Reading for Treasure: What is "Woke?"

Recently, someone asked me if the teachers in my school were woke. I asked him what he meant by “woke.” He struggled to give me any form of answer. Does it just mean liberal? Does it mean Black? Does it mean whatever those in Florida want it to mean? What do they want it to mean? Do they know? 

Those who are banning books, worrying about drag shows, and storming school board meetings know what they are doing. It doesn’t matter what woke means. They have turned it into a weapon against those who coined it. It is an attempt to make schools and society white-centric – again. After accusing liberals of being snowflakes, the battle against woke is an attempt to protect the feelings and power of those who benefit from the status quo and don’t wish to be reminded of it. 

If eliminating any signs of “wokeness” might make some comfortable, it will make others uncomfortable and unsafe. There are some who stand to benefit if “woke” ideas are suppressed and we all go to sleep. But those who have been bullied, beaten, and brutalized also deserve to have their voices heard. Their history is our history, it is American history. We must face it because it is painful and difficult. 

The issues of our past do not go away because we wish they never happened. If we ignore health issues, things don’t get better because we pretend we are well when we know there is cause for concern. We must have the courage and fortitude to confront the issues that the anti-woke people are trying to silence. We can’t move forward until we deal with our past and present. 

With that in mind, here are some other voices that helped shape my view and may give more context to this issue:  

Clarence Page’s editorial in the Chicago Tribune, “What is ‘woke’? More than a joke.” 

NewsOne’s article, “Fox News Host Whitesplains Why Conservatives Can’t Define ‘Woke,’ Says It’s Just A ‘Feeling.’” 

Two articles from The Atlantic: “Woke Is Just Another Word for Liberal” and  “Wokeness Has Replaced Socialism as the Great Conservative Bogeyman.”

Michael Harriott, writing in The Grio, looks at how the word “woke” and other terms have been twisted into new definitions and speculates on what other words might suffer the same fate, “After white people redefined ‘woke’ and ‘critical race theory,’ these 6 words or phrases might be next.” 

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction.

I am currently reading The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

Privacy Protections Not TikTok Bans

When I was in the classroom (I’m retired), I wanted to keep up with my students’ technology trends. I wanted to know what interested and engaged my students. I was aware of social media when My Space, Friendster, and eventually, Facebook came out. However, it wasn’t until I signed up for an account on Facebook that I really understood what all the fuss was about. Reading about teen culture is one thing, diving in is very different. 

When TikTok came out, I didn’t hear kids talking about it. I had an account on Instagram and I found the “stories” slow and often duplicates of images and ideas from other posts. My students seemed more involved in other platforms like Snapchat.

Two years ago, on vacation, my twenty-something daughter (our family trailblazer) showed me the TikTok videos she was watching. We spent an hour or more laughing together. It was delightful. 

She showed me that TikTok was more than comedy videos. She was learning about smart homes, cooking, and other do-it-yourself skills. So, I signed up. I found TikTok the most entertaining of my social media sources. I like Facebook for personal connections, but TikTok was way more engaging and thus time-consuming. 

There, I said it. Despite the controversy, the fear of foreign manipulation, or the theft of my personal data, I like TikTok because it is the most entertaining, edifying, and enjoyable social media site I have found - and I have tried almost all of them. 

I like TikTok’s variety of content. I am following folks reviewing and talking about books, science fiction, Star Trek, theatre, education, religion, health, social issues – and, of course, politics. I hear about people’s perspectives and experiences. I learn about music, linguistics, science, education, and technology. 

While our lawmakers are worried about espionage, misinformation, and unethical use of my information, my concern is more about the way kids may be using social media (on any of its platforms). I am told that kids are using TikTok instead of search engines and it has become a mediator of the internet for them. Yet, this is a problem with many social media platforms, not just TikTok. Kids must be taught both critical thinking skills and how to seek and evaluate information they find online. 

And yes, I have Marshall McLuhan in my head at times asking something like, does viewing short, clever, and easy to digest videos about such important topics as race, religion, and the culture wars minimize and trivialize these complex issues? Is it also possible that this medium has made messages both more available and powerful to a new audience? 

Yet, when some legislators seem to want people to go to sleep rather than confront anything that might kick their complacency, worrying about quick videos seems the least of our troubles. The issue is not the form or the ownership. The issue is that social media can foment hate and violence. The issue is that kids can learn wonderful and wholesome lessons as well as destructive and dangerous ones. But that is a problem with all social media platforms, not just TikTok. In fact, that is an issue on and off the internet. 

Should we be concerned about privacy? Of course. At this point, it is more than a cliché statement that if you don’t pay for a service, you are the product. TikTok is getting my attention. But that, too, happens with every social media platform. 

