The Same River Twice

 

I heard about a reemergence of stoicism this this morning on NPR.  Apparently there is real interest in this philosophical school of thought that dates back to the 3rd century.  Given the current state of the world I can see why.  In case you forgot, Stoicism, as a philosophy is opposed to the belief that everything is the way it's supposed to be and will work out just fine.  It emphasizes accepting reality and examining one's judgments and thoughts. The ultimate goal is to direct your thoughts toward what you can control.

That ability to accept the things you can control and not waste energy with what you cannot has been around for a long time.  Easy to see why.  It's attractive because we all would like to be able to easily make that distinction.  Not so easy in reality.  

Some folks think that a stoic is one who stays calm and faces life's challenges  in a serene state of consciousness.  To be a stoic about that which causes great anxiety can also be deceptive. Nevertheless, many of these ancient philosophies retain their appeal and can come in handy for the introspective.

Philosophy, as a subject was very popular when I was a young college student.  I remember taking an Intro class that was a fairly useful survey of centuries of thought.  The text was a real doorstop of a book that was heavy to lug around.  The professor was a real character too.  Roy Beaumont was his name's I recall.  Mr. Beaumont was a burly Texan with close cropped hair that wore the same suit most every day.  He lectured, occasionally cracked a joke, and wasn't particularly interested in making any student friends.  Beaumont was rumored to have a particular skill that I never saw.  As the story goes, he apparently had the ability to bounce a chalkboard eraser off a talkative or disruptive student's forehead with his back turned to the class. I believe he could do that, though I never saw it myself.

One September afternoon when setting up my classroom for a new school year, I chanced to think of Mr. Beaumont while placing new erasers in the chalk tray.  Just for fun I would grab one, wheel around and fire it at an empty seat near the back of the classroom.  Of course I would never do this in reality, but I wondered just how difficult it would be to imitate Ol' Beaumont.  I soon concluded this was a skill that I needed to sharpen if I was to compete with the champ.  

The thick philosophy book  from that intro course sat on my bookshelves for years before I eventually sold it back to a used book store. During my last couple of years of college, Existentialism became hugely popular. My peers were reading Sartre, Camus, Nietzsche snd the like.  I recall some of those studies and how many of my contemporaries were reading the novels of Herman Hesse.  But I also never forgot the lessons of the early Greek philosophers like Heraclitus. "You can never step in the same river twice, for fresh waters are ever flowing upon you."

Oh Behave

 One look at the make-up of the current Congress reveals why nothing gets done.  There was a time when real leadership graced the halls of the people's law-making branch of government.  Today, some of the dialogue and exchanges resemble the worst of reality TV, i.e. those Housewives shows.  I wonder if those folks know the impact that can have on young people.  Imagine trying to role-play Congress in a US Government.  

For years, the Social Science department at the school where I taught incorporated a "mock Congress" as part of the curriculum for all government classes.  In this activity, students would take the role of prominent politicians in all political party and role play the House and Senate going through the steps of trying to get a bill they wrote through the process of law-making.  What better way to learn how the Congress works.  Writing a bill is challenging enough, but trying to get it through Congress with all its committees and debate processes is quite a challenge.  Sometimes the students would get so involved with their roles as senators and members of congress that they would take on the personality traits of those politicians. Given today's Congress...you see the problem. 

We could easily eliminate the likes of a Marjorie Taylor Greene, but then would we be doing a disservice to our students.  Perhaps a discussion where students suggest appropriate and inappropriate manners of speech, dress, and comportment would help remedy the problem.  I'd add additional areas of inquiry around the qualifications for a member of Congress that go far beyond age and begin to deal with general intelligence.  

I could probably name a dozen members of the current Congress that cold not pass a basic US history exam, let alone grasp the meaning and importance of Robert's Rules of Order.  

The recent shouting match of "schoolyard" insults shows us this is an issue that won't go away unless it is properly addressed.  

Doesn't our current concern about the threats to our Democracy encompass this topic?  I'm afraid it does. 

Perhaps a Constitutional crisis calls for another Constitutional Convention with the goal of improving on the model that is slowly wearing out.

Time Remembered

 With the recent rise in civil disobedience and demonstrations on college campuses all over the nation, it's not surprising that many of my generation want to weigh in on the lessons learned from the 1960s. Of course there are similarities but also glaring differences.  

Back then, there was no social media and the is the most glaring difference.  Communication at rapid speed with cell phones makes for a very different experience.  Those demonstrating against the Vietnam War, the draft, the lack of civil rights like voting, and police brutality today are not as impacted by those issues as protesters in 1968.  Of the 100,000 people in the street during the Vietnam moratorium, most were directly affected by that war, either by being drafted to fight that war, or as the family of those killed or severely injured in this most unpopular "brushfire war." 

I wonder how many of those arrested at Columbia, UCLA, Portland State...et.al. are actually students there.  I wonder if they know how many in their midst are actually undercover cops, or how may bystanders taking their pictures are now who they seem to be.  

Seeing the UCLA demonstrations brings back many events of 1968-69 for me.  Then, I was a third year student among those protesting the war, the policies of the governor and the regents, and of course, the draft and all its irregularities.  Some of the recent action on campus was on the exact spot where I stood 55 years earlier.  

I definitely support the intentions of most of these students.  Nobody in their right mind likes to stand idly by and watch genocide.  It's intolerable and attempting to prevent that supersedes all else.  But trashing a library (Portland State) attempting to injure or slander your adversary, or highly charged emotional rhetoric never did and never will convince anyone to re-examine their views. A truism seems to be that there are always smaller groups who latch on to burgeoning movements with their own agenda.  They often get all the media attention and usually bring negative feedback while disrupting and diluting the intentions of the majority of people.  While there has been some violent encounters between law enforcement agencies and demonstrators, I noticed that there is a lot less tear gas being used these days.  It was not uncommon for student demonstrators to carry plastic bags filled with water in their pockets in gas tear gas was used on them.  I guess the ever popular water bottle has taken the place of those bags so common back in the day.

There is a strong chance that some good will come from these recent demonstrations, despite much negative publicity.  I wouldn't be surprised if the power structures of those institutions currentl under fire make some changes in their investment portfolios.  That is something demanded and not difficult to do.

With graduation (s) on the horizon, look for more demonstrations and unrest taking place at these ceremonies.  Hopefully costly mistakes that will alienate potential sympathizers won't be made with hasty and ill-advised actions taken to block these important traditions.  

It seems obvious to me that most people who care about establishing a lasting peace in the Middle East know what it will take for that to be a reality.  A two state solution is the key.  Anything less will not achieve a fair and just outcome.

Seems to me there are some valuable lessons that today's younger generation could benefit from.  Do they care to know about them?  Will they bother to do so? 

Like the lyric of an old union organizing says, "every generation got to learn it all again."