January 6th
& The State of Our Union If you’ve been watching the opening days of the 118th Congress, you know it’s an out-of-control dumpster fire. Kevin McCarthy, at this point, reminds me of the kid who gets picked last when his peers are choosing up teams. Not that I feel sorry for him (not one bit!). Indeed, his soulless ambition and blatant hypocrisy (his immediate reaction condemning the January 6th Insurrection before beating a path to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the former guy’s ring) make him a less than sympathetic character. What, in fact, does he stand for? As bad, what do the 20 or so Republicans opposing his Speakership want and what do they stand for --- other than an opposition to majority rule? Who is their candidate for Speaker? In fact, we’re dealing with a renegade band of nihilists who, somehow, call themselves “patriots” while propping up autocratic beliefs. So here we are, watching “democracy” in action. Interestingly, much of what we’re seeing has to do with what I used to teach as the “unwritten Constitution” in my secondary United States History classes. Like political parties, the rules of the House of Representatives are not prescribed or described in the U.S. Constitution. Section 5 of Article One states: “Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.” It does not specify what we are watching: that is, that no business can transpire until a Speaker is elected by the majority of Representatives. We have learned, of course, that the Speaker need not even be an elected member of the House of! Article 1, Section 2 simply says: “The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers.” The Unwritten Constitution is “based chiefly on custom and precedent as expressed in statutes and judicial decisions” (Merriam-Webster) and is not specified in the Constitution and its Amendments. So, we now find that one long-term result of the January 6th Insurrection has been the establishment of a group of “Congressional Kardashians” (as I heard it called on “Morning Joe”) holding up the business of government. To what end, other than to reinforce that majority rule (90% of their party supports McCarthy), is not something they agree with! Basically, we have a half dozen or so Congress-people who clearly dislike Kevin McCarthy to such a degree that they will never cast a vote for him as Speaker of the House. Let’s remember, again, that 118 members (out of 222) of the Republican caucus voted against the certification of a “free and fair election.” It is not simply that this party is dysfunctional --- more than half of its Representatives (and eight of their Senators) are opposed to the tenets of democracy that the nation abided by since 1789 (except for the Civil War, 1861-1865, of course). These Republicans have not done the simple calculus (which reflects their mid-term failure) that has left them with such a slim majority that FIVE undemocratic renegades can torpedo any legislation or other business either party may want to put forward. With such a small majority their ability to “govern” (not that they necessarily want to) is severely hamstrung. We must remember, however, that this is the vestigial (autocratic) Trump Republican Party. Today marks two years since that party attempted to overthrow the government. And I am not convinced people have kept that event in proper historical perspective, given our 24/7 news cycle and the presence of Fox News, NewsMax, Steve Bannon’s podcast, etc. January 6, 2021 was a serious attempt at a palace coup! The then-President of the United States incited a mob to attack the Capitol to intentionally disrupt --- if not totally stop ---the legitimate business of certifying the election of the winner of the 2020 Presidential election. Not since Southern states seceded from the Union have we been confronted with as serious a Constitutional crisis as this. We can only hope that 2023 will see an aggressive Department of Justice, led by Jack Smith, deliver justice to the perpetrators and their criminal mob boss, Donald J. Trump. In the aftermath of that attack, Kevin McCarthy calculated his path to the Speakership was through the disgraced ex-President and, by April 2021 was seizing on every photo-op at Bedminster, Mar-a-Lago, or anywhere else he could. One of the original “Young Guns” (the title of a book co-written with Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor) touted as the future of their Party, McCarthy is now their Last Man Standing. Ryan, of course, had a brief stint as Speaker --- and retired from the House after that experience. Cantor, in 2014, when he was the second-ranking Republican, was primaried out of his Virginia seat by a Tea Party radical --- and that’s when the writing started to appear on the wall. Trump simply brought all the far-right, megalomaniacal chickens home to roost when he rode down his golden elevator. And now we have this shitshow, entering Day Five with no clear end in sight. It seems McCarthy has already given away the store to a group of self-serving “brand-conscious” elected officials who care more about appearing on Fox and NewsMax than accomplishing anything for the American people. When the House finally is brought to order, these Congressional Clowns will start their investigations into Hunter Biden’s laptop and begin childish attempts to impeach Joe Biden, showing their dedication to Trump and their preference to screen time over substance. It’s an unfortunate situation but one that, sadly, has been predictable. Once we headed down the Trump path there was no going back to “business as usual.” This is not to say that the United States government does not reforms. But there is a huge chasm between reform and destruction --- and that is the point we are approaching. The mid-terms were encouraging in that there wasn’t a “Red Wave”, but the Republicans did gain the majority in the House, and we can see where that’s going. We can see that a small minority within that Party can hold 90% hostage ---essentially a second insurrection against majority rule! An encouraging fact we might keep an eye on is that, historically, during every two-year Congressional term, anywhere from 15 to 20 House members leave their seats (death, indictment, personal reasons, etc.). Given the George Santos situation, we may see the first of those in the next few months --- and who knows if some Republican members may tire of the “Freedom Caucus” antics and choose a Kristen Sinema defection to “Independent” and caucus with the Dems (I can dream, can’t I?). In all, don’t blink because this show is just starting and promises to be one of the great train wrecks of all time. Fasten your seat belt.
