​Revisiting Marshall McLuhan 53 years later.
 
In 1964 Marshall McLuhan’s published a book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man in which he maintained that the medium of communication such as television affects the society in which it plays a role not only by its content but by the characteristics of the medium itself.  The phrase, “The medium is the message.”  was often quoted.   
 
A lot is now written about the blessing and the curse of the internet, social media and other forms of communication which did not exist in 1964.  Although television was available the number of channels was minimal compared to the present day and most of us were singing the praises of the electric typewriter.  It was many years later that I had my first memory typewriter and many more years later that I had my first Commodore 64 computer. 
 
It has not been that long ago that I rewarded myself with high speed internet to replace the dial up AOL which was very slow and could only be used if one of the phone lines was busy. Looking up information on the internet required very precise wording. 
 
At some point, more and more of my life took place on the internet highway although I still had the luxury of spending some quality time with friends and clients.  I continued to write, send and receive the old fashion handwritten letters although to be honest most people with whom I correspond are happy that anything short of “thinking of you” or “happy birthday” is typed and, thus, readable. 
 
Most recently there has been a lot written about the fact that many people, most notably young people, often text each other while they are sitting next to each other or certainly within easy speaking distance.
 
Do not misunderstand me, I love the convenience of texting, the cell phone, and the internet.   On the other hand, none of those come close to the experience of using more of my senses – touch, hearing, smell and less often taste –  when interacting with another person.    
 
I have been acutely aware for some times that despite all the modern forms of convenient communication it is, in many respects very sterile and does not alleviate a lot of the loneliness for any of us humans.
 
I was therefore fascinated while listening to a Ted conversation between Yuval Noah Harai and Chris Anderson entitled “Nationalism vs globalism:  the new political divide. This is a subject which is or should be of intense interest to any of us attempting to understand the political divisiveness which is so apparent in the many parts of the world including in the United States.   There is no mistaking the fact that with the campaign and the election of President Trump there is a strong sense of community among those who support Donald Trump and perhaps an increasing sense of community among those who oppose or disagree with the group who support him.  Certainly, those who oppose him are not, for the most part, as passionately committed to de facto community as those who support him.   It seems obvious to some that many underestimated the sense of loneliness and neglect which many of President Trump’s supporters were feeling. We are seeing the same dynamic play out in many parts of the world.   
 
The reasons for this are very complicated but certainly technology plays a huge role in creating this divide and in helping new communities form around political or religious beliefs/ideologies.    Simultaneously, national borders are becoming less important in forming community and more important in idealizing the past.
 
One of the many suggestion by the historian Yuval Noah Narari is:
 
“And I would go even further than that and say that it starts with the body itself. The feelings that people today have of alienation and loneliness and not finding their place in the world, I would think that the chief problem is not global capitalism. The chief problem is that over the last hundred years, people have been becoming disembodied, have been distancing themselves from their body. As a hunter-gatherer or even as a peasant, to survive, you need to be constantly in touch with your body and with your senses, every moment. If you go to the forest to look for mushrooms and you don't pay attention to what you hear, to what you smell, to what you taste, you're dead. So, you must be very connected.
 In the last hundred years, people are losing their ability to be in touch with their body and their senses, to hear, to smell, to feel. More and more attention goes to screens, to what is happening elsewhere, some other time. This, I think, is the deep reason for the feelings of alienation and loneliness and so forth, and therefore part of the solution is not to bring back some mass nationalism, but also reconnect with our own bodies, and if you are back in touch with your body, you will feel much more at home in the world also.”
 
If we are not in touch with our own bodies, we cannot use our senses to experience each other and all that surrounds us.  Earlier in his talk Mr. Harari talks about the importance of the distinction between intelligence and consciousness.   He also talks about the need to experience our own suffering and that of others.  In other words, to be alive is to be fully present.
 
For some time, there has been more and more interest in meditation and other techniques and practices which help us be more present.  The mere fact that we need to actively and intentionally practice being present tells us a lot.  When only the part of our being, which is measured by intelligence tests, is present we do not have to be and most likely are not present with most or all of our senses.
 
I strongly urge the reader to listen to the referenced Ted Talk and to begin of think of the political divide in terms of the medium we are using to connect on the non-sentient level. 
 
It could be that Mr. McLuhan thesis is a central one for the current time.    Perhaps it is time to connect more pieces of the puzzle – technology, use of technology, nationalism, globalism, loneliness, longing for the past, and terrorist and other radical organizations - rather than attempting to recreate a past that we cannot reclaim.  Only then can we begin to creatively tackle some of the important ethical issues about if and how we share food, medicine, other health care, land and other resources. 
 
