My Vote in 2024

My guess is that most of you have voted, and this isn't intended to change your mind even if you haven't. Instead, I just feel a need to share my reasons for voting the way I will. I guess it's sort of a catharsis since I have been quieter in the runup to this election than I've probably been since I've been old enough to know what an election is.

I'll start by saying there are three traits I consider essential in anyone who is going to earn my vote. These are decency, integrity and intellect. Decency is demonstrated in the respect one shows for others. Integrity is doing what's right even when it is not in one's own best interest. And intellect is the demonstration of curiosity and critical thinking that makes possible the strategic decision-making required of any effective leader.

Everything I have witnessed tells me that Donald Trump is woefully deficient on all three counts.

Decency

I could rehash all the former president’s insults, name-calling, threats and even the self-proclaimed pride he takes in the way his celebrity allows him to commit acts of criminal sexual assault. I could do that, but to what end? Somehow, good people have chosen to turn a blind eye. I can’t - my personal values won't allow it. Instead, I would ask those who support him to convince me I am wrong. Prove to me that he is a good and decent man. By that I mean not by dismissing the awfulness of his behavior as inconsequential, but by demonstrating in the affirmative how his behavior is evidence of his decency. More importantly, please convince me that he appeals to the best in us, that he makes us better as individuals, as citizens, as neighbors and as a society. If you can do that, I will listen. But if you cannot, then I ask you to sincerely consider what principles you consider inviolable.

Integrity

It is said that reputation is what others see, character is who we really are. It is well-known that Donald Trump has endured multiple bankruptcies. It is well-known that investors in Donald Trump’s casino stocks watched their investments go up in smoke. It is also well-known that he has been sued multiple times for non-payment of bills, often sending his vendors into bankruptcy as well. But what is not so well known is that while the pain of his mismanagement was being felt by lenders, vendors and shareholders, Donald Trump was using those lenders and investors’ funds to pay himself millions and pay off tens of millions in personal debt. If integrity is doing what is right even when it is not in one’s own best interest, then this would be its antithesis. 

These represent just a small part of the questionable, and as the courts have determined, often illegal dealings of a man some would like to see return to the presidency. I am not one of them, and here are some more reasons why. 

He’s been convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, forced to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit over defrauding financially-strapped students of Trump University, found to be an adjudicated rapist by the judge in the E. Jean Carroll sexual assault case and ordered to pay more than $450 million in fines for bank and tax fraud. Meanwhile, he is facing charges for intentionally refusing to return top-secret documents which he improperly stored and shared at his properties in Florida and New Jersey. Worst of all, he is under investigation for his actions on January 6 (a date, which like 9/11, needs no year to denote its infamy), where at best he turned a blind eye as his supporters sought to stop the legal process of certifying a presidential election, people he now seeks to lionize (I strongly recommend you watch this video beginning around the 26:20 mark through the moment Ashli Babbit gets shot at 28:35 and determine for yourself if she deserves Donald Trump’s praise as a “Great Patriot”).

Please note that everything in the preceding paragraph transpired after Donald Trump took office as president. His legal troubles stretch back decades before, beginning with a federal case over racial discrimination against he and his father in 1973. The apple does not fall far from the tree and his is a long history of disreputable behavior. Also note that none of the above is opinion. These indictments of his character are all documented fact.

There is so much more I could share to demonstrate his lack of integrity, but at this point he has disqualified himself from my consideration. I would love for people to convince me otherwise, but I will warn them that they face a long and daunting road to convince me. Simply trying to dismiss the above as prosecutorial misconduct without providing hard evidence to support that claim is not enough. Nor will trying to diminish the severity of what he has done, or suggesting false equivalencies by claiming others have behaved likewise suffice to convince me (others have not behaved anywhere near likewise - and I am more than happy to engage anyone in an open discussion of why that is). That is why I say it is a long road - but it is one I'll consider if one is committed to facts and evidence in proving these are not reflections of his true character.

Intellect

A cousin of mine who’s deeply involved in education once told me how brains develop in early childhood. We all begin with billions of disconnected neurons that begin to make connections as they are needed. This goes on for the first 4-6 years of life, at which point the brain starts pruning those that aren’t being used because it’s too inefficient to maintain those unused neurons (a look at how this works can be found here). Mary Trump, Donald Trump’s niece and a PhD psychologist, has argued that this neural connection process was likely short-circuited in her uncle thanks to his mother’s cold indifference, literally leaving him with an under-developed brain. One may dismiss this as simple family disharmony. However, consistent with Mary Trump's diagnosis, Dr. Justin Frank, the author of psychological studies of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, noted in his book Trump on the Couch, intellectual deficiencies and psychological needs in Donald Trump that are often the result of maternal neglect in infancy and which often manifest themselves in ways that “involve lying, exaggerating, and feigning certainty about things they do not comprehend” (Page 146). He goes on to describe how children and adults suffering from this subtype of dyslexia are often seen as having thin skin, confusing questions for criticism or attack because they either do not understand the question or lack the depth of knowledge to respond effectively. There are countless examples of this behavior, as seen in exchanges with NBC’s Peter Alexander or at a recent NABJ conference. 

Further evidence of his limited intellectual capacity are the insults referenced in the section above on decency. Unable to formulate a coherent, factual response to those who criticize him, he must resort to insults and name-calling. His behavior matches his vocabulary, which has been shown to be that of a 4th grader. Interestingly, the late Charles Krauthammer, not only a reliably conservative commentator, but also a Harvard-trained clinical psychiatrist, was not so generous in describing Donald Trump's psyche. In a 2016 piece he wrote, “I used to think Trump was an 11-year-old, an undeveloped schoolyard bully. I was off by about 10 years. His needs are more primitive, an infantile hunger for approval and praise, a craving that can never be satisfied. He lives in a cocoon of solipsism where the world outside himself has value — indeed exists — only insofar as it sustains and inflates him.”

Krauthammer’s comment about a craving that can never be satisfied is insightful. In a 1989 Time cover story, a close colleague of Donald Trump’s describes him as a “black hole” which can’t be filled, no matter how hard he tries. He goes on to predict that Trump would pursue ever larger deals to try to fill the void, but to no avail. Viewed through the lens of the three PhDs above, this person’s take becomes untainted evidence backing the under-developed, juvenile nature of the future president’s psyche. And one can't help but wonder if his pursuit of the presidency isn't just that last, desperate grasp for fulfilment predicted by his colleague, or help but see his angry stream-of-consciousness rally rants as public therapy sessions. Trump on the couch, indeed.

