The headlines the other day on Deportation Flights from Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" didn't dishearten me so much as yet another example of the egregious cruelty we humans (and in my experience, primarily Americans) seem to display towards one another at nearly every opportunity, but, rather, how so much life in these United States has changed in my lifetime, and (Grumpy Old Man Alert!) maybe not for the better.
I live in a state, Connecticut, where the men's and women's basketball coaches at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) make millions of dollars more than the president of the university, who, in turn, makes more than the department heads, and probably the entire teaching staff, of various degree-granting disciplines.
My evil twin Skippy thinks of it as 'triumph of the free-market.' I tend to lean more towards 'tell me what you spend your money on and I'll tell you your priorities.' (looking at you, Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the White House. Tell me about the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill, George.')
Professional athletes' potential salaries compared to cancer researchers'.
How ICE pays five-figure recruitment bonuses while we dismantle the Department of Education and defund Head Start because we decided we can't afford them.
How we measure successful academic achievement in our school system by how much per pupil spending we have and students' performance on standardized tests, rather than surveying the improvement and advancement to our society and nation is furthered by our schools' graduates.
I found this website the other day that started out as 'interesting' and escalated to depressing and more than a little foreboding in seconds. Talk about the approaching Apocalypse. We, as a nation, need to pay closer attention because sometimes the things we do speak so loudly that I can't hear what we're saying.
-bill kenny
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