The Poor, Immigrants, People with Disabilities Identified as Enemy

As I've listened to the national debate over health care, immigration reform, the government budget and shut down as well as so many other issues, it has been striking how people in public and leadership positions have identified poor and in many cases disenfranchised populations as the enemy and the problem.

The rhetoric is strong but sometimes subtle. It doesn't only come from one party, faction or group but it does seem to come from people who feel very threatened by economic, social and cultural change. The groups and people who are identified as the problem aren't just the folks identified in the title of this post either. You can add the unemployed, people of different sexual orientation, the uninsured, the homeless and on and on.

What's surprising to me is that so many of the individuals who identify these 'problem' people also espouse strong Christian and Biblical beliefs and backgrounds. The Christian principles of the Sermon On The Mount and helping your brother and sister seem to have no place in the thinking of these folks. There seems to be a mindset of keeping people down, in their place and out of sight if not out of the country. These are really harmful and hateful beliefs in my opinion and go against everything that most religions and philosophies stand for in one way or another.

The people I see in all of the groups identified are people who help make this country diverse and who also help get much of the work done. In most cases, the working poor made up of immigrants or people who want to be immigrants, people with disabilities, and others who are struggling in a fragile economy, are people who are doing things as best they can to live their lives just like everyone else. In addition, we have people of different cultures and people from the LBGT community who are some of the best and brightest in our growth industries of technology, medical and health, communications, etc.

But somehow, the inclusion of all of these people in our society is a threat to what I continually hope is a small faction of the population. My best guess is that this diversity itself is a very real threat to people who have always thought that things should and would stay the same forever - that our population would always be dominated in a set pattern. That's really the only conclusion I've been able to reach. If not then why is the immigration debate mainly about Hispanics moving across boarders from Mexico? If not, why does there seem to be such hatred among some of a Black President? If not, why are people challenging a Health Care Act that was passed by Congress, upheld by the Supreme Court and validated through a re-election of the President? Something else is at work here and it really is hateful.

Although I see diversity as challenging, I also see it as something to be welcomed and embraced. It's where ideas, change and growth always come from. I hope more people begin to speak up about this negative rhetoric and belief that others in our society will take us down, will make us worse instead of better and will be a drag on our economy and society.

New Respect for Journalists and Commentators

Like everyone else, I have at times found it easy to criticize and put down the press. There are times that some in the profession make it easy but over the past few weeks I've gained or maybe regained respect for this group who work so hard to keep us informed.

Now I need to be clear, there are issues with some members of the press and probably always will be no different from any other profession. But by and large these are decent people trying to make sure that the rest of us have good information.

The lead up to, and the eventual government shutdown I think brought out the best in many of these folks and in addition it made me think about the job they were doing and how grateful I was. I guess we have Ted Cruz to thank for most of this. It was the first time that I remember seeing commentators become journalists and journalists become commentators (not necessarily a good thing). Perhaps it was because things were happening so fast or because people, including the media found themselves in a state of disbelief at least a couple of times a day.

I have a point of view that's left of center. Some would say far left. Others would probably say not left enough. But even I cringed a bit when some reporters started taking positions on Cruz and the Tea Party in general. It was only a little cringe though. Throughout the ordeal of watching a national party self implode and government ineptitude on every side, I was appreciative of the reporting and opinions I heard more then ever before. So it really did make me think about the role of journalists during a national crisis. I'm talking about all points of view here - right, left and center - factual reporting and opinion pieces. There was comfort in knowing that people were following what was going on and attempting to help us all figure out what it meant, sometimes pointing out that the tragedy would be if we didn't learning anything from the expierience.

Journalism and reporting makes us think. It helps us to question and sometimes provides needed answers. We don't have to agree with what's written or stated but we need to respect it enough to read it or listen. What we get may take us in a new or different direction. I certainly can get as frustrated as anyone else hearing or seeing opinionated reporting or commentary. I think though that I see it with a new set of eyes after the past few weeks and I enjoy it.

The Gadfly Went Missing

Yes I did, I went missing. Breaks are needed but then sometimes when that happens, you lose track of time or get involved in other things and I guess that's what happened to me.

I've gotten involved with a small group of good people in Penn Yan, NY who have started a series of community conversations on Race and Justice. They took their lead from the President's comments after the George Zimmerman trial where he encouraged communities to start having these important conversations. Anyway, that's taken some time and attention.

I've also done some traveling and have really gotten immersed in my family's genealogy. Something I thought was pretty straightforward can really become complicated pretty quickly. Especially when you're researching common names like Wilson, Kelly and Heller. I've learned a lot and found out that little mistakes in census records like adding an L or using an initial one time and not another can change where information takes you. But it's been fun and I've found out a lot about my roots and relatives. I'm planning some specific trips to addresses and cemeteries where some family members lived and died.

Then there was and is the political turmoil. I became totally enthralled with watching and trying to understand the recent show in Washington, D.C. over the past month or so. I'll probably have more to say about this at some point but watching it and seeing the craziness was difficult to pull myself away from. The danger is that we didn't learn something from all of this.

I've also been working with a group of professionals that I'm close to, trying to assist them in getting good information relative to the issues that are impacting them and the work they do.

So it has been busy but The Gadfly's back, at least until something else grabs my attention and gets me off track. Gotta get this place ready for winter.