Fear

I’ve been feeling increasing fear when hearing and reading reports of escalating terrorism in the Middle East. It seems so far away, and yet it is clearly a part of our global dilemma. The radical elements of Islam, such as Isis and al-Qa’ida, seem to be gaining momentum. Their successful use of social media to seduce sympathizers to join their cause, is continually adding growing numbers of discontented people to their crusade for creating an Islamic State, a theocracy, which has no tolerance of anyone unless they pledge their allegiance.

I’m reminded of the Crusades, when Christians did the same thing. Crusading armies slaughtered the infidels. Pope Urban II promised forgiveness of all sins to whosoever took up the cross and joined in the war. Either pledge loyalty to Jesus or die.

I’ve come to a point where I blame religion. It has become a breeding ground for extremism. Based on self-righteous claims of truth, the “crusades” continue their efforts to establish a single faith . . . a single philosophy, a single point of view, which allows no deviation. Its greatest errors are driven by ruthless, blind devotion, and fear is its strongest weapon. The savagery of beheading another human being is beyond my comprehension, and yet, in this “holy war” it is seen as an act of devotion to Allah.

A recent airing of 60 Minutes on CBS began the hour-long program with an “on the ground” look at how Iraq’s Christians are being persecuted by Isis. It’s hard to watch. Innocent people are forced to flee or die. Ancient temples and artifacts are being systematically destroyed under the guise of ridding the land of idolatry. Towns and cities are abandoned with only shambles and dust remaining. It’s madness, perpetuated by soul-less men who hide their faces behind a shield of black cloth.

Ironically, 60 Minutes ended its hour-long program with a segment featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson, a prominent Astrophysicist, proclaiming a cosmic perspective, which could end these legions of armies waging war on other people with the simple phrase, “Stop, look at the universe!” Indeed! Look at our universe! Our small “Blue Marble,” this Planet Earth, floating in a sea of infinity, is our treasured home. How can we be so blind to its beauty? How can we be so narrow-minded to believe nothing is more important than a single point of view? How can we possibly allow the barbaric destruction of life in order to proclaim a singular, simple-minded belief that it’s God’s will?

Yes, I’m feeling increasing fear, but I’m also clinging to hope that good still has the power to overcome evil. However, for this to happen, the quiet masses of good people must become vocal. The radical elements of religion must be shamed, challenged, and overcome. Fear must be dispelled by love. Decent people must reclaim their personal power and bless the world with spiritual light strong enough to overcome the darkness. I’m fully aware it’s easier to say than do, but unless we do it, civilization will continue crumbling and fear will continue rising.

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A Disturbing View

 

A recent episode of Moyers and Company featured David Simon, who was at one time a crime reporter for the “Baltimore Sun,” whose journalism became the material for two non-fiction books, "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets," and "The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood." Simon’s message is not uplifting. He looks at the current situation through the eyes of common people struggling to survive hopelessness and condemns the current state of affairs in our national government as the cause.

http://billmoyers.com/episode/david-simon-on-america-as-a-horror-show/

—– “I don’t think that you can call the American government anything other than broken at this point,” said Simon. “And I think the break has come at the legislative level. I mean, that’s the part of the government that has been purchased.”
—– Most of us have said something similar. We bemoan the fact big money has taken over, leaving no chance for a clean democratic process to elect representatives for “we the people.” Senators and congressmen have let wealth cloud their vision, and greed has become the standard mode of operation.
—– “You can buy these guys on the cheap,” said Simon. “(Our) capital’s been at it a long time, and the rules have been relaxed. The Supreme Court has walked away from any sort of responsibility to maintain democracy at any level. That’s the aspect of government that’s broken.”
—– Personally, I’ve held tightly to the ideal of finding the right presidential leader as a means of turning it around, but I fear it is no longer possible.
—– “And it doesn’t matter whether it’s Obama or Clinton or Bush or anybody at this point,” Simon continued. “If this is the way we’re going to do business, we’re not going to do business. You know, they’ve paid for it to be inert, and it is inert. And ultimately that aspect of capitalism hasn’t been dealt with in any way.”
—– I agree. It is no longer a question of being democrat or republican, progressive or conservative. The soul of our democracy has atrophied and been manipulated into plutocracy, controlled and sustained by the wealthy. It is no longer something that might happen; it has happened.
—– Sometimes, when the sun is shining and I have a quiet moment, I look out my office window and notice how peaceful the world seems. I get out of bed each morning feeling relatively secure, and yet, there’s something churning, something rumbling and twisting that I cannot see. I know something earth-shaking is going to happen. The illusion of peacefulness is in a fragile state, and I sense the direction we’re going is making it more complicated than we ever imagined. This wonderful country of ours has lost its direction, and relatively soon we will no longer have the opportunity or capacity to lead the world. It frightens me.

