Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the National Urban League's, "State of Black America" address. During the presentation, National Urban League President Marc Morial offered many observations, accolades, and warnings in relation to the current state of African Americans in the U.S. Something else that he and the Urban League offered was what he called, The Main Street Marshall Plan, based on the famed Marshall Plan enacted by the U.S. post-WWII in an effort to help rebuild the most war torn parts of Europe that hadn't yet recovered. The Main Street Marshall Plan is the Urban League's attempt to get needed aid and programs to some of the most war torn parts of our nation, only instead of traditional war, the war these places are recovering from are the "War on Poverty" and the "War on Drugs" and some might additionally offer the war on the middle class.
So many wonderful ideas were offered by Mr. Morial during his presentation, such as job placement programs, job skills programs, business incubators, pre-K education, etc. All of these types of programs are no doubt needed by the areas that the Urban League wants improved, unfortunately, none of these initiatives are very new and most are centered on one thing, money. Money is an important resource and one that, for many Black communities and neighborhoods, is in far too short supply. However, there is another resource is even more precious than even money when it comes to Black America, civic education.
In an alternate universe where Black America does not suffer such economic inequality with whites, but everything else stays that same, over time, economic inequality would once again rear its ugly head. Why? Because money does not equal power, knowledge and relationships do, and civic engagement is where knowledge and relationships intersect. Whites on average understand much better than Blacks how to monopolize on the benefits of civic education and civic learning opportunities. Learning comes from practice and practice comes from opportunity to practice and an understanding of the value of practice, the inequality between whites and Blacks when it comes to civic learning opportunities is on par, if not worse, than that which exists when it comes to economic opportunities and unfortunately until organizations like the Urban League make addressing this inequality a priority, beyond voter registration drives and voter access, Blacks America will continue to find itself trying to ice skate uphill.
During the 2016 Presidential Primary, voters on both sides of the aisle have cried foul, feeling "cheated" and that "the system is rigged" after discovering the rules of various state primaries and caucuses run by their respective parties. The most recent coming in Nevada, with supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders causing borderline chaos to ensue as the Nevada Democratic Party sought to deal with delegate allotments. Trump supporters also raged against the Republican machine during that brief moment when Sen. Ted Cruz seemed to be gaining delegates even as he was losing contests. One of the most ballyhooed aspects of this Presidential election cycle has been all of the "new" blood that has entered the fray of political involvement and I completely support as may people joining the conversation as possible.
Here is the issue, so many of this new blood are coming to the conversation with a very limited vocabulary and understandably are getting angry because eventually they find themselves left out, and this is where excitement alone is not enough to make a long term difference when it comes to our system of government. I admire many of our government's forefathers like Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Washington, and Franklin, but these were very learned men and it only stands to reason that the government that they would create would require a higher than basic education from it's participants in order for them to be truly effective practitioners.
The average person doesn't even know when his or her school board meets or where his or her polling place is, so without a commitment to civic education, how can any of them be expected to understand the structure and rules of their respective party's primary or caucus process. We have a government of the (educated) people, by the (educated) people and for the (educated) people. Those in control of government already know this, but it will take a commitment at both the state and federal level to sufficiently educate its citizens on the necessity and practice of civic life, before ours is a government of ALL people, by ALL people and for ALL people.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Monday, May 9, 2016
An Honorable Death...
It's been a while since my last post and SO much (yet nothing at all) has happened in my four year absence. The GOP embraced their more moderate side in choosing Mitt Romney as their Presidential nominee, Obama still wound up the victory after the dust settled, and since then the GOP has done an about face and gone hard right, completely abandoning the "autopsy" done post-Romney destruction. By measurable accounts, the economy is better, the deficit has been reduced, unemployment is down and Obama has an approval rating three times higher than Congress. That said, we've seen a hotter spotlight and critical eye on racial inequality as shown through police violence or mass shootings, since Trayvon Martin was killed in February 2012. We have seen the rise of the "Black Lives Matter" movement in the aftermath of the public reaction in Ferguson, MO to the acquittal of Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown during a confrontation. Subsequent campaigns "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter" were created in response, but are seldom heard from now. Gay marriage is now the law of the land and the push back has come in the form of legislation in the South in an attempt to "protect" religious liberty as well as innocent girls using the bathroom from the transgender community.
Now, the stage is all but set for one of the most intriguing political battles in recent history. No, not between Trump and Clinton, but between the GOP and its soul. What started as a punchline at diner parties and other conversations, became an engaging novelty, grew into an alternative to "politics as usual", rose into a tidal wave of anger and devotion which presently threatens to destroy the once dominant fortress of conservative values that was the Grand Ole Party. Just this week, as some people's nightmare of President Donald J. Trump became a real possibility with the bowing out of the last conservative resistance of Senator Ted Cruz and Governor John Kasich submitted to the Borg like force that is Trump and his soldiers, the GOP's former standard-bearers Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush announced they would not be public faces during the general election and furthermore would not be attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, OH. Former GOP moderate crash test dummy Mitt Romney, earlier this year, publicly voiced his dissent to Trump's candidacy, and his former running mate, now House Speaker, Paul Ryan told the press that he could not yet support Trump for President.
