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New Years and Politics

  • Posted on December 31, 2012 at 6:53 pm

The cartoon version of me living in a cartoon world called politics.

At the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one, I always tend to think about the past, present, and future.  This year is no different.  I am sitting here thinking how politicians always manage to pull the American people apart.  They wait until the last possible minute to pull some rabbit out of a proverbial hat that we are supposed to buy as some kind of miracle of sorts.  I don’t really buy the drama that is going on in Washington D.C. because they so easily passed two bills recently that didn’t get much notice.  The first was FISA and the second was a pay raise for themselves.

Warrantless wiretapping of American citizens is good for another five years.  Just think about that.  http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/12/fisa-passes-warrantless-wiretapping-will-live/60403/

Just when you are lead to believe that the Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on anything, you discover that they both believe in stepping on the constitution to catch the bad people, whoever they may be.  We can live safer knowing that they got General Patraeus out of office through the search of his email correspondence.  Now I frankly don’t care about Patraeus as he is of no real concern to me.  However, the fact that my email could be investigated or even my website, well, that is another matter.  I believe in free speech and I certainly believe in utilizing the World Wide Web for learning and sharing ideas.  I don’t believe the government should be able to search any of my documents because I may use some word that they have put on a terror list of commonly used words by terrorists.

About the pay raise, you can see it is not seemingly huge but when compared to most American worker’s pay it is humongous.  http://www.wtvy.com/home/headlines/President-OKs-Pay-Raise-for-Congress-185310012.html

Therefore, here at the end of the year there is drama going on in Washington D.C.  Both parties attend the same parties and social circles.  Many even marry each other.  Politicians also seem to live cozy with the press.  If you work in politics, it is only a matter of time before you are on the political shows or in some cases become the show.  The story that they don’t get along just doesn’t work with me because they get along when they want to.  I remember when Senator Teddy Kennedy died.  When Senator Orrin Hatch spoke about his relationship with Kennedy the veil of contention was lifted.  When Teddy asks Orrin, “How did I do?”  You must think about the theater that was created by both parties when dealing with legislative issues.  At that time, I realized that all of the fighting by the politicians is some kind of weird Kabuki Theater.  The drama is created for the American people.  We are expected to think they are fighting for us but the reality is they fight for themselves and the moneyed interests.  We have been expected to “share the pain” of their decisions but in reality the poor and middle class bears the burden of all that happens in politics.

This past year has been frustrating, especially for teachers like I.  Here in Michigan we have painfully watched as politicians systematically took away many of our hard earned benefits through legislative action.  We have to pay more into our insurance package.  Years ago, the insurance was one of the most sought after benefit for teachers.  Now, it is built in with plans that make teachers be more of a gambler than most teachers would like to be.  There is a built in cap, which means if you want a better package, it is no longer negotiable.  Our retirement package has been changed and we are expected to pay more for that change.  Our union dues can no longer be taken out of our paychecks.  Our union has to work harder to collect those dues.  Teacher evaluations in our state are now tied to our students’ test scores.  Within the next couple of years, it will be around 50% of our evaluations.  In addition, as an art teacher, my evaluation is tied to reading and math scores. It seems we are all reading teachers these days.  Recently, Governor Snyder signed into law “right to work” legislation.  He did this as a favor to all of us dissatisfied teachers of course.  Please note the “snark” in my voice.  Here in Sturgis we took a 0% pay raise to go along with all of the other things that happened this year.  We were happy because at least we have our jobs.  This is the kind of year it has been, a contentious one, leaving many people confused and worried about the future.

I have always been an optimist.  I look to the future thinking positive thoughts.  However, I have learned that it is difficult to be in charge of your own fate these days.  It doesn’t matter how good of a teacher you really are.  What matters is how the numbers look on a database.  Things that are not measured like creativity, relationships, emotions, devotion, time, and caring won’t show up on that database that determines my ability as a teacher.  I will live with that.  I look to this New Year still hoping that the politicians will wake up and see all the damage they create when they make decisions for the American people that really are insane and stupid.  I cannot help it as I am ever the optimist.  This next year has me thinking that Governor Snyder probably has a plan for me and it probably isn’t what I want.  At the federal level, they have a plan for all of us as well and it probably isn’t what we want.  I will hold out and keep on voting, trying to remove the blight I see that are the politicians that continually serve the rich and connected.  However, it is discouraging to see what happens to people when they become politicians!

