'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Alfred Tennyson
*******************
Which side are we on? Those who consider Osama bin Laden a hero, consider Barack Obama a villain. Which side are we on? Those who consider Al Queda friends, consider the current American government an enemy. Which side are we on?
And why must we take sides at all? I was born into a nation which I came to understand was the vanguard of cultural coexistence, liberty. opportunity and human rights. At least it was in theory. I saw the struggles, and got involved in some of them, to try and establish those ideals as true. But all the time I was growing up, and still today I hear about who is in and who is out, who is right and who is wrong, even who is an American and who isn't.
I have also seen the American ideal plummet into ignorance, divisiveness, sensationalism and street corner nastiness. What brought us so low? We are caught in an evil vise where Americans are bombing Muslims and Muslims are bombing Americans. As long as we keep bombing them they will keep bombing us and as long as they keep bombing us we will keep bombing them. What kind of so-called leadership ever brought us to this desperate madness? In all my reading and viewing I haven't found one serious example of anyone trying to figure out why. .I don't know what the average citizen in an Islamic country thinks, but I know that the average American doesn't.
Islam may be the fastest growing religion in the world, but the Muslim fanatics are not going to make the United States a Muslim country any more than the fanatical Christians are going to make it a Christian country in spite of their claims.
Where are the diplomats, the statesmen and women, those who can discuss without venomous name calling? Why can't responsible, progressive thinkers sit down with theologians of all faiths, find out what are the common denominators of Constitutional law, Parliamentary law, Talmudic law and Sheria law, and from there start to work out compromises that allow for a real coexistence among people, a newer world?
Or should we just continue to attack each other until someone drops THE BIG ONE?
Which side are we on? From my point of view, considering the power, technology and weaponry available, it has never been more important to grasp the need to make the world more livable for every nation and to demonstrate what the American ideal was about from the beginning. Are savagery, brutality and war our ideals, or mutual respect, honest competition and good sportsmanship? It is too late to regress into outgrown positions, but to seek and inch forward into a newer world "Tis not too late."
DB - The Vagabond
***********************
AUTUMN QUESTION
(This is not a contest.)
At what event of the past do you wish you could be present? Why?
Only 5 responses so far.
dbdacoba@aol.com
Thank you.
DB
************************
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America. Show all posts
Monday, November 1, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Where Do You Live?
The future will be different if we make the present different.
Peter Maurin
********************
I remember Montauk. Several times I worked at the John Drew Theatre in East Hampton, New York and during one of those times a friend came out to see the show. While he was there we drove out to Montauk, which is at the far eastern end of Long Island. It is almost surrounded by water. Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean meet at that point. There is no other land in sight.
The tide was out. I stood on the pebbles at the beach and stared out to sea. I had the unusual sensation that the entire nation of the United States of America was behind me. My country was literally behind my back. My mind went out to embrace it. Besides China and Russia there is no civilization as complex as the United States. But my embrace did no stop at border lines.
I read recently that in England they do not consider Canadian soccer players Americans. That's plain silly, as far as I can tell. Canada is a nation in the North American continent, of course they're Americans. We live in the Western Hemisphere, North America, Central America and South America, which means that the Inuits of Nunavut, the natives living on the far off remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska, the Norwegian farmer in Minnesota, the Italian restaurant owner in New York, the Louisiana Cajun, the Puerto Rican, the Haitian, the Cuban, the Panamanian and all the way down to the Argentinean are all Americans.
Sixth Avenue in New York City used to be known as Avenue of the Americas and still is to some degree. The reason it was called that was because there were plaques hanging from posts along the Avenue with the seals of the various Western Hemisphere countries that belong to the United Nations.
One summer day I was on a break from rehearsal in midtown. I went out to enjoy the sun and bought my Sabrett's hot dog and a can of Coke. I was on Sixth Avenue and near me a temporary wooden platform had been erected. A string was tied to the rail and extended up to a bag which was wrapped around one of those plaques. Soon two limos drove up and four men in suits got out, three black men and one white man, and ascended the steps to the platform.
