New Year's Eve -- The "Crazy" Heart's Desire

 

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

By The Orioles

When the bells all ring and the horns all blow
And the couples we know are fondly kissing
Will I be with you or will I be among the missing?

Maybe it's much too early in the game
Ah, but I thought I'd ask you just the same
What are you doing New Year's, New Year's Eve?

Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When it's exactly twelve o'clock that night
Welcoming in the New Year, New Year's Eve

Maybe I'm crazy to suppose
I'd ever be the one you chose
Out of the thousand invitations you received

Ah, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance
What are you doing New Year's, New Year's Eve?
Oh, what are you doing New Year's, New Year's Eve?

"What Are You Doing New Year's Ever” was first recorded by Margaret Whiting with Frank De Vol and His Orchestra (1947).

However, the Orioles, a pioneering doo-wop group from Baltimore, Maryland, were the first to have a hit recording with Frank Loesser's 1947 love song, landing at #9 on the R&B chart. Loesser was a Broadway legend known for writing and composing music for shows like Guys and Dolls and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. In addition to “What Are You Doing New Year's Eve, he also penned the wintry classic "Baby It's Cold Outside" (1944) and an American patriotic song "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” (1942).

The Orioles were an American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound. Their string of hits included three #1 R&B singles in the late Forties and early Fifties: “It’s Too Soon to Know,” “Tell Me So” and “Crying in the Chapel.”

The Orioles are generally acknowledged as R&B's first vocal group. Baltimore natives, they blended rhythm with group harmonies. Dubbing themselves after Maryland’s state bird, the Orioles started the trend of bird groups (The Cardinals, The Crows, The Flamingos, The Larks, The Penguins, The Ravens, The Wrens, etc.).The original five members of The Orioles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.

Note on the Doo-wop Sound:

“From the outset, singers gathered on street corners, and in subways, generally in groups of three to six. They sang a cappella arrangements, and used wordless onomatopoeia to mimic instruments since instruments were little used: the bass singing 'bom-bom-bom,' a guitar rendered as 'shang-a-lang,' and brass riffs as 'dooooo -wop-wop.'

“For instance, 'Count Every Star' by The Ravens (1950), includes vocalizations imitating the 'doomph, doomph' plucking of a double bass. This art dates to The Mills Brothers, who first came to fame in the 1930s with their mimicking of instrumental music. Radio, gramophone, and cinema inspired imitation in many U.S. cities.”

(Denise Oliver Velez . “'What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?' What's your favorite version?” Daily Kos. December 31, 2016.)

What's Up on New Year's Eve?

In “What Are Youu Doing New Year's Eve,” the narrator has just fallen in love (evidently with a very beautiful and popular woman) and poses the title "jackpot question in advance," hoping to ring in the New Year with the object of his affection.

The song has been included on many holiday collections, which proves that nearly everyone misses the point. "It is early spring," Loesser's daughter Susan wrote in A Most Remarkable Fella: Frank Loesser and the Guys and Dolls in His Life. "The singer, madly in love, is making a (possibly rash) commitment far into the future. ('Maybe it's much too early in the game. Ah, but I thought I'd ask you just the same - What are you doing New Year's, New Year's Eve?') It always annoyed my father when the song was sung during the holidays."

The song has been recorded by many other artists including Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Harry Connick Jr., Seth Macfarlane, Andy Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Donny Osmond, Katharine McPhee, Kacey Musgraves, Azealia Banks, The Carpenters, Sykamore and Vic Damone.

Missing the point on a song that is assumed to occur on New Year's Eve? On this holiday, shouldn't we expect some confusion anyhow? After all, New Year's Day, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar, is the federal holiday, not New Year's Eve. But, most people do their celebrating on the eve – attending parties featuring drinking, music, and dancing – all of which culminates at midnight. As far as New Year's Day, those folks who properly celebrated New Year's Eve can barely make it out of bed the next day to recover and nap while watching an endless string of college bowl game.

How about the history of a New Year's kiss at midnight? Historians trace New Year’s Eve smooching back to three historic eras: the Romans’ celebration of Saturn, an old Scottish festival called Hogmanay, and English or Germanic folklore. Our current New Year’s Eve parties are a modern twist on all three.

According to Britannica.com, Saturnalia was the biggest and rowdiest of Roman festivals. Even enslaved people were free to party, and those who participated in festivals all year long relaxed about normal moral and social rules. Drunken rule-breaking likely led to a romantic tryst or two, thus spreading the notion that Saturnalia – the end of the year – is a great time for kissing.

The pagan and Viking roots of Hogmanay parties suggest it was a pre-Christmas winter festival focused on friendship and togetherness with the people you love. According to Scotland.org, “An important element of Hogmanay celebrations is to welcome friends and strangers, with warm hospitality and of course a kiss to wish everyone a 'Guid New Year.'” Though the Scots of old kissed everyone on New Year’s Eve, our modern celebrations have narrowed down the subject of our smooches to romantic partners.

According to Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl: An Encyclopedia, edited by Melitta Weiss Adamson and Francine Segan, English and German folklore spread the belief that the person you first contact in a new year will have a direct influence on that year’s destiny. It makes sense that anyone superstitious enough to believe this would make physical contact with someone familiar and likable. Kissing a loved one or romantic partner is the perfect way to keep superstition and old folklore on your side.

(Leandra Beabout. “Why Do We Kiss at Midnight on New Year’s Eve?” Reader's Digest. December 12, 2019.)

In Frank Loesser's song, the speaker who hopes to hit the New Year's Eve romantic jackpot seeks an advance commitment to help him secure a lasting romance. The object of his affection evidently holds the winning hand – both the ownership of his heart and the power to choose – while the admiring speaker wants to affirm the special date “early in the game” of their courtship even if he has little chance of success.

You have to admire the guy for his spunk and initiative. His lack of confidence makes me wonder if any sparks have flown in the romance, but he puts his cards on the table. He's looking forward to that lucky kiss that keeps folklore on his side.

I can't help but wonder if his girl will see this as a sign he's “taking things too fast” or a sign that he is assuming too much control in the relationship. Those feminine wiles are firmly on her side as well as a lady's right to unchallenged prerogative. He's smitten even if this love is a one-way street. She is also liable to forget him. And, he just may be singing the blues as a forlorn suitor by the time New Year's arrives.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And days of auld lang syne?”

Anyway, it's a hell of a song … “What Are You Doing New Year's Eve” is a tune of simple desire that will live once more with every waning December. My favorite version is the Orioles' rendition. I hope you like it, too.

Long Haul -- Covid Symptoms Can Linger In Those Infected

 

“The common thread through these comments was a basic one. Each of the patients had already been infected with COVID-19 and presumably had recovered, yet each was still dealing with symptoms of the disease – sometimes vague, sometimes nonspecific – that simply would not go away.

– Carolyn Barber, Scientific American

Carolyn Barber – M.D., author, and recipient of CNN’s 2020 “Champions for Change” award – believes that of all the facets of the virus we have dealt with in 2020, what has become known as “long Covid” may ultimately prove the most difficult to recognize, much less to combat.

(Carolyn Barber. “The Problem of ‘Long Haul’ COVID.” Scientific American. December 29, 2020.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's announced in July that a third of COVID-19 patients continue to display symptoms for months after they test negative. The terms “COVID long-haulers,” “long COVID,” and “Post COVID Syndrome,” have all been used interchangeably in recent months to describe individuals who have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 and continue to experience symptoms after “recovery.”

