The events of the last few weeks have left me wondering whether we are evolving as a human species, or if we are regressing.
The Brexit event precipitating outspoken hatred and generalized xenophobia; the Istanbul Airport bombing, followed by the three Saudi Arabian suicide bombings; then Bangladesh; then the shootings of two unarmed black men by police in the US; and Friday, the sniper in Dallas, killing 5 Police officers and injuring 7 others.
“The heavily armed sniper who gunned down police officers in downtown Dallas, leaving five of them dead, specifically set out to kill as many white officers as he could, officials said Friday. He was a military veteran who had served in Afghanistan, and he kept an arsenal in his home that included bomb-making materials.” New York times.
Threats, hatred and intolerance, religious bigotry, and racial tension are all the destructive elements of society that are spilling out of the rubble of the last three weeks. Sifting through the proverbial wreckage, I find myself looking at innovative building blocks, and wondering in what order we need to rebuild.
Have we ever been in such a mess? Have we ever reached this rock-bottom?
This feels like war.
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The Universal Soldier
Buffie Sainte-Marie
He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.
He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you.
And he's fighting for Canada,
He's fighting for France,
He's fighting for the USA,
And he's fighting for the Russians,
And he's fighting for Japan,
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way.
And he's fighting for Democracy,
He's fighting for the Reds,
He says it's for the peace of all.
He's the one who must decide,
Who's to live and who's to die,
And he never sees the writing on the wall.
But without him,
How would Hitler have condemned them at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone,
He's the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war,
And without him all this killing can't go on.
He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war.
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According to http://www.yale.edu/
“The greatest effect war has on the people involved is change. In wartime, change occurs, not only in global or national collective consciousness but, in many of the individuals involved.
One of the most incredible changes within the United States that occurred during wartime, was change in identity. World War II enabled people to learn about each other and themselves. People of different cultures, backgrounds, ages, and especially genders, who experienced massive changes in their lives; changes that would continue in their hearts long after the end of the war. This was the birth of many new identities that America had not yet seen.”
In England too, times of war brought people together, and changed attitudes and traditional roles. Women began to do jobs that traditionally men had done. From 1940 to 1944, The Home guard was operational in England, to protect and defend civilians at home. Small towns and villages volunteered lay people to serve in the British army as a Defense. The Home Guard was composed of 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those too young or too old to join the services, or those in reserved occupations. It became nicknamed “Dad’s Army”
People bonded through groups such as the Women’s institute, (formed in the UK in 1915, and the Town Women’s guild. The women”s institute had two clear aims: to revitalize rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing nutritionous food during the First World War. The Town women’s guild was formed in 1929 as an experiment in citizenship. As well as social and educational activities, the Town Women’ s guild objective was “ to influence positive change in the world and have a strong focus on Public Affairs. The organization harnesses the opinions of its members on important political issues and brings them to the attention of Government and decision-makers.”
Many Organizations sprang up in order to boost morale and promote positive outcomes from positive action, under great duress.
Back before the Internet people relied on newspaper reporting, the telegraph, and letters in order to exchange news and information.
There were pockets of resistance groups in France and Germany, and people rallied together by secret word-of-mouth, and clandestine meetings.
Today we get the news from every corner of the earth almost instantaneously, and with so many terrible things occurring at once, it is overwhelming. It's hard to stay focused.
I woke up Friday morning to five messages on my phone, from friends and family in Australia and England, asking if I was OK.
That is what alerted me to the events in Dallas the night before.
In response to violence and discourse, support groups and organizations pop up overnight all over the globe using #Facebook, or other social media to spread their message.
Passions run rife when tragedy’s happen, but sustainable action is what we need to carry us through times like this.
Organizations that have sprung up in recent years using the internet include,
#Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter sprang up as a result of the disproportionate number of Black men who were the victims of Police brutality, and shootings of unarmed men.
Police killed at least 102 unarmed black people in 2015, (nearly twice each week).
http://blacklivesmatter.com
What Does #BlackLivesMatter Mean?
“When we say Black Lives Matter, we are broadening the conversation around state violence to include all of the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state. We are talking about the ways in which Black lives are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity.”
