The Value of Compulsory Education

 "On the value of compulsory education," An essay by Derek Canino 

 

To some people, the idea of public or compulsory education is a farce that is detrimental to the intellectual growth of the populace.  I would like to roundly reject that argument and make a case for the continued proliferation of educational institutions in the United States.  This essay will address some of the common complaints lodged against schools by populist arguments which undermine the integrity of the academic system.  I will vehemently maintain the importance of an educated populace for the continued pursuit of human excellence.  This essay will be centered around some central arguments in defense of public education, while taking into account any counterarguments that an opposing viewpoint might offer.  I do this because I feel an obligatory force motivating me to defend the institutions most responsible for the wellbeing of humanity. 

    Education in the United States was initially uncommon during the colonial and even the Early Republic period.  This was because the United States was a predominantly agrarian society, with limited need for intellectuals.  As industrial revolutions came in waves during the history of the nation, the greater the need for more specialized types of tasks became the norm.  The proliferation of educational institutions was largely responsible for creating citizens more adept at working positions that were more mentally demanding.  The compulsory nature of these institutions became a cornerstone in providing education to those who might otherwise be unwilling or unable to attend.  This proved to be one of the strongest cornerstones of the education system.  Primary education was installed as a staple in the United States, and secondary education remained available as an optional addition to one’s education (should economic situation permit.)  This phenomenon was not isolated to the United States.   

As discussed by Eugen Weber in the book, Peasants Into Frenchmen, the use of compulsory education by French government in the 19th century led to illiterate and intellectually limited French peasants into more capacious citizens who were more able to contribute greater ideas and national identity into the French society.  The idea of compulsory education also gave both the United States and France a sense of national identity to the students who attended these institutions.  Such national identities created a more unified culture amongst the rank-and-file lower classes that led to advancements in all areas of art, science, technology, history and so on.  The argument that national identity gave the United States a sounder ability to construct a more powerful nation that could be a more serious player at the table of world superpowers.  Thusly, the strength of a nation is directly tied to the strength of its educational assets.    

Arguments against schooling are often built on the erroneous assumption that school inhibits individual thought or critical thinking.  Often, given the focus on group dynamics associated with communal eating, classroom attendance, and assembly protocol might lead one to believe that there is some expectation of herd mentality.  The simple truth that humans are social creatures trumps the belief that the people are being rounded up like cattle.  Left to wander the halls alone and randomly form gatherings independently leads to a lack of cohesive focus in the institution.  It becomes imperative that schools focus on organizational and bureaucratic methods to make sense of a large gathering of young people.  Without such, leadership might fall into the de facto hands of the largest or most powerful individual.  Even if leadership falls onto a cleverer individual, their motivations will become ambiguous, and their methods will lack follow through.  This is to say, that decision making and leadership roles must be assumed by elders, and that their authority is taken as law. 

The complications that arise from applying social control mechanisms are the seeds of resentment that they sow.  Unfortunately, those seeds are a necessary evil that educational institutions are forced to wield.  It becomes increasingly the will of the person in question whether the fruits of that control result in skilled professionals, or debased malcontents.  While some may choose the latter, the dominant result is the former, thanks to the often-underappreciated efforts of compulsory schooling institutions.   I would like to use this opportunity to thank them for a mostly thankless job.  Furthermore, I would like to expound on the necessities of social control mechanisms for both the integrity of education and the safety of the students therein.  While this is not to say that certain students could be trusted to use the restroom without any clandestine activity, the risk is far greater empowering potential malicious activity.  The cost of something catastrophic occurring while a student is missing for an indeterminate period, is not worth the inconvenience of creating a hall pass system.   

While control may be a concern to some, one larger hurdle for educators is the criticism directed at the educators themselves.  As educators are human beings and have certain foibles, they are often blamed for complications by the community regarding student wellbeing.  It is worth noting that no matter who educates the student, how the student is educated, and with what tools they used, there will always arise conflict of personalities when it comes to the educators.  The fact remains that there are no flawless instructors regardless of whether school is compulsory, so those power clashes between student and teacher will always exist.  The only way to avoid such struggles would be to forgo all education altogether, which becomes an absurd proposition for the continued existence of humanity.  If anything, teachers in public schools are held more accountable than ever, forcing them to walk a line between maintaining classroom order and respecting the wellbeing of attending students.  This is not to say that scrutiny is inherently a problematic issue but proves that with improvements compulsory education can evolve to fit a broader understanding of pedagogical concepts.   

This is not to say that such authority granted to individuals working for the education system don’t carry baggage or make mistakes.  Oversight and self-correcting mechanisms are fundamental components of making a functioning academic institution work for its students and society at large.  There is the possibility that people have negative or traumatic experiences with teachers in grade school, but there can be many explanations for such things.  Not to mention the fact that traumatic experiences and abuse are just as common wherever one might find themselves.  Laying the blame on the faculty simply creates a convenient scapegoat for students and overly concerned parents.  Much of what goes wrong in public schools occurs when the students are given enough liberty to make decisions to abuse or ostracize one another.  While denying liberty might be unpopular, especially in the United States, it can hamstring some of the most degenerate antics of sociopathic children.  This is not to generalize children’s behavior as negative, but to suggest that ethical frameworks are built on experience and not known to people a priori.  

