Wealth Disparity on steroids

"As of December 2009, median white wealth dipped 34 percent, to $94,600; median black wealth dropped 77 percent, to $2,100."

The above quote, from the most recent article in the New York Times series "The New Poor" is a staggering statistic. Now, while I'm sure a wealth disparity existed prior to the economic downturn, a median wealth figure of $2,100 is less than what even a starving recent college graduate possesses, if you count a car and a checking account. What ability does a black family with that median level of wealth have to weather any kind of hard time? And a median, by definition, means half the population has less than that. Living hand to mouth is not an enviable position, especially if you have a family to support and aspirations that are slowly being crushed. What will happen 5, 15, or 25 years from now to these people? Will they land on their feet, or be permanently and irreparably set back as decades of hard work have been wiped out in a blink?

Is this generation less brave?

Looking back in history, especially with the aid of such books as Tom Brokaw's "The Greatest Generation" I find myself wondering if those that came before us really were cast in a different mold. I usually come to the conclusion that the difference in perception stems from a lack of opportunity, not a lack of mettle. While our grandparents no doubt wished they had been spared the horrors of World War II, there is a certain satisfaction they can take in knowing that they were willing to answer the call and "do the right thing" when it was required of them. I, for one, occasionally envy them that feeling, that knowledge of themselves.

However, those who serve in the military today do so at great cost to themselves, and often lack the respect and recognition given to earlier generations of veterans. The popular narrative is that the American military is made up of stupid, poor, ignorant Christians who have no other life prospects than military service. This storyline marginalizes what is still an important and necessary role in our society that should be respected. A magazine article today puts this issue in terms of the lack of Medals of Valor that have been awarded to American servicemen and women in recent conflicts, and begs the question, is this generation less brave, or simply less noticed?

Read Katherine Zoepf's article "Why so few medals of honor."

Thanks, Petraeus

Now for the most part, I have no qualms with General Petraeus. I haven't kept an excessively close eye on the minutiae of his tenure, but this particular detail struck me this morning. Evidently, as part of a wider authorization of U.S. covert operations in countries around the world, Petraeus if focused on intelligence gathering by troops, as well as "academics, foreign business people, or others."

Great. Do he have any idea how often Americans abroad are assumed to be agents of the CIA? How many times journalists and students are accused of being part of the Zionist conspiracy, or working for the government? It's hard enough for many people to do their jobs and live their lives without having official policy give weight to the conspiracy theories of extremists. Now they'll have decent reason to surmise that Americans are all CIA spies, and many times (the sad ending of Daniel Pearl comes to mind) that has real consequences.