Sapulpa Daily Herald (Sapulpa, Okla.), Vol. 99, No. 104, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 12, 2014 Page: 4 of 12
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Page 4— Wednesday. F-ebruarv 12, 2014. Sapulpa Daily Herald
I Ml S\IM I I*\ I> MI \ III R VI I
Opinion-
Email your letters to: editor#'Sapulpaheraldonline.com
Artworks Choked By Artichokes
H) Hf Hh i ( \ f l W/)/ A
In JIM)'. James Dupree
bought a dilapidated ware-
house and garage Today, after
almost a decade of steady
investment and physical labor,
the once blighted space is now
a Mbrani S.hOO-square-foot
studio showcasing over 5.(NKI
pieces ol art
In a Philadelphia neighbor-
hood marked by vacant houses
and parking lots. Dupree’s stu-
dio is a bright spot ol entrepre-
neurship and esteemed cultural
value His paintings have won
numerous awards, are dis-
played at the Philadelphia
Museum of Art. and sell for
upwards of $40,000 each He
has hosted and taught public
art classes at his studio, and
plans to launch a mentorship
program for inner-city youth
that focuses on fostering entre-
preneurial and aesthetic appre-
ciation skills.
However. "I definitely want
a grocery store." says
Councilwoman Jannte L.
Blackwell. And. decided the
city council, a nice location for
this grocery store would be on
Dupree's lot While the build-
ing plan itself is essentially
undetermined, with no poten-
tial tenant even identified yet,
the city sent Dupree a letter to
condemn his successful studio.
He has two choices. He can
accept the pitiful sum - slight-
ly over '4 of its most recent
appraised value -the city
offered and painfully watch his
decade of investment be bull-
dozed away, or he can fight
He chose the latter. “I built
this place up myself." says
Dupree “I'm not just going to
roll over and die."
The letter was sent in
December 2012 To this day.
he continues to fight, and he
recently painted on his studio's
exterior a mural featuring a
grotesque human hand reach-
ing fora building, with a warn-
ing below: "HANDS OFF My
Business." The mural and his
story have, rightfully, captured
national attention, as well as a
renewed interest in the greater
issue at stake - eminent
domain.
Eminent domain is the
process through which govern-
ment is allowed to take private
property to benefit the public
use after providing just com-
pensation to the original
owner Traditionally, this
process would apply to largely
undisputed investments such
as a much-needed road or a
new school However, increas-
ingly throughout the 20th cen-
tury and even still today, far
too much of this property is
taken from individual property
owners (often small businesses
or homeowners) and being
handed to other private enti-
ties. primarily corporate devel-
opers.
In essence, the government
is abusing its eminent domain
power by picking and choos-
ing value among true property
owners and wishful ones. All
too often, bureaucrats decide if
your property is worthy to
w ithstand their ow n plans
Eminent domain was. fortu-
nately. scaled back a bit in the
last few years, in light of the
infamous Kelo case in 2005
There, the Supreme Court out-
rageously held that local offi-
cials can subject private prop-
erty to eminent domain solely
because they can imagine
some alternate use for it that
might possibly generate
greater tax revenue Suddenly,
according to that logic, all
homeowners were in danger.
Legislation immediately
reflected this public outcry and
disgust, with 45 slates quickly
rewriting their eminent
domain laws to provide more
sound protection for property
owners. Of course, such prop-
erty grabbing was also slowed
down by a sluggish economy
in the past several years.
However, as the economy
has begun to pick up. so has
eminent domain. Last year
alone, a number of new prop-
erty-grabbing techniques have
sprung up from California to
New Jersey. Increased admin-
istrative capacity and regula-
tion have contnbuted to this
resurgence of eminent domain,
and Mr Dupree's property is a
perfect example.
