Ghost in the Machine...

Ordinarily, I stay as far away from US politics as humanly possible while still residing in this country but Bush is truly dangerous!

When I saw that Thomas and Jil In Pattaya had both mentioned his revealing statement of a few days ago, I just had to pipe in:

"Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated "I am the president!" He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of "our country’s destiny."

Does he ever stop making an ass of himself? Why isn't someone monitoring him?

There are times when I wonder if he stands at the podium, drunk on more than just power. (Some friends of Bill W. probably understand where I'm going with this.) The most talented novelist on the planet couldn't invent this guy.

But let's give him this much: At least he is stating openly what most of the world thinks, thattes that the destiny of this country is to rule and colonize any nation it pleases. That has been a mainstay of US foreign policy for nearly as long as I can remember.

Given the strategic location of Iraq, I'm not surprised it's a target, either.

Nothing about this surprises me beyond the fact that Bush is permitted to fill the airwaves with his ranting, raving and egotistical declarations of his greatness. It reminds me of another former world leader whose name all would recognize but I am not going to state outright.

And most American people remain in Consumer Heaven, choosing between their blue shoes or red shoes while the rest of the world quakes in its boots.

Any comments?

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On another note: Has anyone seen the news story about The Big Donor Show? This gets my newly invented "Most Tasteless Thing I've Ever Heard" award. More on this in another post.

~*

Peace,


~Chani

Yesterday....

Yesterday, I decided to take a walk a few miles from my house where people were gathering in a small neighborhood protest.

When I arrived, they were still setting up and there was an opportunity to talk with a few people. They seemed to wonder who I am and why I was there. One woman asked, "you're not a spy for the government, are you?"

Once assured that in fact I have no covert operative status to be blown, we had some brief conversations. Going from one to another, I noticed a some commonalities.

Most of them were unwilling to answer the difficult questions. I asked one of the organizers, "Do you really believe this has an impact? Aside from taking the pulse of the neighborhood, do you think all of us, individually or collectively, can change a darned thing the government is doing? We have an illegal and immoral regime in place, firmly entrenched and reinforced through the national security establishment. Here it is, a gorgeous day, and it's rather pleasant to be here, but do you really believe it will do any good?"

Through multiple interruptions from her friends and acquaintances, she looked at me with a rather blank stare and said she didn't really know but we need to at least try. And, she continued, at least we know we've done something.

It was just about that point when a man on a bicycle came up to us and said that he was going to put a sign on his bike that said, "The Solution". I found that kind of interesting because I really had no idea what he was talking about at that point. He went on to tell me that it was the solution to pollution, riding a bike instead of driving a car. He chanted it like a mantra.

There is certainly truth to his statement. I'm all for alternative methods of transportation. Bikes, buses, affordable taxis. Heck, bring us tuk tuks and sawngthaews ... just like Thailand's. It would provide independent jobs, reduce traffic and all sorts of good things.

But that's really not the point.

In talking with many of the people present, I realized that I've become detached. It will take a while to figure out why. The fire in my belly is gone. The righteous indignance of youth seems to have been replaced with a kind of benign acceptance. Honestly, I don't believe gathering on street corners, holding signs and chanting does any good. There comes a point where realism trumps idealism. As much as I would like to believe street activity such as this does anything more than allow a community of likeminded people to meet up occasionally, I absolutely do not believe it will change public policy. The sixties are gone forever. The days of "Power to the People" are on the ashheap of history.

It's a different world now. Globalization has changed the nature of geopolitics. And geopolitics is far more of a driver than domestic unrest.

Demonstrations such as this provide a release. They provide a venue for meeting likeminded others and feel a sense of community. There's certainly nothing wrong with that and it is refreshing to spend some time in the presence of others who hold similar beliefs. Those beliefs are reinforced by the cars that drove by, honking wildly in agreement. (And there was a lot of honking!)

Standing so long in the sun began to get to me and my balance was becoming precarious. (I have balance problems and bright sun aggravates the condition. Long, complicated, boring story.) The best idea seemed to be to begin walking home. I stopped here for some food and a break. Who can resist?




Peace,


~Chani

Three Deaths... (on social activism)

Most people have memory of a few significant news events that changed their view of the world forever. In my own case, it was the death of John Kennedy, the death of Bobby Sands and a seemingly insignificant newscast in Los Angeles 26 years ago.

