I don't mean to imply the last few days or months went flawlessly. There are things I would have done differently for Jerome if given a second chance. I let him get all the way to maggots in his fur, whereas if I had let him go a day earlier, he wouldn't have had to experience that. If I had made the appointment earlier with the housecall vet, I wouldn't have had to put Jerome through a sudden trip to the vet as his last memory (though I think whatever Donya did seemed to have tranquilized him a great deal before we even left the house.) But I think these are just the flaw in the tapestry. Times like birth and death are the territory of the Mystery, where we don't get to know exactly what to do. There is no right and wrong. Dealing with an animal who doesn't speak English makes this all the more clear; sometimes you just don't hear what they're saying and have to make a difficult call. All we can do is be as present as possible, and learn from the experience without self-judgment. It is really a magnificent adventure, as life always is if we let it be.
Jerome obviously didn't stop being my teacher, even in death. Thanks, little dude.
Monday, June 11, 2007
RIP Jerome the cat
Jerome the cat passed on June 8, 2007. He was 17 years old.
Jerome came into my life magically. In 1990, after moving back to Tucson from New Orleans, I told the universe I wanted a black cat. Soon after this, my friend Karen called me and told me a black cat had wandered into her yard and would I like him? He was around 6 months old when I took him in.
Karen had been calling him Wally. I wanted a classier name, because he was so devastatingly handsome and sleek. I named him after Jerome Kimsey, the drummer in Sam Taylor’s band, because they both wear black all the time. I gradually discovered that Jerome the cat was not exactly a picture of grace, though – he was always falling off of things and knocking stuff over. I probably should have kept Wally.
As an adolescent, Jerome liked to unroll the toilet paper all the way through my apartment. Another charming habit of his was killing birds on the pillow right next to my head as I slept, leaving certain unwanted organs, feet, and birdseed for me in the morning. He was always a generous boy.
Aside from the usual cat preferences of things like stinky fish and baby birds, Jerome liked corn chips, refried beans, and beer. He was a very affectionate boy and slept under the covers with me every night. Before the duty was taken over by “the dog” (to be said with an air of indignation and condescension,) Jerome would come running out to greet me every time I came home. In his prime he was a big strapping panther; in his old age he was skin and bones and light as a feather. He gave kisses just like a dog, and never let a lap sit empty. He liked it when I played my nylon-string guitar. Watching the toilet flush was the ultimate ecstatic experience for him.
He was also a healer. When I was having any sort of health issue, Jerome would lay on or near the trouble spot. Believe it or not, he also did this for Stella the dog.
The most important things Jerome brought me were lessons about how to do life. He handled change at a glacial pace, but he handled it with a grace and self-love I aspire to. It took him about three years to adjust to having a dog in the house. But after that, Jerome was the boss. When we changed apartments, he slept under the bed for a year, but then he was back to normal. He taught me about slowness, patience, gentility, and boundaries.
Jerome began to have bad breath about a year and a half ago. I put it down to old age, but he got really sick in late December and his vet told me he had a mouth infection compounded by kidney failure. She said I would hopefully get a few good months with him. The last five months have been a very educational process of daily saline injections and almost constant antibiotics. The daily injection became a sacred act between us, where I learned to listen to Jerome’s needs and balance respect for his space with “tough love.”
A few weeks ago Jerome began firmly refusing medication, and he made himself a little hospice in a corner of the yard under some oleanders, on a bed of leaves and dusty pink flowers. He spent his last days here peacefully, and he made it clear when it was time to take the final trip to the vet. My friend Donya came over and did energy work with Jerome and calmed him in his final hour. My sister Jenny carried me through the process, and she and her partner Barry took care of me for the rest of the day after the procedure.
Rest in peace, little man.
Jerome came into my life magically. In 1990, after moving back to Tucson from New Orleans, I told the universe I wanted a black cat. Soon after this, my friend Karen called me and told me a black cat had wandered into her yard and would I like him? He was around 6 months old when I took him in.
Karen had been calling him Wally. I wanted a classier name, because he was so devastatingly handsome and sleek. I named him after Jerome Kimsey, the drummer in Sam Taylor’s band, because they both wear black all the time. I gradually discovered that Jerome the cat was not exactly a picture of grace, though – he was always falling off of things and knocking stuff over. I probably should have kept Wally.
As an adolescent, Jerome liked to unroll the toilet paper all the way through my apartment. Another charming habit of his was killing birds on the pillow right next to my head as I slept, leaving certain unwanted organs, feet, and birdseed for me in the morning. He was always a generous boy.
Aside from the usual cat preferences of things like stinky fish and baby birds, Jerome liked corn chips, refried beans, and beer. He was a very affectionate boy and slept under the covers with me every night. Before the duty was taken over by “the dog” (to be said with an air of indignation and condescension,) Jerome would come running out to greet me every time I came home. In his prime he was a big strapping panther; in his old age he was skin and bones and light as a feather. He gave kisses just like a dog, and never let a lap sit empty. He liked it when I played my nylon-string guitar. Watching the toilet flush was the ultimate ecstatic experience for him.
He was also a healer. When I was having any sort of health issue, Jerome would lay on or near the trouble spot. Believe it or not, he also did this for Stella the dog.
The most important things Jerome brought me were lessons about how to do life. He handled change at a glacial pace, but he handled it with a grace and self-love I aspire to. It took him about three years to adjust to having a dog in the house. But after that, Jerome was the boss. When we changed apartments, he slept under the bed for a year, but then he was back to normal. He taught me about slowness, patience, gentility, and boundaries.
Jerome began to have bad breath about a year and a half ago. I put it down to old age, but he got really sick in late December and his vet told me he had a mouth infection compounded by kidney failure. She said I would hopefully get a few good months with him. The last five months have been a very educational process of daily saline injections and almost constant antibiotics. The daily injection became a sacred act between us, where I learned to listen to Jerome’s needs and balance respect for his space with “tough love.”
