Not Foolin'

Despite the 1st of April

It was March 31st and the traditional April’s Fools Day post on the GFF substack/blog was on the line. But April First came and went. I simply decided not to participate. Or maybe, I am, but in a different way and in my own time.

There has been a long-standing tradition with the Genuine Faux Farm blog that I write a farm-related April Fool’s Day post. While it sometimes landed on April 2 because I didn’t find time to write it UNTIL April 1, the intent was to come up with crazy farm things and go into full “silly creative mode” for one post.

And for those that know me well enough, I can be pretty silly sometimes.

Other than a link or two to prior entries, my appetite for that sort of thing has declined of late. If you need some light-hearted fun, feel free to take one of those links and enjoy it. Otherwise, read on!

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Grandpa Pepper - courtesy Sam Larimer

Willing to be a fool

I am like most of you. I don’t like looking stupid. I don’t enjoy making mistakes or looking lost while others watch. I very much prefer to appear as if I know what I am doing and have a very good understanding of what I am talking about. In fact, there was a time when fear of these things would either cripple me or cause me to do the wrong thing.

I guess there is a positive side to being an introvert. I am not inclined to speak often or act publicly. So, I already tend to avoid situations that put me into bad situations.

Other than that, there IS good news as far as I am concerned. While I still like to be a big kid about many things, I chose to grow up and be willing to be a fool. I learned how to accept that I have erred and admit my mistakes publicly in hopes that others could avoid them or learn with me. I have figured out how to accept that my thoughts and my understandings could be wrong, even if that is hard to do. And I believe that there is both power and healing in admitting I didn’t, don’t and never will know everything.

It’s actually a skill that any good educator uses to facilitate learning. Show your learning and your errors as a model for others to emulate.

Am I always perfect in the execution? Not even close. But it is often at the top of my mind, which means I am always trying to get better at it.

It might seem odd for me to say it - but my willingness to be a “fool” is also an important part of acting with integrity and being genuine. If I were to pretend that I am never foolish, that I always know the best answers, and that I never make a mistake, I would not be worthy of trust nor would I be a good choice to hold important responsibilities.

When I see people who are in positions of power that are unwilling to acknowledge their own foolishness, that’s when I believe we have the wrong people in those places.

Well folks, we have the wrong people in places of power right now. I don’t care if you are red or blue, elephant or donkey, conservative or liberal - we are in the wrong place with the wrong people calling the shots. And we are all fools for not just letting it happen - we helped to make it happen. All of us.

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Wearing the label “Fool”

While I admit that I am willing to be a “fool” that accepts my imperfection, I do grow tired of being labeled a fool because of who I am. For example, I have been told to my face (more than once) that I am a fool for trying to raise local food the way we do at the Genuine Faux Farm. Sometimes the person making the statement uses a mocking tone. Sometimes they employ a threatening tone. And sometimes there is a dismissive tone.

But none of those tones leave any room for improvement. Not for me and certainly not for them.

I’ve also been told, indirectly, that I am a fool by at least one Iowa Legislator in the current session as I have been engaged in trying to stop the Lawsuit Immunity for Pesticide Companies bill. Senator Dickey accused me of not reading the bill and proceeded to tell me that my letter “was full of canned, misinformed, internet talking points.”

Never mind that I have been the author of many of those “misinformed talking points.” And never mind that I took the time to edit and personalize my own letter. And never mind the fact that I probably know the bill better than most legislators if only because I have concentrated on it while they have many other bills to consider. And let’s not even begin to point out that Senator Dickey’s talking points are based on another set of “internet talking points.”

I would have been willing to discuss how I might be wrong. But the response I got gave me no useful feedback. I was simply… wrong… and foolish for being willing to speak out. Foolish for not simply accepting the the Senator’s side of the story. You know, the story he accepted that was handed to him by the Modern Ag Coaltion and pesticide companies.

I will admit that maybe I was foolish for thinking this individual would actually listen. But that certainly wasn’t the reasons he thought I was foolish.

Let’s just say I have no respect for that particular Iowa Senator at this point - especially when I hear this may be a typical response style. It’s just a shame that they weren’t willing to be foolish enough to learn how the EPA’s pesticide registration process works or what is required to bring litigation against pesticide companies. Both of those are critical to understanding what this legislation would do - and he clearly exhibited a lack of knowledge necessary to make an informed decision.

This person chose to be foolish in a way that failed to recognize their own foolishness. No learning. No improvement. No interest in figuring out the best way to represent Iowans.

Meanwhile, I spoke with both Senator Garrett and his spouse (who serves as his aide when the Senate is in session). Both were polite and allowed me to speak. Both at least gave the appearance of listening. Senator Garrett offered countering opinions and listened while I responded. I sensed we were not in agreement, but I did not sense disrespect or an unwillingness to consider other ideas.

