New attacks on climate change - Stephen Hawking appears to be correct again!

Part III

Who would you choose to base your decisions on; the experts in whatever field you are studying or the people who are the money behind it?  Both are important, of course, but the experts know a lot more about what is going on.  Sadly, money over intelligence seems to be the theme of late.  This is what is happening with climate change regulations and the coal industry.  So, now let's get to this week’s danger from this administration; their helping of the wealthiest while barely masking it as trying to help create jobs and help the economy.  There are, again, so many examples that it’s impossible to go through them all.  One smaller example to start with along these lines that would annoy almost every American: A bill that was just passed by the senate without garnering any attention lets internet service providers sell your info without asking your permission first.  I’m sure that would have gone over well if we were given the choice.  Who does this bill benefit?

But with the president specifically, it’s obvious that he puts the priorities of the CEOs of big business ahead of anything else.  The president wants to get rid of the fiduciary rule, which requires that financial advisors act in the client’s best interest.  Yes, I’m aware that there are some issues there, but the premise is an important one and smart businessmen can make it work.  He repealed the transparency rule for oil companies requiring that they divulge their payments to foreign governments.  This was put in place to stem corruption, and yet the president listened to these CEOs say that it wasn’t fair to them and didn’t let them compete at the same level, so he repealed it.  That’s like saying that Olympians should be allowed to dope because other countries weren’t as strict with their testing.  Another example of this type of thinking: republican politicians have also been pushing a bill to significantly reduce mining safety regulations – in WV, which had more coal mining deaths anywhere in the US.  It’s pretty obvious who this helps.

Today, though, sets another low as the president rolls back environmental regulations by executive order.  Sure, there may be some overregulation in areas, but there must be a systematic approach and solid scientific reasons for deregulation.  Yet, somehow, this president thinks that he knows better than the smartest people in the world when it comes to climate change.  He’d, again, rather listen to oil execs who have been shown to mislead the public and research on climate change data (http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rex-tillerson-may-be-in-hot-water-over-exxonmobil-emails/ar-BByU741?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp) than the top scientists, organizations, and even other governments, world leaders, and his own secretary of defense.  Seriously, Stephen Hawking seems to have been amazingly prophetic when, in June of last year, he said that the biggest problem facing the world is climate change and that pollution coupled with human greed and stupidity are the biggest threats to humankind. 

Jobs are important, and I sincerely feel for the workers in the coal industry.  But, this isn’t the way to solve that problem.  While a few jobs may come back temporarily, our long-term health and survival is essential, and this is not likely to make changes on a large scale in respect to jobs.  In fact, some argue, that it won’t make much difference at all (http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/28/news/economy/trump-power-plants/index.html?iid=hp-toplead-dom).  Even Mitch McConnell admitted that it wouldn’t bring the coal industry back to the way it was.  

I’m extremely saddened by the focus solely on business and money first with a lack of interest in health, environment, safety, and anything else that truly matters.  The negative consequences of haphazardly reducing climate change regulations are extremely significant and can not, I repeat, can not be ignored! 

Don't point. Lead

Part II

When I was a senior in college, we had an issue with some people on our swim team coming to practice late and partying a little too much during the tough part of our season.  Morale had become a little low at practice and the coach called me into his office.  Being a smart coach and leader he let me know that, as a captain of the team, their actions were a reflection on me and I was to take responsibility for the team’s issues.  “But, Coach, I haven’t had any issues myself and just assumed…”  As soon as I said the word ‘assumed’, he stopped me and raised his voice a bit to let me know what happens when someone ‘assumes’.  His point got across and he taught me that, as a leader, the buck stops with you.  You take responsibility, but at the same time deal with issues to bring up morale and bring about success.  With Coach Denny’s leadership, we went on to win our conference championship.

Great leaders know this, at least innately.  However, our current leader seems unable to take any responsibility other than for his self-proclaimed successes or deal with any issues in a manner that increases overall morale.  We all know someone who just can’t admit when they are wrong, makes baseless claims and point fingers when angered, and who only surrounds themselves by ‘yes men’ to feed their ego.  These are the people that, even if they rise to a certain level, quickly lose credibility and eventually fail to even get good ideas accomplished because of their attitude.  Sadly, this is where we find ourselves with this current administration.