Of consequence, the neediness in Donald Trump’s mindset - the need for approval, the need to have the biggest crowds, the need to be seen as the smartest - can be exploited by others. For proof, look no further than his debate with Kamala Harris, who only needed to question his crowd sizes to get him to go off on a nonsensical rant that ended with him talking about unverified stories of immigrants eating cats and dogs. And in a world where every accusation is a confession, where he fears he's been outsmarted, Donald Trump needs to call Harris a “stupid woman” because he needs to convince people not that she is stupid, but that he is not - and because he lacks the intellectual capacity to make his case in any other way.

This craving for validation has real world implications. Why do you think he brags about the great relationships he has with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un? Is it because he is working to develop relationships that are in our nation's best interest, or is it because they, like Kamala Harris, recognize how easily he can manipulated, whether by flattery or ridicule? If my country needs to stand up to those three tyrants, and others like them, I far prefer someone who knows how to play the game, as Kamala demonstrated, than one who is so easily manipulated.

Clinical explanations such as these necessarily give weight to the claims by his former aides and cabinet members like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn and others that he’s a moron, idiot or worse. But we don’t need to take others’ word for it. We can see it for ourselves in comments where he has asked why we can’t nuke hurricanes or hit Covid with a really strong flu shot. A seemingly humorous example, but one that could have serious consequences involved his Sharpie mark-up of an NOAA hurricane cone of uncertainty when he was trying to prove that Hurricane Dorian was headed towards Alabama. Instead of simply saying he misspoke and moving on, he felt the need to prove himself. Many of us laughed while others defended him, but it raises the serious question of how he would react in a far more serious situation where he’d made a mistake. Such stubbornness born of intellectual deficiencies and insecurities, combined with a lack of curiosity and strategic thinking in an increasingly unstable world could have devastating consequences.

I hesitate to say this because it will come across as, dare I say, a little Trumpish, but a line from Animal House comes to mind - nasty, amoral and stupid is no way to go through life. Nor are they traits I want in a president. But these are the traits that Donald Trump has exhibited again and again. And I have yet to come across anyone who can make an effective argument to the contrary. Yes, there are deflections, denials and the blind loyalty of a rather embarrassing cadre of sycophants, but I continue to wait for a coherent argument proving that what has been said above is unfounded.

Changing Principles?

I’ve had people suggest my values have changed. They haven’t. I became a Republican the way most people choose a party - because that’s how my parents voted. But I quickly developed my own set of values that I found better supported at the time by the GOP, including individual liberty, limited government, commitment to fiscal responsibility and the championing of democracy and human rights around the world through a combination of military strength and moral leadership. However, even early on, I recognized that there were two ideologies coursing through GOP veins. One, an optimistic one embodied by Ronald Reagan and Jack Kemp, reflected the principles just noted. The other, led at the time by Pat Buchanan, pushed a dark, us versus them narrative that saw the world as a zero sum game. I noted my opposition to such a world view in a handwritten 1992 journal entry and I hold that view to this day. Sadly, the GOP has been taken over by the Pat Buchanan wing, led by Donald Trump. They no longer represent my values, so I can no longer support them. As Ronald Reagan once said of the Democrats, he didn’t leave the party, the party left him. Or, as Winston Churchill observed, some abandon their party for the sake of their principles, others abandon their principles for the sake of their party. To me, principles matter more.

That’s because I have never held policy as sacrosanct. I see policy as a means to an end, as a means to living up to my principles. And just as I see my HVAC unit as a means to comfort - sometimes I need some heat, sometimes I need some A/C - so I see policy as a necessarily flexible means to a better, stronger, more just society that empowers individuals to be all they can be, respects personal liberty, chooses long term fiscal responsibility over short term interests and promotes the right of self determination around the world. It’s not the means, but the ends I care about. Unfortunately, Donald Trump’s GOP has abandoned all the above. 

Now, I understand that there is one issue, abortion, that for some matters more than anything else. I understand the concern, but I am not, and never will be, a single issue voter. And even on the matter of abortion, I would rather folks seek to change hearts than use the courts to reinterpret the Constitution, because doing so has required the appointment of justices who have a narrowly defined view of all rights inherent in that document. We should not lose sight of the fact that Plessy v. Ferguson, which enshrined separate but equal as a constitutional principle, and Brown v. The Board of Education, which found separate but equal unconstitutional, were both based upon interpretations of the 14th Amendment’s equal protections clause. The wording of the document didn’t change. All that changed were the people interpreting it. That is what is at stake. Justices who see fewer individual protections put all our liberties at risk and those are the justices today’s GOP seeks to place at all levels of our federal judiciary. I cannot and will not vote for that.

Which leads to what I see as Donald Trump’s greatest shortcoming - that he understands America no better than the Grinch understood Christmas. It’s all about the material goods with no understanding that America, just as the Grinch learned about Christmas, is about so much more. Here are two examples.

The first involves a visit I made to the American cemetery in Normandy honoring those who died on D-Day. There is a plaque at the entrance that reads:

"If ever proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not for conquest it could be found in these cemeteries. Here was our only conquest, all we asked... was enough soil in which to bury our gallant dead." - General Mark W. Clark, inscribed at Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France 

Nothing could better represent what makes America special. Our young men sacrificed their lives not for material gain but in defense of American ideals of freedom and democracy.

Contrast that to Donald Trump’s comment in this video regarding the war in Iraq, where he casually argues that we should have taken the oil. Forget that doing so would be a war crime, it shows how everything is transactional with Donald Trump. That is not what made America great, nor will it ever. To be honest, that comment makes me ill, as does the thought of someone who would so disgrace our nation serving as our president. 

The second example begins with a talk by management guru Simon Sinek on the Navy Seals, describing how they became the most effective operating unit on the planet by self-policing based upon a system that puts a higher value on principles than on performance. He relates how they would rather have a low performer with high values than a high performer with inferior values. Yet consider Donald Trump and the case of Seal Eddie Gallagher, who killed a teenage Iraqi prisoner with a hunting knife, then posed with the body and subsequently held a bizarre "re-enlistment ceremony" over the body, forcing team members to pose with the corpse. He had previously killed a schoolgirl and elderly man from a sniper's nest, leading a fellow team member to tell investigators that "the guy is freaking evil." As is the Seals' custom, he was reported by his team members. The U.S. eventually found him guilty of war crimes and removed him from active duty.

Donald Trump not only pardoned Gallagher, undermining the Navy Seals' self-policing methods that make them the effective force they are, but lauded the war criminal as a great warrior before inviting him to join him on the 2020 campaign trail.

Just two of many examples of Donald Trump not understanding the soul of America, or even basic decency. If he wants to cavort with war criminals and insurrectionists like Gallagher and Ashli Babbit, let him do so on his own time. But please, let’s not let him poison the minds of the American people, lest we forget who we really are. 

