It all started with Howard Zinn. A few years ago, I stumbled across a book entitled, “A Power Governments Cannot Suppress,” by a man named Howard Zinn. The title sounded enticing, so I did something out of character and bought it without having opened it.
The book sat idle for a few weeks as I tried to find time to read it. I discovered it was a selection of essays, making it easier to read in bits and pieces. I started reading a chapter each night at bedtime and was quickly hooked.
Zinn wrote with passion, and articulated concepts I had often felt swirling wordlessly around inside me; his words were a call to action. I felt like I saw his soul, and admired his steely resolve of integrity, combined with genuine warmth and compassion. I found myself dog-earing pages, and underlining and starring section after section of his words. I had found a hero.
My “do-gooder” nature over the years has earned me some good-natured ribbing and the nickname of “Mrs. Justice” from my kids, but Howard Zinn understood. His words validated my need for “do-gooding,” but also struck a deeper chord, because Zinn was a historian extraordinaire. He gave a voice to those historically voiceless, and I realized that they are us, and all of us depend on all of us to do something. Anything and everything makes a difference. As Zinn illustrated in story after story, common people like you and me were the ones who changed the world, not leaders and politicians. Not only do we have the right to be do-gooders; we have a responsibility. I should probably mention here that I really hated history class, and skipped school at every opportunity to avoid it; now history had come alive.
About four days into my nightly Zinn-reading routine, I had a powerful and vivid dream. I was part of an ancient and powerful nomadic tribe, living in a plains area. Another smaller, peaceful tribe lived nearby, and I had become friends with a little boy from that tribe, about eight years old (I’m not sure of my age or gender in this dream; I guess it wasn’t relevant). For some time, my tribe had been tormenting this other tribe, and I watched in unspeakable horror as adults from my own tribe beat this boy brutally, then drowned him in a stream, laughing raucously. I knew in that moment that I was leaving my tribe, to live with the smaller, weaker tribe. I also knew the decision would result in my death, but I was at peace with that; it was better than being one of the killers, and I would die standing with MY people.
I woke in tears. I didn’t see the outcome of the dream and didn’t need to. I had chosen my tribe.
After that night, I began standing peace vigil, and reading and learning all I could about creating peace… writings by politicians, faith leaders, former soldiers, people living in war zones, and ordinary folks like Peace Pilgrim. I try to be mindful every day about standing on the side of peace, and not letting down my tribe.
I’ll leave it to you to think about who my tribe is, but if you stand for peace, I will stand with you. I know that Howard Zinn would too.
"The trouble is that once you see it, you can't unsee it. And once
you've seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an
act as speaking out. There's no innocence. Either way, you're
accountable." Arundhati Roy
This is my personal blog, which is focused on creating peace. Come on in and kick off your shoes! I appreciate feedback and would love your thoughts and comments.
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.
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.
Peace Out Loud
This is a post I have really been looking forward to writing ever since I started my blog, because it’s about who I really am, what I stand for, and why I decided to start a blog.
I work for a non-profit that helps violence survivors and part of our goal is to educate and raise awareness to help our community to prevent violence. In my spare time, I am a peace activist, as much as I have time to be while playing a very active role in the lives of my grandchildren. I wouldn’t have any of this any other way!
Every Friday evening, a small group of us stands peace vigil in our small, rural town… often only two of us, but that’s okay. We stand as a human reminder that yes, there’s still a war going on, several in fact, and they need to stop. We stand for the people who can’t: the troops who are sent far from their families to fight in a battle that isn’t theirs, for those who won’t come home (on all sides of the battle; the “enemy” has family too), and for those living in the war zones. There are other reasons why we stand; I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, and my friend Linda has been standing since the very beginning of the war, shortly after 9/11. Maybe the biggest reason is the need to, literally, take a stand for peace.
When I started, a couple of years ago, I noticed that we were frequently flipped off, screamed at, etc., by passers-by. But I felt very passionate about why I stood and those people only made me stronger. Over the past several months, I have experienced a change in attitude. More people honk, and give us thumbs up and other positive feedback, than ever before, and the rude gestures and remarks are fewer and further between. I think people are beginning to get as fed up as we are.
As time went by, I decided that reading about peace and standing vigil was nowhere near enough. I started using my Facebook page to promote peace. It started with a month-long effort to post a song about peace each day; this ended up going on for several months, at which point, I switched to posting a peace/anti-war quote each day. I continue to do this daily.