A few weeks ago Jerome began firmly refusing medication, and he made himself a little hospice in a corner of the yard under some oleanders, on a bed of leaves and dusty pink flowers. He spent his last days here peacefully, and he made it clear when it was time to take the final trip to the vet. My friend Donya came over and did energy work with Jerome and calmed him in his final hour. My sister Jenny carried me through the process, and she and her partner Barry took care of me for the rest of the day after the procedure.
Rest in peace, little man.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Common Ground
We live in terror because persuasion is no longer possible…because we live in a world of abstractions, of bureaus and machines, of absolute ideas and messianism without nuance. We suffocate among people who believe they are absolutely right, whether in their machines or their ideas. And for those who can only live in an atmosphere of dialogue and the fellowship of man, this silence is the end of the world.
- Albert Camus
I was the most patriotic little kid you can imagine. Born in 1964 on Thomas Jefferson’s birthday (April 13th,) I came of age to the fifes and drums and fireworks of the Bicentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I begged my parents for a red-white-and-blue Free Spirit commemorative bicycle (which I got – thanks folks!) and when the Freedom Train exhibit came to town, my family stood in the long line to see the artifacts of the birth of our country. The Vietnam War and the lying president were aberrations – America was fundamentally a great country to be proud of.
My parents also raised us as good Democrats. If our government can, through taxation, make life easier for the less fortunate, it should. Duh. As I understood it, Republicans were cold-hearted hawks who fought for the interests of the privileged and wanted to leave the “little people” to fend for themselves in a brutal world. I never understood why anyone would be a Republican, and I avoided the company of these people. Their ideology was to be tolerated, but it was basically “wrong.”
I won’t go into the saga of the disillusionment and apathy that overtook my spirit during the Reagan era. Suffice to say, since the 2004 election I am now a recovering participant in American democracy.
Last week I attended the RESULTS international conference in Washington DC. RESULTS is a group that seeks to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty domestically and globally, while empowering everyday citizens to participate in our own government through letter-writing, calling, and actually meeting with legislators. So the grand finale of the conference was all of us walking over to the congressional office buildings and lobbying our senators and representatives on upcoming legislation. After, of course, a little singing in the banquet room!
Our Arizona group had appointments with aides of both senators and seven representatives, including face-to-face meetings with Reps. Raul Grijalva and Jim Kolbe. We also met briefly with Rep. Rick Renzi after talking specifics with his LD. Our focus was global poverty issues – upcoming legislation on the funding and structuring of programs to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Basic Education and the elimination of school fees, microcredit, Assistance for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, the Global Fund, and UNICEF.
Of course, we went into this knowing full well that “foreign aid” is not a favorite subject with our Republican legislators. We also went in with the conviction that global epidemics combined with huge populations of desperate, uneducated people in the poorer countries constitute a major security risk, with terrorist-training groups like Madrassas offering free food and education while the U.S. continues to reluctantly shell out a pittance relative to our wealth. We know that to halt these global crises we need a lot more than the approximately 2 billion dollars currently proposed, but we offered clear, intelligent plans for the spending of this money as an investment – a little spent now on prevention will avoid major, expensive crises later on. So we had some good talking points, but were still braced for adversity and debate.
What surprised me most about our meetings was the receptivity of almost everyone we talked to. It was similar to the feeling I had the first time I canvassed door-to-door – people are, for the most part, nice. We want to do the right thing. We want to cooperate.
(Yeah, you can call me a ridiculous optimist. I prefer to reclaim the word “realist.” No, not exactly the “Realist” of international relations theory. If you’d like to know why, or need a little push in the same direction, check out my blog “Optimism and Realism.” If we’re already on the same page about human nature, read on…)
I have been around the block enough to have some instinct as to when someone is lying to my face. And I felt that from no one in these congressional offices. The ones who disagreed strongly with us were at least clear in their hesitancy or their squirming, or at most told us outright that our requests had little chance of their boss’s support. And these were only a few. I felt like we really reached some common ground with most. Basically, we had a great time! Most of the RESULTS groups, when we checked in after our first day of lobbying, agreed that this year’s response was much better than last year’s. Now we’ll see when we do our follow-up calls how much our members of Congress and their aides walk their talk. I, of course, have high hopes.
I guess what I’m getting at here is the heart of American democracy. Bear with me.
In the offices of these Republicans, I met a wide range of acceptance, ideology, and willingness to cooperate. I found the aides exceptionally bright, well-informed, and inquisitive. Surprisingly, in at least one office we found utter disgust with the current Republican leadership’s power brokering. On further reflection of my experience, I realized that labeling the offenses of our current administration and the forces threatening our democracy under the blanket term of Republicanism is really unfair. Yes, I believe a criminal element in our government has been working within that party. But there is plenty I can blame my own party for, too. What I’m seeing is that there is a split happening in our country, and it’s not between the Democrats and the Republicans, or even the liberals and conservatives (regardless of the divisive language being spoon-fed to us by the media.) This split is between the Americans and the fascists. And the tool that fascism is using to divide us against ourselves is our own narrow-mindedness.
OK, I’m not saying we Democrats need to get all lovey-dovey with the Republicans. But we need to step back a minute from all the rage we’re feeling and look at a few things…
The United States was founded on the principal that we can disagree with each other. American democracy was engineered to be a workable system within our ideological differences. For over two hundred years liberals and conservatives have been arguing, pulling their hair out, storming out of debates, and then going back in and working things out. Somehow, for all these years our leaders have managed to hold to the rule of law and put the preservation of our democracy above their differences. It’s really like a successful marriage. So are we going to get a divorce?