Waiting for Superman, Poverty, and STRESS

  • Posted on December 28, 2011 at 4:48 pm

This has been one crazy messed up year.  I think the weather has made everyone slightly crazy.  In many ways the weather has been a sign of the Armageddon to come in the world of education.  We educators are mired down in a political system that is creating more problems in education than thoughtful solutions.  After being home a few days and celebrating Christmas with my son, I have come to realize just how stressed out I feel.  In school I feel like I am doing everything I possibly can as a teacher.  Many people have no idea what I really do as an art teacher, but it is far more than just playing with clay!  This year we have been told to add two new subjects to our teaching arsenal, reading and math.  I already do a considerable amount of writing with my students so this is “doable”.  However, I don’t think most people have any idea what is going on in school today.  By the 2014-2015 school year 50% of any Michigan teacher’s evaluation will be based on student performance.  http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%28etstwt45mdi5h255mrhn50j3%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-380-1249

The word going around the state is half of the teachers will be let go because they won’t be able to meet this standard.  We basically have been warned to fix the problem or else!  Now think about all of this and ask yourself if you want your child facing some crazy teacher that has to “whip your child into shape”.  Not literally of course, but in some capacity your child is going to be facing a teacher that has much to lose, so he/she better step up.  As I am enjoying my holiday time and de-stressing, I suspect some children are doing the same!

Today I watched “Waiting for Superman”.  The main premise of the movie is, of course, that the problems in education can be traced to the nation’s poor teachers and the teachers’ unions!  Imagine that!  I found this movie to be quick to denigrate a whole population of teachers with generalizations while basically giving no real solutions to any of the problems in education.  While it may be a catalyst for “merit” pay and charter schools it really isn’t going to be the change agent that magically turns the problems around in education.  If this movie was supposed to be the catalyst for changing education, it fell way short from that goal.  I was treated to visions of small children waiting for their number to be called from a lottery system that would determine whether they would get the” ticket” to the golden school or have to face another year in hell at their local school.  At one point, they showed a chart that “proved” that money didn’t help because back in the seventies we were spending $4,000 per pupil and now it’s up to around $9,000 and the testing results have remained flat.  Of course those of us in Michigan know that the true number for most schools is around $7,000.  In the movie this was used to show that adding more money doesn’t make a difference.  Of course in my mind I thought $4,000 in 1970 would be a hell of a lot more money than $9000 in 2011 but then I am not an economist.  I’m just a tax payer who lived through the seventies.  I bought my first new car in the seventies.  It was a Chevette and it was $4000.  In the early eighties I bought a mini pickup and it was $8,000.  You guessed it!  I bought a minivan in the early nineties and it was $16,000 but by the end of the nineties I paid $24,000.  Now I know kids aren’t cars but you have to wonder about the numbers in the movie because if the cost of cars has gone up surely the cost of an education is naturally going to go up as well.  I know that students going to college are feeling that super cost of an education.  I left college in the seventies with a $3600 loan.  I bet many students today would do anything to end college with that kind of loan!  So that little chart meant absolutely nothing to me.

Of course they wanted to assure teachers that they are more than willing to go to a merit pay system that would be a six figure system for the right results.  Michelle Rhee spoke about this in the movie and mentioned a figure of $125,000.  I think these numbers are basically meaningless.  It’s really about dividing teachers and pitting the math and science teachers against everyone else.  The movie showed parents that were willing to cart their child off to a special school that would mean getting up super early in the morning in order to get the child their by 7:45 a.m.  I found that interesting because we all know that the key for most children is the parents.  If the parents aren’t following through at home by setting aside time for homework, reading, sleep time, nutrition, etc. than the child may not perform as well in school.

The other night I watched CBS news and it showcased a state champion high school football team from Georgia. The coach felt that one of the key reasons they won the state championship was because of a special grant from the federal government that fed around 500 students their dinner.  It was set up like meals on wheels.  They delivered dinner to students at risk.  The coach noticed that by Tuesday his football team was plumb out of juice.  He wondered how he could get more calories in his team.  They needed more nourishment because most of them were on free or reduced breakfast and lunches but were not fed at night!  This was in what was said to be one of the poorest counties in the state.  To me this is all tied to education.  We have been told that we must rise above the stigma of poverty.  Poverty isn’t a reason that should stop us from doing our jobs.   Children can learn even if they’re poor.  Yes, I agree that children can learn even if they are poor.  However, if they are stressed and worried about their next meal, mom and dad’s job, or anything else that most children shouldn’t have to worry about, the battle for an education becomes more difficult!

