Jun 3, 2023Liked by Robert Reich, Heather Lofthouse
I didn't go college until I was 48 years old, and was awarded by Ph.D. at 59. Nevertheless, I spent my life reading, pursuing ideas and ideals, listening and learning. I worked from the age of 16, was flighty, temperamental, and everything that is considered unreliable in our culture. I just spent 15 years caring for my Vietnam Veteran husband whose Parkinson's Disease (and later Lewy Body Dementia) stemmed from his war service. Where do people get their sense of what's right and wrong? I don't know. I can only speak to my life.
In 1958, riding a school bus, I looked up to see we were driving past Black children, walking to their school. Further down the road, I saw their school, much in need to repair. Later the bus pulled into the driveway of my high school -- well maintained, filled with great teachers, books, and daily challenges.
I hope my comment doesn't mark me as privileged forever. I was, though, because of the color of my skin which opened many doors other children could only dream about. I haven't forgotten that bus ride. I hope I've been able to live up to the promise I made to make the world a little better through my efforts.
I can only imagine what our country "lost" because of the children who walked to school, when they should have had the same or better opportunities that I was given.
I think political leaning is a combination of things: parents/grandparents (in my case a grandmother and her family who lived through the Great Depression), upbringing, life experiences, as well as intellectual curiosity and personality type. One's social economic level born into also has to be an influence. I grew up in the 1960's and 70's, a time when the middle class was strong, few were wealthy (but wages, education accessibility and buying power were on the rise), and government had a positive image of being a benevolent Big Brother. Don't get me wrong, there were still barriers to climb, particularly with racism and equality for women (gender issues were still forbidden topics), but society was on the "up and up".
I grew up in Detroit in the 50s and 60s. Roman Catholic grade school, son of an auto worker. JFK -- obviously -- was an early hero, as was Walter Reuther. We lived for a few years on Miller Road, and famous overpass at the Rouge plant was just 2-3 miles away by bike.
On Thursdays, we'd often go into Canada to buy fresh perch from Lake Erie -- for Friday dinner -- from the thriving fishing industry on the lake. And then witnessing dead fish on the shores so massive in quantity, that you could not set one foot down without stepping on one. (And the smell.).
I well recall the brutal murders of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner in June of '64. Followed in early '65 with the death of Detroiter, Viola Liuzzo. I was one of few allowed out during curfew during the civil unrest in Detroit in 1967 -- delivering the early morning paper, The Detroit Free Press. National Guard driving down Warren Avenue with buildings on fire a few miles away.
And then I left home to join the Navy. My second ship was involved in the evacuation of Saigon in April of 75. I was stationed in and lived in Japan for a number of years. Became somewhat obsessed in learning about "quality" as well as the language. I admired Jimmy Carter a lot, and utterly had no use for the vapid Ronald Reagan.
Thanks to the work of civil rights workers and Mr. Carter, we came to live in Georgia nearly 40 years ago -- helping to turn it more blue. I'm still involved in that today.
My political values came mainly from my education and life experiences. I'm a Latino and a gay man. Only one party is looking out for my best interests and those of others. But I think that's exactly the crux of the difference between liberals and rightwingers; we give a shit about other people.
Jun 3, 2023·edited Jun 3, 2023Liked by Robert Reich, Heather Lofthouse
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about what shaped you, your values and how your values have influenced the career decisions about learning and the career path you have made for yourselves.
Reflecting on these seminal matters is helpful as we take the next step: asking ourselves if we are living our values? We’re human. The answer to that question is likely “Uh. . . guess not, really.”
I grew up in a Country Club neighborhood peopled by MD’s, business leaders, stock brokers and the like. I was completely unaware of the term “white privilege”, though there were no people of color in my community.
My father was, like yours Bob, a liberal Republican. He believed it a sin to be prejudiced. Accordingly, he enforced his values for “helping the least of those among us” and NEVER uttering racial slurs or doing anything to be unfair - in any way, to anyone.
