THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

A NEW "DEMOCRACY?"

Andrew Jackson c/o thepapersofandrewjackson.utk.edu

      He may be bumped off the front of the $20 bill by Harriet Tubman but Andrew Jackson reshaped the American government in ways that still resonate today 187 years later. As the criteria for who could vote expanded with America's expansion, ownership of property did not have to be as important for participation in the great American democratic experiment. Thus, as the elite class complained at the time, now every dirt farmer who could make an "x" for a signature could elect a president. And they did: a rough and tumble military man of humble beginnings who had become a successful lawyer (self-educated, unevenly, some charged), Tennessee planter/ slave owner, Indian fighter, and the American general who routed the British at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815 (nobody had told either side that the War of 1812 had already ended).

He was nobody's idea of Presidential. He had killed a man for accusing his wife of bigamy (which was true- she was separated from her first husband, not divorced). He distrusted banks and bankers and fought tooth and nail to demolish the Bank of the United States. He blew his top over trivialities like the good name of a lady friend. He marched troops into South Carolina to rough up John C. Calhoun over "nullification" issues. And of course he uprooted thoroughly Americanized Indians like the Cherokee and forced them westward on foot to Oklahoma so his constituency could get at the mountains of gold said to be in Georgia and the Carolinas (there wasn't much). Yes, folks, he was the architect of the "Trail of Tears" (though technically it happened after he was out of office).

c/o unitedcherokeenation.net

 He fired everybody in the government and put his friends in plumb positions regardless of experience. He met with his closest advisers in the White House kitchen- the breakfast room then called "the cabinet" and from that time on the Executive branch department heads comprised THE CABINET. His inauguration was a riot as his backwoods friends trashed the White House.

c/o alcademics.com

   
Clearly, thought many career politicians and statesmen at the time, thanks to Jackson, any boob could be President.

MERCHANTS OF FEAR

"THE SILENT MAJORITY?!"

      Now comes the time to assess the FEEL of the political landscape as indicated by the spirit of the conventions of the two main political parties. There is a divide between Americans. But it is not a divide between Liberals and Conservatives or even really between Republicans and Democrats. It is between the elite intellectual and diverse status quo and the anti-elite anti-establishment and homogeneous revolt.  It has gotten ugly, as everybody knows. But it's a new ugly. If you put it kindly, it is a French Revolution ugly rather than a Tea Party ugly or even a Red Scare ugly.

 If you do not put it kindly, it is a Nuremberg Beer Hall Putsch ugly.

Both political conventions have had this divide.

The Democrats in Philadelphia had the hard core Bernie-ites who were given a bit more venting room but did not take over. In fact, either by their absence and/or their mollification because they helped dictate planks to the Democratic Party Platform, the more violent extremes of the Bernies was not in evidence. Because of this
the FEEL of the Democratic National Convention now seems to be mostly like this:

Even Elizabeth Warren has toned herself down. And Bernie himself is playing Rodney King. "Can't we all just get along?"

The Republican Convention quashed the elites under the Trumpite jackboots. So, even though on the outside sanity reigned in Cleveland, Ohio, on this inside the FEEL of the Republican Convention is this:

"Be afraid. Be very afraid," opined NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.  And people are. And my worry is that the polls that say that Hillary is ahead do not factor in this angry "silent majority" that has fueled the howls and screams inside the Q at the RNC, these people disaffected by the economy and fearful from the shootings of cops and the terrorist attacks and the sense that little brown hordes are storming our southern borders to rape us and drug out our children. These are akin to the Brexit folks in England and I have the feeling there are a lot of them out there.

I polled my students a few months ago at Cuyahoga Community College and at John Carroll. I asked them- if the election were today, who would you elect as President? At Tri-c Trump was the overwhelming choice, though one older female student voted for Cruz and three younger women voted for Bernie. Only one, a Hispanic woman, voted for Hillary. At John Carroll the favorite among the boys was Trump and among the girls was Bernie. No Hillary at all here. The John Carroll group were all college age. The Tri-c group were often older, and generally poorer adults. In both instances the strongest showing was for Trump.