Often times these students suffer in silence.  They are embarrassed or afraid.  They don’t want anyone to know that they are having a tough time.  Leave it to the politicians to spend ample time on putting blame where it doesn’t belong and not looking for real solutions.  Much of the problems in education are tied to the same problems in our country related to the economy.  That 8.6% job figure that is being touted as the new unemployment figure is just a made up number.  There are far more people that have given up on looking for work or have lost all hope.  They get shoved off the figures and the nation gets a false sense that things are getting better for everyone.  I think things are getting better for some people but there are many still struggling and this will be reflected in our education system even if the politicians choose to overlook the reality of the situation.  Our economy has been on a steady decline since the seventies.  Is there any thought that maybe the decline in the economy and education might possibly be related?  If the politicians really want to fix education, they should start focusing on fixing this economy.

My Art Student, Occupy Wall Street, and those Pesky Politicians

  • Posted on December 10, 2011 at 1:11 pm

I had a student recently create a work of art that really made me think about how easy it is to understand the 99% versus the 1%.  So many of the pundits that I have watched on television have said that the Occupy Wall Street group doesn’t have a clear message, or a spokesperson and this is why they won’t be successful in whatever they are trying to do.  That’s the media, the machine that is trying to douse the flames of this current movement.  I want to share the painting that my student created.  First of all, she is a seventh grader of Mexican heritage.  She recently moved away and I’m sad to see her move as I would love to have worked with her more to see what inspires her.  The painting was the result of an assignment I had given.  She was working with a group of students and they were learning about Pieter Bruegel.  I challenged them to create a small painting inspired by the artist they were studying but to put their own “twist” on it.  Yareli did not let me down.  Below you will see the piece that inspired my student and you will see what she painted.

Pieter Bruegel, The Misanthrope

She had to write a reflection statement about her artwork.  This is what she said, “My artwork is pretty good.  This project helped me know what colors can make a different color.  My artwork could have been better but I wanted it simple.  It’s a better version of the artist I copied from because now days it’s the poor who are being robbed and that brings more attention to the one looking at it.”

Her artwork can be seen so you can make a comparison between the two pieces.

Yareli's Artwork

I think it is interesting that so many pundits and politicians profess to just not understand the Occupy Wall Street group when a little seventh grade girl can see what’s happening in the world today!  Newt Gingrich even suggested some ridiculous idea about taking a bath and getting a job.  I think the politicians and the pundits have a pretty good idea why people are so fed up with the way things are run in Washington.  They are just trying to get us off topic by changing the subject to bathing and trying to make people think the Occupy group is just a bunch of hippies.  You know those pot smoking, sex driven, street people, that are dirty.  Most of us are tired of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer because of those Washington policies that favor wealth and corporations over living wages, education, and jobs.  There is always enough money for Wall Street bankers and private corporations tied to our military industrial complex but there is never enough for the little guy.

I, for one, am thankful for the Occupy Wall Street Movement.  It takes a lot of guts to go out and really protest.  I can write on my little blog and say some of what I’m thinking but these people really put themselves out there, day after day, taking the abuse for the rest of us.  I couldn’t believe the way those young college students at UC Davis were pepper sprayed.  The video that everyone has seen shows how abused they were by the campus police.  It was surreal to watch as the students innocently stayed calm in the face of real adversity.  It must have seemed like a torturous nightmare to them that the police would spray them over and over when they were being so compliant.

UC Davis Students from LA Now from the LA Times Blog

What prepared those young students for the ability to sit still like that?  These are kids that have grown up with computers and comforts that their parents might not have had but they are still able to reach down into the well of what is right and wrong and take a stand!  I commend them and anyone else that is out there trying to make a difference in this screwed up world where up is down and down is up!  It’s almost like we have reached the Land of Oz where nothing seems to make sense.  We are facing a nightmare with the richest one or two percent controlling the lives of the rest of us.  I would like to see a change in our government but I don’t see it happening.  Too many that have the power to make the change are living in the world of the 1%.  They don’t care enough about the rest of the people.  If they did, they would stop playing these political games and get something done to get this country moving again!

I was watching C-Span today and there was a woman on talking about tax breaks for making energy improvements to your home.  A guy called in about transportation and how we should be creating a high speed railway system across our country.  I couldn’t help but think about all of the jobs that could be made from such a move.  The other day I was telling my new trimester of sixth grade students that we don’t know what the jobs will be when they grow up.  A tech guy had been in the room fixing a computer.  I told them that twenty years ago his job didn’t exist.  I went on to say that if jobs continue to be so difficult to find that the people getting the jobs will have to be innovative, inventive, and creative.  Unfortunately, politicians are the same old, uncreative, uninventive lot that they have been for years.  While they are sitting in their ivory towers of inequity telling the rest of us how to live, the creative innovators are being silenced.  They are silenced by this class of lazy, stale politicians that only live for one thing, their own greed!  My last post I pondered why the choices for president are so damn bad.  Unfortunately, the 1% and 99% don’t have a lot in common, one is looking for a hand up onto the boat and the other is pulling the ladder up and saying the boat is full!  I think the politicians are already in the boat ready to set sail.

