Enjoying Mother Nature

 Those of you who follow my blog may have the assumption that I spend my time indoors, reading, researching, and drawing.  While those pastimes are accurate, I also extend my curiosity to nature.  Even while typing this blog, I am regularly looking out the window, catching sight of birds and squirls and broken tree limbs from the strong winds this spring.  However, I do not spend all of my nature- watching through the windows.  This week's blog will share some of my recent nature experiences.

Snake skin from eyes & nose to tip of tail

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, Bull Snakes are welcome in our yard.  My husband had alerted me to the possibility of a bull snake around our volunteer onion patch, but I wasn't really paying much attention as I pulled weeds around the patch...until a snake glided out of the patch about 6 inches from my hand and gracefully slipped into the hole I had not noticed.  Despite my friendly feelings for bull snakes, my heart was pounding as I quickly pulled my hand away from his hole, watching him gracefully slip inside.  A day or two later, my husband called to me to see what he had discovered.  Mr. Snake had left a beautiful snakeskin for us, intact from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail, about 6 feet in length.  I had found snake skins before, but none so long and perfectly intact.  Notice especially the eye shields in the nose of the skin.

What is this plant?

Earlier in the spring, when I was cleaning out the iris bed, I found a weed that I did not recognize, waving high about the iris.  I estimated it to be about 4 feet tall or slightly more, and the seed pod at the top resembled a dandelion on super steroids.  I decided to wait for it to open before pulling it up, curious to see what it would look like, but hoping to catch it before unwanted seeds scattered.  I was lucky, and not a single seed escaped, and I carefully cut off the stim and carried it to the house before returning to pull up the plant's roots.  I have enjoyed the display of delicate seeds for several weeks, but I have not been able to identify what it is.  Do you know?

My husband tolerates my protective sharing of the farm with a variety of creatures, but he isn't pleased when birds choose porches for their nests instead of trees.  However, since the upstairs porch off my office is rarely seen by anyone but me, he ignores the seasonal mess of mud nests on the light fixture.  It isn't easy to build a mud nest on a smooth brass fixture, but once again a determined couple returned to accept the challenge.  The eggs hatched, the parents kept busy feeding the greedy babies, and now they have departed.  I took this picture of a food delivery, just the parent's tail visible. For me, watching that annual family cycle is worth the mess I will need to clean up later, when the babies "fly the nest"!

  

After years of city life -- which I also loved, --  I am happy to be back on the farm, where Mother Nature provides the constant entertainment!

What is Propaganda?

There are all kinds of Posters, and a poster inspired this blog.  No, not the Women's Suffrage Meeting poster from 1894, nor Movie posters or Art Reproduction posters that may have come to mind, nor the W.W. I posters many collectors seek.  The poster that inspired this blog came from worldpress.com/' titled The Nine Fundamental Principles of Propaganda, warning, "Propaganda is the backdoor hack into your mind."  

We are living in a time when we are bombarded by misleading information.  I have blogged before about using fact checking sources to attempt to avoid being misled.  I have blogged about the change in news casters, no longer adhering to the standards of Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow, by 'reporting' more like commentators rather than following a strict adherence to news. I posted a blog about the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, and the failed attempt in 2007 to reinstate it.     In fact, if you scroll through my blogs you may find other examples of ways we are misled.

 Obviously, I find it very important that we have access to information that is the truth, whether it is truthfulness about medicine, news events, health supplements, politics, or many other things.  I have also blogged about the tendency to stretch the truth, whether just to make a better story, to avoid embarrassment, or to intentionally mislead.  The sad fact is that doing business on a handshake or believing everything you hear or read is no longer wise.  That is why I thought it was worth it to share the Principles of Propaganda posted by Word Press.  What follows are the Propaganda Techniques to guard against.  These are the 9 tricks to watch out for!

1.  BIG LIE - Always choose the big lie over the small; the masses will believe it more readily.

2.  FOCUS - Use only one or at most two selling points.

3.  REPEAT - Use them over and over until even your enemies know them by heart.

4.  BLAME - Never waver, acknowledge no doubt; always blame, never credit the other side.  Debase, defame, dehumanize.

5.  PROVOKE - First attract attention, then appeal to emotions.  

6.  CRISIS - Shades of gray don't work:  Issues must be life/death, good/evil, freedom/slavery, love/hate.

7.  EMOTHINAL SYMBOLS - Good slogans have no literal meaning, only a strong emotional appeal.

8.  PANDER - Ignore intellectuals and reasonable arguments; target the unthinking masses with powerful emotional pitches.

9.  NO LIMITS - Ignore all moral limits whenever you deem it useful.

Now that you have this list of propaganda techniques, it might be fun to pick a program and see how many of these techniques you can identify.  If your family is watching television together, perhaps you can turn it into a game, to see who can be the first one to identify a propaganda technique, and which technique was used.  

 With this explanation of the techniques used to mislead us, we are better prepared to avoid falling for those tricks!

    

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Memories of Growing up

 On May 22, 2024, I posted a blog titled Making Childhood Memories.  In that blog I wrote about the fun I had, admitting that some of my adventures may have been a little dangerous.  My brother was older than I was, and the year I entered 1st grade, he entered High School.  Growing up on the farm, we did not rely on finding entertainment by going somewhere.  We played games as a family--pitching horseshoes, playing croquet, setting up a volleyball net, and in the winter playing cards and board games, and clamping a home-made ping-pong table onto our dinner table in the dining room for serious matches.  The ping-pong table took up most of the room, but we squeezed our way around it much of the winter.  We almost always won when we played guests, because my father had made the ping-pong table out of a single sheet of plywood, and it was just a little short of regulation length.  Visitors accustomed to playing on a regulation table would often over- shoot the length of the homemade table.  When we retired to the farm decades later, the old horseshoes pictured above were still at the base of a tree, waiting for us to pitch a game of horseshoes!   

Despite our age differences, my brother and I found ways to play games together.  One of those games involved my going up on the roof of our 2-story house while my brother would see if he could kick a football over the house.  My challenge was to knock it down, if I could.  I believe my parents decided that game was a little too dangerous and put a stop to it.

In the "Making Childhood Memories" blog, I described our fun on a sack swing, but at the time I posted the blog, I could not find a photograph.  Recently, I found one, so now I can better explain that sack swing.  This is what I wrote in the earlier blog:  "I grabbed an old rope thrown up to me by my older brother and leaped out into space to wrap my legs around an old gunny sack with a little straw inside to soar through the air, never worrying about whether the strength of an old cottonwood tree limb could hold me."  Here is a better description of what our sack swing was really like.  There I am, bare foot, of course.  You can see the sagging gunny sack with a little straw inside, and the knotted rope to which I held onto for the ride.  However, what I need to describe is in the upper left corner of the picture.  Look closely, and you can see the wheels and the corner of the bed of the truck.  On the truck bed was the wooden picnic table, and on the table was an empty barrel of some kind.  Farms always had barrels around.  On top of that barrel was a smaller barrel, which I climbed upon.  Then my brother had to throw the sack swing up to me.  That was the hardest part--reaching out to catch the rope without tipping over the barrel.  Then, I got a good grip on the knot of the rope, launched myself out in space while trying to get my legs around the straw-filled gunny sack, and enjoying the thrill of the ride.  The second hardest thing I remember about the game was how difficult it was for me to throw the sack all the way up to my brother, waiting on top of the truck bead, picnic table, and barrels, so far above me, when it was his turn to ride. 

