Dovetail

Last week I introduced an idea that to help heal our partisan politics, we need strong and courageous leaders who will vote based on their conscious rather than on party lines. I thought then, this is a pie in the sky, non-reality based idea. This is never going to happen! Then along came Jared Golden, a Democrat Representative from Maine, who voted against the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan regarding Covid relief. He joined a second Congresswoman in dissent but the bill passed anyway along party lines as expected. If you’re interested in his reasons it’s easy to find online. I’m not going into the details except to say it dealt with spending over reach.

My point here is to emphasize that there are brave politicians out there but not many.

I was interested in learning why politicians are afraid to speak against the party line. I knew it decreased their chance of re-election but how did it get that way?  Why is it my way or the highway? How did we get to the point where we are reluctant to bring up politics in a civil conversation? Why are people so quick to react instead of listening?

I found that the beginnings of the extreme type of partisanship we experience today started in the 1970s as a result of Vietnam and Watergate. Prior to this era, politicians made deals behind closed doors. Votes were held in closed committee meetings. The public saw the final results. After the debacle of the Johnson and Nixon eras, huge reform movements made the political workings transparent. Voting was made public record. TVs were placed in the House and Senate so the public could see the actions of their elected politicians. The public would not re-elect the politicians who were courageous enough to cross the aisle. People became polarized by party lines due to reform. Little did we know then what the politics of our nation would become. Listening to another view is not desirable. People only want to listen to those who agree with them. It’s called bias confirmation and it makes people feel they are right and any other viewpoint is wrong. So, we are in a mess right now.

Let’s talk Americans!

There is some debate and negotiating in Congress going on right now concerning the American Rescue Plan and to quote Martha Stewart, that’s a “good thing”.

Remember JFK’s famous quote in his inauguration address? “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country?” As citizens we need to heed this warning before it’s too late.  In “What’s Your Tribe?”  I referred to some accommodations that society needs to make in order to mend this tribal division in politics as our country seems headed to more violence.

I realize this may sound totally unrealistic and, if possible at all, a time consuming task. However I believe that if we can make just one person aware of tribal tendencies, we can change one person at a time. For years I’ve felt like this is a calling and I know what I would like to do. But I’ve not been able to figure out how. This particular scholar/author, Reuben E Brigety II, really spoke to what I’d been thinking. In addition, he presents true evidence as to how important it is.

He believes that there are answers to the issue and they start with leadership. In nations affected by this tribal problem, political “tribal” leaders worked together for the good of their country and not for their tribal agenda. President Nelson Mandela and FW de Klerk, a party member responsible for apartheid, worked together to end it. We need brave leaders like this. Leaders who will stand up for the good of the country and not just party lines. George W Bush and Barak Obama have both called for this as well but not during their presidency. Leaders in power have to have the courage to do it.

As citizens we must demand this from our leaders. Brigety says “elected leaders show the courage to bridge partisan divides.”  This starts in our communities, counties, states, and federal governments. Let’s put our candidates and our current leaders to the test about this. We’ve got to start somewhere.  

More discussions on the road to repairing this divide are forthcoming.

February is Black History month. It is a time for learning. If you can learn more about even one individual, you’d be doing yourself a favor. When George Floyd was murdered this past year, I saw it as a “modern day lynching”. It made me want to know more about systemic racism. I read and learned a lot. I opened my head and heart to a concept I was previously quick to refute. I saw pushback by many of my fellow white Americans, they rallied behind the concept of All Lives Matter. I wrote this about it back then:

If you believe that All Lives Matter then you believe that Black Lives Matter. It’s Logic 101, an if-then statement. If you don’t believe that Black Lives Matter then you really don’t believe that All Lives Matter. It’s that simple. I think that as white Americans we confuse and refute this single concept of Black Lives Matter with many other complexities of race and society. But if you keep it simple it may change your heart. Listen to the individual stories of black Americans. In my humble understanding, that is what our fellow humans that are black want from those of us who are white. That is what I have learned this week. This time was different for me.

“Gold is the money of kings, silver is the money of gentlemen, barter is the money of peasants, and debt is the money of slaves.”