"Seizing James Dupree's
art studio is not only unconsti-
tutional and a gross abuse of
eminent domain, it is uncon-
scionable." said a letter signed
by a diverse group including
members of t j Philadelphia
art community, the ACLU, and
the conservative Americans
for Prosperity. It’s unconstitu-
tional. of course, because the
potential grocery store is a pri-
vate entity, and because the
city's compensation is far from
"just.” It's unconscionable
because it’s absurd. Dupree
has teamed up with the
Institute for Justice to urge the
city council to reconsider its
plan
In this highly partisan age.
the diversity of Dupree's sup-
porters is promising, and truly
speaks to the salience of the
issue at hand. The resurgence
of eminent domain as a mod-
em civil liberties issue pres-
ents a new opportunity for mil-
lennials to consider the value
of personal property and home
ownership, as many of us are
first entering the job and hous-
ing markets ourselves.
Millennial should be con-
cerned .
I belong to this generation,
one which has been oft-cited
as the most entrepreneurial
generation to date. While job
prospects are sluggish and
many in my generation face
staggering student debt, many
millennials continue to capital-
ize on new technologies by
creatively juxtaposing this
with their own innate talents to
create start-ups, small busi-
nesses, and independent
sources of income. Creative
entrepreneurship is. perhaps,
the truly 21st-century face of
the American dream.
Therefore. Dupree’s prop-
erty becomes a celebrated
symbol of American success
for my generation, and the
issue becomes one to be all the
more outraged about. This
isn't just art - it’s also capital.
Not only did Mr. Dupree fol-
low his passionate and talent
for art. but he managed to sub-
stantially enrich his own prop-
erty value, generate a high
amount of rev enue, and cultur-
ally enrich his community.
He's a success story. And yet,
how is he rewarded?
Arbitrarily condemning
creative entrepreneurship
sends a message that bureau-
cracy has little respect for indi-
vidual entrepreneurs and small
business. It seems to contradict
any sense of reason that in a
blighted neighborhood, the
city would want to demolish
the block containing one of the
most successful and celebrated
cultural highlights of the
neighborhood
Not only is private reshuf-
fling of property by govern-
ment unconstitutional, but it’s
disrespectful to any hardwork-
ing individual who falls victim
to such poor policy. It's time
that bureaucrats stop restrict-
ing private entrepreneurs from
flourishing by stripping away
their fairly earned property
rights. It’s tune to celebrate
properly investment and entre-
preneurship. not condemn it.
Get Her a Gun for Valentine’s
BY KATIE KIEFFER
F orget roses. This Valentine's Day, give her
a gift that shows you love her whole body and
soul. Give her a gun.
Your Valentine—whether she's your wife,
girlfriend, daughter or sister—deserves some-
thing very special. What could be more senti-
mental than a tool she can use to defend herself?
When you give her a gun. you will be showing
her that she is extremely precious and valuable
to you.
Of course, you don’t want to just hand her a
Glock and say “Happy Valentine's Day!” That
would be neither wise nor romantic. Here’s a
few tips on how to make your Valentine’s Day
gift both safe and meaningful:
• For the Girl on the Fence. If your sweet-
heart is a not so sure she likes guns, a pink AR-
15 might be pushing it for a Valentine's Day
gift. You don't want to scare her away from the
idea of owning a firearm So, ease her into the
idea of owning a special tool for self-defense
For example Bling Sting makes stylish and
practical pepper spray keychains that are deco-
rated in red. pink, black or diamond bling. She
can attach one of these "charms" to her purse or
key ring for an extra dose of protection.
Along with a fabulous pepper spray, you
could give her a gold-plated chain with a small
charm in the shape of a handgun She'll feel
edgy and lough and by the time her birthday
rolls amund. she'll be asking you for the real
deal so she can truly protect herself from an
assault. And. just for fun. give her chocolates in
the shape of ammo with a note that says: “Bile
the Bullet! XOX!” (Be willing to bite the bullet
yourself after this horrible pun.)
