Do we fear, nay we hope

Do we fear? Nay, we hope.

Do we fear: Those that flee repression and persecution based on their nationality or religion?

Nay, we hope: That we can be a haven to those in desperate need by offering support and respect for their plight and differences with an immigration process that is fair for all.

These are American Values

Do we fear: Regulations that have been put in place to protect the people, the environment, and our ethical values?

Nay, we hope: That any deregulation or new regulation is based on sound scientific research and data that will benefit the greater good and not simply manipulated to benefit the bottom line.

These are American Values

Do we fear: That diverging the production of the Dakota Access Pipeline will lead to a delay and rise in cost?

Nay, we hope: That the sacred land and voices of a people with a long history of injustices at our government’s hand be respected and honored.

These are American Values

Do we fear: An illegal Mexican immigrant mother that has been working in the US for over a decade or a Mexican construction worker who came here with his parents when he was a baby, has worked hard and contributed to society?

Nay, we hope: That we put our time, money, and energy into battles with much bigger implications instead of destroying morale and good families that are safely settled here with nowhere safe to return to.

These are American Values

Do we fear: A congress that has become a circus of polarity, one-upmanship, and campaigning instead of voting on merits?

Nay, we hope: That the people utilize their power to vote out the culprits and show we require government to work as one to govern as it was meant to be, not as sparring units refusing to work together and fearing that the other side would ever look like they have a good idea.

These are American Values

Do we fear: An administration that is pushing religious testing, has cabinet members who have already broken ethical rules and others who have expressed the desire to get rid of the very agencies they’re tasked to lead, has a leader who acts like a fourth grade bully whose first instinct is to insult and degrade someone personally when disagreeing with them, directly disrespects a federal judge and the national media, insists that there should be an investigation about voter fraud on an election they won against the advice of their own party instead of investigating the much scarier question of Russian interference based on evidence that the President said even convinced him and as the media proves that his own national security advisor was in direct contact with Russia during that time, and who speaks outright lies or misleading statements so often that his own counselor’s only defense is that we should try to focus on what he says correctly instead of incorrectly?

Nay, we hope: And UNITE and show why we have ALWAYS. BEEN. GREAT. Democrat, republican, libertarian, independent, it doesn’t matter. We have different views on various policies and methods but the vast majority share the same basic American Values, and that, my friends, is what defines us and makes us GREAT. As the rest of the world worries, protests, and nervously laughs along with us, we are beginning to witness what unity looks like. It’s an imperative demonstration to show the world that our core moral values and character have not been lost. We are on the precipice of drastic changes to our way of life; be on the side of humanity and human decency and be proud to have been on the right side of history once again. While some choose to dwell upon the great division between those on the far fringes of their factions, what is actually transpiring, in contrast, are enormous numbers of diverse groups representing the large majority of this country from all facets of life coming together to step up and defend the values that founded this wonderful country of ours like never before letting our leaders know that they represent us and to start acting in accordance.

We take others in, not keep them out. We lift others up, not tear them down. We live with hope, not fear.

These are American Values.

Leadership 101

My hope is that young and upcoming leaders are paying close attention to the current state of affairs because there is an amazing learning opportunity to be had.  A lack of leadership skills can lead to poor decisions, distract from important activities, and retard agendas that you wish to accomplish.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, superior leaders can pull groups together for amazing achievements.  Here are a few key points from recent events:

Empathy – It is absolutely essential to be able and, even more importantly, willing to put the shoe on the other foot, so to speak, to have a deep understanding of all sides of an issue and be able to speak to everyone involved.  You'll never reach everyone, but the more you can understand why people feel the way they do the easier it is to make a humane and just decision for the best overall good.  Just three of the recent examples of this administration’s ineptitude in this area with visible repercussions are the rolling back of transgender protections, the denouncement of recent anti-Semitic attacks, and the Dakota access pipeline.  It is disturbing to see our leaders ignore the human factor of their decisions and seemingly not understand why people are upset. 

As controversial as the transgender issue is, for some reason, the administration can make a case for it being a state’s rights issue.  It’s an obvious cop-out, especially given what they do want to control on a federal level, but I’m not going to get into that here.  What is perhaps more disheartening than the decision, though, is that the state vs. federal rights dispute and the implementation of the original protection is all they have focused on, while there have been no recent statements from the president about understanding why it’s an issue, words of support for transgendered individuals, or denouncing discrimination of this group.  Knowing the harassment, bullying, and personal affliction that many of these folks deal with, the president should realize that his voice could carry some weight to help alleviate at least some of that, even if he believes it necessary to remove the federal protections.

