AFSC WV statement on Senator Manchin and Build Back Better

 CHARLESTON, WV (December 20, 2021) Over the weekend, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin announced on Fox News that he would not support the Build Back Better act. This comes after months of debate over the provisions in the bill, which would help families with childcare, improve the U.S. response to climate change, and strengthen the social safety net. The proposed legislation would also provide needed funding for Black Lung benefits.

The West Virginia program of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) – a Quaker organization active in the state for a century – issued the following statement calling on Manchin to change his position:

“A century ago, Quaker volunteers began working in solidarity with the people of West Virginia. There was severe economic hardship in the coalfields, with child poverty and hunger being key issues. Sadly, and perhaps incredibly, those issues are still very much alive in West Virginia, and we are still in the struggle to alleviate these challenging circumstances for people in our community.

During the 1920s and and1930s, AFSC administered direct relief to families in West Virginia and advocated for federal New Deal legislation to reduce unnecessary human misery, which transformed U.S. society. From the 1970s onward, AFSC accompanied and advocated for justice for coal miners and other workers, Black people, women, children, people in poverty, and other marginalized communities.

On many occasions, AFSC staff and volunteers collaborated with then legislator, later Governor, and now Senator Joe Manchin on state and federal issues ranging from the minimum wage and fair taxes to coal mine safety and preserving the gains of the Affordable Care Act.

We have also witnessed firsthand the better angels of our Senator’s nature in the compassion he has shown for victims of natural and human disasters. From the 1968 Farmington mine disaster, in which he lost an uncle, to the Aracoma, Sago and Upper Big Branch mine tragedies in the 2000s and beyond, Senator Manchin has shown himself to be compassionate and responsive.

Thus, we are deeply saddened to learn that Senator Manchin has withdrawn support from the proposed Build Back Better Act. Many in West Virginia have worked tirelessly to advocate for an opportunity to pass this life-changing piece of legislation. The Build Back Better Act would be as positively transformative as the New Deal in dramatically reducing child poverty and helping working families negotiate the duties of family and work. The Build Back Better Act would also address the existential threats of climate change and the need for a just economic transition for the people of West Virginia towards a more prosperous, sustainable, and less extractive and exploitive economic future.

We are still hopeful. AFSC is a diverse organization committed to the deeply held view that there is “that of God” in every person. It is not too late for Senator Manchin to return to his commitments, take a bold and needed step in this pivotal moment, and support prompt enactment of these measures.

We are holding out hope that our Senator still has some compassion for the hundreds of thousands of West Virginians and millions of people who would benefit from the Child Tax Credit, childcare support, improved health care, and immigration relief. As an organization with a global footprint, we also hope the Senator has compassion for the billions of people worldwide who might benefit from addressing climate change, an existential threat to us all.

We urge our Senator to recommit himself to negotiating the passage of genuinely transformative federal legislation that would dramatically reduce human suffering in West Virginia, the United States, and worldwide.”

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The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social systems.

Pity and fear

Aristotle, medieval European style. Image courtesy of wikipedia.

Aside from links and comments about current events, Goat Rope lately has been looking at Aristotle's view of art, literature, tragedy and poetry as expressed in his Poetics.

The ancient Athenians took tragedy seriously. Such performances were usually given during the spring festival of the god Dionysus and, like so much else in Greek life, they were a contest. All citizens were supposed to attend the performances (and got paid to do so) and vote on the winner. The contest consisted of a series of three more or less related tragedies and a lighter and cruder satyr play (named for the goatlike companions of the god). Three tragedians competed for top honors.

Attending was both a patriotic and religious duty. They took tragedy so seriously that when they voted special taxes on rich citizens, these were sometimes given a choice of paying for a new trireme (fighting ship) or a new tragic performance. Can you imagine a society today that viewed art as being as important as warfare?

Aristotle believed that a good tragedy should have a powerful cleansing effect or katharsis on those who watched it. He said

Tragedy is a representation of action that is worthy of serious attention, complete in itself and of some magnitude - bringing about by means of pity and fear the purging of such emotions.

Debate rages today about what he meant by katharsis. Some see it as something like a religious initiation, while others believe he derived the term from Greek medical practices and viewed it as having a cleansing effect on the psyche just as other treatments might have on the body. Ditto pity and fear. One possible interpretation is that we feel pity for the suffering of the protagonist and fear in recognizing that the same kind of thing might happen to us in a similar situation.

I don't necessarily think that's the only function of tragedy or way to view it. Nietzsche believed that the beauty of such art made it possible for those who viewed it to say yes to life in spite of all its horrors. The best tragedies also warn against hubris and excess--if only we paid attention.

Pity, fear and katharsis may not be the last word on tragedy. Still, I'll never forget the way it felt when I first really read the works of tragedians such as Aeschylus and Sophocles. It might not have been exactly that, but it was close.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY? The US lags behind other highly developed nations in providing paid leave for new moms.

UNEMPLOYMENT. The Obama administration has proposed more help for unemployed workers, including a proposal that would allow them to receive job training while also receiving benefits.

CHICKEN LITTLE AGAIN. While some business groups continue to view the Employee Free Choice Act as a sign of the apocalypse, several US states already have similar laws on the books and the sun apparently continues to rise over them.

URGENT BIG SHARK UPDATE here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED