"Fear and love are contradictory terms. Love is reckless in giving away, oblivious as to what it gets in return. Love wrestles with the world as with itself and ultimately gains a mastery over all other feelings." - 'From S.S. Rajputana-III' (Letter from M.D.)*, Young India, 1 Oct. 1931 (from The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi edited by Raghavan Iyer)
Fear, I understand. I am a very fearful person and have always been so from my earliest memories. My father used to tell me that there was nothing to be afraid of. This did not help. It only made me feel bad about myself for being weak.
Today, I still have many fears. I fear financial insecurity, even though I have more than enough money. I fear old age and poor health. I fear losing my wife. I fear losing my daughters, biological and foster. I fear strangers. The list goes on and on.
But I have also begun to learn love. I started to learn in my late teens when I decided that for me the most important thing in the universe were children. Much of my adult life has been spent sharing my life with children. This brings me great joy and great sorrow, but mostly great love. I don't know that I have helped any of them, but I know that they have helped me.
It was this love that brought me to non-violence. It takes but a glance at history to see that the greatest victims of violence and greed have always been children. Followed closely, I might add, by the victimization of women.
A world of non-violence, a world of love, would be a world where the least among us would be raised up as the most important and most valued.
* Mahadev Desai published the above extract from a discours given by Gandhi at the evening prayer, during his voyage to London.
Showing posts with label nonviolence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nonviolence. Show all posts
21 March 2011
18 March 2011
Prayer vs. Protest
"The cry for peace will be a cry in the wilderness, so long as the spirit of non-violence does not dominate millions of men and women." - 'Non-Violence -- The Greatest Force,' The Hindu, 8 Nov. 1926 (from The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi edit by Raghavan Iyer)
In past weeks, the United States saw large protests from teachers, government workers, and concerned Americans about workers rights to organize and bargain and the slashing of government budgets leading to massive lay-offs of government workers. I participated in one of these protests in my state, Texas, in support of teachers in Wisconsin.
I left this protests, and most of the protests I have ever participated in, feeling empty and sad. I know that I am not the only one who left feeling this way. I spoke to friends who were there. I don't think this is how people should feel when they leave an event like this. There should be energy and excitement. There should be community and hope.
When I read the above essay, I began to understand why I feel this way.
The tactics of non-violence, have become widespread in this country. The spirit of non-violence abides in almost no one.
I have read a number of Dr. Martin Luther King's speeches. I have read John Lewis' book "Walking with the Wind." I have read many more books about non-violence, and yet, I forget that non-violence is not a set of techniques for getting what I want. It is a way of life. A way of being. It is heart and soul and not hand, foot, and tongue.
Prayer is more important than protest.
In past weeks, the United States saw large protests from teachers, government workers, and concerned Americans about workers rights to organize and bargain and the slashing of government budgets leading to massive lay-offs of government workers. I participated in one of these protests in my state, Texas, in support of teachers in Wisconsin.
I left this protests, and most of the protests I have ever participated in, feeling empty and sad. I know that I am not the only one who left feeling this way. I spoke to friends who were there. I don't think this is how people should feel when they leave an event like this. There should be energy and excitement. There should be community and hope.
When I read the above essay, I began to understand why I feel this way.
The tactics of non-violence, have become widespread in this country. The spirit of non-violence abides in almost no one.
I have read a number of Dr. Martin Luther King's speeches. I have read John Lewis' book "Walking with the Wind." I have read many more books about non-violence, and yet, I forget that non-violence is not a set of techniques for getting what I want. It is a way of life. A way of being. It is heart and soul and not hand, foot, and tongue.
Prayer is more important than protest.
17 March 2011
Libya & Egypt
"Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute. The spirit lies dormant in the brute and he knows no law but that of physical might. The dignity of man requires obedience to a higher law - to the strength of the spirit." - 'The Doctrine of the Sword', Young India, 11 Aug. 1920 (from The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi edited by Raghavan Iyer)
It is with sadness but no surprise that I watch the brief civil uprising in Libya crumble. When the 'protesters' became 'rebels,' the end was in sight. Gadhafi could claim that he was not killing 'civilians' but 'armed insurgents,' and there is enough truth in that to stymie those who would lend aid.
In Egypt, the protesters struggled with how to react to violence from the government. We watched them struggle and we watched them choose non-violence. This choice opened the heart of the world to the Egyptian people.
The situation in Libya is undoubtedly very different from Egypt. I am certain that many, many unarmed, peaceful people would have died in Libya before Gadhafi gave up power. But many people have still died and many more will die. And which ever side in this civil war wins, my heart will go out to the victims of the fighting on both sides, the women and children caught in the middle, and not the victors. My spirit does not go out to the armed men on either side.
