Has Anyone Seen June Cleaver?

From October, 1957 to June, 1963 America was given a weekly vignette of wholesome, moral, secure, balanced suburban family life in a television situation comedy entitled “Leave it to Beaver.” This was a 30 minute chronicle of the life of the family of Ward and June Cleaver and their two sons, twelve year old Wallace (Wally) and seven year old Theodore (The Beaver) Cleaver. (This was their ages when the show started in 1957).

Ward Cleaver was a successful businessman who worked in an office at something that is not quite clear to the audience; whatever it was it was lucrative: Ward’s income took care of himself and three other people in middleclass suburban style. They lived in a big suburban house, drove nice family size sedans, and dressed well.

June Cleaver was always impeccably dressed, her hair well coiffured, and her string of pearls always around her neck. June Cleaver was in pearls and high heels, and wearing a party dress or a cocktail frock, even when gardening or doing the dishes. It seems that June woke up with her hair in place, already outfitted and ready to go to a cocktail party or be the hostess of one.

June was also impeccably behaved. June never disagreed with Ward Cleaver, for as we had already been told for a while by another television show, “Father Knows Best.” Ward never got on June’s nerves. He never acted in any way except the most noble and the most exemplary actions. June was never frustrated with Ward. She never felt like cussing Ward. June Cleaver was so content with Ward that she was probably the first “Stepford wife.”

Not only did June Cleaver never have any problems, she also never had any answers or solutions. Why should she need them? She was married to Ward Cleaver who did all the thinking and came up with all the solutions to any problems that might arise. June never lost her temper.

For June Cleaver there were no problems anywhere, or at least she did not talk about them when millions of Americans were hanging off her every word. No, there were no outside problems for June Cleaver because her world was Ward, Wally, and the Beaver. And there were no problems on Maple Street or Pine Street in Mapleton, USA.

In June Cleaver’s world there are no African-Americans, no Hispanics, no persons of Asian or Native American ancestry, no Moslems or Buddhists, no human beings whose sexual preference is not heterosexual, no persons who are physically or mentally challenged, and of course there are no poor people. June Cleaver never has to face challenges about abortion because there is no premarital sex in her “cookie cutter world.”

June Cleaver was never challenged by unemployment, job outsourcing, inflation, rebellious children, balancing home and careing for elderly and infirmed parents, personal healthcare bills that she is unsure how to pay, or any of the problems that face real woman in a real world, even in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

June Cleaver lived in an insulated world. June was on television for six seasons: from the Fall of 1957 to the late Spring of 1963. These were the years that served as the seed bed for the revolutions in thought and behavior that would change America, but you would never know it by listening to June Cleaver.

Between 1947 and 1961 Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin developed vaccines to eradicate polio. With her precious Beaver being in the target age-range for polio you’d think that June would be concerned about this medical miracle. June never mentioned the polio vaccine.

Three years before “Leave It to Beaver” went on television, the Supreme Court handed down its landmark Brown Vs. Board of Education decision against the Topeka, Kansas School Board, outlawing segregated schools in America. In six seasons on television, June Cleaver never once mentioned this historic decision.

About a year before “Leave It to Beaver” began its six year run Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Montgomery Improvement Association successfully broke the back of segregated public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. June Cleaver never uttered a word about it.

In 1960 doctors and scientist seeking to give women control over their reproductive health introduced the “birth control pill.” This simple medical miracle revolutionized dating, sexual habits, and marriage in America and around the world. It was never mentioned by June Cleaver.

In 1960 John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic to become President of the United States. June Cleaver never noticed.

The question is “why?” The answer is that June Cleaver and the other characters of “Leave It to Beaver” are not real people. They are invented symbols of what some one wanted American life to be; they are not a reflection of what American life is or was, ever! June Cleaver and her family are “symbols” or better yet, “projections” of some one’s ideas of what America was in their minds or what America should be.

Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, the two white men who originated and wrote the “Leave It to Beaver” program were also writers of both the radio and television versions of “Amos N’ Andy” (from 1943 to 1960). (“Amos ‘N Andy” was originated by two other white men, Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll in 1928).

Connelly and Mosher were doing the same thing with the scripts for both programs: selling a message of what life in America ought to be. They had a central message for both shows: “This is who we are.” The “Amos ‘N Andy” program reinforced stereotypical bigotry while “Leave it to Beaver” reinforced a message of prosperity and greatness.

