Deep Something

The Price of Political Playacting: Michael Owen’s Assault on Hillsborough Schools

July 9, 2026 B. John 72 Views 0 Comments Public Education, Hillsborough County, Culture Wars, Local Governance, school referendum, state preemption, Michael Owen, political overreach

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Hillsborough County Public Schools, the seventh-largest district in the nation, is facing a top-down assault disguised as “local accountability.” State Representative Michael Owen’s House Bill 4027 calls for a referendum to eliminate our professionally appointed superintendent in favor of a partisan elected office. The schools are already governed by an elected board of education. This change is not about transparency; it is a calculated effort to force a toxic culture-war agenda into our local classrooms and strip our school system of seasoned, professional leadership.

The structural fallout of this power grab is devastatingly clear. Instead of an experienced educational administrator focused on student performance, our district risks being handed over to a political partisan. Under an elected model, policy decisions on curriculum, budgeting, and student safety will inevitably bow to the need for campaign survival, turning every fourth year into a multi-million-dollar reelection spectacle. This essay shows how Owen’s legislative overreach, paired with his habit of distorting local facts for political points, threatens the shared institutions our children rely on.

Culture Featured Politics Constitution

The Second Declaration

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026 B. John 94 Views 0 Comments Civic Engagement, American History, Constitution, Declaration of Independence, America250, Thomas Jefferson, Historical Fiction, Democracy, John Lewis

This entry is in the series The 250th 4th

This is the 4th in a series related to this 250th Fourth of July

Imagine, for just a moment, that one of America’s Founders could return on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and quietly walk among us. What would he see? More importantly, what would he think?

In this work of historical fiction, I explore that question through the eyes of an aging observer who discovers a nation that has exceeded the dreams of 1776 in remarkable ways while, at the same time, placing many of its founding ideals in jeopardy. His journey takes him from Independence Hall to Monticello, Gettysburg, Selma, and Washington as he confronts both America’s greatest achievements and its deepest contradictions.
The result is not a history lesson or a political speech. It is a meditation on liberty, citizenship, and the unfinished work of the American experiment. Along the way, familiar figures from our past take on new meaning, old promises are reconsidered, and one unforgettable question is left for every generation to answer.

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read The Second Declaration. I suspect it may stay with you long after you’ve reached the final sentence.

Congress Constitution Election Religion Society Culture Featured Politics

What Are We Going to Do Now?

July 5, 2026July 9, 2026 B. John 121 Views 0 Comments 250th Anniversary, Democracy, Civic Engagement, Social Justice, American Democracy, Citizenship, We the People, American Values, Political Participation

This entry is in the series The 250th 4th

Essay 3 of a series examining where we are at 250 years

That question is easy to ask but far more difficult to answer. It is tempting to surrender to cynicism, retreat into anger, or simply conclude that one person’s voice no longer matters. Yet history tells a different story. Every major step toward a more just America began because ordinary people refused to believe that tomorrow had to look exactly like yesterday.

This concluding essay in my 250th Fourth of July trilogy is not about despair. It is about responsibility. It is a personal reflection on the kind of citizen I have decided to be, regardless of the political climate, and an invitation for each of us to consider the role we will play in writing America’s next chapter. Because history will move forward. The only question is whether we will help hold the pen.

Deep Thoughts Featured Politics

The Unfinished Work

July 4, 2026July 15, 2026 B. John 167 Views 1 Comment Civic Engagement, American Democracy, American History, progress, We the People, Civil Rights, Social Justice, Patriotism

This entry is in the series The 250th 4th

Essay 2 of a series examining where we are at 250 years

For much of my lifetime, I believed that America, despite all its flaws and failures, was moving steadily toward becoming a more inclusive and just nation. Progress was never perfect. It was never guaranteed. Yet generation after generation expanded the promise of “We the People,” extending rights, opportunity, and dignity to more Americans than the generations before them.

Today, that confidence has been shaken. In this essay, I reflect on the long arc of America’s progress, the forces that have widened our democracy, and why I believe we are experiencing an unprecedented period of democratic and civil rights retrenchment. More importantly, I argue that progress has never been inevitable. It has always depended on ordinary citizens choosing to continue the unfinished work of building a more perfect Union.

This is not simply an essay about politics. It is an essay about stewardship, citizenship, and the enduring question that has defined America since its founding: Who counts?

Culture Featured Places Kings Mountain Politics

The Promise and the Pain of 250 Years

July 2, 2026July 9, 2026 B. John 257 Views 1 Comment Declaration of Independence, American History, Civil Rights, More Perfect Union, Patriotism, John Lewis, Fourth of July, Constitution, American Democracy

This entry is in the series The 250th 4th

Essay 1 of a series examining where we are at 250 years

For many Americans, the Fourth of July is a celebration filled with fireworks, flags, and patriotic pride. But as our nation marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I find myself looking back to the optimism of the 1976 Bicentennial and wondering what became of the country I believed we were becoming. This is not a rejection of America, but a lament for a promise that feels increasingly out of reach.

The Declaration was never meant to be proof that America had achieved liberty and equality. It was an invitation for every generation to continue the work of building a more perfect Union. As constitutional norms erode and our politics become more divided, I struggle to celebrate, but I also remember John Lewis’ reminder never to surrender to despair. Patriotism, perhaps, is not blind celebration, but the willingness to keep defending the ideals that first gave birth to this nation.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Legislature Society Crack Pots

Is Karen Gonzalez-Pittman Representing South Tampa or Tallahassee?

June 29, 2026 B. John 182 Views 0 Comments South Tampa, Karen Gonzalez Pittman, Home Rule, local control, Tallahassee preemption, housing policy, infill redevelopment, school boards, wage recovery

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

Karen Gonzalez-Pittman represents South Tampa, but her voting record raises a fair question: is she representing this community, or carrying Tallahassee’s agenda back home? Again and again, she has voted for bills that take decision-making power away from local governments, local school boards, and local voters.

