The Golden Rule

When I heard about the shootings in Atlanta on Tuesday, I soon began playing in my head a song from childhood.  It became an earworm, which I still can't get out of my mind.  Called "Wun Long Pan," from The Blue Book of the John W. Schaum Piano Course series, it introduces students to sixteenth notes through the following lyrics:

"Wun Long Pan, Is famous Chinese Detective,
Wun Long Pan, He gives the crooks a chase.
Wun Long Pan, Is famous Chinese Detective,
Wun Long Pan, He always solves the case."

Here's the picture that accompanies this simple, clunky tune:

The year before I started piano lessons and learned to play "Wun Long Pan," my second-grade teacher taught us about Mao Zedong, whose name at the time was spelled in English as Mao Tse-tung.  He had most likely appeared in an issue of My Weekly Reader.  All I remember about this lesson is the way my teacher pronounced his name: Mayo Tease Tongue.

Wun Long Pan and Mayo Tease Tongue were my introductions to Chinese culture in the early 1960s.  The sad thing is I don't think much has changed since then.  Too many Americans wouldn't object to the illustration of Detective Pan, the absurdity of his name, or the disturbing syntax of the lyrics.  Moreover, newscasters and politicians continue to mispronounce Asian names, either as deliberate insults or as insensitive slights.  As one student said in response to a survey at the University of Alberta, "It is important for me to have my heritage name pronounced correctly because it makes me feel like I belong."

Exactly.  That's one of our main problems today.  Too many fellow citizens feel unwelcome and unworthy, as if they don't belong.  We can fix this, and it begins with respect: treating others as we would have them treat us.  Sound familiar? 

Ready on Day 1? Mixed Reactions to Biden's Nominees

A top story in today's Washington Post, "Biden's Obama-era Cabinet picks frustrate liberals, civil rights leaders," summarizes my feelings about the nomination process so far.  As journalists Seung Min Kim and Annie Linskey point out, Biden has selected seven women and nine people of color for 14 Cabinet posts, but unfortunately the average age is 63 and about 80% previously worked in the Obama administration.

The Democratic Party needs younger people in top positions.  Its leadership has remained the same for decades, and those with name recognition--such as Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, and Chuck Schumer--tend to be over 70 years old.  This is not only politically unwise, as we lack young and experienced leaders, but it's strategically unwise as well: many of today's challenges require facility with technology and contemporary culture.  Think climate change, civil rights, internet security and regulation, and genetic engineering.

Those nominees from the Obama administration served from 2009 - 2017, as long as 11 years ago.  Many of today's issues have evolved since then or weren't well addressed at the time.  The pandemic, of course, has upended everything, but even challenges like gun violence, income inequality, and health care costs remain as persistently problematic as they were under President Obama.

Of the recycled nominees named so far, the one that troubles me the most is Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture.  I recall him as being insensitive to protections for both animals and workers, and I've been reminded of additional shortcomings.  An article in Vox by Dylan Matthews lays out the concerns: Vilsack's "nomination has sparked immediate controversy and consternation among civil rights, animal, anti-monopoly, and family farm advocates who were disappointed in his prior tenure."  Isn't there someone better for the job?

Yes, I believe so.  But does it matter?  We're finishing four years of a Trump administration filled with incompetence and conflicts of interest.  Sonny Perdue, our current Secretary of Agriculture, "faced more than a dozen ethics complaints" when he was governor of Georgia, as reported by Ryan McCrimmon in Politico, and "he was found to have funneled illegal amounts of money from his businesses to his campaign in 2002."  Perdue is facing renewed ethics questions because of "his numerous and labyrinthine interests in agribusiness and land development."

The list of compromised Cabinet members in the Trump administration doesn't stop with Perdue.  Others cited for ethics violations, according to Bloomberg, include Scott Pruitt, former EPA administrator; Wilber Ross, Commerce Secretary; Ryan Zinke, former Interior Secretary; Betsy DeVos, Education Secretary; Tom Price, former Health and Human Services Secretary; and Ben Carson, Housing and Urban Development Secretary.

