Below is a timeline in FULL from the oddly named, but very helpful, Geelong Advertiser:
A history of American shooting massacres
17Apr07
At least 33 people have been killed at Virginia Tech University in the deadliest campus shooting in US history.
Until today America's worst school shooting incident was at the University of Texas campus in Austin on August 1, 1966, when Charles Whitman went to the top of a tower and opened fire.
He killed 15 people, including his mother and wife the night before, and wounded 31 others.
Here's a chronology of some of the major shootings inside US schools and universities in more recent years:
* March 1998 - At Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, two boys aged 13 and 11 set off the fire alarm and killed four students and a teacher as they left the school.
* April 1999 - Two student gunmen killed 12 other students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, before killing themselves.
* January 2002 - A student who had been dismissed from the Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Virginia, killed the dean, a professor and a student, and wounded three others.
* October 2002 - A failing student out for vengeance opened fire inside the University of Arizona's School of Nursing in an attack that claimed the life of three of his professors, then he committed suicide.
* March 2005 - A 16-year-old high school student gunned down five students, a teacher and a security guard at Red Lake High School in far northern Minnesota before killing himself.
He also killed his grandfather and his grandfather's companion elsewhere on the Chippewa Indian reservation.
* Sept 27, 2006 - A drifter took six female high school students hostage in Bailey, Colorado, molested them and then shot one dead and killed himself as police closed in.
* Sept 29, 2006 - A 15-year-old student killed his school's principal in western Wisconsin after telling another student ``you better run''.
* Oct 2, 2006 - Charles Carl Roberts, a local milk truck driver, entered the West Nickel Mines School in Pennsylvania and shot 10 girls aged 6 to 14 before killing himself. Five girls died.
These are HUGE stories because there were many victims, but a short Internet search or conversation with anyone who has recently graduated college, will yield many more incidents of campus violence ranging from verbal harassment to murder, with just about everything in between.
This is the scariest thing about working on a college campus. This is the nightmare every teacher has to think about. It comes up during our professional development, usually as a dark aside to other more useful issues, like class size and parking--things we can get a handle on, control.
The fact that we come into contact with hundreds of people every day, that there are tens of thousands on campus every week, and that many of them are mentally ill and have access to weapons is too much for even our faculty to wrap their minds around.
I have wondered if a student is going to get violent after earning a low grade.
I have wondered if a student who has told me he is schizophrenic and abusing drugs is going to stay under control for the whole semester.
I have wondered if any number of students who failed a class quietly over the last five years may come back, having finally snapped.
I have wondered if the students I do not know, but see walking around with angry or vacant expressions or apparently high are going to lose it.
Even if I do everything right--am always respectful and fair, what about the other hundreds of professors? Even if we are all perfect people with no bad days, what about the students who are psychotic and bound to snap, all on their own? What about the students angry at their lovers, friends, parents?
These are the dangers of being in a public space in any city. The thing about working at a school or government office is that we know people are going to be upset or dissatisfied regularly--there are always going to be a certain number of people who fail the driver's test, lose the appeal, or fail an exam or class. At a school there are also a number of people walking around thrilled by what they are learning who are enjoying their educational experience. They are not the ones that scare me and make me wonder if it wouldn't be better to be a full-time writer and avoid such angst-ridden public spaces.
Humans are violent. Even a fleeting familiarity with history confirms that. However, I do sense that we are currently not so much violent in the way that animals are violent--for survival, but that the type of violence we see in the news is the symptom of a great social sickness.
I wonder why so many Americans a depressed, but I suspect it has something to do with how much time we spend earning money just so we can spend hours shopping for useless junk to spend it on. We buy all this stuff, bring it home, and it sits there until it's boring and we want more new stuff. We buy huge houses we don't have the time to clean or hang out with our family in. We buy gas guzzlers so that we can commute for two hours every day and obliterate the environment.