Written February 27, 2017
 

​Sunday Musings – February 26, 2017
 
It has been a week of many blessings.   I try always to be aware of the blessings of food, clothing, shelter, and friendships. I want to be intentional about reminding myself to not take any of these for granted – to not forget that so many in the world do not have these basics.  I also have freedom.  My mind is free from a compulsive need for something outside of myself.  I may have strong wants or desires, but none that force me to lose the ability to allow my core values to be in charge of my behavior.   Compulsions or addictions imprison one in that they limit what one can do or not do.  In many ways, they are worse than the physical prisons in which we, as a society, throw many people.
 
The blessings this week also included the ability to access books and other information from the library and the internet as well as  the ability to choose and listen to music at home, in the car and even on my phone.   
 
This week I spent time with friends, attended a magical performance by a string trio, and attended the performance of a play, “Hope and Gravity” by Michael Hollinger.  Later today I will attend a performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony.  
 
I could go on and on listing the blessings, but the important issue is how I choose to spend the abundance of energy and freedom.  It would, of course, be easy to use this energy to air my concerns about how so many of us treat each other or to rant and rave about what I see as the futility of increasing the military budget while simultaneously decreasing money for the arts.  I could cry long and hard about the return to dumping waste into our streams.   I could advocate on behalf of those who cannot advocate for themselves.   In short I, could create lot of new negative energy in an attempt to decrease what I perceive as the negative energy.  I have previously written about the false math of that approach.
 
This week has brought many reminders of how much I have yet to learn.  Poems, music, food, people, ideas, relationships and much more wait to be discovered.  Yet, even as I write this one of the voices in my head yells at me to slow down and think about who is going to feed the homeless, who will build the houses, who will paint, sculpt, draw, discover new songs, gather the crops, stop to listen or bury the dead.  Who will build the new electric plants or harness the sun and the wind to provide more means to cook, heat or take a shower? 
 
I am reminded that one must be fed in order to feed.  One must be loved in order to love.  One must be clothed in order to clothe.   One must know one’s own nakedness to cover or embrace the nakedness of others.     One must experience gratitude before one can share the fruits of gratitude.
 
I can self-care as a way of hiding or I can self-care so that I may have the strength to face the pain of my limits as a human.  Once faced, I will discover strength, joy and arms large enough to share an embrace, cook a simple meal, build a shelter or share a song and a dance.   The magic will always happen when I least expect it and when I allow it to happen rather than attempting to make it happen.
 
 
Written February 26, 2017
 

​The gathering of the saints
 
This morning I listened for the third time to the February 23 On Being Program featuring the conversation between host Krista Tippett and her guest, the poet, Marilyn Nelson.  As is often the case each time I listen to or read the words of wise mentors, I am rewarded with more gifts.    
 
Ms. Nelson, since she was a very young girl, has been bearing witness to what it means to call upon the saint within us and to honor the saint within others.  Her history is as a woman who happens to be black/African American, Colored, a tenured professor, a published poet and a leader in helping to erase the social constructs which are erected to hide the fear of we humans being humans – sexism, racism, homophobia, and other isms – and one who bears witness to the wisdom, strength and faith of her ancestors – the saints.
 
I think of the saints that I know or have known – so often women but occasionally one of we men who claim our own sainthood.  I suppose I must operationally define the term saint.   Although I might agree with some of the selection by religious organizations I am thinking of those I have known and admired who will never be canonized or recognized by any official body.  Some may or may not be recognized by their peers as particularly virtuous, but many are those who, as did the slave ancestors of Ms. Nelson, exhibit amazing strength of physical, emotional, and spiritual character while keeping an open heart even for the slave master who had perhaps suckled at their breast.
 