My personal ideology can be labeled very liberal, though I also have some conservative beliefs (fiscal responsibility, less bureaucracy, etc.) and prefer to call myself a progressive these days. I will continue pushing for legislation that matches my ideals against any counterbalancing ideology. But I will not lie, steal, dishonor or disrespect my fellow human beings, or try to change the laws of this republic to throw off the balance of power. And I will look for the ways in which I’m closing my mind to other people’s point of view. America invites us to “be all that we can be” in this way, you know; democracy works better if we work on ourselves. We need some nuance in our thinking. Thomas Jefferson, reviewing the newly created U.S. Constitution, said that it would guarantee the American people exactly the government we deserve. What kind of government do we deserve? What are we putting into it?
I don’t think I’m being too much of a “radical” to say that a very narrow ideology is trying to take over our government right now. Some clever and unprincipled men have found the cracks in our Constitution and our system and are prying with all their might. They are co-opting the language of some of our deepest-held beliefs: eroding civil liberties and free speech in the name of “freedom,” angering the international community in the name of “security,” calling hateful, exclusionary behavior “Christian,” waving the banner of “Support Our Troops” while ignoring the safety and medical needs of those same troops and veterans… George Orwell is doing the Lindy Hop in his grave...
So I really believe we are being called on, all of us, to defend our country. Not from outside forces, but from an enemy within. And I say it’s not just the little band of neo-cons in the Republican leadership that poses the biggest threat. Or even the multinational corporations. It’s our own fear. We need to stand up for what we believe in, and support each other to do the same. There are people of all parties in Congress who are committed to working long hours serving the higher good, and many are walking on eggshells to keep their positions within a hostile environment. Attacking them or writing them off doesn’t help anyone. We need dialogue, with honesty, respect and integrity. We need to be face to face as much as possible. We need to be vigilant.
A few months ago I found myself rooting for India as the next world power. They at least had the influence of Mohandas K. Gandhi in Nehru’s early native democracy. I was so disillusioned with what the United States has done with its power. But I have to say that meeting with our legislators in a serious and focused way has given me a new jolt of patriotism. I really feel like we can make this work – but we’ve got to hustle. I’ve heard it said that children are naturally patriotic; as adults we learn to mistrust, to withhold, to be cynical. I’ve also been told that someone like me is a sitting duck in Washington DC. I now think that DC needs people like me. Our democracy’s built-in safeguards against special interest and corruption have been breached, and we need a huge dose of childlike honesty and trust right now.
In closing I would just like to thank the amazing people of RESULTS. Please visit the website www.results.org - it’s a great way to get involved in our government and be part of our evolution toward a world without hunger and devastating poverty. What a fabulous idea, huh? And I would like to thank all of the public servants who work so hard to keep James Madison and the gang’s crazy idea working. And a special shout out to Rep. Rick Renzi (R, AZ) and his staff – you guys rock.
This just in…
The Senate just approved the extra $100 million to the Global Fund we requested. And they thanked citizen lobbyist groups for helping their decision. How cool is that?
- Albert Camus
I was the most patriotic little kid you can imagine. Born in 1964 on Thomas Jefferson’s birthday (April 13th,) I came of age to the fifes and drums and fireworks of the Bicentennial celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I begged my parents for a red-white-and-blue Free Spirit commemorative bicycle (which I got – thanks folks!) and when the Freedom Train exhibit came to town, my family stood in the long line to see the artifacts of the birth of our country. The Vietnam War and the lying president were aberrations – America was fundamentally a great country to be proud of.
My parents also raised us as good Democrats. If our government can, through taxation, make life easier for the less fortunate, it should. Duh. As I understood it, Republicans were cold-hearted hawks who fought for the interests of the privileged and wanted to leave the “little people” to fend for themselves in a brutal world. I never understood why anyone would be a Republican, and I avoided the company of these people. Their ideology was to be tolerated, but it was basically “wrong.”
I won’t go into the saga of the disillusionment and apathy that overtook my spirit during the Reagan era. Suffice to say, since the 2004 election I am now a recovering participant in American democracy.
Last week I attended the RESULTS international conference in Washington DC. RESULTS is a group that seeks to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty domestically and globally, while empowering everyday citizens to participate in our own government through letter-writing, calling, and actually meeting with legislators. So the grand finale of the conference was all of us walking over to the congressional office buildings and lobbying our senators and representatives on upcoming legislation. After, of course, a little singing in the banquet room!
Our Arizona group had appointments with aides of both senators and seven representatives, including face-to-face meetings with Reps. Raul Grijalva and Jim Kolbe. We also met briefly with Rep. Rick Renzi after talking specifics with his LD. Our focus was global poverty issues – upcoming legislation on the funding and structuring of programs to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, Basic Education and the elimination of school fees, microcredit, Assistance for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, the Global Fund, and UNICEF.
Of course, we went into this knowing full well that “foreign aid” is not a favorite subject with our Republican legislators. We also went in with the conviction that global epidemics combined with huge populations of desperate, uneducated people in the poorer countries constitute a major security risk, with terrorist-training groups like Madrassas offering free food and education while the U.S. continues to reluctantly shell out a pittance relative to our wealth. We know that to halt these global crises we need a lot more than the approximately 2 billion dollars currently proposed, but we offered clear, intelligent plans for the spending of this money as an investment – a little spent now on prevention will avoid major, expensive crises later on. So we had some good talking points, but were still braced for adversity and debate.
What surprised me most about our meetings was the receptivity of almost everyone we talked to. It was similar to the feeling I had the first time I canvassed door-to-door – people are, for the most part, nice. We want to do the right thing. We want to cooperate.