Senator Garrett still voted for the Lawsuit Immunity bill. And yes, I am disappointed that he did. But I consider that partly my error and my foolishness, for I did not provide enough evidence and I was not persistent enough in doing so. Senator Garrett did, at least, provide opportunity to discuss. But it is not required that he must agree with me.

I can respect that, even if I am very disappointed in his decision on the subject.

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Carrotman to the rescue! - courtesy Sam Larimer

So, let’s be fools together!

As I wrote in my last entry, I recognize that we are all growing tired of the upheaval and difficulties that are being brought to the United States by those who are in leadership right now. I also tried to encourage you and me to keep working to resist and make our voices heard. But that is tiring work unless we have a vision of the world we would rather be living in.

And that’s where my brain has been going lately. But in order to do that, we still have to push back.

So, here is my most recent list of things we can be doing in an effort to resist AND get an opportunity to repair, redeem and renew.

1. I’ve noticed that the Senators in many states are typically more widely influenced by big business. Especially members of the Republican party right now.

Senators at the state level typically have longer terms and face re-election challenges far less often. Since there are more lobbyists for business or organizations that have strong business influence, it is probably inevitable that many of them eventually lose touch with the needs of the people they represent.

The members of the House, on the hand, have two year terms in most (all?) states. While this often makes them susceptible to pursuing some badly misinformed legislation, they do seem to respond to the people more readily.

My conclusion? Perhaps we need to be engaging with our House Representatives A LOT more. And, we need to elect new Senators in every state of the nation. Each of us should be keeping our own memory books so we can push them out and start with fresh faces that will remember that it’s the people who live here they serve, not the businesses who want to control those people.

Here are a few specifics we can all keep in our back pocket for the next election cycle. I have already mentioned Senator Adrian Dickey’s unwillingness to engage in a constructive manner, so I’ll leave that there. But I would also like to point out that Senate President Amy Sinclair stated that the House was “entitled to their wrong opinion” about the lawsuit immunity bill. And Speaker of the House Pat Grassley is also a proponent of the bill, working to try and find ways to use indirect methods to get the bill through in Appropriations or as part of another bill in 2024. I wouldn’t doubt he could try again this year if he perceives public outcry has declined. And finally, we should remember that Senator Mike Bousselot was the floor manager for the lawsuit immunity bill.

These are some of the people who have placed the needs of big business too high on their priority lists. I will remember that, and I hope you do too.

2. Be less of bad fool and more of a good fool. Find reliable information sources!

For Iowa legislative news, I am finding work by Laura Belin and Iowa Public Radio to be objective and accurate. It is thanks to both of these sources that I was able to locate the video clips of Grassley and Sinclair linked above.

On a national level, I strongly appreciate the efforts by Heather Cox Richardson. As an amateur historian, I appreciate that she is writing to record so people in the future can look back and understand what is happening today. By doing that work, she also provides me (and you) with a report of daily events. As a professional American Historian, she is also able to provide context that is very important to for understanding what is happening now.

I recognize that some readers might make a claim that I am showing a liberal bias. But let me remind you that the people who are currently in power nationally and in Iowa claim to be Conservative Republicans. If you are looking at sources that seem unable to clearly look at and be appropriately critical of those in power, they are not useful.

I would feel (and did feel) the same way if a resource did not objectively point out shortcomings for the Obama or Clinton administrations at the Federal level or Vilsack as Iowa Governor and US Secretary of Ag. For example, I wrote this critique of the USDA as Vilsack was about to enter the USDA position.

3. Why I am pushing back.

Let me now offer up a very interesting article by a long-time Conservative, David Brooks.

Brooks discusses in this article how he should have realized earlier that there were “two types of Conservatives.” There were those who were interested in the ideas and policies, a group to which he gravitated. Then, there were those who were more interested in being provocative and adversarial towards Liberals.

In the latter case, the interest was only in gaining and holding power - not serving the people of the state or nation. These individuals were (and are) willing to result to bullying, lying and manipulating to achieve their dual goals of becoming powerful and harming those they disagree with. In the process, they are fine with harming those who put them in power if it will serve their goals.

The ends (gaining & maintaining power while hurting your opposition) seem to always justify the means for the Republicans currently in power. Which makes them doubly damaging. Their goal is to cause harm and they don’t care if their methods cause more injury nor do they care who it hurts.

There was a time when I appreciated having two (or more) parties with different reasonable ideas to consider. There was a time when I thought there were people in each political party that truly wanted to find the best ways for us all to live and work together. And I would appreciate having that again, even it was badly flawed and there were plenty of blind spots.

But now I watch, horrified as the most powerful Republicans resort to bullying techniques, ignoring facts and doing all they can to hurt people they feel are “their enemies.”

When it’s about hurting someone else, it shouldn’t be worth your support. And that’s exactly what is happening right now.

Now we have to unite in opposition. But while we’re at it, let’s start building that model of what we would rather be living.

I’ve got some ideas. How about you?