The Spirit of Christmas Boycotts

It is difficult to follow the news without coming across stories about protests over the supposed War on Christmas, which is apparently evidenced by stores saying Happy Holidays. It seems that it is not enough for many of these protesters that they live in a country in which 75 percent of the people believe that Jesus is the son of God. It is not enough that public schools shut down for Christmas. It is not enough that commerce largely stops in our country on Christmas Day (including, strangely, some megachurches closing due to Christmas falling on a Sunday). The protesters of Happy Holidays slogans demand that the existence of religious minorities be ignored during Christmas time.

These protests raise three concerns. First, as groups protest what they are calling the secularization of Christmas, they are actually calling for the commodification of Christmas. Since when did we look to corporations for inspiration at Christmas? Second, we are a religiously diverse society, and we will never have consensus on matters of religion. Our choice is either to find common ground or continue to search for ways to divide our country. Sadly, the rise of extremists at home and abroad actively seek to divide rather than unite people based on faith. Third, it is appalling that their focus is corporate slogans rather than human rights. Would Jesus show more concern for Wal- Mart's slogan than modern day genocide?

We Are All Bystanders of Genocide

Samantha Power's Pulitizer Prize winning book, A Problem from Hell: America in the Age of Genocide, reminds us that we are all bystanders of genocide. While protesters gather outside of Wal-Mart to object to the "home for the holidays" slogan, humans in Sudan are being raped and murdered. President Bush has done virtually nothing despite the death of 300,000 Sudanese.

The world has once again remained silent in the face of genocide. In fact, if it was not for Nicholas Kristof writing about genocide in his Op-Ed column at the New York Times, there would be little discussion in the mainstream media (Kristof has also written about the supposed War on Christmas -- one of problems of periodically sending out Thinking Citizen is that similar analysis sometimes gets published after writing this newsletter but before it is distributed).

This is the reality of genocide in Sudan:

• The government of Sudan has launched a campaign of genocide on the non-Arab Sudanese.
• 2,000 villages have been destroyed.
• 300,000 Black Sudanese have died.
• Government soldiers enter villages, collect goods from the residents, then burn their huts. 2,000,000 people are homeless.
• Government soldiers travel the land to rape non-Arab women. Said one soldier to a woman before she was gang raped and beaten: "You are black, so we can rape you."
• Aid workers are stripped, beaten, and robbed. The government of Sudan hopes that this will eventually force aid organizations out of Sudan.
• There is increasing concern that the turmoil in Sudan will spread into neighboring Chad.

America and the global community can do the following:

• Remember when the United States used to provide leadership in an attempt to resolve conflict? We need to do that again. President Clinton would be happy to lead peace talks to atone for his failure to respond to genocide in Rwanda.
• President Bush and Congress can increase aid to African Union peacekeepers rather than cut it as currently planned.
• The African Union, a force of 7,000 peacekeepers, needs support from the United Nations and other countries.
• The House should join the Senate in passing the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. This legislation authorizes no military action on behalf of the U.S. but calls for increased attention and support for the region.
• We can stand-up to big business. Any company that conducts business in Sudan should no longer be listed on the U.S. stock exchange.

Contact your member of Congress today urging them to support the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act.

Until we act, we are all bystanders of genocide.

Three Cheers for Drugs

What qualifications do you need to persuade doctors to write prescriptions? A degree in science perhaps? The New York Times recently reported that pharmaceutical sales representatives are often former college cheerleaders. Proponents argue that cheerleaders are natural salespeople, because their training is to smile and demonstrate enthusiasm. However, cheerleaders also possess another quality: they are sexy. Pharmaceutical companies have learned that doctors will write more scripts if the person persuading them to write the scripts is attractive. Of course not all sales reps are former cheerleaders nor are all sales reps female. But have you ever seen an unattractive sales rep while sitting in your doctor's waiting room?

This is not to say that all pharmaceutical sales reps lack scientific intelligence, but the criteria of beauty in the field of science is deeply troubling. Unless new regulations are passed to protect consumers, we can expect more cheerleaders advising doctors on writing scripts, we can expect more pharmaceutical industry doctors writing articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association while hiding their association with the industry, and we can expect other actions that place marketing above science and health.

We have reached an exciting milestone in the history of medical care. We can now treat many of our ills by going to our medicine cabinet. Congress and the state legislatures need to write laws that protect us in our medicine cabinet as much as we are protected in the hospital. Until that happens, college cheerleaders can join Spirited Sales Leaders to help find employment selling doctors on the newest drugs.

LGBTQ Rights and the Constitution

David M Hall Associates is proud to be working with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the Bryson Institute of the Attic Youth Center, and LEAP-Kids on the Students Constitutional Rights Institute, a one-day field trip for Gay Straight Alliances in southeastern Pennsylvania. This program will start with students visiting the federal courthouse in Philadelphia. With the help of educators and law clerks, students will hold mock arguments of Lawrence v. Texas, then meet with a federal judge. Students will then tour the National Constitution Center and end their day meeting with attorneys from the ACLU and Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights.

Please help spread the word to maximize student participation in this event. Additionally, financial support is always appreciated. You can learn more by visiting our website hosted at the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

You may choose to receive The Thinking Citizen by email. Please visit this site for more information.

• David Hall's website
• David's teaching schedule