The white man spoke first, identified himself as being from the mayor's office and introduced one of the other men who was a part of the United States consulate to the UN, he spoke for a bit then introduced the new permanent Representative to the UN from the nation of Barbados. That man spoke for a moment and then introduced the Prime Minister of Barbados (no less) who pulled the string and the bag dropped uncovering the plaque with the seal of Barbados gleaming in the sunlight.
The Prime Minister spoke with his cultivated Caribbean accent and I remember him saying that it was a beautiful day in New York City but in February, when the cold winds are blowing and the snow is falling. to think about coming down to gambol on the white and sandy beaches of Barbados. He was a charming man.
"Gambol" is a grand word. It means to cavort, to romp, to frolic. I can easily picture myself frolicking on his "white and sandy beaches."
The last time I looked the plaques were all removed from Sixth Avenue. I don't know why but it's quite likely because some idiots were throwing rocks and bottles at the Cuban or Nicaraguan signs.
I'm not against borders, they can help to define cultural and historical traditions. I am against barriers. I'm not against immigration, it has been helping to shape and enhance western civilization for hundreds of years. I am against illegal immigration. I am not against multiculturalism and multilingualism, it creates a broader spectrum of art and ideas and aids in articulating and understanding human life. I am against those who say it's "globaloney" and who practice the weak and limiting exercise of exclusivity for fear of losing their own traditions.
Spanish is the major language of America. English is the second language. English speaking Americans must make room for Spanish just as Spanish speaking people have made room for English. We are a multilingual hemisphere, but we are all Americans.
I may be the only person in the western world who thinks this way but I long for the day when the barriers come down and when we all start thinking of ourselves as Americans first and citizens of the United States, or whatever country we live in, second. At the very least we must stop thinking of other people in the Americas as foreigners. And when disaster strikes a poor relation such as what happened to Haiti or in the Gulf of Mexico, all America rushes to help.
I'm sick of hearing compassionless rhetoric and muddy minded finger pointing about evil and sin. I am against the nasty, dystopian hatred, cynicism and suspicion of the judgmental and self righteous. It's limited thinking that makes limitations.
I am alarmed that my part of America has been off fighting useless wars in Asia under the fraudulent excuse of defense. A grandly diverse but unified America, from Canada to Brazil would be not only the best defense on this space ship but also the key to demonstrating how real peace is to be accomplished on it. What an opportunity not to waste! Impractical? So was going to the moon. So was the transcontinental railroad. So was the Declaration of Independance.
Is there antagonism against the United States? Of course there is. But it is possible, if we really wanted to, to find out what it is about and start straightening out the misunderstandings on both sides. There is no overnight solution. But a commitment to America first can be made now, today, if we want a future. It's necessary, it's vital, it's inevitable.
"Let there be peace in the world and let it begin with me."
Dana Bate
The Vagabond
*****************
Peter Maurin
********************
I remember Montauk. Several times I worked at the John Drew Theatre in East Hampton, New York and during one of those times a friend came out to see the show. While he was there we drove out to Montauk, which is at the far eastern end of Long Island. It is almost surrounded by water. Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean meet at that point. There is no other land in sight.
The tide was out. I stood on the pebbles at the beach and stared out to sea. I had the unusual sensation that the entire nation of the United States of America was behind me. My country was literally behind my back. My mind went out to embrace it. Besides China and Russia there is no civilization as complex as the United States. But my embrace did no stop at border lines.
I read recently that in England they do not consider Canadian soccer players Americans. That's plain silly, as far as I can tell. Canada is a nation in the North American continent, of course they're Americans. We live in the Western Hemisphere, North America, Central America and South America, which means that the Inuits of Nunavut, the natives living on the far off remote Aleutian Islands of Alaska, the Norwegian farmer in Minnesota, the Italian restaurant owner in New York, the Louisiana Cajun, the Puerto Rican, the Haitian, the Cuban, the Panamanian and all the way down to the Argentinean are all Americans.