Another fallacy associated with intellect is the assumption that the more erudite children require no guidance, supervision, or control related to their liberties.  The notion that a child must have a pass to use the restroom seems draconian to some, and that the institution is to blame for a lack of trust with their pupils.  The need to prevent vagrancy, truancy, and unsupervised behavior is not a statement about their intellect being reigned in, but rather, their judgement in determining how they best spend their time.  Judgement is a tool forged in the crucible of lived experience, and as such, should not be relied upon on the part of a young person.  While this may appear to be biased, it reflects the abundance of impetuous decisions made by young people throughout history.  This is not a poor reflection of the people in question, but rather the inherent danger in youth.  The philosopher Immanuel Kant put it thusly, “Innocence is indeed a glorious thing.  Sad however, that it cannot maintain itself and is so easily seduced.”

On the topic of knowledge gained without experience, I would like to take a minute and point out some fallacies associated with intellect.  While there are developmental and mental disabilities, intellect is sculpted through the clay of rigorous education.  It is the function of schools to mold the clay of children's minds into the sculptures of their adult selves.  People are not born smart; they must be given the tools to develop their intellect.  Some parents and outside institutions might step in and provide additional education, but no one is born smart.  To suggest that smart people are being held back by the vines of control of its authoritarian overlords, is to dismiss what tools were given to them by said academic institutions.  If a person is truly erudite, and can solve problems far above the norm, then it is the function of the school to provide a higher level of education to match that accelerated development.  I will also say that if a Nobel prize winning scientist and a Poet Laureate had a child that was locked in a basement with nothing but food and water, that child would have no working knowledge in even the most basic sense.  Morbid example as that is.  Usually, the child in that scenario has the advantages of a superior upbringing afforded by their wealthy parents or benefactors.   

Some of the arguments made in this brief essay may not be entirely popular with the more institutionally alternative viewpoints, but I believe I made a fair case for the continued use of compulsory education in American society.  From the Early Republic period to the modern digital age, educational standards set the standards of excellence for American society as a whole.  We must also bear responsibility and accountability as a community to empower the system where it would otherwise fail us.  The pursuit of knowledge and the sharing of that knowledge have the potential to strengthen our society given proper care.  Should education become a matter of convenience or considered disposable, the United States would greatly weaken itself, as would any other nation that did the same.  There is always room for improvement, and the path to enlightenment is illuminated by those of us who carry the torch. 

Labor, Servitude, and Liberty.

This is to be a multi portioned response to a complex question regarding the nature of labor, servitude, and liberty.  I will be making several entries to address a simple question that I think many people would expect to be condensed into a simple one sentence answer and provide rich detail and context that might elaborate on the complexities of a seemingly simple concept.  I am doing this because I feel that in an effort to oversimplify things to address a large volume of issues, the simplest issues have been overlooked.  To the best of my ability, I will answer: 

What is Slavery? 

When considering the question, which may appear simple on its face, I am left to consider the very complexities of the nature of labor.  Slavery, according to popular and societal definition, places the emphasis on labor provided with no wages granted.  This is also to say that labor is forced or expected without exception.   The key emphasis on slavery is that the work is not optional and provides insufficient reward or incentive.  Is the simple absence of option the entirety of the definition or is there something worth considering about the nature of the reward system in place. 

    In current American society, there is the expectation that monetary compensation is dispensed because of one's willing contribution to another party's goals or ambitions.   For an employer to offer employment in a full-time status, there should be enough compensation to maintain an adequate standard of living and the freedom to terminate employment on behalf of the employee.  While there are contractual obligations that one might be under, this is typically the expectation of the exchange of time and labor for compensation.  Failure of an employer to meet fiduciary expectations or allow accommodations for liberty are considered to be the slippery slope of forced servitude.   

    This whole model is contingent on the expectation of a first world society and based on a system of private ownership, personal liberty, and a universal currency system.  Without these societal mechanisms, there would be an entirely different concept of slavery as it exists.  It is difficult for the modern American to conceptualize slavery existing or in absence of such a structure in place.  No one considers slavery to exist in the state of nature, such as one’s need to labor in some way to nourish the body.  No one pays a person to feed themselves, nor are they ever free of such an obligation.  It is easy to take for granted that a biological imperative operates by a different set of rules than by a system of complex law, governance, and commerce. 

    Slavery, by its nature, forms as a result of a social contract that people engage in for the desire to provide a higher quality of life for themselves.  We can enjoy a wider array of foodstuffs, entertainment, and medicine, on the basis that we exist as a society.  In that regard, humans have a tendency to hierarchically divide themselves, and by the nature of that hierarchy, some may and do live a higher quality of life.  Even if no one was enslaved to another, it might be considered an injustice that one group enjoys a better quality of life than another.  It could be a reason no more complex than proximity to a body of water and ease of transportation.  What does inequity have to do with slavery?  In a sense nothing, and more sensibly, everything. 

    Throughout the course of history, it has been proven demonstratively true that military and technological might is the determining factor in one society being subjugated by another.  In that subjugation, slavery arises out of the interests of one party on the top or the hierarchical pyramid making demands of a larger yet defenseless party of the pyramid. This arrangement, despite its obvious lack of fairness, has endured throughout human experience for one reason or another.  The primary reason is that too many people are dependent on slavery.  The second reason is that slavery is inherent in the fact that people are forced into agreements they did not choose.  The third reason is that people possess empathy yet can find ways to disregard such a basic human feeling.  The final reason is that humans fall into patterns, and the institution of slavery fits into yet another of humanities' alarming patterns.  