(Yeah, you can call me a ridiculous optimist. I prefer to reclaim the word “realist.” No, not exactly the “Realist” of international relations theory. If you’d like to know why, or need a little push in the same direction, check out my blog “Optimism and Realism.” If we’re already on the same page about human nature, read on…)
I have been around the block enough to have some instinct as to when someone is lying to my face. And I felt that from no one in these congressional offices. The ones who disagreed strongly with us were at least clear in their hesitancy or their squirming, or at most told us outright that our requests had little chance of their boss’s support. And these were only a few. I felt like we really reached some common ground with most. Basically, we had a great time! Most of the RESULTS groups, when we checked in after our first day of lobbying, agreed that this year’s response was much better than last year’s. Now we’ll see when we do our follow-up calls how much our members of Congress and their aides walk their talk. I, of course, have high hopes.
I guess what I’m getting at here is the heart of American democracy. Bear with me.
In the offices of these Republicans, I met a wide range of acceptance, ideology, and willingness to cooperate. I found the aides exceptionally bright, well-informed, and inquisitive. Surprisingly, in at least one office we found utter disgust with the current Republican leadership’s power brokering. On further reflection of my experience, I realized that labeling the offenses of our current administration and the forces threatening our democracy under the blanket term of Republicanism is really unfair. Yes, I believe a criminal element in our government has been working within that party. But there is plenty I can blame my own party for, too. What I’m seeing is that there is a split happening in our country, and it’s not between the Democrats and the Republicans, or even the liberals and conservatives (regardless of the divisive language being spoon-fed to us by the media.) This split is between the Americans and the fascists. And the tool that fascism is using to divide us against ourselves is our own narrow-mindedness.
OK, I’m not saying we Democrats need to get all lovey-dovey with the Republicans. But we need to step back a minute from all the rage we’re feeling and look at a few things…
The United States was founded on the principal that we can disagree with each other. American democracy was engineered to be a workable system within our ideological differences. For over two hundred years liberals and conservatives have been arguing, pulling their hair out, storming out of debates, and then going back in and working things out. Somehow, for all these years our leaders have managed to hold to the rule of law and put the preservation of our democracy above their differences. It’s really like a successful marriage. So are we going to get a divorce?
My personal ideology can be labeled very liberal, though I also have some conservative beliefs (fiscal responsibility, less bureaucracy, etc.) and prefer to call myself a progressive these days. I will continue pushing for legislation that matches my ideals against any counterbalancing ideology. But I will not lie, steal, dishonor or disrespect my fellow human beings, or try to change the laws of this republic to throw off the balance of power. And I will look for the ways in which I’m closing my mind to other people’s point of view. America invites us to “be all that we can be” in this way, you know; democracy works better if we work on ourselves. We need some nuance in our thinking. Thomas Jefferson, reviewing the newly created U.S. Constitution, said that it would guarantee the American people exactly the government we deserve. What kind of government do we deserve? What are we putting into it?
I don’t think I’m being too much of a “radical” to say that a very narrow ideology is trying to take over our government right now. Some clever and unprincipled men have found the cracks in our Constitution and our system and are prying with all their might. They are co-opting the language of some of our deepest-held beliefs: eroding civil liberties and free speech in the name of “freedom,” angering the international community in the name of “security,” calling hateful, exclusionary behavior “Christian,” waving the banner of “Support Our Troops” while ignoring the safety and medical needs of those same troops and veterans… George Orwell is doing the Lindy Hop in his grave...
So I really believe we are being called on, all of us, to defend our country. Not from outside forces, but from an enemy within. And I say it’s not just the little band of neo-cons in the Republican leadership that poses the biggest threat. Or even the multinational corporations. It’s our own fear. We need to stand up for what we believe in, and support each other to do the same. There are people of all parties in Congress who are committed to working long hours serving the higher good, and many are walking on eggshells to keep their positions within a hostile environment. Attacking them or writing them off doesn’t help anyone. We need dialogue, with honesty, respect and integrity. We need to be face to face as much as possible. We need to be vigilant.
A few months ago I found myself rooting for India as the next world power. They at least had the influence of Mohandas K. Gandhi in Nehru’s early native democracy. I was so disillusioned with what the United States has done with its power. But I have to say that meeting with our legislators in a serious and focused way has given me a new jolt of patriotism. I really feel like we can make this work – but we’ve got to hustle. I’ve heard it said that children are naturally patriotic; as adults we learn to mistrust, to withhold, to be cynical. I’ve also been told that someone like me is a sitting duck in Washington DC. I now think that DC needs people like me. Our democracy’s built-in safeguards against special interest and corruption have been breached, and we need a huge dose of childlike honesty and trust right now.
In closing I would just like to thank the amazing people of RESULTS. Please visit the website www.results.org - it’s a great way to get involved in our government and be part of our evolution toward a world without hunger and devastating poverty. What a fabulous idea, huh? And I would like to thank all of the public servants who work so hard to keep James Madison and the gang’s crazy idea working. And a special shout out to Rep. Rick Renzi (R, AZ) and his staff – you guys rock.
This just in…
The Senate just approved the extra $100 million to the Global Fund we requested. And they thanked citizen lobbyist groups for helping their decision. How cool is that?
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Optimism or Realism
OK. I’ll admit I’m an optimist. It’s as natural as breathing to me. I’ll find something positive in any situation or person. I’m not blind to hatred, fear, injustice, and all of the scary things that are going on in the world. From a certain point of view, you could say I almost have an unnatural tendency these days towards looking at these things. Sometimes concerned friends tell me I should go on a “news fast” for my own good. But it seems like the more I look at the ugly stuff, the more hopeful I get. Because I know we can overcome it.
