Month: July 2021

I was always creating bucket lists when I was young. I managed to accomplish many of my dreams over the years. Now that I am older, such lists look very different than in the past. Of course, I still have longings to visit various places around the world, but more than anything my wish list tends to focus more on the future of my children and grandchildren, and the world that my generation will leave to them. Always the optimist, I’d like to believe that we will address the many issues that threaten our planet with a determination to create a better world. 

I spent the last years of my teaching career working at KIPP Houston High School, a public charter school with distinctive philosophies about how to do things. We often took our students on trips, and we reminded them of their duty to leave each place that we visited better than it had been when we first came. A journey to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina involved working inside a damaged school. A visit to a park meant bringing trash bags and gloves to send crews of students to pick up trash. We attempted to inculcate a philosophy of sharing and caring into the lifestyles of our kids. We believed that teaching them to honor the world was as important as providing them with knowledge. We put the mantra, “Work hard, Be nice.” into action. 

I suppose that I was as affected by my time at KIPP as I hope the students were. I began to think beyond my own self interests in a more demanding way. My bucket list began to focus more on solving problems than listing fun activities that I wanted to enjoy. Since the pandemic I have begun to simplify my life more and more. I find myself enjoying quiet, simple gatherings of my favorite people instead of expensive outings. My needs have shrunk, and I am more at ease with myself than ever. Somehow the months of isolation and concern about the health of the people of the world has helped me to understand and appreciate what is really important. Thus, my new bucket list appears to be more of an action plan or political/spiritual agenda than it might once have been. It is less and less about what I want for me, and more and more about my hopes for the future. 

• I believe it is long past the time for every one of us to help contribute to the health of the planet. I’ve adjusted my thermostat so that my air conditioner and heater run less often than they once did. I keep making deliberate changes to habits that I had developed in ignorance. I spend time learning how to be more conscious of my own sins against the planet. I focus on leaving things better than they have been for a very long time. As I make sacrifices, I find that it is not that difficult to be more mindful of my own actions. I am more supportive of efforts to rethink the way we do things. I’m an old dog willing to attempt to learn new tricks because I believe that it is something that we all must do if we are to survive as people.
• I have long been a perfectionist, and as such I bristle at the thought of making terrible mistakes. I prefer compliments to critiques, but I have learned that there are times when we have to look truth squarely in the face. For too long we have ignored injustices by asserting our individual anecdotal experiences with minorities, the poor, immigrants, the LGBT community. We seem to believe that if we have been kind, then surely there is no real problem. We do not want to be reminded that there is still must work to be done to ensure equal and fair treatment for everyone. We hide inside our little bubbles refusing to consider the cries of those who insist that there are still grave difficulties for entire swathes of people. My hope is that we will begin to take our responsibilities to one another more seriously than ever before. Simply denying that there is are problems because we are personally good, is not a legitimate answer. We have to be willing to hear the experiences of people who have suffered without closing our ears or turning our gazes. Then we have to actually do something about the problems that exist without making excuses or worrying that our own privileges might change. 
• It’s time that we all accept the old adage that no human is an island. Sharing our knowledge, our resources and our freedoms should not be a political game. Instead it should be a natural way of living. Every person on this earth is as important as I am. It is only by sheer luck that I ended up being born in a land of plenty and freedom with loving parents. I had incredible opportunities from the moment that I breathed my first breath. Even though I was beset with challenges and had to work hard, I have lived a gloriously secure life compared to so many of my fellow humans. I believe that those who have more are duty bound to share more, and not just the dregs of leftovers. It should be our goal to uplift as many others as possible, not just with financial support, but also by providing decent and affordable places to live, education, healthcare. We have to address suffering selflessly and with gratitude for our own good fortune. 

I suppose that my bucket list appears to be the mad ravings of an idealist, but I am certain that we have the power to make such things happen, if only we have the will. Sometimes we humans need a nudge to take action. Surely the universe is shaking us with great force right now. I choose not to ignore it’s warnings, for if I do, it may be very dark for my loved ones after I am gone. It’s time to face reality, and join in the efforts to repair and reconcile. It’s something that I no longer just imagine, but strive to make a reality no matter how difficult it may be. 

