At Risk—the Idea of America
by Mel Gurtov
422 words
Perhaps the most damaging legacy of the Trump years is the disservice he and his associates are doing to Americans’ sense of self and nation. In ordinary times there would not be much debate about what it means to be an American or what are American values. Every school child learns these things: It’s Civics 1. Race, class, and gender identity have always been important, but generally they have been subsumed under a larger identification with the nation. “We’re all Americans, we all share the dream, we live in a land of opportunity.” But under Trump identity politics has come to the fore, pushing aside the tenets of liberal democracy and respect for diversity, and replacing them with right-wing white nationalism framed by a (false) populist (i.e., anti-establishment) political agenda, a narrowing of opportunity, and mean-spirited discourse.
Liberal intellectuals uniformly denounce that agenda but they differ among themselves, as the latest issue of Foreign Affairs shows, about whether or not racial, class, and other identities promote or undermine national unity. Those identities are critical to maintain in the face of unequal treatment, yet the (liberal) nationalists fear they will undermine a focus on repurposing America. A related debate is evidently taking place at the state level. In Michigan we learn that public school educators are arguing over whether curricula should describe the American form of government as a republic or a democracy, with implications for how civil society and social equality are taught. These debates reveal just how uncertain the idea of America still is.
So long as these debates persist, America will have no special claim to being an enlightened example to the world. Instead, America will remain divided, consumed by antagonisms between races, classes, and gender, and by contending nationalisms, rather than propelled by demonstrating how a pluralistic society is able, through consensus politics and democratic choice, to surmount differences. Chalk up these painful debates to Trump’s intentionally divisive way of governing, which he relied on to get to the White House and is relying on again to stay there.
The closer we get to November 2020, the more vindictive, threatening, and desperate Donald Trump will become. Witness, for instance, not just his preparedness to use illegal means of stemming immigration, but also his more frequent accusations of “treason” against anyone who defies him.
Bottom line for me: The Democrats need a candidate who, like Obama in 2012, will speak passionately on behalf of national unity as well as on the virtues of diversity and the restoration of democratic rule.
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Mel Gurtov, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Portland State University.
3 Ways Art Brings Awareness
To Environmental Concerns
It’s perhaps the most typical of environmental political battles.
Congressional leaders from Florida – Republicans and Democrats alike – want $200 million allocated in the federal budget for restoration efforts in the Everglades. President Donald Trump included about one-third that amount in his proposed budget, though he hinted in a recent trip to south Florida that more money could be coming.
Yet, regardless of how the Washington politics plays out, it’s important that attention is paid to the Everglades and to environmental issues in general, says Clyde Butcher (www.clydebutcher.com), a nature photographer who since the 1980s has helped bring national awareness to the Everglades through stunning black-and-white photographs that have been compared to the works of Ansel Adams.
And Butcher says that, while politicians wrangle, it is artists like him who can help give people a greater understanding what would be lost if we fail to conserve and protect the natural wonders around us.
“So many people these days live in cities, or spend time on computers, and they lose touch with nature,” he says. “Through art, we can perhaps inspire them to venture out and gain an appreciation for how important it is.”
Butcher over the years has dared to wade into regions of the Everglades that most people never see. He’s making plans to put his latest photographic exhibit, “America’s Everglades: Through the Lens of Clyde Butcher,” on a national tour. Right now the exhibit is on display through May 26 at the Appleton Museum in Ocala, FL, and in 2020 will be in Youngstown, Ohio.
He says some of the ways artists help bring attention to environmental issues include:
Let people vicariously experience the world’s wonders. Butcher says his large prints make people feel like they are walking right into the scene, which many of them wouldn’t dare do in reality. “A lot of people don’t want to get wet,” he says. “They don’t want to play with the gators and the snakes.” Of course, eventually he wants them to experience the real thing. “You have to get your feet connected to the earth, or to water, to understand it, to feel it,” Butcher says.