Secondly, as most know, there has been a large spike in anti-Semitic fervor in the U.S. since the administration has taken over.  I honestly don’t think that the president is anti-Semitic.  However, his handling of the situation has been appalling.  At first, he said it was an unfair question and bragged about his election victory when asked about it by a Jewish reporter.  As we waited a long time for him to say anything substantive, he proceeds to vociferously berate the press, federal judges, and anyone that disagrees with him.  Then, when he does say something, instead of using that kind of energy he speaks in platitudes as he reads an obviously prepared statement with little feeling.  Again, I'm not questioning that he’s against the violence but it’s another example of poor leadership.

Finally, on this point, is the Dakota access pipeline deal.  Yet again, there has been no statement from the president to the tribes in that area.  It’s all about the bottom line to this president, and if our longest-standing US citizens are negatively affected, oh well.  At the very least, explain why you are unsympathetic to the cries from the ground as you brag about the corporations that are going to build the pipeline.

Relating to the populous, not solely your base – This is somewhat related to empathy, but taken a step further.  To incite cheers and support among those already aligned with you is easy.  Being a true leader, on the other hand, is to reach out, listen, and coherently explain your views to constituents on all sides of an issue.  When the president offhandedly dismissed the massive dissention being shown at town halls, it demonstrated another level of delusion.  While democrats are the largest single group of opponents in terms of numbers, it is clear that the dissenters are from many other groups and very few of those showing up were actual ‘professional protestors’.  Instead of taking the opportunity to acknowledge the differences in opinions, tell the nation that he hears them, and demonstrate that he is working with all sides to do what is best, he simply dismissed it and berated those against his views.  This kind of act only fuels the divide.  And, yes, democrats have been known to do this this in the past as well, although not to such an extent.  This goes right along with politicians only voting along party lines, especially with obviously poor decisions.  Politicians are supposed to represent the people and not the leader or even the party.  They should act like it and be willing to explain the basis for their votes, especially with controversial issues or positions.

Facts not propaganda – To a large extent, your base will often fall in line with your propaganda regardless of what you say, at least for a short while, because they want to believe in you.  However, to reach the masses and stay relevant in the long run you must use real facts and not rely on misleading information, fear, or outright falsehoods.  It sounds obvious, but it’s an easy trap to fall into when you believe rhetoric that your followers say and listen largely to one-sided arguments.  

Taking responsibility – This one is a lot more important than most people realize.  Mistakes happen, sometimes your opinions are wrong, you may inadvertently utter words you didn’t mean, and you, as the leader, must shoulder some of the responsibility for those working with you.  By admitting mistakes, by taking responsibility in both your words and your actions, and by demonstrating how you will adjust to make things better is to show the world your strength and bring masses on board.  By pushing blame on and marginalizing others, be they federal judges, opponents on the other side of the isle, or protesters trying to be heard makes you look petty and potentially dangerous.  And, when it’s pointed out that your facts are wrong and you say ‘someone gave me those numbers’ and ‘I’ve heard that from others’ instead of taking ownership is quite revealing.  It's not easy, but the best leaders deflect credit for success onto others while shouldering more than their fair share of blame for shortcomings.

Showing respect – Last, but not least, is the ability to show respect when you disagree with someone or are at odds with a given group.  Sometimes, of course, acts are so egregious that you need to take a hard stance.  But, more often than not, you can get more accomplished by starting from a place of respect for your opponent or opposing viewpoint.  To watch the president disrespect others so often is discouraging because it again only translates well to his hard core base while appearing petty to the rest of the world.  As an example, seeing him lash out at Hillary again during the CPAC speech resulting in many in the crowd yelling ‘lock her up’ as they did during the campaign is depressing.  Then, to witness his reaction and failure to quell the chanting was disturbing.

We need true leaders who understand the full breadth of responsibility of their positions, not those who try to control the public’s narrative by attacking and shutting out the press and asking the agencies to knock down stories they don’t like.  We need true leaders who think in terms of what is the best combination for the economy, humanity, environment, and think globally, not those that believe that a selfish U.S.-only viewpoint will lead to long-term success.  If your viewpoints are already controversial, a lack of leadership skills can bring clashes and a deepening divide, which is, unfortunately, where we find ourselves.  We can hope that our future is in the hands of people who are engaged and learning from this turbulent time.

Education Secretary

Education is one of the essential pillars of American society. If there was ever a question as to why people are upset about what our government has become, today just solidified and amplified the frustrations beyond measurable limits. A vast majority of the US opposed the nomination of DeVos and the vote was still largely along party lines. So much for listening to your substituents.