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A Century of Solstices
Wednesday was my mother’s 96th Winter Solstice. She’s not aware of it and, quite honestly, my brother and I thought her 95th would be her last. She went into hospice care over a year ago and, even though she still recognizes us (most days) she immediately forgets we were there once we’re out the door. It’s sad and not a situation she would ever ask for or care to be in. Miraculously, her vital organs keep working for another day and then another day. Back on December 2nd she seemed “unresponsive” and the woman who runs the Assisted Living facility (a high school classmate of my brother’s daughter, I believe) sat at her bedside, where staff came in to, essentially, say “good-bye.” (She’s been there for over a decade and is beloved by the staff.) According to my brother’s text, “the staff were coming in to check on her, people filling up, and then she woke up and said, ‘Why are you all standing around – are you going to get me something to eat or what?’” Anyone who knows Mom, knows that’s a perfect take if there ever was one. In the last five years she’s broken both her hips, a shoulder, fractured her pelvis and had a brain bleed --- yet here she is, living through her 96th Winter Solstice. In keeping with that indomitable spirit, I thought it might be interesting to consider what Mom saw as all those Winter Solstices passed by. Grace DiGangi (born Maria Grazia DiGangi) arrived on August 15, 1927, before the Stock Market crashed. By her fifth Solstice that event had occurred and Franklin D. Roosevelt --- a President always spoken of in reverential tones --- was elected. Her father, a carpenter and construction worker, somehow always found work (even moving to Chicopee, Massachusetts – by himself - at one point) to provide for the family which, by Mom’s tenth Solstice (the year the Hindenburg exploded) was comprised of her parents, an older brother and two younger boys. By her twelfth Solstice Germany had invaded Poland and World War II had begun. As Mom entered high school and her 14th Solstice approached, Pearl Harbor was bombed (December 7, 1941) and the U.S. entered the Second World War. Prior to her 16th Solstice her neighbor and friend (my dad) had enlisted in the Navy (August 1943) and a year later her older brother followed suit --- and another brother (Frank, April 1943) had joined the DiGangi clan. By Mom’s 18th Solstice she was a high school graduate, the war was over, and the boys were home. By her 20th Solstice Mom and Dad had married (June 1, 1947) and were living around the corner from her parents in Canarsie, Brooklyn. FDR had died, two atomic bombs had been unleashed, and the post-War Baby Boom had begun. Mom and Dad joined that parade and, by her 22nd Solstice, I joined the family. We moved into the now-finished basement apartment in my Grandparents home on East 93rd Street as my first Solstice approached. By Mom’s 25th Solstice we had moved out to Babylon, Long Island (a “development” called “Twin Oaks”) and my brother had joined the family. Dad worked for the Babylon Village Police Force, and we were the embodiment of the new American Dream lifestyle --- the nuclear family living in the suburbs where low-slung new schools were being built as Levittown-inspired developments began sprinkling the landscape. Just before her 27th Solstice I had started Kindergarten at the South Bay School and my parents were talking about finding a bigger house. By Mom’s 30th we had hopscotched over West Islip and moved to Bay Shore --- and my brother and I were walking to our new neighborhood school. We were living our version of the post-War American Dream and Mom saw us as Bay Shore’s “Nelson Family,” playing Ozzie, Harriet, David, and Ricky. By Mom’s 40th Solstice she had seen quite bit of the world shifting. Kennedy had been elected and assassinated, the Cuban Missile Crisis had scared everyone, the U.S. and Russia were engaged in a Cold War and Space Race, the Civil Rights movement gained momentum and the war in Vietnam was becoming more and more controversial. The next decade of Solstices saw an acceleration of events. As her 50th Solstice rolled around, men had walked on the moon, Nixon had been elected and driven from office, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated, and the U.S. had withdrawn from Vietnam. On a personal note, Mom and Dad retired, sold the family homestead, and moved to an apartment in Bay Shore (which didn’t allow them to keep their dogs, so I inherited Radar and Coffee!). In the next decade, by her 60th Solstice, Mom and Dad had moved to Tampa/St. Pete --- but returned to the northeast (Stroudsburg, PA) when their first grandchild was born in 1980. They settled into a mobile home in Marshalls’ Creek, PA and Dad started working part-time at a Sears (or Penney’s?) Automotive Center in Stroudsburg. In the wider world, Ronald Reagan had been elected (much to Mom’s dismay), the AIDS epidemic had begun, the Challenger exploded, the Stock Market crashed --- and a second grandchild arrived. By 1997, Mom’s 70th Solstice, the Berlin Wall had fallen, the Los Angeles Riots occurred, and bombings at the World Trade Center and in Oklahoma City highlighted the foreign and domestic threats we were now facing. We also had our first Baby Boomer President (and Vice-President) and the beginnings of extreme right-wing reactionary politics with Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.” And we saw the O.J. Simpson “Trial of the Century” in Los Angeles. On the sports front, the Johnson nuclear family was thrilled by the New York (football) Giants winning two Super Bowls and the New York Yankees successful return to the World Series! Another decade of Solstices passed and, by 2007, Mom was still adjusting to living with Dad’s passing (in 2000) and the topsy-turvy world we found ourselves in. By her 80th Solstice we all had lived through the Clinton impeachment, the Columbine shooting, the Y2K scare, the disputed election of 2000, the 9/11 terrorist attack, the start of the War in Iraq, the creation of Facebook, the Hurricane Katrina disaster, the beginning of another recession, and the creation of the first iPhone. Technology was accelerating the pace of change in our society, and we were all adjusting to living in the 21st Century! I think it may be hard to imagine seeing 90 Winter Solstices, but Gracie did, and that next decade brought new historic events. The election of Barack Obama, of course, is first on the list --- and something Mom loved. This decade was marked by several horrific events: the Sandy Hook school massacre & a number of other mass shootings as well as the Boston Marathon bombing. Superstorm Sandy also devastated a large swath of the country. On a more positive side, we ended our involvement in Iraq and Osama Bin Laden was killed, the Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriage was constitutionally protected, and Obamacare miraculously passed into law. But storm clouds were looming. By the time this 96th Solstice came to pass, Donald Trump had been elected President and a far more chaotic world ensued. As Trump attempted to dismantle the Climate Accords and Trans-Pacific Partnership, he also promoted tax cuts for the rich, railed against the Black Lives Matter movement, and instituted draconian measures regarding immigration. Impeached twice (but not convicted) his response to the Covid-19 crisis was dramatically ineffective and, of course, his reaction to losing the 2020 election was to attack the Capitol. On the personal side, Mom managed to get Covid and survive it, but the isolation of that year had a severely deleterious effect on her psychological state and cognitive abilities. In all, it was an incredible (almost) Century of Solstices. What I’ll remember, from my perspective (of 74 Solstices), is that Mom and Dad did their best for their kids. There’s no playbook for being a parent but now, I’ll look back and remember that, as a boy, there was always a radio on and Mom was often singing along with Hank Williams and Perry Como and whoever was crooning. I’ll recall that she usually wouldn’t smoke her first cigarette of the day until after dinner --- but kept smoking until a hospital stay a few years ago finally put her on the patch and relieved her of the habit. I know that our liberal politics were introduced early on --- Mom loved the Kennedys (successors, in her mind, to FDR), was against the war in Vietnam, supported “labor,” hated Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, and, most of all, Trump --- and wouldn’t hesitate to let you know it. Things were far from perfect (the words “intrusive” & “controlling” come to mind) but now I’d rather focus on how amazing it is to reflect on the almost Century of Solstices of my mother experienced and what a full life she has lived. Historical Perspective