Two “out of body” experiences I recall that served as my true political awakening to what I truly valued:
1. Meeting JFK when I was 10 and he was on the campaign trail. I liked him very much as a man but could have cared less about his politics or why he was in our community. When I watched on TV live coverage of his assassination I learned that being President is dangerous, especially in Texas. (It still is.) I physically ached and curled up on my bed in the fetal position.
2. When a man, his wife and two kids came to our front door with empty pillow cases begging for food. My mother ushered them into the house, fed them (they were very hungry) and opened all her kitchen cabinets and our Amana freeezer. She invited our guests to take whatever they wanted. When it was obvious they needed more pillow cases, she brought them so they could fill them. She also gave them my Dad’s old WWII Army duffle bag with shoulder strap so they could put several pillow cases filled with food into the duffle. Last, she went to her purse and gave them money. The family thanked her profusely. We walked with them and watched them as they left our home and street. When they were out of sight, my mother had me sit with her on the front steps as she cried. Eventually she composed herself and told me “Never forget this day Tim. There but by the grace of God go we. Always help the poor and less fortunate you meet in life.”
I grew up in Dayton, Ohio with significant racial tension. Joined the military straight out of high school. At least back in those days, the military was conservative. After living in many different countries and marrying a foreign national, I began to see that America the Great, wasn't. Over the years, I've been exposed to more and more cultures and people. I'm firmly on what the US calls the radical left, the rest of the world calls slightly left.
During 40 years teaching science at a CA community college I met thousands of students from a variety of socio-economic levels: from wealthy to homeless, native to immigrant, citizens to (possibly) illegal. I saw life from many angles and came to understand and accept the challenges students/people face as they work toward a better life. While my first presidential vote was cast for Goldwater (!) I soon perceived that my views were more in-tuned with the Democrats
I grew up in the Bay Area, mostly Berkeley. I was in high school in the early60's and CAL Berkeley in the mid and late 60's. My dad taught at CAL so my political views came from my parents and my environment. I read the SF Chronicle and Art Hoppe political cartoons. When I visited relatives in Indianapolis back in the late 60's and some cousins made some disparaging remarks about blacks, I was surprised they said it out loud and were not embarrassed! That's when I realized I lived in an unique world and other people had totally different views. These last few years bring back the same feeling watching the Republicans trying to destroy democracy and the rule of law.
When I grew up the Eichmann trail was broadcast in the afternoon when I came home from school, and the civil rights movement images were in the paper and Life magazine. And the March on Washington was aired live. Just by showing all of this I knew which side was the right one, the one for fairness and justice and what cruelty was, though I never experienced attacks myself. Then seeing the Vietnam War on tv and being afraid of being drafted, and when I did go for my physical, seeing that just about all the white boys had some kind of deferment while there was a line of Black boys lined up scowling at us as we got dressed to leave while they were being processed. I wasn’t political, but I knew what was fair and right and I want to be on the side of what is right. It is so crystal clear to me that these plus the woman’s movement, gay rights, and everything else that is for equality and justice is the good side and I now know it is all political.
So I would answer I became political and progressive because I am an empathetic person.
A great deal from Mom [she is now 99 years old and still left of center …], but as much from living and paying attention, and using logic, science, the arts and humanities, history, and meeting human beings in the world to form a cogent set if ideas about “how things work” and what we need to do to make them work well for ourselves and especially for people we love {who might be more vulnerable than we are}.
Jun 3, 2023Liked by Robert Reich, Heather Lofthouse
Listening to Heather, I was so inspired, and I wonder how many Americans get the kind of education she had. What a gift! I just wish we sent fewer young people to business school and a lot more to public policy school. My own daughter has an MSW and works in a social service agency where she is the only one at her level with a social work degree. The rest have MBAs, and she can't afford to hire social workers with anything more than a bachelor's degree, because the pay is so low. It feels counterproductive to me.
Jun 3, 2023Liked by Robert Reich, Heather Lofthouse
Late life experiences for me. I was quite non-partisan for much of my 68 years... until the Obama presidency. Now I am staunchly Democrat. No nix that, I am a Progressive. Democratic Socialist maybe.
May I say that, in my opinion, this world needs more Robert Reichs and Heather Lofthouses. A lot more.
