Now that the Van Jones affair is fading a bit, it seems fair to examine the incident and its aftermath with a cooler, more objective eye. Despite the fact that signing the truth.org petition was not smartest move Jones ever made (particularly in light of his political ambitions), it hardly seems the caliber of scandal necessary to unseat a staffer on the Council of Environmental Quality, a fairly mundane position. More to the point, it seems it would have been a bigger coup for the right to have him apologize profusely, and stay put. Apparently, that wasn't going to be good enough.
Certainly, Jones had been under fire by conservatives for some time, mainly for his participation in Color of Change, as well as his promotion of "green" jobs. The discovery of his 2004 petition signature was really just icing on the cake. For all the outrage, however, no one seems to be addressing the state of this nation's psyche back then, barely three years since 9/11 shattered our sense of security.
This is not the first time that a national tragedy, particularly one so obviously aimed at the United States, has caused us to question everything we thought we knew (remember Pearl Harbor?). People are shocked, angry and fearful. Questions of "Why?" and "How could this happen?" quickly morph into "Who knew?" and "When did they know?" People want someone to blame. They have questions, and these questions will be answered by someone, not always those who actually have the credentials to do so. In this state of high emotionality, people say things they never thought they would. That's human nature.
Now, I'm not one who gives these conspiracy theories an ounce of credence. Therefore, I am not being an apologist for these persons, I am only stating that I understand the genesis of such theories. I also respect the rights of those to speak these things, regardless of how lunatic they may sound. Why? Because this is a democracy, and it is their (and our) right to do so. Since when is it a bad thing for us to question and criticize our "government of the people", even when the criticisms seem unfounded?
There's something else. During the uproar over this issue, a news program aired a snippet of Jones giving a speech a few years ago. During this speech, he refered to Republicans as "a--holes". Could this be the real reason he had to go? Just asking.
Certainly, Jones had been under fire by conservatives for some time, mainly for his participation in Color of Change, as well as his promotion of "green" jobs. The discovery of his 2004 petition signature was really just icing on the cake. For all the outrage, however, no one seems to be addressing the state of this nation's psyche back then, barely three years since 9/11 shattered our sense of security.
This is not the first time that a national tragedy, particularly one so obviously aimed at the United States, has caused us to question everything we thought we knew (remember Pearl Harbor?). People are shocked, angry and fearful. Questions of "Why?" and "How could this happen?" quickly morph into "Who knew?" and "When did they know?" People want someone to blame. They have questions, and these questions will be answered by someone, not always those who actually have the credentials to do so. In this state of high emotionality, people say things they never thought they would. That's human nature.
Now, I'm not one who gives these conspiracy theories an ounce of credence. Therefore, I am not being an apologist for these persons, I am only stating that I understand the genesis of such theories. I also respect the rights of those to speak these things, regardless of how lunatic they may sound. Why? Because this is a democracy, and it is their (and our) right to do so. Since when is it a bad thing for us to question and criticize our "government of the people", even when the criticisms seem unfounded?
There's something else. During the uproar over this issue, a news program aired a snippet of Jones giving a speech a few years ago. During this speech, he refered to Republicans as "a--holes". Could this be the real reason he had to go? Just asking.
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