Why Teachers Like Me Support Unions

  • Posted on March 21, 2011 at 9:01 pm

I grew up in a teacher household.  My parents were both teachers.  I think they were amazing, especially when you think back to the time when they were growing up.  My parents were born in 1909 and 1911.  Dad grew up in a very large family.  It really is amazing that so many of his family received a great education.  Mom grew up in a smaller family that was more prosperous, but she also was fortunate to have received a great education.  They met at Central, fell in love during the depression and raised a huge family together.  They were hard working farm people.  Mom went back to teaching when I was young in the late fifties.  Dad joined her when we had farm difficulties and they both were hired by Kingston Public Schools in the “thumb” of Michigan in the early sixties.  We used to summer back up north in Leelanau county on our old farm where dad continued farming and working for Jimmy Johnson as a mechanic over in Empire.  Mom and Dad both worked so hard.  We needed that income in the summer when dad worked the other jobs and farmed.  We lived a simple life.  We only went on one big vacation when I was growing up.  We went out west and saw my brother, Jim, in California.  That was a big deal!  My brothers and I picked cherries and strawberries in the summer.  We all worked for the common good of the family. My parents were both proud members of the NEA, MEA and of course KEA.  When they first started teaching salaries were very low.  I don’t know how they managed really.  After my dad died, I went up to clean his house and organize it.  One paper I came across sure explained a lot for me about our Christmas times.  Dad and mom had built a huge pole barn and they had a loan that evidently was written as a yearly note.  The note came due just before Christmas each year.  It was over a thousand dollars.  I don’t remember the exact amount but I remember thinking about their pay and how hard they worked all year long.  If dad hadn’t worked the farm in the summer and also worked as a mechanic, they wouldn’t have been able to pay that bill.  I remember when mom made “Egg ala Goldenrod”.  As a kid I remember it stuck to the roof of my mouth and it was awful.  It was eggplant fried in egg and it was something cheap because they could grow it.  Looking back I knew times were tough when we were eating that!  We used to go to my aunt and uncle’s place and get some free clothing.  Of course they had a large family and their children got first dibs.  The clothing was donated from church.  I remember a brown and black pin striped jumper that I wore for my school pictures that came from that room at my aunt’s place.  Around the time I became a sixth grader things got better.  Mom became involved in getting a union in Kingston.  I know she worked on negotiations.  When I was in high school we were living over in Cass City.  I remember a lot was going on with the Reese teachers.  One day our family drove over to Reese.  I must have been a junior in school.  We went over to support the teachers.  The teachers were on strike.  They were the Reese 44.  In the end, they all lost their jobs even though they had been a part of the community for years.  They were thrown out like yesterday’s paper.  They took a stand and lost.  I remember how my parents felt for those teachers.  They felt a kinship and solidarity with them.  You may have to scroll down the page a bit but check out the video from the past president of the Reese union.  He went on to work for the MEA but he never taught again! http://www.mea.org/voice/june08/reese44.html Recently, all that my parents and teachers all over the country have fought for over the years has been summarily dismissed by politicians who have been hell bent on destroying the teachers’ unions.  Some young teachers today have no idea how it was back in the days before unions.  Teachers were completely at will.  If some school board member had a kid graduating from college and they needed a job, a teacher could be let go to make room for the kid.  Teachers could be let go because a superintendent or principal had a personality conflict with them. I really never thought I’d be a teacher.  I saw everything my parents went through and even the Reese 44.  My mom loved teaching and she even had that teacher voice.  She could be yelling at us kids one moment and then answer the phone ever so sweetly the next.  Any teacher knows all about that.  My dad had to deal with a lot of rough boys that were coming in from Teen Ranch.  It was kind of a place for wayward boys.  They called my dad “Cotton Top” because of his white hair.  He was given many of those hard to handle students I think because he could handle them.  It probably helped that he had ten boys of his own.  Dad taught math and science and mom taught English and home economics.  Dad also coached junior high and my mother headed up the Future Homemakers of America.  I’m not sure FHA is even around any more.  My parents were dedicated teachers.  Mom would work on her lesson plans for the year throughout the summer months.  When I decided to become an art major my mom encouraged me to get my teaching certificate I think so I would have a “marketable skill” to go with my degree.  After graduation I first taught at Fowler, Michigan.  I loved teaching in Fowler.  I remember the excitement of my first teaching job. I left Fowler to follow my husband to Oklahoma.  In Oklahoma I wanted to develop my art which was pottery so that’s what I worked on.  I made pottery and went to art shows.  I took courses out at Southwestern Oklahoma State University with Montee Hoke, a fellow potter from MSU.  A few years later my husband left me in Oklahoma with my two month old baby, Josh.  I continued working and selling pottery to support us.  I saved up my money so I could move back to Michigan to be close to my parents.  I wanted my son to know his grandparents.  I continued making my living off my artwork in Michigan.  When my son was in kindergarten, I took my pottery wheel and clay in to school to demonstrate.  I had a blast!  I loved working with the kids and I started thinking about going back to teaching.  I’d been out for quite a few years so this was not an easy decision.  I had to go back to school to get my certificate updated.  I wasn’t sure how I could do that.  The thought of taking classes after so many years away from it boggled my mind.  My parents helped me and even loaned me the money that I needed for school.  My parents always believed in me and encouraged me.  I am so thankful that I listened to their wise counsel. I went to Central Michigan University when Josh was in second grade.  He started school at Glen Lake and then went to Mt. Pleasant and back up to Glen Lake at the end of the winter term.  These were both public schools.  That was a lot for a kid but it was an adventure for both of us!  Josh became friends with his first “black” friend, Kyle.  This was my son’s first real exposure to diversity.  It was a great learning experience, even if the school year was disrupted a couple of times.  