And so it goes...

NOW HEAR THIS!

"I AM YOUR VOICE"

      Last Thursday real estate mogul Donald J. Trump accepted his party's nomination as candidate for President of the United States, saying, among other things, "I am your voice." This was said loudly.

It rather reminded me of another candidate for president from another party who decades earlier also rather thought he was speaking for me and my fellow Americans at a high decibel level. Howard Dean.

At the time I had said to myself: "Do I really want a president capable of such a scream?" Much as I liked Howard Dean and his policies, his "scream" made me change my mind.

Oh yes. There was one more screamer that made me wonder. I had voted for him for mayor when I lived in New York. But now it seemed as if he was coming unhinged at the 2016 RNC. Rudolph Giuliani.

There is a school of thought among communications scholars that says that you make your own reality by what you say. In other words, whatever comes out of your mouth creates a certain type of reality that would not be there if something else came out. This is the opposite of "telling it like it is." This is making it be by telling it. If you say the world is going to Hell in a hand basket, then it is. If you say it there is nothing to fear but fear itself, then at least for that one bright shining moment, that is all you have to fear.

When was the last time we had a United States President who could scream? And I mean really open that uvula and blow the apocalypse right in our faces so that its fires were singing our very souls? Let's see:
Barack Obama? Nah.
George W. Bush? Barely moves his mouth, most of the time.
Bill Clinton? Not in public, though that opens some possibilities behind closed doors but, no. I think Bubba generally prefers to drawl his displeasure at the world.
Bush Senior? I think not, even though he tried when he was laying into SAD-DAM HOO-SANE!  Didn't really work. Took the junior Bush to take out the bastard, not with a bang but a whisper. And  Jeb is even more proof. The Bushes of Texas are very unTexan in that regard. They don't scream.
Ronald Reagan? If ever there was the opposite of a screamer in recent history it was The Great Communicator.
Jimmy Carter? Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was even talking.
Gerald Ford? Ok. He could blast his voice but he never seemed to lose his cool. There was a kind of density about him that seemed to preclude going Ape $#&*!!!
Nixon probably melted down in the privacy of his own room but even though he cussed like a sailor on the tapes, he did not scream. Must be the Quaker in him.
LBJ. Could be scary. Didn't need to yell, though. Kennedy had his orator voice but it was under control and Eisenhower probably wouldn't scream if you cut off his hand.
Not Truman. FDR could project, but not scream. Hoover? Don't make laugh. Coolidge? Hard to tell if he was even alive. Harding? No. Wilson? Hard to tell but probably not. Taft? Uh-uh. Which brings me to TEDDY!

 Yeah now. That "damn cowboy" as Mark Hannah called him- he could scream. He may have said he'd speak softly and carry a big stick but I doubt sincerely Teddy did anything softly.  And he's on Mount Rushmore. So maybe I shouldn't be so scared if the next president of the United States, leader of the free world, the man with the nuclear codes, can scream bloody murder and say he is my voice.

Maybe every hundred years we deserve a screaming president. Worked for Germany and Italy eight decades ago. They're doing fine now.

Wut aye lernd in skool t'day II

JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM

c/o jcu.edu

            My teacher today was once my student. Ashley Bastock has a grounded mezzo speaking voice with a resonance usually found in speakers twice her age. Meet the Press thought well enough of her as a Tim Russert Meet the Press fellow that they have kept her on as production assistant after her internship officially ended. In this capacity she has had to run shotgun to Chuck Todd's whims in the driver's seat of the revered weekly news interview show. This means getting the right graphic or facts ready to support him, sometimes composing copy on the fly. These are communication skills on steroids. The world of television can be as dynamic as the next thought and to be there with the right support as the cameras are rolling is a skill that is profound on so many levels. Resourcefulness, superior writing skills, an ability to listen and even to anticipate all come into play, and all unsung, in the background.