    I will pass on giving obvious criticism of the history of slavery from Roman conquest to European imperialism and focus on the world in which we live.  I will do this to assert that the distinction that is made between free labor and slavery is more synthetic than people are willing to allow themselves to acknowledge in a general sense.  There are always those among us who find themselves able to detach themselves from traditional preconceptions.  I am offering the possibility that slavery exists all around us, but many are unwilling to see it as slavery, because of these synthetic distinctions that people make to justify unjust systems.  I am also offering the possibility that slavery does not exist in any fashion, and that quality of life is the only meaningful distinction that we can observe. 

 

No one chooses to be born, and no one chooses to require other humans for mutual survival and wellbeing.  The supposed liberty that accompanies modern existence is merely an increasingly complex society and a more obfuscated list of possibilities.  Since a person has more choices than ever of where to dine, doesn’t mean that the choice wasn’t already made on some level.  We assume freedom and liberty on the assumption that we can make a decision among options, and that decision falls on the concept of free will.  We cannot fathom that we made the choice beforehand, because we are not conscious of all the determining factors leading to that decision.  Even in a coin flip, the weight of the coin, the acceleration due to gravity, and the force we throw the coin, are all based on a system of rules that people cannot truly deviate from.  How can people choose to provide labor when labor is already chosen by the universe for its inhabitants?  Be it God, or the cosmos, we are only actors on the stage, we still cannot write our roles. 

When I get down to brass tacks, it becomes apparent that the matter becomes more a matter of when a person becomes beholden to another person.  This occurs without a formal institution of slavery.  The boss, the politician, the judge, the officer, the authority figure, the CEO, etc., become writers of someone else’s destiny, and the determining factor in another’s quality of life.  This can become the stem in the unwholesome plant that is injustice.  It is when one party utilizes the pain and suffering endured by another party to increase their quality of life that a person cries unto the heavens that the universe is treating them unfairly.  This doesn’t mean that the relationship cannot be symbiotic, but that the symbiosis has turned into parasitism.  Not only does it become the case that one party is bitter with injustice, but another party is rife with anxiety over their fears that they are dehumanizing other people to enjoy a better quality of life.   

    I have argued that no labor is slave labor on the grounds that choice is a synthetic distinction made for people to claim agency in their actions.  I have argued that since we don’t choose, we simply act with thought behind it, that we are operating under the same set of conditions no matter how we arrive at whatever labor we engage in.  Humans, whether acting on the orders of another human or of their own interests are laboring for their survival.  If you cleaned your garage, or someone else told you to clean your garage, and you cleaned your garage; what is the distinction?  Some people even prefer to be told to do things to avoid making such decisions of their own volition.  The most important factor in that example is the conditions in which you clean your garage.  Was sufficient time granted for slow and steady work?  Were you given breaks?  Was the temperature tolerable?  Were you asked to accomplish the task on an empty stomach?  The definition of slavery then shifts to not whether you were asked, demanded or decided to do the labor – but how the conditions of the labor were met.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Anatomy of a Nation

"Anatomy of a Nation." 

In this brief essay, I will identify the components of a nation and how they are analogous to the human body.  The essay will attempt to personify the working mechanics of a functional nation or empire into a conceptual human body.  Nation or empire can be used interchangeably as the range of the political scope is irrelevant, so long as they are still recognized as a single polity.  Doing so will provide a vivid diagram of how one might perceive the nation they live in as a functioning human body.  This essay might clarify the relationship between each moving and functioning part of a body politic.  I shall endeavor to do so succinctly and without an overabundance of abstruse language.   

To begin, the face of the nation is the first thing that people see when they look at a person.  In a nation, this is represented by her political leaders and functionaries.  The face of the empire may smile, snarl, or cringe depending on what the leadership of that nation is advocating, denouncing, or commending.  Facial representations that are not in sync with the entire body are referred to as a “tic,” and such, are considered so when the political leadership makes remarks counter to her own interests or ideals.  When she agrees that something is absurd, the face smiles, and when something is distressing, she frowns. 

    The left hand of the nation represents the cultural aspect of said nation.  The left hand grasps at relics of art, beauty, and entertainment.  The nation uses her left hand to pull into her dominion that which she finds desirable and covets and pushes away things that she disdains or finds repulsive.  The upper side of the left hand is one that represents the popular entertainers, the known actors, and the cultural icons for which the nation chooses to acknowledge as her own unique message.  On the lower face of the hand, the hand hides her counterculture, and with it, it's more distasteful opinions and styles.  The left hand, in its totality, represents a force for which a nation wields her most creative powers.   

    The right hand of a nation represents the might of the nation.  The right hand is where the state grants her authority to a military leadership of some kind.  The fingers could be representative of differing, and often autonomous branches of military with specific delegated duties.  The right hand pulls forward any weapons she wishes to bring to bear against her enemies and pushes away all opponents who might wish to get too close to her boundaries.  The upper side of the right hand favors the acknowledged military leaders such as generals and military advisors.  The underside of the right hand includes her more dubious actors such as brown shirts or mobster elements.  Both sides of the hand have a function for creating order within her borders. 