(and why it’s important) The January 6th Congressional Committee has wrapped up its work and their full report will be issued on the Winter Solstice. Monday’s final meeting, of course, created a big stir because the Committee issued criminal referrals for a former United States President --- and rightly so. The length and depth of Donald Trump’s criminality extends well beyond the January 6th insurrection, but I think it’s important to step back and consider that event --- and the former President’s role in it --- with an eye toward how it fits into the arc of United States history. Much of my 42 years as an educator was spent teaching --- or teaching people “how to” teach --- United States history. As an American Studies major it was a subject I relished and loved tackling all the interesting and problematic aspects of telling the story of the development of our nation. And it is a fascinating, if difficult, tale to trace. Teaching U.S. History --- and teaching it as honestly as one can --- is a challenging task. Traditionally, U.S. history is taught chronologically and topically. That is: “The Colonial Period” (1607-1783), “The Constitutional Period and Federalist Era” (1783-1801), “Jeffersonian Democracy (?)”(1801-1824), “Jacksonian Democracy (?)” (1824-1840), “Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion” (1840-1850), “The Civil War and Reconstruction” (1850-1876), “The Age of Conservation Reaction (Robber Barons, Jim Crow, etc.)” (1876-1901), “The Progressive Era & WWI” (1901-1921), “The Roaring Twenties and the Crash” (1921-1932), “The New Deal & WWII” (1932-1945), “The Cold War & American Idealism (?)” (1945-1960), “The Sixties” (1960-1974), “Conservative Reaction Redux” (1977-2008), “Obama and Trump” (2008-2021). Those are the approximate “units” commercial textbooks, and many U.S. History teachers, use for course instruction (the titles are mine & reflect my orientation/biases). Personally, I’ve never found one piece of research which substantiates that people learn history “better” if it is taught chronologically so I preferred to loosely approach the course, often “doubling up” chronological topics (the American Revolution and the Vietnam War are a perfect pairing, for example, as are the two “conservative reaction periods” as well as the 20’s/60’s, etc.). There are many creative ways to teach American History, but I believe there are particularly important themes which must provide the “spine” to a course: race, immigration, American “mythology,” geographic determinism, and democracy, for example. It is the last theme which, of course, directly relates to the January 6th committee and demands our attention as we close out 2022. Telling the story of “democracy” as we look at the development of the United States is a complex and difficult tale to tell. Long before Jefferson hypocritically wrote “all men are created equal,” various colonial legislatures were enfranchising landed white men, inventing governments “by the (some) people,” implementing John Locke’s “consent of the governed” and adhering to “the rule of law.” Throughout our racist, misogynistic, and homophobic history the sins of the Republic were shielded by those idealistic concepts as we became, in our own view, the much-vaunted “City on a Hill” and (in our own eyes) the envy of the world. As the nation slowly began reckoning with its burdensome history in the second half of the 20th century age-old divisions emerged in higher relief --- at times blatantly, at other times with more subtlety. Yet, even with all of this, all the conflict, all the clamor, all the chaos we never questioned that our basic democratic processes should be destroyed. Never. One of the things that has always irked me about the Watergate Scandal is that Nixon’s criminality was not sufficiently punished and, worse, that the focus of what he did is never sufficiently emphasized. His “Plumbers,” quite simply, were fixing the 1972 election. While we are used to Trump’s ranting about “rigged” elections we seldom, if ever, focus on the fact that what Nixon’s “Committee to Re-Elect the President” (with the apt acronym: CREEP) did was fix the 1972 election so the incumbent President would run against the least-electable Democrat, George McGovern. If you watch Alan Pakula’s brilliant All the President’s Men (or read the equally brilliant Woodward/Bernstein book of the same title) there is a scene where the reporters uncover that Nixon’s “dirty tricksters” created the infamous “Canuck Letter” which undid Democratic front-runner Edmund Muskie’s presidential campaign during the New Hampshire primary campaign. That the bumbling Watergate burglars were caught trying to bug the Democratic headquarters in June of 1972 --- and Nixon then conspired to cover-up the illegal operations of his Re-Election Committee --- compounds just how corrupt the Republican Party’s politics have been for the past half-century. Yet even amid all this craziness no one, not even Richard Nixon, ever considered destroying our (bizarre) Electoral College system --- until January 6, 2021! Lincoln’s election in November 1860 led to our last insurrection – the Civil War. Because Southern states believed Lincoln and the northern Republican Party would abolish slavery, they left the Union and took up arms against the Federal government before his inauguration (March 4, 1861). No Southern states had cast a single Electoral vote for Lincoln. The votes were divided among 4 candidates, but Lincoln dominated the voting in the populous North and secured 180 Electoral votes (152 were needed for election). There was no attempt at preventing his certification --- the unhappy South simply left the Union --- and a violent internecine conflict ensued. What we saw, on January 6th, was nothing short of an attempted coup, an insurrection aimed at de-railing the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. As a U.S. history teacher, I always liked to point out to my students that one of the most unique aspects of American democracy was that every four years Americans voted for the leader they wanted and, even when a candidate won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote (4 times), power was transferred peacefully. Early on, John Adams refused to attend Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration --- and his son, John Quincy Adams, didn’t attend Andrew Jackson’s --- and the impeached Andrew Johnson did not attend Ulysses Grant’s inauguration in 1869. But none of them attempted to ALTER the outcome of their election. And none of them summoned their supporters to attack the Capitol the day the Electoral College votes were being certified! Until January 6, 2021. And this is what makes that date infamous and the crime egregious. It was the first time since 1861 that citizens took up arms and tried to violently overthrow our government. Consider this: what would have happened if, somehow, they succeeded? What if the Electoral count had been aborted on January 6th and, somehow, Trump’s Fake Electors were installed and counted? Remember, 147 Republicans (139 Representatives, 8 Senators) voted against certifying the Electoral count (and more Republican Senators were planning on voting against --- until they were attacked). What if the Fake Electors from the Swing States had somehow succeeded? Would Trump and his Republican allies then institute martial law to eliminate the “liberal elites” they believe have too much power? Based on Trump’s unwillingness to accept reality, to admit defeat, and his inclination to sidle up to Putin, MSB, and Kim, were we that close to losing our democracy --- the way Germany did in the early 1930’s? Because Nixon was only declared “an unindicted co-conspirator” and pardoned by Gerald Ford, he was able to lay low for a few years and then present the world with a re-habbed/re-invented “elder statesman” persona and outrun his infamy. It is imperative that Trump be made to pay for his criminal behavior. His attempt to subvert democratic rule and overturn an election, simply because his childish fragile ego cannot bear to be a “Loser” is not only unacceptable --- it is criminal -- and he should suffer the consequences for his actions for the first time in his life. The Republican Party’s Unholy Trinity