          When Ashley was in my CO-100 speech class she demonstrated that behind a giving and cheerful demeanor was a keen ear for the right word, and an instinct for how to deliver it. Her relaxed yet pointed speeches made you come to her for her warmth and yet still listen for what you might learn: a speaker of intelligence and integrity wrapped in a "just folks" persona.

         What Ashley also projects is worth learning. She is where she wants to be and it shows. There is a sense that life is for living and while the hours may be long and stressful in journalism, the rewards are so manifest that the default impression she gives is one of a joy of engagement. This can't be taught but it can be cultivated. Enthusiasm is a wire in our psyche that can be tripped with the right mindset. I have seen Ashley attack the most trivial matters with this kind of gusto and I can't help but think this is part of what Chuck Todd sensed about her when he made sure she continued on his team.

       A more tangible lesson, however, is her appreciation of a journalist's responsibility to get at the truth, no matter how ugly it might be. This also means not becoming enslaved to personal opinion but make a concerted effort to put bias aside in favor of the confirm-worthy fact.  Political journalism, unlike other "looser" types such as sports or entertainment is as close to "curing cancer" as a journalist will come. It is there to provide a service that is trustworthy to the community first and foremost, in her view, and therefore needs the discipline and the research and study behind it to do it well. "It is better to be right than to be first," she said.

       Perhaps there's a slogan there. Maybe we should stop saying we should make "America First!" and start trying to make "America right." It's hard work, but it may be all we have to save democracy in these uncertain times.

       

15 Seconds of Fame

SHOWBIZ on E. 4th St., Cleveland, Ohio

c/o Singing Angels.org

      It is 5 AM and you can smell dew, dirt and beer off the bricks that carpet E. 4th Street just south of Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio this July summer morning. The Singing Angels, about 45 of them, mostly girls but about 6-7 boys,mostly white but about 1/3 African-Americans and Asians, are dressed in their full uniforms- gold vests, black ties. The girls wear black skirts and the boys tuxedo pants.
       Buzzing in front of them like a large heavy-set bumble bee in glasses is Singing Angels Artistic Director Charles Eversole: fussing here and there- "straighten your tie," "don't forget you are always on camera," "basses move one step to the right." By the dawn's early light they warm up, practice snippets of songs. Their big number that morning will be "Dancing in the Street" made popular in the '60's by Martha and the Vandelias (later the Vandellas).  They are scheduled to appear on NBC's THE TODAY SHOW.
     

c/o singingangels.org

      Up the street from the Angels, pooching out onto the avenue is an elevated platform where a makeshift television studio has been set up by NBC.  On-location broadcasts  for on-the-spot coverage of the Republican National Convention will happen there all week long. Black uniformed technicians and doing their own buzzing about this contraption which includes an outdoor terrace where broadcasters sit with their backs to the street, cameras and lights in their faces so that whoever is standing behind them becomes the living breathing hopefully vibrant backdrop to them.
       The terrace abuts a plastic-covered "green room" of sorts where the TV personalities get prepped and dabbed with makeup in full view of passersby on the street. Matt Lauer, rather bullet-headed in his buzz cut and receding hairline wears a blue blazer and black tie, which would probably be uncomfortable in the humidity. Indeed, peering through the plastic scrim one finds that a black-shirted woman appears to be powdering his head as he sits in placid profile. Also seated further back is a woman in a light flowered dress and while I do not watch the show I believe this is Natalie Morales. Coming down for a chat, though, is Al Roker, far thinner than when he was Cleveland's weatherman, now seeming a bit sickly in his thinness to me, but with an easy smile and laugh. He shakes hands with a few of the Angels and Charles Eversole, makes some self-deprecating jokes and then disappears back into TV land. He will reappear later with his co-stars, briefly.
         And now comes the waiting...
         The broadcast begins and there are segments galore. The big news is Melania's plagiarism. But there is often a switching back to the show in New York for bits about luggage and an interview of Mila Kunis. Leading into a commercial break about 7 there is a quick shot of a few of the Angels sitting in cafe chairs, waving but blink and you will miss it. Matt Lauer, Al Roker and Natalie Morales now step gingerly off their terrace and move in front of the Angels on one side and large crowd that has gathered on the other. There are signs in the crowd- "Jesus Saves," "Coalition for Fair Student Loans," but mostly hands are raised in the air- not in salute- for every hand has a cell phone, red buttons pressed. Everyone is a cameraman now.
          "Dancing in the Street" is 90% off camera, though the Today cast seems pleased and finally NBC pops back on the air to capture the last few bars as the kids reach their climax, hands raised, left leg forward, frozen on the final note. Applause. A few words of how beloved the Singing Angels are here in Cleveland and that's a wrap.
         More handshakes. A few more numbers for the crowd. But NBC has turned away.