We spend very little time walking outside breathing unconditioned air. We spend little time doing things that do not involve shopping or spending. We spend little time playing in the grass with a child or an animal. We vacation very little. We work more than 40 hours a week, often for corporations that do not care if we feel spiritually fulfilled. We are obese. We have diseases like diabetes, cancer, depression, heart disease, and anxiety.
I suspect there is a connection between the way we live our lives and our health. I am not a scientist, but this seems so obvious, even a poet can't miss it!
What makes my stomach hurt even more is the fact that the medications so many people take for anxiety and depression can sometimes escalate their disease and lead to things like--shooting your ex and anyone else who happens to be around.
I hope that as things like climate change come into vogue, that people will start to make healthier choices. It comes as no surprise that what is good for the planet is good for us--walking instead of driving, reading instead of watching TV, eating organic and local produce instead of pesticide laden food from two states away, and eating vegetables instead of animals.
I will pray for the many dead today, and for the sick person that was so angry at the world and himself that he did his best to destroy them. I feel so sad for all the families, (and for his family, who has to live with the knowledge of what their loved one did,) all the bereaved and scared.
I will pray that all educators and students can be safe as they do one of the best things people can do--seek and develop knowledge of the world around us.
Please, be aware of the people around you. If someone seems sick, get them help. I have always done that and will do that. I also try to be kind--sometimes it seems like the only power I have.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Running 26.2 Miles
It's not actually as hard as you might think. My inspirational quote lately has been "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genuis, power, and magic in it" (J.W. Goethe) because it's true. I don't believe in the cheesy and really condescending type of will power in the wretched movie "The Secret" that Oprah loves so much, but I do believe that once a person really commits to something and to working towards that something, it is very likely to happen. This is, of course, except for things like committing to growing a foot at age 27. That will not happen.
So, once I came home from my first meeting for Team in Training and said to Gabe, "I'm running a marathon," it was done. Once I sent out letters and started to talk to friends and family about training with the LLS, it was really done. I just had to follow my coaches orders for the following five months, wake up on race day, dress, eat and make it to the start . . . and finish.
Looking at my life, a lot of things have felt this way--a cross between certainty, terror, and hope. The things that I wanted most in my life have been accompanied by these emotions--attending Santa Clara, becoming poetry editor and editor for the SCR, traveling to El Salvador and Tijuana with SCU, marrying Gabe, moving with him to San Diego and then Pasadena, attending graduate school, working as an English professor, spending a month in France, and one day I think I'll feel the same about being a parent. This is why I try to convince my students that they should pursue the things that thrill and terrify them, that they should take big risks when they know the reward will be life-changing and soul-enriching.
Carlos asked me for reflections, post-marathon, and here they are:
I was one of 35,000 runners and walkers. There were elite runners who finished in 2 hours and 12 minutes. There were walkers who had to be picked up after ten hours. I finished running slowly towards the end at 7 and a half hours. Beside me there were young, old, middle-aged, skinny, fat; there were disabled runners who were very able; young army men and women ran in boots beside me--there was no type of person I did not see that day. Some were positive, sharing a kind "keep it up." Others were clearly in distress and darkness; it was clear they wanted to stop, but mostly, they kept going. There were many onlookers kind enough to cheer with gusto for us, offer us orange slices, water, a smile. There was Gabe at mile 4, 8, 11, 19 and 26.2 to give me a kiss.
I never felt like stopping. I felt like finishing a lot. At mile 22, when we hit a big incline, I prayed I could be magically transported to the finish, but stopping was not an option. My running partner hit a slump from mile 12-18. For us, that was about 1.5 hours. I think part of it was that she forgot to take her salt packet and skipped a snack. Low blood sugar or sodium will drain your soul right out your ears when you are running long distances. In a way, her slump helped me, as selfish as that sounds. Because we were committed to staying together, I had to suck it up even though my knees were hurting and I was tired, and try to cheer her up. I distracted her by telling her embarrassing stories about myself and asking for her to tell me some of hers. I got her to eat. I stopped thinking about how badly my knees felt.
