Author: oscar valdes

Of Human Folly

Warning. This may be shocking.

I watched the documentary Greatest Events of WWII, on Netflix, with commentary by British, German and American historians.

In early May 1940, the German army quietly amassed ground forces just north of the border with France, in secret preparation for an attack. They had just gone into Belgium and the Netherlands.

Due to the perceived superiority of the French forces, no one expected such an attack.

French reconnaissance spotted the forces being gathered and immediately notified their High Command. But High Command didn’t believe the information.

That’s right. Did not believe the information.

The Germans couldn’t have moved so fast, not after what they had been through – they had to be exhausted. But they had moved fast.

Aside from the supreme daring, the Germans had used another secret weapon. Meth.

That’s right. Labelled Pervitin, Methamphetamine was available over the counter in Germany as a picker upper. And the military gave it to its soldiers to enhance their endurance. They could stay up all night and again the next day.

Thanks to Meth, then, the soldiers who had invaded Belgium and the Netherlands, still had it in them to push on to France, defying the French commanders’ calculations.

The historians commenting on these facts point out that if the information provided to the French command by their reconnaissance had been believed or double checked, then they would have been able to use their air force to bomb the German troops as they sat waiting to reach critical force. But they did not.

Who knows what was distracting the French High Command.

I had always wondered, how come the French, having witnessed their neighbor’s aggressiveness and territorial grabs (Poland, Austria), had not prepared for an eventual invasion. Well, they had.

At the time, France’s combined forces were seen as superior to the Germans. But the French lacked the imagination. And the Meth.

One of the historian commentators goes on to add that had the French believed the information presented to them and attacked the Germans first, the war’s course would have been seriously altered.

But the High command was in denial.

Of Human Folly.

Here’s another one for you.

I read in The Economist, issue of August 8th, an article on CoVid testing. Pool sampling.

A means to accelerate testing by pooling samples. Take the combined samples of 5 people who are not symptomatic and if the test is negative, they are all negative. You move on. If it’s positive, then you test individually to isolate the case. The technique saves time and resources, so we can test more people and better trace and get a handle on the virus.

Is the technique new?

No. In the 1940’s, says the article, Robert Dorfman, an American economist, came up with the idea to test American soldiers for syphilis.

On July 18th 2020, the Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency declaration to start using pool sampling nationally.

Did I say that the technique had been around since the 1940’s?

Yes.

Eighty years after the invasion of France by the Germans, a virus crossed the oceans to come to our shores.

The American High Command had been told by their reconnaissance that the virus was gathering force.

The High Command didn’t believe it.

The Commander in Chief himself was worried with an impeachment process stemming from the Ukraine affair, and deeply concerned about his chances at reelection.

He didn’t have time to pay attention.

Of Human Folly.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Biden and Stuttering

The Democratic National Convention came to a rousing end last night. Biden’s speech was forceful and encompassing. He reached within and stirred by his strengths invited us all to join in the effort to unite the nation, and to move forward with confidence to address the wrongs that afflict us.

And though he didn’t voice Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous words, Biden’s call to join arms in the struggle for a better America was all about that, ‘There’s nothing to fear but fear itself.’

Biden’s has been a life dedicated to public service.

The contrast with Trump is clear. When did Mr Trump ever think of working for the public good except for when he decided to run for President?

That the nation chose to ignore the importance of assessing the person’s track record in selecting a leader, will forever mark the period leading up to the 2016 election as one during which the nation suspended its critical powers and settled for superficial charm, bells and whistles, at the expense of substance.

Sadly, none of Trump’s contenders at the time had the wisdom to denounce the charade as it was unfolding and vigorously fight to expose it.

Mr Trump’s performance has set the nation back enormously, not only in loss of lives from CoVid 19 but in the deterioration of our economy and our position in the world.

So where does stuttering come in?

Biden has suffered with the condition since childhood and has overcome it. To our surprise, last night, in the final day of the convention, just before he makes his closing speech, Biden gives a young boy struggling with stuttering a precious moment of airtime. Facing the nation, the boy stammers and sometimes halts, unable to push out the words, but he does.

When he felt blocked, the child paused, gathered confidence and moved ahead, each and every time. In the tense silent moments when words did not come – moments filled with awkward uncertainty – it occurred to me that maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give the child such prominent airtime. But I was wrong.

Biden’s instincts didn’t fail him. The segment was probably prerecorded but it didn’t matter. Even if it had been recorded live, one is left with the sense that the child would’ve gathered the gumption to pull through.

That moment, that child, that condition, was emblematic of the nation.

Our nation will stutter, will even doubt itself, even make grievous mistakes, but in the end will find the strength to push ahead and do what is right for its people and those nations that choose to be open to what we stand for.

The spirit of what Biden brings to the fight to assert what is best for the nation was evident throughout the convention.

He will exclude no one, not Trump’s supporters, not those consumed by racial hatred, and instead reach out to attempt to persuade, reach out and ask everyone to join him in overcoming the blocks that keep us from contributing to the strengthening of America.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net.

First Generation or Second?

They were standing in line for ice cream when they started talking, very much mindful of social distancing and both wearing masks. It was a hot summer day.

CoVid 19 and the expectation of having a vaccine came up. Just a few days before, Russia had announced that they had produced one. The news had aroused skepticism in the scientific community, in and out of Russia. Had the rush to being first sacrificed safety?

The line for ice cream was long and moving slowly.

Robert was dark skinned and spoke with a Hispanic accent. Carol looked Hispanic but had no accent. He was in his mid thirties, she in her early twenties and they had never met before.

‘You were born here?’ asked Robert.

‘Yes,’ she said, ‘my parents came from Paraguay. And you?’

‘Bolivia.’

‘What a mixture we are,’ reflected Carol.

‘Indeed.’

They chuckled.

‘That would make you second generation American,’ said Robert.