    The left leg of the empire is the system of transportation of cultural and informational products.  The left leg moves at the speed in which new ideas, modalities of thought, and means of perceiving reality are attained by her populace.  To have a strong left leg, the nation must be able to develop styles, ideas, and conceptual goods and make them available in a marketplace suitable for her people to consume them.  A wonderous thought with no way to be distributed demonstrates a failure of the left leg to manipulate locomotion.  Radio, television, and the internet are superb examples of successful muscles working properly to tune the working power of the left leg.  She is truly using her left leg if new ideas are being produced and always consumed, 

    The right leg serves a more practical but no more important means of transportation from within the empire.  The right leg is used to send goods and services directly to the populace by means of roads and other classic forms of infrastructure.  The right leg needs a great deal of maintenance to keep the nation moving at full capacity.  The leg, while functioning, keeps her from slipping into disarray, and becoming easy prey to hostile or belligerent nations seeking to harass her.  She needs to keep her leg ambulating at all times to provide for the most basic needs and services of her people.  The importance of this leg in proper function can even be traced back to Sun Tzu’s, The Art of War. 

    The lungs of the nation represent the nation’s ability to perform commerce successfully.  The act of inhalation represents importation.  This is taking in good air, which is products and goods from outside her borders that are helpful and practical for her wellbeing.  The act of exhaling is the nation's ability to expel unwanted products that she wishes to market to other competing nations that allow her to benefit from.  She gets what she wants most, when she is exhaling only the least valued commodities to her own interests.  Out with the bad air, and in with the good air.  As they say. 

    The brain of a nation is the total sum of knowledge that a nation holds in all of her capacity.  The brain’s neural nodes are represented by libraries, educational institutions of any kind, and any stores of data that might be accessed or hoarded.  The brain can be a vast expanse of information in a complex and layered matrix.  A fully developed and nourished brain can provide a nation with the means to keep all her other parts functioning at its peak efficiency.  

    Finally, there is the heart of a nation.  What makes up the heart of a nation, but her people.  Any nation needs people flowing and pumping blood in her veins to function to any degree, and the heart is the populace.  Blood simply reflects each citizen as a single blood cell.  But the populace as a whole, is that muscle known as the heart.  The nation has one beating center without there can be nothing.  A nation with no citizens is nothing more than an idea.  A church with no believers if you will. 

    With more time and thought I am sure I could further find analogies for other organs and other metaphors to continue this train of thought, but for now I will keep it to the basics.  I did this in the hope that someone might find out something interesting about the way I view political fundamentals.  While the educational possibilities of this essay are limited, I hope that someone may find this interesting when considering what the relationship between person and nation, and person there is.  For a nation personified, it is just as well you or me.   

Uncivil War.

 “Uncivil War.” 

    I slowly thumbed through the contact list on my phone, trying to find Robert’s number.  I wasn’t honestly sure if it was still on my phone.  Jeff was patiently waiting for me to respond to his question.  Eventually he broke the silence and asked me, “Did you delete his contact information?”  There was a pause when I had determined that Robert Klien was the number that remained in my phone, and Robert Daniels I was unsure of.  “I don’t think it is here under my contacts, bro.” Jeff paused another minute and added, “Maybe you blocked him.  Try checking your blocked numbers list.”  A moment later I continued to thumb through the blocked numbers list and confirmed to Jeff that the number that was blocked and deleted as Robert’s.  I sat back in my desk chair and tried to recall why I even blocked Robert in the first place.  While my mind drew a blank, I didn’t have the energy to spend trying to figure it out.  Whatever it was, I am sure that Robert deserved it. 

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    Several months ago, during the Fall of 2017, a phone call took place between Robert Daniels and William Googan that resulted in the blocking of Robert by William.  The conversation was in regards to a football game that the two friends were watching simultaneously while speaking during a commercial break.  While the advertisement played, William seemed enamored by the superior throwing power of Patrick Mahomes and replayed his own glory days during high school football that both men were on.  Robert made an innocent comment about how he was so sorry when he saw William get that severe injury where his left meniscus was torn.  William saw the comment as incredibly rude and insensitive.  He thought that Robert was lording the fact that William was never going to play serious college football like he wanted over him.  To Robert, the comment was an expression of sorrow for his friend’s loss.  To William, it was a jab at him that was just the result of Robert’s jealousy that he made Quarterback.  The conversation seemed to end politely enough to anyone who might have been listening, but the result was far more complex.  William blocked and deleted the contact information of Robert.  Robert thought nothing was wrong and was taken aback when their usual football game talk was abandoned seemingly out of nowhere a few days later. 

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    I saw it was getting late after I hung up the phone with William.  I had to get into work early tomorrow morning and I didn’t have time to waste on this stupid drama between those two idiots.  Frankly, I think they should have just gotten their frustration out and not let the friendship erode.  It worries me that people seem to be tearing apart years of good times and bonding over what seems like nothing.  I wanted to be the first one to get them both in a room and tell them how stupid they are.  What really gets me upset is how angry Robert gets when the topic of anything William related comes up.  Still...I have the most unfortunate task of confirming the block situation with Robert which I was not looking forward to. 

    It gets me so angry that I want to just push them both away, but I am not a total asshole, and I don’t think like these two.  I was just thinking about how my friendship with Scott was like an unbreakable bond that was forged by what started as a bar fight.  Scott and I have only been friends for 6 months now, but we really get along.  I don’t think anything would get us to get like that, and I think I am better than upsetting Scott like that.  Or anyone for that matter.  I was just feeling superior when I remembered that I had a similar issue with Dan. I was lost in regret with the whole Dan fiasco when my phone rang and it was Robert calling.  I decided to ignore the call for now and let it go to voicemail. 

