For me, like many others, Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and (more importantly) share a delicious meal with those around me in the spirit of generosity and kindness. And while I love to stuff my face full of delicious, home-cooked food as much as the next stereotypical American, I think it's worthwhile to reflect on the history of Thanksgiving.
Much like Columbus Day, this holiday is marred by a grim and bloody past, from the mythologized 1621 celebration at Plymouth to the 1863 proclamation by President Lincoln for a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" during the midst of the Civil War.
The former belies the tragic fate of the Native Americans that unfolded under Manifest Destiny and the 19th century policy of Indian removal, while the latter was set within the context of what many consider to be the deadliest war in American history.
So for me, today isn't just about being thankful, overeating, and maybe watching some football. It's also about remembering the rather somber and often overlooked history underlying this holiday with the intention to learn from the past and strengthen my resolve to try and make this world a better place. As George Santayana famously wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Friday, November 16, 2012
meal offering
Went to a meal offering and impromptu house blessing today, which is sort of a Thai Buddhist tradition where someone invites a monk or a group of monks to accept their daily meal at their house, especially after just moving in. Occasions like this are often festive affairs, with people bringing all kinds of dishes to offer and share. It's basically like a big potluck with a bit of Pali chanting thrown in for good measure. It's always a pleasant experience, and the food is always wonderful. One of the ladies even offered to teach me how to cook traditional Thai dishes sometime after Thanksgiving, and I'm definitely going to take her up on that.
As far as I can recall, this was my first meal offering outside of a monastery or meditation hall, and I'm glad that I was able to make it. I almost missed out because I wasn't paying as much attention as I should've been while looking up the directions and took the wrong bus, jumping on the 4 instead of the 14. If nothing else, today was at least a good lesson on the importance of mindfulness.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
gaza: deja vu
When it comes to the ongoing violence in Gaza, most mainstream media reports always seem to focus on Israel's right to defend itself, yet rarely do they ever seem to consider what rights the Palestinians have, essentially ignoring the crisis Palestinians have been facing for decades, a situation so dire that former president Jimmy Carter likened it to South African apartheid.
They also seem to do their best to avoid talking about the civilian casualties on the Palestinian side and glossing over the provocative acts of the IDF, instead focusing on 'militant' casualties and the home-made rockets coming out of Gaza, an area that's smaller than Portland, Oregon, with twice the population, which in reality is more like a giant prison than a state, with Israel controlling their airspace and territorial waters, as well as the Gaza-Israel border (the only other access point is the Gaza-Egypt border, which itself is protected by concrete and steel walls).
As with most things of this nature, the situation isn't necessarily as simplistic or as one-sided as it's often made out to be. But whatever the case, there's little doubt that when the dust settles, the majority of casualties will be on the Palestinian side and the West will have done nothing to stop the carnage, as was the case almost four years ago with Operation Cast Lead. Sadly, instead of resolving anything, it'll merely sow the seeds for more violence in the future.
They also seem to do their best to avoid talking about the civilian casualties on the Palestinian side and glossing over the provocative acts of the IDF, instead focusing on 'militant' casualties and the home-made rockets coming out of Gaza, an area that's smaller than Portland, Oregon, with twice the population, which in reality is more like a giant prison than a state, with Israel controlling their airspace and territorial waters, as well as the Gaza-Israel border (the only other access point is the Gaza-Egypt border, which itself is protected by concrete and steel walls).
As with most things of this nature, the situation isn't necessarily as simplistic or as one-sided as it's often made out to be. But whatever the case, there's little doubt that when the dust settles, the majority of casualties will be on the Palestinian side and the West will have done nothing to stop the carnage, as was the case almost four years ago with Operation Cast Lead. Sadly, instead of resolving anything, it'll merely sow the seeds for more violence in the future.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
we should honour veterans with more than just words
Veterans Day, a day to honour the men and women who have placed their lives in danger for the sake of others. For my own part, I respect those who join the military and place their lives in danger for the sake of others despite my own philosophical disagreements with war and the reasons we fight them; and I respect the hellish things that many of them are forced to endure in the course of their service, as well as the sacrifice of those who lose their lives while serving.
