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SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

THE QUEEN:  By now you've probably heard just about every compliment directed at Queen Elizabeth, who has just died.  But I wonder if we should bypass the comments and examine the meaning of the events we are seeing.

There is a musical play called "Fiddler on the Roof."  Many of you have probably seen it or heard its music.   It has, since its first production in New York in the early 1960s, been a phenomenal success around the world.  Although set in a pre-Holocaust village in Ukraine, "Fiddler" has developed, because of the way it reaches us, a universal appeal.  When produced in Japan, many Japanese actually thought it had been written about them.

It was created by some of the theater's greatest talents, including the director/choreographer Jerome Robbins.  And each day Robbins would come into the creative meetings and ask, "What is this about?"  The others would come up with a variety of answers, none of which satisfied the very demanding Robbins.  Then, one day, one of the creators answered the question:  "It's about tradition."  And Robbins said, "Write that down." The first song in "Fiddler" is called "Tradition."

What we are seeing in the events surrounding the Queen's death is tradition.  British tradition.  The death of the monarch is part of this tradition, and we will see practices that go back hundreds of years.

Tradition.  It's the idea that makes "Fiddler" so moving, no matter what language you speak.

Tradition is what links the current generation to all those who came before.  It will remind the British of what they're about as a nation.  Without tradition, a country has no culture, no spirit, no memory. 

There are those who mock tradition.  So simplistic, you know.  All those silly songs and uniforms.  There are those in America today who want to tear down our traditions, just as they tore down statues during the violence that accompanied the pandemic.  If we let them do it, we're finished.  And we're letting them do it.

Let us learn from the British during these next two weeks, as Elizabeth is laid to rest.  They will not abandon their traditions.  And we will come to understand the importance of our own traditions.  We had better.

September 8, 2022       Permalink   

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE:

WE SHALL COMFORT HER:   The Democratic princess, Evita of the Bronx, lives in fear.  What shall we do?  From Newsmax:   In a wide-ranging conversation with GQ magazine, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., confessed to feeling shunned by her own party and said she worries about marrying a white man and being killed by Trump supporters.  The democratic socialist and "Squad" member is featured on the cover of the magazine's most recent edition in a navy-blue suit and black turtleneck with a bold red lip. The cover advertises a discussion on "masculinity, power, and politics in a post-Roe America," while a photo spread inside shows the congresswoman posing on the Capitol steps in a black dress.  "I hold two contradictory things at the same time," Ocasio-Cortez told GQ. "One is just the relentless belief that anything is possible. But at the same time, my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women. And they hate women of color."  I have no idea where she gets this stuff.  It's wrong and it's offensive.  But she's taken seriously by a once-great political party.

YOU CAN'T MAKE IT UP:  The governor of California needs therapy.  From the New York Post:   Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom was slammed as a hypocrite Wednesday for wearing a fleece coat in a seemingly air-conditioned room while urging residents to “save energy” amid a historic heat wave.  “California is experiencing an unprecedented heat wave. This will be the hottest and longest on record for September,” Newsom said in a tweet Tuesday, as temperatures soared into triple digits in some parts of the state.  “Our energy grid is being pushed to its max. The risk of outages is real. We need everyone to double down to save energy after 4 p.m. today,” Newsom went on.  In an accompanying video, Newsom told Golden Staters to “pre-cool your home. Run your conditioner earlier,” while wearing a zipped-up black fleece coat and baseball cap.  But critics on social media had a chilly reception for what they considered a double standard.
“He’s sitting inside wearing a warm jacket during a heat wave, telling the rest of us not to use AC,” one observer noted on Twitter.  Another blasted the gov by asking: “Why are you wearing a jacket zipped up to your neck? Is your AC too cold?”  Others wondered if Newsom was even in California at all.  Maybe the voters of California, who have a tendency to elect flakes, will now see the damage their political choices have caused.  Please note that the greatest flake of all, Kamala Harris, is also a product of the California political factory.

September 7, 2022       Permalink

APPROVAL OF EDUCATION SYSTEM DROPPING IN U.S.:  It isn't just an impression that we get from the news.  Increasingly, American parents are fed up with their children's schools.  From Fox:

Americans are becoming less satisfied with the state of K-12 education, with curriculum and educational approach being cited as the top issue, according to a Gallup survey released last week.

Only 42 percent of Americans said they are completely or somewhat satisfied with K-12 education in the United States, compared to 51 percent in 2019. Only 9 percent said they are completely satisfied with the education students receive, while 2 percent said they have no opinion.

Of those who were dissatisfied with public education, 65 percent highlighted issues with curriculum and educational standards, while 28 percent mentioned a lack of resources and 17 percent mentioned political concerns...

...Much of the dissatisfaction with education is driven by Republicans, where satisfaction has plummeted to 30 percent, compared to 51 percent among Democrats. This trend was not represented when parents discussed their own child’s education, though. Seventy-four percent of Republican-leaning parents were satisfied with their own children’s education, and 85 percent of Democrat-leaning parents were satisfied with their children’s education.

The concern over curriculum and education was relatively similar for Republicans and Democrats, at 58 percent and 52 percent respectively. Democrats, though, were more concerned with a lack of resources, while Republicans were more concerned with political agendas being brought into the classroom.

COMMENT:  The declining American educational system is becoming a major political issue.  We hear of more and more parents taking their children out of public schools.  Glenn Youngkin, the new Republican governor of Virginia, won his election largely on the basis of a parents' revolt against the state's educational system, especially the introduction of partisan politics into the classroom. 

Republicans should place education front and center.  Virginia set the tone.

September 7, 2022       Permalink