While there are countless examples of this already, we see it yet again this week when the president resorted to, again, repeating a claim that has been shown to be very misleading at best about Hillary Clinton selling uranium to Russia.  While it’s possible that he’s using psychology, knowing that for many people it doesn’t matter if it’s false because with their underlying bias this will cause a pre-formed attitude that is difficult to change, it’s seems more like an immature response to accusations against him.  This is a president who rails against ‘fake news’ while getting himself in trouble more than once by quoting and relying on actual fake news – and amazingly still favors the group he quoted, Fox News, just proving his childishness!  I’m not defending Clinton here because there are a few questions on her end as well, just stating the fact that this is yet another story that the president continues to believe based on a faulty source.  It’s important to know what’s right and wrong, so I’ll put the points about this particular falsehood below this write up if you want the details.

Also, the president has pointed his fingers in many different directions for the health care bill not passing, even changing his mind on degrading and then praising the Freedom Caucus.  He repeatedly and famously claimed that the jobs numbers were false, then claims them to be ‘very real’ when he gets the first set of jobs data.  He railed on the president’s occasional golf trips, but has had 13 golf outings already.  The list goes on and on and he wonders why he’s losing credibility around the world.  He refuses to ever say he was wrong, instead making obscene claims about how he got the information he mentioned or ignoring it altogether.  If he is to truly lead, he MUST change his ways!

The Clinton-uranium claim/myth:

To make it simple here are a few facts from vox and snopes.com:  ‘Trump is referring to Russia’s nuclear power agency purchasing a majority stake in a Toronto-based energy company between 2009 and 2013. The company had mines and land in a number of US states with huge uranium production capacity — a move the US State Department signed off on.  The mines, mills, and land the company holds in the US account for 20 percent of the US’s uranium production capacity, not actual produced uranium.’  And, among other ‘ways these accusations stray from the facts is in attributing a power of veto or approval to Secretary Clinton that she simply did not have. Clinton was one of nine cabinet members and department heads that sit on the CFIUS, and the secretary of the treasury is its chairperson. CFIUS members are collectively charged with evaluating the transaction for potential national security issues, then turning their findings over to the president. By law, the committee can’t veto a transaction; only the president can. According to The New York Times, Clinton may not have even directly participated in the Uranium One decision. Then-Assistant Secretary of State Jose Fernandez, whose job it was to represent the State Dept. on CFIUS, said Clinton herself “never intervened” in committee matters.’  Finally and crucially, the main national security concern was not about nuclear weapons proliferation, as Trump suggests, but actually ensuring the US doesn’t have to depend too much on uranium sources from abroad, as the US only makes about 20 percent of the uranium it needs. An advantage in making nuclear weapons wasn’t the main issue because, as PolitiFact notes, “the United States and Russia had for years cooperated on that front, with Russia sending enriched fuel from decommissioned warheads to be used in American nuclear power plants in return for raw uranium.”  In addition, the timing of the donations that is referenced don’t match with the conspiracy theory. 

Government's childish response to ACA repeal attempt

There is a dangerous attitude going around right now in which I hear many people saying that they’re just ignoring what’s going on in Washington.  While I understand the sentiment, there are so many things going on that will affect all of us that I implore everyone to stay tuned in and apprised of the latest developments.  I won’t get into finer details today, but let me mention just three of the issues from this past week in three different blogs today:  the response to the repeal attempt of the ACA (Part I), more accusations by the president (Part II), and the consequences of the reductions in climate change regulations (Part III).

Part I

If we were to act the way our government and governmental leaders do, we’d be disregarded, discredited, and, most likely, fired quicker than you can say politics.  Imagine this; you disagree with an idea brought forward by another focus group at work and vociferously demonstrate your reasons.  Then, this group votes to not go forward with their original idea after all.  But, instead of congratulating them on a good decision, you begin to publicly mock those in the group and accuse them of all kinds turmoil.  What would happen to you?  This is similar to what happened last week with the health care bill.  It seems like a comedy, if it didn't happen to be true!

It IS possible to improve healthcare, and yes, it is complicated.  But, first, those involved have got to stop acting like spoiled children and playing politics.  Admit that the ACA has achieved many very good things.  Admit that there are many areas of the ACA that need improving.  However, the logic that it needs to be repealed simply because that’s what a particular candidate ran on is very flawed – their actions should be based on what’s best for Americans/their constituents, period.  We wouldn’t be talking as vehemently about how many people have insurance or trying to make sure that those with pre-existing conditions can get coverage, for example, if it weren’t for the ACA. 