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    It was in the second week of March 2020 that there was an eruption between the good friends Jeff and Dan. The two close friends were engaged in a spirited debate over the political climate.  Dan was convinced that Jeff had an unfair opinion of President Biden’s handling of the economy and bail reform issues.  Dan frequently tried to steer his friend to his more Democratic viewpoints and argue that bail reform was needed because the current system disproportionately affects minorities.  Jeff staunchly believed that there is no saving some people and that letting criminals go free is a danger to society as a whole.  This constantly raging debate began several months before the 2020 election and continued to grow more rancorous during the months afterward.  Jeff believed that President Trump truly speaks for the American people and that only wealthy liberals who don’t have the trouble of living in the same neighborhoods with minorities and criminals, were out of touch.   

    There was a final meeting at Dan’s house where they began their usual political debate during dinner.  Dan made several biting remarks disguised at criticizing the intelligence of supporters of President Trump.  Jeff tried to shrug off the comments because they always ended up with Dan accusing Jeff of being overly sensitive and that the comments weren’t directed at him.  Jeff became increasingly irritated as the two discussed matters, which further prompted the indirect insults.  The intensity of the conversation was making Sarah and Dan’s children upset with the volatile behavior.  The conversation ended with Jeff picking up his plate of meatloaf that Sarah made and hurling it against the wall.  Thomas, Dan’s 4-year-old son, became inconsolable and cried during the outburst and continued to do so throughout the night.  Stacy, Dan’s 9-year-old daughter, just watched in silence praying that it would just be over and that Jeff would leave.  Thomas and Jeff always got along so famously that it was a shock to everyone.  Jeff eventually calmed down after throwing the plate, realizing his error, and walked out of the house wordlessly and drove away.  Dan vowed to end the friendship, and Jeff intended never to drive back over to that house again.  The two never blocked one another, even on social media, but that might have made matters worse.  Politically charged articles being plastered on another’s social media pages became an online battleground for the two now-enemies.   

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    I was kind of surprised when Jeff didn’t pick up my phone call.  I looked at the time and saw it was only 10:30. I can’t imagine that Jeff would be sleeping at this hour.  It filled me up with a bitterness I couldn’t begin to understand.  It is like this with people these days.  They just ignore whatever that don’t have time to work out.  It was only going to take a couple of seconds to fill me in on what happened with William.  William clearly does not want anything to do with me but didn’t have the courage to tell me that it was over.  I guess he thinks I would have made a huge scene and made his perfect life slightly less so.   The real thing that drives me crazy is the fact that there was no good reason why he turned on me!  It was just like one day things were completely fine and the next he hated my guts.  I just don’t understand what was causing my friendships to disintegrate.  Well, I guess Dan is busy with family life. 

    The whole incident with Jeff and Dan surprised the hell out of me when I heard it, since Jeff was usually pretty levelheaded.  That is why I refuse to get involved in politics.  I swear that it can make bitter enemies of people who would otherwise be friends.  So, between what went on with Jeff not calling and William most likely blocking me; I can tell that friendship just seems to be an outdated concept that is eroding around me.  What is more than that, is that I have noticed that people in general have been thinking or saying nasty things about one another.  It is almost as if someone turned on a switch that made everyone hate everyone else.  I think that it really accelerated around 2018, but I have no real clue.  At least Jeff and Scott seem to be having fun.  It is great to have another addition to our little group. 

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    What Robert did not know about Scott Tanner, like most of the group members in this clique, was that Scott had a dark secret.  Scott was deeply hooked on prescription pain medications, and it was tearing him apart from the inside.  In May 2016, Scott hurt himself while getting out of a taxi while intoxicated.   He slipped and twisted his ankle and damaged the bone and ligament without realizing it.  Since he was intoxicated, he slept on the injury in an awkward way which exacerbated the injury.  When Scott went to his physician, the physician told Scott that surgery was extremely expensive and that his insurance would not cover it.  The insurance company recommended that the injury was not “essential for walking or essential job functions.”  Given that there was no way to fix the underlying issue, Scott had to soldier on with the pain.  Unfortunately for Scott, this was during the opioid epidemic, and his doctor was afraid to prescribe him any severe medications.  His doctor insisted that Ibuprofen and Yoga were the answers.  An injury this severe was far beyond such measures.  That doctor continued to prescribe the medications to his older and more reliable patients.  People like Scott were just simply out of luck. 

    Scott was friends with a man from downtown named Daryl.  Daryl sympathized with Scott’s story and went on a long rant about insurance companies and doctors that were merely afraid of losing their licenses.   Daryl offered to act on behalf of Scott.  This is when a long and very expensive relationship between Scott and Daryl took place whereby the two friends met up in a fast-food restaurant to make their monthly deals.  What Scott did not know, and would have been most offended by, was the fact that the person selling the medications to Daryl was a patient of the same doctor that refused the medication to Scott.  Daryl took a tidy sum in markup to make the exchanges worth his while.  All the while, he made snarky and incendiary comments about the ethical violations of doctors and the police state.  Detective Rodger Collins, in the local narcotics division, was more than a little interested in the goings-on of the narcotic pyramid that was forming. 

