesn't eliminate the serious problems facing our country. It is known that education and access for the future are inextricably linked. Knowing this link, I think one of the most important things our nation needs to continue to work on in order to fully realize MJK's dream is equality in education.

Still in the modern United States, where a person is born largely dictates their ability to graduate High School or go to College. This inequality continues to persist along socioeconomic and racial lines. It is known that there are lower educational expectations for people growing up in rural or urban areas than in many suburban school districts. Receiving my own primary and secondary education in a rural school district, I am aware of these challenges that parallel the economic access of the community.

How can we expect all of the citizens of the United States to have equal opportunity to find their "American dream" if we subjugate thousands of our own citizens to sub-par public schools? According to the National Assessment for Educational Progress, 4th graders growing up in low-income communities are 3 grade levels behind their peers in high-income communities, and 50% of these students won't graduate by the time they're 18 years old. Until we move beyond the apartheid war waged in our low income communities, there's little hope to fully realize MLK's dream. Along with this, I think our nation needs to revisit the integration debate. Many school districts, especially urban districts, still are cast along racial lines. Our culture needs to have serious conversations about the ramifications of creating an educational apartheid in the 21st century, as suggested by Jonathan Kozol in his book Shame of the Nation.

Luckily there are programs and people within the United States that are fighting against this educational injustice. Programs such as Teach for America have started closing the achievement gap. Other organizations have been formed to encouraged early retirees to dedicating time in the classroom either teaching or volunteering in public schools. These will help somewhat, but are in many ways putting band-aids over bigger problems.

Our nation needs lasting education reform that encourages bright graduates of colleges to becoming teachers. No Child Left Behind sought to work on this problem, but at the end of the day probably created even more problems. Any program that punishes schools that are underachieving by eliminating funding obviously misses the problem in the first place.

Our country deserves embrace the fact that kids who are minorities and/or live in poverty can achieve educational results. For far too long the prevailing assumption has been that certain groups did not have the ability to achieve. Study after study show that these students can achieve. They need to help to high levels of academic expectation and rigor in order to achieve the results. Wow, these sure are radical concepts: high levels of academic expectation.

Coming back to MLK's legacy for a minute, my last point is still linked with the underlying racism that our nation needs to deal with. Even though our country has come a very long way, racism is alive and continues to fester in our nation. We have the ingenuity and talent within this country to reestablish access and educational opportunities for everyone and erradicate racism once and for all--living in the richest country in the world. Our largest investment in our future as a sovereign nation begins with investing in our next generation of citizens.

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Note:

There are plenty of other areas our country must address relating to MLK's vision: Equality under the law, voting, and GLBT issues for instance. This post focused only on two areas, but I don't want to minimize other important issues our nation must face. His vision will become more important our demographic population continues to become more mixed and the edges of one's ethnicity blurs.

Lags

One thing that I found interesting in light of President Obama’s Inauguration is a discussion in the AP from last week of the actual lags that the proposed fiscal stimulus may experience. Some of the economists at the Congressional Budget Office have argued that the proposed infrastructure projects will actually take several years to boost the economy. According to the CBO, stimulating the economy through investment in public projects may not be as effective because some of the funds aimed at strengthening the economy will be released over the next one to four years. As the AP indicates, less than half of the proposed $30 billion will reach the economy in the next four years.

The current recession is expected to last more than a year. However, the economy is likely to begin recovering towards the end of 2009. What is the conclusion? A good deal of the funds specifically meant for infrastructure will reach the economy when it is actually expected to be in the process of healing. Even though, this is only a part of the solution proposed to fix the problem, it is also an illustration of the challenges that the new administration is to face. Definitely, the campaign is over and the new administration is in. I am curious to hear the 44th President’s State of the Union Address in 2010, read it alongside his Inauguration Speech and assess the implications of graduating in an economy that is still healing.

New York State of Mind

Today New York Governor Paterson named Representative Kirsten Gillibrand as the woman to fill the space left by Senator Hillary Clinton as she moves into the role of Secretary of State. As a native New Yorker, I'm pleased that another woman is stepping into state leadership; however, as a liberal Democrat I am less impressed by Gillibrand's NRA endorsement. But coming from the 20th district, her centrism helped her get where she is and will no doubt aid her in Washington, D.C. Originally a Manhattan attorney, Gillibrand unseated a four-term Republican when she ran in 2006 during the midterm elections that turned the tide of Congress in favor of the Democratic party. However, Gillibrand has clearly proven she is more than just a one hit wonder with this appointment.

Watching Democracy in Action

For me, the Inauguration was more than the swearing in of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States, it was watching Democracy in Action. It is a testament to our democratic system that we can transition from one administration to another without major bumps in the road. Although I have seen other inaugurations, this was the first time I truely understood the action of peacefully swearing in a new leader. Senator Feinstein said it best when she was describing that other transitions in other states do not go as smoothly as our.

As a political science major, I begin to fully understand the importance of peaceful and clean transitions for the continued political development within our political system. Watching the inauguration allowed me to fully appreciate our history and our political cultural development. It was a great experience to witness history and watch as one chapter in American history ends, and another one begins.

Yes We Can

Of course the title for my first post about the Obama administration is predictable, but the now familiar phrase rings true nevertheless. Watching the inauguration of the 44th president, who also happens to be the first of African American descent, was a moment in which I felt unspeakable pride in my country. No, I wasn't among the brazen millions out in the cold streets of Washington, D.C., but I knew that they too felt the significance of the moment and the potential it fortells of the next four years.

Students across campus watched in dorm rooms and classrooms, online and in the Ballroom, some excited, other disappointed, but all happy to hear a shout-out to Gettysburg in the inaugural speech. And Obama seemed to encapsulate the attitude of our country perfectly- that, yes, we are in the midst of economic difficulty, but that we are more than capable of remaining the world power we have been for most of the past century as long as we are united in goals and vigilant with our efforts to achieve them.

I think this is a time for new positivity, and new confidence in the American government.