20) – Social Media Edition

February 8, 2020June 12, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Happy chocolate-covered stuff!

I suppose this is – by default – the Valentine’s Day Edition of Blue Serials this month.

I’ll be honest. This is NOT one of my favorite holidays. It seems contrived and completely driven by guilt, expectations, and consumerism. It also makes it REALLY hard to get into any decent restaurants for several days before and after.

I mean, I’m glad you’re SO IN LOVE, people – but I was wanting an apple pecan salad, dammit!

Since it is the time of the year for celebrating dysfunctional love, however, I will be offering you a few Blue Cereal-approved love songs, each with a tainted twist. Don’t worry, however – there’s still plenty of education and educational news to discuss this week.

Are You Sure That’s How Karma Works?

A high school principal in Camas, Washington, is in hot water for a Facebook post made in response to news of Kobe Bryant’s death:

“Not gonna lie. Seems to me that karma caught up with a rapist today,”

Ouch.

Principal Liza Sejkora of Camas High School (Go Papermakers!) was put on leave and later resigned, despite having deleted the post once she learned how many others had died in the crash.

In response, students at the high school organized a walk-out, which was apparently approved by administration as long as they agreed to stay in the building while leaving. Nothing is more “public school administration” than asking students to go through the motions of socio-political engagement without actually doing it. It’s like letting them cut school as long as they do it in class and keep up with the work assigned that day and don’t disrupt others, or having students work together to develop classroom rules and policies as long as they end up with the same 12 already on the laminated posters from last year.

In the district’s defense, they were partly concerned about the death threats and promises of retaliatory violence against the school due to Sejkora’s comments. The only thing more American in the 21st century than social media outrage is the predictable number of people who want to literally kill you and everyone you know for it – and tell you about it, repeatedly.

But hey – good people on both sides, amiright?

Whatever the school’s safety concerns, it turns out you simply can’t control the moral outrage of small-town white teenagers who are practically Canadian. They left the building anyway and milled around just outside for a bit.

Turns out was pretty cold, which kept indignation to a minimum, but they nevertheless took a few minutes to chant “Kobe! Kobe!” and wave an American flag in order to demonstrate their reflective analysis of the complicated dynamics of the situation and explore the tension between the First Amendment and the realities of public school policies and politics.

It’s a legitimately complicated issue, although the moment the community outrage machine was activated, Doctor Sejkora’s fate was sealed and neither statutes nor reality were of concern any longer. Plus, she should have known better. Setting aside whatever Kobe Bryant did or didn’t do, is it genuinely possible to pay the slightest attention to American politics, entertainment, and industry and still believe that doing horrible things to people – even sexual assault – might hurt your power or prestige?

There’s far more risk of being demonized and losing your job over the faux outrage of a few teenagers and their bored parents. I’ve watched it happen too many times. It’s surprising I haven’t grown cyncial or bitter over it.

Are You Sure That’s How Twitter Works?

Doctor Sejkora isn’t the first educator to find herself in trouble over social media posts. The only truly surprising thing is that teachers still don’t recognize when they’re putting themselves in precarious employment circumstances. And it’s not just the few who are against rape – it covers the political spectrum:

A Fort Worth, Texas, teacher was fired just this past June for multiple Tweets petitioning President Trump for assistance. My personal favorites were “Anything you can do to remove the illegals from Fort Worth would be greatly appreciated,” followed by her home phone and cell numbers. She apparently didn’t understand how Twitter works – what with it being so new and unknown and barely used in 2019 – and believed her tweets were private merely because they were addressed to @realDonaldTrump. “I need protection from recrimination should I report it to the authorities but I do not know where to turn… Texas will not protect whistleblowers. The Mexicans refuse to honor our flag.”

It’s weird that there’s no record of him stepping up to help her. He’s usually so loyal and self-sacrificing for those who throw themselves on the fire to support him.

In Clark’s defense, the President can say whatever he likes on Twitter without repercussions. Then again, he was born rich, white, and male. Georgia Clark is only one of those three – and thus, her actions have consequences. Still, it’s a wonder she doesn’t have her own show on Fox or a post in the President’s cabinet by now. Maybe I’ll tweet them about it and see what they can do…

Are You Sure That’s How Catholicism Works?

It’s not just public schools. A teacher at Bishop England High School was let go – not by being fired, but by simply not having her contract removed – for her passionate defense of a woman’s “right to choose” on social media.It turns out Catholics are traditionally pro-life. Who knew?

