Buffet Rule tanks in Senate

 culture  No Responses »
Apr 172012
 

On Monday, Senators from across the country, mostly our GOP friends, decided to block the proposed Buffet Rule from even entering debate on the Senate floor.  The proposed bill would require anyone making $1 million or more to pay a minimum of 30% in federal taxes.  Conversely, poll numbers indicate that 7 out of 10 Americans are in favor of such legislation.  That nagging 30% of people who are not in favor is slightly disconcerting, but that’s another issue.

This action by elected Senators offers a fine example of how democracy doesn’t always work so well.  These 100 men and women get elected by the citizens of their states to represent their interests in Congress and to make decisions for the good of the American people.  Senators and representatives should represent the interests of the electorate through their voting and their support of certain measures.  I’m relating this back to the idea of privilege that I discussed in the last blog post.  Our elected friends seem to be losing touch with the electorate more and more each election cycle.  Democracy worked a little better when the gaps in the American experience weren’t quite so large.  At least that’s my perception from 20 or so years of personal awareness and from studying American history.

How can the gap in experience and understanding begin to shrink?  Who should we elect to hold these offices?  Do we need more representation so that viewpoints on issues can be more differentiated and actually represent the experience of the electorate?  Does bigger, broader government cause a better system of checks and balances?  I have a sinking feeling that the answer to the last question is “no,” but it might not hurt to entertain the idea as a way to get to something better than what we have now.

The image problems of leadership

 culture  No Responses »
Apr 152012
 

In an Op/Ed piece in The New York Times called “Working and Women,” Frank Bruni adds his two cents about Hilary Rosen’s super gaffe about Ann Romney being a stay-at-home mom and never working.  There’s been a ton of commentary about this, mostly about how stay-at-home moms deserve more respect.  Bruni talks about his own stay-at-home mom, and I feel great love and respect for my stay-at-home mom, who ultimately needed to become a working mom because the family’s financial situation demanded it.

For me, this whole debacle comes down to something much more deeply rooted: class and socioeconomic status (SES).  Bruni acknowledges this in his op/ed, but he doesn’t spend enough time digging into the issue.  Let’s face it, Romney and Obama don’t have much clout with the middle class.  Both are h0pelessly aloof when it comes to people outside of their privileged worlds, and they and their families are easy targets for anyone looking to paint them as inaccessible, misinformed, or out of touch.  The diversity of the “American experience” has intensified over the last century, but our leadership has not shifted as quickly.  Privileged men, and now some women, still make their way to the top of the food chain, while the “99%” largely feel stuck in the mire.  Whether that’s entirely true is difficult to tell, but a person’s perception is her/his reality, and that reality does not help either candidate’s relationship to the majority of the US population.  Hilary Rosen’s comments about Ann Romney also come from a liberal, educated viewpoint that places value on certain kinds of experiences and ways of being.  This is a problem, and Bruni scratches at that as well.

US elections have been and will continue to be unfortunate reminders for the majority of the American people that leadership comes from privilege.  The mythology of the American Dream tells us that upward social mobility is achievable in the American meritocracy, as long as we work hard enough.  Lately, that’s not been the case for a large majority of the electorate.  Fewer and fewer people believe the myth, and probably with good reason.  Until a leader comes along who really acknowledges that in an honest way, the image problems will continue and comments like Hilary Rosen’s will continue as well.

Is collaboration always the best choice?

 culture  No Responses »
Apr 132012
 

I sat in a meeting earlier this week and listened to a description of how collaboration can be viewed as a strength, a “big idea,” and an impediment.  One of my colleagues in the room expressed surprise at the last notion, that collaboration could be a negative prospect. I found the conversation fascinating, and I thought a lot about how collaboration can in fact be an impediment.

I think that culturally we are at a moment when it’s only acceptable to be open to collaboration. The concept and the word have become “buzzy,” and as a result we have to embrace them.

The facilitator of the meeting explained that collaboration could be viewed as an impediment because it can potentially dilute the strength of the individual entities that are trying to collaborate. This makes a lot of sense to me.