But for me, today isn't just about honouring their service; it's also about remembering the toll that war takes on its survivors and the heavy burdens than many veterans bear from their time spent in war, physical and mental scars that take lifetimes to heal, if at all. Whether they fight for things like freedom and justice, or simply find themselves in harm's way while trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, they are as much victims as they are heroes—victims of a political-economic system in which the ruling class declares the wars that the working class and poor must fight. As Eugene Debs famously said in his 1918 Canton, Ohio, speech:
War is hell, and many of those who come out on the other side of it are changed forever. As human beings caught in the tangled web of geopolitics and the machinations of plutocrats who treat human lives more like commodities in their lust for wealth and power than people, I think our veterans deserve to be honoured and cared for just as much as any other victims of war, not forgotten and left to shoulder their physical and psychological burdens alone as they often are, cast aside by the ruling class like broken playthings discarded by a spoiled and thankless child.
How should we honour our veterans, then? With flag-waving and solemn words by politicians one day a year? With parades and empty promises? No. By making sure that veterans receive the emotional support and medical care they need is how we should honour them. By helping homeless veterans get off the streets and into safe, warm homes is how we should honour them. And most of all, we should honour them as WWII veteran and political activist Howard Zinn suggested, by renouncing war and vowing "No more war victims on the other side; no more war veterans on our side."
But for me, today isn't just about honouring their service; it's also about remembering the toll that war takes on its survivors and the heavy burdens than many veterans bear from their time spent in war, physical and mental scars that take lifetimes to heal, if at all. Whether they fight for things like freedom and justice, or simply find themselves in harm's way while trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, they are as much victims as they are heroes—victims of a political-economic system in which the ruling class declares the wars that the working class and poor must fight. As Eugene Debs famously said in his 1918 Canton, Ohio, speech:
They have always taught and trained you to believe it to be your patriotic duty to go to war and to have yourselves slaughtered at their command. But in all the history of the world you, the people, have never had a voice in declaring war, and strange as it certainly appears, no war by any nation in any age has ever been declared by the people. And here let me emphasize the fact—and it cannot be repeated too often—that the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish the corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make peace.
War is hell, and many of those who come out on the other side of it are changed forever. As human beings caught in the tangled web of geopolitics and the machinations of plutocrats who treat human lives more like commodities in their lust for wealth and power than people, I think our veterans deserve to be honoured and cared for just as much as any other victims of war, not forgotten and left to shoulder their physical and psychological burdens alone as they often are, cast aside by the ruling class like broken playthings discarded by a spoiled and thankless child.
How should we honour our veterans, then? With flag-waving and solemn words by politicians one day a year? With parades and empty promises? No. By making sure that veterans receive the emotional support and medical care they need is how we should honour them. By helping homeless veterans get off the streets and into safe, warm homes is how we should honour them. And most of all, we should honour them as WWII veteran and political activist Howard Zinn suggested, by renouncing war and vowing "No more war victims on the other side; no more war veterans on our side."
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
give the whole 'lazy minorities want free hand-outs' meme a rest already
As it became clear Obama was going to win by a large margin, conservative pundits were already decrying the death of traditional America and the rise of freeloading minorities. Sadly, this idea seems to be a common perception among many. Bill O'Reilly, for example, apparently went on a racist rant last night about non-whites and women wanting stuff and voting for Obama because they know he'll give it to them unlike 'white establishment' Romney and 'traditional America' (conservative, white males, I'm guessing).
Honestly, it drives me crazy and I can't stand it. I can't stand the classism and racism underlying it. I can't stand the lack of understanding of our history and the systemic discrimination embedded into many of our institutions and psyche. I can't stand the lack of compassion. And I can't stand the blatantly negative attitudes surrounding minorities, the poor, and anyone receiving government assistance in general, as if they're all just a bunch of lazy pieces of shit. There are ways to fix these problems, but that'll never happen if people continue to pretend that there isn't a problem, or that the problem is that blacks and poor people are simply lazy leeches who abuse the system and need to be cut off.
