(indistinct chatter)

Category: Uncategorized

  • Schminciples

    Daily writing prompt
    What principles define how you live?
    View all responses

    “Fight fire with fire” has never been my mantra. But in this age where lying and cheating gets you power, and honesty and integrity gets you nowhere, I occasionally wonder if I should rethink that.

    To be fair, it’s been easier to stick to my principles in my recent political context. It’s highly unlikely the Indiana State Legislature will enact my preferred economic and social policies in my lifetime. So I could shout my sincere opposition to state officials from the rooftops (or the Statehouse lawn), and share my vision of the benefits of a multiracial, multicultural democratic society, and keep it 100 (percent hypothetical).

    But now my principles are being tested, because sincerely opposing the state means the possibility of facing state recrimination. I’ve been thinking a lot about where my values are grounded, and how that will influence my actions over the coming months and years. Will I face this moment as the blessed peacemakers in the beatitudes? Or will I give in to reactive and vindictive impulses? Or worse yet, will I shrink from the fight altogether?

  • Purple for Parents (Whiteness for Kids)

    Purple for Parents (Whiteness for Kids)

    “What is SEL?”

    Ok, I know better than to engage the crazy moms of Facebook in a discussion of pedagogical best practices and the health of queer kids. I do. But listening to my sister detail the roadblocks and joys in her teaching life has emboldened me just enough to push back on the bull about the “woke agenda,” CRT, and “grooming.”

    So when I held my breath and slipped my head into the murky comments section of a Purple for Parents Indiana post, it was really just a matter of time before my response reflex popped off. In answer to an otherwise innocent question, “What is SEL?,” a number of Fox News-trained commenters explained how it’s a waste of time at best, grooming at worst. I had to push back with a real-life scenario to drive my point (pictured). In reply, I attracted a few folks who acted exactly as predicted.

    How do you respond to willful, purposeful ignorance? How do you converse with, let alone persuade, people for whom certain terms are programed to elicit a pat response?