A Rough Week for India – Slumdog Millionaire, Bobby Jindal Squander Special Oppertunities

by Kevin Clang

(An abridged version of this article originally ran in The Pendulum on May 3.)

You kind of had to feel bad for India last week.  A country that has been ravaged by poverty, disease and terrorism in the past few months was given two brief slivers of hope only to have both of them dashed the next day. 

First, “Slumdog Millionaire” had an historic night at the 81^st Annual Academy Awards.  En route to a near-sweep, “Slumdog” won eight trophies, including one for best picture.  The wins completed an extraordinary underdog run at Hollywood.  The relatively low budget “Slumdog” was able to eclipse big budget epics such as the effects-laden, time-bending “Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” World War II era “The Reader” and the acclaimed presidential drama “Frost/Nixon.”

Anyone who had been paying attention saw this coming, but that does not discount the significance of the movie’s wins.  Accepting the best picture trophy, the elation of the film’s mostly non-white staff was obvious. It was especially evident in the eyes of “Slumdog’s” child actors, most of whom were picked out of actual Mumbai slums.  The kids were given a weekend to remember.  They were flown to Hollywood, given new clothes, and taken to Disney World.

This weekend they returned to slum life, struggling from day to day and sleeping on the floor.  Not one day had passed after the Oscar wins when news started to leak from Mumbai that the “Slumdog” child actors may not have been adequately paid for their work.  Budgeted at about $15 million, “Slumdog Millionaire” will likely gross over $100 million.  Some of this money should be invested in the Mumbai communities “Slumdog” depicted to such success.  Director Danny Boyle has promised to buy new flats for all of the children, but I will believe it when I see it.

On Tuesday President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to discuss his stimulus plan.  Republicans have criticized the plan since it was introduced, calling it costly, wasteful and unlikely to help the economy.  Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal offered the Republican response following Obama’s speech.  Jindal, the son of Indian immigrants, is widely regarded as the next big name in the Republican Party and is oft mentioned as a possible 2012 presidential candidate.

He was a natural choice to deliver the response speech.  The stimulus is absolutely something worth debating; the economy desperately needs help, and such an expensive endeavor must be guaranteed to work.  Unfortunately Jindal offered nothing new to the argument.  The Governor merely restated the same Republican talking points we have been hearing for the past month (small government, tax cuts, bad spending etc.) instead of offering a constructive argument with new ideas.  Worse, his tone was called “hokey,” “amateur,” and “awkward” by pundits.

The speech was a missed opportunity for Jindal and the Republican Party.  In Jindal’s defense, minority response speeches are very hard to pull off.  With no audience to feed off of, one must get their tone exactly right early on.  Even ignoring his poor delivery, Jindal’s written words rang hollow and hypocritical.  Jindal has publicly stated that he plans to refuse stimulus money, which is only partly true.  In the current plan Louisiana is due to receive $3.8 billion; Jindal plans to accept $3.7 billion.

If A bad speech is by no means a career killer.  If Jindal wants to set himself up as a potential leader of this country, however, he will need to start offering new ideas to the American people instead of recycling the old ones.  This is probably not the last we will hear of Bobby Jindal.  Hopefully last week’s Oscars will not be the last time we hear about the “Slumdog Millionaire” kids and the Mumbai slums that they live in, either.  The movie has finally shed light on a human rights crisis that most Americans had no idea about.  Now that the film is over we cannot go back to ignoring it.

Hey, Texas! Secession Solves Nothing, Stay Together for the Kids

by Kevin Clang

(This story originally ran in The Pendulum on April 21)

Politicians like to demonstrate the unity of our country by pointing out the idea that there are no red states or blue states, just the United States.  It is a nice line if your running for an elected office, but it could not be further from the truth.  While there have always been major ideological differences between our many states, rarely in our history have they been so numerous. 