The real-life nightmare that the GOP finds itself in right now was crafted eight years ago as its leaders decided it would be better to work solely towards making Barack Obama a one-term President instead of standing on its values and representing those values to the best of its ability through legislation and communication. The GOP used to represent the "establishment" and while it still currently has plenty of members who call the establishment home, republicans absolutely abandoned its beliefs in success through hard work, gaining power through virtuous effort, and working through the system because the system rewards those who follow the rules. Now, it stands as the champion of the zero-sum game, you're either first or you're last, you're right or you're wrong, you're either with us or against us. In an attempt to win this "game" the GOP recruited the Tea Party as Emperor Palpatine did Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars Saga, and just as Anakin did (as Darth Vader) to the Emperor in Return of the Jedi, the Tea Party (now exponentially more powerful as Darth Vader/Donald Trump) has turned on the GOP with death its only goal.
In the movie, Darth Vader dispatches of the Emperor, but what would have happened had the Emperor realized at some point earlier that his twisted plan to use Darth Vader to achieve world domination was a horrific mistake? What would have happen if the Emperor had understood that the he turned the pawn into a king and one way or another he was going to die? As I type these words, the GOP finds itself at both a terrifying and powerful choice point. It could try to talk with Darth Vader/Trump and hope to find some semblance of reason that existed in Anakin/the Tea Party, but the chances of that working are the same as anyone seeing Jar-Jar Binks in any future Star Wars movies.
There is another choice, a more difficult, yet honorable way that could ensure the legacy of the GOP goes forward with an opportunity re-discover the conservative values that served as an important counter-balance to the left. Star Wars is based, in part, on Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and as was the custom for any samurai who was captured by the enemy, had dishonored himself or clan or committed serious offense, I offer to the GOP, the ancient ceremony of Harikari. Choosing to stand behind a man in Donald Trump, who forsakes so much of what made the GOP the measured, steady voice during some of our nation's most turbulent times, would only serve to bury the once proud party in the most fantastically awful ways. However, choosing to be accountable and ending the cycle which created the monster set on the GOP's destruction, let Trump (and his angry horde) walk alone and perish, resetting its path in line with the conservative values that were at the core of the party, would be a death, but a temporary and most honorable one.
I suspect that the GOP may be too far gone to recognize what's best for it, even if William F. Buckley came back through some time portal and hand delivered it, but for its sake and for the sake of our most fragile Federal Democratic Republic, I hope it decides to change the ending of this dramatically ironic movie playing before the nation right now. I liked Return of the Jedi, but government is not a science fiction fantasy movie, and its time we had some balance in the force.
Now, the stage is all but set for one of the most intriguing political battles in recent history. No, not between Trump and Clinton, but between the GOP and its soul. What started as a punchline at diner parties and other conversations, became an engaging novelty, grew into an alternative to "politics as usual", rose into a tidal wave of anger and devotion which presently threatens to destroy the once dominant fortress of conservative values that was the Grand Ole Party. Just this week, as some people's nightmare of President Donald J. Trump became a real possibility with the bowing out of the last conservative resistance of Senator Ted Cruz and Governor John Kasich submitted to the Borg like force that is Trump and his soldiers, the GOP's former standard-bearers Presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush announced they would not be public faces during the general election and furthermore would not be attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, OH. Former GOP moderate crash test dummy Mitt Romney, earlier this year, publicly voiced his dissent to Trump's candidacy, and his former running mate, now House Speaker, Paul Ryan told the press that he could not yet support Trump for President.
The real-life nightmare that the GOP finds itself in right now was crafted eight years ago as its leaders decided it would be better to work solely towards making Barack Obama a one-term President instead of standing on its values and representing those values to the best of its ability through legislation and communication. The GOP used to represent the "establishment" and while it still currently has plenty of members who call the establishment home, republicans absolutely abandoned its beliefs in success through hard work, gaining power through virtuous effort, and working through the system because the system rewards those who follow the rules. Now, it stands as the champion of the zero-sum game, you're either first or you're last, you're right or you're wrong, you're either with us or against us. In an attempt to win this "game" the GOP recruited the Tea Party as Emperor Palpatine did Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars Saga, and just as Anakin did (as Darth Vader) to the Emperor in Return of the Jedi, the Tea Party (now exponentially more powerful as Darth Vader/Donald Trump) has turned on the GOP with death its only goal.
In the movie, Darth Vader dispatches of the Emperor, but what would have happened had the Emperor realized at some point earlier that his twisted plan to use Darth Vader to achieve world domination was a horrific mistake? What would have happen if the Emperor had understood that the he turned the pawn into a king and one way or another he was going to die? As I type these words, the GOP finds itself at both a terrifying and powerful choice point. It could try to talk with Darth Vader/Trump and hope to find some semblance of reason that existed in Anakin/the Tea Party, but the chances of that working are the same as anyone seeing Jar-Jar Binks in any future Star Wars movies.
There is another choice, a more difficult, yet honorable way that could ensure the legacy of the GOP goes forward with an opportunity re-discover the conservative values that served as an important counter-balance to the left. Star Wars is based, in part, on Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" and as was the custom for any samurai who was captured by the enemy, had dishonored himself or clan or committed serious offense, I offer to the GOP, the ancient ceremony of Harikari. Choosing to stand behind a man in Donald Trump, who forsakes so much of what made the GOP the measured, steady voice during some of our nation's most turbulent times, would only serve to bury the once proud party in the most fantastically awful ways. However, choosing to be accountable and ending the cycle which created the monster set on the GOP's destruction, let Trump (and his angry horde) walk alone and perish, resetting its path in line with the conservative values that were at the core of the party, would be a death, but a temporary and most honorable one.
