In Memoriam (12 January, 1956 - 22 February, 2012)

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The sublime Marie Colvin, a 56-year-old veteran correspondent, was killed along with her friend and collaborator French photojournalist Remi Ochlik in Syria, where they have been covering the revolution. Colvin, originally from New York, worked for The Sunday Times of London. She was reported to have been trying to retrieve her shoes, which as custom dictates she had left at the front door so she could escape the shelling that had begun. Every report of her demise described her as courageous and dedicated to the story.   

The UK's Guardian carried the following: Colvin writes, "Covering a war means going to places torn by chaos, destruction and death, and trying to bear witness. It means trying to find the truth in a sandstorm of propaganda when armies, tribes or terrorists clash. And yes, it means taking risks, not just for yourself but often for the people who work closely with you."

Republicans in Debate

And then there were Four....   

I remember the moments right after I tuned in to watch the first of what seems like a million Republican Debates. I settled in with a bowl of popcorn on my lap so that I could fool myself into thinking I was about to be informed and entertained. But I set the popcorn aside as I took a good look at the assemblage of hopefuls: Senator Rick Santorum; Herman Cain; Rep. Ron Paul, Mitt Romney; Rep. Michele Bachmann; Tim Pawlenty; Jon Huntsman; Newt Gingrich.

Wow!" I thought. Is that the best they've got? And though I knew they were all going to be pretty good news for Democrats, I said a prayer for my country and watched the Republican Debate for as long as I could--long enough for me to remember that Jon Huntsman, who had served in China for President Obama, was a keen strategist and gifted foreign policy expert, and Ron Paul, who is an interesting outside-the-box thinker and innovator, were unique among the group. But soon Huntsman dropped out of the race leaving Paul as the only voice of reason and by far the brightest of the bunch. That remains true now that their number has shrunk to four. Of the other three, Romney, who looks the most Presidential but sounds, well, let’s just say not so presidential, won both the Michigan and Arizona primaries, yet seems unsure of his own beliefs. Rick Santorum, who makes things up at will, is flat out uninformed and doesn’t seem at all suited to the presidency of anything more complicated than a church group, came in behind Romney, but not by enough to keep him from swaggering. Gingrich swings between being an affable guy and an arrogant old war horse. He has a bunch of accusations, divorces and other questionable integrity gaps swirling around him, which may account for his low scores in both states.

Out of self-love and self-preservation I stopped watching full debates after the second one and came to rely for information on The New York Times, clips of the highlights, my favorite talking heads, and the words of the candidates themselves as they hit the trail. Through it all, I have found myself astounded and dismayed that someone so obviously unqualified to be the leader of the free world as Rick Santorum, could be taken seriously. Only in America, which is both the good and the bad news about my country.

I expect that President Dwight David Eisenhower is spinning in his grave at what has become of his party. He once said, “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” 

   

A Few Simple Actions:

1. If you haven’t watched any of these debates, then please at least get used to the idea that what happens among the Republicans can greatly impact you in more ways than I can even think about. Look at the websites of these men and see how they are selling themselves.
2. Encourage members of your family and your Progressive, Democratic and Independent  friends to do the same.
3. Set a few hours over the next few weeks to catch up. YouTube and CNN can make it easy for you.
4. Write to those of these nominee hopefuls who you think might be reasonable, and tell them what qualities you’d like them to adopt.
5. Let President Obama know what you want of him as well. And please be constructive and supportive.

One Republican in a Foil Hat

Though the scientific proof for climate change is irrefutable, there are those who, either through ignorance, for political gain among uninformed voters, or to garner vast amounts of corporate funding from those who pollute and destroy the environment, are climate change deniers. To make a mockery of their lame protests against the reality of climate change, the organization Environmental Action gave out tin foil hats to legislators and others who reject reality and cling to their absurdity. Santorum came by his tin hat honestly. Here’s how:

“I refer to global warming as not climate science, but political science–a lot of these environmental sciences are just that–political sciences. They have nothing to do with…real understanding of how we have to value both the environment and its impact on man and the world.”  Like much of what Santorum says, this line left me thinking, what’s wrong with him? And set me off to find a great line from the hilarious film “A Fish Called Wanda.” In a moment of exasperation Wanda, wonderfully played by Jamie Lee Curtis, screams at Otto (Kevin Klein), that, “Calling you stupid would be an insult to stupid people!” 

