Saturday, August 17, 2002

40 Ways to Peace, Not 40 Years of War August 17 "In many countries, governments are not run by all of the people, but by small groups of people for their own selfish purposes. In the famous Preamble to our Constitution, "We the People of the United States" proclaim to the world that our government belongs to the people, is run by the people, and exists for the good of the people... When the Constitution was written, there were injustices in the world that would seem very strange to us today. In some countries, for example, nobles were tried in their own special courts under special laws. Kings sometimes ordered people to be executed without a trial. As you will see, the men who wrote our Constitution took care that injustices like these should not be allowed in the United States... Your Constitution is one of the best in the world. It was made rugged by earlier Americans. To keep it rugged is one of your first responsibilities. But even the best constitution cannot guarantee that the government under it will be good. Since ours is a system of self-government, we have good government only when we, the people of the United States, play an active part in making it good." Bruce and Esther Findlay, from "Your Rugged Constitution" (Stanford University Press), 1950 "Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Meade, anthropologist August 16 I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections. And it is not because the mechanism is working wrongly, that I am ill. I am ill because of wounds to the soul, to the deep emotional self And the wounds to the soul take a long, long time, Only time can help And patience, and a certain difficult repentance Long, difficult repentance, realization of life’s mistake, and the freeing oneself From the endless repetition of the mistake Which mankind at large has chosen to sanctify. “Healing” by D.H. Lawrence, English writer" True patriotism is love of country, and real love is more than blind allegiance. If we love a person, we will look out for him and help him to understand when he is doing something wrong, just as we want him to do for us. The same is true for love of a nation, its leaders, and its people. This is always painful, but without such honest self-examination we will never become a better nation, and we will find no healing from our tortured past. If we face our past squarely, however, and make an attempt to alter our present course, the future is bright." Daniel Hallock, editor of “Hell, Healing and Resistance” (Plough Press) August 15 "We cannot divide reality into two camps: the violent and the non-violent, and stand in one camp while attacking the other. We cannot blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing violence in ourselves. It is not correct to believe that the world’s situation is in the hands of the government and that, if the President would only have the correct policies, there would be peace. It is our daily lives that have the most to do with war. If we look deeply into the weapons of war, we will see our own minds, our own prejudices, fears, and ignorance. To work for peace is to uproot war from ourselves and from the hearts of men and women. To do this, we must learn to listen in a way that helps us to understand the suffering of others, to see the real losses, the real casualties of war. Just by listening deeply, we can already alleviate a great deal of pain. This is the beginning of healing." Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk “If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian author 10:18:41 PM       Elie Wiesel. "Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself." Hippocrates. "Walking is man's best medicine." 9:24:59 AM       George Jean Nathan. "Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles." This quote reminds me of the Kashmir dispute between Idian and Pakistan. 9:19:36 AM       An elderly husband and wife noticed they were beginning to  forget little things around the house. They were afraid that  this could be dangerous so they decided to go see a doctor to get some help. Their doctor told them that many people their age find it  useful to write themselves little notes as reminders. This  seemed like an excellent idea. When they got home, the wife said, "Honey, will you please  go to the kitchen and get me a dish of ice cream? Why don't you write that down so you won't forget?" "Nonsense," said the husband, "I can remember a dish of ice cream!" "I'd also like some strawberries on it. You better write that down, because I know you'll forget." "Don't be silly," replied the husband. "A dish of ice cream and some strawberries. I can remember that!" "OK, dear, but I'd like you to put some whipped cream on top.  Now you'd really better write it down now. You'll forget," said the wife. "No problem, ice cream with strawberries and whipped cream." With that, the husband shut the kitchen door behind him. The wife could hear him getting out pots and pans and making lots of noise. He emerged from the kitchen about 15 minutes later. Walking over to his wife, he presented her with a plate of  bacon and eggs. The wife took one look at the plate, glanced up at her husband and said, "Where's the toast?" 9:16:35 AM       The end of the story for King Arthur. Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him, but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So the monarch offered him freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer; if, after a year, he still had no answer, he would be Put to death. The question: What do women really want? Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and, to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end. He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everybody: the princess, the prostitutes, the priests, the wise men, the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer. Many people advised him to consult the old witch--only she would know the answer. The price would be high; the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged. The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no alternative but to talk to the witch.  