Miles 20-26 it was my turn to slump. Lesley got me through this, even though I had to walk several of these last miles. She made me laugh and smile for a picture. Smiling does actually cheer you up! We finished with our hands in the air and our legs running.
I called my family in Fremont at mile 24 to hear their voices and I could hear how excited they were. The cheers and faith they had in me propelled me. My in-laws waving signs propelled me.
I cannot describe how good it feels to know that my body can run 26.2 miles. I am not skinny or very strong-looking. I am no model. I am slow. But I can endure. Before that day, our long training days included 18, 16, 14, 12, etc. long runs. I was thrilled the day we hit the double digits. I had never run that far. Now, ten miles is no big deal. It's not extraordinary at all. My whole life I thought something like this was so out of reach, that it was beyond me, but I had never tried. I didn't know what ten miles really were because I had never run them. Running this marathon freed me from a lot of self-doubt. Heck, I think I surprised a lot of people who looked at me and thought, "a marathon?"
There is always someone who will ask, "Did you win?" or "What did you place?" Officially, I placed something like 23,000th, but I did win. I was competing only against doubt and I kicked its ass.
So, once I came home from my first meeting for Team in Training and said to Gabe, "I'm running a marathon," it was done. Once I sent out letters and started to talk to friends and family about training with the LLS, it was really done. I just had to follow my coaches orders for the following five months, wake up on race day, dress, eat and make it to the start . . . and finish.
Looking at my life, a lot of things have felt this way--a cross between certainty, terror, and hope. The things that I wanted most in my life have been accompanied by these emotions--attending Santa Clara, becoming poetry editor and editor for the SCR, traveling to El Salvador and Tijuana with SCU, marrying Gabe, moving with him to San Diego and then Pasadena, attending graduate school, working as an English professor, spending a month in France, and one day I think I'll feel the same about being a parent. This is why I try to convince my students that they should pursue the things that thrill and terrify them, that they should take big risks when they know the reward will be life-changing and soul-enriching.
Carlos asked me for reflections, post-marathon, and here they are:
I was one of 35,000 runners and walkers. There were elite runners who finished in 2 hours and 12 minutes. There were walkers who had to be picked up after ten hours. I finished running slowly towards the end at 7 and a half hours. Beside me there were young, old, middle-aged, skinny, fat; there were disabled runners who were very able; young army men and women ran in boots beside me--there was no type of person I did not see that day. Some were positive, sharing a kind "keep it up." Others were clearly in distress and darkness; it was clear they wanted to stop, but mostly, they kept going. There were many onlookers kind enough to cheer with gusto for us, offer us orange slices, water, a smile. There was Gabe at mile 4, 8, 11, 19 and 26.2 to give me a kiss.
I never felt like stopping. I felt like finishing a lot. At mile 22, when we hit a big incline, I prayed I could be magically transported to the finish, but stopping was not an option. My running partner hit a slump from mile 12-18. For us, that was about 1.5 hours. I think part of it was that she forgot to take her salt packet and skipped a snack. Low blood sugar or sodium will drain your soul right out your ears when you are running long distances. In a way, her slump helped me, as selfish as that sounds. Because we were committed to staying together, I had to suck it up even though my knees were hurting and I was tired, and try to cheer her up. I distracted her by telling her embarrassing stories about myself and asking for her to tell me some of hers. I got her to eat. I stopped thinking about how badly my knees felt.
Miles 20-26 it was my turn to slump. Lesley got me through this, even though I had to walk several of these last miles. She made me laugh and smile for a picture. Smiling does actually cheer you up! We finished with our hands in the air and our legs running.
I called my family in Fremont at mile 24 to hear their voices and I could hear how excited they were. The cheers and faith they had in me propelled me. My in-laws waving signs propelled me.