I have become much more outspoken than I used to be; to be honest, I can’t NOT be outspoken about a life or death issue that impacts every human on earth. I have not shied away from posting videos and photos showing the real devastation of war that network TV doesn’t want the public to see. I have promoted sites and efforts to resist the military draft, because our young people deserve better than that.
It takes more than the bombing to stop to create peace, although that’s a start. I see peace as a very holistic thing. Peace, like violence, can occur on all levels. Individual peace leads to more peaceful interpersonal relationships. It’s hard to be hateful and angry at others when you are happy with yourself. Once you reach the point of not carrying that anger and fear and malcontent, it’s much easier to create peace on a larger level. An example is speaking out against racism, and in favor of more peaceful means of communication. Violence becomes unthinkable and abhorrent. All the things that we as humans fight about seem petty and childish. On a global level, I really do believe that peace can be achieved. But it starts within each of us to care enough to talk about it.
Peace is about so much more than peace signs and hippies and tie-dye… it’s a way of life. It’s not wishful thinking; it’s faith in action. It isn’t always easy. It means choosing non-violence, no matter how justified violence may seem. It means respecting people, even if they are being disrespectful. It means being open to new ways to handle conflict that respect the person and the situation, then teaching it to our children and to others. Finding the good in someone you are angry with is a victory, not a weakness. And it means understanding the concept of karma: that revenge is pointless, because the person who hurt you has already created bad energy and you don’t need to go and create it too. It means listening, mediating, negotiating, and putting pride aside. These are values that traditionally have not been valued in our society, but I believe that, like many things, things are starting to change. Each generation seems to inch its way a little closer. The struggle for equality and civil rights didn’t begin or end in the 60’s; it’s on a continuum, and old, intolerant beliefs continue to be challenged and dismantled. I believe this is growing, as younger generations see the futility and stupidity in the previous oppressive behaviors.
Obviously, none of us are perfect, and we all fall short, but these are my goals in my daily life. Peace is hard work. But it can be habit-forming, because it feels good to live with purpose. We do each make a difference, you know. It’s just a matter of what kind of difference we make.
Peace can be created consciously. So how do we work more effectively toward world peace? I believe the keys are education and non-judgment. That takes effort, and it means having an open mind and doing research. If I hear something inflammatory about a particular group of people, I tend to distrust it immediately. After all, are you the same as every other person of your skin color, gender, religion, etc.? Of course not, and nobody else is all the same either. Whenever I hear stereotyping, I discount it, because I don’t believe in stereotyping. The best weapon against hateful thinking is facts. When I hear something that sounds like hate propaganda, I research it and refute it with facts. Needless to say, not everyone enjoys being corrected when they are trying to justify hateful beliefs, but I think it’s important to prevent the spread of misinformation. This is especially true when hateful stereotyping has led to violence, such as the racial profiling and hate crimes against people of Middle Eastern descent after 9/11. We can do better than this.
Another way to promote peace is by talking to combat veterans, especially in these most recent wars. Hear the truth, instead of the prime-time television pablum you have been fed. Realize that our money is being used to prop up the false concept of American exceptionalism, which essentially means, “we are Americans so we are better than you.” This kind of concept does not create peace. It causes resentment, and rightfully so. We are not better, and we are all just human. I am always baffled by people who refer to themselves as Christians who ascribe to this type of thinking… I don’t think Christ (the Prince of Peace) would be pleased with this arrogance.
This is also part of the reason I refuse to pledge allegiance to the flag. While others recite the verse they are told to recite, I stand with my hand over my heart and silently pray. I pray for those innocents we have killed, I pray for the American soldiers needlessly in harm’s way, and I pray for forgiveness of our nation’s warlike ways. First of all, I have a hard time picturing Christ pledging his allegiance to ANY flag, and I do try to live my life by those principles. I believe Christ saw the big picture, and was not caught up in nationalism. I cannot in good conscious be for global peace while supporting this thinking. I support my nation and those in it, just like I support other humans, but I will not support the drone strikes, the land mines, the obscenely huge war budget, the signing of the NDAA, the invasion and occupation of other countries under false pretenses, and the boosting of despotic regimes that has been carried out under this flag with my tax dollars. It makes me ashamed.
Needless to say, some have called me unpatriotic. I’d like to differentiate between patriotism and nationalism. Nationalism doesn’t question anything; it pledges blind allegiance, on the assumption that the government will do what is right. Patriotism wants what is actually best for the people. It wants justice, and fair laws, and equal rights. Nationalism cares about being number one. Patriotism means wanting to represent your country with pride by being the kind of person your country can be proud of. Therefore, I consider myself deeply patriotic. I value ALL human lives, not just American lives… kind of like Jesus would do.
