TURNER'S TWO CENTS: "Wall-E's" Warning

By Cameron Turner

Pixar Studios is famous for telling thoughtful, even profound stories through family animated films.

Pixar's tender robot love story, "WALL-E", achieves a whole new level of heaviness by holding a mirror to our society and looking ahead to a grim and plausible future.

"WALL-E's" title character is the last in an army of trash-compacting robots charged with the impossible task of cleaning up a deserted Earth laid-waste by a corporate-controlled society obsessed with selling and shopping.

The human population has moved off-world to a behemoth shopping mall/resort of a space ship called the Axiom.

There, after centuries of laziness and self-indulgence, humanity has been reduced to a pathetic collection of obese drones who spend their lives veging out on floating recliners, sucking down supersized soft drinks and avoiding meaningful human interaction while their faces remain transfixed by holographic screens that continuously display games and advertisements.

"WALL-E" reminds us that the greatest threat facing our world is greed. For greed (which is distinct from hunger, desire of ambition) pushes us to consume more and more (natural resources, junk food, escapist entertainment,
etc.) no matter how full we are and no matter what the cost to our environment, our bodies, our minds or our souls.

"Wall-E's" Warning....

TURNER'S TWO CENTS

America's dream ticket; M.C. Cosby; Jamie and the G's

By Cameron Turner

AMERICA READY TO REDEEM “DREAM TICKET”

“Yet with a steady beat
Have not out our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?”

*Those words from our Black American National Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” echoed in my mind as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton debated one-on-one last Thursday.

Watching this historic exchange I was gripped by the realization that the Presidential nominee from one of the major parties will be either a black man or a woman and that nominee will, in all likelihood, become the next President of the United States.

Our ancestors who fought and died for racial and gender equality could scarcely have imagined this day!

But what struck me the most about last week’s debate was how much Clinton and Obama looked like a team. The bitterness and hostility that boiled over before the South Carolina primary had given way to civility, professionalism and even a hint of kindness.

As they sat side-by-side on the stage of the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, it was clear that Barack and Hillary agree on most of the major issues. More significantly, it was clear that these two strong, passionate leaders could put ego and personal ambition aside and join forces for the good of the nation.

The audience erupted into sustained applause when debate moderator Wolf Blitzer raised the notion of the two candidates uniting on a “Dream Ticket.” Neither Barack nor Hillary said no when pressed to say whether they’d choose the other as a running mate. Obama even went as far as to say, “Hillary would be on anybody’s short list.”

Whether it’s Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama, the Dream Ticket can’t lose. United, the two candidates will animate all the factions within the Democratic Party along with the large number of independents who are eager for real change in Washington and that coalition will carry them to victory in the November election.

That’s how Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush sailed into the Oval Office back in 1980. They’d been rivals all through the primaries and caucuses but when Reagan secured the nomination he quickly chose Bush as his running mate. That unified the Republican Party, energized their conservative base and set the stage for their overwhelming defeat of President Jimmy Carter.

Now, the proverbial shoe is on the other political foot. The Republicans face an uphill climb in their quest for the White House. The American people are fed up with the conservative strategy which has given us a protracted, failed war and an economy spiraling toward recession. That’s why the GOP is on the verge of selecting a moderate, Sen. John McCain, as its nominee.



Obama and Clinton could each beat McCain but they’d have to struggle for the victory. (It would be harder for Barack because McCain could more effectively play the experience card – and the implied race card -- against him.) But if they team up, Obama and Clinton (no matter who’s on top of the ticket) will whip McCain in a landslide.

That’s why the Democrats’ Dream Ticket would be a Republican nightmare.

M.C. COSBY?

“Lest our feet, stray from the places,
Our God, where we met Thee
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the wine of the world
We forget Thee”

That’s another line from “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” It went through my mind when I read about Bill Cosby’s plans to record a rap album called “State of Emergency.” The 70-year-old comedian, actor and author wants to use hip hop to talk to our kids about black-on-black crime, teen pregnancy, drugs, high school dropout rates and other tragic realities. While no one has any delusions about Cosby’s skills as an MC, we should all applaud this project.

Bill Cosby has dedicated his life to encouraging African-Americans to be the best we can. That commitment has been evident in his career choices: from his family-friendly comedy routines, his Emmy-winning dramatic work on “I Spy” in the 1960s, “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids” in the 1970s, his three sitcoms in four different decades, his best-selling books on parenting and marriage, the “Little Bill” children’s stories and cartoon show, his countless speeches at college graduations and community forums and his current book, “Come On, People.” Bill Cosby’s deep love for and faith in our people motivates him to speak out against the self-destructive trends, behaviors and values which are ripping the black community apart.