The spirit of humanity versus the spirit of the brute.
It is with sadness but no surprise that I watch the brief civil uprising in Libya crumble. When the 'protesters' became 'rebels,' the end was in sight. Gadhafi could claim that he was not killing 'civilians' but 'armed insurgents,' and there is enough truth in that to stymie those who would lend aid.
In Egypt, the protesters struggled with how to react to violence from the government. We watched them struggle and we watched them choose non-violence. This choice opened the heart of the world to the Egyptian people.
The situation in Libya is undoubtedly very different from Egypt. I am certain that many, many unarmed, peaceful people would have died in Libya before Gadhafi gave up power. But many people have still died and many more will die. And which ever side in this civil war wins, my heart will go out to the victims of the fighting on both sides, the women and children caught in the middle, and not the victors. My spirit does not go out to the armed men on either side.
The spirit of humanity versus the spirit of the brute.
13 March 2011
Faster than a Speeding Bullet
"True humility means most strenuous and constant endeavour entirely directed towards the service of humanity." - Letter to Narandas Gandhi (G.), MMU/I, October 7, 1930
I don't know how to respond to the images on TV of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I can give money and I may, and every little bit helps, but I want to be on the ground helping rebuild and that is not possible.
My duties are here with my family and my foster daughters and the struggles in my community to keep the government assisting minorities and the poor.
But these duties seem so mundane.
I dream of taking food and water to the people who's lives have been devastated by natural disaster. I fantasize about being on the front lines of the nonviolent protests in the Middle East. I want to help the children in Africa or India who have no food or clean water or shelter.
But this is not what God has called me to do. God has given me a wife who writes grants for non-profit organizations to help the poor and minorities. God has given me teenage girls who's parents have abandoned them. God has given me a state government, Texas, USA, that is at the bottom in the way it takes care of its children.
And when I remember that I am not a superhero in tights and a cape, what God has called me to do seems very important.
I pray for the people of Japan.
I don't know how to respond to the images on TV of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I can give money and I may, and every little bit helps, but I want to be on the ground helping rebuild and that is not possible.
My duties are here with my family and my foster daughters and the struggles in my community to keep the government assisting minorities and the poor.
But these duties seem so mundane.
I dream of taking food and water to the people who's lives have been devastated by natural disaster. I fantasize about being on the front lines of the nonviolent protests in the Middle East. I want to help the children in Africa or India who have no food or clean water or shelter.
But this is not what God has called me to do. God has given me a wife who writes grants for non-profit organizations to help the poor and minorities. God has given me teenage girls who's parents have abandoned them. God has given me a state government, Texas, USA, that is at the bottom in the way it takes care of its children.
And when I remember that I am not a superhero in tights and a cape, what God has called me to do seems very important.
I pray for the people of Japan.
09 March 2011
The Great Undertaking
"I have undertaken to reform a single person, and that is my own self. And I realize how difficult it is to reform him." - A Letter to Adamsaleh A. Patel (G.), SN 19901, April 14, 1926
What can I add?
Amen.
What can I add?
Amen.
08 March 2011
"I Ever Compromise My Own Ideals"
"Achara means the outward mode of living and it can change from time to time. The rules of inner living must remain the same; that is, one should cling to truth, ahimsa, etc. In trying to follow them, we may change the rules of outward mode of living whenever necessary." A Letter (G.), Mahadevbhaini Diary, Vol. I, p. 364
When I first read Gandhi many years ago, one of the first changes I made was to give up my car and begin riding my bicycle for transportation. I felt then, and I still feel today, that in the United States, transportation by automobile is a form of violence. We fight wars for oil for our cars. Tens of thousands are killed on our highways, and hundreds of thousands are injured annually. Our transportation system sub-divides neighbor from neighbor with dead zones of blacktop. Money that could be spent helping the least among us is spent paving paradise and chrome plates our lives. More can be added to the list.
For ten years my wife and I lived without a car. We cycled everywhere we went. To choose this life in an American city means sacrifices. Our daily lives were circumscribed by our limited method of transportation. We were happy with these limits for many years.
And then my life turned in a different direction. My daughter found out she had a medical condition that precluded her from having children. For many years I have worked with teenagers. The prospect of no grandchildren made us rethink our lives. We decided to become foster parents. Teenage girls began to come and live in our home. The foster care system requires trips to family court, to doctors, to therapists, to various and sundry meetings most of which were not in our city, and teenage girls have needs for social lives that are not local. Being without a car was no longer an option.