If you are anything like me this way, and are being blasted as unpatriotic, take comfort in the fact that you are in prestigious company: Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Mark Twain, many of the Founding Fathers, Howard Zinn, Albert Schweitzer, Ralph Waldo Emerson… well, you get the idea, and I’m sure you can think of many of your own. In other words, people who didn’t settle for the status quo. It’s called thinking for yourself, and that’s a good thing.
I decided a while back I really wanted to write a book about war and privilege. It occurred to me that with my busy schedule, that would be a Herculean project at best. I don’t have the time to do the research to complete it in any reasonable time period. I suddenly realized that a blog would promote peace in a meaningful way, and in doable chunks. Best of all, it can morph and change and stay caught up with current events, unlike a book. I was hooked!
As soon as I decided to write a blog, ideas started to fly into my head, except for what to call it. A couple of days later, I was standing on the corner at my Friday night vigil when the phrase “Peace Out Loud” came into my head. It was perfect! After all, for peace to be effective, it needs to be spoken about, practiced mindfully, and lived out loud.
My goal with this blog is for every post to be in some way connected to peace. It may be personal peace, it may be world peace, or anything in between. Some of it may be very political, but it’s impossible to talk about peace without talking about such realities. Peace isn’t some lofty ideal to me, it’s a practical matter, which requires practical discussion about both the spiritual and the worldly.
At the end of the day, I always come back to myself and examine how I have behaved. Some days I get an “A,” and some days an “F.” We’re all a work in progress. Like a novice gardener, I’m starting with a small plot and dreaming big. Why not? I may be dreaming big and starting small, but I’m starting, and I’m learning, and that’s what counts. I’ll never be Gandhi, but it doesn’t matter. We only get a few decades on this planet to do what needs to be done, and my intention is to grow and learn while I’m here, and leave it nicer than when I came.
I am humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas. A big thank you to everyone who reads my blog, and I always welcome your feedback, thoughts, ideas, and dreams. Thank you for coming to visit, and I wish you peace!
I work for a non-profit that helps violence survivors and part of our goal is to educate and raise awareness to help our community to prevent violence. In my spare time, I am a peace activist, as much as I have time to be while playing a very active role in the lives of my grandchildren. I wouldn’t have any of this any other way!
Every Friday evening, a small group of us stands peace vigil in our small, rural town… often only two of us, but that’s okay. We stand as a human reminder that yes, there’s still a war going on, several in fact, and they need to stop. We stand for the people who can’t: the troops who are sent far from their families to fight in a battle that isn’t theirs, for those who won’t come home (on all sides of the battle; the “enemy” has family too), and for those living in the war zones. There are other reasons why we stand; I’ve been doing it for a couple of years now, and my friend Linda has been standing since the very beginning of the war, shortly after 9/11. Maybe the biggest reason is the need to, literally, take a stand for peace.
When I started, a couple of years ago, I noticed that we were frequently flipped off, screamed at, etc., by passers-by. But I felt very passionate about why I stood and those people only made me stronger. Over the past several months, I have experienced a change in attitude. More people honk, and give us thumbs up and other positive feedback, than ever before, and the rude gestures and remarks are fewer and further between. I think people are beginning to get as fed up as we are.
As time went by, I decided that reading about peace and standing vigil was nowhere near enough. I started using my Facebook page to promote peace. It started with a month-long effort to post a song about peace each day; this ended up going on for several months, at which point, I switched to posting a peace/anti-war quote each day. I continue to do this daily.
I have become much more outspoken than I used to be; to be honest, I can’t NOT be outspoken about a life or death issue that impacts every human on earth. I have not shied away from posting videos and photos showing the real devastation of war that network TV doesn’t want the public to see. I have promoted sites and efforts to resist the military draft, because our young people deserve better than that.
It takes more than the bombing to stop to create peace, although that’s a start. I see peace as a very holistic thing. Peace, like violence, can occur on all levels. Individual peace leads to more peaceful interpersonal relationships. It’s hard to be hateful and angry at others when you are happy with yourself. Once you reach the point of not carrying that anger and fear and malcontent, it’s much easier to create peace on a larger level. An example is speaking out against racism, and in favor of more peaceful means of communication. Violence becomes unthinkable and abhorrent. All the things that we as humans fight about seem petty and childish. On a global level, I really do believe that peace can be achieved. But it starts within each of us to care enough to talk about it.
