Beto O’Rourke – Can a Democrat Really Win in Texas? Let's Hope Not!

I confess to absolute astonishment that a Liberal Democrat has taken Texas by storm. This past week, a viral video of Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke has raised his national profile as well. In the video, O’Rourke defends the practice of NFL players kneeling for the National Anthem stating “I can think of nothing more American.” Needless to say, the video is being highly praised by Liberals and condemned by Conservatives. (Judge for yourselves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAw9eXXVwfM&t=1s)

My personal opinion is that his response is typical of the way politicians answer questions. He gives an impassioned speech about the right of Americans to protest and in particular defends the practice of non-violent protests. I would readily agree with most of his answer, but I don’t agree with his assertion that people of color are being killed by law enforcement “without accountability, and without justice.” That’s BS! You may not agree with the outcomes, but to imply that nothing at all is being done in these cases is nonsense.

My biggest problem with his response is that he dodges the real question. Is it disrespectful to have your protest during the National Anthem? I will gladly defend anyone’s right to peacefully protest, but I do think it is disrespectful to refuse to stand and acknowledge your country’s flag and anthem. I am offended that NFL players have chosen that as their moment to protest and refuse to admit that it is purposeful. (Go back and read Colin Kaepernick’s comments from his after game interview. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-why-he-sat-during-national-anthem)

So who exactly is Beto O’Rourke? And why is he suddenly so popular?

Well, to start with, don’t let his culturally appropriated nickname fool you – he’s just another white guy. (I wonder if he was just plain old Robert when he was working in New York City?)

His official congressional website (https://orourke.house.gov ) provides the following biography:

Beto O'Rourke was elected to represent the people of the 16th District of Texas in November of 2012. 
Prior to his congressional service, Beto O’Rourke served two terms on the El Paso City Council. Born and raised in El Paso, he has been deeply involved in civic, business and community efforts in his hometown. 
O'Rourke is a graduate of Columbia University. He is married to Amy Sanders and they have three children together. 

A more complete bio can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beto_O%27Rourke

As far as his popularity goes, I’m still confused. I guess he’s younger and cooler and better looking than Ted Cruz in the eyes of many voters. And hey, that’s what’s important, right? And he gives a good speech and looks good on YouTube, I guess.

So how Liberal is Beto?

Here’s how he stands on the issues:

Drug Policy – favors the legalization of marijuana and the end of the War on Drugs.

Abortion – Pro-Choice, supports Planned Parenthood and the use of federal funds for abortions.

LGBT Rights – considers this to be a core civil rights issue, supports expanding these rights.

Immigration – favors comprehensive immigration reform, supports DACA, supports full amnesty.

Health Care – supports a single-payer legislation to achieve universal health coverage.

Gun Policy – supports universal background checks and a complete ban on assault rifles.

(For a more complete, and non-partisan look at his stance on a variety of issues, go to https://votesmart.org/candidate/evaluations/78533/beto-orourke#.W39ej1RKgdU

As you can see, he’s your average Democrat, so his real policy is basically to vote against anything the President proposes, raise your taxes, and open the borders. And apparently, he’s perfectly okay with you kneeling or sitting while the National Anthem is played and our flag is being honored. Just saying.

If you need more information on his November opponent, our current Senator Ted Cruz, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz

And just for laughs, if you want to watch Tucker Carlson destroy Beto on DACA and his other immigration policies, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XbDbjPZdLg

In Praise of Teachers

For many years, I had the honor and privilege of calling myself a teacher. As another school year begins, and both students and teachers return to the classrooms, let me take a few minutes and share some thoughts.

Teaching is hard.

The old adage, “Those who can’t do, teach,” has been around forever it seems, and there are apparently plenty of folks who still believe it to be true. Let me dispel the notion. Not everyone can do what actual teachers do. Period. It’s hard and it gets harder every year, it seems. Even in a perfect situation with a reasonable class size and no disciplinary issues, transmitting the things you know to another person is often difficult and always harder than it looks.

I once had a school board member critical of our campus reading scores ask (out loud), “What’s the problem? Anybody can sit down with a kid and teach him to read.” Without even bothering to get into the complexities of the state’s reading test, I was astonished to think that this particular man actually believed anyone could just show up and teach kids how to read. I wanted to stick him in a room with twenty or so six-year-olds and see how long he lasted.

