How Do We Teach Politics?

Though "US Government and Civics" is taught in high school most people get interested in politics when it affects them personally; sometimes, only when disaster strikes. For instance:

• Cancer survivor who once opposed federal health law challenges Ryan on its repeal
• 'Students aren't quitting': Thousands plan walkouts to protest gun violence, mark 19 years since Columbine
• Hurricane Harvey: Climate change, staggering costs, and people at the heart of it all

Things are a bit more complicated when two or more political topics interconnect, for instance: 

(1) protecting the environment, (2) health care, and (3) the economy.

Probably, if the government loosens many EPA restrictions, more Americans will get sick. Especially at risk are: people suffering from asthma, allergies, bronchitis, COPD, emphysema, cystic fibrosis, and also – elderly people and young children.

If at the same time the government does not come up with a working health care plan, Americans will pay for the government's failures. It will also leave Americans with less money in their pockets which will affect the economy.

Naturally, environmental problems threaten the US economy in other ways too. For instance, "red tides" have been reported in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Right now (2018), Southwest Florida is experiencing a toxic harmful algae bloom red tide.

Certainly, residents can avoid respiratory irritation (coughing, sneezing, and tearing) by not going to the beach. Tourists will do the same. It's hard to get people excited about a vacation at the beach if dead fish and birds, turtles, and manatees wash ashore.

But, Florida's economy depends on tourism.

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Though politics with regards to (1) protecting the environment, (2) health care, and (3) the economy is somewhat complicated, most people can see the various connections.

Things get a bit more complicated when it comes to education. Today, students compete with others around the globe, especially in the IT industry. Failures in education politics (like "No-Child-Left-Behind") can have an impact on students' earning power decades after they graduated.

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Even more complicated are tax reforms.

Who of us understands all that fine print? Hence, we are supposed to trust our representatives.

T R U S T ?

T R U S T ???

Sadly, that trust is at an all-time low.

The results are shocking to say the least: Since the early sixties overall views of the federal government have fallen from 77% to 19%. More than half of all Americans say “ordinary Americans” would do a better job of solving national problems.

Please find Pew Research's complete study here. Though it was done at the end of the year 2015 I see no reason to believe that these numbers have improved.)

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It seems to me the only way to avoid problems is to teach our students how to check out the trustworthiness of politicians before an event strikes that causes them to be interested in politics.

We need to teach them to look beyond bold statements and big shows.
Politics isn't supposed to be a circus, it's about life - our lives.

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Luckily, seventy-three years ago one man showed us the best way:

George Orwell

Trying to learn from the best, I penned a fable about government corruption in a fictitious squirrel world that resembles the United States.

Like most Americans, my squirrel protagonists have hopes and dreams, and enjoy getting together and partying.

Harry is an extremely clever and idealistic, young squirrel who attended the Squirrel Academy to pursue his dream career, Sadly, he finds out that new government regulations hinder him in actually living his dream. Since he has to pay off his student loan he has to work a job he doesn't like very much.

His Great-Grandpa, the oldest community member, has seen it all - the bad times and the good times. He is the first one to get suspicious when he notices strange things happening.

Juanita is an orphaned refugee who is looking for a better life. She also wants to learn new skills and is willing to do more than her share.

Gary Logisquir, Great-Grandpa's best friend and the national nut-checkers champion, is extremely clever but a bit laid back. Seeing Juanita's eagerness to participate in a grassroots movement is a wake-up call for him.

Librarian Maggie Carnegiesquir is a hopeless romantic and a savvy researcher. When put to the test she will stop at nothing to solve a mystery.

Together, the squirrels follow a trail of suspicious events. When they find out what's really going on, they take matters into their own hands. They want to save their republic.

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I hope my readers will do the same. 