My mother used to say:
Dems: tax the rich, feed the poor.
REpubs: tax the poor, feed the rich....
She is deceased but still right!!
I didn't go college until I was 48 years old, and was awarded by Ph.D. at 59. Nevertheless, I spent my life reading, pursuing ideas and ideals, listening and learning. I worked from the age of 16, was flighty, temperamental, and everything that is considered unreliable in our culture. I just spent 15 years caring for my Vietnam Veteran husband whose Parkinson's Disease (and later Lewy Body Dementia) stemmed from his war service. Where do people get their sense of what's right and wrong? I don't know. I can only speak to my life.
In 1958, riding a school bus, I looked up to see we were driving past Black children, walking to their school. Further down the road, I saw their school, much in need to repair. Later the bus pulled into the driveway of my high school -- well maintained, filled with great teachers, books, and daily challenges.
I hope my comment doesn't mark me as privileged forever. I was, though, because of the color of my skin which opened many doors other children could only dream about. I haven't forgotten that bus ride. I hope I've been able to live up to the promise I made to make the world a little better through my efforts.
I can only imagine what our country "lost" because of the children who walked to school, when they should have had the same or better opportunities that I was given.
I think political leaning is a combination of things: parents/grandparents (in my case a grandmother and her family who lived through the Great Depression), upbringing, life experiences, as well as intellectual curiosity and personality type. One's social economic level born into also has to be an influence. I grew up in the 1960's and 70's, a time when the middle class was strong, few were wealthy (but wages, education accessibility and buying power were on the rise), and government had a positive image of being a benevolent Big Brother. Don't get me wrong, there were still barriers to climb, particularly with racism and equality for women (gender issues were still forbidden topics), but society was on the "up and up".
I grew up in Detroit in the 50s and 60s. Roman Catholic grade school, son of an auto worker. JFK -- obviously -- was an early hero, as was Walter Reuther. We lived for a few years on Miller Road, and famous overpass at the Rouge plant was just 2-3 miles away by bike.
On Thursdays, we'd often go into Canada to buy fresh perch from Lake Erie -- for Friday dinner -- from the thriving fishing industry on the lake. And then witnessing dead fish on the shores so massive in quantity, that you could not set one foot down without stepping on one. (And the smell.).
I well recall the brutal murders of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner in June of '64. Followed in early '65 with the death of Detroiter, Viola Liuzzo. I was one of few allowed out during curfew during the civil unrest in Detroit in 1967 -- delivering the early morning paper, The Detroit Free Press. National Guard driving down Warren Avenue with buildings on fire a few miles away.
And then I left home to join the Navy. My second ship was involved in the evacuation of Saigon in April of 75. I was stationed in and lived in Japan for a number of years. Became somewhat obsessed in learning about "quality" as well as the language. I admired Jimmy Carter a lot, and utterly had no use for the vapid Ronald Reagan.
Thanks to the work of civil rights workers and Mr. Carter, we came to live in Georgia nearly 40 years ago -- helping to turn it more blue. I'm still involved in that today.
My political values came mainly from my education and life experiences. I'm a Latino and a gay man. Only one party is looking out for my best interests and those of others. But I think that's exactly the crux of the difference between liberals and rightwingers; we give a shit about other people.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about what shaped you, your values and how your values have influenced the career decisions about learning and the career path you have made for yourselves.
Reflecting on these seminal matters is helpful as we take the next step: asking ourselves if we are living our values? We’re human. The answer to that question is likely “Uh. . . guess not, really.”
I grew up in a Country Club neighborhood peopled by MD’s, business leaders, stock brokers and the like. I was completely unaware of the term “white privilege”, though there were no people of color in my community.
My father was, like yours Bob, a liberal Republican. He believed it a sin to be prejudiced. Accordingly, he enforced his values for “helping the least of those among us” and NEVER uttering racial slurs or doing anything to be unfair - in any way, to anyone.
