Student Loans

Teachers and Others Being Strangled by Federal Student Loans

By Thomas Hansen, Ph.D.

Educators at all levels are struggling right now to pay their federal student loans because of school staffing cutbacks, cancellations in college majors, the generally bad economy, higher prices for products and services, higher rent payments, and now the difficulties and greater expenses brought on by the COVID-19 virus.  

Just how big is the student loan debt currently?  Zack Friedman tells us in Forbes Magazine that “Student loan debt in 2020 is now about $1.56 trillion.” He also states these figures: “There are 45 million borrowers who collectively owe nearly $1.6 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. Student loan debt is now the second highest consumer debt category - behind only mortgage debt…  He goes on to say that “The average student loan debt for members of the Class of 2018 is $29,200” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/02/03/student-loan-debt-statistics/#4b0341ed281f).  

Because the federal loans cannot be discharged easily in a bankruptcy (car loans, Sears card balances, and doctor bills) there is a huge problem facing teachers and others who want to keep paying on their students but are fighting hard to do so.  In some cases, they simply can no longer pay.  In other cases, the borrower can request deferment status or forbearance status—these being slightly different and each having their own rules (https://www.navient.com/in-repayment/forms). 

The reality of the loans is that they must usually be paid, eventually.  It is very difficult—and uncommon—for a borrower to convince a judge to grant discharge of the federal student loan.  Even though it is possible, it seems to be extremely rare (https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/01/09/student-loans-bankruptcy-discharge/#305c22346d56).  

In other words, if you owe money to the US Department of Education, you will almost certainly have to pay it back.  If you don’t, they can take your salary and your tax refunds.  Many jobs in education demand that you sign a statement saying you are not in default of paying on a student loan.  If you work full-time, you must start paying.  For example, if you work full-time for 60 days, you must pay two months’ worth of payments. 

Some educators right now are working several different part-time gigs in addition to their substitute teaching assignments.  Their small paychecks coming from several different employers still do not add up to enough money to take on loan payments.  They know they have those loans hanging over their heads… but unless they get the perfect job from Heaven—or win the lottery—they do not know when they will ever start paying on the loan. 

 

Jessica--not her real name—is a friend of mine who finished her Master in Education (Curriculum) degree two years ago.  She made the mistake of working a couple years and then contacting lenders to pay on her loan.  Big mistake… she owed all of the two years’ worth of payments immediately.  “I thought I could save up some money, get on my feet, and then start paying on the loan,” she said.  Luckily, she had been saving that money to pay for a variety of expenses and was able to send the full amount that was due for the student loan.  However, the representative at the Department of Education was not happy when he contacted her.  “The guy I talked to set up my payments was furious,” she said.  “He gave me a lecture about paying my bills!”   

 

Once you are working full-time, you must start paying.  And in order for your payments to be deferred, you must be actively looking for a position, be signed up with a bona fide placement agency or college department offering such services, and then both apply – and receive -- official approval of deferment.    

Some educators and other professionals with high student loans must ignore some job advertisements.  Ron (one of my best friends, not his real name) says he cannot apply for a job like Assistant Professor anymore because it will not pay enough for him to pay both his loan payments and rent.   He can only apply for jobs in Administration in high schools or colleges.  These jobs are scarcer these days given the topsy-turvy economy we are trying to function in, and even harder to find with more and more K-12 and higher education students studying at home, online.  There just is not as great a need for many directors and deans if most of the buildings are empty.  

Scarcity of jobs or tightness of budgets notwithstanding, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos wants students to pay their student loans back.  DeVos is trying to change the rules regarding erasing and forgiving student loans.  DeVos is not making it easier for borrowers to pay their loans, get them forgiven, or get them reduced.

DeVos is instead proposing changes that would make it almost impossible for students to get their loans forgiven.  As a representative of President Trump and the political party supporting him, DeVos has shown herself to be very interested in collecting the loan payments and not interested in listening to many reasons students should be allowed off the hook.  States do not agree, however, and 23 of them have sued her for pushing this agenda meant to make students pay their loans off—no matter the hardships this causes.  (https://news.yahoo.com/23-ags-sue-devos-over-195642902.html).

DeVos almost seems also to be an advocate for the for-profit colleges—including failed ones.  In  proposing students must still pay for their education—even though the education does not produce a high number of employed graduates—DeVos is seemingly protecting the corrupt for-profit colleges… or at least acting as though they are viable sources of education.  Some have been closed.  Students with schlocky degrees from these schools went as far as suing the Department of Education for garnisheeing their wages and taking students’ federal income tax refunds away.  

