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How Can We Change?

1/27/2021

On January 6, 2021, thugs marched to the Capitol and breached the building. Glass was broken, doors were smashed, police were beaten with metal poles holding American flags, plastic handcuff ties were available, a noose was erected, offices were entered and trashed, people died, and threats were issued about the future.

Untold tens of millions of the 74,000,000 who voted for our past president looked on in silence, covertly urging the mob forward. Many who knew better backed the throng in their selfish desire for a political future.

What percentage of that 74,000,000 are true nutjobs or selfish politicians? I hope not a large one. But I’ve come to accept the fact that many, if not most, are lost forever, although I hope some can be enticed into the world of rational thinking.

Pundits have pundited about how it will take a decade or more to set things right. I fear they may be correct.

I have been giving a lot of thought to how to change this climate. It seems to me there are two problems that must be attacked.

A lack of understanding of the most elemental structure and processes of our government.
An inability to recognize not only what facts are, but what they mean and how they should be interpreted.

I see no way that the people currently relishing their ignorance of these areas can be brought to the light. I think we who find their attitude alarming often do not understand why. How much is due to their difficulties of daily living? How much is due to the parenting they received? This type of questioning could go on and on. But I don’t see any merit in it. Until people accept the validity of the above two weaknesses, I fear little advance can occur.

Believer in education that I am, I wonder if that is not a place to start.

When I was in school we studied the structure of our government and the safety given us by the checks and balances system built into the Constitution. Good stuff, but more is needed. I would be in favor of a course required of every student to learn about the history of our country’s founding, a study of the purpose of each of the three branches of government, the reasons for the checks and balances and examples where they have saved us, an analysis of each of the 27 amendments with explanations of why they appeared, and particular attention to why freedom of the press is essential to saving us from tyranny.

Paralleling this should be discussions of patriotism. I don’t mean “my country right or wrong.” Rather, “I love my country for the principles on which it was designed, and how can I help achieve them?”

Ask students to say the Pledge of Allegiance, sing the Star Bangled Banner. The recent inauguration vividly illustrated the power of these actions.

Such courses would be utter failures if they were politically motivated. Rather, they should be created by professional scholars who are willing to put political persuasion aside.

On the second point, I think a different course is needed on how to tell fact from fiction. Everyday examples might make the point. A faucet dripping is an annoyance one would like to eliminate. Saying it isn’t dripping over and over won’t stop the drip.

The course ought to emphasize and help develop a questioning nature. Have students learn to demand where a piece of information comes from, ask why is it true or even if is it true, evaluate the reliability of its source, search for some motivation behind its deliverance that is aimed at benefitting the source. And the basic question, is it an outright lie? This type of questioning, so common in the scientific fields, would make future generations more difficult to snooker into believing falsehoods.

Obviously, the ideas here represent long term solutions only, if indeed they are solutions at all.

I wish I could guarantee they would work, but it seems as if it’s worth a try.

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America—the Beautiful!

1/21/2021

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This is an unusual special posting. I am unable to delay it.

You see, I just watched with moist eyes the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden as our 46th president. For the first time in many years, I have hope for our country.

Oh, I know the problems seem insurmountable, and so many of our citizens continue to harbor dark thoughts. But for today and tomorrow and the coming week, I just want to express joy that we have narrowly averted a national disaster. I want to relish the feeling of the possible that arose from the day long activities surrounding this transfer of power.

From the beautiful presentation of our National Anthem by Lady Gaga that rekindled the spirit of patriotism I feared I had lost.

From favorites This Land Is Your Land and America the Beautiful by Jennifer Lopez, recalling the days of World War II when it was considered completely normal to join fellow students in banging them out in school assemblies

From Garth Brooks’ singing Amazing Grace, a song/hymn that is one of my favorites for its expression of hope for those imperfect souls such as myself.

From National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s reading of her newest poem written especially for the occasion. How young she is and what a future she has! It reminded me of my niece, also a wonderful poet, but who is so much more.

From the religious leaders who participated, individuals who live lives based on the tenets of their faith without twisting them for political advantage.

From former Vice-President Michael Pence who attended the ceremony and throughout the last few days shucked the straight jacket imposed by his latest boss and acted honorably in several different ways.

From former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama who reminded us by their presence and comments later at the evening “Concert” that unity is far more important than partisan politics.

From the somberness of the swearing in of our new president and vice-president.

From Biden’s rallying speech that didn’t mince words, involved complete sentences, and rarely employed the word “I.”