It made no difference to Connelly and Mosher that both messages were untrue; it was a message that helped sell products and solidify a nation. In other words Connelly and Mosher were using the media to shape a national consciousness. By their portrayals of ideal personalities, they invited people to either accept these roles, at the least, or aspire to them, at the most. Millions of Americans did both.

June Cleaver said, “Things are good. Your husband is your refuge. Your children are well behaved. There are no problems inside or outside of your home.” This was only true on Maple Street or Pine Street in Mapleton, USA, a make-believe house on a make-believe street in a make-believe town. In the real America people were catching hell everywhere. (During the six year run of the show, the Cleavers lived on Maple St. and Pine St.)

Sarah Palin is June Cleaver all over again. She tells us that all of America lives in Mapleton, and we are all married to Ward Cleaver. In her world there are no problems that a smile and wink can’t change. “There have been some mistakes with this war and with this administration,” says Palin during the debate, “as with all administrations,” never once admitting that the war in Iraq was wrong to begin with and that this administration has been eight long years of bumble and stumble, always going from bad to worse.

Sarah Palin, a.k.a., June Cleaver, wants the world to believe that all is well with Ward, Wally, and the Beaver. This is not true. Mapleton does not exist, not even in Wasilla, Alaska, a place more than two thousand miles from main stream America. Ward is a drunk, and June Cleaver has no idea what her children are doing or with whom they are doing it.

Sarah Palin and June Cleaver are a marketing package. Those who made the package have little or no concern for the content, because there is no content. The package is empty, but it makes no difference as long as it is pretty and makes people feel good. It’s the package that is being sold, not the content. People look at the package, the outer wrapping that is June Cleaver and Sarah Palin, and identify with them, want to be them or to be like them, not knowing that what they are seeing really doesn’t exist. Even the package is make-believe.

There is no June Cleaver. Connelly and Mosher made her up just like the Republican handlers made up Sarah Palin on Thursday night. Palin was as much make believe at the debate on Thursday night as June Cleaver was in her high hills and pearls doing her gardening. Any serious candidate for a national office would know at least one landmark Supreme Court case.

I see June Cleaver every time some slick politician tries to sway my vote by zeroing in on a candidate’s religion, church, or its leader, or sell a package that says “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction,” or tries to convince me that his screw-ups are really “a mission accomplished.”

I see June Cleaver every time I see someone inaugurated to high public office who is not qualified to be county dog catcher, and who won the office because his/her team of magicians were able to distract voters long enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

I see June Cleaver every time some “nickel slick, shinny dime” high priced Madison Avenue political advertising machine picks up someone who is as dumb as a box of rocks, stuffs them full of irrelevant facts and figures, and trots them out like a show horse before adoring fans.

It seems to me that the mess that has inundated this nation as a result of eight years of George Bush’s “June Cleaver-like leadership” would be enough to break America from this silly notion that “the person in the office doesn’t matter as long as he/she has the right ideology and the right people around him/her.

It does matter, stupid! June Cleaver doesn’t have enough sense to change from a cocktail frock and heels, into slacks and sneakers when she is doing her gardening. How do you think she can run a nation?

Has anyone seen June Cleaver? No! Even the people who thought they saw her were only seeing the “make-believe.”

Sarah Palin, Marionette

Webster's New World Dictionary defines a marionette as "a puppet or little jointed doll moved by strings or wires from above..." This is exctly what we saw tonight with Sarah Palin in the "debate" with Joe Biden. As a marionette, she performed well. I think Sarah Palin did exactly what she was hired to do: answer some questions, cloud over the facts and truths of the present Republican administration, and obscure the record of her running mate, John McCain. She did not make obvious gaffes and stumbles as was expected. This was good.

But the truth of the matter remains: Sarah Palin is not qualified to be “a heartbeat away from the presidency.” Governor Palin’s handlers prepped her well and she came out kind of sporty, and some may even say cocky, but in the end it was clear that she is not “the person for the job.”

The other day I heard John McCain talking about “got cha” journalism. Well, tonight Sarah Palin’s talking points were a lot of “got cha” moments. I think that she thought she was good, but what she showed me is plain and simple: she is not qualified.

Let’s put aside all partisan politics and come directly to the issue at hand: Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president in the occasion of John McCain being incapacitated or his unexpected death in office.