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    I walked away from the usual burger joint with a fat wad of cash in my pocket as usual.  It was a wonderful sunny day, and the warm sunny summer of 2020 was the ultimate time to party.  As I walked over to my white pickup truck, I noticed someone that looked like he was looking right at me from his sedan.  He had sunglasses on and a brimmed hat.  Something about just getting a sight of the man creeped me the hell out.  He held up a newspaper just a half a second later.  Was I just paranoid?  I just get this way every time I make a decent deal in this area.  It is a really nice neighborhood and all.  Before getting in the car, I spat on the parking lot pavement, hating the fact that some people lived so well while others lived like shit.  Like me, for instance.  

    I drove home slowly, trying to be careful not to stir up any attention.  The area was heavily policed, and I was carrying a decent stash.  Was that the black sedan that I saw before following me?  No, it couldn’t be.  I left that restaurant like 10 minutes ago, and I never saw a car tailing me.  I had to be fine.  It was just nerves.  I always thought it was silly that I had to come out to another county to make deals with Scott.  He was so paranoid about his new friends seeing him with me.  It was like, duh bro!  Just play it off like we are just random friends.  There is no need to get all nervous that your friends will find out that you are taking legitimate medications.  Oh well, that is how these rich folks are. So afraid of one finding out about the others’ dirty laundry.   

    I was just getting lost in another inner rant when I got home to my apartment.  I stayed in the truck for just a few moments to be sure that no cars were sneaking up behind me.  It took me a minute to be sure that I was in the clear.  Since things were looking on the up and up, I felt more comfortable strolling into my place.  I really hoped that Jennifer made something for dinner.  I know I am old fashioned, but I really like the idea of my girl making me something to eat when I get home from business.  She was pretty good about stuff like that, but lately something was off.  I just got the impression that she was out with Rick again.  Something about that guy didn’t seem right to me.  He said that he was gay, but I didn’t believe them.  I just had to catch them in the act, and I was sure that things would be revealed.   

    I walked into the apartment and saw that the lights were off.  I turned them on and looked around for Jennifer, hoping that she was at least laying down and taking a nap.  I couldn’t find her in any room.  After a moment of searching, I sighed and crept over to the refrigerator for a snack.  That is when I noticed a note stuck to the fridge.  It read, “Out with Rick, hope you had a good time doing your thing!  See you in a couple of hours. Love, Jennifer.”  I tore the note of the fridge and curled my fist into a ball.  I am not happy right now.  Not happy at all. 

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    Daryl did have some reason to be concerned with the rendezvous between his paramour and Rick.  The two were not lovers, as Rick was indeed a gay friend.  However, Jennifer and Rick had been talking about the growing abuse that was coming from Daryl.  At first, he would get angry and yell at her when she went out with her friends.  She sometimes found herself really afraid of him.  Her girlfriends would often make offhanded remarks to him about relationships that were abusive, which only added fuel to the fire.  Her friends frequently tried to get her to end the relationship with Daryl before things got out of hand.  What they did not know was that Jennifer was also involved in a drug addiction of her own.  She and Daryl had a proclivity for using his sale of opioids for cocaine addiction. 

    Jennifer in the winter of 2019, made friends with Rick, and they were getting along famously.  At first Richard thought the whole thing was innocent enough, but he was still keeping an eye on the whole situation.  He began to doubt Ricks sexual orientation and began to question Jennifer about the whole thing.  There were no dangers of cheating occurring in reality.  Rick and Jennifer liked to get together and talk and do cocaine and gossip about people all over the neighborhood.  Rick was something of a local legend at the local gay bar scene.  Rick and Jennifer would become inebriated and put on impromptu fashion shows.  The two friends had a wonderful time dressing up, taking photos, and of course, getting high.   

    During the last time the two gathered on this sunny day in 2020, they were having a more serious discussion after only one outfit was tried on.  Jennifer confided in Rick that she was receiving even more abuse than usual.  Daryl had hit her really hard in the stomach and legs.  Daryl made an effort to conceal the blows such that no one would discover his abuse very easily.  The two were fighting over the Rick visits during their argument and when Jennifer suggested that maybe Daryl was more interested in Rick than he was letting on, he flew into frenzy.  Jennifer wasn’t only visiting Rick that day; she was hiding from Daryl.  

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    I didn’t even bother gulping any of the soda that I bought at the burger joint.  I was getting that good at taking these pills.  Maybe a little too good.  As I started driving toward my friend Jim’s poker game, I saw that Robert had texted me.  Looks like he wanted to hang out.  This guy is amazing. Let me tell you.  He doesn’t play any games, and he doesn’t try to make me feel like he cares when he doesn’t.  Robert cares, he is just that good of a guy.  I almost swerved into a light post when driving, answering the text.  I really should be more careful.  I was going to go over to his house instead of Jim’s poker game.     

    I had to get away from Jim and his weekly poker nights. Normally the guys rib each other and have a good laugh at each other once and a while, but something was really off these days.  It is like the usual joking around is just getting hateful.  Some of things Jim and Dan say really bug me.  It isn’t that they say things about me that I can’t handle; it is just that they say it like they want to hurt each other.  Someone always gets really angry when the game ends the way they didn’t want it to, and everyone is more on edge about losing money.  I just had to get away from there.  Robert was like a refuge from all the mounting hate.  Things really turned around the end of 2019.  I wish I had even a clue why. 

