"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides

“Middlesex” (529 pages) meshes the stories of three generations that focuses on Middlesex (a family house) and a reference to the major plot of the genetic abnormality, resulting in hermaphoditism (middle-sex).

The author’s imagination is striking. While the mutated gene originated centuries before in Turkey, the immediate source of this abnormality was Callie’s grandparents who were, in fact, siblings growing up in a small village of Greeks in Turkey. Two events shaped Callie’s destiny. The small Greek village in Turkey offered only two choices for Lefty’s wife; he preferred his sister. Secondly, in order to escape the Turk invasion in the early 20th century, they had to escape and marriage was a safer mechanism to maneuver through Ellis Island, the ultimate destiny. While their two children escaped the mutation, one of the son’s children became the victim. How their lives intersected and developed proves a worthwhile adventure.

The pathos generated by a sexual disorder and gender confusion may be extreme, but confusion about our identity and our role even within the network of family and friends can be a struggle, at least at times. Only by recognizing that the confusion can be resolved through our own acceptance of ourselves can we achieve a sense of purpose and peace.

"Unchecked and Unbalanced" by Schwarz and Huq

Reading in retirement permits the luxury of a more detailed investigation of common knowledge. Common knowledge is not universally accepted knowledge. It may not even represent a plurality. But, “common” in this context represents readily available information that is documented by individuals enjoying a reputation of high regard.

The common knowledge referred to in this context includes the following:
a) misrepresentation of facts (if not lies) by high level officials of the US government, including the President
b) concealing information vital to the duties of congressional oversight committees (albeit, some complicity in the failure of the congressional committees to exercise its powers to pursue information)
c) policies and practices that are illegal and counterproductive, e.g., extraordinary rendition, use of torture, illegal gathering of information through warrantless wiretapping.

The authors of “Unchecked and Unbalanced” have credentials to investigate the issues of an administration that wants to operate without constitutional checks and balances. Frederick Schwartz is Senior Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and was at one time, Chief Counsel for the Church Committee. Aziz Huq directs the Liberty and National Security Project at the Brennan Center and a former clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court.

The authors trace the history of other presidents who walk over the lines that the exercise of power, even in the name of national security. In most detail, they review the Church Committee (Cold War background dating back to President Roosevelt, abuses by the Executive Office in the name of national security) and the series of recommendations which were, in fact, resisted by both the executive and legislative branches (it seems that Congress is afraid to exercise its Constitutional powers). Within a generation, the Iran-Contra scandal resulted in another committee issuing similar recommendations to the Church Committee. The most ominous aspect of this committee’s conclusions was the minority report that disagreed with congressional limits on the executive branch. One of the congressmen supporting the minority report was Richard Cheney. It does appear that his interpretations of the Church Committee as grossly infringing the powers of the president would remain thwarted until he emerged at Vice-President, a position further empowered by the incompetence of the President!

The Executive Branch tends to be a slow learner regarding the need to share responsibility of governance with the Legislative Branch. The tendency to exercise unlimited power repeats itself in virtually every administration.

Without repeating the known problems resulting from the Executive Branch’s decision to operate without the benefit of congressional approval, e.g., invasion of personal privacy of US citizens, loss of trust in the President, illegal activity, loss of moral authority within the international community, the section focusing on the role of lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel was particularly of interest, given the number of lawyers in our family. The authors are very critical of lawyers providing rationale for actions sought by the President and top officials of the Executive Branch without explicit reference to the “best view of the law” and the contrary opinions of others (in fact, dissenting officials were excluded from participating in the official ruling). As they state, “lawyers have a responsibility to keep faith with the values underpinning our Constitution”. While they have role of providing counsel to the President, they have a higher calling to the Constitution and the American public.

"Occupation of Iraq" by Ali Allawi

This is the first detailed evaluation of the US intervention in Iraq by a knowledgeable Iraq with academic credentials. While his book is on order, this relatively detailed summary by the author (cited below)is sufficient to enforce the multiple books depicting the lack of planning for the phase following the invasion. Allawi cites a series of incidents that depict the ineptitude of our incompetence. The events cited are not new to the reader but the author’s rendition of these facts increases the reliability of others who have done such great reporting on this tragic international disaster.

"The Book of Ruth" by Jane Hamilton

In spite of the warnings that “The Book of Ruth” by Jane Hamilton (328 pages) had no redeeming qualities, I plowed ahead to verify the report! And, to be sure, it was a test to see if one can endure reading such a series of tragedies. Sadness pervades the pages; there is no escape. Having said that, it is a book that should be added to any list of readings worthy of “the strong of heart”.

