Change

Spring is here.  It's a time of change.  Today it was almost 70 degrees out.  Tomorrow they are predicting 19 for a low.  Radical change in temperature.  Normal for spring in OHIO.  Change is happening all around me.  The ground has thawed and the millions of soil creatures are ramping up.  The lawn is rough with the work of worms cleaning out their winter homes.  (and with moles and voles making mountians...)  Plants are breaking their dormancy and pushing through the soil, or the hard winter bark.  Life is ready to burst forth at a moments notice.

Around the world change is happening too.  The earth shifts and shrugs.  Life changes for millions, or billions of creatures living in that place. 

Humans rise up and demand change.  Life changes across the globe for humans everywhere (and for billions of others living here too...)

So, I've been thinking about change.

I once worked for a person who described their own job as "inflicting change on others".  It was a very accurate discription.  I think that is a standard human approach to change.  We eithere inflict it, or have it inflicted on us.  It is a VERY ineffective method.  The inflictor can't possibly know enough to impliment the right kind of change, an never stays around long enough to see the consequences anyway.  Those inflicted automatically resist, even it it is a good change (check your speed next time you hit a 55 mph zone... or see a trooper parked in the median...)  Logic has no part in this, we RESIST... that's what we do.
The other option is Gandhi's approach "be the change..."  Sounds great, but it's a hard way to live.

So, since I can't be King Of The World and inflict change where I will, I've been trying to be the change. 

Two ways I've found.  Change me, and live (like a weird polyp, walled off from society), or be a catalyst.  Cause change by mixing with others.  It's a radical approach.  If you remember high school chemistry, catalysts were the key in making all kinds of cool stuff.  Some of it was green, some of it exploded, or gave off a great stink, or made light, or fire.  Catalysts were COOL!

Of course, the catalyst ALWAYS gets consumed in the process.  Great Change.  Great Personal Sacrifice.

It's Lent now.  Thoughts of catalysts seem to run through the week.

Do we dare BE the change???


(more normal thoughts tomorrow... Local Food, Baby Goats, Kids, Cars, Etc...)

Young@Heart

If you didn't see this on PBS you missed an AWESOME show. Watch for it. It's the most inspiring thing I've seen in a good long time.

Psychological Barriers

Strange juxtapositions in my world today. I'd intended to do two things today, plant in the greenhouse and write about all the bits I'm behind on. I didn't get to either. Instead I spent the day catching up on myriad other bits and chasing STUPID animals. In the few minutes of "down time" I had I listened to NPR and watched a bit of CNN. Out of this chaos came enlightenment.

I'll try to explain a bit because if I jump to the realization it wont make sense.

NPR and CNN both went on, ad nauseum, about the economy, the failing banks, the stimulus, etc. Somewhere in the mix was one of the talking heads for GM saying that they wouldn't even break even until 11,000,000 (that's eleven million for those of us who are a bit numerically impaired) consumers bought new cars in one year. (Sorry I can't support this part of the stimulus program, I have two perfectly good cars, both at least 10 years old and paid for. Not perfect but for a few hundred dollars a year I can keep them reliable. I don't need a new car or the guilt of not being a team player because I didn't mortgage my kids future to buy one.)

While I was listening to this CRAP I looked out the window. There was Chuck waltzing through the garden looking for something yummy to eat. All the goats were looking longingly over the fence at him, wondering if they could find something yummy too. I snatched on my boots and raced out to put Chuck back inside the fence. It's an electric fence. It hurts a lot if you touch it. The goats know this and don't touch it. Chuck is destine to be steak (or at least hamburger). He wasn't selected for his brains. He saw green and walked through the fence, despite the pain. STUPID!!!

That's the plan to jump-start the economy. We have to walk through the fence despite the pain. grit your teeth, go against anything that makes sense, spend more and let your kids or their kids figure out how to pay for it. Economy fixed.

I say NO!

Happy Birthday Abe and Charles

200 years on and their lives, thoughts, and actions are still rippling through our world. Amazing. I wonder, 200 years from now, who we will be celebrating.

Dreamers, a post for the followers of Ester and for new bloggers just testing the waters

This is a place of dreams. Here I tremble to think that Charles de Lint's Pixies in the wires lurk and hope that the stores that feed the Forever Tree live. Blogging keeps me real. It is an honest glimpse into the bloggers life. Way better than reality TV. Better in that there is an audience response, and ( at least in this world) it is thoughtfull, relivent, and expected to be considered. Conversation is a lost art, and I find a revival of it here in the blogosphere. I'm as lucky as pres Obama in that I've got my own pannel of pre-teens who constantly say " what's up with that??? or SAY WHAAAAAAAAAT?" They keep me real and I hope they keep the new KING real too. It would really be cool if Obama or one of his kids blogged about the coming year. Wishes.....