I also felt encouraged to check out Rick Santorum’s other views. What follows includes some of my favorites among his myriad of fabrications, half-truths, misunderstandings and absurdities. They clearly do not add up to being presidential. He has little capacity for critical thinking, analysis and differentiating truth from fiction. Those factors, combined with the disjointed way he puts sentences together and his aversion to intelligent people could well jeopardize the welfare and the very future of America should he ever hold a position that puts him in direct contact with the important, passionate, powerful and, God forbid, intellectual array of leaders currently populating the world stage.

On the environment: 

• "There is no such thing as global warming." (Hmmm)
• "There's a variety of factors that contribute to the earth warming and cooling, and to me this is an opportunity for the left to create—it's a beautifully concocted scheme because they know that the earth is gonna cool and warm." (It looks like the pope is in on the scam! How else do you explain the Vatican aiding the Obama administration during the Copenhagen climate talks in December 2009?)

On President Obama:

• President Barack Obama "has put (up) a stop sign…against oil drilling, against any kind of exploration offshore or in Alaska." (untrue)
• "Any child born prematurely, according to the president, in his own words, can be killed."  (untrue)
• If elected President, "my first executive order would be to repeal ObamaCare."
• "President Obama said he wants everybody in America to go to college. What a snob!”  (really?)

More on the Dangers of Education: 

• "There are good, decent men and women who go out and work hard every day and put their skills to the test that aren’t taught by some liberal college professor trying to indoctrinate them."
• "I don’t know if it still holds true but I suspect it may even be worse—that 62 percent of kids who enter college with some sort of faith commitment leave without it." 
• "I understand why he wants you to go to college. He wants to re-make you in his image."  

On Euthanasia: 

• "In the Netherlands, people wear different bracelets if they are elderly.... And the bracelet is: 'Do not euthanize me.' Because they have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands but half of the people who are euthanized—10 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands—half of those people are euthanized involuntarily at hospitals because they are older and sick. And so elderly people in the Netherlands don't go to the hospital. They go to another country, because they are afraid, because of budget purposes, they will not come out of that hospital if they go in there with sickness."  

On Homosexuality:

• "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing. And when you destroy that you have a dramatic impact on the quality."
• "We have made the decision that the best way to raise a family is with a man and a woman."
• "[The] right to privacy…doesn't exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution." (Rick Santorum on the right to privacy)

On Islam & Israel:

• "A Democracy could not exist because Mohammed already made the perfect law. The Quran is perfect just the way it is. That’s why it is only written in Islamic." (Islamic?)
• "Israelis have the right to determine what happens in their land. And all of Israel, including the quote, you know, West Bank, is Israeli land."

On Women, Sex and Reproduction:

• "The reason Social Security is in big trouble is we don’t have enough workers to support the retirees. Well, a third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion, because one in three pregnancies end in abortion."
• "I can’t imagine any other organization with its roots as poisonous as the roots of Planned Parenthood getting federal funding of any kind. This is an organization that was founded on the eugenics movement, founded on racism." (PP serves all races and Santorum should look up eugenics. It would be antithetical to PP. Maybe he should look up antithetical while he’s at it.)
• "[Sex] is supposed to be within marriage. It's supposed to be for purposes that are yes, conjugal… but also procreative. That's the perfect way that a sexual union should happen…. This is special and it needs to be seen as special. 
• Contraception is "a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."
• "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery, you have the right to anything."
• "My concern is that being in combat in that situation [women in battle], instead of being focused on the mission, they might be more concerned about protecting a woman in a vulnerable position."

Some Things to Think About and Do:

1. Use this as an opportunity to look at each of Santorum’s positions and get clear about what you believe in each area.
2. If you don’t have a clear way to express yourself on each of these issue areas, take a little time to sit with them one by one and begin to get a true sense of how you feel and what you think about them.
3. If and/or when you are clear, jot down some ideas and key words that you can use to support for your positions.
4. Don’t keep your ideas to yourself. This is the right time to be out there championing the ideas and dreams you want to see become reality. 
5. Let the President and the people representing or wanting to represent you know as well.

Don’t Let Big Oil Have Its Way with Bryce Canyon

Now let's see, which is more important? Would it be: Bryce Canyon or Big Oil? Let me think: Bryce Canyon or Big Oil; Bryce Canyon or Big Oil; Bryce Canyon or Big Oil? One is a famous, spectacular, unique, and inspiring wonder to behold, while the other spews filthy toxins into the air and creates visually and actually toxic sprawls. Where wonders once dominated the landscape, giant prying mantis-like rigs pumping black gold would work away. Take just a moment to close your eyes and imagine the clear night sky above Bryce Canyon, with its natural diamond-studded blackness and an air of magic. Stars of all sizes and degrees of brilliance and brightness shine or flicker; occasionally you may even be treated to a star shooting across the infinite sky. 

