Reading for Treasure: Articles I Can't Stop Thinking About

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

My theme this month is articles that have taken up residence in my head, that I cannot stop thinking about. I strongly recommend you read them. Many of them will probably end up being the seeds of my own writing on this blog. 

Lifehacker contrasts two thinkers who have confronted evil: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Donald Ewen Cameron. The piece asks what is the difference between being evil and stupid: “Why Stupidity Is More Dangerous Than Evil.”

When I was first hired as a teacher, I told my department chairman that I wasn’t going to give grades. He said I had to, so I said I would give everyone A’s. He said that wasn’t going to work either. So, I tried to make the idea of grades fit with real student-centered education. These two pieces about how institutions of learning are rethinking grades are excellent discussions of this issue: KQED’s “Some colleges mull the idea of 'Ungrading' for freshman students” and Wired’s “The End of Grading.”

Similarly, I struggled with kids’ use of their smartphones in the classroom. I ended up hanging a shoe tree near the door and requiring my students to relinquish their phones during class. This also made taking attendance quick and easy. This wonderful article in The Atlantic looks at “The Schools That Ban Smartphones.” 

This quick article from The Daily Herald addresses a question I have been asking since I moved next door to the school at which I taught and my children attended: “It’s Good For Kids and the Environment. So Why Aren’t More Students Walking to School”

As a follow-up to several sets of articles about gun violence, The Chicago Tribune addressed a part of this issue that does not receive enough attention. While we hear about people killed and injured by shootings, we don’t hear about how those who are shot cope afterward: “Doctors: A firearm-related injury is a chronic and expensive condition, but many victims are forgotten.” 

Two very political articles from The Atlantic fascinated me. As a former debate teacher, the “Gish Gallop” technique that the former president uses is both effective and highly problematic. “How To Beat Trump in a Debate” is a great analysis of more than Trump’s rhetorical style, but the philosophy behind it. Similarly, “Why Fox News Lied to Its Viewers” looks at how ratings and pandering to the desires of an audience were more important than journalistic ethics on the Fox News Channel. Is there a connection here? 

Finally, two more articles from The Atlantic (can you tell that I am a huge fan of that magazine?) about reading. First, “The People Who Don’t Read Books” looks at some high-profile people who are proud that they don’t read. Second, “A New Way to Read ‘Gatsby’” was fascinating to me as I finished Nghi Vo’s magical spin on Fitzgerald’s classic, The Chosen and the Beautiful. Read them both and you will see why this book has staying power. 

Besides The Atlantic, I am reading Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel Delany. 

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

When You Say You Are Voting Based on the Economy, What You Are Really Saying Is…

Saying you are voting on Tuesday based on your concerns about the economy is really really a way to avoid saying you are voting for other issues that you might not want to admit because voting for Republicans is not going to improve the economy. 

How could you vote for people who condone political violence? The attack on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was an attempted political assassination. Countless Republicans have made light of it, spread absurd conspiracy theories, and even openly celebrated it. This is more than a lack of empathy, it is an acknowledgment that they approve of political violence. Since January 6th, that should not be a surprise. 

Aren’t they supposed to be the anti-crime party? They have done nothing to ensure the safety of kids in classrooms? They have prevented legislation that would stop dangerous people from getting guns and defended people who used them to kill. They protect people who kill as long as they didn’t like those who were murdered. Violence is never good for the economy. 

The real reasons for our economic issues are more complex than our current political leaders. One major driver is the continuing effect of the COVID pandemic. Did the Republicans handle COVID well while they were in office? How much of our current situation is due to their choices while in power? 

Another major economic issue is the current war in Ukraine. The war’s effects on energy and food prices are being felt all over the world – but most powerful in Ukraine itself. Republicans have made it quite clear that they think we are doing too much for Ukraine and want to reduce our support. We know that some Republicans have a crush on Putin. Would further war and bloodshed in Ukraine make everyone safer and more prosperous? 

How could people vote for candidates who are unqualified for the positions for which they are running? Candidates who can’t answer questions, recently moved into the areas they are running to represent, and have problematic and disturbing pasts will not make strong leaders. Please judge a party by the company it keeps. If these weak candidates are elected, will they have the skill to move the economy forward – or move anything forward? 