But, we need buy-in from the top down to ensure that it doesn’t fall, and I fear that many of our elected officials would rather interfere in a way that would hurt Americans simply in an effort to cause the ACA to fail than to give it any chance of succeeding.  Meanwhile, this vindictive thinking is fed by the fact that the democrats are hammering the republicans for the failed repeal rather than praising them on an obviously good decision, a decision that they were fighting for, that was best for the US.  Most of us can see that they all need to grow up, stop blaming, put differences aside, and start working together.  We deserve better than the embarrassment that we have currently.  I know there are very different ideas, but they need to be thoroughly researched, thought out, and not simply dismiss other options such as single-payer that have been proposed.  The president and all members of congress MUST act in our best interest and not just make something fail to prove a point!

NATO - another failed opportunity

NATO – another failed opportunity

Many of us have experienced an organization or club where there is a suggested level of giving to join but the actual amount you give is up to you.  These clubs recognize the importance of membership for both the club and the individual members alike, while realizing that not everyone has the same financial abilities.  Some, of course, will do as little as possible.  But, most are like me, I believe, which is why these clubs succeed.  As an example, one particular club that I donate to has suggested levels of membership and I plan to increase my donation commensurate with paying off student loans among other factors.  This is analogous to how NATO functions.  Without question, it’s obviously a very important organization for the countries involved.  They suggest that member nations target 2% of their GDP for defense spending.  Some nations fall short of this goal but have set it as a target to reach in the future, while the United States, however, spends 3.6% of GDP on defense.

So, one of the very few things that I had been able to support the President on so far was his attempt to encourage other countries to take up more of the responsibility for the funding of NATO.  Well, so much for that.  He once again showed his ineptitude and likely destroyed what gains he had made in this area by playing a heavy hand instead of taking a more positive approach and, much worse, not understanding or knowing how NATO actually functions.  When he made the ridiculous comments about Germany owing NATO money for years of not meeting the 2% GDP, he once again was wrong and lost what credibility he had.  That’s like saying that the people that don’t/can’t give the suggested amount to visit the American Museum of Natural History in New York still owe the remainder of the suggested price afterwards.  To make matters worse, his approach and comments simply upset the other nations and make it harder for them to want to do what he suggests.  It’s simple psychology.

This also feeds into another frustration of mine.  Some people argue that the president’s character and past don’t matter if he attempts to get things done.  Well, you now have a man who has bragged about being ‘smart’ by using all available loopholes to pay as little taxes as possible trying to convince nations that they should increase their funding on a suggested payment amount.  There’s some irony there, no?  And, that’s beside his poor tactics and outright falsehoods.  This embarrassment would normally be a much larger story in any other year but has, sadly yet understandably, gotten relatively little attention with all of the other craziness going on with this administration.

So, instead of something I can get behind, I’m now left with yet another issue in which this administration has managed to disappoint.

Lessons from a hip-hop legend: Inspiration and Validation from an Unexpected Source

Inspiration and Validation from an Unexpected Source

Okay, I admit it.  I was less than thrilled when Monette first tossed the idea of attending this year’s NC Comicon conference in Raleigh.  But, when she got her sister, Rozanna, and another sister, Gina, and her family to join us, I begrudgingly went along thinking it would be fun to go with the kids and being there with others who were really into it.  Lo and behold, it was a ton of fun and the people watching, which I always enjoy, was just awesome.  But, the highlight of the day came as a complete surprise to me.

You know those extremely rare occasions when you feel awakened by, or as if you were meant to hear, something at the very moment you least expect it and the timing just seems to be too coincidental?  Well, this is how it happened for me:

We decided to go to a panel discussion before hitting the main floor, saying we’d sit in the back near the door so that we could easily escape if it wasn’t stimulating.  The discussion was titled ‘Black Heroes Matter’, and they mentioned right away that it was going to go beyond that to include any other status, for lack of a better word, that the panelists or members of the audience felt inspired to discuss.  I admit that I was only half listening and playing on my phone as they started talking with the panelists during the opening question.  As they got going, though, I found myself lifting my head and realizing that these were some very special people.  Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Afua Richardson, Tabitha Stark and Eddie Newsome were the ones on stage.  While I’ve always had respect for comics and those with a passion for it, I’ve never had that passion myself.  So, it came out of left field, although it probably shouldn’t have, that I was enthralled when they began describing how their backgrounds inspired their actions, how their entrepreneurial success was a function of biases and missed opportunities by others, and how their differences became their strengths. 