‘First generation,’ she answered.

‘Ah, I don’t agree.’

The line moved forward a little.

‘Why’s that?’ asked Carol.

‘First generation is the one that made the trip. The one who generated. The generation that will have an accent for the rest of their lives, no matter how hard they try. First generation will always be asked “Where’d you come from?” Even though they may have been in this country half a century.’

Carol smiled. ‘I am first generation born.’

Robert shook his head. ‘I think first generation should not be qualified, it should be exclusive to those who made the trip. Those, who like me, don’t intend to go back.’

‘I think you’re being too rigid,’ said Carol.

He smiled. ‘Maybe. You speak Spanish?’

‘I don’t.’

‘Chose not to?’

‘Didn’t happen. But I’m working on it.’

‘I love the English language,’ said Robert. ‘I love Spanish too. But I came here because of other reasons.’

He stood in front of her but had turned around to face her and didn’t notice the line advancing again. She reminded him of it and he moved up.

‘It is very good that you are choosing to learn Spanish,’ Robert said.

‘Thank you.’

‘I tell you something. I think of myself as a New American. I don’t go around saying that but, in private, that’s how I think of myself. So when people look at me a little strange because I speak with a heavy accent, I feel okay. I just tell myself, I am a New American, the person I’m talking to just doesn’t get it.’

‘Cool,’ said Carol.

‘I tell you something… in my dreams, I speak without an accent.’ He gave a proud smile when he said it.

‘That’s funny’ replied Carol.

‘In my dreams, I’m perfectly fluent, just like you, and the language flows so nicely. I love seeing myself speak in my dreams. But sometimes, I speak in Spanish too. It depends.’

The line moved up again. There was only one attendant taking the orders for ice cream.

‘I wish I had a job where I worked mainly with language… but maybe later.’

‘What do you do?’ she asked.

‘I work in construction. I do everything… walls… plumbing… electrical. I like it. I keep a list of the properties I have helped build, so I can go by on my days off… get out of my truck and stand nearby… watch the people going in and out… and I say to myself… I helped build that. That building is there partly because of me. I take great pride in what I do. And sometimes I go and watch other workers do their jobs… and when they see me looking at them, I give them the thumbs up… and they wave back.’

It was now his turn to put in his order and he told the attendant what he wanted and then said to Carol, ‘I treat you today.’

‘Oh no, that’s okay, thanks.’

‘Please, let me treat you.’

‘All right,’ consented Carol, and she stepped up to order her serving.

Ice creams in hand they strolled a few paces down the sidewalk, social distancing in mind.

‘I share this with you… soon after I came to this country… I was standing on the roof of a building laying on the tile. It was very hot and I wore a wide hat and had to be careful not to lose my balance and slide off the building and break my neck. Then I noticed that a person standing on the street below was looking up at what I was doing. I looked back expecting that they would give me some sign that they approved of what I did. But the person just stared back. I just shrugged and went back to my work. But I said to myself, why couldn’t that person just wave at me?’

‘Didn’t take much,’ said Carol.

‘So that’s why I do it. I always wave at people that are doing their work. Just to say thank you.’

Then she said, ‘Thank you for the work you do.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘I have to go now,’ said Carol. ‘Thank you for the conversation. I enjoyed it.’

‘You are most welcome. Don’t forget, I am first generation and you are second generation… but we are both New Americans.’

And with that, they raised their ice creams to each other in a gesture of friendship and she started walking away down the sidewalk.

Robert looked after her, quietly pleased that she had acknowledged him and, quietly hoping that, one day, he’d have a daughter like her.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Long Exit. Trump and Ivanka in the Oval Office.

Trump is standing by his desk as he reads a magazine lying on it. The window behind him has the curtains drawn wide and the afternoon’s light fills the room.

Now he hears the music cue from his cellphone. It’s a text from Ivanka. He replies, then returns to the magazine.

A moment passes.

A knock at the door.

‘C’mon in,’ he cries out.

Ivanka steps in. She goes straight up to her father and they embrace and kiss on the cheek.

‘How are you?’ she says.

‘All right.’

But Ivanka notices he sounds a bit dejected.

‘What are you reading?’

‘An article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Birx got it for me (Dr Deborah Birx). They did a controlled study on the effects of Hydroxycloroquine on people who’d been exposed to the virus. The two groups took the medication for four days after exposure but there was no difference between those who took it and those who didn’t’.

‘The drug didn’t protect them?’ she says.

‘That’s right. But the study is not definitive so the drug may yet have preventive benefits.’

‘You stopped taking it, didn’t you?’

‘Yes, a while back.’

‘I’m glad you did.’

They look at each other.

‘Have to let it go, don’t we?’ she says.

‘I suppose’.

She puts her hand on his shoulder, ‘Let’s sit, I want to talk to you about something.’

They walk over to the space in front of the desk and sit across each other.

‘What’s this about?’

She smiles. ‘I’m worried about you.’

‘Why?’

‘The polls are not looking good.’

It’s clear he’s feeling the pressure.

‘It’s not over yet,’ he says.

‘Of course not. What do you think about Biden’s choice of running mate?’

‘Have to see how it plays out.’

‘You think she’ll take votes from you?’

‘Don’t know, but I’m glad Karen Bass was not the one… and better, that Klobuchar dropped out earlier.’

‘George Floyd?’

‘Right.’

‘Speaking of… I saw a new video, from the officers’ body cameras… they botched that one, didn’t they?’

‘They did.’

‘You think you botched it?’

He looks at her for a moment… then, ‘I think I did.’

‘What would you have done differently?’

‘Not identified so much with law enforcement.’

Ivanka nods… looks down at her hands on her lap.

‘Dad… you’re okay talking to me about all this?’

‘Sure.’

But Ivanka thinks his expression says otherwise.

‘Dad… we don’t have to talk…’

‘I know we don’t.’