By continuing to genuflect and kiss the ring of Donald Trump, the Republican Party reveals the true unholy Trinity it worships: White privilege, racism, and gun violence. First, let’s make a clear distinction between white privilege and racism. White privilege, built on the foundation of white supremacy, is that sense of entitlement white people —- particularly white men (like Tucker Carlson) —- have which believes in the unquestioned RIGHT they have to CONTROL the levers of power in our society. Any threat to their grip on that power —- be it from African Americans, women, Latinx people, Asian-Americans, the LBGQT community —- and they reel in paroxysms of victimization (tune in to Fox News at any given moment if you want to see this in real time). White privilege is embedded in the societal structure of the United States —- its government & political parties, its economic system, its basic social status (structure), all of which were designed and controlled by white men from the very start. Let’s be honest: the Constitution (the 3/5th clause, the Electoral College), Supreme Court decisions (the Trail of Tears, Dred Scott, Plessy), and years of legislation (Jim Crow, the Chinese Exclusion Act, etc.) have only served to reinforce a worldview that is based on white men not only being in charge but being entitled and privileged within that system. Consider the centuries of privilege white men have accrued —- being the only ones admitted to “elite” colleges, where they created networks that continued in their domination of the economic and social systems throughout our history. Simply look at the work required for minorities (including women, LBGTQ, et al) to gain the simplest of rights (voting, access to public facilities, admission to universities, etc.) —- rights that have always been granted to white men. Those who continue to argue that they are “white and don’t have privilege” are lacking perspective, historical knowledge, and, I’d contend, a realistic view of the world. I know that being a blue-eyed white guy named “Johnson” was nothing but good for me from an early age. That sense of white privilege is the first solid leg of today’s Republican Party’s three-legged stool. Regarding racism: the latest violence against a minority (the Atlanta Asian-American murders) reveals the deeply inherent racist bias of policing —- which is only one aspect of the historic and divisive racism the nation has nurtured for over 400 years. Reflect on this: imagine if the gunman who killed 8 people in the Atlanta area had been Black or Latino. Like Dylan Roof, the 21 year old white man who killed 9 people in a Charleston, South Carolina church, the Atlanta assailant, even though he was considered “armed and dangerous,” was arrested by white officers without “incident”—- and then we were told he was having a “bad day.” Eugene Robinson wrote about failing to hear if George Floyd might have been having a “bad day” --- and I’d add Eric Garner, Philando Castille, Sandra Bland, and Breonna Taylor (as the start of a list), wondering if those people were having such “bad days” that they deserved to die. But the policing is only an extension, an arm, of a system that has violent embraced racism from the start. In keeping with a system of white privilege, racism is a natural outgrowth. The “other” (be it black, brown, yellow, red, gay, female, etc.) is always seen as a threat —- because the white people in power, from the start, know that those who are discriminated against, who are the target of terrorist violence, who are treated as “less than,” will, given the opportunity, seek justice and equality. The real sickness of the racist mind is the assumption that those who have been on the receiving end of their racist treatment will react violently (because the whites in power have, historically, used violence repeatedly against any who challenged them —- including white workers who wanted to unionize!). This racist mindset is now a solid leg of the Republican’s three-legged stool. The final leg of the stool, of course, is guns. This is a hill the Republicans are willing to die on. Let me be clear: I do not want to do away with the Second Amendment and I do not want to “take your guns away.” I do, however, want much more strict regulation of: a) how people are able to acquire guns; b) what kinds of weapons and ammunition are available to the public; and c) how we keep track of who has what. The people I know who are gun owners are incredibly responsible --- their guns are in safes and/or otherwise secured in their homes (for “self-defense”). The problem we have in this country right now, as we saw this past week in Georgia, is that in any number of states a person, on a whim (or worse), can walk into a gun store and walk out with a lethal weapon --- no background check, no waiting/”cooling off” period, nada, nothing, zilch. We know that “gun shows” proliferate a vast number of states and anyone can acquire a tactical assault weapon (the big regulation” is that weapons can’t be “automatic,” meaning they take a little bit longer to fire shot-after-shot (and we discovered that “bump-stocks” make that point almost irrelevant). Yet, despite the number of mass shootings we have seen year-after-year, the NRA has convinced the Republican Party that the “Second Amendment” is more important than the First! And that’s the final leg to the Republican Party’s three-legged stool --- its unholy Trinity. Let’s remember that this is not Trump’s doing alone --- he inherited a half-century of right wing/Republican evolution into this party of “No,” this party that stands for nothing other than “power” and blocking/stopping progressive change. Remember it began with Richard Nixon’s “Silent Majority/Southern Strategy” and continued with the Reagan and H.W. Bush dog whistles about “welfare queens” and Willie Horton. It was advanced by Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” and W. Bush’s “compassionate conservativism.” With the explosion of the internet and the beginning of widespread conspiracy theories (remember “9/11 was an ‘inside job’”?) Trump’s “birther” mythology and his tv celebrity were perfect platforms to transform the white privilege/racist/gun-loving party into the 35,000 lies/insurrectionist-supporting party. And that’s who they are. They continue to LIE, blatantly, and genuflect at the Holy See of Mar-a-lago, where their Babylonian Captivity (aka the Avignon Papacy) is playing out. It will take time to undo the half-century of what the Republicans have constructed. Other political parties have died due to their inability to evolve --- the Federalists, the Whigs, the Know-Nothings --- and we may well be witnessing the Republican Party’s self-immolation. Only time will tell. Stay safe. Get vaccinated. The GOP’s O.J. Moment
& The Slide Toward Autocracy Despite being physically threatened by a mob that brutally killed a Capitol police officer --- a mob incited by their abusive boyfriend --- 45 Republican Senators voted against impeaching the former President, against holding their abuser accountable --- and now 44 have voted that the process is “unconstitutional.” Like Nicole Brown Simpson, who kept going back to O.J. even after making numerous 9-1-1 calls, Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley and the rest of the Trump Cult made their 9-1-1 call on January 6th, only to recant by January 27th, ready to move back in with their bete noir. And now we find that we can’t identify 17 Republicans who have enough integrity to convict Donald J. Trump of a blatant (digitally recorded!) crime. Let’s be clear about what we’re witnessing. The Republican Party that we knew for the half century prior to 2016, the Party of “balanced budgets and limited Federal spending,” the Party of “free trade and reducing the National Debt,” the party of “compassionate conservativism,” is DEAD. It has been replaced by a party that didn’t even publish a Party Platform in the 2020 election cycle. Basically, they put on their “I’m with Stupid” tee-shirts and claimed the 2016 Platform was good enough to run on again (since, in fact, they had accomplished so little). The Republican Party has been replaced by a CULT with NO ideology beyond grievance, white nationalism/supremacy, and total allegiance to Trump. They have amped up their desire for voter suppression along with the dissemination of false narratives and misinformation. All they seem to care about is retaining power so they can appoint judges, gut environmental laws, de-regulate business and provide fat tax cuts for the wealthy. As the minority party they will attempt to do what they did to Obama starting in 2009: obstruct, delay, obstruct, delay, obstruct. It is now February of 2021 and the Democrats have control of the executive and legislative branches and, even though their majority in the Senate is the thinnest it can be, they will have to two things: pass the Relief Bill via “reconciliation” and then do away with the filibuster to