Sarah Palin is trying to find herself; she is not sure of whom she is. I think self-discovery is a great thing, but not at the expense of the American taxpayer and especially not at this critical time in our history.

It’s easy to look at her answers, compare these answers to answers that she gave to questions asked earlier by nationally known news commentators, and conclude that this woman is a black board that many people are writing on. She is not answering these questions; the handlers are.

There are plenty of Republican women who are qualified and who would do both their party and the nation good in the contest and in the White House: Jodi Rell of Connecticut and Kaye Bailey Hutchinson of Texas are among them.

There is something awfully sexist and patronizing about choosing a most unqualified woman for this job when there is a vast number of qualified women in business and politics in America from which to choose.

She did do well in the debate tonight. By this I mean there were no obvious gaffes or snafus. But it is possible to teach a dog to sing. I am not saying that Sarah Palin is a dog. I am saying that Sarah Palin is unqualified to be Vice President of the United States, and that her answers tonight before “omteen million voters” were answers designed to appeal to a certain demographic group, i.e. “Middle America,” or the American Middle Class.

This is the demographic group that we will have to thank and curse if John McCain and Sarah Palin win the election. It is frightening to conclude that a whole demographic group of people can be persuaded to vote against their own self-interest based on fear and ignorance. Sarah Palin’s task was not to answer questions about domestic or foreign policy, but to appear to be “like us,” the vast middle class.

At some point America will have to see that what we need in government is someone who is not like us, someone with a worldview broader and wider than our own. Xenophobia and myopic points of view only serve the small minds that conceive them. They never serve the greater good. The middle class must be taught to be unafraid of change, and unafraid of others.

I was particularly put off by her scapgoating of the leaders of the nations of Iran and Cuba. America must walk away from this xenophobic arrogance. What will change in the world if the American President talks with the President of Iran? How Will the ecosystem be altered if the President of the United States has a conversation with the leader of Cuba? Will time stand still? Will the sun stop shining, or grass refuse to grow, or will cattle world wide suddenly miscarry? Stop being stupid! This kind of thinking sounds like people who believe that girls get preganant from kissing.

Just this group of high school, sophomoric answers to important questions was enogh to make me want to gag. I don't think she understands that there is George Bush's "Mission Accomplished" world, where America sets the universal agenda, and people run, hop, and skip at the call of the United States, and then there is the real world, where other nation-states are as kean about seeking their own interests as we are about seeking ours.

And yet I don't believe that Sarah’s answers reflected what she actually believes. I say this primarily because I don't think that Sarah knows yet what she believes. Other than the right to life issue, it will probably take Sarah another five to seven years to develop a real theory of government and a genuine philosophy of public policy.

In the mean-time Sarah was supposed to obey her handlers, take care of her children, and draw her check from the State of Alaska. This would have made for a very comfortable life. Instead, John McCain, a very ambitious man, stepped in looking for an ambitious woman. I do not fault Sarah Palin for seeking office in Wassila, or in the Alaska State House, or even the Governor’s Mansion in Alaska. But she knew she was not qualified to be Vice-President and should have turned the offer down.

Let me make this simple and clear: When inept, unqualified people come to power “Nine-Eleven” happens, the Iraqi War happens, the disaster of Katrina happens, and the Wall Street melt down happens. When unintelligent, inept, unqualified people are given power destruction follows. Vast numbers of people suffer from their ineptness, and answering a few questions from talking points put together by savvy handlers will not mask that ignorance.

For the last eight years (under George Bush) we have not had policies, foreign or domstic, instead we have had stumblings. In short, the American policy has become whatever resulted from the bumblings of the "Idiot-in-Chief," and those around him. Can we afford this for another four years? I think not!

It appears that with Sarah Palin the puppet handler is moving the strings of a puppet. This has been the case with George Bush and Dick Chaney. It will be the case with John McCain and Sarah Palin, if they are elected, or in some other way come to power.

Ahab and Jezebel, Again!

In the ninth century before Christ a corrupt and evil regime came to power in the Kingdom of Israel. Ahab, a scion of the Omride dynasty, became king and his bride, Jezebel became queen (I Kgs. 16:21-28).

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel brought disaster to the Kingdom of Israel through their corrupt religious policy, flagrant disregard for human rights, and unwise foreign policy which sought war as a means of commerce. The totality of the administration of Ahab and Jezebel was gain, commerce, and increase “by any means necessary!” (See I Kgs. 19:1-2; chap. 21; 22:1-40).