‘I just wanted to see how you were doing.’

‘I’m glad you did.’

She looks down at her dress and smooths it out.

‘How are the children?’ he asks.

‘Doing very well.’

‘I would’ve liked to have given them another four years.’

‘Oh, dad. It’s been a great run. I’ve taken so many videos of them, they’ll never forget this.’

‘Some consolation, at least,’ he says.

‘If the virus hadn’t happened you’d be cruising to reelection.’

‘That’s true. The economy would have cinched it for me.’

‘But the virus did happen and there’s nothing we can do about it,’ she says.

‘They had it in for me,’ says Trump. ‘They sent it to me… express delivery, from Wuhan, Hubei province.’

‘No, they didn’t.’

‘They were so angry because of the tariffs I slapped on them.’

‘It got away from you,’ she says, gently.

He looks at her, uncertain he wants to continue the conversation.

‘Can I offer you anything? A soda?’

‘No, thanks.’

He sits back and folds his hands.

‘You think we could’ve done better?’ he asks.

‘Yes. It would’ve been difficult but yes, we could have.’

‘I stopped travel from China at the end of January…’

‘We minimized the danger,’ she says.

‘I don’t think so.’

‘It’s easier to see now, but we should’ve done what they did,’ continues Ivanka.

‘No. Our people wouldn’t have allowed it… absolutely not,’ returns Trump firmly.

‘They would have… if you had trained them.’

‘Trained them?’

‘Yes. You had been mollycoddling your supporters all along.’

He laughs. ‘Mollycoddling?’

‘They wanted a Wall, you said I’ll give you the Wall. Let’s have immigrants out, you said out they go. Want tariffs on China? I’ll give you that. Out of the Paris accord? Done. Roll back regulations, bring back coal? Deal.’

He shakes his head slowly.

‘I suppose I did overdo it, but I did promise them that.’

‘Sure, you had to get in. But once in, you had to go back and renegotiate.’

‘And say what to them?’

‘You can’t have everything you want. Let’s face it, we’re only half of America. Actually, less, since we lost the popular vote by 3 million.’

Trump chuckles… but she’s clearly getting to him.  

‘You had to negotiate… and you didn’t,’ presses Ivanka.

‘Half of a Wall? Half of the immigrants…?’

‘You know what I mean.’

He gets up, walks off a few steps, then turns to look back at her.

‘You’ve said these things before…’

‘We don’t know if it would’ve worked… so there’s that,’ returns Ivanka.

“The beauty of hindsight.’

‘But it’s been a good run… we’ll never forget this,’ she says.

He nods, a little sad, then sits down again, resting his hands on his knees.  

‘I’ll miss the activity… all the attention… having the final say… it’s addictive… the spotlight… never had so much fun in my life. What’s sad is that nothing else I do afterwards will be able to match this. How do I recreate this? Once I leave it’s gone forever. No more.’

There’s an ache in his voice.  

‘Now, if I had done two terms, then it would be easier to let go, but one term?’

‘Think of it this way… only the very few get to land a job like this,’ she says. ‘And you’re one of them.’

‘I wonder if Jimmy Carter went through a depression. I’ll have to ask him… he probably did. The Iran hostage crisis got him. He was indecisive.’

‘You were indecisive on the virus.’

‘Yes, I was!’ he says abruptly, angrily, as he stands, waving his arms. ‘Yes, I was, and not a day goes by that I don’t regret it. I screwed up!’

Ivanka is surprised by his sudden rage.

‘Goddammit! I had the economy going for me, the markets flying high, and I go and screw it up! I regret it deeply.’

He stops, crosses to his desk, then turns around to face Ivanka.

‘I signed those executive orders to protect the workers, didn’t I… so they’ll have money in their pockets while we still deal with the pandemic and wait for Congress to make up its mind. I did that.’

‘That was good,’ says Ivanka.

‘I care about the workers, that’s why I did it… still I get criticized.’

She nods thoughtfully.

‘So that’s it, then?’ he says.

‘What?’

‘I didn’t go back to my people and said to them, “we’ve got to negotiate with the other side, we’re only half of this nation?”’

Ivanka nods her assent.

‘And the thing is… I could’ve done it… I could’ve.’

Trump sits down again, looks directly at Ivanka.

‘I have trouble with the truth.’

Ivanka’s never heard him say this to her.

‘I am terrific at hiding it… I find all kinds of ways to do it.’

Ivanka’s instinct is to soothe her father but manages to hold back.

‘Do you mind if I tell you this?’

‘No, dad.’

He looks down at the ground for a moment, then up at her again.

‘I’m great at putting on a show… and I know it’s a show… but after a while I start believing it myself.’

Ivanka nods.

‘You remember that moment in Helsinki, in July 2018, after the press conference with Putin… well… I did not stand up to him… and I could have… but I didn’t.’

‘I remember that…. I was watching that day… why didn’t you, dad?’

‘What if he would’ve challenged me… right there in front of the whole world?’

‘What if…?’ returns Ivanka, ‘it’s not like you would’ve had to fight the guy if he did.’

Trump lowers his eyes.

‘All I needed to do was tell him to not interfere with our elections… but to do that would’ve been to admit that he had… and to admit that meant to acknowledge his meddling might have made a difference. See… even though I had won the election…. it didn’t feel like I really had… and so it felt like I owed Putin something… and I feared that if I challenged him, he would’ve come back with all kinds of details about his interfering… and the idea of that happening was something I could not accept. So I chose not to confront him.’

They pause.

‘All this time, you’ve lived with the belief that you really didn’t win the election?’

Trump hangs his head.

‘Sometimes I believe it… sometimes I don’t.’

Ivanka ponders his words. He has never spoken to her this way.

‘I very much wanted to become president and saw the opportunity… it was right there… I knew Hillary was weak and could be pushed… and it worked.’

Quiet falls.