pave the way for future legislation (which may or may not happen). The Republicans, as of this past week, have basically acceded to Qanon Crazies and the Trump Cult and will not convict the former President, despite overwhelming evidence that he is, in fact, guilty (as early as last September he said OUT LOUD that he couldn’t/wouldn’t guarantee a peaceful transfer of power!). There has been a lot of talk about the country being as (or more) divided than it was in 1860, when the Civil War began with Southern secession starting before Lincoln was even sworn in. I don’t think we should take this comparison lightly. On November 5, 2020 Yale historian David Blight wrote a piece in the New York Review of Books entitled “Republicans: The New Confederacy” and the only fault I would find in his piece is that it doesn’t really touch on the racism and anti-Semitism that is part of the white nationalist-supremacist/xenophobic philosophy of T****’s party. Dana Milbank, in his Washington Post column on February 5, 2021 clarifies where he believes the GOP stands after watching 199 Representatives vote in support of Marjorie Taylor Greene, a renowned conspiracy theorist, racist, and anti-Semite. Together, the Blight and Milbank essays summarize where the Republican Party stands as Trump’s second impeachment proceeds. According to Blight, “A modern campaign of voter suppression conducted by one of our parties grows with warped intensity . . . a constant rant about ‘voter fraud’ without evidence” is heard again and again. Blight continues: “The only thing rigged in this election are the Electoral College itself (in favor of less populated states that tend red), the decidedly undemocratic institution of the U.S. Senate (a Republican majority represents a population smaller by 15 million than the Democrats), and the myriad ways the current (then Trump) administration has manipulated government agencies to influence voting.” Blight describes this as part of a “new Confederacy:” It knows what it hates: the two coasts, diverse cities, marriage equality, certain kinds of feminism, political correctness (sometimes with reason), university “elites,” and “liberals” generally. It is racial and undemocratic. It twists American history to its own ends, substituting “patriotism” for scholarship and science. It has weaponized “truth” and rendered it oddly irrelevant. What is most important to note about this new iteration of the Republican Party is that it is consciously undemocratic. I have said before that Trump’s GOP has become the White People’s Party and, in the wake of the January 6th siege on our Capitol, there is little room to dispute this notion. Milbank, the day after the Republicans voted to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene on committees Kevin McCarthy had appointed her to, recoiled in horror because Greene is the embodiment of Trump’s racism and white nationalism. As Milbank notes: One hundred ninety-nine Republican members Congress rallied to the Defense of a vile, unapologetic anti-Semite in their ranks who calls for the assassination of her opponents. This is more than a Republican problem, it’s an American problem. Milbank then proceeds to produce evidence of Greene’s extremism: supporting Holocaust deniers, posing with a white supremacist leader during her campaign, approving a claim that Israeli intelligence assassinated JFK and, of course, claiming the Rothschilds set the California forest fires with space lasers! Based on this, Milbank notes that “rallying around this unrepentant anti-Semite by Republicans is an ominous new frontier.” He then quotes numerous Republican House members who made excuses for Greene (“We’ve all said things we regret” --- except Greene has shown NO SIGNS of regretting any of her lunatic beliefs!). In concluding his observations, Milbank says: In retrospect, it’s clear Trump led us to this point. In his 2016 campaign, he singled out prominent Jews as part of a “global power structure” that doesn’t “have your good in mind.” He elevated white supremacists, spoke of “blood suckers,” told Jewish Republicans they wouldn’t support him “because I don’t want your money,” and shared an image of a Star of David atop a pile of cash. As president, he spoke of the “very fine people” marching with the white supremacists in Charlottesville. Anti-Semitic violence increased significantly . . . Trump continued embracing the far-right violent Proud Boys in a presidential debate. All of this, all of this evidence is out there --- in the public record, along with those hours and hours of digital video of Trump’s haranguing his followers, going back months and months, claiming the election was a “fraud,” that he “won in a landslide,” and that his supporters needed to march on the Capitol to “take their country back.” Nonetheless, the Republican Cowards in the United States Senate, led by Mitch McConnell and Ted Cruz and Lindsay Graham and Marco Rubio and Josh Hawley and . . . and . . . and . . . and. It is a chamber teeming with white men of NO integrity who will acquit a criminal, a cheater, a con-man. That’s the real “fraud” going on but it’s worse than that --- because this party of No Integrity is also working every day at dissembling our democracy and our democratic institutions. The Republicans have become the party of fraud and autocracy and the evidence of that is on full display on our screens every day. Stay safe and get vaccinated. A Covid-adjacent Story Here’s one for you --- I’ve already mentioned my “bad luck” regarding publishing a new book during the pandemic (Facebook Post, February 1, 2021) --- how it’s difficult to “get the word out” when you can’t appear at Book Expo at the Javits Center, how you can’t do readings at bookstores and libraries, etc. Well, that was only Part One of my publishing nightmare, it seems. For several months I’ve been (periodically) writing to my publisher, asking where my “Author’s copies” of my book were. Again, I was supposed to receive somewhere between 75 and 100 pre-publication copies of the book to sign and give away at events like Book Expo, etc. But that was all contingent on our former world, when the book’s publication date was September we all could leave our homes and not have to wear masks. As it turned out, publication was delayed until late October 2020 and I assumed my “Author’s copies” were somehow forgotten or delayed in the Covid-Amazon-FedEx-UPS pandemic surge. As it turns out, I finally heard from my publisher this week, on Thursday, February 4th, when the office “team” at Adelaide Books informed me that three boxes of book had been sent and delivered on November 24th (2 boxes) and 28th (1 box). The glitch, it seems, was my fault because on the contract I signed with the publisher I listed my address as “71 Aiken St., Norwalk, CT 06851” without including “Unit A2” (as I had on my first draft of the contract and somehow --- idiotically --- failed to do on the final copy!!). Totally my fault. So here I was, on Thursday, February 4th with a dilemma: where were my 3 boxes of books? The publisher was kind enough to send me the tracking numbers (as it turns out, they were shipped from Amazon, of course) but because the numbers were so old, they could not be traced. I went to “Contact Us” on the Amazon website and engaged in a “Chat” with a Customer Service representative (who was very nice) only to find out that I couldn’t find out anything further about the packages unless I had and Order Identification number --- which the published has. I e-mailed the publisher, informing them of my attempt to retrieve the packages, hoping they could try from their end, with the Order ID number. They said they would see what they could do. Those who know me are aware that I am not one who “sits around and waits” very well. I have a tendency to charge ahead, preferring action to deliberation so the idea of waiting to find out if the publisher could track down the books was really not an option for me. From my point of view, the books had been delivered to someone in our condo complex (there are 275 units with about 32 single-family units and about 54 to 72 cluster entryways where 3 to 4 units reside. That means there are approximately 86 to 104 doors that I would place a notice on, explaining the situation and inquiring as to whether anyone had seen these boxes Two Months Ago. Thursday, midday, I headed out with a one-page missive, which read: Dear Neighbors: February 4, 2021 In NOVEMBER (the 24th & 28th) three (3) boxes of books were delivered to some Unit at 71 Aiken St. which were intended for me, Wilbur Johnson, in UNIT A2. These were my “author copies” of a memoir I published. I thought the delivery had been delayed because