I suspect that the GOP may be too far gone to recognize what's best for it, even if William F. Buckley came back through some time portal and hand delivered it, but for its sake and for the sake of our most fragile Federal Democratic Republic, I hope it decides to change the ending of this dramatically ironic movie playing before the nation right now. I liked Return of the Jedi, but government is not a science fiction fantasy movie, and its time we had some balance in the force.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Friday Potpourri: May 18th - Plessy V Ferguson, Repeal of the Debt Deal & 88 Billion Slaps in the Face
As will be the case from now on, Fridays will serve as a post to cover random subjects from the week. Most weeks the topics will have something to do with democracy, politics, government and/or civic engagement, but I make no guarantees as my interests are all over the place.
Plessy v. Ferguson: Today marks the 116th anniversary of the 1896 landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court said it was constitutional for states to have racially separated public facilities. This rule came to be known as "Separate But Equal". History will say that this ruling was struck down nearly 58 years later on May 17, 1954 in the landmark case ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. Separate but Equal was proven as logical idea in theory and yet impossible to uphold.
From this ruling the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement was forged (although quotes from MLK Jr. suggests it was founded in the earlier work of Ghandi's Movement in India) and subsequent policy leading to Integration and the end of Jim Crow law in the South. And yet, some could argue that the state of minorities in general have not improved, but worsened. Before Integration, the Black community (perhaps more out of necessity) was just that, a community. Blacks pooled their finite resources together to ensure the betterment of their race. Whether through business, the establishment of Black Colleges, professional baseball "The Negro Leagues" or merely pride in caring for their neighborhoods, the Black community knew the success or failure of one affected the progress of the race. Now, Blacks (when accounting for inflation) earn less per capita than the same year of the Civil Rights Act and are more likely to die due to violence/poverty or become incarcerated than they are to attend college or graduate from high school.
Yes, there is an African-American who sits as the President of the United States and by proxy, the leader of the free world. This is a wonderful accomplishment and should not be marginalized in any way, meanwhile a significant number states refuse to recognize homosexual citizens as equal to heterosexual citizens. California, the bastion of liberal america (if you believe popular media), actually beat North Carolina to that punch with Proposition 8 in 2008. It took North Carolina until May of this year to legally cement the inequality of homosexuals in their state.
I guess this whole time we've been overlooking the fine print within the statement "WE hold these Truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" If we look real close there must be something written in invisible ink between the comma after the word "equal" and the word "that" which says, "unless they look, believe, or speak differently than a majority of their elected representatives."
Repeal of the Debt Deal: So, this week the House voted to amend the sequestration agreement within the Budget Control Act of 2011. If you don't remember why the BCA of 2011 is important, here's a refresher.
Last year, Congress stared down the double barrel need to increase its debt ceiling (BTW, we're the only developed nation that actually created a need to vote on its ability to increase what is a superficial debt limit). House Republicans, in an unprecedented move, used this need as an opportunity to demand budget cuts that they deemed necessary. Senate Democrats stubbornly railed against what they characterized as holding the country's ability to pay its debt hostage with unrelated budget cuts.
As a compromise, they created a "Super-committee" of House and Senate members from both parties to create a resolution to this impasse. They failed and kicked the problem back to the House, where it began in the first place. The result of all this was discussions of financial nightmare scenarios, talk of a government shutdown and most importantly, the loss of the country's AAA credit rating by Standard & Poors. The silver-lining in BCA of 2011 was an immediate debt ceiling increase and a renewed bipartisan spirit created from the compromise . Both sides agreed to swallow difficult cuts in the case that there were unable to reach a balanced budget by the end of the 112th Congressional session.
Fast forward back to this week. The house, voted to avoid the cuts (specific to the defense budget) that were supposed to automatically occur if no balanced budget was created and approved by Congress. So, let me get this straight. Not only can the congress play wild west showdown with its financial obligations, it can take forever to do it, and while doing it fight in such a way that the country loses the sterling credit rating that it has had for decades, but they can also decide (again at the last minute) to scrap the compromise it made to kick the debt can down the road?
I bet if I played Monopoly with any of them and begun winning to the point that they started owning me money, they'd probably yell "look out" and as I turned to see what was going on, I'd find the whole game board upside down with pieces, property and money all over the place as they walked out the door.
88 Billion Slaps in the Face: And here's the kicker! Today the House approved a defense budget of $642 Billion. Never mind that once again, Congress gave defense more money than they requested. The real problem for me is that public opinion continues to disagree on what $88 Billion of this generous budget will be used for, U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
Since the second half of last year, a majority of public opinion about the U.S. military's involvement in Afghanistan says it doesn't understand why we're still over there and wants the operations to stop. I won't get into the justification of staying or leaving the region and what might be the ramifications. What I will say, is that in a time where every domestic penny is being scrutinized and efforts are being made to look at Medicare cuts among others, the fact that we continue to fund military operations that the country doesn't understand or agree with is a slap in the face. Make that 88 million slaps in the faces of the American people that these Congressmen swore an oath to represent.
