Upstander Reflections

The day before the Inauguration, I walked through Arlington Cemetery with a group of students. There was so much controversy in the air with Trump’s pending presidency that it seemed like every person walking through the grounds that day was on edge. Trump supporters were there in droves with their “Make America Great Again” hats on. As a group of mostly brown skinned people, it was difficult to walk past them. No words were exchanged, but our students felt like those hats sent a clear message: those people did not like them.   Nevertheless, there we all were, walking those hallowed grounds. Why? To pay our respects to the men and women who fought to defend our great nation. We had that in common, so one may ask, “what had divided us?” Why would two groups of Americans feel animosity towards one another--in a cemetery of all places? My answer: we have lost our identity. I think it’s safe to say that, right now, America is having an identity crisis. We don’t know who we are. Wh...

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. Buddha Currently, I feel like I live in three worlds. World 1: with my family. World 2: at school. World 3: in the news media. World 1 and 2 are very familiar to me; I’ve always lived in them, but world 3 is new. I’ve consistently kept up with current events. It’s an interest of mine and, as a World Studies teacher, it’s part of my job. However, I don’t think it consumed enough of my thoughts to be considered its own “world.” It simply lived in the other two. However, since I went to the inauguration, it has carved out its own “world” in my consciousness.     My guess is that I’m not alone in this. What’s happening in our country right now is abnormal. We have a president with no political experience, and his first 17 weeks have played out rather dramatically. It’s kind of like watching a train wreck that we can’t look away from. It seems like every time we try to look away another car careen...

I try to make this blog about people and not politics, but this week made it tough. It’s kind of a big deal when a president fires the FBI director, especially when that FBI director is the head of an investigation that involves the president. I would like to talk about this because, wherever your loyalties lie, you must admit it has been an historic week. As this week labored to its end, I kept coming back to two age old phrases I remember from my childhood. I don’t remember who said the first one the most, but I think it was probably my dad. When there was a conflict between people, it would often come up that one should “not burn any bridges.” The second one was uttered often by my neighbor, Mrs. Reutter. When people were thinking about things too far into the future she would say, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” For some reason, the events of this week got me thinking about bridges.   “Don’t burn bridges.” I do not know the inner workings of our current p...

Before superheroes become "super," they always face two problems. Problem 1: They must somehow realize that they have the power. Problem 2: Even after receiving their power, they still need to learn how to hone it. It’s no surprise to me that comic book writers gave these problems to superheroes, because us humans have the same problems. We all have the same superpower, we struggle to realize it, and, once we realize it, we don’t know how to use it. What is it? Love. Love is our superpower.   It’s the greatest superpower of all. There is no Kryptonite for it. If used properly, It cannot be defeated. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) knew it: Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. -Buddha Jesus Knew it: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. -Jesus Confucius Knew it: Love others as you would love yourself -Confucius Muhammad knew it: You will not complete your fait...