Saturday, March 8, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
A Morning Prayer
Holy Creator;
I ask today for the grace that
all my thoughts, words, and actions,
all my motives, inclinations, and desires,
all my activities, opinions, and aspirations
be directed purely to the praise and service of your Divine Majesty.
May my spirit be gracious, loving ,and forgiving.
May all my hostilities and frustrations,
my anger and pettiness
be swept away
in the river
of the water of life
that flows from your throne.
May my life shower the fruit of the tree of life
for the shalom, healing, and restoration of
all whose lives touch mine today.
May your name be written clearly on my forehead for all to see.
May my heart be broken again,
broken open so widely that the whole world falls in,
a wide-open welcome to enemies and friends.
I ask for the courage and wisdom,
to respond rather than react,
to help rather than hurt,
to understand rather than judge,
to care rather than criticize, and
to seek the good of those who are hurting and harming me.
May I trust in your protection instead of my own defenses.
In all of my life today, I turn myself over to you.
Keep me in your hands.
And in everything I am grateful.
Amen.
This prayer was adapted from one written by my pastor, Linda Nafziger-Meiser. I've used it frequently in the past few years.
I ask today for the grace that
all my thoughts, words, and actions,
all my motives, inclinations, and desires,
all my activities, opinions, and aspirations
be directed purely to the praise and service of your Divine Majesty.
May my spirit be gracious, loving ,and forgiving.
May all my hostilities and frustrations,
my anger and pettiness
be swept away
in the river
of the water of life
that flows from your throne.
May my life shower the fruit of the tree of life
for the shalom, healing, and restoration of
all whose lives touch mine today.
May your name be written clearly on my forehead for all to see.
May my heart be broken again,
broken open so widely that the whole world falls in,
a wide-open welcome to enemies and friends.
I ask for the courage and wisdom,
to respond rather than react,
to help rather than hurt,
to understand rather than judge,
to care rather than criticize, and
to seek the good of those who are hurting and harming me.
May I trust in your protection instead of my own defenses.
In all of my life today, I turn myself over to you.
Keep me in your hands.
And in everything I am grateful.
Amen.
This prayer was adapted from one written by my pastor, Linda Nafziger-Meiser. I've used it frequently in the past few years.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Letters from 1998
I'm including here three letters I wrote in 1998 addressing a usually overloked enviromental problem, a problem that still exists and still needs to be addressed.
July 1, 1998
Mr. Tom Shealey, Editor
Backpacker
33 E. Minor St.
Emmaus, PA 18098
Dear Editor;
Inside the back cover of the June issue of Backpacker is a two page advertisement for Jeep. The background image for the advertisement is a picture of a rugged alpine mountain range with small rectangular pictures of three Jeeps and a mountain goat superimposed over the mountain. The image also contains markers indicating where the viewer should imagine the Jeeps and the goat being located on the mountain.
An advertisement such as this one which strongly suggests that it's acceptable to use Jeeps or other four wheel drive vehicles in steep, alpine mountain areas is environmentally irresponsible. The use of motorized vehicles in alpine areas is enormounsly destructive to the environment. Alpine areas, because of the steep incline, are subject to serious erosion. The vegetation there is fragile, has a very short growing season and a slow growth rate. Damage done by the tires of any motorized vehicle can be extensive and long lasting.
Backpacker Magazine should have an environmental ethic which prohibit promoting this kind of destructive advertising. Environmental protection is in the long term interest of Backpacker and its readers. Advertisements for Jeep or other sports utility vehicles should be limited to depicting them being used on established roads, not on steep pristine alpine slopes. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Leonard Nolt
--------------------------------------------
July 8, 1998
Mr. Perkins Miller, Editor
Editorial Office
Snow Country
5520 Park Avenue
Turnbull, Ct 06611-0395
Dear Editor;
On Page 9 of the Spring/Summer issue of Snow Country is a one page advertisement for the Lincoln Navigator. The image is of a Navigator on a rocky alpine slope with clouds just beyond the vehicle, and beyond the clouds is a distant mountain range. The implied, if not stated, message for the reader is if they want to get away into the mountain wilderness, the vehicle to use is the Navigator. The picture is attractive and the vehicle appears capable.
Unfortunately an advertisement like this one, which strongly suggest that it's acceptable to use Navigators or other four-wheel drive vehicles in steep alpine mountain areas, is environmentally irresponsible. The use of motor vehicles in alpine areas is enormously destrictive to the environment. Alpine areas, because of the steep incline, are subject to serious erosion. The vegetation there is fragile, has a very short growing season, and a slow growth rate. Damage done by the tires of any motorized vehicle can be extensive and long-lasting.