The reality is that teaching, at least effective teaching, is a skill that not everyone possesses. I have personally known many really smart people who do not have the ability to explain what they know to other people. There’s more to teaching than talking and expecting that anyone with ears will easily and readily absorb your knowledge. Take my word for it, it’s not that simple. Teaching is hard.

Teaching is a labor of love.

Even with the increases in salaries that are offered today, believe me when I tell you, most teachers struggle financially. And when they retire, the longer they live, the more difficult it becomes. With rising health premiums and general cost of living increases, the average retiree is worse off every year. (For a more thorough explanation of this issue check out this article: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/07/27/texas-teacher-pension-money-retirement/) Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a single teacher who was in it for the money.

Most teachers spend huge amounts of personal funds for their students and their classrooms. They do it willingly, because the job is important. They sacrifice financially because they believe so fully in the importance of what they do each day. And just so you know, the coaching stipends are usually much lower than you would imagine for the vast number of extra hours and days required. And unless you are in a very big district, administrators make far less than most people think too.

So, why do they do it? It’s a calling. They do it because they choose to do it. Despite the low pay. They do it out of love for the kids they teach and the colleagues who prop them up when the going gets tough. They do it because they care.

(And stop it with all that crap about summer vacations and days off. Consider the hours most put in above and beyond the normal daily schedule. Consider the yearly salaries compared to other professions. Teachers are underpaid.)

Teachers need all the parental support they can get.

Teachers are professionals. I would highly encourage all parents to remember that. Although it may have taken less time than the doctors or lawyers or other professionals you may encounter, don’t forget that teachers worked to gain the necessary degrees and certifications required for their profession. They are deserving of a certain level of respect that all too often is denied them.

Do your child a huge favor this year and make a conscious effort to treat his or her teachers with respect and show them the support they need to succeed, at least in front of their students. Your child’s teacher will not be perfect, but that’s okay. Remember, it’s a hard job, and teachers are only human like the rest of us. Make sure your kids know that you support their teachers. If you have concerns, address them at school, not at home. Education is a team effort. Be part of the team, not an opponent.

And finally, say a prayer for all the kids and teachers today. And every day.

Book Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I just finished this book and although I missed it on the big screen, I’m anxious to see the movie as soon as I can! For now, let’s talk about the novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you’re not familiar, here’s the book blurb.

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. 

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

This one was recommended by my son-in-law and he correctly predicted that I would enjoy the character’s obsession with eighties movies, music, and particularly, videogames. It is this aspect of the book that makes it somewhat unique. Even though it appears to be simply the usual YA novel at first glance, the constant references to previous generations create a story that appeals to a much broader audience.

On the surface, the book is another bleak, depressing, and dystopian tale of a future in which we have basically screwed up the whole planet. I think we probably have enough of those already, so I was glad to see that this one is different. Actually, very little of the novel takes place in this real world which is a good thing. Instead, we are introduced to the OASIS, a virtual world where you can escape from reality altogether.

In the OASIS, each person is represented by an avatar who may or may not have any resemblance to the actual person. Unfortunately, although society inside may be cleaner and more idealistic looking, class distinctions are still abundant and our hero Wade is only slightly better off than he is on the outside. Without real money on the outside, the OASIS is free, but heavily restricted. Your avatar will wear only generic outfits and carry the cheapest (and least effective) weapons and shields. Travel is costly, so finding even the simplest of quests or adventures is difficult. (Videogamers know that these quests are necessary to level up! And gain money and better weapons).

I did like the OASIS school system. Cursing is muted automatically and avatars are not allowed to use their phones or surf the web during class. Discipline is easily enforced by other restrictions of the program creating a model classroom taught by the best virtual instructors. (When I was teaching, I would love to have had the ability to instantly silence unruly students or remove them with the push of a button!)

The story basically becomes a huge treasure hunt when the creator of the OASIS dies and leaves the control of the program (and the bazillion dollars that goes with it) to the first person who can solve a series of puzzles and find a hidden Easter egg located somewhere within the OASIS. Wade and several of his virtual friends soon take the lead in the massive hunt.

