Some thoughts on… Glimmering of Hope

With the upcoming midterms, I’m reflecting on how I am doing compared to two years ago during the last major election.  The answer is I am feeling a glimmering of hope.

 

In October 2020, Covid had just started six months before, the country was coming up to a major presidential election, unemployment had skyrocketed and the economy contracted, the make-up of the Supreme Court was changing (with the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg), and I recall waking up every morning nervous and questioning what new destabilizing update would be coming out of the White House.

 

In October 2022, with a new administration, life feels more stable, and the government is getting traction in addressing the needs of the broader populace.  With a stronger economy, the pressing issues now are inflation and a war in Ukraine which is disrupting global trade. Yet despite differing viewpoints, the country has managed to accomplish several large tasks in the past two years.

 

1.     Passing Substantial Domestic Legislation with Bi-partisan Support (a few examples below)

-       American Rescue Plan (2021) – Providing $1.9 trillion in funding for COVID vaccination availability as well as housing and small-business relief.  

-       Infrastructure Bill (2021) – Granting $1 trillion in funds to local governments to upgrade outdated roads, bridges, transit systems and more.

-       Gun Safety Bill (2022) – Most sweeping gun safety bill in 30 years providing funds for background checks, mental health support, and state “red flag” bills.

-       CHIPS and Science Act (2022) – Subsidizing semi-conductor production in the US and preventing technology leakage to competitor countries, like China 

-       Inflation Reduction Act (2022) – Instituting a minimum corporate tax of 15% and allowing Medicare negotiations on drug prices in order to fund energy security and climate change investments.

-       PACT Act (2022) – Largest expansion of healthcare benefits for veterans since 1990.

2.     Working Government

-       The Congress is investigating the attack on the Capitol on January 6, and is presenting clear evidence on the individuals who almost prevented a peaceful transition of power

-       The Justice Department is pushing to retrieve confidential documents taken from the US Archives and stored in Mar-a-Lago

-       The Federal Reserve is pursuing its dual mandate shifting focus from increasing employment to decreasing inflation by increasing interest rates 

3.     Re-establishing International Relations

-       The US continues to reduce carbon emissions and has rejoined the Paris Agreement on Climate Change signed by 196 parties/countries to address climate change. 

-       The US was instrumental in creating a unified coalition of 50 nations including the EU,  Nordic, and NATO countries to defend Ukraine from Russia.

 

Although Joe Biden’s mental fitness has been mocked internationally and domestically, this administration may have accomplished more legislation and initiated more actions that will affect the next 50 years than the past five Democratic or Republican administrations.  Current polls indicate two-thirds of the country believe the country is on the wrong track, which may reflect the fact that many of the above initiatives won’t have an effect for some time.  Although there’s more to do, it’s healthy to consider the forward progress as well.

 

Major uncertainties still need to be resolved – increasing likelihood of nuclear weapons being used by Russia, rising inflation and the price of oil as winter approaches, continuing damage from climate change.  But seeing the country progress rather than regress, makes me believe we can elect effective leaders to help steer the direction of the country.  As I reflect on the pros/cons of different candidates, here are some principles which I will use to decide.

 

1.     Governance vs. Grievance

It is the easy for candidates to complain about problems, but it is harder to actually do something productive.  A grievance culture helps erode our trust in institutions – churches, schools, local and federal agencies. Instead of complaining about issues, e.g. a millionaire grieving the increase in price of crudites or a Yale Law graduate blaming elites for the decline of Appalachia, I’m watching for candidates who are trying to solve problems, propose alternatives and lead activities.

 

2.     Strengthening vs. Weakening rights

Critical civil rights – voting rights, women’s rights – are being tested this year.  Spurred by individuals denying the results of the 2020 election, several states are passing election interference laws that permit partisan actors to interfere with elections operations or overturn election results.  With abortion rights, candidates are either hypocritical on their position, or are denying and erasing their previous restrictive stance in the wake of public outrage.  I am supporting candidates that are on the side of strengthening these rights, not taking them away.

 

3.     Engaging vs. Withdrawing

Since World War II, the US essentially created the current global world order, and has benefited from a strategic, military and trade perspective. As the country again engages on international and climate change issues, I am watching for candidates who want to address both domestic as well as global challenges.

 

I am skeptical of many political candidates as they may come off as inauthentic or insincere, and so understanding their positions on critical issues is one way to restore trust in those representing us in government. Instead of voting for candidates who wish to lament the breaking of the house, I’m going to support ones that are actually delivering to make the house we live in better. 

 

A big thanks to Steve Uhl for counter-point to an earlier version of the essay’s arguments.

 

Some thoughts on… Reducing Triggers

It’s been a few terrible weeks in terms of gun violence in the US. As we remember the mass shooting at Uvalde Elementary and honor lost soldiers during Memorial Day weekend, it’s sobering to realize that in 2021 more children from 0-11 years age have died from gun violence (313), than policemen killed on duty excluding COVID deaths (179) and military personnel on the battlefield (18).

 

The availability of guns has made the US one of the countries with the highest gun death rates in the world.   And some states, like Texas, continue to loosen gun restrictions, allowing people to openly carry a gun without a permit.  An argument is made that by providing more weapons to law-abiding citizens, we can reduce gun violence.  But as a classroom educator, I don’t believe arming teachers to defend kids from shooters is going to make students safer.

 

President Biden urged the nation to consider regulation that would do three things: 1) eliminate the sale of assault weapons or raise the age for selling arms to twenty-one; 2) strengthen background checks; and 3) expand “red flag” rules across the US.  The House of Representatives passed legislation with some of these measures.  The Senate is debating a slimmed down bi-partisan bill. 

