Shooting in the Covid Part IX: Fall at Wahkeena

As noted in previous blogs, it is just a wonder to do photography in the fall. This fall was made even more wonderful as anytime I’ve been able to get outside in nature has been a treat. Just leaving the house is a treat. My friend, Bruce, and I have been going out to hike (limp) and shoot every few weeks throughout the fall. Getting outside of the city is safer, and Bruce has introduced me to some great places that are easy drives from Columbus. We drive out separately, wear masks and we keep a comfortable distance. My time with Bruce has been something special because we share much in common, we love photography, and it has become a unique opportunity to be with another human being who isn’t loading groceries into my car.

Wahkeena Nature Preserve is an interesting place in terms of its geology, ecology, biology and also its history. It is located just beyond the glaciers that covered a good part of the state of Ohio in similar terrain that you find in the Hocking Hills. It is in the same Appalachian foothills region. There are trails all over the preserve; some that circle a beautiful lake covered with lily pads and some that journey in multiple directions throughout the woods. The wooded areas are pines and deciduous trees and the forest floors are covered with ferns. There is a boardwalk over a wetlands area and streams and creeks are found throughout the park. Wildflowers are everywhere, even in the fall.

A doctor in Columbus purchased a farm as a wedding gift for his new bride in the 1930s. She named the farm Wahkeena, a Yakama word that means ‘most beautiful.’ They transformed their farm into a beautiful nature preserve. They created a lake, ponds and wetlands. They planted thousands of trees and gardens.

The family left the preserve to the Ohio Historical Society, and today Wahkeena is managed by Fairfield County Parks. They have a nature center and an excellent education program.

Bruce and I made two trips to Wahkeena, once in the early fall (mid-September) and the second during peak color season in central Ohio (mid-October).

The election is over. It remains to be determined whether we are going to be a democracy. This election, more than any other, revealed that so much of our democratic process exists as informal cultural norms, as opposed to enforceable laws. Congress will have to decide whether they will create laws to protect our democracy, or if the need for wiggle room in elections will rationalize the status quo. What do I mean by wiggle room? I mean very undemocratic cheating. Voter suppression, primarily of Black voters. Gerrymandering which ensures that state and congressional incumbents are protected by those in power through the census and drawing of undemocratic congressional districts. The determination that money is speech, giving wildly disproportionate power in elections and governance to wealthy individuals and corporations.

I wrote previously about the need for our country to repair our election process. I gave an assignment which asked you to do some research about the history of the vote for Blacks, women, Native Americans, and people who serve in our military who are not citizens of the United States. I hope you’ve done your homework. For a country that prides itself on being the greatest democracy on the face of the earth, our history is shameful. Our current practices continue this tradition of hypocrisy, cynicism, prejudice, and discrimination. When the lust for power becomes more important than our democratic principles, we are in some very deep trouble. And that is precisely where we are, and where we’ve been.

It is so important that we understand the origins of the electoral college. Our founding fathers did not trust the American people to elect a white man (and landowner) that had the qualities necessary to lead our country and to run our government. It does require a set of important skills which has become ever more obvious from our experience over the last four years. A democracy requires an informed electorate. When our constitution was drafted, the white guys were concerned that Joe Farmer might be getting all his information from Facebook, Twitter, and whacked out web sites, radio talk shows and propaganda-like television news. That wasn’t the kind of informed they had in mind. Their concern was that Joe Farmer could possibly become enthralled with some fast-talking, marketing charlatan, join a cult of personality, and elect this highly unqualified orange person to lead our country. Driven by their concerns, they established our elections such that when people vote, they aren’t directly voting for the president; they are voting for a slate of state electors. Those electors were not bound to vote in accordance with their state’s popular vote. Thus, if Farmers Joe, Jack and Jim voted for some orange guy, the electors could meet in December, after the election, and put an appropriate, qualified white guy into the presidency.