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Political Bric-a-Brac

—– “Bric-à-brac” isn’t a common term, a little dated, but it is still used. I had not thought of this expression for years until the present political climate began cluttering social media, television, and newspapers. “Cluttering” is actually a better word. Everywhere we turn, political bric-à-brac tumbles into our space, and most of it is worthless. It’s just clutter. We keep looking for a priceless piece of collaboration, unblemished by irrational demands, but it’s so rare we are unlikely to find it. One would think the marbled halls of Congress would be a perfect place to look for objets d’art, but alas, it is filled with trinkets, baubles, and puffy-eyed politicians pouting because they can’t have their way. Over 70% of America’s citizens would like to sweep their arm over what’s been “tabled” and send it crashing to the floor. “Enough already!” they cry. “We don’t need all this clutter. Cut the crap and get on with the job of governing!” However, the myopic congressmen and women snivel and turn to their tiny “tea party” playthings to see if there’s a different way to set the table.
—– “Oh, look, here’s a nice bouquet of plastic flowers. Maybe we could give them to the families of fallen soldiers as a token of our respect.”
—– There comes a time when the clutter overwhelms us. Maybe it’s time to clean house. If we ever find some good stuff, we’re going to need some space to put it, so let’s get started.

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A Brief Tribute to MLK Jr

Fifty years ago, on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stirred emotions in the hearts of millions with his words, “I have a dream”. The speech may be the most notable speech ever made. Over 250,000 people crowded the National Mall in Washington DC to witness the defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement. The first part of the speech recalled the Emancipation Proclamation and admitted the lack of progress when King said, “The negro is still not free.” Toward the end of the speech he departed from his prepared text and improvised the repetitive phrase, “I have a dream”. Those words remain the most poignant call to freedom ever spoken.

It’s hard to believe fifty years have passed since that memorable day. It is also hard to believe that less than five years later an assassin ended his life and silenced his voice forever. On April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, he was struck by a bullet and crumpled onto the floor. He was only 38 years old. They rushed him to a nearby hospital, but to no avail, and the attending doctors pronounced him dead at 7:05 p.m. The prophet who shared the dream was gone, but his dream will live forever.

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Self-Evident

I’m in the final stages of revising and editing my next book, Everyday Thoughts, a collection of many topics and ideas. There will be 365 “thoughts,” one for each day of the year, briefly stated and hopefully provocative.

Since this is the day we celebrate our national day of independence, I offer this short essay from my manuscript, written for July 4^th.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
From the Declaration of Independence

“Self-evident” means needing no proof and above question. Following those words, however, is the phrase, “all men are created equal.” It’s self-evident and beyond question, unless you happen to be Native American (“merciless Indian savages”), or Black (“an inferior race”), or a woman (“not equal”). Those who wrote the Declaration of Independence said God created humans to have certain inalienable rights, but then they quietly overlooked those they judged exempt from that provision. Since they were all wealthy white men, they saw no problem in thinking this way. They declared America’s big issue was with the king of Great Britain. The Founding Fathers had a list as long as your arm detailing the “facts” of tyranny over their fledgling nation. As they set about the task of declaring independence, they did so as gentlemen citizens of the realm wanting to end Britain’s control. So it began, and continues, as the greatest experiment with freedom the world has ever known. It’s been a long and difficult road, and unfortunately, the word “equal” has yet to manifest fully.

