Love & Divinity

I believe it was Alice Walker who first warned us not to worship a god who doesn’t love us in return.  This presents an interesting challenge to people like me who see all beings as manifestations of God Herself.  Believe it or not, this includes human beings.  Imagine, every person you encounter every day is [...]

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Anniversary

Sept 1st, 2009
One year ago Republican delegates and their anarchist foes were amassing in Minneapolis St. Paul.  One year ago, the world was a different place.  
I was there in the streets, working in partnership with activists who hold party politics in contempt.  Afterwards, I spent a lot of time arguing with those same activists, [...]

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Let the People Break your Heart

This is the advice I got when I asked about traveling to Latin America.   That was ten years ago.  I was at an activist conference in Washington D.C.   
Many people have labeled me as an activist, but I just think that there are many moments that call us to be active, to take control, [...]

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The task of the 5th house is to create drama-or else live melodrama – Caroline Casey

Drama is substantial, the stuff of journalism.  Melodrama is artificial and belongs to the world of sensationalism.  Lately, I’ve been exhorting my friends to recognize the difference, especially when I hear them say, “I can’t stand all the drama.”  
In my quest to live for my ideals in a world of conflicting values, drama is [...]

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Solstice thoughts

As the streets of Tehran sizzle and people come to my neighborhood to assert their rights and bonfires rage in observance of the summer Solstice, I am reminded of Carlo Giuliani.  June 20th marked the 8 year anniversary of his death.  On that day he was in Genoa, Italy demonstrating against a meeting of the [...]

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Something about me & the world i live in

Violence is a corner stone of our society.  Children are routinely sexually abused.  Women undergo the trauma of rape.  Men are discouraged from developing their mind, body and soul but are given plenty of incentive to join armies and wage war.  Other men are convicted of nonviolent “crimes” and must then suffer the indignity of [...]

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Soil not Oil

My city’s weekly paper ran a cover story with a funny subtitle.
“Old Message:  We’re doomed
New Message:  Not necessarily”
The name of the article was Hope for the Planet.  It contained some encouraging news from environmental scientests who see potential for us to reverse course on global warming.  Some of them were a little too caught up [...]

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Civics

Last week I voted in my community’s municipal elections, something I highly encourage.  My country’s new president has sparked hope for political reform, but the people benefitting the most from Obama’s leadership will be those who have direct and accountable relationships with local elected officials.  Building those accountable relationships will require us to vote and [...]

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Shame???

Oh, what is the use of shame.  Very little from what I can tell.  Shame imprisons us.  It keeps us bound to destructive secrets that erode our ability to form intimate relationships and live up to our fullest potential.  
I am aware that some people find shame to be very useful.  When I was younger [...]

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Defining it

In my last blog entry I declared that organizing is an act of love.  I’m already anticipating the questions my statement raises.  ”What do you mean by organizing?  Really, what is love anyway?”
Last Fall similar questions arose at a training I attended.  One of the presenters asked if anyone could offer a description of organizing. [...]

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