‘Dad… the things you said to get elected… you believe in any of them?’

He closes his eyes for a moment…

‘I will say what I must to get the votes… I have no real conviction… instead there’s this void in me… which I mostly ignore…  yet it seems like it wants to be filled… but I’m afraid that if I try to… I would have to be honest… and I fear that if I do… the laughter will stop.’

‘And then what?’ she asks softly.

‘Then I discover that I’m all about nothing.’

‘That’s scary.’

‘If my supporters want me to believe in conspiracy theories, why then, I believe in those too. Except that I don’t. I pretend to, mostly.’

Ivanka looks off.

‘Am I making you uncomfortable?’ he asks.

‘No. I want to hear you out. I’m your daughter. Maybe there’s something I can do.’

He nods thoughtfully. Then he rises and walks about a few paces.

‘I am a gifted man, gifted with energy, gifted with charm, with intelligence… but I’ve made a mess of things. And I have because I didn’t reflect on who I was and didn’t do something about it.’

‘Who are you?’ she asks, mustering the courage.

Trump looks at her.

‘Does it seem strange to you that you are asking that question of me?’ says Trump.

‘It does.’

‘The good news… is that failure… failure… yes, that word that I abhor… failure… is finally catching up with me. Who am I you ask? I am a man without a center… comfortable only when trying to persuade others to not find their own center.’

He’s said those words before, to himself, but never to another person.

‘Acknowledging failure would give me a sense of my real limitations… and open the door to developing empathy. That would be the start of the road to my center, to my self… and I say that now and have said it before but don’t do it!’

He stands up again, this time walking toward the open window. He stands there for a moment, looking out, then returns to sit across Ivanka.

‘I’ve known that I have to look at my flaws… again and again until I process them… and that’s how I’ll develop my center… but I don’t do it. I let them sit, unexamined, till they fly again in my face.’

He slides up to the edge of his seat, the expression anguished.

‘I suppose there’s still time…’

He drops his face in his hands and stays like that for a moment, as if in penitence.

‘You’re right… there’s no reason I couldn’t have gone back to my people right after the election and said, ‘we have got to mend fences… we’re all in this together… I’ve got your back, I will be your champion, but we’ve got to talk to the other side.’

She nods approvingly.

‘And if I had… if I’d have had the resolve to do that… the courage to do it… well then, when the virus was looming, when it was approaching, when it was crossing the ocean… I would’ve stepped up.’

‘Yes, dad.’

‘But I didn’t… and all these people have died as a result.’

She nods.

‘Don’t think that hasn’t weighed on me… the loss of so many people… and me just blaming China instead of owning up to my flaws.’

‘It’s very sad,’ she says.

Trump stares down at the ground for a moment, then up at her again.

‘Did the virus kick me out of the White House? No. I did it myself. I blew it.’

Quiet falls.

‘Dad… I know you’ll get on with confronting your flaws… I know you will.’

He shrugs.

‘You have to, dad. Like you said, it’s not over… but if you lose this election… then there’s still 2024. You’ll be a fit 78 by then.’

He looks up at her, the trace of a smile, hope now sparkling in his eyes.

‘Politics is in your blood. I know you’re not going into retirement,’ continues Ivanka.

‘You’re right about that.’

She smiles at him. Then looks in the direction of the window, as she runs her fingers through her hair.

‘I’m going to miss this place, too,’ she says, longing coloring her words.  

‘Would you like to run for office one day?’ he asks.

‘Maybe… it’s a cutthroat business.’

‘Cutthroat yes… but a hell of a lot of fun.’

‘Would you like Barron to run for office one day?’ she asks.

‘Yes,’ he says. ‘I would like that, very much.’

He leans forward, joining his hands in front of him.

‘Next time I’ll be better prepared. I’m a good campaigner. I can work a crowd, give them what they want… so no…  I’m not through, even if I have to leave this place for 4 years.’

‘It’ll keep you active, wheeling and dealing,’ she says.

‘You know me well,’ he replies. ‘I’ve got too much left in me… and if I make it back I’ll get my face carved on Mount Rushmore.’

‘Dad! You’re not really serious, are you?’ she says with a note of alarm.

‘Why not? I get that I’m not on the same level with Washington, Jefferson or Lincoln, but what does Teddy Roosevelt have on me? He rode horses? Went to Cuba on a publicity stunt?’

‘No! Don’t do that! It’s just way too grandiose!’ She slides up to the edge of her seat, the tone urgent. ‘If you really want to stay in politics and run again, you’ve got to deal with the grandiosity.’

But he’s on a roll.

‘You’re not getting it… people love me because I’m brash, unpredictable… and yes, sometimes grandiose. But I don’t believe half of it, so I’m okay.’

‘Dad… listen to yourself, please… you were just talking about confronting your flaws…’

‘Even if I lose this election, it won’t be because of Biden but because of the virus, and the proof of it will be that I’ll trounce him in the debates. I’ll beat him silly. Those debates will be memorable, real gems of political theatre, to be studied for generations!’

‘Dad, stop! Did you already forget what you were talking about?’

He stops, brings his palms together in front of his face as he catches his breath… nods thoughtfully in the pause. Then begins again, slowly.

‘You’re right… it just gets away from me… it’s my personality… I can think about all these things to do to become a better person… then it gets away from me, just slips away.’

‘You need to keep reminding yourself,’ insists Ivanka.

‘Absolutely. Yes. You’re right. Now, tell me, who do you think will run against me for the nomination, in 4 years?’

‘That’s a good one. I think… Romney, for sure. Pompeo too…’

‘Really?’

‘Yes, he’s aching for the chance. And he’ll hire Bolton as an advisor and he’ll quote from his book.’

‘Bolton, sure, he’s nuts, always dreaming of going to war. Oh, the scoundrels,’ says Trump. ‘Who else?’

‘Hmm… Pence.’

‘Pence?’