Clearly Donald Trump and his team set a low standard for public service.  Joe Biden's is much higher.  His nominees are competent, experienced, and professional, and many have been vetted in their previous jobs for conflicts of interest.  As a group, however, they're older than I would like, and they're not as diverse as I had hoped.  But they will steer us back to integrity and respectability, and they will serve the interests of their agencies and not the interests of their personal pocketbooks.

A refreshing and necessary change in Cabinet leadership.

Education 101

Saturday's editorial in The New York Times, "Reopening Schools Will Be a Huge Undertaking. It Must Be Done," elicited almost 2,000 largely oppositional comments.  In it, the editorial staff argued that public schools should open this fall with unprecedented federal funding and with imaginative use of outdoor space.  As one reader noted, the word "teachers" appeared only once, in the second-to-last paragraph.

This says it all to me and, at the same time, doesn't surprise me.  "What do our teachers think about re-opening?" seems like an obvious question.  Yet for too long our society has discounted the role and expertise of its teachers.  We don't pay them enough, we don't support them enough, and we don't consult them enough. . . but we ask them to solve society's problems that society fails to solve.

Consider for starters poverty, hunger, racial disparities, and economic inequality.  We expect our teachers to overcome these challenges and ensure that all of their students achieve at a defined level-- despite low salaries, marginal benefits, and often poor working conditions.   At a most basic level, the schools that my kids attended lacked soap in the bathroom dispensers, doors on stalls, sufficient cleaning supplies, working windows, and mold- and asbestos-free classrooms.  Even when there's no coronavirus circulating, many Durham schools are neither safe nor clean.

Just as the pandemic has exposed the failure of public health and elder care in the United States, so it exposes public education.  How did we get to the point where teachers buy their own paper?  Need subsidized housing?  Work second jobs?  Crowdfund surgeries and new equipment?  Why do we tolerate dilapidated buildings and aging school buses?  Why do we short-change our children and their teachers?

It's past time to ask these questions.  Covid-19 will eventually resolve, but the ills that plague our schools will not unless we demand something different.  As fellow citizens protest policing and racism, let's add public education to the conversation.  It's related, after all, and it serves our future and our national treasure: our children.

Baby Steps

So now that the mass protests have largely ended, where are we in our evolution of civil rights?  Here are some good signs:

Confederate statues and other offensive public works are coming down.

Black Lives Matter signs are popping up; I've seen several in my neighborhood, where few people broadcast their political views.

The U S. House of Representatives passed the D. C. statehood bill for the first time ever.

Mississippi's House voted to remove the Confederate flag from the state flag.  Republican Governor Tate Reeves said that he would sign such a bill if it comes his way.

Players in the National Women's Soccer League knelt during the national anthem on Saturday.  In a joint statement, they said they were protesting "racial injustice, police brutality and systemic racism against Black people and people of color" in the United States.

Baby steps, perhaps--and way too long in coming.  Much harder work awaits.  Yet baby steps need not be dismissed.

They're often the first signs of a movement on the rise.

Overwhelmed

It was enough to deal with Donald Trump.  Day after day, since his inauguration in 2017, many of us have feared what he'd do next--who he would insult, what dangerous position he'd take, what ignorance he'd reveal.  The lies, the nastiness, and the stupidity all at our expense.  We wondered what catastrophe would develop under his watch.

We found out.

First, the coronavirus--scary and unknown--still out of control in much of the country.  Alarming in itself, the disease also strained our economy and put millions out of work.  We're still reeling and have no idea what lies ahead.

Next came George Floyd, murdered by Minneapolis police on May 25. The same story of white police officers killing black people, the blight that rots America every day.  When will it end, we ask, only to learn of the death of Rayshard Brooks on Friday night in Atlanta.