Published studies and surveys conducted by patient groups indicate that 50% to 80% of patients continue to have bothersome symptoms three months after the onset of COVID-19 – even after tests no longer detect virus in their body.

(Angelo Carfì et al. “Persistent Symptoms in Patients After Acute COVID-19.” Journal American Medical Association. August 11, 2020.)

(Mark W. Tenforde, MD, PhD et al. “Symptom Duration and Risk Factors for Delayed Return to Usual Health Among Outpatients with COVID-19 in a Multistate Health Care Systems Network.” MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. July 31, 2020.)

Currently, researchers can’t accurately predict who will become a long hauler. However, continued symptoms are more likely to occur in people over age 50, people with two or three chronic illnesses, and people who became very ill with COVID-19.

King’s College researchers, reviewing their data from the COVID Symptom Study, identified patterns that suggested long COVID was twice as common in women as men, and the median age was 45. And, a non–peer reviewed study of approximately 4,100 people from the same data set found that older people, women, and those with more than five symptoms during their first week of illness were more likely to develop long COVID.

(Daniel Sleat, Ryan Wain, and Brianna Miller. “Long Covid: Reviewing the Science and Assessing the Risk.” Tony Blair Institute For Global Change. October 2020.)

Harvard Health has found long-haulers include two groups of people affected by the virus:

• Those who experience some permanent damage to their lungs, heart, kidneys, or brain that may affect their ability to function.

• Those who continue to experience debilitating symptoms despite no detectable damage to these organs.

(Anthony Komaroff, MD. “The tragedy of the post-COVID 'long haulers.'” Harvard Health Letter. October 15, 2020.)

A recent survey by the grassroots group COVID-19 “Survivor Corps” found that fatigue was the most common of the top 50 symptoms experienced by the more than 1500 long haulers who responded, followed by muscle or body aches, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and difficulty concentrating.

Cough is the most common persistent symptom seen at the new COVID-19 Recovery Clinic (CORE) at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, codirector Aluko Hope, MD, MSCE, said in an interview. Between Hope, a pulmonary and critical care specialist, and the clinic’s other director, general internist Seth Congdon, MD, the clinic sees a wide range of patients, including some who were never hospitalized.

(Rita Rubin, MA. “As Their Numbers Grow, COVID-19 “Long Haulers” Stump Experts.” JAMA. September 23, 2020.)

The Long Haul is the other side of Covid. A significant number of people have still had problems with the disease after months. The long-haulers that could turn out to be a huge public-health problem. In fact, researchers estimate about 10% of COVID-19 patients become long haulers, according to a recent article from The Journal of the American Medical Association and a study done by British scientists.

(Rita Rubin, MA. “As Their Numbers Grow, COVID-19 'Long Haulers' Stump Experts.” JAMA Network. September 23, 2020.)

The Fog That Never Lifts

Ed Yong, British science journalist and a permanent staff member at The Atlantic, says, “No matter the exact diagnosis, the COVID-19 pandemic will almost certainly create a substantial wave of chronically disabled people.”

David Putrino, a neuroscientist and a rehabilitation specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital who has cared for many long-haulers, relates …

“I’ve received hundreds of messages from people who have been suffering for months – alone, unheard, and pummeled by unrelenting and unpredictable symptoms. It’s like every day, you reach your hand into a bucket of symptoms, throw some on the table, and say, ‘This is you for today.'”

(Ed Yong. “Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19.” The Atlantic. August 19, 2020.)

Nisreen Alwan is a public-health professor at the University of Southampton who has had COVID-19 since March 20. She says that experts and officials should stop referring to all nonhospitalized cases as “mild.” They should agree on a definition of recovery that goes beyond being discharged from the hospital or testing negative for the virus, and accounts for a patient’s quality of life. “We cannot fight what we do not measure,” Alwan says. “Death is not the only thing that counts. We must also count lives changed.”

As many people still fantasize about returning to their previous lives, some are already staring at a future where that is no longer possible. Alison Sbrana, who has ME/CFS (myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome) and dysautonomia (a disorder of the autonomous nervous system), now spends her few productive weekly hours moderating the Body Politic support group. As an advocate for chronic illness and disability, she directs people to credible resources on aspects of disabled life, including care and benefits.

Sbrana says …

“That frontier, in which long-haulers attempt to access social support is about to be a shit show. Some want their employers to make accommodations, such as reduced hours or long-term sick leave, so they can keep working at a time when their medical bills are mounting. Others cannot work, but are pressured to do so by bosses who don’t understand what long COVID is.”

(Ed Yong. “Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19.” The Atlantic. August 19, 2020.)

“We keep seeing that people who don’t have a positive test result struggle to get paid time off work,” says Fiona Lowenstein, who founded Body Politic. Yet others “don’t want people to see them as complainers, push themselves, and then get sicker,” says Barbara Comerford, a New Jersey–based attorney who specializes in disability law and has represented many people with ME/CFS.

Lowenstein adds …

“If they lose their jobs, they’re in really bad shape. Other sources of disability benefits and care, including private insurance and Social Security, are notoriously hard to access. Long-haulers would need to provide a history of being unable to do substantial gainful employment, and ample medical documentation of their disability to prove that it’s expected to last at least a year. Many have neither.”

(Ed Yong. “Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19.” The Atlantic. August 19, 2020.)

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are devastating. Mammoth cases of infection and tremendous death tolls tell one side of the horrendous story. Long Covid tells the other, less-reported chapter – the side of the coronavirus that will affect millions of people's health and finances for years to come. As vaccines offering protection now begin to navigate their way into a desperate population, a wake of broken individuals is washing up on the shores, and these long-haulers are in need of immediate attention and care.

$600 or $2,000 Stimulus Payment? Explaining the Disagreement In Simple Terms

 

"I don't want to hear that we can't afford it. I don't want to hear that it would add too much to the deficit. Senate Republicans added nearly $2 trillion to the deficit to give corporations a massive tax cut.Leader McConnell holds the key to unlocking this dilemma.”

– Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday blocked an effort to quickly pass a measure to increase direct stimulus payments from $600 to $2,000, though the legislation could be voted on at a later time or date if McConnell so chooses.

Why not $2,000?

Why does McConnell resist efforts to raise the payments to $2,000 when the House voted Monday to increase the second round of federal direct payments to $2,000 as Democrats embraced President Donald Trump’s calls to put more money in Americans’ pockets?

First of all, if McConnell embraces a larger direct payment, he risks splitting the party and contradicting the hard-line strategy of citing concerns about the federal budget deficit. It is by far the most realistic and politically problematic suggestion for Republicans.

Why? Because the decision puts them in a very small box: Either vote to massively increase the national debt -- by giving $1,400 more to every qualifying individual in the country – or vote against what is much-needed money for people who have been devastated by the economic effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-Large, says …

“So, either violate a bedrock principle of conservatism (the government is spending us into unmanageable debt!) or be attacked as heartless by Democrats. It's a lose-lose. Bigly. Especially if you are Sens. Kelly Loeffler or David Perdue, both locked in tight runoff races on January 5. Both incumbent Republicans need base conservatives with them to win, so a vote for more government spending isn't a good one.

“But they also can't actively agitate the rest of the state -- including swing voters in the suburbs who want the government to help those struggling as much as they can. It's a nearly impossible line to walk, politically speaking.”