I wore a veil of cynicism for most of my life. Maybe “suit of armor” is a more appropriate metaphor, though a little cheesy. Like most grownups, it’s taken me many years of inner work to learn to trust and let down my tough exterior, and I’m not nearly done yet. And I believe it’s the innocence and optimism at the very core of my being that has given me the strength to push through the layers of cynicism covering my personality. Certainly the inspiration didn’t come from my culture – cynical humor is always guaranteed to get a laugh – watch any sitcom on TV. OK now stop - it’s not good for you!
And I would propose that this core of optimism is at the core of every one of us. In whatever individual ways, we throw up protective barriers around us to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world. But I don’t want to define your reality for you. If you feel you’re a pessimist to the core, so be it. In my eyes, though, you are as young and hopeful and innocent inside as the day you were born.
In fact, the word “optimist” is a bit of a stretch for me. I prefer “realist.” This layer of callousness we wear on the outside is a construct. We teach ourselves to be violent, self-serving, and pessimistic. There are studies that show this - soldiers have to be taught to kill. Really, we are caring, generous and cooperative at our core.
I wore a veil of cynicism for most of my life. Maybe “suit of armor” is a more appropriate metaphor, though a little cheesy. Like most grownups, it’s taken me many years of inner work to learn to trust and let down my tough exterior, and I’m not nearly done yet. And I believe it’s the innocence and optimism at the very core of my being that has given me the strength to push through the layers of cynicism covering my personality. Certainly the inspiration didn’t come from my culture – cynical humor is always guaranteed to get a laugh – watch any sitcom on TV. OK now stop - it’s not good for you!
And I would propose that this core of optimism is at the core of every one of us. In whatever individual ways, we throw up protective barriers around us to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world. But I don’t want to define your reality for you. If you feel you’re a pessimist to the core, so be it. In my eyes, though, you are as young and hopeful and innocent inside as the day you were born.
In fact, the word “optimist” is a bit of a stretch for me. I prefer “realist.” This layer of callousness we wear on the outside is a construct. We teach ourselves to be violent, self-serving, and pessimistic. There are studies that show this - soldiers have to be taught to kill. Really, we are caring, generous and cooperative at our core.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Shark Attack
It was a beautiful day on the beach. The children splashed and played as hundreds of families came out to enjoy the water and sea breezes. Then, out on the edge of the surf, someone spotted two fins approaching fast. One belonged to a dolphin, and one to a shark. Someone screamed “shark!” and soon the press arrived. In the service of fairness and unbiased reporting, the press examined the two creatures, and found that the shark had slightly longer fins than the dolphin, but a narrower tail. Meanwhile, the shark devoured two swimmers. To be fair to the shark, the press did an expose’ on the dolphin’s long history of eating small, innocent fish for dinner. When another swimmer was eaten, some people screamed, “Shark! Get out of the water!” Of course, these people were accused of being partisan toward the dolphin, conspiracy theorists, and possible terrorists. The FBI showed up and took down their information for further investigation.
A few more swimmers were gobbled up while all of this was happening, but the people on the beach were now becoming desensitized to bloodshed and increasingly interested in the colorful stories being told on the evening news about sharks and dolphins and their fascinating similarities and differences. T-shirts and bumper stickers were printed up for dolphinites and sharkophiles, and debates were held. Though the dolphin squeaked eloquently and the shark showed no verbal communication skills (and continually broke the rules of debate by leaping off its platform and trying to devour the dolphin,) the press found them to be well matched. The dolphin, though clearly more intelligent, was seen as aloof, overly intellectual, and of course people had a hard time understanding what he was saying. The shark, however, was admired for his emotional honesty, directness, and unwavering commitment to his goal of eating everything in sight…
So when in the course of human events does it become necessary to go beyond non-partisan, unbiased reporting and lecturing on the state of our union? Do we wait until American democracy is gone, until the have-nots are living in a state of real economic slavery to the haves, until the whole international community hates us for who we are, until this irresponsible administration has done generations of damage to our global ecosystem? I understood the importance of the press and our educators remaining non-partisan back when the Republican and Democratic parties were balancing forces in our government. I remember my Democrat father actually voting for a Republican or two when I was a kid in the sixties. But now this little group of radical right-wing extremists is taking over the Republican party and forcing the Democrats into the position of merely representing the sane middle ground. (Never mind the left - we don’t even have time for people who want to talk about peace and justice and environmental responsibility. We’re just trying to keep our ship of state from going under right now.)
When one “party” is clearly representing an agenda of fear, hatred, greed, separation, non-communication, lies, and injustice on a global scale, and the other is simply crying for some sanity and balance, I think we need to answer to a higher law than simply the need to be “fair and unbiased.” I believe, in the current political climate, that any institution that compels an educator or member of the press to speak mildly and safely from behind the veil of non-partisanship is biased against the whole human race. We need the truth. It’s your job.
A few more swimmers were gobbled up while all of this was happening, but the people on the beach were now becoming desensitized to bloodshed and increasingly interested in the colorful stories being told on the evening news about sharks and dolphins and their fascinating similarities and differences. T-shirts and bumper stickers were printed up for dolphinites and sharkophiles, and debates were held. Though the dolphin squeaked eloquently and the shark showed no verbal communication skills (and continually broke the rules of debate by leaping off its platform and trying to devour the dolphin,) the press found them to be well matched. The dolphin, though clearly more intelligent, was seen as aloof, overly intellectual, and of course people had a hard time understanding what he was saying. The shark, however, was admired for his emotional honesty, directness, and unwavering commitment to his goal of eating everything in sight…
So when in the course of human events does it become necessary to go beyond non-partisan, unbiased reporting and lecturing on the state of our union? Do we wait until American democracy is gone, until the have-nots are living in a state of real economic slavery to the haves, until the whole international community hates us for who we are, until this irresponsible administration has done generations of damage to our global ecosystem? I understood the importance of the press and our educators remaining non-partisan back when the Republican and Democratic parties were balancing forces in our government. I remember my Democrat father actually voting for a Republican or two when I was a kid in the sixties. But now this little group of radical right-wing extremists is taking over the Republican party and forcing the Democrats into the position of merely representing the sane middle ground. (Never mind the left - we don’t even have time for people who want to talk about peace and justice and environmental responsibility. We’re just trying to keep our ship of state from going under right now.)