Waifs and Strays

The past few days have been cold, dark, and rather unpleasant outside. Inside we pile on the light, festive decorations, and fire to warm body and the spirit. All the creatures spend their time hunkered together to stay warm. Sandy, our 7 year old pound rescue dog who never liked to stay in the house, has decided that sleeping next to the fire at night is a good thing. (It's been a challenge, since he is a long haired stinky dog who refuses to take a bath and barely tolerates brushing, keeping things clean with him inside, but we welcome him anyway.) Our other strays snuggle together in the barn, sharing heat and companionship. Everyone seems to be waiting for the light to return.

This morning as I came in from the barn the phone rang. It was C calling from work. One of the preschool children she works with was suddenly in need of a place to stay. The details she could give me were sketchy, but apparently this medically fragile preschooler was now without a home. Not homeless with his family, just homeless, left to the state to deal with in this dark, cold time. C was calling to see if we could rearrange things here to accommodate him if they couldn't find another solution. Of course we could rearrange things. We set to work cleaning and moving things just in case. The kids were excited about having a visitor, and I was a bit overwhelmed by the logistics of how to accommodate a wheelchair bound, medically fragile preschooler in our inaccessible construction zone of a house. By 2:30 we were mostly ready. I called C to let her know. She was in a meeting exploring solutions, so we don't know what might happen.

So, here I sit, watching the snow fall and listening to the crackle of the fire, thinking of the waifs and strays, the throw-away creatures and children of the world with no place to go on this cold dark day, and I wonder what more I can do...

A new blog

I've been poking around at some issues and ideas in this blog and have started some great conversations. I'm finding that there are things I want to explore that are better suited for a different blog, one where farm and family are not the central theme. On this site agriculture seems to worm it's way into almost every conversation. So, here is the start of the first post on my new blog.

"The End Of Everything

Watching the news lately I’ve been struck by the shortness of the life of any particular topic. They constantly serve up a new crisis of the moment, complete with stunning video, moving eyewitness stories, and pithy headlines. What is missing is any ongoing coverage of real issues. "

If you are interested come on over and let me know what you think.

Lessons For A New World

The rewards of democracy

The polls are closed, the votes counted, and the winning name for our wee pony is...

Brigid

She is thrilled to have a name at last. Thank You for participating in the process. Thanks also to those who sent in other names. There were some great ones, and we are saving them for future naming events. If all goes well, Brigid should be gifting us with another pony in March. More naming fun.



About a month ago this blog was awarded the prestigious Arte y Pico Award by Kate from The Manic Gardener. You will notice that it is now proudly displayed in the side bar with all the other important stuff. Along with the award came the opportunity to select five blogs that I felt were deserving because of their contributions to the "blogging community." After considerable thought I've selected five from a host of deserving blogs. First the RULES.


THE RULES:
1. Choose 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogging community, regardless of the language.

2. Each award should have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner should show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented him/her with the award.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the award should show the Arte y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award. Translated, it means "the peak of art."

5. Show these rules.

And now, without further gilding the lily and with much ado, the award goes to...

Self-Sufficient Steward
For his interesting mix of garden, self-sufficiency, and politics. And for giving me hope that if I keep picking away at my projects here eventually we will have the place we dream of.

On the way to Critter Farm...
For making me laugh with her charming stories about her donkeys and chickens, and her bravery being a surrogate mom to a bunch of crazy critters.

The Inadvertent Farmer
For her brilliant photos, camel stories, and making me LOL.

The Examined Life
For thought provoking conversations and for reminding me that there is more to life than farming.

Hedgewizard's Diary
For wittily twisted, slightly irreverent, British view of the garden, life, and everything.

Check them out! They are all great.