Holy War is an Oxymoron

There is hardly a day that goes by in which we are unaffected by the confluence of church and state somewhere in the world. I covered one aspect of this confluence in this earlier post, but, since every religion tends to lay claim to the Divine, it is the subject that just keeps on giving. Wild and bloody wars have been fought throughout history by those who use God as their front “man.”  Yet no one can legitimately claim the exclusive right to speak for God. 

These beliefs in Divine exclusivity don't have to be a permanent condition, and there is a lot that you can do to rectify the situation. You might begin by taking note of the stands that your own religion or spiritual practice takes on social issues. How much does that religion or practice claim that political or social issues are in God’s domain? And does their/your God actually sanction or encourage war and murder in “his” name?

I’m talking about both the sacred and the profane, things holy, matters of war, and the notion that both individuals and nations can get away with murder if it’s done under the banners of holiness. At their core, each of the world’s great religions holds the profound spiritual principles of love, kindness, compassion and honesty.  The basics are pretty simple: have reverence for and faith in some form of divine energy greater than yourself, don't hurt anybody including yourself, don’t mess with other people's stuff, and treat the earth and all of its creatures with deep respect. Everything else, including most scripture, is pretty much a matter of style, man-made laws and politics. In many cases, these sacred principles were dressed up in fancy dogma, and the essential message and purpose were lost. God was thus created in man’s image. This God is basically judgmental, loving those who follow “his” rules and punishing those who do not.

When dogma replaces spirituality, the worship of God can become righteous, divisive, warlike or repressive. The Crusades and colonialism often used coercion and bloodshed to spread Christianity, invoking God to justify conquering and converting indigenous peoples throughout the world, and usurping their land to ostensibly “save” their souls. Sound like a scam? The conversion to Islam, like Christianity, was violent, fraught with men on horseback wielding swords that forced their belief on their vanquished “infidel” enemy. In the Middle East, Yahweh and Allah remain faced off in a fight for land and principle. In Egypt, Coptic Christians have faced extinction. In Kashmir and Bangladesh, Hindus and Muslims are pitted against each other. In India atrocities were visited on Muslims in Gujarat as villages were burned and villagers were hacked and raped. Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and the US are not exempt. The Jews prayed as the Nazis swept them into concentration camps. In Northern Ireland a clash of Christianities has caused suffering, terror and death. Al Qaeda called the attack on the US a holy war, and George W. Bush in return invoked God to justify laying  waste to those he claimed to be the evildoers.  Thus has God been weaponized by mankind. That doesn't mean that we should all become non-believers, but it does mean that, if need be, we can help to transform the vessel of our faith into a more active and activist force for peace.

A Few Simple Actions:

1. If your place of worship isn't already enrolled in becoming an active force for peace, make that happen. 
2. Encourage members of your congregation to become peace activists
3. Learn about the religions operating in the places where conflict is occurring

Violence in Cairo's Tahrir Square

When the first demonstrations took place in Tahrir Square I was thrilled that the people were able to demand Mubarak step down, because I love Cairo and have been there often for work and pleasure. As I watched the Arab Spring unfold I began to wonder if we, here at home, would ever take to the streets again, and we did. 

Would that the world could calm down in the new year. Things have taken a very violent turn in Cairo and other countries. Below you will find a link to an article and video that absolutely breaks my heart. The violence is beyond anything I've seen on the news. Enlarge the video to fill your screen so you can get a better look at what's happening. 

Egypt - Violence Up Close & Personal (http://www.readersupportednews.org/news-section2/328-121/8987-focus-egypts-day-of-shame-video-shows-women-beaten-with-metal-poles)

The whole world should be watching, so please have a good look and then write to our President (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact), or yours, and ask that she or he join with other heads of state to put pressure on the Egyptian military to resume civility towards civil society. Even with all my years of demonstrating and activism, I am horrified at the level of pure viciousness and wild rage that these armed (with metal clubs) and dangerous military perpetrators unleashed on demonstrators, including women, in Tahrir Square. 

Please spread the word about this.

                                             ~ enough said ~