The saints I have known were busy gathering in the hall in my head this morning.  There was Stefie whose mother came on her own from Czechoslovakia to look for her intended and, having found him, led him by the ear to a life with 12 children.  One of those children whom I know was, in her seventies, under the guise of cleaning houses, infusing families with a love and a strength they did not know they had.   This was the same woman who gathered together some other women to wheel enough topsoil over several hilly blocks to cover the coal ash in the football size yard of the apartment building.  They created safe and beautiful places which nurtured the souls of all with whom they came into contact.    Mother Theresa toiled to nurture others even when her faith in the God who would allow such misery was very weak.  Then we have a houseful of immigrants who stoop sat when it was too hot to sleep inside the D. C.  brownstones which had shared bathrooms. They got up and went to work even if sleep had not been visited, took care of their families and never asked the question “why me?”    There was David and Minnie who, when we arrived in the small island community with our young son, embraced us and announced that they would, of course, fill the role of grandparents to our son.  David would assume the role of teacher, father, mentor, and wise elder to teach me what it meant to be a man.   I think of my friend Becky and her husband Bob who never questioned whether they could afford to retire early and raise a nephew following the death of the second of his parents.  I think of all those who are called by some everyday heroes – those who add another cup of water to the bean soup and mix up a bit more cornbread to feed the multitude.  Then, there are the Martin Luther King Jrs., Rosa Parks and all those who marched with great love and determination.  One should not, of course, forget the lowly paid janitor who was the de factor father and counselor, or the young soldier who will never again know innocence.   
 
They keep arriving to sit for a spell in this virtual hall.   If, by chance, I am tempted to complain or to weep because of what I call a burden of inconvenience I have only to call upon the host of saints including the newest to join those who gather in my head, Ms. Marilyn Nelson. She will call up the poem which will call up the silence which will weave the cloth which will cover those who are in need of warmth which will…
 
The saints gather and it is good.
 
 
Written February 25, 2017
 

​Too Soon
 
The February 23, 2017  On Being conversation features Krsita Tippett talking with the poet Marilyn Nelson.  The show is entitled, “Communal Pondering in a Noisy World.”   I am painfully grateful that at 76 I did not miss,  even this level of introduction, to Ms. Nelson. Once again, I am reminded that there is no time to waste listening to my own internal and external chatter -  too often complaints or dire predictions.  Yet, all the while there are teachers waiting to teach; the internal god waiting to connect in communion.  As Ms. Nelson reminds us:  “There is no limit to our capacity for evil. And I wanted to look at a saint’s life to ask whether there is any limit to our human capacity for good.”  Ms. Nelson is not talking about herself as a saint, but her life and her poetry clearly demonstrates that, indeed, there is no limit to our capacity for good. And what is good, one might ask. Good is another of those all-purpose word tools we keep close by to describe the behavior of a child, the taste or quality of food, the usefulness of a implement to repair or create, the weather or even the overall grade we assign  to a particular day. Yet, Ms. Nelson uses the word good to describe the courage to birth the god within us which is to say the courage to love.  We all have this ability, even if it seems that there are those brothers and sisters who are hidden behind the diagnosis of psychopath or sociopath.  We also, as she reminds us, have the capacity for evil.   I never speak of evil as the embodiment of a person as it is so often used.  One might say:  “He or she is evil.”   No.  I stubbornly resist agreeing that evil ever exists as this independent entity although, of course, we are certainly capable of hiding behind fear and destroying that which threatens to break that shield. Often it seems, rather than facing the lie that we are unlovable or worthless, our fear destroys.
 
Too soon another decade will pass and, if not careful, I will have missed the teachers who will challenge me to be my very best – to birth that God within me – to cause goodness to gather the dust sized parts of me which can take the risk of loving instead of destroying – to join those other bits of the good – the gods. Too soon the time will pass or too soon I will have given time to the noise which covers the silence which holds the goodness – which holds the particles of god.  
 
Written February 24, 2017
 

​School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 1 – Week 26
 
These weeks certainly roll around quickly but not so quickly that I get less excited about meeting with the first-grade scholars. In fact, I feel as if I learn more from them than I do from listening to the news of my so- called educated adults peers who seem to spend a lot of energy attempting to prove that they are right or better than and very little attempting to solve problems.
 
I am particular eager to hear what these young scholars have to say about the art of making mistakes.  They are arriving.
 
Me:  Good morning scholars. How are you?
 
Class:  Good morning Mr. Jim.  Cookies?
 
Me: No cookies today, but I promise to bring some next week.
I am eager what you and your families has to say about the art of making mistakes
 
Ahmes: At first we were confused by the word art.  When I think of art I think of what I see at the museum or what I draw or what we brought with us from Egypt which sets on shelves.  My uncle is a potter and stuff is art.
 
Me:  That is a great point.  Are you still confused or did you and your family work out the confusion?
 
Ahmes:  Mom said that dance is also art. When I was little and something would not work, I would get angry and cry. Now, most of the time I ask for help or try to solve the problem myself.  Art then become how I respond to the problem or the mistake.
 
Me:  That is excellent.   Does anyone else have any comments on the use of the term art with regards to how we respond to mistakes?
 
