Thanksgiving 2020

      We can all reminisce about memorable Thanksgivings and those which were not so notable. The older I get the more of these events I have to recall and some of these stand out for reasons I didn't appreciate at the time. For instance, the only time I saw the NYC Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person was when I wasn't old enough to see above the crowds. It was cold and we didn't stay too long. Instead, we went to my grandmother's apartment in Stuyvesant Town for an early dinner. 

     This year the parade is "virtual" a term so overused I can't imagine what they are going to do. To me, it would have been better just to tell people that a broadcast of a parade from the 1960s would be shown. Even better would have been to allow all the previous parades to be streamed on NetFlix and Amazon. A virtual parade has none of the entertainment value of watching it in person or even on TV. Let's simply add the loss of the parade to the long list of indignities which 2020 has imposed upon us all.

Kim Ng

      The Miami Marlins are expected to hire Kim Ng as general manager, a source tells The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, making her the first woman to hold a GM position in Major League Baseball history. Jon Heyman of MLB Network was first to report the news of the hire.

     

      About time this RHS Distinguished Alumna received her chance. Bravo to Derek Jeter and the Miami Marlins for this long overdue hire.

My Problem

      
      How's this for a mantra: "The burden of citizenship is recognizing that what is not your fault may be your problem."

      Which leaves us all with the 72 million people who voted for the republican presidential candidate. As Anand Giridharadas wrote recently: "These voters are not our fault. It's certainly not my fault. But it is my problem." Yes, spot on.

     I'm not sure when the subject of Civics became Social Studies in the Ridgewood School system. Probably would have been wise in hindsight to leave the name alone. We certainly were taught Civics in our Social Studies classes but it wasn't the main emphasis. To tell you the truth I don't know what "Social Studies" means. I remember history being taught and some world events. If I were to guess about what is being taught today in Social Studies, it would be a far cry from the subjects which made up my cozy little world.

     This leaves us with the issue of Citizenship and why so many people believe that we can't trust our government to do anything right. There is ample evidence of government being more than capable to handle well defined tasks. Look at our interstate highway system and our National Parks as two of America's better ideas that couldn't have been accomplished by private enterprise alone.

     I know we can't convince everyone of the virtues of government but maybe we can gain a few more converts.  You would think with record unemployment and a bridge/tunnel/mass transit system in need of repairs it would be obvious where we might place our emphasis. If collapsing bridges don't capture your attention how about the forest fires in California and Colorado, or the annual flooding of the southeastern US?

     Part of being a citizen is knowing that we are all in this together and improvements in one part of the country do not take anything away from the rest of the country. I'm not saying these sort of decisions will be easy or should be done at the expense of our place in the world. Our global problems also belong to everyone and an "America First" opinion is not going to be enough. 

     You can argue with me about the details of what ought to happen first. Though please don't tell me that if we leave well enough alone our problems will take care of themselves. They won't.

     

      

The Rules of American Democracy

        We require profound simplicity at this moment in the history of our country. The rules of presidential succession are spelled out in detail. We don't need to make up any procedures, what's more, the incoming president is well informed in how the process works. Age does have its advantages in cases like this.

 

     Unfortunately, we as a nation have never had such a sore loser before in a presidential campaign. Yes, it hurts to come in second but the lifetime perks he will receive remain. It's time to set the wheels of a new government in motion using Federal money. Currently, we are waiting for the GSA (General Services Administration) to authorize money for office space for the incoming administration as well as hundreds of details that need to be addressed during the transition from one ruling party to another. All we need is for the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to give the go ahead, as everyone of his predecessors have been obligated to do. 

 

      The confusion he is promulgating does nothing for his legacy and will without question never allow him to stay in office. He and his supporters may believe an overthrow of our Democracy is possible but they are overplaying a bad hand. The armed forces of our country have designated the airspace over Joe Biden's home as restricted airspace. In other words, they believe the election has been decided. Better luck in 2024.

It Can’t Happen Here!

      But it did. Maybe not like the Sinclair Lewis novel of 1935 though just as scary. If the numbers are to be believed 71 million people voted for the incumbent. This was America at rock bottom. We have no choice but to do better. We face a global pandemic, record income inequality, and an economic prospect of a country that spent the last four years growing by a minuscule 1%. That's not enough to create the jobs which pay people a living wage. Please don't confuse this with the stock market which is not the economy. The economy is comprised of the majority of people in America who buy things and offer their services for hire. Mostly, people are finding low paying jobs without benefits in the Gig Economy. 

 

     The Middle Class of America has been eviscerated by mountains of student loan and credit card debts. They have known this is happening for years and their despair can bre seen in rising rates of suicide and opioid use. The Middle Class can't do much about it. This realization is contributing to a mental health crisis which was already bad because of Covid-19.

         

      It's easy to see and acknowledge our mistakes of the last few decades. How we have squandered our wealth on foreign wars and trying to be the world's policeman. How we have under-funded our schools, our infrastructure (roads, bridges, and tunnels) has been left to rot, and trust in one another is at an all-time low. 

     I'm not calling for a new isolationism. The world is too connected for that. What we do need is a new humility. America was a great country and could be again. Though it will need a lot of help from a great many sources. We can start by taking better care of the planet. Here in America, California is still on fire and the eastern part of the country is being overwhelmed by unprecedented storms which tax our abilities to recover. The kind of people we need are those like the ones who run into raging forest fires or violent storms. Our problems will require tremendous amounts of sacrifice and a kind, empathetic souls to solve them. Be part of the solution.

   

The End Of A Civic Nightmare

       I only wish my friend Laura Fleming had lived to see this day. She voted but died before the results were finalized.

     This is the end of our Civic nightmare. I don't want to go through this ever again and will be on the watch for the tell-tale signs of authoritarians in our midst. We have to do a better job of considering all of society. Our future actions whether they be in business of politics must reflect the ideal that we are all in this together.

     I am very grateful for the record number of people who turned out to vote this month, and the early voters too. Though it would be less stressful if all the states adopted some sort of uniform way of counting the votes. Some states counted them as they came in and others life Pennsylvania didn't start counting the mail-in votes until 7AM on Election Day.

    I called this post "The End Of A Civic Nightmare" to highlight the fact we can now begin again doing those activities which bring us together, which speak to the better angels of our nature. This will be long, deliberate process because we didn't forsake our duties all at one time and we won't acquire the new Civic habits that we require overnight. Though we can become more focused on those small activities which help to make our society a better place for everyone. I recall some of my earliest lessons in Civics were participatory and not so much a lecture from one of my fellow citizens. By these I mean my own engagement with our elementary school's Safety Patrol and the yearly bicycle inspections which were conducted by the police. Some and seemingly insignificant examples add up when everyone is doing something. My hope is that we will all find ideas big and small to pursue and contribute to so we never are in this sort of situation again.