She in turn sued the school for violating her First Amendment rights, despite having signed a contract agreeing not to do stuff like that.

Teachers accepting jobs at Bishop England sign contracts agreeing to speak publicly and to act in accordance with Catholic beliefs, regardless of whether they are Catholic, to aid in the “intellectual and spiritual development of students according to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church.”

Oops. And all the times I just clicked “I Agree” so I could move on with my life…

Are You Sure That’s How MySpace Works?

The examples of educators getting in trouble for social media behavior are endless, and it’s not a new issue. Seems to me it was somewhat more understandable a decade ago that many teachers were unclear what they could and couldn’t get away with on social media. As reported in this 2010 article from the National Education Association, the problem goes back as far as – wait for it – MySpace:

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch ran an exposé entitled, “Teachers’ Saucy Web Profiles Risk Jobs.” One 25-year-old female bragged on her MySpace site about being “sexy” and “an aggressive freak in bed.” Another confessed that she recently got drunk, took drugs, went skinny-dipping, and got married.

Come on, who HASN’T done those things and bragged about them publicly? I, for one, am totally a freak in bed, and most of my marriages have resulted from drug-induced skinny-dipping. That doesn’t mean I’m not an excellent model for young people.

As a Blue Cereal public service, here are a few general guidelines to follow, although details may vary depending on your district and the political leanings of your community.

It’s generally frowned upon to suggest you’d like to murder a teenager with a sniper rifle.

Don’t suggest that your gay kids are perverted by a sin that spreads like cancer.

Videos of yourself pole-dancing naked are probably a deal-breaker, but pole-dancing in exercise clothing as part of workout trend is still a gray area.

Also unclear is the status of topless selfies texted to a colleague who later shares them with students. Since this is not a problem if you’re a dude, should it be a problem if you’re a babe?

It’s a DEFINITE no-no to vent publicly that a bunch of 5th graders can suck your ****. (Who knew?)

This one’s for administration and the community. Shocking as it may seem, not every random rumor or scandal involving a teacher is true. Sometimes teenagers and their parents just love cranking up the community outrage machine without having actual facts or caring that much about reality. On the other hand, schools are supposed to prepare young people for real life after high school, and doing this certainly fits that description.

Are You Sure That’s How Russia Works?

It’s not just in the U.S., it seems. A teacher in Russia this past year was forced to resign after pictures surfaced showing her in a swimsuit and an evening gown (although not at the same time). Oddly, the evening gown was the less appropriate of the two, given that she’d just competed in a swimming competition – something they apparently frowned upon in Russia?

Here’s the most interesting bit, however:

After the story made headlines, Russian educators, both female and male, launched a flash mob posting their photos in swimsuits, underwear and sportswear under the hashtag #teachersarehumanstoo, to defy the hardline approach.

Are You Sure That’s How Blue Serials Works?

OK, I confess – we really only covered one recent education news story this week. It ended up leading to a kind of “theme,” if you will. Still, I hope you found it both enlightening and inspiring.

If not, please rant about it using obscenities and such on social media. Don’t worry – you have complete First Amendment protection no matter what your profession or what agreements you’ve signed. I’m sure of it.

If you have education news to share or want to write a Guest Blog Post anytime in the month of February, this is your chance. Just email me at [email protected] and let me know. You COULD win a rare #11FF Lunch Box for sharing the love!

Blue Serials (2/1/20)

January 31, 2020June 12, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

Presidential Resurrection

It’s been a weird 2020 so far in education news. As I’m sure you’ve already heard, President Trump announced that starting now, he’s going to allow students to pray in public schools if they so choose. He’s also going to institute a system whereby religious student organizations can meet on school grounds, as long as schools grant that access equitably to all Christian denominations. He’s calling this policy, “The First Amendment.”

This announcement was met with some bewilderment by the segment of the U.S. population with a basic understanding of government and history, since the President is proudly taking credit for constitutional guidelines which have been more-or-less set in stone since the early 1960s. A few Supreme Court cases have tweaked the details along the way, but at no point in U.S. history have students been forbidden from praying at school.

Nevertheless, students partaking in this year’s “See You At the Pole,” a religious gathering on school grounds which has been occurring annually since the 1990s, will no doubt take a moment to be thankful that they’re now REALLY allowed to pray at the flagpole, as they’ve been doing since the 1990s without interference by local or state authorities. There are also rumors of other organizations sprouting up, perhaps involving students who are already natural leaders in their high schools – maybe some sort of “fellowship” of Christian athletes or whatever. It’s even possible some young people may speak openly of holidays like Christmas or Easter without floggings from their socialist, government-sponsored atheistic teachers who until now have lived only to oppress them for loving Jesus.

