POLS-134: Special Topics In American Democracy Journal Entry 8
March 25, 2022
Some people think that politics is just a bunch of powerful men and women coming together to dictate how regular civilians go about their day. Others think that it’s just tone deaf people that do not accomodate truth and justice. Others try not to form an opinion beyond the unscrupulous act of those that came before because of how ignorant they may be to the type of effort that is put in place by those fightinf ro a difference. The Unthinkable is a testament to to the hope left in modern day politics, its an endearing message to civilians that there are some politicians that want to create a brighter future and that we are not to be blighted by the shortcomings and deceit of the corrupt. It present a model to those in office of what they can choose to emulate, not necessarily Thomas Bloom Raskin himself, but anyone who dares to live in truth and justice.
So far we’ve seen Jamie at his lowest and most vulnerable, we’ve seen him question his existence and enduring some of the most horrific and daunting experinmces one could ever face. We see him take down a road full of questions, seeking help to explore the reasons behind how both detrimental events in his life were connected in any partifcular way. We start Chapter 13 on the a different type of high, an answer is introduced and the perspective is developed so beautifully. Tommy life would serve as a lesson for many great leaders to come, it would seen as a template for being honorable and grace in victory. As the impeachment trial continues, Jamie and his managers have set a very astounding foundation for their arguments and has decided to leave Trump’s legal team to the consequences of their own foolish arguments. He has decided to be like Tommy and so many others and be indifferent to all the ‘spaghetti on the wall’, which was a sort of metaphor for the arguments that had no substance an didn’t need to be rebutted. This chapter follows the arguments of Trump’s counsel Michael van der Veen in great depth and how Jamie and Castro maneuvered their way through their deflecting and propaganda-building arguments and excuses for former President Trump’s inciting of the January 6th Insurrection.
For Chapter 13’s Sketching Leadership assignment, we are asked to sketch someone who is good at emulating others. But first we must examine what it means to emulate someone.
“to try hard to be like or do better than or to imitate” — Merriam-Webster Dictionary
I believe that deep down theres an emulator in all of us, whether it is done with full awareness or subconciously. We are hardwired to look to others and take bits and pieces of them and create versions of ourselves that are more appealing to a particular group. This may coincide with the Chameleon Effect, a psychological theory by Chartrand and Bargh in 1999 that explores people’s often tendency to mimic others automatically. Their hypothesis stipulated that when we mimic someone’s behvaior that person will like us more. Howver, their studies refereed to a more nonconscious mimicry of the postures, mannerisms, facials, expressions and overall behaviors of others. Nevertheless, it still proves my point that we are hardwire that way.
Lets look at another example. German sociologists and economist Karl Marx once said that “religion is the opium of the people”, a functionalist statement that insinuated that religion was simply a social-construct to calm uncertainty about one’s life and their place in the universe. In eras before now, the church played a more pivotal role in society and uses their teachings to manipulate many political outcomes. Even now, the same technique of emulation is used. We are told that we must walk a certain path because it is our aim to be like our Supreme Being inn purity-more so in someone that follows a Christian faith. This faith and emulation technique is often distorted by corrupt personnel that spread false hope and illwilled beliefs onto their flock. In crux, we are all developed to use emulation in one way or another whether it may be for self-actualization or manipulation I believe it to be a very human trait.
However, if i were to stipulate the criterion for someone that is to be considered good at it? I would first start by saying that someone that is extremely well at emulating others would be someone that pays extreme attention to detail. They look beyond what is said with mere words and study the demeanor and mannerisms of the person, because words are nothing without context. It is simply about strategy and not tactic, it is about knowing what that person would do in a given situation based off of the generated knowledge. In a sense its like how Odysseus plays minds games to vet people’s intentions. One must vet the intensions and mindsets of the people they emulate and assess each aspect on a case by case basis. It is about being aware of self in a sense, that you choose to change something about yourself for the objective of what you think is self-enrichment. Emulation takes a certain type of discipline that allows you to not lose yourself in the process of breaking yourself down to build yourself back up. It is that discipline that makes being consistent in your practices not as hard as it may be for others.
