Taking Ownership by Making Choices.

I tell students that the syllabus is not a reflection of me as a man, husband, father, or historian. The syllabus is not a contract. More like a guide. Mine are malleable. I can alter it.  I’m willing to renegotiate the syllabus on an individual or class level. To meet the needs of the individual and external factors such as tropical storms or pandemics. 

For many years my underlying philosophy has been that what’s important is that students demonstrate an understanding of the material not HOW they demonstrate an understanding of the material. Application of that philosophy in great measure was what earned me the 2017 instructor of the year award. 

Students must succeed. Whatever you do in life, you are most likely to succeed when you’re working on a project that most interests you. And, when the project interests you, you are more likely to succeed at a higher level.

I like choice. Choice in all aspects of my life. Who wants to be told what to do. Even in Basic Training it was no fun being barked orders at day and night. I think students like choice. And, choice is really taking ownership in their success. So I give students three choices when it comes to assignments:

1. Complete assignments as is (easiest on me).
2. Complete assignments but select topics not offered by me; something that more interests the students.
3. Do completely different assignments. Still cover the material, just demonstrate an understanding in a different way. Your way (with apologies to Burger King). Maybe students have a stronger method to demonstrate knowledge than the ones I assign. For example, I might have an Exam that covers ABC and a student suggests doing a different assignment that examines ABC such as a book review. Maybe instead of an essay, a student wants to do a PowerPoint presentation. I don’t know. "Play to your strengths," I tell students.
4. A final choice is to do a major assignment that covers the entire course. For example, I had a POC did a major research paper on Critical Race Theory; someone created a weekly newspaper; a vet looked at the meaning of “sacrifice” over time. This would be a way of turning this class into a self-study course. With me as a guide rather than as an instructor.

        

Students are only limited by their imagination. Again, What’s important is that students demonstrate an understanding of the material not how they demonstrate an understanding of the material. The "how" should be up to my students. That is how students take ownership in my classes. 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Factious Tempers and Sinister Designs: The "Coup" Attempt of '21

James Madison wrote: 

"Men of factious tempers, of local prejudices, or of sinister designs, may, by intrigue, by corruption, or by other means, first obtain the suffrages, and then betray the interests, of the people."

On Sunday, January 3rd, the Washington Post released an audio recording of President Donald Trump attempting to undermine democracy by requesting that the Georgia Secretary of State to recalculate the vote of the presidential election and announce the new results of the new counting. "I just want to find 11,780 votes," said Trump. In other words, it sounded like Trump might have participated in election fraud, and in doing so "betray[ed] the interests of the people."

So how did the Republicans respond to this example of corruption at its highest level? Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) led a coalition of Republicans, in support of Donald Trump, who in effect advocated for the overthrow of an American election (The Atlantic, 1/4/2020). Without evidence. There had never been evidence. Over 90 state and federal judges (including the Supreme Court) has concluded that there was no evidence to the belief (yes, belief, not argument as there was no evidence) that the election was rigged. For some reason the "absence of evidence is the most sinister evidence" (George Will, 1/4/2020). In fact, George Will called Cruz, Hawley, "and their Senate cohort . . . domestic enemies." (Ibid) Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) accused Cruz and Hawley of “directly” undermining peoples’ rights to elect their leaders.

January 5th was a special election in Georgia. A run-off for both of their senators. Much to the surprise of many, on Wednesday, January 6th, we found out that the Democrats won both seats: Reverend Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff. Warnock became Georgia's first Black Senator and Ossoff was a first generation American of Jewish immigrants.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump had called for his supporters to come to DC on the 6th -the day Congress is required to certify the vote of the Electoral College. And so, on January 6th, Trump supporters massed on the Capitol grounds. In a Tweet, Trump told them to march on the Capitol. He also told those in attendance: "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." The thousands there took his words literally.

The thousands, who greatly outnumbered the Capitol Police, pushed against the barricades, and climbed upon the scaffolding. Then Trump's followers tried to force their way into various federal buildings. Capitol Police reportedly used tear gas and rubber bullets, someone called in bomb threats, and federal buildings were evacuated. Some of the insurrectionists made their way into this nation's Capitol. The Senate chamber was locked down and law makers ultimately were whisked away to Fort McNair. Insurrectionists made their way into the Senate chamber, ransacked it, stole various items, and were eventually forced out by Capitol Police. Zip ties, pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and guns were found on the grounds by Capitol Police. This was an organized, planned operation, it seemed.