Although not addressed specifically in the announcement, students of other faiths will presumably still be expected to quietly take their excused absences on religious holidays and not speak openly of such things. They should stand respectfully and pretend to pray along during student-led school invocations over the intercom at football games, because that’s true religious freedom. Let’s face it – if they didn’t want to pretend to be Christians, they shouldn’t have joined the band or bought a ticket to the game. Don’t come to church if you ain’t gonna pray! (And by “church” we of course mean “public school events.”)

Red Letter Days

All snark aside, those mocking or criticizing the President for once again taking credit for something he had nothing to do with are missing the larger point. Yes, he’s playing on the perpetual fear and insecurity of opulent white evangelicals who essentially run the country socially, politically, and economically, but are nevertheless somehow convinced they are its most persecuted demographic. Yes, he’s taking credit for jurisprudence which has guided church-state policies since before he was faking injuries to avoid military service or founding a political career on his insistence that no black guy could REALLY be American enough to become the President. None of that is new, and thus none of it is news.

What IS news is that THIS President just announced that his administration will be FOLLOWING ESTABLISHED CONSTITUTIONAL LAW in something! Soak in that for a moment. He’s agreeing to follow existing statutes enshrined through longstanding practice.

It’s damn near revolutionary.

Sure, he’s taking credit for them being there in the first place, but who wouldn’t take that trade? Imagine if he were willing to issue similar guidelines regarding, say… the Emoluments Clause? Or the 14^th Amendment? I’d gladly line up to snag one of the 43 souvenir pens used to sign an Executive Order decreeing that all men are henceforth created EQUAL and shall be endowed by their President with certain UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, if that’s what it takes.

And none of it would have been possible if Donald Trump hadn’t single-handedly defeated the British at Yorktown (WITHOUT the help of those stinky French). It’s why he wrote and starred in the original, superior version of Hamilton – the one with an all-white cast and all the best songs. (Who can forget Burr celebrating his murder of Hamilton with the showstopping “Good People on Both Sides”? Doubt me if you wish, but DT has the original Broadway programs with his face on the cover hanging all over his golf course clubhouses to prove it. #fakenews #snowflake #althistory)

More Flies With Honey

The President isn’t the only one breaking old ground recently. A report in the Journal of Educational Psychology offers a stunning revelation:

Students have better focus in class if teachers praise them for being good rather than scolding them for being bad, according to a new study.

Apparently researchers spent three years monitoring over 2,500 little people in 20 different schools in order to arrive at this breakthrough. One can only hope that in another decade or two they’ll discover that students focus better if they’ve had breakfast and that teachers are more effective if they know stuff about their content area and have taken a methods class or two.

Then again, perhaps instead of criticizing these researchers, I should find something about their work to praise and hope it improves their performance…

Always In Motion Is The Future

Someone receiving lots of positive reinforcement recently is Wolf Cukier (a name I couldn’t make up if I tried), a 17-year old high school student who recently did some interning with NASA. Also, he discovered a new planet on his third day there.

“I was looking through the data for everything the volunteers had flagged as an eclipsing binary, a system where two stars circle around each other and from our view eclipse each other every orbit,” Cukier said… “I saw a signal from a system called TOI 1338. At first I thought it was a stellar eclipse, but the timing was wrong.”

Well, yeah – any fool could see that. The only logical explanation for the, um… TIMING issue, was that a planet was causing, you know… the STUFF they were seeing on their THINGS.

And it wasn’t just ANY planet…

NASA’s planet hunter satellite TESS had discovered an exoplanet orbiting two stars instead of one… The announcement of the circumbinary planet prompted comparisons with Luke Skywalker’s home world of Tatooine in the “Star Wars” movie series, with its bewitching double sunsets.

The problem here is obvious. If we’re finding Star Wars planets but setting up a Star Trek-themed “Space Force,” how will the two ever interact? You can’t send Captain Picard to destroy the Death Star – it would violate the Prime Directive. If we insist on maintaining this paradox, we should at least strive for internal extra-terrestrial consistency. Instead of modeling the new Space Force logo after the Federation of Planets, whose entire belief system is antithetical to the deepest convictions of our current ruling class (meaning they’d explode if they came in contact), it should echo something more faithful to actual 21^st century American values:

(If this means nothing to you, ask a friendly nerd.)

In any case, there’s no word yet on whether or not Wolf Cukier will be leaving his studies to pursue his dreams of becoming a Jedi.