In her poetry, Claudia Rankine captures the need for change.
She examines the destructive elements of society, (especially where the black community is involved,) and of common grief. Quote:
"Marrying prose, poetry, and the visual image, Citizen, ( Claudias latest poetry book), investigates the ways in which racism pervades daily American social and cultural life, rendering certain of it's citizens politically invisible.
Rankine's formally inventive book challenges our notion that citizenship is only a legal designation that the state determines by expanding that definition to include a larger understanding of civic belonging and identity, built out of cross-racial empathy, communal responsibility, and a deeply shared commitment to equality."—National Book Award Judges' Citation
https://youtu.be/kN5aYIrc2J8
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#Mama Dragons evolved when Mother’s recognized the high incidence of suicide in young gay Mormon teenagers. Mormonism vilifys homosexuality to the point that children and teenagers are afraid to come out.
"Mama Dragons run support groups for gay Mormons, and their families. They set up a speaker’s bureau of moms willing to help educate fellow believers and the public. They helped open the Youth Futures Shelter in Ogden for homeless kids.
The Dragons open their homes to gay Mormons fleeing their families for fear of retribution or shunning. They invite lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender kids over for dinner on holidays or anytime the young people feel lonely or, sometimes, suicidal."
http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/2438383-155/mama-dragons
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Stay United was formed by Rose Eastaugh Davidson in response to the hatred and xenophobia that has risen out of "Brexit"
“I think there is a general feeling of fear, hopelessness and polarisation about what is happening in the UK at the moment. The worst thing about the referendum is the divide it"s created. Whatever happens we must stay united, spread love rather than hate.
More than anything I want to take action, however small it is.
I want something positive to do.
Together we are strong and we can show how Great we can be.
Spread love to counteract hate, unite to support all that is Great about our county.
Can we use this group to share ideas about how to unite our communities? To make people feel loved , wanted and valued. Ideas such as acts of gorilla kindness, redistributing unwanted food, ensuring immigrants feel wanted, valued and safe. Joining together to be self-sufficient and buy British.
Have a community party.
I know a Great many Great people all who feel frustrated by this situation, can we do something however small to spread positivity?”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/834714139993380/
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“I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth now
Just gimme some truth now “
John Lennon
Coming together
by Robert Longley
Ever try to measure
The power of a dream?
Ever sit and wonder
Where water becomes a stream?
In ways there is no difference
From nothing it begins
The pieces come together
And it ebbs and flows and spins
In time it becomes power
No force may stop its flow
None may know its beginning
But all may see it grow
A tiny drop of water
Or a simple little thought
Can change the world we live in
Rewriting rules we’re taught..
While talking about meaningful and sustainable action, Laura Esquivel, The Mexican author, in her novel, Like water for Chocolate, said,
“Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves; we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen for example, would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle would be any kind of food, music, caress, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches. For a moment we are dazzled by an intense emotion. A pleasant warmth grows within us, fading slowly as time goes by, until a new explosion comes along to revive it. Each person has to discover what will set off those explosions in order to live, since the combustion that occurs when one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul. That fire, in short, is its food. If one doesn't find out in time what will set off these explosions, the box of matches dampens, and not a single match will ever be lighted.”
― Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
She now sits on congress in Mexico, and is known as “The Lady knitter” because she knits during the meetings. When recently challenged by her colleaugues, and somewhat ridiculed for knitting and“not paying attention”, she rebuffed the comment by saying that she was
“Attempting to knit together the essential components of society, in order to identify where we are going wrong.” She put up a sign in front of her desk in Congress declaring that she was “ Reconstructing the fabric of society.”
She says that in order to amend our society, we have to literally knit together the fabric of our society, and identify the errors that we have made. Love is the essential component that we have lost.
“[Words] cling to the very core of our memories and lie there in silence until a new desire reawakens them and recharges them with loving energy. That is one of the qualities of love that moves me most, their capacity for transmitting love. Like water, words are a wonderful conductor of energy. And the most powerful, transforming energy is the energy of love.”