What about the hate speech, racism, Anti-Semitism, phobias of all kinds, white nationalism, and religious extremism? When asked to wear a mask to protect their neighbors, they cried, “my body, my choice,” and now they will not extend that “right” to women. A race-based theocracy will not create more jobs or reduce costs, although it might make the trains run on time. 

And will these candidates concede if they lose? What about their allies who are now running some of these elections? Many still cling to the lie that the last election was not legitimate, even though the same ballots they contest for one office, they accept for others! This kind of election denial could create dangerous chaos! 

Of course, voting based on personal (selfish) economic interests is an American tradition: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Nope, let’s rephrase that, in 2022, it is stupid to believe that people are really doing that. They are condoning and supporting a party that continues to threaten our economy, democracy, and way of life.  However you read the economic tea leaves, it is clear that those who say that the economy is their main issue are really supporting a dangerous agenda: it will worsen the economy –and it will diminish and degrade America.   

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! 

Where are the Guardian Angels?

The shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is overwhelming. Each time I think about the horrible events of May 24, I find it is so painful that I need to deflect to something else, anything else. The thought of that kind of loss is nearly too difficult to imagine.  

I was teaching the day that Laurie Dann walked into Hubbard Woods Elementary School in Winnetka and began shooting. My school moved to “red alert,” which was designed to prevent senior pranks, when it was reported that the shooter was headed northwest. My school is only a few miles northwest of Hubbard Woods. This was more than thirty years ago. 

There are no words to console a grieving parent or partner. There is no pain I can imagine worse than the death of a child. It is so hideous and powerful and painful. Why must parents keep experiencing loss because of school shootings? 

What is wrong with us that we refuse to protect our children sitting in their classrooms? What is wrong with us that we argue about the rights of children not yet born, but we refuse to protect fourth graders? How can people rush to protect gun rights at the cost of children’s lives?  Anyone who has worked in education knows that putting more guns in school will not address this problem. It is a false fantasy solution that ignores everything we know about these situations. 

Even the National Rifle Association prohibits guns at its convention! Arming teachers will work, but having a convention full of gun owners won’t? I don’t understand. 

Let’s start a new organization: No Retro Abortions. This organization would advocate that we ban abortions beyond the 15-week or 3-month or the latest of late-term timelines and argue that even abortions that take place after birth should be forbidden. The organization could be called by its initials: N.R.A. 

Recently, I read a short story called, “Mr. Death” by Alix Harrow. The story is nominated for the prestigious Hugo award, and.I read the nominees every year so I vote for the winners. 

This fantasy story follows a relatively new “reaper” who ferries souls across the river of death. He is given assignments and then sits with the person as they die and accompanies them to the other side. However, as the story opens, he is given a horrible assignment: a child of only 30 month: a two year old. 

Our focal character has deep misgivings and does his best to rationalize and justify the child’s death. But he can’t. He lost his own child and has experienced this kind of pain first hand. As the story proceeds, he moves from giving the child a little extra time to being unable to complete his assignment. He refuses to complete the assignment even though it will mean much more than losing his job, it will probably mean he will be consigned to oblivion. 

If you are going to read the story, this is the place to stop reading. I am about to spoil it. Read the story and come back or skip to the paragraph beginning, “Lovers of life…” 

Here is the connection: when our reaper refuses to take the child and is willing to sacrifice everything, he is surprised to find that he is transformed. He is no longer a reaper and instead, he is a guardian. He stands beside the child as a  protector. 

Lovers of life, pro-choice, pro-life, we need guardians now. Our children need us all to become angels who protect them: in their classrooms, churches, synagogues, movie theaters, and homes. Not with more instruments of death, but with thoughtful and rational laws and rules. Other countries do this; we can do this. 

Can we transform from partners of death to protectors of life? The Supreme Court will soon rule about how the unborn should be protected. What about the newly born? What about the fourth graders? What about our children and grandchildren? 

Thou shall not murder. Put down your weapon and accept your wings. Protect the children. Please. 

Good Riddence to the 2021-2022 School Year

I dreamed last night that I was visiting my old school on the last day of the year. I dreamed that I was going through offices and classrooms, wishing people well, and meeting new staff members. We joked and hugged and laughed and were all dressed in Halloween costumes. I dreamed that things were just as I left them, but different and better.