My childhood was a time to learn--what I could do and what I could not.  It was a time to develop imagination balanced with common sense.  It was a time when the family came together, to do chores and to play.  It was a time when reading fueled my imagination and my knowledge.  It was a time when I could see how hard my parents worked, helping me to accept my own responsibilities--to make my bed, to set the table and wash dishes and learn how to cook, to accept responsibilities, to share, and to learn that the world did not revolve around me.  I understand that our world has changed since then, but perhaps we need to find ways to give kids more of the learning opportunities I once had...even without a sack swing!  

Remembering Summer Holidays

Remembering the reasons for Memorial Day & the 4th of July

Many of my childhood memories relate to Memorial Day and the 4th of July, but as a child I thought more about family dinners at the farm after we decorated family graves at the cemetery, and fireworks with my parents' friends, the Curtis family on the 4th of July, alternating which family hosted the celebration each year.  I am sure that my husband's time in the Air Force made me more aware of the reasons for those two holidays, but Law School certainly gave me a deeper respect for those that we honor and celebrate on those two summer holidays.  Our Constitution gradually became more and more important to me, motivating the books I have published and deepening my respect for those who wrote the Constitution and those who have preserved it.

I confess, I am one of those nerdy people that watches televised hearings and trials, and I may pay more attention to what is going on in Washington and state houses across the nation than most people do.  Currently, more seems to be happening than usual.  However, I am not only interested in current events, but also in history, from which we can learn a lot.  

Having just researched our revered Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, the 4th Chief Justice on the Supreme Court, I recalled one of his statements:  "What are the maxima of Democracy?  A strict observance of justice and public faith, and a steady adherence to virtue."  One of the things Marshall found so important in deciding cases, especially cases of great importance, was to arrive at a decision with a strong majority of the court in agreement.    A split of the justices' decisions leaves people less likely to accept the court's decision.  

When the American Constitution was drafted, it required the acceptance by the states.  A series of 85 essays by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay were published, initially printed on broadsheets to be distributed to help citizens better understand the constitution the Founding Fathers had written.  Today it can be found in book form, and many historians consider the essays as the third most important political document of our history, just behind the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

These documents have guided us for generations and have made us admired by other nations.  That is what I celebrate on the 4th of July.  The parades and fireworks are great, but if you happen to have a copy of the Constitution, you might consider reading it.  It really is what makes America remarkable, and perhaps right now all of us need to be reminded of how that old Constitution has protected and how it has kept us strong for so many years, not by changing it so much as by respecting those who protected and defended it.  

The Girl Who Stole John Marshall's Heart

 Having shared the story of John Marshall's life, it seems appropriate to share the story of the girl who stole his heart.  The Ambler Family of Virginia was well known and prosperous.  The girl's grandfather had collected taxes for the King, before the War of Independence, as did her father and his brothers for a time prior to the revolution.  Her own father was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom received excellent educations, the older two having attended Cambridge in England, and her father having graduated from William & Mary in Williamsburg.  He was a patriot during the revolution and served on Virginia's Council of State in 1780 and as Treasurer of Virginia from 1782 to his death in 1798.

In comparison, John Marshall's education was largely acquired by his own love for reading English literature, poetry, and history, although he did attend one year at the Westmoreland Country Academy with future president James Monroe.  He gained notice fighting in the American War of Independence, shivering in Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78 and fighting battles in Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.  Following his military duty, he began legal studies at the College of William and Mary, gaining further notice.  

During the same time, Polly was barely a teenager, acquiring the education suitable for a girl of her class, learning basic writing, reading, arithmetic, and religious principles, preparing to be a mother and wife capable of managing the household her husband provided, which in Virginia included managing the enslaved men and women who did the labor to keep her home clean and running smoothly.  She had been only 10 when the Declaration of Independence was signed.  

Despite the age difference of slightly more than 10 years, John Marshall was introduced to Polly Ambler, and as he recalled, "I saw her first the week she attained the age of fourteen & was greatly pleased with her.  Girls then came into company much earlier than at present."

Mary Ambler "Polly" Marshall

Between the time of their first meeting, they would probably have seen one another at social occasions, and finally John could wait no longer.  He proposed.  The family story was told that Polly was so flustered by the proposal that she said "no."  Her cousin intervened, explaining to John that Polly had been so surprised and happy that she had blurted out the opposite of what she meant to say.  They were married on January 3, 1783.  

Perhaps John gave his heart to Polly that night they were first introduced when she was only 14, and she was just 16 when they married, but his love and devotion never waned.  When she sent her cousin to tell John that she did want to be his wife, she had included a lock of her hair to deliver to him.  Later, she entwined a lock of John's hair with hers and tucked the two in a locket that she always wore. 

Despite their love for each other, Polly's life with John was difficult.  Their first child was born in 1784, their second child was born in 1787, followed by two miscarriages and then two infant deaths, with a third child in 1795.  Women's health care during that time was beyond inadequate, and records indicate 40 percent of children would not live to see their 5th birthday.  Childbirth was painful, and the risk of puerperal fever, which appeared mysteriously after deliveries and often led to quick death, was a fearful possibility--until in the 1880s they finally realized that unclean doctors' hands and instruments were the source of the deaths.  Modesty and morality in Victorian America contributed to apprehension in both patients and doctors.  Ultimately, six of Polly's children would survive.

John was a loving husband, but his law practice and his time serving in the Virginia state legislature took him away from home.  In 1797 when he was sent as President Adams's envoy to France, Polly worried wrongly that her husband was having a dalliance with a French woman.  As his responsibilities in government grew, her poor health worsened.  Her life diminished to traveling to seek cures for her various physical ailments and making family visits.  Even those things ended as she spent more and more time in bed, but for John she remained his "Dearest Polly."

She died in 1831 at the age of 65, the cause of death being certified as "Old Age."  Family history describes her deathbed gift to John of the locket she had worn throughout their marriage, containing the twisted strands of hair exchanged at the time of their engagement.  As she wished, he is said to have worn the locket until his own death in 1835.  

     

A Patriot Sometimes Overlooked

 Most of us remember the Presidents that have led this nation, but sometimes we overlook the importance of other patriots.  John Marshall is one who should not be forgotten, his integrity and importance to the nation particularly important to remember today.