Taking a broader look at American history, however, I think it's hard to miss the fact that systemic discrimination has been embedded into many of our institutions and psyche; and even though things are more equal now than in the past, there's still a lot of work to be done. Sure, slavery is no more and women can now vote; but women still get paid less than men and blacks still face disproportionate police discrimination (e.g., our local police bureau recently admitted that racism may be a factor behind the persistent disparity between how often whites and blacks in Portland are stopped and then searched).
In essence, to say what O'Reilly said while seemingly ignoring systematic problems and social prejudices (problems that many don't even think exist) gives an incomplete picture of the problem, which I believe will distort the effectiveness of any proposed solutions. Cutting people off of government assistance at a certain time, for example, which is something many conservatives favour, won't make it any easier for those people to get a decent education or a job that can actually support them without any additional assistance in a society that still makes it more difficult for some than others.
To take just one example, the unemployment rate among black college graduates is almost double that of whites, and I sincerely doubt it's because all those black grads are just lazy, so just imagine how difficult it must be for someone without a college degree who also happens to be black to find work. And many of those who do manage find employment, regardless of their gender, race, etc., aren't being paid enough to support themselves without help. Minimum wage just isn't enough.
Another issue I see besides these negative attitudes surrounding minorities, the poor, and anyone receiving government assistance is that many Americans are adverse to a lot of the things that can potentially help change the structure of the current political-economic system for the better, like stricter lobbying laws, instant runoff voting, an amendment ending corporate personhood (which currently gives corporations many of the same rights as citizens) and the institution of campaign finance reforms, tougher banking regulations, truly universal, single-payer healthcare, solidly-funded K-college education for all, and even more radical things like a universal basic income, etc.
Historically speaking, less taxes on the wealthy, more privatization and deregulation, and supply-side economics haven't really worked that well for us in the past. And for all the negative talk about things like the evil, socialist Scandinavian welfare states, they're actually pretty prosperous all-around and are weathering the current crisis relatively well, which is arguably due in part to their strong safety nets and smarter/tougher regulations on the banking sector (same for Canada).
But leaving the economic aspect of the discussion aside, I think the prevalence of racist and/or negative attitudes towards minorities, the poor, and anyone receiving government assistance in general, exemplified by people like O'Reilly, are ultimately an impediments to our material and spiritual growth as a nation. And for all their talk about fiscal conservatism and 'makers and takers,' this is the kind of thing that people like O'Reilly, Trump, and Limbaugh seem to be really afraid of: "Barack Obama And The Death Of Normal."
The times they are a-changin'.
Honestly, it drives me crazy and I can't stand it. I can't stand the classism and racism underlying it. I can't stand the lack of understanding of our history and the systemic discrimination embedded into many of our institutions and psyche. I can't stand the lack of compassion. And I can't stand the blatantly negative attitudes surrounding minorities, the poor, and anyone receiving government assistance in general, as if they're all just a bunch of lazy pieces of shit. There are ways to fix these problems, but that'll never happen if people continue to pretend that there isn't a problem, or that the problem is that blacks and poor people are simply lazy leeches who abuse the system and need to be cut off.
Taking a broader look at American history, however, I think it's hard to miss the fact that systemic discrimination has been embedded into many of our institutions and psyche; and even though things are more equal now than in the past, there's still a lot of work to be done. Sure, slavery is no more and women can now vote; but women still get paid less than men and blacks still face disproportionate police discrimination (e.g., our local police bureau recently admitted that racism may be a factor behind the persistent disparity between how often whites and blacks in Portland are stopped and then searched).
In essence, to say what O'Reilly said while seemingly ignoring systematic problems and social prejudices (problems that many don't even think exist) gives an incomplete picture of the problem, which I believe will distort the effectiveness of any proposed solutions. Cutting people off of government assistance at a certain time, for example, which is something many conservatives favour, won't make it any easier for those people to get a decent education or a job that can actually support them without any additional assistance in a society that still makes it more difficult for some than others.