A federal judge told DeVos to stop doing this to students (https://www.marketwatch.com/story/judge-orders-betsy-devos-to-cancel-7200-scammed-borrowers-student-loans-2020-06-29).  But DeVos went back to work, and all these infractions simply continued.  Later, the judge called DeVos back and asked why this was still happening.

Apparently 10,000 more students had this happen to them, to the judge’s dismay.  The judge asked DeVos for an explanation, but the Secretary smiled a lot (as always) and could not really offer any explanation as to why the judge’s decision had been ignored.  DeVos was told to go back and fix whatever the problem was and get things turned around.  

DeVos is being sued for other issues, currently, such as the threat that schools refusing to open (despite the pandemic) will lose their funding to other schools—namely private ones.  Her argument is that parents want their students in school and learning something.  Other people see some other possible motivation in her threat to take funds away and put them elsewhere (e.g., https://abcnews.go.com/US/naacp-sues-betsy-devos-covid-19-aid-rule/story?id=71883022). 

Politics, as always, is a big topic weaved into the education rug in very complex ways.  Depending on who wins the election this fall, there could be two very different realities.  One, if Donald Trump wins the election, there might be more of DeVos and her plans to tighten the noose around the neck of borrowers, not following many rules, and doing pretty much whatever she wants—despite what the courts may tell her what to do.

If Joe Biden wins the election, there might be some major changes, with Bernie Sanders and others helping to guide the direction of student loan forgiveness and reduction.  In some cases, the loans might be wiped clean, leaving borrowers free to work and to earn and to pay their other bills.  Biden has already been trying to figure out what he should do about the student loan crisis 

(https://finance.yahoo.com/news/what-the-democrats-plan-to-do-with-your-student-loan-debt-170726330.html)

For the time being, educators are fighting very hard to pay their federal student loans for many reasons.  Cutbacks, school closings, and high prices of goods and services threaten those of us who in our careers have made a sacrifice and become teachers, maybe gotten a graduate degree and taken out loans to get there—only to realize they cannot pay their bills anymore.  

For many teachers, they too have become part of the growing split in status found in our great nation:  one group is working full-time and paying their student loans.  The second group is working part-time and not able to pay their student loans.  We will see if November brings any solutions.

   

Homeless Needs

The Kinds of Items Homeless People Really Need

By Thomas Hansen, Ph.D.

 

I have been asking homeless people for a couple years now what sort of things they really need.  Some friends of the homeless do not like to give cash away… afraid that the cash will not be used for items that are not helpful.  I make no comments on that here and simply say I hope all people can find ways to help other people, be they homeless or poor or in some sort of need.

When asked about what kinds of items are best to bring to homeless people, I get other comments before I hear a list of items.  Right away, they tell me that it works out best if the person bringing them a donation they have asked for.  For example, if a helper is near a grocery store, they can ask what the homeless person might like—and things they do not like.  

The homeless person can respond with a couple different options—thus giving the helper some idea what to spend, what to look for, etc.  The homeless person can also ask the helper to avoid foods or items that are problems for them. 

Examples of foods and drinks to avoid giving homeless people (without first asking) would be: no cheese or milk – for people who cannot have dairy items.  Other examples: no chips or popcorn – for people who cannot have sodium.  Still more examples: no red or purple grapes or plums or cranberries or other dark vegetables or fruits for people taking blood thinners (these foods interfering with their medication).

Some types of things that are helpful from a grocery could be bananas, apples, aspirin, fruit juice, vitamins, bagels, canned fruit, and yogurt.  All of these are sensible requests and have to do with the health of the homeless person.

The helper can ask the homeless person for some recommendations – and foods to avoid.  Also, the helper can say, “I’m going to be in the produce section… any interest in some fresh fruit?”  Further, they might want to say, “I want to buy you something that costs $5 or less… can you think of something they would have in this store that would fit that?”

Sometimes helpers simply do not know what to buy… so they wind up buying the homeless person snacks like chips and candy… two items many people cannot eat.  The snacks get thrown out if they cannot be traded for some other item once the helper has walked away.  There are of course many other items such as a cup of coffee (sugar?  cream?  black?) a helper can purchase.  A large coffee at many standard “to-go-carry-out” shops will be under $5.

Sometimes the homeless person needs other kinds of items nobody thinks of.  Some random items I hear people need are: postage stamps, breathe mints, toothpaste, wipes, tissues, fingernail clippers, deodorant, body spray, cologne, phone chargers, and ink pens (good ones that work!). 

