Want to know just how off the rails things have gotten, there’s an organized and sanctioned rally in Washington this weekend called, “Justice for J6” put on by people who apparently think the fallout from January 6 was too harsh.

It was not harsh enough in my book. If some half naked yoga instructor wearing Viking horns and carrying a spear broke into my house for any reason, I would probably try to get him out any way possible but if he persisted, threatening myself and my family I would shoot his crazy ass. Extreme? Well, no, even a pacifist hippie teacher has his limits.

What if Mike Pence had been hanged? The gallows were set up and waiting. What if Nancy Pelosi had come out of her office at the wrong time? These are our elected officials doing business in the most sacred governmental facility and more importantly, this is the system we set up and believe is the best way to solve our problems of which we have many.

Remember way back in 2016 when we elected that candidate and my friend Miki made the comment that the lid was now off the sewer? It’s way past time to put that lid back on and the only way to do it is to convince everyone that we are better off controlling the contents of the sewer rather than letting it spill out and pollute the world.

Yes, it’s good that the crazies are out in the open, yes, it’s good that BLM and MeToo and George Floyd have led to cancelling the right people but now it’s time to get back to work. Like right now, like there are 12,000 people living under a bridge on the border of Texas, half a million people without housing in the US, not to mention a disease which turned the world upside down and now continues to turn the world upside down because a third of the population think things like it’s the mark of the beast (I have no idea what this means nor do I want to know).

“I don’t care if you like me or not, you need to listen to me and you need to tell all your friends and you…”

That doesn’t work, what does work is playing through the problems, knowing your limits, and focusing on solutions. 25 years in classrooms full of “alternative” students has taught me one simple thing, you can’t force it. Meaning no matter how delicious and helpful the water is, you can only set it out and encourage students to drink. Also, my Spidey sense has gotten pretty good at knowing when I need to intervene and when to let the organic consequences of life take over.

Don’t want to learn about two-step Algebra problems? Is it because you never learned your times tables but you did learn that by disrupting class you could drive teachers bananas and maybe create a diversion where you get the attention you so desperately need? Unhappy with the election results, maybe Democracy is not your thing, sure you can protest and get angry and not vaccinate yourself and follow crazy but will that really help get you to your end goal? And is there an end goal?

We need an independent study program for America. A place where, just like in the classroom, we can put all the people who want to swim in the excrement pool of The Big Lie. Texas would be the logical place but maybe just designating a few counties in each state for the Q people and their sympathizers to live without all those pesky rules is the answer. Then the rest of us can continue to follow science, get vaccinated, get rid of COVID, fix the lead pipes and crumbling bridges, house the people, and play the long game.