#139 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday September 9)
Good morning!
Today, an interesting exchange related by Liz Granderson, about sitting down with a Trump supporter to discuss Afghanistan and other matters:
“He first brought up President Biden’s handling of Afghanistan, specifically the “idiocy” — his word, not mine — of making a deal with the Taliban in the first place. When I pointed out that it was the former president and not the current one who negotiated the deal — going so far as to pull up video of Donald Trump bragging about making the deal — the man pivoted to Hillary Clinton’s email. The Fox News buzzwords just kept coming. It was like playing a drinking game at Tucker Carlson’s house.
The best part was when he said the electoral college had to be protected so that California and New York don’t “ruin our democracy.” I asked how a system saves democracy when it allows the candidate with fewer votes to claim victory?
He paused for a moment. Then went back to Clinton’s emails.”
This is the world we inhabit, when it doesn’t matter what is said. There is a single-minded focus on a single set of issues and a narrative that doesn’t change, regardless of the facts…
LOVING AND CARING FOR EACH OTHER
When I was a kid, there was never a question that my sister and I would attend college. The question was not whether we attended, but what graduate degree we would pursue. Education and literacy were the bedrock of our upbringing. It is sometimes hard to imagine that none of my four grandparents attended high school, much less graduated. In one generation, that produced six progeny of my parents’ generation that included two physicians and four teachers (most of whom also possessed Master’s Degrees). But the pursuit of knowledge is not an innate skill. It is something that must be taught and nurtured.
Bradley Mindlin notes that “Education as early as possible with positive enforcement is essential. Local community structures are essential. “
Bradley also notes that he considers it essential to give back to the community, describing it as an obligation. He is concerned that, in the effort to provide social entitlements and safety nets, “our current system over the last 30+ years is terribly flawed and broken. Instead of teaching people in need how to fish we give them fish and have made a dependent class.”
I think he is right that programs can become sources of dependency, but I think we have to remember that, in order to allow people to advance, we need to provide them the tools to do so, among the lessons to be taught is the value of education (his first point).
COMMUNITY SUPPORTING EACH OTHER
I have shared stories of my family over these past 2 ½ years. I thought I’d share one from another family—about Bradley Mindlin’s grandfather. Here, he recounts a great story:
“I remember when I was maybe 10 or 11 visiting my grandfather in Brooklyn. He left me in the car as he double parked (yes today that would be child endangerment but I survived the so called brutality). I was snooping through his glove compartment and found his check book. The one in the plastic cover with the register above the checks. I noticed that he wrote a check to a local neighborhood lady for $25 every two weeks. When he came back I asked him why he was doing that. He grabbed the checkbook from my hand. Told me never to talk about it and not to snoop through his stuff. Years and years later my grandfather lived with us… I asked him about that day and the checkbook. He laughed. He told me those were different times. That the lady in question was a widow with young kids. That everyone in the community helped her without her asking. She needed to keep her home, feed, clothe and educate her children. People in those days took care of each other without recognition or praise. My grandfather (a blue collar man) could afford $25 every paycheck. Others did $10. Others did $100. Each gave what they could – without this lady asking. My grandfather, one of the greatest men I will ever know, did things like this always and without recognition. As he said, they were different times.”
Have a good day,
Glenn
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