We own two now. The truth of sharing our home with children without homes has supplanted the truth of not owning a car. I still try and ride my bicycle to the local store and any nearby meetings, but my life now revolves around my girls and not my transportation.
Do I have mixed feelings about this? Of course, but I am comfortable in this decision. It's not perfect. I have had to compromise, but I can live with the compromise.
When I first read Gandhi many years ago, one of the first changes I made was to give up my car and begin riding my bicycle for transportation. I felt then, and I still feel today, that in the United States, transportation by automobile is a form of violence. We fight wars for oil for our cars. Tens of thousands are killed on our highways, and hundreds of thousands are injured annually. Our transportation system sub-divides neighbor from neighbor with dead zones of blacktop. Money that could be spent helping the least among us is spent paving paradise and chrome plates our lives. More can be added to the list.
For ten years my wife and I lived without a car. We cycled everywhere we went. To choose this life in an American city means sacrifices. Our daily lives were circumscribed by our limited method of transportation. We were happy with these limits for many years.
And then my life turned in a different direction. My daughter found out she had a medical condition that precluded her from having children. For many years I have worked with teenagers. The prospect of no grandchildren made us rethink our lives. We decided to become foster parents. Teenage girls began to come and live in our home. The foster care system requires trips to family court, to doctors, to therapists, to various and sundry meetings most of which were not in our city, and teenage girls have needs for social lives that are not local. Being without a car was no longer an option.
We own two now. The truth of sharing our home with children without homes has supplanted the truth of not owning a car. I still try and ride my bicycle to the local store and any nearby meetings, but my life now revolves around my girls and not my transportation.
Do I have mixed feelings about this? Of course, but I am comfortable in this decision. It's not perfect. I have had to compromise, but I can live with the compromise.
07 March 2011
Gratitude List
"It is our actions which count. Thoughts, however good in themselves, are like false pearls unless they are translated into action." A Letter (G.), Mahadevbhaini Diary, Vol. II, p. 15
I am basically a lazy person. I love television and computer games. As a writer, I can delude myself into thinking I am 'doing something' when actually all that I am accomplishing is wasting time.
I'm not even sure that little projects like this blog count as 'doing something,' even though I pat myself on the back every time I post and tick off as something accomplished on my to-do list.
When I am 'doing something,' I often feeling as though I am flailing about. "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream, and shout."
But then I stop and count my blessing, make a gratitude list:
And I am inspired to get back to work.
I am basically a lazy person. I love television and computer games. As a writer, I can delude myself into thinking I am 'doing something' when actually all that I am accomplishing is wasting time.
I'm not even sure that little projects like this blog count as 'doing something,' even though I pat myself on the back every time I post and tick off as something accomplished on my to-do list.
When I am 'doing something,' I often feeling as though I am flailing about. "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream, and shout."
But then I stop and count my blessing, make a gratitude list:
- My family and I are healthy.
- There is food in the refrigerator.
- There is a roof over our head.
- There is more than enough money.
- I have people who love me.
- I have friends who like me.
- I have more than enough work to keep me busy even if I don't always know exactly what my priorities are.
- I live in country where I am not persecuted for what I believe or what I say or how I dress or much of anything that isn't destructive or harmful.
- I have happy memories and little mementos that remind me of many of those memories.
- I have leisure time to study or meditate or just relax.
And I am inspired to get back to work.
06 March 2011
Progress not Perfection
"Faith is not a thing to grasp, it is a state to grow to. And growth comes from within." - A Letter, Mahadev Desai's Diary (MSS), 3 May 1935
I am not a deep spiritual person. My mother used to say, "Deep down inside, I'm really very shallow," and I believe that describes me. I don't have strong convictions and even though I pray regularly and meditate often, I rarely feel in touch with the Great Spirit, a power greater than myself, God, the creator, or whatever of the thousand names you prefer.
And I don't worry about that. I know that my feelings are all on the inside and have nothing to do with what's really going on in the universe (and by universe, I do not mean what physicists mean by 'universe.' I mean everything, whatever that means.)
My feelings are not what are important. My actions are what are important. "Simplicity, service, living so as not to hurt others," to quote Gandhi.
I try and practice a simple faith by doing what other spiritual people do and I leave the outcome up to God.
I am not a deep spiritual person. My mother used to say, "Deep down inside, I'm really very shallow," and I believe that describes me. I don't have strong convictions and even though I pray regularly and meditate often, I rarely feel in touch with the Great Spirit, a power greater than myself, God, the creator, or whatever of the thousand names you prefer.
