I find myself starting and stopping a number of ideas and never coming back to them. Its frustrating. There is so much to contend it is near impossible to focus on one item, area, issue, or concern. And when I do, all I see is how it connects to so much more and then it just becomes dizzying and I so I turn on Star Trek The Next Generation (which has become my escape). But even there, I keep seeing our stories. There are few issues related to human interaction that aren’t discussed on this show and perhaps that is an area I could focus and write more… But more on that later. This is just to get some thoughts out and hopefully serve as a cathartic exercise as well as a statement of action. So here goes…
I’ve talked before about my upbringing and the conservative nature of many figures of my youth. The story that got me thinking and typing today has its roots in those beginnings. Pro-life/Pro-Choice and Roe v. Wade were things I knew little of until I was a teenager. It was never discussed in my family, mostly because it wasn’t a topic to come up. But, the church made up for that… My opinion matters little but it lands on the pro-choice side, firmly. I always felt conflicted but as I matured I realized my conflict wasn’t about my views, it was about theirs. I get the idea of an abortion is terrible. I don’t know what pro-birth (be nice) pro-life people think happens or how someone feels when that decision is made but I can guarantee it isn’t a pleasant, anticipated, or sought-after one. My thought has always been to reduce the needs, ensures a reduction in the practice. I also thought we should care about those kids we “saved from the mills”.
The modern pro-life movement does not care about either of those things. I will argue with anyone who disagrees, but the facts, the history, the movement, the actions, and what our country is now prove my point. Sen. Chris Murphy brilliantly pointed this out and I feel more confident in my views, even though my country may not represent that right now. This is a topic that will always divide us, but we have to find compassion and we have to be brave.
Another area of concern is how much of this should make it into my classroom. I know teachers all over the country are grappling with this, or they should be. The parallels cannot be hidden but it is a tightrope we walk. I’m not going to write too much on this as I don’t really know what it is I am supposed to do other than ensure my instruction is as fact-based as possible, in a world of alternative facts.
In class we have covered the first few decades of our nation. I guess this week is as good a time as any for an analytical review of the actions and events of our history. It's hard not to read the tweets and executive orders from President Trump and follow the career and ideology of Steve Bannon and raise eyebrows at studying the Alien and Sedition Act. The portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office juxtaposed with this “understanding” from President Trump’s DHS cannot be overlooked. More on Jackson and Trump here. I would also HIGHLY recommend Jacksonland by Steve Inskeep.
Of course the overall aura of Jackson on Trump’s worldview is clear. I don’t know how I won’t be able to talk about this understanding when we get there in class…
It is a tightrope we walk but I’ve been telling my students what the tweet below says for years…
We can’t help but talk about it, and we can’t help but be honest and truthful about it. Even if that scares us, and even if that isn’t what is popular in our particular school, community, or state.
I've been a part of several online conversations about the immortal quote related to "repeating history". What troubles me most and dampens most of my discussions about this is I can't say "this isn't who we are" with a straight face. The problem is, and why this is happening now, is because it has happened before, over and over and over and over again. There isn't an era in our history that doesn't have a parallel to what we are doing now. The methods, optics, and coverage have changed but the song remains the same. We are a nation that has seen itself from its inception as a social club of exclusive citizens. That definition of citizen has changed through our history and is in no way set in stone. It is up to us as a people to decide how much of the good and the bad prevail... and how history records it.
I can’t offer a lot of guidance other than know your material, study, read and become a sponge of information, good information, fact. Based, information. I can tell you I will be with you, if you need advice, if you want to talk, if you have a concern, please contact me through social media. We have to reach out and be there for each other, we have to know others are there for us…