The Icing on the Cake

Wolf and any other students receiving enough positive reinforcement to see them through to graduation should be careful about how they celebrate. Cakes using Latin apparently don’t have the same executive protection as students carrying Bibles.

A grocery store in South Carolina censored a graduation cake which was supposed to say, “Congrats Jacob! Summa Cum Laude Class of 2018.” The mother tried to explain that in Latin, the phrase means “with highest distinction,” but the good folks at the grocery store bakery were having none of it. They may have overlooked “cum”-related shenanigans by Quiet Riot and the Cars in the 80s, but fool me THRICE? Shame on you!

Clearly there are still battles to be fought in the ongoing War on Etymology.

A Reason For Setting My Sites…

That’s it for this week. “Share the Love!” Month has officially begun! Let me know what news, blog posts, or other edu-information you think should be shared with the rest of the Eleven Faithful Followers next week. Email your links or posts to BCE@BlueCerealEducation and win an #11FF Lunch Box!

Things You Can Do

January 3, 2018June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

It’s easy to feel completely and totally whipped by events beyond our immediate control these days. I’ve had to walk away from social media and all forms of legit news – local, national, or foreign – for days at a time, just to find the energy to function and do the stuff “real life” needs me to do. I hate having to choose between being engaged and being happy – part of why things go to hell in the first place is because too many people aren’t paying real attention.

But it’s a new year, and while there’s no particular magic to a man-made calendar and an arguably arbitrary changing of the numerals, it IS a good time to reevaluate and reboot. It’s a GREAT time to try to make small but significant changes in how you approach the world.

Obviously I’d love to make some sort of major difference – so would many of you. And if that chance comes, then take it. Jump. Speak. Risk. Be a hero, a voice, a thorn in someone’s propaganda. What’s the worse that’s likely to happen? Maybe you’ll look a bit melodramatic or paranoid when things play out OK. I can live with that. Maybe there will be consequences, mockery, or even very real backlash. If you’re doing what’s right, I believe that’s a good thing – however much it will no doubt suck in real time.

But while we’re straining to remain vigilant and preparing for the possibility of such moments, I thought it might be useful to have an open discussion about some things most of us could do in the meantime. Stuff to fight the decay, and to proclaim some better “American” values. Heck, some of them may even be spiritual values as well.

I triple-dog dare you to do at least one of these as soon as you finish reading this post, and to add one or two a month until sainthood is achieved and all of our problems are solved. Feel free to add your own suggestions at the end – they may be better than mine.

(1) Subscribe to a newspaper. Anything legit will do. Local papers have many benefits, but there are plenty of online publications you’re reading anyway every time someone links to a story on Twitter or Facebook. Pick one or two and give them your $10/month to read them for real. If we say we value truth and investigatory journalism and the free press, then value it.

(2) Support local artists. Go see a play at the community theatre. Buy tickets to some dance performance that sounds interesting but may or may not make any sense to you. Visit your local museums, and if they don’t charge admission, drop some money in that donation box near the entrance. Go have a beer and cheer for some local band – especially if they’re playing a few originals along with “Jesse’s Girl” for the zillionth time. Art matters. It’s not all miraculous, and it’s not all progressive, but by its nature art seeks truth and explores humanity. If you want to fight our descent into fascism, support the arts in whatever flavor most appeals to you.

(3) Be nice to someone scary and/or dirty. Obviously I’m not asking you to put yourself in physical danger or to give money to someone you suspect is simply scamming folks just trying to make a left turn. But it doesn’t have to be money or taking them for coffee (although the latter has very real potential) – start by making eye contact. Talk to them, even if it’s just to say “hello” or “good morning.” Find some excuse to be pleasant to folks behind you in line or standing at the same counter (bonus points if they’re a different color or obviously from a different socio-economic realm). Let someone have that parking place or go ahead of you to order lunch. Compliment their shoes or earrings. It’s cliched but true – that stuff makes us feel better.

(4) Volunteer once a month somewhere. My druthers lean towards the ACLU or CAIR, but you don’t have to go that direction if that’s not you. Food banks always need help, as does Habitat for Humanity. If you’re not sure where to start, ask your employer, or find the local United Way, or religious institution of your choice. It’s OK if you want to go with someone you trust a bit more than the rest – but do SOMETHING. A few hours matter, and it might just grow on you.

