My Personal "Dos and Do-Nots" of Social Media Politics

I’ve made many mistakes on social media, and thus have learned much. Lately, I’ve been following some unwritten “do and do not” rules I’ve made up that have served me well by greatly reducing my blood pressure on Facebook and keeping me out of some trouble. I’ve been able to walk away from a few of these little “battles” feeling good for having stated my position intelligently without causing too much harm. That’s not to say I haven’t lost “friends”, but at least I know where I stand. You do not have to remain silent and fearful. Thinking and sharing freely is an absolute necessity these days… do so with gusto, and have fun!

Note that each “Do Not” is coupled with a “Do” below. More ideas and advice are always welcome. I still have a lot more to learn!

 

Do Not:

1.       Respond negatively to a friend’s post in the comments – don’t be a troll.

2.       Unfriend them unless it is an absolute necessity- there are always good reasons to unfriend someone (such as abuse), but keep in mind, they will use the fact that you unfriended them against you. However, if they are abusive, you can always block or report them.

3.       Attack their character. Personal attacks are beneath you. Even if they make repeated personal attacks against you and/or your family, do not take the bait- it only strengthens their case against you.

4.       Share news or information from an obviously partisan news site. Examples include, but are not limited to Fox News, Breitbart, InfoWars, Huffington Post, Occupy Democrats, Think Progress- these sites will take any smattering of questionable facts and piece them together to fit their narrative, which might be a narrative with which you already agree. The problem is that if you are trying to help get actual facts, data, and information in order to form or support a conclusion that you think others should consider, these political news sources only weaken your position. Frankly, I turn off my brain and roll my eyes when I see these as sources as a basis for a conclusion or argument, and I am positive others do too.

5.       Try too hard to “win”. Honest conversations and civil discourse is the victory. I’ve changed quite a bit physically, spiritually, and politically throughout the years. This change doesn’t happen when I “win” arguments. This growth happens only when I’m challenged. It’s possible that I will strengthen my position, and it’s possible I will “lose”, but either way I will have grown. I might also change my position, and while that is a frightening prospect, it is incredibly freeing. I’m free to think what I think and if I want to change my mind, I’m free to do that, too.

Do:

1.       Post your own stance to an issue on your own timeline. If you see something a friend has posted that you disagree with and feel compelled to respond, do so on your own timeline. Make your post unrelated to theirs and make sure your post can stand alone. Believe me, they will see yours, so you will have made your point- if they want to be the troll, let them come to you. If they do comment, then see #3.

2.       Unfollow them- This is different from “unfriending”. If you’re worn out from seeing their posts, try unfollowing them. They can still see your posts and may or may not troll you, but it’s on them. Plus, if you want to see what they’re up to, you can always check in by looking them up and scrolling through. This way you get to stay friends and avoid the awkwardness of them realizing that you don’t like what they post.

3.       Attack the argument or the issue directly. If you choose to engage in debate, and you’ve followed #1, then you are having civil discourse on your turf. You control your timeline and comment section- bonus, you might have friends who agree with you and will take some of the burden of the debate, and if you set a good example, then you’ll be hosting a respectful, civil discourse among friends. Everyone wins!

4.       Share news or information from mostly neutral news sites. And try to verify the information on multiple news sites. There is bias everywhere, but many news organizations are run by excellent journalists who do their job admirably. Examples such as Reuters and the Associated Press are considered pretty neutral. If you’re on the far right or the far left, you might consider anything close to the center to be anything but neutral. But I would argue that facts are facts- find something that presents facts, then gives analysis from experts as well as analysis from people who have opposing political views. Then, think freely. There is no shame in realizing that you might be wrong.

5.       Listen. Not just to try to find the flaw or to catch the other person in a fallacious argument, but listen for their story. Try to understand their perspective. By doing so, you honor them as human and when you argue your position you do so from a position of compassion, strength and understanding.

Thanks for reading!

Japanese Internment 75th Anniversary

Never forget that many of the things you think will never happen in the United States have already happened and could happen again. History repeats itself whenever we allow ourselves to be ignorant of the past. Our past has not always been nice or heroic. Fear and greed have often made good people do incredibly terrible things, and there are many examples throughout our nation’s history where this is true.

February 19, 2017 marks the 75^th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This is the order credited with the legal internment of “Americans of Japanese Descent” without due process or any charges brought against them. It is considered an abhorrent part of our collective history which is evidenced by its severe lack of focus during History classes in school.

Japanese Internment is usually covered in school as a blip. Nothing important to study further and quickly forgotten after the test. We don’t want to think about these things. We’d rather move on, admit that it was bad and that it shouldn’t be repeated. But this is the problem. We don’t study the bad stuff, the events we don’t want to repeat. We celebrate our successes and innovations, we honor our heroes and remember our victories, but we only briefly cover our failures. As a result of this ignorance, we fail to see when it is being repeated, even if ever so subtly, today.

Executive Order 9066 did not say anything about Japanese Americans. It gave the Secretary of War the authority to designate “military areas”, “from which any or all persons may be excluded, and with respect to which, the right of any person to enter, remain in, or leave shall be subject to whatever restrictions the Secretary of War or the appropriate Military Commander may impose in his discretion.”

