Let's Talk

An Open Letter to My Conservative Friends and Colleagues,

 

     We have worked side by side for years, joked about our families, argued about our politics, and helped each other face the future. I always thought we believed in the same basic things, just disagreed about how we make those things real. But things changed for teachers and their families when Scott Walker was elected governor. (I don’t know if you personally voted for Walker, but your party supported him.) Ever since, I have watched the representatives of the conservative voters do and say things that I simply don’t understand. I hope you can help me.

     I have always thought we shared the belief that a quality public education is a “right” for every child in America. Since 2008 Wisconsin has cut spending on education by 15.3% according to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. That’s $1038 less per student in 2014. Your party supported Act 10 which stripped public employees of their right to collectively bargain and cut teacher pay by thousands of dollars. I know we have all been asked to share the pain of the “Great Recession”, but it seems the dismantling of teacher unions is more about politics than economics. All the while your party has supported expanding private school vouchers and charter schools. Is this really the way to improve public schools? Am I missing something?

     I have also always thought we shared the belief that the right to vote is a sacred right. I have often heard you urge your students to be responsible citizens by learning about the candidates and taking time to vote. How can you support elected officials who want to make voting more difficult? They first argued we needed voter ID laws because of wide spread voter fraud. When that turned out to be untrue -and by some courts unconstitutional-, they switched to “it’s unfair” to have early voting because some places don’t need it. Wisconsin has always been near the top in voter turn out. Why would we want to make it harder for working people to vote by not allowing extended hours and voting on weekends?  

     Last year the number one cause for bankruptcy in America was unpaid medical expenses. Every one of us knows someone who has struggled financially from unexpected illness or injury. How can you support elected representatives who refused to address the problem when they had the chance and then have actively opposed ANY attempt to remedy the situation? Even now, members of your party continue to discourage people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act without offering ANY alternative. How do you support politicians who seem to believe having nearly 2 million people go bankrupt from medical bills is ok?  Is the status quo acceptable? Never mind all the stories about people who suffer because they can’t afford medical treatment and are ashamed to ask for it. I don’t understand.

     Last year Walmart made a profit of nearly $17 billion. CEO Michael Dukes had a compensation package of $23.2 million in 2012. The Walton family is worth around $102 billion. Yet, last year in Wisconsin alone, about 9,000 Walmart workers and their dependents relied on BadgerCare, Wisconsin’s Medicaid, for health care because their family income was below the poverty level. Although many of these families do not sign up for other benefits, they would also be eligible for food stamps. Should tax payers be subsidizing Walmart? Amazingly, when legislation was presented to address this problem by raising the minimum wage, every single Republican representative in the House voted “no”. They continue to cling to the notion that if you give money to rich people, they will spend it wisely; if you give money to poor people, they will waste it on frivolous things like food and medicine. And then to have Paul Ryan suggest that the cause of this poverty is the missing work ethic of the poor? Does he really believe that? Does Paul Ryan know that in the majority of the families that get food assistance, at least one person is working, sometimes more than one job? Does he know that most of the food assistance goes to the elderly and the handicapped? Do you really believe the answer to the budget crisis in America is to cut food assistance for 2 million people so they will be motivated to work harder? I don’t understand.

     I have other questions, but let’s start here. I hope you will be able to go beyond the traditional reasons conservatives give for their policies, especially why the “trickle down” theory of economics has shifted so much wealth from middle class Americans to the top 1%. I hope you will explain exactly what it means to be a “maker” and not a “taker”. If you and I can come to some understanding, maybe we can help our political representatives find some meaningful way to address the problems so many Americans face.

 

Sincerely,

Tryg    

    

       

If The Creek Don't Rise

     There is a stream rushing through the woods on our property this morning. With the temperature finally reaching into the 40s, all the snow that fell last winter is now making its way to the creeks and rivers that surround us here in southern Wisconsin. This stream is very polite this morning. It is moving quickly, but it is staying in the small ravine it normally uses. I remember a different time when the water wasn’t as well mannered and I was a stupid kid.