I cannot describe how good it feels to know that my body can run 26.2 miles. I am not skinny or very strong-looking. I am no model. I am slow. But I can endure. Before that day, our long training days included 18, 16, 14, 12, etc. long runs. I was thrilled the day we hit the double digits. I had never run that far. Now, ten miles is no big deal. It's not extraordinary at all. My whole life I thought something like this was so out of reach, that it was beyond me, but I had never tried. I didn't know what ten miles really were because I had never run them. Running this marathon freed me from a lot of self-doubt. Heck, I think I surprised a lot of people who looked at me and thought, "a marathon?"
There is always someone who will ask, "Did you win?" or "What did you place?" Officially, I placed something like 23,000th, but I did win. I was competing only against doubt and I kicked its ass.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
WTF: Part 2.1--Mattel sucks.
So, Mattel decided to jump onto the exploitation bandwagon that is "Girl Power!" with its newest line of matchbox cars. The investor relations page says:
"Polly Pocket™ Polly Wheels™ Cars – Polly Pocket™ makes a HUGE statement with the first ever die-cast vehicles designed just for girls! These candy-colored stylin' mini Polly Wheels™ cars are adorable and include a mini-sized doll for each car. Girls will want to collect them all – there are lots of different unique cars to choose from so girls can race, play and even collect!"
They even have a SUPERCOOL track set that lets girls race to the mall to shop. The winner gets a shopping bag dropped into her trunk.
This is about as blatantly sexist as it gets. There is no cognitive or social benefit to teaching girls that everything they own should be covered in pink scented glitter and revolve around shopping. It's just HUGELY disgusting.
"Polly Pocket™ Polly Wheels™ Cars – Polly Pocket™ makes a HUGE statement with the first ever die-cast vehicles designed just for girls! These candy-colored stylin' mini Polly Wheels™ cars are adorable and include a mini-sized doll for each car. Girls will want to collect them all – there are lots of different unique cars to choose from so girls can race, play and even collect!"
They even have a SUPERCOOL track set that lets girls race to the mall to shop. The winner gets a shopping bag dropped into her trunk.
This is about as blatantly sexist as it gets. There is no cognitive or social benefit to teaching girls that everything they own should be covered in pink scented glitter and revolve around shopping. It's just HUGELY disgusting.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
WTF: Part 1--The Color of Our Skin
So, you may have missed the Colbert Report interview with Debra Dickerson, author of the The End of Blackness, but here is one of her claims regarding blackness:
"Black," in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves. Voluntary immigrants of African descent (even those descended from West Indian slaves) are just that, voluntary immigrants of African descent with markedly different outlooks on the role of race in their lives and in politics. At a minimum, it can't be assumed that a Nigerian cabdriver and a third-generation Harlemite have more in common than the fact a cop won't bother to make the distinction. They're both "black" as a matter of skin color and DNA, but only the Harlemite, for better or worse, is politically and culturally black, as we use the term.
In a Harvard Magazine article, by Craig Lambert, he explains Dickerson's perspective a bit more:
"Consider the case of a 51-year-old high-school principal in Los Angeles, a man of Louisiana Creole ancestry who had always considered himself an African American and lived his life accordingly. On a whim, he sent a mouth-swab sample to a company in Florida that, for a fee, will analyze DNA to genetically locate the origin of one's ancestors. He learned that he was 57 percent Indo-European, 39 percent Native American, and 4 percent East Asian—and zero percent African. "So; was he black?" asks Dickerson. "Is he still black?""
I would say, "Ask him!" We are what we identify as and that is shaped both by our inner worlds and the external world in which we live our lives. If this man feels black, then he is. It sounds as if he always identified as black and has been treated as black his whole life. I imagine that has shaped his character and sense of self, just as gender does. It seems absurd to expect him to suddenly identify as Indo-European or Native American when he is unfamiliar with those cultures and has never felt he belonged to them. If he does, it's his business, and doesn't necessarily speak to the experience of every other person of color.