His teachers at Glen Lake knew what I was doing so they knew he would be coming back and they were supportive. I taught the next year at Manistee and then the following year we moved to Sturgis.  I’ve been teaching at Sturgis since August of 1993.  I can’t believe how time has just flown by.  I love teaching art.  I think about teaching all the time.  I’m constantly researching things online and looking up things in my countless books because I always want to do more.  When I’m shopping I see things through my teacher’s eyes and think about how I can use something I’ve seen in a lesson plan.  Working with young people is both challenging and exciting.  I love middle school students because they are so energetic and full of ideas. Being in a union has helped me in many ways to become a better teacher.  I fully believe in a great public school system.  It is the great leveler of our society.  If you can get a good education, you have the potential to go far.  Unions are more than just there for bargaining rights that deal with salary and benefits.  There is solidarity to working towards a common goal in education.  The teachers that I know first have an obligation to their students.  The goal is to provide students with the best possible education.  Many teachers work hard to improve their teaching ability by taking courses, attending professional development seminars and even by doing research on their own.  Teachers have to stay updated on material.  Most have embraced the computer technology age and were among the first to get computers and learn how to use them.  We all work with our administrations to try and design curriculum that is both challenging and exciting.  While some people may feel it is “us” against “them” at my school it really isn’t.  We are all interested in the best interest of the students.  Administrators and teachers work side by side on planning and coming up with strategies to improve the school and the school climate.  The teacher unions across this country have bargained to restrict class size, accommodate students with special needs and even promoting curriculum that benefits all children. While teaching I have learned to respect all workers, union and non-union.  I feel a kinship with all workers that strive to earn a fair, living wage.  In my mind, our country was built by unions and the middle class grew out of unions.  I saw how my parents were better off after teachers became unionized.  I wouldn’t want to be summarily dismissed like those teachers who were called the Reese 44.  They were in the early stages of union formation.  What they lost, the rest of us gained.  They took a stand and the rest of us benefited from their bravery. Today we have brave union workers standing up for all union workers.  They have been protesting in Wisconsin and many other states.  Most people don’t realize how difficult it is to take a stand.  I can write on my blog, but these people are the real heroes.  They faithfully show up to do the tough work and to take the abuse for the rest of us.  The rest of us sit here not wanting to make any waves, hoping that our jobs are secure and knowing that the wave of teacher bashing is knocking at our door.  Most people that know me know how dedicated I am to my profession.  I am a proud NEA member.  I wear my red blouse today as a badge of honor.  The real heroes though are marching on the capital buildings and they wear what is truly a red badge of courage.  They have a target on their backs and most of us hope that target doesn’t move our way.  However, it is moving our way!  It is moving like a wave across this nation by a group of politicians that have decided that we, the teachers of America, are the problem.  I will wear my red today and I will be proud of my profession and my union because I truly know that I give everything I can to my students.  I live to teach, not just teach to live.  Politicians may think they know me, but they don’t know the half of who I really am and what my dedication and profession is all about.  I believe in sharing knowledge and helping people get the best education possible.  It doesn’t matter to me if you are poor, wealthy or somewhere in between.  I want to spark the imagination of all my students and I go to school and make my classroom a “home away from home” for your child.  I stay after to help students that need more time or just to give them a place to go.  My dedication and commitment would not be questioned by people that know me.  The people that question my integrity are paper pushers that live in a world of political corruption where money for war is never questioned, but money for education is always questioned.  The cousins to these people have invaded our states where tax breaks for big companies is more important than the education of our children.  Under President Bush we were asked to do more with less.  We have done that.  Now we have more politicians asking us to do more with less. I’ve always believed in the goodness of people.  Some people think I can be naïve because I really want the best to come out of people.  I certainly don’t want to see the worse side of a person.  I know these politicians can do better.  I know that the standard they want me to live at as a teacher is one that they are not expecting of themselves.  Many politicians, especially in Washington D.C. are millionaires.  As a single teacher my standard of living is pretty simple.  I drive an old car and live in a little house.  There is no glitz and no glamour.  My life is one of dedication to my profession.  I would like to ask these politicians to ask themselves a simple question that President Kennedy challenged us with a long time ago.  I would say, “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country?”  I ask this question because destroying the middle class and the education of the middle class and the poor by not funding education properly is destroying our country.  If we want a prosperous society, then we must fully fund education, save the middle class, and give a hand of kindness to the poor and struggling in this country.  We don’t need to prop up business with huge tax incentives, pander to the wealthy with lavish tax cuts, spend unheard of amounts of money on endless war and of course we don’t need to spend a couple billion dollars on the next election.  We need a society that is more interested in the content of our character than in the size of the pocketbook or wallet that we carry.  Workers of this country need to unite today in solidarity.  If you can do this one little thing, it might start a chain reaction.  As Gandhi said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”  Wear your red proudly today and show your patriotism for your country and for all working Americans.  Our local union president has asked us to wear red for the rest of the Tuesdays until school is out.  It’s nice to have my Tuesday outfit ready to go for the rest of the school year.  I will wear my red and be proud to be a National Education Association member!

