Making America Great "Again"

Lately, I have seen a lot of talk about liberals and how we are ruining America, etc.  That’s probably a whole other post, what being a liberal means to me, but for right now, let’s talk about making America great.

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing...

I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be defending not only Superbowl commercials, but Coca-Cola as well, but here I am.  Coca-Cola's human rights abuses as a company are legend, and I don't drink soda anyway, but here I feel the need to defend them from the knuckle-draggers who are throwing a fit over this lovely commercial:

2014 Superbowl Coke Ad

I watched very little of the Superbowl yesterday, but did manage to catch this particular ad, and found it touching.  Apparently, some people didn't feel the same way, because (gasp!) the entire song wasn't sung in English.  It never occurred to me that people would stoop to this level of bigotry, until I looked at Facebook today, and saw this meme (and others like it):







 










Particularly ironic about their complaints is the fact that three of the languages being sung were being spoken in this land called America for centuries before the arrival of English-speakers.  Of course this irony would be lost on people who seem only to be intent on something to complain about. 

They missed the entire point of the ad (besides selling soda) while they were busy spouting their vitriol: that the American ideal is people coming from all over to fulfill their dreams, being welcomed with open arms, and working together to create a great society.  Or at least that's the drivel I was taught in school.  Of course, growing older, I learned the truth: there is no equal playing field.  Native Alaskans, Hawaiians, Native Americans, and Mexicans were driven off their land, or forced into slavery to benefit white masters.  Africans were shipped here for similar purposes, and worse.  Immigrants have historically been given the hardest, dirtiest, least respected jobs, while being blamed for crime rates, treated with suspicion, and persecuted.  It happened with the Chinese, the Irish, and now the Mexicans.  And God forbid someone move here from the Middle East, because that entire group is automatically assigned the title of "terrorists," by the same group invading, occupying, droning, and bombing the rest of the world.   But I digress.

This ad could serve as a reminder of our common humanity... make us all want to try a little harder... to sing the same song, to be a team?  I would like to believe more than soda unites us, things like freedom and equality.  Apparently this group of Einsteins does not agree.  
 
So now we have a patriotic American song being sung by people in different languages, and the xenophobes just can't deal with it.  Since they don't appear to be the sharpest tools in the shed, I am going to craft my message to them in simple English words that they can understand and here it is:

"Get over it.  The world does not 'belong' to English-speaking white people.  Nobody is hurting you by singing a song you like in another language.  I know it may be hard for you to believe, but there are wonderful, intelligent, thoughtful, kind people everywhere who don't speak a word of English.  You are not superior.  They are not inferior.  It's not 'un-American' to show real Americans from another culture singing in a tongue you don't understand, just because they don't look and sound like you.  You are not 'more' American than they are.  People like you are the reason that people all over the world think Americans are stupid.  You don't speak for me or any other intelligent, thinking American.  Lastly, grow up."

Organizing for Peace

What were you doing in 1992?  I was going through a divorce, and on welfare, with three small kids.  I was living in the small rural town where I grew up, and unbeknownst to me, a movement was being born right under my nose.

That year, a group called Oregon Citizen’s Alliance, headed by extreme conservative and homophobe Lon Mabon, proposed a measure designed to deny civil rights to lesbians and gays in Oregon, and all hell broke loose.  Measure 9 said all governments in the state should not support homosexuality - or "pedophilia, sadism or masochism" - in any way and that they "must assist in setting a standard for Oregon's youth which recognizes that these behaviors are abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse and they are to be discouraged and avoided."  (The group had already succeeded in 1988 in repealing former Governor Neil Goldschmidt’s executive order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in state government, via Measure 8.  The 1988 measure also prohibited protection for lesbian and gay workers from job discrimination.  In 1992, the Oregon Supreme Court overturned it, declaring it unconstitutional.)

Although their rallying cry was “no special rights,” Measure 9 was really about no rights whatsoever, not even the right to live and exist in our society.  This created arguably one of the most hotly contested elections in Oregon history.  More people voted in this election than in the presidential election.

At kitchen tables across Oregon, groups were coming together to talk about LGBT rights, and they were starting to organize.  In larger urban areas, it was easier to find like-minded people, but in the small, rural areas of the state pockets of awareness were forming.  Small, isolated towns were forming human dignity groups in response to this attack on our fellow citizens.  I had a “No on 9” sign in the front window of my house, much to the annoyance of my next door neighbor, a very conservative Christian, whose lawn was peppered with “Yes on 9” signs. 

  

Meanwhile, a small group was traveling across Oregon, from kitchen table to kitchen table, connecting ideas and people.  The Rural Organizing Project was born.  By connecting like-minded people who had been geographically isolated from one another, local human dignity groups, under the statewide umbrella of the Rural Organizing Project, banded together and soundly defeated Measure 9.  Many younger people in Oregon have never even heard of the OCA, or Lon Mabon, but those of us who remember will do whatever we must to prevent the hostile takeover of state law and government by hate groups.  Perhaps we should thank Lon Mabon, the creepy little bigot for kicking a hornet’s nest of fair-minded activists. 

In 1993, the Rural Organizing Project held a Rural Caucus and Strategy Session, bringing together human and civil rights activists from all across the state, and the permanent organization was formed.  On June 8, 2013, the 20^th annual ROP Rural Caucus and Strategy Session was held in Woodburn, and for the first time, I was able to attend.  I was honored and humbled to be in the company of people who had spent decades defending the rights of others.  This year’s was the largest ever, with over 160 people in attendance.

