Understanding Is Better Than Hating

When I get old they going to
kill me, process me, and shape
me into a McNugget and some
little kid's gonna eat me at
McNasty's.

Final Message For A While

With some major projects and traveling coming up, this will be my last entry for a couple of weeks. Before I sign off for a while, I'd like to leave a parting thought.

HATE

For most of my life I've grown up seeing the subtle hate, discrimination, and prejudice aimed at African-Americans. Sometimes it was in the form of a joke or off-handed comment. But in the last decade, targeting Blacks has been forgotten. Instead, folks have turned their prejudices on Mexicans and Muslims. Sometimes I get e-mails from people I barely know. Under the guise of "immigration reform" I often see and hear things that disrespect Mexicans. And under the name of "patriotism" I see and read hate-filled comments about Muslims.

First off, Mexico is our next door neighbor. I do not recognize human-made borders — we are all one people. If Mexicans come here to get jobs to feed their families, more power to them. Humans have always migrated, usually in search of a better life. I sometimes hear comments about the Mexicans "invading our country" and "destroying our culture." Come on, don't be silly.

In regards to radical Muslims who engage in violence, I have the very lowest regard for those who harm others. While the violence is wrong, I think it is important to study history and understand the climate that created so much hate. You have to understand how the Jews were essentially DRIVEN from Europe and had few options but to establish a state. You have to understand how the Middle East was abused and exploited by colonial powers, and how they were later used as pawns and proxies during the Cold War. You have to understand how the U.S. is viewed as a blatant hypocrite — talking about democracy while at the same time supporting Middle Eastern monarchies.

What We Need..

There needs to be more civility, more dialogue, more efforts to understand and learn about one another, and less hate. By participating in racism and prejudicism, you are only making the problems of our society worse. I urge everyone to give up the "hate" and replace it with a desire to "understand." There's been enough hate in the history of the world — perhaps it's time to try something different.

Utopia or Destruction

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN you can't find God up there?
Keep looking!" "Actually, Mr. Whipple, we can't
find ANYTHING up there. I will have to assume that we are
the only intelligent life in this Universe."


So MUCH to report since my last blog entry on Tuesday, but here are the highlights:

• New Religion - Okay, this guy in Birmingham, AL named Ford Vox has engineered a new religion, called United Universist (not related to Unitarian Universalist). This religion seems to contain elements of both Daniel Quinn and Freethinkers. On their extensive website is a passage that has become the thesis of my life:

"Universists are inspired by our evolution as conscious beings in a universe of matter and energy with nothing holding us back from eventually working our way towards utopia, or destroying everything. Universists believe that we have ultimate power and ultimate uncertainty."

• Planting Seeds - I love watching PBS in the late evenings. The specials on Black History Month are inspiring. I never realized that African-American intellectuals started planting the seeds for emancipation as far back as the 1820s. It really took several generations for the idea of "freedom" to take hold in the U.S.. Slavery was so extremely institutionalized that I'm sure both Blacks and Whites were thinking, "This is the way it's always been."

I was extremely inspired learning about David Walker (1785-1830), a Black abolitionist and idealist. I do not condone his support for violence, but I'm sure he had come to the conclusion that war would be the only way to free the slaves. The wicked institution was just too ingrained and economically viable to be given up without a bitter fight. I love how Mr. Walker published his pamphlet, titled "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World" and then found creative ways to smuggle it into the South. When his booklets began showing up, Southern states reacted by passing legislation prohibiting the circulation of Abolitionist literature (freedom of speech be damned), and they also forbid slaves to learn how to read and write. There were threats on David Walker's life, and he was mysteriously found dead near his shop — many believed he had been poisoned.

I have been for years troubling the pages of historians, to find out what our fathers have done to the white Christians of America, to merit such condign punishment as they have inflicted on them, and do continue to inflict on us their children. But I must aver, that my researches have hitherto been to no effect. I have therefore, come to the immoveable conclusion, that they (Americans) have, and do continue to punish us for nothing else, but for enriching them and their country. For I cannot conceive of anything else. Nor will I ever believe otherwise, until the Lord shall convince me.
— David Walker, 1830 (written soon before his mysterious death)

The point of this story is that David Walker was a seed planter. I like to think that myself and others in the Sustainability Movement are seed planters too, and we have to accept the fact that it may take another 40 years before our ideas for a better future take hold — and we will never get to see this Great Awakening. We must keep doing what we know in our heart is right.