And I don't worry about that. I know that my feelings are all on the inside and have nothing to do with what's really going on in the universe (and by universe, I do not mean what physicists mean by 'universe.' I mean everything, whatever that means.)
My feelings are not what are important. My actions are what are important. "Simplicity, service, living so as not to hurt others," to quote Gandhi.
I try and practice a simple faith by doing what other spiritual people do and I leave the outcome up to God.
03 March 2011
A Quack like Me
"The optimist lives delighting in thoughts of love and charity...The pessimist, being himself prey to violent attachments and dislikes, looks upon every person as his enemy..." - 'Optimism' (G.), Navajivan, 23 Oct 1921
My wife has told me often over the years that when ever we talk about the future, I always see the bad things that can happen and never the good, and I believe she is telling me the truth.. It is a hard thing for me to hear.
I want to believe that I am an optimist, but that is not the truth. I live in fear. I seem to have been that way as long as I can remember.
When I was a boy and would tell my father that I was afraid, he would look at me sternly and tell me there was nothing to be afraid of.
My father had a difficult upbringing. His mother was married either seven or nine times, he wasn't sure which. At the age of sixteen, he beat up his then current step-father and went to live in the oil fields of California with his real father, working for him on his wild-cat oil rigs. At seventeen, he joined the Navy and was in port in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His first ship was sunk there. Two more ships he was on during the war were sunk in the Pacific. I don't think he could ever let himself feel scared and he didn't want his son to be fearful. But I was, and I felt like I was a failure. I was never the son my father wanted. He wanted a man's man. I was far more comfortable with women.
In recent years, I have begun to accept that I am a fearful person. I don't like it, but I have stopped trying to change this fact about myself. It is not in my power to change. However, what is in my power to change is how I react to my fears.
I pray for courage.
My wife has told me often over the years that when ever we talk about the future, I always see the bad things that can happen and never the good, and I believe she is telling me the truth.. It is a hard thing for me to hear.
I want to believe that I am an optimist, but that is not the truth. I live in fear. I seem to have been that way as long as I can remember.
When I was a boy and would tell my father that I was afraid, he would look at me sternly and tell me there was nothing to be afraid of.
My father had a difficult upbringing. His mother was married either seven or nine times, he wasn't sure which. At the age of sixteen, he beat up his then current step-father and went to live in the oil fields of California with his real father, working for him on his wild-cat oil rigs. At seventeen, he joined the Navy and was in port in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. His first ship was sunk there. Two more ships he was on during the war were sunk in the Pacific. I don't think he could ever let himself feel scared and he didn't want his son to be fearful. But I was, and I felt like I was a failure. I was never the son my father wanted. He wanted a man's man. I was far more comfortable with women.
In recent years, I have begun to accept that I am a fearful person. I don't like it, but I have stopped trying to change this fact about myself. It is not in my power to change. However, what is in my power to change is how I react to my fears.
I pray for courage.
01 March 2011
The Contribution of Non-Violence
"Dr. Mott: 'What do you consider to be the most valuable contribution that India can make to the progress of the world?
Gandhi: Non-Violence." - Interview with Dr. John Mott, Young India, 21 Mar. 1929
And what a valuable contribution it has been. Gaddafi condemned and sanctioned for killing peaceful civilians. The amazing video of the lone man standing up to the tanks in Tiananmen. Rosa Parks and lunch counters and the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Draft card burners. Labor unionists occupying the Wisconsin State Capital.
The list goes on and on.
And in my own life, my wife and I ride our bicycles for ten years and don't own a car. We decide to become foster parents. I write scripts and novels and poetry that emphasis non-violent methods for resolving problems. (They don't sell, but that's a whole different can of worms.)
I know in these blogs, I have often written about my failings (and they are legion), but there are many, many successes.
And that's why I started and continue this blog. It is one of my daily disciplines to help me remember what is important in my life today. I consider it prayer.
Gandhi: Non-Violence." - Interview with Dr. John Mott, Young India, 21 Mar. 1929
And what a valuable contribution it has been. Gaddafi condemned and sanctioned for killing peaceful civilians. The amazing video of the lone man standing up to the tanks in Tiananmen. Rosa Parks and lunch counters and the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Draft card burners. Labor unionists occupying the Wisconsin State Capital.
The list goes on and on.
And in my own life, my wife and I ride our bicycles for ten years and don't own a car. We decide to become foster parents. I write scripts and novels and poetry that emphasis non-violent methods for resolving problems. (They don't sell, but that's a whole different can of worms.)
