HELIOLITH

Much to my delight, I just discovered ProCon! This nonprofit provides clear arguments on both sides of a bunch of different controversial topics. They articulate their mission as “Promoting education, critical thinking, and informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a simple, nonpartisan primarily pro-con format.” I stumbled upon it after reading a footnote in a very interesting article about hedonics and its effects on punishment, wondering why felon disenfranchisement hasn’t been held unconstitutional. Voila! I will now promptly delicious this.

Listen to this post:

What A Smile Can Mean Between Men: The Seeds of War and Peace

I am driving the Ford south on the freeway, heading south to visit family, but stopping first back in town at the 76 to fill the tank. Now I’m stepping around to the passenger side, going through the motions so familiar now after numberless repetitions. I’m smiling broadly with the simple pleasure of being together with my life companion, my wife, and my two radiant daughters, on a Friday afternoon, with two days of rest laying in my open hands.

I catch the eye of a man stepping into the back seat of a nondescript american sedan,
already full of 4 other men.
At first I just see his eyes, and continue smiling lightly, sharing my simple joy in this moment.
In his face I first see neutrality,
but no trace of the possibly reciprocated smile,
which is absolutely fine.

In less than a second, I notice his seriousness,
like a tiredness of working hard all week, his color a soft brown like cinnamon,
with a few patches without pigmentation,
his mouth turned down slightly in a very subtle frown.
For less than another second, we hold each others’ gaze,
my expression open, and subtly happy,
his expression sullen, telling me directly, and by long experience,
that I should gently avert my eyes.

He appears to look still at me when I look back
and after a few moments the look seems to have changed–
from neutrality to a mild hostile incredulity as though he might asking me–
“Who are YOU to look at ME?”

The common male refrain… the challenge of quiet aggression,
the maintained eye on eye contact that in dogs and men,
in the street, in the ghetto, and in prison– is sometimes known as mad-dogging
I risk a couple of more open glances, scanning for an opening,
to break the quiet ice of separateness spawned when
silence echoed with the distant sounds of war.

It seems that a few more in his group are casting their eyes in my direction,
and none of them are smiling.
I feel as yet, mostly unfazed, but I’m increasingly aware of the rising expectation
to either avoid their gazes with feigned fear,
or to demonstrate some brotherly gesture of solidarity,
which it is probably a bit too late for in the dance at this point.

In moments, I scan through the possible scenarios they are playing in their minds–
of what a smile can mean between men, if it’s not simple unconditional warmth.
Could it be they imagine I was making a sexual advance?
That’s a fairly unlikely interpretation,
as they see me happy with my wife and daughters in the car.

Could it be he imagines that I’m mocking him with my smile,
or looking down at him somehow, smugly from my fortunate world?
This is unfortunately quite possible!
If only I could tell him that most likely we speak the same two languages,
that I treasure the richness of our differences,
and that I am happy to humble myself as low as a bug,
when entering into the discussion of ethnicity or racism,
myself a white male with priviledge and fortune,
my own deepest intentions and actions aimed at healing the inequalities
that all too often fall along color lines.

Could it be that he is in with the always present local gangs,
and he imagines I’ve identified him as a rival,
or is scanning me for any sign that I might be a rival,
or that simply by being a man who is unafraid to stand tall and feel at home anywhere,
even in this territory,
I’ve broken the rules of who he might think these streets belong to?
It could be, but I cannot possibly tell.

Speculation and projection is the defense of the rational mind,
as we rapidly scan like a slot machine through the combinations of
each others’ possible moves and motivations,
each of our mental circuits the product of countless fruitless interactions,
between men who do not trust their ears to hear
the music of the dance that keeps us all in time.
The analysis is more real and complex than those of a chess piece
on the playing board with a thousand pieces.
And as simple as the intuition of a faithful dog in smelling out a stranger’s intentions.

The human necessity of bowing one’s head and dancing around seems so animalistic,
like two dogs who nip and scuffle in a ritualistic encounter to establish who is dominant,
and how quickly each will accept their own biological dominance or submission,
yet it’s all we have to fall back on when we do not mutually trust our highest nature yet.