Peace is about so much more than peace signs and hippies and tie-dye… it’s a way of life. It’s not wishful thinking; it’s faith in action. It isn’t always easy. It means choosing non-violence, no matter how justified violence may seem. It means respecting people, even if they are being disrespectful. It means being open to new ways to handle conflict that respect the person and the situation, then teaching it to our children and to others. Finding the good in someone you are angry with is a victory, not a weakness. And it means understanding the concept of karma: that revenge is pointless, because the person who hurt you has already created bad energy and you don’t need to go and create it too. It means listening, mediating, negotiating, and putting pride aside. These are values that traditionally have not been valued in our society, but I believe that, like many things, things are starting to change. Each generation seems to inch its way a little closer. The struggle for equality and civil rights didn’t begin or end in the 60’s; it’s on a continuum, and old, intolerant beliefs continue to be challenged and dismantled. I believe this is growing, as younger generations see the futility and stupidity in the previous oppressive behaviors.
Obviously, none of us are perfect, and we all fall short, but these are my goals in my daily life. Peace is hard work. But it can be habit-forming, because it feels good to live with purpose. We do each make a difference, you know. It’s just a matter of what kind of difference we make.
Peace can be created consciously. So how do we work more effectively toward world peace? I believe the keys are education and non-judgment. That takes effort, and it means having an open mind and doing research. If I hear something inflammatory about a particular group of people, I tend to distrust it immediately. After all, are you the same as every other person of your skin color, gender, religion, etc.? Of course not, and nobody else is all the same either. Whenever I hear stereotyping, I discount it, because I don’t believe in stereotyping. The best weapon against hateful thinking is facts. When I hear something that sounds like hate propaganda, I research it and refute it with facts. Needless to say, not everyone enjoys being corrected when they are trying to justify hateful beliefs, but I think it’s important to prevent the spread of misinformation. This is especially true when hateful stereotyping has led to violence, such as the racial profiling and hate crimes against people of Middle Eastern descent after 9/11. We can do better than this.
Another way to promote peace is by talking to combat veterans, especially in these most recent wars. Hear the truth, instead of the prime-time television pablum you have been fed. Realize that our money is being used to prop up the false concept of American exceptionalism, which essentially means, “we are Americans so we are better than you.” This kind of concept does not create peace. It causes resentment, and rightfully so. We are not better, and we are all just human. I am always baffled by people who refer to themselves as Christians who ascribe to this type of thinking… I don’t think Christ (the Prince of Peace) would be pleased with this arrogance.
This is also part of the reason I refuse to pledge allegiance to the flag. While others recite the verse they are told to recite, I stand with my hand over my heart and silently pray. I pray for those innocents we have killed, I pray for the American soldiers needlessly in harm’s way, and I pray for forgiveness of our nation’s warlike ways. First of all, I have a hard time picturing Christ pledging his allegiance to ANY flag, and I do try to live my life by those principles. I believe Christ saw the big picture, and was not caught up in nationalism. I cannot in good conscious be for global peace while supporting this thinking. I support my nation and those in it, just like I support other humans, but I will not support the drone strikes, the land mines, the obscenely huge war budget, the signing of the NDAA, the invasion and occupation of other countries under false pretenses, and the boosting of despotic regimes that has been carried out under this flag with my tax dollars. It makes me ashamed.
Needless to say, some have called me unpatriotic. I’d like to differentiate between patriotism and nationalism. Nationalism doesn’t question anything; it pledges blind allegiance, on the assumption that the government will do what is right. Patriotism wants what is actually best for the people. It wants justice, and fair laws, and equal rights. Nationalism cares about being number one. Patriotism means wanting to represent your country with pride by being the kind of person your country can be proud of. Therefore, I consider myself deeply patriotic. I value ALL human lives, not just American lives… kind of like Jesus would do.
If you are anything like me this way, and are being blasted as unpatriotic, take comfort in the fact that you are in prestigious company: Albert Einstein, Helen Keller, Mark Twain, many of the Founding Fathers, Howard Zinn, Albert Schweitzer, Ralph Waldo Emerson… well, you get the idea, and I’m sure you can think of many of your own. In other words, people who didn’t settle for the status quo. It’s called thinking for yourself, and that’s a good thing.
I decided a while back I really wanted to write a book about war and privilege. It occurred to me that with my busy schedule, that would be a Herculean project at best. I don’t have the time to do the research to complete it in any reasonable time period. I suddenly realized that a blog would promote peace in a meaningful way, and in doable chunks. Best of all, it can morph and change and stay caught up with current events, unlike a book. I was hooked!
As soon as I decided to write a blog, ideas started to fly into my head, except for what to call it. A couple of days later, I was standing on the corner at my Friday night vigil when the phrase “Peace Out Loud” came into my head. It was perfect! After all, for peace to be effective, it needs to be spoken about, practiced mindfully, and lived out loud.