The Corrosive Impact

When a party revels in making their opponents uneasy, behavior inevitably takes on the nature of an addict who requires ever stronger doses to get the same high. Thus, what we witnessed in the campaign's final weeks, culminating in Donald Trump's closing argument at Madison Square Garden. The important and most frightening questions are how far can this go and where does it stop? When people sharing the stage with a would-be president refer to their fellow Americans as garbage, when influentual supporters receive wild applause when they argue that America needs to be spanked like a petulant teenage girl, when a former and potentially future president calls for the execution of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the termination of the Constitution (not for the nation's good, but his own), that is a step too far. I fear that for some these are just jokes, when they should be taken as warnings of a step towards a world we should not want to inhabit. When Edmund Burke said that all that’s required for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing, this is where it starts. We can either dismiss it as playful fun, which is a dangerous game to play, or we can put our foot down and say this is where it stops, this is not who we are. I am proudly putting my foot down.

Bottom Line

I realize this has been almost 100% about opposition to Donald Trump, but with good reason. He is an ill-tempered person lacking the moral character and intellectual capacity required in a leader of a great nation like ours. By contrast, though she has been frustratingly vague on policy, Kamala Harris is demonstrating decency by striking all the right notes about who we are as a nation and as a people, and the leadership our country needs. Note that while the former president continues with his insults, Kamala has rigorously refrained from attacking MAGA, reserving any personal attacks for her opponent and respectfully countering protesters at her rallies. 

On integrity, Kamala's human failings appear to be just that - failings born of the human imperfections we all carry, unlike Donald Trump's intentional disregard for what is right that has resulted in the lifelong amoral, immoral and criminal behavior outlined above (and what's outlined above is just a sliver of his questionable behavior). Any comparison is so far beyond apples and oranges that to make such a comparison would require one to dismiss any concept of right and wrong completely. Those who propagate such false equivalencies assume they can get away with them because today's echo chambers make it unlikely their audience will have heard a thorough airing of the truth about Donald Trump, while those dwelling in such echo chambers who repeat them bring to mind Dietrich Bonhoeffer's observation that speaking with folks swayed by unquestioned propaganda seems less like engaging with an independent thinking person than with a series of slogans and catchphrases.

Regarding intellect, I'll refer back to the debate performance. In no way do I think of Kamala Harris as intellectually gifted, but if I had to choose someone to deal with allies or adversaries, or make any difficult decision in the best interest of the country based upon the candidates' respective performances, Harris would be the hands-down winner. I will always choose the one who can play the violin over one as easily played as Donald Trump. Some may argue that her debate ploy was designed in advance, but that only solidifies the argument that she is able to prepare and act strategically, something Donald Trump has failed to demonstrate, outside of recognizing the opportunity to play on our fears.

As for policy, while the Biden administration shares blame for the inflation that followed Covid, pushing a relief program that was almost certainly too much, too late (I wish Kamala would own it), it is also true that the U.S. suffered lower inflation than any other western nation and has enjoyed a far healthier economy than Trump would have us believe. In fact, adjusting for all job losses and bounce back jobs in the wake of Covid, Joe Biden has created more jobs on a monthly basis since we got back to zero after Covid than Donald Trump did before Covid struck (247,000/month to 180,000/month). In fact, nearly as many jobs have been created in the last 26 months under Joe Biden as were created under Donald Trump in the 37 months before COVID struck (see chart below). Also, Donald Trump forfeited any right to use immigration as a campaign theme when he chose to torpedo the bipartisan border bill (another example of doing what's in his best interest, not ours). Meanwhile, the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act promise to be investments in American productivity and competitiveness that will benefit us for decades to come. It’s things like that - the Panama Canal, the interstate highway system, the internet - that made America great and will continue to do so. Preying on fear, anger and grievance will do no such thing. Kamala is running on the former, Trump on the latter.

Sadly, this election has ignored numerous challenges we face involving deficits, demographics, climate change and global affairs that will shake our world regardless who's elected. I am of the mindset that tax cuts will only worsen our looming debt crisis, that robust immigration is necessary to not only offset declining birth rates that risk undermining our ability to deliver on our Social Security and Medicare commitments, but also strengthen our competitive position vis-a-vis the rest of the world, that letting fossil fuel companies operate with abandon will worsen what nearly everyone now recognizes as a real threat posed by climate and the resulting human disruptions that will make today’s migrant crisis look like the good old days, and that sober, strategic thinking will be required to manage the geopolitical crises roiling the world. Only one party has expressed any interest in solving these problems - in truly governing - and only one candidate has demonstrated the decency, integrity and intellect needed to pursue those solutions. I would challenge anyone to argue that Donald Trump has offered any idea that would deliver on any of these vital needs.

In the end, the GOP of Donald Trump is not the GOP I supported when I was younger. Meanwhile, the influx of disenchanted Republicans into Democratic ranks is having a moderating effect on that party, to the chagrin of its progressive wing. Whereas the GOP once thrived as a center-right party of ideas, the Democrats are-building a center-left coalition seeking solutions to a range of problems. Meanwhile, the GOP has moved from being a party that believes in limited government and self-reliance to one of little thought and much grandstanding, to the exclusion of nearly everything else. I thrive in the world of ideas and in that regard, I have watched the GOP become a desert. In the process, the GOP has come to represent everything I stand against.

Still, it comes down to values. Like the Navy Seals in the video above, performance matters not one bit when one fails the values test, and Donald Trump fails that test miserably.

Thus, my vote for Kamala Harris.

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Jobs created by president in my lifetime.

My Favorite Quotes

A compendium of my favorite quotes, with no particular order, rhyme or reason.

"Character is destiny." - Heraclitus

“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.” - Thomas Paine

"The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity." - Dwight Eisenhower (the rest of the quote goes on to say "Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.")

"How will you ever know how good you really are if you don't play by the rules?" - my dad

"You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." -- Unknown (often incorrectly ascribed to Winston Churchill)

"A fool is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." -- Oscar Wilde

"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

"A ship is safe in harbor but that is not what ships are for." - Unknown

"Love is the irresistible desire to be desired irresistibly." - Robert Frost

"The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference." - Elie Wiesel

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few engage in it." -- Henry Ford

"Where all think alike, few think at all." - Walter Lippman

"He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that." - John Stuart Mill

“If there is a severe deficit of language, there will be severe deficit of thought.” - Noam Chomsky

"To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it." — Henry Kissinger

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." - William Butler Yeats

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." - Unknown (likely Maurice Switzer, 1906)

“It's easier to hold your principles 100 percent of the time than it is to hold them 98 percent of the time.” - Clayton Christensen

"Progress is a nice word. But change is its motivator. And change has its enemies." -- Robert Kennedy

"He not busy being born is busy dying." - Bob Dylan

"When you worship power, compassion and mercy will look like sins." - Benjamin Cremer

"I dream of painting, then I paint my dreams." - Vincent Van Gogh

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."  - Howard Thurman  

“You can’t beat someone who never gives up.” - Babe Ruth (?)

