A bit on the Internet the other day hinted that actress Glenn Close confessed to growing up in a “cult.” Turned out the cult her family had joined was Moral Rearmament, a post-World War II group that attracted recruits from over the United States and Europe and created the “Up With People” organization. “Up With People” still exists, sending talented young people all over the U.S. and Europe presenting musical performances and promoting good behavior.
A friend of mine from Iola High School joined Moral Rearmament and, if I’m not mistaken, earned a living as an employee for a number of years.
“Up With People” played at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and also recruited an Iola High schoolgirl, Jill Johnson, who toured with the group for a year or more. Jill doesn’t live in Iola any more but friends of hers here say she had a rich and memorable experience with the troupe.
Neither Moral Rearmament or Up with People were considered “cults” in Iola. Both, however, had strengthening “American values” as their missions.
Which brings me to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in which he also called for a return to same. The values he had in mind were, in his words, to give “everyone a fair shake and to see that everyone, rich and poor alike, played by the same rules.”
Are those American values? It would be a good thing if the four men still in the race for the Republican presidential nomination would spell out their values or, to be more charitable, the values they think Americans should have. Ideals can be valued, after all, without being followed.
President Obama made his statement in conjunction with a condemnation of a tax code that taxes capital gains and dividends on stocks at 15 percent rather than as much as 35 percent under the progressive income tax schedule. Candidate Mitt Romney has stated his support for the 15 percent rate, in keeping with the position the Republican majorities in Congress have taken.
Which position is most in keeping with the American values that most Americans profess? This is a serious question that applies to more than the current campaign because substantial changes to the nation’s tax structure can be expected after the November election, if not before.
What is “fair,” what is most “American,” will be determined by the values of the members of Congress who rewrite the tax code and the president who either signs or vetoes it.
How — or whether — to give “everyone a fair shake,” is equally open to question. President Obama has made that a personal goal several times in recent days, including Tuesday night. But to establish equal opportunity as an American value, one must also declare for an activist federal government that works hard at keeping the playing field level.
A kid who grows up in a slum and attends lousy schools will need a major leg up at some point along the way to get a “fair shake” at the good things in life. Those who don’t want government “to get in the way” must also be willing to see a lot of people fall short of the American dream.
But allowing failure also may be an American value, may it not?
Make your own list of American values. You’re going to learn a lot about other people’s lists from now until November. Make a yardstick of your own to see how those others measure up.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