Honestly, they were all amazing, but one panelist in particular I found myself fascinated with while hanging on every word he said.  You may have noticed “DMC” in the list of names.  Yes, that actually is DMC from the rap group RUN DMC.  As a child of the 80s, I listened to his music and watched his videos for countless hours.  But, I never gave it much thought about where he came from.  However, as he started his first answer it was immediately apparent that he was an amazingly articulate and intelligent individual with an emotional quotient that most people with those skills simply lack.  I’ll get into some of my favorite messages in a second, but I’ll start with the fact that I never knew, and would bet that you didn't either, that he was a straight-A catholic school student with a degree from St. John’s University.

Okay, so what was so special about what he said?  Some of you may know my passion for education and the pursuit of individual interests, and a few of you may have read the other blogs that I’d written earlier last week.  DMC seemed to be able to put into smooth phrases with powerful emotion much of what I believe and feel.  I also need to mention that it wasn’t political at all; politics per se never once got brought up.  But, the relevance was there just the same, which is where the validation aspect comes in.

In response to one particular question, he made a comment that it has come to a point where “America celebrates negativity”.  And, part of that is that “people think that to be cool, it must be negative.  But, people can change that.”  That is when he went into his background as being a nerd who loved reading through comic books throughout his life.  It never struck me until he brought it up that he used his experiences and values in his lyrics with the goal of bringing families together and inspiring education with an underlying, unstated message of anti-drug and gang. 

Then, he went deeper into something that I have always believed.  As he succinctly puts it, “To be successful, get people to think/feel about themselves through whatever your medium is, not celebrate you.  It’s about conditioning and perception … and presentation.”  If you speak in their language in a way that they respect, you can get them to change their way of thinking.  “This is where the arts are most important!” he loudly proclaimed as he started to get into his flow.  “It comes in and does what education alone can’t.  What you say matters!”.   Now, we were all on the edge of our seats.  “Negativity is a forceless power.  I became one of the greatest rappers of all time by promoting family and school.”  He described how so many others in his field don’t understand that, but the ones that do are the ones that eventually succeed to the greatest extent.

He then told an amazing story that he said was just one of many examples.  A young drug dealer from the Bronx, near where DMC was from, listened to his lyrics, “I'm DMC/In the place to be/I go to St. John’s University”and was inspired to try to get a degree.  Now, his reasons weren’t ideal; he thought it would give him more cred as a drug dealer if he had a degree and appeared intelligent.  He earned his GED and then went on to the local community college where his eyes were opened to the world of opportunity that now lay before him.  DMC’s lyrics inspired this man to get a degree and the community opportunities for education allowed him to get off the street, without ever saying anything about anti-drug or anti-gang – just as I mentioned in my last blog.

But, it didn’t stop there.  He offered great insight when bias, prejudices, and perception in comics was brought up.  After the panelists discussed the concept of testing markets and how they succeeded because others were afraid of potentially controversial heroes, DMC made some good analogies.  As he put it, “real recognizes real”.  It doesn’t matter what your skin color is, what your weight is, what your sexuality is.  If you’re strong in who you are, others with that same attitude will respect you, no matter the differences between you.  He used several examples, but one that stuck for me was The Beastie Boys.  He said that they (Run DMC) were incredibly nervous about putting them as part of their opening act when they first came onto the scene.  “Here are these kids that are as white as you can get rapping to a crowd without a white person to be found… ‘Brass Monkey?!’”.  But, as he put it, instead of pretending they were thugs, gangsters, or from the street, they were ‘real’.  They rapped about their experiences, what they knew and saw, and put their hearts into it.  And, the crowds invariably put their hands up and started cheering and singing along every time.  Respect.  “Find your strengths in what inspires you and celebrate those.  It’s all about emotion”. 

He finished up by coming back to his passion.  While he was very smart in school, his passion from an early age was comics.  He took up hip hop and rap because it was the thing to do in the Bronx and he was good at it.  But, he mentioned again about how the arts enhance education.  As he puts it, it ‘does what education can’t’ in the fact that those passions fuel and translate into intelligence in the classroom; more often than the other way around.  He stated that, “School teaches you about Saturn, but comics took me there!  School teaches you about World War II, but Captain America took me there!”.  The comics helped him recognize much of what he learned in school, and he was more interested about learning subjects because he had seen them in the books, while at the same time the classroom helped him understand the comics to a deeper extent.