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit.  Genius hits a target no one else can see." - Arthur Schopenhauer

"Then there was the man who drowned crossing a stream with an average depth of six inches." -- W.I.E. Gates

"We can't always choose the music, but we can choose how we dance to it." - Unknown 

"Five percent of the people think; ten percent of the people think they think; and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think." -- Thomas Edison

“The greatest danger in turbulent times is not the turbulence, but to act with yesterday’s logic.” - Peter Drucker

“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” - Richard Feynman

"Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs." - Farrah Gray

"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck." - Dalai Lama

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” - Famously attributed to Edmond Burke, but most likely adapted from the more opaque John Stuart Mill (see below)

“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, February 1, 1867

"Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional." - Anonymous

"History doesn't repeat, but it rhymes." - Theodore Reik (often erroneously attributed to Mark Twain)

"What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do." - Bob Dylan

"A man is judged by the company he keeps." - Aesop

"Be curious, not judgmental." - Unknown (not Walt Whitman)

"The devil can cite scripture for his purpose." - William Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice)

"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Between stimulus and response is a space - and in that space is your power and your freedom." - Max Frankl, Auschwitz survivor [Edith Eiger, another Auschwitz survivor, provides a perfect example here]

"Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" - Sir Walter Scott

"In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man." - Hillel the Elder

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." - Peter Drucker (allegedly)

“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” - William James

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." - Plutarch

"Correction does much, but encouragement does more." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Your vision can only be as big as the number of people that it positively impacts." - Unknown

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

"Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and, yet, take so little care of your own children, to whom one day you must relinquish all?" – Socrates

"Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." - Albert Einstein

"Not really. We study natural stupidity." - Cognitive psychologist Amos Tversky when asked if his Nobel-prize winning work with Daniel Kahneman was the basis for artificial intelligence.

"The species that survive aren't the strongest or most intelligent, but the ones who best adapt to change." - Charles Darwin

The earth was once molten rock and now sings operas." - Brian Swimme

"The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame." Arthur Schopenhouer

"Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." - Unknown

"Procrastination isn't about laziness, it's about avoiding discomfort." - Timothy Pitchell

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On politics and world affairs:

"Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." - Eric Hoffer

"Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others their principles for the sake of their party." - Winston Churchill

“Someone who hates one group will end up hating everyone - and, ultimately, hating himself or herself.” ― Elie Wiesel

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Once the writer in every individual comes to life (and that time is not far off), we are in for an age of universal deafness and lack of understanding.” - Milan Kundera, “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” (1979)

A conservative is someone who stands athwart history, yelling "Stop!" at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it." - William F. Buckley

"Freedom for the pike is death for the minnows." - R.H. Tawney (1931)

“Freedom for the wolves has often meant death to the sheep." - Isiah Berlin (1958)

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." - Unknown (often attributed to George Orwell)

“An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” - Thomas Jefferson

"Those who seem to despise half of America should never be entrusted to govern any of it." - David Frum

"Everything's a conspiracy when you don't know how anything works." - Hank Green

“A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” - The United States Declaration of Independence 

"Unless the mass retains sufficient control over those entrusted with the powers of their government, these will be perverted to their own oppression, and to the perpetuation of wealth and power in the individuals and their families selected for the trust.” - Thomas Jefferson, 1812

"In war resolution, in defeat defiance, in victory magnanimity, in peace goodwill" - Winston Churchull

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." - Samuel Johnson

"The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism." - Herman Goering, Nuremburg war crimes trial testimony

“I have no difficulty going along with other people’s reasoning, which is both a merit — the absence of prejudice — and a flaw — the risk of spinning like a weathercock and always agreeing with the last person to speak.” - Emmanuel Carrère, author of V13:Chronicle of a Trial 

“Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.” - Alexander Solzhenitsyn

"Man is free if he needs to obey no person but solely the laws." - Immanuel Kant

"Where law ends, tyranny begins." - John Locke

"There was a time when scientists would announce we have a problem and politicians would debate how to address it. Today, scientists announce we have a problem and politicians debate whether there really is a problem." - One of my children quoting the other August 10, 2017 (which is which is lost to memory)

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. - Martin Niemöller

"Those who are at the mercy of impulse - who lack self-control - suffer a moral deficiency. The ability to control impulse is the base of will and character. By the same token, the root of altruism lies in empathy, the ability to read emotions in others; lacking a sense of another's need or despair, there is no caring." - Daniel Goleman, "Emotional Intelligence"

"If our world is different, then our politics must also be different.” - Annalena Baerbock, German foreign Minister and member of the pacifist Green Party, on Germany's hawkish response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

"Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first rate talent, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty." - Hannah Arendt, author of "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951)

"The first step in a fascist movement is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent" - Bertrand Russell

“Against stupidity we have no defense. Neither protests nor force can touch it. Reasoning is of no use. Facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be disbelieved — indeed, the fool can counter by criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can just be pushed aside as trivial exceptions. So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self-satisfied. In fact, they can easily become dangerous, as it does not take much to make them aggressive. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reason, for it is senseless and dangerous.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer [Editor's note: Keep in mind that by definition, one half of the people are dumber than average.]

“Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them, but few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons and with folded arms to dare a no when a yes is demanded." - Hannah Arendt, author of "The Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951) [Note: August Landmesser would be one of those few Ms. Arendt refers to].

"Where, as in the case of sickness and accident, neither the desire to avoid such calamities nor the efforts to overcome their consequences are as a rule weakened by the provision of assistance – where, in short, we deal with genuinely insurable risks – the case for the state’s helping to organize a comprehensive system of social insurance is very strong." - F.A. Hayek (The Road to Serfdom)

"In times of such commotion as the present, while the passions of men are worked up to an uncommon pitch, there is great danger in fatal extremes. The same state of passions which fits the multitude, who have not a sufficient stock of reason and knowledge to guide them, for opposition to tyranny and oppression, very naturally leads them to a contempt and disregard for all authority [emphasis mine]. The due medium is hardly to be found among the more intelligent. It is almost impossible among the unthinking populace. When the minds of these are loosened from their attachment to ancient establishments and courses, they seem to grow giddy and are apt more or less to run to anarchy." - Alexander Hamilton, Nov 1775

"If conservatives become convinced they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will abandon democracy." - Conservative commentator David Frum and former speechwriter for George W. Bush (January 18, 2018)

“A representative democracy*, where the right of election is well secured and regulated & the exercise of the legislative, executive and judiciary authorities, is vested in select persons, chosen by the people, will in my opinion be most likely to be happy, regular and durable.” - Alexander Hamilton

"A republic**, if you can keep it." - Benjamin Franklin, when asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had decided upon

Fun & Games

“I was invited with Paul Kantner to meet Mick Jagger at his Chelsea home to discuss the Altamont concert. I was scared because I thought we were going to walk into an orgy. I’m not against orgies, but I’m not a good multi-tasker.” - Grace Slick, The Jefferson Airplane https://bit.ly/43WOA3W

"A prating barber asked Archelaus how he would be trimmed. He answered, 'In silence.'" - Plutarch

“Am I tired of doing Maggie Mae? F@#% no. That song put me on the map. And I wrote it. It’s like saying you’re tired of seeing one of your kids. Just f@#%ing stupid. It’s 4 min out of my life every show. Make the people happy…” - Rod Stewart

My own ramblings:

"Hungry people gripe, starving people revolt." 

