The original purpose for this blog was threefold: to explain some of my political beliefs and understandings, to shine light on issues that I thought were important, and to write about friends and family that I love without (hopefully) embarrassing my wife or mother. I’ve always tried to follow the creed of “attack ideas not people” and hopefully no one has ever felt that a belief that they held dear, which I did not, made us enemies in any way but this post might be different. Because lately there have been some local and world events that I’m unable to wrap my head around any other perspective than my own. So I will lay them out and if you disagree please reach out to me through this blog so that I might gain some understanding.  I can be hardheaded but I never want to be accused of having a closed mind. 

January 6th

How you define what happened at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 gives a good indication as to your feelings about it, with descriptions ranging from “protest” to “insurrection” to “treason”.  What I saw was a crowd move from a “Stop the Steal” rally to the Capitol where some attacked police officers, breached the building, and stopped for a time the official certification of the electoral process. Trump’s speech at the rally had its share of falsehoods and unfounded claims of election fraud peppered with some inflammatory rhetoric about “fighting like hell” and “we’re just not going to let that happen.” I often say about crowds at concerts and sporting events that they are only as smart as the dumbest person there and I feel confident that although there were folks there only in protest, many had more nefarious thoughts in mind.  Showing up with tactical gear, bear spray, and zip ties for handcuffs shows a level of premeditation that doesn’t square with peaceful protest.  

Political motivations aside, in my judgment it was certainly criminal.  The legal system in the U.S. does have varying levels of charges based on intent but the amount of politicized stupidity that I’ve heard following the event was shocking.  I deal with teenagers for a living but some of the excuses from these folks would make a high school freshman blush.  And then to have them investigated, tried, and convicted only to be characterized as political prisoners shook my faith in my own eyes and my fellow citizens.  That they were summarily pardoned was beyond my wildest imagination and now the very politicians who cowered during the attack champion them.  While watching January 6 unfold, I stood in front of my television open mouthed and teary eyed and realized I hadn’t felt the same emotion since the night I watched Notre Dame Cathedral burn.  Centuries old institutions defiled in a matter of hours; one acknowledged as a tragedy and the other dismissed as merely political theater.

Gaza

I understand that writing about anything to do with Israel runs the risk of offending practically everyone I know, from my Jewish and Muslim friends to my Evangelical Christian brothers and sisters.  I also understand that the history of conflict in this area started long before the latest conflagration on October 7, 2023 when Hamas militants attacked, murdered, raped, and kidnapped thousands. Those heinous brutalities have been met with a retaliation by the Israeli Military that has left Gaza in absolute ruins reminiscent of Sherman’s work on Atlanta.  Estimates vary and exact numbers are impossible to come by but at this writing nearly 70,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed with around 20,000 of those deaths being children.  

And that is the point where my mind can go no further.  I have yet to hear a justification for the deaths of 20,000 children.  And while you can claim numbers coming from the Hamas run health ministry are inflated, you also cannot see the absolute devastation in Gaza and think that there isn’t the possibility that they are fairly accurate.  Even half that number would be a stain on both those responsible and those complicit. The United Nations reports that over 90% of children in Gaza are suffering from mental health crises and with the potential for hostilities to recommence at any moment it won’t get better.  Neither Judaism or Christianity believe in the sins of the father being visited on the children.

Public Schools

In AP Government we teach that several factors affect how citizens decide on elected officials, but it has become painfully obvious over the last decade plus that it certainly isn’t their stance on public education.  I’ve written about public schools extensively with factual information about teacher pay, spending per pupil, classroom size, and curriculum.  We’ve all watched the General Assembly give half a billion dollars to private schools with little to no oversight as to curriculum or student selection. And Democrats shouldn’t break their arms patting their own backs since they were in charge of the budget for years directly after the courts had decided the Legislature was starving poorer districts of education funding to the point of unconstitutionality.  According to the latest findings published, N.C. is 50th in public school funding but we typically perform in the middle of national testing.  Talk about a return on investment.  

There aren’t enough words to describe how this makes teachers feel but I can give you two.  Betrayed and abandoned. I will give you a third, angry.  And it is somehow getting worse.  Kids are the most difficult to deal with as they ever have been in the history of mankind but most parents think they do no wrong or blame schools for their child’s behavior.  Expectations from the state and local leaders pile on with almost nothing being removed as classroom sizes balloon.  Accusations of indoctrination or outright incompetence are lobbed by groups like Moms for Liberty who throw around terms like “parental rights” and “school choice” and the state legislature has willingly turned their wishes into law.  I truly believe they want what is best for their kids which is the prerogative of parents but not all children which is the role of public education.  

I think I’m right about these issues but if you disagree I would love to hear from you. Just hit me up on the blog because remember I don’t argue on Facebook.  Happy New Year!