Remembering

This is always an emotional day for me. Too many friends and family lost in the defense of freedom. Too many people who voice their dislike of war in a way that dishonors the men and women who have sacrificed for the freedoms they now enjoy. War is a bad way to solve problems. It should be used as the very last option. But... While I often disagree with the call to war put forth by those in charge I must always honor those who put their lives in harms way in defense of their country. I, myself and every veteran and family member of a veteran I know, pray for peace every day. None of those men and women standing on the wall, defending your rights want war. So feel free to oppose war, but never forget to honor those who served and died, or survived to serve another day so that you might be free. It is a price you will never understand, and must hope and pray you never have to pay. We didn't get to choose the wars we fought or, if we were lucky, didn't have to fight, but we all stood our time on the wall of freedom, willing to lay down our lives that the fundamentals of this country could thrive in the world.

So, Say THANKS! to a vet when you get the chance.

P.S. don't forget to vote for our pony's name. Democracy is one of our greatest gifts.

A big step on a long road

There was no dancing in the street in my neighborhood last night. Judging by the lack of political signs in yards I suspect that very few people stayed up to follow the election results. (I didn't, but I did check the news at 1:30 when I got up to stoke the fire.) Here where long time farm families intersect with blue collar steel and power plant workers politics is all local. The divisiveness of our two party system gets in the way of local solutions, and people get past it in a hurry. Even touchy issues, like "Right to Life" vs "Right to Choose" get all gray and fuzzy when it is your own kids, or their friends from school. A big local issue for us was the funding of a new jail. The fiscally conservative Republican County Commissioners tried to push a new tax through to fund the jail by threatening to take the money from programs like 4H if the tax didn't pass. It didn't pass. They will have to find the money somewhere, but they won't cut 4H or other youth programs to do it. There are too many people in the community who are passionate about those programs to allow them to be cut. In a week the parties will be fractured into little niche groups working on their own agendas, using the community resources available to them, and contributing to the strength of the community as a whole. In nature, strong communities are increasingly diverse. Each little group feeding off the waste and excess of the others, and contributing its own strength back to the community. Equilibrium is a sign of health. No one group is ascendant over the others. If that happens the community crashes and dies. As we start on the journey of Hope we have begun with this first step, lets keep diversity not party politics as our model. If we do, we just might succeed.

Election Day and An Apology

Today we get to VOTE. I hope everyone takes the opportunity to participate. It is an important privilege and right that we must use or we will lose.

It is an historic time in America. Who ever wins will bring a big change to the accessibility issue. For the first time we will have either a woman or a person of color in the highest levels of government. It is about time.

Several times in the course of this political race I have engaged in discussions with Sheria and other people on the issues of these cultural limits that exist in our country that have excluded people from full participation in our society. The latest has been in the comments on my post called Lessons. I pushed too far in that discussion and caused offense. Not my intention and I apologize. I certainly didn't mean that my experience with racism or prejudice of any kind equates with the experiences of a black person living through the difficult times of the last 50 years. It's not the same and I understand that. My hope in the conversation was to find a way to raise my children so they didn't end up with the learned prejudices I keep finding in my self and to talk about ways we can promote that kind of future in our world. So, again Sheria, I apologies for offending.

My mom used to tell a story about when I was a young boy of maybe 3 or 4. We lived in the city, and she was quite active in political issues of the time. One day a woman stopped by the house to drop some papers off. Mom was busy and I answered the door. The lady left the papers and went on her way. I went and told mom that a lady had left some things for her. When questioned about who the lady was the best I could come up with was that she was the one wearing the red dress. After looking through the papers mom realized that she was one of the black ladies she worked with on some political issues. At age 3 or 4 I didn't first see skin color. In fact, according to my mom, it didn't even register as a descriptor. Later in my youth, even though we had moved to a part of the state where there were very few people of color and no black people I can remember, I learned to hold them separate. They were different, and in many ways fearful. It has taken me a long time to overcome the bias I absorbed as a youth. My hope for my children and for the future is that the next time a black person, or a Native American, or an Asian, or a woman, or a gay person runs for the highest post in the land, the lead in every news story will not be that this black American or gay American, or woman is running, but that this person, representing these issues, is running. I know the road to my dream is long, maybe too long for my lifetime, but today, with my wife and kids we are going to the polling station to vote the issues, not the color or gender of the candidates.

P.S. We VOTED! The wait was only 12 min. at our polling station, and they had peanut butter cookies and coffee. The kids thought the whole process was fascinating, and posed nicely for the newspaper photographer. They will probably make the paper, all bleary eyed, with their hair poking out every direction, waiting for mom and dad to vote. Democracy! You have to love it.