(5a) Read novels. Fiction tends to promote empathy – not as a plot point, but simply by its nature. Reading of any kind expands our horizons and broadens our base of knowledge. It makes us think differently than we might otherwise, and it takes our brain out of the grind and into a higher place for a while. Even if it’s only for a few minutes a day, we’re not quite the same when we return. Take one of those gift cards you got for Christmas or dig out that old library card you hardly ever use and pick something. If you don’t like it, you have my full permission to set it aside after a few chapters and try something else. No guilt – this is READING.

(5b) Read history. There’s so much accessible, well-written history available. It doesn’t have to be anything overtly tied to current events – pick something or someone in whom you have passing interest and see what B&N, Amazon, or your local library thinks might make a good place to start learning more. Nor does it have to be deep and complicated. If you don’t read much history, start with something light – but legit. Pretend it’s for your teenager if you’re worried about looking foolish. But you won’t.

(6) Get involved in local political campaigns – especially during primaries. Don’t wait until the big national elections. Volunteer to make calls, to knock on doors, to talk to the public. I know it often ends up feeling futile, but we can give up or we can try. So we try.

(7) Pay attention to your loved ones. It’s easy in frustrating times to take our nearest and dearest for granted, whether they agree with us or not. Make sure you’re listening to your spouse, spending time with your kids (and not just watching the news with them), making plans with your friends. Stay connected to real people in your real world. Value them, and love them even if they don’t always make it easy. They’re why reality matters – don’t let it alienate you from them.

(8) Insist on the good things. Listen to music that gives you strength or makes you happy. Binge on that same dumb show on Netflix. Have desert (unless that plunges you into guilt and same instead). Notice when people are smart or funny or do nice things. Point it out to yourself when things work out the way you wish they would. This isn’t about being optimistic, and certainly not about bathing yourself in self-delusion – it’s about building monuments to the “wonderful life” moments. It’s about not letting others’ distortions and destruction steal your joy quite so easily.

(9) When you DO engage in social or political discussions, whether in person or online, avoid either marinating in your outrage or escalating when you know better. Don’t fight crazy with crazy, or hate with hate, and for the love of all that is holy, don’t fight shoddy attention to facts and reality by being shoddier. If your emotions begin to swell, it’s usually a safe bet you should walk away before (or instead of) responding.

Consider responding ONCE to dissent or challenge, on the off chance an actual dialogue may be established. Maybe they have a point. Maybe you’re missing some dynamic in the situation. Maybe you can reach someone else with your ideas or values. But if that’s clearly not what’s happening after one reply, let it go. No need to even tell them why; there are few things so deafening as the silence of cyberspace when you think you’re really sticking it to someone and they simply lose interest and disappear.

And finally…

(10) Meditate, or Pray, or Reflect. Set aside a few minutes each day and clear your mind. Talk yourself through things calmly. Recite the basics you know to be true. List things for which you’re thankful. Sort through what you can and can’t control. If you believe in God, then turn it over – on purpose, whether you feel it or not. If you don’t, do it anyway. Breathe, and lower that blood pressure. We need you, healthy and centered and clear-headed and strong. Take care of yourself, seriously. If you don’t know where to begin, ask someone who does.

Who knows? We might just turn this mess around. Even if we don’t, though, we can go down gloriously. That probably means some kicking and screaming, but it also means refusing to let THEM set the tone. It means insisting on DOING everything we can do to make things better, and righter, and truer, even if we eventually lose.

I believe in you. Let’s get to it.

It’s Not About Them (It’s About Us)

February 22, 2017June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal ~ 2 Comments

The class after lunch is always a colorful time. Students have just had a rowdy half-hour of the most freedom they’ll experience during the school day, and most are loaded up on sugar, caffeine, and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

It’s in that hour that I have Dalton, a fascinating young man who’s often dressed more professionally than I am and who I adore. I assume he’s somewhere on “the spectrum” – a little Asperger’s and a dash of OCD, maybe? Whatever, it’s all good – he’s genuinely warm and friendly, despite an ongoing, irresistible itch to provoke. It keeps the day interesting.

Also in that hour is Tiandra, a theatrical young lady who will likely change the world, but who in the meantime occasionally falls prey to melodrama and emotional exhaustion. Her random outbursts in the name of social justice are technically dead-on, but her timing and presentation lack… refinement. She and her circle periodically break into explosive laughter over things no one else understands. But the joy – who can resent that?

Both of these young people are antagonists in their own ways – hence my particular affection for each. And they drive one another crazy in the most volatile ways. What starts with muttered comments or provocative grunts easily escalates into locked eyes across the room. Emotions escalate and volume rises. It can get ugly if I don’t find some way to redirect or quash it – Every. Flipping. Time.