• For the Gun Newbie. For a gal who is
already a Second Amendment supporter, you
won't need to win her over. Nevertheless, if she
hasn't spent much time handling firearms you
will want to help educate her. Unless she
already owns a gun and is extremely comfort-
able using firearms safely, give her a gift cer-
tificate to a gun safety and firearm self-defense
course before you give her a gun.
• For the Gun Intermediate Your sweetheart
has handled firearms before and she’s already
taken gun safety courses. She's ready for her
very own firearm. Since you'll want to make
sure that her gun fits well in her hand, you'll
need to rum the surprise and take her to the gun
store with you. Buying a gun is kind of like buy-
ing an engagement ring — it's helpful to have the
girl along with you because, unfortunately, her
hands are not removable.
• For the Gun Goddess. For die woman who
knows more about guns and ammo than you do
(though you’ll never admit it), a gift certificate
for a conceal cany class along with a practical
conceal carry holster or concealment tank lop
would be the perfect gift. A thigh holster is
much sexier than a delicate, lacy negligee when
you explain that you're giving her this is a gift
because you want to protect your most valuable
asset—her.
A gun or a gun-safety class is so much more
meaningful than a teddy bear. When you give
her a self-defense tool, you're olfenng her is a
constant reminder of how much you value her
and a present that will last far longer than a vase
of red rosebuds.
The Trouble With Coke’s
Gorgeous, Subversive Ad
BY SHAWN MITCHELL
Coke’s Super Bowl ad. featuring a montage
of America the Beautiful in eight languages
amidst scenes of beautiful people and land-
scapes wins this year's controversy award At
one level, it's just a company selling "sugar
water," in Steve Jobs's famous phrase But. of
course, there’s more to it Coke spent untold
millions to produce a message touching social,
cultural, and political nerves to make us notice
and talk about it.Coke succeeded. The ad is
beautiful, manipulative, disingenuous, and
subversive.
Critics have struggled to express what trou-
bles them, some thoughtfully and some in
blunderbuss fashion It’s elusive because the
piece is beautiful and humanly warm.
Ultimately, criticism of the ad is not about dis-
comfort with diversity. It’s about the limits of
diversity in core concepts and sinews that
Should unite our nation. To fully secure the
peace and freedom that enable and animate our
human diversity, there has to be a shared gov-
erning creed. The ad subtly undermines the
idea of any core cultural commonality.
First, let's get a grip It’s just a pretty com-
mercial. It’s not a candidate's platform or a
movement's manifesto. On an importance
scale of I-to-10, this is a 2. The misguided
expressions of outrage and calls to boycott
Coke played right into the marketing depart-
ment’s fondest hopes. But smug denunciations
of critics and charges of racism and xenopho-
bia weren’t triumphs of intellectual honesty,
either.
Embedded in the ad was something unset-
tling and provocative. It’s not that the ad
praised diversity of people and languages in
America. It’s not because lots of Americans
like to “demonize people who don’t look like
the way they'd like them to look like or came
from some other place." Colin Powell's clum-
sy recent phrase from another context.
America is full of human diversity that
Americans rightly celebrate. Coke could have
rendered virtually any other song in the same
way and no one would have raised an eyebrow.
No, the reaction is not to diversity. The ad is
noteworthy and controversial only because it
transformed a patriotic song—a sentimental
second national anthem for many—to make its
multicultural, multi-lingual point.
Still what's the problem? It is this: the ad is
sophisticated and manipulative in service of a
fiction, it depicts a vision that doesn't exist in
reality and that its proponents don’t really
believe in. It subtly takes sides in a debate
about the meaning of America and
Americanism. It does these things framed in a
way that exalts the left wing view and scores
cheap points against traditional understanding
of American exceptionaiism and against some
of its sputtering, not fully artful articulators.