Plessy v. Ferguson: Today marks the 116th anniversary of the 1896 landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court said it was constitutional for states to have racially separated public facilities. This rule came to be known as "Separate But Equal". History will say that this ruling was struck down nearly 58 years later on May 17, 1954 in the landmark case ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. Separate but Equal was proven as logical idea in theory and yet impossible to uphold.
From this ruling the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement was forged (although quotes from MLK Jr. suggests it was founded in the earlier work of Ghandi's Movement in India) and subsequent policy leading to Integration and the end of Jim Crow law in the South. And yet, some could argue that the state of minorities in general have not improved, but worsened. Before Integration, the Black community (perhaps more out of necessity) was just that, a community. Blacks pooled their finite resources together to ensure the betterment of their race. Whether through business, the establishment of Black Colleges, professional baseball "The Negro Leagues" or merely pride in caring for their neighborhoods, the Black community knew the success or failure of one affected the progress of the race. Now, Blacks (when accounting for inflation) earn less per capita than the same year of the Civil Rights Act and are more likely to die due to violence/poverty or become incarcerated than they are to attend college or graduate from high school.
Yes, there is an African-American who sits as the President of the United States and by proxy, the leader of the free world. This is a wonderful accomplishment and should not be marginalized in any way, meanwhile a significant number states refuse to recognize homosexual citizens as equal to heterosexual citizens. California, the bastion of liberal america (if you believe popular media), actually beat North Carolina to that punch with Proposition 8 in 2008. It took North Carolina until May of this year to legally cement the inequality of homosexuals in their state.
I guess this whole time we've been overlooking the fine print within the statement "WE hold these Truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" If we look real close there must be something written in invisible ink between the comma after the word "equal" and the word "that" which says, "unless they look, believe, or speak differently than a majority of their elected representatives."
Repeal of the Debt Deal: So, this week the House voted to amend the sequestration agreement within the Budget Control Act of 2011. If you don't remember why the BCA of 2011 is important, here's a refresher.
Last year, Congress stared down the double barrel need to increase its debt ceiling (BTW, we're the only developed nation that actually created a need to vote on its ability to increase what is a superficial debt limit). House Republicans, in an unprecedented move, used this need as an opportunity to demand budget cuts that they deemed necessary. Senate Democrats stubbornly railed against what they characterized as holding the country's ability to pay its debt hostage with unrelated budget cuts.
As a compromise, they created a "Super-committee" of House and Senate members from both parties to create a resolution to this impasse. They failed and kicked the problem back to the House, where it began in the first place. The result of all this was discussions of financial nightmare scenarios, talk of a government shutdown and most importantly, the loss of the country's AAA credit rating by Standard & Poors. The silver-lining in BCA of 2011 was an immediate debt ceiling increase and a renewed bipartisan spirit created from the compromise . Both sides agreed to swallow difficult cuts in the case that there were unable to reach a balanced budget by the end of the 112th Congressional session.
Fast forward back to this week. The house, voted to avoid the cuts (specific to the defense budget) that were supposed to automatically occur if no balanced budget was created and approved by Congress. So, let me get this straight. Not only can the congress play wild west showdown with its financial obligations, it can take forever to do it, and while doing it fight in such a way that the country loses the sterling credit rating that it has had for decades, but they can also decide (again at the last minute) to scrap the compromise it made to kick the debt can down the road?
I bet if I played Monopoly with any of them and begun winning to the point that they started owning me money, they'd probably yell "look out" and as I turned to see what was going on, I'd find the whole game board upside down with pieces, property and money all over the place as they walked out the door.
88 Billion Slaps in the Face: And here's the kicker! Today the House approved a defense budget of $642 Billion. Never mind that once again, Congress gave defense more money than they requested. The real problem for me is that public opinion continues to disagree on what $88 Billion of this generous budget will be used for, U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
Since the second half of last year, a majority of public opinion about the U.S. military's involvement in Afghanistan says it doesn't understand why we're still over there and wants the operations to stop. I won't get into the justification of staying or leaving the region and what might be the ramifications. What I will say, is that in a time where every domestic penny is being scrutinized and efforts are being made to look at Medicare cuts among others, the fact that we continue to fund military operations that the country doesn't understand or agree with is a slap in the face. Make that 88 million slaps in the faces of the American people that these Congressmen swore an oath to represent.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Democracy's Reflection Can Be An Ugly Truth
It's Quiz Time Folks!
(Fear not, there'll be no math on this examination!)
Why does every state have the same amount of U.S. Senators, but not the same amount of U.S. Representatives?
Name the three branches of Government?
Which branch of government has the authority to declare war?
Who is the President of the Senate?
This next one is a bit easier:
Name the three top cable news channels?
What year is the next Presidential Election?
Name three political show hosts/pundits/commentators?
The first quiz is one that most natural born U.S. citizens would fail:
It's the USCIS (The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) exam. This is the same exam that all immigrants must pass before being naturalized as citizens of this country. At the heart of the USCIS exam are the civics and history of this nation, the very foundation of this society's existence.
