Coming across "The Awkward Truth of 'Make America Great Again'" was like a mini-epiphany. What exactly are these presidential campaigns referring to when they want to "go back"? As a history teacher, I am more than familiar with the myth that our history is not as tidy and simple as we (or textbook companies) kid ourselves to believe.
For whomever preaches about how good the past was, they are ignoring how bad it was for something else. It would be easy to take a jab here at white American men, but that's unfair as that segment is as divided now as ever. Benefits come with a cost - even if some say white American women "benefitted" from staying at home expecting men to be the breadwinners, it "cost" those same women the benefits of pursing a professional passion, ability to travel, or shape the very political climate that surrounded them.
The harsh fact is that American culture NEVER matched "Father Knows Best" or Reaganism. We have never been a socialist utopia either. All along the game has been winners and losers and forgotten marginalists. So whatever campaign slogans arise, they are simply that: slogans, not a way of life. And whatever candidate finally makes it to the White House will [hopefully] quickly learn that give and take with everyone is how anything is accomplished because each term will create winners and losers.
A truly successful term will lessen the forgotten marginalists and not forget our history.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Nostalgia of What?
Saturday, November 19, 2011
It May Hurt But It's The Truth
Roland Martin is defending President Obama because he used the word "lazy" in context of discussing American work and employees. I have no problem because it is the truth even if it is politically incorrect.
For the past 35 years or so, we have been accepting the 800 lb pink elephant in the room because no one wanted to move his fat butt. So if we now find ourselves disgusted with his foul smell, unfortunate waste, and rude stares from others, it's clearly our fault.
Stop promoting unlearned students, stop hiring/keeping people that aren't good at their jobs, stop giving bonuses to executives simply because their employees are good, and stop with the political correctness - use our English language to be perfectly clear!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Finally
Finally someone offers concrete solutions to failing education. It's time for real solutions not political fighting.
Leia Mais…
Saturday, August 6, 2011
American Politics As Usual
The media has spent the last few weeks cringing over the U.S. debt debate and now it seems to be a case of overreacting; it is not a worst-case scenario and (surprise!) other countries have their own issues to worry about, like say Norway and Sudan, with those pesky home terrorists and civil war and all. But Americans are playing politics as usual, thinking everyone....well, cares.
CNN is reporting that world reaction is mixed, because American debt has not been totally downgraded to "junk" status like Greece but simply down to AA. The dollar is still the world currency reserve (although China is complaining about this). But the overarching theme is that EVERYBODY blames American political fighting as usual for the escalation of the debt problem.
For all the enlightenment and democracy, we Americans only have two sides: "right" and "wrong" and we are increasingly unable to see anything in between as this is somehow caving in and selling out our ideals. Maybe it's time to take an objective look at our behavior; perhaps we'll see this childish anti-compromising Congressional process as the rest of the world does.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Cycle of Absurdity
How far would you go to get health care? Would you be willing to rob a bank? This man did just so and only for $1. He rationalized that being unarmed for so little an amount would be enough to put him in jail for 3 years - long enough for him to reach Social Security/Medicare eligibility. He says that after losing his job of 17 years and savings, he could not find gainful employment as his health deteriorated. I can't say that I blame him.
Despite numerous laws, age discrimination is still a widely-known secret in the US. Although I'm apt to blame uncaring HR practices, perhaps the real blame here is the unchecked abuse of the legal system. Everyone and their mother brings a lawsuit at the drop of a dime now (hell, it's a recession - there's no dimes dropping anywhere....pennies!) the consequences are definitely a ripple effect: paperwork backs up, legal professionals extort hourly fees, ridiculous claims are made, laws become more and more complicated, health care costs soar, insurance costs soar, then the only way out is through a loophole.
This time the loophole should be a glaring spotlight on the inadequacies of American systems. We demand punishment for crimes and spend billions of dollars on a system to do so. We expect to have access to the best medical professionals and equipment in the world and spend billions of dollars to do so. We demand that no one gets a "free ride" and spend billions of dollars to legislate blocks to do so. We pride ourselves on treating all people humanely and to help those in need, regardless of citizenship, because we're better than "other countries" and spend billions of dollars to do so.
But what happens when punishment is more important than meeting basic needs? What happens when making access to health care harder is more important than sharing cases that could help advance the medical profession? What happens when stopping a "free ride" is more important than charity?
That's when you find a loophole. Maybe we should take a cue from this man to demonstrate the true absurdity that we created. Maybe if we are all criminals, we all won't mind paying taxes to punish ourselves while humanely treating ourselves to health care.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
What Are We Working Towards?
Today people have shared with me some educational things that have got me going. The first is an article that makes the argument comparing the way the US reacts to military failures versus educational failures. In sum, if the military fails, we don't blame the soldiers, we blame the administration and call for more support, tools, different strategy, etc while educational failures are blamed on "bad teachers". God forbid we ever blame the parents...oh *gasps* the students!
The second is from the creators of South Park about carrot sticks, which ties in nicely with a CNN article about graduating with a [useless] degree and realizing there is no place for you in today's economy except probably your parents' house.
It's a good day for reading,folks!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
We Are Not Alone
No, this is not an entry about aliens but something much scarier: our virtual identities.
Most people under 25 don't much care about such a pesky thing; those 25-33 are wary but have jumped on the bandwagon; those older than that are still figuring out Twitter and Facebook. But nearly all people on the planet have at least 1 email address, social network account, and random snipets of identity easily googled at any moment. Increasingly, these things are meshing together.
A CNN article today claims that Google Buzz will catch on, mostly because the networking platform is already solidly established. Buzz essentially allows Google email users to blend status and postings elements similar to Facebook, Twitter and messaging. It already has a cross agreement with AIM and our favorite, Blogger! Add these types of self-posting forms with expanding online public records and you've got a hot mess of data zipping around.
This leads one to consider what the ramifications might be. How can one possibly keep secrets for business strategy, security, or personal gain? Will trail evidence need to be expanded (especially if one "confesses" online)? Will the concept of lying be eliminated? Will we eventually have one online identity that records every minutia? Will our social circles meld with our professional ones?
If these things happen I hedge a bet that getting a job will be much harder...as well as a date (who wants to date a neo-nazi with a Kabbala interest?). We should all remember what our mama taught us and be on our best behavior...
You never know who's watching....(cue scary music)
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