Perhaps this time a soft verbal token of solidarity
could have defused the subtle social escalation,
a soft ‘orale,’ ‘hola,’ or a ‘hey’, or even a broader smile at that first glance,
a manly vigorous nod-salute with the head and chin,
and the deeply ingrained conformance to breaking of eye contact before 2.3 full seconds.

So many questions and accusations could pass
between the eyes of men when they cross in the street
and myself being relatively young and of not the simplest identifiable ethnicity,
I will continue to avert my eyes, generally avoiding the visual engagement of men,
because of the great difficulty of simply sharing the wish of happiness
with each and every human being I meet.

As softly contemplating the openness of the sky lets me forget
the complicated rules of the darkest city streets,
I laugh, and then falter and misstep in the rules of a complicated social mandala,
knowing that deep behind the vicious cycling nature of male antler locking
there is a path of action that trusts deeply in the goodness of all beings,
that the illusion that we were ever separate is itself the cruelest nightmare.

Yet until the moment that brilliant openness
blesses each of us with that simultaneous realization…
I will continue to avert my eyes.

====

This happened yesterday.
Just before leaving on this trip, I opened my copy (randomly) of Daniel Ladinsky’s Translation of the great poet Hafiz’ work entitled “The Gift” and had read the poem, “It has not rained Light.” Though I would like to think that Ladinsky wouldn’t mind if I posted the poem here, the original is clearly in the public domain, while his translation of it is not, and his publisher (Penguin Compass) might care more. Who knows? Check it out in your library. Daniel: if you read this (statistically improbable), please leave a comment or contact me if you have any opinion on this. I became aware of the book originally thanks to Saul Williams when he came and spoke locally.

I found this video; downloadable version via Dean’s Sluyter’s Question of the Month page, which he posted in response to the question, “Is enlightenment a scientific reality?*” This neuroscientist, Jill Bolte Taylor, had a stroke. She explains the experience of losing her analytical brain functions, and being plunged into the immediate, holistic perceptual sphere of her right brain. Her lucid and articulate recounting of this unusual yet universally approachable experience is a phenomenal and wholly non-religious testimony to the deeper realities that science (the most revered and holy paradigm of our age) seems to approach but not quite fully hit from any single discipline. (Neuroscience, Quantum Mechanics, and Psychology being perhaps three of the closest so far.** Her direct, deeply sincere offering of this personal epiphany is a beautiful segue from science to spirit; at once eloquent, succinct, and penetratingly wise. Precisely the type of scientist-centric direct experience that the us skeptic seekers of truth in the West need to hear much more of.

The video is just under 20 minutes long. It’s time very well spent.

*Dean’s response (see above link or archives, depending when you read this) gives a great overview of how this fits into the greater picture of world enlightenment teachings.

**See Alan Wallace’s work, especially his downloadable audio, as he works facilitating this accelerating convergence of science of mind, physics, and contemplative inquiry.

Dear Hu Jintao and Zhang Qingli,

I am writing to respectfully share my opinion with you on the situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region. While I understand that the official view is that no external persons or countries should meddle with the internal affairs of China, I request that you listen, for I speak not with condemnation, but with respect and concern. I do not rightly know what precisely has occurred over the last weeks, beyond what the Chinese government and outside sources have agreed upon, namely that Tibetan protests turned violent, and that human beings were killed. I express my deepest sympathy for the families and countrymen of those who have died in the violence — murder in any form is intolerable.

I would like to request that you entertain the possibility that the unrest and frustration of Tibetans is a symptom of China’s policy in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. I realize that this is an accusatory statement, and I do not mean to insult your governing abilities. Regretfully, it has taken violence to catalyze the world’s attention to the situation here, and you would not want to be seen as caving in to the demands of those who use violence to express themselves– but there are far greater dangers. In my country, the U.S.A, after the attacks of 9/11/01, there were many who tried to analyze the attacks in the context of our international policies, while others quickly reacted with fury and ire, stating that to do so was to justify the attackers. Nothing ever justifies violence. Honest introspection and self-reflection harms no one.