Finally, the protests.  All across the country, understandably angry protesters have generated a movement and a voice for change.  Rioting and violence, yes, but mostly huge, peaceful crowds weekend after weekend, all in the midst of a pernicious pandemic that feeds on people massed together.

All of this, and no leadership in Washington.  No wonder we're on edge.

But now is not the time to retreat from the tension.  We can't afford to slide into complacency.  We're called upon, each of us, to take our part in creating a more just and fair America.  Whether it's through our vote, our advocacy, our faith, or all of these combined, we need to act.

The fate of America rests with all of us.

Protests That Matter

Watching people march this weekend across the country and around the world brought to mind the protests in April against coronavirus restrictions.  Remember those?  Angry, white, gun-toting Americans descended on state capitols carrying signs that read "End the Tyranny" and "Land of the Free," wearing MAGA hats and waving Confederate flags.  Their macho display sought to intimidate as they demanded their rights to work, to get a haircut, and to buy grass seed as the country reeled from a dangerous pandemic.

Now, barely a month later, a tidal wave of revolt has unmasked those feeble protesters--for theirs were the protests of white privilege, of people who stroll through city streets with AK47s and know they won't be arrested.  Theirs were the protests of men long accustomed to swagger and violence, met with little or no consequence.  And theirs were the protests of people who know police officers won't step on their necks until they die.

The protests sparked by George Floyd's murder are the protests of voices long denied, of injustice and inequality.  Theirs are the protests of people demanding an America that fulfills its promise.  Theirs are the protests of fundamental human rights and not of temporary inconveniences.

I take heart in the fact that one of these protests has swelled into an international movement and that the other has petered out, its impotence clear for everyone to see.

Another Wish List

Last week I posted a list of my personal wishes during this time of coronavirus.  In light of the murder of George Floyd last Monday, I post a new list.  Here's what I wish for America:

1. A dinner table where everyone is fed.

2. A neighborhood where everyone can jog.

3. A school where everyone is educated.

4. A hospital where everyone has the same chance.

5. A police department where everyone is safe.

6.  A government that works for everyone.

7.  A people that confronts its racist past.

8. A nation that's willing to force change.

9. A United States that gets it: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

10. An America that redefines "We, the People," to include everyone.

Goofus and Gallant

Remember the comic strip "Goofus and Gallant?"  Reading it in Highlights magazine was the only redeeming feature of visits to my childhood dentist.  I loved the contrast between the two brothers, the black-and-white 1960s version of slovenly dressed Goofus and his meticulous brother Gallant.  Goofus played games while Gallant helped their mother.  Goofus butted in line while Gallant waited his turn.  Goofus grabbed toys while Gallant offered to share.  Donald promoted himself while Barack promoted others.

Oops!

Goofus and Gallant are back.  Goofus barged into our lives almost four years ago with his rude and crude power, while Gallant returned this weekend with his trademark thoughtful wisdom.

In his virtual commencement speech Saturday to the 2020 high school graduating class, President Obama encouraged the students to "do what you think is right . . . I hope you decide to ground yourselves in values that last, like honesty, hard work, responsibility, fairness, generosity, respect for others."

Donald Trump?  Here's a sample:

"Why do we want all these people from s-hole countries coming here?"

"You're so disgraceful . . . you're a fake [to White House reporter]."

"Puerto Rico is one of the most corrupt places on earth."

"Another low IQ individual [on Joe Biden]."

"I don't take responsibility at all [for coronavirus testing failures]."

While Goofus has an excuse for his behavior because he's a kid, Donald Trump has none.  His immoral presidency stains us all.

As President Obama concluded his remarks, though, he said, "Be alive to one another's struggles, stand up for one another's rights, leave behind all the old ways of thinking that divide us--sexism, racial prejudice, status, greed--and set the world on a different path."

May this new generation coming of age heed his words, not those of his successor, and chart a more fair and just course for all Americans.