As a result, collaboration between entities requires that those entities be strong and confident in their own individual areas of expertise.  If this is not the case, the collaboration could weaken the entities and therefore weaken the end product of the collaboration.  Collaboration requires openness, and that openness can only come out of a place of strength and confidence from the individual parties involved.  Additionally, collaboration cannot be forced. Collaborators need to meet each other in a moment and work together to move forward out of that moment. If the collaborators lack shared experience, knowledge, and/or vocabulary, the collaboration is likely to fail.

I’m adding “collaboration” to my list of things to ponder right now, along with subjectivity in educational assessment and gaming theory as a pedagogical stance.  Does subjectivity have a place in assessment, and if so, where and how much?  How does gaming theory affect how we teach this generation of young people?

You should watch this “It Gets Better” video if you know an athlete

 culture  No Responses »
Apr 112012
 

I wanted to share this video that was created, directed, and produced by the out, gay captain of the men’s volleyball team at NYU, Jay Hayes.

NYU has a reputation for being very “queer friendly,” but that doesn’t mean that its students are immune to hate speech or homophobia.  The world of professional sports gets a lot of bad press around homophobia, and rightly so.  It’s inspiring and encouraging to see these athletes and their coaches, of all sexual orientations, helping young people to know that it’s more than OK to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer and an athlete.

This video makes me proud to be a member of the NYU community.  Please share it with others.  It deserves to be seen, just like these young athletes.

10th Play of 50: Really

 50 Plays  No Responses »
Apr 082012
 

Really

With thanks to Greg Louganis for the vivid memory

With thanks to Allen Ginsberg, as portrayed by James Franco in the film Howl, for fearlessness

The lights rise on the living room of an apartment in NYC’s West Village.  It’s late in the evening or early in the morning, that time when magical things happen.  Connections over tea, drunk pronouncements of love, realizations that change lives, profound pieces of writing.  There is one light on in the apartment, a table lamp.

Voices outside the door of the apartment.  The sound of keys turning in the lock.  A burst of laughter just before the door opens.  Two men enter.  PETER is about 30 years old, short hair, medium height and build, really good shape.  He’s wearing jeans and a t-shirt, boots.  He carries a jacket in his hand.  He is followed by MARCUS, about 45, graying hair, wearing a suit.  Tie is loosened at the neck.  He’s a handsome, older guy. Some would call him a DILF.

PETER hits a light switch near the door, and the apartment is flooded with too much light.

MARCUS (shielding his eyes)
AH!  Too bright.

PETER
Sorry, Marcus.  Sorry.

PETER shuts off the light.

MARCUS
That’s better.

PETER throws his jacket over the back of the couch, and MARCUS removes his jacket and tie.  PETER goes off stage to the kitchen.  Sound of cabinets opening and running water.

PETER (offstage)
Are you thirsty?

MARCUS
Sure.

PETER (coming back on for a moment with two glasses, sound of water running)
Is tap water ok?

MARCUS
Great.  I’ve heard New York has great tap water.

PETER (going off, offstage)
Uh.  OK.  I’m not sure I’d say great.  (He re-enters with two glasses.)  But drinkable.  (He hands MARCUS a glass.)  Cheers (clinks his glass to MARCUS and begins to drink.)

MARCUS sniffs the water and holds it up to the light.

MARCUS (chuckling)
You didn’t put anything in my water, did you, PETER?

PETER (choking a bit on his water)
What?

MARCUS
I’m kidding!  I’m kidding.  You’re poured me so many drinks tonight you had ample opportunity to slip a mickey in my cocktail.

PETER
A what?

MARCUS
A mickey.  Like a pill.  Drugs?

PETER
Oh, right.  (laughs, but not so sure of the joke still)

MARCUS drinks the water down quickly and sets the glass on the table near the lamp.

MARCUS
So how long have you been working at that bar?

PETER
Why don’t you sit down?

PETER moves his jacket out of the way and gestures for MARCUS to sit.  He does, and PETER sits at the opposite end of the couch, still holding his glass of water.

MARCUS
So?

PETER
At the bar?

MARCUS
Yes, how long have you worked there?

PETER
About six months.

MARCUS
Wow.  That’s not that long.  You seem to know everybody that comes in.  Or they know you.

PETER
Yeah.  I guess I’m just really friendly.  What do you do again?

MARCUS
I’m a lawyer.