Do I make purchasing decisions based on TikTok, Facebook or other online ads: not consciously. Will I? Perhaps. I am thinking about buying some of the products that the home automation guy on TikTok has been demonstrating (but I haven’t done it yet). I do go to some of the websites that I learn about from the people who demonstrate “useful websites I’ll bet you didn’t know about.” 

I know I am leaving digital footprints. They are far deeper than my use of TikTok. I find Facebook’s targeted ads creepy. But the use of my data is the price I am paying for this service. Should the government make sure that Facebook, TikTok, and others use my data ethically? Absolutely!  

Burying our heads in analog sand (or staying asleep) is not going to help either. Our world is now, at least in part, online. We must be informed and connected. TikTok has, on several occasions, informed me about important issues long before they appeared in my news feeds. Snapchat doesn’t work for me. I find Instagram slow and self-indulgent. Facebook is a way to stay connected to distant folks. I don’t go to social media to be angry or argue. I don’t go to feel good about myself or look down at others. I go to learn, connect, explore, and laugh. I hear authentic voices that I might not hear in real life (IRL). 

Banning TikTok doesn’t make us personally or communally safer. Creating legislation that protects users against inappropriate and unethical use of their data might. Like other industries, social media, and perhaps the internet in general, could use some consumer protections – in order to do this, lawmakers need to become much more knowledgeable about today’s technology! 

Nineteen Eighty Florida

“To the future or to the past, to a time when thought is free, when men are different from one another and do not live alone—to a time when truth exists and what is done cannot be undone: From the age of uniformity, from the age of solitude, from the age of Big Brother, from the age of doublethink—greetings!”

Although written by Orwell’s 1984 protagonist, Winston Smith, this message might be a missive from the sunshine state, which is increasingly making certain that the sun only shines on what is state approved and those who get up in the morning must go right back to sleep. Big Brother is alive and well in Florida. 

The state government of Florida –and the states emulating it - are taking their cue from Orwell’s classic dystopian novel. They are rewriting history, stifling free expression, and creating hated scapegoats. All of this to strengthen and sustain the power of, using Orwell’s label, the Party. 

The forces that are squelching any communication about topics that hurt the Party’s feelings are akin to the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s novel. In 1984 there are four ministries: the Ministry of Peace, which makes war, the Ministry of Love, which is the secret police, the Ministry of Plenty which rations resources, and the Ministry of Truth, which among other things, rewrites the past so it justifies and supports the party’s political and social goals. 

“Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it. It also follows that though the past is alterable, it never has been altered in any specific instance. For when it has been recreated in whatever shape is needed at the moment, then this new version is the past, and no different past can ever have existed. This holds good even when, as often happens, the same event has to be altered out of recognition several times in the course of a year.”

Like in 1984, Floridians have been given a menu of people to hate: Black people, Trans people, gay people, drag queens, immigrants, and anyone who disagrees with the Party’s views. All evils are attributed to those who are “woke,” although they struggle to define what that means. The world of 1984 has the Two Minutes Hate every day. Like Florida, all evils were attributed to the traitor Goldstein and his organization, the Brotherhood.  

“The programmes of the Two Minutes Hate varied from day to day, but there was none in which Goldstein was not the principal figure. He was the primal traitor, the earliest defiler of the Party’s purity. All subsequent crimes against the Party, all treacheries, acts of sabotage, heresies, deviations, sprang directly out of his teaching.”

Hate, fear, and the manipulation of history are critical to sustaining the Party in the novel. But why would Americans, who value our freedoms, abandon them? How can they believe “alternative facts”, political spin, and propaganda that are obviously designed to manipulate them? They just need to defeat their own memories and morality. 

“The Party said that Oceania had never been in alliance with Eurasia. He, Winston Smith, knew that Oceania had been in alliance with Eurasia as short a time as four years ago. But where did that knowledge exist? Only in his own consciousness, which in any case must soon be annihilated. And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed— if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past,’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’ And yet the past, though of its nature alterable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. ‘Reality control’, they called it: in Newspeak, ‘doublethink’.”

Republicans who vote for abortion bans (but make sure that their pregnant people get them), condemn drag shows (and then turn up in drag), and insist that banning guns will not protect anyone (and then ban guns from their gatherings) are hypocrites. But even more, they and their followers are also experts at “reality control.” They have mastered “doublethink.” 

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them…To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies—all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth. Ultimately it is by means of doublethink that the Party has been able—and may, for all we know, continue to be able for thousands of years—to arrest the course of history.”