Sixth Avenue in New York City used to be known as Avenue of the Americas and still is to some degree. The reason it was called that was because there were plaques hanging from posts along the Avenue with the seals of the various Western Hemisphere countries that belong to the United Nations.
One summer day I was on a break from rehearsal in midtown. I went out to enjoy the sun and bought my Sabrett's hot dog and a can of Coke. I was on Sixth Avenue and near me a temporary wooden platform had been erected. A string was tied to the rail and extended up to a bag which was wrapped around one of those plaques. Soon two limos drove up and four men in suits got out, three black men and one white man, and ascended the steps to the platform.
The white man spoke first, identified himself as being from the mayor's office and introduced one of the other men who was a part of the United States consulate to the UN, he spoke for a bit then introduced the new permanent Representative to the UN from the nation of Barbados. That man spoke for a moment and then introduced the Prime Minister of Barbados (no less) who pulled the string and the bag dropped uncovering the plaque with the seal of Barbados gleaming in the sunlight.
The Prime Minister spoke with his cultivated Caribbean accent and I remember him saying that it was a beautiful day in New York City but in February, when the cold winds are blowing and the snow is falling. to think about coming down to gambol on the white and sandy beaches of Barbados. He was a charming man.
"Gambol" is a grand word. It means to cavort, to romp, to frolic. I can easily picture myself frolicking on his "white and sandy beaches."
The last time I looked the plaques were all removed from Sixth Avenue. I don't know why but it's quite likely because some idiots were throwing rocks and bottles at the Cuban or Nicaraguan signs.
I'm not against borders, they can help to define cultural and historical traditions. I am against barriers. I'm not against immigration, it has been helping to shape and enhance western civilization for hundreds of years. I am against illegal immigration. I am not against multiculturalism and multilingualism, it creates a broader spectrum of art and ideas and aids in articulating and understanding human life. I am against those who say it's "globaloney" and who practice the weak and limiting exercise of exclusivity for fear of losing their own traditions.
Spanish is the major language of America. English is the second language. English speaking Americans must make room for Spanish just as Spanish speaking people have made room for English. We are a multilingual hemisphere, but we are all Americans.
I may be the only person in the western world who thinks this way but I long for the day when the barriers come down and when we all start thinking of ourselves as Americans first and citizens of the United States, or whatever country we live in, second. At the very least we must stop thinking of other people in the Americas as foreigners. And when disaster strikes a poor relation such as what happened to Haiti or in the Gulf of Mexico, all America rushes to help.
I'm sick of hearing compassionless rhetoric and muddy minded finger pointing about evil and sin. I am against the nasty, dystopian hatred, cynicism and suspicion of the judgmental and self righteous. It's limited thinking that makes limitations.
I am alarmed that my part of America has been off fighting useless wars in Asia under the fraudulent excuse of defense. A grandly diverse but unified America, from Canada to Brazil would be not only the best defense on this space ship but also the key to demonstrating how real peace is to be accomplished on it. What an opportunity not to waste! Impractical? So was going to the moon. So was the transcontinental railroad. So was the Declaration of Independance.
Is there antagonism against the United States? Of course there is. But it is possible, if we really wanted to, to find out what it is about and start straightening out the misunderstandings on both sides. There is no overnight solution. But a commitment to America first can be made now, today, if we want a future. It's necessary, it's vital, it's inevitable.
"Let there be peace in the world and let it begin with me."
Dana Bate
The Vagabond
*****************
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
For The Land's Sake
Above all, try something.
Franklin Roosevelt
*********************
Every time I type the word "America" I'm aware that the word has two general meanings. One is the Untied States and the other is the Western Hemisphere. That duality poses an interesting fact for any thinking person to dwell on.
