I remember a time when scandals and outrageous behavior resulted in some kind of consequence. People seem more willing to tolerate, excuse, and forget things that simply ought to be remedied. There is a terrible mood of apathy and powerlessness in this country. Just last month, I attended a faculty meeting where a number of teachers started crying because they did not know how to approach the pervasive bullying they see in their classrooms. School districts don't have much power to give out consequences to kids these days and the curriculum has become so demanding that we don't have time to veer off into teaching important topics like social skills. Don't worry ... my team has a plan we will present to the staff but I thought it was astonishing to see a group of professionals feeling so powerless that tears were their main response to the problem.
They aren't alone in their feelings of frustration and helplessness. Last night, on the way to the grocery store, we were listening to NPR. The story was about an older guy in Milwaukee (The Mid-West!) who got mobbed by about 30 young people and was seriously hurt. It made me think of the Paris riots and some of the stories the kids in my class tell me about what they do on the weekends. Just before the break, my Principal directed me to start searching for weapons. I have been thinking about the secret prison and torture camps Americans run and want to continue to run. Yesterday, one of my livejournal fiends posted this link about American sponsored slavery: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12976 and nobody (including myself) responded.
I know that even in the times of the ancient Greeks people were lamenting that things were falling apart but things really did fall apart after the fall of Rome and things did fall apart with the coming of Nazi Germany. I don't think the current foreign and domestic policies of the American government are sustainable. If a natural consequence follows, how will I respond?
My angel said we ought to watch out for scientists and academics leaving the country and follow in their wake. I don't think there will be many safe retreats.
*sigh* I try not to fall into the "old-fart game," of lamenting the supposedly glorious past when everything was so much better, but... gosh, it's easy to get down about how things are going right now. Were people always so apathetic?
I can say that one of the big things that made me most want to move to this area of the country was a refreshing sense of real community, and in particular, personal courtesy, a sense of general respect for people that was very different from what I experienced in the suburbs we'd been in. My partner and I spent some time one day while scouting out the area watching the elementary schoolkids play in the playground at recess, and we were both shocked at how courteous they were to one another. I mean, still being normal rambunctuous schoolkids and all, but actually helping one another and being in general, quite nice, older kids playing with younger kids, and so on.
I try not to be too pessimistic about where this country is going, but I'll also admit that one of the plusses for living in this area is that, in extremis, we're a short hop from the Canadian border.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-12-29 08:12 pm (UTC)They aren't alone in their feelings of frustration and helplessness. Last night, on the way to the grocery store, we were listening to NPR. The story was about an older guy in Milwaukee (The Mid-West!) who got mobbed by about 30 young people and was seriously hurt. It made me think of the Paris riots and some of the stories the kids in my class tell me about what they do on the weekends. Just before the break, my Principal directed me to start searching for weapons. I have been thinking about the secret prison and torture camps Americans run and want to continue to run. Yesterday, one of my livejournal fiends posted this link about American sponsored slavery: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12976 and nobody (including myself) responded.
I know that even in the times of the ancient Greeks people were lamenting that things were falling apart but things really did fall apart after the fall of Rome and things did fall apart with the coming of Nazi Germany. I don't think the current foreign and domestic policies of the American government are sustainable. If a natural consequence follows, how will I respond?
My angel said we ought to watch out for scientists and academics leaving the country and follow in their wake. I don't think there will be many safe retreats.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-30 04:08 pm (UTC)I can say that one of the big things that made me most want to move to this area of the country was a refreshing sense of real community, and in particular, personal courtesy, a sense of general respect for people that was very different from what I experienced in the suburbs we'd been in. My partner and I spent some time one day while scouting out the area watching the elementary schoolkids play in the playground at recess, and we were both shocked at how courteous they were to one another. I mean, still being normal rambunctuous schoolkids and all, but actually helping one another and being in general, quite nice, older kids playing with younger kids, and so on.
I try not to be too pessimistic about where this country is going, but I'll also admit that one of the plusses for living in this area is that, in extremis, we're a short hop from the Canadian border.