(Chris Cillizza. “Why a vote on $2,000 stimulus checks is an absolute nightmare for Senate Republicans.” CNN. December 28, 2020.)

On January 20, Trump will be gone, but remember McConnell was just reelected in November to a seventh term. Consider that. But, conversely consider that the $2,000 checks could be a breaking point in the battle for the Senate majority happening right now in Georgia.

Trump is thinking only of himself. Needy Americans and political parties be damned. He wants his final act as President to be sending more money to people. It's good for his political future if he runs again in 2024 – He will undoubtedly say to voters, “Remember when I gave you all that extra money?”

McConnell knows adding $2,000 checks to this bill would cost hundreds of billions more. In order for it to pass, McConnell would need 12 Republicans to sign on and right now, it’s not clear that many exist.

Lauren Fox, CNN congressional reporter, says …

“Sen. Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, has said he’d back the payments. And Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, has been a strong proponent of stimulus checks. But, a vote on the issue would undoubtedly divide the Republican conference and force Georgia Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue to take a tough vote just days ahead of their runoff election. It would also expose members who vote no to the ire of a President who has never taken kindly to being crossed.

“That doesn’t mean McConnell doesn’t go that direction. A vote for $2,000 checks could also boost Perdue and Loeffler in their races if they voted for it. The provision is popular. And, even if the measure didn’t pass, putting it on the floor would demonstrate to the President that McConnell tried, but the votes just weren’t there. McConnell, as usual, has been seeking the input of his members.”

(Lauren Fox. “Mitch McConnell faces decision over vote to increase stimulus payments to $2,000.” CNN. December 29, 2020.)

The measure would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, meaning all Democrats and the two independent senators who caucus with them would need 12 Republicans to vote with them. If McConnell announces plans to bring the bill up for a formal vote, it could still take several days for that vote to occur given the procedural hurdles.

Meanwhile the Treasury Department has said the $600 payments will start going out as soon as this week. If Congress approves the increase to $2,000, it will then be added to the original sum.

The size of the direct stimulus check is presently a political football being tossed around by elected lawmakers in Washington who have more regard to partisan fallout than to the relief of poor, innocent Americans struggling in a deadly pandemic.

Generations of Wisdom -- Finding Your Branch On the Family Tree

 

Generation To Generation

By Antoine de Saint-Exupery

In a house which becomes a home,
one hands down and another takes up
the heritage of mind and heart,
laughter and tears, musings and deeds.

Love, like a carefully loaded ship,
crosses the gulf between the generations.

Therefore, we do not neglect the ceremonies
of our passage: when we wed, when we die,
and when we are blessed with a child;
When we depart and when we return;
When we plant and when we harvest.
Let us bring up our children. It is not
the place of some official to hand to them
their heritage.

If others impart to our children our knowledge
and ideals, they will lose all of us that is
wordless and full of wonder.

Let us build memories in our children,
lest they drag out joyless lives,
lest they allow treasures to be lost because
they have not been given the keys.

We live, not by things, but by the meanings
of things. It is needful to transmit the passwords
from generation to generation.

I never knew a grandmother or a grandfather. My grandmothers on both sides died before I was born, and my grandfathers both had passed by the time I was a year or so old. I have no recollection of whom my grandparents really were. To me, they exist only in very brief, secondhand accounts from my parents – who, of course, are both now deceased – and in a old photo or two – voiceless likenesses on thin paper. How I wish I would have pressed Mom and Dad for more information on my kin.

Do you, like me, wonder about your ancestors? What did they believe in and enjoy doing? What did their voices sound like? How about their personalities? What would it be like just to be around them? What would they want to tell me? I have a million questions I want to know about my bloodline and my prior generations. I would love to be more connected with my ancestors on a very personal level. I treasure the little information I have.

What do we really know about who and what made us what we are? Of course, most of us are fortunate enough to have memories and experiences with our parents and perhaps our grandparents; however, nearly all of us have very weak connections with any of those who existed in our families over a generation ago.

All most of us know of the many lives in those past generations is often contained in a name and two dates – when they were born and when they died. We understand what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. But the life story is left untold.

Just think of it. All of their hopes and dreams, all of their struggles and accomplishments … all of the stories of their lives have been lost. An incredible store of knowledge is gone without simple preservation.

Everyone Is Related

Just what kind of people were our ancestors? We may take heart in knowing we're all part of a much bigger family – a family of human beings. Migration, interbreeding, isolation, and extinction of hominid branches has shaped the modern human. So, it turns out all of us are closer than we would ever think.

It is believed the number of ancestors you have doubles each generation into the past. So, there is a time in history where all lines of all family trees cross through all people alive at that time. We call this the “genetic isopoint.”Another way of phrasing it is to say, "If you were alive at the isopoint, and you have living descendants today, then you are the ancestor of everyone alive today."

When the isopoint for Europe was calculated a few years ago, the answer came out as the tenth century. Amazing, isn't it. Equally baffling, the isopoint for the whole of the world is the 14th century BCE. Everyone alive today is descended from the world population at the time of Pharaoh Rameses II, or the presumed birth of Moses.

(Adrian Liang. “Adam Rutherford on Surprises in Our Genetic Past (Like: Interbreeding!)” Amazon Book Review. October 06, 2017.)

Genealogists can only focus on one branch of a family tree at a time, making it easy to forget how many forebears each of us has. However, Scott Hershberger, 2020 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at Scientific American, explains …

“Imagine counting all your ancestors as you trace your family tree back in time. In the nth generation before the present, your family tree has 2n slots: two for parents, four for grandparents, eight for great-grandparents, and so on. The number of slots grows exponentially. By the 33rd generation – about 800 to 1,000 years ago – you have more than eight billion of them. That is more than the number of people alive today, and it is certainly a much larger figure than the world population a millennium ago …

“In 2004 mathematical modeling and computer simulations by a group of statisticians led by Douglas Rohde, then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, indicated that our most recent common ancestor probably lived no earlier than 1400 B.C. and possibly as recently as A.D. 55. In the time of Egypt’s Queen Nefertiti, someone from whom we are all descended was likely alive somewhere in the world.

“Go back a bit further, and you reach a date when our family trees share not just one ancestor in common but every ancestor in common. At this date, called the “genetic isopoint,” the family trees of any two people on the earth now, no matter how distantly related they seem, trace back to the same set of individuals.

“'If you were alive at the genetic isopoint, then you are the ancestor of either everyone alive today or no one alive today” … Humans left Africa and began dispersing throughout the world at least 120,000 years ago, but the genetic isopoint occurred much more recently – somewhere between 5300 and 2200 B.C., according to Rohde’s calculations.

(Scott Hershberger. “Humans Are All More Closely Related Than We Commonly Think.” Scientific American. October 5, 2020.)

All of this calculation shows the family tree of humanity is much more interconnected than we tend to think. All Europeans living today are related to the same set of ancestors who lived 1,000 years ago. This makes Adam Rutherford, geneticist and author of A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes (2017), claim “literally everyone” with European ancestry is directly descended from Charlemagne.

And because the genetic isopoint occurred so recently, Rutherford says, “in relation to race, it absolutely, categorically demolishes the idea of lineage purity.” No person has forebears from just one ethnic background or region of the world. And your genealogical connections to the entire globe mean that not too long ago your ancestors were involved in every event in world history.