of the Covid pandemic but my publisher informed me this morning that they were sent and “handed directly to a resident.” If you received them --- and/or if you returned them --- please let me know. These were my only copies of the book I wrote. Thanks for your assistance. Stay safe. Bil Johnson – UNIT A2 Please call/text (401) 261-0280 if you have any information. Thanks. Within about an hour I had taped that letter onto between 75 and 80 doors in our complex, at which point I decided to take and break --- and hoped that I might hear something from someone that would help me out and permit me to stop taping letters to more doors. Thursday evening I received a message on my phone from a neighbor in the “B Unit” who had not received the books but did have a helpful suggestion as to whom I might contact in our Management Agency. That person could send out an “email blast” to all the residents, thereby saving me some time and effort. I had, in fact, sent an email and left a phone voice message with the management company and (it’s Saturday morning) have yet to hear back. Nonetheless, it was a lovely gesture from a sympathetic neighbor (who had dealt with mis-delivered packages in the past). And then Friday I received a text which read: “Hello Bill (sp.) The books were left at Unit E12. There was no Unit # or telephone # on the packing label. They were returned to the Amazon delivery driver. The box of books was left at the common front door of the vestibule (not “handed directly to a resident”)” So now we at least know what happened to the books! They were, indeed, delivered and they were, indeed, returned. It is now incumbent upon my publisher to trace through the records to find the Order Identification Number and inform Amazon as to where, exactly (Unit A2) the boxes need to be delivered. I’m not holding my breath. Better to expect the worst and hope for a miracle in this case. If, somehow, they do eventually end up at my door I can promise you this: the residents at Unit B6 (the phone call) and E12 (the text) will get autographed copies, thanking them for helping me solve The Case of the Missing Memoirs. Stay safe. Get vaccinated. Thanks for reading. Right Time, Right Places: One Teacher’s School Reform Journey is available from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Right-Time-Places-Memoir/dp/1953510612/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?dchild=1&keywords=educator+biographies+bill+johnson+right+time+right+places&qid=1612635804&sr=8-1-fkmr2 From Adelaide Books: https://adelaidebooks.org/products/right-time-tight-places-a-memoir?_pos=1&_sid=801a1d45b&_ss=r And, as an e-book: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1060401 Education’s on my Mind The news is filled with politicians (led by our new President) clamoring to “get the kids back in school.” In Chicago, teachers (led by one of my former students, their Union President, Jesse Sharkey) are threatening a strike if teachers can’t get vaccinations and the schools can’t be guaranteed to be “safe.” We’ve heard a lot about what children/students may “have lost” as a result of the pandemic and, certainly, parents have been pushed beyond their limits, asked to monitor and help their children/students during this extraordinary year. The Lovely Carol Marie often accuses me of being a “Pollyanna,” a cockeyed optimist, a rose-colored glasses viewer of the world. When it comes to children/students, I’ll plead guilty. I think kids are remarkably resilient, adaptable, creative, imaginative, and boundlessly energetic --- and I mean all kids (having worked in cities & suburbs, I believe I have enough experience to confidently make this claim). As such, I believe, as the veil of this plague lifts ever so slowly, as it might, that by the fall of 2021 schools will be up and running and life will begin to take on its own new shape (“normalcy?”). With that in mind, I ran across a letter from a school principal (I think on Facebook) late in the Fall of 2020 and I believe now is a good time to pass it along. The attribution only said a “school Principal in Ballard, Washington” and my research shows that would be Keven Wynkoop. Whether it is his or not, the letter speaks for itself and I think it is both wise and instructive. Dear Friends and Colleagues: I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when they finally return to school. My goodness, what a disconcerting thing to be concerned about in the face of a pandemic which is affecting millions of people around the country and the world. It speaks to one of my biggest fears for the children when they return. In our determination to “catch them up,” I fear that we will lose who they are and what they have learned during this unprecedented era. What on earth are we trying to catch them up on? The models no longer apply, the benchmarks are no longer valid, the trend analyses have been interrupted. We must not forget that those arbitrary measures were established by people, not ordained by God. We can make those invalid measures as obsolete as a crank up telephone! They simply do not apply. When the children return to school, they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify and make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned. Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have been focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to have to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. Our job is to welcome them back and help them write that history. I sincerely plead with my colleagues, to surrender the artificial constructs that measure achievement and greet the children where they are, not where we think they “should be.” Greet them with art supplies and writing materials, and music and dance and so many other avenues to help them express what has happened to them in their lives during this horrific year. Greet them with stories and books that will help them make sense of an upside-down world. They missed you. They did not miss the test prep. They did not miss the worksheets. They did not miss the reading groups. They did not miss the homework. They missed you. Resist the pressure from whatever ‘powers that be’ who are in a hurry to “fix” kids and make up for the “lost” time. The time was not lost, it was invested in surviving an historic period of time in their lives—in our lives. The children do not need to be fixed. They are not broken. They need to be heard. They need be given as many tools as we can provide to nurture resilience and help them adjust to a post pandemic world. Being a teacher is an essential connection between what is and what can be. Please, let what can be demonstrate that our children have so much to share about the world they live in and in helping them make sense of what, for all of us has been unimaginable. This will help them– and us– achieve a lot more than can be measured by any assessment tool ever devised. Peace to all who work with the children! Stay safe. Get vaccinated as soon as you can. Thanks for reading. Welcome to Covid-TV
We were a “tv” family in the ‘50’s and ‘60’s. Actually, there’s a picture of our apartment in Canarsie, taken when I was an infant, featuring a HUGE console (the shape of a jukebox) with about a 12-inch television screen in it--- that’s how much of a tv family we were. Dad even created a hole in a rec room wall to place our big Admiral cathode-tube tv in --- creating a “movie theater” effect. I bring this up because, while I’ve remained a tv viewer throughout my life, the pandemic has led to watching far more streaming/cable/broadcast television than at any other point in my adult life. As we approach the end of January 2021 and have marked one full year since the first case(s) of COVID-19 was identified in the United States, I’d like to note several things I’ve observed in the past few months --- which you may also have noticed if you’ve been watching an inordinate amount of television, too. #1. During our months of involuntary sequestering I discovered I was oblivious to hundreds of sit-coms and dramas produced for broadcast television over the past 30 years. They are far too numerous to begin listing here but I do think it’s worth noting that if it’s a comedy Chuck Lorre is involved and if it’s a “police procedural” Dick Wolf created it. At least that’s what it looks like to me. Lorre was a producer of Roseanne and Mike and Molly (I’m sure the pitch meeting was, “Aw, c’mon, everybody loves fat people….two words: Ralph Kramden!”). He was the “brain” behind Grace Under Fire, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men (“unusual” --- and dysfunctional? --- “family” sitcoms) and he is currently behind the Michael Douglas/Alan Arkin The