Has anyone noticed that the words politics and government are often used interchangeably? While politics and government are related, thinking of them as synonymous terms would be like an electrician telling someone he or she was an engineer. An engineer may have a knowledge of electric circuits, but it doesn't define what an engineer is. The very same is true for government in relation to politics.
(Fear not, there'll be no math on this examination!)
Why does every state have the same amount of U.S. Senators, but not the same amount of U.S. Representatives?
Name the three branches of Government?
Which branch of government has the authority to declare war?
Who is the President of the Senate?
This next one is a bit easier:
Name the three top cable news channels?
What year is the next Presidential Election?
Name three political show hosts/pundits/commentators?
The first quiz is one that most natural born U.S. citizens would fail:
It's the USCIS (The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) exam. This is the same exam that all immigrants must pass before being naturalized as citizens of this country. At the heart of the USCIS exam are the civics and history of this nation, the very foundation of this society's existence.
Has anyone noticed that the words politics and government are often used interchangeably? While politics and government are related, thinking of them as synonymous terms would be like an electrician telling someone he or she was an engineer. An engineer may have a knowledge of electric circuits, but it doesn't define what an engineer is. The very same is true for government in relation to politics.
Politics is a tool of government, not the government itself. A government is a system of common agreements and practices which a society uses to ensure safety, security and prosperity. Politics is defined by Merriam-Webster's dictionary as: b) the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy.
What we see on cable news networks is about politics. What we see on television is rarely about government or policy, because neither of those topics is very exciting. The only places to honestly see government in action or real discussion about government would be one of the CSPAN channels or a local access channel showing a city council/school board meeting, but how many of you have ever watched or could consistently watch any of those channels? I would guess not many.
Politics, in a matter of speaking, is about what happens when different perspectives, ideas and opinions come together. When a child wants to have more dessert after dinner and decides to ask one parent over the other parent because by doing so he or she believes there is a better chance of getting the desired dessert, that child is engaging in politics. When a group of friends get together to play a pick-up game of basketball and before playing, agree on rules of how they'll play that game, that group is engaging in a form of government.
It is our society's complete ignorance of civics that has, in part, contributed to such a disdain for government, even though most people don't know what it is. The disdain most people feel about the state of this country is actually about politics and not government. However, because only the politics of government gets attention and politics creates such a strong reaction in people, people believe they hate government.
People living in a monarchy or a theocracy might have plenty of reasons to hate the government because those forms of government often make decisions that none of its citizen have any power to inform or change. Ours is a democratic republic form of government, and as such, is directly connected to the citizens that it governs. Hating government in the United States is quite the same as a person hating the mirror they're looking into when s/he doesn't like the reflection they see.
For better and for worst, we are the government and the government is we. It does a great job of reflecting what we are as a country and just like the mirror, hating it will not do anything to help us look or feel any better. The only thing that will fix the ugly reflection we see in government's mirror is to take effective action and address the real issue which is the person standing in front of the mirror.
So, are we going to go buy another mirror OR are we gonna figure out what we need to do to take better care of ourselves so that we can once again smile at the reflection staring back at us?
It is our society's complete ignorance of civics that has, in part, contributed to such a disdain for government, even though most people don't know what it is. The disdain most people feel about the state of this country is actually about politics and not government. However, because only the politics of government gets attention and politics creates such a strong reaction in people, people believe they hate government.
People living in a monarchy or a theocracy might have plenty of reasons to hate the government because those forms of government often make decisions that none of its citizen have any power to inform or change. Ours is a democratic republic form of government, and as such, is directly connected to the citizens that it governs. Hating government in the United States is quite the same as a person hating the mirror they're looking into when s/he doesn't like the reflection they see.
For better and for worst, we are the government and the government is we. It does a great job of reflecting what we are as a country and just like the mirror, hating it will not do anything to help us look or feel any better. The only thing that will fix the ugly reflection we see in government's mirror is to take effective action and address the real issue which is the person standing in front of the mirror.
So, are we going to go buy another mirror OR are we gonna figure out what we need to do to take better care of ourselves so that we can once again smile at the reflection staring back at us?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Let The Conversation Begin!
In the matter of 24 hours I saw the window of possibility for the kind of open dialogue that provides space for authentic communication in this country slam closed and celebrated gladly as it was not just reopened, but kicked clean out of its frame.
Following a disturbing year of assaults on progressive social ideals, the state of North Carolina voted to approve legislation defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. And just this morning, on a national morning show, President Barack Obama said something no sitting U.S. President has ever said. President Obama told reporter Robin Roberts that he supported the right of same-sex couples to marry. This announcement is significant for more reasons than I have time to talk about in this post, anyway, I'll get into that in just a moment.
Personally, I believe the government should completely get out of the marriage business altogether and leave that up to religious/spiritual organizations. For me, marriage is about ritual, tradition and dogma. Our government is set up specifically to have nothing to do with enforcing any religion's dogma, rituals or traditions (Save - using a bible for oaths of office and court as well as "In God We Trust", etc) and I'd say it's worked out pretty well so far. Let the government oversee the legal part of civil partnerships as it already does in business and the like, give all citizens equal rights and protection under civil unions and let the spiritual/religious institutions sort out the traditional/ritual ramifications.