A four-wheel drive manufacturer who advertises his product by showing it being used on environmentally sensitive alpine areas is acting as irresponsible as a syringe manufacturer would be if he advertised his product with a photograph of a drug addict shooting up. Another comparison would be with a beer manufacturer promoting his product with a photograph of a fatal accident caused by a drunk driver. Advertising a product with an image of the product being used in some irresponsible manner does not speak favorably of the manufacturer, the product, or the publication displaying the advertisement.
Snow Country should have an environmental ethic which prohibits promoting this kind of destructive advertising. Environmental protection is in the long-term interest of Snow Country and its readers. Advertisements for Navigators or other sports utility vehicles should be limited to depicting them being used on established roads, not on steep pristine alpine slopes. Thank you.
Sincerely;
Leonard Nolt
--------------------------------------
August 27, 1998
Mr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Chairman
Toyota Motor Corp.
Totota-cho
Toyota, Japan 471
Dear Chairman;
Recently I've been noticing the advetisements for the Lexus V8 LX 470 spots utility vehicle in US publications, and I have some concerns about the way that vehicle is depicted in those advertisements.
For example, the one on pages ten and eleven of the April, 1998 issue of Town and Country is a darkly colored image of the LX 470 under a tree which also has a couple of menacing-looking alligators on a thick branch of the tree directly above the LX 470. The caption includes the following sentence, "Let nature worry about you for a change."
Another advertisement is on pages eight and nine of the May/June 1998 issue of Mountain Summer, a special issue of Ski Magazine. This image also depicts the LX 470 as being in competition with nature. It displays another dark image of the LX 470 on a diagonal path through a forest, and all the trees on either side of the vehicle are bent away from the SUV at a sharp angle. The caption includes the sentence, "Now with added intimidation." Another sentence in smaller print says, "You can go through or over pretty much anything."
I realize that these images are probably computer generated and no animals or plants were damaged in producing them. I'm also aware that your company has a reputation for manufactuing quality vehicles, and even though I've never driven or even ridden in a LX 470, I'm sure it's a fine SUV.
However I'm concerned about the depiction of a modern sports utility vehicle as being in competiton with nature. I'm sure some people will get a laugh from the image of the LX 470 with alligators since, although I'm not a reptile expert, I don't believe alligators can climb trees.
However we all know that the use of motor vehicles with internal combustion engines already have a destructive impact on nature. Fossil fuels are burned to power them, which releases sustances that contribute to the greenhouse effect and to air pollution. The construction and maintenance of roads for motorized vehicles to use also damages the natural environment.
Advertising the LX 470 as being a threat to, or in competition with, nature seems to be a questionable way of promoting sales. It could give the LX 470 a bad image. It could also be interpreted from the advertisements that the LX 470 threat to nature is more than just an advertising tactic, that perhaps it is just a very subtle way of telling the public that the LX 470 pollutes more than most vehicles, or gets poorer gas mileage.
It seems to me that it would be wise for vehicle manufacturers to reduce the destructive effect that their product has on the environment as much as possible. It would also be wise to advertise those vehicles with images, and with captions to the images, that does not encourage them being used in ways that cause further harm to the environment. Users of sports utility vehicles should definitely not be encouraged to "go through or over pretty much anything." An advertising approach like that is environmentally irresponsible, and may contribute to "road rage" which threatens other motorists as well as the environment.
Images which depict the LX 470 being used in ways that harmonize with the environment would present a positive impression of the LX 470 and enhance the public image of your company. I do appreciate the fact that I haven't seen advertisements of the LX 470 being used in fragile mountainous alpine areas, which is how some manufacturers have advertised their SUV's.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and consider my comments.
Sincerely,
Leonard Nolt
Recently I spent some times scanning issues of magazines checking advertisements for SUVs and found that there has been some improvement in the way SUVs are advertised. However at least one publication still has a problem with advertising SUVs in a responsible manner. That publication is SKI. The March/April 2008 issue of SKI on page 26 and 27 had a two-page advertisement of a Range Rover perched on the edge of a cliff in the Grossglockner, Austrian Alps "most imposing range." The caption asks, "Have you ever seen the curvature of the earth?" "The Range Rover has." This, of course, encourages the use of the Range Rover in alpine areas which is environmentally irresponsible unless used on established roads, which was definitely not happening in this image. Also the October, 2006 issue of SKI, which I was surprised to find two copies of on a newstand on March 13, 2008, had inside the front cover a two page advertisement of the Chevy Tahoe 271 being used on a flat snow-covered alpine setting between high peaks. Some change still is needed. I'll be contacting SKI at http://www.skinet.com/.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
On War
People kill, and kill, and kill some more,
for reasons that we must explore.
