Category Archives: Random

Uncomfortable

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We’ve had a lot of protests in the U.S. lately.  A few have erupted into violence with tragic consequences.  Many more have been peaceful gatherings over critical issues like healthcare, women’s rights and equality, to name a few.  And now peaceful protest has broken out on the sidelines of NFL games.  After so many demonstrations, some folks (not the protesters!) are saying they’re exhausted by all the protests.  It’s all making them very uncomfortable – particularly this one.

Protests are supposed to make you uncomfortable – no matter which side of the disputed issue you support.  That is the point.  The peaceful protests against segregation in the 60’s made a lot of people very uncomfortable.  They also precipitated at least part of the change sought.  Likewise, the college sit-ins during the Vietnam war upset many – not just the parents of the protesters.  Again, they had a significant effect on the path out of that war.  And let’s not forget the very recent protests regarding pending legislation to break the Affordable Care Act.  This time, it took 3 rounds of demonstrations to drive the point home to senators.  It worked – for now.  In each case, the venues were chosen to maximize discomfort for those who need to see the other side of the story.  Demonstrating for LGBTQ rights in a gay bar won’t change a lot of hearts and minds.  The sideline of a Sunday NFL game, on the other hand, is a perfect choice to bring attention to systemic oppression of African-Americans.

The NFL protests are facing additional headwinds.  First, the teams are corporations.  Companies have broad latitude on workplace rules and many do not allow protests of any form.  But the antebellum optics of 16 white owners shutting down protests by black players (who make up 75% of their workforce) are cringe-worthy.  The other new twist is Dear Leader’s hijacking of the protest, saying it is disrespecting THE FLAG.  Now uncomfortable people can just say “flag” so they can avoid saying “black.”

But the issue is black lives, not red, white, and blue.  Frankly, taking a knee seems very respectful of both anthem and flag.  It is beautiful in its simplicity:  we love this country, but systemic oppression must be addressed.  The players thought about sitting during the anthem, but decided that taking a knee was more respectful to the flag, the song, and the military.

The problem for the league is that the people who should be most uncomfortable are burning their NFL merchandise.  It’s there every Sunday and they are “exhausted” by opening kickoff.  They can turn off the Charlottesville protests.  But this is more complicated.  It requires fast-forwarding past the pre-game stuff straight to the kickoff.  Now the NFL has to hold a fire sale  on those commercial slots, and is running scared about their advertisers and viewership.  So they’re going to vote on a corporate rule to ban this activity.  Craven?  A little.  Greedy?  A lot.

Uncomfortable yet?

Of the People

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I’ve heard some disturbing survey results regarding democracy lately.  A bunch of poll statistics were released from something sounding official and unbiased that indicated support for democracy is declining in the U.S.  The figures for young people were even more disappointing. I was saddened and dismayed.  We literally wrote the book on democratic government, and now we think maybe it’s not worth the trouble.

This shouldn’t be a surprise.  We only need look at voter turnout.  It was somewhere around 58% in 2016, a presidential year.  In 2014, when we totally repopulated the House and a third of the Senate, it was at 36%.  Other countries – not just the “developed” ones, have turnouts in the 80% – 90% range.  One person, one vote is the basis of any democracy.  We are the people who fund our government and are bound by its dictates.  This is our one and only chance to shape it as we, the people, see fit.  We are failing.  Voter restrictions are real, and have a dramatic outcome on elections. Our indifference, however has profound results as well.

Abraham Lincoln said we seek a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”  Today, we grouse about how badly Washington is at the “for the people” part, yet we ignore the “of…” and “by…” bits.  The word democracy has its root in the Greek word “demos” – the people.  It implies that we need to be involved in some way.  When people who can, don’t vote, they are shirking a primary responsibility of citizens.

I’m not a fan of the “if you don’t vote, you can’t complain” argument.  We’re all going to complain.  It is our nature.  But if you don’t vote, you’ve let us all down.  You have withheld your best from us:  your opinions, your views on issues, and your hard spots.  We are all worse as a result.  This goes double for those small-time local elections that nobody cares about.  In reality, these are the choices that touch us all most closely.  These people decide which neighborhoods get sewers when, which streets will get plowed in winter, and what our kids are taught in school.  These are also the farm teams for the big players:  state and federal representatives.  While you may think your vote is worthless in the national races because you live in a staunchly red/blue state, you still have a huge impact on who makes decisions in your city or school district.

