Upstander Reflections

Three and a half years ago I was moved to write for the first in my life. I walked the streets of Washington DC to welcome a president that openly insulted my students and their families. Yet, I was inspired by the hope that resonated from my students and their belief in this country, despite the negative rhetoric. The National Mall spoke to me as I toured the city. America’s past seemed to come alive and challenge me. At the end of the first day in DC, I wrote down these words.  REMEMBER THE DREAM OUR FOREFATHERS HAD. REMEMBER THE STRUGGLES OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE GROUPS. REMEMBER THOSE WHO FOUGHT TO PROTECT THAT DREAM. THE DREAM IS YOURS. DEFEND IT! I titled that reflection Hope and Fear . I hoped that our country would come together to fight against divisions that were rising. I hoped that all our struggles in the past would guide us in the path forward. However, I was also fearful. I worried that divisive rhetoric would build barriers between us. I worried that those of us livin...

A Piece of Cloth  -Mike Walsh  A piece of cloth  is tearing us apart  Wardrobes full of clothes  Worthless We are Imprisoned on a screen  Muted   A firm handshake - An embrace  Relics  The power they hold  Trapped  Six feet away  The piece of cloth  Divides   Beady eyes peer out  Everyone  Is the enemy  Our smiles  Shrouded  Our voices  Muffled  By a piece of cloth  The things we hold  Dear  Taken  By a piece of cloth  Yet, the piece of cloth Protects  Shields  From the real enemy  The Virus  Victory  Lies beyond the piece of cloth  Together  Yet separate We must fight  Win We know how to fight In Streets  Face to Face  Signs  Slogans  Holding hands  But this fight is different Adapt  Or perish  The Virus Waits  Six feet away    Will we lose a war  Ag...

I am a member of the Inconvenienced Majority.  As of today, April 18, 2020, over 700,000 people in the United States have been confirmed to have COVID-19. Over 37,000 have died. 22 million have applied for unemployment in the past four weeks.  Yet, here I sit, healthy and employed. I am one of the lucky ones. The fact is, there are a lot of us. The vast majority of Americans, over 90%, are healthy and employed right now. The only direct effect COVID-19 has had on us, is that it has inconvenienced us. Hence the name, the Inconvenienced Majority.  We’re working from home or in a relatively safe environment and those paychecks are still rolling in. We’re far away from the emergency departments and intensive care units. We’ve finished at least one TV series and a few books. We’ve set up Zoom calls with our friends and family. We’ve finally cleaned out the tupperware drawer or the garage. We’ve tried our hand at some new recipes or hobbies. We’ve donated to so...

Ode to the Essentials  -Mike Walsh  This one goes out to the angels working the register and the saints stocking the shelves.  For the docs seeing patients, the MA’s taking vitals, and the nurses still running twelves.  Three cheers for the heroes who care for the elderly and those who cradle our young.  For the police on the street, the firemen at the ready, the paramedics on another run. Raise a glass to the postman and the delivery women. They risk their lives for our supplies.   And another for the tradesmen and the truck driver. Their work keeps us alive.     Let’s hear it for the restaurant workers as they cook our meals behind closed doors.   And for the farmers and manufacturers as they toil to restock our stores.  Thank God for the gas station attendants and mechanics keeping us on the go. God bless the garbage man and the sanitation worker a debt to you we owe.  To a...

The last few days in the classroom before school was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19 were both scary and odd. Teachers are no first responders or frontline soldiers. However, our job is unique because, in times of distress, everyone’s kids look at us for guidance and support. It doesn’t really matter what we say or what we teach during these times. What matters is how we act.  You could feel the eyes of the students. “Is this okay?” They were wondering. With every frantic parent coming to pick up their kid early, the kids left behind looked to see how you’d react. “Stay calm, Mike.” I thought in my head. “Why are so many teachers out?” They asked. If you know the truth, do you share it? You don’t want kids to panic but you also know they can sniff out a lie. There’s a student having a nervous breakdown in the hallway. He’s being tended to. Just walk by. Everything’s fine. At the end of the day, you pass out some more handouts from the State of Illinois and Chica...

The year 2020 will live in infamy. In American history, it will rival the years of 1776, 1860 and 1941. In 1776, our republic was born. In 1860, our republic was split. In 1941, our republic was attacked. In 2020 our republic…  Hindsight is 2020. By looking at the past, I can see clearly that we are at a pivotal point in our history.  In 1776, the writing was on the wall. The Stamp and Townshend acts were nearly 10 years old. The Boston Massacre happened in 1770, the Boston Tea Party in 1773. In 1775, Patrick Henry gave his famous “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” speech. Americans had a choice to make. Live under tyranny or risk everything. The rest is history.  Our new country forged ahead but soon we were at another turning point. 1860. In the years leading up to that povital year we grappled with our institution of slavery. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1852, sparking widespread support for abolition in the North. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1...