He was the oldest of 15 children, and although his formal childhood education was very limited, he loved books and taught himself by reading.  Both he and his father fought in the American War of Independence.  He saw battle and endured the suffering at Valley Forge in the cruel winter of 1777-78.  After the war, he studied law, gained a reputation as a lawyer, served in the Virginia state legislature, was chosen as President Adams's envoy to France, served in Adams's Cabinet as Secretary of State, (having turned down other positions offered to him along the way), and ultimately was nominated by Adams to serve as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  This summary of his life prior to becoming Chief Justice is incomplete, but offers some idea of his achievements, but his love and devotion to his wife cannot be overlooked.  She was an invalid much of their marriage, although she did give birth to 10 children, 6 of whom lived to adulthood.

There were 3 Supreme Court Justices before him, but little structuring of the Court had been accomplished prior to Marshall's arrival on the bench.  It is indescribably fortunate for America that Marshall was chosen at such a critical time to gradually shape the Supreme Court.

While much of our American law was derived from English law, it was Marshall who led the way to distinguish the differences and to flesh out the unwritten distinctions under our Constitution.  Ignoring the British principle that "the King can do no wrong," Marshall did not hesitate to determine that under our Constitution a President can be impeached and removed from office on conviction of his crimes and misdemeanors.  

Many of the cases that came before the Supreme Court had no precedent to guide them.  Other Chief Justices might have introduced their political bias into the Court's decisions.  However, through Marshall's leadership, the Court avoided political bias. Quoting author Harlow Giles Unger, "The Court and its decisions remained as centrists as Marshall himself--at one and the same time liberal and conservative in the literal sense of both words. They protected and preserved individual liberties that did not infringe on the liberties of others or cross the line between liberty and license."

When John Marshall died, John Quincy Adams wrote in his diary:  "He was one of the most eminent men this country has ever produced. ...Marshall, by the ascendency of his genius, by the amenity of his deportment and by the imperturbable command of his temper, has given a permanent and systematic character to the decisions of the Court, and settled many great constitutional questions favorably to the continuance of the Union."

The importance of the early Supreme Court has always been recognized, but of great significance was not only the Constitution itself but also the leadership of Marshall who guided the Associate Justices who served with him.  The broad unity of the court strengthened the respect for the rulings they made, resulting in acceptance by not only the Senate and the House, but also across state leadership, resulting in wide acceptance among the public. 

John Marshall's Supreme Court ruled America's legal landscape for 35 years.  Yet, shortly before his death, he shared his concern about whether or not the Constitution could last.  He worried that "The case of the South seems to be desperate."  His concern was validated when South Carolina's State Militia fired on Fort Sumter.  The brutal Civil War tested the nation, but the Constitution held.  

Yet, even today, we must not take for granted it's invincibility.  Like John Marshall, we must respect the challenge of preserving the union.

Where is Education Going?

Grades 1 & 2, 1950

There were concerns about education prior to Covid, but being out of the classroom worsened those concerns.  However, educators have chosen to use the opportunity as a way to look closely at how new ideas might improve education.  The question is, where do we go from here?  This third blog will share some of the changes in education that are being tried.

A Survey by the Pew Research Center during November of 2023 found that 51% of U.S. adults believed that public K-12 education is going in the wrong direction.  Only 16% thought it was going in the right direction, and 32% were not sure.

Criticisms from the public included primarily 4 areas:  1. Schools not spending enough time on core academic subjects, like reading, math, science, and social studies; 2. Teachers bringing things outside of traditional education into the classroom; 3.  Schools not having funding and resources they need; and 4. Parents having too much influence in decisions about what schools are teaching.

There has been increasing concern about declining scores in reading and math for some time, and that is certainly being addressed in many states.  Attention is also being paid to aligning pathways with real-world workforce needs.  Fortunately, that has renewed emphasis on improving high-quality Reading & Math instruction.  Schools are also considering 3rd Grade Retention for those students who are  struggling, holding them back to provide particular attention so that they can master those needed skills before passing them forward.  Without mastering the basic skills, those students simply fall further behind and never catch up.

Many states are trying to determine the correct use of smart phones, not only baring cell phones during instruction time in the classroom but also putting more responsibility on cellphone companies to require parental permission for kids under age 18 to have cellphones.  Surveys have shown that 70% of parents support both state and national regulations requiring parental consent for young people to access social media platforms, and 61% endorse rules that would make students store their cell phones in lockers while at school.   Most parents are concerned about the negative effect of cellphones on their kids mental health, only 12% having no concerns.

Other ideas for improving education for grades 1-12 include expanding school choice in a wide variety of possible ways.  Tax dollars have long been spent on Public Schools, and although I had no children, I never resented being taxed for public schools.  I want educated people as my doctors, plumbers, police, clerks, farmers, and all occupations.  My husband and I have also supported scholarships for students needing assistance.  I recognize the value of training public school teachers and paying them a competitive wage.  Wealthy families may have had more options for schools 1-12 and college, so it is important to be sure ordinary families can have public schools, community colleges, and affordable 4-year colleges to receive quality educations; however, public school funding should not be diluted by supporting private schools.

There are also new efforts to create pathways for career and technical education programs, including career scholarship accounts for high school students, work-based learning courses, apprenticeships, and other opportunities.  Those pathways would not necessarily bind them to particular careers, but rather give them an opportunity to learn a skill that would give them the revenue to work and save for college later or attend night school while having income from their craft.  That seems more generally productive and fair that simply paying off university student debt.

In order to gain a strong workforce of well-trained teachers to fill current teacher shortages, states are creating incentives to keep the best teachers in the classroom, and ways to encourage new teachers to choose that career.  Some states are creating on the job training programs and mentorships and reviewing their teacher licensing programs.  States are not ignoring the impact of AI and are instead studying ways to effectively utilize it.  

That little girl sitting in the back row third from the left in the picture at the top of this blog had no idea what the world would be in 2024.  Now, decades later, she is trying her best to keep up, but the world of the future is no longer hers.  However, she plans to be around long enough to hope that today's generation is doing a good job of keeping up.  The older generation is depending on their ability to follow Albert Einstein's advice, that is, not just to have obtained an education, but rather to have used their educations to train their minds to think.  

I hope this 3-part series about education has offered some new ideas, as well as emphasizing the importance of education in a rapidly changing world.

Training the Mind to Think

  

Schools have come a long way, but where do we go from here?

   Continuing the reflection on Albert Einstein's quote, "The value of a college education is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think," I will share some of what educators learned from the effects of Covid home schooling, but I will begin with what students shared about what and how they are being taught.

Unfortunately, sometimes students reported that they were being taught from out dated books, while others complained about the conditions of their schools.  However, they also complained about a pattern of work, stress, and unnecessary work.  As one student described it, outdated books, unending homework, and the challenge of balancing school life, social life, and family life, concluding with the need to lessen the load on students.  I remember that I was busy in high school, doing assignments, having certain responsibilities at home, and having a social life, but I don't really recall feeling, as that student described, having an unreasonable load "dumped" on me.  Is it really that different today?