Homeless adults will often need (and not know how to ask for) women’s paper products, condoms, Midol and similar pills, coupons for deals at fast-food restaurants, and of course gift cards for sandwiches and coffee and muffins.  Homeless children will often need small notebooks, crayons, pencils, pencil cases, small backpacks, juice packs, and healthy snacks with fruit, cheese, and crackers in them.        

All the people I have spoken with have said, “Why don’t people just ask?”  Many homeless people have diabetes or bad teeth.  They simply have no use for candy bars and caramel corn.  One homeless woman I spoke to said, “I got more pretzels today and do not know who is going to chew them for me.”

People have often said they feel like they will appear unappreciative if they do not accept certain foods or items.  They are afraid this will upset the helper who will go on to help other people instead… or worse yet will go home and give up on trying to help at all.

Communication is the common theme in the examples above.  Treating others with dignity – all people, not just the homeless or the veterans or the helpers – is terribly important.  Now more than before, people must pull together and try to communicate.  Said one friend to me recently, “This virus has strained friendships, made people crazy, and driven families apart… we must hold on and come through this big challenge!”  

Let us hope we will all become better communicators.  Let’s help each other, and listen to each other.  When people are hungry, let’s buy them a sandwich.  When people need a cup of coffee, let’s remember that almost anyone can become homeless in a very short time… such as when they are getting no pay checks and wondering what happened to them.

psychoanalysis

RUSSIA GETS THE BALL ROLLING

The lost legacy of  Russian psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein.

By Stephen Wilson

On the shore in the rural village of Bollingen ,in Switzerland ,one can come across a stone panel showing a bear bending down and nudging a stone with its nose and an inscription stating 'Russia gets the ball rolling'. The stone sculpture was conceived by Carl Jung. It is thought to be a memorial to his former mistress and lover Sabina Spielrein. But the sculptor for whatever reason did not even mention her name! And in Moscow, there is also no memorial or plaque with her name on it despite the fact that Sabina was the founder of psychoanalysis in Russia, and a legendary teacher who taught at an Institute in Moscow. In fact ,for close to a century the life of Sabina Spielrein has been shrouded in dense fog of obscurity. We have all heard of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and Anna Freud but Sabina Spielrein draws a blank. "Sabina who ? " And when specialists  have recently heard of her it is only as a passing reference or pointer to the more conspicuous works of Jung or Freud. Spielrein's role is reduced to a mere footnote in Freud's work, 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle', as an ex-patient of Jung as well as mistress, as well as correspondent of Freud and Jung. The film directed by Croneberg , A Dangerous Method, 2011, is a lurid and titillating depiction of her role as a secret lover of Jung. For all the films faults, it at least helped raise Spielrein's name out of obscurity if nothing else.

 

However, the reality that Spielrein was a pioneer of psychoanalysis in Russia, a brilliant genius and innovative thinker in her own right with a  unique voice  has only gradually been acknowledged in recent years. This largely began with the publication of the Freud and Jung Correspondence in 1974. Then the diaries, notes and a cache of Spielrein's papers were published by Aldo Carotenuto in 1982. And many thoughtful books exploring the intriguing ideas and thoughts of Spielrein have been published. For instance, Angela Sells' work' Sabina Spielrein, the woman and Myth', as well as John Kerr's 'A Most Dangerous Method,' 1993.

 

So what is special about Sabino Spielrein? Well quite a lot !  It seems that Spielrein made significant contributions to child psychology, how the language of children developed, the ideas of archetypes which inspired Jung as well as her own thoughts on the role of sex in relation to how it can radically transform the growth of a person. Spielrein had a hand in the development of not only the ideas of Jung and Freud but also a generation of Russian psychologists such as Luria and Vygotsky. The Russian influence on the ideas of Freud was more often, hardly acknowledged at all. The very notion of the Death Instinct was expressed by the Russian scientist Elie Metchnikoff , who wrote the work "Rhythm of Life" in 1903. Metchnikoff argued that people had a natural wish or desire to die. It was only the influence of religion which made people scared of death. Metchnikoff even won the nobel prize for his work. Freud took this idea but never acknowledged Metchnikoff as a source. The idea of a Death instinct is a very strange notion. Freud argued that people all wished to die so as to return to an original inorganic state. He never produced any concrete evidence to support this idea . There is even a current claim that Jung plagiarized the ideas of Spielrein as in her diaries she recorded her own anxiety that Jung might steal her ideas of archetypes.  