The Food Chain Revisited

Most days I get to take the kids to their various after school activities. We ride in my old truck, the three of us crammed onto the single bench seat for the twenty or thirty minutes it takes to get where ever we are going. The radio doesn't work, so the kids can either listen to my singing (J tells me I'm really good at singing badly), or we can talk. They usually, somewhat grudgingly, take the second option.

When we had our first discussion about the food chain I left them with a challenge. It went something like this: Find the rule that describes where food comes from and what happens to the waste that is true for a tree in our yard, a frog, a lion, a shark, a bee, and a bird. I gave them a couple of days to think about this. Yesterday, while I had them trapped in the truck for 30 min. we discussed it. R (third grade) said they get their food from their environment. J (5th grade) said they get it from their niche in their environment. We tried to narrow it down a bit further. For example, the environmental niche for the maple tree we planted in can be found lots of places in the temperate zone, but that's not where our tree gets it's food. Eventually, we all agreed that all living things get their food,water, and energy from their home and deposit all their waste there too. This waste is used by other creatures whose homes overlap. This is the cycle that supports all life on this planet.

Then I asked about humans. Where do we get our food and what do we do with our waste?

Today J is taking a unit test about ecosystems. I'm sure she will give some answers the teacher wasn't expecting. Sometimes it is scary to be a parent teaching your children challenging ideas.

The Chains that Bind

The kids are studying food chains this week in science. Last night we had an interesting discussion about the food chain and its implications here on our little farm, and that got me thinking about language, metaphors, and the perpetuation of ideas.

I’ve used chains in a lot of different jobs. Finding a good one is very important. They must be strong. One weak link and the chain will fail. They must resist outside corrosion and forces that would weaken them. They must be anchorable at each end. As a tool they are very useful. They are also something everyone is at least somewhat familiar with. They make a good, easily visualized metaphor for many things. Sometimes our use of metaphor imposes a structure on our thoughts that limits how we think about things. The food chain is a good example of this. Discussing it with my third and fifth grade children I can see how the chain image shapes their thinking. The food chain has a beginning – primary producer (usually a plant that converts sunlight, water, and various elements into food) and a series of consumers ending with a top predator, like a shark, a lion, or a human. By fifth grade this image has been expanded into a food web (or more accurately and net) but each strand, no matter how interlinked, retains its chain-like characteristics. A viable food chain has all the qualities of the good chain I looked for when I needed to do a job. Each link is very strong. It is resistant to outside forces that would weaken it. It is anchored firmly at both ends.

However, when you observe the workings of a natural community, you see something different. Food is not a chain, it is a cycle. The resource cycle. Resources move through the different members of the community, existing for a while in the grass, then in the buffalo, and then in the earth worm, then back to the grass (this is very simplified, but you get the picture.) Each member of the community is really just another manifestation of the resources in that community. There is no waste, just another manifestation of resources that are instantly utilized by some other member of the community. The grass, the buffalo, and the earthworm are all the same thing. The more diverse the community is the more resilient the cycle. Diversity is the measure of strength, not an individual population’s ability to repel all invaders and competition.

The metaphor of the chain breaks that cycle. You can have a strong chain made of only a few links. You can have a chain that starts in one place and ends in a different place, and as long as each of the links is “strong” the chain is strong. Resources get removed from their local cycle and moved great distances where they quickly become toxic waste. The image perpetuates the problem.

The metaphor of the chain shows up many places, chain of command, supply chain, etc. They describe well the structures we use, but perhaps the use of this metaphor also limits our thinking when we look for solutions to problems, causes of problems, or new ways of doing things.

Lessons

J and I swapped roles today. She became my teacher. The first lesson was about living what your believe even when its hard. After our emotionally draining experience with Luna I'd given up on the idea of adopting someone's unwanted dog as a way to make the world a better place. Too much pain for so little return. J on the other hand has decided if more people got involved there would be less of a problem. She has started collecting money to support the efforts of our local animal shelter and wrote an article for her school paper about the work of the shelter and the importance of animal adoption. Guess I need to let go of the pain and self pity and live the life I want my kids to live. If making a difference in the world was easy, everyone would be doing it and there wouldn't be such need.

The second lesson was about how far we yet have to go. We were watching the TV and an ad came on for the Miss Black Ohio competition. We don't pay much attention to pageants in our house, so J asked what the competition was. After explaining about pageants she asked, "Is there a Miss White Ohio competition?" What a long way we still have to travel. How do we dismantle the programs that started to lift an oppressed people up and put them on equal footing but now have become consciously or unconsciously divisive? How do you call for change in things that have become racist without seeming racist yourself?