• An Engineered Oil Puppet - Also on PBS this week, I saw a documentary on the history of Saudi Arabia. Okay, the point being that 9/11 was 50 years in the making, and that Saudi Arabia was used as a pawn during the Cold War. I remember vividly as a kid the long lines at the gas pump during the 1973 oil embargo. No one ever told me the embargo was ordered in response to the United States airlifting supplies to Israel during the Yom Kippur War. And no one ever told me that the Saudi's ended the boycott after America used a carrot and stick approach (the stick being a threat of invasion). Anyway, the boycott backfired on the Saudi's because conservation measures in the U.S. reduced demand, and at the same time, higher oil prices made it viable for other nations to develop their oil fields.

But the point being, is that this whole idea of a Royal Family is bull crap — "royal" insinuates that some family is God-ordained to rule. That is nonsense. In Saudi Arabia, one family is ruling the country with the backing of our country. Just how democratic is THAT??? The family gets to be filthy rich, and the U.S. gets oil. A nice, dysfunctional relationship.

A final statement from The Canary...

Getting back to the slavery thing, WHERE WERE THE CHRISTIANS during this time? Yes, there were a few Christians involved in the abolitionist movement, but where was the VAST MAJORITY (called "Moral Majority" today)? And where were the Christians during the Holocaust? Yes, there were a noted few who resisted, but for the most part there was SILENCE and even COLLABORATION!!! So, now, it's 2005 and Christians are telling me that gays are committing sins and are EVIL, but look at the track record. Where is the credibility? For the most part they were silent on the enslavement of millions of Blacks and the murder of millions of Jews, and NOW THEY ARE SCREAMING ABOUT GAY MARRIAGE???? Talk about selective morality!

2005 Sucketh

The way my luck has been lately, I feel like Pharaoh going through the Twelve Plagues. My fundamentalist Baptist upbringing is too deeply drilled in, and when anything bad happens I can't help but think it's test. I have these crazy thoughts that God is trying to break me; to get me to conform. The lightening bolts are being thrown at me, and I am being warned to crawl back into some little country church and spend the rest of my life with my MOUTH SHUT.

It takes courage when your little world begins to splinter apart, and you have to continue the struggle regardless. My problem is that my dream of long-term sustainability runs directly head-on to the teachings of the Sunday morning talking heads, who scream about sin, destruction, and damnation until they hyperventilate. To not subdue to this authority is an act of rebellion that must be quashed. The fear of eternal damnation, the fear that a Higher Power can punish you, and the fear of just trying to hold a life together is enough to force one into conformity. Yet, fear is a poor motivator — it makes people have just enough faith until they think they earned a ticket to heaven.

As for me, I do not question or challenge the grand Creator, but I do challenge the flimsy manmade institutions that are made hollow by their own hypocrisy. How much longer I can hold out, I do not know. At what point I will drop this rebellion and reach for my religious security blanket, I do not know.

But today, I am not ready to give up. I'm not ready to quit being the Yellow Canary. The God of the fundamentalist Christian is far different than the God I believe in. My God needs no money and he does not need to manipulate people by fear, intimidation, or the bribe of a mansion and gold street. The Jesus I believe in is the rebel of the religious institutions, not the carpenter of new ones. We didn't just trade Judaism for Catholicism and Protestantism so that we can endure more petty legalism and self righteousness. We were suppose to embrace a higher ideal — something about unconditional love, not just earning brownie points to receive a bigger mansion.

I am the Yellow Canary, a lowly bird who, by his own convictions, feels it an obligation to warn others that unless we re-engineer our culture and values, then we will surely destroy ourselves. Our president is now cutting federal programs for the poor, so that he can better finance his war machine, yet we are the Christian nation that is "under God." These are sins that I cannot justify nor reconcile in my heart, and, once again, I remain mystified by the madness of my country and society.

Yellow Canary

In Memory of My Friend

Dedicated to Jim G. Hudson, who passed away
Jan. 28, 2005.

IN MEMORY...

Today I planted a tree in honor and in memory of Jim Hudson, my friend, high school classmate, and neighbor. Jim, age 44, was a loving and dedicated father and husband. He loved playing his guitar, spending time with his sons, and serving as a Scoutmaster.