But that isn’t the school at which my friends and former co-workers teach. That isn’t the reality of education at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. That was my dream (really), but the truth is that my friends are survivors of a disaster. They end this year with anxiety, anger, frustration, grief, pain, and lots of tears. 

And it shouldn’t be this way. 

Teachers, Counselors, and other school staff are asked to carry it all. They are simultaneously hailed as heroes who will save, protect, and sacrifice for their students with opportunities and weapons and love and knowledge, and then derided as groomers and political opportunists, lazy slackers, and self-serving conspiracy puppets. When it serves the sound bite, they are the saviors of society and when it fits the narrative, they are taking our children into an uncomfortable world of race, gender, and masks. 

And it is too much. 

My colleagues have been carrying the pandemic. Their mantra has been “We’ll make it work,” and “We do what’s best for kids.” They have been performing a high wire acrobatic juggling. Sometimes, their administrators and school boards, and communities have stood by their sides and provided a net. But just as often, those who should be their allies have turned on them and thrown them flaming torches and shaken the tent, threatening to bring the entire circus crashing to the ground in flames and flesh. 

And teachers are exhausted. 

So as the end of the school year approaches, as summer rounds the corner, kids are fidgeting in their seats, and classrooms start to smell of sweat and cut grass, as the looming grading deadlines feel like Kuber-Ross’s stages, let us bid a not so fond goodbye bye to this disaster of a school year. 

Of course, we wish you a relaxing and rejuvenating summer, time with your family, and time to yourself. We wish you health, which has been Sisyphean these past two years.

And we thank you. 

I am not sure I know how to do this. As a retired teacher who left just before the sky fell, I can only half imagine what these years have felt like. For the first time, I have heard several school friends say to me, "I hate working here." As a supporter on the side, I have seen the disrespect and destruction, heard the yelling, and unbelievable thoughtlessness. Alice had it far easier. I felt both guilty that it was you and relief that it wasn’t me and anguish it was happening. People say to me every day – every.single.day – that I “got out at the right time.” I wish you could join me. Right now. 

And we should be concerned that you will. 

Teachers are leaving in droves. They watch their friends and colleagues of decades marching toward the cliff’s edge and feel the pull of gravity. Wonderful, inspiring, passionate professionals are packing their classrooms for the last time right now. As the lockers slam and the sneakers squeak down the hall, they are crying with relief and shame. Accountants are not asked to kill themselves for taxes, but sometimes healthcare folks are. 

And our teachers. 

This is not an exaggeration. I have heard a call for a student strike in the fall. What if students said, “We aren’t going back to our classrooms until it we are safe from gun terrorists.” What if parents said that?  What if teachers, across this nation, said, we will not conduct another active shooter drill until lawmakers stop the senseless stream of school shootings! 

So hear me clearly. Hear it from a retired veteran teacher: Teachers, you have been outstanding. You have made critical differences in children’s lives. You have nurtured, challenged, enriched, advocated – and educated. You have fought the good fight – over and over and over and over. What you have done matters and will continue to matter, even if you are no longer doing it. 

And now it is your time. 

Some of you will return to the classroom in the fall. Some of you will retire. Some of you will watch the stream of buses and kids with backpacks and step out of the line. Some of you will place your own children at the front and focus there. 

And that is okay.

The last bell is ringing. It brings relief and intense sorrow. Set down the load. Rest. Hold yourself and your loved ones. You have been through a war and, although it is not over, we are hoping for a few months of cease-fire. Go to your bunker. Hug your people. Cry. Unload. Recover. 

And this summer – and all that comes after it – do what heals and helps you. 

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

Reading For Treasure: We Still Need to Talk – and Read – About Race

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

We need to keep race foremost on our minds as we confront the variety of issues facing us right now. While COVID, the economy, education, voting rights, and many other issues are critical; race is intertwined with all of them. So let’s keep reading, talking, and taking action. Here are a few articles to help you do that.  

The Bitter Southerner published a powerful piece that directly addresses tourists at southern plantations who don’t want to hear the history of slavery. “Dear Disgruntled White Plantation Visitors” by author, culinary historian, and historical interpreter, Michael Twitty tears down the stereotypes and asks readers (and visitors) to directly face the horrible truth about the past.   

The New York Times opinion piece,  “I Don’t Need ‘Love’ Texts from My White Friends”  asks white people to do far more than just send emails and texts, hold memorials, and reflect. Instead, writer Chad Sanders provides three specific actions that have more positive impact. 