Meet John Doe

  • Posted on December 23, 2010 at 11:10 pm

I caught an old movie tonight that is well worth sharing my thoughts on.  The movie is “Meet John Doe” made in 1941 and directed by Frank Capra.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033891/

This is a classic movie showcasing the talents of Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.  Barbara plays Ann Mitchell a reporter that just lost her job.  She cooks up a letter to the editor that causes quite a calamity.  She creates a figure called John Doe that is down on his luck, out of work and ready to jump off city hall.  All the politicians are up in arms as they are being bombarded with calls from people worrying about John Doe.  She works a deal with her old boss and he hires her back.  They decide to find some dope to play the part of John Doe so they can milk this story for all it’s worth.

In walks Gary Cooper who is Long John Willoughby a used up pitcher for some ball team.  Ann thinks he’s the perfect man to play John Doe because he has his all American good looks and he’s a ball player to boot!  Ann coaches him and he protests the lack of decency in the way people are treating each other.  As all this goes on the circulation for the newspapers grows and grows.  Ann approaches D.B. Norton, the rich new owner of the paper and an oil tycoon to push this John Doe idea even more and get him on the radio.  D.B. Norton and Ann cook up a plan together.  She wants money and he wants something much bigger which he doesn’t exactly let Ann know about.

On the radio Ann has John say some things laced with hope and based on the advice of her mother, not gloom and doom.  She reaches into the diary of her dead father which is full of wisdom and things her mother says people need to hear today.  This is a quote from the speech, “The character of a country is the sum total of the character of its little punks!”  John asks people to step up and help each other.  He wants them to create a tidal wave of good will.  He tells every John Doe, you know all the little guys, to wake up because they are the hope of the world!

After being on the radio, John is getting a bit antsy and wants to get back to playing ball.  He’s all set to go when a group of people approach him and they tell him how wonderful he is because they have all reached out to their neighbors.  Times are tough and people are out of work but these people have pulled together to help each other and they have formed a club of sorts called the John Doe Club!  John Doe is a man created to give up his life for a principle.  The John Doe Clubs don’t allow politicians to belong to them because as they say “You know how politicians are.”