Kominsky Method, Bob Hearts Abishola, and Mom. Lorre is best known, of course, for The Big Bang Theory or, as I like to call it, “Seinfeld Does Science.” That, of course, spawned Young Sheldon --- tracing the genesis of boy (and later man) genius Sheldon Cooper. Going back to the 1990’s, the shows run the gamut from borderline stupid broadcast tv sitcoms to pretty amusing broadcast tv sitcoms. If you’ve watched television over the last 30 years or so, you’ve certainly been exposed to (yes, like a disease) Chuck Lorre. As regards the “police procedural” no one holds a candle to Dick Wolf. There is a long history of “cop/detective shows” on television (remember “Dragnet,” “Naked City,” “Peter Gunn,” “Columbo,” “The Rockford Files,” etc. etc.?). However, since 1990, Dick Wolf has dominated the scene with his Law & Order and “Chicago” franchises, in particular. Wolf cut his teeth writing for Hill Street Blues and Miami Vice before striking out on his own with the original “Law & Order” program --- a show that ran until 2010, matching Gunsmoke for the longest-running series (at the time --- surpassed now by Law & Order: SVU). In the process, I’d say the Law & Order shows influenced all that followed (NCIS, CSI, et al): a repertory cast with recurring characters in clear, identifiable roles with vague (but interesting?) back stories (which we get in dribs and drabs). Law & Order is the template --- now followed by two new Wolf shows: FBI and FBI: Most Wanted. So, that’s what I’ve learned about all the tv I missed while I was teaching and writing and leading my life without broadcast television (and, yes, it took until retirement for me to actually watch Seinfeld). #2. Starting with the 2016 election rollout (which means late 2014, early 2015) we became addicted to “the news” --- particularly MSNBC. After the election, as the soul-crushing Trump Administration dragged on and on, we watched “the news” less and less (hence the previous observations about broadcast t.v.) and became tired of the incessant punditry on MSNBC (less so, CNN). We started watching local news (Channel 12) and NY1, our old standby from when I lived on the Upper West Side. But recently we discovered Shepard Smith on CNBC from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., realizing it is a perfect throwback news show, reminding us of the news shows we grew up with --- before cable broadcasting and infotainment tainted the news world. Growing up with Walter Cronkite, Huntley-Brinkley, and Howard K. Smith --- followed by Dan Rather and Peter Jennings, the “news” was informative and objective. While there may have been an occasional “opinion/editorial” piece, we learned to trust those reporting the news --- believing they were giving us the facts. Certainly the reporting from Vietnam fueled the anti-war movement, as did Civil Rights coverage. With the advent of “infotainment” in the early ‘90’s and then Fox “News” in 1996, we headed down that slippery slope of biased reporting and disinformation. Enter Shepard Smith. Unlike David Muir, Lester Holt, and Norah O’Donnell, who each have only a half-hour (if you’re lucky enough to catch them between 6:30 and 7:00 p.m.) “Shep” has an hour on the edge of Prime Time and his show, aptly named The News with Shepard Smith is a wonderful throwback to real news shows. Smith rather famously left Fox News after being there for 23 years! As a journalist, he could no longer countenance the “lies” and “falsehoods” the network insisted on propagating (he had already withstood savage blowback from Fox viewers after announcing he was gay in 2017). NBC scooped him up, giving him the 7 p.m. slot and, if you have not watched (and particularly if you are an old Baby Boomer, like us), we highly recommend catching the show --- which is straight ahead news reporting with an occasional human interest story and nightly features entitled “Around the World in 80 Seconds” and “Coast to Coast” --- reporting on a variety of interesting stories you would never even know about if you watched MSNBC or CNN. It’s a nice reminder of how the news can be delivered without strident partisan overtones --- a welcome relief during this pandemic. #3. Finally --- and I’m not sure if this is exclusive to the Northeast --- or possibly just Blue States --- BUT has anyone else noticed that almost all the families featured in commercials these days are “mixed-ish” --- that is, interracial?? The product doesn’t matter, wherever you turn insurance, automobiles, AARP membership, dog food, meal kits, you name it, there’s an interracial couple/family selling it to you. Suddenly, we’re in this post-Obama commercial world. But I do wonder if all these ads are running in Alabama and Mississippi and other Deep-Red states. If so, that might be progress, right? If not, it’s simply clever demographic advertising. I think the litmus test will be February 7th, the Super Bowl. Let’s see if any of what we know are “national” commercials feature interracial families --- that might give us an inkling as to why the Proud Boys, et al are losing their shit beyond limits. Just a thought. And finally, finally: if you are also watching a lot of tv these days, do you also hate those fucking red and blue Charmin Bears wagging their butt in your face? Just sayin’ . . . Stay safe, the vaccine is on the way. But stay safe. The Measure of a Man
I’m old enough to remember seeing Henry Aaron playing baseball for the Milwaukee Braves . . . and the Atlanta Braves . . . and the Milwaukee Brewers. He was among the first group of baseball players who were my heroes --- the superstars around which the game revolved. Because I was born two years after Jackie Robinson “broke the color barrier” in major league baseball I thought baseball had always been integrated (when I first started “seriously” watching at age 8). The 1957 World Series is the first I remember clearly (I have vague recollections of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodger victory and the 1956 “perfect-game” Series) but the Yankees-Braves series was the first where I knew who the players were --- and Henry Aaron (“Hank,” “Hammerin’ Hank”) was the Braves answer to “our” Mickey Mantle. Those two men were the superstars on their respective teams (and this was before the term “superstar” was used!). They were among a handful of ballplayers who transcended the game because they were, quite simply, head-and-shoulders better than their peers. The others, at that time, were Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Ernie Banks, and Frank Robinson. With Henry Aaron’s passing yesterday, only Willie Mays remains. But I want to look at that group of players collectively before focusing on Aaron and his importance not only to the game of baseball but also as a cultural icon. Two things should be noted about this group of ballplayers who were so influential to my development as a fan --- and as a young player: #1) they were all Black; #2) they were “human-sized” (which makes their accomplishments all the more staggering!). Let me address the second issue first, because it’s important. These men, to me, were Baseball Gods who were all, clearly, headed to the Hall of Fame. Yet they were identifiable human beings. Check out these simple height-and-weight statistics: Hank Aaron 6 ‘0” 180 lbs.; Willie Mays 5’10” 170 lbs.; Ernie Banks 6’1” 180 lbs.; Roberto Clemente 5’ 11” 175 lbs.; and Frank Robinson 6’1” 183 lbs. (Mickey Mantle, by the way, was 5”11” 195). The point here is simple --- these guys were the size of our Dads. Unlike today’s players, many of whom look more like NBA or NFL athletes, our heroes allowed kids to truly believe they could become big-leaguers! And that connects back to the first point: they were our idols and to us (at least to me and my brother) their race was not a factor in our identifying with or, better, aspiring to be like them. It wasn’t until I was older, as I approached Middle School in the late 50’s and early ‘60’s, that race and civil rights began to enter my consciousness. But it still didn’t affect me as regards who my athletic heroes were --- it was a very multicultural group across all the sports I loved. Sure, I rooted for Mantle and Maris, but I still believed Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Banks, and Robinson were as good (or better --- I still think Mays is the Baseball GOAT). Same in basketball, where Bill Russell was my Gold Standard and, while I was a huge Y.A. Tittle fan I would have killed if the Giants could’ve gotten Jim Brown, the greatest running back of all time! And I think this is where sports is so important for kids because, when done right, it focuses on the importance of team play and presents examples of