15 seconds of national exposure. And so it goes...

SERENADING THE ELEPHANT PART 3

video & photo c/o CNN.com

SUFFER THE CHILDREN...

    

         

            It is the first day of the Republican National Convention  kicked off by the singing of the National Anthem by 12 members of the Singing Angels. Romper.com lamented the "lackluster lineup with a few gems" among those musical groups scheduled to perform at the convention. Clearly, Romper thought the Angels were one of the gems:

"On Monday, the RNC opened with the Singing Angels performing the National Anthem — a 52-year-old select youth music group comprised of students from the greater Cleveland area. They totally killed it, too."

By all accounts the delegates were impressed. You can judge for yourself from the video above.

The full children had been ubiquitous at other functions serenading Republican delegates, drawing praise and getting national exposure in the process. 7 or 8 performances are scheduled, including one on NBC's Today Show.

Then the controversy started. People began posting on social media that the Singing Angels were shilling for Donald Trump and conservative America. Singing Angels artistic director Charles Eversole, clearly furious, unfriended many from his facebook page for making snide comments such as "white bread Trumpites" and "the Republicans' performing monkeys." He pointed out that they had sung at Democrat functions in the past, were not aligned with any political parties, that the children and their families were from "all across the political spectrum," and most of all- "they're just kids. They're just trying to spread good wishes through music." "They're children. They have sung for Popes and they have sung for the homeless and the elderly and they would sing for you if you wanted them to. They're kids." Indeed there had been a concert scheduled in this week for a gathering of a Democrat group, according to Eversole, but it had fallen through. (All of these quotes have lately been deleted by Mr. Eversole from his Facebook page, so perhaps he has cooled down a bit and regretted his comments.) Many Facebookers have come to his aid, however, with nearly 100 comments in support of the Angels. 

So what is the sheen Donald Trump brings with him that turns to tarnish for those around him? According to Thehill.com, even major companies who have funded Republican functions in the past are too shy to fund this RNC Convention: 

"Wells Fargo, UPS, Motorola, JPMorgan Chase, Ford and Walgreens all told Bloomberg they won’t sponsor this year’s convention, despite helping to fund the last GOP summit in 2012."

Politico.com adds that Apple is also on the anti-Trump bandwagon and sees other tech companies following its example:

"Apple’s political stand against Trump...  is a sign of the widening schism between Silicon Valley and the GOP’s bombastic presumptive nominee." 

Coca Cola has reduced support of the Republicans, according to Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times and note that many "image conscious" companies are stepping away this time. 

“I have talked to several people at companies who have said, ‘I’ve always gone to the convention, I’ve always participated at some level, but this year we’re not putting it in our budget, we’re not going, we’re not going to sponsor any of the events going on,’ ” said Carla Eudy, a Republican fund-raising consultant. (NY TIMES)

So where does that leave The Singing Angels? Can they shake off the political vitriol being hurled at them for capitalizing on the fact that when the whole world is watching Cleveland it is in their best interest to go where the cameras are, even if it is in Trumpland? 

I would like to think so. These are wonderful kids. And I say that as a largely left wing Democrat.  

A Cry in the Wilderness?