Sue:  I like what Ahmes said.  When I first had to use the wheelchair, I would try to do something with it or get in or out of it and I was always doing something which make the problem worse.   Then mom or dad would let me cry and then suggest that we try to figure out what the problem was before I tried solving it.
 
Me: Great example Sue. Say more about figuring out what the problem was.
 
Sue: Well, maybe I was trying to find a wheelchair ramp and kept ending up where there were just stairs.  I thought the problem was I did not know where the ramp was.  My dad suggested that the problem was that I was embarrassed to ask for directions even though everyone could see I was in a wheelchair
 
Me:  Ahh. So, you had correctly identified the problem.  Sometimes individually we cannot identify the problem very accurately but often together we can more clearly identify it.  Let’s take the example of some viruses which cause disease. I cannot just say “bad virus” and throw a rock at it.  I need to know that the cell is very tiny and sometimes the virus hides inside the cell.  The problem is that I do not know how to tell a medicine how to open the door of the cell and kill the virus without hurting anything else.  
 
I draw this on the board.
 
Now I can see what research has already been done about opening the door and killing a particular virus.
 
Sofia:  Mom said that when my brother and I were tiny we explored everything including sticking stuff in places such as electrical outlets.  We did not know that was dangerous.  
 
Steve:  Yes, sometimes I wanted to see what would happen if I took my juice and snack and make a pie on the carpet. I did not know that was bad for the carpet – that I needed to use a bowl.  Some things I “made” were yucky.
Me:  I hear people saying:
 
·      Finding new ways of doing thing usually means we will make lots of mistakes.
·      The better we identify the problem the fewer mistakes we will make.
·      Asking for help or suggestions is often good.
·      When we are little we do not know what to ask.
 
What else?  Why do we take tests or do homework?
 
Tara:  To learn Mr. Jim?
 
Me: Very good Tara.  So, if we already knew everything we would not have to go to school.
 
Tara:  Sometimes I forget what I learned.
 
Me: We all do.  We will remember some things we learn but mostly we learn how to learn.  That means we also learn the art of learning and the art of making mistakes.
 
Tommy: So is it good to make mistakes Mr. Jim.
 
Me: We are going to make mistakes but we do not want to make the same mistakes over and over again. We need to learn from our mistakes.  Sometimes we keep a record of what has been tried.  Doctors working on cures for certain diseases keep a careful record of what has been tried.
 
Sam:  You always make Paul and me stop and explore our mistakes Uncle Jim.
 
Me:  Yes. You are both getting really good about knowing we are all going to make mistakes and seeing what we can learn from them.    All of you in this class are really doing well with both of these.
 
Gosh. Time is almost up.   Good job everyone.  Next week we can continue this conversation by talking about why so many kids and adults have a problem admitting mistakes.      Steve, will you hand out the assignment please.
 
Steve: Yes, Mr. Jim.
 
Me:   Thanks. Have a good week everyone!
 
Ring!  Ring!  Ring!
 
Class: Goodbye Mr. Jim.  Don’t forget the cookies.
 
Written February 23, 2017
 

​School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 8 – Week 26
 
I am eager to hear what the suggestions the 8th grade scholars and their families have for reducing drug addiction in the United States.
 
The students are arriving now.
 
Me:  Good morning class.
 
Class:  Good morning Mr. Jim.  Cookies?
 
Me:  No, I am sorry.  No cookies today.   Our topic is new approaches to dealing with drug addiction.
 
The fact that there has been an enormous increase in drug addictions as well as other forms of addition has been widely acknowledged and discussed in the United States. The number of overdoses resulting in death has dramatically increased.  No one disputes the validity of these statements.  Yet, the situation is not improving.  Not only are more people dying – very often our children – but as a society we continue to incarcerate a lot of people for addiction-related offenses including simple possession, the sale of drugs, child abuse, battery and a host of other crimes directly or indirectly related to addition.   There are more 12-step programs and a number of often very expensive treatment programs.  Every day there are those who successfully reclaim their lives although many of those will relapse.  No one disputes the fact that addiction is a chronic illness.
 
Who wants to start by defining drug addiction?
 
Ann:  We looked it up.   Can I read it Mr. Jim?
 
Me: Please.
 
Ann:  The National Institute on Drug Abuse defines addiction as: “Addiction is a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.  It is considered a brain disease because drugs change the brain; they change its structure and how it works.”
 
Me:  Thanks Ann.   Can anyone clarify the use of the term compulsive?
 