I firmly believe that in the absence of justice there is no peace, and there is no peace activism that does not include the responsibility for social justice.  I came away from the caucus believing more firmly than ever before that, while peace rallies are great, every single one of us can be a peace activist every single day.  We all have our niche in which we can create peace through social justice. 

Some of the issues discussed: preventing corporate takeover, treatment of the homeless, LGBT rights, immigration reform, the drones program (and of course war), privatization of public services, fair housing, marriage equality, Guantanamo Bay, self-sufficient living, economic justice, creating welcoming communities, poverty and hunger, youth leadership.

I left with a packet full of information on a variety of issues, feeling empowered and happy.  You don’t have to sign every petition, attend every rally, or march every march to be an activist.  But if you can find something, one thing, that matters to you… that’s where it begins. Everyone who was there had their passion.  I had the privilege of hearing so many voices, and it was overwhelming, but in a good way.

I am hoping, over the next few blog posts, to highlight a few of the efforts taking place, some of the partnerships that are being formed, and maybe some stories of how they got started.  But for now, I’ll simply share the overriding values identified by the Rural Organizing Project… democracy, human dignity, justice, and solidarity… and encourage you to go to their website and learn more:

www.rop.org.

In closing, I will share my all-time favorite story about my dad.  When I was growing up, my dad was not known for his open-minded spirit. He used to remind me of the character Archie Bunker off the TV show All in the Family.  At about age 68, he quit drinking and I saw his demeanor become kinder.  At age 72, he went completely and irreversibly blind from macular degeneration.  In 1992, at the height of the OCA debacle, he was 76 years old and eating lunch with my mom at the local senior meal site.  The discussion turned to politics, and inevitably to Measure 9.  My brave dad, in spite of his blindness, in spite of his awareness that since World War II, he had lived in an extremely conservative community, STOOD UP, and spoke out loudly and boldly to his peers AGAINST Measure 9.  My dad, who I had once compared to Archie Bunker, took one small action that will forever define him in my book as an activist.  I have never been so proud as I was of him when I heard about it from my mom.  He didn't define himself as an activist, but he believed in fairness.

My dad would have turned 98 yesterday.  He passed away in 1994.  For the past 19 years, I have tried to live in a way that would make him proud, but most of all, to be as brave and outspoken about my truth as he was that day.  That one moment changed my perception of him forever, and sometimes all we need is one moment to speak out for justice to create peace.

Bread and Peace

My tiny rural town has a thrift bakery that has been there for decades.  Within walking distance are three low-income apartment complexes.  Historically, our economy has relied on four industries: dairy farming, fishing, logging, and tourism.  The local dairy industry has been largely dominated by a handful of local pioneer families, the fishing and logging industries have fallen into decline, and the tourism industry has consisted mostly of minimum-wage hospitality jobs, many of which are seasonal.  

This paints a bleak picture for our local economy, and underscores the need for a low-cost place for families to buy whole-grain bread, eggs, dairy, and other staples.  The Tillamook Franz Bakery Outlet has been that place.  In recent months, sales have suffered, leading the corporate office in another town to announce the store’s pending closure. 

For over half of the last year, the road on both sides of the store were nearly impassible, due to a construction project that seemed to take forever.  The road was closed, and even when it was reopened, the roads were still difficult.  People continue to avoid that stretch of road even now, as driving it entails negotiating an obstacle course of manhole covers that jut inches above the unfinished pavement.  In the local paper, a spokesman for the store’s parent company minimized the impact of the road closure on sales; locals know better.

It hadn’t occurred to me that there was any chance of the corporation changing their minds about closing the store, but I thought if they were going to close it, they ought to at least hear the truth of the matter: YES, that road closure DID matter, and locals are very upset about the closure and the impact it will have on our community.  On a whim, I looked up the company online, and called.  To my surprise, I encountered a friendly CEO who answered his own phone.  We had a nice chat, and to my surprise, he has agreed to reconsider the closure if sales improve.  I was impressed, so I posted details of the call to my Facebook page, encouraging people to shop at the store, and call the CEO to tell him of the commitment to keep it open.

A friend of mine created a Facebook event, using my original post, to “Save Tillamook Franz Bakery Outlet,” and as of this writing 270 people have signed onto this event to demonstrate their commitment to help keep this local asset.  There is also a write-up in the local paper.  The outcome remains to be seen, but I have high hopes.  I joked with the reporter from the paper, who is a friend of mine, that here I stand week after week at peace vigil, and sometimes feel so hopeless, but one call to a bread store…  !  It has kind of taken on a life of its own.

Many people are overwhelmed at the idea of creating peace.  It feels so daunting, so universal, yet peace is created in simple ways. Feeding the hungry creates peace, even if it’s just trying to keep low-cost food accessible to low-income families.  It can be other simple acts, such as making a phone call, writing a letter, interrupting a hateful remark, or sticking up for someone being bullied.  When we expand our definition of peace to include social and economic justice, and bringing comfort to others, it becomes so simple.  Peace can be a lifestyle!  Life, after all, is comprised of a series of individual moments; it’s how we spend those moments. 

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I am reminded that every single one of us, with each simple deed, is part of a larger process, the big picture.  To me, as corny as it may sound, this is bigger than a bread store.  It’s about the inspiration we can provide to one another.  I have been touched by the huge response to this by people who care enough about their community to take one small action.  Whether or not the bread store survives, the effort to save it has brought people together to do something good, and that IS a big deal.  The way we build community is the way we build peace: one action at a time.  Every small act of kindness counts, just like the ocean is made up of billions of tiny drops of water.  It’s when they band together, they become powerful.  For every Gandhi, for every Rosa Parks, for every Martin Luther King, there are countless others of us and we ALL make a difference.

“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”  Martin Luther King, Jr.