When one “party” is clearly representing an agenda of fear, hatred, greed, separation, non-communication, lies, and injustice on a global scale, and the other is simply crying for some sanity and balance, I think we need to answer to a higher law than simply the need to be “fair and unbiased.” I believe, in the current political climate, that any institution that compels an educator or member of the press to speak mildly and safely from behind the veil of non-partisanship is biased against the whole human race. We need the truth. It’s your job.
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Motivation for Liberals
I think we would benefit from reading more books by Republicans. I know there is a whole library of books coming out these days by progressive authors informing us on the horrors of the war, the obscene excesses of our consumer economy, the evils of the corporate takeover of the world - the list of dragons to slay is nearly inexhaustible. And I’m so grateful to these creative people for taking the time to dig up the dirt and inform us about it. And for getting us riled up. But I’m concerned about our attitude.
I know a man who writes books about success and does motivational workshops with business leaders. I haven’t talked to him in a few years, but I just found out from his distraught sister that he’s a Republican. While I was deeply saddened by this news – he’s a sweet, creative guy who can sing Elvis to make you cry – I wasn’t surprised. His teachings are all about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps – a philosophy that we’ve all seen works really well for privileged white men. (It’s just a little more complicated for the rest of us, but that’s not the focus of this essay. Suffice to say, it’s hard to pull yourself up by the bootstraps with someone else’s boots standing on your chest.) But let’s look at some of the techniques these types of motivational courses and books teach…
Believing in yourself in the face of adversity. Taking risks. Letting go of negative, defeatist thinking. Trusting your creative impulses. Getting organized, setting goals, making plans and sticking to them. Constantly raising the bar for your achievements. Knowing you’re going to win because you deserve it. Using any and all resources at your disposal. Learning new technologies and techniques to achieve your goals.
The other day I was at a meeting for a canvassing effort organized by the Democratic Party. When we were discussing the details of the plan, and someone observed that parts of it were not completely clear, one woman laughed lightly and dismissively and said “Oh well, we’re Democrats and you know we’ve never been all that organized!”
O.K. I know the same type of open-minded, mellow, accommodating spirit that draws people to the Democrat or Other tickets also tends to be a little loosey-goosey on details, and is more improvisational than structured. We color outside the lines. We play. I love that about us.
But let me just suggest integrating some of these ideas about motivation and success, and applying them to the task at hand. We know our goal: to get these criminals out of office and restore our country to some semblance of sanity, integrity, and dignity, and to rebuild our democracy. So let’s do what we need to do to achieve that goal. Despite the plethora of bad examples in the world, you don’t actually have to be an aggressive jerk to be successful in your undertakings. You just need to cultivate some new skills and beliefs.
I’m sure by now most of you have read the letter circulating around by Michael Moore about letting go of our habitual defeatist attitudes and rallying behind John Kerry. I was so refreshed by it, weren’t you? I just want to add an image of my own if I may:
When you’re on a team about to play a big game against a highly-ranked opponent, do you all sit around in your locker room saying “Oh, well, we probably can’t win, they’re really good, they always win, ho hum, it’s O.K., it’s just a game, I’ll open my eyes when it’s over…”? Hell, no! You rally. You get louder and bolder and fiercer. You tell the other team just how you’re going to wipe the floor with them. You have your cheerleaders bouncing and your brass band pumping away as big and brash as they can. And you play your asses off.
And this is a really big game, y’all. Maybe the biggest one ever.
We’ve got to know that we’re winning. Go to all of the events you can that bring our team together. Take a look at the amazing, beautiful, creative, colorful people around you. We are legion. Let it fill you up. Know that it’s happening all over, and that the whole world is watching. Embrace this responsibility. Rise to it. Or, in the words of that old bastion of conservatism, the U.S. Army: Be All That You Can Be! It’s time.
I know a man who writes books about success and does motivational workshops with business leaders. I haven’t talked to him in a few years, but I just found out from his distraught sister that he’s a Republican. While I was deeply saddened by this news – he’s a sweet, creative guy who can sing Elvis to make you cry – I wasn’t surprised. His teachings are all about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps – a philosophy that we’ve all seen works really well for privileged white men. (It’s just a little more complicated for the rest of us, but that’s not the focus of this essay. Suffice to say, it’s hard to pull yourself up by the bootstraps with someone else’s boots standing on your chest.) But let’s look at some of the techniques these types of motivational courses and books teach…
Believing in yourself in the face of adversity. Taking risks. Letting go of negative, defeatist thinking. Trusting your creative impulses. Getting organized, setting goals, making plans and sticking to them. Constantly raising the bar for your achievements. Knowing you’re going to win because you deserve it. Using any and all resources at your disposal. Learning new technologies and techniques to achieve your goals.
The other day I was at a meeting for a canvassing effort organized by the Democratic Party. When we were discussing the details of the plan, and someone observed that parts of it were not completely clear, one woman laughed lightly and dismissively and said “Oh well, we’re Democrats and you know we’ve never been all that organized!”
O.K. I know the same type of open-minded, mellow, accommodating spirit that draws people to the Democrat or Other tickets also tends to be a little loosey-goosey on details, and is more improvisational than structured. We color outside the lines. We play. I love that about us.