Rugged Individualists

One of the hallmarks of America is our mythical pride in individualism.  We tout so-called "self-made millionaires" and those who "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."  We profess freedoms at the expense of others and consider ourselves "exceptional."

Interestingly enough, Herbert Hoover cited America's "rugged individualism" in his closing campaign speech in 1928.  By contrasting American principles with European "doctrines of paternalism and state socialism," he heralded the American way of self-reliance and limited government, portending his disastrous handling of the Great Depression.  His failure to authorize the federal government to help ordinary Americans made a terrible situation worse.

So what happens, almost 100 years later, when another crisis collides with American individualism, a new disease that's communal in nature?  A disease that puts my life in the hands of others, even those I don't know and those who choose not to wash their hands or wear masks or distance themselves.

We get protest signs like these:

"Give me liberty or give me COVID-19"
"Sacrifice the weak"
"Tyranny is Spreading Faster than the China Virus"

And we get behavior like these:

Stormed state capitols
Heckled health care workers
Gun-toting intimidators

To make matters worse, our president encourages these attitudes, inciting anger and protests.  He clearly values the rights of the individual--as he pushes states to re-open--over the collective health of Americans.  In tweeting states to "LIBERATE," he implicitly instructs Americans to disregard their responsibility to each other and look out only for themselves.  It's a selfish way forward.

Donald Trump, like Herbert Hoover, gets it wrong.  Echoing his predecessor who vetoed major aid legislation in 1930 by saying it would "bring far more distress than it will cure," Trump said in March that "we cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself."  For in the case of COVID-19 the cure means a collective response, a shared responsibility for each other's lives.

Such responsibility confounds Donald Trump.  I'm not sure he knows what it means.  But without it, we lose people unnecessarily.  Fellow Americans.  Human lives. 

What could be more important?

A Tale of Two Governors

It was the best of governors, it was the worst of presidents. . .

To watch the coronavirus briefings of Roy Cooper and Andrew Cuomo, governors of North Carolina and New York respectively, is to watch two men with contrasting styles.  Where Governor Cooper is reserved and gentle, Governor Cuomo is open and aggressive.  Where Governor Cooper's briefings are controlled and organized, Governor Cuomo's are freewheeling and unconventional.  Where reporters in North Carolina phone in questions with deference to the Governor, reporters in New York compete and shout each other down.  But here the differences end and the similarities begin. 

Each of these distinguished, intelligent men knows how to lead in this crisis:

They thank their citizens--particularly those working for the public--for their hard and selfless work.

They express sadness for the loss of life and sympathy to families in mourning.

They present facts based on science and medicine.

They refer questions to their staff so that clear, precise information is conveyed.

They treat reporters with respect and answer questions carefully.

They seek to unify rather than divide.

Their president, however, does the opposite.  His briefings are all about him.  He brags, he lies, and he blames others.  He answers questions directed at staff despite his ignorance.  He demeans reporters and political opponents.  He calls his citizens names.

That great opening sentence from A Tale of Two Cities continues, "it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity. . . "

We're fortunate in these two wise, believable governors and in many of their peers. . . but could we be cursed with a more foolish, incredible character sitting in the White House?  Not a chance.

The Color of Hate

No wonder the congregation at Durham's Judea Reform synagogue gasped when they heard the news.  North Carolina's Department of Transportation is requiring that drivers' licenses of undocumented workers be marked with a pink stripe.  Sound familiar?  Sort of like the yellows stars of David that Jews were made to wear during the Holocaust.

As the synagogue's Rabbi Friedman said,  "The amazing thing to me is that Governor McCrory would not have had the historical sensitivity to realize what this would evoke in people. . . Wasn't it so obvious?"

Apparently not.  McCrory thought he'd developed a compromise between those who didn't think these young adults--brought to America as children by their parents--should be allowed to drive at all and those who thought they should.  Another example of compromise gone wrong--where human rights are whittled down to nothingness.