‘Yes.’

‘He’d run against me? After all I’ve done for him, lifting him out of obscurity in godforsaken Indiana?’

‘Yes. He’d run against you.’

‘You know… I’ve asked him to pardon me.’

‘What?’

‘Yes. I’d resign a couple of weeks before leaving office, just so he could become president and then turn around and pardon me.’

‘That’s crazy,’ she says.

‘Not really.’

‘But what about if you resign and he changes his mind and doesn’t pardon you?’

Trump reflects on it. ‘He wouldn’t do that… that would be treason. That’s not Mike. Anyone else you think would run against me?’

She thinks. ‘Can’t come up with anyone else, but there will be others. Maybe Nikki Hailey.’

‘Could be. Well… let me know. I need to get back to work. One last thing… you think Bolsonaro in Brazil really got the virus he says he got and recovered from?’

‘Why… you think it was a hoax?’

‘Not sure.’

Intrigued by his question, she asks, ‘You’re not… thinking of intentionally getting the virus yourself, are you?’

He smiles mischievously.

‘Dad!’

‘It would be a modified version of it, an attenuated form, enough to make me test positive but not enough to get that godawful lung infection that comes with it. And it would get me a lot of sympathy and a boost in the polls.’

‘Dad, it’s not just the lungs, it can affect the heart too! Don’t you dare do that. I won’t let you. I will not!’

He smiles affectionately. ‘You know… I’d like for you to stay political… and four years from now, when I run again, I’ll put you in as my running mate. A Trump Trump ticket.’

She laughs, stands and goes to him. He rises and they hug.

‘Just remember,’ he says as they pull apart. ‘One way or another, Donald Trump is not through. I’ll be back in 2024.’

To be continued.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net.

Taxes and Motivation. High or Low Taxes?

It is a question at the core of our system of governance. And it splits us into two camps.

Let’s start with low taxes.

There is something immensely appealing to the idea. You get to have more money in your pocket to do as you wish. You can start a business, put it in the bank, invest it, save to buy a home, take a vacation, enjoy a sideline or do nothing.

You are in control and it feels great.

The person who chooses to start a business is a creator of jobs. Those people employed by the new business will be paying their own taxes, and unless the money is put under the mattress, that money is circulating and generating more business activity.

You would think that the money from low taxes spurring so much business activity would be enough to take care of the welfare of the community. Unfortunately, it is not.

The majority of small businesses fail.

So it falls to government to invest in the community and its basic unit, the family, and to do that it must collect taxes from the businesses that succeed or borrow money.

Those investments are long term and its profits are measured in the quality of citizens produced.   

But you and I are not in control. We have delegated the task and it doesn’t feel the same as having the money in our pocket.

It takes an effort to conceptualize how the money paid in taxes goes to work for each of us. You or I may go years without needing the help of police or emergency services, if at all. But we do use our roads and freeways daily.

Is there waste in government? Yes. (And we have to keep trying to reduce it)

But there is waste in any business endeavor, which is why good managers are worth their salt.

So, should we favor low or high taxes?

It depends on the condition of our communities.

We are not alone in our journeys.

If there is poverty, if people are not getting a good education, if they are not getting enough to eat, if they are dying from drug overdoses, if there is a high rate of unemployment, if people are begging on our streets, if they don’t have a place to live, if they can’t get health care, if there are large numbers of people in prison, if there is racism in the land, then there’s something wrong.

We can always look at people failing in life and say to them, ‘it’s your fault. Your fault you’re poor, your fault you’re begging or uneducated, your fault you don’t have a job or a place to live or health insurance, your fault you’re on drugs, you’re fault you’re in prison.’

And yes, sometimes it will be entirely their fault, or they are partly to blame, although sometimes not at all.

Blaming, however, opens the door to punishment and to closing the argument.

There is another way to look at people who are failing in life.

And that is to look beyond blame and offer a helping hand, as in saying, ‘let’s get up brother, let’s get up sister, let’s get you up on your feet and back to functioning. We’ll talk about blame later.’ (If we don’t then whatever mistakes were made will get in the way again.)

Large scale problems cannot be solved by churches or Goodwill or the Salvation Army or other philanthropic organizations, though all try and have great merit.

Large scale problems need government to act. Government with the consent of the people.

If we have healthy communities and families, then we will be producing better citizens, and there will be fewer people in prisons, and the nation’s productivity will be higher, and more people will start businesses and create jobs and pay taxes.

If we accomplish that, then we might consider lowering taxes and see if the center holds.

And if it doesn’t then we would have to raise them again.

Do high taxes lower incentives to start a business?

For some, yes. But not for those with the resolve to do something with their lives. Not for those with the conviction they have something to offer and the energy and inclination to take chances.

There is a divide between those willing to take chances and those who are not. Just as there is a divide between those with greater ability and lesser ability. That’s the way the world is.

We are not equal in terms of capacity or motivation.

But all of us should have equality of opportunity so we can develop whatever nature gave us. That is an essential feature of a healthy society.

The person who is given opportunity and, after putting in the effort, does not get to shine in their field should be able to say, ‘I did the best I could. Let me accept what the exercise of my abilities did grant me and enjoy my life.’

Equality of opportunity will not create equality of accomplishment. It will not because of the differences in people’s capacities and motivation.

Equality of opportunity can, however, narrow the gap that exists between those who accomplish more and those who accomplish less.

When people have had opportunity to develop whatever their abilities, then they have fewer reasons to complain about the disparity in outcomes.

People can still turn around and find something or someone to blame for the disparity, but sooner or later the person is bound to come to terms with the facts. Sooner or later the person has to look at themselves and say, ‘I managed to get this or that but I couldn’t get the other. Maybe I didn’t try hard enough or maybe it wasn’t in the cards.’

Sooner or later, the weight of the evidence, the wisdom of age, or a combination of the two will bring the person acceptance. And they will stop blaming. And get on with their lives and try something else.