 

Spielrein was a devoted follower of Sigmund Freud. Like many people she fell under the spell of his novel ideas of how hidden impulses and wishes in the unconscious can inadvertently shape our behavior without us knowing. Freud thought that much repression of our desires and wishes could lead to all kinds of traumatic illnesses such as hysteria, and depression. However, I have found his views tend to provoke either awe or great hostility. At university one lecturer stated Freud's views on psychology could not be taken seriously. Freud was no more than either an  historical or literary interest. Daniel Ogen , an American teacher told me "It is all just nonsense ". A teacher from Britain, Daryl went so far as to claim that "Freud was the head of a religious cult who refused to allow any disagreement". Why do so many people now oppose Freud? Well perhaps it is because of many of the bizarre statements he could come out with . Freud once declared with unashamed gusto "I am not really a man of science, not an observer, not an experimenter,and not a thinker. I am nothing but by temperament a conquistador-an adventurer, if you want to translate the word-with the curiosity,the boldness,and the tenacity that belong to that type of being. " Both Freud and Jung did not tolerate any disagreements with their thoughts. Academic freedom was practically a foreign idea to such thinkers. A director called Eugen Bleuler  resigned from the International Psychoanalysis Association on the grounds that ,unlike in science, those thinkers refused to allow freedom of discussion and debate. The organisation was more like some authoritarian religious creed than anything else.

 

But Jung remains more popular than Freud in Russia. I made an acquaintance with a psychologist called Svetlana who worked with patients at 'The Family Club' in Moscow. She thought that Jung had more positive things to say about the subconscious than Freud who saw it as mainly negative. Once when I was helping the homeless at a soup kitchen I heard a nice photographer present state "All those people you see before you have a unique soul." I asked what was his philosophy and he told me how he was inspired by Jung. Jung tends to appeal to many Russians who have a mystical bent.

 

The history of Psychoanalysis seems to have led to quick disillusionment and disenchantment.Hopes seem to have been betrayed. This need not have been so as in the early stages Psychoanalysis seemed promising. It offered a new way of not only perceiving problems but treating them in a non-judgmental way. It offered a new way of listening called 'free association' where the patient sat on a couch and told anything which came into his mind while the therapist listened attentively. To stop quacks or charlatans becoming 'self styled ' therapists; strict qualifications, and experience were required. An analyst had himself to be analysed before practicing. Freud did help many patients to recover from problems. However, people became deeply skeptical of his ideas when he refused to publish a single article or list of practical guidelines for prescribed treatment.

 

Perhaps if people had listened to Speilrein, psychoanalysis could have developed differently.

Speilrein was originally a highly distressed patient of Jung who was admitted to a Swiss psychiatric hospital called 'the Burgholzli Clinic. She had been sexually abused by her father and was treated and cured by Jung. Speilreins' noble vision was expressed by a letter from Jung to Freud in the following letter ; 'An hysterical patient told me that a verse from a poem by Lermontov was continually going round in her head. The poem is about a prisoner whose sole companion is a bird in a cage. The prisoner is animated by only one wish : sometime in his life , as his noblest deed, to give some creature its freedom. He opens the cage and lets his beloved bird fly out. What is the greatest wish ? "Once in my life I would like to help someone to perfect freedom through psychoanalytic treatment". That is what Speilrein sought to do. She wanted to help others find freedom. She offered many unique insights into the psychology of human behavior which were presented in numerous papers, and articles. One such article was her 'Transformation' article which stresses how love can play a prominent role in healing the wounds of people. She declared 'Where love reigns, the ego ,the ominous despot dies. ' Unfortunately, her fate was very tragic. Speilrein returned to Russia, where the institute she worked at in Moscow was suppressed by Stalin. She had to treat patients in secret.Three of her brothers were arrested and executed by the authorities during the purges. Speilrein ,who moved to Rostov on Don with her family were arrested and murdered by the Nazis , in a synagogue . Nevertheless now more and more people are rediscovering her legacy. That is she was a child analyst before Anna Freud and thought up many new ideas in a wide range of subjects ; Linguistics, education ,childhood development and trauma. She had a lot to say about why children would harm themselves and become too timid and terrified of affirming life. Her ideas are still relevant to contemporary day to day problems. She was without doubt a great and generous genius !

 

Book Review

Book Review:  THE O'HARES

Second City Teachers features book reviews of Chicago Public School teachers who have written books, plays, poems, etc. Some have been published or are still looking for a publisher. This week we feature Eric Pratt, a former Saucedo Middle School literature and computer teacher who is now substitute teaching. He has written a fascinating screenplay called THE O'HARES about the Al Capone days and the true gangster history of the man who O'Hare Airport was named after. He is looking to get his screenplay produced as a movie.  