Many US citizens have a limited knowledge and point of view about who they are and where they came from. For one thing, the first immigrants to the western world did not come from Europe, but from Asia. No one is quite sure when that happened but the theories range from 10,000 BCE to 40,000 BCE. They probably crossed the Bering Sea into what is now Alaska, moving east and south. Some may have come on boats from the western coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
Around 1,000 BCE the Vikings came over into Greenland and Vinland but didn't stay. European migration to the new continent began in the 15th Century CE. They were relative newcomers.
The New World was supposedly first called America by a German cartographer named Martin Waldseemuller after Americus Vespucius, an explorer from Florence, Italy and the first man to see the New World. Amerigo Vespucci, to use his Italian name, probably never knew that the new continent was named for him. The name of the New World would be "Americus" but that Waldseemuller noted both Europe and Asia were feminine names, thus "America" it became.
Each new wave of immigrants brought their culture and traditions with them. Then they adapted, altered, improved, innovated, survived. They also brought their languages. All the world's languages are spoken in America, some are only spoken here, Spanish is the most important langusge, followed by English and Portuguese.
Everywhere and every time the immigrants came they explored and developed. That history has not always been a good one. The immigrants also brought diseases the local people were not capable of rejecting. They killed many. More were done in by war and enslavement. But that's history for you.
Exploration and development is still happening on various levels. There are probably parts of Canada that haven't been completely discovered. Every now and then a remote tribe is discovered in the Brazilian jungle, people who've never heard of cameras, cars or computers. There may even be places in the United States not seen yet and upon which no human has yet set foot.
So here are two continents and surrounding islands, still growing, still adapting, still innovating, still trying to survive.
Last week a small piece of America was almost completely destroyed. Thousands died, many more are lying in pain, the destruction of the nation was rampant, a finger of the great body known as America was almost amputated. Every American should rush to save it. America owns Haiti.
DB
Franklin Roosevelt
*********************
Every time I type the word "America" I'm aware that the word has two general meanings. One is the Untied States and the other is the Western Hemisphere. That duality poses an interesting fact for any thinking person to dwell on.
Many US citizens have a limited knowledge and point of view about who they are and where they came from. For one thing, the first immigrants to the western world did not come from Europe, but from Asia. No one is quite sure when that happened but the theories range from 10,000 BCE to 40,000 BCE. They probably crossed the Bering Sea into what is now Alaska, moving east and south. Some may have come on boats from the western coasts of the Pacific Ocean.
Around 1,000 BCE the Vikings came over into Greenland and Vinland but didn't stay. European migration to the new continent began in the 15th Century CE. They were relative newcomers.
The New World was supposedly first called America by a German cartographer named Martin Waldseemuller after Americus Vespucius, an explorer from Florence, Italy and the first man to see the New World. Amerigo Vespucci, to use his Italian name, probably never knew that the new continent was named for him. The name of the New World would be "Americus" but that Waldseemuller noted both Europe and Asia were feminine names, thus "America" it became.
Each new wave of immigrants brought their culture and traditions with them. Then they adapted, altered, improved, innovated, survived. They also brought their languages. All the world's languages are spoken in America, some are only spoken here, Spanish is the most important langusge, followed by English and Portuguese.
Everywhere and every time the immigrants came they explored and developed. That history has not always been a good one. The immigrants also brought diseases the local people were not capable of rejecting. They killed many. More were done in by war and enslavement. But that's history for you.
Exploration and development is still happening on various levels. There are probably parts of Canada that haven't been completely discovered. Every now and then a remote tribe is discovered in the Brazilian jungle, people who've never heard of cameras, cars or computers. There may even be places in the United States not seen yet and upon which no human has yet set foot.
So here are two continents and surrounding islands, still growing, still adapting, still innovating, still trying to survive.
Last week a small piece of America was almost completely destroyed. Thousands died, many more are lying in pain, the destruction of the nation was rampant, a finger of the great body known as America was almost amputated. Every American should rush to save it. America owns Haiti.
DB
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