Perhaps you, as an outsider to our internal affairs, can see some of our own failed policies in the last decade, and the repercussions that we have suffered for them. Please seriously consider re-opening dialogues with the Dalai Lama, while entertaining the possibility of his request for greater Tibetan autonomy. I realize that while publicly China has accused him of inciting violence, I think that you are well aware, as is the majority of the world, that this is someone who could never incite violence, that he walks the same path that the great leader Mahatma Gandhi walked, one that shuns all forms of violence. As an outsider myself to your policy, it does seem that the Tibetan people, the vast majority of which seem peaceful, and discontent with Chinese management, have several valid points of critique to China’s policies in their area of your empire. I am not interested in maligning China. I am interested in seeing your great leadership make a difference for the people of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, who deserve, just like all citizens of the world, to be listened to, and treated with dignity and respect.

Thank you for your time.

Is burning property violence? Did Tibetan monks actually do it? Should the short term events of the last week, and possible crimes committed shape the dialogue around the movement to free Tibet? Did the Chinese use infiltrators to foment violence? There may currently be no proof, but there it seems very plausible, and congruent with their history of hyper-cointelpro style disruption. Those seeking peace, freedom, and self-determination for Tibet are sending a clear message: China has been systematically working to eradicate the Tibetan cultural identity, and they want it to end. What a better time to protest than right before the Olympics, as the world’s eyes turn to China to be a representative of peace, leadership, and justice, rather than as a master of repression. We did not, I’ve noticed, stage the Olympics in Myanmar. To the Chinese Government: please show that you deserve the respect you’re being shown by the world: use dialogue, and never for an instant use violence.

There are clear discrepancies between the death toll, which is to be expected in a state so tightly controlled that no (non-state-sponsored) press whatsoever is allowed unrestricted access to Tibet. The following discrepancies (from the NYTimes) are glaring evidence of the vacuum around truth in Chinese media. Even if the exiled Tibetans have their numbers slightly off (unlikely as it has been confirmed by multiple sources), the Chinese are simply whitewashing the story.

Thubten Samphel, a spokesman for the Dalai Lama’s government in exile, said multiple sources inside Tibet had counted at least 80 corpses since the violence broke out Friday. He did not know how many of the bodies were protesters. On Friday, the exiled government said at least 30 protesters had been killed by Chinese authorities and the number could be as high as 100. BUT THEN: The official Chinese Xinhua News Agency has said at least 10 civilians were burned to death Friday. The figures could not be independently verified because China restricts foreign media access to Tibet.

In a surreal 1984-like style, trucks with loudspeakers are broadcasting ‘’discern between enemies and friends, maintain order” around the streets of Lhasa. According to the Times, “China’s communist government is hoping Beijing’s hosting of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics will boost its popularity at home as well as its image abroad. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge [opposed an Olympic boycott over Tibet].” Write a letter to him here.Ask him to condemn the violence.

The Dalai Lama himself has opposed a boycott of China, saying, “The Chinese people… need to feel proud of it. China deserves to be a host of the Olympic Games.” The UK’s Times Online reporter stated that, “He must also be careful not to condone the rioting, which contravenes his strict policy of non-violence, while appearing to support his increasingly frustrated followers,” which is a clear misinterpretation of the Dalai Lama’s own perspective. There’s no being careful about it, his path is one of purist non-violence. The reporter might as well have said Gandhi must be careful not to support rioting. Violence is the antithesis of everything in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Yet that a cultural genocide has been happening over the last 50 years is as clear as day for anyone looking even superficially at the events in this area.

A fellow in Canada just came up with the sweetest idea that dovetails two different websites I love: Found and Post Secret.  Matt collects and posts photographs from lost cameras that the finders send in to connect the orphaned pictures with their long lost owners.  Just a lovely idea.  Wedding photos, teenagers plastered at Lollapalooza, strangers goofing off, an old man flying a plane.  The website invokes that same odd familiarity of perusing strangers’ photos in a second hand shop.  I’ve lost personal things like this before–never a camera, but nevertheless–I’d be so delighted to get those belongings back.  Daily Dose of Imagery is tangentially related too and worth mentioning.

It has always been interesting to me that the German word for ‘monument’ is ‘denkmal’, which simply means ‘Think!” in the imperative form.