Red and blue political beliefs are growing further and further apart and it is getting increasingly difficult for the two to understand each other.  Big government versus small government.  Pro-life versus pro-choice.  In today’s America, you’re either a gay-marrying, baby-killing member of a blue state or a gun-toting, Bible-loving member of a red state.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggests secession as a viable option when faced with dominance by an opposing party in Washington. (From rickperry.org)

So it is really no surprise to hear talks of sovereignty and even secession from some states unhappy with Washington’s current spending policies.  Alaska, Vermont, and most recently Texas have all spoken of secession in the past few years.  With the struggling economy, the United States finds itself at its lowest point in recent memory.  Morale is down and the states are starting to point fingers at each other.

Let’s ignore that statements are made to get attention, not to be taken seriously.  Also, let’s ignore that 75 percent of Texans don’t even want to secede, and that even mentioning the action is crazy un-American.  Let’s too ignore that the possibility of secession is unrealistic and remote at best; states would have to defeat the most powerful military on the planet to succeed in seceding.  Does the United States have a problem?  If so, how do we fix it? 

Since there is no idiot’s guidebook to repairing feuding states within a country, I consulted the next-best source: Relationshiprich.org, a website that uses Dr. Phil’s books to give advice to troubled married couples.  When you think about it, the United States is not unlike an unhappy, old married couple on its last nerve. 

We’ve experienced the blissful union of 1776, the mid-life crises Civil War, and moved into old age with World War II.  Now, it’s like we’re recently retired: we worked hard and now have the attention and respect of everyone around us, but beneath the surface we’ve grown bitter as we’ve all drifted away from each other.  And all the money we saved up is running out.

Dr. Phil stresses listening and understanding as the two main things bickering spouses need to do for each other. From drphil.com

 

First off, this constant arguing is not helping anyone.  States need to learn to listen to each other’s gripes rather than constantly trying to defend themselves.  Simply listening to each other without trying to advance an agenda may help defuse the situation.  Incessant attacks just exacerbate the problem and increase potential damage.  The first step to understanding each other’s differences will be to acknowledge them.

Listening to each other will give us greater perspective and allow us to see the issues from the other side’s point of view.  This will broaden our picture, letting us see past red or blue issues and focus more on America’s issues.  Our differences are one thing that makes America great.  The country needs this back and forth between ideas.  If one side secedes, the country loses.  The key is to talk about these matters without allowing them to anger us.

The blame game also needs to stop.  Both sides have made mistakes.  While taking responsibility off of ourselves and putting them on the other states may feel good, especially when we know that we are right, it turns the others into adversaries.  This opens the door to more argument, which only leads to guilt, shame and resentment.

Being the minority party is just part of politics: sometimes you’re up and sometimes you’re down, but in the end the American people will decide what is best for them and we need to accept that even if we don’t agree with current policies.  It would be a tragic shame to lose any one of the fifty states.  Each is so unique and special, adding its own distinctive flavor and culture to the country.  Seceding is equivalent to giving up; by doing so, the other side automatically wins.  Perhaps Congress could benefit from hiring a marriage counselor or two to sit in on vitriolic sessions – maybe then they could see past their own egos and consider what is best for the country.

Elon Students Supportive of Barack Obama’s First 100 Days

Since taking office in January, Barack Obama has faced an economic meltdown, several bailouts of major industries, a North Korea missile test, unfortunate handshakes with major enemies, an outbreak of Swine Flu, partisanship on Capitol Hill and the constant threat of a war on terror.

The good news is that although they admit he hasn’t had the easiest time since taking office, most Elon University faculty, staff, and students are supportive of the decisions made by the still new 44th president.  Younger students especially, one of Obama’s key demographics during the election, are favorable of the president’s many choices.

“I think he has done a good job overall,” said Elon Sophomore James Harrison, “We’ll see how the stimulus package turns out, the jury is still out on that.”  The stimulus package seemed to be the greatest concern among those surveyed.  “I’m worried about the national debt,” said freshman Emily Wilson, “the stimulus package is worth so much money, and nobody seems sure that it is going to work.”

Obama also maintains a healthy 65% approval rating nationally according to MSNBC.  Since Richard Nixon took office, only Ronald Reagan had a higher approval rating after the first 100 days (68% in 1981).