Rutherford continues to explain how to argue with a racist. Ancestry and family trees show the concept of racial purity to be pure fantasy. “For humans,” Rutherford explains, “there are no purebloods, only mongrels enriched by the blood of multitudes.” So, like the rest of us, every white supremacist and racist has African, Indian, Chinese, Native American, Middle Eastern and Indigenous Australian ancestors to name but a few.

The Need To Establish “Core Identity”

Even if we're all related and many stories of our famous “ancestors” do exist, the need for understanding a line of close descent is crucial to our well being. The stories of our next of kin affect us the most when we are searching for exactly “who we are.” Our identity changes as we progress through life, but communication is the primary means of establishing our identity and fulfilling our identity needs.

“Core Identity” is the essence of who a person is. This unique identity can be described by attributes that belong to and describe an individual. Some unique characteristics (e.g. DNA signature, footprint) are immediately measurable at birth. Others change over time.

Knowing our cultural background and where we came from can help us develop a strong sense of who we really are – a “core” of identity. The way we relate to our family stories and create our own narratives about ourselves help establish our unique recognition.

Family stories directly impact how we see ourselves because they give us an idea of where we come from and how we fit into our family. Think of each family story as a single thread in a tapestry woven with beautiful, complex patterns, colors, and designs. Like the tapestry, we are a combination of the culture, history, and traditions we inherited from our own families.

Researchers at Emory University researched family dinner conversations and developed quantifiable criteria for how well families work. The study called “Do You Know” was conducted by psychologists Robyn Fivush and Marshall Duke, as well as former Emory graduate student Jennifer Bohanek. The researchers found that, “family stories provide a sense of identity through time, and help children understand who they are in the world.”

The results showed that teens with an increased level of knowledge related to family background showed “higher levels of emotional well-being, and also higher levels of identity achievement, even when controlling for general level of family functioning.”

When facing challenges, we can draw strength from stories of relatives who also struggled with similar challenges and obstacles and were then able to overcome them.

The study of genealogy tells a sad truth about generational story gathering: people usually don't become interested in genealogy until they're in their 50s and 60s, when they have more time to reflect on their family identity. The problem is that by that time, their grandparents and parents have often already passed away or are unable to recount their stories.

Robyn Fivush, Ph.D., one of the researchers behind the study “The Power of Family History in Adolescent Identity and Well-Being,” says …

“Because of this, we're losing generations of stories, and all of the benefits that come with them. Because our families are among the most important social groups we belong to and identify with, stories about our family tell us who we are in the world, and who we should be. Stories about our parents and grandparents provide models of both good and bad times, as well as models of overcoming challenges and sticking together.”

(Rachael Rifkin. “We’re Losing Generations of Family History Because We Don’t Share Our Stories. Good Housekeeping. November 13, 2019.)

I once heard someone say that learning history is forced reckoning. Many people consider such an estimation to be restricted to the study of national or global concerns; however, local and personal contexts are important because of occupations, lifestyles, customs, and religious institutions which were often specific to an area.

Each of us has a unique core identity that impacts us, our family, and even future generations of people we may never know. Knowing our family history builds resilience. In learning about our ancestors’ lives, we can see patterns of overcoming failures and surviving hard times. We can learn how to cope with our difficulties from these particular narratives of perseverance.

Through identity study, we can also develop a better understanding of everyday folks, the lifeblood of our nation. We can realize how much we are alike, and we can also better understand how our differences contribute to the extraordinary, diverse design of our national culture.

I really wish I would have gotten to know my grandparents. How much more grounded I might be. I feel these missing pieces of my life today. There is a longing forever unrealized. I'm sure their loving stories would have provided me with important lessons learned not only by them but also by their mothers and fathers. Your own ancestors may tell such meaningful stories that need to be shared with future generations. If they are living, consider closer connections and better preserving family history. And, do so now. The best time is at hand.

“I CELEBRATE myself;

And what I assume you shall assume;

For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.”

– From “Song of Myself” by Walt Whitman

The Costly Holidays -- Wrapping Up Wants and Needs

 

“You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime
You'll find
You get what you need”

– “You Can't Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones

Christmas for us now is a simple affair. I'm almost 70, and my wife Cindy is 66. so we celebrate with some good food and drink, maybe a Christmas song or two, and lots of reminisces of years gone by. We don't even buy each other presents for Christmas. Instead, we concentrate on getting the grandchildren their fair share of toys and clothes.

All of our parents are deceased, so going home for Christmas to a big party is a thing of the past. We usually visit our four children on Christmas Eve, and we gather at one home – ours or one of theirs – to have some wonderful time together. This year with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, we eliminated the big get-together to be on the safe side.

This scaled-back Christmas has made me think about how I have changed over the years. I still love the season; however, I no longer rush for presents and push all the other holiday stress buttons. To say our celebration is laid back is an understatement. We no longer go “all out” for the season.

What You Want and What You Need

I vividly remember how giddy I got as a small child when Christmas drew near. One Christmas, my mom got so tired of me asking “How many days until Christmas?” (At that time, probably 30 days left before December 25) that she got a paper bag and counted out a piece of bubblegum for each day until Christmas. I was allotted one piece of gum a day and a peek into the bag – all of which gave me a pretty good indication of when Santa was arriving.

I also remember the rabid anticipation that went along with wanting a special present – how much it meant to ask Santa for the gift, and then actually receiving it (or something very close) on Christmas Eve. My parents and I opened our presents on Christmas Eve: I was told Santa delivered early at our house. After all, he had to go all around the world. It was fine with me if he dropped ours off the night before. By the way, I have often thought of how disappointed so many kids must be because they did not get their Christmas wish. I can't imagine.

Then, of course, there were Christmases as adults when we bought special gifts for everyone – not expensive, luxuriant presents, but nice ones, nonetheless. All of that discriminating shopping and then worrying about how everyone would like those chosen gifts was exhausting. In my mind, I thought the gift had to fit each person and fulfill each person's desire. You know, thoughtful and not cheap, but above all worthy of the recipient.

Now, I realize that the wants and desires of friends and family are not that important. A gift, if nothing else, is a token of love. Human needs should be the focus of our care. And, raising a family that cares for others' needs in this material world is a worthy challenge for parents, grandparents, and guardians.

Attending to needs calls for a big dose of being grateful for what we have. In "wanting" there is an inherent feeling of “not having.” People cannot feel fulfilled when they focus only on what they lack. Gratitude helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals – whether to other people, to nature, or to a higher power. Even a simple “thank you” constituting good manners and showing appreciation can help win new friends

Talk about a lasting, wonderful gift – teaching gratitude is at the top of the list. It is truly a gift that keeps on giving. A growing body of research shows there are many psychological and physical benefits to being grateful. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions; relish good experiences; deal with adversity; and build strong relationships.

(“Giving thanks can make you happier.” Harvard Health Publishing. November, 2011.)

The benefits of gratitude include improving hypertension – scientists found those who “count their blessings” at least once a week experienced a significant decrease in blood pressure, resulting in better overall health.

(R.W. Shipon. “Gratitude: Effect on perspectives and blood pressure of inner-city African-American hypertensive patients.”Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 68. 1977.

Another study found a two-week gratitude intervention increased sleep quality and reduced blood pressure in participants, leading to enhanced well-being

(Jackowska, Brown, Ronaldson, & Steptoe. “The impact of a brief gratitude intervention on subjective well-being, biology and sleep.” Journal of Health Psychology. March 2, 2015.)

