"...off went the Emperor in procession under his splendid canopy. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, "Oh, how fine are the Emperor's new clothes! Don't they fit him to perfection? And see his long train!" Nobody would confess that he couldn't see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success." - From "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen
The parades are well underway as the America gears up for (yet another) election year. As we look to the media to feed us the cake crumbs of what is and isn't, I feel that I sometimes must be the "child" who says: "But...they don't have anything on..."
And I'm the crazy one. Yes, there are times where I admit, I run off at the mouth (or the keyboard, more like), and I know I probably shouldn't. I do have a few friends and mentors who warn me to be careful about what I say...but I have even more who caution me about what I don't say. After all..."qui tacet consentit". He who is silent, agrees. Yet I don't agree with so much that is going on in our local, state and federal governments and agencies. I don't agree with what local, regional or national media's paparazzi parades dish out. I don't care about Donald Trump's drivel, Kim Kardashian's favorite coffee drink du jour, or that Jeb Bush raised $13.4 million for his campaign.
More importantly (and like so many others)...I admit that I don't really know what's going on. It's my own fault, really. If I could spend 24/7 fancying myself as an armchair politician, or parade myself around Amador County and Sacramento as someone who has all the answers to the world's woes with a few selfies to prove it, heck...I'd probably run for office myself. But I rather like it here, sipping my joe in my t-shirt and sweat pants...listening to Whitesnake as my boyfriend prepares for another day of mail delivery...listening and responding to real people with real world problems seeking real world answers. Dress up all you want, flash that smile, rally that picket sign...but the issues are still the issues. The homeless are still homeless. The druggies are still druggies. There is domestic violence happening, despite efforts to rid it. There is still cancer, despite efforts to cure it. There is still corruption, power plays and political grandstanding. Oh, and...what is the cure for that?
I'm reminded of a time when I covered a ACUSD/ACOE Board meeting for the Ledger Dispatch, back in 2006. There was a room full of parents, some awards were being given out (photo op!); then after the hoopla, the regular agenda was followed as outlined. As the Board started to blanket-approve item after item, a few parents looked on quizzically, and one mother stood up and said, "Um...what did you all just do?"
Insert cricket chirps here. Every member of the Board got that 'ol "deer in the headlights" look, and then scrambled around for the right words to try explain to these parents what they just "did". Text book approvals...line item budget approvals...contractor check approvals. The Board approved these items, but...did the parents? Most of all, did the parents even know what textbooks, which items, which contractors?
Oh, but of course you did. The Board's Agenda was posted the day before, did you not read it? Never mind the fact that most of these parents probably worked their full time day jobs, gulped down their dinner and rushed to the meeting to see their child receive an award from "The Board". What they didn't expect to see after the hoopla was "business as usual" with a powerful entity in charge of their children's education and school experience. An enlightening moment for sure. These parents got a slight taste of "how Amador County has always done it". Politics as usual.
I think of my grand-daughter, Alivia...who will be raised in this corrupted school district, with a Board that has continually fed into the very reason why America is the educational laughingstock of the globe...and think, "Could it be different, and how?"
Granted, I don't know the facts about every single issue and every single event that goes on in my community, but I put great stock in Maya Angelou's quote: " I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." If you make others feel like they can't afford food and wine, can't afford health care, can't afford rent, can't get a job, can't afford WiFi, a cell phone, a laptop...can't afford a gun to defend their family/property, can't afford that court filing fee, that attorney...can't afford an education, can't afford a car, can't afford that glorified coffee drink, can't afford that membership fee, that small business loan...that cheerleading or soccer uniform...can't afford "affordable energy" or "affordable housing", can't afford the time to read local/state/government agendas, bills, referendums, proposals...
So then why parade it all around for everyone to see, as if everyone can? To what end? More votes? Social brownie points? Advertising dollars? Because if you make America feel like they cannot afford the American Dream, then what exactly is your point?
Oh, it's a fine weave, for sure, and the design is most intricate. But to me, you still have nothing on.
Carol Harper
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