Louisa and I have two short shorthand questions we pose each other with some regularity. One is, "Now?"-we'll be walking on a trail somewhere, or sitting watching a sunset, or just sitting, and one of us will pose the "Now?" question. That is, what, as best as you can tell me, were you thinking the nanosecond before you heard that word? It's sort of an exercise in self-awareness, to go instantly from "just being" to "just thinking"-about what "just being" means. We hold no copyright on the exercise, it's yours, with our blessing.
"Now what?" has almost the opposite connotation. We'll have finished something-a hike, a get-together with friends, a meditation session, and the question here, instead of asking, What was just happening with you, asks, "What's about to happen to you?" (or perhaps, with us?). I woke up this morning, November 5th, 2008, with two phrases ringing in my brain: "We won!" and "Now what?"
We won. How sweet it is. What a relief. The eight long years of distorted reality are almost over. Eight years of never knowing what the Bush administration was going to pull next. Eight years in which time we saw the invasion of not one, but two, countries which weren't threatening the U.S., the ugliness of Guantanamo Bay and the Patriot Act, a saber-rattling foreign policy and a mean-spirited domestic one-the list goes on. Healing from all this will take a long time. Not to mention the long, hard grind involved in getting the economy back on track.
So now we have the promise of a smart, thoughtful, reasonable, young, articulate and energetic guy who we trust will lead us out of the wilderness. Louisa cried last night as we watched his acceptance speech with our roomful of friends here in Eureka. She was crying for her mother, Sarah Flinn Rogers, who died thirty years too early to see a black man win the presidency-Sarah's life cause was to eliminate this country's long legacy of racism (she and Tom met in the early civil rights struggles). So Louisa was much more aware than I was of Barack Obama's color, and all that signified, what a powerful statement that conveyed about how far the country has come. I think of him as a smart guy who happens to be black, she sees him as a black man who happens to be smart.
The election brought us, here in California, one big win and one big loss: a fledging "bill of rights" for farm animals, including chickens and veal calves; and loss of the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. We celebrate one and mourn the other.
So now what? For the country, and for President-elect Obama, it's going to be a rocky road ahead as euphoria gives way to reality: a faltering economy burdened by a ten-trillion dollar debt, two unwinnable wars, continuing use of fossil fuels even as the fact of global warming become obvious to the most skeptical conservatives. Well, we're just gonna havta git busy, as Sarah Palin would say.
And us, Louisa and me? How are we going to be affected by yesterday's pivotal election? How can we take advantage of this dramatic political win to create a personal win? That's the big "Now what?" for us. How can we integrate what we're already working on, what we believe in, what we know, with the way we want to see the country move?
* Xenophobia-how can we use our travel-savvy to break down some of the us-versus-them mentality in many Americans, especially by encouraging them to travel out of the country?
* ...Specifically, Mexico. How can we leverage our house in Guanajuato and our love of that country into breaking down the barriers between the USA and its southern neighbor? (Especially changing the knee-jerk reaction that we often hear regarding the plight of illegal immigrants from Central America.)
* Movement and fitness. The country's getting fatter and more unfit. Louisa's got a lot of great answers-how do we get them out into the world?
* "Affluenza"--the belief that more stuff will make us happier. So many of this country's problems stem from "bigger and better"-cars, homes, TVs, you-name-it. The last fifty years have seen a doubling of average wealth, while average "happiness" has marginally dropped, according to most surveys. My answer is to take great note of, and be thankful for, what we actually have, versus what our (paleolithic!) brains tell us we need. How do we promote that oh-so-obvious solution?
We invite a dialog with everyone and anyone. Comments, questions, solutions. We're wide open to re-thinking where we're at ("Now?") and where we're going ("Now what?"). We'd love responses--you can reply directly here to the blog.
In any case, we encourage you to ask yourself the same question we're asking ourselves: how can we leverage yesterday's win into personal wins?
Yes we can...but can what?
About Me
- barryevans
- Location is listed as Eureka CA, but could as well be Guanajuato, Mexico, where we spend much time.
3 comments:
Yes, Yes, YES!! (ala Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally) What a great day it is in America! To finally have the relief from the tyranny of the past 8 years! To finally see men and women of all races coming together to heal the sores of our country's past. To finally hear from voices who've been stilled far too long because we didn't believe our voices counted for anything.
Finally, FL got it right on one thing - we voted without chads and we made sure the right people are leading our country. Unfortunately, I believe the wrong choice was made when Amendment 2, that disallows the right of gays to marry, was adopted.
Now? and Now what? are great questions to mull. Over the next several weeks leading up to the inauguration, I will be asking myself: Yes we can... do what? I'll also be starting a campaign to encourage others to ask themselves the same.
We cannot return to our innocence, but we can change this country back to the free-spirited kind nation we knew as children despite all we know now. We can make a difference by doing one small thing a day to reduce our carbon footprint. We can make a difference by reaching out to a child, to educate them, in one small thing a day. We can make a difference by helping an elderly or down and out person with a small act to acknowledge them. We can show respect to ourselves and our neighbors with our collective energy for good.
Let freedom, good health and an abundance of joy bring all of us together forever.