    I made my way over toward Robert’s house and things got a bit fuzzy as I was driving.  A car horn beeped behind me at the stop light.  I must have nodded off.  Maybe I took too many pills.  I waved to the other driver and continued my way over to his place.  I almost veered into the oncoming lane of traffic a moment later, when my eyes popped open again and I quickly avoided any collision.  This was not looking good.  It would only be a few more minutes before I got to Robert’s house.  Just keep driving and everything will be... 

    Oh God, I rear ended another car.  My eyes popped open and the driver from the red compact was getting out of their car.  It was a somewhat chubby man, with a shaved head and sweatpants.  He was holding his neck like he was hurt or at least faking an injury.  I didn’t even put my car in the park and things went black, when it kept rolling into the man’s car.  My car was pushed back about a foot from the impact after I hit his car.  It made me jump back awake when the second small bump woke me up.  I guess my car had rolled back into his. “What the hell is wrong with you!”  The man screamed at me like he wanted to hit me.  He was somewhere between cradling his neck and trying to intimidate me.  It would have been a funny scene if it wasn’t so damn serious.  I am in so much trouble. 

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    Thankfully, no one was hurt from the incident with the automobile accident, but the consequences would be severe indeed.  Scott was questioned at the scene of the accident where he nodded off in front of police Officer Ronald Kozinski.  The officer soon took the man into custody and had him sent to a hospital for a blood test.  The blood test confirmed a high dosage of opioids in his system at the time of the accident.  Scott’s attorney was able to get Scott’s sentence dropped to house arrest and treatment in a drug rehabilitation program.  Unfortunately for Scott, his misdeed was put up in several local news feeds.  Scott’s secret was just discovered by Robert. 

    Robert was so ashamed and appalled by his newest friend's behavior that he decided to block him and remove all communications with him.  He thought having such an influence and connection with this person would have a dangerous impact on his reputation.  Robert did to Scott what William did to him.  Without a conscious realization of the hypocrisy of his actions, Robert proved himself no better.  The trouble was some kind of inability for there to be a dialogue between people.  Scott was also quickly shunned by the guys over at the poker games with Jim.  Scott had himself and his family left. 

    With no real friends to connect with, he became both irritated and overbearing to his family.  Since they became his only source of social connection, it put a strain on the relationship between him and his parents and sister.  Scott would have to face house arrest alone, with nothing but his landscaping job and his thoughts to keep him company.  Scott would find himself talking to himself more to fill the void.  He could just imagine the things his friends and family were saying about him, and he was quickly yelling in a room by himself.  The neighbors feared that they were living next to a madman.  

    Daryl, meanwhile, discovered Rick’s apartment by finding him on a social media site that revealed its location through pictures.  It was disturbingly easy for the unstable man to find his way to where his girlfriend and Rick were.  Rick parked his white pickup truck with the rust holes near the bottom of the cab.  He took a deep exhale and climbed the stairs to the apartment.  He went around to where he could see a back entrance on the porch and made his way over there.  Since Rick and Jennifer were just smoking and the door was open.  Rick made his unexpected entrance. 

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    Rick was in the other room changing when I heard what sounded like feet stomping through the back door.  I could just see around the corner where Rick’s door was a little bit open.  A few seconds later I heard Daryl’s voice booming, “What are you doing with my woman!?  You must think you are real fucking slick!”  Then Daryl pushed a shirtless Rick against the hallway wall and threw a nasty punch at Rick’s face.  I started to scream for him to stop, but I stopped myself.  Instead, I dialed 911.  I ran into the bathroom and locked the door, waiting for the phone to answer. 

    While that was happening, I could hear what sounded like Rick begging Daryl to stop, and I began to cry.  This was so messed up; Daryl really went too far this time.  I gave the woman on the phone my information, address, and told her what was going on.  I basically said that my maniac boyfriend was attacking my gay friend.  I can barely remember what was said because I could still hear the sounds of struggle going on outside the bathroom.  Then there were a few minutes where everything went quiet, and I wasn’t sure what happened.  I tried to hold back sobs so Daryl wouldn’t try to get me out.  Then I saw the knob turn and tried to open the door. 

    Daryl put on a suddenly nice sounding voice, “listen baby, I am sorry, we can work this out.  There is nothing you did with him that I can’t forgive if you are honest with me.” I didn’t make a sound.  I was so freaked out.  Daryl suddenly sounded a bit more impatient, “why don’t you open up so we can go home. I really want to get out of here.”  I tried to hold back the sobs, but they came, and I began crying so loudly that he knew I wasn’t going to open up.  Daryl knows how I get when I am like this.  “Listen...babe, I am starting to get really pissed off.”  The way that Daryl said, “babe” really annoyed me.  I yelled through the door, “What you did was totally fucked up!”  There was a moment of silence then Daryl’s voice changed again.  “You know what? Fuck this. I am getting out of here.  Have fun with your new boyfriend.”  

    I must have waited in that bathroom for 10 minutes listening for the sounds of Daryl in case he was still nearby.  I finally worked up the courage to leave the bathroom, and I walked over to where Rick was.  He was lying on the ground.  I tried to check to see if he was okay, but I think he was unconscious.  There was a bunch of blood, and his face was completely swollen.  “Oh, what am I going to do?!”  I must have cried while holding Rick on the ground there.  I could hear him wheezing like he must have had a broken rib or something.  I almost passed out myself when I heard loud knocking at the door.  “Police Department, open up!”  I quickly got up and rushed to the door.  I was not looking forward to reliving the whole mess. 

