The race
that can’t be won
that makes us angry and bewildered
that has us begging for mercy
is really a fable gone awry
The rules of the race
were not made up by me
The race
has us spinning our wheels
and dreaming of winning
and dreaming of running away
This race is not my idea of the good life
The finish line is just around the corner
but then another one appears just as you are crossing it
and it goes on infinitely
like the nightmare where you’re running down a hallway that never ends
To be the fastest racer
the star of the show
makes for a cold climate
Chill out,
It's only a game
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Zero Visibility
Awake at 6 a.m., and trudging back to the bedroom from a bathroom trip, I looked out the front window and couldn't see a thing. And this was not because of night darkness, but due to a thick, omnipresent fog. On most days, we see Windham high peak out our window. On the overcast days the mountain is obscured. But, between our house and that distant mountain there is always plenty of natural beauty to take in - the open field and pond in front, woods on either side, many trees and hills in the nearer distances. But, this morning it was zero visiblity out that window. Just a foggy, cloudy dream. As the morning progresses, the fog is gradually disappearing and the backdrop is incrementally revealed.
Fortunately I don't have to drive anywhere. There is something slightly scary but kind of thrilling about not being able to see anything. It creates a climate conducive to introspection; it forces the question. It also ignites the imagination. Just what is out there exactly? Thoughts of Sherlock Holmes in London or the Legend of Sleepy Hollow surface. This situation also de-centers one's sense of sight. Awareness of sounds and smells can deepen. But, it also cuts right to the heart too. It awakens the intuitive loving Self.
During the last few years of my brother's life, he had become legally blind. His condition was that some days were better than others in terms of what he was actually able to see. I know that not being able to see his children play sports (his deepest passion) was an incredible disappointment. But, I also believe that something deepened in him too, as he lost his sight. He had to connect with people in other ways.
Can blindness, paradoxically, enhance clarity? Probably so. Of course, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Interestingly, yesterday I engaged in a conscious computer fast, i.e. no internet. It felt like this morning that I had done something kind to myself by refraining from mindless searching and intensive visual stimulation. I feel more free to take in some new visuals...As the fog clears, I can see the faint yellows and reds of the early fall leaves making themselves known.
Fortunately I don't have to drive anywhere. There is something slightly scary but kind of thrilling about not being able to see anything. It creates a climate conducive to introspection; it forces the question. It also ignites the imagination. Just what is out there exactly? Thoughts of Sherlock Holmes in London or the Legend of Sleepy Hollow surface. This situation also de-centers one's sense of sight. Awareness of sounds and smells can deepen. But, it also cuts right to the heart too. It awakens the intuitive loving Self.
During the last few years of my brother's life, he had become legally blind. His condition was that some days were better than others in terms of what he was actually able to see. I know that not being able to see his children play sports (his deepest passion) was an incredible disappointment. But, I also believe that something deepened in him too, as he lost his sight. He had to connect with people in other ways.
Can blindness, paradoxically, enhance clarity? Probably so. Of course, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Interestingly, yesterday I engaged in a conscious computer fast, i.e. no internet. It felt like this morning that I had done something kind to myself by refraining from mindless searching and intensive visual stimulation. I feel more free to take in some new visuals...As the fog clears, I can see the faint yellows and reds of the early fall leaves making themselves known.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Police State at the RNC or Why Fascism Sucks
Okay, the title sounds a bit reactionary, probably alarmist. But, what has happened at the Republican National Convention to protesters and specifically to Democracy Now journalists should make every citizen pause for a moment.
Pre-emptive raids were conducted before the convention even started by armed police in the Twin Cities targeting activists who were planning to protest the convention. Journalists, such as Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, who was arrested on trumped up charges, are clearly being targeted. Even someone from the New York Post (a Republican newspaper!) was arrested. These journalists were arrested while they were covering the protests. When our media is silenced, what happens next? I'm not a paranoid person, but one has to wonder, who is behind this? Clearly, these armed gunmen who are supposed to "protect and serve" have been given orders by somebody to engage in such systematic actions. Just who gave the orders and why? But, maybe those aren't even the most productive questions to ask here.
Why isn't the mainstream media covering the protests and the undemocratic responses of the police? When the media fails to report on acts of resistance, we witness a practice of a fascist state, not a supposedly free society such as ours. Is this failure to report meant to actively silence the discourse of protest and resistance and dissuade people from such activity? Or, is it that the free market really does reign supreme and what sells television advertising is stories of Sarah Palin's teen daughter's pregnancy? I think both answers to these two questions could be yes.
I tend to think that it is irresponsible to rant and rave about something as I have here without at least offering some solution-focused ideas. So, what can we do to effect this situation? Well, at some level, probably not much. Better to go charge something on a credit card or drink a beer or watch Weeds (I like doing all these things). Being an activist doesn't necessarily mean that you work for an NGO or you lobby your legislators or that you get arrested for direct actions. It means not being quiet about disturbing things like police harassment and unethical journalism. I do believe that talking about these issues, forwarding e-mails and taking unpopular stands are important. For social change to happen, it must occur in both the realm of ideas and action. And so, the ways in which we choose, or don't choose, to talk about subjects that make people uncomfortable, may be the most central practice of an activist.
Pre-emptive raids were conducted before the convention even started by armed police in the Twin Cities targeting activists who were planning to protest the convention. Journalists, such as Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, who was arrested on trumped up charges, are clearly being targeted. Even someone from the New York Post (a Republican newspaper!) was arrested. These journalists were arrested while they were covering the protests. When our media is silenced, what happens next? I'm not a paranoid person, but one has to wonder, who is behind this? Clearly, these armed gunmen who are supposed to "protect and serve" have been given orders by somebody to engage in such systematic actions. Just who gave the orders and why? But, maybe those aren't even the most productive questions to ask here.
Why isn't the mainstream media covering the protests and the undemocratic responses of the police? When the media fails to report on acts of resistance, we witness a practice of a fascist state, not a supposedly free society such as ours. Is this failure to report meant to actively silence the discourse of protest and resistance and dissuade people from such activity? Or, is it that the free market really does reign supreme and what sells television advertising is stories of Sarah Palin's teen daughter's pregnancy? I think both answers to these two questions could be yes.
I tend to think that it is irresponsible to rant and rave about something as I have here without at least offering some solution-focused ideas. So, what can we do to effect this situation? Well, at some level, probably not much. Better to go charge something on a credit card or drink a beer or watch Weeds (I like doing all these things). Being an activist doesn't necessarily mean that you work for an NGO or you lobby your legislators or that you get arrested for direct actions. It means not being quiet about disturbing things like police harassment and unethical journalism. I do believe that talking about these issues, forwarding e-mails and taking unpopular stands are important. For social change to happen, it must occur in both the realm of ideas and action. And so, the ways in which we choose, or don't choose, to talk about subjects that make people uncomfortable, may be the most central practice of an activist.
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