I write political essays. While (hopefully) many are educational, and a few are just \u201cstory time\u201d, most are outright, blatant, political commentary. I spent twenty-eight years in a classroom, making sure my students felt I was a neutral party in our political conversations. Often, I would take a side that was opposite to my personal opinion. Sometimes it was to bolster a minority view in the class, to empower them to express their views. Sometimes it was because there was no opposing opinion expressed \u2013 someone had to represent the \u201cother side\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My classroom rule was to \u201ccherish\u201d every opinion. That was the goal, to make sure my classroom was a place where students could freely express themselves. It was all about teaching good citizenship, the ability to analyze issues and reach a \u201cconsidered\u201d opinion. The only rule was no \u201cad hominen\u201d arguments. No one was \u201cstupid\u201d, no group was \u201cdumb\u201d. We gently discussed racism and gender roles; conservative and liberal philosophies; and the hot issues of our time from the Iran hostages to 9-11 to the abuses at Abu Gharib. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t envy today\u2019s teachers. Just from my brief \u201csubstitute teacher\u201d experiences, the battle lines are so hardened that it\u2019s difficult to get students to listen to each other. As a substitute, I don\u2019t have the rapport with a class to even attempt those kinds of discussions. But even reading a story about a man who accidently gained absolute physical power somehow ended in current politics. When I evoked the saying, \u201cPower corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,\u201d several students muttered \u201cBiden\u201d under their breath. I didn\u2019t go any further \u2013 it\u2019s 2023 an era when that kind of open discussion could get out of control \u2013 or get substitutes \u201cremoved\u201d from the sub list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are two ways people can read my current thoughts. Some 2,640 \u201csubscribe\u201d and get every essay in their email, either from the WordPress program I use, or directly from me. And then I \u201cpublish\u201d on social media, Facebook and Twitter, publicly putting my views \u201cout there\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, oddly perhaps, I still try to follow the \u201cclassroom rules\u201d of old.\u00a0\u00a0Sometimes the essays generate discussions.\u00a0\u00a0We\u2019ve had good \u201ctalks\u201d about gun violence and Ukraine, and the usefulness of college education.\u00a0\u00a0Some of those are in public, and some are private through email and messaging.\u00a0\u00a0I love the discussion, the back and forth, just like my classroom days.\u00a0\u00a0And this time, I express my views, but try to find middle ground that is so often missing in today\u2019s debates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the old classroom days, there occasionally were students who tried to dominate the conversation, attacking anyone with a differing view, and used harsh words and bullying tactics to win the argument. That\u2019s when I would intervene and try to back them down. If that didn\u2019t work, I\u2019d remove them from the discussion. If reason didn\u2019t dominate, bullying wasn\u2019t the alternative. In those days we had other terms for them: hard headed, bullies, or just assholes. In our modern social media era, we now call them \u201ctrolls\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beginning with my \u201cessaying\u201d in 2017, I found a lot of \u201ctrolls\u201d. I was called a traitor (not one) and a bleeding heart (guilty); accused of supporting pedophiles (really?) and, perhaps worst, of trying to indoctrinate generations of students. (If I was doing that, I sure did a lousy job!). Some I have been able to bring around to the \u201cclassroom rules\u201d. But some I had to cut off, \u201cblock\u201d in Facebook terms. I\u2019m not letting someone else use my \u201cbully pulpit\u201d to spread lies and misinformation. And I\u2019m not letting them literally bully others from expressing their views. I won\u2019t accept the insult that protecting transgendered and gay rights is the same as pedophilia, or that the students protesting for protection in Nashville are the same as the Insurrectionists of January 6th<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I blocked a \u201cfriend\u201d yesterday. He won\u2019t see this essay, and I\u2019m sure won\u2019t understand why I did it. He\u2019ll say I was unable to argue his points, that this was his ultimate \u201cwin\u201d. So be it. But I am sad. Removing a kid from class was always a sign of failing the job \u2013 cutting someone out of \u201cour\u201d discussion is the same way. But in this era, when there is no longer an accepted \u201ctruth\u201d or \u201cfacts\u201d, you can\u2019t always moderate the discussion, or even work to the center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes there is no middle ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"