| |
| |
 |
|
|
1.30.2004
Friday, January 29, 2004
Saw this bumper sticker this morning: "If they can put one man on the moon why don't we send them all?"
1.29.2004
Thursday, January 28, 2004
The Florida courts upheld a law yesterday that bans gays and lesbians from adopting children. Florida argued that it had a right to legislate its "moral disapproval of homosexuality." Does that also mean it has a right to legislate its moral disapproval of interracial marriage if it wants? Or of a teenager wearing a nose ring? Or of a person believing in the Buddha instead of Jesus?
Let us not dilute the implication of this. What Florida is saying, and what so many of the other gay-bashing people are saying is simple - gays and lesbians are not human. They therefore are not entitled to the same rights as humans. We are some other species. Animals? Plants? I don't know, but that is the unaltered meaning of the court's decision, and of all other efforts to limit equality.
Perhaps our response should be to listen to the Declaration of Independence: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it s their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."
1.28.2004
Wednesday, January 28, 2004
We need to dedicate ourselves to being life savers. To saving the lives of the poor around the world dying of AIDS. To saving the lives of the kids growing up in the ghetto with broken schools and a future compromised before it even begins. To saving the lives of the millions of children around the world who will die of diarrhea this year. To saving the lives of women with breast cancer by setting an unbelievably bold goal for the eradication of the disease. This is part of the problem - we have all these well-meaning organizations around who are working on these problems but we have no goals. Peoples' lives are at stake. We need goals, and we need to stick by them, and we need them to be audacious. If it were our mother dying, or lover, or husband, or child, we would be audacious in the face of anything that stood in the way of us saving their lives. Our passion for the rest of the abandoned souls in this world should be no less.
Life savers. Heroes to the disenfranchised and the forgotten and the voiceless. If we are looking for a deep and meaningful happiness, this is where it will be found - not in ourselves, but in others. We save our own lives by saving theirs.
1.26.2004
Tuesday, January 27, 2004
There are so many of us out here who can see clearly that the world is headed in the wrong direction. We do our own things in our own little ways - for some it's praying, for some it's meditating on peace, for others it's doing a walk for breast cancer or volunteering our time at a homeless shelter. We wonder how these little gestures can ever overcome the tidal waves of fear and globalization and materialism that have gathered so much momentum and are so much larger than us. "God your ocean is so great and my boat is so small." But one day, when the time is right, we shall find one another other in the right place and we will be rewarded for our faith. "Meet me in the land of hope and dreams," Bruce Springsteen sings. "on this train, dreams will not be thwarted - on this train faith will be rewarded." I believe in the land of hope and dreams. I have faith in our faith. We hold onto this dream of ours - this far off dream of a better world where all the little children are fed and all of the poor have a chance to rest and all of the violence and hatred ceases - we hold onto it because at some level we know it is important for us to do that - that perhaps we are the only ones protecting it. We are the ones who keep it alive. And one day, when we least expect it, it will reward us.
Between that day and this there may lie a great deal of hard work for us to do. There may be great pain and frustration to endure. But if it is endured in the name of the little children and the poor and the voiceless and the hungry then there can be joy in bearing that burden. But most of all, there can be joy in knowing that we are not alone - that I have you and you have me - that sprinkled in between the cynicism and war mongers and the learned experts are the dreamers - a magnificent network of misfits and freaks and crazy people who think that one day all of this madness can be turned around and we can live in the world of our dreams. There are more of us than we think. Gandhi was one. Captain Kangaroo was one. Tolkien was one. Einstein. King. John Lennon. Emerson. So keep on doing what you are doing. You are in good company. And let's look out together for what's next. There are big things on the horizon that will take us from our isolation and put us together in visionary endeavors. There is great work to be done. The best is yet to come.
Monday, January 26, 2004
The Congressional Budget Office reports that this year's Federal deficit will reach a record $477 billion. A deficit is how much more money you spent than you had to spend. Can someone tell me how spending $477 billion that you don't have is conservative? When I was a teenager, they called it irresponsible. There is nothing conservative about President Bush's fiscal behavior. He is like a teenager with a credit card. He is way over his spending limit and he isn't paying his monthly bills. We must stop allowing people to call this a conservative fiscal policy. They call the Democrats "tax and spend" liberals. To me, that's a lot better than "don't tax and spend," which is exactly what President Bush is doing.
The forces of fear and division use language very cleverly, just as George Orwell predicted in "1984." It would be a good time for us all to re-read that book. It is all about labeling what you are doing as its opposite. So reckless spending becomes "conservative," and spending on the promotion of the principle of violence becomes "defense."
You would not run your household budget the way the President is running the nation's. You would not let your teenage son or daughter spend you into oblivion. Don't let your President.