Another student admitted that she and her classmates had smaller vocabularies, less facts and figures in their heads, less ability in math--relying on "sneaking out the phone" for the answers.  She recognized the reliance and admitted that technology had impacted her socially and psychologically.  She described not only herself but her friends as wanting everything-- and wanting it immediately.  Sadly, she also felt that real experiences had become less gratifying because they had already experienced life "through a screen."  A different student proposed that instead of studying textbooks there should be more interactive videos, websites, and games to keep kids interested.  However, other students acknowledged that the ease of finding answers online had limited their learning. 

Some students complained about having to learn things they will never use, being required to memorize information that will have no application in real life.  As one teacher said, kids are of the opinion that they know better than their teachers what they should learn.

The perspective of teachers is that there is a widening gap between honor students and everyone else, with little or no middle ground.  Even in preschool, teachers are finding undisciplined kids that curse, spit, and kick, and too often reaching out to parents to help curb misbehavior is of no help.

Older students rely on internet assistance, but teachers find that even then they ignore correction hints, failing to correct spelling, punctuation, and spacing.  One teacher admitted that she and her husband had decided to withhold technology from their son until middle school so that he could learn more independence in managing his time and learning.

Beyond the work students present, teachers have noticed discourteous behavior, such as dropping things on the floor rather than putting them in the trash, and when disciplined about such behavior, they reply that janitors are responsible to clean up.  As for doing their own assignments, many simply fail to complete their work.  Teachers complain that administrators disapprove of failing incomplete work, making it even harder to get students it do adequate work.  As for better students, teachers find that they often expect an A+ for every assignment, dissatisfied with a B, expecting a reward for doing the assignment without consideration of the quality of their work.

So, where do we go from here in education.  A summery in next week's blog will bring some hope from new ideas being tried.
 

  

A Former Teacher's Concern

1907 School Teachers

 The Value of a college education is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think.

Albert Einstein

Recently, we attended our grandnieces high school graduation preparty.  We are so proud of them.  We are also enjoying hearing from friends about their grandchildren's graduations, and younger friends sharing the dilemma for their kids of selecting the college they want to attend.  The quote by Einstein, as well as the interest in young kids we know, caused me to take a fresh look at education.

Fresh out of college, I taught grade school in a small Kansas town, followed by teaching high school English in cities in New York state and Massachusetts.  My public-school teaching ended when I graduated from Law School, but I have retained an interest in education.  I am aware of the difficulties of remote teaching during covid, and I was curious to update information about the recovery in education that has followed.

There is no question that Covid impacted education, nor that it continues to require new thinking about meeting the challenges of a different world.  However, we should not forget that criticism existed prior to Covid.  In 2015, Education Week posted criticisms:  Parents not involved enough, classroom too crowded to provide individual attention to students, use of technology leading students to expect entertainment, and fewer than 40% having mastered reading and math.  For some students, the article described a "School-to-Prison Pipeline for students lacking an adequate education.

Although teachers expressed the likelihood that top students would be able to go on to college and do well, they described some students as being lost. Explanations included declining to hold kids back even if they were unable to meet minimal standards, and requiring State Test Standards that force teachers to go forward despite the need to help students go back and fill in the gaps in their knowledge before going forward with new learning.  In addition, teachers found some parents too lax in accountability, and perhaps surprisingly, cell phones in classrooms were not always about interruption from other student's calls but also interruptions from parents calling. 

My research found many reasons for poor learning.  In cities, one of the complaints is overcrowding.  Teachers have so many students that providing individual help is nearly impossible.  This is not only frustrating to teachers but also discouraging for students who need help and feel helpless about the lack of opportunity to find it.

Many students are unlikely to seek help, and unless there are ways to push them to their full potential, they will only fall further behind.  Unfortunately, not all families are able or willing to help, not only because they lack the time or the skills, but also because some do not see the importance of their responsibility to be a part of their children's education, declining to enforce discipline at home or even making excuses for their children's lack of effort at school.

The effort to avoid making children feel inadequate by giving every child a trophy may have been well intentioned, but the result created a false sense of success.  Just as passing kids along when they have not learned enough to build to the next level leaves them even more likely to continue failing.  These problems existed even before Covid, but the lack of classroom teaching during all those months certainly made things worse for most students.

Next week's blog will explore whether lessons were learned and changes were made to education because of Covid.

 f.n.   The tallest woman in the back row is my great aunt, Anna Marie Beck, teacher, three times elected County Superintendent, and employed in the Education Department in Topeka (State Capital).

 

Making Childhood Memories

 Richard Louv prefaced his book, Last Child in the Woods, with a quote from a 4th grader.  "I like to play indoors better 'cause that's where all the electrical outlets are."  The subtitle of Louv's book is "Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder." In farming communities and smaller towns, it may be easier to make sure that children spend time outdoors.  Pratt, Kansas seems to be a good example of a community that provides a variety of places to encourage kids to get outside--from a natural park to playgrounds to a wonderful ballpark.  Yet, the balance between the need to protect kids adequately while also encouraging the freedom to explore and take risks that build both courage and good judgement seems to be increasingly difficult.

It was a photograph from 1900 of children playing on playground equipment that inspired this blog.  Can you imagine the community uproar such a dangerous place to play would bring today!  The school superintendent would be fired, the school board would be sued, and parents would carry guilt for failing to protect their children from exposure to such danger.

Today the Consumer Product Safety commission has a Public Playground Safety Checklist requiring such things as "at least 2 inches wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel, or mats made of safety-tested rubber or rubber-like materials for playgrounds, as well as the play area to be covered.  The list includes all kinds of potential dangers to check against regularly and concludes with the need to "Carefully supervise children on playgrounds to make sure they're safe."

I am not suggesting that the listing of possible playground dangers are irrelevant or that supervision is unnecessary.  I am just considering what the explanation is for why so many of the wonderful parks I see are often empty.  Has our desire to keep children safe stolen the desire for adventure that is necessary to pull them away from the lure of the internet?   

When I went online to see what playground equipment could be purchased today, I found many colorful and elaborate examples, available at prices that shocked me.  One example, 'on sale,' cost $30,500!  I'm sure it met all of the safety requirements, although it didn't seem to include the wood chips, mulch, sand, or pea gravel surfacing recommended by the Consumer Product Safety commission.  I'm sure that children might be excited to see such a colorful thing, with five or six safe, fairly low slides.  However, I could not help but wonder how many times the fun of sliding down those safe, low slides would last.  Or, whether all the bright colors and carefully positioned options had left much room for imagination? 

I am probably the wrong person to be evaluating how to encourage children to make childhood memories they will never forget, for I am relying on my own memories of a different time--playing in the pasture without fear of snakes or poking out my eye with a sandhill plum thorn (although both of those things would have been possible).  I wandered country roads far from home without fear, grabbed an old rope thrown up to me by my older brother and leaped out into space to wrap my legs around an old gunny sack with a little straw inside to soar through the air, never worrying about whether the strength of an old cottonwood tree limb could hold me.  I am sure that I did countless things that were quite dangerous, and I know that times have changed and parents must be more watchful than my parents were.  I am sure there must have been broken arms or worse that happened, and I know of the injury of a young classmate who fell from a horse.  There were and are dangers for unsupervised children.    