"You can't beat a dog into wagging its tail."

"Human nature compels us to do what we believe to be in our best interest, but that is not always what is right or wise."

"The world is filled with choices between right and wrong, good and evil. Choose wisely."

"There are two kinds of organizations - those who inspire good people and weed out the weak, and those who frustrate good people and are left with the weak."

"No one makes a better stooge than the stupid man who thinks he's smart." 

"Never fight a battle of wits with the witless because they have nothing to lose."

"We'll never solve anything as a nation as long as one party appeals to the angry and the other to the aggrieved." (August 8, 2017)

"We get more of what we subsidize, less of what we tax."

"Wealth is not a measure of intelligence."

"When people of above average intelligence act stupidly, they make those of below average intelligence the majority."

"If it's cold outside we use a furnace, if it's hot, we use the AC because one-size-fits-all solutions can't solve everything."

"Cutting taxes is like lowering the thermostat - going from 90 to 70 improves productivity, but going from 70 to 50 is likely to do more harm than good."

"Begin with trust and you will find some unworthy of that trust, but begin with mistrust and you will never trust anyone."

"Treating others with respect will not guarantee one will be treated in kind, but treating others with disrespect will."

"Common sense is too often used as an excuse to avoid thinking."

"People who admit mistakes learn from them, those who deny making mistakes never learn."

"A flag and a gun no more make one a patriot than a bible and a cross make one a Christian."

"One can't love their country without loving its people."

"Intelligence can recognize intelligence but stupid can't recognize stupid."

"Intelligence is proven when one sees an idea or opinion opposite to what one believes that makes them go 'Hmmm'."

"If one person is not protected by the law, no one is protected by the law."

"Votes are like raindrops. One may seem insignificant, but working in concert with others it can move mountains."

"The Grand Canyon was carved by snowflakes."

"The only thing we have to be angry about is anger itself." (sorry FDR, had to steal it)

"A bad guy with a gun doesn't become a bad guy with a gun until it's too late."

"Total freedom leads to anarchy, which leads to tyranny of the strong."

"One who sees Kyle Rittenhouse as a patriot and Colin Kaepernick as a traitor understands neither patriotism nor America."

"Pursuing policies that irritate your opponents because you believe them to be best for the country is what democracy is all about. Pursuing policies simply because they irritate your opponents is a cancer upon democracy."

"I have always looked for - and found - the best in people. I believe ability and goodness is to be found equally across race, creed, ethnicity, class, country of origin, everything. I grew up a Republican, but when the party turned toward its nativist, nationalist side, seeing evil and danger in "others," I rejected that and left the party. However, the left also has its demons that they unfairly vilify, including the wealthy, the successful, the right and the "infidel" Whites who have not fully embraced the left's identity politics. I cannot be party to either side's extreme view." August 7, 2021 (the day I left Facebook)

"All costs are ultimately labor costs, with profit being the premium we are willing to pay to direct that labor toward one pursuit over another. That said, the purpose of capitalism is to drive out cost (labor) while uncovering new value to put that labor to work elsewhere in pursuit of profit. This is creative destruction in a nutshell. However, if technology reduces labor faster than human ingenuity can find new uses for it, we will find ourselves in a very tricky conundrum. The time to plan for that, whether it comes to fruition or not, is now." - August 9, 2017

"Human behavior is malleable. Human nature is not." (November 2021) [Note: to change human behavior, one must appeal to human nature - wants, fears, aspirations, but most of all, self-interest - however each individual defines it for themselves]

"When faith in guns supersedes faith in elections, strife, chaos and tyranny are not far behind." (November 20, 2021)

"Put money in the hands of the wealthy, asset prices rise. Put money in the hands of the masses, consumer prices rise." (November 25, 2021)

"We don’t need tighter election laws to stop the alleged things the Democrats did, but to prevent the real things Republicans have actually tried to do." (January 12, 2022)

"Christians never need proclaim they're Christian, honest folks never need proclaim they're honest, smart folks never need proclaim they're smart and patriots never need proclaim they're patriots." (April 2, 2022)

"A group of men who wrote slavery into a nation's constitution should not be heralded as infallible." (April 2, 2022)

"The day folks on the right stop decrying and begin defending the politics of Timothy McVeigh will mark the point of no return." (April 12, 2022)

"Our phones may be smart, but too many of their owners are not." (April 30, 2022)

"Better to suffer fools gladly than fail to recognize they are, indeed, fools." (September 22, 2022)

"The best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to keep the bad guy from getting a gun." (March 28, 2022)

"Life is complicated, which is why so many seek simple answers." (October 30, 2022)

"It's easier to quell dissent than corruption because the payoff for dissent is neither as tangible nor immediate as the payoff for corruption.' (July 22, 1023)

And finally, the most mind-boggling quotes:

“The baby is born. The mother meets with the doctor. They take care of the baby. They wrap the baby beautifully. And then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby.” - Donald Trump at a 2019 rally (when he was president) 

*   Democracy, from the Greek Demos, meaning the people, and the Greek kratia, meaning rule or power

** Republic, from the Latin res, meaning entity, and the Latin publicus, meaning "of the people"

How Many People?

 There is a well-known photo of German factory workers universally saluting Hitler - universally, save for August Landmesser, who stoicly, courageously, refuses to pay homage to the Fuhrer. The photo raises so many questions..,

...what gave him the courage?

...how many others felt as he did but lacked his courage?

...why did so many feel the need to go along to get along?

...how did so many fall for Hitler's lies, anger and hatred?

...would history have been different if the righteous-minded hadn't been so cowardly?