But let me just suggest integrating some of these ideas about motivation and success, and applying them to the task at hand. We know our goal: to get these criminals out of office and restore our country to some semblance of sanity, integrity, and dignity, and to rebuild our democracy. So let’s do what we need to do to achieve that goal. Despite the plethora of bad examples in the world, you don’t actually have to be an aggressive jerk to be successful in your undertakings. You just need to cultivate some new skills and beliefs.
I’m sure by now most of you have read the letter circulating around by Michael Moore about letting go of our habitual defeatist attitudes and rallying behind John Kerry. I was so refreshed by it, weren’t you? I just want to add an image of my own if I may:
When you’re on a team about to play a big game against a highly-ranked opponent, do you all sit around in your locker room saying “Oh, well, we probably can’t win, they’re really good, they always win, ho hum, it’s O.K., it’s just a game, I’ll open my eyes when it’s over…”? Hell, no! You rally. You get louder and bolder and fiercer. You tell the other team just how you’re going to wipe the floor with them. You have your cheerleaders bouncing and your brass band pumping away as big and brash as they can. And you play your asses off.
And this is a really big game, y’all. Maybe the biggest one ever.
We’ve got to know that we’re winning. Go to all of the events you can that bring our team together. Take a look at the amazing, beautiful, creative, colorful people around you. We are legion. Let it fill you up. Know that it’s happening all over, and that the whole world is watching. Embrace this responsibility. Rise to it. Or, in the words of that old bastion of conservatism, the U.S. Army: Be All That You Can Be! It’s time.
Sunday, August 01, 2004
The Sacrament of Marriage
I’m finding it a great paradox that the people who are loudest in their claims of being followers of Jesus are so opposed to state acknowledgement of marriage between two people who happen to be of the same biological sex.
A couple of years ago, my girlfriend asked me to marry her. It was very sudden and early in our relationship, and I had to take some time to think about it. And think about it I did – for about a month, all day, every day. I wanted to find out exactly what marriage meant to me, and what the difference really was between dating someone and being married to them.
One of the first things I came up against was the fact that our marriage wouldn’t be recognized by the state. Despite my not wanting her to, my girlfriend smoked, and I imagined the scenario of her in a hospital intensive-care unit someday, and my not being allowed to see her because we weren’t acknowledged as spouses. All the more reason to quit, I suppose! I imagined how we still wouldn’t receive the same tax breaks available to any wife-beater capable of talking his girlfriend into a quick visit to the Justice of the Peace, or any female social climber marrying a rich man for his money. And I thought about my girlfriend’s daughters – two wonderful little girls whom I love so much, and whose upbringing I was thrilled to be invited to participate in – and how my girlfriend’s ex-husband would always have more rights as a guardian than I could ever hope for. Luckily he’s a pretty nice guy, but what if he hadn’t been?
And then I considered the true meaning of marriage. To me, marriage is a commitment made by two people in the presence of their Higher Power, family, and peers. It’s the acknowledgement of a feeling of connection with each other (called Love) that transcends the flesh, and a willingness to honor that feeling throughout and beyond the boundaries of this Earthly life. It is, in the deepest sense of the word, a sacrament. It was this understanding that finally lead me to say Yes - Yes, I’ll observe this sacred rite with you, because my heart tells me to.
Now, you followers of Christ… can any of you tell me what is unholy or evil about this union? Would Jesus, that sweet man who held Love as his ideal to the death, disapprove? I would think that Christians would be thrilled that so many homosexual people want their matrimony made legal – it’s more people choosing to live their lives through the Holy Spirit, and asking the state to acknowledge the sanctity of that choice! How much more American Christian can you get?
Another quick point here - I know most of the people opposed to equal marriage rights are Republicans who want to keep government simple and uncomplicated. What you might not know is that disallowing same-sex marriage will create complications beyond your wildest dreams, when the transgendered, transsexual, and intersex people seek justice in their individual cases. And they will – they are a powerful new minority presence that is demanding we rethink our prejudices about gender. So if you’re still insistent on homosexuals not being allowed to marry legally, I suggest that you forfeit your own rights to visitation, tax breaks, and guardianship of your spouse’s children – it’ll be much simpler in the long run.
Or better yet, take a moment to reflect on what marriage really means to you. Could it be that we’re actually on the same page about this?
A couple of years ago, my girlfriend asked me to marry her. It was very sudden and early in our relationship, and I had to take some time to think about it. And think about it I did – for about a month, all day, every day. I wanted to find out exactly what marriage meant to me, and what the difference really was between dating someone and being married to them.
One of the first things I came up against was the fact that our marriage wouldn’t be recognized by the state. Despite my not wanting her to, my girlfriend smoked, and I imagined the scenario of her in a hospital intensive-care unit someday, and my not being allowed to see her because we weren’t acknowledged as spouses. All the more reason to quit, I suppose! I imagined how we still wouldn’t receive the same tax breaks available to any wife-beater capable of talking his girlfriend into a quick visit to the Justice of the Peace, or any female social climber marrying a rich man for his money. And I thought about my girlfriend’s daughters – two wonderful little girls whom I love so much, and whose upbringing I was thrilled to be invited to participate in – and how my girlfriend’s ex-husband would always have more rights as a guardian than I could ever hope for. Luckily he’s a pretty nice guy, but what if he hadn’t been?
And then I considered the true meaning of marriage. To me, marriage is a commitment made by two people in the presence of their Higher Power, family, and peers. It’s the acknowledgement of a feeling of connection with each other (called Love) that transcends the flesh, and a willingness to honor that feeling throughout and beyond the boundaries of this Earthly life. It is, in the deepest sense of the word, a sacrament. It was this understanding that finally lead me to say Yes - Yes, I’ll observe this sacred rite with you, because my heart tells me to.
