April
2nd Elections…
If we've learned anything
from the past two years, it should be that elections matter. With that in mind I'm urging every eligible
voter to head to the polls on April 2nd and exercise their rights as citizens.
The two statewide offices
up for election will have huge impacts on the immediate future of our fight to
reclaim Wisconsin. The race for Supreme Court Justice between
Justice Roggensack and Ed Fallone has the potential to decide the fate of Act
10 among other key issues.
The race for
Superintendent of Public Instruction features two contrasting visions for
public education in Wisconsin. Tony Evers is the best choice to lead our
public school system. Pridemore appears
to be more interested in privatizing our schools than in leading them.
Local races feature a key
contest for Dane County Circuit Court Judge and Rhonda Lanford is an excellent
candidate worthy of our support.
With three seats up for
election on the Madison School Board, this spring's election will have a huge
impact on the way the board approaches important issues. With the continuing assaults on public
education from the state and federal levels and the impending expansion of the
voucher program into more Wisconsin communities it is vital that we have a
strong school board who will work with educators, administration and the
community to protect our public schools.
Seat #3- Dean Loumas vs.
Wayne Strong
Seat #4 James Howard vs.
Greg Packnett
Seat #5 TJ Mertz vs. the
now out of the race Sarah Manski
De-Walkerize
Wisconsin…
As I thought about the
upcoming elections I reflected on the qualities of the candidates, but I realized
that my attention wasn't focused on them as much as on the overall political
climate and the possible repercussions of casting a ballot for any
individual. This has always been
something that voters needed to consider, that their vote would put people in
office who would create policies that would impact our communities. It should be obvious that, in a
representative democracy, we elect people who best represent our interests, but
they may not be "perfect" fits for each individual. We also face the fact that, once elected,
politicians are able to act in ways that we may not support.
The election of Scott
Walker in 2010 made this real for many voters in Wisconsin.
I've gone back and looked at his campaign material and it is clear why
it resonated with voters during the election.
Many Wisconsinites cast a vote for him thinking that he was a
"common sense" type of candidate who would represent their interests
well, yet once elected he became a different Governor than what was
portrayed. Now, as we prepare for
another election, many of us are worried that we won't get what we thought we
were getting when we cast our ballots. This
concern is reinforced when things happen like Sarah Manski suddenly withdrawing
from the race for school board. Suspicions
run rampant and confidence in the process is undermined.
Looming over every race on
this April's ballot is the specter of Walker and
the conservative reforms that that have swept over Wisconsin during the past two years. Without the threats that Act 10 and school
vouchers put on public educators and community members would our discussions
about issues like Madison Prep have been different? We certainly would be discussing the merits
of candidates differently and politics wouldn't be as divisive in many
races. The past two years have created a
legacy of bitterness, fear and in some cases hatred that make it so difficult
to find common ground and the compromise that is necessary to truly exist as a
viable society.
As I read the John Roach
article I found myself becoming furious at, what I consider, the unfair and
spiteful language directed at a person who I respect and admire. I also was offended by the tone that implied
that race is the only issue of importance in our society and that we should cast
votes based exclusively on one trait of a candidate. It seemed to imply, just what has been said
before about public educators, that we are pawns in a larger game and
mindlessly follow the directions of leaders who supposedly don't have the best
interests of others at heart. It is also
humorous to think that MTI or any public educator entity has such power over
our public school system. If that was
the case, I can assure you that things would be much different. Just ask any public educator about what they
would do to change the system and you will find yourself realizing that it
isn't the people who are necessarily the problem, it is the bureaucratic
reality that shapes so much of what happens in public education.
I could mention many other
issues I have with this editorial, but as I reflected on them I realized that
there was something else happening here.
As a society we are spending way too much time dwelling on the past and
looking for scapegoats. We live in an
imperfect world and one where social justice is often elusive. If we are to continue moving forward we must
find ways to unite. If we can't then we
face a future where we will refight the same tired old battles and achieve the
same flawed results.
So, we really need to
de-Walkerize our elections this spring.