I know in these blogs, I have often written about my failings (and they are legion), but there are many, many successes.
And that's why I started and continue this blog. It is one of my daily disciplines to help me remember what is important in my life today. I consider it prayer.
27 February 2011
What Would Jesus Cut?
"If evolution of form takes aeons, why should we expect wonders in the evolution of thought and conduct? And yet the age of miracles is not gone. As with individuals, so with nations. I hold it to be perfectly possible for the masses to be suddenly converted and uplifted. Suddenness is only seeming. No one can say how far the leaven has been working." Speech at Buddha Jayanti, Bombay, CW 5176
I went to the first protest rally I'd been to in many years yesterday. I chanted. I sang. I talked to friends. I listened to speeches. I took pictures.
There were a lot of angry people. There was a lot of sarcasm and demonization of others. There was a lot of talk of fighting.
There were also moments of grace. There were moments of warmth and humor. There were moments of a spiritual connections with others who struggled and with God.
I've had a theory for many years that the next evolution in Homo sapien would not be spiritual and not physical, Homo anima. I found the quoted passage in Gandhi's speech reassuring.
The only visible sign of a presence by the forces of authority were a couple of friendly cops on bicycle. Gandhi's and Dr. King's methods of non-violent protest have become the norm. The crowds are no longer physically threatening even if they might be politically threatening.
And it's not just here in America as several signs reminded the protesters. "Walk like an Egyptian."
Perhaps the next evolution is upon us. Miracles happen.
I went to the first protest rally I'd been to in many years yesterday. I chanted. I sang. I talked to friends. I listened to speeches. I took pictures.
There were a lot of angry people. There was a lot of sarcasm and demonization of others. There was a lot of talk of fighting.
There were also moments of grace. There were moments of warmth and humor. There were moments of a spiritual connections with others who struggled and with God.
I've had a theory for many years that the next evolution in Homo sapien would not be spiritual and not physical, Homo anima. I found the quoted passage in Gandhi's speech reassuring.
The only visible sign of a presence by the forces of authority were a couple of friendly cops on bicycle. Gandhi's and Dr. King's methods of non-violent protest have become the norm. The crowds are no longer physically threatening even if they might be politically threatening.
And it's not just here in America as several signs reminded the protesters. "Walk like an Egyptian."
Perhaps the next evolution is upon us. Miracles happen.
25 February 2011
Difficult Times
"These are difficult times. If all want power who will render silent service?" Notes to Baba Raghavdas (H.), Hindustan, 16 Apr. 1946
This morning I did the dishes, kissed my wife, took the girls to school. I realized that I needed to find some way to give each a morning affirmation before the pain and boredom of their daily grind was fully upon them. They are so weary, broken, and angry before their days in class. It's hard to watch them get out of the car and drag themselves toward the entrance. It makes me sad.
I planned dinner for friends tonight and shopped. I cleaned the girl's bathroom so that our guests would not know what slobs we are.
I checked my email.
I listened to the latest news from Libya. I wonder if I could stand, non-violently, when a madman's thugs show up with machine guns to kill all who protest against him.
And if a man broke into my house to rape my daughters, or kill my wife, or just to steal my TV, what would I do?
I'm glad these are not decisions I have to make today. I'm glad my choices are cleaning floors, and cooking meals, and having lunch with a friend.
Difficult times, indeed.
This morning I did the dishes, kissed my wife, took the girls to school. I realized that I needed to find some way to give each a morning affirmation before the pain and boredom of their daily grind was fully upon them. They are so weary, broken, and angry before their days in class. It's hard to watch them get out of the car and drag themselves toward the entrance. It makes me sad.
I planned dinner for friends tonight and shopped. I cleaned the girl's bathroom so that our guests would not know what slobs we are.
I checked my email.
I listened to the latest news from Libya. I wonder if I could stand, non-violently, when a madman's thugs show up with machine guns to kill all who protest against him.
And if a man broke into my house to rape my daughters, or kill my wife, or just to steal my TV, what would I do?
I'm glad these are not decisions I have to make today. I'm glad my choices are cleaning floors, and cooking meals, and having lunch with a friend.
Difficult times, indeed.
24 February 2011
The Beginning of My Understanding
"That is why I can take the keenest interest in discussing vitamins and leafy vegetables and unpolished rice. That is why it has become a matter of absorbing interest to me to find out how best to clean our latrines, how best to save our people from the heinous sin of fouling Mother Earth every morning. I do not quite see how thinking of these necessary problems and finding a solution for them has no political significance and how an examination of the financial policy of Government has necessarily a political bearing." - 'A Fatal Fallacy,' Harijan, 11 Jan. 1936
I believe this is the statement that began my understanding of Gandhi.
