Outside My Window

Outside my window hangs a sliver of a moon, surrounded by a darkness illuminated by infinite stars, and beyond that who knows. Some people call the spirit that fills the infinite- god. I don’t know anything about that, but I do know that there is a force out there and within us all, that’s filled with joy and pure love. It is bigger than the human spirit, as it connects us to all living beings. And on nights like tonight, when we are able to briefly connect with it and allow it to fill our cups, we understand our propose, no matter how long we have strived to name it. Maybe, it is best we simply enjoy it.

Tonight was our last night at Daraja, and we were involved in the weekly talent show. We saw skits and dancing. We recited poetry, and at one point a girl from Spain and another from China, danced a Bollywood number in front of a crowd of girls from ten different tribes in Kenya. An Italian boy performed circus tricks and an old teacher from Iran tried his best to belt out a Leonard Cohen song. And let’s not forget that a ten year old girl sang It’s A Wonderful World. These words cannot do justice to the scene that we witnessed. it is what peace looks like.

And even now, as I write these words from the quiet and distance of my banda, the girls are spending their last few precious Friday night minutes dancing and cheering in celebration. Somewhere in the mix, our kids are dancing too.

Earlier in the day we visited a Masai women’s collective and learned about several of their projects. We had a fabulous lunch in a tree top restaurant, and now our week here is drawing to a close. There is not much I can say without repeating myself from the week. I am just so thankful that we were able to make this trip happen for a second year in a row.

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I received a letter from one of the girls tonight telling me how much of an impact our visits have had on her. Little does she know that the real impact is on us. I am sure that every person that we brought on this trip will cherish the memories that they’ve made here and Africa is now in their blood. I hope to hear of stories, years in the future,  telling me of how they came back to this wonderful place and about all the amazing work they will do.

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Tomorrow, we say our goodbyes, pack and make the arduous trip back to the airport and back home to Singapore. Ready for school and report comment writing on Monday. I for one miss my family beyond belief this time. I look forward to seeing their beautiful faces and carrying on with this work that we have chosen to do. 

Unity

My last post has had me thinking, did I really advocate talking to Republicans and trying to understand where they are coming from? I think I did. In addition to my own deliberation, two people have left some comments that I would like to address here in a new post, rather than in the comment section. Before I do, let me try to condense my point into a more manageable thesis:

The battle lines that have been drawn in America should not be between red state vs. blue state, or liberal vs. conservative, religious vs. atheists, insert any volatile dichotomous pairing here. The battle should be based on class interests. The fight that we should be fighting is between us, the 99% of Americans who generate the wealth in this country- the people who fight the wars, bailout the CEOs, collect the trash, and teach the children. We are rural and urban, black and white, gay and straight, educated and illiterate, we attend churches, mosques, and Zen centers. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves.

So who should we be fighting? To whom should we direct our wrath? That 1% of people who make up the ruling class. The people who just stole $700 billion dollars form our pockets, the people who orchestrated the Iraqi war to line their pockets with oil money and established control of the Middle East, the people who manipulate our media to make it seem like Joe-Six is angry with liberal boogey man, or vice versa. But the reality is that the single mom hooked on crack in Baltimore has more in common with the single mom working at Wal-Mart in any town USA. The same force that is keeping them apart is keeping them down.

This force is not some ambiguous, conspiracy theory. So what is this force? We all know it is naive to lump all of America’s problems on the lap of “The Man.” This force, this ruling class to whom I refer are the people, they only make up about 1% of the population who have access to the capital. Take a look at your news they are currently running away with your money. They own the banks, huge media corporations, defense industries, agri-business giants, and pharmaceutical companies. Take a look at the fortune 500 top companies and you will find the culprits.

The men and women who profit from these companies are the same ones who are destroying our nation and the world at large. Joe Six pack is just another cog in their machine as are we. Until we join forces, we will be at each other’s throats for another century.

The point of my post is that the political machine is manipulating the left just as much as the right- worldwide! We need to look past brazen attempts to make heartland Americans the enemy, and realize who is truly attacking our rights.

Deanna made some great points:

I can't really claim to celebrate diversity if I'm only celebrating people who are just like me.

It is hard to understand our adversaries especially when a third party is constantly pitting us against each other. It is to the ruling classes’ advantage that the myth of Red state Blue state goes on forever. They are hoping that neither side will muster up enough energy to fight our true enemy. If I am a republican conservative losing my farm in Iowa, it is much easier to blame some liberal conspiracy and big government. If I am a liberal teacher, it is much easer to blame the crumbling school system on the loss of my candidate because of the ignorance of country yokes, who admire Sarah Palin, but the reality is that the same agri-business interest that are sweeping up farms in the heartland, have their hands in the educational system, and the justice system. The entire system. As corporate interests take over our government it is up to the American people to join together and reclaim what is ours.

This bailout is a test of sorts. I am sure the House will pass this bill and spin it as a heaven sent prize for the average American, when in reality it will be one of the biggest heists in American history. How the American people, both red and blue state citizens react, will be litmus tests for the future.

Deanna goes on to say, and I agree:

We are really coming from the same place.

He and I are both operating from a place of deep deep sadness and fear about the state of our world. And we even have common ground in our beliefs about what it would take to fix it. We both believe that a connection to spirituality, a belief in ethics and morals, and a strong sense of family and community are what's missing.

This disconnect is not an accident. This sense of alienation is the ruling classes’ way of keeping us divided and at each other’s throats so we cannot organize based on our shared class interests. Instead we bicker on hot topic issues that have nothing to do with our day-to-day lives.

We've become disconnected from our support systems and that makes us vulnerable to manipulation from governments and entities that do not have our best interests at heart.

Exactly what I have been trying to say!

It was eye-opening, and heart-opening, to realize that even this ultra-conservative old middle-class white guy and I have much more common ground than difference. That seems important somehow.

My question is how can we have more of these interactions? How can we invite opposing groups to come to town hall meetings and simply try to communicate- not about gay marriage or religion, or even war, but about everyday problems that we share like the loss of the wealth we generate to 1% of our population, or the affects of globalization and privatization on our communities, the rise of agri-business and the affects on our rural infrastructure. We need to be discussing class-based issues!

More Deanna:

So to give my answer to betmo's question, why would you want to understand someone who is bent on destroying the american way of life? Because in understanding is your only chance of averting it.

As for Betmo’s comments, I really appreciate your anger and frustration, but it is important to remember that change, healthy meaningful change will never stem from anger. When you say things like,

a large chunk of them want to take away civil liberties from everyone in order to maintain their fragile facade of a fearful life.

Or

they have no right in a free society.

You are simply playing in to the hands of the ruling class. We need to be able to collectively pull ourselves out from the orbits that the ruling class has put us on and join forces to see how we are being controlled.

I am not sure how we do this, so I am all ears if you have any ideas. I hope some conservatives are reading this and can join the conversation.