Not by voting based on our support of opposition of Walker,
but by deciding to move beyond, or above, the climate he's created in Wisconsin. Somehow we, collectively, need to realize
that it isn't about Scott Walker. He is
only one voice, and one that will be replaced in the not so distant
future. Many of us remember Tommy
Thompson's reign as governor. I always
thought that things couldn't get worse than Thompson, but the reality is that
someone will always come along to try and make their mark. It was with no small amount of wonder that I
found myself saying that Thompson was probably the best Republican candidate in
the past primary for U.S. Senate.
Instead of focusing on Walker and dwelling in
the past, voters need to send a message about the future of our society by
choosing candidates based on merit and not on fear or anger. As a wise Jedi once said, "Fear is the
path of the Dark Side. Fear leads to
anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads
to suffering." It is our job to
change the path that we walk on.
In this election, cast
your ballot wisely. Do your
"homework" and learn about the candidates. But, also never forget that your job as a
citizen isn't done after the ballot is cast.
In reality the job of citizen is never finished. It is up to each and every one of us to hold
our elected officials accountable for their words, actions and policies as they
work to represent us.
Sharing
My "Truth"…
One
of the dangers in politics, or in any larger scale human endeavor, is the fact
that words and actions can be interpreted in many ways. Trust and honesty are vital to the ability of
us to form sustainable relationships that serve a societal greater good. We are facing a crisis here in Wisconsin, and across
the nation, and it isn't so much economic as it is something much more
important. When Scott Walker said that
our state was "broke" he meant financially, but I really think that
he should have recognized that the real break was in a different venue.
What
has happened over time has been a retreat from a more prosperous, egalitarian
society to one that is secretive and access to opportunity is more
exclusive. There is no doubt that the
"American Dream" has always been one that has been much more
difficult for individuals of different demographical groups to attain. However, in recent years we are seeing fewer
and fewer "real" opportunities for people and more concentration of
wealth and power into fewer hands.
Trust,
security, opportunity, equality…these are all terms that can be elusive to
define precisely. We all have a sense of
what they mean, but the reality of the words can be interpreted in different
ways. As a society we are always
striving to find the best ways to offer the most for each individual member of
the group.
In
America
we have chosen democracy and an economic system based on a more capitalistic
philosophy to deliver these benefits to our citizens. However, in order for a society to utilize
these "tools" well there are some basic needs that must be met. When we don't succeed in meeting these requirements
we face significant problems. People
feel disenfranchised, people lose faith and hope in the system and we see a
movement away from the values that our nation is supposed to be built upon.
The
"truth" as I see it is very troubling. We are seeing a breakdown in communication of
accurate information at all levels.
We are seeing a widening
of gaps in economic opportunity with small numbers of people making vast sums
of money off the majority of the population.
www.salon.com
FOCUS | Cheney's Halliburton Made $39.5 Billion on Iraq War
We have been mislead by our elected leadership and made more vulnerable because of their actions.
We find ourselves struggling to stem the tide and to resist the movement of our resources, human, financial or other towards concentration in the hands of the few. Unions provide one way to resist these trends and are standing up for those they represent.
We need more organizing
efforts and more coalitions between the people of our society. Unions, co-ops and other community based
efforts will give individuals power to act in their own defense.
Marriage
Equality, Race, Economic Class and Public Education…
History
is a series of events that seem cyclical in nature. We always hear about the need to avoid
repeating the mistakes of the past, and it is clear that there are trends that
reappear throughout human history. The
late 1800's become the 1920's which in turn become the early 2000's. We see struggles for civil rights move from
specific group to specific group and then back again. Struggles for freedom, suffrage, economic
opportunity, citizenship, etc… all find common threads throughout history. The names, faces and situations change, but the
stories sound eerily similar in nature.
Over
the past week a lot of attention has been focused on the issue of Marriage
Equality. Many equate the issues
surrounding rights for GLBTQ citizens as the newest in the long line of civil
rights battles. We've seen many
parallels drawn between the issue of Marriage Equality for GLBTQ Americans and
those that African-Americans faced in the not so distant past. People have brought up the reality that
marriage between Blacks and Whites was illegal until just a few decades ago in
many places. Just check your Facebook
and you can see that Marriage Equality is of interest to many of us.