Tom:  We talked about that.  Mom said it is like a force in your brain which make you do something even though you know it is wrong or you hate what it does.
 
Me:  Very good Tom.  Many addicts talk about how they hate themselves for stealing and doing other harmful behaviors but the compulsion to use is so strong they cannot stop themselves.
 
Susie:  If that is true how does anyone ever quit Mr. Jim?
 
Me:  Great question Susie.  There are some drugs which doctors prescribe which reduce the craving. Does anyone know why programs such as the 12-step program seems to help some people?
 
John:  My uncle who goes to AA said that when you feel like using you call someone he calls a sponsor or you go to a meeting or something else positive.   He says that you also do other things to change your habits of thinking and practice new habits.
 
Me:  Very good John.  We know that habits are stored in a different part of the brain than memory.  Habits are very useful. Once we learn to hold a pencil, walk, play a game, type or lots other activities we do not have to relearn or even think about how to do it.  It is like the habit is a computer chip that puts one on automatic.  When one has a powerful drug use compulsion one develops the habit of doing what one has to do to get the drug which makes one feel better for a time.  If one can learn to change the habits of behavior one has a better change of reclaiming a life which is not dictated by the compulsion to take the drug.
 
Abdul:  We talked about the fact that people get addicted at different times of their life and for different reasons.
 
Me:  That is very important. Say more about that Abdul.
 
Abdul:  Some people start using drugs because they do not want to feel bad about something in their life or they feel that they are different.  They may discover drugs that make them feel better when they are still very young.
 
Me:  So these are the individuals who have no history of feeling good or doing well – no habits of doing well – without the use of drugs.
 
Abdul:  Then there are people who get addicted because they have something which is very painful and the doctor prescribes pain medication. Some of those people become physically addicted to the pain medication and may find other drugs which also satisfy the compulsion.  Is this right Mr. Jim?
 
Me:  That is very good Abdul.  These are the folks who may have a history of doing well and facing problems without the use of drugs.  The pain can be emotional such as when a child died and the parent was overwhelmed with grief. The pain can also be physical because of an illness or an accident.
 
Will:  We did a lot of research and it does not seem as if most treatment programs treat both groups of people the same. We were wondering should be separate programs for each group?
 
Me:  That is a very good question Will.  I wonder if the length of the addictive disorder makes a difference.
 
Amena:  We were also wondering if there is a different treatment for those who started using because of some trauma such as war, rape or something else?
 
Me:  Another very excellent question.  
 
Ann:  Are there people who fit into all three groups Mr. Jim?
 
Me:  Another very good question. Certainly, someone could have felt bad about themselves, had a trauma when they were very young and discovered or had been prescribed addictive drugs at a very young age.
 
Paul:  Does this mean that some people may need long term treatment programs and some may not?
 
Me:  That would seem to make sense.  Insurance companies may approve treatment based on the type of drug or other mental health conditions but I am not sure that they approve length of treatment based on which of these groups fit the history of the person. Long term treatment is very expensive.
 
Paul:  Isn’t prison very expensive too Uncle Jim?
 
Me:  Yes, it is and many people with drug addictions have been in prison many times.
 
As often happens we have raised more questions then we have provided answers, but the right questions might lead us to more effective answers.   I wonder if the class would like to share these questions with the National Institute of Drug Abuse?
 
Class:  Yes!!!
 
Me: Great.  Would you like me to type up the questions and send the letter?
 
Class:  Yes, Mr.  Jim
 
Me:  I will do that and then give you all copies.  How about next week we discuss whether we can do more to teach young people how to cope with really tough life issues or feelings that they do not belong?  At what age, should we be teaching these skills? 
 
I also promise to bring cookies.
 
Class:  Yea!
 
Me:  Will please hand on the assignment.  Have a good week everyone!
 
Class.  Thanks Mr. Jim
 
Ring!  Ring!  Ring!
 
Written February 22, 2017
 

​Grandma says – Aim for the stars but if you climb too high you may suffer a great fall.
 
Grandma Fannie frequently reminded me and other children that if we worked hard we could achieve any goal we set. At the same time she was quick to remind us that the goal had to be realistic.   I do not, for example, recall her telling me that at 5’ 6” I  was likely to become a basketball star.  She was a firm believer that we all possess some talents and that it was up to us  to explore the nature of those talents and do what needed to be done to ensure that those talents matured.
 