LifeHacker describes the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s online portal that, “contains tools, online exercises, video instructions, articles, and more than 100 multimedia resources tailored for educators and parents…”  in the quick article, “Get Help Talking About Race With This Tool From The Smithsonian.” It links directly to parts of this resource that might be useful for opening a conversation with your family, colleagues, or neighbors.

Leonard Pitts, Jr. writes in the Chicago Tribune  that “The Right To Bear Arms Does Not Extend to Black People.” He explains that the second amendment was really intended to make sure that the south could put down slave rebellions and goes on to question the NRA’s silence at the deaths of John Crawford III and Tamir Rice. 

Beyond articles, NewsOne provides a list of “5 Books Addressing Race That Every Teen Should Read” that includes titles like Angel of Greenwood, A Song Below Water, and Dragon Hoops. All of the books were written in either 2020 or 2021. 

Finally, three articles dealing with Critical Race Theory. The first is from Blavity, “Everybody’s Talking About It: What is Critical Race Theory?” In it, writer David E. Kirkland lays out the tenets of Critical Race Theory. Professor Ibram X. Kendi, writing in The Atlantic argues that “There Is No Debate Over Critical Race Theory.” Instead, using specific evidence, he makes the case that the critics of CRT, “are arguing against themselves.” Finally, and sadly, Colorlines reports that, “ Critical Race Theory Battles are Driving Black Educators Out of Their Jobs.” Not a shock there, but another part of this very disturbing issue. 

I am currently reading, The Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher. 

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!

Good Special People

On January 6, the president told you that you are “very special” and you believed him. Actually, he confirmed what you already knew. You were more than special, you were uniquely called, selected, and empowered to fight a battle against those who threatened the vision that your television has imprinted on your hats, flags, and t-shirts. 

You have the god-given right to march into the most hallowed halls of our country and defecate wherever you want! You know that the election was stolen because trusted sources have repeated this to you since long before the election itself. You knew this would happen! You called it! You are so prophetic. You are like people from the Bible. 

If others disagree with you it is because they have been brainwashed by the media, turned into sheep by powerful forces, or are simply evil and anti-American. They watch the wrong channels. If they would just open their eyes, they would see – like you. 

You are judge, jury, soldier, avenger, scholar, and savior all rolled up in one incredible mass of awesome sauce. 

While others live in clouded delusions, you have divined the secret conspiracies that threatened your prominence as the master race, the guns that make you feel safe, and the rule of your favorite television reality show star. You are blessed. 

How dare they! How dare they take steal an election? How dare they think they are above the law? If they are going to attempt these terrible sins, then your only recourse, your best way of righting these horrendous wrongs is to pick up those guns and steal it back – and kill them. 

Nothing else will work. They have not listened to the oracles on television and social media. They have blasphemed against the man who was smart enough not to pay taxes and will therefore save us all. So they should be fired and fired upon. And you must do it. You and your friends, who are the best and the most patriotic Americans who have ever walked this precious land. 

And this has nothing to do with race! That is a distraction and diversion from those evil people who riot and kneel during the national anthem! They don’t love the flag like you do! You wear the flag like a warm blanket. You paint it on your skin like the people who lived on this land before us, but never understood how great this country could be. But you do! 

They are public servants and you are their masters! If they do not obey you, they deserve to be beaten or hanged! If the brainwashed sheep won’t save this great country, you will be the wolf who blows down their house of lies! They should be grateful. 

There are bad people. There are lots of bad people. They are everywhere. Some of them are out in the open, but many are hiding in the shadows. Many are powerful. Many are not Christian. Fortunately, you have the secret decoder ring to identify, capture, beat, and kill them. You are gifted. 

You do not need scientists or masks or vaccinations. Which is another one of their hoaxes! It is a fake crisis they are using to distract and justify their heinous actions. The numbers are inflated. The doctors are compromised. It is all a plot to take away our freedom. But you will rescue it! You will save us all – no mask needed. You are a superhero! 

And their vaccine is made from dead babies! You’ll never take it. Besides, soon we’ll have herd immunity since all those other people will take it. It’s okay for them to take it, but you would never defile your body with something so impure and profane. 

