Culture
FROM HOPE TO HOPELESS?
My father was 23 years old in 1941. He was well aware of the terror occurring in the world and the need for it to be stopped. He enlisted in the US Army on November 29, 1941, as America learned of barbaric acts of terror and brutality by the Imperial Army of Japan, such as the Rape of Nanking. He knew that a hardline militarism, nationalism and totalitarianism represented a real threat to the freedom of people everywhere. He was well aware of the loud, racist and hateful rhetoric and continued lies and conquest of Europe's countries by Adolf Hitler.
He was aware of ...
THE GREAT SPIRIT
“I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” “My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people or some poor, hungry people in the mud, for big, powerful America.” “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights? No I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the ...
NORTHWOODS HUNTING HERITAGE
Minnesota's rifle hunting season is open and Wisconsin's is two weeks away. Minnesota Public Radio had a fluff piece this week on the “tradition” of the hunting camp with all its camaraderie and wholesome family bonding. The nostalgia is nice but it seems like our outdoors heritage is being replaced by a virulent gun centered paranoia. Hunting is declining in popularity while gun sales are increasing. Most of the new gun ownership is being driven by a small minority of 2nd amendment nuts.
This change is illustrated by an encounter I had last year with several ...
Don’t Be Misled by “Half-Truths!”
Things are not always what they seem.
This past Labor Day, brought to mind my friend, Roy, who used to bake pies for a popular cafeteria. Roy had a reputation for making beautiful pies, particularly his lemon meringue pies. He started work before dawn because the pies had to be done before the cafeteria opened.
One day, shortly after opening, his manager approached him with a piece of lemon meringue pie. The pie was the picture of perfection with a beautiful, tall meringue topping perched on top of lemon filling. The manager invited Roy to taste it. He did, and ...
FIGHT RACISM WITH “WHITE PRIVILEGE”
“People with advantages are loath to believe that they just happen to be people with advantages.”
C. Wright Mills- Sociologist and author.
Racism is prevalent in our society. It has been a dominant theme in our history. It has shaped our public policy since colonial times. We all know the history of slavery, Jim Crow, the KKK, educational, employment, and housing discrimination. It was not just in the Deep
South. Even Duluth had a lynching. Northern cities have de facto segregated schools. Much of American history is a denial of justice and equality for ...
ABOLISH NOT MODERNIZE NUKES
The United States is the only country to ever use nuclear weapons. On August 6th and 9th we mark the 71st anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is not enough to just remember the tragic (and many believe unnecessary) loss of civilian lives from these events. We must work to abolish nuclear weapons.
The leadership of our country is still mired in the old Cold War mentality. They still believe nuclear weapons are necessary for national defense. They have not learned from the mistakes of 71 years of excessively militarized foreign policy.
Many ...
REJECT FEAR, CELEBRATE INCLUSIVENESS
Last week, I took my oldest son to New York City to celebrate his high school graduation. Together, we stood at the base of the Statue of Liberty – soaking in the words that embodied our nation’s ethos 240 years ago at its founding: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”.
Think about what those words mean for a moment. In this beautiful poem, the United States of America is literally calling out to the rest of the world, stating clearly that we welcome those who have been downtrodden, those in war torn lands, those who ...
SPECULATING ON THE EU VOTE
Last week the British voted to leave the European Union. The next day stock markets all over the world declined precipitously. The DOW in this country dropped 610 points in one day. According to Reuters news agency, global stock markets “lost” $2 trillion in value the day after the vote. Why did this happen? What does it mean?
Wild fluctuations like this often occur with stock markets. The news media, pundits, and investment hucksters, of course, always have explanations. The usual spin is that “investors” have lost confidence, or they are “taking profits,” ...
THE POLITICS OF RESENTMENT
Growing up during the 50’s and 60’s in a small community in far northern Wisconsin, I was considered a “country hick.” Within this tightly-knit community, we parceled ourselves out by the church we attended, the jobs our parents held, whether we were farmers or business owners. Some community members were considered “high toned.” This term was applied to people who wore nicer clothes and drove a nicer car than most, worked “in town” rather than farmed or did manual labor.
The people “in town” were known as “city slickers” because we felt they ...
GROW AND APPRECIATE DIFFERENCES
Why must we treat all immigrants as though they are criminals? Is there joy to be had making someone else’s life difficult? Recently we saw this in AB 450 and AB 533. Certainly I would never minimize someone’s death, such as Kathryn Steinle’s. Steinle was the victim of a tragic hand gun death at the hands of a homeless man who was, supposedly, deported several times.
Tragic as it is, this is an isolated incident that happened in San Francisco. That example is being used here in Wisconsin to foster fear mongering. Why can’t we appreciate the differences that lie ...