Research has also shown gratitude not only reduces stress, but it may also play a major role in overcoming trauma. A 2006 study published in Behavior Research and Therapy found that Vietnam War veterans with higher levels of gratitude experienced lower rates of post-traumatic stress disorder.

(Todd B.Kashdan, Gitendra Uswatte, and Terri Julian. “Gratitude and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in Vietnam war veterans.” Behaviour Research and Therapy, Volume 44, Issue 2. February 2006.)

And, believe it or not, research found that gratitude can help with common ailments such as headaches, stomach pain, skin irritation, and congestion. Results from Greater Good Science Center's Thnx4 project found that college students who kept an online gratitude journal for two weeks reported improvement with these problems.

 (Emiliana R. Simon-Thomas.  “A “Thnx” a Day Keeps the Doctor Away.” Greater Good Magazine. December 19, 2012

Mind over matter? Harvard Health reminds us although the stress response begins in the brain, it is a full-body phenomenon. When someone encounters a threat – real or imagined – the brain triggers a cascade of stress hormones – the heart pounds, muscles tense, and breathing quickens.

The practice of mindfulness, which has its roots in Buddhism, teaches people to live each moment as it unfolds. The idea is to focus attention on what is happening in the present and accept it without judgment. Mindfulness – meditation-based practice – surely includes the practice of finding contentment while being grateful.

(A. Chiesa et al. "Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Psychiatric Disorders: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis." Psychiatric Research. May 2011.)

Dangers of Losing Simple Gratitude

Once people have what they actually need (and maybe plus a little extra for security), they are set in terms of how their happiness level will be impacted. But, Man vs. Self – the most archetypal conflict – is inner conflict ultimately rooted in our primal and personal struggles. Thus, our problem of conflicting wants and needs can debilitate our understanding of “enough.”

In the glory of materialism, people often find other deceiving factors can become more central to their sense of happiness or fulfillment. For example, an overwhelming desire to achieve greater levels of wealth often causes a myopic preoccupation. Being happy should be understood in the context of feeling “how much is enough,” not that “more” or “bigger” is better. Finding balance in our lives is so important because there is inevitably a cost to pursuing more “over here” while neglecting things “over there.” Materialism eats from the inside out, and often it may leave a trail of unpayable debts, mental illness and smashed relationships.

The belief that having more money and more stuff enhances our well being is a dangerous tenet. Worldly ambition, material aspiration, and perpetual growth can be a formula for mass unhappiness. Materialism is associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and anti-social behavior.

A paper publiched in Psychological Science that people in a controlled experiment who were repeatedly exposed to images of luxury goods, to messages that cast them as consumers rather than citizens and to words associated with materialism (such as buy, status, asset and expensive), experienced immediate but temporary increases in material aspirations, anxiety and depression.

These test participants also became more competitive and more selfish, had a reduced sense of social responsibility and were less inclined to join in demanding social activities. The researchers point out that, as we are repeatedly bombarded with such images through advertisements, and constantly described by the media as consumers, these temporary effects could be triggered more or less continuously.

(Monika A. Bauer, James E. B. Wilkie, and Jung K. Kim. “Consumerism and its antisocial effects can be turned on—or off.” Psychological Science. 2012.)

Another paper in the Journal of Consumer Research, studied 2,500 people for six years. It found a two-way relationship between materialism and loneliness: materialism fosters social isolation; isolation fosters materialism. People who are cut off from others attach themselves to possessions. This attachment, in turn, crowds out social relationships.

(Rik Pieters. “Bidirectional Dynamics of Materialism and Loneliness: Not Just a Vicious Cycle.” Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 40. July 11, 2013.)

Materialism forces us into comparison with the possessions of others. Many experience no end to it. If they have four Rolexes while another has five, they are a Rolex short of contentment. The material pursuit of self-esteem actually reduces a person's self-esteem.

Buddhism teaches, desires are inexhaustible. The satisfaction of one desire just creates new desires, like a cell multiplying. Steve Taylor Ph.D. senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University in the UK, says: “Our appetite for wealth and material goods isn't driven by hardship, but by our own inner discontent. We're convinced that we can buy our way to happiness, that wealth is the path to permanent fulfillment and well-being.”

Taylor believes one of the problems with this theory is that there is actually nothing "natural" about the desire to accumulate wealth. In fact, this desire would have been disastrous for earlier human beings. And Taylor confirms …

“Study after study by psychologists has shown that there is no correlation between wealth and happiness. The only exception is in cases of real poverty, when extra income does relieve suffering and brings security. But once our basic material needs are satisfied, our level of income makes little difference to our level of happiness.”

(Steve Taylor. “The Madness of Materialism.” Psychology Today. March 10, 2012)

It is evident we could all benefit from expressing gratitude and enjoying our needs while denying so many materialistic wants. Teaching others to learn when “enough is enough” is both self-satisfying and beneficial to pupils who will listen and apply the wisdom.

The average household carried $8398 of credit card debt in June of 2019. ThredUP conducted a survey and found that almost 50% of millennials report that their purchases are impulse buys.

Here are six statistics that show clutter and materialism are a problem for many Americans.

1. The average American home has 300,000 items. (LA Times)

2. Twenty-three percent of adults pay late fees on bills because they lose them. (Harris Interactive)

3. One out of four houses with two-car garages keeps so much stuff in it they can’t even fit a car in the garage. (US Department of Energy)

4. On average, every American throws away over 68 pounds of clothing. Per year! (The Huffington Post)

5. Americans spend about $1.2 trillion a year on non-essential items. (The Wall Street Journal)

6. “According to a new study by ClosetMaid, the average American woman has 103 items of clothing in her wardrobe. But she considers 21% to be ‘unwearable,’ 33% too tight and 24% too loose, according to a survey of 1,000 women. A further 12% of the wardrobe is occupied by new, unworn clothing, leaving just 10% available.”

(Catherine Alles. “6 Stats That Show Americans Are Drowning in Stuff They Don't Need.” Foundation for Economic Education. May 22, 2019.)

Richard Cory

By Edwin Arlington Robinson

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

Making New Year's Resolutions -- Looking Back and Looking Forward

 

“Where there was something and suddenly isn’t,

an absence shouts, celebrates, leaves a space.

I begin again with the smallest numbers.

“Quick dance, shuffle of losses and leaves,

only the things I didn’t do

crackle after the blazing dies.”

– From “Burning the Old Year” by Naomi Shihab Nye

With all of the terrible impact of COVID-19, we have had a very tough 2020. In fact, most of us would probably prefer to skip this year altogether. Soon, we well observe New Years. If there is ever a time to celebrate the coming of a new year, this is it. New Years also traditionally involves making resolutions about how we can can improve for the future.

A recent Finder survey reveals an estimated 188.9 million adult Americans (74.02% of the population) say they’re determined to learn something new, make a lifestyle change or set a personal goal in an effort to better themselves in 2021, a 15.17% increase from the previous year. The top six categories that keep us to this holiday tradition relate to money, health, career, self-improvement, family, and love.

The survey found that 141.1 million adult Americans – or 55.31% of all American adults – think that following through on their New Year’s resolutions is well within the cards.

(Catherine Choi. “New Year’s resolution statistics. Finder. December 04, 2020.)

