Progressivism Can Fix This

by Errington C. Thompson, MD –

On Feb. 24, the world marked the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There seems to be no end in sight for this senseless war.

We now have renewed fears about China’s role in this war. Do they want to escalate the conflict? Do they want to act as peace brokers? Meanwhile North Korea has fired off another intercontinental ballistic missile. Let us not forget the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, killing an estimated 45,000 people.

On the domestic front, there has been significant snow in Southern California. Yes, snow, in Southern California. The awful train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, spilled large amounts of toxic chemicals. And we cannot seem to come up with a plan to fix our southern border and immigration.

In Georgia, a special grand jury has concluded its work investigating whether Donald Trump and others tried to influence the election illegally. For reasons that are not clear, the jury forewoman decided to do multiple press interviews, which may make prosecution harder. The purpose of this media tour seemed to be that she was searching for a book deal, but who knows?

Russian War Against Ukraine

I must admit that I underestimated the Ukrainian people. I did not think they could hold up to an onslaught from Russia. I thought Ukraine would fold within weeks, if not days.

I am happy to say that I was 100% wrong. The Ukrainian people have proved to be extremely resilient and resourceful. The international community (the United States and Europe, and other countries) have supplied much-needed food, military and non-military equipment, and financial aid.

So, where do we go from here? As a progressive, I believe in freedom. I believe that the Ukrainian people have a right to defend their borders. I believe that they have a right the self-determination. I believe we are obligated to help Ukraine expel the Russian invaders.

Early in this war, some international experts were worried that our support would “upset” Russia. In my view (and that of the Biden Administration), we need to stand firmly on the side of Ukraine. We need to supply them with munitions. We need to supply them with tanks and planes (yes, I said planes). We have given them the Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket, which has been extremely effective against Russian tanks. Later, we will need to help them rebuild their infrastructure.

This is not a conflict we can tiptoe around and try to play both sides. I believe that this is a pivotal moment in world history. Fortunately, the Biden administration seems to understand this complex situation.

Let us not forget that Russia invaded Crimea seven years ago. Crimea was and always has been an integral part of Ukraine. Any peace negotiations must include giving Crimea back to Ukraine. While I welcome constructive help from China, I understand that China has its own agenda. I am not sure their agenda is the same as ours. Our agenda is to end the shooting and restore a sovereign Ukraine with its original borders.

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the doctor’s lounge, and one surgeon said that Ukraine should just surrender. He reasoned that this would end the bloodshed.

I explained that I did not think that would help. I do not see how Russia would suddenly start smiling and bestowing flowers and gifts of love to Ukraine. Instead, a harsh crackdown would commence. Leaders would be rounded up, then either executed or sent to Siberia. Dissidents, poets, and teachers would be subjected to the same treatment.

Appeasing Russia is a bad deal that will not lead to freedom for the Ukrainian people. While the solution would end the war, it would not end the suffering of the Ukrainian people. Instead, as Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said, “If Russia stops fighting, the war will end. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine will end.”

Toxic Disaster

Just over a month ago, on Feb. 3, a train containing vinyl chloride and other materials derailed in a remote area of Ohio. The town of East Palestine became infamous overnight.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report showing a brake overheated. The crew attempted to stop the train. The overheating brake burst into flames. The train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals into the surrounding lakes, streams, and the atmosphere.

The reality of our complex society is that we have to transport toxic chemicals across the country from time to time. This is simply a fact. The question is, how do we do it safely?

Whenever there is a tragedy like this, there is lots of finger-pointing. Who is to blame? Did the Obama administration do something wrong? Did the Trump administration slash regulations, which led to this derailment?

In 2013, a train crash in Canada killed 47 people. The train, carrying crude oil, was unattended. It was coming down an incline. The train derailed and set off an explosion that took out half of downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec.

This was one of a series of unfortunate crashes that, fortunately, got the attention of the Obama administration. After evaluation, that administration enacted several regulations which—to nobody’s surprise—were not well received in the rail industry. The administration asked the train industry to install pneumatic electronic brakes on each train car and have an attendant on each train.

These safety measures were reversed under the Trump administration. The question is, what safety measures would have prevented the derailment in East Palestine?

We currently don’t have enough information. The investigation is still ongoing. It is unclear whether this particular train would have been classified as highly hazardous, as it did not carry more than 70 cars containing crude oil or fuel. Yet the purpose of this exercise should not be to praise the Obama administration or vilify the Trump administration.

Instead, the question is, how do we prevent something like this from happening again? What regulations need to be in place to prevent this type of tragedy? We do not have enough information. We do not know why the brake system overheated. There seems to be a lot of focus on a particular ball bearing that has something to do with the brake system.

