Geoff W. Sutton Blog

  The USA is the world’s superpower in many respects. We have a huge economy, significant military strength, world-class universities, large numbers of Nobel Prize winning scientists, leading healthcare technologies and discoveries, and powerful international businesses like Apple and Microsoft not to mention fast food and financial giants around the globe. We also happen to be a democracy that takes human rights seriously. No. I do not wear rose-colored glasses.   America has some weaknesses too. It’s those weaknesses that might make a difference in 2022 and beyond. Is the US being tested? As I write, Russia has amassed troops on their border with Ukraine. Stock markets are tumbling. President Biden has threatened sanctions. We are sending troops and weapons. It looks like we are on the brink of war. (e.g., CNN ) Earlier today, we learn the world’s second most powerful nation sent 39 warplanes toward Taiwan, which split from China during the 1949 Civil War. Yester...

I'm part of a small chain migration to the United States. Aliens like us have to have an American sponsor. My mother's sister married an American soldier. He sponsored us, which means he took responsibility for us-- we could come to the U.S. but we should not become a burden on the United States. It was tough at first but things soon got better. I did not know about white privilege at the time, but I do now. And I learned a lot about white - black differences during the Civil Rights movement. It is fitting to think about immigration and racial issues on this weekend when we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His tireless efforts helped change attitudes, laws, and lives for the better. We see the progress but understand that his dream is unfulfilled. ***** One cold March school break near Easter, bundeled in warm coats, we loaded into dad's used two tone blue '53 Chevy and headed from New Jersey to Florida for the first time. That's when we ...

THE FLAMING RHETORIC OF RIGHTS How many similarities do you need to link one rights movement with another? Freedom for U.S. slaves was a lengthy process and even after they were emancipated, civil rights were not codified in law until a century later. A key word here is law because attitudes are slow to change even when laws set limits on behavior. The battle against racism continues. Leaders supporting and opposing same-sex marriage and other rights and protections for sexual minorities have referred to the civil rights movement. Some assert similarities. Others point to differences. The statements are often intensified by emotional rhetoric shrunken to bite-sized statements suitable for T-shirts and video clips. The civil rights arguments are not just academic because the reasons come with powerful emotions attached. One can easily imagine students being asked to write an essay about the subject. And I can imagine some professors having a difficult time gradin...