On King and King: bullying, the book and brave recourse

Once upon a time in a classroom not so far away a great teacher took brave recourse against a problem: he read a book to his students. The classroom was at Efland-Cheeks Elementary School, the teacher was Omar Currie, the problem was bullying and the book was King and King.

Given that story line it's hard to believe that any of those details would be met with anything but rousing support. And while, in most circles it has, in a few it is met with disdain and protest. Not because the people who seek to vilify the love and acceptance taught in Omar's classroom have no brains, but because they have small minds. They are unable to see that the world around them has changed and continues to change--that their children are more than just a part of their household, they are a part of our communities.

Those communities include people of different colors, different religions, different family structures and, yes, different sexual orientations. So when a child is bullied by his classmates and called "gay" because of his effeminate behavior and his teacher reads a book that affirms his nature to the entire class it is to be lauded and celebrated, not reprimanded and protested.

If that child for one moment saw himself as one of the kings and felt removed from the margins, it was worth it. If the bullies for one moment realized their wrong in shaming someone because of difference, it was worth it. If one parent feels proud that their child learned to be an open-minded, accepting global citizen in Mr. Currie's classroom, it was worth it.

And so, it was worth it.

The continued rise in gay youth suicides has produces what, to some, may appear to be a united front against gay bullying. Under the surface though, there lies a conservative school of thought that ignores the problem in order to accuse those trying to confront it as pushing a "gay agenda." They don't believe that schools should take sides on this subject--I think they could not be more wrong. I think in time their view point will seem as quaint and distant as the view that teaching children about racial justice is an "integrationist agenda"

The only agenda being pushed by teachers and administrators as brave as Mr. Currie is an agenda of respect.

From the days of clay tablets in Mesopotamia, books have been used as teaching tools and to shape society as we know it. They should not be banned, and they should certainly not be subjected to required approval. Words in books are like waves on the beach. They lift, tumble and turn us sometimes into breathless moments before bringing us up to air again. In this case perhaps a book washed away, if for a moment, a third grade boy's stress and fear of hateful language--being called gay on the playground. Perhaps this book was invisible and welcoming arms, holding a child close and allowing him to see himself or perhaps his family on the pages--represented and accepted.

If Bullying was the concern, and the book was the tool then the teacher was the conduit which channeled it all together through brave recourse. Hope is never silent, and we are all inspired by Omar's voice. He stands on the shoulders of those who have fought for equality and acceptance before him and see that the journey is still long, the landscape is still treacherous but it ends with equality and justice for all--for every child who is bullied, and for every teacher who is criticized for taking steps to protect that child.

When In Doubt, Don't

I don't know what to do about Syria. I certainly don't envy the president or Congress of the decisions they are about to make.

While I've had a difficult time communicating my feelings on Syria, I have no qualms about how I feel about war and conflict. 

I'm young in the scheme of American history. I've been alive for Desert Storm and the War on Terror. That's it.

… And that's enough. 

That's enough for me to know that somewhere between FDR and the threat of conflict in Syria we've become a nation of war hungry crusaders. Some war hungry, some just crusaders, some both.

We've missed the forest for the trees in that we turned our hatred towards weapons of war instead of the war itself. We must channel our hatred of chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction into a hatred for conflict. 

War is not just another trick in the American bag to use when we wish to display our displeasure at a moral wrong. It is a deadly trick, both of those who unleash it and to those on whom it is unleashed. It should only be used when a compelling and justified case is presented.

I say all of these things not to admonish America to turn its back on the Syrian people, but implore them to turn towards a hatred of conflict and ask themselves how supportive of a conflict they would be if their son, daughter, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, mother or father were deployed, drafted or enlisted. 

Ask yourself how many cruise missiles does it take to unseated dictator?

Ask yourself what happens when cruise missiles aren't enough?

When you think about what the next best step is in a volatile world with unanswered questions the next step we should take becomes more clear. Stand still. 

The veil of privilege

Being shielded from the oppression and discrimination that people of color face is this country is one of the many elements of white privilege. We live veiled. 

It's a veil that dulls us to true atrocities that happen daily. Big events like Katrina and Trayvon rip open the veil, but for some only momentarily. It is as if some voice tells us that it is only a dream. 