Can anyone list the excuses used
to justify increasing death's score?
For the dead, all freedoms are lost
when war victims pay the total cost.
"We did it for freedom," the
soldiers on both sides say;
(at least those who live to
greet a more peaceful day).
But what they really did, however
was simply transfer oppression
from one victim to another,
for speech, religion, and press,
are freedoms to which the
dead have no access.
When the guns are silent, the dead buried,
and the rubble sifted;
when the missiles are anchored, the bombers
parked; when the threat of sudden violent
death is temporarily lifted;
to the mourning survivors left
it becomes quite clear, that in war,
the winner's trophy goes to death.
Previously published in 2003 on the web site
http://www.poetsagainstthewar.org/
for reasons that we must explore.
Can anyone list the excuses used
to justify increasing death's score?
For the dead, all freedoms are lost
when war victims pay the total cost.
"We did it for freedom," the
soldiers on both sides say;
(at least those who live to
greet a more peaceful day).
But what they really did, however
was simply transfer oppression
from one victim to another,
for speech, religion, and press,
are freedoms to which the
dead have no access.
When the guns are silent, the dead buried,
and the rubble sifted;
when the missiles are anchored, the bombers
parked; when the threat of sudden violent
death is temporarily lifted;
to the mourning survivors left
it becomes quite clear, that in war,
the winner's trophy goes to death.
Previously published in 2003 on the web site
http://www.poetsagainstthewar.org/
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Does God Exist? Do Christians Exist? A Review of the book "Letter to a Christian Nation," by Sam Harris
I've been reading Sam Harris' book Letter to a Christian Nation for the second time in a few weeks, and it raises some old questions and issues I've been challenged to re-think. Harris is an atheist, a term he dislikes. He writes, "Atheism is a term that should not even exist. No one ever needs to identify himself as a 'non-astrologer' or a 'non-alchemist.'" He continues, "Atheism is not a philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply an admission of the obvious... An atheist is simply a person who believes that the 260 million Americans (87 percent of the population) claiming to 'never doubt the existence of God' should be obliged to present evidence for his existence - and indeed, for his benevolence, giving the relentless destruction of innocent human beings that we witness in the world each day. An atheist is a person who believes that the murder of a single little girl - even once in a million years - casts doubt upon the idea of a benevolent God."
I disagree with Harris on many points since I believe that the existence of a supreme being and creator is perhaps the most obvious fact about this world. I have no plans to embrace atheism. But I find Harris' 91-page book worthwhile reading and I would recommend it to you also. Harris raises the usual questions asked by those who believe, and don't believe in God. How can there be a benevolent all powerful God when innocent people every day are suffering and dying throught no fault of their own? Why such horrible God-given laws in the Old Testament as the orders to kill disobedient children, and to execute people for certain sins such as working on the Sabbath? In fact I believe there are explanations and answers to those questions. Harris also points out some of the contradictions in the Bible and makes a credible argument against the Bible being infallible. I have no problem with those arguments. Many Christians damage the credibility of Christianity by making claims that have no basis in truth or Biblical fact. In order for the Bible to be infallible, the language it's written in would also have to be infallible. No language used by humans is infallible. An infallible language is one in which misunderstandings could not exist. Of course no such language exists. Harris is right in challenging the phony claim, made by many Christians, that the Bible is infallible.
More troubling to me is Harris' report that since the publication of his first book, The End of Faith, which addresses the same issues, the most hostile responses he received came from Christians. I guess we can always count on some Christians giving Christianity a bad name. Just as important is the information that the least religious countries in the world: Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, are also the healthiest as indicated by life expectancy, adult literacy, per capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, homicide rate, and infant mortality. Why do the religious beliefs of Christians often seem to impede human development? If our religious beliefs block human development, can those beliefs actually be Christian beliefs? Harris does acknowledge that not all Christians are alike, that some do not take their beliefs too seriously and use them as weapons against others.
I recommend reading this book because it helped me to see how some other people view Christians. It demonstrates a need to rethink how we as Christians talk about and practice our faith. What kind of impression are we leaving with others? Do my beliefs actually impede human progress? Is God really all-powerful? Harris raises brief, but solid criticism to Christian opposition to evolution, abortion, and stem cell research. He points out that "religion tends to divorce morality from the reality of human and animal suffering." Harris writes that "religion allows people to imagine that their concerns are moral when they are highly immoral." I agree. Christian support for the US military attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan is highly immoral for numerous reasons, but primarily because of the harmful impact those wars are having on the lives of innocent humans. Many of Harris' arguments are very credible and directed at what I would see as Christian mis-interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.