CPS teacher & author Eric Pratt next to the plane Butch O'Hare flew in at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. 

Can you tell us a little about your background? How did you get involved in writing?

I started writing short stories in middle school. Columbia College has a really strong Fiction Writing program. Many of their instructors are also published authors. Writing prose and teaching writing at the college level seemed like it'd be a fun career path. Columbia College offers a Semester in LA to several of its departments. The one for Fiction Writing majors involves Adaptations, in which you learn how to get the rights to IP. (intellectual properties)  I'd seen a really funny play called Dick Danger: DJ Crime Solver a few months prior and was able to option the rights to that and tried to develop that. Tnen I worked for the producers who produced the movies The Fugitive and Seven. I returned to Chicago to get my Masters in teaching. 

How did you get involved in mafia books? What kind of research have you done?

I'm a big fan of the gangster genre. Growing up, one of my favorite movies was The Untouchables. I remember loving an episode of the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles which as Eliot Ness as Indy's roommate at the University of Chicago and Capone also played a key role. I read the graphic novel of Road to Perdition before seeing the film. I always loved the period and that these films were shot in Chicago. I used to live in the apartment building where Bugs Moran lived. It was a hotel back then and he lived in the penthouse. It's also a couple blocks from the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, which he was late for because he stopped to get a haircut. Anyway, all these Chicago crime/gangsters tour busses drive by. 

How did you come across the Eddie O'Hare story?  What do you think about it?

I missed a plane once at the O'Hare Airport and had a lot of time to kill before the next departure. I stumbled across the Butch O'Hare memorial in Terminal 2 and wondered why there had never been a movie about him. My dad's a pilot and I always loved aviation oriented movies like Top Gun. The final act of Star Wars is basically a World War II dog fight movie. As someone who's struggled with my weight as a kid, I identified with Butch a lot. Butch also grew up in St Louis. 

The memorial contains no mention of his dad. In starting to research the story, I learned of the role that his dad played in bringing down Capone. His father seemed like a much more dynamic character than Butch, who was extremely modest and quiet. Eddie was a lawyer but served in prison. He swindles his way to own the patent for mechanical rabbits used at dog tracks and owned the Chicago Cardinals football team. He had all these nicknames: Fast Eddie, Easy Eddie, Artful Eddie. He was also strict with Butch and was afraid he never amount to anything. It's tragic that he didn't get to see his son become one the best fighter pilots of World War II and was killed four years later. 

I was also surprised to learn that Eliot Ness had nothing to do with Capone being convicted of tax evasion. Ness desperately needed money and wrote a book in which he claimed credit. Thus, the TV show and the movie The Untouchables presented Ness as the hero. The real hero was an IRS agent named Frank Wilson. In Wilson's book, he said that Eddie O'Hare was the most undercover man he ever met and was the single most important factor in the conviction of Capone. He also wrote that Eddie would play help Wilson if he could ensure Butch got accepted into the Naval Academy. Now, I obviously love The Untouchables, but it's not how the story went down. 

I just think this is a fantastic story. I don't have to make a lot of it up. So many people have been to O'Hare Airport but don't know the name. I'll constantly ask people. And most don't know the name Butch O'Hare. They certainly don't know there's a connection to Capone.  

What is important when you write a screenplay? 

The most important thing is to make it a fun, enjoyable read for whoever is reading it: assistants, directors, agents, managers. They don't want amazing, Dicksonian prose. They want lots of white space and a reason to keep reading. There are thousands and thousands of other scripts out there. And you have to make yours better than everyone else. Characters should be well-developed and be in constant jeopardy. 

Can you tell us about the process to get your screenplay produced? Is it tough?

It's incredibly tough. You need someone to be a champion of the material. Someone who "gets" your story. Unfortunately, and with the Tom Hardy/Capone movie from a couple of months ago, it's even tougher. Paramount passed because of it. Capone is perceived as "tired" material.  You have to agent/manager or no one will give you the time of day. And agents' plates are already full. 

What is Hollywood like?

Hollywood is extremely competitive. Again, it's tough. No one owes you anything. You have to sell yourself and have a very thick skin. 

What else can you say about Capone and O'Hare and others?

I think what ultimately drew me to the story is that it is about a father who loves his son. And will do whatever it takes to see his son's dream realized. 

Capone was a lot younger than most people think. He became the most notorious figure in organized crime in his 20's. I always feel he is portrayed a lot older. 

What do you plan to write next?

I'm working on a script about when Bugsy Siegel tried to kill Hermann Goering. It's another combination of the gangster genre and World War II. 

