What shall I say on this my 125th post? My posting frequency has declined as one
might suspect of an 86 year old woman.
My passion has not. Now as ever I
love this nation, I love our civil liberties, I view democracy as so much more
important than commerce, fellow humans more important than corporations, and
public schools as the bastion of this democracy. Ah yes, I am an endangered species: an Anglo
Texas female liberal. I rage against the
forces that would undue our rights for the sake of profit or their own personal
belief systems, and I rant against the forces that would attack public
education because those forces resent taxes and hate the notion of educating
all kids. I shall not stop that raging
and those rants. I do not believe I am
crazy, though that may be the major attribute of crazy people.
And yet I grow weary of our failure to learn:
Election to office does not endow humans with omnipotence or expertise,
and yet we allow elected non-experts to continue to craft public education
policy influenced by billionaire experimenters and wealthy testing companies
when those legislators have absolutely no business doing so. Would they write the specs for asphalt or
cement for Texas highways? No, and yet
they do so for public education, a much more sophisticated and complicated and
important realm than highways. (It is
interesting to me that the specifications for a highway are outlined in a
document published in 2004, have not changed since and was written by experts
in the field. Education specs, on the
other hand, are amended every time the Legislature meets!) A highway flaw is
patchable, children not so much.
The same is true of amassing a fortune.
Because a person is worth a billion dollars does not make that person
worthy of writing policy in areas where they have no expertise. Knowledge, wisdom and understanding are not
income-based in a way that more money in the bank automatically increases
expertise.
Civil liberties remain the most important distinction of this democracy
and other governments. There is
absolutely nothing unusual on planet earth today or in all of human history for
the ruling group and/or the majority to force its beliefs and will on the
citizens. The conflict in the mid-east
is grounded in belief systems where religious fundamentalists insist that their
belief system become the law of the land, and worse, that anyone who does not
subscribe to their beliefs is pagan and punishable. We approach that same scenario here with
clear adoption of Christian beliefs supported by our government. It is now ok to pray to a Christian God prior
to public meetings of elected officials.
It is ok to discriminate against homosexuals and the same time it is heresy
to say anything discriminatory about a racial group. I do not get it. We should have the right to believe what we
choose to believe. We should not have
the right to act on those beliefs if they harm others. The government should never imply one belief
system is supported while others are not.
You may be a bigot. You may not
discriminate. You may be anti-gay. You may not discriminate. Period.
When will we recognize that if everyone in this country who was
eligible registered to vote and actually voted our nation would be led entirely
by Democratic rather than Republican officials?
Hence the Republican effort to make voting and registering so much more
difficult.
When will we recognize that if you earn less than $400,000 or so
Republican policies hurt you?
When will we recognize that every time Republicans have controlled the
federal elected branches and acted in ways to deregulate industry we have
headed for terrible recessions as the top 1% prosper more and more?
When we will recognize that when we allow corporations and wealthy
individuals to donate money to elections without limit we are allowing our
government to rule us via a philosophy of wealth generation and protection, not
philosophy of all men are created equal?
The rich have already won economically and seek to win even more by
controlling our government.
It appears we will not learn. Hence
I feel it is my calling as a retired educator to continue to seek to teach.
I shall continue to post, to vote, to contribute to political campaigns
that seek to implement the kind of government our forefathers dreamed about,
not the kinds of governments they fled.
I grow weary. My flesh is weak
though my spirit is strong. I shall take
a nap and engage again in another instructional episode. I shall maintain my passion, I shall maintain
my anger and my frustration, I shall post, but I shall not become violent. I shall post and not go postal.