Harris doesn't take into consideration the distinction between Old and New Testaments, or the differences between the various types of literature in the Bible: poetry, history, didactic writings, prophecy, etc., and that each needs to be read somewhat differently, as today we read and interpret differently, a poem, a play by Shakespeare, and the front page of the daily newspaper. Failure to address those factors weakens Harris' arguments. He also seems to assume that the writings from the Bible are believed by Christians to be the work of God with no influence from human culture, as opposed to a hybrid or "cocktail" of writings by men and women inspired by God, but also reflecting strong human and cultural influence, which, I believe, more accurately describes the Bible. Since Harris is not a believer we cannot expect him to embrace the Anabaptist concept that the life and teachings of Jesus is the first principal of Biblical interpretation. This book does illustrate the value of interpreting the Bible through the life and teachings of Jesus although such an interpretation does not adequately respond to all of Harris' criticisms.
Harris would like to see religion eradicated and compares efforts to eliminate religion to the effort to abolish slavery in the eighteenth century. He claims that those who pray are simply "talking to an imaginary friend," He points out, with some justification, that when an atheist contributes to help meet human need, it's a greater act of charity than a Christian doing the same, because at least the atheist doesn't expect to get something, such as eternal life, in return. He rightly reminds us that Christian opposition to stem cell research, to vaccination to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, and to condom use actually results in more human suffering and premature deaths.
These challenges to Christianity are what many Christians need to hear. They raise questions we need to face. What kind of impact do my Christian beliefs have on others? Does my interpretation of the Bible make sense in light of what we know about history and science, or are they as ridiculous as believing that the earth is flat? Read Letter to a Christian Nation and I believe you will be inspired and challenged to face your beliefs, and ask yourself some of these important questions that Harris raises.
Previously published in slightly different form in the May, 2007 edition of "The Olive Branch," the newsletter of Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship in Boise, Idaho.
I disagree with Harris on many points since I believe that the existence of a supreme being and creator is perhaps the most obvious fact about this world. I have no plans to embrace atheism. But I find Harris' 91-page book worthwhile reading and I would recommend it to you also. Harris raises the usual questions asked by those who believe, and don't believe in God. How can there be a benevolent all powerful God when innocent people every day are suffering and dying throught no fault of their own? Why such horrible God-given laws in the Old Testament as the orders to kill disobedient children, and to execute people for certain sins such as working on the Sabbath? In fact I believe there are explanations and answers to those questions. Harris also points out some of the contradictions in the Bible and makes a credible argument against the Bible being infallible. I have no problem with those arguments. Many Christians damage the credibility of Christianity by making claims that have no basis in truth or Biblical fact. In order for the Bible to be infallible, the language it's written in would also have to be infallible. No language used by humans is infallible. An infallible language is one in which misunderstandings could not exist. Of course no such language exists. Harris is right in challenging the phony claim, made by many Christians, that the Bible is infallible.
More troubling to me is Harris' report that since the publication of his first book, The End of Faith, which addresses the same issues, the most hostile responses he received came from Christians. I guess we can always count on some Christians giving Christianity a bad name. Just as important is the information that the least religious countries in the world: Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, are also the healthiest as indicated by life expectancy, adult literacy, per capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, homicide rate, and infant mortality. Why do the religious beliefs of Christians often seem to impede human development? If our religious beliefs block human development, can those beliefs actually be Christian beliefs? Harris does acknowledge that not all Christians are alike, that some do not take their beliefs too seriously and use them as weapons against others.
I recommend reading this book because it helped me to see how some other people view Christians. It demonstrates a need to rethink how we as Christians talk about and practice our faith. What kind of impression are we leaving with others? Do my beliefs actually impede human progress? Is God really all-powerful? Harris raises brief, but solid criticism to Christian opposition to evolution, abortion, and stem cell research. He points out that "religion tends to divorce morality from the reality of human and animal suffering." Harris writes that "religion allows people to imagine that their concerns are moral when they are highly immoral." I agree. Christian support for the US military attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan is highly immoral for numerous reasons, but primarily because of the harmful impact those wars are having on the lives of innocent humans. Many of Harris' arguments are very credible and directed at what I would see as Christian mis-interpretation of the teachings of Christianity.
Harris doesn't take into consideration the distinction between Old and New Testaments, or the differences between the various types of literature in the Bible: poetry, history, didactic writings, prophecy, etc., and that each needs to be read somewhat differently, as today we read and interpret differently, a poem, a play by Shakespeare, and the front page of the daily newspaper. Failure to address those factors weakens Harris' arguments. He also seems to assume that the writings from the Bible are believed by Christians to be the work of God with no influence from human culture, as opposed to a hybrid or "cocktail" of writings by men and women inspired by God, but also reflecting strong human and cultural influence, which, I believe, more accurately describes the Bible. Since Harris is not a believer we cannot expect him to embrace the Anabaptist concept that the life and teachings of Jesus is the first principal of Biblical interpretation. This book does illustrate the value of interpreting the Bible through the life and teachings of Jesus although such an interpretation does not adequately respond to all of Harris' criticisms.