Currently, about a quarter of the states require, through their laws, that the electors vote for the person who received the popular vote in their state. That means that in three-quarters of the states, the electors can decide to vote for whomever they choose. They don’t, but they could. None of those people are on the ballot. I haven’t the slightest idea how one gets to be an elector, nor who they are, and I try to pay attention to these things. I’m going to guess that they are people active in a state’s political parties.

One ‘man,’ one vote. Not so much.

States run elections in the United States of America. For elections to be fair, we need a national standard that creates accountability, transparency and consistency in the process. Voter registration, the length of time voting goes on, for how many days ballots are allowed to be counted, and procedures for voting should be the same in every state. To do otherwise is unfair and makes no sense. And mail ballots should be permitted for every election in every state. I do all of my banking online. I pay my taxes online. I register my driver's license online. I shop online. I conduct all of my health care issues online. And social security and Medicare want me to do everything online. And we're concerned about security and fairness in regard to voting by mail? That just doesn't pass the straight face test.

Ohio has used mail in balloting for years. We are a red state. All our statewide elected officials are republicans. Every election for years has been run by a republican secretary of state. No one complains about elections in Ohio. And we accept ballots for ten days after an election, so long as they are postmarked by election day.

Do we really need the electoral college? Are we really too stupid and irresponsible to be a democracy? We need to do a much better job of conducting this voting process. Throughout my life, America has sold itself around the world as a democracy. A great way to understand this notion is the anthropological concept of the ideal versus the real culture. If an anthropologist wants to learn about the ideal, we ask a member of the society to describe it. If an anthropologist wants to learn about the real culture, we observe it. There are often differences between what we think we are and what we really are.

Our ideal political process could be described as the most enduring democracy of any nation on the face of the earth. The real culture, however, determined from observing our past and our current behavior is that we fall far short of being a great democracy. In fact, we’re pretty much a half-assed democracy. If we’re going to make it difficult for people to vote, and deny the vote to so many, and discourage others from voting, we’re not a great democracy. And that’s where we are.

President Washington had serious concerns about the political party system. I share his concerns. When allegiance to political party becomes more important than reverence for the country, Washington’s concerns become realized in the starkest fashion. We would do fine without political parties. When the lust for power drives the political process, we've lost our connection to the constitution and our democratic principles.

Election day should be a national holiday. No one should be hindered from voting.

The Orange Emperor has spent the past few weeks sulking about the election. He’s never spent too much time governing, nor had much interest in this endeavor. He’s been way too busy orchestrating a coup d’état with the help of his silent republican senators. Thus far that hasn’t been working out well for him. He lost by too many votes to pull off the coup. It was, however, a good try. While he’s been busy attempting to create something far worse than a half-assed democracy, the virus has been spreading like crazy, including in the Whitehouse and in his family.

Our governor and health director in Ohio established a color code to signify the level of infection rate and caution to be observed by residents. Much of the state has been in red over the past month as the virus has spread uncontrollably. Last week, my county attained purple. We are the first county for the first time to hit the highest level of danger. The governor has established a curfew and limited gatherings. We’re also under a stay at home advisory. I know that this is going on all over the country. I also noticed on the news last night that airports across the country were packed in advance of thanksgiving. We look to be totally screwed.

I’m going to be home for thanksgiving and thankful to have a home.

I’m thankful for my family and friends.

I’m thankful for my health and financial security.

I’m thankful for the life experiences I shared with Pauline.

I’m thankful to have Nancy in my life.

I’m thankful that you take the time to read my blogs and look at my photographs.

I’m thankful to live in such a wonderful country that aspires to be a great democracy. My grandparents – my ancestors – did not have freedom and escaped their homelands to leave behind the absence of hope and oppression rooted in prejudice. They came to this land of freedom for all of what this country promises. They came here without an education and without knowing a word of English. They came here with no money, and only the belongings they could carry in a bag. They found a land of opportunity. I’m thankful for their courage to find this new life which I benefit from every single day.

I’m thankful to live in a country that allows dissent and enshrines in our constitution my right to criticize what we aspire to be and have not yet achieved. We need to be better. I am hopeful that we will work together to be better. Eventually.

Happy thanksgiving.