Please add anything you feel is important to tell our readers. Thanks!

This is a story about legacy, sacrifice, and redemption. All real themes in movies. 

*The name of the script is THE O'HARES. I actually have two scripts now: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Volume 1 focuses on EJ and Capone. Volume 2 is Butch's World War II story. 

**People can reach me on Twitter @empratt2 or email me at ericthewriter@gmail.com They can DM me and I can email it to them. 

Book Review

Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism 
by Anne Case and Angus Deaton, 2020. 
Princeton: Princeton University Press, cloth, 264 pages.

Review by Thomas Hansen, Ph.D.

Case and Deaton are famous for having discovered the high number of fatalities associated with stressors of capitalism impacting white working class individuals. The deaths are from alcoholism, suicide, and drug overdose. The number of deaths is now is the hundreds of thousands – with the numbers climbing higher. People have not been focusing on this trend
and have been focused on the deaths of other demographics, unfortunately.

The numbers show it is overwhelmingly the white workers (not people of other races) who have lost their place in society – people coming from families where everyone works hard, people save money, people pay rent and buy houses and cars, and people can pass something on to their children. No longer can many of these workers find and keep the kind of job their parents had. The jobs they once knew are gone and the workers do not have skills technical enough to compete with college graduates. Many lower-skilled jobs have sent overseas where labor is much cheaper. The prices have skyrocketed on food, housing, and clothing.

Even the basics are out of reach when a person has little money to spend and cannot work enough to build up a reserve.
The people in this difficult situation come to the realization they simply cannot solve their problems. White working with little financial or educational ammunition to fall back on do not know how to achieve this. It is for most of them a fight with no weapons, a war the working class cannot win.

Because the white working class has been facing a depressed – and depressing – future for many years now, with little hope of success, death is winning. People in this group are killing themselves by drugging and drinking, and by committing suicide in a variety of ways.

The numbers of deaths are staggering – and they were increased greatly by the stress of the Great Recession, which experts say happened from December 2007 to June 2009 (Stanford
Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, 2011). As these people have tried to work, tried to succeed, they met with resistance from an economy that no longer had a place for them.

Misery, pain, frustration, and despair plague them. Drinking, drugging, and a variety of suicide methods are used to help these individuals escape an economy in which they cannot
compete, cannot survive, cannot win.

That Case and Deaton have been able to determine the causes of these deaths, collect the data, report on the deaths, and establish recommendations on what has to happen to remedy such
depressing factors weighing on individuals affected by those stressors is incredible. Their reporting is straightforward and their research is solid.

The final chapter of the book, “What to Do?” provides some hope. What can people do? Citizens need to learn more about these deaths and more about the economy. People must vote to install new federal and local programs to help people who are struggling. Elected officials must make it a priority to create solutions. Like all bigger and more complex issues, this problem will require well-coordinated strategies and major funding. It will also require empathy.

Words are Action!

 WORDS ARE ACTION!

 By Stephen Wilson

 

           NOBODY'S  A MERE MEDIOCRITY

 

           The Man who did not Shoot

 

           My commander almost did not save me

           and somebody shot where I stood.

           and the squad excellently executed

           the order.

           But there was one ,who did not shoot.

 

            Russian ballad by Vladimir Visotsky

 

           All our actions can be crowned with meaningful significance if they are

           done from deep down in our souls.

 

           

 

           THE PREVAILING DOMINANT VALUE SYSTEM IS HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE

 

           Our views of the World are often influenced by the prevailing views perpetuated

           by the mainstream media, and cultural influences that you can't change or

           effectively alter the system or society  in anyway . We too often hear the

           capitalist system is just too strong and deeply entrenched. While the state is

           all powerful ; ordinary people are either too powerless or impotent to make any

           decisive impact. How many times have you heard someone say "You can't

           fight the system. " or "It is better to settle down in a secure job." and "He who

           dares to raise his or her head will get hammered." ? What is worse is that many

           people who are searching for ways to improve the quality of life for people

           around them are discouraged from doing so. They sometimes hold false notions

           about the impact their activities can make on the World. For example, a person

           is deemed disqualified from making a real impact on the World because he lacks

           the right profession, property , power or possessions. They might think that their

           actions won't make a significant impact. It is a common presumption that my action

           can't change  anything significantly. Nothing I, or you, can ever do will  

           make any difference . Therefore one either has to make do, bend to  circumstances

           or swim with the tide. One adapts rather than acts. So people no longer act much but

           become indifferent, fit in, adapt, and observe the main rules, regulations and the law.