Harris would like to see religion eradicated and compares efforts to eliminate religion to the effort to abolish slavery in the eighteenth century. He claims that those who pray are simply "talking to an imaginary friend," He points out, with some justification, that when an atheist contributes to help meet human need, it's a greater act of charity than a Christian doing the same, because at least the atheist doesn't expect to get something, such as eternal life, in return. He rightly reminds us that Christian opposition to stem cell research, to vaccination to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, and to condom use actually results in more human suffering and premature deaths.
These challenges to Christianity are what many Christians need to hear. They raise questions we need to face. What kind of impact do my Christian beliefs have on others? Does my interpretation of the Bible make sense in light of what we know about history and science, or are they as ridiculous as believing that the earth is flat? Read Letter to a Christian Nation and I believe you will be inspired and challenged to face your beliefs, and ask yourself some of these important questions that Harris raises.
Previously published in slightly different form in the May, 2007 edition of "The Olive Branch," the newsletter of Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship in Boise, Idaho.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Haiku
The blinding sun, strikes
lush, green cornfields, smiling down
on a job well done.
Written for a poetry writing assignment at Boise State Univ., 1993
lush, green cornfields, smiling down
on a job well done.
Written for a poetry writing assignment at Boise State Univ., 1993
Quicky Love Poem
Eyes of love
In my life
Pause in time
Cause of strife
The sole source
From each heart
Makes us one
A new start
Charge of joy
Surge of hope
Face the dare
We can cope
Time's sweet shove
Past the date
Hearts that love
Meet too late
Here's the way
Each to give
All we can
Helps us live
You my life
You my love
Soon to join
Hearts above
Written for a poetry writing class assignment at Boise State Univ., 1993
In my life
Pause in time
Cause of strife
The sole source
From each heart
Makes us one
A new start
Charge of joy
Surge of hope
Face the dare
We can cope
Time's sweet shove
Past the date
Hearts that love
Meet too late
Here's the way
Each to give
All we can
Helps us live
You my life
You my love
Soon to join
Hearts above
Written for a poetry writing class assignment at Boise State Univ., 1993
An Alphabetical Description of Light
Light is ambiguous
Light is benevolent
Light is complacent
Light is deceptive
Light is ethereal
Light is flirtatious
Light is gracious
Light is hypnotic
Light is intense
Light is jaunty
Light is kinetic
Light is liberating
Light is masculine
Light is nostalgic
Light is ornamental
Light is personal
Light is quick
Light is redundnat
Light is succinct
Light is treacherous
Light is understanding
Light is voluptuous
Light is winsome
Light is xanthic
Light is yielding
Light is zany
Written for a poetry writing class assignment at Boise State Univ., 1993.
Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, all the prose, poetry, and photographs on this blog are the creative property of Leonard Nolt and may not be reprinted or republished in any form without permission. (Leonard_en@Hotmail.com)
Light is benevolent
Light is complacent
Light is deceptive
Light is ethereal
Light is flirtatious
Light is gracious
Light is hypnotic
Light is intense
Light is jaunty
Light is kinetic
Light is liberating
Light is masculine
Light is nostalgic
Light is ornamental
Light is personal
Light is quick
Light is redundnat
Light is succinct
Light is treacherous
Light is understanding
Light is voluptuous
Light is winsome
Light is xanthic
Light is yielding
Light is zany
Written for a poetry writing class assignment at Boise State Univ., 1993.
Please note that, unless otherwise indicated, all the prose, poetry, and photographs on this blog are the creative property of Leonard Nolt and may not be reprinted or republished in any form without permission. (Leonard_en@Hotmail.com)
Writing from the Authority of the Heart
In her first published colledtion of mostly untitled and un-puncuated poems questions i asked my mother, Canadian Mennonite poet Di Brandt writes: "...beauty was / altogether a disturbing category for Mennonites no one knew quite / what to do with it even though God must have put it there for a / reason if we could only know what it was..." and; "...when i was five i thought heaven was located / in the hayloft of our barn the ladder to get there / was straight and narrow like the Bible said if you fell off you might land on the / horns of a cow or be smashed on cement..." These lines demonstrate, among other things, that Brandt's poetry gains a lot from her Mennonite heritage and faith.