I cried watching Obama's acceptance speech, I cried thinking about my mother who would never have dreamed that an African-American would become President within her children's lifetimes. She used to say that as the great-granddaughter of slave owners she felt a special obligation to undo the injustices of the past and present.
I can still remember seeing the "Colored Women" and "White Ladies" separate restrooms in a restaurant when my family was driving through Tennessee. The year was 1961, and I was ten. My family had just returned to the States after several years of living overseas. The floor near the restroom for black women was dirty, littered, and unswept; the floor near the white women's restroom immaculate. The women entering the black restroom did not make eye contact with white people, and they walked in a shuffling, half-stooped way. There were separate water fountains, as well.
I had heard much about racial injustice from my parents (who on their first date discussed civil rights for blacks, or Negroes, as they were then called, in South Carolina) but, growing up outside the US, I had never seen it before. Later, when I visited my grandmother, I saw the poor "colored" section of Hartsville, the town where Daddy was born and raised, with its crumbling potholed streets compared to the mansions with beautiful landscaped lawns where the whites lived.
And now, 47 years later, the barrier has finally been broken, in a country whose very prosperity and success was achieved through racism. To me Obama's triumph is a sign that all such false and artificial barriers can be broken. It is an opening. I would have voted for Obama no matter what his skin color, but the fact that he is black is symbolically enormous. He will not be perfect, I know that. He has inherited a mess. Nonetheless, I feel hopeful for the first time in years and years.
With much joy,
Louisa
While caring for two children a fight erupted over a stuffed animal. There was no way to settle it by giving the animal to either child. I invented a game for three where the objective was to "give the animal away," to either remaining person. The kids loved it and actually "had" the animal at least one third of the time. There was no need to fight for the toy as long as the rule was honored.
Before spouting solutions to "the Problem," I like to first identify all the issues, and all the "givens" (things we're stuck with).
The problems:
Too much war, aggression, terrorism polarity...
World financial recession...
Potential root causes:
In one word - Greed
In several - The belief that if each person and each country tends to their own interest, the system composed of the interactions of these individuals will be optimized for the "good" of all.
In three - Trickle down economics.
In a few more - Our government, leaders, and/or the free market will solve these and all other problems if we just place our trust in them and let the "system" work, e.g., ("just stay the course").
Social Change requires change within the brains of individual people, one at a time. (see "From Molecule to Metaphor" George Lakoff www.its your world.org) We all, worldwide, must find ways to change our own values to solve these major "human system" problems. We need to take as much responsibility as we can for our own situation.
Unlike the depression of the 1930s, where a drought hampered financial recovery and counter-intuitive thinking allowed us to spend our way back to financial stability (a war helped but we're trying to avoid that solution - see the problems above), this time spending alone will not bring recovery. Financial hesitancy stems from mistrust of the system. In our case, our bankers and our government leaders have imbued us with a lack of trust in them as the "powers of last resort." We're throwing recovery money down the well until we see signs of integrity, honesty and concern for the health of our social and financial systems from Wall Street and Pennsylvania Ave. Meanwhile we can assure that we have integrity in all our personal dealings - within and among ourselves.
A Mr. Rogers act is not necessary to avoid war and conflict. We need to conduct our affairs such that all interactions are a good deal for all parties; to have a friend, be one. Life isn't about winners and losers.
Our economy, like our interstate highways, must foster continual movement to serve our needs. The economy is healthy to the extent that money changes hands. Asking 'Does a financial or political decision encourage movement of money through more or less people?' can become a decision tool. We cannot allow "playing" with the economy any more than we allow playing on the freeway. Speculation merely for the sake of "getting a higher score" among your investment peers needs a new look. Allowing speculation on essentials - economy, energy, housing - leaves us and our social system open to extortion.
Our media needs to stop selling doom and gloom to increase their ratings - that only fuels our lack of faith in our systems. We need to give up our addiction to doom and gloom. To start, try not rubbernecking next time you pass something unusual on the freeway - it isn't that easy, is it? Optimism and giddiness are two different words, for a reason. The .com giddiness felt good but was not the stable economy we seek, nor should it be the standard by which we judge the recovery.
We need to abandon the social cancer of bi-polar thinking in favor of a large mass of centrist thought. Boycott the champions of polarization.
We are individuals for a reason and personal freedom remains necessary. We're also social animals and our required social systems, including political and economic, must be nurtured and understood, venerated and supported - by individuals, companies, and government.
How big are the problems? How long will the recovery take? Obviously there needs to be change, change within all of us. Sooner change equals sooner recovery. We need to develop and master the science of change in human beliefs and values. We need to know what change will serve our desired ends. Such transformative change will end the "crisis" sooner than random difference. The problem looks big if the solution requires "everyone else to change to "my point of view" meaning "I don't have to change (I was right all along), I'll just wait for the others to suffer the feelings associated with change."
Trust the new leadership to identify the right changes, create for yourself a fun game whose objective is to make those changes; or suggest your ideas to them.
Fighting for freedom and the American way may not require a war each generation. Perhaps it requires each of us to take responsibility for our integrity and that of our leaders and trusted monetary caretakers.
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