Edmond Burke famously said all that's required for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. How many among us today know better yet sit in silence, or worse, speak favorably of what we know to be wrong, false or dangerous simply because it is in our own immediate best interest? We all like to believe that we would be among the brave, but then again, so did Peter, who assured Jesus he would not deny him if confronted as Jesus had said he would - three times before the cock crows. Therein lies the challenge. If we wait to speak out, to act, until the threat of doing so is too great, we are far more likely to fail the test of courage when the time comes. That is why the time to act is at the first hint of something that seems to go against our values, lest such behavior becomes normalized bit by bit until it is too late.

As for the photo above, only Landmesser is remembered. The rest are just so many sheep.

[Footnote: I recently watched a debate among Republican candidates for Arizona governor. One candidate asked for a show of hands from those who believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen, then immediately raised her own hand. Two other candidates hesitated before raising their hands in unison, as though waiting to see if the other would follow. So, I'll ask the question again - how many people have the courage to stick to their deeply held beliefs in the face of peer pressure? And when that peer pressure normalizes dangerous lies, whether about the security of our elections or the threat of other races or religions, what price do we pay as individuals and as a society? In such circumstances, we do not have the luxury of pointing fingers. We can only look in the mirror.]

For further thought:

This 1938 photo and caption can be found in the U.S. National Archives. It also served as a cover photo for at least one edition of Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism." I would argue that it represents a midpoint somewhere between August Landmesser above and the half-hearted believers who would have opposed Hitler if they could have, but were too afraid to do so. Those would be the folks who mouth prayers at church or stand when everyone else does at a concert, but don't really have their heart in it. This woman, at least, couldn't hide her misery or shame at being forced to submit to what she abhorred.

Though Fraught With Peril, Critical Race Theory Has Its Place

No doubt, how our racial history in the U.S. is taught is fraught with peril, but much of the reason it’s so perilous is because of the nature of that history. It has understandably resulted in some serious scars that are not easily or painlessly addressed. CRT at its core seeks to explore the role race has played in our society from its earliest days, and to explore to what extent race still plays a role in society today. 

Let me preface this by saying I do not like the term "white privilege." I think it is counterproductive in that it assumes a predestined outcome for whites that leads to resentment among those whites who do not feel so privileged. I also do not believe in white guilt, either that we should all feel it simply because we're white or because the mere fact of being white somehow makes us guilty. Those two factors are probably the greatest risk in the application of CRT in teaching U.S. history. Also, attempts to judge the founders who stated that all men are created equal - in my opinion, the most important idea ever to emanate from the mind of man - by today's standards because they did not interpret it the way we do today is a mistake because doing so fails to recognize both how revolutionary that idea was at the time, however narrow its scope, and the fact that we would not know the universal interpretation of that phrase today that includes ALL people, were it not for the flawed men who first put it to paper.

That said, we'd be wise to mind the adage that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We can think that won't happen, that we won't repeat some of the uglier chapters of our history, but that will only be assured through a combination of diligence and vigilance. Diligence in learning not just about, but from our history. Vigilance in watching for and fighting any embers of that history that might reignite into something far worse.

My personal journey regarding our racial history has been largely unintentional, reading books where race was often tangential to the main topic, but where it's role was revealing nonetheless.

The first of those books was Ron Chernow’s biography of Ulysses S, Grant, a book I read because I’d enjoyed Chernow’s bio of Hamilton (before it became a Broadway phenomenon). My preconceived notions of Grant were more than blown away, especially as I learned of his dedication to real reconstruction of the South and guaranteeing the rights of freed slaves. But more revealing was how little I knew of Reconstruction, which had been effectively limited during my school days to “carpetbaggers,” the so-called northern opportunists who swarmed the south seeking to profit from the societal upheaval and government intervention taking place there. So, to learn that during Grant’s presidency thousands of freed slaves had won elected office in the South, with a Black even being elected governor of Louisiana, came as a shock, as was learning of the impact of the original federal Civil Rights Act that preceded the 1964 CRA by nearly 100 years. To think how different things might be today had that early flourishing of equal rights not been extinguished is a lot to ponder. 

So the question arises, how was that early flourishing of civil rights crushed? Well, we all have some idea - the rise of the KKK and the implementation of separate, but equal laws that came to be known collectively as Jim Crow. But that turns out to be just part of the story. How those developments came to gain the upperhand is less well known. It began with the Compromise of 1877, which resolved the disputed election of 1876 (Bush/Gore was not the first time an election wasn’t decided on Election Day). Thrown into the House of Representatives when no Electoral majority could be reached, Democrats agreed to give the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South. Those troops had been enforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1866, thus protecting the rights of the now free Blacks. Into the vacuum created by the federal departure stepped the KKK, the deleterious effect of which we should all be familiar, and subsequently, Jim Crow. The question then arises as to why we (the U.S.) allowed this to happen.

Enter another book, “The Second Founding,” so-called because it details the passage and aftermath of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in the wake of the Civil War - amendments that codified the founding value stated in our Declaration of Independence that all men (though not women, just yet) are created equal (note, women were strong supporters of these amendments as they saw common cause with Blacks in the quest for equality - but I digress). The most interesting, troubling and thought-provoking takeaway from this book is how those amendments were eventually used to give Constitutional cover to Jim Crow laws. In fact, the cases Plessy v Ferguson, which found “separate but equal” constitutional and Brown v The Board of Education, which found “separate but equal” unconstitutional, both were argued over the same question - do separate but equal amenities and institutions violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause? In the former, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled they did not, in the latter it found that they did. Consider that for a moment - the exact same amendment was interpreted such to deliver opinions 180 degrees at odds with each other. It speaks to how fragile our Constitutional protections are (Madison referred to them as mere parchment barriers against the willful tyranny of malevolent men) and how the only thing separating liberty from tyranny are the nine people sitting on the Supreme Court, and our willingness to accept the rule of law. It also highlights why we must learn from history so that we can avoid backsliding.

I think we all understand the significance of those nine justices, but (personal opinion here), I fear that the nearly single-minded focus on finding justices likely to overturn Roe v Wade unwittingly, but almost by default, drives us to favor justices likely to have a narrow or restrictive view of any rights that should be “reserved to the people.” We start to see this as the USSC weakens enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 or cedes more power to government in seizing private property through eminent domain, where “public good” (e.g., higher tax revenue) has supplanted “public use” (eg, highways, dams, airports, etc.) as sufficient justification to seize private property. In fact, in Kelo v New London (Connecticut), the Supreme Court ruled that private property could be taken by eminent domain from one private property owner and given to another private property owner based solely upon the promise the new owner could provide a use that generates higher tax revenue. It is not an exciting topic, so we tend not to consider it much, but such a ruling puts every one of our homes or holdings at risk. We don’t worry about it much because most of us need not worry that our homes will be seized since we live in nice areas where there is little pressure to improve the neighborhood, so-to-speak, nor do we live where there is little land for new development, or if there is limited land, where the difference in tax revenue would make such seizure desirable, but such a ruling cedes tremendous power to the government at the expense of individual rights.

