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M Artin l uther K ing J r . Page 28 2019 special edition O PINION January 16, 2019 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Not One Network Should Have Aired Speech It was a platform to misinform and spread hate p eter C erto Way back in 2014 — a cen- tury ago, it feels like — President Barack Obama requested time on major net- works for an Oval Office address on immigration reform. Fearing the subject was too “political,” the broadcast net- works declined, plying viewers instead with The Big Bang Theory and Bones. Few Americans saw the speech. Immigration reform withered on the vines, which were then burned to the ground in the next election. Flash forward to Jan. 8, 2019. At 8:31 a.m., President Trump tweeted — again — that the “Fake News Media” was “truly the Ene- my of the People.” Hours later, at 1:44 p.m., he announced that he was going to give a speech on the “National Security crisis on our by Southern Border.” By 9 p.m. the next night, all major networks, derided only the day before as “the real Opposition Party,” were carrying the speech. How Obama’s address was “too political” for Big Bang Theory night but this one — in the mid- dle of a government shutdown of the president’s own creation — wasn’t is beyond me. Much worse than the inconsis- tency, however, is that networks aired the obviously political the need for a border wall, The Post noted, “came in the first sentence,” and the lies continued “over the course of his nine-min- ute speech.” The president complained about “a security crisis at the southern border,” even though undocumented crossings are at a 20-year low. He warned darkly that immi- grants were shedding “American blood,” even though immigrants commit crimes at far lower rates The only crisis at the border is a humanitarian one of the admin- istration’s making. Fully 57 percent of people ap- prehended at the border are fam- ilies and children, most fleeing violence and poverty and trying to (legally!) seek asylum. Trump has greeted them with tear gas, vio- lence, and cages, and blamed des- perate parents when their children die in his custody. But facts are beside the point. The point is systematic disin- The president complained about “a security crisis at the southern border,” even though undocumented crossings are at a 20-year low. He warned darkly that immigrants were shedding “American blood,” even though immigrants commit crimes at far lower rates than native-born Americans. speech knowing perfectly well it would be chock full of lies. As of last October, The Washington Post counted, Trump was telling 30 lies a day, especially about immigrants. And so it was. The first lie in Trump’s Oval Office address on than native-born Americans. He seemed unaware that most drugs come through legal ports of entry, or that most unauthorized arrivals overstay their visas, rather than sneaking across the border. A wall would help… how, exactly? formation, to the point that facts mean nothing. And besides state violence, The Nation’s George Zornick notes, this kind of climate encourages all manner of private violence. The man who killed 11 Jews in Pittsburgh cited the congrega- tion’s work settling refugees as a motive. Around the same time, three men in Kansas were arrested for plotting to murder Somali im- migrants before the election. Hate crimes have increased for three years straight, the FBI notes — continuously since the Trump campaign. Mainstream media outlets can fact check false claims all they want — that’s their job. But if they’re giving a free platform to those lies in the first place — across every network! — then Trump may have a point that they’re not acting in the best inter- est of the people. The president is going to de- monize the media no matter what they do. So what do they have to lose by doing the right thing? That means not airing one second of lies calculated to misinform, spread hate, and justify violence against desperate families. For once, air- ing Big Bang Theory reruns would have been a public service. Peter Certo is the editorial manager of the Institute for Policy Studies and the editor of Other- Words.org. Changing Your Behavior Comes From Inside Out Set goals you can see through to the end J oseph e lliCK J r . Every New Year, people tend to reeval- uate their past year and come to the con- clusion to reinvent themselves completely and that makes it difficult to not only set realistic resolutions and goals but makes it even harder to keep them. Don’t set yourself up for failure this year by vowing to make huge changes that will be hard to keep. Instead, follow these steps for successfully making a new year’s resolution and goals you can see through until the end. An abundant amount of people try to change their entire lifestyle or life at once. It will never work. Instead ask yourself, what is the one habit or goal that is most im- portant to you? After you identify your top resolution, continue to list in order of importance then at- tack them one at a time. Make each goal something by concrete so you know exactly what change you’re planning to make. If you’re successful with the first change, you can go ahead and make another change, as time permits itself. By making small changes one at a time, you still have the chance to be a whole new you at the end of the year and it’s a much more realis- tic way of doing it. Generalizing or being you aim to accomplish each of them. Want to save money? Deter- mine the amount you will put aside each month and identify ex- plicit changes in behavior you’ll make to get there, whether that means skipping your afternoon latte or carpooling to work to save on fuel costs. Want to be more or- ganized? Single out what area you would like to be more organized, whether its home, job, or extracur- goal, no matter what setbacks may occur. There is a saying that states “When the going gets tough, get tougher,” and that is exactly what you have to do. Don’t rely on willpower alone to help you change, because even the strongest person you know have their days. Instead, build in a healthy behavior that’s incom- patible with the one you want to change. So if eating your usu- al midafternoon treat runs con- Want to save money? Determine the amount you will put aside each month and identify explicit changes in behavior you’ll make to get there, whether that means skipping your afternoon latte or carpooling to work to save on fuel costs. Want to be more organized? Single out what area you would like to be more organized, whether its home, job, or extracurricular hobbies. vague about what you want to do leaves room for procrastina- tion and confusion at times. You have to be precise in your action to properly plan and map out your strategy. If you want to lose weight, target a precise number of pounds to shed, then set concrete mini-goals and the dates on which ricular hobbies. Be mentally tough. Not every day is going to be easy, the sec- ond you wake up the battle begins against your old habits. Knowing this ahead of time will prepare you for when you are tempted to break your resolution. Have the pow- er to keep moving towards your trary to your goal of dropping a few pounds, put together a small like-minded group and commit to taking a quick, brisk walk at your normal snack time. Or if you want to dedicate more time to write that book you’ve been wanting to start for years during the normal time you watch television, take out your notebook and jot down ideas. Eventually you will turn the T.V. off completely and have that nov- el half way done. Each time you put the brakes on “bad” behavior, you’ll increase your confidence in your ability to make the change. No one but you can make your resolution come true or last in your favor. Choose not to let mis- takes derail you, take a day off ev- ery once in a while, power through the tough times, and drive toward your end result. Already having a winning mindset goes a long way. When you make the decision to succeed, you leave no room to fail. Keeping track of a resolution all year long can be difficult, but only if you let it. Over the years you may have already made dras- tic changes in life that could help cultivate your goals for 2019. The important thing is to remember that successfully changing your behavior comes from the inside out. Accept that it will take small steps in the right direction to reach a positive outcome. Joseph Ellick Jr. is a newsroom editor and national news corre- spondent for the media firm Black PR Wire. He is a graduate of Flor- ida Memorial University.