Help people understand government’s role. “The government is making the laws, so we need to work with those guys,” Butcher says. One of the early ways he worked with government was when a water management district wanted to display some of his photographs in a new building. The problem: The water district had no money to pay for the photographs. Butcher’s businessman side hesitated at first, but eventually he agreed to provide the photos, feeling that his art could help connect the public to the water district’s mission.
Spread the word. Each time someone is exposed to nature through art they are reminded of the beauty and importance of these environmental treasures. Butcher took that a step further. About 25 years ago, he began offering guided swamp walks through the Everglades at one of his galleries. He says people who are exposed to the habitat may be more likely to want to preserve nature and will influence others.
“I feel my images create an emotion that reaches out to people beyond any political debates,” Butcher says. “That helps them see their surroundings in a different way, and encourages them to save those wild places where peace can fill the soul.”
About Clyde Butcher
Clyde Butcher (www.clydebutcher.com) is an acclaimed nature photographer who is best known for his striking black-and-white images of the Everglades in Florida. But he has photographed the beauty of nature in other locations as well. For more than 50 years, he has been preserving on film the untouched areas of the landscape. Butcher has been honored by the state of Florida with the Artist Hall of Fame Award. Other major awards and honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association; Humanitarian of the Year for 2005 from the International University; the 2011 Distinguished Artist Award from the Florida House in Washington, D.C.; and the Ansel Adams Conservation Award from the Sierra Club.
Aqua-YIeld CEO and Co-founder
University honors company for commitment to business and students
We must always have our ‘business eyes’ set on research, development and growth of our nanotechnology." ”
— Clark Bell Aqua-Yield CEO
SANDY, UT, UNITED STATES, April 15, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ --
University of Utah names Aqua-Yield Employer of the Year
Honor specifically mentions company’s commitment to internships
For Immediate Release — April 15, 2019
Contact: Doug Jardine 801.638.5020 doug@aquayield.com
Draper, UT — Aqua-Yield’s ® commitment to business and students has landed the nanotechnology company a unique honor from the University of Utah. The university’s Career & Professional Development Center named Aqua-Yield® as its Employer of the Year, for its dedication to creating student success and to the overall motivation of students through the company’s intern program.
And the reason the honor is so special to Aqua-Yield is, the nomination came from one of its own interns, Kyle Isaacson, a current PhD candidate at the Nano Institute at the university.
In Kyle’s own words, “Even though the company has grown impressively while running an honest and environmentally-friendly operation, the upper management places an even greater focus on ensuring employee happiness and skill development. I strongly encourage the committee to give Aqua-Yield serious consideration for the award. The company has focused on bringing nanotechnology into the agronomy field, coining words such as “nanogronomy” and “nano-shield technology”.
Kyle continued, “I joined Aqua-Yield as a Product Development Intern this past summer with little expectation of having significant interaction with company upper management. My belief proved to be sorely unfounded, as nearly all members of upper management scheduled individual meetings with me and/or took me out to lunch within my first week, including Clark Bell (CEO), Landon Bunderson (CSO), Mike Bullock (COO), and Warren Bell (Chairman). My respect for each of them grew immensely as they personally shared their vision for the company and expanded that I, as an intern, had a very distinct and important role in making that vision a reality.”
“Kyle is an exceptional young man and to have him nominate Aqua-Yield® is sincerely one of the finest tributes our young company could receive,” says Clark Bell, Aqua-Yield® CEO. “We must always have our ‘business eyes’ set on research, development and growth of our nanotechnology, but an integral building block of any successful company is the manner in which it treats and manages employees (interns). What a special event indeed for Kyle to recognize our overall corporate commitment to the mainstay of our company’s mission statement.”
Aqua-Yield® was presented the award during a dinner/ceremony at the university.
Co-founded in 2014, Aqua-Yield® introduced the “smallest innovation in agricultural history”; nanoparticulation. Aqua-Yield’s technologies deliver materials directly to the plant’s cells leading to a much higher overall efficiency, resulting in significant advantages for the grower. Results of the company’s unique technologies include; higher yields, lower cost inputs, shorter crop cycles, less environmental impact and an increase in nutrient impact.
For information on Aqua-Yield visit www.aquayield.com
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