Now perhaps the greatest dangers parents face have nothing to do with the dangers I faced as a child.  As wonderful as the internet is, it brings dangers my parents never needed to consider.

Maybe the 1900 photograph that inspired this blog had its own secrets of broken arms or worse.  Obviously, that playground equipment was crazy dangerous, even then.  I am not blind to all of the dangers parents and teachers must face today.  

I guess that my point is that there has always been the need for balancing risk.  I am fearful of the risks of AI.  I understand the potential abuse of the internet.  I know that our world has changed, and kids no longer have trees in their backyards to climb or entirely safe roads to walk alone.  However, somehow, we need to find ways to balance safety and risk.  We need to provide opportunities without overlooking responsibility.  And none of this is easy!  

Service to the Nation

 

When I saw a photograph of a returning WW II soldier, with a caption describing that the soldier had been gone for over 4 years, most of which time was as a Prisoner of War, with no news of his fate, I thought about the hardship for both him and his family.

I also thought about the courage of John McCain, imprisoned in Hanoi, who refused to be released so long as other soldiers remained in prison.

The courage and suffering withstood by soldiers continues even today, and they deserve enormous respect, regardless of how history and current events view the wars themselves.

 My blog of April 24, 2024, asked "Why Wars?" but it didn't really answer the question.  It was, however, encouraging to know that the training of West Point soldiers includes avoiding wars, as well as how to fight them.

I am sure that those students pitching tents on campuses and destroying property and blocking other students trying to get to classes believe they are doing the right thing, although I am not sure that they are doing much that is constructive. Have they studied history?  Have they been used by outsiders whose motives were not at all aligned with what the students intended.  Have they considered the expense their parents have suffered to send them to college, or strangers who contributed to scholarships, or taxpayers whose money assists colleges?

When they were not in class, did they study the history that led to war?  Before pitching their tents and   joining in the chants begun by others, what did they do to fully understand the history leading up to the present animosity?  In short, what efforts did they take to more fully understand the complex history of this dispute? Were they aware that Israelis were unhappy with Netanyahu's leadership and were exercising political ways to resolve problems?  Did they research the history of Hamas and the mistreatment they imposed to retain power?  Did they consider the broader impact involving other countries in that region?

Do they realize that at least 1.3 million active-duty members of the military are stationed at home and abroad, not to fight but rather to keep the peace?  Have they spoken with any of the soldiers from diverse backgrounds about what they are actually doing to keep the peace, out of a sense of patriotism and civic duty.  Were they as disturbed by the slaughter of innocent people at a music festival, the use of rape as a weapon, the killing of babies, as they were by Israel's response?  In short, did they try to turn their energy to considering the full perspective of the situation and ways that might resolve a smoldering animosity that has simmered for generations without resolve? 

It is important that their generation should care about what is happening in the world, but what do they really know about Hamas and the history of that region?  Did they consider the pressure on Netanyahu by his own people to reduce hostilities with their neighbors prior to the war, or America's efforts to exert influence before this war began.  Do they know the history of the Holocaust that led to the decision to find a home for Jews?  Do they understand the influence of other countries in that region?  

Maybe they do know some of these things, but has what they are doing done much or anything to support America's efforts to find a peaceful solution or to suggest ways to resolve this simmering hatred and maze of conflicting claims to the disputed territory?  

I have done considerable reading, trying to understand and reflect on what might be done productively.  I do not know the answers.  However, I will continue reading history to learn the mistakes and successes of the past in order to better understand the present.  I believe time spent in the library to understand the complexity of this troubled land, reaching out to elected officials to share informed concerns, and voting for those who seem responsible representatives, makes more sense than pitching tents and disrupting classes.  I also see the role of professors to teach, not to advocate--to encourage students to become informed, not to inform them of their own particular opinions.  

As our world becomes more complicated and dangerous, we need great teachers, wise politicians, and responsible voters, and it seems we also need brave soldiers to help us keep the peace.  I know that on Memorial Day, if I see someone who has served this nation, I will thank them for their service.  

Poppies & Memories

World War 1 poster

 Many traditions seem to be waning in recent years.  I remember, as a child, the importance of Memorial Day--dressing in our 'Sunday Best,' not to attend church but rather to go to the cemetery to place flowers on family graves.  In high school I marched in the band on Memorial Day.    The cemetery was crowded with people, and most graves were decorated with flowers.  My great-grandfather was a Civil War veteran, so his grave was marked with a flag.

I remember the poppies, but I am not certain that I understood their meaning.  Perhaps all of us need an occasional reminder.

Poppy seeds can lie dormant for up to 100 years, bursting from the ground when the soil they had slept in is disturbed and sunlight awakens the seeds to burst into bloom.  During W.W. I the bombing and digging of trenches, as well as mass graves, created the conditions to cause millions of poppies to burst into bloom.  

 A Canadian physician, Lt. Colonel John McCrae, was struck by the juxtaposition of the darkness of war and the beauty of the bright red poppies, the contrast inspiring him to compose the poem "In Flanders Fields," writing "In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row..."

American Moina Michael was in Germany when the first World War broke out, and later McCrae's poem inspired her, particularly after teaching a class of disabled servicemen at the University of Georgia following the war.  Her desire to support men like her students, in need of financial and occupational support, led to the idea of selling silk poppies to raise money. 

Another woman, in France, Anna Cuerin, had a similar idea, using poppies to raise money for widows, orphans and veterans, as well as helping to fund post war restoration efforts.

As Memorial Day draws near, it is important to remember the sacrifices other have made for us through their service, even giving their lives for their country.  

There are many ways to show respect to those who served the country, whether simply reflecting on their sacrifice, thanking those who served, or contributing to programs that assist veterans.  Another way to show respect is to take time to learn about our nation's history--the unique Constitution and those who have protected it in many ways--in court rooms, classrooms, books, movies, and other ways.

Lt. Colonel McCrae showed his respect in a poem.  Moina Micheal and Anna Cuerin used poppies to help us remember and to raise money to help as well.

This year, on Memorial Day, consider pausing to recall the words from "In Flanders Field."  

"We are the Dead.  Short days ago   We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,   Loved, and were loved, and now we lie   In Flander fields."

  

The Truth & Nothing But!

 

He marched as best he could, stood at attention, finally accepted a chair, but stayed!  Duty first.

Those of you who follow my blog know that I have written about the shaky attitude many people have about telling the truth.  Whether it is stretching the truth a tiny bit to make a better story, or simply telling a whopper, research shows that many people find it difficult to stick to the absolute truth.

There is a difference between shading the facts a little in a simple conversation or simply getting the truth wrong innocently because of forgetfulness or mistaken belief.  Taking an oath is significantly different. If you are accused of perjury -- willfully and knowingly lying after taking an oath to tell the truth, there can be consequences.  If you lie or sign a document that you know contains false assertions, you can serve up to 4 years in state prison and be ordered to pay thousands of dollars in fines. 