Our beliefs are always reflected in our actions and our use of language. Our beliefs can be changed by consciously changing our actions and language until a new way of being becomes habit. Be the change.

Politics and Fudge

Thanks to everyone for your support as we worked through this time with Luna. It was touching to think that others were sharing our journey in some way.

Moving on. Several things touched a cord with me this weekend on the political change front. First was a post by Sheria about racism, issues, and idiots. The second was a comic in the Columbus Dispatch. It's copyrighted by Darby Conley, so I probably shouldn't post it, but it is just too good.

The third was a post by a good friend from South Africa about unintentionally supporting divisiveness and racism by our unconscious use of language.

Other than politics, which I try to not think about too much, we have been busy with fall stuff. We got hit by a couple of good frosts. The outside garden is mostly done. Now it is time to clean up. We got the woodshed filled, and still have a bit to stack somewhere, but it is good to know that most of it is under cover. The wood shed is 6' X 14' and we stacked well over 9' high. I think we ended up with a bit more than the 5 cords we ordered. Everything around us is indicating we are well into fall. The leaves are changing. The neighbors are cutting their corn. And the smell of wood smoke fills the air in the morning.

Color Changing
Corn Harvest

Yesterday we got busy preparing for an upcoming wedding. Sometime last spring, when I was feeling on top of the world, I was asked if I could make some goat milk fudge for our niece's wedding. She wanted a home made gift to put out at each table at the reception, and she really liked our fudge. Didn't seem like it would be that big a challenge, so I said yes. Well, the wedding is this weekend, so it was fudge making time. The fudge was easy. Making 200 individual gift bags with chocolate and peanut butter fudge in them was a bit more challenging. I'm just not that artsy. Good thing I have a talented wife. C stepped in and saved the project from screaming wrack and ruin. It's done now. The bags look great. I've promised to say "NO" to these kinds of projects in the future. At least until the next time.

Making bags for fudge
Lots of fudge

Updates - Luna and other things

Luna-She wants you to know she is "not dead yet". We had a very optimistic day. Her energy was up, and she was much more puppy like. I called the vet this afternoon to find out what the next step was, and had a bit of air let out of my happy balloon. Our vet is great, but she is not one to pull her punches. We have a long road ahead of us. Luna still isn't drinking, has diarrhea, and is only three days into this. Things will go up and down with her, and nothing is certain. Still, she came through the day bright eyed and feisty. Hope, it is what gets us through the day, and will get us through the days ahead.

Economic collapse - I know it is rocking the world, but for us it hasn't really done much. We live with a very low debt load, only a very small mortgage. Everything else we pay as we go. Our "retirement" is either in the state teacher's fund or strutting around in the back yard laying eggs or eating grass and giving milk. For us, food still costs a lot when we have to go to the store, but we are getting more and more put away so we don't have to do that as much. Gas has gone from a recent high of $3.89 to today's price of $2.64. That's not a bad thing. I know we are just at the start of this chaos, but ...

Rain - Was greeted by rain this morning. After a week of near 80 degree days, it was refreshing. The lawn is growing and looking pretty shaggy. Probably ought to mow before the snow. The pasture has grown too. At least an extra week, but not enough to make that much difference. Still, the warm temps and rain will help. On the flip side, it soaked the last of the wood pile that we hadn't yet transferred to the wood shed. We seem to be running out of space. The stack is at least 2 feet above the rafters in most places, and we still have quite a pile to move. That is a frustration, but it also leaves me feeling secure for the winter.

Blog Action Day Poverty

First, thank you all for your comments and concern for Luna. We are on day three of her medication. Yesterday was really tough and I went to bed without much hope for a good outcome in the morning. This morning she greeted me from her bed, sitting up waiting to go out. We still have a long way to go, but it was a glimmer of hope. She has acted a bit more like the puppy she is this morning, walking around the yard sniffing at things. Walking up and down the stairs. Even a bit of a greeting for the cats. She complained a lot about the shots this morning, also an improvement over yesterday. So, we face the day with a bit more hope in our hearts.

Yesterday was Blogger Action Day. We were all supposed to write about poverty from the perspective of our blog. I thought a lot about it, but didn't get anything written. Last night, while watching the debate, it was an issue that kept bubbling up as I filtered the political babble from the candidates looking for answers. This morning I read through the comments that had come in last night, and was struck by Jack-of-all-thumbs comment on my last post. These boys I work with in Cub Scouts are a prime example of poverty and how our approach to the problem has failed.