In reference to Barack Obama, the exchange with Colbert went as follows:
Colbert: Your book is called The End of Blackness and I want to come out right here and say I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black. It's a choice and I support that. Now settle something for me. Is Barack Obama black?
This is only one of many writers focused on Barack Obama's race. This saddens me, much the same way the focus on Hillary Clinton's gender does. The Obama issue is both complex and telling. Many have questioned the willingness of white voters to elect black candidates, but nearly as many also doubt the black community's willingness to elect a black candidate. Now, we are parsing Obama's racial, cultural, and social identity.
Some have finally started to focus on Obama's actual politics, and they don't paint an entirely rosy picture. But he knows his candidacy is audacious; he said that himself. I support Obama, at least for now, because if nothing else, he is bringing energy and hope back into the political realm. Even if he loses, his presence is changing the tenor of the race for president and our country's discussions. Once people stop focusing on his race, and start listening to the man's words, they may find that he has something to offer no other candidate does--inspiration. In the end, the President is only one person who consults and works with a myriad of experts to run this country. Imagine what might be different if instead of Bush's twisted and nearly retarded public speeches, we had Obama talking to us and guiding us through this precarious moment in history.
People tend to follow their leaders, even into folly. With President Bush, a lot of people have followed him into a place of fear, revenge, greed, and oversimplified thinking. These same people might just be moved towards tolerance, justice, hope, and critical inquiry with the right person encouraging them to do so. Even if he's a political rookie, even if he has some lackluster energy policies, Obama can give me what I know I have been missing since 9/11--faith in the goodness of the people leading this country and hope that our better natures might be able to thrive.
And, about his race: He was born in Hawaii. His father is Kenyan and his mother is American (from Kansas). That's about as African American as it gets. In some ways, he is both more African and more American than Debra Dickerson.
"Black," in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves. Voluntary immigrants of African descent (even those descended from West Indian slaves) are just that, voluntary immigrants of African descent with markedly different outlooks on the role of race in their lives and in politics. At a minimum, it can't be assumed that a Nigerian cabdriver and a third-generation Harlemite have more in common than the fact a cop won't bother to make the distinction. They're both "black" as a matter of skin color and DNA, but only the Harlemite, for better or worse, is politically and culturally black, as we use the term.
In a Harvard Magazine article, by Craig Lambert, he explains Dickerson's perspective a bit more:
"Consider the case of a 51-year-old high-school principal in Los Angeles, a man of Louisiana Creole ancestry who had always considered himself an African American and lived his life accordingly. On a whim, he sent a mouth-swab sample to a company in Florida that, for a fee, will analyze DNA to genetically locate the origin of one's ancestors. He learned that he was 57 percent Indo-European, 39 percent Native American, and 4 percent East Asian—and zero percent African. "So; was he black?" asks Dickerson. "Is he still black?""
I would say, "Ask him!" We are what we identify as and that is shaped both by our inner worlds and the external world in which we live our lives. If this man feels black, then he is. It sounds as if he always identified as black and has been treated as black his whole life. I imagine that has shaped his character and sense of self, just as gender does. It seems absurd to expect him to suddenly identify as Indo-European or Native American when he is unfamiliar with those cultures and has never felt he belonged to them. If he does, it's his business, and doesn't necessarily speak to the experience of every other person of color.
In reference to Barack Obama, the exchange with Colbert went as follows:
Colbert: Your book is called The End of Blackness and I want to come out right here and say I'm against ending blackness. I believe that everyone has a right to be black. It's a choice and I support that. Now settle something for me. Is Barack Obama black?
Dickerson: No, he's not...(see above).
Colbert: OK, so if he's not black, why doesn't he just run as a white guy? Because we know that black people will vote for white people and white people will vote for white people, but we're not sure that white people will vote for black people....
Dickerson: Well, he's not white either. He is an African African-American....
Colbert: Should we make up a new name for what he is?
Dickerson: Yes, we should.
Colbert: What about nouveau-black?
My husband I were both laughing out loud, very loudly. Come on, "African-African-American"?!