In spite of a life that can only be described as blessed with luck and good fortune, I have been a student of death, grief, despair, and tragedy. Whether this trajectory started with my early family life, including my mother’s death when I was thirteen, I cannot be sure even if it is a reasonable basis for such an interest. Studies in existentialism sharpened the view that there was an inherent tragic dimension in life, including the question of its inherent absurdity. Thinking of events depicting man’s power to destroy others, now more streamlined than ever, complements individual cruelty noted in domestic abuse and discrimination based on race, gender, or religion.

My personal good fortune to have escaped my youth rather unscathed and to life an adult life marked by signs of a warm family life, relative success at work, and good health only enforces the view that none of this is attributed to my personal qualities. It is, as in the view of John Rawls, just luck! “The Book of Ruth” depicts the raw outcome for many, many. Ruth’s story takes place in the Midwest, but there are even worse stories never told about those in Dafur and Rwanda, those born into dire poverty as Haiti. The list of tragedies is enormous and in that view, reading “The Book of Ruth” captures extraordinarily well the dilemmas in such lives.

Loss of Influence

Even though the citizens of the United States will pay for Bush’s belief that he was called to bring democracy to those in the Middle East, we tend to focus on the impact on our domestic issues. Using a credit card to support military power results in an inability to address the educational, health, infrastructure needs of our country.

David Ignatius confronts the significant loss of our power to influence the outcome of issues impacting peoples of other nations. The deterioration of our status in the eyes of world leaders is compounded by our inability to “purchase” good will. Our fiscal situation limits what we can give to others (not that it was significantly high before).

While we can hope that a new president will establish a path that will give other nations and leaders reason to reconsider their position with us, we will remain handicapped by the fiscal constraints resulting from the massive debt caused by the combination of tax cuts and higher expenditures.

The Futility of the Surge!

H.D.S. Greenway is a person with wonderful insight into many international situations. His weekly column in the Boston Globe focuses on the inevitable failure of the current surge in Iraq.

He is not the first to come to such a conclusion. However, his reasoning provides another basis for the conclusion.

Referencing the usual scenarios of an intervening power that either bolsters the existing government or secures power for the opposition, he notes that the US and its coalition has (1) undermined the existing (Sunis), (2) established a new power source (Shiites), only then (3) concluding that the new power based (Shiites) is not acceptable. Now, the US is fighting both the Sunni insurgents and the Shiite militia, confirming that everyone will only hate us more!

Iraq: What to Do/

While few disagree with the perception that the intervention in Iraq resulted in a disaster, there is confusion about what to do now. Some see the surge in military power as hope for success or stability. Others who are convinced of ultimate failure want US military personnel removed from combat sooner or later. Most sense utter chaos without military support, yet the military is itself a source of conflict. A political solution is called for, but there is scant evidence that the Iraqis can pierce their interpersonal antagonism.

In most discussions, the focus centers on the current status of the disaster. We tend to avoid assigning responsibility for the Iraq disaster to the United States. The United States made many decisions that impacted negatively the Iraqi people: supporting Hussein with arms, including chemical weapons, in the Iran-Iraq war; sanctions against Iraq that resulted in depleting the human resources of the nation, e.g., health and education, with minimal impact on Hussein; starting the Iraq conflict without international concurrence and on dishonest premises; rushing to destroy Hussein without plans for stabilizing the society, and on and on.

Without assuming responsibility for the disaster, the rhetoric of those trying to minimize further catastrophe, especially to our troops, is prone to dishonesty. We have created a situation that is akin to Dante’s inferno! And we then want to walk away! The editorial in the National Catholic Reporter critiques the language of Democrats trying to leave the burden of stabilizing the nation to the Iraqis, even if they lack the means (we are afraid of supplying appropriate weapons and equipment because they may be used against us) and the capacity to compromise.

Few seem to agree with my strategy, but it seems honest and, minimally, offers other nations a chance to reconsider the Iraq disaster independently of their negative attitudes toward the United States, viz., admit openly our ownership of the disaster and then ask the international community and the nations most intimately vested in the outcome of the region, to initiate a new strategy with new leadership, albeit with US cooperation. We need help to rectify the damage we created. We cannot walk away, but we cannot resolve the situation without help. And we will not get help unless we own up to what we did.

Visit with Joseph at Thirteen Months!

One grows old,
Another just begins.

Life for one becomes structured.
For the other, a world open to all!

Grandfather envies such vitality,
Grandson smiles in return.

Maybe grandchild penetrates sameness,
With guileless innocence.

A chance to renew,
Watch the smile,
Feel the energy,
Know there’s more,
And all is good.