I was looking at the price of silver as it’s price is soaring right now when I saw this quote. It made me stop and think. I’m pretty much a “slave” and feeding the coffers of “kings” and “gentlemen”. Well, that makes me sad. It’s not a lot difference from the Feudal system or share cropping. It’s just that the commodity is different. Disturbing.

President Biden signed some executive orders this week regarding several topics. 2 of those regarded promoting equity for all races and sexual orientation.  There are subtle differences between equity and equality. When I was teaching there was some conflict between teachers regarding this difference. As a group there was a fund provided by the school board to cover health insurance premiums. It was divided equally among the teachers but not given to them directly.  Instead it was used to pay the group health insurance premium for the teachers. These premiums were different amounts depending on each teachers circumstance. There were single, couple, and family premiums. Some teachers did not have health insurance through the school because their spouse had insurance which covered them.  So, in order to be equitable and fair, any money left over from the fund was applied equitably to the teachers that had higher premiums. Our thinking as a teacher’s union was that our teaching staff deserved to have the peace of mind in knowing they could afford to cover their family with health insurance.  We operated this way for years. The two schools I taught in did the same thing.

Then, a single teacher with influence with the school board decided that she wanted it to be equal. She was covered by her husband’s insurance so she wanted her share in dollars and not to be shared with others. So, the contract was negotiated in a very difficult process and changed.  No longer could other teachers rely on the help covering their family insurance. I think this was the wrong move but it just takes one or two people to cause a change.

The security of knowing your family’s health insurance premium is protected is equitable. The even splitting of the money between all teachers was equality. Our mantra as a teachers union was “Fair is not always equal.”  Another example is housing, our house is not big and grand but we have sufficient housing. In no way is it equal to a large 15 room mansion down the street. But it is equitable.

So don’t be looking for equality in these Presidential orders and their implementation but look for equity, fairness, and impartiality. If we all understand the difference maybe we can all get along.

I watched Dr Birx’ interview on Face the Nation Sunday morning. I watched it twice, watched the 90 minute full interview on CBSN. Then I read the transcript. I was shocked. It was very insightful as to the workings of the Trump Whitehouse. You will have to watch or read it and draw your own conclusion.

Dr. Birx’ hard work was silenced by the right and vilified by the left. All she wanted was to help the citizens of the United States in staying healthy and saving lives. Her extensive, great, and hard work in producing meaningful data was interpreted wrongly to be political by many people and discarded by others.

She cautioned that when civil servants are wrongly interpreted as having political motive, it will absolutely remove talented candidates from those jobs.

I am angered by her treatment and the additional threats to her family and mocking by SNL. She’s kept prolific notes, reflections, and reports. I’m hoping she will write a book about her experience.

As individuals we must stop this labeling behavior. More than polarizing it’s dangerous to our country.

I woke up today to a meme looking at the back of a fat yellow haired pale skinned man plunked naked on the beach at Mar-A-Lago Florida. It was so offensive to the eye. I did call out the person who posted it, who I do not know. I said that we need to take the high road as an example.

Remember the adage from a few years back? It said “ Mean people suck.” I still believe it. Let’s all mind our manners and call out the mean and offensive.

Have you seen the Geico commercials where young people are taking hand’s on lessons so they don’t turn into their parents?  They are quite clever and funny commercials.  In one of them the students are in a store with their mentor when a blue haired kid walks by and the mentor is cautioning. “Don’t say it.  Don’t say it.  We all see it. “

And so it begins. I watched the Inauguration yesterday. It was a sight to behold. The pomp and circumstance, the oath taking, new leaders, the entertainment, the poetry, the ex Presidents and their First Ladies. Very touching to watch. Then this morning as soon as I got out of bed I heard that there was some uproar about Garth Brooks’ attire. I didn’t even notice his clothing but some people did. For Pete’s sake, can we stop this critical mindset? He’s expressing his culture and that’s diversity too. Choices in clothing, hair color and styles, tattoos, jewelry, are personal expressions. What right do we have to judge? We do have the right to dress as we wish. It’s America and that’s what we do.

The next time you critically notice something, do you know what to do? “Don’t say it. Don’t say it. We all see it.”