When we say poverty some images come to mind along with some feelings. We see dirty, people, unable to get enough to eat, or otherwise meet their basic needs. We feel guilt, and helplessness. We build programs that try to address some of the symptoms of poverty, pouring lots of money and time into hunger and nutrition programs, training programs, etc. We have been doing it for years, and poverty hasn't gone away. Why? Because these people have no value. To each of us they, or more specifically their condition, is a problem. The best of us want to do something about the problem, but if we don't solve it, it doesn't really impact our lives that much. Poverty doesn't exist in groups where every member of the group is a valued member, and their existence in the group makes life better for everyone. WE all live such isolated lives, interacting with people who are completely replaceable. Some of them we like. We even have a few that we are very emotionally bonded to. But, if that person was removed from our world we would find a replacement quite quickly. The job, service, product, etc is what has value in our lives not the people. Changing that mindset, that way of living, that level of interdependence, would go a long way toward changing the face of poverty in our world.

Thoughts from the Midway

The midway was my favorite place at the fair when I was a kid. It's not any more. The hucksters and confidence men really grate on my nerves. Last night, walking through the midway with a head full of economic news, I was particularly aware of and bothered by the whole environment. After I got home and was drifting of to sleep, my brain started making its usual odd connections. First thought to come bubbling up was the realization that if I took a bunch of these scruffy, foul mouthed, tattooed carnies, cleaned them up and gave them a new vocabulary set they would make pretty effective financial traders (they are good at selling impossible risk with the hope of a chance to win big.) or politicians. Second thought to bubble up was about confidence. I always find it strange that one of the best measures of our economic strength is consumer confidence (again with the confidence men). We have to have confidence (belief) in the great future outcomes. If we believe it, it will come...? I think it is only important that we have high consumer confidence when we are selling things that are not real. At the farmers market we didn't need consumer confidence to sell things, all we needed were real things to sell. It's like gravity. You don't have to believe in it for it to work. The loto on the other hand needs a great amount of consumer confidence to keep going. People have to believe that they can win, in spite of the overwhelming evidence against winning, or they wouldn't play. It seems to me that the hucksters and confidence men are trying to sell us a load of crap by playing on our fears and our hopes for a better tomorrow. I think we would be better off letting them all reap the whirlwind they have unleashed. Put your money in real things, and let the confidence men pay the piper this time.

9/11

Couldn't write about this yesterday. Still too real for words. But then I remembered a passage from a writer who seems to write what I think, only better! So, here goes...

Commander Vimes is recruiting men in an effort to maintain peace in the face of racially/politically motivated war (from Jingo by Terry Pratchett).

"And then he realized why he was thinking like this.
It was because he wanted there to be conspirators. It was much better to imagine men in some smoky room somewhere, made mad and cynical by privilege and power, plotting over brandy. you had to cling to this sort of image, because if you didn't then you might have to face the fact that bad things happen because ordinary people, the kind who brushed the dog and told their children bedtime stories, were capable of then going out and dong horrible things to other ordinary people. It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Us, what did that make Me? I've certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We're always one of Us. It's Them that do the bad things."

And then we march off to war to keep Them from doing bad things. If they wont stop we will blow them up.

PEACE!

Political Change

I don’t write about politics very often. But, as anyone who reads my ramblings knows, I think and write about CHANGE from time to time. The two things seem to have collided recently, so I feel compelled to put down a few thoughts.

We are witnessing some momentous changes in American political life. This year both of the major political parties have taken giant steps forward, breaking a long standing social barrier, and having either a women or an ethnic minorities represented on the presidential ticket. Who ever wins in November, it will be an historic moment for American society. It’s a big change. It puts us on par with England, New Zealand, India, and a number of other countries which have already allowed such changes to occur. Bully for us!

But is it change that will really mean anything? I don’t think so. From here it looks a lot like we are on a train and all we are doing is changing drivers. Changing driver will let different people have access to the “good seats” but not much more. The tracks that this train runs on were laid at the dawn of “civilization” and haven’t altered course significantly since then. The real problem is that the tracks run right into oblivion.

Changing drivers on the train doesn’t change that a bit. It’s great to talk about alternative fuels, organic produce, fair trade, green living, etc, but as long as we are working in the current system, we are just speeding the train along its way.

Real, meaningful change requires changing trains completely. Not an easy proposition, but possible.