From the sparse crowd that accepted without reservation the necessities of fighting the pandemic, including mask wearing and social distancing.

From the obvious love shown within the Harris and Biden families and the respect and fondness between the two families.

From the walk of the few hundred final feet to the White House.

What a wonderful change!

And that was just the beginning. In the afternoon President Biden signed 17 executive orders to start the return of our country to the thoughtful nation and dependable ally we had once been.

I had wondered how the festivities of a typical inauguration could possibly be matched in a pandemic environment. There always was something special about the parade and multiple evening balls. I needn’t have worried.

Unfortunately, the need for a dog walk forced me to miss the virtual parade so I can’t comment on that. But the evening “Concert” was a brilliantly scripted contribution by known artists and a recognition of all the people around the country who have attempted to mitigate the horrors of the pandemic. I have a feeling that most of us would like to see the “Balls” eliminated and be replaced by the “Concert” during future inaugurations.

We now have a president who seems to have an empathic heart, the courage to attack difficult problems, and the experience to lead us through them.

It is a moment to be grateful and hopeful.

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Is There a Doctor in the House?

1/20/2021

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The actor clutches his chest and falls to the floor. Definitely not part of the play. Someone yells, “Is there a doctor in the house?”

If the audience is sufficiently large there’s a good chance the answer is “yes.” And one would expect the respondent to be trained in the medical arts.

That’s what we think of, isn’t it, when the word “doctor” is mentioned?

Why?

Suppose instead there’s a meteor heading toward earth. Would you call your primary care physician for advice on how to deflect it? I sure wouldn’t. I’d want someone like a physicist with extensive training, someone who in the past had demonstrated innovative thinking, someone who’d earned a doctorate. If that person happened to be good old Jim Brown, I’d call him Dr. Brown.

If the problem was one related to education, I’d want an expert in that area. Someone like Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the man who today will be inaugurated as our president.

I am ashamed to admit that, when I first heard her called doctor, I assumed she was of the medical variety. I should have known better.

Her degree is in education and she continues to work in that area. This is a significant achievement involving years of advanced study and an original contribution to her field.

But it didn’t impress Joseph Epstein (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Epstein_(writer) ), a competent writer with a B.A. He took it upon himself to create an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (see https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-there-a-doctor-in-the-white-house-not-if-you-need-an-m-d-11607727380 if it will allow you to view the entire story without subscribing) suggesting strongly that Doctor Biden shuck her title while living in the White House and be satisfied with First Lady.

We are in the midst of a pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands in our nation alone. We have endured a brutal political four years ending with a deranged president who is unwilling to accept loss but is willing to destroy the country to maintain power. We live in partisan times in which the ability to cross bridges is scorned. We are threatened with seditious acts in attempts to overthrow the government. We have alienated allies and cozied up to tyrants.

And amidst all this horror, what major crisis bothers Epstein and, apparently, the Wall Street Journal? The fact that President Biden’s wife has a doctorate in education and isn’t ashamed of it.

According to Wikipedia, Epstein had another article of note, published in Harper’s Magazine in 1970. He was a young man of 34 then. Yes, that makes him 84 now. Again, according to Wikipedia, Epstein wrote at that time that homosexuality is "a curse, in a literal sense" and that his sons could do nothing to make him sadder than "if any of them were to become homosexual." This is the man opining for the Journal!

The number of years it takes to become a practicing physician is extensive and may or may not be more than what is required to earn a doctorate in an alternate area. Both are major achievements. One difference is, unlike medical doctorates, a significant original research contribution is required when pursuing a doctoral degree in other fields.

So honor what medical doctors have achieved. It’s tough training and should be respected. But don’t let anyone say about someone else, “Oh, she’s not a real doctor.”

Yes, she is. And beginning today she’ll be a doctor in the house—the White House.

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Getting the Vaccine

1/13/2021

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On December 23, 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended priorities about the order in which people should receive COVID-19 vaccines while supplies remain limited.

First: Healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents.
Second: Frontline essential workers such as fire fighters, police officers, food and agricultural workers, Postal Service workers, grocery store workers, teachers and other groups with wide access to the public. Also people over 75 years in age who aren’t in long-term care facilities.
Third: People of ages 65 through 74 not in long-term care facilities and those aged 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions.
Fourth: Everyone else as supplies become available.

These are only recommendations, and each state can formulate its own rules. Those for my state, Florida, were announced recently by our governor, Ron DeTrump.