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Early reviews:

"...If you enjoyed 'Watership Down' by Richard Adams, and see a lighter bit of current underhandedness thrown in as a plus, you can’t help but to enjoy this book..." L.G. Cullens

"... this time, it is squirrels who stand in for humanity, and this time, the message—while a warning---is one of hope..." Charles Freedom Long

"...I especially liked Great-Grandpa. He was wise and supportive of young Harry's dream to do something great and go on an expedition..." Wanda

"...Imagine reading about Bill Gatesquirrel and Johnny Cashsquirrel, whose theme song is “Everybody Loves a Nut”… (which is an actual Johnny Cash song, by the way.)..." Sherrill S. Cannon

"...Enjoyable poke at the idiosyncrasies of human government transposed onto squirrels in the manner of Orwell's Animal Farm..." Moon Cat

~*~

Gisela Hausmann is multi-award winning author, an email evangelist, and mass media expert.  Her work has been featured in Success magazine and in Entrepreneur, on Bloomberg, and The Innovation Show ― a show for Square Pegs in Round Holes.

Her latest book is the fable, "Are We Nuts?"

To subscribe to Gisela's blogs pls go to:
http://www.giselahausmann.com/free-creative-ideas.html

Gisela tweets @Naked_Determina

©  2018 by Gisela Hausmann

Regarding Countering Global Warming - How about we'll make 164,000 miles of highways do double-duty?

Global warming is a complex issue, there are hundreds of ways to attack the problem. 

Which is why I am wondering why US states don't invest more into one of the easiest ways to counter global warming. 

The United States' National Highway System includes over 164,000 miles of highways. This picture shows a section of Route 66. 

Notice something?

NO TREES!

The land between the highway lanes belongs to the taxpayers hence it could be used to do something good for the taxpayers. 

Let's assume not all 164,000 miles are suitable for planting trees. Let's run the numbers for only twenty percent of highway miles. 

Twenty percent of 164,000 amounts to 3,280. 

Multiply this number by 5,280 to come up with stretches of land 17,318,400 feet long, all of it between highways. 

This land does not have to purchased, it can be put to good use right away.

If the (US) states' governments would plant one tree every 20 feet that would amount to 346,368 trees. 

Does the number 346,368 sound like "a lot of trees"? 

It isn't.

346,368 trees is less than nine percent (8.66%) of the number of trees that died during the Texas drought, in 2011. 

Please see: Energy and Environment Reporting for Texas: Over 300 Million trees were killed by the Texas Drought. (No doubt, the loss of 300 million trees had an impact on the Unites States' weather.) 

Sounds too complicated to take care of 346,368 young trees?

It isn't. 

In the event of a drought happening when the trees are still young and vulnerable they can be watered from trucks. 

This picture was taken in Thailand. 

Too expensive?

Every time I go to the home improvement store I see nice young trees in the fifteen dollar range. I am sure the state governments can get a better price.

Too time intense?

I planted two trees this year. Though I am fifty-six and didn't use sophisticated equipment but only a shovel, I planted each tree in under ten minutes. 

Not enough manpower?

Let inmates do the job. They'd probably be delighted to spend time outside of prison walls and do something constructive. 

In other words – where there is a will, there is a way. 

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Planting trees is an investment into the future.

Trees 

• produce oxygen,
• intercept airborne particulates, 
• reduce smog, 
• absorb and block sound and reduce noise pollution by as much as 40 percent. 

And, once established, they "work for free" for decades to come. 

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."-- Chinese Proverb

Do you see new trees getting planted in your hometown, neighborhood, county, and/or state? Please share in the comment section. 

Share if you want your state government to plant trees. 

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Gisela Hausmann is multi-award winning author, an email evangelist, and mass media expert.  Her work has been featured in Success magazine and in Entrepreneur, on Bloomberg, and The Innovation Show ― a show for Square Pegs in Round Holes.

Her latest book is the fable, "Are We Nuts?"

To subscribe to Gisela's Blog pls subscribe at
http://www.giselahausmann.com/free-creative-ideas.html
Gisela tweets @Naked_Determina

©  2018 by Gisela Hausmann

©  Picture "Watering trees with a tank truck, Thailand" by Pakz

If We Don't Watch Out, We Average Americans Will Pay for This. - #Environment

They used to call us tree-huggers 

In my family, we have always reused and recycled. When my children were little and grew like weeds I purchased the majority of their clothes at thrift stores.