We go back to sleep. 

The system is designed that way--to lull us into sleep and denial. We must stay awake. 

It is that veil of privilege that causes sympathy for Paula Deen. She's seen as a Southern Belle who's roots are to blame for loose and racial slurs. We must stay awake and rip the veil to see Paula Deen for the racist her actions indicate she is. 

The veil is no different in the case of Trayvon Martin. 

There's a reason why Sean Hannity and his band of merry pundits at Fox News put on a nightly Zimmerman love fest. 

There's a reason why the woman who posts her jubilation at the Zimmerman verdict as a status also has Paula Deen as her profile picture. 

There's a reason why riots would have been covered wall to wall by the mainstream media, but peaceful protests are ignored. 

That reason: the veil of white privilege and the voice telling us to go back to sleep; pull the veil back down--it's only a dream. 

We must stay wake to not only the injustice that's happened in the case of the not guilty verdict, but also the injustice that allowed George Zimmerman to be a vigilante, stalk his prey, brandish a weapon, and kill Trayvon Martin in cold blood. 

In my mind George Zimmerman will always be a racist murderer. May I never lower that veil, because surely the true danger in this acquittal is not the riots we were warned of. It is that there will be more George Zimmermans. It is that we might listen to that voice which compels us to once again pull down that veil and resign that this injustice like so many others was just a dream. 

When in all reality it's nothing short of a nightmare. 

Misguided Values: Mark Sanford represents all that's wrong with politics

Mark Sanford should probably hike the Appalachian Trail to Washington DC. It'll give him plenty of time to consider his perceived "political rebirth." 

Lest we forget that before he heads off to Washington as the newly minted Congressman from South Carolina's first district, he must appear in court for trespassing charges. 

And therein lies "the rub"--pun intended. 

You see, if the political memory in the 1st district of the Palmetto State were remotely fresh they'd remember Mark Sanford: disgraced governor who cheated on his wife with an Argentinian mistress, lied about his whereabouts and left the state in shambles. 

And by shambles I mean, Nikki Haley. 

Let's digress however back to the short South Carolina memory of voters. The people of SC-1 voted tonight to send their once disgraced governor to Washington, DC. People who would no doubt describe themselves as "values voters" chose a man who could not be more void of the "values" they claim to hold so dear. That is, in a nut shell what's wrong with American politics today. In a district so gerrymandered that a sensible Democratic challenger in Elizabeth Colbert-Busch never stood a chance, the candidates don't matter. Their values don't matter. The letter beside their names is all that matters--their previous iniquities be damned. 

Mark Sanford won a district by 9 percentage points that boasts an 11 point advantage in registered Republicans. That's not the political sweeping, surprising victory the GOP is touting tonight. That's just the status quo. 

So, in case you missed it: Mark Sanford is the newest US Congressman while the same misguided voters who sent him to Washington continue to believe that its things like gay marriage that threaten its sanctity--not Mr. Sanford's lies and trespasses.  

That's what's wrong with American Politics. Mark Sanford is driving the redemption train to DC, when in reality the people of SC-1 would have been better if he would have just taken a hike. 

At the precipice of history, on the shoulders of giants

“I wished that I were the owner of every southern slave, that I might cast off the shackles from their limbs, and witness the rapture which would excite them in the first dance of their freedom.” --Thaddeus Stevens-July 1837 at Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention.

There’s a poignant scene in Steven Spielberg’s new movie “Lincoln” where Pennsylvania Representative Thaddeus Stevens hobbles down the aisle of the US House chamber to ask the Speaker of the House for the copy of the newly passed 13th Amendment—the amendment to abolish slavery.

A casual observer of history may not know why Stevens was so eager to have that original written copy of the 13th Amendment. Stevens was the most progressive and vindictive American of his generation. He was admired and despised, and perhaps until now almost forgotten.

Stevens takes the Amendment home, where he is greeted by his quadroon “housekeeper” Lydia Hamilton Smith. She takes his coat and readies him for bed where they lay down together. He plainly meets her as a respected equal, lying back in contentment as she reads to him in a clear voice the text of the 13th Amendment.