So how does this apply to race or CRT, one might ask. Enter another book, “The Power Broker,” Robert Caro’s 1974 tour de force biography of Robert Moses, New York’s almost dictatorial public works czar during much of the twentieth century who arguably became the most powerful unelected public official in U.S. history. Skilled in writing legislation and unabashed in using the power of his position to get such legislation introduced and passed by state legislators, he was able to use the Constitution’s wording on contract law to make himself a party to state and city bond issues, which are protected under contract law, thereby making his role inviolable in the execution of those bonds - bonds which he used to build parks, highways, bridges, tunnels and eventually, public housing. His use of eminent domain to make way for such projects time and again cleared out poor, but thriving communities that enjoyed low crime, steady employment and pervasive entrepreneurship. What took their place were often displaced communities forced into slums and/ or public housing, the latter which may have replaced the lost roofs over people’s heads, but not the foundation of local businesses and cultural touchpoints - bowling alleys, barbershops, funeral parlors, grocery stores or the front stoops and tree-lined streets - that make for a thriving community.  Most often, the communities taken via eminent domain were populated by people of color, including migrants from the Jim Crow South. It wasn’t until Moses proposed a cross-Manhattan freeway (I-78) through Greenwich Village that he finally met his match. And the reason he met his match is because he finally tried to move out connected, wealthy elites, almost exclusively white, who had the resources and wherewithal to fight him. Were such discrepancies in who got relocated and who did not driven by race? Perhaps not, but the outcome was definitely one where those most harmed were Blacks and others who could least afford it. Similar iniquities took place across the country, including Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood, Chicago’s south and west sides, and elsewhere. Even the conservative Federalist Society has weighed in against the sordid racial history regarding the use of eminent domain. It is not a partisan issue.

But, as the late, legendary Billy Mays would say, wait, there’s more. Those Blacks who had been forced out of their homes and communities thanks to eminent domain and urban renewal had often arrived in these northern cities in hopes of finding something better than the Jim Crow south, only to find they could often get work only by accepting wages lower than their white counterparts, putting them at a financial disadvantage in cities that were more expensive than those they had fled, while sparking animosity among whites who lost their jobs to the lower wage newcomers. Not only were their wages lower than those for whites, but rents were often higher because restrictions on where Blacks could live decreased available housing supply. As any Econ 101 student could predict, increased demand from the newly arrived migrants, coupled with limited housing supply for those same migrants led to inflated rents. Thus, these migrants faced lower wages, higher rents and racial animosity from their new hosts. This was made clear in the meticulously researched, matter-of-fact book, “The Warmth of Other Suns” about the Great Migration of southern Blacks to locales in the north and west.

But even as we attempted to make amends for these injustices and obstacles through affirmative action and diversity initiatives - and we have done a decent job for many - we replaced those obstacles with new ones in an effort to fight drugs and crime. One of the most egregious developments of the war on drugs was development of the “Drug Courier Profile.” If one wants to see the unequal application of such profiles, they need only note the demographics of those stopped and having their vehicles searched along I-75 north of I-275 in the area of southern Ohio where I live. I had noticed long ago that a preponderance of those so stopped were Black. Statistics show this to be more than anecdotal evidence. Drug courier profiles are so vague that traveling alone is a valid consideration, as is traveling with a partner. So is dressing poorly, or dressing well. Likewise, driving a luxury vehicle or driving a dilapidated car. Or driving a nondescript vehicle like a used Honda Accord. Two takeaways from the list of red flags is that ANY ONE of us could be guilty of fitting the drug courier profile at any time, and FEW OF US ever think about it. But there are many that do - because too often those criteria are simply a pretext for justifying a thorough search for reasons more nefarious (the problem runs much deeper and is far more insidious, as is described in "The New Jim Crow").

To which it is common to say, well, if you have nothing to hide, there’s nothing to worry about. To a degree, that’s true. But how many of us might have something to hide. A joint in the glovebox, an opioid in a purse, a gun under the seat? I know more than a few white folks who’ve been caught with these or more and been let go without incident. Is such street mercy applied equally?

I had a friend who dabbled in selling marijuana while in school. He once got a message that someone in a specific dorm had called asking about a purchase. This guy went door-to-door looking for the prospective buyer, prompting someone to call the cops, who came and arrested him. Yet, this son of a prominent Detroit advertising executive had all charges dropped. This same friend recently retired from a C-level job with a U.S. automaker. Contrast that with the unconnected Black kid living in Cincinnati's Avondale or Lower Price Hill neighborhoods who is trying to help pay the electric bill or put food on the table. Or the Black kid in college trying to make some extra spending money like my friend was. We may picture him as a street thug, but he is far more likely to be no more a threat to society than my friend, but that is not how the criminal justice system treats him. Instead, he is likely to get charged with the most severe crime permissible under the law, with the intent to draw a plea deal that leaves the kid with a jail sentence and a felony record (prosecutors tend to play numbers games, statistics they can use for future campaigns). In fact, Rudy Giuliani made exactly this point recently, inadvertently admitting this was the case while trying to portray the plea deal as leniency. It is no such thing. It is still a felony, and a felon is instantly behind the eight ball in trying to gain meaningful employment. A felon is barred from housing assistance. And since felons are barred from jury duty - and thanks to the proliferation of such drug sentences - they are far less likely to enjoy a jury of their peers that might understand how the system is stacked against them. They are also often precluded from voting, essentially making them non-citizens for crimes no different than that committed by my white C-suite friend. Their options are often reduced to menial jobs or a life of crime, which we then blame on the criminal, rather than a system stacked against him. What we can be sure of is that any chance of gaining a C-level role with a major employer is immediately and forever off the table.

All this feeds the stereotype that leads to unwarranted police shootings. I have witnessed the flip side of this in a way that really brought it home. I was pulled over at 5 AM just outside of Detroit a few years ago after taking a wrong turn while trying to get to the hospital before my 86 year-old father was going into surgery. Now, I’ve been stopped so many times I’ve lost count. Likewise, I’ve been let go more times than I can remember. Seriously. (I'd like to point out that I've counted at least 23 times I've been stopped, whereas my wife has been stopped once - just weeks after getting her license. It should be noted that discrepancy in NOT because the cops are out to get me. But I digress yet again). Anyway, I thought this was just another stop. But when I glanced in the rearview mirror, I saw the cop crouched low, hand on his holster, approaching wide to my left. He was clearly tense. Until he saw my face. As soon as I leaned out, he visibly relaxed, standing upright, taking his hand off his gun and approaching me directly. Clearly, he did not see a 57 year-old white male as a threat. All very understandable.