First: Same as above.
Second: People aged 65 and older not included in the first phase.
Third: Front-line essential workers, particularly law enforcement officers, firefighters, and teachers.

He said that it makes “no sense for someone who’s 42 to jump ahead of somebody who’s 70 years old.”

I think the governor, not for the first time, is getting priorities wrong.

Let’s look at me. I would be in the second group under either plan. I have at most one contact outside my home each week and it is always accompanied by masks, distance, and fresh air. I will be lucky to have another ten years on this earth.

A 20-year-old grocery clerk, by the very nature of her job, comes into contact with hundreds of people every day and, despite all precautions she may take, has an increased risk of getting the virus or giving it. Furthermore, she may be attending in place classes in college or enjoying the foolishness of youth by meeting peers in large groups. If she survives the virus, she probably has five or more decades of life remaining.

Why would anyone think I should be placed in line before the grocery clerk?

Well, I can take a guess at what the governor could have been thinking. I’m more likely to be white. I’m more likely to vote. I’m more likely to be a Republican. I’m more likely to donate to the Republican cause. Fifty percent correct in my case, but statistically it’s probably right.

Our grocery clerk, on the other hand, is more likely to be Black or of another minority, to not vote but if she does it probably will be for a Democrat, to not have enough money to pay her rent let alone donate to the Republican cause.

Then there’s the image: The poor elderly gentleman shuffling down the street leaning on a walker. Who wouldn’t want to save the life of dear old granddad? Besides, the grocery clerk could have been part of the rowdy crowds participating in those immoral demonstrations against police brutality.

Now, to be fair, I should say I don’t know what’s really behind our governor’s decision regarding the vaccine priorities. However, I think it speaks volumes that what I have outlined here, based on the governor’s previous stands, would even come to mind.

No matter his justifications, though, I think his policy is wrong.

But I’m going to get my shot anyway—if I can ever get an appointment.

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Patriotism—Courage—Sacrifice

1/6/2021

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Politicians love to demonstrate their patriotism. They wear little American flags in their lapel and question those who don’t. They attend services on Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day and get photographed sporting somber expressions. They say they believe in the Constitution and ignore what is inconvenient in it.

Politicians also admire courage. I know this to be true because they say so, even though they themselves demonstrate its lack by fearing to stand up for what is right if it threatens their political future.

And there’s nothing like sacrifice for a politician. Not “by” a politician, mind you. They express it by praising the fireman who lost his life attempting to save a baby from a flaming building or the private citizen who drowned as she rescued a couple from a submerged car.

How do they respond when the chips are down?

Consider a major threat to our nation. People are incapacitated every day in huge numbers. Deaths are in the hundreds of thousands. The general populace is asked to make personal sacrifices to assure the best outcome. They are informed there is no short-term solution, and the sacrifices will have to be endured for an unknown number of months.

COVID, right?

No! I’m thinking about World War II. People were told they must offer the lives of their sons, brothers, husbands, fathers. Many volunteered willingly. Huge numbers paid the supreme sacrifice. People had to give up trips because of gasoline rationing, heat because of oil rationing, various foods because of all sorts of rationing. Vacations were cancelled and work hours extended.

And you know what? The vast majority of the people accepted and obeyed because they recognized a duty to do their part for the common good. Over a time period of about four years! And, to their credit, so did most of the politicians.

They loved their country, and their patriotism made them willing to contribute to the war effort. Patriotism was demonstrated both by those who went to war and those left behind.

They had courage. Courage to face the dreaded ringing of the doorbell or the devastating letter from the government. Courage to go to war as young men and face nothing like they had ever experienced before.

They sacrificed their security and their loved ones. They sacrificed comfortable lives.

We have seen all these traits in war after war after war, but no crisis has demanded the cooperation of the entire country as World War II did.

Until now, some 80 years later. For the first time since World War II there is a true national threat requiring help from the entire nation.

And what terrible sacrifices are we being asked to endure?

Wear a mask.

Socially distance.

Wash hands.

Do this for maybe 6 to 8 more months.

Doesn’t seem too great a demand to me, not even close to the requests of that awful war.

But a huge percentage of our population is unwilling.

And many of our patriotic, courageous, and sacrifice approving politicians encourage the defiance.

Heaven help us if another world war breaks out.

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How Can We Change?

America—the Beautiful!

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Getting the Vaccine

Patriotism—Courage—Sacrifice

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