This is only one of many writers focused on Barack Obama's race. This saddens me, much the same way the focus on Hillary Clinton's gender does. The Obama issue is both complex and telling. Many have questioned the willingness of white voters to elect black candidates, but nearly as many also doubt the black community's willingness to elect a black candidate. Now, we are parsing Obama's racial, cultural, and social identity.
Some have finally started to focus on Obama's actual politics, and they don't paint an entirely rosy picture. But he knows his candidacy is audacious; he said that himself. I support Obama, at least for now, because if nothing else, he is bringing energy and hope back into the political realm. Even if he loses, his presence is changing the tenor of the race for president and our country's discussions. Once people stop focusing on his race, and start listening to the man's words, they may find that he has something to offer no other candidate does--inspiration. In the end, the President is only one person who consults and works with a myriad of experts to run this country. Imagine what might be different if instead of Bush's twisted and nearly retarded public speeches, we had Obama talking to us and guiding us through this precarious moment in history.
People tend to follow their leaders, even into folly. With President Bush, a lot of people have followed him into a place of fear, revenge, greed, and oversimplified thinking. These same people might just be moved towards tolerance, justice, hope, and critical inquiry with the right person encouraging them to do so. Even if he's a political rookie, even if he has some lackluster energy policies, Obama can give me what I know I have been missing since 9/11--faith in the goodness of the people leading this country and hope that our better natures might be able to thrive.
And, about his race: He was born in Hawaii. His father is Kenyan and his mother is American (from Kansas). That's about as African American as it gets. In some ways, he is both more African and more American than Debra Dickerson.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
NPR Rocks
Thank you, NPR! You'll find three audiofiles from NPR's "This I Believe" series in my shared items today. NPR has called for people to send in essays stating their philosophies of life. This is a revival of an Edward R. Murrow series.
It is a very moving project. If you need a little lift or contemplative moment, just listen to these. I think I'm going to have to incorporate them into my writing classes somehow.
Enjoy!
It is a very moving project. If you need a little lift or contemplative moment, just listen to these. I think I'm going to have to incorporate them into my writing classes somehow.
Enjoy!
Family Values, American Style
UNICEF ranks well-being of British, U.S. children last in industrialized world
That's the US News headline for Valentine's Day. The article explained:
"The U.S. was last among the 21 nations for health and safety, measured by rates of infant mortality, low birth weight, immunization, and deaths from accidents and injuries.
At a time when the lawmakers in our capital, and pundits across the nation, are pondering questions which include:
Should we bring back our soldiers from a failed war?
Should we provide universal healthcare for our citizens?
Should we ensure that Social Security is, well, secure?
Should we invest more in education?
Should we allow illegal immigrants many of the rights of legal residents?
Should we regulate corporations and individuals to enforce environmental responsibility?
Should we end tax-cuts for the rich and return to Clinton-era tax levels?
We get this NEWS--America is not caring for its children. Isn't the connection obvious? Isn't it clear that every single thing we do, from healthcare to environmental regulations, affect our children?
Should we bring back our soldiers from a failed war?
When parents are deployed, redeployed, maimed, or killed , children pay the biggest price. They lose a parent, sibling, caretaker. Even if Mom comes back, if she is suffering from PTSD or disabled, her child's quality of life is permanently altered. The same is true when Dad comes back a little less himself than before the war. I know this is the price of war. I admire the soldiers willing to fight to protect my rights. That is precisely why it is outrageous that their gifts and sacrifices are being squandered in Iraq. It's just not worth it.
Should we provide universal healthcare for our citizens?
When parents can't pay for preventative healthcare, for themselves or their children, it's children that suffer. It is far worse for a child to end up in the ER, than to get the flu shot. When parents are sick, they have less energy to be good parents. We save money by privatizing healthcare, but the ones who pay are children. They will in turn, grow up to be less healthy, happy, and productive adults than children who did have access to regular medical care.
