Honest Debate

Well known conservative Senator Rick Santorum was tonight's guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I found out he'd be the guest last week and was extremely eager to see the interview. Santorum is famous for being very right-wing while Stewart could be described as liberal in some respects. I was excited because, ever since the show changed its set, the interview portion has taken on a much more mature and interesting tone. Its turned away from the lame Hollywood interview seen on Leno and Lettermen and turned into one you'd see on Bill Maher or Charlie Rose. I was also excited because Santorum has done some pretty ridiculous things in public and I was kinda hoping Jon would make fun of him... since I really love to hate Santorum. (Remember when I wrote a piece on "Spreading Santorum"?)

Santorum was on promote his new book, It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good. The book's main focus is how the government should be helping to strenghten the basic core building block of a functional society: the family. Unfortunately, Santorum is only talking about one specific type of family, or the best type of family in his mind... the one with one mother, one father, 2.3 kids and a family pet, most likely living in Humbleton, PA (Simpsons reference anyone?).

Given the nature of political shows these days, which The Daily Show really has become, one could expect that it would be as ridiculous as if Al Franken appeared on the O'Reilly Factor or pretty much any other Fox News show... you know... lots of yelling, no real arguments, and the host cutting the microphone of the guest but that didn't happen.

The interview was great. Both sides engaged in civil and respectful debate about ice cream, homosexuality, religion, and family structure without lashing out at each other. It was thoughtful and interesting to listen to both sides. I actually think I started to respect Santorum a little bit (which is really odd for me). The crucial point that I liked was when Jon Stewart mentioned reaching the "point" where its obvious that neither side is able to gain ground in the argument. Unlike most political shows where this often leads to yelling and making ridiculous claims, the show cut to a commercial and came back talking about a new topic.

I'm not sure about anyone else but I'm so greatly encouraged by this type of debate. I am so disgusted by the type of debate that happens on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News, because its not real debate. Typical shows will have two extreme pundits on and the contest is trying to judge who can yell louder, make more ridiculous arguments, and make themselves look like the biggest asses before time is up. The Daily Show didn't do this and therefore should be an example for the so-called news channels, because Jon Stewart was finally able to offer civilized discourse.

I am reminded of when Jon was a guest on CNN's Crossfire where he lambasted both Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson for exactly what I just described. He complained that they were failing to provide a debate show but instead were only offering up theater. Anyone who hasn't seen it should definitley Google the video clip... its easy to find.

Anyway, the point is that I'm so glad to see someone deliver a show on basic cable (I really miss Bill Maher since I don't have HBO) that engages in honest, real, and civilized debate instead of knee-jerk reactionary talk and bitterly hostile fighting where the host is always right and the guest is typically spat upon. We need more shows like The Daily Show. I think its a sad state when Comedy Central can provide better political debate and commentary than the twenty-four hour news channels. Thanks Jon.

Lance

All it took was 86 hours, 15 minutes and 2 seconds. In a tremendous show of strength, endurance, and dedication, Lance Armstrong won his seventh and final Tour de France as he crossed with the peloton in Paris today.

Averaging 41.6 km/h, he covered 3,608 kilometers and beat his nearest competition by more than four minutes and his closest rival, Jan Ullrich, by more than six. The Tour was fantastic this year. It was twenty-one stages of fast paced racing with all the typical ups and downs. I was lucky to catch a lot of it late at night on OLN and I loved every minute of it.

In the final ceremony, Lance spoke to the crowd about the sport, the hardwork it requires, and the determination that a cyclist needs. He also thanked his terrific team, coaches, and fellow riders all in a tone that, in typical Lance style, was selfless and humble.

Here's to you Lance. You are once again a great role model for cyclists, cancer patients, fans, and people around the world. You are a hero to us all. We'll miss you.

Flags

The House of Representatives has passed a measure to amend the Constitution to ban flag desecration. Three times prior has this happened only to be denied the needed 67 votes in the Senate. Proponents of the amendment think the recent election's addition of four Republican seats in the Senate should be enough to finally pass this legislation.

This measure has been a favorite of conservatives since the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 vote that flag burning was covered under one's freedom of expression. The 1989 Supreme Court ruling overturned a 1968 federal statute. I find it quite fitting that flag burning was curbed as a response to anti-Vietnam war protesters using the act and now conservatives want to once again ban the action as support for the Iraq war is quickly waning.

Flag burning is a typical form of protest in many countries around the world. I believe it is disrespectful, especially when Americans do it, but I believe it is a form of speech and expression. Thankfully, our country's constitution values our freedom of speech and expression. This freedom is at the core of and is essential for a free society. A society with regulated speech is not a free society. More importantly, free speech protects speech that you do not like just as much as it protects speech that you do like.

Now I believe that flag burning is disrespectful, but I do not consider it to be unpatriotic. Expressing your dissatisfication for government actions is not unpatriotic. It takes a significant amount of patriotism to express dissatification against your own country. Thomas Jefferson once said that "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" and I agree with him.

The Senate is supposed to address this issue after their fourth of July recess. So, I have decided to demonstrate my freedom of expression and burn the flag in protest of this Anti-Flag Desecration bullshit before it can be taken away from me. I take no pleasure in my actions. I do admit that my actions are childish and disrespectful but more importantly I believe my actions ARE patriotic and outweigh the negative consequences.







Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) has said that "I think acts of flag desecration are offensive conduct we ought to ban in the interest of protecting the greatest symbol of our country." This is where I disagree. You can't just ban offensive conduct and content. You see, the symbol of freedom is not as important as the actual freedoms it represents, and thats where the problem stands. Our freedoms are much more important than the flag.

Bills like this one are a measure to slowly chip away our rights. So if we let this one past, what is next? Is disagreeing with the President and speaking out against his policy offensive? Should we ban that too? Hey, lets go a step farther and just ban all books with offensive content. We can start burning books too. You see, chipping away at the freedom of speech is a steep slippery slope. Our freedom of speech protects offensive and unoffensive content all the same and should stay that way, because otherwise it is no longer a freedom.

As a side note, if this measure should pass, how will people dispose of old flags that are no longer suitable for flying? Section 8k of the Flag Code states, "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning." So, I suppose this would need an amendment as well.

Let's hope the Senate ends this ridiculous charade and gets down to more important and burning issues, because as a nation that is trying to promote Democracy and freedom throughout the world, isn't this measure a little hypocritical?