Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Trump - San Dimas High School Football Rules!

I have been a teacher for 24 years.  As such, I can't help listening to Donald Trump with a teacher's ear. I get a student or two like Trump every year. Trump is that student who doesn't study or prepare for a presentation, but skims through the material for a few key words.  He then stands in front of the class and BS's his way through, hoping that getting a laugh or two from his fellow students will distract from the fact that he doesn't know his material.

Trump is the alpha bully student who has the admiration of his fellow trouble makers.  When they insult minorities, women, and the disabled, they get in trouble. But somehow, when he does it, he gets away with it. This earns him a backwards form of respect from the ne'er-do-well.

Trump is the high school jock at the end of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure... mumbling through an ill prepared history essay.  Having nothing of substance to offer, he throws up his hands at the end in a victory salute and shouts, "San Dimas High School football RULES!" This brings the student body to their feet in applause, while the teachers roll their eyes.

But this isn't high school. We aren't voting for prom king. Popularity and adolescent adulation are not going to get the work of the United States presidency accomplished.

Trump is no more qualified than Biff Tannen for the highest office in our land.



Sunday, July 24, 2016

The Perfect Storm for Trump


Trump literally knows nothing when it comes to the issues he would handle as president. Yet, that does not matter for much of the electorate because he taps into some fear or red meat point that they cannot resist. He :

1. has team support. For many republicans, it simply does not matter how unprepared he is - there is an R next to his name, end of story.

2. has "frat" boy support. Certain personalities love alpha male bluster. His tendency to upgrade his trophy wife every decade or so and bling his name everywhere is seen as a sign of strength.

3. has the racist/bigot crowd. From the blatant David Duke to the person who starts every bigot rant with "I'm not a racist, but..." These folks get all warm and fuzzy every time Trump announces, "I am NOT politically correct!"

4. has the xenophobes. America is a country of immigrants where many fear the latest batch of immigrants.

5. has the bumpkin vote. Trump will get the vote of every moron who resents people who have a high vocabulary. The more ignorance he shows, the more they like him - he speaks their language.

Any of these groups, on their own, do not have a lot of voting power. But for the first time, we have a candidate who can appeal to all of those subgroups. Their combined awfulness may just get him in the White House.

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Children and Religion



The video above is an enlightening watch. As I viewed it, I had a number of flashbacks to my own childhood. I traveled in religious circles and attended a school where being "slain in the Spirit", as shown here, was very normal.

The expressions on the faces of the children are so telling - Is this what I am supposed to do? Am I supposed to fall? Is that what you want? Should I be scared?

You can see which children have not yet been brought into the culture and which ones know the game.

And it is a game. It has rules and rewards. You can play it well and you can play it poorly. Acceptance and popularity within the community are determined according to your participation. Whatever one's flavor of religion, you are often instructed from your youngest age how to navigate the culture of your religious community. There are behaviors and rituals which will give you words and looks of affirmation if you partake. There are also ideas and practices which solicit community dismay.

This can sound nefarious, but I don't think that is necessarily so. Impressionable children accept these things because the community encourages it... but likewise, the community received the same directives when they were children... and so on... and so on.

I do think parents can instruct their children without indoctrinating them.  Parents can present information impartially and teach their children to make reasonable judgements. However, it takes a lot of intentionality.
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