We are familiar with Presidents swearing with their hand on a Bible, but it isn't the Bible that makes the oath obligatory.  John Quincy Adams swore on a book of law.  Teddy Roosevelt did not swear on any book at all.  It is the declaration of telling the truth that makes the oath binding. 

Government offices, including civil servants and notaries must take an oath.  Law enforcement must swear to support the Constitution, their state Constitution, the laws of their jurisdiction, and to ensure safety and quality of life of the communities they serve.  Certain professions are required to take oaths, such as doctors and dentists. Lawyers must take an oath, and the content of the oath differs from state to state.

Lawyer's oaths in the early years of our nation were pretty simple--just "do no falsehood."  Or it was suggested that lawyers were expected to "faithfully and honestly demean myself...and to comply with public obligations," but there was no provision for what that meant.  Today, each state determines their obligation, some relatively brief while others are fairly detailed.  Concern about the disrespectful demeaner shown by many lawyers in courtrooms has led to Lawyer Civility Oaths in some states, requiring that opposing counsel be treated "with respect and dignity."   

 Of course, those who are elected by the people to serve in state and national offices have particular responsibilities, which they swear to perform.  Members of the supreme Court, who are not elected, swear to administer justice without respect to persons & do equal right to the poor and to the rich and faithfully and impartially discharge & perform all the duties incumbent on them under the constitution and laws of the United States.  

Enlisted personal swear allegiance to the Constitution, the President, and Officers.  However, Officers swear an oath to the constitution only.  The Founding Fathers wisely limited Officers' oath to only the Constitution in order to protect against officers being bound to follow the orders of a dictator, an example of the checks and balances wisely anticipated by the Founding Fathers.

In a time when telling the truth is less assured than perhaps it once was, the responsibility of taking an oath of office becomes even more important.  Our legal system depends upon the responsibility of everyone in a court room to respect the oaths and duties they assume--the witnesses, the jury, the respectful behavior of those in the court room, the Judge, the lawyers, and those reporting the news--with accuracy and without bias.

It is true that we as a nation are more polarized than perhaps in other times.  It is true that many traditional customs have been discarded or weakened.  It is true that respect in general for many things are not faithfully observed.  Some of that may be good, but some of it may not be.  As the old saying goes, we have shown ourselves capable of being able to right the ship even if it begins to flounder.  But disrespect for the checks and balances the Founding Fathers gave us is not something to disregard.  While we can hope that the checks and balances they put in place will hold, we must not test that balance to its extremes, and each of us shares that responsibility.

Why Wars?

 On April 21, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives finally passed Appropriations for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific.  Certainly, Americans have been focused on those three places, and while we are not at war, we are assisting in ways we believe to be right.  Even those who disagree cannot fail to recognize the brutal attack by Hamas into Israeli territory to slaughter, rape, and take hostage innocents, even if they disapprove of the Israeli response that in turn has resulted in the deaths of innocents.  Nor can we ignore that Putin's assault on another country is brutally unjustified.  And, while China has not started a war, they have provoked tensions. Has not the world experienced enough wars to realize the savagery, the killing of innocents, the suffering of both sides?

New Hampshire Memorial from WW I

 

Looking to history, we come across attorney and political ethicist Mahatma Gandhi, who described the 7 Blunders of the World that Lead to Violence.  They are:  Wealth without Work, Pleasure without Conscience, Knowledge without Character, Commerce without Morality, Science without Humanity, Worship without Sacrifice, and Politics without Principle.  Those 7 suggestions are worth reflection, because they offer a means for hope.  Most of us agree that the Seven reminders are things to which many aspire.

A search online suggests that wars are fought primarily for economic, religious, and political reasons.  Other reasons are the desire for revenge or retaliatory punishment.  There are those, however, who believe we have certain innate and psychological reasons for starting wars.  For whatever reasons, history tells us there has been no year without armed conflict for centuries.

It is worth reminding that wars are not just fought with other nations.  As proof, today there are internal conflicts within Sudan, Myanmar, and Ethiopia.  Other forms of War are Haiti's Gang Violence and Mexico's struggles with Drug Cartels.   

To counter that bad news, there are actually some countries that have never been at war, among them Iceland and Greenland.  

Geneva Academy, established in 2007 by the Faculty of Law at the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International & Development Studies monitors more than 110 armed conflicts, some of which make headlines and others go ignored.  While there are new conflicts occurring, others have lasted more than 50 years. 

My research led me to a previously unknown but logical source, The Modern War Institute at West Point.  The article by Christopher Blattman, titled "The Five Reasons Wars Happen" begins with the primus that "fighting--at all levels from irregular warfare to large-scale combat operations--is ruinous and so nations do their best to avoid open conflict."  It is easy to forget the averted wars, since authors and reporters are far less likely to write about wars that did not happen than those that were not averted.  Blattman quoted Chinese Communist leader Mao Tse-tung in 1938, when he said, "Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed."

What is needed to avert war is discussion and concession, with leadership on both sides engaging in a strategizing much like players of poker or chess.  As in those games, war happens when something interrupts the normal incentives for compromise, with the result being bargaining through bloodshed.

Things go wrong when leaders are unaccountable, unchecked and unaccountable to their people, pursuing their own agendas.  Or, when leaders are ideological, blinded by Beliefs, Glory, or some nationalist vision.  Being biased by isolation and insulation from truth can also blind leadership.  Uncertainty, about all kinds of things needed for appropriate judgement, can also lead to war.  The caution resulting from unreliable positions in power, caused by transitions in leadership or unreliable advice can also cause things to go wrong during negotiations.

Peace is more likely when the power of autocrats has been checked, when uncertainty and  misconceptions have been avoided through dialogue, and when written constitutions and bodies of law make shifts in power more stable.  With these tools, incentives to fight rather than compromise can be  successful in creating a safer world.    

While we know that history tells us that there has never been a year without conflict for centuries, there are times when the world has seemed relatively calm.  It is encouraging that West Point teaches ways to avoid war, despite the need to be ready if war comes.  Sadly, we are living in troubled times.  It is important to remember that it is not entirely or even primarily up to our military to make America safe.  It is up to us to be informed, to send the right people to our state and national capitals, to remember what the Founding Fathers gave to us that is so special--a nation like no other.  

When I happened upon the "7 Blunders that lead to Violence," it led me to the research for this blog.  I was feeling discouraged, not just by the wars but also by the anger and hatefulness it was causing in our own country.  Instead of choosing between hatefulness and hopelessness, perhaps we should give some attention to the Blunders Gandhi identified.  Sometimes even the little things that we do in our own lives can make a difference.  It seems worth considering.  

 

T  

History and Music

Singing under the American Flag

 Recently I read a book written jointly by historian Jon Meacham and musician Tim Mcgraw.  They defined their purpose as "History isn't just something to read; it's also something to hear."  I have blogged about how music has changed in my lifetime, but their book included in its eight chapters music from the beginning of our nation. It is a wonderfully unique perspective that introduced me to music I had never heard, as well as music that has remained a part of American life over the years, to a more insightful notion of music I knew very well but had neglected the significance of that music on the times in which it was written.