Two “out of body” experiences I recall that served as my true political awakening to what I truly valued:
1. Meeting JFK when I was 10 and he was on the campaign trail. I liked him very much as a man but could have cared less about his politics or why he was in our community. When I watched on TV live coverage of his assassination I learned that being President is dangerous, especially in Texas. (It still is.) I physically ached and curled up on my bed in the fetal position.
2. When a man, his wife and two kids came to our front door with empty pillow cases begging for food. My mother ushered them into the house, fed them (they were very hungry) and opened all her kitchen cabinets and our Amana freeezer. She invited our guests to take whatever they wanted. When it was obvious they needed more pillow cases, she brought them so they could fill them. She also gave them my Dad’s old WWII Army duffle bag with shoulder strap so they could put several pillow cases filled with food into the duffle. Last, she went to her purse and gave them money. The family thanked her profusely. We walked with them and watched them as they left our home and street. When they were out of sight, my mother had me sit with her on the front steps as she cried. Eventually she composed herself and told me “Never forget this day Tim. There but by the grace of God go we. Always help the poor and less fortunate you meet in life.”
I grew up in Dayton, Ohio with significant racial tension. Joined the military straight out of high school. At least back in those days, the military was conservative. After living in many different countries and marrying a foreign national, I began to see that America the Great, wasn't. Over the years, I've been exposed to more and more cultures and people. I'm firmly on what the US calls the radical left, the rest of the world calls slightly left.
During 40 years teaching science at a CA community college I met thousands of students from a variety of socio-economic levels: from wealthy to homeless, native to immigrant, citizens to (possibly) illegal. I saw life from many angles and came to understand and accept the challenges students/people face as they work toward a better life. While my first presidential vote was cast for Goldwater (!) I soon perceived that my views were more in-tuned with the Democrats
I grew up in the Bay Area, mostly Berkeley. I was in high school in the early60's and CAL Berkeley in the mid and late 60's. My dad taught at CAL so my political views came from my parents and my environment. I read the SF Chronicle and Art Hoppe political cartoons. When I visited relatives in Indianapolis back in the late 60's and some cousins made some disparaging remarks about blacks, I was surprised they said it out loud and were not embarrassed! That's when I realized I lived in an unique world and other people had totally different views. These last few years bring back the same feeling watching the Republicans trying to destroy democracy and the rule of law.
My political views come from my OVERALL life’s experiences.
When I grew up the Eichmann trail was broadcast in the afternoon when I came home from school, and the civil rights movement images were in the paper and Life magazine. And the March on Washington was aired live. Just by showing all of this I knew which side was the right one, the one for fairness and justice and what cruelty was, though I never experienced attacks myself. Then seeing the Vietnam War on tv and being afraid of being drafted, and when I did go for my physical, seeing that just about all the white boys had some kind of deferment while there was a line of Black boys lined up scowling at us as we got dressed to leave while they were being processed. I wasn’t political, but I knew what was fair and right and I want to be on the side of what is right. It is so crystal clear to me that these plus the woman’s movement, gay rights, and everything else that is for equality and justice is the good side and I now know it is all political.
So I would answer I became political and progressive because I am an empathetic person.
My involvement in protesting the Vietnam War started me on a liberal path.
Got values from “All of the above” in the list.
A great deal from Mom [she is now 99 years old and still left of center …], but as much from living and paying attention, and using logic, science, the arts and humanities, history, and meeting human beings in the world to form a cogent set if ideas about “how things work” and what we need to do to make them work well for ourselves and especially for people we love {who might be more vulnerable than we are}.
Listening to Heather, I was so inspired, and I wonder how many Americans get the kind of education she had. What a gift! I just wish we sent fewer young people to business school and a lot more to public policy school. My own daughter has an MSW and works in a social service agency where she is the only one at her level with a social work degree. The rest have MBAs, and she can't afford to hire social workers with anything more than a bachelor's degree, because the pay is so low. It feels counterproductive to me.
Late life experiences for me. I was quite non-partisan for much of my 68 years... until the Obama presidency. Now I am staunchly Democrat. No nix that, I am a Progressive. Democratic Socialist maybe.
May I say that, in my opinion, this world needs more Robert Reichs and Heather Lofthouses. A lot more.