The opposite of CONCORD is DISCORD.

We seem to be having quite a bit of that lately. The discord, that is. It is so frustrating to me to watch our nation tear itself to shreds. From planned Islamic Centers, to partisan bickering, to pretty overt racism–I’m sad to say I am an adult among other (supposed) adults.

There are so many things we need to worry about, other than the aforementioned trivial b***S**t, if you catch my drift. There is a very violent conflict, just south of Texas, that goes virtually unnoticed. How many people–a lot of them innocent–die every day in Mexico? Phillipe Calderone’s government is having a tough time with this. From what I understand, Mexico is almost at the point of making deals with the Druglords and their factions just to calm things down. The Federal Police have already somewhat aligned with one of the major cartels in Juarez–and the ordinary officers were paying the price for their leadership’s alliance. The “regular” police rioted against the corrupt ones, and sadly, were dismissed from their posts (pending further disciplinary action). Since Mexico is our southern neighbor, how much can we/should we/have we given or give them help and advice? I would hate to see that country fail. And we were worried about Greece’s financial collapse.

It is certainly good to see that we are starting to pull out of Iraq; those people need a chance to come back together and create a great country with the promise of a peaceful future.  It is a dim hope, but EVERY person deserves peace.  The United States probably kept Iraqis so angry with the progress of change, that the only real change can come when we step away.  The other possibility is that the nation turns to extremism–revenge, for short.  Afghanistan, on the other hand…they have seen so many occupiers and changes of regime, our only prayer is to convince each and every Afghan that peace and prosperity is not that far away.  If they have a national hope and pride, they may be able to see that blowing us and their fellow countrymen up is counterproductive.  If we are able to share with them a day in our American lives, where we are relatively safe, they may see that we mean them no harm, and that they can have their way of life in peace.  If hope in Iraq was dim, this prayer for their people may be a pipe dream.  I wish both nations the best.

Speaking of money, it is somewhat confusing to me as to why the private sector is not even bothering to innovate. I’ve seen a few good things in the tech sector (i.e. phones, and the like), but other than that, where is all the “green” tech? We sank money into it on a federal level, right? So, get to creating things, even if the price of oil barrels dropped. All companies need to do some major R&D, and frankly, I did not realize that having lots of reserve cash and investors galore had anything to do with a corporation’s ability to make and sell a product that would earn money. Isn’t that how it was done in the old days? I’m not even talking about the new, startup companies, either. I’m talking about the old establishment corporations with enough cash in reserve to feed all the inhabitants of the D.R.C. for a year. These simple actions are too easy, and would result in too much gain for the average American (i.e. corporate production would necessitate hiring, more jobs = more people with money, people with money buy things, corporations profit, corporate taxes from profits go back into the pot…everybody wins.). As far as taxes go, yes, I wholeheartedly agree that an American company should be taxed heavily for offshore labor. I don’t mean having a division overseas…I mean when the whole of the manufacturing component of a company is in some area other than the U.S., we should tax them for the negative American jobs they created domestically.  Perhaps the difference between the wages their foreign employees earn and American minimum wage–per employee?  Ok, maybe that is going a bit far, but  I am totally willing to pay the difference on your product  if you at least keep half of the workforce here!  For those who are screaming that taxes will drive these corporations away from the United States, I have this to say:  Good luck with your incorporation in Iran, Columbia, Yemen, South Africa, Israel or Georgia.  Even a giant like China is going to restrict your growth in some way, if not financially.  I’m not particularly keen on worrying about lead in my toothpaste because the American company I bought it from doesn’t monitor their manufacturing sector very well  in an unscrupulous or laxly regulated country.

Ugh.  Enough about that.  The issue here is A LOT of discordant behavior.  This unwillingness to empathize, sacrifice a little, go out on a limb, hear an opposing POV…since when are we not human beings?  Since when did we lose the ability to reason?  Since when did we become so ugly to each other (and the fabled “them” that we find ourselves opposed to)? War, terrorism, classism, sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and so many other manifestations of our hatred for one another are enough to make me sick.  I just want to call someone I’ve never met and solve a  problem…or just talk to them, in an open, honest, and friendly way.  Or walk up to someone on the street and say something nice.  Or make a baby of another ethnicity laugh.  I know that kind things are happening, but there is an overwhelming feeling of  tempered anger among our fellow man.  It was great to see how many people spoke out about the planned Qur’an burning in Florida, but it is truly sad that there are at least 30 people anywhere that feel this way about someone else’s faith.  It’s time to do something different.  Let me know where all the good-hearted people are, instead of letting me feel completely disheartened about the human race.

The NERVE of some people!

Ok, I just got finished reading an article that just upset me to death.  My s/o, who is most definitely an active teacher (at a parent booster meeting as I type)  read and was upset too.  Maybe we just don’t know enough about Illinois’ Public School System to be all up in arms, but if you’ve ever taught….just ONE day…in a classroom anywhere, you know and might take offense to this too.

Read the original arcticle HERE. (no place for comments)

In fairness to the original blogger who posted this, I didn’t attack them.  The article was part of a series of blog posts and articles about public sector employment and how the payment is unfair ( = too high) for the services rendered. The teacher one had to do with pensions, and how they are too high for teachers to retire so early (given as average of 58 years), but also jabbed at what the teachers had made for the four years leading up to their retirement.  There was also a link to a video about 7% pay increase every year.  I had to voice my feelings on the issue so (before I thought “duh, I’ll just blog about it”) I left a lengthy comment…pasted here for your enjoyment.

I realize you didn’t necessarily write the article, but concerning the “teacher retiree class of 2008” one…I really have to take issue. The article stated, “This exercise once again highlights the excessive total compensation being paid to many public workers especially teachers. When we add in the shorter work year, value of tenure, gold-plated fringe benefits on top of lavish early pension benefits we end up with a very privileged, very expensive class of workers.”

Please remember, when you talk about teachers, this is a profession made up of people who EDUCATE FUTURE GENERATIONS. Not ones who defraud investors; not ones who glorify sex, drugs, and violence to make a profit; not ones that indebt the entire country because some financial formula made lots of money in the short-term.  These are Educators that spend a lot of time trying to teach kids something valuable while at the same time trying to ensure every student passes a myriad of state-mandated tests. Also keep in mind that many students in the present school-age generation do not get the kind of parental commitment or values-based upbringing that makes this job anywhere near easy.  I am a partial product of Illinois’ educational system,and I noticed a PROFOUND difference in the quality of what was being taught when my family moved to Florida (in the third grade, no less).  I also turned out better for my early educational experience in the state compared to many of my peers that were only exposed to Florida’s system. Derrion Albert, an honor student, and his murderers were also in Illinois classrooms, so you can see a one-size-fits-all approach is not possible in the realm of teaching. The stress of teaching during the school year DOES require summer work, and much more than the general public realizes, plus the fact many teachers that have worked with and/or still know put in WAY more than a 40-hr work week during the regular school year. Think more in the range of 60 or 70 hours, average. I know I did. Many people in public education choose to work toward advanced degrees, and some positions within the school often REQUIRE it (think school counselors, curriculum coordinators, media specialists, nurses and administrators), and this often factors into the salary that they make.

And to top all of this, most educators in the United States pay into their teachers’ or state retirement system throughout their entire career.

Sorry I don’t have statistics or graphic organizers to prove all of this. It was just a very upsetting post for me to read. So please, if we’re going to gripe about tax dollars being spent carelessly, don’t start the blame game with the teachers.

I know I haven’t taught in two years, but NOBODY is going to attack teachers and what they’re worth on my watch.