In the simplest terms, t)ie multi-cultural
American patriotism depicted in the ad not
only doesn't exist, it's an oxymoron. There is
growing tension between the historic ideas of
assimilation on the one hand and preserving a
separateness of national and ethnic heritage on
the other. The forces arguing for deeper, more
divided cultural diversity are not typically flag-
waving translators of America the Beautiful
into native tongues They 're not generally the
people who revere and sing about pilgrims'
stern impassioned stress, thoroughfares of
freedom, and America's liberating strife. The
image is a sugary, beautiful lie.
Subcultures that self-segregate, observe
separate national or ethnic traditions, and pre-
serve a different mother longue, aren't known
for celebrating anything uniquely
American.Communities that observe
Ramadan, celebrate Cinco de Mayo, or speak
of Reconquista, absolutely are part of a beauti-
ful American tapestry But they aren't bursting
into patriotic American songs. People who
were uncomfortable with the ad knew they
were being sold a fantasy.
More, the fantasy is at odds with what
inuln-culiuralists value and promote America
the Beautiful, especially in the latter verses,
celebrates our nation's exceptionaiism. Multi
culturalists celebrate the un Jersality of
humanity and equality ol all cultures. Multi
culturalists focus more on ihe lines from
Liberty 'x inscription about poor huddled mass-
es than they do on the meaning of “yearning to
breathe free."
What is "free" about America What about
America through the ages has called to striv-
ing. seeking people? Is it anything multi-cul-
turalists will describe and defend.’It is a life
built on freedom, on opportunity, rooted in
limited government, and the human chance to
succeed or fail. It’s the difference that Ronald
Reagan called the “last best hope of man on
earth " Consider a bit more from that famous
speech:
"If we lose freedom here, there is no place
to escape- to. This is the last stand on Earth
And this idea that government is beholden to
the people. |...| is still the newest and most
unique idea in all the long history of man's
relation to man. This is the issue |...|. Whether
we believe in our capacity for self-government
or whether we abandon the American revolu-
tion and confess that a little intellectual elite in
a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us
better than we can plan them ourselves."
^evident Obama expresses quite a different
understanding of American uniqueness when
he observes: "I believe in American exception-
aiism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in
British exceptionaiism and the Greeks believe
in Greek exceptionaiism.” Nothing special to
see Fiere. Move along.
Some viewers of the Coke ad sense the song
reflects the spirit that Reagan described, but.
they're being poured a glass of syrup more in
tune with Obama's sensibilities. In the battle
over political culture, defenders of American
exceptionaiism cite various critical elements,
including the self-evident truths of Ihe
Declaration of Independence, (he structure and
limits in the Constitution, and the unifying
cords of a common national language.The ad
subtly and appealingly whispers that none of
that matters. Anyone's idea of America is as
good as anyone else’s. There is no exceptional
American creed; there are just all the beautiful
people of the world.
The ad appealed to human brotherhood and
national pride, but pride in what? I wonder
what Coke would say.
Survey" Voters not very
confident in Social Security
From the Rasmussen
Reports
Moat voters still have a
favorable opinion of the
Social Security ayitem but
also continue to doubt that
they will receive all their ben-
efits from the federal retire-
ment i y item.
A new Raamuiaen Reports
national telephone survey
finds that 44 percent of Likely
US. Voters are at least some-
what confident that the Social
Security syttem will pay them
all their promised retirement
benefits during their lifetime,
with 19 percent who are Very
Confident. Fifty-five percent
lack that confidence, includ-
ing 25 percent who are Not At
All Confident.
The survey of 1.000 Likely
Voters was conducted on Feb.
6-7by Rasmussen Reports.
The margin of sampling error
is +/- 3 percentage points with
a 95 perecent level of confi-
dence. Field work for all
Rasmussen Reports surveys is
conducted by Pulse Opinion
Research, LLC.
v,
i
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Gibbs, Angenene. Sapulpa Daily Herald (Sapulpa, Okla.), Vol. 99, No. 104, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 12, 2014, newspaper, February 12, 2014; Sapulpa, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1508362/m1/4/: accessed July 8, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.