Things
That Make Me Go, Hmmm?!?!…
One of the real challenges
that we face in Wisconsin
and around the nation is the difficulty in seeing the world from the
perspective of those who oppose our views.
This is true on all sides of the conflict and creates a situation where
we have significant problems finding common ground because our perspectives are
so far apart.
I truly believe that for
the most part, a majority of people have the same goals and interests at the
core of their world view. Talk to a
variety of people in a variety of communities and I'm sure you will find that
we all want to be able to live comfortably and safely and we want to provide
the same opportunities for those who are close to us. We want to have a safe and prosperous
civilization that supports our interests.
In order to do this we recognize the need for some type of government
and a society that will allow us to live our lives in a way that we desire.
If my premise is correct
then it becomes difficult to see just how such deep divisions have arisen in
our nation. I find myself looking more
closely at just how we have arrived at the place we find ourselves and trying
to make sense of the conservative mindset.
I should mention that I recognize that my political, social and economic
ideas are at times inconsistent and probably just as problematic to a
conservative thinker, but here are some of the problems I have with the
conservative ideology as it has been portrayed in recent days…
-It seems very much an
ideology driven by fear and mistrust of human nature. The world is a very dangerous place and the
only way to succeed is through an aggressive and confrontational strategy. Yet, being aggressive and confrontational
creates more conflict, danger and distrust.
-In addition to the
mistrust, it seems like the conservative ideology is driven by pessimism. We are constantly faced with
"Gaps", "Deficits", "Vulnerabilities" and are
beset by dire challenges. All of this in
a nation that they call the greatest on Earth.
Yet, if our nation is such a tremendous place, why does it seem we are
always on the verge of disaster?
-The good of the few is
placed above the good of the many.
Everyone is encouraged to look after their own interests, no matter what
that does to others. If those
"others" aren't successful then it is their fault and you have little
responsibility to help them.
-Freedom and equality mean
very different things to different people.
They are often defined in the specific moment and have little grounding
in historical precedent.
-Economic struggles mean
that we cut spending in government, reduce corporate reinvestment in expanding
business, yet the majority of people are supposed to find ways to spend more
money to improve the economy.
Unfortunately, they don't have jobs or safety nets to allow for them to
do this. Meanwhile the very rich are
able to ride out the economic downturns and emerge better off in the long
run.
-We are supposed to trust
in the individual, while demonizing the government. If we don't have a government, are we really
a nation, or are we simply a collection of individuals occupying common space?
-It is better to destroy
your opponent and silence all dissent than it is to find ways to compromise and
collaborate.
-One amendment (2nd) is
more powerful than any other.
In the end it boils down
to different visions of what America
is, has been, and should be in the future.
For me, it is more important that we are able to engage in discussion,
work cooperatively to resolve issues and find consensus to create a society
where all are valued and respected. Instead
of hiding behind rules and policies that create a false sense of security we
need to work to open up our nation so that people are not forced to choose
between being an "American" and belonging to one of the countless
"subgroups" that make up our nation.
If we can achieve this sense of community (dare I say solidarity?) we
will go a long way towards reducing the amount of fear and tension that
currently drives so many of our actions and causes us to be reactionary and not
proactive.
Local Politics…
With all the attention
that has been paid to politics on the state and national level, it's often easy
to forget that there is a lot happening on the local scene as well. In fact, given the realities of politics at
the "higher" levels (Wisconsin's
state politics are dominated by conservative voices and the national political
climate is the home of big money and other powerful forces) our best chance to
have much input is to work at the local level.
In fact, it is at the
local level that we can work to influence how the policies enacted by
"higher" levels of government impact us in more direct ways. Local school boards are one example of this. Because of pressures from legislation and
policy from state and Federal sources our local school officials are feeling
the pressure to make changes to align their policies with the conservative
reformers who are looking to dominate the current debate on education.
Here in Madison we are fortunate to have a number of
quality candidates running in the April election. While they share some significant
similarities there are also differences between the candidates. It is important that we look carefully at
each candidate and work to support their campaigns so that we can have a school
board that stands up for public education.
It is obvious that these are challenging times for public education and
public educators. By working to elect
school board candidates who are knowledgeable and passionate about the values
of public education we can help insure that we will have another line of
defense against the "reforms" that are really attacks on public
education.
Madison is an unusual place in many ways. We are at a crossroads here, as we look to
make a transition from a smaller city to a larger urban area. So many things are changing, and changing
rapidly, as our metropolitan area grows.
This is clearly seen in our public school system and in other social
service areas. For years, Madison has been able to
present itself as a small city with small city issues.
With all of the challenges
that come with the increasing size and other issues comes opportunity as well. Here in Madison
we can learn from other urban areas and work to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls
that have created so many problems in communities like Milwaukee,
Chicago and
other large metropolitan areas around us.
We shouldn't simply follow in the footsteps of other cities, especially
when we can see that these paths haven't lead to success for many
citizens.
Politics,
An Ugly Busine$$…
A new year brings new
hope, but that hope is significantly tarnished here in Wisconsin.
It is difficult to see just how we will be able to move beyond the
turmoil and rancor of the past two years.
The divisions that have been created, nurtured and expanded here in
recent years are barriers to compromise and progress.
The most important thing
that we've lost is trust. Very few
politicians or citizens trust their opponent's words or actions. Once this trust is lost it becomes extremely
difficult to navigate our way towards successful resolutions of the issues we
need to address. We hear the words that
are spoken on both sides. Words that
call for bi-partisanship and unity, but few truly believe that this year will
bring much change in the bitter struggle that has enveloped our state.