As soon as they could walk, they came along when I dropped off recyclables. Especially my son had fun doing that. He never grew tired of shouting "BOOM... BOOM," every time I threw a bottle or a can into the recycle container. 

Of course, we also dried the laundry outdoors. Besides saving on electricity costs and reducing wear and tear on garments, according to the NYT, my family saved 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from going into the atmosphere, per year. 

Yippee ki-yay! Over the years, that's 39,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. 

That was easy!

As an additional benefit, I exercised my arm muscles, on the fly.

Other efforts included a vegetable garden, complete with rain barrel, composter, bird bath, and butterfly garden.

But, whereas, in the early nineties, doing all of that was considered "somewhat obsessive," today, millions of Americans are doing the same. 

THE GOOD NEWS

Come Spring, the check-out lines at home improvement stores are longer and longer; hundreds of thousands of Americans people grow vegetables, herbs, and fruits. 

At recycle centers, the containers are always full. 

Corporations take efforts to protect the environment and offer recycle programs. 

Many state and city governments offer incentives to "go green." 

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THE NOT SO GOOD NEWS

At the same time,

U.S. EPA grants biofuels waiver to billionaire Icahn's oil refinery - sources (Reuters April 30, 2018)

The Trump administration is lifting key controls on toxic air pollution (VOX, January 26, 2018)

EPA Readies Plan to Weaken Rules That Require Cars to Be Cleaner (NYT, April 27, 2018)

Trump administration ends Obama's coal-leasing freeze (The Hill, March 29, 2018)

plus 71 other Environmental Rules are on the Way Out Under Trump (New York Times)

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In other words:

The government is UNdoing what we are working for. 

Thirty years ago, NASA scientist James Hansen informed a Senate committee that “the greenhouse effect has been detected and is changing our climate now.” 

Let's put this in perspective. Hansen was not "just some tree hugger." NASA is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government. Hansen was on the United States government's payroll. The government ignored what their own expert told them, for years. 

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Why on earth would the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) try deregulating some major sources of toxic air pollution, thirty years after we've learned about these problems? 

What about people who have 

• asthma, 
• allergies, 
• bronchitis, 
• COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), 
• emphysema, 
• cystic fibrosis, 
• and also – elderly people and little children?

Considering that Congress wants to do away with Obamacare's protections for people with preexisting conditions, I fear tough times may be ahead for many. 

Those of us who need treatment have to deal the most expensive healthcare system in the Western world. 

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And, what about storm damage (hurricanes, tornadoes, sand storms...)?

Here is the list of costliest Atlantic hurricanes (from Wikipedia): 

1	Katrina	2005	$125 billion
	Harvey	2017
3	Maria	2017	$91.6 billion
4	Sandy	2012	$68.7 billion
5	Irma	2017	$64.8 billion
6	Ike	2008	$38 billion
7	Wilma	2005	$27.4 billion
8	Andrew	1992	$27.3 billion
9	Ivan	2004	$26.1 billion
10	Rita	2005	$18.5 billion

3 of the top-10 caused death and destruction, last year. Only one of the top-10, Andrew, happened in the last century. 

Houston, TX is still coping with the mold problem stemming from hurricane Harvey. That means expensive reconstruction and remodeling AND more potential health problems. In Houston, 136,000 homes and other building were affected by this hurricane. 

We, the average Americans have to stand up and address our government's ignorance, or we'll pay the price (with hard earned dollars).

How do you see this?

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Read my fable "Are We Nuts?" and find out how the squirrel citizens of the Sciurus States solve this problem. (Just released)

 ~~~  v  ~~~  

"As relevant as it is entertaining."

@Goodreads
@Amazon
@B&N
@Kobo
@ITunes

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Gisela Hausmann is multi-award winning author, an email evangelist, and mass media expert.  Her work has been featured in Success magazine and in Entrepreneur, on Bloomberg, and The Innovation Show ― a show for Square Pegs in Round Holes, and "The Brutal Truth about Sales & Selling"-podcast. 

To subscribe to Gisela's Blog pls subscribe at
http://www.giselahausmann.com/free-creative-ideas.html
Gisela tweets @Naked_Determina

©  2018 by Gisela Hausmann