Executive Order 9102 established the War Relocation Authority which was charged to “formulate and effectuate a program for the removal, from the areas designated from time to time by the Secretary of War or appropriate military commander under the authority of Executive Order No. 9066 of February 19, 1942, of the persons or classes of persons designated under such Executive Order, and for their relocation, maintenance, and supervision.”

I could be wrong, but neither order specified Japanese Americans, yet the result was the removal, relocation, and internment of Japanese Americans for the stated purpose of "national security". They were moved by train to “camps” behind barbed wire and guarded by soldiers with machine guns in barren wastelands. Just because it’s not specifically stated doesn’t mean the intent is not clear. The intent of these Executive Orders was crystal clear to the people writing and signing them.

EO 9066 “Whereas the successful prosecution of the war requires every possible protection against espionage and against sabotage to national-defense material, national-defense premises, and national-defense utilities as defined in Section 4, Act of April 20, 1918, 40 Stat. 533, as amended by the Act of November 30, 1940, 54 Stat. 1220, and the Act of August 21, 1941, 55 Stat. 655 (U.S.C., Title 50, Sec. 104);”

EO 9102 “By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, and in order to provide for the removal from designated areas of persons whose removal is necessary in the interests of national security,”

EO 9066 https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=74&page=transcript

EO 9102 http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=16239

Why Japanese Americans? According to George Takei in his autobiography To The Stars, it is because they looked like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor many Japanese Americans rushed to their nearest military recruitment office to sign up to fight in the war. They were turned away, labeled as “Enemy Aliens”.

https://www.amazon.com/Stars-Autobiography-George-Takei-Treks/dp/0671890093/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487476055&sr=8-1&keywords=to+the+stars+george+takei

Fear?

On a visit, several years ago, to the Japanese American Museum of San Jose, CA the curators gave an alternative explanation that stuck with me. According to the curators, Japanese Americans had amassed a certain amount of wealth and property in the region and there were many Americans of European descent who wanted to take it. After Pearl Harbor, these white men went to the leaders of their political party and convinced them to push for these executive orders.

Greed?

https://www.facebook.com/Japanese-American-Museum-of-San-Jose-26899655451/

Was it fear? Was it greed? I don’t know.

What I do know is that the President of the United States and his advisors targeted a specific immigrant population of concern to discriminate against. They used “fear” and “national security” in order to convince the American people of its necessity. They carried out the orders with deliberate speed and accuracy and those targeted were powerless to fight back.

Those that did fight back were imprisoned. Those who were unwilling or unable to sign a “loyalty” statement to the United Stated for numerous and various reasons were treated as disloyal. When the war effort required more troops, the government came for these “enemy aliens” and demanded that they sign up for segregated units. Those who refused were considered draft dodgers and sent to prison.

It wasn’t until 1988 when Ronald Reagan acknowledged this wrong and apologized, with compensation, to the Japanese American community.

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/08/09/210138278/japanese-internment-redress

What do we learn from this? Your take-away is up to your own conscience and interpretation. There is not going to be a direct relationship or correlation to anything happening now, but there will be similarities. There will be signs. If you study the past, specifically the dirty, messy parts, you might see something happening or starting to happen that might be worth your attention.

As for me, I will remain vigilant. I will continue to learn and speak out when I see something that doesn't seem right. Maybe I'll be wrong. I might lose some friends. It's possible that I will make some folks angry. You may disagree with me or my conclusions. But I will not stop.

Keep in mind these words from Desmond Tutu, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

And these words from The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".

Please learn more:

http://www.ushistory.org/us/51e.asp

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-japanese-anniversary-idUSKBN15W2E2

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/injustice-japanese-americans-internment-camps-resonates-strongly-180961422/

http://time.com/4574680/muslim-registry-japanese-internment/

Thanks!

Letter to my Senators Regarding Betsy DeVos's Confirmation

An identical letter was also sent to Senator Ted Cruz

Senator John Cornyn

517 Hart Senate Office Bldg.

Washington, DC 20510

Senator Cornyn,

I am disappointed in your vote in favor of confirming Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. Aside from being a billionaire and a large donor to the Republican party, what qualifications does she have? She has limited life experience with public education, she lacks the basic knowledge of some of the most complex issues regarding the ESSA and IDEA. She doesn’t understand the basic accountability systems (progress and proficiency) currently in place because she has never experienced the various levels and complexities of such accountability systems.

Secretary DeVos favors school vouchers which take vital public funds away from public schools and place those public funds into private schools, home schools, or other private (for profit) endeavors which have no public accountability. Private schools can accept or reject students based on performance, IQ, admission tests or ability to pay tuition, but public schools do not have that luxury. We take whoever comes to us and care for them as if they were our own. We take them, however they come and send them back transformed. We work very hard to accomplish near impossible tasks and jump near impossible and ever-changing hurdles to reach our goals.

As a public school teacher and parent of a public school student, I find her confirmation as Secretary of Education to be an insult to the men and women, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents  (like myself) who contacted your office to express concern and to ask you to vote “no”.

We are not “just angry” because President Trump won the election. In fact, many of my colleagues who called your office are staunch Republicans who voted for him.

We are angry that you didn’t listen and chose instead to vote along party lines and write us off as agitators who can’t get over the election. It seems to me that the love of money and acquisition of power is what is driving your decisions as of late. I was hoping for better. You have lost my vote and my confidence.

Sincerely,

Paul Cherry

Rowlett, TX 75088