I am not a political creature. I know that many of you are.
The grand scheme of things is not my focus. The dark and dirty corners of my life are.
I have organized and lead mass protests, but the energy and time I spent doing so were not as valuable as the time I spend each morning doing my dishes. Even if the results of the protest were positive and productive, my own household clean and well organized, living a life of service to my family and friends, helping those around me who struggle to joyously accomplish the very valuable day to day tasks that we are all faced with, brings me closer to an understanding of what God is calling me to do.
When I read about Gandhi's vision of non-attachment to the things of the world, I begin to understand when I think about all the things I am responsible for maintaining in my family's life. Simply keeping that much stuff clean often seems like a nearly overwhelming burden. Less stuff means more time to contemplate my navel and less time sweeping the floor.
But this is what I have been given, right now. And least you misunderstand me, I love driving my kids to school, and picking up the trash they leave in the living room, and cooking the meals even when they hate what I have cooked and dig into the pantry for the Hot Cheetos®.
21 February 2011
I Voted for Richard Nixon, pt. 2
"The stench that comes from that life (politics) has appeared to some to be so suffocating that they came to the conclusion that politics were not for a god-fearing man." Speech at Guildhouse Church, under the auspices of the Franciscan Society, The Guildhouse, 23 Sept. 1931
Not that I'm a god-fearing man (sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not), but the stench does appear to be suffocating.
Even if I ignore the creeps and crumb-bums and ignoramuses who go into politics in this country, even if I ignore present day political policies designed to ensure that tens of thousands of Americans die from automobiles, junk food, toxic air and water, etc., even if I ignore the money that has always swamped our political system and now threatens to drown us all, I can't ignore the guns and bombs.
I have a marksman's medal awarded by the U.S. government for shooting an M-16. I loaded a live nuclear bomb on my airplane in a revetment in Germany, strapped in the pilots, taxied it out, and saluted the end of the world.
My first vote was for a crook, a criminal. My last vote (Barack Obama) was for (sigh) just another politician.
But I have hope that things can change.
Not that I'm a god-fearing man (sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not), but the stench does appear to be suffocating.
Even if I ignore the creeps and crumb-bums and ignoramuses who go into politics in this country, even if I ignore present day political policies designed to ensure that tens of thousands of Americans die from automobiles, junk food, toxic air and water, etc., even if I ignore the money that has always swamped our political system and now threatens to drown us all, I can't ignore the guns and bombs.
I have a marksman's medal awarded by the U.S. government for shooting an M-16. I loaded a live nuclear bomb on my airplane in a revetment in Germany, strapped in the pilots, taxied it out, and saluted the end of the world.
My first vote was for a crook, a criminal. My last vote (Barack Obama) was for (sigh) just another politician.
But I have hope that things can change.
19 February 2011
I Voted for Richard Nixon, pt. 1
"My bent is not political but religious and I take part in politics because I feel that there is no department of life which can be divorced from religion and because politics touch the vital being of India almost at every point" Letter to G.S. Arundale, Young India, 6 Aug. 1919
In 1972, having just left home to go to college, I registered and voted for Milhouse. My father was a dyed in the wool Republican and I respected and feared my father. I was afraid of everything. Voting Republican was an attempt to put up a bulwark against fear.
After this election, I fell in with a bad crowd - bridge players. I spent the four years learning the finer points of how to squeeze RHO to unblock his queen of hearts. I lost track of politics.
Then came the military and politics had a new urgency for me. Politic decisions affected my paycheck. Political decisions could end my life. An bent winged bug sucker (F-4E Phantom) with my name spray painted on the cockpit could fly away with a nuclear bomb to help end the world. I had a baby girl.
My views changed. Unfortunately, politics in America had not.
I just couldn't vote for Defense Policies that had the end of the world as a backup plan and Republican or Democrat, that was and remains our country's fall back position.
In 1972, having just left home to go to college, I registered and voted for Milhouse. My father was a dyed in the wool Republican and I respected and feared my father. I was afraid of everything. Voting Republican was an attempt to put up a bulwark against fear.
After this election, I fell in with a bad crowd - bridge players. I spent the four years learning the finer points of how to squeeze RHO to unblock his queen of hearts. I lost track of politics.
Then came the military and politics had a new urgency for me. Politic decisions affected my paycheck. Political decisions could end my life. An bent winged bug sucker (F-4E Phantom) with my name spray painted on the cockpit could fly away with a nuclear bomb to help end the world. I had a baby girl.