Now, you followers of Christ… can any of you tell me what is unholy or evil about this union? Would Jesus, that sweet man who held Love as his ideal to the death, disapprove? I would think that Christians would be thrilled that so many homosexual people want their matrimony made legal – it’s more people choosing to live their lives through the Holy Spirit, and asking the state to acknowledge the sanctity of that choice! How much more American Christian can you get?
Another quick point here - I know most of the people opposed to equal marriage rights are Republicans who want to keep government simple and uncomplicated. What you might not know is that disallowing same-sex marriage will create complications beyond your wildest dreams, when the transgendered, transsexual, and intersex people seek justice in their individual cases. And they will – they are a powerful new minority presence that is demanding we rethink our prejudices about gender. So if you’re still insistent on homosexuals not being allowed to marry legally, I suggest that you forfeit your own rights to visitation, tax breaks, and guardianship of your spouse’s children – it’ll be much simpler in the long run.
Or better yet, take a moment to reflect on what marriage really means to you. Could it be that we’re actually on the same page about this?
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Einstein quote
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mystical. It is the source of all true art and science.
- Albert Einstein
- Albert Einstein
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Violence and Denial
Last year I was working as a travelling art teacher in a school on the East side of Tucson, just outside the Air Force base. I just happened to be scheduled to work out there the day after the invasion of Iraq began.
The first thing that struck me was the utter silence in the teacher's lounge. I thought there would be a flurry of talk about the war, or that someone would at least have brought a radio in so we could find out what was going on (not that the corporate radio stations tell us what's really going on, but if nothing else as something for us to gather around.) But it was business-as-usual. Not a MENTION of the war.
Of course, the kids were wound up like tops. A lot of them had (and still have) mothers, fathers, siblings, and family friends over there, or on the verge of deployment. The tension was a palpable thickness in the air. A school full of heavy hearts.
My second class of the morning was coming in from their recess as I came down the hallway. Fourth graders. The swirl of chaos around the classroom door let me know that business was no longer as usual. Ms. Flank (I'll feel free to use her name, as she no longer works there) had a group of about 7 kids lined up beside the little table in the hall reserved for private conferences. She told me to go in and start the lesson, that these children had been in a fight and she needed to talk to them one at a time out there. The first child sat down and the rest of us went in.
The whole class was bouncing off the walls. The kids who had been in the fight strutted in like heroes, smiling and joking. Details of the brawl, which had been huge and involved several students from various classes, were bubbling around the room and being woven into legend.
I managed to get them started on their project, and eventually Ms. Flank, having reprimanded all of the brawlers, came in and sat down. She expressed her shock at the scope and the violence of the fight, and I joked, "Well, how could we expect them to act, considering how our leaders are behaving?"
Oops. Didn't compute. I was subjected to a lecture on what an evil guy Saddam Hussein is, and then a lecture about how she doesn't take sides on political issues in the classroom. And then more about the evils of Saddam and his plans to take over the world.
I dunno, are Michael Moore and me and you and a handful of other informed citizens the only ones who are seeing the connection? That a society that answers every conflict with violence and every unknown with fear is going to raise children who deal with things the same way, and who think it's normal? If the president does it, it must be cool, because he's the most important guy in the most powerful country in the world. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln... we looked up to those guys as kids. Kids learn from what they see, not what they're told.
I hope that this gives an example of violence as an energy that we can control in our own lives. If you are feeling bewildered and powerless at the atrocities committed by our "leaders," know that every moment we have the choice to meet the situations in our lives with Love or with fear. And that our choices have repercussions we could never dream of. Young eyes are watching.
Peace.
Mitzi
The first thing that struck me was the utter silence in the teacher's lounge. I thought there would be a flurry of talk about the war, or that someone would at least have brought a radio in so we could find out what was going on (not that the corporate radio stations tell us what's really going on, but if nothing else as something for us to gather around.) But it was business-as-usual. Not a MENTION of the war.
Of course, the kids were wound up like tops. A lot of them had (and still have) mothers, fathers, siblings, and family friends over there, or on the verge of deployment. The tension was a palpable thickness in the air. A school full of heavy hearts.
My second class of the morning was coming in from their recess as I came down the hallway. Fourth graders. The swirl of chaos around the classroom door let me know that business was no longer as usual. Ms. Flank (I'll feel free to use her name, as she no longer works there) had a group of about 7 kids lined up beside the little table in the hall reserved for private conferences. She told me to go in and start the lesson, that these children had been in a fight and she needed to talk to them one at a time out there. The first child sat down and the rest of us went in.
The whole class was bouncing off the walls. The kids who had been in the fight strutted in like heroes, smiling and joking. Details of the brawl, which had been huge and involved several students from various classes, were bubbling around the room and being woven into legend.
I managed to get them started on their project, and eventually Ms. Flank, having reprimanded all of the brawlers, came in and sat down. She expressed her shock at the scope and the violence of the fight, and I joked, "Well, how could we expect them to act, considering how our leaders are behaving?"
Oops. Didn't compute. I was subjected to a lecture on what an evil guy Saddam Hussein is, and then a lecture about how she doesn't take sides on political issues in the classroom. And then more about the evils of Saddam and his plans to take over the world.
I dunno, are Michael Moore and me and you and a handful of other informed citizens the only ones who are seeing the connection? That a society that answers every conflict with violence and every unknown with fear is going to raise children who deal with things the same way, and who think it's normal? If the president does it, it must be cool, because he's the most important guy in the most powerful country in the world. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln... we looked up to those guys as kids. Kids learn from what they see, not what they're told.
I hope that this gives an example of violence as an energy that we can control in our own lives. If you are feeling bewildered and powerless at the atrocities committed by our "leaders," know that every moment we have the choice to meet the situations in our lives with Love or with fear. And that our choices have repercussions we could never dream of. Young eyes are watching.
Peace.
Mitzi
Sunday, May 16, 2004
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