The conversations I’ve had with them individually in an effort to avoid actual disciplinary action (which I prefer to reserve for overt defiance or repeated, intentional disruption) are built on the same non-negotiable premise: your choices – your behavior – is not about them. It’s about you. We are not gracious or patient because someone else deserves it; we strive to walk with character and style because of who we want to be. Because of our values.

It’s not about them; it’s about us.

I don’t hold the door for someone because I sense they’re a good person with pithy wit and underutilized intelligence. I do it because it’s the decent thing to do, and I want to emulate that decency as often as reasonably possible. You’re not polite to your in-laws because they’ve always tried to understand your point of view or support your career choices; you do it because that’s the right way to be, and the type of character you want to model for your spawn.

I worry we’ve lost sight of this in larger society. In politics and policies, certainly, but even in our underlying ideals and values. I worry we’re letting go of something fundamental to who we claim to be as a people.

Several years ago, Oklahoma officials botched an execution and put Clayton Lockett through 45 minutes of excruciating pain before his heart stopped. While there have been some calls to improve the system (turns out asking Siri about various chemicals halfway through the thrashing and suffering isn’t universally accepted protocol), others were quick to point out that Lockett was a very bad man who probably deserved to suffer. Some students wondered aloud why we cared how he died if he’d done horrible things to other people, and far too many adults suggested that death by lethal injection was “too good” for his sort.

But it’s not about Lockett and what he did or didn’t deserve. Vengeance isn’t the basis for the system of laws we claim to value so highly. The Eighth Amendment doesn’t ban cruel and unusual punishment solely to protect the convicted; it makes a statement about who the rest of us want to be. About what we value. About what we’re willing to endure to hold ourselves to a higher standard than most cultures or nations throughout history.

It’s not about them; it’s about us.

When Terence Crutcher was killed by police last year, there was heated debate over whether he was behaving in a threatening manner, or potentially reaching through a closed window to retrieve a weapon. Valid debates to have, I suppose.

But a larger discussion, unfortunately, developed over what kind of person he was. A student, a father, a common-law husband? Or a drug addict? A “bad dude”? Another drain on society?

It shouldn’t matter for purposes of due process what someone’s grades are, or whether or not they pay their child support on time. Our legal rights aren’t about merely making sure good people are protected from bad power – they’re about what we want power to mean in the first place, and how we want it to be used. It’s about being a nation of laws and not men.

It’s not about them; it’s about us.

The Trump Administration is currently trying to iron out specifics for how to best round up undocumented immigrants who’ve supposedly committed crimes beyond being in the country to begin with. Despite this President’s early track record, this is not necessarily a completely insane or transparently evil policy to consider. The Obama Administration was surprisingly energetic about deportations themselves, albeit with less white-supremacy-flavored rhetoric and a better track record of knowing what a “Bill of Rights” is and thinking maybe it matters in some situations. But the idea is at least defensible, even if I don’t like it personally.

Like all things Trump, news of this impending round-up has prompted rhetorical outrage from all sides. Some are understandably worried about “ICE Raids” in their neighborhoods while others question the logistics of deporting tens of thousands of people based on a sliding scale of unclear factors. Many are concerned about what this looks and feels like in practice. I get it.

The rhetoric which concerns me most, however, involves variations of “but they don’t deserve such and such protections,” or “we don’t have to protect these or those rights because these people aren’t citizens.”

Technically there may be some truth to this. The legalities of undocumentation (if that’s not a word, it should be) are often blurry. And it may not make sense to grant full legal protections to folks who aren’t citizens – who on paper aren’t even supposed to be here. Maybe.

But our national birth certificate argues that “all men are created equal” and that “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Even Oklahomans can cite what follows – “that among them are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” According to our Declaration of Independence, it’s in order to secure these rights that government even exists.

These rights which are unalienable – which cannot be justly denied or separated from the individual, even by their own choice.

These rights given by the Creator to ALL men. All of them.

Not just citizens – that wasn’t a thing yet. America didn’t have its own government or constitution when these words were written. Our Founders insisted on the undeniable reality of God-given rights for ALL.

That claim is followed by a list of complaints against the King of England, most of them based on the premise that unlike themselves, he did NOT believe all men were entitled to the same natural rights. He believed, as had his progenitors for many centuries and across many borders, that some people were by design born into superior positions and power and that things ran much more smoothly if we simply accepted this and kept it that way.