There is no way the election was lost. Everyone you know voted like you. Everyone who voted like you supports you. You are their representative. They voted for the same person you did and now you are their election avenger! You work for them and they belong to you. They wanted to do this but were not awesome enough. You will do it for them. 

For the sake of our democracy, for the sake of all you hold dear, you will stop at nothing. You have no doubts. You have never been wrong about important things like this. You will not hesitate. You will not listen to their lies. It is your way or we burn it all down. 

We should thank god for you. God would approve. Jesus would do the same thing. He was in favor of violence and hate. His message was one of political revolution, right? You are a modern-day messiah creating a new holy land. 

Who wouldn’t want to be you? 

The Guns Are Going to Get Your Babies

It is time to face the facts:  those running the government do not care about our children or most of us.

We have had more school shootings than any other first world country and this administration has done nothing to stop them.

We have had more mass shootings in public places like offices, movie theaters, and concerts than any other first world country and this administration does nothing to stop them.

Their policy which allowed for the separating of children from their parents at our border is indicative of what they think about children in general.

Their policy which allowed for the separating of children from their parents at our border is indicative of what they think about children in general.

This administration shows no empathy for children separated from their parents. 

Their policy at the border shows that they are fine using children as hostages for political ends.

They are gutting public schools and the structures that support them.

They are undermining accessibility to college for all but the most wealthy.

Speaking of wealthy, the tax reform bill passed earlier this year was supposed to provide breaks for companies and wealthy individuals that would be shared (think trickled down) to average folks.

Have you seen any relief? Most companies have not shared this bounty with their employees. 

This administration has enacted trade tariffs with some of our most valued trading partners. These countries have reacted by increasing tariffs on incoming goods from the United States.

Once again, the American worker is hurt: the goods they produce will not be as able to be sold overseas, and the goods they purchase at home will cost more.

They are trying to reduce the benefits of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

So if you do not have private independently financed insurance, you and your family’s access to health care and retirement benefits are in jeopardy.

They are making friends with countries that have been problematic in the past and alienating our traditional friends.

Despite concerns about election tampering and nuclear weapons, this administration is reaching out to Russia and North Korea. How has this made us safer?

This administration has made it clear that it treasures its connection to White Nationalist, racist, and misogynistic groups and individuals.

This administration has defended individuals who have committed acts of hate, abuse, and assault. They have given these individuals key roles in the government.

This administration has defended hate groups and applauded their racist choices.

This administration has called people of color, women, and others animals and other derogatory terms.

To review:

·      You and your children’s safety is in jeopardy from a policy that does not protect the public from shootings.

·      Public education, the road to success for many of us, is under attack.

·      Taxes are lower only for the wealthiest.

·      Tariffs are hurting our jobs and our pocketbooks.

·      Access to insurance and retirement is being threatened.

·      Our leaders are fonder of people who have tried to hurt us than those who have helped us.

·      This administration is closely connected to racists, sexist, and others who have an extremist agenda.

We haven’t even talked about environmental and food safety, privacy on the internet, or several other issues that will make life less safe and more expensive for all of us!

None of this is “fake news.” None of this is even in dispute.

The shocking truth is that some of us are fine with this situation.

I am not.
Please vote.

Thou Shalt Not Kill: The Defense of Guns is Immoral

Thou shalt not kill, or properly translating the Hebrew, thou shalt not murder. What is difficult to understand about this? This statement sits at the core of almost all religious and moral codes. No matter whom you believe issued this commandment, it is the centerpiece of this issue. The debate about safety in our schools, gun control, and the second amendment is missing this key idea!

The statement does NOT read, “thou shalt not kill, except in school.” Or “Thou shall kill if someone threatens your ownership of weapons.” It doesn’t say that arming good folks is okay to defeat bad folks. Nope. Don’t kill.  No murder. Clear enough? It doesn’t matter if you are talking about a gun or the person using it: no murder. None!

Regardless of your views about guns, could you deny that murder is wrong? How can people of integrity and those who see themselves as religious object to attempts to stop murder and safeguard innocent lives? How can people who are anti-abortion be pro-school slaughter?

If protecting our children from being murdered is not a high enough priority, what is? And by “protecting,” I don’t mean more murder. I mean preventing, not reacting or responding. A gun in a school is the problem, not the solution. Many a murder has taken place with armed guards present.

