Once again, the United States falls short of their previous greatness. Once again, we have successfully shown the world what we have become. What is that you ask, well you should.
- Narrow minded
- Bigoted
- Fearful
- Small
As I watched the vote yesterday the vote on the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, I wanted to weep. Well, let me be clear I wanted to weep only after I wanted to stomp into and through the halls of the Senate and shake those 38 Senators who voted ‘Nay’, when given the opportunity to ratify the Convention (Treaty) of Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
I watched as Senator Elizabeth Dole wheeled her husband, the elder statesman Bob Dole onto the floor of the senate. He supported the ratification of this Treaty, he had only been released from Walter Reed 5 days earlier but thought it important to come that day to show his support. It wasn’t enough.
Senate Floor, December 4, 2012
I watched as two normally pugnacious foes stood up for the same thing, to ratify this Treaty. John Kerry and John McCain both spoke from the floor of the senate yesterday on the same side of the fight. Both Senators spoke from their experience as wounded war veterans; both spoke from their hearts and were compelling.
I watched as the vote called, I was dismayed after that I was furious. If you don’t know the history of the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, here it is in brief.
- Adoption by General Assembly, December 2006 (modeled after the 1990 US Americans with Disabilities Act signed by President George H.W. Bush)
- Opened for Signature, March 2007
- First Session of Committee, February 2008
- Entry into Force, May 2008
- First Conference, October – November 2008
- Signed by President Barack Obama, July 2009
- Second Conference, September 2009
The Senate had the opportunity to ratify a Treaty that required nothing of us as a nation, no changes to our laws no changes to our systems. The Senate had a chance to show the world we are not the narrow minded, fearful conspiracy nuts we appear to be, no thanks to Rick Santorum and the rest of the Tea Party nutcases, they failed.
Let’s talk about Rick Santorum, who is now a featured columnist for World News Daily, home of some of the best conspiracy theories, the most egregious of the Birther theories, the ongoing climate denial and my favorite the ongoing fear mongering of Islam and Socialism combination. Yes, Rick fits right in with these lunatics. The thirty-eight idiots in the Senate who voted ‘Nay’ adopted his UN Black Helicopter conspiracy about this particular Treaty, his leap of giant faith that somehow ratifying this treaty would usurp parental authority.
So, here we are once again proving to the world we are nation in decline. We are a nation without a moral compass, one that no longer values even our own accomplishments in leading the world. The Tea Party wins, even those Senators who in the past have voted their conscious have been beaten into submission, fearful of losing their place at the table.
America I weep for you, I weep for all of us.
Link to the Treaty: http://treaties.un.org/doc/source/RecentTexts/IV_15_english.pdf
Who has signed, ratified: http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/maps/enablemap.jpg
QBG_Tilted Tiara 
Empires in decline are the most dangerous of entities. They lash out at the world, trying to regain control lost and control slipping…they lash out at their own population, trying to keep people pre-occupied with survival and fearful of whatever position they’ve managed to achieve. The Kingdom of Fear. Fearful people are easily controlled, and they tend not to pay attention to distant affairs when their immediate needs and wants appear threatened. So nice to live in Costa Rica…socialized medicine…no military…eco-promoting government…and, an anomoly for any developing nation – and industrialized ones such as the U.S., no children begging in the streets. We still feel the angry pressure from the U.S. here, but at least the government stands up to them…usually.
Later…
Interesting take on the situation. I suspect many would agree with you, the US does seem to have all the marks of an empire in decline.
Val, thank you for this very poignant post. It is indeed a sad day when we cannot agree to support and protect Persons with Disabilities. We are becoming a heartless and self-centered nation. It doesn’t instill one with hope for our future.
It doesn’t bode well for us, does it? I find myself dumbfounded constantly when Ayn Rand is the standard bearer of the new generation of power players on the hill. What is wrong with this picture? How does greed, selfishness, bias and bigotry transform itself into a political ideology that gains general acceptance? How do so many people align with this terribly misinformed and destructive agenda, call it Libertarian and say to themselves, “this is who I am”, all the while believing it will not destroy this nation. All the while not understanding it creates deeper wells of despair.
I do indeed weep for this nation.
I’ve heard of Rick Santorum, but don’t know much. I thought he was a politician, not columnist.
But seriously, he doesn’t believe in climate change? TRUE? !! I thought everyone had been convinced now they see it with their own eyes. Valentine, only if you have a moment, but what is the Birther series? Just curious.
Rick Santorum, was a politician. He was in Congress but lost his seat. He then ran for President as an ultra-conservative, but he could not beat Romney during the primaries. He is now a columnist.
He is a Catholic, not that there is anything wrong with this but he uses his religion as a plank. He aligns himself with the far right crazies in both the evangelical Christian and political right movements of this country. The Birthers are part of the Tea Party movement who believe President Obama is not qualified to be president because he is not an American Citizen, that he was born in Nigeria rather than in Hawaii and it is all a great conspiracy. This is the same group that believe he is a Socialist, a Muslim Extremist and many other things.
I think Val that politics are the same the whole world round… each out to brow beat the other party, each saying they could do better when in fact often it was them who got us in the mess before they were voted out etc
I think in the future we are moving away from central governments, even here in the UK Scotland is wanting to rule its self as I read also your states are wanting to break away…
I envisage a future of small co-operative places where we will be governed not by taxes, for money will no longer hold value… In the distant future I see we will have to pool our resources of skill and crafts along with Food and Health… This world cannot carry on in this same vane as its going… If we do not grasp hold of Unity and Harmony, and Bring back the Caring in this world we are all of us lost to Materialism and Greed..