Brandt grew up in the Southen Manitoba town of Reisland, a conservative separatist Mennonite village. No books were allowed in her childhood home except the Bible. Brandt is reported to have said that she couldn't start writing until her father died because "he owned all the words." At the age of 17 she left her home and moved to Winnepeg to attend college, a courageous act in that she was the first person in her family to break that isolationist tradition.
When questions was published in 1987 it shocked the Mennonite community. The book criticized many Mennonite practices especially corporal punishment and denounced Mennonite resistance to female experience, sexuality, and anything intellectual.
Brandt has a BA from the Univ. of Manitoba, a Masters from the Univ. of Toronto, and Ph.D in English literature from the Univ. of Manitoba. She also has a Divinity degree from the Canadian Mennonite Bible College. She has worked as an editor for a couple publications including Prairie Fire and has been employed teaching English and creative writing at the Univ. of Windsor and Brandon Univ.
Brandt is a prolific and versatile writer. In addition to questions she has published four other collections of poetry: Agnes in the sky; mother, not mother; Jerusalem, beloved; and Now You Care. She has published other books including Wild Mother Dancing: Maternal Narratives in Canadian Literature, and a collection of creative essays, Dancing Naked: Narrative Strategies for Writing Across Centuries. Her most recent book is a collection of essays called So This is the World & Here I Am In It. Her poetry has been set to mucic and adapted for film, television, radio, video, theatre, CD, and dance. She's also written a poetry suite entitled Sweet Sweet Blood.
Brandt has been nominated for many writing awards and her writing has broadened to include issues of environmental degradation, injustice, violence, and international issues. One awards jury commented on Now You Care as follows, "Di Brandt manages beautifully the difficult job of producing poems that are socially conscious without being didactic. She knows that the best poetry rests on the authority of the heart. Thus, she makes her readers care not only through the pleasures of form and crafted language, but also through the risky honesty of her articulations." Brandt has described her writing as "a kind of passionate accusation." Brandt's poems are stimulating, honest, indignant, and maybe at times even a little scary, but never timid and boring. Her writings can open windows to the lives of not just Mennonites, but all peoples everywhere.
Previously published in slightly different form in the March, 2007 edition of "The Olive Branch," the newsletter of Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship in Boise, Idaho.
Brandt grew up in the Southen Manitoba town of Reisland, a conservative separatist Mennonite village. No books were allowed in her childhood home except the Bible. Brandt is reported to have said that she couldn't start writing until her father died because "he owned all the words." At the age of 17 she left her home and moved to Winnepeg to attend college, a courageous act in that she was the first person in her family to break that isolationist tradition.
When questions was published in 1987 it shocked the Mennonite community. The book criticized many Mennonite practices especially corporal punishment and denounced Mennonite resistance to female experience, sexuality, and anything intellectual.
Brandt has a BA from the Univ. of Manitoba, a Masters from the Univ. of Toronto, and Ph.D in English literature from the Univ. of Manitoba. She also has a Divinity degree from the Canadian Mennonite Bible College. She has worked as an editor for a couple publications including Prairie Fire and has been employed teaching English and creative writing at the Univ. of Windsor and Brandon Univ.
Brandt is a prolific and versatile writer. In addition to questions she has published four other collections of poetry: Agnes in the sky; mother, not mother; Jerusalem, beloved; and Now You Care. She has published other books including Wild Mother Dancing: Maternal Narratives in Canadian Literature, and a collection of creative essays, Dancing Naked: Narrative Strategies for Writing Across Centuries. Her most recent book is a collection of essays called So This is the World & Here I Am In It. Her poetry has been set to mucic and adapted for film, television, radio, video, theatre, CD, and dance. She's also written a poetry suite entitled Sweet Sweet Blood.
Brandt has been nominated for many writing awards and her writing has broadened to include issues of environmental degradation, injustice, violence, and international issues. One awards jury commented on Now You Care as follows, "Di Brandt manages beautifully the difficult job of producing poems that are socially conscious without being didactic. She knows that the best poetry rests on the authority of the heart. Thus, she makes her readers care not only through the pleasures of form and crafted language, but also through the risky honesty of her articulations." Brandt has described her writing as "a kind of passionate accusation." Brandt's poems are stimulating, honest, indignant, and maybe at times even a little scary, but never timid and boring. Her writings can open windows to the lives of not just Mennonites, but all peoples everywhere.