There are several issues
that will magnify the conflict in Wisconsin.
The upcoming Supreme Court
race will reopen the divisions in our state as we refight the same battles on a
statewide level. The fact that this seat
on the court will give one ideology majority control will insure that we will
see the worst in politics brought to the forefront.
There
will continue to be a disconnect between the rhetoric of the GOP around job
creation and the actions of the legislature and governor. 
The debate over mining in
northern Wisconsin
will divide our state. This issue will
be used to attempt to break the progressive coalition apart by using jobs and
the economic distress of our state as a wedge between groups. Tribal groups environmental organizations,
and others will speak out against the mine and their objections will be
portrayed as short sighted and selfish in order to create dissension. GOP leaders will try and simplify the debate
to make it appear that they only want what's best for the citizens of Wisconsin.
Unions in 2013…
We are hearing from GOP
legislators that Right to Work legislation will not be part of their agenda in
2013. We can only hope that this is
true. If the legislature doesn't take up
RTW in its upcoming session it will give labor organizations an opportunity to
recover from the perpetual conflict that has dominated their efforts for two
full years.
This doesn't mean that
union members and leadership should take a break (though it would be well
deserved) from organizing and political action.
There are certainly many other issues that organized labor needs to
address and we can safely assume that this non-confrontational period is only
the lull before the storm. Unions should
use this time to learn from the past two years and reassess their
organizations, building on strengths and preparing for future struggles.
One area that unions
should continue to work to expand their influence in is in the message that the
media delivers. Too much of the rhetoric
and reporting in our media outlets reflects a conservative view of labor. The message comes across as just plain
"common sense", but in reality is thinly disguised propaganda for
employers in their effort to control the workplace.
An example of this is in
the "skills gap" that is often reported to exist. According to this thinking, employers are
looking for skilled workers, but the American worker is just not motivated,
competent or responsible enough to fill the positions available. I believe the reality is quite different. In my opinion, if people saw an opportunity
to gain employment that would be compensated fairly that most of us would jump
at the chance.
In other words, people
will develop skills if they see a market for them, without good paying jobs there
is little incentive to pay for training or education. Conservatives are asking others to violate
their principles when they expect people to pay for instruction without
compensation that equals the cost. No
conservative politician would ask a business to take this type of risk, and in
fact go to great extremes to limit the risks that large business take when
expanding their operations.
Education
Reform- Issues and Actions…
With all that is going on
in the world, it is easy to lose hope and feel discouraged. As a public educator the past two years have
been filled with strife and turmoil.
However, educators are nothing if not resilient. It comes with the territory and is one of the
major resources that we've drawn on during the struggles here in Wisconsin. No matter what has been thrown at us, we
continue to keep fighting for what we believe in.
In some ways the attacks
on public education that have intensified over that past couple of years are a
"blessing in disguise". They
have forced public educators to look at ourselves and to really discover what
it is that we truly value about our schools, our students and our public
education system. They have also allowed
us to find allies and develop connections that we never would have sought out
if we weren't facing such intense challenges.
The struggles have also allowed us to call attention to issues that might
have been ignored if not for the attacks on public education. Without the conflicts, many citizens would
not pay much attention to issues around student achievement, curriculum or
other topics in education.
One of these issues is the
effect that poverty has on our children.
These articles talk about charter schools expulsion rates, but also
included are some interesting thoughts about poverty. "Charter advocates deny that the schools
are trying to push out challenging students. They point out that D.C. charters
enroll a higher proportion of poor children than the traditional public schools
and that poor children often come to class with greater needs than their
middle-class peers. Charters are open to all students across the city, with
admission by lottery if there is more demand than space available." Yet, we are told that poverty isn't as
important an issue for public schools here?
Of course, we can't ignore
the fact that race is an important factor in our education system. Charter and voucher supporters try and paint
our public schools as inadequate for our "minority" students. Yet we see the same groups of students
struggling in all settings (strangely enough they are the same demographic
groups that are struggling in society on a large scale.
Public educators work to
try and support all students, regardless of their economic, racial, gender, or
other demographic category. The debate
over education can be used to highlight our efforts and shine the spotlight on
the lack of support and resources provided by our political leaders. We can also celebrate our peers who are
standing up for what is right.
It is up to educators and
their supporters to encourage our school administrators and politicians to help
make our schools excellent places for children to learn. Too frequently our schools are set up to
accommodate things other than the needs of children.
Yet, public educators
continue to be targeted in the ongoing war between conservative
"reformers" and progressives who support public education. The "reformers" would have us
create a pay structure that mirrors the private sector. A structure that favors the upper levels of
management and ignores the reality that it is the workers "in the
trenches" who really make a district great.
I must admit that there
are times when it seems like it would be better/easier to go the charter
route. It certainly would be the path of
least resistance. Charter/voucher
schools are not bound by the restrictions that are placed on public schools and
also aren't open to the same level of criticism that public schools face.
Then I remember that the
problem isn't the public educators, their unions or the public school system. That may be what the "reformers"
want us to believe, but really it’s the "reforms" that are doing the
most harm to our students and our schools.
Buy
Local…
It continues to be
important to keep an eye out for business who act in extreme ways. We know that we won't be able to avoid all
spending at anti-labor businesses, but every effort counts.
There
are many resources available to help us find businesses that are local and/or
labor friendly
For Wisconsinites, this is
vital.
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