The policies the American colonies found so offensive were built on assumptions that some people deserved a voice in how they were treated, while others – well, we can’t make everyone happy. Besides, we’re doing enough for you as it is!

I’m not going to argue immigration policy, despite my belief that we’d be far better off with more open borders than less. I’m not suggesting that every last member of the human race can comfortably move to Oklahoma and we’ll somehow accommodate them. I realize there are realities to consider, and that laws are laws, and that sometimes we have to do unpleasant things for the larger good.

I’m not making my usual case about holding police accountable for the choices they make, despite deeply appreciating what they do to keep us safe.

I’m not even going after the death penalty, loathsome though I find it. I accept as general principle that sometimes we have to do unpleasant things to maintain a society in which most people can remain free and do good.

But while we wrestle with such complications, let’s keep in mind that how we choose to approach this or that situation shouldn’t be about which people are good people or hard workers or drug addicts or criminals or educated or orphans – not primarily.

It’s about what kind of people we want to be. Who we claim to be. What we actually believe. We can have borders without basing them predominantly on fear, and we can have restrictions without shaping and applying them via stereotypes and accusations. We can incarcerate or punish without dividing the world into “us” and “them.” We can make hard choices without becoming hard people.

At least that’s what our Founders believed was possible… IF we’re willing to maintain certain values and limits no matter how emotional or unpleasant the circumstances. IF we’re able to seek what’s better instead of simply hating and fearing what might be worse. IF we insist that our ideals take precedence over our comfort, our biases, or at times even our safety.

Doing otherwise hurts all the wrong people. That’s messed up, but it’s not the primary reason we should do better.

We need to do better because it’s not about them; it’s about us.

Or have I mentioned that already?

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Waiting To Follow The Worms

March 2, 2016June 4, 2023 ~ Blue Cereal

There’ve been some interesting political rallies so far this year…

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I came of age listening to Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.” I even saw that weirdo movie version with Bob Geldof – the guy who would later put together Band-Aid and Live-Aid, and who we can safely blame for every musical cause célèbre since.

Neither the album nor the film were flawless, but I find them nonetheless poignant for what they tried to say, and to do. No one can accuse Pink or Geldof of lacking ambition, or shooting too low.

That’s the thing about taking big risks when something’s on your mind – you can’t really know in advance how it’s going to go. There’s a fine line between clever and… awkward.

I’ve always admired the marchers and other protesters of the Civil Rights movement. Most of us do, I guess – it’s pretty much U.S. History canon. Calmly pressing forward, singing songs of faith; riding those buses, knowing the mobs were waiting; or sitting patiently at the counter while angry white folks taunted and abused them.

They carried such dignity and confidence, at least in retrospect.

I’m no expert on the Arab Spring, but who doesn’t love seeing oppressive regimes overthrown by the humble masses? Democracy didn’t exactly triumph everywhere, but Egypt seems… stable. Syria? Not so much.

The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia. The Prague Spring. Various Vietnam War protests in the U.S. – especially those involving flowers in rifle barrels. And of course, more recently, #BlackLivesMatter.

It was this last series of demonstrations which started me wondering seriously for the first time whether I’m personally capable of something so audacious, should circumstances require.

I’m not sure.

I’d like to say yes. I want to be that person. Not a leader, not a spokes-anything, but an ally adding my tired old demographic to the mix.

I worry I’d do something foolish – say the wrong thing, bungle a moment. I’d never want to be an embarrassment to such a powerful movement. I also don’t like looking or feeling stupid, so there’s that.

To date, however, I haven’t been in a position to consciously make that choice. I just keep going to work, writing my little blog, tweeting my little tweets, and hoping in a few years I’ll feel kinda silly for overreacting to the events of the day.

But what if I were in that sort of situation? Would I even know for sure? At what point do you lock arms, set faces, and say “enough”?

I mean, Trump won’t really be elected President, will he? That’s crazy… but then, so was the suggestion he’d be taken seriously even as a candidate for more than a few weeks.

Even if he is elected, it’s not like the President can just start issuing Executive Orders to circumvent the Legislative Branch, or appeal directly to the people to do horrible things in the name of the very ideals they’re subverting… can he?

I’m being unreasonable, surely. My usual cynical, impulsive self – just darker?

The problem, even setting aside Trump the individual, is that his tactics are working. He isn’t the first to build his power on ignorance and venom; he certainly won’t be the last – especially now. Tyrannical and childish is officially a winning strategy.

‘Merica!