Previously published in slightly different form in the March, 2007 edition of "The Olive Branch," the newsletter of Hyde Park Mennonite Fellowship in Boise, Idaho.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Illness
We've been dealing with illness in the family lately. Sore throats, coughing, sneezing, migraines, fever, nasal congestion, and some stomach problems too. Karen missed a couple days of work last week and I was ill for a few of my days off work. I think Zach was first, although his symptoms, except for a cough, lasted only a short while and never showed him down. I still have a cough. Kate was ill also. The adults, especially the grandparents, have been moving in slow motion, sluggishly slipping from bed to sofa and from recliner to love seat, resting leisurely at each one. Taking more and longer naps than usual. Not sleeping as well at night. One day recently when it was 44 degrees outside with a stiff wind and I was the only one home I did what I've been doing for many years. I changed the air in the house. I turned off the heat and opened all the windows and doors, let the wind blow through, flushing all the stale, germ-laded air molecules out the window and down the street. I can't prove that made our house healthier, because that was before Karen got sick. If necessary I'll dig out an old fly swatter and start swatting the germs whenever I see them. It's time for them to move on. They've overstayed this illusion of a welcome they thought they had.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Word Connections
The relationship of words can be very illuminating:
machacar - to crush, pound
machado - hatchet
machar - to crush
machete - machete, chopper
macho - male, masculine, robust, stupid
from Cassell's Compact Spanish Dictionary
(taken from the book, "Strange Piece of
Paradise," by Terri Jenks, page 363)
machacar - to crush, pound
machado - hatchet
machar - to crush
machete - machete, chopper
macho - male, masculine, robust, stupid
from Cassell's Compact Spanish Dictionary
(taken from the book, "Strange Piece of
Paradise," by Terri Jenks, page 363)
Friday, February 8, 2008
Quote from Ted Rall; and More -
This is a quote taken from Ted Rall's column in the Jan 23-29 issue of the Boise Weekly. In this column Rall was complaining about presidential candidates who advocate change without specifying what those changes would be. He then goes on to write the following:
"If I received a call tonight informing me that I needed to come to Washington because I had somehow been selected president , I would be ready to work tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. I already know whom I would choose as my secretaries of state, defense and other Cabinet appointees. Guantanamo would be shut down. The Department of Homeland Security would be abolished. We'd pull out of NAFTA and the WTO. Torture would be banned: habeas corpus restored. I have tax reform ready to go (soak corporations and the rich, and companies that outsource U.S. jobs and use offshore tax shelters would be barred from selling goods to U.S. consumers), a detailed education policy ( federal control would replace local control, and funding of public schools, colleges, and universities would be nationalized and made free), and a plan for health care (fully socialized). My foreign policy would go in effect at once: immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, an address to the United Nations apologizing for the wars and torture and offering reparations, normalizing diplomatic relations with Iran, North Korea, and Cuba and cutting off aid to oppressive dictatorships." Page 6
Thanks Ted, I appreciate those insights. I don't necessarily agree with everything Mr. Rall includes in his column. I might allow some local control over education, but I agree that public schools and colleges and unversities should be free to students. To that I would add that universal health care be funded by a single payer plan, and include psychiatric as well as physical illnesses and injuries. In addition I would include the following changes:
1. Immediate cuts in the pentagon's budget by 60%
2 Immediate closure of 70% of the hundreds of bases and US military sites around the globe.
3. Immediate reversal of all of Bush's taxation changes.
4. Energy plan that includes funding for clean sustainable energy, immediate ban on construction of additonal sources of energy that utilize fossil fuels. Plan to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the US by 70% by the year 2020, with a goal of 95% reduction by 2030. All new road construction funding transferred to funding for mass transit. No vehicles manufactured or imported that do not get at least 40 MPG unless they are heavy equipment used for construction, transportation, emergency vehicles, vehicles used for public transit, or used exclusively for car-pooling.
5. No more construction of nuclear weapons or their delivery systems.
6. Funding available for all veterans to provide care for any and all physical or psychological injuries or illnesses they may have even if it cannot be proved that they were service related.
7. A ban on laws that designate English as the official language since such laws are inherently racist.
8. Immediate passage at the federal level of the Healthy Workplaces Bill.
9. Union membership available at all employers with 15 or more employees.
10. Cancel the "No Child Left Behind" bill
11. Funding at the federal level for stem cell research with or without the use of embryos.
12. Immediate increase in minimum wage to an amount sufficient to support a family of four and regular increases in the minimum wage thereafter.
13. An annual 10 cent increase in the gasoline tax for 10 years to finance transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and from private auto use to mass transit.
14. Immediate arrest of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and transport them to the Hague to the international court to stand trial for war crimes.
15. Ban the "at will" employment status used in many states because it is unjust to working people and gives the employer excessive power to abuse and mistreat the employee.
16. Have available for those who join the Peace Corps or serve in development, peacemaking, justice, etc. even for non-federal organizations, the same benefits now provided for those in the military.
17. Ban importation of any products which come from a company that uses child labor or has environmental standards weaker than those used in the US.