           A person no longer acts but reacts passively to 'overwhelming circumstances'. The

           World ceases to be a stage. It is not surprising that such a view makes people

           depressed, despondent and demoralized. So many people feel low esteem and that

           their lives are worthless. It is  sad that so many people who feel  worthless  never

           hear a single person tell them how  their lives are priceless !

 

           Such a view of people is highly misleading, myopic and short-sighted. Just because

           you can't see the impact of an action or it 's imperceptible results does not mean

           it has no significant impact. The British philosopher Derek Parfit in his work 'Reason

           and Emotions ' argues that even a seemingly small action with imperceptible results  

           can profoundly alter events. He also claimed that we often ignore the impact of  

           actions because of the very small chances or probabilities that such  action will have

           a given result. We are mistaken in believing that the trivial , imperceptible and small

           effects won't have a  result.  There is a famous song by the Russian singer Vladimir

           Visotsky titled 'The man who did not shoot'.The song is a wartime ballad which tells

           of how a Russian soldier is wrongly accused of treason and arrested as a traitor. He

           is sentenced to be shot by a firing squad. One of the soldiers knowing the prisoner is

           innocent intentionally misses his shot. It is because of his very act with imperceptible

           results that the accused actually survives and later recovers in hospital. Of course,

           it would be all too easy to conclude that because I am part of the firing squad it makes  

           little difference on the outcome. Someone else in the firing squad will kill him anyway.

           But there are certain fascinating cases where people have faced firing squads and

           survived overwhelming odds. So both Parfit and Visotsky are correct to challenge

           complacency.

 

           A PERSON'S CAPACITY TO DO GOOD IS NOT COMPLETELY CONTAINED

           BY HIS STATION OR SITUATION

 

           We can easily presume that a person's station in life means he can't effectively do

           good or change things. I 'll never forget how school students would sneer at a school

           cleaner or bus conductor. But a cleaner can play a tremendous role in helping people.

           In some Psychiatric hospitals in America and Russia, it was the cleaner who was

           doing more to help distressed patients than some of the doctors and nurses. The

           cleaner was often the only person who would talk and listen to the patients.

           When my daughter visited the funeral of a young woman who had been killed in a

           horrific accident in Moscow, and a  whole crowd of people turned up to pay their  

           respects it was the cleaner in the church who  treated them most decently.

           When Jim Vail and I were working with the homeless in Moscow in the 1990's we

           noticed how many of the homeless were very good at aiding other homeless people

           to find jobs or even a place to stay. We found that often a homeless person ,despite

           having nothing in terms of possessions or a home could still play a very important

           part helping other people. In Psychiatric hospitals often the not so badly sick patients

           helped the more vulnerable patients. So even if a person ends up on the streets, in

           a hospital or prison ,they can still make a decisive difference by their actions.  

 

           SMALL ACTIONS CAN BE SIGNIFICANT

 

           People might think that signing a petition for the release of a prisoner, making a small

           donation or listening won't make much difference because we don't see quick results.

           It is not so difficult for a person to create a pleasant atmosphere around him if he or

           she sincerely tries. I recently read in Daniel Goleman's 'Emotional Intelligence' a nice

           story of how an African American bus driver  warmly greeted and cheered up a

           whole bus full of unhappy passengers in New York. He gave a long talk on all the

           great opportunities in the city such as going to the theater or visiting this or that shop.

           Contrast this with the report given by Thomas of an unpleasant bus ride he  

           experienced in last month's Second City Teachers.  

 

           You never know the exact results of a journey. For example, Henry Dunant once

           went on a business trip. He inadvertently ended up in the midst of a battle being

           fought at Solferino in 1859. Who would have thought that such a shy ,diffident and

           unimposing man would have been the key founder of the International Red Cross ?

           The book he wrote about the battle, 'A memory of Solferino', played a good part

            in publicizing the need for such a society to help the injured during wartime. It is

            easy to forget that many of the people who Dunant approached for help were often

            cynical and thought his ideas would never be accepted or draw fruit. They were

            considered Utopian  or far-fetched. It would never work ! It seemed just the idea

            of an eccentric dreamer. And yet the Red Cross currently counts millions of members!

           

         

 

            WORDS MAKE AN IMPACT

 

            Some people think that the words we utter can make no difference. Action is louder

            that words. So the impact of words can be  discounted ,dismissed or overlooked. This

            is a major mistake. Words are action. You can give a person a heart attack or make

            someone mad just with one word. In Irish folklore some Irish poets killed people by

            uttering a curse or spell. Talking itself is a kind of doing and is a 'speech act'. The

            philosopher J.L. Austin even wrote a book titled 'How to do things with words'. We

            use words to make promises, marry, persuade and act out stories. In reality there is

            no 'empty rhetoric' but ,rather ,insincere rhetoric where we don't live up to our words.