PETER
Where?

MARCUS
St. Louis.

PETER
Oh!

MARCUS
You been?

PETER
No, but I’ve heard about it.

MARCUS
Not so exciting. That’s what you heard?

PETER
Something like that.

PETER gets up quickly and takes the empty glasses to the kitchen.

MARCUS
It’s an OK place. Just certainly not New York.

PETER (offstage)
Right.

MARCUS
What did you do before this?  The bartending.

PETER (offstage)
Uh, what did you say?

MARCUS (yelling)
Before this job.  What did you do?

PETER (offstage)
Oh…uh…this and that.

PETER returns.  He looks uncomfortable.  He sits down on the couch again, one leg under his bum.

MARCUS
This and that?

PETER
Yeah.  When I first moved here I had some odd jobs.  Temp stuff.  I wasn’t very good at office work, so I stopped and was unemployed for awhile. And then last April, I got the job at the bar, and I’ve been there ever since.

MARCUS
Last April?

PETER
Yeah, I think so.  Let me think.  April, May, June…  Yeah, least April.

MARCUS
But that’s a year ago, PETER. It’s April now.  You said a few minutes ago that you’ve been bartending there for six months.

PETER (caught in the lie)
Did I say six months?  I meant a year.

MARCUS
Well, which is it, Peter?

MARCUS looks at PETER.  PETER avoids his gaze.

MARCUS
Peter?

PETER shrugs and flashes his bartender smile, but it doesn’t work.  MARCUS gets up.

MARCUS
I think I better get back to my hotel.

PETER (getting up)
No, don’t go.  We’re just getting to have a real conversation without yelling at each other. Over the loud music.

MARCUS
Yeah, it’s nice to be talking to you and actually hear what you’re saying instead of reading your lips.

PETER (getting closer, trying to distract)
Yeah, well, the one thing I miss is having to be so close to you.  Yelling in your ear, smelling you, as I ask you what drink you want next.

PETER has gotten very close to MARCUS and is leaning in to kiss him.  MARCUS is taken by it and the two begin to kiss.  PETER reaches up and begins to unbutton MARCUS’ shirt, and MARCUS grabs his hands.

MARCUS
That’s all very distracting, but you’re not telling me something, and I’m not interested in doing this without knowing more that’s true about you.  So I should get going.  (He begins to grab his coat and tie from the couch.)  Thank you for the water and –

PETER
Wait.  Wait.  OK.  (pause)

MARCUS puts down the coat and tie and makes a motion for PETER to proceed.

PETER (slowly)
Before I worked as a bartender at the club . . . I was a dancer.

MARCUS
Like a dancer in a company?

PETER
No, not exactly.

MARCUS
What kind of dancer?

PETER
A dancer in the showers.  At the bar.

Silence as MARCUS takes that in.

MARCUS
You danced in the showers?

PETER
Yes.

MARCUS
For how long?

PETER
I did that for six months, while I was learning to bartend, and then a position behind the bar opened up, and I applied and got the job.

MARCUS sits down on the couch for a moment.  He’s a little taken aback by this news.

MARCUS
So you danced in the showers, like those guys were dancing tonight?

PETER
Yes.

MARCUS
And you wore what those guys were wearing?

PETER
Basically.  Not much different than what I was wearing to serve you drinks all night.

MARCUS
And all those drunk guys were touching them.  People touched you like that?

PETER
Yes.  But it was just part of the work.  It doesn’t mean anything.  Really.

MARCUS (repeating quietly what PETER has said)
“Doesn’t mean anything.  Really.”  What do you mean by “really?”

PETER
I mean that it really doesn’t mean anything.  Really.

MARCUS is clearly not buying it.

PETER
You think it means something?  Those guys who wave dollar bills at the dancers?  They’re just looking for a cheap feel.  You bend down, you make eyes at them, you let them touch you, and then you move on.  It doesn’t mean anything.

MARCUS
It felt pretty intimate to me.  Those guys were wet, I could see everything about them through the white fabric, drunk guys held on to them, and they all looked like they were enjoying the attention.

PETER
And?  It’s just a job.  Occupational hazards.  I’m sure there are things about your job that you don’t—

MARCUS
It’s not like being a lawyer. And if it’s just a job, then why did you lie about doing it?