My views changed. Unfortunately, politics in America had not.
A young Englishman (yes, that Dudley Moore) is talking to a friend about his upcoming visit to America:
“Paxton Whitehead: They (the United States) have inherited our two party system.
Dudley Moore: How does that work?
Paxton Whitehead: Oh, well, they have the Republican Party which is the equivalent of our Conservative Party, and they have the Democratic Party which is the equivalent of our Conservative Party.” – Beyond the Fringe, 1962
I just couldn't vote for Defense Policies that had the end of the world as a backup plan and Republican or Democrat, that was and remains our country's fall back position.
18 February 2011
Quibbling
"Our besetting sin is not our differences but our littleness. We wrangle over words, we fight often for shadow and lose the substance." Letter to G.S. Arundale, Young India, 6 Aug. 1919
I'm afraid anything I say will only muddle or obscure this simple analysis of what besets modern politics, modern life.
I'm afraid anything I say will only muddle or obscure this simple analysis of what besets modern politics, modern life.
17 February 2011
Egypt
"I think political life should be an echo of private life and that there cannot be any divorce between the two." Speech at Government High School, Bangalore, 1915
A friend said I must have lots of things to say about what is happening today in Egypt and the Middle East and the non-violent uprisings going on.
I don't.
I don't know enough even though I have been to Egypt in the past five years and spoke to many citizens about many things. Even though I have close friends who have live in Cairo for, at least, the last 10 years.
I don't know what the poor and the working class struggle with on a day to day basis. I don't know how the police behave during a routine traffic stop. I don't understand what role religion plays in people's lives. I don't have to buy groceries or drive across town or pay taxes or serve in the military.
And I know very little about non-violence.
I know there is a difference between choosing non-violence and just not having the guns to demand what you want.
16 February 2011
Our Hybrid Lives
"I saw in the recitation, the beautiful recitation that was given to me, that God is with them whose garment was dusty and tattered. My thoughts immediately went to the end of my garment; I examined and found that it is not dusty and it is not tattered; it is fairly spotless and clean. God is not in me." Speech at Government High School, Bangalore, 1915
I'm a recycler. Yea, I put stuff in the can on the curb to avoid the dump, but I that's only a small, and I think insignificant, part.
My mother's mother died thirty or more years ago. My wife and I were recently married. We were poor and had little furniture. More than a bit of the furniture in my grandmother's home was shipped to us. We still use most of what we received then in our current home. Bookshelves, bed frames, a table, lamps, stuff I've forgotten belonged to her. I cherish this stuff.
My desk and my desk chair were bought second hand. I have my old desk, also bought second hand, in the garage.
I collect not just my old photos, but the old photos from my family and my wife's family.
I buy a lot of my clothes second hand.
We have used cars and furniture collected from family and friends. We have old dishes and old mismatched silverware and pots and pans and serving platters collected from family.
It's not that I hate wasting stuff. I do, but that's not it.
I know this will sound new agey. Yuck...
But I love going to the old places in old cities. I feel like I can feel all the people that have lived there. It's not like I see ghosts or can feel 'old Mrs. Grundy's' spirit, but these places have an energy for me. There's a heart beat, a soul in these places.
My tatters come second hand. I choose tatters. I don't earn tatters.
God is not in me. But I have decided to choose God.
(Title from Chances Are by Sheryl Crow. One of my favorite songs.)
I'm a recycler. Yea, I put stuff in the can on the curb to avoid the dump, but I that's only a small, and I think insignificant, part.
My mother's mother died thirty or more years ago. My wife and I were recently married. We were poor and had little furniture. More than a bit of the furniture in my grandmother's home was shipped to us. We still use most of what we received then in our current home. Bookshelves, bed frames, a table, lamps, stuff I've forgotten belonged to her. I cherish this stuff.
My desk and my desk chair were bought second hand. I have my old desk, also bought second hand, in the garage.
I collect not just my old photos, but the old photos from my family and my wife's family.
I buy a lot of my clothes second hand.
We have used cars and furniture collected from family and friends. We have old dishes and old mismatched silverware and pots and pans and serving platters collected from family.
It's not that I hate wasting stuff. I do, but that's not it.
I know this will sound new agey. Yuck...
But I love going to the old places in old cities. I feel like I can feel all the people that have lived there. It's not like I see ghosts or can feel 'old Mrs. Grundy's' spirit, but these places have an energy for me. There's a heart beat, a soul in these places.
My tatters come second hand. I choose tatters. I don't earn tatters.
