Our Crumbling World

Thursday I spent a half-day with high school students in a photojournalism class. The kids saw things in neat ways, some had a real good eye. It was refreshing.

One student had written a thought-provoking poem. (Sunday’s blog post will reprint the full poem.)

With the poem lingering in my head, I read that Donald Trump is telling Joe Biden to fire the Joint Chiefs of Staff if they think climate change is a big deal.

Eight years before Trump, when Obama was elected, VP Biden went with Obama to the Pentagon, where “the military sat us down to let us know what the greatest threats facing America were. And the Joint Chiefs told us the greatest threat facing America was global warming. Because there'll be significant population movements, fights over land, millions of people leaving places because they're literally sinking below the sea in Indonesia, because of the fights over what is arable land anymore.”

Presumably they told Trump that in 2017. Trump fired them. Recently, the [Trump-appointed] Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, testified before Congress that, “Climate change is a threat. Climate change is going to impact natural resources. It's going to impact increased instability in various parts of the world. It's going to impact migrations and so on. And in addition to that, we have infrastructure challenges here at home, witness some of our hurricanes and stuff.”

Trump says Biden should fire HIS chosen military chiefs for telling the truth. Sums up a lot.

Aiden Mobley’s poem, “Falling Dominoes,” didn’t mention climate change; but his words apply to that and to many other societal wrongs that we can either accept or help improve: “Our world . . . is filled with life. / But it’s falling like dominoes, by the hands of humanity. / Our world is crumbling, / while most people . . . choose to ignore it / and live on with their lives / as if they can’t do anything. / But then I think about the people trying. / Thinking about the people / who push a domino up / to help fix this broken world. / I think about life in the world, / and how the domino effect really takes place in so many places.”

Regardless of party affiliation, folks who deny reality with Mr. Trump are extremely fortunate they won’t have to explain to their grandkids – who’ll suffer the consequences – why we ignored clear red alerts. We must elect people who get it (e.g. Melanie Stansbury), remind all public officials of the urgency, support the City Office of Sustainability, and urge the County to create one. Whatever our politics, we all care about our children. For their sake mightn’t we listen to the generals, who are not barefoot tree-huggers?

So much is indeed “crumbling” around us: civility, truthfulness, community. Alone none of us can stop climate change; but we can each be more welcoming to folks whose politics, gender identities, religions, or ethnicities differ from ours. Sure, we all believe what we believe; but must we create a world of intolerance and aggression? Mightn’t we each try to “help fix this broken world?” Instead of pushing ourselves forward, might we help protect the vulnerable, poor, abused, and homeless?

When Aiden, 15, is shown falling dominoes and asked to write a poem, he thinks only of our crumbling world. Think about that. He speaks for many.

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[The above column appeared this morning, Sunday, 13 June, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on the newspaper's website and KRWG's website. A related radio commentary will air during the week on KRWG (90.7 FM) and KTAL-LP. (101.5 FM – http://www.lccommunityradio.org/), and is available on demand on KRWG’s site here.]

[It was a great group of kids, who had mad some nice images. (At Oñate High. Studying with Katya Gonzalez. Another friend, poet Tim Staley, who also teaches there, had assigned the domino poem.) Some fell asleep while I was talking; but with the lights out, teenagers fall asleep. I would have. And now, each passing year in my quite advanced age, increases my empathy with folks who fall asleep at inopportune moments. ]

Falling Dominoes

by Aiden Mobley

You know our world,

it’s filled with life

But it’s falling like dominoes

by the hands of humanity.

Our world is crumbling, while most

people out there are choosing to ignore it

and live on with their lives as if they

can’t do anything.

But then I think about the people trying.

Thinking bout the people who

push a domino up to help

fix this broken world.

I think about life in the world,

and how the domino effect

really takes place in so many places.

I. . . was told to write a poem including dominoes, and the only thing that came to mind. As I watched the dominoes fall onto the table was the world.

[Also want to mention in passing (a) that Randy (Great Conversations) Harris is back at his table just north of Las Cruces Avenue on Main Street during Saturday Farmer Market, where folks stop and pass the time of day or discuss ideas or politics; (b) Black Box Theatre is operating again.; and (c) long-time KRWG Jazz Show host Derrick Lee and others are putting on the inaugural Juneteenth Jazz Festival, an interesting set of jazz performances and lectures next weekend. This year on Zoom (at http://rebrand.ly/JuneteenthJazz) next year live, in Las Cruces. ]