Fox News's editing of the events of January 6th is a public expression of doublethink. It is a revision of the facts into a form that fits Florida and its followers. To admit that racism is built into the fabric of our country and history, to accept responsibility and deal with the real issues and challenges facing us, to protect children in their schools, people praying in church, moviegoers in the theater, and shoppers in the mall from gun violence is not important. Battling drag queens, sexy candy, and elementary school teachers is far more critical than any other social ill. 

There is more, of course. The society of 1984 is divided by class, insiders and outsiders, party and proles. Further into the book, the similarities to Florida intensify. Orwell took the Soviet Union as his model for this novel, just as many Republicans are big fans of Russia’s Putin. 

Spoiler: Orwell’s 1984 doesn’t end well for Winston and those who rebel against the party. The power of the party broaches no compromise and has no compassion. It is a state run by fear, hate, lies, and violence. To quote Winston (and Orwell), “Down with Big Brother.” 

PT in DC

Step right up, folks, and pay close attention! You’ve been fooled, hoodwinked, and beguiled -but it isn’t your fault, no, it’s not! The fault is not in our stars but in our politicians! That’s right! That’s what I said! Those so-called elected officials, they are doing you wrong, yes, they are! They are spewing lies, keeping you from the truth, and then taking it all for themselves! They don’t care about you, not at all. They care about power, riches, and keeping themselves on top! 

But you don’t have to take it! You don’t have to stand idly by and let yourself be abused, misused, and confused. I am here to open your eyes, clean out your ears, and purify your mind! You always suspected these things, am I right? It all didn’t really make sense, did it? You knew that in your secret inner heart! You knew that this country was meant to be another way. I am here to take your hand and lead you to that better way, a righteous way, the way the founders meant it to be! 

I know what you read in the papers. I know what you see on the screens. Those lewd, filthy, and obscene lies should be banned! Yes, they should! How these reporters go home to their families and sleep at night is beyond me! They should be racked with guilt and contempt! They’ve been fooling you – and they know it! 

You can’t trust them, but you can trust me! I’m telling it like it is and you are discerning and wise and can tell the difference between me and those money-hungry purveyors of poppycock! Our country is in danger! Our country is under attack! You knew it, didn’t you! Down in your bones in the pit of your stomach, you knew bad things were happening. Why wasn’t anyone ringing the bell? Where were the people who should stop this? They are the problem, my friends! They made this mess and they love it! 

It is up to us! Yes, you and me! Ordinary, moral, and upstanding citizens to take back our country. Take it back from those who would sell it out to every pauper and lazybones, every criminal and crook, every blasphemer and heretic! They are turning our clean country into a dirty dump of dung! Stand against them, friends! Stand with me! 

They’ll say you have to change the way you speak and use different words so not to hurt anyone’s feelings. They’ll tell you we should teach our kids history that is best forgotten. Well, it is not okay! I can say what I want to say the way I want to say it and so can you! I can teach my kids history the way I want it! 

When you pull back the curtain, friends, what you see in the dark is frightening and disgusting. It is cosmically horrible! The men behind the curtain, the people who are pulling the strings, are quietly and quickly turning us into their chumps and dupes, yes they are! You suspected there was a secret group making all this happen – and you’re right! I am here to reveal that secret! I am here to put light on the people running the show! 

They think you’re stupid! They think you will believe what any powerful person tells you because it comes from them! We know they have it wrong! They think if they give you some sexy candy, you’ll melt in their hands, but you are tougher than that! They think if they drum up some scary story of sickness, you’ll cower in the corner and put your head in a bag, but they have it all wrong! They can’t get you to shoot yourself full of their lies! No way! You’ll shoot yourself and everyone else before you’ll ever fall for such two-cent stage foolery! 

No, they can’t make a fool of you! They may make all sorts of claims! They may say they are Jewish; they may say they are rich; they may say they helped puppies and vets and orphans and royalty, but you know it for what it is: a pack of lies! Don’t say hooray! Don’t back away! Just say no to their evil ways! 

I stand with you, my friends! You won’t have to worry in the bathroom, bedroom, or boardroom! They want to tax the rich to feed the poor, but I say every man for himself! Fair is fair and right is right and I won’t pay for others’ problems! Hell (sorry for the strong language), you shouldn’t even have to pay for your own problems, should you? No, you shouldn’t because you didn’t make those problems. You aren’t to blame, no way, no how. You are blameless and pure as the driven snow and no one has a right to say otherwise! 

I’m a humble man, yes, I am. I didn’t have much schooling, but I didn’t need it and neither do you! I may not know much, but I am wise enough to see the way things are going and know they are moving in the wrong direction! You are right to be alarmed and angry! 

Every minute, my friends, every second, we are sinking deeper into muck and mayhem.  As the hands of the clock fly around, we are dragged down, my friends, further and farther. There is only one way back! There is only one way back to our glory, our grandeur, our God-given greatness that we will not let them destroy! 