God is not in me. But I have decided to choose God.
(Title from Chances Are by Sheryl Crow. One of my favorite songs.)
15 February 2011
Maladjusted
"...there are some things in our social system to which all of us ought to be maladjusted... It may be that the salvation of the world lies in the hands of the maladjusted." Dr. Martin Luther King
The temptation to anger about...our political system, the environment, the economy, the starving millions, the way we treat animals, the war...the list is endless, leads generally to only to one of two things. Violence - lashing out at the perceived institution responsible for the injustice, and make no mistake, these are injustices. O inertia, apathy, at the size and number of things that need to be fixed in this world.
Most of us choose apathy.
Oh, we recycle or become vegetarians or vote or use energy-saving light bulbs or stop wearing fur, small gestures that soothe our conscience, but have little effect on our actual ways of living.
Don't get me wrong - these things are better than nothing.
But...How many of us are willing to stop driving? How many of us are willing to stop paying taxes? Hell, how many of us are willing to stop voting Democratic or Republican and look for an alternative to these two sad sacks.
I am not maladjusted. I drive. I pay my taxes. I eat meat. I have stopped voting for either of the two parties, but I put no money or time into the effort to make a third party viable.
I want to be maladjusted.
The temptation to anger about...our political system, the environment, the economy, the starving millions, the way we treat animals, the war...the list is endless, leads generally to only to one of two things. Violence - lashing out at the perceived institution responsible for the injustice, and make no mistake, these are injustices. O inertia, apathy, at the size and number of things that need to be fixed in this world.
Most of us choose apathy.
Oh, we recycle or become vegetarians or vote or use energy-saving light bulbs or stop wearing fur, small gestures that soothe our conscience, but have little effect on our actual ways of living.
Don't get me wrong - these things are better than nothing.
But...How many of us are willing to stop driving? How many of us are willing to stop paying taxes? Hell, how many of us are willing to stop voting Democratic or Republican and look for an alternative to these two sad sacks.
I am not maladjusted. I drive. I pay my taxes. I eat meat. I have stopped voting for either of the two parties, but I put no money or time into the effort to make a third party viable.
I want to be maladjusted.
11 February 2011
Collateral Damage
"We should understand that the less violence a religion permits, the more is the truth it contained in it." The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, edited by Raghavan Iyer, p 103
Translations of the Bible vary on what exactly is meant by the Sixth Commandment. Many scholars say that the intent was not "thou shall not kill," but rather, "thou shall not murder." The difference makes killing in self-defense or defense of kingdom or kin acceptable.
Faced with the choice of killing or being killed, I don't know how I would react. If someone attacked my wife or daughters, I would defend them. I would like to think that if a neighbor was attacked I would go to their aid. But what of a total stranger?
And what kind of aid would I provide? What kind of defense would I put up? I don't own a gun, but their is a baseball bat next to my bed and on more than one occasion when a noise has waked me in the night, I have taken it with me when I investigated.
And then there is the whole question of the food I eat? Is it murder to eat a steak for dinner? I know that I didn't kill the cow, but the cow died for my sins. I'm trying to reduce the meat I eat, but I'm not vegetarian yet.
But what if the commandment really is "thou shall not kill?" I don't see any 'if, ands, or buts' in that statement.
My money supports the killing of thousands in far away lands. People who intend no harm to me, my kin, and my country . Women and children caught in the crossfire. I am responsible for their deaths. Directly responsible.
Translations of the Bible vary on what exactly is meant by the Sixth Commandment. Many scholars say that the intent was not "thou shall not kill," but rather, "thou shall not murder." The difference makes killing in self-defense or defense of kingdom or kin acceptable.
Faced with the choice of killing or being killed, I don't know how I would react. If someone attacked my wife or daughters, I would defend them. I would like to think that if a neighbor was attacked I would go to their aid. But what of a total stranger?
And what kind of aid would I provide? What kind of defense would I put up? I don't own a gun, but their is a baseball bat next to my bed and on more than one occasion when a noise has waked me in the night, I have taken it with me when I investigated.
And then there is the whole question of the food I eat? Is it murder to eat a steak for dinner? I know that I didn't kill the cow, but the cow died for my sins. I'm trying to reduce the meat I eat, but I'm not vegetarian yet.
But what if the commandment really is "thou shall not kill?" I don't see any 'if, ands, or buts' in that statement.
My money supports the killing of thousands in far away lands. People who intend no harm to me, my kin, and my country . Women and children caught in the crossfire. I am responsible for their deaths. Directly responsible.
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