It irks me to see how Bill Cosby has been forced to defend himself in recent years. We can quibble over the way he expresses himself, but his heart has always been righteous.

JAMIE AND THE G’S

Jamie Foxx’s latest project sort of ties in with Bill Cosby’s advocacy. Jamie’s working with MTV to create a reality show called “From G’s To Gents” which will help young brothers from the ‘hood to develop the social and professional skills needed to be successful. Jamie, who takes pride in being a Southern Gentleman, will teach lessons in etiquette, personal style and chivalry (the proper way to treat a lady). Press reports say that “the young men will learn that every G has the ability to be a true Gentleman – and a real shot at finding success.”

Excellent concept – if it’s done right. Hopefully, it won’t be a male version of “Charm School.” The last thing any of us needs is more exploitive mess.

Thanks for listening. I’m Cameron Turner and that’s my two cents. I want to hear yours so speak out on the message board or hit me up at TurnersTwoCents@aol.com.

THINK! IT AIN’T ILLEGAL…YET!

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Meets The Great Debaters

By Cameron Turner

My kids and I were singing along with a CD of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” when I got to thinking: what if Rudolph’s nose hadn’t been bright enough to guide Santa’s sleigh through that foggy Christmas Eve? What if it had simply been an unusual nose rather than an exceptional nose? Rudolph would probably have been doomed to a life of rejection and ridicule.

Rudolph was mocked and excluded simply because he looked different. Not only did the other reindeer “laugh and call him names” but they “never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games.” All that changed, of course, after Santa asked Rudolph to take the point position on that murky night. “Then how the reindeer loved him” as the song says.


The injustice here is that, because of bigotry and discrimination, Rudolph was forced to earn a place in the society into which he had been born. Rudolph had to perform an extraordinary act of heroism -- literally saving Christmas -- in order to be accepted by his peers. He was cool after the foggy night because he did something that benefited the system. He bailed out The Man.


Victims of exclusion and oppression are often told to prove themselves worthy of inclusion. Blacks and other so-called “minorities” know all about that.


The civil rights heroes of yesteryear often faced criticism from whites who claimed that black Americans weren’t culturally or intellectually ready for integration. This theme comes out in The Great Debaters, the extraordinary new movie about students from a small black college in Texas who soar to the national debate championships. During a verbal battle over school integration, a white student concedes that discrimination is wrong but argues that the South isn’t ready for black and white students to go to class together. Jurnee Smollett’s character beats that argument down by stating passionately, “The time for justice is always now!”


Reminds me of Martin Luther King, Jr’s famous “All, Here and Now” speech in which King declares, “We are not willing to wait 50 years for what is ours on the basis of the Constitution of the United States and the authority of God himself!”


So it was with Rudolph. Like us, he was entitled to full citizenship and the North Pole society had no moral right to exclude or deny him. As our Constitution eloquently asserts, freedom and equality are rights endowed to each of us by the Creator. They are not privileges doled out by biased power elites.



HOMELESS IN BETHLEHEM AND NEW ORLEANS

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” -- Luke 7:2


We revisit those beautiful words from the Gospel of Luke every year at Christmastime. They remind us that God’s empathy for the poor was so great that he permitted his son to enter this world homeless, literally born in a barn. Jesus’ humble birth underscores God’s expectation that we love one another as ourselves.


This Christmas, however, Luke’s comforting words take on heartbreaking irony in the Katrina-ravaged city of New Orleans. There, local and federal governments are poised to actually increase homelessness. Last Thursday the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to let the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) tear down 4,500 public housing units (aka “the projects”) to make way for new mixed-income buildings. There are supposed to be 3,200 units in these new buildings but only 900 will be designated for low-income residents. The New Orleans City Council approved a measure asking HUD to build the same number of low income homes as it plans to demolish. But HUD isn’t obligated to grant that request. Don’t hold your breath.


As the bulldozers demolish those 4,500 homes (many of which were not seriously damaged by Katrina) the residents will likely join the 12,000 homeless New Orleanians who already sleep in parks and under bridges every night. About 1/3 of these individuals work full time jobs but they can’t afford a roof and walls because rents have doubled since Katrina. Unfortunately, the HUD demolitions aren’t even the worst part of what’s about to happen in New Orleans. FEMA reportedly plans to close all of its trailer parks over the next six months. 50,000 Katrina survivors currently live in FEMA trailers.


Homelessness will expand much faster than new, permanent housing will be built and the poor, mostly black New Orleanians, will ultimately be forced to leave the city. That’s probably what some people have wanted all along.


For this to all go down at Christmas just adds insult to injury. After all, the man who was born in that barn 2,000 years ago admonished us that we will be judged by the way we treat “the least of these.”