Tuesday Slice: Politically philisophical

I don't often write about politics, but it's been a rough summer, especially here in Texas.  Yes, the state is so big that I can't really say that the southern border is in my Austin backyard, but it feels that way with every image of chain link fences surrounding immigrant children separated from their parents.  I am ashamed that our state is participating in this inhumane activity; I've contacted my government officials to communicate my anger and sorrow, one small act of resistance.  The responses to my emails have been vague and noncommittal. 

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I returned to the resource classroom after a seventeen year hiatus from teaching.  Reflecting on the behavior patterns of students with aggressive outbursts in the same classroom, I came to realize that when one was acting out, the other was calm.  The students were normalized to chaos, so as long as it was present, there wasn't a need to act out.

I feel that the current POTUS may be normalized to chaos as well.  This seems evident by his Tweets, turnover in his staff, interactions with world leaders, and need to constantly rally.  With his every action, I feel like a whip is being cracked over our heads.  At what point do we grab the whip and say enough is enough?

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Moments that have caught my attention:

*Listening to John Lennon's "Imagine" on the car radio.

*Watching an old Twilight Zone episode.  In a post-apocalyptic world, Charles Bronson states that there is nothing left to fight over--no countries, politics, grand causes.  He yells "I hereby declare world peace!" to a town filled with skeletons and propaganda posters.

*Watching Star Trek episodes, and Gene Roddenberry's vision of our future with no disease, no poverty--but still grappling with our human failings and vices.  We are the aliens, too.

*Going back to the chaos theory--my husband and I watching the first episode of Electric Dreams (not for children!).  The main character has survivor's guilt, an inability to accept the good things in her life.  Do we choose chaos over gratitude because we feel we don't deserve the good things in our lives? 

*A meme on Facebook in response to the immigrant detention: "Legality does not equal morality".

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I read the Constitution of the United States this week.  Not as a scholar, but as an ordinary citizen, looking through a historical lens.  Several thoughts came to mind as I read this vision for a new country, a new way of government.  I was reminded that the writers were men of their times, however extraordinary their actions.  They had the foresight to allow for amendments, knowing that as time marches on, so do the needs of a nation.  Could they have foreseen the end of slavery, world wars, equality of women, existence of assault weapons, consumerism, technology, climate change, modern healthcare advances?  What would they think of their tenets being twisted by bills with riders and laws favoring special interest groups?  Does the vision of equal representation and checks and balances really exist?  Is the electoral college, necessary in a pre-technology age with thirteen colonies of homesteaders to manage, really necessary today, especially when over forty percent of us no longer reside in the state of our birth?

We are grappling with different issues than our 1700s founders.

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My final thoughts and questions--

*Do we truly see people as equal as our Constitution states, or are there those that are "less than"?

*What do you consider basic rights, in this day and age?  I like to refer to the bottom two levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and think that healthcare, safe housing, and literacy would be included in the modern interpretation of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." 

*It seems that our man-made constructs of borders and religion, along with the "he who dies with the most toys wins" mentality, are responsible for a lot of strife and chaos.  I know this is oversimplifying...but I'm a dreamer, like Lennon and Roddenberry.

*The basic tenets of major religions leans towards socialism.  Experiments in socialist governments have failed because of our own human failings...but is there a way to incorporate at least some of the ideas in our democracy?  Does it have to be all or nothing when it comes to the philosophy of governing?

*What is our vision of success, and does it include the welfare of others?

*Can we really afford to be isolationist, living on this planet that is home to a transient, global society?

On this upcoming Fourth of July, I am grateful that I live in a country that allows me to ask these questions without fear of reprisal.  I am saddened, however, by the feeling that my voice, and others', aren't truly being heard.  Because we don't have anything to offer in the way of monetary gain or power, we are the "less than".  So let's get out there and vote--the one remaining power we do have.