― Laura Esquivel, Swift as Desire
Laura Esquivel’s latest book, Pierced by the Sun takes an "uncensored look at Mexico’s troubled present, in which corruption and crime have rocked Mexican society." It is essentially an allegory about the corruption and crime that has rocked Mexican society, and a passionate call for justice and healing.
Esquivel says society is torn apart by corruption and crime, and the only way to find peace is when you are not separated, when you are not fighting, when you part of the whole.
________________________________________________________________
So where do we go from here?
Do we all take up knitting?
We need to take a stand.
We need to make our voice heard.
We need to recognize that we are all part of the problem.
We need to NOT be seperated.
We need to teach our children our values.
We must “ Do as we wish to be done by”
Let us join a meaningful organization that opposes Racism,
that opposes violence
that embraces activism
that breeds tolerance
and inclusion
and compassion
encourages community
encourages peaceful solutions
helps the impoverished
helps to educate
that values human life-
no-matter what Race, Religion, Culture or Creed.
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Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today... Aha-ah...
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... You, ..
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world... You, ..
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine
John Lennon
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Even this morning we are reading about hundreds of arrests made around the country of people protesting at demonstrations against police violence. 21 police were injured in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saturday night, and approximately 102 protesters were taken into custody in Saint Paul, while more than 100 people were arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Not to get into the dynamics of police culture in society as I do not presume to be in any way informed, but "Houston, we have a problem "
The Police have a job to do and it is not easy. They are only human, and humans have fears and flaws. Violence breeds violence. Hatred breeds hatred. We have a lot of work to do to reverse these trends and suspicions.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to the families of the Police officers in Dallas who were so calculatingly scapegoated in the recent shootings.
I cannot begin to understand the mentality of someone who would commit such a heinous crime.
I would also like to express my condolences to the families of those unarmed men who were killed by police. Like Rodney King so valiantly said,
"I realize I will always be the poster child for police brutality, but I can try to use that as a positive force for healing and restraint."
No matter where they are in the world, a policeman's job is not an easy one, and to quote Al Sharpton,
"We're not anti-police... we're anti-police brutality."
"We're in an emergency situation. The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country, and I would hope that I could participate in some way in stopping the horror and the brutality." Wallace Shawn
Not to poke fun, but to add a little Victorian comic relief to a very heavy subject, I would like to leave you with the most famous of Policeman songs (probably) ever written....
POLICEMAN'S SONG
From the Gilbert & Sullivan opera "Pirates of Penzance" (1879)
(William Schwenk Gilbert / Sir Arthur Sullivan)
WHEN A FELON'S NOT ENGAGED IN HIS EMPLOYMENT
OR MATURING HIS FELONIOUS LITTLE PLANS
HIS CAPACITY FOR INNOCENT ENJOYMENT
IS JUST AS GREAT AS ANY HONEST MAN'S
OUR FEELINGS WE WITH DIFFICULTY SMOTHER
WHEN CONSTABULARY DUTY'S TO BE DONE
AH, TAKE ONE CONSIDERATION WITH ANOTHER
A POLICEMAN'S LOT IS NOT A HAPPY ONE
AHHH
WHEN CONSTABULARY DUTY'S TO BE DONE, TO BE DONE,
A POLICEMAN'S LOT IS NOT A HAPPY ONE.
WHEN THE ENTERPRISING BURGLARS NOT A'BURGLING
WHEN THE CUT THROAT ISN'T OCCUPIED IN CRIME
HE LOVES TO HEAR THE LITTLE BROOK A'GURGLING
AND LISTEN TO THE MERRY VILLAGE CHIME
WHEN THE COSTER'S FINISHED JUMPING ON HIS MOTHER
HE LOVES TO LIE A'BASKING IN THE SUN
AH, TAKE ONE CONSIDERATION WITH ANOTHER
A POLICEMAN'S LOT IS NOT A HAPPY ONE
WHEN CONSTABULARY DUTY'S TO BE DONE, TO BE DONE,
A POLICEMAN'S LOT IS NOT A HAPPY ONE (happy one).
"All we are saying, is "Give Peace a Chance" John Lennon
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