That we have too many ignorant people in power, both locally and nationally, is an understatement.  The rest of us cannot back down.  We need to keep showing up--on election day, in churches, in our neighborhoods and work places.

Hate and ignorance run rampant---especially when painted pink--are a dangerous combination.

Wimbledon Wistfulness

There's something reassuring about Serena Williams and Roger Federer having won at Wimbledon this weekend.  Familiar people, masters of a sport they love and winning at the game on their own.

Rarely in public life do we watch individuals succeed through their own talents and hard work.  Think, in contrast, of the presidential election: so much of the outcome depends on fundraising and not on the merits of the candidates.  In fact, our entire political system--including the Supreme Court--is driven by moneyed interests and the influence they wield.  An individual's talents and hard work get lost in the quest for gold.

Other aspects of public life, too--from health care to the food and water supply to the economy itself--often depend less on the integrity of the individuals involved than on the corporate interests that drive decisions.  We can't reliably trust the medications we take, the procedures we undergo, the food we eat, and the water we drink.  Sounds like a third world country.

Maybe that's why we yearn for Wimbledon, a reminder of a more ordered world where personal accomplishment and individual skill actually matter.  Were it so in the rest of our lives.

Tennis, anyone?

The Amendment

The race in our neighborhood is close: 4 signs against the amendment and 3 signs for.  We tipped the balance yesterday afternoon by adding the 4th.

The amendment, which will appear on our ballot on May 8, provides that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized" in North Carolina.  Because most of the people I know are appalled by such an amendment, it's hard to imagine that this could pass.  But as the signs reveal in our neighborhood, the race is closer than we'd like.

Others more passionate than I have articulated many arguments against this repressive amendment.  For me, it comes down to this: Life is hard enough as it is, why make it harder?  If two people love each other so much that they want to get married--one of life's most difficult challenges--let's support them.

Efforts to thwart love, as we're reminded of in both Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story, end up destroying everyone.  North Carolina Amendment 1 hurts all of us and deserves defeat.

Drug Shortages

The news this week that hospitals face a shortage of the drug methotrexate to treat a form of childhood leukemia sent chills down my spine. Imagine being the parent of a child ill with this disease and learning that, here in the United States, we don't produce enough of this curative drug. You'd think that you were living in a developing country, not in the richest nation in the world.

When I hear stories like this, I feel confirmed in my belief that our nation has its values turned upside-down. If there's one thing we should be able to do well, it is to take care of our sick citizens, especially our children. We have the best research institutions in the world, devoted doctors and nurses with access to the highest-quality equipment, a long-standing tradition of manufacturing, and pharmaceutical companies raking in huge sums of money. Surely this combination of talent and wealth should produce life-saving drugs.

Yet 287 drugs are currently in short supply.

The horror stories are forcing Washington to pay attention, and some effective measures have been implemented. Still, we should demand better for ourselves and for our fellow citizens around the world. Most of us would agree that our family's health is what's most important. Can't we demand that our leaders and institutions follow suit?

Belize Part III: The Poverty

I don't have any pictures of the poverty we saw in Belize: the tiny shacks dotting the landscape as we drove to Mayan ruins or the pitted roads leading into Belize City. Nor do I have a recording of the voices of our tour guides, the desperation below the surface, pleading with us to return some day and to tell our friends of the "Unbelizable" time that we had in their country.

What I do have is a renewed sense of my place in the world. For while I simmer angrily with the rest of the 99% in my country, I realize--with a sense of deep unease--that I sit comfortably with the 1% that holds the world's wealth.

Sex Scandals

Regardless of what happens to Herman Cain's presidential aspirations as he fights off the latest accusation, the real sex scandal of our time has nothing to do with him. Nor with any of the other politicians--pick your favorites--who have slept with someone other than their spouse. Really, we ought to grow up. These are dalliances.