Lydia Hamilton Smith was by the Congressman’s side more than 23 years. Though Thaddeus Stevens never married, neighbors referred to her as his “common law wife.”

There are many reasons why Thaddeus Stevens has gone down in history as a tireless advocate for abolishing slavery and equal rights. The biggest reason for him can be told through that poignant scene. The biggest reason was the woman who met him at the door at the end of the day the 13th Amendment passed.

We stand at the precipice of another great moment in American history today. The fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community is not unlike the fight for equal rights in the past for African Americans, and women. It is the civil rights issue of our time.

Just yesterday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases on equality. We are filled with hope as to what the future holds. Still, the fate of equality in the hands of 9 robes with law degrees seems tenuous at best.

Our movement needs a Thaddeus Stevens.

Thaddeus Stevens wasn’t just an abolitionist because it was politically expedient. He hated slavery because of the woman he loved. There’s a reason he hobbled down to aisle of the House chamber to get that historic document. There’s a reason he took it home for Smith to read.

One might question why we need a Thaddeus Stevens when we have Barack Obama. Obama became the first sitting president to come out in favor of equality in May of 2012. While we are forever grateful for the president’s brave stance, Barack Obama doesn’t know what it is like to be told he can’t marry, or share benefits with the person he loves.

Stevens’ advocacy stemmed from the fact that until slavery was abolished (and for many years after) Lydia Hamilton Smith would have to be nothing more than his housekeeper. The 13th Amendment was the first step in the paradigm shift. Today, Stevens and Smith could be open, married, and without shame. That all started with the 13th Amendment. It started with Stevens’ advocacy.

We need more than just a voice or chorus of political voices in favor of equality. We need someone who lives the struggles of inequality every day; someone who knows why our fight is important because it directly affects them as well.

Who is our Thaddeus Stevens?

What might have been for the LGBTQ community had Harvey Milk lived…one thing we can take from Harvey Milk’s life is his encouragement to come out of the closet, stand up and fight. Milk believed that people are more likely to see injustice and support equality the closer the inequality was to home. This of course isn’t true in every instance but it gets to the very heart of the reason why we need a Thaddeus Stevens.
Many days my mind wonders who is next? Who is the next person to break the chains of their closet and be an advocate? Will that person be our Thaddeus Stevens, our Harvey Milk?

The movement experienced a breathtaking leap forward on Election Day where we saw equality and love win over hate in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington. We also saw the historic election of Tammy Baldwin to the US Senate. Baldwin will become the first openly lesbian US Senator and will no doubt become a strong voice for our cause.

The Gay Rights movement is truly on the doorstep of history. The admonishments of our predecessors to be patient and wait for equality are no more. We are here. What I fear we are missing is a powerful progressive voice like Thaddeus Stevens.

One can only assume from the causes he championed that if Stevens were alive today he would also be a tireless advocate for our cause too—just as he was for the abolition of slavery, immigration and women’s suffrage.

For the sake of this editorial piece I’d like to assume that Thaddeus Stevens would believe in our cause, as I believe in it. I believe it is right, and I believe that love will win.

Now is our time. It is time to stand on the shoulders of Harvey Milk, Thaddeus Stevens, Barney Frank and the many who have come before. It’s time to honor the voices at Stonewall. It’s time to declare that gay rights are too, human rights.
Thaddeus Stevens and his fight for the equality brought on by the 13th and 14th Amendments was long and politically bloody, as will ours be.

It will also be worth it.

We stand on the shoulders of giants and rest on the promise that the arc of justice does truly bend towards equality.

“I will be satisfied if my epitaph shall be written thus: ‘Here lies one who never rose to any eminence, Who only courted the low ambition to have it said that he striven to ameliorate the condition of the poor, the lowly, the downtrodden of every race and language and color.’” -Thaddeus Stevens– January
13, 1865

Dowd brings incisive political wit to Elon University lecture

“If you’ve got daddy issues, pass the tissues.”

That’s how Maureen Dowd ended her well-timed Lecture on father-son dynamics in presidential politics just one day after Barack Obama won re-election.