Still, back to the moment at hand. In one fell swoop, President Obama just put one of the touchiest social issues in this country on the table for everyone to look at and deal with in whatever way they know how. Same-Sex Marriage. Past history tells me that this is a potentially explosive issue, but it all seems pretty cut and dry. A homosexual, is a human, not different type of species, mineral, vegetable or something out of a sci-fi flick. So is an African-American, a transexual, a diabetic, a mormon, an atheist and a communist. There is no species DNA difference between a homosexual and a baptist or a lesbian and a mormon.
These are all labels or subheadings, if you will, under the more important headings of "carbon-based life form" and "homo-sapien". In our country's constitution, every citizen has "unalienable rights" endowed by their creator and under those rights fall "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Citizens = humans, homosexuals/lesbians/transgendereds = humans, and therefore (using the transitive property) homosexuals/lesbians/transgendereds = citizens. It really is that simple.
And yet it's really not that simple because at the heart of this issue is whether or not we will continue to be a society that appreciates and makes room for different as long as we're okay with it and one that sees difference as an entry-point to a newer and bigger conversation where we give ourselves an opportunity to explore what it means to be human.
This is the next conversation. Actually, this is THE CONVERSATION. It is the same one that Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and plenty of other great thinkers of this world's history have been pondering since we first began mastering words. It is this most important conversation that Obama's announcement might have just welcomed our society back into after decades with us figuring out how to get ahead, how to get over and how to keep from going under.
I don't know about you, but I think the conversation staring us in the face, is a much more fascinating one. So...let's get started!
Following a disturbing year of assaults on progressive social ideals, the state of North Carolina voted to approve legislation defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. And just this morning, on a national morning show, President Barack Obama said something no sitting U.S. President has ever said. President Obama told reporter Robin Roberts that he supported the right of same-sex couples to marry. This announcement is significant for more reasons than I have time to talk about in this post, anyway, I'll get into that in just a moment.
Personally, I believe the government should completely get out of the marriage business altogether and leave that up to religious/spiritual organizations. For me, marriage is about ritual, tradition and dogma. Our government is set up specifically to have nothing to do with enforcing any religion's dogma, rituals or traditions (Save - using a bible for oaths of office and court as well as "In God We Trust", etc) and I'd say it's worked out pretty well so far. Let the government oversee the legal part of civil partnerships as it already does in business and the like, give all citizens equal rights and protection under civil unions and let the spiritual/religious institutions sort out the traditional/ritual ramifications.
Still, back to the moment at hand. In one fell swoop, President Obama just put one of the touchiest social issues in this country on the table for everyone to look at and deal with in whatever way they know how. Same-Sex Marriage. Past history tells me that this is a potentially explosive issue, but it all seems pretty cut and dry. A homosexual, is a human, not different type of species, mineral, vegetable or something out of a sci-fi flick. So is an African-American, a transexual, a diabetic, a mormon, an atheist and a communist. There is no species DNA difference between a homosexual and a baptist or a lesbian and a mormon.
And yet it's really not that simple because at the heart of this issue is whether or not we will continue to be a society that appreciates and makes room for different as long as we're okay with it and one that sees difference as an entry-point to a newer and bigger conversation where we give ourselves an opportunity to explore what it means to be human.
This is the next conversation. Actually, this is THE CONVERSATION. It is the same one that Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and plenty of other great thinkers of this world's history have been pondering since we first began mastering words. It is this most important conversation that Obama's announcement might have just welcomed our society back into after decades with us figuring out how to get ahead, how to get over and how to keep from going under.
I don't know about you, but I think the conversation staring us in the face, is a much more fascinating one. So...let's get started!
Monday, August 29, 2011
The Beauty of Fear
"So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear...itself." President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FDR spoke these words in his first inaugural address in 1933. At that time, the country was in the depths of its greatest economic depression. The general public was captured by one of two emotions at that time, depression or fear. For a new President to say these words and stand up the fear of that moment must have taken tremendous courage.
It takes courage to stand up in the midst of fear. Think about it. How many times have you found yourself in situations filled with fear? Loss of a job, home, loved one, marriage, friendship. Physical fights, verbal fights, and emotional fights. How many times have you stood up to those moments versus the times you've wilted under the pressure? We've all been there and we'll all be there a few more times before it's all said and done.
Right now, our country is in a similar place as it was in 1933. No, we're not in the middle of a great depression (of course some might suggest otherwise, with good reason), but in some ways it's actually worse. In 1933, there was no such thing as "out sourcing" or "global competition" or a "global economy" There were no definitive superpowers, most civilized nations had there own niche or a role to play on their respective continent. The world we live in is a much more complex and interconnected one, you only need look as far back as 2008 for proof. When the U.S. had the economic version of the flu in 2008, the rest of the world caught a cold, because our world market makes it so that if any major economy suffers, we all feel a measure of its pain.
The U.S. has a public education system in such disarray and dysfunction that people would rather destroy it than go through the trouble of trying to fix it. Social security and Medicare (two more issues that didn't exist in 1933) are either ready to run out or are facing the proposal of major cuts. Our national debt is so high that our "friends" whom have been buying up that debt because they believed it was a sure bet that they'd get a pretty good return on their investment once rebounded are wondering out loud about how much more debt they can afford to invest in. Elected officials at the state and federal level would much rather "win" and leave millions of its constituents out in the cold, than "lose" and sacrifice for the betterment of the people they all swore an oath to represent. Lastly, the country has been stripped of its long standing (though some believed undeserved) superior credit rating of AAA. These are just a few in a long list of domestic issues we're facing and I won't even touch the international ones, I'll save that for another post.