Should we ensure that Social Security is, well, secure?
Isn't Social Security a problem for the elderly? Not if you look around. When the elderly can't take care of themselves, there are a few things that can happen:
1. They end up on the streets. This is the worst case.
2. Their grown children take care of them.
(3. Right now, social services can step in and help, but this requires continued funding.)
Option 2 might be okay if the grown children have enough money, help, and time to care for a parent and their own children. Picture a middle-aged couple with ailing parents, if they have to pay for mom and dad to be in a nursing home, that leaves less money for their kids' college, school, etc. If mom and dad live with them, that is a drain of time from the kids too.
When grandparents live in the same house as their grandkids it can be an amazing experience. Having my grandma live with us was a wonderful part of my childhood. However, she was very healthy and I had a large family support system. Many Americans are in not in such an ideal situation. Even my grandma relied on Social Security to help pay some of her personal expenses, such as medications.
When we cut back on social security and other services for the elderly, it impacts their entire family.
Should we invest more in education?
Should we allow illegal immigrants many of the rights of legal residents?
Education AND granting rights to illegal immigrants are linked issues. In my experience teaching community college I have seen some important things:
A large number of students graduate high school without the basic skills needed to understand the information they will encounter at work, in the world, and at home. It's not just their vocabularies that are limited, but their sense of empowerment and motivation. The schools have not just failed to inspire them to learn, they have taught these students that learning does not matter because they do not matter. This is the worst type of trap.
Also, MANY talented and motivated students in California are paralyzed at the community college level (or lower) by the fact that they cannot work legally in the U.S., even if they do complete their education. Imagine how futile it must feel to study and work to pay tuition, knowing full well that your work will mean nothing if or when you are deported.
Should we regulate corporations and individuals to enforce environmental responsibility?
One of the things that made teaching in Southgate difficult was the noxious air from the freeways and god-only-knows-what-kind of factories. When children breathe dirty air, drink filthy water, live in roach-infested public housing, and play in graveled lots, they are unable to experience the joy we typically associate with childhood. They miss out on rolling in the grass, or biking along a stream, or even just breathing easily (without asthma-meds). Our health affects our quality of life. This is just as true for children. How can they concentrate when they have headaches from the fumes, or are constipated from the trashy fast-food they ate?Hasn't the mind-body connection been established by now?
Should we end tax-cuts for the rich and return to Clinton-era tax levels?
Tax cuts--HA! The tax burden has shifted to the middle-class. Those of us who are middle-class can't afford nannies and vacations in the Hamptons. When we are struggling, we work overtime, trim our grocery budget, and cancel our family vacation. Maybe when the President is picturing his rich friends smiling about the tax cuts, he should picture the millions of average-income kids sitting at home alone watching TV while mom and dad work overtime. They are truly being left behind.
Let's talk politics; let's examine the issues that affect families and kids. The personal is political. When we forget that, we forget what government is really for--to serve the people, even the ones who aren't old enough to vote.
That's the US News headline for Valentine's Day. The article explained:
"The U.S. was last among the 21 nations for health and safety, measured by rates of infant mortality, low birth weight, immunization, and deaths from accidents and injuries.
Meanwhile, Britain was last in family and peer relationships ranking, which measured such things as the rate of single-parent families and whether families ate the main meal of the day together more than once a week. It was also last in behaviors and risks, which considered factors such as the percentage of children who ate breakfast, were overweight, used drugs or alcohol or were sexually active."
At a time when the lawmakers in our capital, and pundits across the nation, are pondering questions which include:
Should we bring back our soldiers from a failed war?
Should we provide universal healthcare for our citizens?
Should we ensure that Social Security is, well, secure?
Should we invest more in education?
Should we allow illegal immigrants many of the rights of legal residents?
Should we regulate corporations and individuals to enforce environmental responsibility?
Should we end tax-cuts for the rich and return to Clinton-era tax levels?