From housing and tenant protections to infill redevelopment, school policy, civilian oversight, and local employment standards, Gonzalez-Pittman has sided with state preemption over home rule. For South Tampa, where traffic, flooding, housing pressure, schools, and neighborhood character are intensely local concerns, that record deserves much closer scrutiny.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Legislature

Josie Tomkow’s Record Shows Tallahassee Comes First

June 26, 2026June 26, 2026 B. John 223 Views 0 Comments Home Rule, local control, Tallahassee preemption, Public Schools, South Tampa, Senate District 14, Hillsborough County, Josie Tomkow, Brian Nathan

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

Florida Republicans love to talk about freedom, but their voting records often tell a very different story. Over and over again, Tallahassee politicians have voted to take decision-making power away from local communities, local governments, and local school boards. Josie Tomkow’s record in the Florida House is a clear example.

Tomkow is now running again against Brian Nathan in Senate District 14, asking Tampa-area voters to send her back to Tallahassee. But when she served in the House representing Polk County, she repeatedly voted for state preemption over local control, including on housing, zoning, infill redevelopment, civilian oversight, and public schools.

That matters here. Tampa and Hillsborough County deserve representation rooted in this community, not another vote for Tallahassee control. The question for voters is simple: if Tomkow voted this way in the House, why should anyone expect her to vote differently in the Senate?

Legislature Featured Politics Election

Tallahassee Keeps Telling Local Communities to Sit Down

June 23, 2026 B. John 243 Views 1 Comment Home Rule, Preemption, local democracy, Hillsborough County, worker protections, Florida Legislature, heat safety, Tallahassee, zoning

This entry is in the series 2026 Elections

This entry is in the series Florida Legislature

There is a word in Florida politics that sounds dry enough to cure insomnia but is quietly reshaping life in our communities: preemption.

Preemption is what happens when Tallahassee tells local governments they are not allowed to solve local problems. In recent years, the Legislature has used it to block local worker protections, weaken local control over zoning and development, and shift more decisions away from the people who actually live with the consequences.

My latest article examines this growing pattern, including Florida’s ban on local heat protections for outdoor workers, recent development bills that override local planning, and the legislators who keep voting to shift power away from communities and into the state’s hands. This is not just a procedural fight. It is about whether local democracy still means anything when powerful interests want it out of the way.

Featured Places Kings Mountain Tampa Stoicism Culture

The Decision Was Mine-The Outcome Was Not

June 18, 2026 B. John 227 Views 1 Comment decision-making, uncertainty, job loss, self-respect, Stoicism, Resilience, Dichotomy of Control, wisdom, regret

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Lately, life has been asking for more decisions than usual. Not small ones, but the kind that seem to carry a future inside them. Work. Money. Health insurance. A parent’s care. A funeral. An estate. What to keep. What to let go. What to protect. What to release. In this season, I have learned that decision-making is not only a matter of logic. It also carries emotional weight, especially when the outcome remains uncertain.

In this essay, I reflect on a difficult job-search decision that still brings occasional regret, and how Stoic philosophy helps me think about it more clearly. The Stoics remind us that we can control the care, judgment, and integrity we bring to a decision. We cannot control the outcome. That distinction does not eliminate uncertainty, but it does offer a kind of mercy. Sometimes the best we can do is choose honestly from the place where we stand, then release what was never fully ours to command.

Religion Society Methodism Stoicism Featured Politics

What We Choose Together

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026 B. John 424 Views 0 Comments Stoicism, government, justice, Civic Engagement, common good, Faith250, Citizenship, The New Colossus, public life

This entry is in the series Journey Through Stoicism

Politics can make otherwise reasonable people turn strange. It can harden conversations, flatten human beings into talking points, and tempt us into anger, contempt, or despair. But avoiding public life entirely is also a moral choice. If government is, as Barney Frank once said, “the things we choose to do together,” then citizenship is one of the places where our values become visible.

This essay reflects on a recent Citizen Engagement training at Hyde Park United Methodist, the beginning of the Faith250 series, and Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” as a way into a larger question: what does a Stoic owe to public life? The answer is not withdrawal. It is disciplined participation, rooted in justice, guided by wisdom, restrained by temperance, and sustained by courage.

The Stoic citizen does not control the whole outcome. But we can still show up with clarity. We can still speak truth without surrendering to hatred. We can still widen the circle, lift a lamp, and choose together as wisely and justly as we can.

Featured Places Tampa Politics Society

When Principle Gets Called Partisan

June 11, 2026June 12, 2026 B. John 266 Views 0 Comments motivated reasoning, Democracy, confirmation bias, public discourse, moral principles, Civic Engagement, civic responsibility, partisanship, political bias

After a civic engagement event I helped organize, a woman approached me with a question that stayed with me. She wondered what a similar event held by “the other side” might look like. Would they just sit around saying ugly things about “us”? When I explained that our event was designed to be nonpartisan, focused only on helping people engage with public officials on whatever issue mattered to them, she looked at me and said, “Well, I’m here to tell you this was definitely partisan.”

That moment got me thinking about the difference between being partisan and being principled. We often call something partisan because it actually promotes a party, candidate, or ideology. But sometimes we use the word because something made us uncomfortable, challenged our assumptions, or touched a moral concern we have already sorted into a political box.

This essay explores how bias shapes what we hear, why two people can sit in the same room and experience almost different events, and why civic responsibility itself has started to feel suspicious in our divided culture. Democracy cannot survive if every effort to help people use their voice gets treated as a political threat.

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