Allen Mesch

Statue of President Abraham Lincoln and Little Known Author
(Author’s Photograph)

On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the following Thanksgiving Proclamation:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not (sic cannot) fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

During a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. The population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens (sic fellow citizens) in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington, this 3d (sic 3^rd) day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth. — Abraham Lincoln

I am disappointed to be writing this post. I have held adjunct faculty positions at Texas Women’s University, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Texas at Dallas. I have also taught classes in the SAIL program at Collin College. I am shocked about the events at the University of Texas at Arlington. How can the University tolerate such bad behavior?

This is not about disagreements about the Hamas-Israeli War. Rather my post is about how students and a university administration should behave. Let me begin with what I believe the college and university experience should look like.

Students Attend College to Learn

In order to learn new ideas and gain new skills, students must listen. They should also engage in meaningful and respectful conversations with fellow students and faculty. They should be open to ideas and viewpoints that are new, different from their beliefs, and from various perspectives. They should learn how to differentiate between facts and fiction.

Students Attend College to Interact with People with Different Beliefs and Backgrounds

College can be a great place to meet people from different countries, who speak different languages, eat different food, and have different customs. We live in a global economy and students should embrace the opportunity to expand their geographic universe. This is also a chance to apply new information that alters biases and typecasting. Students who stick to their own little group miss this chance to become citizens of the world.

Students Should Learn to Respect the Ideas of Others

Simply put, this means engaging your ears before you engage your mouth. Respecting the views of others means listening to what they say without interruption. Bullying and browbeating someone who shares different views has no place on a college campus.

University Administrators Should Not Accept Outrageous Classroom Behavior

University administrators and faculty have a responsibility to educate their students. This education applies to classroom material and behavior. Students who show no respect for their professors do not belong on campus. They interfere with other students who are there to learn not to be intimidated. Students who do not understand this or respect the common rules of decency should not be allowed in the classroom. As far as I know, the University of Arlington has administered no punitive action on these students who verbally attacked their professor and other students. Shame on you. The lack of response opens the way to violence against other students and faculty. The university should be a “safe” place for the entire community.

University Administrators Should Not Gag Faculty

Putting all the blame on faculty members, especially those who are bold enough to host controversial subjects, destroys academic freedom and politicizes education. Catering to the desires of groups of students by creating a mountain of paperwork and approvals destroys the ability of the faculty to teach.

How Would I Handle the Situation?

If I was presiding over a classroom where a student would not let me teach, I would politely ask the student to stop interrupting, ask if they would like to talk to me in private, or ask them to leave the room so others could learn. I asked my wife, a former kindergarten teacher, how she would deal with the situation. She said she would remove the rest of the class from the offending student. In my case, she suggested that I end the class and dismiss the students. The offending student would lose his audience.

Consequences

Texas politics and open-carry gun legislation have already hurt state universities’ ability to attract students and faculty. What esteemed professor would want to teach at a school where the administration does not have his back? What student would want to attend a school where the administration fails to provide a safe learning environment?

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David to Aaliyah

(my soon to be baby cousin)

Well Aaliyah, I’ll tell you:

Life for me has been a retro video game.

It’s had its golden moments,

And it’s had its shooting stars,

But it never ceased to change,

Just level after level, world after world.

BORING.

Though all this time I’ve been raging after “game over,”

And smashing my controller,

And whacking the buttons with my sweaty fingers,

And pivoting the joystick around and around,

Where anger and furiosity take over.

So, baby cousin, don’t try to be like everyone else.

Don’t be a follower,

Because you can be a leader!

Don’t let others use intimidation to control your actions.

For I still have your back,

Just keep moving forward and commit to your actions,

Because I’ll tell you – life for me has been a retro video game.

Written by my grandson David in 2016.

This poem was written by my grandson David when he was 13 years old to his unborn cousin Aaliyah.

It seems that I may have a future author and poet in my family.

Oh by the way, Aaliyah means “high-born” or “exalted” and David means “beloved.” The names seem to fit.