My goal with this blog is for every post to be in some way connected to peace. It may be personal peace, it may be world peace, or anything in between. Some of it may be very political, but it’s impossible to talk about peace without talking about such realities. Peace isn’t some lofty ideal to me, it’s a practical matter, which requires practical discussion about both the spiritual and the worldly.
At the end of the day, I always come back to myself and examine how I have behaved. Some days I get an “A,” and some days an “F.” We’re all a work in progress. Like a novice gardener, I’m starting with a small plot and dreaming big. Why not? I may be dreaming big and starting small, but I’m starting, and I’m learning, and that’s what counts. I’ll never be Gandhi, but it doesn’t matter. We only get a few decades on this planet to do what needs to be done, and my intention is to grow and learn while I’m here, and leave it nicer than when I came.
I am humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and ideas. A big thank you to everyone who reads my blog, and I always welcome your feedback, thoughts, ideas, and dreams. Thank you for coming to visit, and I wish you peace!
A Time for Reflection, Part III of III
This is the third installment in my three-part series, “A Time for Reflection.” It is a commentary on the Newtown, CT shootings earlier this year. My first installment was about lack of access to mental health, my second installment was about gun control, and this, the most difficult installment, is about the violence that is so accepted and prevalent in our society. It is so entrenched and goes so deep into our collective consciousness that it can be hard to grasp, and therefore, it took me weeks to write this post.
We live in a violent society. We all acknowledge it, and I have a theory about WHY we’re so violent: all violence stems from fear. Numerous studies have shown that human beings are not inherently violent, but become so in response to fear. We are the most prosperous and militarily powerful nation on earth, yet we are consumed, as a society, with fear: fear of terrorism, criminal attacks, economic collapse, apocalypse, viruses… and one another. The media deserves a large share of the blame, with their constant fear mongering. The TV “news” does not reflect the whole reality of our world; it is carefully chosen and filtered by someone else for us to view. The intention is to create emotion and sensation, and keep us tuning in for more. Our “news” channels are nothing more than a propaganda machine. Even today’s game shows are for more dangerous and humiliating for contestants than those of 30 years ago.
It’s impossible to turn on the TV without being bombarded for ads for pills, for every conceivable “condition.” Two things I’d like to point out about the pills: First off, these pharmaceutical companies do not altruistically focus on a particular disease, with the intention of finding a cure. They mix chemicals and test them on humans. When they find a combination that treats a particular symptom, they spend copious amounts of money to promote it, regardless of potential dangers, including death. When you buy prescriptions, generally speaking, you are paying more for ads than research… pure profit for this monster industry.
My second point is that one thing many mass shooters seem to have in common is their use of these psychotropic prescription medications. Was their violence the result of their mental instability, or the dangerous, under-regulated chemicals coursing through their bodies? Other nations have banned some of these chemicals, but not ours. It’s irresponsible to talk about the violence in our society without taking a look at the violence committed by those with a legally altered consciousness, on drugs known to create erratic, even violent behavior.
We are a nation built on violence, exploitation, and subjugation. I mention this because fear begets greed, which begets violence. From the genocide, rape, and land theft against the Native peoples, to the kidnapping, trafficking, and enslavement of the African tribes, and the exploitation, trafficking, and blatant racism toward Chinese, Irish, and now Hispanic immigrants, we have continued our bloody, shameful legacy. We have been an oligarchy, run by the very wealthy, right from the start. The people who run this country want nothing more than to keep us fearful, medicated, and violent toward one another. So I believe that fear, greed, and violence are incorporated into our cultural psyche.
But I’d like to take it one layer deeper: Why do we buy into the fear? I believe it has to do with how we define power. Fear is generally the result of feeling a threat of losing power or control, over someone or something. We have all we need as a nation, yet it is never enough. The entitlement is burned into our collective psyche, and like a spoiled child, we are overly competitive and insecure, because we perceive power as “things,” and we fear having it all stripped away.
We tend toward violence as a quick solution, in much the same way we rush to take a pill to solve our problems, rather than change our lifestyle. We put a higher value on people who have power manifested externally, such as physical prowess and wealth, rather than valuing every person equally. When we dehumanize people in this way, we pave the way for justifying violence.
I once heard a story I will never forget: in WWII, our soldiers were enlisting by the thousands to serve their country, but were reluctant to kill other humans…we humans aren’t hard-wired for violence, remember. The war propagandists put their heads together, and hired a young cartoonist, named Walt Disney, to draw caricatures of Germans and Japanese with rat and pig faces. This dehumanization had the desired effect, making them “the enemy.“ Americans were more willing to see them as less than human and kill them.