Self acceptance is crucial in our path to gaining a sense of peace in our lives. I’m talking self acceptance after you’ve tried really hard, got knocked down, got up and tried again.

So back to people’s motivation.

If a person really wants to make cupcakes because they feel they have a special knack for it, then they ought to try making cupcakes. Or software. Or a new shoe or pencil or bicycle or table or music stand or paper cup or kite or new vehicle. Or help someone make it, for that is just as essential.

People who start businesses in our communities enrich our lives. And so we have the eateries, cafes, cleaners, bookstores, locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, roofers, carpenters, auto mechanics, ice cream parlors etc.

And on a different scale, there is Elon Musk having the time of his life transforming Tesla into a thriving car company in a field that seemed closed to competitors. Success was not a safe bet. He had to take a chance. And now he’s even sending rockets into space. So I ask you, do you think that Elon would have chosen to stay home and count the money he made in PayPal if taxes on business ventures were higher?

No.

So, high taxes or low taxes?

The answer will need to vary according to the state of our communities, for they let us process our shortcomings, encourage risk taking and help us become better people, people who feel they’re part of what is being built.

A writer tucked away in his apartment, toiling by himself as he spins out stories needs others to get them published and read.

Elon Musk would not have built Tesla or Space X without first creating a community of highly skilled people, people with skills he does not have. People who came from healthy communities and for whom being part of a grand effort was worth their time and energy.

The writer and Elon both need a community to get their dreams out.

So, high taxes or low taxes?

High taxes might dissuade some from taking a risk on starting a new venture, but the strongly motivated will try anyway.

Low taxes that are not mindful of the health of the community, encourage waste and take away  precious resources needed to improve our lives.

Meanwhile, our political leaders need to strive to build bridges between the more and the less capable amongst us for, in the end, we need everyone.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

The Black Book. A Book of Affirmations.

Wouldn’t it be helpful if some of our African American fellow citizens, who have risen to positions of power and influence, would share with all of us some of their experiences in the struggle to become who they are?

I am sure many such individuals have already done so in one way or another, say in the writing of their biographies, but what occurred to me might be useful would be to compile parts of those experiences in a small book that could be carried in one’s side or back pocket.

Every African American citizen would be entitled to one such book, or its digital version, free of charge, courtesy of philanthropic foundations willing to shoulder the cost. The rest of us could simply buy it.

What did Oprah go through in her path to her accomplishments?

What about Obama?

What did Condoleezza Rice or Susan Rice have to battle?

When faced with difficult circumstances, what or whom did they turn to, inside or out, to find the strength to endure and overcome?

Though still underrepresented in many fields of endeavor, there are many African Americans who have managed to push through and beat the odds.

When each person had their backs against the wall, when they felt overwhelmed by circumstances, what restored their energies, what fueled their resolve?

What words did they find inspiring? What people?

What stirred their grit?

Short examples of such struggles may well keep someone who is doubting themselves and about to give up, to hang on instead and return to try again.

In my living room I keep a book of quotations from men and women who have managed to distinguish themselves. Frequently, I read or reread them. It helps.

There is so much to draw from. So much. 

There could be subsequent editions of one such book, filled with other people’s experiences. 

But wouldn’t it be useful if every African American living in our nation today, when doubting their right to be all they can be, could reach into their back or side pocket, or their phone, and find inspiration to fight on, to not lose hope, to remind themselves that they count, that they have dignity, that they have something  to contribute, that they are needed in our nation’s struggle. 

Of course, major changes are required to address existing educational, housing and health care deficits, but small steps count too.

The Black Book of Affirmations might be one such step.

Inspiration matters. 

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Karen Bass will be Biden’s Choice for VP Nominee. (he will announce this next week)

Among the many candidates under consideration, she’s earned Biden’s approval. He likes her long legislative experience, first in the California Assembly and then in Congress where she’s been the chair of the Black Caucus.

I have had reservations about having an African American woman as VP candidate, because I thought a white woman would play better to the disaffected Trump voters. But the president’s steady fall in the polls makes for enough room to take a chance on an African American.

The fact that she’s earned a reputation as a bridge builder resonates well with Biden. He was known for having such ability during his long tenure in Congress.

Biden wants someone he can feel close to and with whom he can discuss every decision he will have to make. Karen Bass can do that.

In his choice of running mate, appearances are playing a huge role.

His own political profile was raised enormously by Obama’s selecting him as a running mate. It injected life into his waning political career. Now he is returning the favor.

As an astute politico, Biden knows that for a nation convulsed by racial strife, the recurring image of a White-Black leadership team in the White House will have enormous impact on the country’s psyche. The two of them, working harmoniously, day after day, will project unto all Americans the sense that the joint effort is essential for us to thrive as a nation.

A friend of mind offered that he thought a race war was inevitable. I disagreed. He called me an optimist. I am, and as such I am certain that there will be no race war in our land.

Having a powerful White Black symbol of leadership in Washington will ensure that outcome.

And so these next four years will be crucial.

The Republican side will take a while to exorcise the hard feelings stirred in them by what Trump represented. Eventually they will. But as they do, having the example of a harmonious Black -White relationship in the White House will act as a catalyst for a positive shift in attitudes.

Karen Bass may or may not go on to become president of this country, should Biden decide not to run for a second term given his age. He would be 82 at that stage. Even if she were to run for president in 2024, she will have to face fierce opposition from fellow democrats, both men and women. People like Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Michael Bennet or others yet to surface. But she will have made a tremendous contribution to the nation’s healing if she delivers on the promise of supporting Biden during his presidency, which now appears highly probable.

Much work lies ahead for the nation. The challenge of China to our position in the world is clear. They are a dynamic and ambitious nation that will surpass us if we don’t put together our best efforts. Even if we do, maintaining our position of world leadership is not assured. That is how great a rival China has become.