But sadly, according to research from Monroe Clinic, only 8 percent of those making resolutions are successful in achieving their goals. (Didn't we already know that from personal experience?) However, it's clear that millions of people will make New Year's resolutions with good intention once more. Maybe struggling through this pandemic has given us more will power and increase the low percentage of successful resolutions in 2021.

(“Only 8% of people achiever their New Year's Resolutions. Monroe Clinic. 2020.)

The History of Resolutions

How did humans ever start making New Year's resolutions? Religion has deep roots in the practice. But today, instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions only to themselves, and focus purely on self-improvement. Let's look at the history of making resolutions.

Walk Like an Egyptian

In ancient Egypt 5,000 years ago, people took part in a celebration called “Wepet Renpet,” which translates to "opening of the year." Although there's no documented history of New Year's resolutions this early on, historians know that ancient Egyptians did celebrate the turn of the year -- with plenty of food, alcohol and sex, characteristics that stand in modern New Year celebrations. (Some things never change.)

Ancient Egyptians didn't celebrate New Years in January. According to History.com, Wepet Renpet appears to have coincided with the Nile river's annual flood, which happened around midsummer. The flood of the river meant farmlands would be fertile for the year to come – plenty of reason to celebrate when your life depends on agriculture.

By the Rivers of Babylon

Historians believe the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year. They observed this in mid-March, when the crops were planted. During a massive 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. In fact, ancient Babylonians referred to this festival as “rêš šattim,” or the "beginning of the year.”

After visiting all the proper temples, receiving an oracle from the supreme god Marduk about “the glorious future” and sharing statues of the gods with the Babylonian populace, the king and the “parliament” announced the official policy for the next year. (One is reminded of the State of the Union speech by the president.)

(“Akitu Festival.” Livius.org.)

These ancient people also made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises are widely considered to be the forerunners of modern New Year’s resolutions. The Babylonians believed if they kept to their word, their (pagan) gods would bestow favor on them for the coming year. If not, they would fall out of the gods’ favor.

(Amand Capritto. “The history of New Year's resolutions and celebrations.” C/NetDecember 01, 2020.)

Et tu, Brute?

The ancient Romans – thanks to the reform-minded emperor Julius Caesar – established January 1 as the beginning of the new year circa 46 B.C. Named for Janus, the two-faced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches, January had special significance for the Romans. With his two faces, Janus symbolically looked back into the previous year and forwards into the new year. Janus held a staff in his right hand, in order to guide travelers along the correct route, and a key in his left to open gates.

Romans believed that the month of January was added to the calendar by Numa. The association between Janus and the calendar was cemented by the construction of 12 altars, one for each month of the year, in Janus's temple in the Forum Holitorium (the vegetable market). The poet Martial thus described Janus as "the progenitor and father of the years.”

From 153 BC onwards, the consuls (the chief magistrates of the Republic) took office on the first day of January (which the Romans called the Kalends). The new consuls offered prayers to Janus, and priests dedicated “spelt” (wheat) mixed with salt and a traditional barley cake, known as the “ianual,” to the god. Romans distributed New Year's gifts of dates, figs, and honey to their friends, in the hope that the year ahead would turn out to be sweet, as well as coins – a sign of hoped-for prosperity. And, the Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct for the coming year.

(Caillan Davenport. “How Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, would celebrate 2018.” ABC News. December 31, 2017.)

(K)Nights in White Satin

Medieval people didn't always celebrate New Years on January 1. In fact, many New Year’s celebrations were held on March 25th known as The Feast of the Annunciation, a religious holiday that celebrated the coming of the Angel Gabriel to Mary with news that she would bear God a son. The streets would be filled with processions, and people would make offerings to Mary.

In some places, like Venice, the New Year began on March 1st, and in others, it began on Christmas or on Easter. The Anglo-Saxons celebrated December 25th as the New Year, but this switched to March 25th in the later Middle Ages, and then to January 1st in the 18th century.

A popular medieval festival originated in France and was celebrated on January 1st, where a mock ecclesiastical court was held, complete with a mock pope. It was a day where the tables were turned and the lower classes dressed up and poked fun at the upper classes, harking back to the Pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia, where slaves were able to to speak freely, criticize their masters without punishment, and enjoyed a feast. During this Feast of Fools, there was plenty of cross dressing, gambling, drinking, and risqué behavior. Naturally, this didn’t sit well with the Church and after repeated pressure and regulation attempts by ecclesiastic officials, the tradition petered out in the sixteenth century.

In Scotland and Ireland, the physical appearance of the “First Foot” (the first person to enter the house after midnight) mattered. It was said that this entrant could make or break a family’s fortunes for the rest of the year. Some people believed a light haired person would bring good luck, for others, it had to be a dark complexioned man or boy, or someone who was flat footed. Red heads were thought to bring bad luck and grief. 

(Sandra Alvarez. “Celebrating the New Year, Medieval Style.” Medievalists.net.)

Superstition claimed Judas Iscariot had red hair. Red hair was also said to be a sign of witchcraft in Christian Europe, and was often enough for a witch finder to pronounce guilt on someone. Back in the 1500s, it was said that witches in France would blaspheme the name of the Virgin Mary by calling her ‘la Rousse’, the redhead.

New Year’s resolutions were also made in the Middle Ages. In western civilizations (around 500-1000 A.D.), Medieval Knights would renew their vow to chivalry by placing their hands on a live or roasted peacock. (Or a pheasant, if a peacock was unavailable.) The annual “Peacock Vow” would take place at the end of the year, as a resolution to maintain their knighthood values.

The tradition of Watch Night may be traced to the early 18th century in Moravian churches, when churchgoers began marking the occasion with a vigil to reflect upon the year past and to contemplate the one to come.

In 1740, the English pastor who founded the Methodist church, John Wesley, started a service he called “watch night.” On New Year’s Eve, Wesley would have congregants stay in the church reading bible verses and singing hymns. They were encouraged to reflect on themselves and vow to avoid sin in the coming year. It was offered as an alternative to wild New Year’s Eve parties and is still practiced in some Protestant churches today.

(Audrey Goldfarb. “New Year’s Resolutions.” Natural Selections. Rockefeller.edu. December 02, 2020.)

Watch Night (Freedom's Eve) was given new significance among African Americans on December 31, 1862, when, according to tradition, slaves in the Confederate states gathered in churches and private homes on the night before U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was expected to go into effect, pending his signing of the document. The soon-to-be-free slaves stayed awake all night and watched the night turn into a new dawn while waiting for news that the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, thus making all the slaves legally free.

(Editors. “Watch Night.” Encyclopaedia Britannica.)

“In Boston, Frederick Douglass reported that 'a line of messengers was established between the telegraph office and the platform at Tremont Temple,' where Douglass and many others gathered on 'watch night.'

“With great expectations, African Americans looked to January 1, 1863, as the day of jubilee. Many of their faithful elders who had ascended such as Reverend Absalom Jones had admonished those oppressed by the Great Houses of America to believe that God had indeed heard their cries and would deliver them from their taskmasters.

“The believers congregated in churches in the North and around 'praying trees' in secret locations in the South on the evening of December 31, 1862, to 'watch' for the coming of the Emancipation Proclamation, evidence that God had heard their cries; thus, the tradition of 'watch night' was born.”