A woman by the name of Wanda (mentioned here previously) was dying from cancer. She had to get on television and beg for money to buy medication. Without the medication, she would die in excruciating pain. I can, to this day, remember her words. I can remember her clothing. I can remember the desperation in her voice. It has never left me. I still think about Wanda. She should never be forgotten. The day I forget her will be the day I've lost my humanity.

My determination to fight for freedom and human rights began with those three events. John Kennedy's death taught me about the senselessness of murder for political reasons. On a larger scale, his death taught me about the senselessness of war.

Bobby Sands is the man who, along with several other IRA members, starved himself to death in Britain's Maze Prison. He taught me about the seeming senselessness of zeal. he also taught me about courage and the courage of one's convictions. He taught me that one can die for a cause and sometimes that makes sense. His death led me to think about those causes I would die for ~ and those I would not.

Wanda is dead by now. She taught me something with the process of death rather than her death itself. She showed me first hand the cruelty at the bowels of this society. I began to see the hypocrisy at the roots of a society that claims to have the cornerstone on human rights yet would allow an old woman to die because she committed the unpardonable sin of being poor. She had to beg and plead on television for the right to die with dignity. She had to depend on the good will of others to allow her that honor.

Wanda's situation made me angry to my very instinctual core. That anger has transformed me as I've come to understand that anger only begets more anger, just as violence begets more violence. Given that understanding, my anger has taken a different form. I am still sickened at the thought of living in a society that values the Money God above all else. I am disgusted by a society that would find the invasion of other countries for financial benefit to be acceptable. I am appalled that we continue to allow an erosion of our freedoms in the name of "homeland security". It is horribly sad that we are so immune to information analysis that cultural hegemony is considered a good thing. Importing consumerist values to Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe and an assortment of countries that had based their culture on other values is euphemistically called "promoting freedom" when it is easily understood that it is a buzz-phrase for "exploitation".

I am horribly shamed by the fact that in countless ways, my small life may have contributed to this larger picture, perhaps by action or inaction, ignorance or inertia.. perhaps a combination of all.

When this country declared its freedom from the British Empire, it was supposed to free us from political and religious tyranny. Yet what have we chosen to do with that freedom and independence? Are we satisfied? Can we look at our creation, this fledgling ideology of participatory republicanism, and say it has grown into a compassionate and wise maturity? Is it truly a model for the world? These were the lofty goals of the founders.

We failed.

May we find and restore the soul of this nation ~

~Chani

John Kerry and Halloween

I don't see why so many are getting totally wacked over John Kerry's statement yesterday. It seemed obvious to me what he was saying and it holds an element of truth. In this society, if you don't have a college education, you're not likely to have many options for the future. You will probably "end up in Iraq". It has been known for a very long time that many young people from lower economic backgrounds join the military for benefits. The military often recruits on this basis, offering college funds for a few years of service.

The thing Kerry, quite an elitist himself, failed to mention is that college isn't a choice for many young people. Like most elitists, the underlying tone of his message was "if you really want it badly enough, you can make it happen." Most young people are unable to afford tuition so they take out student loans that leave them in debt for years or are otherwise are forced to try to make it without the benefit of higher education. And it certainly does impact the remainder of their lives. It seems that only the privileged get the benefit of a college education without dooming themselves to a life of debt slavery.

When I went to college, the fees were reasonable and I was typically able to scratch together the funds with a part-time job. Community colleges were free which took care of two years. There were times I went to night school and worked full-time during the day. When I was no longer able to go to the community college, I worked at night and attended class during the day. Somehow, I managed to get through with a little bit of struggle and sacrifice. Heck, I was young and could take quite a bit of abuse.

Not true for the kids today. What options are available for them beyond these extraordinarily high student loans?

The military might logically look like an option.

I am no fan of John Kerry. He was born into privilege, and then married and divorced and married back into even more inherited wealth. He's certainly no one to lecture anyone about making it in America. If he were to give personal advice about making it, it would have to be to marry rich women. Back in my day, we had a name for that.

Just once, I would like to hear a politician (from any country!) address the issues, propose solutions and give a plan for implementation. Yeah. I know. Ain't gonna happen.

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Last night, I was blog-surfing and ran across quite a few about Halloween. Call me overly-cynical but it has always seemed odd to me that we teach children that it is okay to go to a stranger's door and coerce something with the threat of retaliation if their demand is not met.

This is subtle ~ and I know I am overly inclined to recognize these underlying messages in some customs. Why not have block parties for the kids instead? Or sponsor the parties at church or school? Come up with something a bit less aggressive for the kids to enjoy?

Just thought I'd throw it out there for consideration.


Peace to all,


Thailand Gal
~*~*~*