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    Waiting in his car right at Daryl’s house was detective Rodger Collins, and he was working with the regular police unit due to the assault charges that the suspect was just accused of.  The detective waited as Officer Ramirez and Officer Smith drove up to Daryl Hammond’s front door.  Once Ramirez had Mr. Hammond in custody, and placed him in the cruiser, he let Smith know that a search warrant was ordered to check the premises for narcotics.  There were a few items that the search was expected to turn up. 

    It took about an hour for the officers to search through the apartment to turn up a large bag of cocaine under the sink, and another smaller bag of prescription pain medications inside a lamp that came apart in the bedroom.  Unfortunately for Jennifer, the search found her culpable as an accessory to Daryl’s dealing operation.  While questioned, she gave up information about her boyfriend, herself, and Scott in exchange for a lesser sentence.  She spoke to a public defender who got her let off with misdemeanor probation.  She also was sent to counseling for the abusive relationship that she was in. The judge appeared to show her some leniency because she was in a terrifying situation. 

    While all this transpired, Rodger Daniels and William Googan met up by chance in a crowded shopping mall.  William attempted to avoid Rodger by turning his head away and hiding his face with his hand.  Rodger saw the clumsy attempt at hiding his identity for what it was and loudly called out an insult in the mall that drew the attention of all the shoppers.  William despised being the center of attention like that and froze in place when eyes began to turn on the two men.  Rodger continued to approach William, inflamed by the fact that he was being ignored.  Hostile words were exchanged.  As the insults and language grew coarser and disturbing, William began countering with insults of his own.  It was only a matter of a minute before the two men were exchanging blows to one another.  It was a brutal fight that left both men injured.  William had a black eye and a severely broken nose, and Rodger had a dislocated jaw, and a mild concussion when his head was slammed against an ornate marble fountain. 

Judge Francis O’Connell had a miserable week ruling on the cases between Daryl’s beating of Rick, which was ruled a hate crime.  While beating Rick, Daryle made a number of homophobic statements to the nearly dying Rick, despite claiming that it was due to a cheating situation. Not to mention the public brawl between Rodger and William. There were children who might have gotten hurt had their parents not gotten them out of harm's way. Detective Collins sighed as he gave his statement to the court regarding the narcotic sale going on in that downtown apartment and blamed the whole mess on people losing themselves to their addictions.  He had seen this kind of thing so many times in his line of work.  It wore down on him some nights, and it felt like the only escape was a nice bourbon and a cheap cigar.  It wasn’t healthy, but everything was out to kill you, or so he believed.  

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The air in the garage seems so musty this time of year, but it didn’t bother me when I was in this kind of mood.  The knife sailed across the room in perfect rhythm and landed square in the forehead of a photograph of Jeff’s face.  If that Trump loving bastard came anywhere near me or my family, this knife would be hitting flesh instead of sheetrock. I pulled the knife out of the wall with a grunt and grim determination.  The news that William and Robert beat each other senselessly and were going to jail set me off further.  It was like insanity was being served up, and everyone was looking to get a full plate.  Not me.  I have a family and I don’t play those kinds of games. Why is this shit happening?  Like, is there some kind of shit being put in the water supply? 

I spent hours looking at countless internet forums for more information about outbreaks of violence, fighting, and general discord.  It seemed like any information related to the topic of increased aggression disappeared around 2017.  It was like there was some kind of blackout, maybe?  I had no idea and researching things that didn’t pertain to East Asian art history was out of my realm of experience.  I ran my fingers through my hair and washed off the knife a moment later.  I tucked the photo of Jeff under a few boxes of lawncare supplies.  I didn’t want Sarah to see this picture with a bunch of stab holes in it.  She would probably think I am nuts, let alone what the kids might think.  I started walking back into the house and up to the bedroom when I heard Sarah on the phone.  Who was she talking to?  Probably her friend Becky or someone like that. I didn’t have to worry about anything like that.  Right? 

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Thomas watched the mall security camera footage of the brawl that took place extremely carefully.  He wanted to be certain to pause it at the right moment.  After a few attempts of looping it, he got what he wanted, a clear image of the faces of the two men locked in combat.  Yes, it was the eyes.  Something about the eyes that told some kind of story that he thought people did not want to hear.  Thomas did not think they were ready for what they were dealing with.  The next coming years will be the most difficult.  After looking at the footage a few more times, Thomas thumbed through some court documents about the resulting decisions regarding Daryl and Jennifer. Stimulants and painkillers are made a bad situation worse.  Thomas scratched the back of his heavily balded head and stroked the long stringy grey hair combed over in places.  His black suit itched him, and he would be glad to be done with the thing. 

Thomas sighed and hoisted a glass chalice of brandy up to his mouth and sipped slowly.  He then took a Tupperware that he brought from home and pulled out a few bits of meat that he saved from the night before.  “I was going to order Chinese, but I guess that you weren’t interested in having any.”  A voice came up from behind him and sounded disappointed that Thomas had decided to bring food from home.  “I am terribly sorry, but I am quite preferential in my choice of food.”  Thomas grinned up at the doctor who was an older man dressed in a lab coat.  The man seemed to shudder when Thomas bared his teeth.  It looked like Thomas scared the older man to death.  “Well, I have a few things to do here, afterward I am going to be headed off to Connecticut.”  There was a moment when Thomas tapped his scraggly chin, turned slightly and said, “Don’t be long now.  We have much work to do, Dr. Felter.”