Music is not just about lullabies and love songs, although they seem to endure through every generation.  The book's title makes that clear.  "Songs of America:  Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation."  Frances Scott Key, watching the battle with the British for Fort Henry, was inspired to write "What so Proudly we Hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming," and his words were put to music.  Decades later, George W. Bush adopted Brooks & Dunn's song 'Only in America,'' as a campaign song.  Music has been a part of our national events from our beginnings and continues to be.

The Civil War had music that expressed emotions on all sides, Abraham Lincoln calling for the playing of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," Black slaves expressing their feelings in spirituals like "Go Down, Moses" and "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," and Southerners singing "I Wish I was in the Land of Dixie."

There are too many songs explained in the book to name all of them, but a few are "America the Beautiful," "This Land is Your land," "You'll Never Know," a favorite of American soldiers in WW II, "We Shall Overcome," and "The Ballad of the Green Berets."  

Our songs have been intended to bring us together and also to rebel against the actions and opinions of others. Meacham and Mcgraw closed their book with an example of that friction.  On June 14, 1965, Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson hosted a Festival of the Arts.  It was a time, as it too often seems to be in America, when there was great disagreement.  President Johnson was unhappy about the open discord among the several hundred invited guests.  

When he spoke, this is what he said:  "Your art is not a political weapon.  Yet much of what you do is profoundly political.  For you seek out the common pleasures and visions, the terrors and the cruelties, of man's day on this planet.  And I would hope that you would help resolve the barriers of hatred and ignorance which are the source of so much of our pain and danger.  In this way you work toward peace which liberates man to reach for the finest fulfillment of his spirit."

I bought their book because I admire the gifts of both Meacham and Mcgraw.  I didn't know exactly what the book was about, but I hoped I would enjoy reading it, and I did.  For those of you who enjoy history but don't have any particular interest in music, I believe you would enjoy reading this book.  For those of you who love music, but are not particularly interested in history, I believe you would enjoy reading this book too.  It opened my eyes to something I had never fully recognized although it was right in front of me. 

 Meacham was right!  "History isn't just something to read; it's also something to hear."

Our Disappearing Culture

Do you know what this egg-shaped thing is?

Without reading the label on the can, do you know what this is?  And, if you know what it is, why is there a light bulb lying beside it?  If you know, I suspect that your age has something to do with it!  The egg-shaped rock is a darning egg, and the light bulb is a substitute if you do not have a darning egg.  

Now that I have told you what it is, I would bet that some of you still have no idea what I am talking about.  A darning egg is used to darn socks when a sock gets a hole in the toe or the heal.  You slip the darning egg into the sock, and then you can mend it.  Perhaps you are not familiar with mending, nor do you own a needle or keep various colors of thread on hand to match whatever you are mending.

It is not just the language between those with gray in their hair and their grandchildren.  It is our generational differences about whether it is more reasonable to mend the sock or simply to buy a new sock. Both generations see the question as wastefulness, the older seeing it as a waste of money to throw away a sock that can be mended and worn for twice as long, while the younger would see the craft of mending such an inexpensive item as a waste of time. 

This blog is not about darning, but rather is about Cultural Erosion, the disappearance of things taken for granted from generation to generation.  I have blogged about disappearing traditions, such as  traditional ceremonies, traditional crafts, and cultural knowledge.  Once, Americans took pride in being what was called a 'melting pot' of emigrants.  That is not to say we never had ugly examples of shameful abuse--of indigenous people, of black slaves, of Chinese railroad laborers, and Japanese Americans in WW II as obvious examples.  Yet, even those examples ultimately contributed to the American culture--enriching our so called 'melting pot' with such things as food we eat, the music we love, the clothes we wear, the words that blended into the American language, and countless more.  Those things enriched all of us, even if we sometimes need to be reminded.

However, this blog is not about discrimination or any one group of immigrants that created our American mix of ethnicities.  It is about the overall rapid changes in the American Culture--changes that make some of us feel as if the culture we knew is disappearing.  

I used the darning egg as a simple example, not because I expect young people to start darning their socks but to comment on what is called our Cultural Erosion.  Cultural Erosion is defined as when parts of a culture start to disappear or become lost over time.  The term originated with the loss of cultural traditions, causing ethnicities to lose part of their identity, history, and way of life.  For many people, that led to feelings of disconnection, and loss of cultural pride, and I would add, a disconnection between generations.

Today, what I see is not only Cultural Erosion but also Cultural Explosion.  I have blogged about Generational changes over the past century, but Cultural Erosion is more about the impact of changes on people.  Changes have always occurred, but the rapidity of change has become disorienting, and sometimes even frightening.  While we all know that it is impossible to turn back the clock, perhaps some of us have wished at one time or another that we could.  Changes in the past were not so abrupt, nor so personal.  We had more time to accept them.  That is no longer true.  The changes from one generation to the next happen faster and are more extreme.  

As a simple example, my mother's earrings had screws to tighten to her ear.  I had my ears pierced.  Today piercings are everywhere.  Another example is that in my parents' generation, some men got tattoos, but my generation, a few women got tattoos, although generally small and often located where they could be covered for work or other occasions.  Today both men and women get tattoos which often cover large areas of their bodies.  A third example is how we dress for particular occasions.  Sometimes, I don't have a clue!  Cultural Erosion can be disorienting, confusing, and sometimes may seem disrespectful, eroding the cultural thread that binds generations across the decades.      

 We cannot return to the ways things were in the past, but right now we seem to be struggling with our new world.   We cannot go back, nor can we stop the clock, but we can learn things from the past and apply that wisdom to the present.  At least, I hope we can.

 '

Which Generation Got it Right?

 I have needed to look up the Generational Definitions over the last century, so I hope you will enjoy sharing my research, whatever generation that you are.  

Those born 1928 to 1945 are called the Silent Generation.  I'm wondering whether they are really silent or if nobody cares to listen to them.  It is obvious that marketers don't have any reason to pay attention to them, since if they are alive, they are probably in a nursing home or are trying to get rid of their stuff rather than buying things.

Those born 1946-1964 are the Baby Boomers, born after WW 2 when the soldiers came home and couples were eager to start their families.  The economy was booming, with families needing houses and furniture and cars and cloths.  Now, they share something in common with the Silent Generation, since they too are probably trying to downsize their homes and pass things on to their grown children, who probably do not want it.

Those born 1965-1980 are Generation X, whose parents may have had a high old time, but who grew up in a recession time, causing them to be more cautious with money.  In general, they still like nostalgia and tradition, they have enjoyed technology most of their lives, and they probably enjoy email.

Those born 1977-1995 are Millennials, although they are also called Generation Y. They became the largest generation in history and were the first generation to grow up with modern technology.  They became particularly comfortable with social media, checking with influencer marketing, reviews, and Brands that supported causes.

Those born in 1996-2012 are Generation Z, which might make you think we had run out of alphabetic names, but you would be wrong.  They are particularly familiar with Influencer marketing, reviews, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and other things I don't understand.