The tree is a Pin Oak, which turns a beautiful red color in the fall. One thing unique about the Oak is that its upper branches reach up, it's mid branches are horizontal, and the lower ones arc down.

Last night his wife Del dedicated a star in his honor as well. She chose the star that flashed the brightest, and as we looked up into the winter night sky we could see Jim up there, looking down on us and smiling.

The Canary Speaketh

Whatever happened to peace and brotherhood? Too much
time is wasted screaming about evil gay marriage and end-time prophesy.

So, well...

Since beginning this blog in May 2004, I have followed my theme of nonviolence and environmental stewardship in nearly every post, with the exception of my first and third entries.

Ultimately, the goal of this blog and website is to promote long-term sustainability for both the human race and the Planet. I have devoted tons of writing to the roadblock that the conservative religions create in achieving my two life goals — world peace and healing the environment. I have also talked about how political groups with self-serving agendas and greedy corporations also play a roll in keeping all of us in our current, self-destructive quandary.

I believe ...

To sum up the many things I've discussed in the past nine months, I'd like to reemphasize a few points:

The Roadmap To Sustainability

• All humans must be treated equally, regardless of race, religion, etc..

• Women must be treated 100% equal to men. Women must be given opportunities and encouragement to rise in government and business.

• Gays must be treated with complete equality. Gays must have the right to marriage (you can call them "civil unions" if it makes you feel better).

• There must be universal free trade. However, trade rules should be PEOPLE and COMMUNITY based, and NOT written for large corporations.

• There should be complete free movement of peoples. I guess that lets you know how I feel about immigration. And even though it kills me to see the massive growth in my community and state, I believe we must always force ourselves to take a global approach to the extremely serious problem of human overpopulation.

• There should be universal access to contraceptives and family planning.

• Every human should be entitled to at least one warm meal a day — not necessarily through charity (which would create dependency), but rather through empowerment, education, and opportunity. If you're slobbering over a big lobster while some child in a faraway place is starving to death, then something is damn wrong. The chain of humanity has been broken.

• Democracy is a good thing and must be universal. But people must believe in it and support it, especially by putting the needs of the community ahead of personal interests. Oh, and a message to Karl and the spin doctors in Washington — you can't force democracy at gunpoint. Rather, it is a beautiful ideal that must come from the heart.

• Everyone must take personal responsibility for the world that sustains them. Decisions should be based on the needs of our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren — not our immediate gratification.

Well, this is just a start. I'm sure I've missed a few things. But the point is we are now living in an increasingly crowded and polluted world. If we continue our current course we will certainly destroy ourselves AND our Planet. Okay, I apologize for sounding negative. But this is a blog of hope — if we change our ways, and throw a ton of old baggage out the window, we can reinvent our society, culture, and thinking, and we can create a world that will be BETTER for our kids.

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

Loyalty

Remember, Karl Rove is God. He
engineered that whole value thing to
pull Christian conservatives into the polls.
Now he's trying to win over conservative
blacks and hispanics so that he can
finish off those damn Democrats.

And So It Is....

I am thee little rebel and I feel like I'm on to this whole grand Karl Rove conspiracy. In other countries the security forces would just blow me away in bed, but in the Western nations that's not fashionable, so I am just ignored, isolated, marginalized, and dubbed anti-patriotic. If I oppose the war, the Robot People will scold me for demoralizing the troops. This week, no doubt, it was Karl Rove who came up with the idea of higher death pay for the families of those lost in combat. Good plan. Let's perk up their morale and show them how nice their government is. In reality, it is a cheap publicity stunt and no doubt, there are plans to send our boys and girls into more offensive wars. On to Syria, on to Iran! Let us put on the jackboots, shine them up, and enjoy our conquests and glory! All in the name of oil ... no, DEMOCRACY!

Growing Up....

Just recently I've decided that I really don't like pledging to the U.S. flag. This is a shock to even me, but I am a free individual and shouldn't have to pledge my loyalty to a rogue state. Don't get me wrong, loyalty should be a given, as long as that loyalty is deserved, so I see no need to pledge.

But there is a Need for Loyalty...

I do love my country and the wonderful idealism behind it. I do love the constitution and the structure of our government. We have a good system and it works as long as people believe in it and support it. IT FAILS WHEN PEOPLE MANIPULATE AND ABUSE our system to pursue their own agendas. And we are seeing a lot of that now. There is one group of political leaders who want the United States to be the preeminent power of the world, both economically and militarily. There is another group of politicians who want to restore the "morals" of the 1950s — yeah, the years when African-Americans had to pee in separate bathrooms and used different water fountains. Yeah, that was so moral.

