I'm wishing everyone everywhere peace and tranquility.
Spent the day baking cookies; just me and my dog listening to the radio...madrigals, etc. It was transcendent...or at least peaceful. Out the window I saw snow, icicles and birdies coming to the feeder. Idyllic.
The boys were visiting their auntie in Connecticut. It was therapeutic all-round. Rolling out dough. Making menorahs/hanukkiahs, dreidels, suns, moons, stars, trees, sleighs, candy canes, little bears and ginger-bread men. When the boys came home, they helped eat the rejects. Of course, they'll get the good ones, too.
Tonight the cookies are ensconced in their tupperware (who invented that, really?), and tomorrow we'll frost them.
I just really needed today. I'm glad that we were technically snowed-in. Perfect. Now the fire's crackling in the fireplace. It's like a ski lodge. I'm happy. Thanks.
Be well.
Happy Solstice, everyone!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Two Great Women
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Superiority is Delusional
Some folks hold America apart as superior based on the Manifest Destiny myth which drove "white" settlers and missionaries west to conquer the land and its people. But this is a myth. Some folks' viewpoints narrowed in whom they thought should have rights. Others' losses were their gains; Native Americans were denied U.S. citizenship until the 1920s.
Still other people acknowledged the common threads that bind all American people together despite our specific heritages. That is the beauty of this land.
America is a blend of nations. Westward settlers of yore mixed and married with Native Americans, and it's important to acknowledge the positive cultural contributions of those that were here before us. We should be proud of those roots; we don't need to perpetuate the delusion of "white" superiority or an evangelical focus on Armageddon. Freethinking people of other or no faiths have an equal place in America.
Most recently big differences in the America's self-portraits were displayed at the two political conventions. One showed an amalgam of all America; the other resembled a frat party for the old "Westward, ho!" tale.
To move toward a more perfect union, our nation should embrace the common sense values of Native American teachings. These include balance; hunting is for sustenance, not to decimate an entire species. We might be stewards, but we are also students of many teachers in this world if only we open our eyes. In the end if there is a Creator, s/he is the Creator of all of us on the planet and beyond. Let's treat one another with respect and stop the missionary-as-superior act. Enough! We're all family.
Still other people acknowledged the common threads that bind all American people together despite our specific heritages. That is the beauty of this land.
America is a blend of nations. Westward settlers of yore mixed and married with Native Americans, and it's important to acknowledge the positive cultural contributions of those that were here before us. We should be proud of those roots; we don't need to perpetuate the delusion of "white" superiority or an evangelical focus on Armageddon. Freethinking people of other or no faiths have an equal place in America.
Most recently big differences in the America's self-portraits were displayed at the two political conventions. One showed an amalgam of all America; the other resembled a frat party for the old "Westward, ho!" tale.
To move toward a more perfect union, our nation should embrace the common sense values of Native American teachings. These include balance; hunting is for sustenance, not to decimate an entire species. We might be stewards, but we are also students of many teachers in this world if only we open our eyes. In the end if there is a Creator, s/he is the Creator of all of us on the planet and beyond. Let's treat one another with respect and stop the missionary-as-superior act. Enough! We're all family.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Speaking Out
Laura Berg has won the PEN/Katherine Anne Porter First Amendment Award...after having been accused of sedition; can you believe it?
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Distorted View of Beauty
Since when is starving a power image? Who raises their daughters to be weak and call it beautiful? The patriarchy and their henchmen. It's psychological abuse. It's an us vs. them elitism with very few "winners."
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Hate Speech Against Native Americans is NOT American
Sad to say I could believe it when I read it...and since when is sophomoric male behavior the standard of what gets broadcast? This reminds me of freshman psychology class at UM where after the women in my class described a multi-faceted ideal man (all positive), the "men" in my class snickered that the ideal woman was "about three feet tall, with a flat head (to put your beer on) and her mouth open...."
Misogyny is alive in this world; it is the enemy. Those who perpetuate it are sick. They should seek to heal...not to spread more of this disease.
Misogyny is alive in this world; it is the enemy. Those who perpetuate it are sick. They should seek to heal...not to spread more of this disease.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Something to Smile About...
I've always felt a kinship with Bjork; I love how she takes walks along the beach recording new ideas for songs...
http://video.on.nytimes.com/index.jsp?fr_story=1b7437f415e3c9898200afe28d6c4089255471cd
http://video.on.nytimes.com/index.jsp?fr_story=1b7437f415e3c9898200afe28d6c4089255471cd
Multimedia
Monday, March 24, 2008
This is Ridiculous
A story in the Times focuses on a boy who has been repeatedly bullied for four years; others set him up to get beaten and it sounds like the school district and other parents DO nothing to stop it. Outrageous. It's no wonder some kids are pushed to the brink. It's heart breaking. I get angry just reading about it.
