What Does Democracy Look Like?

What does democracy look like? This is what we chanted as 100,000 of us marched toward the Capitol Building on September 15. Democracy looks like 100,000 people coming together holding signs ranging from "Impeach Bush", "End the War Now", to "Free the Jena 6" and the ever present, yet pithy slogan "How did our oil get under their soil?"

We were led by the Iraq veterans against the war and joined by groups as varied as Christian Clergy Against the War, college activists, Buddhist monks and young mothers holding anti-war signs while pushing their babies in strollers. I followed a young man who held the United States flag high and let the writing on his tee-shirt do the talking. The words painted on his shirt were: "Just because I'm a patriot doesn't ever mean you have the right to silence me." I tend to like Camus' version,"I would like to love my country and love justice at the same time." I thought of all the times I've been silent while my rights or the rights of someone less fortunate were taken away. Do you know that if we are all silent when these things happen that means we are complicit in the wrong doing?

I want to cite a few things that really motivated me and got me on my feet and involved in this march.

1. The Bush Administration issued an executive order authorizing military commissions to secretly try and execute civilians.
2. Foreign citizens have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay without charge or the right to counsel.
3. False evidence was used that Iraq sought yellowcake uranium from Niger to justify attacking Iraq.
4. We were all deceived about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
5. Our government launched a war of aggression against Iraq, resulting in the deaths of 5000 Americans and an estimated 1,000,000 Iraqi civilians. These civilians have been referred to a "collateral" or "collateral damage." That implies that our government regards their lives as expendable or that these people simply got in the way. What humanitarian can sit by and swallow this callous rhetoric? Don't you ever ask yourself who the terrorists really are?
6. The Iraqi prisoners were tortured at Abu Ghraib, in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
7. The Bush/Cheney administration has been involved with openly, brazenly wiretapping telephone conversations of American citizens without a court warrant.

I'm going to add one more because it is so big and speaks to the existing caste system in America. Here it is: 8) Our government failed to rescue and recover thousands of American citizens after Hurricane Katrina. Last April, when the United States submitted a report to the United Nation's International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Hurricane Katrina was omitted. The State Department mentioned Katrina nowhere in its report nor the racial disparities that turned the disaster into a humanitarian crisis.

Can you see why I am marching? Early warning signs of facism cannot be ignored either. If you sense that our government has a great disdain for human rights, the mass media is feeding you the "party line" and you know that there is a great disdain for intellectuals and the arts, then write, march, share your opinions. We are marching. Siyahamba.

--Susan Mull, writing from the peace march in Washington D.C.

Susan Mull is a teacher, writer, and human rights activist living in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Mull has attended international conferences on AIDS/HIV, most recently in Toronto. She has participated in forums on women living with HIV in Philadelphia. She also travels with Disaster Response teams to rebuild homes following natural disasters.

for more info and pictures from the march go to:http://answer.pephost.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8663

Breaking the Silence

Here is a documentary by John Pilger that I ran across on YouTube today. It is primarily about the Bush Administration's "War on Terror" but covers the role of the U.S. in many other wars over the past 40 years. There is some info that I haven't run across before, but most of the content is well known and confirmed. I liked this one in particular because it's well-organized and direct. He also managed to get interviews with some current and former administration officials.

This is a five part video.

Beethoven's 9th conducted by Leonard Bernstein

One of humankind's great moments; to hear this music created by Beethoven when he was deaf, conducted by Leonard Bernstein in Berlin, and perfomed by musicians from both sides of the Berlin Wall following its fall.

These are video recordings of the final movement from that historic performance and a brief interview with Bernstein about the concert. If the links don't work, go to youtube and do a search for "Bernstein ode to freedom."

Swim a little out from the mainstream

Every news outlet has a bias: liberal, conservative, pro-big business, pro-status quo… etc. The most popular media outlets are notorious for their biases, and most people aren’t even aware of them. (Most of our usual news sources are extremely conservative and sensationalist -- lacking in any real content or analysis.) The other danger of our mainstream media is that they are all reporting from the same point of view. That is the American point of view. There’s nothing wrong with the American point of view, but it is only one of many. Sometimes it helps to see the world and events through someone else’s eyes.

National Public Radio: http://www.npr.org/ You can listen on-line to current and archived programs. I often listen on-line as I'm cooking, washing dishes, or working on my blog. If you do listen please make a pledge to your local station. Our recent republican congress made an effort to chip away at their funding. Some say that NPR is liberal biased. I find their reporting even-handed and thorough in contrast to the typically vapid headlines and soundbites of most other outlets.