STAND FOR LOVE: Sunday, July 17, 2016

c/o Skip Corris

     It is official. I am an activist. At least for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon on the Hope Memorial Bridge straddling the Cuyahoga River Valley.  Here several thousand people made a large circle extending from one side of the bridge to the other, joined hands, and spent 30 minutes meditating in silence, willing the world to choose LOVE over what seems to be a creeping tendency toward fear and hatred, violence and recriminations. Don't know if it did any good. That morning three police officers were killed in Baton Rouge.

We east siders who wanted to participate followed instructions posted on Social Media and showed of at the Wolstein Center near Cleveland State at 1 PM Sunday.  There we paid a "ten dollar donation" if we wanted a white shirt with STAND FOR LOVE in red letters blazoned across the chest. I did buy one, extra large, I am sorry to say, and looking even fatter in the shirt (see photo).

We then boarded yellow school buses with aisles wide enough for an 8-year-old to navigate. "Euclid City Schools" was pasted in black along the flanks. I sat next to a female Presbyterian minister from Cleveland Heights named Trisha who told me of the turmoil in the Presbyterian Church lately about admitting gay and lesbian ministers. We disgorged at the western foot of the Hope Memorial Bridge, a WPA structure with yellowish struts overlooking a breathtaking view of the city. And from here we walked, en masse, over 2100 and maybe as much as 4,000, onto the bridge. I looked around me.

There were church groups and clubs, persons of all ages and denominations, sexuality, creed, ethnicity, etc. but leaning heavily on Democrat liberals. The gay and lesbian community was out in force, including my friend and old college buddy Scott Plate who runs the much touted musical theatre program at Baldwin Wallace. We hugged (you're supposed to do a lot of hugging.) I stuck with theatre director Skip Corris and his wife Roseanne (see photo).

Gathered on the bridge we heard three women singing "IF WE ONLY HAVE LOVE" by Jaques Brel over a failing P.A. system and then we got our instructions to fan out across the bridge and then get in a single file line closing into a circle and join hands facing the opposite side of the circle. And then, when an air horn sounded we were to keep holding hands and fall silent. I had Roseanne Corris on my left and a total stranger, a middle aged and very tan woman on my right with blue painted nails I hated to defile with my hand's grasp. But I sacrificed this qualm for LOVE.

A troop of policemen in bicycles pedaled past us and we clapped in solidarity with them. They waved back. They were many ethnic groups represented and there were several women among them. We got into a straight line and grasped hands again, this time for real. Then a woman with an air horn walked by, having trouble with it at first but then finally- BRAAAAAAP!  And then silence. Wind whipped through us and sea gulls mourned overhead. Down below perhaps a ship's horn broke wind once or twice.

And we were videoed and photographed. NBC. PBS. NPR. Overhead a helicopter seemed to be stalking us. And a plane trailed a sign: "HILARY FOR PRISON 2016." Later another plane had a sign trailing it that said "IN DEFENSE OF REAL MARRIAGE."

But we thousands said nothing, holding hands, arms starting to ache, (you hold your hand loosely and let the breezes play through it and dry up your palm sweat.; much better for your companion not to be inundated):  thinking, wondering, enjoying being part of something though none of us completely understood what it was or what it would mean.But we hoped for the best. 30 minutes goes by both slowly and quickly when you are making a point and trying to do some good. BRAAAAAAP! Released back into the world by the air horn. Then we hugged each other. "Thanks for sharing your hand," I said to the woman on my right. "Likewise," she said.  And we parted forever.

On the bus back I sat next to Nancy, a retired phys ed teacher who lived in Cleveland's Chinatown (Payne Ave. and 30th Street about) who did not care for Chinese food but loved to walk around the city.

STAND FOR LOVE was supposed to be a counterpoint to the Republican Convention. Or maybe a prayer for peace, a benediction to the week to come. Let us come together.

The next day the Dump Trump faction was plowed over by forces who quickly ratified the rules over objections. Let the games begin...