– On The Tradition of Watch Night, African-American Civil War Museum

Naming “Resolutions”

The term “resolution” in this context first appeared in the mid-1700s in an article in Walker’s Hibernian Magazine. The article encouraged people to make their resolutions at New Year’s and gave many suggestions.

It was common enough by the beginning of the 19^th century that people would make (and fail to keep) such resolutions that the habit was satirized. In America by 1802, Walker’s Hibernian wrote a series of joke resolutions such as “Statesmen have resolved to have no other object in view than the good of their country…”

A Boston newspaper from 1813 featured the first recorded use of the phrase ‘New Year resolution’. The article states:

“And yet, I believe there are multitudes of people, accustomed to receive injunctions of new year resolutions, who will sin all the month of December, with a serious determination of beginning the new year with new resolutions and new behaviour, and with the full belief that they shall thus expiate and wipe away all their former faults.”

(“Exploring the history behind New Year’s resolutions.” The Real World. Trafalger. January 01, 2020.)

Modern New Year’s resolutions are a largely secular practice. However, the tradition has many other religious parallels. For example, during Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness.

Be It Resolved in 2021

What will the tradition of making resolutions hold for folks in 2021? 2020 was a long exercise in developing patience, hope, and faith. Perhaps our prefrontal cortex – our brain's center for willpower – has expanded sufficiently in the last year to better our human condition by using these virtues.

Psychologists tell us people with greater willpower are happier, healthier, wealthier, and more able to manage stress and overcome adversity.

So, if we are really serious about keeping a New Year's resolution, we must flex our brain power. We should continue to exercise all the good judgment we have developed. Our patience combined with our learned abilities to deal with difficult things over extended periods is crucial to our success.

Robert Sapolsky, a neurobiologist at Stanford, believes that the main job of our prefrontal cortex is to encourage the brain towards doing the harder thing. Ordering the salad instead of the steak, going to the gym when your friends are at the pub, getting started on that project you’ve been dreaming about even though it’s easier to procrastinate, etc.

(Caterina Lino. “The Psychology of Willpower: Training the Brain for Better Decisions.” Positivepsychology.com. January 09, 2020.)

Stress, self-criticism, and temptations are some of the biggest obstacles to willpower, whereas paying attention is one of our greatest allies. A willpower challenge involves a conflict between two systems: the cognitive system and the impulsive system, so training our brains to notice when we are making a decision – rejecting “autopilot” – is effective, as are exercise, healthy eating, meditation, and relaxing. The essence is to train our brains to pause before we act.

The promise of reward doesn’t always equal satisfaction. Our minds often trick us into believing the object of our desire is what will make us happy. But long-term satisfaction is rooted in our ability to refrain from impulses that stray from our goals and values.

We are in this for the long term. May our New Year's resolutions benefit from our recent experience as we seek a better year. 2021 holds much promise for those willing to tackle obvious obstacles with their strong cognitive minds.

Spiritual leader and activist Mahatma Gandhi described willpower by noting that:

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

Confederate Flags On the Ohio -- Unfurling Freedom or Hate?

 “That war (American Civil War) was inaugurated, not reluctantly, but lustily by men who believe property in humans to be the cornerstone of civilization, to be an edict of god, and so delivered their own children to his maw.

“And when that war was done the now defeated god lived on honored through the human sacrifice of lynching and racist programs. The history breaks the myth. And so, the history is ignored and fictions are weaved in to our art and politics that dress villainy in martyrdom, and transform banditry into chivalry. And so strong are these fictions that their emblem, the stars and bars, darkens front porches and state capitol buildings across the land to this day.”

– Ta-Nehisi Coates, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy 

City Solicitor John Haas received an inquiry from 2nd Ward Councilwoman Charlotte Gordon during the November 23 meeting regarding the presence of Confederate flags on city property, more specifically on the city-owned campgrounds by the riverfront. The Portsmouth Daily Times also reached out to Haas following the revisiting of the item on December 14 and he later gave this response through email this week:

“The First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting a citizen’s speech with very limited exceptions,” Haas said, listing exceptions like falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater, slander, and incitement to violence.

“If the campground were privately owned, the private owner could ban the display of the flag because the First Amendment would not apply.”

It was “confusion,” he said by Council to relate this proposal to actions from other states that either prohibited the display or removed the Confederate flag from their state flags such as Mississippi and South Carolina.

“The difference is that the government can restrict itself and not (private citizens), which is what is happening in the examples generally presented,” Haas said.

“While I fully support the spirit of this legislation, certain technical changes are necessary to balance the State’s interests in preventing the use of hate symbols on state land with free speech protections embodied in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” he said, referring to the symbols as “abhorrent.”

Following his review, Haas concluded that a ban would violate the freedom of speech protections of the U.S. Constitution and be subject to a legal battle that the city would likely lose.

(Patrick Keck. “Haas, citing First Amendment, says no to Rebel flag ban.” Portsmouth Daily Times. December 24, 2020.)

U.S. Constitution, Amendment XIII

Section 1.

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

Portsmouth, the Ohio Riverfront, the 13th Amendment – sometimes the environment and the history – both social and political – can influence an argument and even dictate the understanding of ethical interpretation. The Nazi swastika and the "Blood Drop" Cross of the Ku Klux Klan are both symbols defined as “hate speech” -- any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, religion, skin color sexual identity, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, or national origin.

Let's consider what might be at stake if symbols of the Aryan Brotherhood or the KKK were also displayed and promoted on property owned by the city. Would the local government stand by while Neo-Nazis gathered or the Klan burned a cross on this public ground? The vile, violent history of these groups makes any such expression anathema – exercises devoted to evil that would surely incite hatred.

Portsmouth and James Ashley

The very environment of the Portsmouth riverfront should be a consideration in the legality of the display of a Confederate flag on this public ground. One of the most famous residents of the city took his inspiration to fight evil from his own experiences there. Perhaps, the city should name this same riverfront in his revered memory.

James Ashley moved with his parents and siblings to Portsmouth in the spring of 1826 at the age of four and grew to manhood here. In his teenage years, he had worked on flat boats and steamboats, running up and down the Ohio and Mississppi Rivers.

Ashley, notes that it was “during his life on the river (that) he saw much that horrified him with the slave system.” In later years he used to relate how “free negroes employed to work on the same steamer with himself would be kidnapped.” He grew to hate the "peculiar institution" (which he considered a violation of Christian principles) and the oligarchy that supported it.

Ashley began his active participation in the Underground Railroad movement in 1841, at the age of seventeen, when he assisted two groups of slaves across the Ohio, transferring them by a small boat from near Greenup to two operators that lived below Portsmouth, on the West Side.

(Andrew Feight, Ph.D. “James Ashley & the Thirteenth Amendment.” sciotohistorical.org.)

Ashley was elected to Congress just in time for the outbreak of the Civil War. At the side of President Abraham Lincoln, Ashley led the lobbying effort to convince wavering members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the Thirteenth Amendment.

In 1863, James Ashley filed legislation in Congress proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, forever abolishing slavery in the United States. If it had not been for Ashley's calculated strategy to push the Amendment through the House, the Amendment might very well have failed.

Today, Ashley is recognized as one of the most significant abolitionists in all of American history. Ashley's political activity and speeches also lend support to arguments that the original meaning of the Thirteenth Amendment was more than simply the end of slavery and involuntary servitude in our country and illustrate that the Amendment provided a broader source of liberty and equality rights that animated Ashley and his Reconstruction colleagues at the time of passage.