Our responsibility as citizens of a democratic republic doesn’t end there.  An uninformed vote is not worthless.  It is often harmful, succumbing to the candidate with the best sound bites and the most press.  It reduces choices to a game of barroom darts at closing time.  If we can take the time to know who has the most rushing yards in the NFL, or who’s screwing whom in Real Housewives, we can find the time to understand where the candidates stand on things that mean the most to each of us every day.  In less time than it takes google a Thai restaurant that delivers, we could understand of how that school board nominee will vote on what our eighth grader will learn.

Democracy requires work, but it’s not heavy lifting.  The task is to make a good choice, nothing more.  It requires some education away from what mainstream media will feed us.  There are a lot of sources out there that span the political spectrum.  We should even read a few that pose views far from our own.  These are human voices.  We’re all better off if we at least listen.  Listening is not condoning.

“…of the people, by the people…” We need to hold up our end of the deal, folks.  If we fail to make good choices – or any choices at all – we will lose the ability to ever do so again.  Those who take over will legislate it out of existence, to be supplanted by decree, corruption and repression.  Democracy is very threatening to despots. They will swoop in, given the chance.  Even in the USA.  Sorry folks, we have no special immunity.

Remembrance

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My daughter, Bonnie, went on a field trip to Washington DC when she was in middle school some years ago.  Part of the visit was to the Holocaust Museum which had recently opened.  She was so moved by what she saw that she composed a song, “Warsaw Polonaise,” shortly after returning, in memory of the people and the horrors they endured.  Years later, my wife and I went on a trip through Eastern Europe.  I remember that I was in the midst of a somewhat significant career setback.  Probably a routine thing these days, but it was a big depressing deal for me.

Then we visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.  I knew from the moment I walked through the gate that my problems were nothing.  Less than nothing.  A mere pothole on the road of life.  This was where evil flourished.  From the motto on the gate:  “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work will set you free) to the “showers” and the ovens, I knew that this kind of terror should be swept away forever.  Tragically, it has not.  It recurs in ethnic cleansing, tyranny and civil wars.  It rejuvenates because evil is pernicious.  It grows because it’s always someone else’s problem.  It thrives because good people allow it to.

This video unites my daughter’s and my remembrances of this place and time.  I finished it about 10 years ago and put it aside.  It’s tough to watch once, but going over it hundreds of times in the editing process proved unbearable, so I had to let it go until now.  My apologies if it is difficult to watch, but evil is ugly and terror is ghastly yet we live side by side with them every day.

Life, Love, and Christmas Dinner

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I remember the first big holiday meal we cooked in our own house for guests.  Linda and I suddenly felt like real adults.  Sure, having kids forces you to grow up fast.  But we were quite amazed that we could get a roast, mashed potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding on the table at the same time without burning down the house or poisoning anyone.

I love to cook.  Mincing rosemary and fussing over a roast is my meditation. Kitchen tag-teaming with my wife and daughter is a bonding experience.  The guttural sounds of guests too busy chewing to talk is our acclamation.  While we clean up as we go, the mess piles inexorably behind.  A greasy cutting board and crystal caked with eggnog trail in my wake.  But, it’s done.  Five hours of cooking reduced to bones in 15 minutes.  Life is good.

Now,  I’ve cleared the blast radius.  Others are performing triage on the mashed potato stickies and fine china.  I’m outta there. This escape used to make me feel guilty.  Then my son moved in temporarily with his fiancée to pause between houses.  Tonight he has inherited these uglies.  He’s very good at cleaning.  Mandy has trained him well.   Now, I can see the true circle of life coming to fruition before my eyes.  Then:  we cleaned up, picked up, and propped up.  Now:  they are cleaning up and picking up.  They were remarkable propping up my 91-year old mother-in-law.

Soon, Sean and Mandy will do one of these in their new house.  I know that the world today has forced them to grow up faster than we did.  But I wonder if they’ll experience that same grown-up feeling when it all hits the table.

I suppose I’ll be doing the dishes that night.