Being aware of how violence is ingrained in our culture is the first step to changing it. It’s also important to understand, especially as we are in the longest war in our history, that violence on higher levels supports violence on lower levels. Everything from domestic violence, to bullying, to racism, to global aggression is part of the same continuum, and is self-perpetuating. In other words, the same excuses we use to hurt those close to us are the same ones we use to justify global violence.
There will always be a tiny percentage of the population that will be psychopathic, and delight in the suffering of others. But much violence in general can be alleviated if we change our outlook. What if we switched our focus on valuing living things instead of inanimate ones? What if we stopped cutting funding to arts and music programs, while glorifying sports in our schools (which sends a message that athletes are the “important” kids)? What if we taught our kids more about cooperation than competition, and giving instead of achieving?
It’s truly up to us to re-evaluate what power really means, and look at authentic power. Picture the last street person you saw and think of your reaction to that person. Was your initial reaction to them based on fear? Gratitude it wasn’t you? Now imagine that same person, cleaned up, in expensive clothing. How would your response be different? This is how we need to shift our thinking if we are going to learn to value one another as equals in our society.
I wonder if things might have turned out differently in Newtown if the shooter’s mother had not been so fearful. She apparently stockpiled food and guns in preparation for something she believed and feared would happen. Even though she had knowledge of her son’s mental instability, she chose to take him to the shooting range to teach him to protect himself from some perceived danger. The danger, in this case, was himself. How incredibly sad for so many people.
We are at an exciting juncture and this is a great time to be alive. We can begin to consciously choose non-violence, and act as inspiration to one another, or we can continue the same old patterns of greed, fear, oppression and violence. We can strive to address the violence on all levels of society, be it interpersonal or international. When we honor and value each human being, there is nothing to fear. When we stop believing that the evening news reflects the norm, we begin to realize that the world is not such a horrible, hateful place. I personally see acts of love and kindness on a daily basis that will never make the news. When we rid ourselves of “us and them,” and understand that we are all “we,” the violence begins to end. Without fear, there is no need anymore.
I write this at the very tail end of 2012, and I am optimistic that we as a species, and hopefully as a society, will continue to evolve spiritually, and learn to love and care for one another… not become more isolated and fearful. I believe in the human spirit’s ability to rise above adversity. Here is my favorite quote of all time, which I find more inspiring than anything I will ever write. I hope you will carry it in your heart this coming year, and that it brings you peace:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
Howard Zinn
We live in a violent society. We all acknowledge it, and I have a theory about WHY we’re so violent: all violence stems from fear. Numerous studies have shown that human beings are not inherently violent, but become so in response to fear. We are the most prosperous and militarily powerful nation on earth, yet we are consumed, as a society, with fear: fear of terrorism, criminal attacks, economic collapse, apocalypse, viruses… and one another. The media deserves a large share of the blame, with their constant fear mongering. The TV “news” does not reflect the whole reality of our world; it is carefully chosen and filtered by someone else for us to view. The intention is to create emotion and sensation, and keep us tuning in for more. Our “news” channels are nothing more than a propaganda machine. Even today’s game shows are for more dangerous and humiliating for contestants than those of 30 years ago.
It’s impossible to turn on the TV without being bombarded for ads for pills, for every conceivable “condition.” Two things I’d like to point out about the pills: First off, these pharmaceutical companies do not altruistically focus on a particular disease, with the intention of finding a cure. They mix chemicals and test them on humans. When they find a combination that treats a particular symptom, they spend copious amounts of money to promote it, regardless of potential dangers, including death. When you buy prescriptions, generally speaking, you are paying more for ads than research… pure profit for this monster industry.
My second point is that one thing many mass shooters seem to have in common is their use of these psychotropic prescription medications. Was their violence the result of their mental instability, or the dangerous, under-regulated chemicals coursing through their bodies? Other nations have banned some of these chemicals, but not ours. It’s irresponsible to talk about the violence in our society without taking a look at the violence committed by those with a legally altered consciousness, on drugs known to create erratic, even violent behavior.
We are a nation built on violence, exploitation, and subjugation. I mention this because fear begets greed, which begets violence. From the genocide, rape, and land theft against the Native peoples, to the kidnapping, trafficking, and enslavement of the African tribes, and the exploitation, trafficking, and blatant racism toward Chinese, Irish, and now Hispanic immigrants, we have continued our bloody, shameful legacy. We have been an oligarchy, run by the very wealthy, right from the start. The people who run this country want nothing more than to keep us fearful, medicated, and violent toward one another. So I believe that fear, greed, and violence are incorporated into our cultural psyche.