WITF 89.5 is Harrisburg PA's NPR station. http://www.witf.org/
WAMU 88.5 is American University's NPR station out of Washington D.C.
WVEP 88.9 Martinsburg, West Virginia's NPR station
WNYC New York City's NPR station has a lot of great programming accessible on-line http://www.wnyc.org/

The Christian Science Monitor http://www.csmonitor.com/ is recognized for the quality of its reporting around the world.

Grist, Environmental News and Commentary. http://www.grist.org/ No bias there right? If you're into environmental issues like me and like a little bit of dry humor to boot, you'll love it.

C-span http://www.c-span.org/ the inner workings of our federal government on cable T.V. and on-line.

Mother Jones http://www.motherjones.com/ Good reporting and analysis. Liberal bias.

The BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ Internationally recognized for the quality of its journalism.

Please post if you have any other good news outlets or comments about the ones I've listed.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell

"Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country." -- Hermann Goering

"In true democracy every man and women is taught to think for himself or herself." -- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Action: Get Out and Get Some Exercise

What does exercise have to do with the environment or social justice, you ask?

In my opinion, exercise has a lot to do with these issues – in particular, our desire and ability to have a positive impact on the world. There’s a story in Chinese martial arts folklore. A Buddhist monk by the name of Boddhidharma traveled from India to China sometime around the 6th century. When he arrived at Shaolin temple he found that the monks there weren’t able to endure the hours of prayer, meditation, and study that he prescribed. After some time in contemplation, Boddhidharma devised exercises to improve the health and strength of the monks. According to legend, these exercises were the foundation of what later became Shaolin Kung Fu and many other styles of martial arts.

The idea is simple. Our bodies are the vessels that contain our minds and spirits and have a profound effect on how we experience life and the world around us. Ultimately, we hope that we can rise above the limitations of our physical existence. Until that happens, what we do, what we eat and drink, and how we care for ourselves has a great impact on our minds, emotions, spirits, and ability to do the things that are important to us.

Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of regular exercise. Exercise can prevent or help reduce the severity of AIDS/HIV, arthritis, some types of cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and osteoporosis to name a few. Exercise makes our bodies and minds stronger, more flexible, and more agile. It also boosts our energy, reduces stress, and helps us live longer.

If you don’t know where to start, nearly any physical activity could be considered exercise depending on how you approach it. Gardening, walking, riding bicycle, running, lifting weights, hiking, yoga, tai chi, pilates, dancing, softball, soccer, basketball, fishing… The list could be endless. My point is that there is something out there for everyone and for every level of physical ability.

If you still don’t see the connection between exercise and social and environmental issues, here are my top 6 connections:

6. Group exercise classes foster a greater sense of community and encourage participants to form relationships with others in the class.

5. Outdoors activities like hiking, gardening, fishing, and hunting develop a greater awareness of nature.

4. Once we start exercising, we naturally begin to look for more ways to be healthy such as turning off the television and eating more fresh fruits, vegetables, organic, and local foods.

3. Exercise breaks the inertia of a sedentary lifestyle.

2. Exercise makes us happy (caused by endorphins released during exercise). Happy people promote peace.

1. Exercise energizes us to lead more active, more fulfilling lives.

Can anyone find some more connections, so that we can make it an even 10?

Links:
My martial arts (tai chi aka taijiquan) instructor. His school is in Harrisburg, PA. He is one of the best instructors in the country and trained me to my 2002 National title followed by two more years as one of the top competitors in the U.S. http://www.dowellness.com/ Here's a map:Map of 2233 Paxton Church Rd Harrisburg, PA 17110-9646, US The center also offers pilates, yoga, children's fitness classes, and massage.

A site by the American Academy of Family Physicians with lots of information about physical activity: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical.html

What can I do?

Ever since I was a kid "50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save the Earth" has been one of my favorite books. Direct. Hopeful. It's message is fundamentally democratic: we all can make a difference.

I'm glad that issues like global warming, AIDS, poverty, and health care have been getting so much attention lately. The attention is long overdue. Before addressing any problem we first have to know that the problem exists. It's the next step that's often missing from most of the reporting done on these topics: what you can do. Without knowing what we can do to help, we are often left with vague feelings of sympathy that never result in positive action. What good does it do to know that millions are dying of AIDS without knowing what you can do to help? It does no good whatsoever.

I spend a lot of time researching topics that I care about so that I can find out what I can do. The primary goal of this blog, really, is to empower others to take action as well. In that spirit, I'll post actions we all can take to promote peace and preserve the environment (which, by the way, are inextricably intertwined).

"Change only takes place through action. Frankly speaking, not through prayer or meditation, but through action." -- The Dalai Lama