It was eighth grade, Miss MacAteer, was my Social Study, teacher, among the many theories she held tightly was that before any of her students became a freshman in high school, ALL of them would understand the value of democracy, the value of the US Constitution, and that this nation’s best attribute was its expression of equality, albeit, she would add, sometimes it seemed that not ALL of us experience equality the same! Miss MacAteer also, stopped her lesson plan one day, when one of the kids sitting in the back row, (Miss MacAteer) believed short kids were at a disadvantage so we sat up front, while the taller kids who were given a different kind of gene sat in the back, because they could still look at Miss MacAteer while she stood in front of the class) shouted God Damn It when his notebook fell to the floor. It was at that moment when Miss MacAteer introduced the classroom to another one of her theories; being that even though this nation was based on the conditions of Separation between Church and State, no one, who calls themselves a good American would EVER say God’s name in vain. (Most of the classrooms had cloakrooms, but somehow Miss MacAteer’s room was without, so instead of being sent to the cloakroom for punishment, Miss MacAteer wrote a note sending the trouble maker Eighth grader to sit the rest of the class session in the Kindergarten.
It was a teacher like Miss MacAteer who motivated my interest in the history of this nation and what I had thought were decent morals and values. This was the 1960s, the beginning of changes, our nation had not witnessed for a few generations. People were beginning to question the status quo, and making statements like where do I fit in. President Kennedy’s quote “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”, had meaning for me, and I believed that democracy was an EVERYMAN concept. Many of my teachers, held strong beliefs that America could be great, that we were made to be great. In Gym Class we participated in Presidents Fitness challenge, with Mr Pittman, and our music teacher Miss Cyphers taught us every single Patriotic song, along with as many verses that were written for them. Why, we even had a ceremony for Flag Day! By the time I made it to high school I did indeed have appreciation for my country. But that was then, and here we are in 2017!
If I hear one more talking head, rub his or her eyesore roll them and say, just when you thought Trump hit the bottom of the barrel, suddenly there are even lower levels to hit. If I hear one more talking head announce yet one more Trump associate meeting with a Russian. If I hear one more lie, proven to be lie by either audio or video, by Trump. If I hear people say remember your freedoms because one day soon, as long as Trump is in the White House, they may disappear. How stupid as a nation have we let ourselves become. The GOP worries about Trumps base, the lowest of the low of American, the media still debates simple questions about which moral is worse. The Talking Heads debate about laws passed or not passed, but refuse to add by a man illegally, and illicitly elected into office. Where are you Miss MacAteer, someone needs to be sent to the Kindergarten, someone is very bad, and something is very wrong in America!