We get this NEWS--America is not caring for its children. Isn't the connection obvious? Isn't it clear that every single thing we do, from healthcare to environmental regulations, affect our children?
Should we bring back our soldiers from a failed war?
When parents are deployed, redeployed, maimed, or killed , children pay the biggest price. They lose a parent, sibling, caretaker. Even if Mom comes back, if she is suffering from PTSD or disabled, her child's quality of life is permanently altered. The same is true when Dad comes back a little less himself than before the war. I know this is the price of war. I admire the soldiers willing to fight to protect my rights. That is precisely why it is outrageous that their gifts and sacrifices are being squandered in Iraq. It's just not worth it.
Should we provide universal healthcare for our citizens?
When parents can't pay for preventative healthcare, for themselves or their children, it's children that suffer. It is far worse for a child to end up in the ER, than to get the flu shot. When parents are sick, they have less energy to be good parents. We save money by privatizing healthcare, but the ones who pay are children. They will in turn, grow up to be less healthy, happy, and productive adults than children who did have access to regular medical care.
Should we ensure that Social Security is, well, secure?
Isn't Social Security a problem for the elderly? Not if you look around. When the elderly can't take care of themselves, there are a few things that can happen:
1. They end up on the streets. This is the worst case.
2. Their grown children take care of them.
(3. Right now, social services can step in and help, but this requires continued funding.)
Option 2 might be okay if the grown children have enough money, help, and time to care for a parent and their own children. Picture a middle-aged couple with ailing parents, if they have to pay for mom and dad to be in a nursing home, that leaves less money for their kids' college, school, etc. If mom and dad live with them, that is a drain of time from the kids too.
When grandparents live in the same house as their grandkids it can be an amazing experience. Having my grandma live with us was a wonderful part of my childhood. However, she was very healthy and I had a large family support system. Many Americans are in not in such an ideal situation. Even my grandma relied on Social Security to help pay some of her personal expenses, such as medications.
When we cut back on social security and other services for the elderly, it impacts their entire family.
Should we invest more in education?
Should we allow illegal immigrants many of the rights of legal residents?
Education AND granting rights to illegal immigrants are linked issues. In my experience teaching community college I have seen some important things:
A large number of students graduate high school without the basic skills needed to understand the information they will encounter at work, in the world, and at home. It's not just their vocabularies that are limited, but their sense of empowerment and motivation. The schools have not just failed to inspire them to learn, they have taught these students that learning does not matter because they do not matter. This is the worst type of trap.
Also, MANY talented and motivated students in California are paralyzed at the community college level (or lower) by the fact that they cannot work legally in the U.S., even if they do complete their education. Imagine how futile it must feel to study and work to pay tuition, knowing full well that your work will mean nothing if or when you are deported.
Should we regulate corporations and individuals to enforce environmental responsibility?
One of the things that made teaching in Southgate difficult was the noxious air from the freeways and god-only-knows-what-kind of factories. When children breathe dirty air, drink filthy water, live in roach-infested public housing, and play in graveled lots, they are unable to experience the joy we typically associate with childhood. They miss out on rolling in the grass, or biking along a stream, or even just breathing easily (without asthma-meds). Our health affects our quality of life. This is just as true for children. How can they concentrate when they have headaches from the fumes, or are constipated from the trashy fast-food they ate?Hasn't the mind-body connection been established by now?
Should we end tax-cuts for the rich and return to Clinton-era tax levels?
Tax cuts--HA! The tax burden has shifted to the middle-class. Those of us who are middle-class can't afford nannies and vacations in the Hamptons. When we are struggling, we work overtime, trim our grocery budget, and cancel our family vacation. Maybe when the President is picturing his rich friends smiling about the tax cuts, he should picture the millions of average-income kids sitting at home alone watching TV while mom and dad work overtime. They are truly being left behind.
Let's talk politics; let's examine the issues that affect families and kids. The personal is political. When we forget that, we forget what government is really for--to serve the people, even the ones who aren't old enough to vote.
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