Those born 2013 to the Present are Generation Alpha, but if you think that brings you up to date, you will be disappointed.  Because some of the generations were too long and too indefinite to exactly fit the named categories, --whoever these people are who decide these things--, they came up with Microgenerations: the Xennials and the Zillennials. 

Xennials were early Gen Y or late Gen X babies, growing up with technology but without social media during childhood and teen years.  The impact of 9-11 in their teens made them more likely to be skeptical.

 Zilliennials were alive when 9/11 happened, but were too young to really understand.  Perhaps that somehow influenced them to be better at balancing their strong work ethic with their personal lives.

So now that we understand these labels for various age groups, what is the point?  First, marketers want to know how people spend their money and their time.  Second, politicians are interested in knowing how voters think.  Third, educators need to understand the right training for students and what teaching methods work best for preparing them for what is to come. Forth, housing and population growth are impacted by things like at what ages people marry, or choose not to marry, or prefer to live with their parents longer.  Fifth, decision about having children, and how that impacts social planning. Sixth, how people interact with one another-- using social media or personal meetings require adjustments. Seventh, all of these choices impact social behavior, addictions, privacy, confrontations and ridicule, cyber bullying, and mental health that will need modifications and assistance.

Our world is changing, and if we want to keep up with it, we are forced to at least try to understand a  bit of how others see the world.  What is important is that whether you are a member of the Silent Generation or Generation A, we all need to look around and recognize that whatever generation we are, we can learn from the past and the present generations.  No single generation ever got everything right or everything wrong.

Socrates was Right

 Socrates said "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul.   

As an author, I take great pains in trying to choose the right words, not just in the since of grammar or finding words that are technically correct.  As author Ursula K. Le Guin described it, "A writer is a person who cares what words mean, what they say, how they say it.  Writers know words are their way towards truth and freedom, and so they use them with care, with thought, with fear, with delight."

This blog is not about an author's responsibility with words, however.  Rather, it is about the importance of the right of free speech and the abuse of that right.  On March 18, 2022, the New York Times published an editorial titled "America Has a Free Speech Problem."  The link to the full article can be found at the bottom of this blog.  The opening paragraph stated, "Americans are losing hold of a fundamental right as citizens of a free country:  the right to speak their minds and voice their opinions in public without fear of being shamed or shunned."  

I have blogged about this subject previously, but the editorial offers some important insight.  For example, "If people feel free to express their views in their communities, the democratic process can respond to and resolve competing ideas.  Ideas that go unchallenged by opposing views risk becoming weak and brittle rather than being strengthened by tough scrutiny.  When speech is stifled or when dissenters are shut out of public discourse, a society also loses its ability to resolve conflict..."  

Included in the editorial are results of a survey in which the Times joined with Siena College to gain data about, among other things, whether people feel less free to talk about politics than they had a decade ago.  Forty-six percent said they did.  It seemed that the old saying "Think before you speak" has become, "Speak at your peril."

The five freedoms that make the United States of America what has been called the freest people in the world are freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government.  Termination of those rights, whether by changes in laws or by individuals self-limiting their willingness to exercise those rights, diminishes our freedoms.

It has been said that those freedoms are the lifeblood of democracy, and the words of Benjamin Franklin validate the importance felt by the founding fathers at that time.  "In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own," and furthermore, "Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a Nation must begin by limiting the freedom of speech."

When it becomes difficult, or even dangerous, to speak with those having different opinions, we weaken the evolving wisdom of the nation.  The founding fathers knew the importance of sharing opinions as a way to keep up with our ever-changing world, both the exchange of ideas in communities and in state and national political chambers.  The warning of Socrates remains:  "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul."  

America has a Free Speach Problem. https://wwwnytimes.com/2022/03/18/opinion/cancel-culture-free-speach-poil.html  

A History of Vice vs. Virtue

 Recently I came across this quote from Joseph Heller's Catch 22.  

"It was miraculous.  It was almost no trick at all, he saw to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice.  Anybody could do it:  it required no brains at all.  It merely required NO CHARACTER."  

The quote led me to consider the real-life temptations of misdeeds by those in power, and I found examples old and new that included politicians, Ponzi schemers, and others.  The temptation to cheat is not limited to petty thieves.     

The hope of Lady Justice

Last week's post reflected the positive side of President Ulysses S. Grant in seeking education for all American children.  He was also an admired war hero, but as president, he tended to trust the wrong people.  Although he retained his honorable reputation, his "thievery into honor' as Joseph Heller described in Catch 22, was more a neglect of duty by failing to oversee those he had appointed.  For example, his appointees speculated to corner the gold market, others cheated the Lakotas to allow mining for gold found in the Black hills, while in addition a whisky ring involved government officials who participated in a national tax evasion scam, as well as his neglectful oversight allowing a corrupt system to obtain lucrative postal contracts.  More directly, while his abuse of nepotism was not an exception, since Presidents Buchanan, Madison, Tyler, Monroe, and Jackson were also guilty of that abuse, it is estimated that during Grant's presidency, 40 relatives financially prospered directly or indirectly.  While Grant did not dip his own hand in the till, his lack of oversight allowed others to do so.  Questionable presidential appointments continue to this day.    

The temptations of power are not confined to Politicians.  Remember Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff, who orchestrated one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, defrauding philanthropists, the elderly, and many famous people who trusted a man of 'No Character.'  Or, Michel Milken, who was lauded for his high-yield bond strategy for corporate mergers and acquisitions in the 1970s and 1980s, but in 1986 he was sent to prison and barred from the securities industry for life.  Perhaps in his case, a lesson was learned, and he is now known for launching the Prostate Cancer Foundation, his awareness of the need for which grew out of his own cancer.

Scammers include the former chairman of Sotheby's auction house, who was indicted for conspiring to fix auction commission rates.  He was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day, which he served, but his reputation was shattered.

Neither is the temptation of wealth acquired without honor limited to men.  Real estate mogul Leona Helmsley was sentenced to prison in 1992 by a judge who said in her sentencing, "Your conduct was the product of naked greed [and[ arrogant belief that you were above the law."  And, despite her fame and popularity, Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.  She served her time and managed to return to her television career.  

Recently, Elizabeth Holmes, known for her black turtle necks and blond hair, found that beauty and charm were no protection from being sentenced to 11 years in prison for fraud after persuading investors that she had developed a revolutionary medical device which was actually a sham.

Whether a brief lapse or a sustained deception, finding that "it was almost no trick at all...[to turn] plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism...It merely required no character."  Sadly, Joseph Heller's themes in Catch 22 of the distortion of justice, the influence of greed, and the issue of personal integrity live on.

     F.N.  Joseph Heller, 1923-1999.  His 1961 novel, Catch-22, a satire on war and bureaucracy, was both initially very controversial but ultimately very popular.  Modern Library's list of the top 100 Novels of the Century places Catch-22 number 7 out of 100.  The novel became a movie in 1970, directed by Mike Nichols, staring Alan Arkin, Jon Voight, and Orson Wells.