PETER
Because guys react exactly like this.  All holier than though. Or they get really turned on by it and treat me like a piece of meat.

MARCUS
And you don’t enjoy the latter?

PETER
What’s that supposed to mean?

MARCUS
That kind of attention.  If you’re standing in a shower in front of a couple hundred people, basically naked, you must enjoy the attention.  (pause) Did you?

PETER stares at him.

PETER (slowly, deliberately)
Yeah.  I did.  I liked it when guys like you sat at the bar, drank lots of drinks just like you did and spent the evening staring at my thick cock and my rock hard ass through the wet fabric.  I loved every minute of it.

MARCUS
Did you get hard like those two guys tonight?

PETER is silent for a moment.  It’s embarrassing to remember that part of the job.

MARCUS
Is that my answer?

PETER
Sometimes.  It feels good to be looked at, Marcus. It turns me on.  In a good way.  I’d think you would understand that.

MARCUS looks at him for a moment, like “what are you talking about,” and then he realizes PETER is talking about his good looks.

MARCUS
Well, I never felt looked at like that. Not in public. And I never dressed like that in public.

PETER
Really?

MARCUS
Really.

PETER
I thought you told me earlier that you swam in college.

MARCUS
And?

PETER
Breast stroke and IM.

MARCUS
Good memory. Your point?

PETER
And that would have been in the mid 80s.

MARCUS
How do you know that?

PETER
I needed to see your driver’s license because you don’t sign the backs of your credit cards, remember? I saw your birthdate.

MARCUS
You don’t miss a beat, do you?  So I swam on a college team. How is that connected to your dancing?

PETER
Were you any good?

MARCUS
Two-time All American in the breast stroke.

PETER
So you competed a lot. In front of people?

MARCUS
Yes, but what does that—

PETER
In a speedo.

MARCUS
Oh c’mon. That is so not the same thing!  Are you kidding me?

PETER
How is it not the same thing?  You wore those speedos in front of a lot more people at those swim meets.

MARCUS
But that’s a sport.

PETER
OK. But I would also say a form of entertainment.

MARCUS
That’s stretching it, but OK.  Now I’ll tell you this though, my speedo covered a lot more than what those guys covered tonight.

PETER
I’m not so sure about that. I’ve seen the pictures of those speedos from back then and they’re pretty small. Not like what Michael Phelps wears today.

MARCUS
Those long shorts that he wears are ridiculous. I don’t know how anyone swims that fast wearing those things. All that drag! I don’t care what they say about technology. Less is definitely more as far as swimming goes.

There’s a moment of silence as PETER rests his case.

MARCUS
OK. OK. But we weren’t wearing white speedos that you could—

PETER
Greg Louganis wore a white speedo. At the 1988 Olympics.

MARCUS
You were barely alive when he wore that white speedo.

PETER
I’ve seen the pictures.  Plus it’s hard to forget a hot guy banging his head on a spring board and then winning a gold medal wearing a white speedo that says “Air Mail” across the crotch.  Even when you’re only 6 years old.

MARCUS (remembering)
It certainly was.  Unforgettable.  I wanted to race in a speedo just like that.

The two men fall silent.

MARCUS (suddenly)
You were only 6 in 1988?  You’re that young?

PETER
Maybe.

MARCUS
Can I see your ID?

PETER
You can see a lot about me if you can get past the shower dancing.

MARCUS
Really?  I’ve seen quite a bit at the bar already.

PETER
Well, there’s a lot more under the outfit.  Really.

There’s a pause here as MARCUS thinks this over.

MARCUS
Well, in my line of work, we’d say that you’ve made a compelling argument for the similarities between the swim team and dancing in the showers. I’m not sure your argument really holds any emotional water, but I’m willing to take that risk.

MARCUS stands up and finishes taking off his shirt.  He reveals a wife beatered torso that still looks like it swims the breast stroke.

PETER
Still swimming?

MARCUS
Four days a week.

PETER
In a speedo?

MARCUS
A white one.

PETER
Really?

MARCUS (moving towards PETER on the couch)
Really.

The table lamp fades to black as MARCUS helps PETER off with his t-shirt.