John Doe turns into a full fledged movement that spans the whole country.  Finally it culminates into a big convention where John is going to give a big speech.  He never reads them ahead of time and he has really come to believe the things he’s been saying.  Just before the convention he discovers the real purpose for all of this.  It was to create a movement such as a third party and use John to nominate D. B. Norton for the presidency of the United States.  I’m not going to tell you quite everything that happens in this story but boy did I love the politics of the people mixed up with the politics of the wealthy.

Throughout this movie you get that feeling that everyone is being used by the wealthy D.B. Norton.  He runs the show and he even runs the police.  He controls the press as well and isn’t it interesting when we have other rich people controlling the press today.  So much of this John Doe movement reminded me of Fox News and the strange connection with the Tea Party movement.  It also reminded me of the John Edwards movement and even Barack Obama’s “change” movement.

When I was part of the John Edwards movement the people that posted online were all about the little people and poverty and doing something constructive to help.  Even after John quit the race a group still stayed formed called the “John Edwards Movement Continues”.  We didn’t want to stop the principles of the movement.  Of course the messenger was flawed and the movement died but there are still people out there that believe in the principles of what Edward’s was saying.  These movements do tend to start with the little guy that is looking for something good to happen in the world.  What I learned is politicians are flawed and little guys do get used.

Right now many are feeling let down by the Obama presidency.  I wrote a post awhile ago called, “Throw Them a Bone Once in Awhile.” In that piece I referred to the “talk” about Hillary trading places with Biden.  To me it is obvious that President Obama has just thrown out that proverbial bone.  With the current legislation we are all supposed to be dancing in the streets.  He gave the wealthy the lion’s share but he threw the rest of us a bone.  That’s supposed to keep us quiet for awhile.  The press is busy telling us how great Obama is right now, working hard to build his numbers.  Chief among them is Chris Matthews who still has some kind of strange fetish for all things Obama!  I’ll hold out on the dancing until after March 4th when we see what they are going to do with the budget.  I think something has to give and since it isn’t going to come from the wealthy, then it’s going to have to come from everyone else, you know the “John Doe” people.  Once again the wealthy control the little guys just like D. B. Norton had his finger in every pie to control John Doe and that movement.

I personally wouldn’t mind if we all started a John Doe movement but of course we’d have to not let any politicians get their hands on the movement.  I see many people would like a third party that could really go somewhere, so we wouldn’t feel like we are throwing a vote away voting for someone other than a Democrat or a Republican.  I’d love to see that happen and I’d love some kind of real movement by the people and I don’t mean the Tea Party crowd that seems to be funded by some rich, conservative benefactors.  If anything real is going to get done in this country, I personally think it has to develop form the people and we cannot put our hopes on any one person because people are flawed.

If you have the time, watch this movie.  I loved it!  You can watch the black and white version here.  I caught a colorized version on TV but watched it again here.

http://www.archive.org/details/meet_john_doe

The Morality Test

  • Posted on February 21, 2010 at 1:06 am

Integrity comes in all colors!

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about spirituality, morality and all of the things that make us the way we are.  Why do we choose the things that we do?  I grew up in a family of fourteen children and I don’t think any of us think exactly alike.  So, what makes us choose certain moral choices?  Tonight I took a morality test on the internet.  I was surprised at the results as they fairly accurately described me.  (The Morality Test) http://www.outofservice.com/morality/results/?morality=73&political=93&social=64&o=8&c=97&e=22&a=87&n=9 I’m a shy person but am also out going in many ways.  I am politically liberal and yet very conservative socially.  I’m kind of close minded in my approach to morality because I see many things in very simple terms.  There isn’t much leeway for me on most issues of morality.  It’s either black or white.  There really aren’t many shades of gray for me.  I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about should I do this or should I do that as there really is just right or wrong for me  Like I said there aren’t any areas of gray.  I don’t consider myself to be a typically closed minded person on most issues.  I’m only closed minded on the issues of what I believe to be right and wrong.

My family is Roman Catholic.  I’m sure this has much to do with my morality code.  I remember talking with a fellow male teacher years ago.  He used to joke about messing around on Saturday night and then going to penance on Sunday.  Maybe it’s different for guys but I never did that.  He loved the Catholic Church because it taught forgiveness.  He always felt that he could go ahead and mess around on Saturday because on Sunday all would be forgiven.  He also talked about it being his “duty” to test the girls.  I never felt that kind of connection with the church.  My connection with the church was more inwardly spiritual.  He knew he would be forgiven for his weaknesses.  I, on the other hand, couldn’t bring myself to be weak and out of control morally because I couldn’t face the consequences that bad behavior might bring.  This may be something to do with the differences between the sexes.  Of course a young woman would and could pay dearly if she messed around on Saturday night as she could get a bad name or an unwanted pregnancy.  None of these things showed for the young men.  Back in my day, the only people that got “bad names” were girls.  It was always “boys will be boys”.  It was almost expected that a guy would “sow his wild oats” but girls were treated differently.