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Gun Violence

Moyers and Company continues hitting home runs by addressing many of the powerful issues facing America. As I have done before, I recommend watching his weekly interviews. A recent presentation featured Francine and David Wheeler who lost their youngest son Ben in the December 14^th attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. In this poignant and emotional interview, the Wheelers discuss the “Sandy Hook Promise,” a movement founded by Newtown friends and neighbors to heal the hurt and find new ways to deal with gun violence. If you’d like to watch the interview, use the following link.

http://billmoyers.com/segment/francine-and-david-wheeler-on-turning-tragedy-into-transformation/

Francine is a singer. She is working with Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame), who joins her for the first part of the program. To watch this segment, use the following link.

http://billmoyers.com/segment/francine-wheeler-and-peter-yarrow-on-musics-power-in-social-movements/

Moyers inserted Pierce Pettis’ song “Family,” before beginning his interview with the Wheelers. Francine joins Dar Williams to sing this powerful song. Here are the words.

Can you fix this? It’s a broken heart. It was fine, but it just fell apart. It was mine, but now I give it to you, cause you can fix it, you know what to do.

— Let your love cover me, like a pair of angel wings, you are my family, you are my family.

We stood outside in the summer rain, Different people with a common pain. A simple box in that hard red clay, it’s where we left him to always remain.

— Let your love cover me, like a pair of angel wings, you are my family, you are my family.

The child who played with the moon and stars, waves a snatch of hay in a common barn.

In the lonely house of Adam’s fall lies a child, it’s just a child that’s all, crying.

— Let your love cover me, like a pair of angel wings, you are my family, you are my family. You are my family, you are my family.

There’s hardly a day goes by without more news on the raging emotional debate about the 2^nd Amendment and increasing gun violence. I’m impressed with the poise and grace that characterizes Francine and David Wheeler’s activism. They are undaunted in their determination to find common ground.

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Panmunjom

It’s pronounced “Pan-mun-john,” a small Korean village located on the 38^th parallel that became the “great divide” between North and South Korea. I was there in 1955 with the US Army, stationed with a flight support group for the United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission about five miles from the DMZ near the village of Munsan-ni. Our mission was to transport officials by helicopter to Panmunjom where they took part in continuing peace talks. In 1953 the Armistice Agreement supposedly ended the Korean War, however, in 2013 North Korea still threatens the world with its nuclear weapons.

 

I have many stories to tell about my time in Korea, however, one reminds me of recent images on the nightly news. Kim Jong Un’s insane bravado feeds the lead story of every newscast as his isolated nation parades its military might. Usually, at some point in these news reports, the cameras capture the stoic presence of border guards staring at curious reporters on the southern side of the line. I remember seeing those intense soldiers when I faced them at Panmunjom in 1955. It hasn’t changed. There’s something about their character, unflinching, ice-cold, empty, determined stares that sends shivers down my spine. I know about military discipline. I know how intimidating it is to be regimented into unquestioned service, and when I see the sober, expressionless faces of those North Korean soldiers, they reflect the resolve of North Korea’s threat. Kim Jong Un’s rounded, youthful, face is a façade. Behind the precision displays and parades of military power is a sinister, manipulated nation, abused and denied even the most basic human rights. Out of their darkness this ominous threat arises.

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Looking Back

Having served in Vietnam during the war’s most intense period in 1967-68, and having witnessed some of the carnage first-hand, I always listen with interest when someone steps up to reveal documented truth about the “real war” and how our image of America has been tarnished by such senseless atrocities. Watching Bill Moyer’s interview with journalist Nick Turse was clearly one of those moments.

http://billmoyers.com/segment/nick-turse-describes-the-real-vietnam-war/

Nick Turse is a young man, born in 1975, about the time the Vietnam War was ending, drawn into his research while pursuing a PhD in socio-medical sciences, and privileged to have had unprecedented access to a collection of documents about atrocities in Vietnam, followed by extensive one-on-one interviews with VN veterans still suffering post-traumatic stress from their experiences in the killing fields of Vietnam. His book, Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Viet Nam will undoubtedly be upsetting for many, but hopefully it will bring greater awareness of how America is still justifying its warring spirit in many places around the world and increasing the use of drones to obliterate enemy targets as well as innocent people. The grim darkness of our cavalier attitude about guns and war needs to be one of our greatest concerns and the abject violence of our culture needs to end.

