In the Indy, I read with interest of protests and events, attending some to listen to participants, as I seek to figure out, if possible, what’s happening on multiple fronts. I text organizers for info.
Then I reflect, wondering if the time has come when the lesson taught in 1970, by my Sociology 101 insightful 90-pound-heavyweight professor has come. She spoke and then gave us a handout that I saved.
“You may likely live to experience the day when Americans move to be with the likeminded in creating communities for protection and survival. There will be no police to protect you. Police will be protecting their own family. There will be no gate or wall high enough to protect from invasion of country or your home. Civil interactions will cease into shouting, interruptions and disobedience. Self-serving politicians will enrich themselves in disregard of their constituents. Your reality is yours to own. Civic duty calls on each of you to become informed, stay informed, seek out different perspectives to analyze, contemplate and discuss. Citizen inquiry and participation is essential to civilizations and preservation of cultures. Budget time to fulfill your civic duty. In a nutshell, that’s what I’d like you to take away from this intro course; to think about as you study the history of civilizations, political science, economics, and experience your adult life.”