To take just one example, the unemployment rate among black college graduates is almost double that of whites, and I sincerely doubt it's because all those black grads are just lazy, so just imagine how difficult it must be for someone without a college degree who also happens to be black to find work. And many of those who do manage find employment, regardless of their gender, race, etc., aren't being paid enough to support themselves without help. Minimum wage just isn't enough.
Another issue I see besides these negative attitudes surrounding minorities, the poor, and anyone receiving government assistance is that many Americans are adverse to a lot of the things that can potentially help change the structure of the current political-economic system for the better, like stricter lobbying laws, instant runoff voting, an amendment ending corporate personhood (which currently gives corporations many of the same rights as citizens) and the institution of campaign finance reforms, tougher banking regulations, truly universal, single-payer healthcare, solidly-funded K-college education for all, and even more radical things like a universal basic income, etc.
Historically speaking, less taxes on the wealthy, more privatization and deregulation, and supply-side economics haven't really worked that well for us in the past. And for all the negative talk about things like the evil, socialist Scandinavian welfare states, they're actually pretty prosperous all-around and are weathering the current crisis relatively well, which is arguably due in part to their strong safety nets and smarter/tougher regulations on the banking sector (same for Canada).
But leaving the economic aspect of the discussion aside, I think the prevalence of racist and/or negative attitudes towards minorities, the poor, and anyone receiving government assistance in general, exemplified by people like O'Reilly, are ultimately an impediments to our material and spiritual growth as a nation. And for all their talk about fiscal conservatism and 'makers and takers,' this is the kind of thing that people like O'Reilly, Trump, and Limbaugh seem to be really afraid of: "Barack Obama And The Death Of Normal."
The times they are a-changin'.
Monday, November 5, 2012
happy birthday, eugene
Partially thanks to the popularity of Alan Moore's V for Vendetta, most people think of Guy Fawkes on November 5th, a member of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 who was arrested while guarding explosives placed beneath the House of Lords. But today is also the birthday of Eugene V. Debs, one of the greatest Americans to ever have lived, in my opinion. He was a champion of the working class if there ever was one. Happy Birthday, comrade.
"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free" (Eugene V. Debs, upon being convicted of violating the Sedition Act for giving the speech read above by the Incredible Hulk).
"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free" (Eugene V. Debs, upon being convicted of violating the Sedition Act for giving the speech read above by the Incredible Hulk).
Thursday, November 1, 2012
what madison refused to do during the war of 1812
Saw this on Twitter today via Glenn Greenwald and thought I'd share it here:
James Madison, Presidential Power, and Civil Liberties in the War of 1812
It's an interesting look at James Madison's relatively unique deference to civil liberties and tolerance for dissent during wartime. While being far from perfect, as evidenced by everything from his ownership of slaves to his use of covert and duplicitous methods to acquire West and East Florida from Spain, Madison displayed a rare level of restraint during the War of 1812 that few presidents, if any, have replicated, not only denying the authority to detain American citizens in military custody or try them in military tribunals, but also refusing to repress dissent or suspend the writ of habeas corpus despite facing unprecedented political dissent and active opposition during a time of war.
I was unaware of most of this myself, not having studied Madison's presidency or the War of 1812 in much detail, and think it's worth checking out.
James Madison, Presidential Power, and Civil Liberties in the War of 1812
It's an interesting look at James Madison's relatively unique deference to civil liberties and tolerance for dissent during wartime. While being far from perfect, as evidenced by everything from his ownership of slaves to his use of covert and duplicitous methods to acquire West and East Florida from Spain, Madison displayed a rare level of restraint during the War of 1812 that few presidents, if any, have replicated, not only denying the authority to detain American citizens in military custody or try them in military tribunals, but also refusing to repress dissent or suspend the writ of habeas corpus despite facing unprecedented political dissent and active opposition during a time of war.
I was unaware of most of this myself, not having studied Madison's presidency or the War of 1812 in much detail, and think it's worth checking out.
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