I can now only assume that she knew that most of us did not possess the multitude of talents that she and many other women in the family seem to possess.  It seemed to me that while the men of the family were skilled at building houses, repairing farm equipment and vehicles and a few other tasks, the women were skilled at many of the outside chores as well as the bulk of inside chores.  The inside chores consisted of cooking, sewing, writing, social planning, spiritual leadership, and art such as in the design of quilts, lace and many other items which both protected and beautified the home. Women could also make butter, ice cream, and manage the family finances.  They might have jobs outside the home – jobs which did not reduce their responsibilities at home.   Grandma Fannie was, for a time, a school teacher and later a seamstress.  She was also a small business woman who sold eggs, cream, butter, and hand crafted items.
 
I was vaguely aware that some men were chefs and tailors but these “professions” seem unrelated to “cooking and sewing.” Chefs and tailors were after all well or at least decently paid while cooking and sewing commanded very meager wages.
 
Grandma Fannie and her sisters seemed to have missed the lessons related to gender limitations and restrictions  They were well aware that when “needed” they could “person” the factories but then were expected to return to the home when the men came home from war.  They also noted that nothing much was said about the women who came home from the war after serving as members of the WAVES. WACS, WASPS and SPARS (Coast Guard).
 
Grandma Fannie was certainly aware Eleanor Roosevelt was a female  who knew that she could and would accomplish what needed to be done.   She was responsible for many of the programs which benefited women, refugees and others.  
 
I cannot speak for my sisters or my brother, but the message I heard was that dreams were not limited by gender, wealth or other factors.  The fact that my siblings and I (especially my older sister and I)  attended a regional country school was not offered as a reason to limit our dreams.
 
Climbing too high had less to do with lack of talent and more to do with not adequately preparing.  Although I cannot specifically recall reading about Icarus, later I was sure that the moral of this Greek myth was what Grandma Fannie was attempting to teach us.   As some readers will recall Icarus was the son of the master craftsperson Daedalus.  Icarus and his father attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax.   Icarus was warned not to fly too high or too low.  If he flew too high the sun would melt the wax and if he flew too low the sea’s dampness would clog his wings. Icarus ignored his father’s advice and flew too close to the sun thus causing the wings to melt. (For a brief overview of the story one can google Icarus or go to sites such as Wikipedia.   To appreciate the original myths there are many excellent books recounting the most popular Greek myths.)
 
As is clearly evident the advice to not fly too high or too low was solely related to the construction of the wings and the potential effects of the sun and the sea.
 
Practice and preparation were words Grandma Fannie delivered along with the advice to aim for the stars.  She never once told  me I that my aspirations were too high.  She surely did remind me that any aspirations had to be consistent with one’s moral values and the willingness to prepare and practice.  If, for example, I had suggested that I wanted to be a millionaire by the time I was thirty she would have questioned my motives.  Although she was what would now be called a fiscal conservative she did not think that money in and of itself brought happiness or told one anything about the moral value of the person.    In fact if I had suggested that money would bring happiness or would prove one’s worth I would have been subjected to a serious “coming to Jesus” lecture.
The same sort of lecture would have been gifted me if I had announced that I was going to become a concert pianist without having to take lessons and practice several  hours a day.
 
Written February 20, 2017
 

​Safer for whom?
 
My President 
 
Our President
 
Says we are safer
 
Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos is gone
 
Mother of two 
 
Bad Hombre (Mujer)
 
Used false social security in get a job in 2008
 
Obviously, a dangerous criminal who former President Obama
 
allowed to stay.
 
“Enhancing public safety” the executive order states
 
Conviction of any criminal offense
 
            Using fake Social Security number
            Not leaving when ordered to do so
            Coming from certain countries
            Green card expired
            Staying to take care of children or other family members.
            Making money at legal job to send back to family in home country
            DUI or other driving infraction.
 
We will be safer if all those are gone.
 
Perhaps we will be safer if United States citizens living in other countries
 
find it more difficult to get green cards, to join spouse sor to stay after student visas 
 
have expired.
 
Perhaps we could all stay in our assigned places.
 
Perhaps we could go back several generations 
 
Deporting all those who came without an official invitation.
 
Surely all the African Americans who came as slaves
 
should be sent back.
 
Are there lawyers, judges, doctors, Armed Forces members who
 
descend from criminals?
 
Come to think of it. 
 
Perhaps no criminal deserves citizenship.
 
We already deny them the right to vote.
 
Who will take these bad Hombres (and mujers)?
 
These undesirables?
 
The good hombres/mujers know how to work the system
 
to make millions or billions keeping the worker bees employed 
 
or provided with life-saving medications.
 