     I was raised on the banks of the Fox River between Mukwonago and Big Bend. In the late 50s and early 60s - before I-43 went through - those towns were still small communities, providing supplies and entertainment (limited) to small farmers like my Dad. The Fox ran along the south edge of our land and every year we would duck hunt along a stretch of the river that was surrounded by a marsh. Because it took a while to haul our decoys down to this spot on the river, we would often leave the decoys hidden in the weeds near our duck blind. At the end of the season it was the responsibility of the LAST person to use the decoys to make certain they got back home. The fall when I was in 7^th grade, the decoys never got home. There is some disagreement between my brothers and I about who last used the decoys, but the fact remains they were left behind. As I recall now, we knew the decoy bag was securely tied to a tree and we just figured we would collect the decoys when the weather warmed up. Pa would never know the difference. Then the Fox went wild.

     The Fox River is a very typical Wisconsin river that meanders through the countryside most of the year. In the spring it often spills over and fills the marshes along its banks, but it does so moderately. This particular spring the flooding was amazing. The gentle Fox became this torrent of dark, swirling water and debris. Alarmed by the rise in water and worried about my Dad’s consequences, I made perhaps the dumbest decision in my life. I decided to go after the decoys. Alone.

     Being the youngest in the family, I often got the hand me downs from my brothers. Unfortunately, none of them had ever handed down a pair of waders or even hip boots. The only water proof boots I had went just to my knees. I knew I was going to get wet, but I figured I could handle it. I set off on the half mile hike to the river determined to get our decoys. I was startled by how far the water had already risen. A part of the woods that would generally only get muddy was now knee deep in water. I made my way through the first water, but soon was confronted with a much deeper pool. I tried to make my way across without getting wet, but the pool was too deep. Chilly spring river water flooded my boots, but I pressed on. As I got closer to the river, I could not recognize the spot where we hunted nor identify the tree where the decoys were tied. I should have turned back. Just then I started to get my bearings. I recognized some land marks and was pretty sure I had the tree with the decoys.  The only problem was the thirty yards of river that separated me from the tree. I figured the water would be maybe waist deep and since I was wet already, what did it matter?  I started to wade toward the tree. The water quickly was over my boots and soon up to my waist. There was a steady current and I had to firmly place my feet as I shuffled through the swamp grass on the bottom.  I had perhaps fifteen yards to go and every step the water came up several inches. Soon I was standing in nearly shoulder deep water just short of the tree. I knew if I went any deeper I might float and be whisked away by the current. I still remember thinking I needed to get those decoys even as I stood there shivering in the cold water. I shudder now also as I think back on my stupidity. The river was easily ten feet deeper than normal and fifty yards wider.  No one in my family knew I was wading in the river. The channel of the actual river was only a few feet away. Had I stepped into that channel, I certainly would have been carried away by the strong current and left to try to swim in my bulky clothing. I only hesitated a moment before I abandoned the decoys and carefully made my way out of the river. I collapsed on the marsh grass at the edge of the water. I managed to stagger to my feet and drag myself back through the water and mud between me and our house. The hike back was a lot less fun than the hike in. I arrived home wet and exhausted. When my mother saw me she asked what the heck I had been doing, I said I slipped and fell crossing the creek. I don’t know if she believed me or not, but she let it pass. They say cold, wet weather doesn’t cause illness, but when I came down with pneumonia a few days later, I blamed the River. I also believe there is a force of nature that sometimes looks out for stupid kids.

     Despite the fact that we never found those decoys, I learned to love that river. Cat fishing on those sweet July nights. Ice skating in December. Always wondering where that current was heading. Even now, as I stand here watching this spring run-off tumble through the woods, I am comforted by moving water.  Some part of that little boy standing beside the Fox still lives inside. I hope I can keep him away from those decoys.