I so hope that we all wake up to ourselves before then..
There are pluses and minuses to the idea of smaller ‘states’. The real problem is here, today in this place we call America, secession would mean terrible things for millions of people. It isn’t the same as Scotland breaking away from the UK, they are essentially already their own nation with very little to lose. Here, that would not be the same thing. We are a single nation, we are interwoven and interdependent. Were Texas to suddenly not be part of the USA, much of what I have contributed to Social Security and Medicare over a lifetime of work would be lost, as an example with nothing to replace it. Keeping in mind I am in what is essentially a Southern state, my husband would be at risk as he is Black.
No Sue, while I hear and understand what you are saying those in the US that want to leave the Union are idiots, racists and fools. They aren’t thinking in the terms you are thinking in. They are greedy, self-serving bastards.
I hear you Val, and yes I now understand your point,
Just shows I’m not into politics as you are… I read out your post and comment to my hubby, and he agrees with you entirely.. He is very in-tune with the whole economy and understands American Politics where as I will admit to my own Naivety …
The greed will be the undoing for everyone…
Unfortunately our politicians let us down all the
time, I think that this is a global streak of ridiculousness 😦
Hey you have a wonderful start to your Friday Val 😉
Andro xxx
This is true Andro, but I keep thinking sanity will return. Perhaps it is just the eternal optimist in me.
I shake my head. How can this happen?
As alway, Valentine, you make good points. Excellent post.
I too shake my head. I don’t wonder any longer how it happens though.
Yes, this is truly a disgrace for the U.S.
It is indeed. I wonder, how do we move this nation back to sanity?
Brilliant piece. Reading it comforts the rest of us to know that there still is sanity at large in the US!
Thank you for your intelligence, humanity, and passion. .. and one last cheering thought – I think the Republican party is looking increasingly out of step with decent intelligent people!!!!
Valerie, It is so nice to see you. I hope you are doing well. Thank you for your comment, I agree the GOP is looking increasingly out of step. Yet on the flip side, 25% of those registered as Republicans want to secede from the Union. It is disheartening.
Ugh! Maybe, this stupidity will somehow snap people who have gone along with the extreme right out of it. I’m an optimist. 🙂 Thank you for being so passionate!
I am at this stage a pessimist, I wish I could be something other. I watched three wounded war veterans, support this Treaty. I watched ex presidents from both sides support this Treaty, two Bushes and Clinton. I watched as a wounded war hero, a young man who lost his legs, spoke for others to the Senate about how important ratification was. Then I watched 38 heartless, soulless members of the Senate, all with R next to their name vote against it. Vote Nay without remorse. Vote Nay without blinking an eye.
No, I am a pessimist. We have lost our soul.
Your thoughts have been discussed at length in our household this evening. Again, thank you.
Shameful. Idiots. Shortsighted, heads-up-their-asses people should not be allowed out, let alone into the Senate. We need to get rid of people whose point of view doesn’t go past the end of their own nose.
Truly shameful.
There you have it, in simple to understand language.
Amazing how something we started now is twisted by the tin foil hat brigade and the jerkweeds we pay to sit in the Senate bobblehead along the yellow brick road.
I was stunned by this. I was saddened as I watched Bob Dole be wheeled in by his wife, I liked both of them so much even when I disagreed with them I liked them. I was amazed by Kerry and McCain, both were so good. Then there was the vote, I just wanted to weep as they panned the audience with disabled vets looking on, they said nay.
Stunning.
This is absurd. It doesn’t make sense for them not to approve this. I’ll have to go explore this later. Am I missing something? Crazy, crazy stuff (but wonderful post).
You are missing nothing Carrie. The ratification of this Convention would have cost us nothing, nothing. What it might have cost a few GOP members is a challenge by the Tea Party when they came up for re-election. It may have cost them their seat, that is why they were to afraid to vote their conscious.
The GOP needs to quit worrying about what the Tea Party thinks if they ever want to get their man in office. I’m not being malicious in saying that; I just think it’s true. This kind of backward action disturbs me.
Those idiots would soon vote for it if they went down with Ms or got paralised by some loony with an AK47 in their local shopping mall!
Apparently not Bill. One of their own was gunned down and they did nothing.
Sigh. I don’t even know how to respond to this. The fact that McCain and Kerry and Dole supported it speaks volumes. And here I am freakin’ out about my career . . .
I only responded with fury and tears. This required nothing of us as a nation but to show leadership as we did when George Bush Sr signed the original act into law. That is all that was necessary. To act in concert and act as a nation for something we already believe in, the rights of our disabled and wounded warriors.
Word.
I have great concern too. These useless men in Washington have not passed a budget in 4 years. We are in deep trouble.
We are indeed in deep trouble. This required a super majority. Despite veterans support. Despite the support so many 38 GOP members voted Nay. What does this say about the next four years.
Simply well said …. but not thanks to reading reading the loonies.
Unless you are willing to read the Treaty itself, the history of the Conference and (sigh) the loonies it is impossible to understand the ‘Nay’. Rick Santorum linked this Treaty to another that was also never ratified. He proclaimed it would usurp parental authority, possibly even put children such as his daughter at risk. He then showed up in chamber with his wife and severely disabled daughter, something he never did when campaigning for president.
He is without moral compass or authority. But he is the darling of the Tea Party and he convinced those who would be coming up for election in 2014, they would be remembered. They would be challenged if they didn’t get in line.
… and he’s positioning himself for 2016 as well. Then again, winning the GOP nomination and the general election are separate animals. Meanwhile, I will rely on your good interpretations. 🙂