Standardized trends-not!

What is happening to us? What is happening to our country? Angry crowds are marching in a dozen major cities  calling for justice over recent police killings in New York City, Ferguson and elsewhere. More than a dozen state attorney generals are suing the President over his immigration reforms. Rape is either rampant — or it’s not — on many major college campuses. Heading into its second open enrollment period, Obamacare’s public approval ratings are still as bad as those for Congress, the President and Ebola. And, as always, student test scores could be better.
We are told there are major trends that point to a different future for us and America. Of course things are changing. But are we all part of the same trends and predictions? What is true?
We get tricked — and even scared — into believing the worst when we listen to too much major media or talk show tantrums. But, when we look around more closely at our own lives and community, we stop seeing trends and statistics. We see real lives.
It is never a good thing to paint with too broad a brush. And it’s worse when you use the wrong brush to boot.
We don’t need to debate whether there is a national trend of increased police violence or a racial divide in America. We have our case of the Andy Lopez killing by Deputy Erick Gelhaus. That tragic incident has exposed a serious problem over a lack of trust for law enforcement officers in many of our neighborhoods. Some of us feel safer around our uniformed police and some of us feel fear. That’s not a trend; it’s a problem.
Taking positive action as a community is far better than yelling back at a radio or making violence in the street. In Sonoma County we have created a community-wide task force to seek better police-community relations, different law enforcement training and possibly new citizen oversight of our police, sheriff and courts.
Immigration is not a story about President Obama, a contrarian Congress or fear of invading terrorists. We have been living the real immigration story in Sonoma County and California for a long, long time. Without law reforms, local Latino families that have lived here for two or more generations could be torn apart under antiquated laws. Longtime, reliable workers could be lost to our agriculture and other industries. We need immigration laws that draw a clear path to citizenship and that deport violent criminals.
Arguments over Obamacare may last for years to come. But there is no argument about the Affordable Care Act in Sonoma County. In just one year, half (15,000) of the county’s previously uninsured now have medical insurance. Thousands of others are now enrolled in Medi-Cal. Rate increases for the rest of us will be some of the smallest we’ve experienced in years. If that’s a trend, we welcome it.
When you gather enough statistics about rape, other violent crimes, police shootings or racial incidents you can support just about any conclusion you want. It gives new meaning to “raw” data.
Take student test scores for example. Standardized tests can tell us whatever we want to hear. We’ve learned that measuring our local students’ achievements against state and national averages doesn’t tell us very much.
Maybe it’s the same for the other parts of our community. Instead of getting measured by standardized trends or statistics, we should keep our own score. We don’t need to check the national media to find our own stories.
We do believe our America is changing and some of it is troubling. But the best we can do about that is keep doing what we’re already doing — whether we fit into somebody’s trend or not.
— Rollie Atkinson