Congress isn’t exactly known for being a bastion of reasoned legislative prudence, or a force for equity and calm. I take little comfort in the percentage of reactionary bastards who can barely see past the next electoral cycle or the likelihood they’ll “check and balance” anything meaningfully.

It’s even worse at the state level. Where national office-holders tend to be narcissistic and exploitative, many local folks genuinely believe themselves. Even when they don’t, they can see what’s working for those who do – and Christian charity towards all God’s children ain’t it.

Even if Trump falls short, he’s broken new modern ground in old-fashioned scapegoating, fear-mongering, and demonizing by demographic. Facts don’t matter, American ideals don’t matter, and $#@% the Bill of Rights.

And we love it and want more. If Trump doesn’t make it, the next guy just goes harder and higher, and does. Until…?

I’m being ridiculous, right?

I’m told that more often than I’d care to admit – that I may have a point about this or that, but I take it too far. The hyperbole becomes absurdity.

This is one of those times, I hope?

Otherwise, what happens when we start rounding up Muslims, or Gays, or Mexicans, or Reporters? I’m in Oklahoma – the only thing likely to stop us from leading that charge is our proximity to Texas and how happy they’ll be to take point on this one.

What do I do then?

See, when the unthinkable occurs – in 1930s Germany, in 1960s Alabama, in 1980s Beijing – everyone has to make a choice. If you’re not waving your little flag at the tank, you might as well be driving it.

Silence is not neutrality. Inaction supports the oppressor, and plays for Team Power Structure. You’re in the dugout; at least be honest enough to wear the logo on your cap.

That’s what sucks about teaching history – you can’t escape certain enduring realities.

You can’t sit by while people in your party, who go to your church, and who speak on your behalf for a living, are categorizing or isolating real live human beings under a thin guise of good intentions and claim you didn’t know or it wasn’t you.

You can’t simply remind those of us losing our $#@% that the silent majority “isn’t like that” and negate culpability. The ‘majority’ part is cancelled out by the ‘silent’ part. It’s like having on imaginary clothes – it doesn’t really matter how nice they are, because no one else can see them.

OK, wait – this is crazy talk, right? An embarrassment to myself and the blog to even be thinking this way? Maybe this is one of those “type-it-and-get-it-out-of-my-system-but-OMG-don’t-post-it” moments?

I mean, I’m supposed to be building a brand here. There could be merchandise down the road. A self-published treatise on edu-truth. It’s nearly time to unveil the new logo – and I’ve ordered clever magnets!

I should stick to vouchers or learning styles or arguing with Alfie Kohn – that stuff’s great for my analytics. A wild rant about irrational parents or some crazy legi wanting to kill AP History? Those were good times.

I almost wish Barresi were back; she made it TOO easy.

I’m afraid I won’t know when it’s time. That I’ll feel stupid showing up carrying a sign, or chanting, or… something.

Oh god, I hate chants. I really do. Especially anything involving “2, 4, 6, 8…” or forced wordplay. I don’t think I could chant for the best cause in the world.

I’m afraid because I’m pretty sure I’ll say the wrong says and choose the wrong chooses and end up looking like those maroons on the news. You can edit blog posts for hours before posting – days, if necessary – but real life isn’t so gracious.

I’m not particularly afraid of being attacked, or arrested, or mocked – although history tells me it becomes much harder to be suave and collected once the bad things are actually happening. So, yeah – I’ll probably embarrass myself.

That’s no excuse not to try, of course. Lock those arms. Set those faces. (For the record, I’m still going for ‘suave and collected’ if I can manage it. But if not…)

What I can’t bear is the idea of going down in history as a small, anonymous part of a generation that let it happen again. Who stood by, distracted and willfully dazed, as the evil things occurred around and through us.

What I can’t bear is some kid a half-century from now raising his virtual hand during Self-Directed Multi-Studies and asking his robo-teacher if people back now ever really believed our own lofty ideals – noble words enshrined on such fragile parchment.

Why didn’t they do something? Say something? Protect someone? Refuse that command? Deny power easy access?

Why didn’t they keep their eyes open, no matter how uncomfortable?

Did they not know back then what happens when you give power to our darkest, most ill-informed urges? Was their comfort so valuable and their safety so precious that they just tried to pretend it was all OK… again?

I’m overreacting, right?

I hope so. Otherwise I’ll eventually try something reckless, and badly timed – and not at all suave. I wish I could do it as well as the folks in history books. But I’ll make my sign, and ready my personal affairs, and spit truth at power as they haul my fat @$$ away.

How can I live with myself otherwise? How can you?

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