So stand with me, my friends! Give me your money! Give me your minds! Give me your votes! Give me everything you have! Because, every minute, I’ll give you what you deserve!  

Reading for Treasure: Guns, Again- and Again, and Again and Again

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Why do I keep listing articles that deal with the problem of gun violence? Because we have yet to confront the issue fully and deal with the consequences. It is one of our greatest public health problems today. Most Americans are in favor of “common sense” gun laws, but somehow, we still lack sense of any kind when it comes to firearms. Some of these articles are a little old, but unfortunately just as timely as when they were published. What a sad statement that mass shootings are always a current event. 

Peter Bergen says we should ban assault weapons, pass and enforce red flag laws, and look at a concept he calls leakage in his CNN oped:  “Opinion: This is how we stem America’s mass shootings” 

Two pieces from The Atlantic are very much worth your attention. First, a look at the police’s inaction, at Uvalde : “Where Were The Police?” And then a wonderful portrait of how marketing and profit drive the American gun problem: “The Gun Industry Created a New Consumer. Now It’s Killing Us”

It is a sad statement to say that I got so much déjà vu reading this article from Medium that I searched to see if I had already included it in a Reading for Treasure list:  “Why is America the Only Country in the World With Regular School Shootings?”  

This article in The Grio shows us what we really didn’t need proof to believe. Gun violence hurts some of us more than others. “Allowing guns in public without permits could create increased risks for Black Americans, experts say”

This link is not an article, but a website that tracks gun violence in America. The Gun Violence Archive tracks gun deaths broken down by location, age of those killed, suicides, mass shootings, mass murders, and much more. The statistics are horrific. 

As of the publishing of this post, in 2023, there have been 

2097 gun deaths 

909 homicides

1188 suicides 

32 mass shootings

4 mass murders

56 defensive use deaths 

73 unintentional shootings

2 officer killed and 17 injured 

61 subject-suspects killed and 35 injured

41 children under 11 killed or injured

253 children under 12 to 17 killed or injured 

This must stop. We must make it stop. 

Two cases, one from Washington, D.C. reported in The Grio, and one from Newport News, Virginia from CNN. The headlines paint the picture clearly: 

“Man guns down 13-year-old boy he thought was car vandal; cops won’t release killer’s name”

“A 6-year-old shoots his teacher. Now what?”

Finally, some good news. The Daily Herald reports from my home state of Illinois which has banned assault weapons: “Pritzker signs state's new ban on high-powered weapons: The final details”

I am currently reading She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Reading for Treasure: Consider These Articles and VOTE!

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Your vote is critically important. The polls are probably wrong. Here are some articles to think about as we move toward the November elections. I present them without introduction or commentary: 

Mother Jones (Video): “If Republicans Retake Congress in November, Here's What Their Agenda Will Look Like” 

NewsOne: “2022 Midterm Elections: Filibuster, Senate Control And The Importance Of Black Voters” 

Reuters: “Pro-Trump conspiracy theorists hound election officials out of office”

Financial Times: “Ukrainian officials ‘shocked’ as Republicans threaten tougher line on aid” 

The Guardian: “Republicans aim to pass national ‘don’t say gay’ law”

The Bulwark: “Attack Ads Are Darkening the Skin Tone of Black Candidates”

Atlantic:  “We need to take away children” 

New York Times: “Voters See Democracy at Risk, but Saving It Isn’t Priority” 

Wired: “The US Needs to Recognize Intimate Privacy as a Civil Right” 

The Washington Post: “Trump charged Secret Service ‘exorbitant’ rates at his hotels, records show”

CNN: “What could happen if an election denier is running elections” 

NBC: “Johnson's campaign is paying the law firm of a Trump attorney allegedly connected to Jan. 6 fake elector plot”

NPR: “Borrowers who were cut out of student loan relief describe 'a gut punch'”

CNN: “'I'm my own man': Colorado Republican Senate nominee fires back at Trump” 

Scientific American: “U.S. Lost 26 Years Worth of Progress on Life Expectancy” 

I am currently reading Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach by Kelly Robson

Impossible Doublethink Before Breakfast

In Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, the Red Queen believed at least six impossible things before breakfast. George Orwell’s 1984 gave us the concept of doublethink: being able to believe two completely contradictory ideas, acknowledge that they are incompatible with each other, yet fully endorse both of them. Doublethink was the critical component in maintaining 1984’s totalitarian state. Although there are more literary examples, recent events move these concepts from fiction to frightening reality. 

I don’t understand how someone can fervently support the police, believe that “blue lives matter” and yet want unlimited and open access to guns. Likewise, if one wants to be “tough on crime,” how does one accomplish this if guns are more accessible than cigarettes or allergy medication? And the police in Uvalde? 