Of course every good adventure must have a villain and this book provides a classic sci-fi bad guy, the IOI Corporation and their band of hackers known as the Sixers. IOI wants to gain control of the OASIS for monetary reasons and everyone else knows that if that happens, the lower classes will eventually be forced out, unable to afford the escape from reality they so desperately seek.

Wade and his friends are determined to win the contest and preserve the OASIS. The battle for control is intense with a little bit of a love story thrown in for good measure. The story is strong and the characters interesting making the book a fun ride while it lasts. If you’re looking for a quick and easy read, this one is very entertaining and I do recommend it! Now to find a copy of the movie!

A Conservative Christian View on Immigration

Immigration is back in the news again. The courts are still trying to force the Trump administration into reuniting families, even though the “parents” have disappeared and left the poor “children” behind. It’s a little hard to return the kids to the adults who can no longer be found. That should tell you a lot about the situation.

I’ve been really irritated these past few weeks with the mainstream media and the constant bombardment of partisan politics. (It’s as if the actual issue was less important than the opportunity to bash the President.) I waver between anger at the outright lies and misrepresentations of the news outlets and amazement at the stupidity of the masses who so readily believe and spread the false stories.

A picture of a boy in a cage designed to show how awful our country has become. Oh wait, that’s just a cropped section of a photo from a whole different event. Here’s a bunch of pictures of kids behind chain-link fences in detention centers, separated from their families by the Trump administration. Oh sorry, those are from 2014 when Obama was in charge, but what the hell, we’ll use them anyway. And there’s never any attempt to admit to mistakes. When’s the last time a reporter actually wrote a retraction just because the truth came out and his story proved completely false? Not that it would matter after the photo or story has been retweeted and shared and copied and pasted a million times.

I used to have a work friend who was a diehard Liberal. He loved to engage with me about politics and we had many a lively discussion. The best part was that we could honestly state our opinions, then laugh and go back to work and still be friends. He would frequently argue that as a Christian I should be more compassionate or caring when defending his liberal policies, often sarcastically asking “What Would Jesus Do?”

We’ve both moved on to other jobs since then, but I can’t help but imagine the fun we would have talking about immigration. I’m sure that he would berate me for not showing enough Christian compassion for all those poor children being forcibly separated from their parents. I would have to remind him that many of those adults aren’t really the parents of the particular kids with whom they were apprehended. While illegally crossing into our country, I would probably add.

He would feel compelled to ignore my arguments and insist that somehow we are cruel and inhumane for locking up children in cages. I would laugh at the unproven absurdity and we would go back and forth disputing the actual conditions under which the children are being kept. Eventually, he would change the topic to the fact that regardless of the conditions, we are separating families. I would counter with the fact that across our country, children are routinely separated from their parents under a variety of circumstances, particularly when the adults are being taken into custody for committing illegal activities.

At some point, he would hit me with his favorite argument. Aren’t Christians supposed to be loving and compassionate? Shouldn’t I “suffer the little children to come unto me” and all that? Wouldn’t Jesus expect me to welcome all those children and do everything I could to help them?

His questions always spurred a great deal of soul searching on my part. From a practical standpoint, I usually argued that Christians, like everyone else, must have before we can give. I would tell him that a country that is trillions of dollars in debt can’t save everyone. On a smaller scale, most Christian friends I know would gladly give more to charitable causes if they had more to give. (Most of us would also prefer to choose for ourselves rather than have the government decide where our tax dollars should be spent.) I may not be a Bible scholar, but I do have opinions based on what I do know and believe. Honestly, I don’t think it is Biblical to allow your own family to suffer and starve, so that you can feed and provide for strangers and refugees.

I do feel compassion for the children, and adults, who are honestly seeking refuge from unsafe, or even dangerous conditions in other parts of the world, but again, the reality is that we can’t save everyone. We just don’t have the resources. And if we can only save some, shouldn’t we start with the ones in our own backyard, so to speak. The American foster care system is full of children who have been separated from their families for one reason or another. The homeless population in our country is growing and includes tons of homeless children. There are also a growing number of homeless American veterans who certainly deserve all the help we can provide.

Before we try to go out and save the world, maybe we should work on saving the ones in need all around us.