 

            A person ,no matter how poor or humble his background can make a tremendous

            impact in making the world around him or her a better place. Sometimes all it takes is

            one person to start doing something small, such as helping a homeless group of

            people , or setting up a dancing club in some place. Just because such actions don't

            seem so spectacular or exciting does not mean they are not profound on another

            level. And if those small scale projects may turn out to be highly problematic we at

            least will be drawing invaluable lessons on how to do better next time. So we should

            never be astounded by the unexpected impact of many trivial actions. Almost

            anything can happen!

Masks

Why No Mask?

By Thomas Hansen, Ph.D.

While even customers at a Costco in Las Vegas are throwing temper tantrums and refusing to wear masks (https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/costco-karen-goes-viral-she-203104196.html) I have been trying for the last few days to understand how people cannot understand they simply must wear a mask in some public settings.  This includes CTA buses and trains.    

Let’s back up a little bit.  The COVID-19 virus has created what is called a “pandemic.”  This means people all over the world are spreading and contracting a fatal illness.  A great many of the people who contract the virus are dying.  Many people in the USA have died and are others are still dying from the virus. 

By this spring, the virus was coursing uncontrolled through our big cities, our chicken farms, and our little hamlets.  This was true not even in Chicago but even within little houses on the prairie!

These are basic facts most people who have not been living under a rock understand.

Governor Pritzker was madly trying to save the lives of thousands of Illinoisans, and one of the means for clamping down the virus has been to require people wear face coverings.  In this way, it is harder to spread the virus to others and harder to contract it.  True, the virus is not only an air-born disease but in public situations the masks do reduce the risks. 

The stay-at-home order and the mask-while-out-in-public requirement were both meant by J.B. to help keep prairie state folks alive, not trample their constitutional rights (https://www.wifr.com/content/news/Pritzker-masks-now-required-in-public-stay-at-home-order-extended-until-May-31-569896291.html).

So that executive order is technically still in place, and there are fancier multicolor signs and illustrations now on all CTA vehicles and in doorways and billboards.  (The first signs were scary black-and-white drawings done in a hurry.)  It would be hard to miss this requirement unless you had your head up… well, unless you had your head up in the clouds and were not paying attention for the last few months.

Fast forward to the July 4^th weekend.  A few months have gone by, and we have been pretty good at following rules and thereby kept a lot of prairie state people alive.  One of the ways we did this was by wearing masks. 

Congratulations to us.  However, some people on the prairie are not wearing masks or face coverings of any kind, for that matter. 

While traveling around and working, I noticed many people why they were not wearing masks and got a wide range of responses.  I will not judge and will not respond to the comments, just make them available here for you to consider.

Why no mask?  Responses from the no-mask-wearing prairie state patriots:

n  The virus has always been around.  If you don’t have it by now, you’re not going to get it.

n  I have a right to NOT wear a mask because of the US Constitution.

n  The whole virus thing is fake and is an example of our government trying to control us.

n  The whole virus thing is bullshit – people are realizing this now.

n  I am protesting having to wear a mask and want to see who asks me about it and whoever asks me about it will wind up dead on that sidewalk over there.

n  It is a race thing – they want Black people to wear them as a sign we are owned by the White people in the government.

n  You cannot catch the virus from other people through the air  – it has to be spread with germs like in a dirty bathroom.

n  The virus is under control and there is no danger – they’re just trying to harass the poor people who don’t have cars and have to ride the CTA.

n  It is a way to discourage people from riding the trains and busses so much like sleeping on them and drinking beer all day on the CTA.

n  Notice the bus driver is not wearing a mask because there is no real danger.

n  You have no right to ask me about a mask and should respect older people.

n  You cannot tell me I have to wear a mask and treat me like a criminal just because I won’t go along with the nonsense.

n  You better not ask me about a mask ‘cuz I have a whole bus full of my people who will kick your ass if you do.

n  People are tired of being told how to act and what to say and there are some big changes coming to our society – look at how the protests went.

n  The masks do not help protect anyone – they are just meant to “make things look good” because nobody knows how to stop the virus.

n  The virus is basically just another form of the flu, so people need to get a flu shot and they won’t get the virus.

n  The virus is a form of HIV and people being careful about their sex partners will have no risks.

n  They don’t have any idea how to control the virus but they do know it only harms old people.       

In such a big city with big trains and big buses, where have people found so many rocks to hide under?