How can one condemn violence after Black people are killed by police, but then condone violence against our own elected lawmakers who are certifying an election? How can people threaten and intimidate local election officials when they disagree with the results of an election? If violence is bad, shouldn’t it be bad no matter who commits it? 

How can someone claim that the 2020 election was riddled with fraud when it comes to the election of the president, but make no objections to all the Republican candidates who won on the very same “rigged” ballots? If there were issues with one race on the ballot, wouldn’t there be problems with the other races, too? And where is the evidence of all these irregularities? If there were so many, wouldn’t some have led to criminal charges, successful lawsuits, or altered election results? The only verified instances of election fraud I could find were people voting for the former president! 

Some people say they want to honor the past and thus preserve confederate statues, monuments, or symbols, but when discussing historical aspects of the civil war that deal with enslaved people and systemic racism, their discomfort trumps honoring and remembering other shameful aspects of the past. Could this perhaps maybe possibly be about race? 

Many of these same people are eager to protect the unborn, but do not give any protection to already-born children sitting in schools. Some of these folks also refused to protect anyone by wearing a mask or getting the COVID vaccine. Is life only worth protecting when it is not yet here? Do children have to protect themselves – from guns and illness? Is it only embryos who deserve protection? Why? 

If people don’t want teachers discussing the racism of our past and present, the diversity of gender identities, or any subject that might make some (white) kids (and/or their parents) uncomfortable, who decides what is or isn’t included? Wouldn’t the exclusion of this content make other students uncomfortable? Wouldn’t its inclusion eventually create understanding and thus bring more comfort? How are people evaluating this harm? How is repressing some people’s ideas and history not just another form of bullying and bigotry? 

Some of these folks claim to be religious people acting on precepts from scripture. However, they worship people who are adulterers and bullies whose behavior is the opposite of the religious figures they claim to revere. They take minor biblical passages out of context and hold them as more important than the Ten Commandments and key statements from Jesus, Moses, and other key figures. Whatever happened to “love thy neighbor as thyself” and “thou shalt not murder?” 

The slogans of the state in 1984 were: “War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength. Today, many people are holding a complementary set of commandments: 

Morality is Indecency

Honesty is Deception

Bigotry is Equality

Freedom is Selfishness

Cruelty is Compassion

Rage is Virtue

Hypocrisy is Integrity

I don’t see how we can move beyond our current political impasse without civil discourse, common ground, a shared sense of right and wrong, and a moral commitment to improving the conditions for everyone (not just a few).  Instead, so many are practicing deadly doublethink before, during, and after breakfast – and it is not only unhealthy for them, as Orwell predicted, it is poisoning all of us. 

Reading For Treasure: Gun Terrorism

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

Guns and their extremist worshippers are terrorizing our country. There are shootings so often that this entry will be out of date the moment it is posted. We have no regulated militia or anything when it comes to firearms of all types: hunting rifles and automatic weapons designed to rip people to shreds. It is far past the time that the majority of Americans who support common sense gun legislation insist that our lawmakers make our schools, malls, movie theaters, churches, synagogues, and communities safe from the terrorists who insist that their right to kill trumps everyone else’s right to life. Here is a selection of articles exploring this issue. 

While Uvalde and Highland Park have proven that the “good guy with a gun” will not stop loss of life from gun terrorists, there is another issue with school resource officers: they may make some students feel less safe and be more likely to arrested. The AP in The Grio’s article, “No. Placing more officers in schools will not make Black students feel safer in the wake of mass shootings” provides this perspective. 

Even though a "good guy with a gun" shot the terrorist in Indiana, this opinion piece from The Grio makes it clear that, "An Armed Bystander Is Not Your Savior."

The Highland Park, Uvalde, and Buffalo shooters acquired their guns legally! The New York Amsterdam News lists how the shooters from 22 recent acts of gun terrorism got their weapons: “22 mass shootings. 374 dead. Here’s where the guns came from” 

I love this idea even if I am skeptical that it would work. However, Gal Beckerman acknowledges all of this in his article “Students Should Refuse to Go Back to School” in The Atlantic. Could we mobilize in the next few months? 

Get ready to be frustrated by this second article from The Atlantic. In, “The Real Reason America Doesn’t Have Gun Control,” author Ronald Brownstein shows how a minority has “veto over national policy.” 

Scalawag Magazine shares powerful Southern student voices about guns, fear, and the need for student power: “'Young people need power.' Southern students on safety, school, and accountability.” 