individuals who achieve feats we can aspire to. And that’s where Henry Aaron re-enters the story. I was about to turn 25 years old when Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record, hitting #715 on April 8, 1974 and was in awe of the accomplishment but also, by that time in my life, knew the adversity Aaron faced. By 1974 I was extremely aware of just how racist our nation was and I knew that a Black Man breaking the record of one of our culture’s most mythic White icons would not sit well with millions of my fellow citizens. Aaron, always the epitome of humility and class, did not amplify to the public what he and his family was going through in the moment --- it was only later, in the 1980’s that we, the pubic, learned the full extent of the threats on his life and the threats on his family. The fact that the Atlanta fans weren’t particularly supportive led Aaron to return to Milwaukee and play for the Brewers his last two seasons. As noted in the January 22nd New York Times: Aaron had little interest in continuing to play for the Braves after the 1974 season. He felt that notwithstanding Atlanta’s reputation as a progressive representative of the New South, he had received only tepid backing from the fans as he neared Ruth’s record. And he heard racial abuse from some fans that reminded him of his minor league days in the Sally League. “I didn’t expect the fans to give me a standing ovation every time I stepped on the field, but I thought a few of them might come over to my side as I approached Ruth,” Aaron said in his memoir. “At the very least, I felt I had earned the right not to be verbally abused and racially ravaged in my home ballpark.” The modern civil rights movement made historic gains during Aaron’s career, but he knew that the road to equal treatment remained long. “Any Black who thinks the same thing can’t happen today is sadly mistaken,” he told The Times in 1994. “It happens now with people in three-piece suits instead of with hoods on.” Early on in his career, Black players were barred from hotels where white teammates stayed during spring training in Florida. Aaron joined with Bill Bruton, the Braves’ African-American center fielder, in pressing management for change, with no immediate success. Although Aaron wasn’t vocal on the larger civil rights scene, he became interested in the writings of James Baldwin, decrying patience in the face of racism. “Baseball has done a lot for me, given me an education in meeting other kinds of people.”. But he added pointedly, “It has taught me that regardless of who you are and how much money you make, you are still a Negro.” “I never wanted them to forget Babe Ruth. I just wanted them to remember Henry Aaron.” Henry Aaron grew up in Jim Crow Alabama, played in the Negro Leagues, had a Hall of Fame major league baseball career, and had a full life as a businessman, baseball executive, husband and father. He was a brilliant athlete and a humble man, finally recognized as an “icon” long after he should have been. A younger generation of fans may only remember that he surpassed Babe Ruth’s record (while never hitting 50 home runs in one season) without noting that he is third in hits, all-time (take away ALL his homers and he still have over 3,000 hits!). But Henry Aaron would never have been the man to point all that out to you. He let his playing tell the tale, just as the civil rights work he did off the field was done quietly. The old cliché is “He played the game the way it’s supposed to be played” but, in Henry Aaron’s case “He lived life the way it’s supposed to be lived.” I hope people recognize the measure of this exceptional man. Thanks for reading and stay safe. Here’s When 2021 OFFICIALLY Starts I know our calendar has recorded the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021 BUT I am going to propose that we revisit the idea of New Year’s Day. We all probably agree that 2020 has been one of the worst (if not the worst) year of our collective lives. The pandemic has made life more than difficult and the election year sideshow only added to the horror of 2020. Suspending life as we know it and waiting for an undefined end point is one reason I’m not feeling like 2020 has ended. The recent Siege at the nation’s Capital has only added to that 2020 feeling. Let me explain exactly why I am proposing a new New Year’s Day. Before 2020 even ended, sometime around Thanksgiving, my 93 year-old mother tested positive for Covid-19. She had no symptoms but had to be quarantined. We have not seen her since late February because she lives in an assisted-living facility which has been locked up tight since March. Okay, so that’s still a 2020 event but Mom came through living in the quarantine wing of Gluco Lodge (trying to break out a few times: “She’s a pistol” and “She’s a pain in the ass” was the staff’s assessment) and in 2021 was sent back to her room (which she loves). Still a seriously addicted smoker, early last week Mom went out for a Parliament Light and, upon re-entering the facility, managed to fall down (on her previously --- 2019 --- broken left hip). She got up, dusted herself off and headed back to her room. A doctor was called and, when the staff went up to check on her, she was bleeding out of/in her ear and her bed had a significant amount of blood staining her sheets. They rushed her to the Emergency Room where it was determined she had a lacerated ear --- which they glued back together and sent her home. This is the first 2021 Emergency Room story. Shortly into the New Year, maybe on the 3rd or 4th, we learned that the newest member of our clan, the 9-month old Giant Baby Boy (already 30 pounds!) was rushed to the Stamford Hospital Emergency Room because of extreme respiratory difficulty. Not Covid but very, very scary! It took two days before he came home and it’s only in the last few days that he is bouncing back to his old, Giant self. While the Giant Baby was in the hospital he was joined by his maternal grandmother (a friend of ours and a former colleague of the Lovely Carol Marie) who had a ruptured appendix and was in serious trouble! She ended up in the hospital for almost an entire week and is only now, a couple of weeks later, beginning to feel like her old self. On top of all that, the Lovely Carol Marie has spent the last two weeks getting cataract surgery (complicated by one eye which is “frozen” as a result of a 2004 brain aneurysm!). She is fine but did spend a few days impersonating Helen Keller --- having all of that exacerbated by having also received gel-shots in her knees (which are not taking especially well). Needless to say, all of this (the Giant Baby, his maternal grandmother, his paternal grandmother – Carol Marie) has made it seem like 2020 has continued into this so-called “New Year.” Adding to all this, one of my classmates, an old friend and fellow Skull and Bones members, passed away two days ago and an even dearer Yale friend just informed me he has been recovering form kidney cancer surgery (performed in December)!! Sounds very 2020 doesn’t it? And then, of course, we had the events of January 6th --- something none of us thought we’d ever see --- an assault on the United States Congress by American citizens following the orders of their cult leader, and our current (seditious) President. This was, of course, an extension of the November 2020 election. The 45th President, breaking with more than two centuries of tradition, decided a “peaceful transition of power” did not apply to him and urged his supporters to attack the Congress as it was certifying the election of the winner of the 2020 Presidential election. As the current administration writhes in its death throes, while 4000 Americans are succumbing to Covid-19 each day (an act of depraved indifference by 45), we cannot really believe 2021 has begun, can we? Here’s my proposal: it happens that January 21st is the Lovely Carol Marie’s birthday. Given that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be sworn in on January 20th, doesn’t it make perfect sense that January 21st be declared New Year’s Day 2021? Not only is it a lovely tribute to the LCM but it gives us all time to take a deep breath and look forward with some optimism. We will not be totally rid of the Orange Menace and his moronic cult (Jim Jordan and Moe Brooks are still in Congress, after all) but it will allow us to consider a future where we receive Covid-19 vaccinations and the world begins to re-form and resemble one we are familiar with. So, that’s it. January 21st is our New Year’s Day --- at least until January 1, 2022. Stay safe. Wear a mask. Happy New Year next Thursday. |
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