The real scandal is something altogether different and goes far beyond sexual indiscretion into the deviant world of child predation.

Though Penn State football has moved off the front pages for awhile, the men's basketball team at Syracuse is poised to take its place. There, long-time associate coach Bernie Fine was fired on Sunday for child sexual abuse allegations, and we await the fate of others around him.

We have a curious relationship with our children. On the one hand, we adulate them, celebrating their every accomplishment however insignificant. On the other hand, we desert them, averting our eyes from the reality of predators among us.

On Monday night Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim defended his support for his friend. Then he added, "What people do outside the program, I have very little if any control over adults." This is a sorry statement, whether or not Bernie Fine is found guilty. It's the thinking that has gotten us where we are today.

True, we may not be able to stop the impulsive behavior of predators. But surely we can find ways to keep them away from our children.

Lessons from Penn State

1. Beware idolatrous cultures. Whenever someone or something--or both--is revered as godlike and beyond reproach, we ought to peer under more than one rock. Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lion machine reigned supreme for too long in too many people's eyes.

2. Beware paternalistic cultures. Societies with few or no women in power run the risk of grave gender and sexual imbalances. Does the presence of women at the top of an organization help protect children and others at risk? I would say yes.

3. Beware closed cultures. George Vecsey, in his New York Times essay "The Dangerous Cocoon of King Football," reminds us that the leading figures in the scandal so far have been at Penn State for years, practically born and bred there. With few outsiders to challenge the status quo, the culture perpetuated itself.

Penn State football, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts of America all share these traits to the detriment of the very constituencies they serve. Of the three scandals, though, this is the one that none of us can dodge. For just about everybody born in this country reveres either universities or football or both.

If we continue to elevate these two institutions, we must hold their personnel to the same standards that we hold other, less respected institutions. Surely Jerry Sandusky would have been long gone as a public school teacher or a United States senator, since we deride both teachers and politicians.

It's much harder to face the truth about those we love.

Wanted Desperately: Leadership on All Fronts

It feels like the calm before the storm. These last weeks before Labor Day have everyone hunkered down, quiet, recovering from the fury of Irene. Ten years ago we learned in horror what could happen after Labor Day, when airplanes flew as they pleased and took down a nation unaccustomed to such assault.

Our troubles now seem more far-reaching than they did then and cry out for leaders to lead. Will President Obama stand up boldly for jobs creation in his speech next week (see Eugene Robinson, Washington Post) or will he cave to his instinct for compromise? Will Democrats, reasonable Republicans, and Independents stand up for balanced approaches to our financial woes, or will they continue to let extremists set an extreme agenda?

The times call for those who don't normally view themselves as leaders to lead as well. Will scientists remain in their labs while Governor Perry and his ilk make false statements about climate change and evolution, or will someone stand up? Will ministers hide behind their pulpits while politicians turn their backs on the poor and disadvantaged, or will someone stand up?

And will our press and our people do their jobs as well? A media that constantly inflames rather than educates does a disservice to all, and a population of apathy where so few people vote emboldens demagogues.

A nation where no one leads is a sorry nation indeed. The resulting vacuum leaves opportunities for the worst sorts to exercise power. We need only to read history--or to observe the behavior of ourselves and colleagues at work--to understand this simple lesson.

Words to Live By

The Reverend Paul Byer, my childhood minister at Salem United Church of Christ in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, often concluded Sunday services with this benediction:

Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast that which is good.
Render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the faint-hearted,
Support the weak,
Help the afflicted,
Honor all people.
Love and serve the Lord
Rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Instructions for life that celebrate its mystery. I'm glad I grew up with these words etched in my memory.

A Pox on All Our Houses

Our government in Washington is a disgrace. Whatever comes of this charade doesn't begin to address the problems we face. Pervasive ignorance and selfishness at our highest levels demean all of us.

In the words of all of our presidents--whenever they address us--"May God bless the United States of America." We couldn't need it more.