Elon University welcomed 1999 Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd to the McCreary Theatre on Wednesday night as part of the Baird Pulitzer Prize Lecture series which has brought Pulitzer recipients to Elon on an annual basis since 2001.

Dowd’s lecture, “Fit to Print: Writing on Washington” highlighted what she called the “daddy complex” in presidential politics over the last twenty-five years.

“Trying to get into the heads of powerful narcissistic leaders is a bit like being the presidential shrink,” Dowd quipped. “Every president gets the psycho-analyst he deserves.”

For many presidents, Bush to Obama Dowd has been that very shrink. Her harshest quips, in fact, were reserved for George W. Bush who she affectionately referred to in the speech as “Junior”, man who spent his presidency trying to “undo his father’s mistakes.”

“Instead of being steered by the good father, his own, he allowed himself to be steered by the dark father: Dick Cheney. God, how I miss him,” Dowd remarked to a raucous laugh from the crowd.

True to form, Maureen Dowd spared President Obama no expense either--analyzing him as a man hell-bent on self-reliance in order to prove his absent father wrong.
“We’ve seen a strange pattern for a quarter-century … of presidential candidates with famous fathers or no fathers,” she said.

Dowd’s distinctive style, once described as “acerbic but playful” was ever present in her lecture. Visibly nervous but, as down to earth as one would expect her to be Dowd was sure to tell the crowd that public speaking was not her niche.

She described America’s next challenge for both parties as moving away from the “white male patriarchy” in the White House.

That next challenge may be met sooner rather than later. At a reception after the lecture Dowd said confidently that those who supported Hillary Clinton “would get their chance to vote for her again in 2016.”

That’s a big step and one that can be assumed that Dowd, cut from the feminist mold of her predecessor Anna Quindlen, would welcome. When and if that does happen, Maureen Dowd, the Sigmund Freud of presidential politics, will be ready to psychoanalyze away.

She’ll be armed with a sharp mind full of the journalistic wit and wisdom she displayed at Elon University on Wednesday night …and of course, the tissues.

Forward: Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama

Four years ago, I watched Barack Obama accept the Democratic Party's nomination for president in Denver. At the time, I was an undecided voter. Not because John McCain or Sarah Palin shared my views. In fact, I guess you could say I was undecided between Barack Obama and just staying home.

You see, I had been an avid Hillary Clinton supporter throughout the primary in 2008. I was angry at how she was treated by the media and by her opponents. 18 million votes should have been worth more than what she was given. It should have been worth better than the way she was treated.

Then came that speech...Barack Obama, in a packed football stadium, in Denver.

"America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this"

Those words still ring in my memory. It was in that moment that I knew staying at home was not an option.

What Barack Obama said that night was right. It's still right and it's still the reason why I will be voting for President Obama again in November. The country that I live in and love so much is better than the eight years we had to live through with the previous administration. A vote for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would be a return to the policies from those eight years that drove us to crisis.

When I decided that night that I would have Barack Obama's back in the election, it was because I knew he would have mine if he got elected.

And he has.

In order to continue the contract of progress we entered into in 2008, Barack Obama deserves to be re-elected. He's earned the chance to continue to move this country forward. He has proven himself a pragmatic leader, willing to listen and always ready to lead. He's tackled healthcare reform, taken down the most evil man of my lifetime in Osama Bin Laden, saved the auto industry, improved America's reputation on the world stage, brought the war in Iraq to a close, ended "Don't Ask Don't Tell and became the first sitting US President in history to support marriage equality. The list could go on. It's a list of accomplishments on a progressive agenda not seen since LBJ.

He's survived a barrage of right-wing extremism, paranoid racists forwarding chain emails questioning the President's religion, heritage and "American-ness". Barack Obama was and is right: As Americans, we are better than that.

Every time this nation has been threatened whether from foreign enemies or the enemies of progress that are running for the opposition party its been ordinary people, teachers, farmers, and janitors that have stepped up to protect it. We are faced with that same task now in this election. We are faced with the choice of progress or regress.

I'll be choosing to move my country forward and the only man for that job already resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He resides there because ordinary people like you and me believed in his vision that we are better. I continue to believe in that vision. I believe in Barack Obama.

That's why he will get my vote. Again.