Who will be left to help make the rich richer?
 
Who will work the farms, buy the legal drugs, supply the gold faucets 
 
of which some seem so proud.
 
How did my ancestors come to this country?
 
Perhaps coming before it was taken over by outcasts who stole the land from those
 
who were already here?
 
Surely, they too were once criminals.
 
What if we are all undesirables?
 
Was Pastor Martin Niemoeller right?
 
There was one left to stand up for him when he was arrested
 
and sent to camp.
 
Who will be left to stand up for us?
 
Written February 18, 2017
(I am indebted to the many journalists such as Brian Bennett and Maya Rhodan who are writing and publishing articles in Time Magazine, the Los Angeles Times and many other publications  who are committed to supporting those asking the tough questions.)
 
 

​Sunday Musings – February 19, 2017
 
It has been a spring-like weekend here in the Ohio Valley and in many other parts of the country.  While I am not deluded into thinking that winter is over, even the intensity and length of daylight reminds me that the seasons of life come and go no matter what we humans do or do not do.  Having said that I must add that it is not my intention to mitigate the negative consequences of us humans acting as if we exist in a vacuum instead of within a total, interactive system. 
 
At any rate, just as the seasons come and go, I and many others I know are confronted with the fact that we are in the final section of our life journey.  Friends who used to be much younger than I am are now in their sixties.  Other friends are welcoming their eighth and even ninth decades.  Despite some needing body parts repaired or replaced and unwelcome guests such as cataracts banished, many of us are able to live a much more active life than did our ancestors who worked much harder physically than most of us and who had less access to health care.  
 
I am acutely aware of the luxury of living in the Ohio Valley. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the poet laurate of West Virginia, a dear friend who is celebrating her 80th, a young playwright, a friend who treated me to dinner and a very credible production of a Shakespeare play (As You Like It), clients who allow me to share their healing journeys and the slow dance of consummating my relationship with my new home greatly enriched my life this week.  I am very grateful.
 
I was also aware of both the adoration of our new president and the discordance of fear which many of his behaviors cause.   Even in a state which overwhelmingly voted for him and which, on the whole are pleased with his behavior, there are pockets of dissent such as the small group advocating for Wheeling to become a sanctuary city. 
 
I am also aware of the fact that there are a significant number of people who believe that justice should be dictated by our disapproval and anger.   I read with sadness of a proposed bill in the West Virginia legislature which would significantly increase prison time for those whose abusive behavior results in the death of a child.  The proposed bill would set the minimum sentence at 20 years and the maximum at 80 years.   The bill would also increase the sentencing range for sexual abuse or other abuse which does not result in death.    Is the purpose of this bill to punish, protect other children or to provide an outlet for anger?  Certainly, any parent or anyone who has an ability to love a child hates it when a child is abused. When that child dies, we are likely to be especially sad, frustrated and, at some level, feeling as if we should have done more to protect that child.  Yet, does harsher punishment of people who abuse children prevent child abuse?  Does it make it easier for the parents who need temporary help with parenting because their addiction, mental illness or other condition?  Is the person who spends many years in prison more or less likely to be healed of the condition which results in their behavior?  Are we truly aware that this reaction to our anger costs a lot of money which we pay?
 
As a country, many are supportive of policies which punished the individual and the family who are here illegally regardless of why they are here. Many are also supportive of policies which spend a lot of money attempting to identify and punish those who take advantage of programs such as Medicaid. Does the spending justify the savings or the stress the policies cause those who need help?
 
On this Sunday, I am acutely aware that if I am silent I am complicit in policies which I think are not only ineffective but often immoral.   On the other hand, if I just react with anger I am acting as if my anger has a firmer moral base then others whose anger triggers their response.  Once again, on this Sunday morning I am reminded that:
 
·      As Bigger Thomas would say, “You cannot do anything to me  besides kill me and that ain’t nothin’.   All I really own is my integrity which no one can take from me.”
·      There is much for which to be grateful. 
·      Anger and hating the fact that I am not an all-powerful God who cannot prevent all hurt and injustice is not a sufficient basis for action which is designed to punish.
·      The anger of others is based in fear or pain.  I must ask myself how I want to respond to the fear and pain of others.
·      Not acting is acting.  Not acting may be dangerous and may be the kindest possible action.
·      Only when I stop and breathe am I open to the possibility of perspective.
 
