Madison Flashbacks

This weekend, as the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, are filled with protestors, signs and boisterous chanting (aimed at a lunatic Governor who took office less than two months ago), Teller is reminded of another time of civil unrest there: the Vietnam War era. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the 1960s, was affectionately called “The Berkeley of the Midwest,” due to its reputation as a center for anti-war activism. Teller lived in northern Wisconsin at the time, attended college at one of the state’s regional four-year institutions, and participated in the milder and more-modest protests on his home campus.

In a weird sort of way, Teller remembers the Sixties as the worst of times and the best of times. It was the worst because there was the constant threat of the draft — and the probability of severe injury or death while fighting in an illegal and unjust war. It was the best because there was never a dull moment. The country was hyper-alive, on the edge of revolution, and campuses were where the action was.

No, there really wasn’t anything quite like being a college student in the Sixties.

From 1965 to 1969, Teller was a full-time undergraduate, maintaining his 2-S draft-deferment status and, hence, his ability to keep himself out of uniform and harm’s way. However, that wouldn’t last forever. In late May of 1969, Teller had just finished his fourth year of studies, twelve semester-credits short of graduating.  By that time, the drum beating of the Selective Service System had been pounding in his ears for months: according to his local Draft Board, all anyone got before they had to relinquish their 2-S status was four years of college attendance, no matter the outcome.

Early in1969, Teller had been summoned for his draft physical, traveling to Minneapolis to undergo the experience of being marched, with hundreds of others, cattle-like, through the examination process. Despite the medical file that Teller had generated, and continually updated, he passed his physical. Before the semester ended, he had received his 1-A classification card. And three weeks to the day after his last final exam, June 18, 1969, his draft notice appeared in his mailbox.

“Greetings,” it said.

Isn’t it interesting what memories can be brought back, right here in 2011, by these stirring images from Madison on the TV news?

Politics, Fatigue & Looking Ahead

Teller has been an academic dean for several years now, and is three-and-a-half years into this position on his current campus. Among other descriptors, the job is large, unwieldy, and unpredictable. He is spending the weekend enjoying some down time before embarking on yet another challenging 17-week marathon, this one called “Spring Semester.” It starts all over again on Monday. Getting a new term off the ground is always an arduous task and he admits to feeling drained before the real work even commences.

One of the reasons for the fatigue factor being especially prominent right now is the stress associated with last week’s events. During the middle of the week, Teller had cancelled a low-enrolled class in one of the physical-science disciplines. He had made the cancellation decision in consultation with the instructor and department chair; after ensuring that the affected students were informed of an alternative, he assumed the matter was settled. Then, on Friday, entirely out-of-the-blue, he endured an attack from the head of the counseling department, who accused him, because of his action, of not only being insensitive to students’ needs but also in violation of the collective-bargaining agreement. A certain amount of pandemonium ensued while he attempted to explain the situation to his new supervisor (an interim Vice President on the job for a mere two weeks). Teller ultimately succumbed to the demands being made on him and reinstated the class, which will now run with even fewer students. He sees this as a squandering of scarce resources, but realizes that the politics of the situation, not common sense, drove the so-called “solution.”

So, here he is, during the weekend, when his batteries are supposed to be re-charging, attending to a multitude of personal issues and tasks. He’s not feeling even one little bit like he’s getting any positive energy back, for one of the items on his agenda is the also-stressful process of completing an employment application.

Now, Teller isn’t really engaged in what could be termed an active job search. Still, he believes he needs to be keeping his eyes open for potential new opportunities. The top-level leadership of his institution has just changed hands (the interim VP was hired by the entirely-new campus chief executive), and, really, there’s no telling what could happen. It isn’t at all unusual for a new president to come in, scope out the place, and decide there’s a need for some significant shuffling. So, what with a campus culture characterized by rampant conflict and lack-of-trust, multitudinous unhappy students and faculty, and the recent changing-of-the-guard at the top, Teller’s life continues to be an unstable one.

Perhaps the faculty position he just applied for up in Portlandia is exactly what he needs in order to restore some balance back into his life.

Political Passion, Facebook & Freedom of Speech

This morning, I posted a link on my Facebook page to an article about Keith Olbermann’s “Special Comment” regarding the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Arizona yesterday (see “Olbermann Connects Giffords Shooting To Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck And Apologizes For His Own Remarks”). In the comment I made to accompany that link, I called for a halt to the widespread uncivil, inflammatory and insane political rhetoric in this country — such as the “second-amendment-remedies” remarks from the likes of Sharron Angle, Sarah Palin, and other assorted Tea Partiers.

Within minutes, I had a comment from one of my Facebook “friends” asking if that meant I would now end my expression of impassioned political opinions, noting my agitation about, and name-calling of, many Republicans over the years.

All I can say to this is: wtf, dude?

Are you saying that my opinions, however passionately expressed, have the kind of radical, evil intent (and, indeed, craziness) in them that imply support of assassination, murder and/or attempted murder?

With all due respect, when I make claims such as “George W. Bush is a liar and a war criminal,” there is considerable evidence to support that. And is in no way a call for harm to anyone. For you to infer malicious intent on my part is just plain folly.

And so, dear Facebook friend, in an unprecedented act, I have removed my post and your subsequent comment. You don’t get to insinuate, on my Facebook page (please use your own), that my passion has any relationship to the dangerous (and now murderous) rhetoric put out there by the political right-wing in recent times. You just don’t get to do that.

Update on January 10, 2011:

Today, via email, I heard from my Facebook friend regarding this incident. It seems that, to at least one individual in this world, I am not only an uncivil but a potentially-dangerous person.

The email I received came with the subject line: “F You.” A mildly-edited version (in my continuing attempt to preserve the person’s anonymity) appears in the comments section below. In the spirit of free speech, active listening, and valuing multiple perspectives, I present this commentary here.

Goodbye, Teddy

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the last of the brothers, died and was buried this week. Along with millions of others, I will miss him.

It’s been reported that Kennedy wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI earlier in the year, asking for the prayers of His Holiness, as he struggled with the brain cancer that ultimately took his life. In that communication he admitted to being “an imperfect human being.”

Of course, yes, he was imperfect. So were Jack and Bobby. So is everyone. We are, after all, human. Despite his imperfections, however, he was a giant of a man... doing so much for so many for so many years.

David Horsey published an editorial cartoon last Thursday, with this Kennedy quote:

If by a liberal, they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind; someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions; someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties; someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicion that grips us; if that is what they mean by a liberal, I am proud to be a liberal.

RIP, Teddy.

Change

It’s time for a change. Today is the day! Inauguration 2009!