March 30, 2022
It is often said that ‘heavy is the head that wears the crown’, soemwhat of a derivative from Shakepeare’s quote that replaces heavy with uneasy. Nevertheless, it depicts the reality of how those charged with major responsibilities carry a tremendous burden that makes it difficult for them to be at ease. This is as a result of whether their decisions will cause more harm than good, we often see these cases in any form of leadership roles — more often in superheroes than politicans these days. Nevertheless, we are posed with the question of what our decisions should be guided by and that my friend would be our morals. Our morality transcends beyond what we think is best for us and allows us to think about the bigger picture. We are forced not to just consider what is good for the majority, but what is the right thing to do. It encapsulates the principles that guide our distinction between what is right and wrong or good and bad, one of our very first lessons as humans growing up, this moral compass sets the tone for who we are.
For our Chapter 14 Sketching Leadership assignment, we were aksed to sketch someone who is very good at remaining morally and intellectually centered. If you know me you’ll know that one of my favorite movies is Coach Carter, he’s the very first person that came to mind when I thought of this. In this NAACP award-winning movie that debutted in 2005, Samuel L. Jackson plays Ken Carter- a top notch star basketball player and sports gear entrepreneur that returns to his former high school to coach its basketball team. This storyline takes place in 1999 in Richmond, California and follows as hhe implements a rigid program to turn a once indisciplined and unstructured team with gang members and juvenile deliquents into a team of well-groomed young men that matriculate to college. Ken Carter saw that in a way the system had failed these young men, he was determined to not only broaden their perspective of what life could be through stories of perseverance and a hunger for surviving, but how being morally right could lead you down a much brighter path. He succeeded in setting them on a winning streak path towards the state championships, however as soon as their grades start to plummet he locks them out of the gym and shuts down their championship season. At the beginning of his program, he made every one that would play for him sign a contract with simple guidelines and agreements to be followed for them to play basketball. Some of them were good attendance in classes, grades above a particular grade points average and specified decorum in practice and out in the public. When he shuts the program down, he is not only criticized by faculty and parents but also by the wider community of Richmond. They threw bricks into his stores, spat at his car windows whilst he was driving and riotted-nevertheless, he stood his ground. He believed that the boys were to be taugth a valuable lesson in life and so they did. After the school board overruled his decision to shut down the program and he decides to quit, the boys decide that they will not play until they have fulfilled their end of the deal. They studied and attended classes and made Ken Carter a martyr, forever immortalized for his teachings. It was a well deserved title, he served as a father figure for many of the boys and especially Timo Cruz, a gang member that is swayed to a more moral life by Carter’s teachings and eventually matriculated to college. Carter stood a role model to these youth and as a guide to what being morally and intellectually centered was like. It is from this movie that I got one of my favorite quotes, here’s a scene from the movie:
In Chapter 14, entitled Witnesses to Insurrection, we see a sense of picking snese from the perspectives of others. It’s essentially what many teachers try to teach us when they ask us to read and form our own informed opinions. We see as Jamie depicts the rather complex situation of deciding who to call as witnesses for the Impeachment Trial. Previously, we’ve seen how Raskin has used the inspiration of those around him to guide his actions in the preceedings of the trial; not just those of Tommy’s, but also the likes of Barry and Candyce Phoenix. Now, we see him drawing from the knowledge of others and ultimately forming his more informed decision from the guiding thoughts of others-the ultimate thinking with engagement. He decides to not call any witness, but to however added a record of Rep. Beutler’s statement about a conversation she had with Rep. McCarthy about a phone call with Trump on January 6. It is this same Beutler that has been said to be missing in action for some time in previous chapters. We explore his changing of perspectives about the trial and how his children helped him to reach this conclusion and then he guided us through the remaining preceedings of the trial.
As we draw closer to the end of a beautiful story, we look at the continued lessons of truth and grief. On to the Epilogue, the end of a beautiful journey.