We later briefly talked to DMC in person and bought one of his comics.  He lit up when he was told that my niece and nephew are currently in catholic school and broke into an inspiring freeform rhyme about succeeding through catholic school on the spot. 

It’s hard to put into words, but hopefully I was successful in translating at least a brief spark of the inspiration that he, as well as the other panelists, passed along to those in the crowd.  Some people have a gift and seem to speak directly to who you are, and he managed to do that. 

Be you, be passionate, be bold, and inspire others to do the same.  Do this, and you give yourself the chance to succeed to whatever level you aspire to.  Be willing to adapt and never think it’s too late.  DMC was a great hip hop artist, but his passion has always been comics.  He’s now 52 years old, and he just published his first comic a few years ago in pursuit of his lifelong dream.  I wouldn’t bet against him making it big again, he’s already off to a great start!

I must finish by saying that I owe Monette an apology for doubting her and thanking her for taking me to Comicon.  It was quite memorable to say the least.

One example of critical thinking and the proposed budget

One example of critical thinking and the proposed budget:

I’m going to lob a bold idea out there that the president’s budget proposal directly opposes much of his bluster about making the US safer and try to convince you without making this too long.  But first, let me say that I’m a tremendous supporter of the military and of our brave veterans.  I can be persuaded that they could use an increase their budget to continue their difficult and dangerous work to the best of their ability.  I can also see that we have a problem with our national debt and can be persuaded that we need to make difficult cuts to try to bring that under control.  What you can’t convince me of, however, is that drastically reducing funding for the state department, scientific research, environmental protection, endowment for the arts, public broadcasting, and so on, as a method to pay for a stronger defense in our current situation is remotely a good idea.  How in the world anyone can say that it’s more important to spend money on building nukes instead of supporting agencies that aim for peaceful resolutions and scientific research that is the backbone of our safety and advancement is beyond me.  Speaking on a grand scale, I know this president feels the need to ‘win wars again’, but even if that is a goal, we don’t live in the 1940s anymore and you can’t win by might alone.  Science, technology, and diplomacy are, at the very least, just as important.

If you’ve read my other blogs, you should know where I stand on the EPA and climate change and the potential damage by those delusional enough to not believe in the seriousness of pollution and CO2 emission.  For my Pittsburgh friends, where I grew up, do you remember what the city and surrounding areas looked like 30-40 years ago?  Do we really want to go back to that?  Without regulations and advances in this area, we face a serious health problem.  But, I’ll leave that topic along with the plethora of other problems with the proposed budget for now in favor of taking a different tack.

The president has said numerous times that he is the man to take steps necessary to solve the drug crisis and take a hard stance against violence in inner cities, which are very serious issues actively pervading our country.  What does this have to do with his budget?  If he took the time to actually study the best methods of doing so, he’d realize that he could likely reap huge gains on this front, as well as helping the economy, by increasing funding to the arts, sciences, and public education, to name a few, and will likely cause harm by cutting them. 

Here’s where I’m going with this: There has been plenty of evidence showing the benefits of social structures that substitute the high that people get from drugs or gang affiliation with programs that build skills that interest and excite those involved.  People are different and what works for one might not work for another.  However, the concept is the same and it works whether that program be athletics, the arts, sciences, or any other topic that interests those in a certain area.  It sounds like common sense, and it really is.  Your brain chemistry literally changes with this type of involvement, while at the same time resulting in important life skills.

There are many articles detailing this, but a great one that I’ll recommend if you want to read more was in the Atlantic:  https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/01/teens-drugs-iceland/513668/  This is not a new idea.  Back in 1992 a group out of Denver started programs along these lines.  Drug education wasn’t working so they tried a drastic approach where they didn’t mention the word ‘treatment’ but instead said, “we’ll teach you anything you want to learn: music, dance, hip-hop, martial arts…”. 