There are a lot of reasons every person living in this country should be afraid right now. I'm not going to go to the well of "out of our darkest moments, this country has risen to the challenge, time and time again, only to come out of it stronger and more able than before!" and I'll tell you why, because that would be a lie (as well as trite). Our country was a country born out of conflict, but it was only after that initial conflict that we came out a better product than we were when the fighting began. Since then we have fought and fought and fought throughout our history and while we have gained more allies, markets, wealth, and military experience & power.
One thing we have not gained as a nation after all of the times we've "risen to the challenge"is wisdom. We still find ways to put the best face forward on our mistakes and see our successes as proof that we are without a doubt, the "best and the brightest". When the truth is, we are so obsessed with being the best that we won't dare stop to take a look at the mirror for fear that we'll see pimples, scars, discoloring or hairs out of place. All things that can be dealt with, if we can get over the fear of imperfection or even (shudder) no longer being the brightest star.
What I will say is that out of fear, comes growth. Out of fear, if we so choose, we have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on our weaknesses. Life brings us fear so that we might become aware of the weak places hidden inside of us and be able to strengthen them to become the very best versions of ourselves. Geoffrey Canada created the Harlem Achievement Zone in 1990 out of fear that children in Harlem were more likely to die from drugs, gang violence or poverty than succeed in education and attend college. The One Campaign was created out of fear that third world countries would not commit to the civic and economic infrastructures necessary to reduce or eliminate poverty among their own people.
A father might decide to get more active in his child's school to address his fear that he's not involved enough in his daughter's life. An engineer could chose to volunteer her time to a local school or non-profit organization to stand up to her fear that there are not enough young people actively involved in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. An African-American man with an advanced degree, years of non-profit/political management and educational coordination experience might choose to create a program or organization focused on civic education and civic engagement to stand up to his fear that generations of youth are growing up without any connection to the democracy that their country was founded on.
You could decide to take the fear you have about something going on in your neighborhood, city, county, state or country and stand up to it, turning that fear into a beautiful opportunity. Or...you could just continue to be afraid.
What will you do?
FDR spoke these words in his first inaugural address in 1933. At that time, the country was in the depths of its greatest economic depression. The general public was captured by one of two emotions at that time, depression or fear. For a new President to say these words and stand up the fear of that moment must have taken tremendous courage.
It takes courage to stand up in the midst of fear. Think about it. How many times have you found yourself in situations filled with fear? Loss of a job, home, loved one, marriage, friendship. Physical fights, verbal fights, and emotional fights. How many times have you stood up to those moments versus the times you've wilted under the pressure? We've all been there and we'll all be there a few more times before it's all said and done.
Right now, our country is in a similar place as it was in 1933. No, we're not in the middle of a great depression (of course some might suggest otherwise, with good reason), but in some ways it's actually worse. In 1933, there was no such thing as "out sourcing" or "global competition" or a "global economy" There were no definitive superpowers, most civilized nations had there own niche or a role to play on their respective continent. The world we live in is a much more complex and interconnected one, you only need look as far back as 2008 for proof. When the U.S. had the economic version of the flu in 2008, the rest of the world caught a cold, because our world market makes it so that if any major economy suffers, we all feel a measure of its pain.
The U.S. has a public education system in such disarray and dysfunction that people would rather destroy it than go through the trouble of trying to fix it. Social security and Medicare (two more issues that didn't exist in 1933) are either ready to run out or are facing the proposal of major cuts. Our national debt is so high that our "friends" whom have been buying up that debt because they believed it was a sure bet that they'd get a pretty good return on their investment once rebounded are wondering out loud about how much more debt they can afford to invest in. Elected officials at the state and federal level would much rather "win" and leave millions of its constituents out in the cold, than "lose" and sacrifice for the betterment of the people they all swore an oath to represent. Lastly, the country has been stripped of its long standing (though some believed undeserved) superior credit rating of AAA. These are just a few in a long list of domestic issues we're facing and I won't even touch the international ones, I'll save that for another post.
There are a lot of reasons every person living in this country should be afraid right now. I'm not going to go to the well of "out of our darkest moments, this country has risen to the challenge, time and time again, only to come out of it stronger and more able than before!" and I'll tell you why, because that would be a lie (as well as trite). Our country was a country born out of conflict, but it was only after that initial conflict that we came out a better product than we were when the fighting began. Since then we have fought and fought and fought throughout our history and while we have gained more allies, markets, wealth, and military experience & power.
One thing we have not gained as a nation after all of the times we've "risen to the challenge"is wisdom. We still find ways to put the best face forward on our mistakes and see our successes as proof that we are without a doubt, the "best and the brightest". When the truth is, we are so obsessed with being the best that we won't dare stop to take a look at the mirror for fear that we'll see pimples, scars, discoloring or hairs out of place. All things that can be dealt with, if we can get over the fear of imperfection or even (shudder) no longer being the brightest star.