But if we work together we will bring out the best in us, the best that we have yet to see, for it has been hidden from us by the racial strife that has afflicted us throughout our entire history.

A Biden Bass ticket has the potential to unleash new and transformative forces in America.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Dear Ted Yoho

Some incidents have a way of sinking us or enhancing us. How we handle them can be career changing.

I am referring to the degrading words you spoke recently to your fellow congressperson, Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, D (NY).

Till now, you have been what the British call a back bencher in congress. I had never heard of you.

I am sure you would like to be more prominent than you are now and, perhaps because of it, you spoke as you did to the congresswoman.

Let me explain.

It cannot be easy, to sit in the House, year after year, and not have made much of an impression. Then you see someone like Ocasio Cortez, a brown woman from New York, daughter of immigrants from Puerto Rico, shoot into the consciousness of the nation, flying high up into the American political firmament, and in her very first term become a speaker in great demand, sharing a stage with former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders during the primaries.

The young lady has got it.

She’s tapped into something that energizes others. She’s got the markings of a leader with staying power.

You sit there, watching all of it, looking at her meteoric rise, and you resent it.

Dear Mr Yoho, that is okay. That makes you human.

Like you, there are thousands if not millions of Americans, from the Right and the Left, who would like to be in Ocasio Cortez’s shoes.

It is okay.

Yes.

It is okay.

That journey is her journey. You have your own, like I have mine.

Let her have hers. No need to go insulting her. No need to call her the words you did.

But you did.

So let me tell you what I think you have to do, because it would be good for you and, believe it or not, would be good too for your political career. If fact, it could be the start of it.

Okay, here it is.

You have to apologize to her. In person. In private.

That’s right.

You have to summon all your courage, which I know you have, and ask for a private audience with her and simply apologize.

‘Alexandra… I am sorry for what I did. What I said was degrading to you and to me as well. I am better than that. I was envious of you, envious of your talents and your drive and ambition, all of which I wish I had. Please, accept my deepest apology, on behalf of myself and my constituents.’

Ted, you do that and I assure you, your star will rise. Of course, you have to mean every word.

If you do, then you will have to go back to your constituents and explain. Explain the source of your resentment, and then ask your supporters to examine themselves also, look into their hearts and see if they have felt or feel as you did.

To the extent that what you said to Ocasio Cortez represented a belief shared by your constituency, then to that extent you have to work with them so they can examine those beliefs. Examine to transform.

Ted, we are at a very important juncture in our nation’s history and you can play an important part in the process and no longer be a back bencher. We have to come together. No one side owns the truth. We have to talk. A nation divided will not be able to muster the energy to confront the challenges other nations are presenting to us. And all of it starts at the local level. All of it starts with the constituency each member of Congress represents.

Ted, I have no doubt, that by your apologizing in person to Ocasio Cortez, your example will inspire other lawmakers and politicians to join in a much needed dialogue. So rise to the occasion, Mr Yoho, rise!

Rise and join those in the vanguard of change the nation is aching for.

Best wishes.

Oscar Valdes   oscarvaldes.net

PS.

Not long ago, upon hearing of Amy Klobuchar’s announcement that she was taking herself out of the running for the democratic vice presidential spot, I wrote to her asking to reconsider. She had chosen to drop out because 20 years before, while a DA in Minnesota, she had failed to press charges on police officers suspected of abusive behavior toward African Americans. My point to her was that she had evolved, and the pugnacity and fairness she had displayed in the primaries marked her as a very worthwhile choice for vice presidential nominee. I remarked that there is no purity. There is, however, the courage to confront our prejudices and act on them. That’s what elevates us.

The blog is entitled Dear Amy and is available on my website.

US China Relations. The Big Picture. The Challenge.

Are we better than them? No, we’re not.

Are they better than us? Not either.

Are they dynamic, hard charging, smart, ambitious? Yes.

And so are we.

It would take doing the ostrich number, burying our heads in the sand, to not allow for the possibility they may surpass us in the near future.

They are moving up in the world, not by committing to security issues but by doing business. In Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, the rest of Asia, Australia.

While we’re battling racial issues, they’re pushing ahead with their plans to rise as fast as they can in every dimension. Space exploration? They’re already there and moving confidently.

Liabilities? Yes. Their autocratic regime. The intrusive governmental vigilance.

It has to be suffocating. But at this point, their fast rise in world standing allows the Chinese people to say to themselves, ‘we’re getting something for our sacrifices.’

Have the Chinese stolen intellectual property? They have and probably will continue to do so. But to think their rise is owed to their theft of knowledge from the West is to miss the fact that they have enormous scientific, technological and industrial capacity of their own.

It’s there in plain sight.

To deny it is to do the ostrich number.

We have not had an adversary of such stature since the Soviet Union in the Cold War. We went on to win that war because of our stronger economy. But China is clearly different.

The Chinese are not tying up their economy building nuclear weapons like the Soviets did. No, they’re making things, and selling what they make to a world eager for their products.

We pride ourselves with our ability to compete. Now the Chinese are saying to us, ‘let’s compete.’

They are saying to us, ‘you brag about your ability to compete. Well, we say to you, we will out compete you, and move past you.’

They are daring us and the whole world is watching.

Do we take them on?

Sure, they took advantage of preferred status in the World Trade Organization and even tried to rig the rules. But there they are. Strong and ambitious. Not willing to bow to anyone. Period.

It has to be exhilarating for their citizens. A nation that has been ruled by western nations and Japan, now standing tall and saying, ‘we have arrived!’ “We’re here on earth and we’re out there in space, too!’

So what are we going to do?

We can complain that they’re ungrateful, as if American companies didn’t make and keep making plenty of money from the vast Chinese markets.

We can and should decry their human rights abuses, their treatment of the Uighurs in Xinjiang, and the violation of their accord with the British in Hong Kong. 