 

 

This is Your Time

An Open Letter to My Children and Their Friends,

It’s election season again and we here in Wisconsin have a lot at stake. We are already seeing the first attack ads by groups outside our state funded by wealthy individuals who have never been to Wisconsin. I am writing to you because I need you to understand how important it is for you to be informed and to VOTE in the next election. I need you to know there are those who are very happy if you don’t vote. In fact they DEPEND on young people to stay home on Election Day. Don’t believe it? Just go to Project Vote online or any of a dozen other sites talking about voting.  There are some elected officials who are working to make it more difficult for young people to vote. They can’t convince you to support their agendas, so they will depend on your indifference. This election is too important for you to stay home.

You have a right to be dissatisfied. Like millions of others your age, you did what your parents and your community asked of you. You studied hard in school, got involved in extra-curricular activities, and did part time jobs. You believed us when we told you that education is the most important part of a satisfying life and an irreplaceable part of a free society. As the children of two public school teachers, you couldn’t expect anything different, but we weren’t alone. Almost every politician in America has talked about how important education is. We thought we knew the challenges you would face going to college. We had faced them ourselves. Then we watched in amazement at how quickly the cost of college went up, how quickly the Great Recession devalued our college nest egg, and how quickly your loans grew. America didn’t mean for you to be stuck with the bills, but you are. There are some who will say you or your family didn’t work hard enough. Or maybe you didn’t need to go to college. Do we really need all those teachers and social workers? Those art history and music majors? Maybe you could just get a certificate online? Ask those politicians where their children will go to school? Then go VOTE for the candidates who want to help young people get out of college debt and make college more affordable.

There are others who will say we are “broke”. We just can’t afford to provide quality education for everyone. We can’t afford to offer living wages to those who do the work in our society. (I’m sure it will comfort you to know Bill Gates returned to the top of the money list last year. His personal wealth?  $76 BILLION - with a B - Billion dollars.)  These are the same folks who argue that we can’t afford collective bargaining and unions because when working people have power, they just ask for TOO much. We can’t afford good wages and good benefits.  (Ford Motor Company profits for 2013 - $8.6 Billion.)  If you listen carefully, you will hear a reprise of the trickle down music that failed so miserably in the last decade. The stock market broke records last year. As a young person, you should be mad as hell that some politicians want to pit you against other average people who are trying to make their way. The young family that is trying to put food on the table by working two part-time jobs or the senior citizen who can’t get around without help is NOT the cause of our economic woes. Go back and read about America in the mid 1950’s. We KNOW what must be done to raise the middle class. We just need politicians who are not controlled by money. (Top three political group spenders: Crossroads GPS, Americans for Prosperity, and US Chamber of Commerce. I’ll let you figure out which of these groups is advocating for you. Bahaha!)  If you want a society that lives up to the American Dream, YOU need to fight for it every day. Go out and VOTE for the candidates who truly understand your concerns.

 I never imagined that here in Wisconsin, a state where people DIED for the right to collectively bargain for decent wages and a safe place to work, elected officials would vote to veto collective bargaining rights for public employees. I never dreamed - in a state that championed the power of ordinary people over the power of the corporations - elected officials would cut millions of dollars from public education and give huge tax breaks to corporations. I never believed Wisconsin elected officials would try to pass laws to make it harder for you to vote. To put up obstacles and shorten voting hours, simply to discourage some voters. Don’t let them wear you down. Go to the polls and let your voice be heard.  Demand that it be heard. Better yet, think about being a candidate yourself. Working for the PUBLIC good is a noble calling.

When young people go out to vote, good things happen. We have problems to solve and dreams to make real. You have it in your power to influence the course of our state and our nation. There are those who will claim they want to share the bounty that is America, but they don’t mean it or they don’t understand it. You must use your youth and energy to wrestle the American Dream from those who want to buy it and keep it for themselves. That’s the way it’s always been. This is YOUR time.  Some people are hoping you aren’t up to the challenge. Are you ready to prove them wrong?

 

Love you,

Dad