But I’d like to take it one layer deeper: Why do we buy into the fear? I believe it has to do with how we define power. Fear is generally the result of feeling a threat of losing power or control, over someone or something. We have all we need as a nation, yet it is never enough. The entitlement is burned into our collective psyche, and like a spoiled child, we are overly competitive and insecure, because we perceive power as “things,” and we fear having it all stripped away.
We tend toward violence as a quick solution, in much the same way we rush to take a pill to solve our problems, rather than change our lifestyle. We put a higher value on people who have power manifested externally, such as physical prowess and wealth, rather than valuing every person equally. When we dehumanize people in this way, we pave the way for justifying violence.
I once heard a story I will never forget: in WWII, our soldiers were enlisting by the thousands to serve their country, but were reluctant to kill other humans…we humans aren’t hard-wired for violence, remember. The war propagandists put their heads together, and hired a young cartoonist, named Walt Disney, to draw caricatures of Germans and Japanese with rat and pig faces. This dehumanization had the desired effect, making them “the enemy.“ Americans were more willing to see them as less than human and kill them.
Being aware of how violence is ingrained in our culture is the first step to changing it. It’s also important to understand, especially as we are in the longest war in our history, that violence on higher levels supports violence on lower levels. Everything from domestic violence, to bullying, to racism, to global aggression is part of the same continuum, and is self-perpetuating. In other words, the same excuses we use to hurt those close to us are the same ones we use to justify global violence.
There will always be a tiny percentage of the population that will be psychopathic, and delight in the suffering of others. But much violence in general can be alleviated if we change our outlook. What if we switched our focus on valuing living things instead of inanimate ones? What if we stopped cutting funding to arts and music programs, while glorifying sports in our schools (which sends a message that athletes are the “important” kids)? What if we taught our kids more about cooperation than competition, and giving instead of achieving?
It’s truly up to us to re-evaluate what power really means, and look at authentic power. Picture the last street person you saw and think of your reaction to that person. Was your initial reaction to them based on fear? Gratitude it wasn’t you? Now imagine that same person, cleaned up, in expensive clothing. How would your response be different? This is how we need to shift our thinking if we are going to learn to value one another as equals in our society.
I wonder if things might have turned out differently in Newtown if the shooter’s mother had not been so fearful. She apparently stockpiled food and guns in preparation for something she believed and feared would happen. Even though she had knowledge of her son’s mental instability, she chose to take him to the shooting range to teach him to protect himself from some perceived danger. The danger, in this case, was himself. How incredibly sad for so many people.
We are at an exciting juncture and this is a great time to be alive. We can begin to consciously choose non-violence, and act as inspiration to one another, or we can continue the same old patterns of greed, fear, oppression and violence. We can strive to address the violence on all levels of society, be it interpersonal or international. When we honor and value each human being, there is nothing to fear. When we stop believing that the evening news reflects the norm, we begin to realize that the world is not such a horrible, hateful place. I personally see acts of love and kindness on a daily basis that will never make the news. When we rid ourselves of “us and them,” and understand that we are all “we,” the violence begins to end. Without fear, there is no need anymore.
I write this at the very tail end of 2012, and I am optimistic that we as a species, and hopefully as a society, will continue to evolve spiritually, and learn to love and care for one another… not become more isolated and fearful. I believe in the human spirit’s ability to rise above adversity. Here is my favorite quote of all time, which I find more inspiring than anything I will ever write. I hope you will carry it in your heart this coming year, and that it brings you peace:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
Howard Zinn
A Time for Reflection, Part II of III
Here is Part II of my three-part installment on the Newtown, CT shootings. As I stated before, I see three very strong factors behind the current incident. I’m not trying to minimize the complexity of this incident, or “place the blame” on any one thing, just outlining my own beliefs about three factors that may have made a difference. Part I of the my blog post was about barriers to access for mental health treatment. Part II is about gun ownership.
