This Moment Is Your Moment

I started this blog 8 years ago, right after President Obama’s first inauguration.  I remember clearly how hopeful I felt watching him take the oath of office and listening to his inaugural address.  You can read my thoughts about it at the time here: http://historicalandpoliticalissues.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-era-of-responsibility.html  

It’s hard to say I feel that same hope now.  Whether it’s because our new President doesn’t inspire it in me, or because I was just naïve at the time, I just don’t feel that hopeful about the future of America or our planet.  Whenever I start to feel depressed about the state of our nation, I revert back to what comes natural, which for me is service.  Those of you who know me, know I’m a big believer in giving back.  Whether it’s recycling, volunteering a local nonprofit, or helping someone in need, my motto has always been to leave the world a little better than I found it.  I may just be one person, but it’s a start.

So my question to you this week will be the same one that I started the blog with all those years ago, “"What can you pledge in 2017 to help your community, your school, your nation or your planet?" "How do you plan to carry this out?"  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, February 1^st, 2017.

Repeal and Replace

No item on Donald Trump’s agenda seems to have received as much publicity (except maybe “The Wall”) as his desire to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with “something terrific.” So it didn’t surprise me that when I asked what you most wanted to learn about this quarter, many of you said healthcare.

The Affordable Care Act requires all Americans to have health insurance.  Republicans feel it hurts employers because it requires companies with over 50 employees to provide health insurance to their employees.  Opponents to the law also feel it amounts to over-reaching by the federal government – essentially saying it is not the federal government’s job to mandate healthcare for all citizens - hence, the "socialist" label we discussed in class last week.

Democrats say the law has expanded access to healthcare and helped to reign in the rising costs of healthcare coverage.  The Affordable Care Act prevents those with pre-existing medical conditions from being denied health insurance, eliminates co-pays for preventative care, and allows young adults to stay on their parents’ coverage until 26 years of age.  Supporters also say individuals who have health insurance no longer must indirectly pay for emergency visits from individuals who aren’t insured.

I grew up in a household that didn't have health insurance.  I've seen firsthand what hospitals bills can look like when you're not covered.  However, I've also spent my career in workforce development.  I've also seen first-hand how companies are less likely to hire full-time employees because they don't want to pay the healthcare mandate. So, my question to you this week is, “What do you think of the Affordable Care Act?  Do you think Congress should repeal the law, and if so, what should they replace it with?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, January 25, 2016. 

Just for fun, check out this Jimmy Kimble video in which he goes to the street to find out if people support the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare (hint: they’re the same thing). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2scvIFGjE

Also – the inauguration is tomorrow!  Love him or hate him, the inauguration and the peaceful transition of power is still an American tradition.  I encourage you to watch it if you can!

Choose Your Own Adventure!

I hope you all enjoyed a nice break.  It's always hard coming back to school after break. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative energy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind. So for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we will start our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Wednesday, January 18th, 2017. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!