Show #286

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Finally! We have clouds! I even felt some sprinkles of rain while enjoying a backyard fire with friends last night. I said the change would do you good comes to mind. I’ve worn pants now on several occasions because it felt cool enough to wear them. I have a couple of friends that always wear shorts no matter the weather. I mean it could be snowing out and they would still wear shorts! It hadn’t occurred to me until just now, but I should ask those friends if they have winter shorts and summer shorts? Probably not!

Seems like there is a lot of change in the air, almost everywhere you look! The examples are all over the place. The whole sexual harassment issue has blown up to amazing proportions. Falling right in to line are the issues of racial and gender inequality. I even read recently that Chinese elitism is on the rise despite efforts to address it! Aren’t they communists? There are about 1,500,000 millionaires in China today!

In his enigmatic epigram, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose".  The more accepted translation is, “The more things change, the more they stay the same!” The rich get richer, and the entitled wield influence to the point that they feel they can obviate the law or consequences, globally! Isn’t it an odd coincidence that we have put our trust in the richest Americans (i.e. members of Congress) to create a fair tax code?

Paulo Freire, a Brazilian theorist and educator wrote the book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In that book he makes the assertion that dehumanization is the result of an unjust order that engenders violence in the oppressors, which in turn dehumanizes the oppressed. Sure sounds like the sexual harassment issue to me. From what it appears it sure seems like these women (and men I guess) were treated as objects or conquests. Sounds a lot like the “Black Lives Matter” movement too. For that matter it seems a lot like the “Tea Party” movement too. I guess there’s more than enough oppression for everyone (oh yeah, Islamophobia)!

Right now it feels like the pot is about to boil over on several of these and more social issues. It has become routine to hear about deaths in America on grand scales. No one is surprised to read about the gap in gender wages. To see that an American military person has died ANYWHERE on the globe is a regular event on TV. From the Taliban to Al-Qaeda to ISIS we’ve become accustom to awaiting the next group to arise. Complacency has rooted itself in us all until that oppression is felt personally and becomes the motivation for advocacy!

Things change at glacial speeds, revolutions however, occur in an instant. A tipping point is achieved and a new order is established. Prohibition is a perfect example. At one point we decided as a country to acknowledge that alcohol could not be banished in America effectively despite the efforts of government agencies to do so. Regulating alcohol was the fall back position that was consensus compromise. Marijuana isn’t much different. History books will eventually regard it as much the same.

Pedagogy of Indignation was the last book written by Paulo Freire before his death in 1997. In this book he addresses the necessity to make and remake one’s self throughout a lifetime and the daily tensions between freedom and authority. My guess is that people become so entrenched in their thinking they stop thinking. They never “remake” themselves. They never examine themselves. It never occurs to them that they might be wrong.

“Critical citizenship” is an educational notion that societies will prosper with greater critical thinkers in its populous. Common core standards have been implemented to address the deficit of “career ready” students with critical thinking skills. However, no one really recognizes the deficit of “society ready” students. Sure, let’s fix our ability to compete economically, why bother with fixing how to get along equitably!

It seems to me that the answer is that we have to wait for the new elite to transcend old thinking. Indian gaming came in to existence in the early 70’s after a Supreme Court ruling that stated states do not have the authority to regulate Native activities on their reservations. While Indian gaming may be construed as both good and bad, it has improved the lives economically for many Native Americans.

Like a snake shedding its skin the old guard will die off and the new one will take the wheel. New thinking will come with new people! I just hope those new people have more compassion than compulsion!

Peace and love to you all!

Mike