Public education is the cornerstone of the US and the Education Secretary has a tremendous responsibility to enrich the opportunities for all students while trying to make us competitive with other countries across the globe. I'm not knocking charter schools, there's nothing wrong with having them. But with her proposed voucher program and school choice ideas, saying that it would cause the public schools to work harder to compete, sounds like it comes from someone who has never had to struggle and is blinded. I have no reason to believe that she doesn't mean well. Betsy DeVos, qualified or not, you are now the Secretary of Education. My hope is that you will break the mold by listening to the voices of the public screaming from the rafters and be open to listening to experts on the ground with an open-mind. As a son of public school teachers and a product of the public school system myself, this hits close to home and I want nothing more than for the US school system to thrive. To do so means focusing on teacher pay and retention, various school programs, teaching styles that prepare students to succeed in the real world, and helping the public schools improve; not diverting funds to make them have to struggle harder to keep up.

A plea

A plea:

I have many friends on both sides of this political fiasco that we're dealing with right now. And, that's the problem! PLEASE stop and look at things with your own eyes, knowledge, beliefs, and freedoms and not just what you're told from the 'left' or the 'right'. Everyone leans one way or another and that is fine, but don't just go along because it's red or blue - both sides have issues and you have to be able to admit it. I may write up a whole manifesto at some point about politics in the US, but what's happening right now is not POLITICS.

This is not coming from me as being on any side, but as a free-thinking, open-minded, American. I'm perfectly fine with a leader who has different ideas than I do, but this new president and his administration so far have done nothing but put us in harm's way in almost every aspect. I'm begging his supporters to take an honest look because it's not hard to see that his actions and most of his words are dangerous and not even the way we would teach our kids to act. These are not republican values.

I hear all of these people repeating his words about the media, but he has countries across the world already on edge with us and you can read about that from any non-biased source. His wall is perhaps the worst idea that's ever been proposed, and anybody that's taken economics 101 can tell you that his 'tariffs' that he talks about with Mexico and China would do nothing but harm the US. His immigration ban, or whatever he wants you to call it now, was completely unnecessary and extremely poorly implemented. It did NOT make us safer in any sense of the word but by far did the opposite because it infuriated countries and caused them to retaliate with their own bans and has negatively affected many Americans. That's not to mention our values that it goes against. He's already talking about major retaliations or issues with Mexico, Iran, Australia, China, taking oil, etc.. He's already in the process of getting rid of carbon emission regulations and other environmental regulations, which are essential to our health. That's not to mention his cabinet picks whose major, and sometimes only, qualifications are being RICH. Democrats are just as bad as republicans when it comes to the crap that happens in congress so I'm not making any statement about one side or the other, but if you support a congressman that votes for Betsy DeVos, for example, but didn't for others that were way more qualified, that just shows pure bias. There's SO MUCH more, but I'll resist going on.

He has the country on edge, he has the world on edge, and he's not doing anything to make us safer, better off, or GREAT. I'm not asking for arguments on either side, just making a desperate call to not blindly support a clearly bad situation. I make no judgements on your beliefs, there's no right or wrong. Don't blame the other side - democrat or republican. Don't mock or shame people because of their beliefs. We should all be on the same side, even when we disagree. That's how we get things done; by working together and finding ground where we can agree to accept. Not by changing laws, boycotting, or only voting/thinking along party lines. We make ourselves better when we bring others up with us - something this new administration needs to learn quickly.

Climate Change

Just one quick note on scientific research and government. Since the majority of climate change deniers are my generation or older, let me use some examples you'll know:

1. Remember the hole in the ozone layer? You'll recall that the chemicals we were putting in the atmosphere, specifically the CDCs, were reacting with the ozone and depleting it. What was the result? More UV light was getting through, for one, causing a huge spike in skin cancer as the most visible effect..., but also causing harm to plants and other animals. Thanks to scientific research and government regulation, we were able to not only stop the trend, but it's actually healing now.

2. Smog - remember the thick layer of smog over L.A. and other cities? What happened? It caused poor breathing conditions, less sunlight getting through the atmosphere, and inhibited plant growth. Thanks to scientific research and government regulation, we were able to reverse that trend.

Now, wouldn't that be a form of climate change that is man-made if allowed to continue over time? No? Well, now we see incredible levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, the reflectivity is changing from deforestation and urbanization, etc., large levels of methanogens, and so on.

These are very similar to the above examples, and can cause changes on an even larger scale; and WE can make a difference. But, not by squashing and denying the research and not by deregulating the environmental protections.

3. Last, but not least - Even if you are still skeptical, why would you want to be on the side to NOT protect our health?