Written February 19, 2017
 
 

​The voices
 
The nature of our beingness as humans, the question of free will, positing a distinction between brain and mind, the experience with a virtual reality, and the order of the universe which can be discussed using the language of math are thoughts which have been rolling around in my conscious thought process for as long as I can recall.  
 
On the one hand there are a myriad of factors which affect when and how the neurons in our human brains fire.  Yesterday I was talking to a person who lives with a depressive disorder. This very bright, highly educated person sometimes perceives reality through the lens of clinical depression.  Clinical depression blocks out the automatic experience of positives and movement.  Thus, if examining oneself or something which is considered to be outside of oneself, one, if depressed, will experience negatives and often blame oneself for negatives.  One’s perception will also be limited in terms of time. Thus, one might experience the world or self as always having been negative and always going to be negative.   Medication, changes in diet, exercise, positive support or some other factors can sometimes decrease the distortions of clinical depression.  One can also frequently, with help, access other voices in one’s head which offer a different truth. Those voices may be able to correct the distortions of the depressive voice.  One might still feel as if life is not worth living, but another part of one will “know” that it is the depression which is determining one’s feeling and perception of reality.   
 
One can also have an addictive disorder which causes one’s brain to have what is often an overwhelming urge or desire to use a substance which will make one act in ways which are contrary to one’s core values.  A person who has been very loyal, honest, and trustworthy will, when actively addicted steal, lie and otherwise mistreat those he or she loves.
 
When depression, addiction and certain other brain conditions are present it seems as if one is unable to exercise free will. Those factors affecting the ability of certain neurons to fire resulting in a thought which can direct one’s behavior seem to be in charge.  However, as soon as another voice can be accessed in one’s head one can begin to have an active internal dialogue with the other thought process.  Then one can at least consider other behavioral options.  This process is, I think, what we mean by free will.   The longer one has lived with a single so-called thought process the less likely one can have an internal dialogue and, thus the less access to the exercise of what is thought of as free will.  Some of the individuals who come to me for help have lived with an addictive disorder or other distorted thinking since they were very young.  It seems as if there are no other voices in their head to engage in an internal dialogue.   Sometimes that person can seem to eventually develop and/or access other voices which will suggest different behavioral options. That person may then begin to have the option of what we mean by free will.
 
Abraham Maslow, the psychologist, posited a theory based on the hierarchy of needs.  He suggested that the more one was able to move up the hierarchy the more one was capable of considering the needs of others.  When one, for example, needed to focus on just getting enough to eat, drink and stay out of the elements one could not worry about how one’s behavior affects others.  As, one is able to satisfy physical, safety, love/belonging,  and esteem needs one  moves toward self-actualization and self-transcendence and is then able to make decisions based on the needs of others as well as  oneself. The more one exists on the lower rungs of the hierarchy the less free will one has.
 
Margaret Wertheim, physicist (philosopher/author)  and philosophers/theologians  Kristra Tippett explore questions such as free will, the mind-brain distinction, the increasing experience with virtual reality, the power of the language of math as expressed in nature and other topics related to the beingness and interconnectedness of humans and the rest of “creation” in their discussion of April 23, 2015 which was recently rebroadcast on On Being.
 
The question of “true reality” and the nature of humans as embodied beings has been explored by theologians, philosophers, physicists and mathematicians since some humans have had the luxury of moving beyond the satisfaction of basic physical needs. This exploration has eventually led to discussions of justice, free will, responsibility and, of course the nature and structure of form.   The language of math has been a necessary and invaluable part of this journey.   We moved from the work/thinking of Plato, Pythagoras, Newton, Descarte, to the world of the theory of relativity and then on to quantum physics and string theory.
 
Still, as we gain in the art of answers while simultaneously becoming more sophisticated in destroying each other and destroying the planet we come back to what I think of as the first questions – the questions of what it means to be what Margaret Wertheim and others label as embodied beings – what it means to be human.
 
Nica Shy in an article “Human Beings as an Embodied Spirit” published 24 June, 2013 on prezi.com states:
“Embodied spirit is the living animating core within each of us, the driving force behind all that we think, say and do.”
 
As with all else, my personal inquiry has more to do with the exploration of first questions than it does with answers.  It seems to me that we find ourselves in an age and at a time when the moral imperative is to closely examine what questions we ask and the possible answer for which we allow. It may be that the answers do not fit our historic dualities or either/or distinctions.  How we view leadership, violence, responsibility, punishment, justice, free will and other constructs vital to the occupation of this planet and this earth may be dependent on the humility with which we formulate the questions.
 
 
Written  February 17. 2017