What
shouldn't be lost in the modern incarnation of our ongoing quest for a socially
just society is that the battles are fought and victory or defeat result, but
the struggles don't end. We know that
the Civil Rights Movement didn't end racism in our nation. Women's Suffrage didn't end sexism. The passage of Act 10 didn't eliminate
organized labor. The "War on
Poverty" didn't result in an elimination of economic distress.
Humans
are quick to try and declare a verdict and to move on to new challenges. When we do this we ignore the actuality that
we are all connected and that our struggles are part of the fabric of our
humanity. The union mantra "An
Injury to One is and Injury to All" is at the heart of this reality. We are facing the inertia of human nature
that causes discrimination, inequality and injustice, but is also capable of
inclusion, equality and justice in equal measures.
Most
people will act in their own self interest first, and then act for the benefit
of others second. What many of us miss
is the recognition that by acting in a self-interested manner we often don't
promote the most positive action that would benefit all. In this way we see people acting in short
sighted and often acting against their own interests. Working class people supporting anti-union
candidates, "minority" groups attacking the rights of others to
achieve equal opportunities, these are a couple of examples that demonstrate
the actions of people operating solely for their own interests.
chicagoist.com
As
Americans in a consumer driven, materialistic society we find ourselves swept
along in the river of self-interest. We
feel a need to defend what is, or should be, ours and to worry that anything
that benefits someone else, by definition harms us. This somehow implies that there is a finite
amount of any given resource available and that we must compete in order to get
any part of the desired commodity.
One
can argue that in economic terms this may be true. We live on a planet that has finite amounts
of resources and access to these have long been a source of conflict. However, in modern America there is enough wealth so
that no person should be starving or without their basic needs being met. Our drive to accumulate is causing long-term
damage to our nation's future.
On
the other hand, there is no such limit on things like knowledge or rights. If I learn as much as I can about a topic,
that only serves to educate me, it doesn't take away from others opportunities
to learn. In fact, I can use my
knowledge to educate others and thereby improve the educational opportunities
for those around me. The more people who
are educated, the more opportunities there are and society as a whole
improves.
This
same logic holds true in other aspects of rights, freedom and knowledge as
well. Giving a group access to rights
like marriage, voting or other basic freedoms doesn't dilute them for
others. The case can be made that by
supporting the rights and freedoms of all citizens improves the quality of life
for everyone. Just like union wages
raise wages for all workers, so too can providing real, equal opportunity for
all actually serve to increase the freedoms, rights and opportunities for
everyone in our society.
Allowing
others to have these opportunities is frightening to some. For example, people may look at the
demographics and recognize that White Americans are no longer the
majority. This can lead to fear that by
allowing more access to voting the power in America will shift in a way that
leads towards an unknown future. Yet,
what is ignored is that our future is always unknown and filled with potential
for success or failure. Holding fast to
what we know won't change this reality.
It will make the future more painful if we fight against what is
socially just. The cycles of history
have shown us as the concentration of wealth in the late 1800's, and 1920's
brought us the events like violent strikes, social upheaval, and the Great
Depression.
In many ways the social
movements that have been labeled revolutionary are exactly the opposite. Revolution implies a radical, sudden change
and we often see that the movements that are revolutionary are in reality just
the outgrowth of the will of the majority.
They become revolutionary because of the fact that the rules and norms
of a society are often conservative in nature and are slow to change. The struggles become more confrontational
because those in power are reluctant to cede any control to others and impose
restrictions to slow the changes that are frequently necessary for the long
term survival of a nation.
We are seeing the
beginnings of a "revolution" here in America around issues involving
many groups and institutions. Public
education will continue to be a centerpiece in this struggle. Education is vital for each persons success
as well as for the success of society as a whole. Access to quality educational opportunities
are necessary and the fact that we are seeing more restrictions to education
means that the "establishment" recognizes the importance of this
battle. Educators, families and
community members must work together to move our society forward and deliver
quality educational opportunities to all students and communities.