She agreed to answer his question, but he'd have to accept her price first: The old witch wanted to marry Gawain, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!  Young Arthur was horrified: She was hunch backed and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises... etc.  He had never encountered such a repugnant creature.  He refused to force his friend to marry her and have to endure such a burden. Gawain, upon learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur.  He told him that nothing was too big a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table.  Hence, their wedding was proclaimed, and the witch answered Arthur's question thus: What a woman really wants is to be in charge of her own life. Everyone instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared. And so it was. The neighboring monarch granted Arthur total freedom. What a wedding Gawain and the witch had!  Arthur was torn between relief and anguish.  Gawain was proper as always, gentle and courteous.  The old witch put her worst manners on display, and generally made everyone very uncomfortable. The honeymoon hour approached.  Gawain, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom.  But what a sight awaited him!  The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen lay before him! The astounded Gawain asked what had happened. The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she'd appeared as a witch, she would henceforth be her horrible, deformed self half the time, and the other half, she would be her beautiful maiden self. Which would he want her to be during the day, and which during the night? What a cruel question!  Gawain pondered his predicament.  During the day, a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his home, an old witch?  Or would he prefer having by day a hideous witch, but by night a beautiful woman with whom to enjoy many intimate moments? What would you do?  What Gawain chose follows below, but don't read until you've made your own choice.       Noble Gawain replied that he would let her choose for herself.  Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time, because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life. What is the moral of this story? The moral is: If your woman doesn't get her own way, things are going to get ugly! 9:09:26 AM       Teaching Math Teaching Math in 1950: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit? Teaching Math in 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. What is his profit? Teaching Math in 1970: A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. The set "C", the cost of production contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as a subset of set "M" and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits? Teaching Math in 1980: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment:  Underline the number 20. Teaching Math in 1990: By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong  answers. Teaching Math in 2000: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $120. How does Arthur Andersen determine that his profit margin is $600? 8:55:36 AM       Received from a college friend, Mindy, this morning. She did not identify the original author. I particularly like the part about bald husbands: I think about the ads I see on TV. People are racing through airports with cell phones in one hand and a Palm Pilot in the other. Other ads show people racing their SUV through a mud puddle. What fun is that? Am I missing something? My idea of a good time is to sit in a porch swing and shell peas or make homemade ice cream in an old hand-crank freezer or count lightening bugs. My father "fixed things", and my grandmother "made do". That was a simpler time, and all I have to do to miss it badly is drive by the congestion at one of the local malls. Some things you keep. Like good teeth. Warm coats. Bald husbands. They're good for you, reliable and practical and so sublime that to throw them away would make the garbage man a thief. So you hang on, because something old is sometimes better than something new, and what you know is often better than a stranger. These are my thoughts; they make me sound old, old and tame, and dull at a time when everybody else is risky and racy and flashing all that's new and improved in their lives. New careers, new thighs, new lips, new cars. The world is dizzy with trade-ins. I could keep track, but I don't think I want to. I grew up in the fifties with practical parents ? a mother, God bless her, who washed aluminum foil after she cooked in it, then reused it - and still does. A father who was happier getting old shoes fixed than buying new ones. They weren't poor, my parents, they were just satisfied. Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers and tee shirt and Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in his hand and a dishtowel in hers. It was a time for fixing things - a curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things you keep. It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that refixing, reheating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant there'd always be more. But then my mother died, and on that cloudy fall evening, in the chill of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any 'more.' Sometimes what you care about most gets all used up and goes away, never to return. So, while you have it, it's best to love it and care for it and fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. That's true for old cars and children with bad report cards and dogs with bad hips and aging parents. You keep them because they're worth it, because you're worth it. Some things you keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate you grew up with, there are just some things that make life important...people you know are special...and you keep them close! 8:53:28 AM

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