We do know that the rail industry will try to cut corners in order to save money and increase profits. As a progressive, I want a look at the data. I want to implement regulations consistent with whatever the data shows.

The bottom line is that we need to protect ourselves. These regulations—like most other government regulations—are not about punishing the rail industry: regulations are about protecting communities like East Palestine.

I’m not sure what’s the best thing to do for the good people of East Palestine. Recent testing reveals no harmful chemicals in the air. If I lived in East Palestine, I’m unsure how trusting I would be. The government, our government, has fudged environmental data before.

If I had the means, I would be seriously thinking about moving. Vinyl chloride is a bad chemical. It is hard to clean up. You need more than Ajax cleanser. This is a problem that I don’t think has a quick and easy solution.

Scott Adams

Personally, I must admit that I like the comic strip Dilbert. I remember first reading it about 20 or 30 years ago. For the most part, it was a clever commentary on corporate America.

Recently, Scott Adams has been in hot water. He has a podcast on which he commented on a new Rasmussen poll. The poll found the 26% of black Americans did not agree with a statement “It is okay to be white.” He went on to say that Black people must be a hate group since they didn’t agree with the statement.

Let us understand this phrase, “It is okay to be white,” grew out of white-supremacist circles. The Anti-Defamation League has a whole page (www.adl.org/resources/hate-symbol/its-okay-be-white) dedicated to this phrase.

I don’t know Scott Adams. I have no idea if he is a racist or not. I do know that it is not 1989 anymore.

Back in 1989, you could say stupid stuff in your living room because it was just you and your friends. Now, we have podcasts. These modern miracles can be heard by millions. If you are going to comment on a poll or phrase, you need to know what the phrase is talking about. Right? You are responsible for the words coming out of your mouth. (Just as I’m responsible for the stuff I type in this column!) When you say nonsense that is racist and offensive, expect that there will be consequences.

This is not “cancel culture.” There is no cancel culture. Scott Adams did something that would offend a large segment of the American population, so expect blowback. Newspapers across America have dropped Dilbert like a hot potato. Now, he is crying. Stop crying and understand the culture that we live in. Race is a third rail! If you are going to talk about race, you need to be clear and accurate, thoughtful, and culturally aware, or you will get roasted.

Immigration

For a progressive, fixing immigration is really fairly simple. Remember, we progressives believe in individual freedom and fairness. Economic refugees come here because they found life in their home country to be unlivable. We should welcome these refugees with open arms. They are willing to work in the fields and factories for minimal pay and miserable conditions. And with an unemployment rate of only 3.6%, our country needs workers.

Of course we need to know who is passing through our borders. This is a national security issue. We should hire enough border security agents to close the border. This is a must. Then we need to build temporary housing for these refugees.

Again, this is not hard. We just need the political will to treat these refugees like human beings. We need enough judges and courts to hear asylum cases. We just need the political will and power to make this happen. Businesses that hire people who are not in this country legally must be heavily fined. Let’s close the door to the illegal underground society where refugees sneak across the border and are hired for pennies by businesses looking to exploit their labor.

As a country, we need to set our immigration target. For example, we will take, say,100,000 per year (a made-up number) from Guatemala. This can only work if we truly close the border and we have a fair and easy process to enter our country legally.

I know that the GOP opposes this plan. Frankly, I don’t care. They want illegal immigration. It gives big business cheap labor so that they can keep their profits high.

It also gives the party something to bellyache about. Every time a Democrat is in the White House, the GOP starts crying about our southern border.

Yet Trump and the GOP held both houses of Congress for two years, during which every Republican member voted in lockstep with their leadership’s demands on every issue they cared about, (like ending ObamaCare) and they never passed any meaningful immigration legislation. Why? Because they didn’t care about fixing illegal immigration; they care only about exploiting it politically.

The final piece to this immigration puzzle is what to do with those economic refugees who are already in this country. Sending them all back to their home countries is silly and not practical. Once we understand that we can’t send them back the solution become obvious. They must pay some reasonable fine, and then, after a period of years—two to five, perhaps—they should be allowed to become American citizens.

That’s what immigrants and refugees want, and that’s what we need. The United States is a growing country, and growth requires growing population, jobs, business, and economic activity. Meanwhile, The Economist reports that Russia is now a shrinking country; it has lost about two million more citizens than expected in the past three years, due to the pandemic (1 million +), deaths in the war (an estimated 75,000), and emigration (500,000-1,000,000). Those émigrés who have evaded the war’s meat-grinder by fleeing the country are mostly young men and women with drive and ambition—just the kind of people America long encouraged to come here.

Drive and ambition and intelligence are the ideal qualities for immigrants, whether from Russia or South and Central America or Africa or Asia. Progressives want them here. All we need is the determination to make it happen.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed here, as well as assertions of facts, are those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of The Urban News.