I’ve recommended watching Moyers and Company before, and will do so again whenever I feel his poignant interviews deserve a wider audience. His interview with Nick Turse is extremely important and worth your time.

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Global Warming

I highly recommend viewing Moyers and Company on PBS every week. The program never disappoints, and is always on the cutting edge of current issues.

Recently I watched Bill Moyer’s interview with Anthony Leiserowitz, Director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.

http://billmoyers.com/segment/anthony-leiserowitz-on-making-people-care-about-climate-change/

Leiserowitz is an environmental research scientist at Yale University, a young man who presents a balanced, yet passionate, approach for saving planet earth.

Recent studies, cited on the program, have determined various ways in which we either accept or deny information about climate change. It’s interesting to hear this explanation while thinking of your own response. Leiserowitz believes the only way we can create an action/response to this crisis is by a grass roots initiative. Political initiatives from the top down are not going to happen unless demanded by a majority of citizens.

More disturbing than the analysis of American attitudes is the startling fact that many of the world’s population know nothing about this crisis. People tend to react to real experiences such as hurricanes, drought, and crop failures, but few actually know why such things are happening at an increasing rate. Leiserowitz has good suggestions for how to change this.

You may have already learned global warming is a crisis by degrees. Predictions and warnings from the scientific community are quite consistent. Global temperatures have already increased, and are feared to continue increasing by as much as 3-6 degrees over the next ten to twenty years. It seems small, but as Leiserowitz illustrates, it’s similar to temperature in the human body. If body temperature increases one degree, we don’t feel well, but if it increases by 3 degrees or more, we’re in imminent danger. The same is true for planet earth. An increase of 3 degrees (or more) will be catastrophic.

Watch the program.

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Facing Reality

—– Facing reality can be challenging at times. We have an image of “normalcy” in society at large, which is idealized. It’s an image of health, vigor, and self-sufficiency. We also have a self-image of normalcy apart from this ideal. For many, “normal” is nowhere near society’s norm. However, when forming our self-image of “normal” we’re inclined to use the best we can find rather than the worst. For example, when having our picture taken, we usually pose so we can present our “good side.” If someone catches us in a candid moment and takes a snapshot, we react. “Oh, that’s terrible. Delete it.” It’s all good, however, because normalcy is our balance point. Of course, it’s not the same for everyone. Some say, “When I have a good day, I sigh and say ‘Thank God’,” while others sheepishly admit to never having a bad day. So, we need a word of caution. Reality cannot be determined by comparison. It’s simply unfair to buy into society’s image of perpetual happiness and well-being. Reality is a personal experience processed through our perceptual filters, and most of us have learned no two people experience it exactly the same.
—– There is, however, like it or not, a collective human experience influencing all of us. We live in a complex world plagued by wars, injustice, famine, disease, and inequality. We may do our best to isolate our “normal” from the world’s “normal,” but it never works. One thing influences the next, and it’s only by degrees we avoid a direct hit. We’re probably more aware of this now than ever before, and we’re beginning to at least ask what we can do about it. In much the same way as we seek cures for cancer and medical interventions to increase the quality of life, we are beginning to seek ways for improving our collective reality.
—– Yes, facing reality can be upsetting at times, but it’s a required first step. In the same way an addict must face his/her addiction, we must face the reality of our participation in what has become “normal” for the world. We have collective addictions as well, and there are so many it’s impossible to list them. So, when very intelligent people want to take a snapshot of reality, let’s look at what the picture reveals and avoid posing deceptively. For example, take a look at the picture presented by Naomi Klein in her discussion of Capitalism and Climate Change which aired on a recent edition of Moyers and Company. http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-hurricanes-capitalism-democracy/ I’m finding these wake-up calls at every turn, and I ceaselessly ask, “What can I do about it.” The answer can be upsetting, but I’m recognizing what’s required depends on all of us. We can make modest adjustments such as recycling and being thoughtful consumers, but it takes more than that. Even if we make small contributions to worthy causes, it still won’t change the course. It seems to me that the only way to change our collective reality is by being involved in the growing ground swell of grass roots movements confronting the causes. They have many different names, and offer countless ways to be involved. So, let’s look at the picture and notice how prominently we’re in it, then decide what to do.

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