XXXV. American Values and Obligations

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Late Night Update: Regrettably, assassination attempts of our elected officials have been an unfortunate aspect of the American experience. As the Bible and other spiritual doctrines have conveyed, violence begets violence. Unfortunately, we have not adhered to better principles associated with retrospect and constraint. Although I consider the candidacy of the former President to be a cancer upon the nation, members of a civilized society are more proud of their brains than their bullets. Now, to the Porcupine.

The past week has been a whirlwind in the realm of public service and leadership. It's no surprise that many choose to step back, turning their focus to the parts of their lives where they feel a semblance of control, or, as some put it, "leave it in God's hands." I’ve even heard a few youth and students around me saying they are not going to vote.

That really gets to me.

Here’s the truth.

Our form of government depends upon your involvement. Yes, I understand the calls of both sides being bought and paid for, or that we need a third party, or we need more youthful choices.

But this is real life in a two-party democracy.

When presented with two choices, use your facts and logic. Not what you wish, but reckoning with what is.

Once upon a time, our news came from a handful of trusted sources—local newspapers, the radio, a few select TV channels, and the grapevine of neighbors. We lived in a world where we knew and trusted the faces and voices of a select few. They treated their jobs as principled and viewed their audience with respect. Now, we are bombarded with information from countless sources; loud, barking, obnoxious, many of which lack any semblance of credible fact-checking. The burden of discernment falls squarely on our shoulders, making us the ultimate judges in a vast, chaotic marketplace of fluff. For some of us, its too much work and we are running from it.

But maybe we are being presented with an opportunity. Elections this year could be the culmination of politics that has been brewing for decades, where one’s appearance or style has eclipsed the weight of having substance. That’s terrible for a democracy and that’s the actual choice we have in these two presidential candidates. Which one wears the empty suit?

But don’t decide not to vote. Low voter turnout gives power to the world’s worst leaders. It tells them they are right to control their countries. People are not to be trusted; when you trust them, they don’t care, anyway. They don’t even vote!

Dropping out, not giving a shit, is exactly what autocrats around the world want you to do. It would be further proof to Putin, Xi, Orban, Modi, Kim Jong-un, some elected Southern representatives, and even one of our Presidential candidates, that they know better. You’re too emotional. You possess an abundance of whims. You’ll accept a mountain of lies. Wisdom, honor, service, education, love, truth?

Pfffft. Sissy stuff.

Those things don’t matter. You can be swayed through a steady diet of name-calling, smirks, scripted scripture, fake headlines, and newsy entertainment. Or maybe you’ll just give up and stay home. Either way, they win.

Prove them wrong.

Make sure you vote.

• From the mouths of babes is an old biblical comment on where wisdom sometimes comes. Read what this 18-year-old thinks about the separation of church and state.

• This is another new tool that tracks money in politics. Knowledge is power.

• Keep an eye on this one. When I see high teacher turnover rates and examples that appear a race toward conformity, I’m skeptical.

• Do we need better systems to vote in? Yes. Do we need to pass legislation to get money out of elections? Yes.

In the place where I find myself, there's a genuine expectation that students will receive a well-rounded liberal arts education, one that encompasses American history, philosophy, and government. However, this can’t be a check mark. It’s the quality that counts. Looking back on my journey through education as a student and an educator much depends upon the setting and the teacher. With a multitude of courses catering to a vast number of students, the intimate seminar model, as mentioned in this piece, is likely sidelined in favor of crowded classrooms and overworked, non-tenured instructors. There's an ongoing struggle across all education to push students through the system while maintaining the integrity of their work.

While we excel at producing individuals who can perform tasks, we've diminished the importance of asking "Why?" It often feels like we're training learners to execute without thought, rather than encouraging them to think critically. This approach is fundamentally anti-human. True education involves engaging with great teachers and great books, for the brilliant thinkers of history have left us a multitude of maps. We face significant challenges ahead, and we need minds that are prepared to discern and confront them.

Woke, snowflake, cancel culture, DEI. These are at the top of the BS list when it comes to empty snacks thrown to the hungry. From the American Revolution to today, the country has flourished on a diversity of activities and people. While we should not depend upon laws and policies that tell us to do the right thing, DEI is the right thing to do, and we are the wealthier for it. While I see this as nothing more than a showboating effort akin to the Disney attacks, there’s something strange going on when the Supreme Court rolls back laws that fight real corruption. It is almost as if the focus on one side is on winning a battle of perceptions vs. actual cases of corruption. Know the difference. 

Looking back over the history of The Porcupine, I try not to include too many pieces on the former President. What I will include is when a writer hits on a theme I’ve discussed and does it better than I did. This is tied to the previous piece on diversity. At its core, a majority of the Republican party (I will not say all since true conservatives are trying to right the ship) is identifying with the power of fear, including the loss of the white majority. A few years back, one reader pointed out that I was white as if it was wrong that I was writing about the importance of diversity.

For most of its history, the country has been very diverse, and despite our insincerity in dealing with it, it has always been a hidden strength. I have to say hidden because, as the author says in this piece, white nationalism doesn’t get exposed as much as it should. However, from the very beginning and through the Civil War to Civil Rights and today, white emotion has been purposely and routinely triggered for political pursuits. It speaks to an ancient tribal mentality of us against them and it is pure BS. Know the difference.

I’m including this here because how you access news will go through another change. There’s a lot in this article that I understand from both sides. What I do like is, so far, OpenAI is trying to compensate what I would term as more legitimate, authentic purveyors of news. While I would not put News Corp in that definition based upon their description of themselves in lawsuits, OpenAI realizes that a large audience still gets their news from this source. Other sites such as the Daily Caller are minefields of misinformation, and the Huffington Post is what I would consider much more an opinion headliner than a news purveyor.

Where will we find real journalism?

In the future, your laptop or phone is going to know you well and it will automatically curate news content for you. It will remember what you read yesterday and for how long and to what depth and it will compile more from AI-backed sites. It will be critical for you to consider who the sources are, so we don’t have a “garbage in-garbage out” problem when it comes to facts, real news, and feeding our brains.

This short piece by a teenage American netted her a nice scholarship and captures what America is all about. Do not, I repeat, do not let anyone tell you immigration is bad for America. From getting the best and the brightest of other countries, for getting tough workers to do hard, dirty jobs, to paying their fair share of taxes, America is a land of immigrants. And the pushback on diversity? Walk into any hospital, nursing home, senior center, or science lab today. Look up at what is being built next time on your drive. All you will see are the hard-working hands of diversity.

Diversity is great. Diversity is strength. Diversity is America. Know the difference.

While I’m interested to see where this piece goes in the future, I always find it ironic when they start with the top levels of the business world as if business is all that matters. Leadership needs are everywhere, and there’s a difference between positional and actual leadership. Gauging only by position or money also shorts companies, nonprofits, and staff that do great things beyond a stock market price.

Maybe, as they said in the article, leadership is being able to tell the truth no matter the cost. The one true voice where the buck stops. As they progress, researchers need to include schools of business, talk to some spiritual leaders, and reach managers at local and regional levels.

There will be a wide range of how leadership is defined.

That’s a great quote to finish on, as important today as at any time in America. Do your part. Patriotism is a thinking man’s obligation. Keep up with your reading. And remember, be a good human.