Sunday, January 25, 2004
The sage has no mind of his own.
He is aware of the needs of others.
I am good to people who are good.
I am also god to people who are not good.
Because Virtue is goodness.
I have faith in people who are faithful.
I also have faith in people who are not faithful.
Because Virtue is faithfulness.
The sage is shy and humble - to the world
he seems confusing.
Others look to him and listen.
He behaves like a little child.
Lao Tsu
ARCHIVES
09/28/2003 - 10/04/2003 10/12/2003 - 10/18/2003 10/19/2003 - 10/25/2003 10/26/2003 - 11/01/2003 11/02/2003 - 11/08/2003 11/09/2003 - 11/15/2003 11/16/2003 - 11/22/2003 11/23/2003 - 11/29/2003 11/30/2003 - 12/06/2003 12/07/2003 - 12/13/2003 12/14/2003 - 12/20/2003 12/21/2003 - 12/27/2003 12/28/2003 - 01/03/2004 01/04/2004 - 01/10/2004 01/11/2004 - 01/17/2004 01/18/2004 - 01/24/2004 01/25/2004 - 01/31/2004 02/01/2004 - 02/07/2004 02/08/2004 - 02/14/2004 02/15/2004 - 02/21/2004 02/22/2004 - 02/28/2004 02/29/2004 - 03/06/2004 03/07/2004 - 03/13/2004 03/14/2004 - 03/20/2004 03/21/2004 - 03/27/2004 03/28/2004 - 04/03/2004 04/04/2004 - 04/10/2004 04/11/2004 - 04/17/2004 04/18/2004 - 04/24/2004 04/25/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/02/2004 - 05/08/2004 05/09/2004 - 05/15/2004 05/16/2004 - 05/22/2004 05/23/2004 - 05/29/2004 05/30/2004 - 06/05/2004 06/06/2004 - 06/12/2004 06/13/2004 - 06/19/2004 06/20/2004 - 06/26/2004 06/27/2004 - 07/03/2004 07/04/2004 - 07/10/2004 07/11/2004 - 07/17/2004 07/18/2004 - 07/24/2004 07/25/2004 - 07/31/2004 08/01/2004 - 08/07/2004 08/08/2004 - 08/14/2004 08/15/2004 - 08/21/2004 08/22/2004 - 08/28/2004 08/29/2004 - 09/04/2004 09/05/2004 - 09/11/2004 09/12/2004 - 09/18/2004 09/19/2004 - 09/25/2004 09/26/2004 - 10/02/2004 10/03/2004 - 10/09/2004 10/10/2004 - 10/16/2004 10/17/2004 - 10/23/2004 10/24/2004 - 10/30/2004 10/31/2004 - 11/06/2004 11/07/2004 - 11/13/2004 11/14/2004 - 11/20/2004 11/21/2004 - 11/27/2004 11/28/2004 - 12/04/2004 12/05/2004 - 12/11/2004 12/12/2004 - 12/18/2004 12/19/2004 - 12/25/2004 01/02/2005 - 01/08/2005 01/09/2005 - 01/15/2005 01/16/2005 - 01/22/2005 01/23/2005 - 01/29/2005 01/30/2005 - 02/05/2005 02/06/2005 - 02/12/2005 02/13/2005 - 02/19/2005 02/20/2005 - 02/26/2005 02/27/2005 - 03/05/2005 03/06/2005 - 03/12/2005 03/13/2005 - 03/19/2005 03/20/2005 - 03/26/2005 03/27/2005 - 04/02/2005 04/03/2005 - 04/09/2005 04/10/2005 - 04/16/2005 04/17/2005 - 04/23/2005 04/24/2005 - 04/30/2005 05/01/2005 - 05/07/2005 05/08/2005 - 05/14/2005 05/15/2005 - 05/21/2005 05/22/2005 - 05/28/2005 05/29/2005 - 06/04/2005 06/05/2005 - 06/11/2005 06/12/2005 - 06/18/2005 06/19/2005 - 06/25/2005 07/10/2005 - 07/16/2005 07/17/2005 - 07/23/2005 07/24/2005 - 07/30/2005 07/31/2005 - 08/06/2005 08/07/2005 - 08/13/2005 08/14/2005 - 08/20/2005 08/21/2005 - 08/27/2005 08/28/2005 - 09/03/2005 09/04/2005 - 09/10/2005 09/11/2005 - 09/17/2005 09/18/2005 - 09/24/2005 09/25/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/02/2005 - 10/08/2005 10/09/2005 - 10/15/2005 10/16/2005 - 10/22/2005 10/30/2005 - 11/05/2005 11/06/2005 - 11/12/2005 11/13/2005 - 11/19/2005
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