Peter Bergen lays the case out succinctly and clearly in his article in CNN: “Opinion: This is how we stem America's mass shootings” 

Finally, arming teachers in school is so dangerous that only satire can do it justice. Read this school memo from McSweeny’s. I don’t want to tell you more, just read it: “Regarding the Recently Passed ‘Arm the Teachers” Bill.” 

I am currently reading Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki and I love it! It is wonderful! If you are looking for a delightful and delicious book, read it and then talk to me about it! 

Reading For Treasure: We Need to Keep Talking and Reading About Racism, Roe, CRT, and Hate

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction! 

The news overflows with horrible stories of racism, sexism, and other forms of hate. Here is a small selection of articles and videos to further your understanding of these critical issues. 

Imbolo Mbue writes in The Atlantic about the recent biography of George Floyd. Neither he nor the writers of the biography shy away from a nuanced and complex picture of Floyd – and that picture is also one of our America:  “The America that Killed George Floyd.” 

The overturning of Roe v. Wade puts several other rights in jeopardy. This article from Blavity outlines how this Supreme Court decision could open the door to eliminating other rights: “5 Other Rights That Could Be Struck Down If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned”

Alexis McGill is the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood. She writes in the New York Amsterdam News that “The end of Roe and what it would mean for the Black community.”

Two pieces that focus on Critical Race Theory: Lifehacker provides a clear piece on “What Critical Race Theory Actually Means (And What It Doesn’t).”

John Oliver discusses Critical Race Theory on this episode of Last Week Tonight.

How do we prevent white children from becoming white nationalists? My former colleague provides teachers, parents, counselors, and coaches with information about “Inoculating Our Students Against White Nationalism — Teaching While White.”

Finally, the Associated Press published this article, “Explainer: Theory of White Replacement Fuels Racist Attacks” which provides a background to the ideas that are motivating terrorist attacks by white nationalists. 

I am currently reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Reading for Treasure: Current Events Two By Two

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction.

Here are three sets of two articles dealing with some of the most pressing issues in the news today:  

Guns: 

Leonard Pitts, Jr. writes, “The Right to Bear Arms Does Not Extend to Black People” in an opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune. He talks about a new book that, “argues that the Second Amendment — which supposedly came about solely as a hedge against tyranny — had at its heart a much less noble concern: Southern states demanded the right to bear arms because they feared rebellions by enslaved Africans.” He goes on to say, “All that talk about “a well-regulated militia”? Anderson told me in a telephone interview that that was just the cover story. State militias had not performed well either in fighting off the British or in defending against a domestic uprising: Shays’ Rebellion. ‘What the militia was really good at, however, was putting down slave revolts.’”

David Frum asserts in The Atlantic that responsible gun ownership is a lie. In his article, “How to Persuade Americans to Give Up Their Guns,” he describes how gun ownership makes people far less safe than if they did not own a gun. He looks at how the group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense is following the path of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. He believes that, if properly informed, gun owners can be persuaded to give up their guns, “They need to hear a new call to conscience, aimed not at the paranoid and the extreme, not at the militiamen and the race warriors, but at the decent, everyday gun owner.” 

Education: 

Greg Rolasky reports about an “accidental experiment” in Boston where budget issues forced officials to have a lottery to see who would be admitted into the city-funded pre-schools. This created two groups: a group that got pre-school and a control group. Yup, economists then looked at the differences between these two groups. In this NPR article, “ The Case For Universal Pre-K Just Got Stronger,” Rolansky reports on what they found. 

On her blog, Diane Ravitch published a letter from Teresa Thayer Synder, former superintendent of a school district in upstate New York. In it, Dr. Synder encourages teachers and schools to focus on relationships and listening rather than “fixing” students who have fallen behind during the pandemic. 

Making Fun of Politicians! 

Finally, two wonderful pieces from the always wonderful online magazine, McSweeny’s. First, we hear from a Dickensian Republican, who says, “I Oppose the Democrats’ Plan to Lower Child Poverty. If Kids Want to Eat, They Should Work In Filthy Factories Like They Did in the Good Old Days,” and then, to be even and balanced, we hear from a doubting Democrat who says, “As a Centrist Democrat, I Ran on a Promise to Fix Killer Shower Clowns. But Now That I’m in Office, I Believe We Should Consider the Issue More Cautiously.” Read them and weep. 

I am currently reading Machine by Elizabeth Bear

How about a Consumer Reports for Candidates?

Beyond their party affiliation, how much do you know about the candidates for whom you vote? Who is funding their campaigns? Have they been in trouble in the past? How do you assess candidates’ integrity and trustworthiness? 

For most of us, we have relied on various forms of media to help us make informed voting decisions. Groups like the League of Women Voters will sometimes provide candidate’s answers to basic questions and stands on issues. We see lawn signs and read newspaper articles and endorsements. Yet, we are swayed by commercials, social media, and simplistic sound bites. 