18. Significantly strengthen environmental standards.
19. New laws strictly limiting the freedom of employers to supervise employees in the workplace; and also guaranteeing adequate breaks, a safe, clean, non-toxic working environment as well as payment for overtime and a minimum of 5 weeks paid vacation each year regardless of seniority, as well as a minimum of 10 paid holidays each year.
20. A minimum of nine months maternity and paternity leave with 75% of salary provided.
There could be more added to this list including bills addressing immigration, abortion, more on the environment, on preserving wilderness and endangered species, on the design of housing, cities, and suburbs to make them more people-friendly and environmentally sustainable. There should be laws that address the drug problem here at home where the problem is, rather than poisoning the farmlands and homelands of other peoples in places like Colombia. However I will leave the list incomplete for now.
"If I received a call tonight informing me that I needed to come to Washington because I had somehow been selected president , I would be ready to work tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. I already know whom I would choose as my secretaries of state, defense and other Cabinet appointees. Guantanamo would be shut down. The Department of Homeland Security would be abolished. We'd pull out of NAFTA and the WTO. Torture would be banned: habeas corpus restored. I have tax reform ready to go (soak corporations and the rich, and companies that outsource U.S. jobs and use offshore tax shelters would be barred from selling goods to U.S. consumers), a detailed education policy ( federal control would replace local control, and funding of public schools, colleges, and universities would be nationalized and made free), and a plan for health care (fully socialized). My foreign policy would go in effect at once: immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq, an address to the United Nations apologizing for the wars and torture and offering reparations, normalizing diplomatic relations with Iran, North Korea, and Cuba and cutting off aid to oppressive dictatorships." Page 6
Thanks Ted, I appreciate those insights. I don't necessarily agree with everything Mr. Rall includes in his column. I might allow some local control over education, but I agree that public schools and colleges and unversities should be free to students. To that I would add that universal health care be funded by a single payer plan, and include psychiatric as well as physical illnesses and injuries. In addition I would include the following changes:
1. Immediate cuts in the pentagon's budget by 60%
2 Immediate closure of 70% of the hundreds of bases and US military sites around the globe.
3. Immediate reversal of all of Bush's taxation changes.
4. Energy plan that includes funding for clean sustainable energy, immediate ban on construction of additonal sources of energy that utilize fossil fuels. Plan to reduce the use of fossil fuels in the US by 70% by the year 2020, with a goal of 95% reduction by 2030. All new road construction funding transferred to funding for mass transit. No vehicles manufactured or imported that do not get at least 40 MPG unless they are heavy equipment used for construction, transportation, emergency vehicles, vehicles used for public transit, or used exclusively for car-pooling.
5. No more construction of nuclear weapons or their delivery systems.
6. Funding available for all veterans to provide care for any and all physical or psychological injuries or illnesses they may have even if it cannot be proved that they were service related.
7. A ban on laws that designate English as the official language since such laws are inherently racist.
8. Immediate passage at the federal level of the Healthy Workplaces Bill.
9. Union membership available at all employers with 15 or more employees.
10. Cancel the "No Child Left Behind" bill
11. Funding at the federal level for stem cell research with or without the use of embryos.
12. Immediate increase in minimum wage to an amount sufficient to support a family of four and regular increases in the minimum wage thereafter.
13. An annual 10 cent increase in the gasoline tax for 10 years to finance transition from fossil fuels to clean energy and from private auto use to mass transit.
14. Immediate arrest of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and transport them to the Hague to the international court to stand trial for war crimes.
15. Ban the "at will" employment status used in many states because it is unjust to working people and gives the employer excessive power to abuse and mistreat the employee.
16. Have available for those who join the Peace Corps or serve in development, peacemaking, justice, etc. even for non-federal organizations, the same benefits now provided for those in the military.
17. Ban importation of any products which come from a company that uses child labor or has environmental standards weaker than those used in the US.
18. Significantly strengthen environmental standards.
19. New laws strictly limiting the freedom of employers to supervise employees in the workplace; and also guaranteeing adequate breaks, a safe, clean, non-toxic working environment as well as payment for overtime and a minimum of 5 weeks paid vacation each year regardless of seniority, as well as a minimum of 10 paid holidays each year.
20. A minimum of nine months maternity and paternity leave with 75% of salary provided.
There could be more added to this list including bills addressing immigration, abortion, more on the environment, on preserving wilderness and endangered species, on the design of housing, cities, and suburbs to make them more people-friendly and environmentally sustainable. There should be laws that address the drug problem here at home where the problem is, rather than poisoning the farmlands and homelands of other peoples in places like Colombia. However I will leave the list incomplete for now.
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