An argument in favor of placing more guns in schools says that we don’t really want protection, we want more murder. We want kids killed in the crossfire or before the “bad guy” can be stopped.  By the time the gun arrives at school, church, or the movie theater, the battle is lost. We must do better than that! And arguments about guns and the military, arming teachers, hunting, and other distractions are attempts to turn the conversation away from the real issue. They are deflections and diversions.

What does it mean to say that unregulated and slavish worship of gun ownership is the value we hold most dear? Is your weapon is more important than our children or safety? The evidence is overwhelmingly clear: guns in civilian hands do not make us safer.

These massacres are intimately connected with racism, hatred, and sexual violence. Are these the values we hold dear? In addition to automatic killing machines, will gun lovers also defend these horrors? Where are those who speak of law and order? They want to protect us from foreigners, whom they say will do bad things, but will defend those at home who are actually committing horrible acts! This is crime and disorder – and it’s immoral tacit supporters.

Inaction is immoral. The long rationalizations, diversions, semantic gymnastics, and retreats into straw arguments are the last refuge of an inherently evil proposition: we must address the issue of guns or sacrifice those we love – as well as our integrity, morality, and safety.

Where are the statespeople who have the courage to solve these problems? Where are the real leaders who will face the problem and act? The students of Parkland, Florida are leading the crusade as the current administration wades further into a swamp of sin. 

If our elected officials don’t have the moral fortitude to act, they are failing us and do not deserve to serve. It is already too late. Now is not soon enough.

There are many issues that are difficult, complex, and tangled. This is not one of them.

Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not be an accomplice to murder. Thou shalt not watch children be slaughtered in their schools and do a rhetorical tap dance justifying their massacre. Stop the shootings!

Fun With Guns: Guns for Everyone!

The solution to the problem of mass shootings and even the threat of terrorist attacks is to make sure that there are enough guns that a shooter would be stopped by an armed citizen. The reason so few mass shootings have actually been prevented this way is that there just aren’t enough guns out there.

It is clear what we must do: give everyone a gun – or two! A shooter would have to be crazy to attempt to cause a massacre because each victim is also a potential shooter!

But what if the shooter has an automatic weapon? What if the shooter goes into a school?

The solution is simple: teachers should be permitted to carry automatic weapons and their students should be armed, just in case. Weapons should be as important an item on the school supply list as crayons, smocks, and paste. Perhaps students should purchase ammunition for their teachers just as they now bring in boxes of tissue paper.

Consider the possibilities: This would not only protect our schools from mass shootings, it could also be the ultimate solution to the problem of bullying. You’d have to be out of your mind to bully a kid you knew was packing a pistol.

Since everyone is going to have a gun, this would resolve a host of social issues. No more domestic violence or armed robbery. It would be insane to drive by and shoot someone when the person around the next corner could shoot back! Who would do that?

Frankly, there is a lot out there to fear. There are bad guys (and even some bad gals) around every corner. People who do bad things, say bad words, and think bad thoughts, This is endangering our right to live the lives we want. If we all had guns, those people would have lots of good reasons to change their evil ways!

Think about it: that person texting in the movie theater, cutting you off on the highway, budging in line at the store, or putting up idiotic signs on his lawn would be stopped in his tracks! This is democracy in action!

It would be the end of crime. Should someone be stupid enough to actually step out of line, BANG! No one would make that mistake more than once!

We would have a renaissance of civility. People would treat each other well again. They would think about what they did or said because it could have serious consequences. Would they make fun of people who believed that vaccinations cause autism? I don’t think so. Would they criticize politicians who want to ban gay marriage but end up having gay affairs? Not in public, they wouldn’t!

No more name-calling! No more silly questions. People would do good things, say good words, and think good thoughts - or they would have to face the wrath of those who disagreed! We’d be perfectly confident that no one would offend! We could call it that: perfect confidence or PC for short!

Laurie Anderson said it best. In United States Live, she noted that “to be really safe you should always carry a bomb on an airplane. Because the chances of there being one bomb on a plane are pretty small. But the chances of two bombs are almost minuscule. So by carrying a bomb on a plane, the odds of your becoming a hostage or of getting blown up are astronomically reduced.” Now that is logical! Why can’t our politicians think this way?

If every man, woman, child, and pet had a gun, the odds of being shot or being a victim of a crime would greatly reduced. Why aren’t we doing this right now? That is the great question! Talk to your congressmen right way – or better yet…