What if there was another way to assess candidates? What if an independent organization, unaffiliated with any political party (and not taking money from them), could provide us with a report card on a candidate that would let us know what the candidate has done in the past, things about the candidate’s character and background, thus serving as a neutral credentialing source? 

There are several models for this; The Better Business Bureau serves as a vehicle for consumers to assess the trustworthiness of local businesses. They state their mission and vision on their website: 

Similarly, Underwriters Laboratories, which I think now only goes by UL, tests products to ensure their safety. Companies pay UL to put their products through rigorous testing both to improve their design and assure customers of the safety and integrity of what they are purchasing. UL states its mission on its website: 

While one of these is non-for-profit and the other commercial, they have significant similarities. They are both credentialing entities. Their purpose is to give a seal of integrity to products and businesses. They do not compete against these organizations or advertise for them. Rather, they are an independent impartial entity whose sole job is to help consumers make good choices.

Another example: Consumer Reports magazine tests products and services to help consumers make educated buying decisions. Their magazine is entirely funded by subscriptions and takes no advertising. They are a trusted source of impartial information about almost everything on the market. 

One more: Charity Navigator uses a straightforward rating system based on a charity’s financial health and its accountability and transparency. From that, they determine an easy-to-understand star rating. When looking up a charity, they provide a clear explanation about why the charity received the rating it did. 

While there is no news source that everyone can agree upon, could a group of people whose political backgrounds span the range of our current landscape come together and find a way to evaluate all candidates? Could they create a rubric upon which candidates would be evaluated that might include: 

Where and how they have received money with which to run their campaigns and how they are spending it. 

Their educational, political, and job histories; their resumes. 

Prior scandals or other issues and their resolutions

If this new organization listed its mission, it might sound a little like the missions of the Better Business Bureau or UL: 

• Help create an ethical election where voters and candidates trust each other
• Set standards for election trust
• Encourage and support best practices by engaging with and educating voters and candidates
• Celebrate election role models
• Calling out and addressing substandard election behavior
• Creating a community of trustworthy candidates
• Promote safe, secure, and sustainable election process
• Support candidates who demonstrate integrity by demonstrating respect and ethical behavior, intent, and working toward a fair, inclusive, and equitable election process.
• Improve elections through research and investigation
• Make voting safer, easier, and more trustworthy
• Work with integrity and focus to enhance the trust conveyed by this certification 
• Be a good example of election ethics and evaluation. 

Our democratic process could benefit from this kind of organization. Yes, building trust would be challenging. Yes, getting buy-in from both candidates and voters would take time and persistence. But the payoff would be massive. 

Anyone up for the challenge? 

Red Lights Oppress My Freedom: I am Declaring Independence!

Why do people – or should I say, sheeple - stop at red lights? Who gives anyone the right to tell me how to drive my car? It is my car, it does not belong to the state! Why should I be forced to give up my freedom just to make way for some idiot? Why should others be able to go while I am made to wait? That’s not fair!  

Stop signs and speed limits are against the constitution! Freedom and liberty for all doesn’t mean stopping and slowing down! Don’t tread on my right to go wherever I want however I want whenever I want. That is my right as an American! That is what makes America great! I don’t stop for anything! 

The government wants total control. Not only do they make me stop, they want me to give them my money in taxes. They are thieves and this is anti-freedom robbery! No one can tell me that I have to give MY money! I choose what I do with my money and if I decide I don’t want the government to have it, then it is my right as an American to say, no! No, taxation without represent – without anything!  

Why should I pay for electricity or water or wifi? Those things are natural resources which means they belong to everyone! Nature is mine because it is in America and I am an American! No one charges me for the air, but just wait! I shouldn’t have written that because that will give the regressive idiots in charge an idea for another way to try and put the squeeze on me! Cable is too damn expensive anyway! It should be free to everyone! 

I am sick and tired of people who think they are so high and mighty trying to tell me what I can or cannot do! It is my birthright as an American to have no limits, no rules, no restrictions at all! The army should come in and get rid of those morons who think that we should give everyone everything! They want healthcare, preschool, whatever they ask for! No way! Everyone should get what they deserve and I deserve freedom! 

It’s like what has been happening with voting. It is too easy to vote! People should not just be given ballots, they have to earn them! Only real Americans are worthy of voting and those who don’t agree with me shouldn’t be able to vote ever! That would take care of these liberal socialist government giveaways. 

I got this letter telling me I had to go to the courthouse for jury duty! Jury duty? Who asked you? I don’t have time for that! There are plenty of people who have nothing to do, let them take care of jury duty! You can’t make me! 