But that doesn’t address the main issue, the fact that their star is rising faster than ours.

And we either confront it or let them move past us.

Our pride is too strong to go with the second option. But to confront China’s rise we have to do some major work in our nation. Long overdue work we thought we could ignore and it would go away by itself.

Let us first consider leadership.

We don’t have any at present. A person who divides is a tribal leader. America has no use for that now. Never did.

The fact that we elected one is a sad chapter in our political history.

But a leader, man or woman, who is able to sit down and talk to us, will have a powerful healing effect. In our hearts and minds, right now, today, we’re all hoping for such a person to step up.

It could well be Joe Biden.

If he has it in him, then he would have to address every sector of this country, address it and say, ‘we can’t do this alone. We’re all part of the solution, we have to come together. Everyone has something to contribute, no one is better than the other. If we don’t pull together, we’ll fall behind. The task for the nation is clear. We must act now.’

To do that we have to forgive. Yes. Forgive that in the matter of race we’ve made blunder after blunder. And so, too, in the matter of growing inequality.

Of course, every group will have complaints and grievances, and every group will feel they should be first in line.

Our leader, will need to hear all of it, to understand and then use it to start down the road to compromise. We’ll have to go down that road because without compromise we won’t get ahead.

We can look at China and say they’re not free. But neither are we. There’s no freedom in disrespect of others, no freedom in systemic racism, no freedom in institutionalized unfairness, no freedom in not having access to proper education and health care, no freedom in living in a dangerous neighborhood without clean and safe water and proper lighting and housing.  

The Chinese are saying to us, ‘we’ll move past you because you can’t get your house together.’

They’re saying to us, ‘you can’t manage your differences.’

And they have a point. That is the Chinese challenge to us. They are telling us, to our faces, ‘dare to be more productive than we are’.

Can we do it?

I think we can. And as we learn to do so we’ll discover great riches. Human and creative riches. Riches that lie trapped in differences not understood.

For instance, how we address immigration will be key. Immigration has contributed enormously to who we are. We should be open to it.

The genetic pool from which China draws talent is enormous, nearly three times ours.

But we have always been a magnet for people from all over the world wanting to improve their lot. There are riches in staying open to the world.

A strong, compassionate leader will help us work with our differences to come together.

Renewal is essential to survival. China is challenging us. We are more than capable of taking them on. And also capable of botching the opportunity.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for a Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net

Oh Race, when will we cast you from our minds, when will we be free?

There are vast amounts of human energy trapped in dysfunctional relationships. Energies that can be put to good use and so ease the burden of pain we live with. Energies which can be channeled constructively to improve our lot and pave the way for those who come after us.

In the mind of the racist lives the desire to seek advantage. To get ahead. Just as it lives in the minds of those who are not racist. We need such impetus to move forward, to battle whatever our circumstances and push ahead.

It is tempting to wish to narrow the field we compete against by devaluing others.

Say that, since times past, people with the color Orange had been assigned a certain minus (-) value, for whatever reason. 

When we inherit that notion, and choose not to challenge it, then it is easy to attempt to exclude Orange people from our interactions.

This exclusion, however, carries consequences. The implicit devaluing means we will not benefit from whatever gifts nature has given them.

I use Orange to designate anyone – non white – now comprising nearly 90% of people on earth.

Our history offers some telling examples of how devaluing people suppresses energies.

At the outset of the Civil War there were clear differences in the strengths of the economies of the North and the South, the economy of the North being the stronger. Racism lived in both the North and the South but in the South it was overwhelming. African Americans escaped from the South to the North, not the other way around. In other words, the relative freedom of African Americans in the North contributed to the greater wealth of that section of the country.

In time, their power and strength would be marshaled into the Army and they would go on to play a decisive role in the victory over the South. Without them, victory would not have been possible.

Sadly, after the war, in one of the most shameful periods in our history, prejudice prevailed, and the country would go on to endure racial repression in forms overt and covert until this day.

Now think of how much farther ahead we would be today as a nation if we had confronted our prejudices?

In today’s world, it is Asian families that are the richest (2018 figures). Do we take on that challenge? Do we set out to release the energies trapped in our dysfunctional race relations?

We are proud to say that we live in a country where the rule of law and self determination prevail but, in fact, they are constantly undermined. The already advantaged continue to find ways to persuade others to give them even more advantages and so, with growing inequality of opportunity, the differences in wealth, level of education and health keep increasing.

The population of our prisons is a stark reminder of all that we have been doing wrong. Step into one and you see masses of African Americans and Latinos – whites being the minority.

What happened? Why are African Americans and Latinos so disproportionately represented in our prisons?

Why did they so disproportionately violate the law?

The answer is so clear that it is hard to accept.

Had they had the same opportunities you and I had they wouldn’t be there.

But clear as the answer is, we struggle to embrace it.

Every race has the same potential for development as any other race. That one group gained an initial advantage, was an accident of history.

When we take in that notion, then we open our minds to allowing for the development of others, even as we strive to maximize our own.

We will see the other who is troubled as someone who needs help to connect with their strengths and build on them.

Look a little closer still and we see something surprising. We see ourselves in them.

We do because they are us.

Us without the benefit of the advantage.

Us without the benefit of affordable housing.

Us but for the burden of poverty.

Us but for the drag of inferior schooling.

Us except for police brutality.

Us except for the chance to develop what abilities we have.

Yes. All of that.

Lots of work has been done to close the gap between the development of white and Black people in America, but we must speed up the pace.

To do that we have to stay open.

To stay open we have to talk.

Talk without blaming,

Talk without hating,

Seeking to understand,

And using our imagination,

To accept and forgive,

Forgive ourselves,

Perchance even to embrace the Orange people,

The Orange people that is us.

Oscar Valdes is the author of Psychiatrist for A Nation. Available on Amazon.

Oscarvaldes.net.