In many ways the Catholic Church treated women differently by classifying them as either virgins or whores.  Back when I lived in Oklahoma I used to attend a mission church.  I lived out in western Oklahoma in Cheyenne.  One time when the priest came out to the mission mass I asked him to stay after as I needed some counseling.  I was alone in Oklahoma with my small child contemplating divorce.  He came out to my home, had dinner with me and we discussed many issues.  It was interesting because he explained to me how the church classified women and how it was difficult for a priest to be alone with a young woman as the priests are taught that there are women out there that are attracted to priests as mates.  He said that they essentially are taught that there are two types of women, the virgin and the whore.  Of course it’s easy to see when you really think about it.  Women are not in real positions of power within the church.  Their role is largely subordinate to the male dominated patriarchy of the church.  Of course we are taught about the virgin birth and the Virgin Mary so Mary’s position is elevated.  She is virtuous.  Mary Magdalene on the other hand was the whore but she redeemed herself so there is always the “hope” of redemption.

Morality of course has many facets.  Sexuality is just one area.  For me morality is more about honesty and integrity than anything else.  We all may know right from wrong but do we all have the integrity to live a life that is virtuous in the area of honesty?  Living a virtuous life doesn’t get anyone an award.  We hear more about the lack of virtue than about people that live with honesty and integrity.  Recently in the news we have been bombarded with the sexual mores of the rich and powerful.  We are seemingly shocked at the behavior of Tiger Woods, John Edwards and Mark Sanford.  We share indignation and are morally outraged at their audacious sexual behavior.  The truth is that none of their lives will ever effect our own situation.  We as a people do not live our lives and learn our morality from politicians, powerful people, sports figures or other wealthy people.  Most of us learn our moral behavior from our parents.  We learn from very little on what is acceptable behavior.  I contend that when people exhibit a lack of moral judgment it is because they either lacked moral guidance as youngsters or they learned how to behave like the Romans.  We have all heard the phrase, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  Now, I don’t mean to say that all politicians cheat on their wives and it is learned behavior that is acceptable to that segment of the population but I think there may be some truth to it.  We all know that sports figures have groupies that follow them around trying to steal some time with them so we shouldn’t be so shocked when someone like Tiger gets his hand caught in the proverbial cookie jar.   I personally think the farther you move away from your roots, whether it is through physical miles or mental miles, the easier it is to go with the “crowd” that you are hanging with and forget about your moral upbringing.  This is why it can be a real eye opener when that young freshman goes off to college.  Suddenly, they are exposed to a whole new world away from the eyes of mom and dad.  It is here that integrity and honesty is truly born.  Will that child go with the flow and follow peer pressure or will they become the person they were meant to be?  Some may take years to discover who they were really meant to be.  It is a part of the learning experience.

Small town living has been pegged as narrow minded, small minded living but in reality it is very difficult to get lost in the crowd when you live in a small town.  When you live in a metropolitan area you can more easily get lost in the crowd and do you own thing.  Small town people talk and they know generally what is going on in their own communities.  I’m not saying that small towns exhibit a higher level of morality than city dwellers.  I’m just saying that people are more apt to know of your personal misgivings in a small town.  Of course the internet has made the whole world a little bit more of a small town.  It amazes me to think that so many people put pictures on the web of their outrageous behavior as though they think a future employer doesn’t know how to use Google.  I can remember going off to college and thinking that small towns were small minded but really my heart is in the small town.  It is here that I feel I can make a moral impact.  I feel if I live an honest life with integrity I become a positive role model for the many children that are raised in chaotic life styles.  I’ve always felt that we should treat each other in the manner that we would want to be treated.  I choose to live my life with integrity.  I do everything I can to treat people with respect and I expect to be treated with respect as well.  It is a lifestyle that may seem boring to many but I live my life with a clear conscience.  I know I can sleep at night knowing I don’t have to fake who I am.  If you are living with a liar whether it be you or your mate you can never really live a virtuous life of integrity because you are always expending negative energy fighting the lies.  I may be old fashioned and virtue may be over rated but I can’t imagine being anyone else.  So sleep well my friends and remember that integrity sleeps with a clear conscience.