And they aren’t going to get my guns! Not a chance. I can have as many guns as I want and no one gets a say in that. The second amendment means that I can shoot anything I want. I can have automatics and shotguns and, hell, I might even get a tank! Try to stop my tank, red light! 

I didn’t sit in school for ten years to be told that I had fewer rights than someone who came here yesterday! So many special interest groups get special treatments. They kiss up to politicians and get fancy stuff. That is what is wrong with America today. Everyone is equal! Everyone has the same chances. If you made mistakes, suck it up and deal with that. If you don’t have the guts to grab what you can, then you don’t deserve it. That’s how all these rich guys got rich in the first place; they grabbed what they could and ran! We need more people like that. 

So take my advice, forget those red lights, throw away those tax bills, and do what you want. America is the home of the free and the land of the brave enough to take what is theirs. I don’t owe anything to anyone. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. So there! Happy July Fourth! Give me fireworks!

What Reasonable Person Would Run For Office?

I once heard it said that anyone who desires the immense power of the presidency must be insane and therefore should not be allowed to hold the office. While this might leave us without a president, the statement has been rattling around in my head for a while.

The question it raises is: why would anyone want to be president, or more generally, who in their right mind would seek political office? The way our elected officials behave and are treated seems horrible! Who would willingly subject themselves to that? 

They are constantly seeking reelection. All politicians must raise money, lots and lots of money. Politicians and their families are under the most unforgiving microscope and have no real privacy of any kind. 

It might all be worth it if they could make a real difference in people’s lives – and they can. Sometimes. Our political system has always been slow and labor-intensive. One could argue that is a feature, not a bug. However, recently, good legislation seems less important than partisan power. Making a difference in people’s lives is secondary to ideology, grandstanding, and poll points.  

Why would any reasonable and bright person want to play this game, especially when there are so many other ways to do real good? The answer "to save us from the evil politicians" smacks of savior syndrome. 

Maybe those we really need to serve in government have the reaction: there is no way I would want to do that! The converse may also be true. Has our hyper-partisan political landscape attracted power and attention seekers who thrive on conflict? 

Who wants to debate facts? Who wants to get mired in cults of personality? Who would choose to be insulted and berated? Who wants to collect sound bites and headlines in order to spin public opinion? Being a public servant sounds like submitting oneself to abuse! 

This may at least partially explain why we have a never-ending string of politicians who abuse their power. Lord Acton’s statement applies to more than absolute power. Power can be addictive and inebriating. It can trick a person into believing their actions are always justifiable and that consequences are only for the powerless. 

Of course, there are public servants who are dismayed about the state of our political landscape and wield their power responsibly and reasonably. Thus the question becomes, how do we encourage more people like them and fewer Macbeths! I don’t have a good answer. 

Changing the rules of the political game has been a windmill at which many idealistic Don Quixotes have tilted. The system is so complex and intricate, and the stakeholders are so invested and entrenched, that the task seems impossible. It might be.  

Campaign finance reform might be a starting point. It is difficult to ignore the interests of big donors when your reelection campaign depends on them. Having more money to spend on ads is required to run for office. Wealthier individuals and those who raise more money have a greater chance of winning. And the relationship between power and wealth is far from healthy.  

What are the characteristics that we would like in our elected officials? Honesty, integrity, intelligence, empathy, thoughtfulness, collaboration, perceptiveness, and being a good listener are traits that would be beneficial. We want people with specific knowledge and skills. We want responsive communicators who have experience solving problems like ours and are experts in making the system function well. Is that what we see in congress now? 

We have a few, but they are being shouted down by those who, if we judge their motives from their actions, place the power of their party before the needs of our country; who worry more about how to gain an advantage over their opponents than solving the nation’s problems. Would you hire these people if they applied for a job at your workplace! 

We all know what it is like to have a destructive co-worker. I hope few of us have worked at places where we felt the culture was toxic. While there are some people who thrive in a hyper-competitive, cutthroat, and self-serving atmosphere, most of us would prefer a workplace that is collaborative, positive, and supportive.  Remember those ball hogs who ignored the rest of the squad? Most of us want to be part of an interdependent team – and deplore the player who sees the rest of us simply as means to their individual success. 

Good organizations have systems to encourage and train upcoming leaders. Businesses work hard to identify and nurture those who are likely to make their future successful. Imagine a workplace that promoted those who were the loudest, most aggressive, and self-promoting – not those who brought in business, helped the company thrive, or were good at building successful teams. Other than government, where do we reward traits that would make a person a pariah? 

Why do people vote for power-hungry want-to-be dictators who produce nothing more than sound, static, and struggle? For now, let’s consider how we can support the positive leaders and encourage negative ones to try something more suited to their temperaments, like reality television, perhaps.