What Has Nancy Pelosi Been Smoking?

What Has Nancy Pelosi Been Smoking?

Recently I read a blog that included a list of quotations from Nancy Pelosi. The commentator was critical of the House Speaker and suggested that we “take a good hard look” at what she wants. So I complied. Applying my best analytical skills to the Pelosi quotes here is what I came up with.

It appears to me that the Democratic House leader believes the rich are faring well under the Bush Administration, and the poor are not, and she feels something should be done, such as reverse the tax breaks for the rich. I noticed a report out this past week, that the gap between the rich and the poor is wider today than any time since the 1920’s, which would give credence to the Speaker’s objection--and would also put the lie to the “trickle down” theory in which the blogger puts great stock. The blogger seemed to be conveying the message by his quote selection that those who are not rich don’t deserve to share in the nation’s plenty. Being one of the non-rich, I would agree with Pelosi that “we” work as hard as or harder than any rich CEO. I think it is appropriate for us of diminished financial status to have a “powerful” spokesperson to give the other side of the story.

The blogger’s implicit message was, “If you want milk, get yourself a cow. Don’t take my milk.” In response, I would assert that, certainly, the American economy is healthy because of capitalism’s invitation to grab opportunities, but an equally important principle for sustaining national prosperity is the general share in the abundance. Capitalism inevitably runs to greed and exploitation unless checked, which is an economic as much as moral concern (e.g., Enron, etc.). The Hebrew people in Old Testament times practiced a check on this human trait with the spiritually enlightened Jubilee year, which periodically leveled the rich--to be blunt, took their gains away from them. How America today handles our prosperity can be an excellent measure of our Christian heritage. Nancy Pelosi is strumming the theme of justice, which is a friend, not an enemy, of prosperity.

One of the Pelosi quotes, the blogger felt slam-dunked his point. He dumped on the congresswoman for wanting to befriend illegal immigrants as deserving of humanitarian treatment. His is a good American knee-jerk reaction to our sense of “just rewards” for our hard work. But for some reason “a little voice” reminded me of a story, typical of Jesus’ way of thinking, of the wealthy gentleman of suspect politics (a “Samaritan”) who indulged a “poor” wayfarer in a plight. The Good Samaritan moved aggressively to balance the scales.

Just as Jesus stayed out of politics, I don’t offer any suggestions here about the current political/ legal immigrant issue. Seal the borders, tighten naturalization rules--whatever. But the non-citizen Mexicans are here, among us. I consider justice and compassion to be a central theme of the Christian Bible (both Testaments), and it is not selective. At one point, regrettably, in our national history, native Indians and African slaves were the illegals (non-citizens). How they got here was not the point. The accepted, politically correct, least complicated solution was to deport them, whether it was Andrew Jackson’s “trail of tears,” or Lincoln’s preference for “colonization.” Do the Natives and the Blacks contribute today to our nation? As much as anyone else, and always have. Don’t disparage the unnoticed. They are us.

I guess I am a “Pelosian." I’ll go even farther than the Democrat House Speaker. I think my stand for even justice joins me with one of the finest traditions our country has (allegedly) championed. I think everyone should have a chance to be an American, in our best, non-nationalistic spirit. I’m not naïve about our country’s past, and I’ll keep my eye on Nancy squinted, but I see no reason we can’t individually practice the great ideal and “infect” those who have lost the vision.

One thing I’m going to do next semester to impact a few disadvantaged lives (until my Division Dean or the college book store discover it) is put multiple copies of $100 text books on reserve at the library, and tell my students they need not buy one. (I am bombarded with free exam copies from publishers.) Does this take from the rich (book stores, publishing companies, and best selling authors) by diminishing sales? I guess so. More power to me. I’m here to help impoverished future leaders. (I can remember two years of college before I could afford to buy textbooks.) If we help each other, we all gain.

I don’t think I will go wrong if I embrace the part of our national past that squares with the principles of justice in ordinary life, despite the “rules” of those in political and financial power.

P.S. Let me note a personal peeve about the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer to the detriment of the student population we allegedly serve. If the well-paid and professionally facilitated full-time faculty at Chabot didn’t hog the on-line classes (against the teachers‘ union rules), us poor, harried "adjuncts," who teach the majority of classes, wouldn’t have to carry the classroom load. (Each semester I have over 100 students. If they want counsel from me, we meet in the hallway, for I don’t have an office. The offices are locked and silent while the full-timers are at home teaching on-line.) Think of the students. Where’s the Pelosian, Old Testament, messianic justice? Can you imagine how much more I could contribute to the world if I spent my 3-4 hours of commute-time per day reading, writing, and teaching on-line, rather than driving around emitting carbon dioxide? But then, if I could focus my energies, I would be a danger to the good-old-boys. My dedication and hard work are not in doubt. Pardon my immodesty, but we have here a problem of economic injustice damaging the general welfare by hamstringing potential benefit for all.

Put that in your pipe and extrapolate it.

Doug Good