 

What are the three aspects of Biden’s proposal?

 

First, the US had a ban on assault weapons – semi-automatic firearms designed to fire rapidly – but the ban expired over 2 decades ago.  Since then, these weapons have been increasingly used in mass shootings, since they can be bought starting at 18-year-olds legally in many states.  The US has a Federal prohibition on hand gun sales to individuals below 21 years old, but rifles are allowed for sale from 18-years old (assault weapons are considered rifles).  

 

Second, in 1993, the Brady Handgun Violence Protection Act required licensed gun dealers to run a background check when selling a weapon.  Since that time, on-line sales and gun shows have led to un-licensed dealers peddling weapons without checks. 

 

Finally, in some cases people who already have guns may need to be restricted access, “red flag” laws could help.  These are laws where courts and policemen can identify dangerous individuals and remove their weapons.

While working in the pharmaceutical industry, an argument from a handful of executives was that restricting opioid distribution in order to reduce drug abuse would hurt law-abiding citizens suffering from pain.  The drug was not the problem – it was the abuser.

 

The gun industry has a similar argument.  It’s not the guns but the people using the guns that kill people. True, but restricting access to certain types of semi-automatic firearms makes it significantly harder to kill so many people at one time.  For opioids, the medical community now recognizes it is not the abuser but the availability of the dangerous item.

 

The current version of the Senate bill would expand background checks and “red flags”; it would not ban assault weapons.  More needs to be done to monitor availability, this is a first step and a glimmer of hope that Congress is not irreparable. 

 

Although down from 1990, about 60% of Americans want stricter gun control. Moving in the direction of reducing the availability of triggers seems like rational policy.  People expressing their perspective in the wake of these shootings is propelling change.  Please write to your Senator or Congressperson.  My letter to my representative is below.

 

===

 

Rep. Zeldin – 

 

I do not support your perspective on the availability of guns.  I think the US should 1) restrict sales of assault weapons and raise the age limit of gun purchases to 21; 2) strength background checks and, 3) continue to expand “red flag” laws nationally similar to what we have in Suffolk County.

 

Law-abiding citizens who have guns will not be impacted by these laws and although you proclaim that this is a slippery slope, your argument is not documented by facts.  These laws save lives.  In addition, they are more effective when encouraged by law enforcement and the courts as currently occurs in our district.

 

I do not support your perspective nor your candidacy in the upcoming elections.

 

WN

Some thoughts on… Staying in the game

With the new year, I am reflecting on what I take-away from three major trends that played out in 2021 at the national, global and planetary levels, and applying my learning to 2022.

 

The first trend is the corrosion of democracy in the US that commenced in 2016 and reached a crescendo with an attack on the Capitol last year. The mob that besieged Congress was trying to prevent the peaceful transition of power, and were so disillusioned by the system that they believed violence was the only way to make change.  The lame duck President encouraged the actions, further removing trust amongst the remaining population.  Overall many people are feeling that government is not working for them, and a third of Americans believe “the traditional American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.”

 

The current administration believes creating trust is done through actions - distributing vaccines, providing economic relief and cooperating with global partners.  But what was corrupted over the past few years – faith in government officials, belief in media, trust in science – will take time to rebuild.  Congressional programs like the American Jobs Act that will build infrastructure across the country may help restore faith in government.  Passing laws like Build Back Better with the goal of providing social infrastructure to a vast majority of the country and the Voting Rights Act which will strengthen voter access and voting integrity may help heal the fractures to the democratic process.  Regrettably, the rage of destruction acts more quickly than the art of creation.

 

The second trend is the relentless spread of Covid.  Even though there was widespread vaccine availability in many high-income countries, the lack of vaccines for the majority of the world population meant that the virus continued to spread and morph.  Global excess deaths from Covid are likely around 18.8 million with a range of 11.8M to 21.9M.  Due to vaccines, this is less severe than the 50M deaths attributed to the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, but we rich nations can’t purchase our way out of the problem. Although 9.16B shots have been administered across the globe, they are disproportionately in high-income countries, with African nations lagging behind.  The virus doesn’t recognize borders.  Preserving human life means solving the health problem within our borders as well as assisting our neighbors, especially countries that are the poorest in the global community.  

 

While the threats to democracy and global health have crowded the headlines, climate change looms over the planet threatening our collective existence.  Climate change has impacted every country of the world.  The examples of severe weather conditions - wildfires in Australia, flooding in Europe, desertification in North Africa, melting icecaps in Antarctica, severe hurricanes in the Americas – are undeniable.  With a vanishingly small window of time to address the issue, we are persistently destroying the world around us through our economic decisions. We know what it takes to change on an individual level – curtailing fossil fuel consumption, moving to a more plant-based diet, taking a system-wide view.  It’s not theory that is lacking but motivation to implement.  Finding that motivation is hard especially when we feel that our efforts are negligible.

 

Re-establishing trust, helping the poorest, and motivating change within my our communities are the three lessons I take into 2022. Hinduism believes in a “trimurti” or triumvirate of gods who are tied to each other Brahma (creator); Vishnu (preserver) and Shiva (destroyer).   They are equally powerful and need each other to move forward.  There is no preservation without creation, there is no creation without destruction. 

 

Living with an endless flux of events – things being created, preserved, destroyed - can feel overwhelming, isolating and pointless.  It seems easier to retreat into a bubble and just watch Netflix.  But detaching can’t be the solution. Rather finding peace by acting and reacting to the changes seems to be the constructive option.  So I plan to stay in the game, and keep striving to realize my three lessons for 2022.  I hope you will join me.