To greatly shorten the tale, I’ll jump to the fact that Iceland got wind of the programs and decided to implement the concepts on a large scale.  The idea is to combat the underlying reasons why people start doing different types of drugs, join gangs, and deal with stress, by setting up alternatives without being too obvious about it being an anti-drug program.  Iceland had one of the worst and most prevalent drug problems in the world at the time and went all-in for this approach.  I’m somewhat oversimplifying it in favor of brevity, but the major change was that state funding for organized sport, dance, music, art, and other clubs was drastically INCREASED.  Also, these programs were location specific due to the fact that various areas had differences in interests.  What worked in one area might not in another, which makes perfect sense.  The results are extreme and show a complete flip in that they now have the CLEANEST living teens in the European countries.  To cite numbers referenced in the article of those in the prime age-range, the differences in those that have been drunk in the past month went down from 42% to 5%; those that have ever used cannabis down from 17% to 7%, and those smoking cigarettes down from 53% to 3%! 

Okay, so now that we see direct evidence about how these programs have been able to help combat drug use, it’s not a jump to realize that crime rates would be reduced, especially violent crime.  And, as expected, Iceland has one of the lowest levels of crime in the world.  Go ahead and compare with the US.  Good, the next level, then, would be to realize that this will have a direct positive impact on the economy – more people with better education, getting good jobs, much less health care costs, more people with experience in a variety of disciplines, and so on. 

I’ll leave it there rather than diving into further details, which would be fun to do.  But, hopefully I’ve made you think a little bit.  You must dig past the surface and solve underlying problems that span multiple issues.  As it stands now, I feel like someone watched Kevin Kline’s character in the movie Dave where the stand-in president slashes the budget and thought they could do the same thing – but without the good reasons or understanding. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZARAldXlSyA). 

With a little foresight and an understanding of psychology, science, and the arts, we can continue to combat the most crucial issues facing us today and affecting our future.  With the proposed cuts, we likely do the exact opposite.

So, let me ask you again:  why do we need that money to build a stronger nuclear arsenal instead?

Travel: Pride and Prejudice. My take on the travel ban and immigration

Travel:  Pride and Prejudice  
My take on the travel ban and immigration

Let me begin with a personal story.  When I first moved to North Carolina, my wife and I decided to splurge on a nice dinner at a local restaurant.  After we were seated, Monette looks at me and says, “I can’t believe this”.  I, sadly, didn’t realize at first what she was talking about.  “Look around you, and then look down there”.  We had been put in a side room upstairs from the main floor.  It didn’t take long, then, to see what she had noticed right away.  Every table in the room in which we had been placed included someone of a different ethnicity, while everyone downstairs was white.  For those of you that may not know, Monette is Filipino.  I was in shock;  I’m still in shock.  My first thought was that Monette is more intelligent, talented, and, most importantly, more kind, than the entire staff combined.  Of course, I had heard the stories of segregation and prejudice throughout the years, but you really don’t know what it feels like until it happens to you.  And, this was just sitting at a table in a restaurant.  What makes these people think that this was okay?  It was frustrating and infuriating.  The restaurant didn’t last long and we celebrated when they closed their doors, but that is one experience that will be engrained forever.

Sadly, this way of thinking has come back, just when it seemed like we were past all of that.  I spoke with someone from a northern state this past week who works in a restaurant and they described a depressing tale of the times.  As we were talking about their work, it was brought up that there were problems with the wait staff refusing to wait on people of ethnicity, putting them in corners, or passing them off onto other staff.  This immediately brought back all of those strong emotions of my own experience that I hadn’t thought about in years.  They went on to say that it was an issue all across the area over the past several months.  It should not shock you that it directly coincides with the election.

I get it, those that support the travel ban and immigration policies cite the fact that it’s about the safety of Americans and they truly believe the rhetoric that has been pushed.  Our security is important and finding a way to curb illegal immigration and having a strong vetting policy is essential.  What this president doesn’t seem to get, though, or at least doesn’t want to admit, is that his method of talking about the situation and his actions taken to this point is what is causing this rash of hate, prejudice, and bigotry.  Somehow, countless people now look at Mexicans with disdain.  They see a hijab and feel scared or disgusted.  When you place a ban on only certain countries, especially after saying you want to ban all Muslims, it sends a strong message, even if subliminally, to the base that support you.  When you say that you’re getting ‘bad hombres’ out when talking about deporting millions of illegal immigrants, it has the consequence of some in the public thinking that all immigrants are bad people.  It sends confusion, fear, and uncertainty rippling across citizens of all types.