The Confederate flag never flew in the Capitol during the Civil War, but here you see a Trump supporter carrying the banner of enslavers in the Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) said "I haven't been in a situation like that since frankly I was in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger." Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) wrote "I expected violent assault on democracy as a US Marine in Iraq. I never imagined it as a United States congressman in America . . . Make no mistake: they [the insurrectionists] are enemies of America." And Moulton called for Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) called the actions "a coup." Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) called it "an insurrection." Donald Trump called the election a "sacred landslide election victory" in a Tweet late on the 6th, ending that Tweet with "We love you. You are very special" The "you" being the insurrectionists. Later in the evening, Trump seemed to commend the insurrectionists calling them "great patriots," and ending with "Remember this day forever!" Earlier in the day, Trump's daughter Ivanka sent a Tweet calling the insurrectionists "patriots." She later deleted the Tweet.

Was he one of Ivanka's "patriots"? 

6 Million Wasn't Enough is what this t-shirt means, referring to. 

the 6 million Jews murdered during World War II. These were seen at 

the Trump insurrection on January 6th. "We love you"  became the new 

"Some very fine people."

The Kansas City Star said that Hawley "has blood on his hands in Capitol coup attempt" (1/6/2021). Mitt Romney, the one-time Republican candidate for President, said of the election-denier senators such as Hawley and Cruz, they will "forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy." The Houston Chronicle called for Cruz to resign: "Your lies cost lives." (Houston Chronicle, Editorial Board, 1/8/2021).

Two governors called for Trump to be removed from office either by the 25th Amendment or impeachment: Pritzker (D) of Illinois and Scott (R) of Vermont. The National Association of Manufactures (a group of 14,000 companies including Exxon, Toyota, and Pfizer) called the Cabinet and Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment.

"Elections are the heart of liberal democracy. Losers voluntarily leave office. Winners assume rightful power. Yet the world just witnessed the stunning sight of a mob storming the U.S. Capitol to reject the legitimacy of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, driven by President Donald Trump’s delusional lies about a stolen contest. Rioters scaled scaffolding, broke through windows, and stormed the halls of Congress. They strolled through the Hall of Statues with a Confederate flag fluttering over their shoulders, brandished weapons on the floor of the Senate, and propped their feet up on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s desk. One woman was shot and killed. Members of Congress retreated into lockdown, gas masks in hand. They were forced to suspend the constitutionally required business of formally confirming the victory of the incoming president because of the incitement triggered by the incumbent president. This was an insurrection." 

Then, at 8:35PM on the 6th, Jim Acosta at CNN reported that there was a discussion among some Cabinet members about using the 25th Amendment to remove Donald Trump due to his mental state ("he's lost it" "unstable" "ranting and raving") and those discussions had moved to leading Republicans in Congress. Gen. James Mattis (Trump's one-time Sec of State) wrote that Trump and his lieutenants are "profiles in cowardice."

The foreign press looked upon the events with shock and disbelief. Newspapers all over the world covered the events calling it an attack on democracy, a revolt, a coup, an insurrection. Here are some of the headlines:

                                            

                      

From the German Foreign Minister

Five deaths (including a Capitol Police officer), at least 60 arrests. Congress returned to the Capitol to finish their business: to certify the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States. Then Trump promised an orderly transition of power, after calling his term in office "the greatest first term in presidential history." Harry Truman fought a two-front war, and won, in his first term. LBJ got the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed his first term. What did Donald Trump accomplish that was more profound that ending World War II or the most important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction?

And, keep this in mind, neither Trump nor Cruz nor Hawley, et al., who were fighting to keep Trump in office against the will of the American people were working anywhere near as hard, as vocal, or as voracious to distribute the COVID vaccine or to get money into the hand of the hungry, the jobless, or the homeless. Where was the outrage? The speeches? The demands for special investigations? The fundraising emails? Well, those do not bring in donations on the level of righteous indignation about an imaginary boogeyman. By the way, both Hawley and Cruz sent out fundraising emails during the insurrection. "To Cruz’s critics, including those within his own party, it was emblematic of the kind of naked political ambition that they have long abhorred about him." (Texas Tribune 1/7/21)

Americans are drowning. They need a lifeline, yet Donald Trump was focused on himself, not on Americans' needs. It's like Donald Trump was never interested in being the President of the United States. Rather the President of Donald Trump.

“...the leaders of this rebellion must be...banished from the republic...Let the republic drive from its soil the traitors that have conspired against its life, as God and his angels drove Satan and his host from Heaven.” ~James A. Garfield (future president), April 12th, 1861