In today’s New York Times online, Nicholas Kulish has written an article about modern Germany’s promotion of Holocaust memorials. Though this topic could easily be the work of a thousand doctoral analyses, as well as a core personal issue for millions of individuals, his piece makes a basic case that Germany for the most part is doing well in teaching the youth and in commemorating the incomprehensible scale of crime that took place. The question for me that refuses to leave after reading the piece is: “But how can you know which is the best course of action to guide Germany into a neo-nazi free future?” I’m not suggesting he could have answered that question, but wondering if it could’ve been given a bit more weight. I suppose good press for good actions is a good thing.
Continue reading ‘Germany’s Holocaust Awareness Work’

Schwarzenegger wants to slice $4.8 Billion from CA Schools Mid-year.

So the governor wants to take away money that we had planned to receive - and in some cases have already spent… this while EdVoice.org reports that California (”CA”) was ranked 46th in per-pupil funding!

When I search the publication they referenced (Education Week), all I could find was this: “In 2004-05, the last year for which national figures were available, California spent about $8,000 per pupil, 33rd among the states.” I contacted Edvoice to ask about the discrepancy, but haven’t heard back. Regardless of the exact spot in the bottom third of states, knowing we’re the richest state makes it rather unfathomable, and unconscionable to most.
Continue reading ‘The CA Governor Prefers to Tax the Children?’

(Scroll down for an English translation)

„Wenn Dir was gefällt, warum kämpfst Du nicht dafür?“

Gestern Abend habe ich den Film “Im Juli” gesehen. Ich hatte zuerst eine Kurzfassung gelesen, und deshalb wußte ich mehr oder weniger was wir erwarten könnten. Ich habe mir eine romantische Aktionskomödie vorgestellt, und genauso spielte sie sich raus.

Ein ganz normaler Typ “Daniel” (Moritz Bleibtreu), der Lehrer auf einer Hochschule ist, kauft ein Ring von einer junger Frau “Juli” (Christiane Paul). Der Ring hat eine Sonne en sich und die Frau erklärte ihm, dass es ein ganz alter Ring von der Leute Maya ist. Was noch, sie sagte ihm, dass er Eine Seelepartner entdecken wurde, und dass Diese auch eine Sonne zeigen wurde. Obwohl sie es vor hatte, Jene zu sein, nicht alles ist nach seinem Plan geschehen.
Continue reading ‘Eine Kritik von dem Film “Im Juli”’

(English translation to come later below!… I did this for a German class I just dropped in on, and thought I’d post it… )

Wenn Du ein Film sehen möchtest, dass gar keine spannende Handlung vorlegt, und sehr wenige interessante Persönlichkeiten entwickelt, jedoch eine abgelöste Perspektive fördert, und eine beharrliche Gefühl der Melancholie bei einer einspritzt, dann musst du irgendwie ein ganzes Nachmittag vorsehen für der Film “Der Himmel Über Berlin”, das auf Englisch “Wings of Desire” übersetzt wurde.

Um ganz gerecht zu sein, muss ich euch auch eigentlich zugeben, dass welcher Film man endgültig toll findet, kommt immer, ohne Ausnahme, auf seine Erwartungen. Leider habe ich wahrscheinlich auch vergebens gehofft, dass er ein mehr traditioneller Film sein wurde.

Gefilmt en 1987, drei Jahre bevor die Mauer umgekippt hatte, “Der Himmel” zeigt ein Blick auf eine ganz vergessende Welt. Auf dieser Welt schweben zwei Engeln, die Beide Männer, die im Dienst des Gottes immer auf viele Leute behorchen müssen. Über Berlin, um Berlin, durch Berlin, und überall nie auf Berlin richtig wie Menschen gehen mögen, schweben sie, und sie können alles hören. Man muss natürlich zuhören, alle was neben diese Zwei vorbeigeht, während die Zwei, gleichgültig und ausdruckslos anschauen. Die erste hälfte von dem Film war auch auf schwarz und weiß gemacht! Es ist vielleicht, ein künstlerische Methode, um seine Audienz in die See ohne Schwimmweste zu schmeißen.
Continue reading ‘Eine Kritik von “Der Himmel über Berlin”’