When the reign of Ahab and Jezebel was over the Kingdom was morally, economically, and socially weak, and almost bankrupt. Under the Ahab and Jezebel administration the rule of law was abandoned for the rule of the expedient. The currency was devalued and financial markets came to ruin. There was a run on the banks. War and militarism was the government’s stock in trade. Those who approved of the wars were rewarded; those who didn’t were defamed and imprisoned (I Kgs. 22: 8-18).

It is apparent from the reading of the text that King Ahab had little knowledge or stomach to rule. This he leaves to Queen Jezebel. Jezebel’s idolatrous and hypocritical religious policies made Israel morally weak. Jezebel obviously did not know that Israel’s strength was in its moral rectitude, not in its military. Once Jezebel had successfully destroyed that moral defense, the Kingdom was open for attack and subjugation.

It is because of the moral weakness developed during the Ahab and Jezebel administration that Israel became a target for ravenous nation-states around her. This weakness set in motion the total destruction of the nation and the exile of it’s inhabits only a few hundred years later.

The biblical chronicler records that Ahab was the worst king that Israel had ever had. He goes on the say that he was worst than all the other kings of Israel combined (I Kgs. 16: 30, 33).

What happened in ninth century Israel is happening again in twenty-first century America. Again, the son of a great family, George W. Bush, has come to power, and he has brought with him his own Jezebel, Dick Chaney. Like Ahab, Bush has neither the intelligence nor the will to govern a nation. This he has left to his Jezebel, Dick Chaney.

Bush and Chaney’s policies, like Jezebel’s, have resulted in the most disastrous outcomes that the nation has experienced in its history:

1. Ten billion dollars a month for the war in Iraq that is the result of a planned series of lies for the purposes of personal aggrandizement and increasing the profits of corporations connected to the military-industrial complex.
2. War on two fronts while this administration is in search of a third theater of war before it leaves office,
3. International respect for the nation has fallen to its lowest since the nation has been in existence;
4. Phenomenal mortgage failures: hundreds of thousands of people loosing their homes, thousands more can’t get a mortgage because the lending institutions are going out of business;
5. The administration has used the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 as a pretext to trample over the civil and human rights of American citizens just as Jezebel trampled over the rights of Naboth and his ownership of the vineyard.
6. The cost of living is rising beyond the grasp of common people;
   Major financial institutions are failing in record numbers.
7. We are on the brink of a major financial depression that will make the 1930’s look like a picnic.
   
   We are experiencing Ahab and Jezebel again. I wonder if McCain and Palin are intended to be follow ups to this act? Are they to be the new Ahab and Jezebel?
   
   

Four Reasons Why America Needs John McCain

After eight years of the most disastrous foreign and domestic policy this country has seen since the Great Depression, America needs John McCain for the following reasons:


1. Eight years of George Bush has not made America economically or morally weak enough. We need fewer jobs, a smaller tax base, and millions more poor, desperate and hungry people. We need more home mortgage failures, more bank closers, more failing schools, and more factory closers. John McCain will give this to us.


2. Only rich and powerful people (who can afford seven homes) deserve the best healthcare. To provide healthcare to everyone is both un-Christian and un-democratic. Universal healthcare is an evil plot hatched by the devil to create a level playing field for everyone. If this country adopts universal healthcare the child born to poor parents will have the same chances of growing and being healthy as the child born to rich parents. John McCain will stop this evil plot.


3. The idea of American imperialism must be preserved. We must preserve the idea that the whole world will jump when America says “jump.” Therefore any common sense approach such as “diplomacy” must be shelved. In order to retain our greatness we must be at war in everyplace on the globe where people are not doing as we want them. We rejoice at seeing our sons and daughters brought home in body bags, or with their limbs blown away, or with their minds destroyed by war. John McCain will go to war at the drop of a hat.


4. Our standing as a moral leader in the world has not been sufficiently damaged by the Iraq war. We need John McCain, Dick Chaney, and Donald Rumsfeld to come back and finish assuring the world that America is a nation led by the immoral, doing the unconscionable, for reasons that are unwise, while proclaiming that which is untrue. John McCain will continue the polices of our present “Idiot-in-Chief,” and soon no nation on earth will respect us for our “moral leadership.” Go McCain!!! Take us all the way down.