I haven’t heard anyone advocate for taking away everyone’s guns, yet I have never seen such vitriol and paranoia, in the mass or social media. People are entrenched in a very contentious national argument right now, both sides are polarized, and I’m going to say what needs to be said: We need to ban assault weapons. Period. Assault weapons are for one thing: killing as many as possible as quickly as possible. And in this case, I believe that if assault weapons were illegal, this young man might not have gotten one. Here is why I believe this:
It so happens that the weapons belonged to his mother, a gun enthusiast who purchased them legally. He had tried to purchase a gun and was denied. His mother was not a criminal, so if they were illegal, it is unlikely she would have them. Like most of these mass shooters, he was a socially awkward, mentally disturbed person, not a hardened criminal with a network of gun-running associates. While it is possible that if his mother hadn’t have had the guns, he would have gotten one, it’s not probable. Yes, criminals will still have guns, and people will still do bad things… but there would be fewer of them available, and they would be harder to access, especially for a withdrawn, emotionally disturbed kid with few connections or friends.
I’m sick to death of hearing, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Well, what do people use to kill people? It’s easier to import guns in this country than it is to import bananas, yet people don’t kill people with bananas. Shouldn’t it be at least as difficult to import guns? No, guns don’t self-animate and shoot people. But it’s equally hard for a madman (or woman) to kill dozens of innocent people in mere seconds WITHOUT a gun. So yes, people kill people, but it’s pretty damn easy to kill lots of them, very quickly, from a distance, without getting sweaty or even getting blood on you, with a gun. Makes it nice and convenient, doesn’t it.
Does anyone honestly believe that someone who walks into a crowd with, say a knife, is going to do the same amount of damage, in the same amount of time, as someone carrying an assault weapon? Case in point: the same day the Newtown shooting took place, a man in China entered a classroom with a knife and stabbed 22 schoolchildren. As horrific as this is, NOBODY DIED. I am told that in the Newtown shooting, the medical examiners used photos for parents to identify their children because viewing their grisly little bodies would be too traumatic. Such is the damage done by a high-caliber assault weapon: it did more than kill them; it annihilated them. How can we defend these weapons?
I am all for people having guns to defend and feed their families. I grew up shooting guns, and I support the Second Amendment. But this was written at a time when assault weapons did not exist, when it took 15 seconds to reload the single shot muskets that were being used at that time. I do not support the ownership of assault rifles. I maintain that this shooting may well have been prevented if this young man had not had legal, easy access to a weapon of mass destruction. And while he could have perhaps made an explosive or used another weapon, that would not have been as easy or convenient as grabbing a legal, readily available instrument of death.
There is also a sad fascination with guns in our culture; they denote power and glory. They are in all the video games, movies, etc. How often do you see the hero “blow the bad guys away” with a knife, or a homemade explosive? No, there he stands in all his glory, with his high-powered assault rifles. When things get out of hand, we “bring in the big guns,” don’t we. And what is cooler in our society than going out in a “blaze of glory?” Guns are cool, just ask the NRA. Oh never mind, they’re being a little quiet right now.
I’ve talked to several people with varying views on gun control. I think I now understand the irrational rage and hostility people exhibit when anyone dares to suggest banning these dangerous assault weapons. It’s FEAR. That’s right, behind the mask of bravado, behind the Monday morning quarterbacking of “I carry a concealed weapon and could have stopped him,” behind the cries of, “Arm the teachers!!” is stone cold fear. When I ask people why they think we need these weapons, they are scared to death… of government takeover, of zombies (no, I am not kidding), of deadly viruses (because we all know how handy a Bushmaster can be to blow away that pesky flu virus), of economic collapse and their homes being attacked, and the list goes on.
These people are so taken in by the culture of fear which is stoked by the NRA, gun manufacturers, and the mainstream media outlets, that they have lost their common sense. They are willing to scream with outrage about gun owner’s rights, yet these same people are silent about the rights of schoolchildren and teachers to return home alive each day. I’m not saying they don’t care; they are just so consumed with fear that their priorities have been warped.
It is time for a serious conversation about an assault weapons ban, stricter regulations around gun ownership, such as training requirements, etc., and consequences for those who choose not to behave like responsible gun owners. We owe it to the victims of last weeks shooting, and their families. And this needs to be a conversation devoid of hysterics, false bravado, and paranoia. We owe it to them to be adults and TALK.
This leads me to my next installment, while I will post tomorrow, about our culture of violence. It is deeply enmeshed in our culture of fear, and greatly contributes to the misguided belief that our world is an unsafe place without an arsenal of assault weapons.
I have posted several posts on gun control on my Facebook page, which have set off a firestorm of arguments, rants, and personal attacks. When I posted a link to an article that provided information about direct ways to help the shooting victims’ families and community last weekend, only one person “liked” it, nobody commented, and nobody shared it. They were too busy fighting about gun owner’s rights. Here’s the link, in case anyone is interested in learning more about how to actually help: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/14/connecticut-elementary-school-shooting-how-to-help_n_2302760.html
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