Each semester for many years now my husband and I have taken a course from the Rice University Glasscock School of Continuing Education. The offerings are are always exceptional, and, if I had endless funds, I would sign up for multiple classes during each session. Instead I focus on one topic at a time, generally choosing history over anything else. One of the the conclusions that I have reached is that while we humans have generally progressed in knowledge and technology, our natures remain somewhat the same. Throughout history people have tended to engage in recurring cycles of enlightenment followed by prohibition. It is as though we desire to evolve as societies, but also fear going too far in changing our ways. Much of the push and pull in the story of humankind has a discernible pattern. When we study our ancestors, we begin to realize that there is a tension caused by our conflicting beliefs in what constitutes a better world. This continual tug of war is a source of misunderstanding, conflict and even war. 

In following the long threads of my family tree, I learned that the paternal side of my family traces its roots back to the Norsemen of old. Eventually my people found their way to Normandy and then to England. I am distantly related to Norman kings and later to Oliver Cromwell’s family, something that made me proudful until I learned more about those ancient relations in the history classes that I took. In particular, I realized that Oliver Cromwell may have advocated for freedoms, but only on his own terms. He was in fact consumed with a religious fervor that had little room for beliefs contrary to his own. He had a bad habit of sending his followers to formerly Catholic churches to destroy any icons of the Catholic faith. Freedom for him was far more restrictive than would be comfortable to me. 

So it is in my own country of the United States of America today. We are a government founded on a revolution, but tempered by a tendency to change slowly. We speak often of our freedoms, which are many, but fill our law books with limits to what we allow the citizenry to do. The progressives are more often than not at odds with the conservatives, and while there is supposed to be a separation of church and state, religion has often insinuated itself into our democratic processes. While I am a firm believer in our democratic republic, I have learned too much about its weaknesses over time to but my head in the sand when it comes to our history. As with all societies, ours has been ordered by humans, which by definition means that there are imperfections. Good intentions are often mixed with flawed philosophies and beliefs. That is why I contend that it is always important to have a hearty mixture of voices in our politics, rather than a group of people walking in lockstep. We members of the electorate should applaud the disparate voices rather than condemning those who question thinking and suggest alternatives. 

There are certain facts of history that demonstrate truths. We know that Thomas Jefferson’s brilliant mind helped to create a government with the potential to bring freedom more uniformly to people of all persuasions. We also know that when he spoke of certain unalienable rights, they did not apply to everyone at that time. His freedoms were limited to white males, excluding women and most notably, slaves. There is nothing innately wrong with critiquing Jefferson by praising his foundational principles while also noting his exceedingly contradictory flaws. Dissecting the truth, is not a sign of disloyalty to our country, but rather a healthy way of discussing the complexities of humans that create both good and bad situations in the same breath. 

We can see very clearly that allowing slavery to exist side by side with our remarkable freedoms was intrinsically wrong, and ultimately a huge mistake that led to a civil war, and continues to haunt our society to this very day. Remaining ignorant of the horrific things that came before us does little to help us to create a pathway to a better. It is in viewing the missteps of the past that we have a greater chance of improving. It is not hateful to admit that those who came before us committed transgressions. It is simply a recitation of facts from which we might learn. 

If I had the occasion to send a message in a bottle, it would be to encourage all people everywhere to temper their tendencies to adhere to a single way of thinking. It is only in opening our minds, exploring and learning from the past, and hearing the concerns of others that we will ever create a truly inclusive society. When fifty of our senators walk and think in tandem, we are in trouble. When we refuse the process of give and take in favor of doing nothing to preserve an ironclad wall of political beliefs, we are in trouble. If we do not break down the tribalism that has tainted all of history in favor of embracing our diversity, the conflicts and the wars will continue. Human suffering will be alive and well, just as it has been for centuries. 

We should be encouraging all people everywhere to join in a quest for knowledge and truth. History should not be left only for those interested enough to do the research. It is healthy and beneficial to learn how human frailties and missteps led to horrific situations that need not have occurred had societies understood how to watch for problems. Courage and patriotism are most evident when John McCain gives a thumbs down or Liz Cheney voices her beliefs or Bernie Saunders challenges us to consider new ways of thinking. We all benefit most when truth is allowed to flourish and diversity of thought is encouraged. 

Do not be afraid to parse the past. Learn and understand just how complex we humans are. See the patterns. Share the facts. It is an exercise in democracy in it finest form.