Confronting bullying/scapegoating needs to be a community-wide process. It's not professional or just to blame the victim. This particular boy has a learning disability and doesn't even see it coming. What's wrong with people? My grandfather Andrews used to say that "man is the cruelest animal on the planet...look what he's done to his own kind."
Healing the world starts with each person choosing the better choice; clearly this story points out how one community (and there are others, sadly) needs some guidance and backbone to make a change.
This Land
Confronting bullying/scapegoating needs to be a community-wide process. It's not professional or just to blame the victim. This particular boy has a learning disability and doesn't even see it coming. What's wrong with people? My grandfather Andrews used to say that "man is the cruelest animal on the planet...look what he's done to his own kind."
Healing the world starts with each person choosing the better choice; clearly this story points out how one community (and there are others, sadly) needs some guidance and backbone to make a change.
A Boy the Bullies Love to Beat Up, Repeatedly
Ángel Franco/The New York Times
Billy Wolfe, a target of bullies for years, at the school bus stop
near his home in Fayetteville, Ark. More Photos >
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
So...the roadtrip was great
We just got back from a roadtrip to/from Michigan; its was 12 hours each way. Hanging out with the cousins...building snowmen, sledding, snowmobiling and visiting with grandma and grandpa on the back forty; watching the lunar eclipse...playing with the dogs...we missed getting to Ann Arbor but being out in the country was great. We love you, Golda...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Physics! Anti-gravity?
John Hutchison has a scientific effect named for him...looks like anti-gravity to me. But then again, I majored in English lit.
Check it out http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5787522280823887082
Also, here's some grainy video footage of the effect: www.hutchisoneffect.ca/Videos/2LBottle2.swf
And more...www.hutchisoneffect.ca/Videos/BowlSpin.swf
Seems a lot like what people have written about Tesla and Einstein:
www.americanantigravity.com/einstein.shtml
www.hinduism.fsnet.co.uk/namoma/life_swamiji/life_swamiji_tesla.htm
Maybe some have it all figured out and are zooming around [see Jan. 16 post]. I'd like to know the facts!
Check it out http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5787522280823887082
Also, here's some grainy video footage of the effect: www.hutchisoneffect.ca/Videos/2LBottle2.swf
And more...www.hutchisoneffect.ca/Videos/BowlSpin.swf
Seems a lot like what people have written about Tesla and Einstein:
www.americanantigravity.com/einstein.shtml
www.hinduism.fsnet.co.uk/namoma/life_swamiji/life_swamiji_tesla.htm
Maybe some have it all figured out and are zooming around [see Jan. 16 post]. I'd like to know the facts!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
A Better Future for All...He, She, It, They
Bob Herbert really hit it today in "Politics and Misogyny" (New York Times).
In many Native American tribes chiefs were chosen by the elder women; a man could lead only if he treated women and children with respect--not violence. In this paradigm all are winners.
We have a conscious choice to make--to stand up for our sons and daughters. We must teach our sons to respect their sisters and all people and teach our daughters to respect their brothers and all people. And first, to respect themselves. Sadly, those who dehumanize other people are themselves dehumanized.
It's the whole of society that suffers when violence and inequity are tolerated. Starting at the personal level--I and I/thou--what do we want the future to look like? In the end we will have lived good lives by celebrating and protecting one another instead of exploiting the other.
Herbert, perhaps thinking of his female family members, doesn't see it as an us versus them issue. We can all move forward together by doing what is right, using our voices and our votes. In the end that path is a sacred one, chanting
"Justice! Justice, you shall pursue!"
"Sexism in its myriad destructive forms permeates nearly every aspect of American life. For many men, it’s the true national pastime, much bigger than baseball or football. Little attention is being paid to the toll that misogyny takes on society in general, and women and girls in particular."That's the crux; there seems to be two societies in the United States (and globally, perhaps). One respects both/all genders and acknowledges their rights as individuals to contribute to the whole. The other is hierarchical--one winner, many losers.
In many Native American tribes chiefs were chosen by the elder women; a man could lead only if he treated women and children with respect--not violence. In this paradigm all are winners.
We have a conscious choice to make--to stand up for our sons and daughters. We must teach our sons to respect their sisters and all people and teach our daughters to respect their brothers and all people. And first, to respect themselves. Sadly, those who dehumanize other people are themselves dehumanized.
It's the whole of society that suffers when violence and inequity are tolerated. Starting at the personal level--I and I/thou--what do we want the future to look like? In the end we will have lived good lives by celebrating and protecting one another instead of exploiting the other.
Herbert, perhaps thinking of his female family members, doesn't see it as an us versus them issue. We can all move forward together by doing what is right, using our voices and our votes. In the end that path is a sacred one, chanting
"Justice! Justice, you shall pursue!"
---
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)