None of us, really, should be pushing our own agenda unless that agenda is to promote selflessness, harmony, community, and the greater good. It should not be about ME and what I believe in or what I think. Rather, it should be "how can me make things better for EVERYONE!"

So...

I will no longer pledge my allegiance to an illusion created by a handful of propagandists in Washington. Yes, I'm loyal to my country, but my loyalty to the Planet is far greater. I consider myself an Earthian, not an American, or a Eurpoean-American, or whatever. Even more importantly, I pledge my loyalty to my 6.3 billion brothers and sisters that I share the Planet with. I give my loyalty to my friends, my neighbors, my family, and to millions of strangers I don't even know. I do NOT give my loyalty to a myriad of abstract laws, traditions, and beliefs that are only designed to protect the status quo.

Now you're probably wondering, "Why aren't you giving your loyalty to God?" Well, I would like to, but if we give our loyalty to our concept of what God is, then the next thing you know, there are people committing acts of violence in the name of their God. God will be made happy by killing the infidels, gays, drug addicts, and those bad people who open their stores on Sundays. Nope, this is a slippery slope. If we can all agree that loyalty to God doesn't mean hate and violence, then I will give it.

At age 20 I was incredibly idealistic and naive. I actually thought people would take seriously that part in the Bible that reads, "Love one another."

Because That's the Way IT'S ALWAYS BEEN!

YOU Canary will change your ways and learn
to suck the corporate tit. YOU Canary will
stop asking so many annoying QUESTIONS!

WHY, WHY, WHY???

One thing I've noticed about we humans is that we are so resistant to change. We have no problem doing something that's completely dumb or boring simply because WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT! And if you do something more than twice, then it becomes a TRADITION!

Take professional baseball, for instance. For 95 percent of the game you have a picture, a catcher, and a batter engaged in some kind of duel while seven other guys stand in a field adjusting themselves. Maybe it's time for someone to stand up in the bleachers and scream, "This is really, really boring!" I mean, come on, the strikes, steroids, illegal drugs and scandals are MUCH more exciting than the actual game. But we go anyway and buy an $8 hotdog and a $4 bag of peanuts because our granddad took us to the ballpark when we were kids, and it gives us a warm, comfy feeling inside.

And then there is the tradition of gift giving at Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries. You have to use your VISA card to buy some relative a dumb gift that will end up stuffed in a closet along with all their other junk. Or you have to buy a Barbie doll for your niece knowing full well her parents make twice the income that you do. "But, oh, it's the thought that counts."

When I try to buck some of the crazy traditions in our society, I get criticized and called a scrooge or wierdo or whatever. That's because everyone is programmed to keep everyone else in some degree of conformity. You HAVE to wear a suit to church, you HAVE to buy your kids a new outfit for Easter (instead of giving that money to the poor), you HAVE to see your relatives on every holiday, no matter how much they annoy you. You HAVE to have a salad with your meal, you HAVE to put your napkin in your nap (it's good manners, you animal!). You HAVE to go to church four times a week, you HAVE to wear a white wedding dress, you HAVE to wear a cowboy hat, you HAVE to spit in a cup and not on the ground ....

Okay, anyway, the point here is "JUST BECAUSE WE'VE ALWAYS DONE IT THAT WAY" doesn't mean it's the best way, right way, or even makes sense. We need to step back and question our "traditions" and decide which ones are really helpful and fruitful, and which ones are nonproductive and even harmful.

And most importantly, DON'T DO THINGS because peer pressure or "tradition" tells you to — rather do things because they are the right thing to do. How can we as a people justify wasteful, needless gift exchanging when there are millions of people who don't even get enough to eat? Have we forgotten about them? The fact is, we can never have true joy until their bellies have warm food in them, for as a humanity we all are one, and when one of us hurts, we all hurt.

Let's cut out the expensive and wasteful traditions and focus on the things that are really meaningful in life. Okay, as for baseball, if you like it, then GO to those games, but if you don't really want to go and waste all that money, then DON'T. Let someone else eat that $8 hotdog.

"But Canary, that $8 is for an entire platter that includes fries and a Coca-Cola. It's a good deal. Canary, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?"