But let’s consider the bioscience of what had just taken place. The cop’s stress hormones were clearly elevated. It is easy to imagine his heart rate rising, his palms and back of his neck sweating and his mind racing. He is in fight-or-flight mode, which shuts off the rational mind and turns on the instinctive, reactive one. All that changed as soon as he saw me. It is easy to understand and imagine the wave of relief that washed over him (put yourself in his position and consider the relief - I bet you can feel it). But what if instead of being a 57 year-old white guy, I’d been a 27 year-old white guy. Or worse, a 27 year-old black guy. Not only do those stress hormones remain elevated, but I am not likely to be as relaxed as I was. It is easy to see how a simple traffic stop can escalate to something much worse. And too often, it does. Again, we may say, well there’s a reason the cop was nervous because of the circumstances, but too often we stop considering the circumstances beyond the culture of crime in our cities, ignoring the societal obstacles listed above that have created that culture - and too many are considered suspect under conditions similar to this one, whether they are guilty or not, simply because of how they look. I could have had a joint or gun in my car, but I got let go (I didn't). But is everyone afforded such grace based on appearance and demeanor?

So this is where things are. Most of us live rather innocuous lives unfettered by the realities so many face. Yet, even those Blacks who seem to have made it suffer from the daily uncertainty that comes with not knowing if the invitation to golf with the boss that you failed to receive was an oversight or something else. If the fact the people who arrived at the restaurant after you,  but got seated before you was a mistake or something else. If the Confederate flag flying at the house just around the corner simply represents a good ol’ boy or something darker. And they still worry every time lights go on in the police car behind them in ways most of us never do.  It all leads to a form of PTSD, which can be triggered - yes, triggered is the proper term to describe how stress hormones are activated - by what most of us consider insignificant.

To combat this, it is up not to those who suffer the indignities, but those of us who do not. Otherwise, it could be much worse. Returning to “The Warmth of Other Suns,” there was a passage that was almost a throwaway. It involved one of the migrants profiled returning from L.A. to his hometown of Monroe, Louisiana, where he decides to eat at a diner that just a few years earlier had once been Whites Only. The experience is so unremarkable that it leaves him wondering how something so mundane - a black man eating in a restaurant - could have generated so much anger and hatred that not that long before it could have gotten him killed. 

That vignette haunted me for several days. How, indeed, I wondered. But then I saw a news report of a rally where the president of the United States - the person charged with defending the U.S. Constitution and the rights of all protected by it - stood by for seventeen seconds without even attempting to silence a crowd as they chanted “Send Her Back!” Suddenly, I realized how it could happen. As Jonathan Haidt described in his 2012 book, “The Righteous Mind,” fight songs, uniforms, flags and yes, rhythmic chants all lead to more fervent binding of those involved. They are essential in creating emotional bonds that can cloud judgment and create unthinking devotion to a cause. They are the source of what’s known as the madness of crowds. It is what makes otherwise good people participate in everything from public lynchings to the Holocaust. And I realized it is a fairly straight line from “Build The Wall!” through “Send Her Back” to “String Them Up!” And “string them up” is what that returning southern Black was remembering at that diner as he considered how fragile his - and our - liberties really are. We may snicker and get a kick out of such chants, but to others they are rightfully terrifying. We need to be able to understand that, and why. Furthermore, it is our duty to stop them in their tracks.

There were more than 4,000 lynchings across the U.S. from 1880 to 1920, yet attempts to pass a federal anti-lynching law was politically untenable until the late 1940s for fear of upsetting white southerners. We are not that far removed from Jim Crow or the hate-filled violence that accompanied it. Claims it can't happen here are misguided because it already has. It is up to us to make sure it doesn't again. That's why learning our history, in all its gory details, is so critical.

Slavery, segregation, voter suppression, eminent domain, forced relocation, simple traffic stops, unequal application of the law, angry chants and the madness of crowds - all things we whites rarely, if ever have to worry about, but which are a daily source of anguish for so many. Anguish that impacts the health, safety and economic well-being of millions of our fellow American citizens today, just as it has since they first arrived on these shores in 1619. 

And for all our progress, the system still works to oppress. Consider how so many like to make the case we are a republic, not a democracy. This argument is often used to justify the electoral college and Senate representation, where there is unequal representation. However, it ignores the real aim of a republic, which is to ensure that all interests are represented, even those in the minority. By that measure, we fail miserably. In an ideal republic, all groups and classes would feel fairly represented, be it business or labor, rich or poor, Black or White, but thanks to gerrymandering and our archaic method of ensuring senate representation - itself a remnant of our desire to placate slaveholding states - many groups are not represented as they should be.

Consider Ohio. In the 2018 election, Republicans earned a slim majority of the vote for US congressional seats, 52 percent to 47.3 percent for Democrats (0.7% went to third party candidates), yet because of how districts are drawn, the GOP won 12 seats, the Democrats only 4, an unrepresentative 75-25 split. We can take pleasure in “our side's” bonanza, but at what cost to confidence in our system of self-governance. Let us not forget that our ancestors' rallying cry against the British was “No taxation without representation!” Why should we not think that people who have suffered the indignities, the inequities, the injustices outlined above would not someday take up a similar cry? That is the real threat to our democracy, to our liberty, to our republic. We ignore it at our own peril.

Ours is a history I had really not considered in full, largely because I was unaware it existed, or because it did not impact me, how would I even know to care?

Well, that is what Critical Race Theory seeks to address. Yes, how it is taught could simply replace one resentment with another. But if done properly, it could be the transformative change we need. 

So, what would make the latter true? I figured the best place to see how awful the teaching of CRT might be would be to look at likely offenders, so I sought out several very liberal U.S. history professors to see how they would teach it. Heather Cox Richardson, who many would view as a liberal U.S. history professor put my fears to rest, while describing it perfectly. She teaches that the U.S proclaimed that all men are created equal, like a company that posts a set of values on the wall but fails to live up to them. But then, like employees who point to those values posted on the wall, the people decided to hold the nation accountable and force it to live by its own stated principles. She said that in doing so, we made that creed about us. About we, the people. And that is how the government Lincoln described at Gettysburg - a government of, by and for the people - is supposed to work. It is the American experiment working as it should, in all its glory.

We are not only strong enough to face our truths, but we can and will be all the stronger for doing so. That is the promise of Critical Race Theory. Instead of repeating mantras spewed by ratings-hungry demagogues about Marxism and the downfall of America, we would be better served by engaging in real dialog to ensure productive application of CRT so that we can begin to understand, appreciate and address injustices large and small that so few of us even realize exist. Had we done so long ago, we would not be having this conversation today.

With that, I am out. Happy to share many more reading recommendations.