What I will say is that out of fear, comes growth. Out of fear, if we so choose, we have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on our weaknesses. Life brings us fear so that we might become aware of the weak places hidden inside of us and be able to strengthen them to become the very best versions of ourselves. Geoffrey Canada created the Harlem Achievement Zone in 1990 out of fear that children in Harlem were more likely to die from drugs, gang violence or poverty than succeed in education and attend college. The One Campaign was created out of fear that third world countries would not commit to the civic and economic infrastructures necessary to reduce or eliminate poverty among their own people.
A father might decide to get more active in his child's school to address his fear that he's not involved enough in his daughter's life. An engineer could chose to volunteer her time to a local school or non-profit organization to stand up to her fear that there are not enough young people actively involved in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. An African-American man with an advanced degree, years of non-profit/political management and educational coordination experience might choose to create a program or organization focused on civic education and civic engagement to stand up to his fear that generations of youth are growing up without any connection to the democracy that their country was founded on.
You could decide to take the fear you have about something going on in your neighborhood, city, county, state or country and stand up to it, turning that fear into a beautiful opportunity. Or...you could just continue to be afraid.
What will you do?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A Life of Civic Engagement
Most of the time I talk about being civically engaged through methods such as voting, joining community groups or boards, etc. Today I spoke with a living example of civic engagement. For the sake of anonymity we'll call him JM. We crossed each other's paths while I was checking out the UT Austin Alumni Center during a field trip my program was taking on campus and JM was taking pictures of the center's main lounge. He explained to me that eventhough he attended UT as a student many years ago, he'd never been able to visit the alumni center. While a student at UT, JM became ill and his illness significantly limited his experience as a first-year student and eventually caused him to drop out of school altogether.
After recovering from his illness, JM kicked around for a while before finally earning his degree in Education from a local institution. Flash forward to the present time and he is now teaching Math at a high school in the Rio Grande Valley. He tells me that he has too many students in each of his classes, most with students that often worry more about being shot or having a roof over their head than solving equations and proving theorems. Still, JM smiles when talking about a few students that "get it'. Students to whom he has pledged to do whatever is possible to help them get where they want to go. This simple, unassuming and ordinary looking man, astonishes me with story after story of connections that he has made with his students and their families.
There was one story in particular about several students on the brink, torn between school and gang affiliation, with tremendous potential and a former student (also gang affiliated) who visited with JM after school. The former student asked JM if any of his students were giving him any trouble or not showing up to class and upon hearing about these students the former student assured JM he would "take care of it". From that moment on, those same students might have skipped other classes, but never JM's class. JM gives me a dizzying list of all of his ideas and thoughts about what his kids need and the ways that he's able to get his kids to open up see a way to a life better than the current one that is a daily fight to survive.
As I listen to JM brag about some of his students and articulate the hope that he has for his future pupils, I cannot help, but wonder if JM will ever do anything more than teach Math in the Rio Grande Valley. As if on cue, JM tells me that he is considering a return to UT to enhance his education, but isn't sure whether or not doing so would be worth it. I don't know if JM will take his gifts and passion any further than the depressed region of southern Texas and I don't know if he and I will ever cross paths again. What I am sure of is that while JM may not see it, he is a living, breathing example of what it means to be civically engaged. JM is not just teaching the kids in his class, he is showing them support and accountability that most of the world around them doesn't have time or the energy to offer.
JM is investing in his community the greatest resource his has in his possession, himself. By doing so, he is proving that it doesn't take much to become civically engaged, just eyes to see a need and the will to answer it.
After recovering from his illness, JM kicked around for a while before finally earning his degree in Education from a local institution. Flash forward to the present time and he is now teaching Math at a high school in the Rio Grande Valley. He tells me that he has too many students in each of his classes, most with students that often worry more about being shot or having a roof over their head than solving equations and proving theorems. Still, JM smiles when talking about a few students that "get it'. Students to whom he has pledged to do whatever is possible to help them get where they want to go. This simple, unassuming and ordinary looking man, astonishes me with story after story of connections that he has made with his students and their families.
There was one story in particular about several students on the brink, torn between school and gang affiliation, with tremendous potential and a former student (also gang affiliated) who visited with JM after school. The former student asked JM if any of his students were giving him any trouble or not showing up to class and upon hearing about these students the former student assured JM he would "take care of it". From that moment on, those same students might have skipped other classes, but never JM's class. JM gives me a dizzying list of all of his ideas and thoughts about what his kids need and the ways that he's able to get his kids to open up see a way to a life better than the current one that is a daily fight to survive.
As I listen to JM brag about some of his students and articulate the hope that he has for his future pupils, I cannot help, but wonder if JM will ever do anything more than teach Math in the Rio Grande Valley. As if on cue, JM tells me that he is considering a return to UT to enhance his education, but isn't sure whether or not doing so would be worth it. I don't know if JM will take his gifts and passion any further than the depressed region of southern Texas and I don't know if he and I will ever cross paths again. What I am sure of is that while JM may not see it, he is a living, breathing example of what it means to be civically engaged. JM is not just teaching the kids in his class, he is showing them support and accountability that most of the world around them doesn't have time or the energy to offer.
JM is investing in his community the greatest resource his has in his possession, himself. By doing so, he is proving that it doesn't take much to become civically engaged, just eyes to see a need and the will to answer it.
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