Yet another personal example of this was when two close friends were having a discussion about the recent raids and deportations a couple of weeks ago and one of them, who I have a lot of respect for, literally said, “good, get them all out of here!”.  And, again, I was recently asked by another person who I hold in high regards if it didn’t make me feel safer that the government was trying to do something by deporting illegal immigrants and wanting to publish their crimes.  While on the face of things that sounds like an easy answer, the truthful answer is a flat out no.  If the methods truly involved deporting those with dangerous felonies, then, sure.  But, the truth is that’s not what is happening and it’s having a very harmful reaction in various aspects.  There is so much misinformation about immigrants and their interaction with our economy that it’s disturbing.  But, that aside, the way that families that have been here for many years are being broken apart and the way foreigners are being treated are simply inhumane in many cases.

I understand the most common argument; they are here illegally, which makes them criminals.  It’s very easy to then say that it’s cut and dry;  they need to be deported.  When you don’t have a face, name, or better yet, a story behind those involved it’s easy to pretend you know what’s best.  I’m fortunate enough to live in an area with a large population of immigrants and refugees.  Let me tell you, they are some of the nicest and most sincere people you’ll ever meet.  Also, many, if not most, of them have tales about why they have come to the US that would break your heart.  Fine, do something to curb the flow of illegal immigration currently happening if we must.  But, there has to be a way to be humane with those that have been settled here with nowhere safe to return to.  To make matters worse, I volunteer in the UNC Emergency Department and they just sent a note out yesterday saying

Due to uncertainty regarding current U.S. immigration policy, patients are signaling their fear of deportation should they seek medical care. We want to make clear that our policy regarding patients and personal information has not changed: UNC Health Care provides medical services to all patients without regard to citizenship, national origin, age, race, ethnicity, color, religion, culture, language, mental and physical disabilities, gender, socioeconomic status, source of payment, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We do not request or require information about anyone’s immigration status. Please share with your colleagues. 

Great statement from UNC Hospitals, but how sad it is that, in this day and age, we have to send this kind of message out from a hospital?!  And, do you know the potential consequences of people in the public not going to the hospital when they are sick, ill, or injured?  We have reverted so far in such a short amount of time because of the top-down, deranged, and dangerous rhetoric.  And, by the way, I volunteer directly alongside an Iranian woman volunteer who is freely giving her time to help in a setting where many citizens wouldn’t imagine helping.  She is incredibly friendly and hard working with a two year-old son at home.  Unbelievably, her family, who is still in Iran, is fearful about trying to come visit due to friends who have been harassed and the uncertainty of the travel bans.  This is so, absolutely, disgusting to me.  I have been fortunate enough in my life to travel fairly extensively throughout the world.  Nowhere, even in places when I went in expecting it, did I feel uncomfortable from the local citizens.  How sad is it, then, that our very own country is the one where people are now fearful of visiting.  Even more sad is that I know some of you reading this are sitting there saying, “Good, we need to put America first”.  Nothing good can come from driving messages of hate and fear.  Even if you don’t think you have those sentiments yourself, hopefully you can see how supporting the current bans and policies have created the atmosphere that we find ourselves in today.

Pride in your home country is great.  America is beautiful and we should be proud to host those from diverse populations and show off what does make us the greatest country on the planet.  Sending a message that we only care about ourselves first and tossing around ideologies of intolerance and fear of other nationalities and religions, on the other hand, is damaging relations inside our very own borders while driving away allies outside of our borders.  It’s easy to have a bully pulpit and say that others need us so we can afford to take a hard stance.  But, what I fear, and what I ask you to think about, is what almost always eventually happens to the school yard bully?  Who ultimately comes out on top? 

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt's Ignorance

EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Questions Basic Facts About Climate Change

I know I'm don't stand alone with this sentiment, but I can't tell you how infuriating this is to me! I have a hard time believing that someone in Scott Pruitt's position is not intelligent enough to understand basic and overwhelming scientific literature and research. However, if I begin with that premise, then that would mean that there are more nefarious reasons for his stance. That, of course, would be worse because that means that there is little hope of him becoming educated by the very agency he is tasked to lead and is instead motivated by the all-mighty dollar or power. What has happened to our leaders?! This is like a punch in the gut, not just to the scientific community, but every citizen worldwide. Future generations may look back at this moment with incredulity, just as most other advanced nations are already, if this thinking leads to actions. UGH!