(Rebecca E. Zietlow James Ashley, the Great Strategist of the Thirteenth Amendment Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, Vol 15. May 28, 2017.)

Considering the unique history of the role Portsmouth played in both the life of James Ashley and the abolition of slavery, a Confederate flag on public ground seems more of a hate crime than a First Amendment right.

Confederate Flag Limitation

2020 has been a year of reckoning for the Confederate battle flag. As Americans began to grapple with systemic racism, the flag has increasingly fallen out of favor.

Just this December, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation prohibiting Confederate flags and other "symbols of hate" from being displayed or sold on state-owned property, including the state fairgrounds. The only exception is when such symbols appear in books or museums, where they may be used for "education or historical purposes."

Cuomo highlighted growing attitudes of intolerance and hate as a reason for the bill.

"The horrific rash of anti-Semitic, anti-African American, anti-Hispanic and anti-LGBTQ behavior spreading across the United States is repugnant to our values as New Yorkers and Americans, and a new generation now bears witness to a rising tide of discrimination, hatred and violence that threatens generations of progress," he wrote.

"By limiting the display and sale of the confederate flag, Nazi swastika and other symbols of hatred from being displayed or sold on state property, including the state fairgrounds, this bill will help safeguard New Yorkers from the fear-instilling effects of these abhorrent symbols."

Earlier this year, the US Navy and the Marines banned displays of the flag. Voters in Mississippi, whose state flag used to include the Confederate battle emblem, approved changing the flag to one incorporating a magnolia flower.

NASCAR announced in June it would prohibit the display of the Confederate flag at all events after Bubba Wallace – the only full-time Black driver on the cup circuit – said racetracks shouldn't allow them.

(Steve Almasy. “NASCAR bans Confederate flags at all races, events.” CNN. June 10, 2020.)

Looking to the past, in 2000 in West v. Derby Unified School District, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Kansas school district’s suspension of a student for drawing a Confederate flag on a piece of paper during math class. Because the school had acted under the auspices of a well-defined policy designed to prohibit racial harassment and to minimize disruption of the educational environment for other students, the court found that the policy did not limit protected speech. Other challenges to school policies have yielded similar rulings.

(“WEST v. DERBY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.”NO 260. March 21, 2000)

As Derby's population grew and became more diverse in the 1990's, the Derby School District experienced an increase in racial incidents involving students. Before you claim this ruling was a violation of the student's freedom of speech, consider the following:

• During 1995, some white students at the high school wore shirts bearing images of the Confederate battle flag. At the same time, some African-American students wore shirts with an "X" denoting support for the teachings of Malcolm X. In response, some white students wore shirts that stated, "You wear your X and I'll wear mine" with a Confederate flag representing the "X" on the back of the shirt

• In 1995, members of the "Aryan Nation" gathered just outside the entrance to the Derby High School and, in an attempt to solicit new members, passed out printed material to students as they left the school. The Ku Klux Klan also circulated printed materials off campus that students brought to school to distribute. The materials were passed around school by some students. Examples of the views found in these materials include: "When a White person copulates with a non-white their children will be non-white. If this race mixing trend continues it will only be a matter of time until America sinks into a monkey jungle of mixed races"

• Around this time, school officials at the Derby High School and Middle School began seeing racial graffiti in bathrooms and on walls saying "KKK" and "KKKK" (the latter standing for "Ku Klux Klan Killer"). Additionally, students spray painted walls or sidewalks at the high school football stadium, which is located on the middle school grounds, with such things as "KKK" and "Die Nigger."

• School officials received reports of racial incidents occurring on school buses used to transport students from all schools in the district. The Derby Middle School parking lot serves as a "bus terminal" where busloads of students from all grade levels are brought to transfer to other buses to be transported to their schools.

• School officials also received reports of racial episodes at Derby High School football games, including one incident where a fight broke out because a student wore a Confederate flag headband.

• Brad Keirns, the Assistant Principal of the Derby Middle School, testified at trial that he had seen instances of racial harassment in the middle school and that such incidents had a negative effect on minority students. Keirns said that some of the incidents involved the Confederate flag, including one where a student at school had a KKK or Aryan Nation card with a Confederate flag and other instances where students had drawn the Confederate flag on notebooks or on their arms. Keirns said that such incidents had heightened tension among students of different races and that the situation was potentially violent.

I fully understand the city solicitor's legal argument that “the government can restrict itself and not private citizens.” Still, there are limits to an individual's freedom of speech that a governmental body can impose. For example, the government can limit obscenity, fraud, speech integral to illegal conduct, and speech that incites imminent lawless action.

I also understand that, so far, no illegal conduct or lawless actions by those who choose to fly the Confederate flag at the city campgrounds have been reported to local authorities.

However, I believe under certain conditions and in certain environments, the display of hate symbols such as the Confederate flag should be restricted by “a well-defined policy designed to prohibit racial harassment and to minimize disruption” – a policy similar to that enacted by Derby School District.

A proactive measure to combat any “imminent” danger is wise and prudent. Whatever inconvenience or denial of rights this would impose on riverfront residents RESIDING ON CITY-OWNED PROPERTY would greatly benefit the common good.

And, guess what? In July 2020, Portsmouth City Council adopted an anti-discrimination ordinance with a 5-0 vote. The new chapter, titled “Discrimination Prohibited,” went into effect immediately.

With the ordinance, council created a human rights commission in regards to employment, housing, and accommodation discrimination. The amendment adds to the protections Chapter 171 by adding defense on the basis of sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, and physical characteristics.

“It’s great that Portsmouth is ahead of the curve, in the state of Ohio, when it comes to ensuring people are not discriminated against,” said 1st Ward Councilman Sean Dunne. “It’s probably one of the most important pieces of legislation that I’ve been involved with since I started in January 2018.”

(Patrick Keck. “Portsmouth embraces anti-discrimination ordinance.” Portsmouth Daily Times. July 14 2020.)

Well, Mr. Dunne, here is the “curve” of hate crimes. The U.S. hate crime level is at its highest in over a decade. According to the FBI, in 2019 alone, there were 7,314 hate crime incidents involving 8,559 victims, nearly 200 more than the total number reported in 2018.

A percent distribution of victims by bias type shows that 57.6% of victims were targeted because of the offenders’ race/ethnicity/ancestry bias; 20.1% were targeted because of the offenders’ religious bias; 16.7% were victimized because of the offenders’ sexual-orientation bias; 2.7% were targeted because of the offenders’ gender identity bias; 2.0% were victimized because of the offenders’ disability bias; and 0.9% were victimized because of the offenders’ gender bias.

Ohio ranked 8^th highest of states in the nation for number of hate crime offenses.

Engage in vigorous, provocative argument about a controversial subject, and you’re likely to give offense. Give offense and you’re likely to be accused of spouting hate. This is really the issue here in Portsmouth: racial hatred should not be condoned by a government whose people are still struggling “to fulfill a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir … the promise of a dream deeply rooted in the self-evident truth that all men are created equal.”

America, won’t you take

your hands of hurt away?

lock them drawer-deep
like the good
silver of grandmothers?

America I have seen

men whose faces are flags
bloodied and blue with talk

seen the churches keep

like crosses burning

seen the lady who lines

your huddled shore, her hand
rifle-raised,
her back turned away.

– Kevin Young, American poet and incoming director of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture