#679 – Dick Bernard: Thoughts on Martin Luther King's "Why We Can't Wait", on Martin Luther King Day 2013

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Yesterday at Mass at Basilica of St. Mary visiting Priest, Fr. Pat Griffin, in his homily, included a snippet of Martin Luther King’s writing: “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly….”
I wrote enough snippets of the quote so that I could source it, and at home went to the search engine and, sure enough, there the exact quote was in his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written April 16, 1963.
That letter was primarily to religious leaders, Bishops and like rank, who were not, shall we say, being very supportive of efforts to end injustice against the Negroes, one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Such change disrupted their notion of temporal influence.
Preceding Father Pat’s pull quote was this phrase by King: “I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states….” and so on.
My takeaway from his message is that we’re all in this together, not gangs of individuals protecting our narrow interests, however righteous those interests seem to be.
I pulled my quote, above, from my copy of Martin Luther King’s “Why We Can’t Wait”, published early in 1964, primarily about the watershed Civil Rights year of 1963.* At the time, Dr. King was 34 years old.
The book remains in print, and I recommend it as required reading for anyone who wants to make a difference.

The book outlines how difficult it was, even then, to make a difference, and it emphasizes (at least so I saw) many things that most people don’t take time to acknowledge.
Dr. King’s hero and model, apparently, was someone most of us have never heard of: Fred Shuttlesworth.
And the Civil Rights Movement had difficulty convincing the Middle and Upper Class Negroes of the value of its mission to bring justice to those with less power and influence. Negroes who had by some chance or another risen above their “place” (say, owning a business) were reluctant to jeopardize their own perceived success to an uncertain cause. They were torn and too often they went with the status quo.
The most important chapter for me was the last one in the book, “The Days to Come”, in which Dr. King talked about the realities of the political process, including his personal acquaintance with three Presidents (Lyndon Johnson had just become President of the United States when the book was published. The others were Eisenhower and Kennedy.)
MLK was a rarity among us: not only was he a gifted and charismatic leader; but he recognized the reality leaders, including Presidents of the United States, face.
Most of King’s 1963 centered on Sheriff Bull Connors Birmingham AL. And at page 132 of Why We Can’t Wait he says this, recounting a comment by President Kennedy (then 46 years old) followed by his own commentary:
“Our Judgment of Bull Connor should not be too harsh,” he commented. “After all, in his way, he has done a good deal for civil rights legislation this year.”
King’s next sentence bears our attention: “It was the people who moved their leaders, not the leaders who moved the people,” King says.
Today, on the celebration of Martin Luther Kings birthday, and the public inauguration of President Obama, his words take on special meaning to all of us who care.
The ball is in OUR court.
* POSTNOTE:
My copy of Why We Can’t Wait came as a surprise gift from my friend, Lydia Howell, in Dec. 2006. It was a well-used copy, which I have even more well-used over the last six years.
Lydia’s note says “Now, more than ever, I find the life, work and words of Dr. King one of my deepest inspirations. I hope you…find [Why We Can’t Wait] useful….”
I surely have, Lydia.
I decided to first read the book one chapter each day, sitting in a pew at the Cathedral of St. Paul.
My book notes that I read the chapter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” on April 14, 2007, at 2 p.m., during a wedding. At the quotation cited by Father Griffin on Sunday, I have handwritten in the margin, “Bridal Procession”….
I have no idea who got married that day, or how they’re doing, but I can tell you this juxtaposition of thoughtfulness and words inspire continuing action.

#677 – Dick Bernard: President Obama's Moment

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In my opinion, Wednesday, January 16, 2013, will go down as President Obama’s John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King moment.
It took an immense amount of courage for him, January 16, 2013, to confront our nations culture of violence, particularly the fringe – it’s really only a fringe – which worships the unrestricted “right to bear arms” – all and any kinds of arms.
(The Second Amendment, ratified Dec. 15, 1791, says this in its entirety “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The reader can, of course, choose which words to emphasize…or ignore…in that amendment.)
President Obama, his supporters, advisers and the Secret Service, know the personal risks of what he did yesterday.
I believe President Kennedy, and I know Martin Luther King, knew the risks of witness for a better society and world. They both fell to rifle shots from hatred, 1963 and 1968.
Any of us around then – I was a school teacher when the announcement over the intercom came that President Kennedy had been shot in Dallas – know more than we want to know about how hatred and threats such as we are now seeing spewed by folks tend to trickle down to madmen who are more than willing to do the dirty work of killing the messenger. The NRA is, I believe, wittingly facilitating this hatred.
The vast majority of us, I believe, are with the President on his initiative to change the sick system which enabled Newtown and other tragedies.
But we can’t be sitting quietly in the background in our circles as this debate moves forward.
We need to supportively encircle the President and help him move forward in the many ways available to us. We need, particularly, to support our legislators who support change, and encourage those who are reluctant to see a civilized world in a different way than through a gun sight.
Yes, this is a complex issue.
Personally, I don’t own or plan to own a weapon, but neither am I anti-gun for the traditional uses I grew up with. Gun ownership is a privilege with great responsibility. Sadly, legislation is about the only way to increase responsibility.
I see something of a continuum in the debate which is now officially beginning.
At one end of the continuum is true religious model, best stated in the “beat their swords into plowshares” citation (Isaiah 2:3-4). Arbitrarily, I’ll call that end zero.
At the other end is the “man’s home is his castle” philosophy which, played out to its illogical end, allows anybody to do anything with any killing device. I’ll call that ten.
Somewhere in between those poles is common sense in a “free State”, as stated in that Second Amendment.
We are – all of us – the “State” referred to in that Second Amendment. We are “the people”.
The collective “we, the people of the United States” share responsibility to “insure domestic Tranquility” (the Preamble of the Constitution), and tranquility doesn’t come at the end of a gun.
(On that continuum, above, I’d put myself at a four or less.)
Our World is our Castle.
We all live together in that Castle. We depend on each other; not only on ourselves.
Get involved, and don’t quit. Be willing to negotiate, but carefully. It is hard to negotiate with someone who refuses to negotiate.
On this and other issues, learn both sides and stick with it. It’s a crucial issue at a crucial time.
Here’s the complete U.S. Constitution: Constitution of U.S.001
Recent previous posts on this topic are here, here and here.
UPDATES:
From Will:
Some blogger yesterday had a great juxtaposition of King and Obama: “I Have a Dream” vs. “I Have a Drone.”
Dick, to Will: Yesterday, I seem to recall, the President mentioned that there had been 900 or so gun deaths in the U.S. in the month since Newtown. Perhaps you could tell me how many deaths from Drones in the same month? How many Iraqis died in a typical month in the Iraq War when it was raging back in the good old days of 2003-2008? How many war dead in Afghanistan in a typical month?
The United States is a nation that almost worships violence. And the gun issue is a perfect place to intensify the conversation on the role of violence in our society.
The President is already on record asking Congress to help adopt rules for use of Drones. It isn’t as if he’s been silent.
Over 50 years ago I edited a small college newspaper, and I’ve always been intrigued by this item we printed in one issue of the paper, sometime in 1960-61.
(click to enlarge)

Viking News, Valley City (ND) State Teachers College, May 24, 1961


Bruce, Jan 17:
Excellent blog.
I concur with you in that it took tremendous personal courage for Obama to take his position on gun control. The president’s life is always in danger for any political act he does, but this one is exceptionally dire. If he is successful in facing up to the NRA and it’s rabid fringe followers, his life will be at risk even after he leaves office. That is the level of emotion on this issue. It may be equivalent to Lincoln and slavery, which brings me to an article I read in the last couple of days on the 2nd Amendment. It’s point is the 2nd was ratified to preserve slavery. I think it goes to ” the man’s home is his castle” doctrine. That is the basis for a person has the right to protect his property with violence, if necessary. The most valuable property in the 18th century in America, when the Bill of Rights was ratified, was slaves. Slavery was legal, and there were slaves in all of the states. The national economy depended on the institution of slavery. In order for the Bill of Rights to be ratified the south needed a compromise which protected their property(slaves) from abolitionists thus preserving their police state(slave patrols). I think, Tom Hartmann, the author of the article, has a good analysis. Protecting the institution of slavery was at the heart of the 2nd amendment. With the Emancipation Proclamation, the 2nd Amendment should have been eliminated. There was no longer a reason for it except for protecting the profit of fire arms manufactures. I can’t help but think it’s exceptionally poetic that it’s the first “Black” president that is facing down the gun lobby. I think it scares the hell out many. In the Tarrantino movie Django, Django must remind many, unconsciously if nothing else, of Obama. It’s a very violent movie, but I recommend it, especially after you read this article.
Another lobby that is as powerful as the NRA is AIPAC. Obama is standing up to that lobby, too. He is putting forth all his political might to show down these two lobbies. With the nomination of Hagel, he has pick a fight with AIPAC. He has brought it out into the light, and now with the backing of Senator Levin(MI) a powerful supporter of AIPAC, he may have won that fight. See here.
The president has guts and resolve. That is what makes him dangerous to the forces that these two lobbies represent. Liberating the country from the oppression of these two lobbies is no small feat, and as you have stated, we need to help this president and protect his back.

#676 – Dick Bernard: The Gun "Conversation" one month after Newtown.

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This is the one month anniversary of Newtown CT massacre. It seems a good time to look back, and ahead.
The day of Newtown – it was a Friday – I wrote a blogpost in this space, which was also carried in the local Woodbury Patch. There were 45 comments on that post. They speak for themselves.
A few days later I did a second post, with some recommendations. It is here. I included in the post the following graphic, which is very pertinent at this point in the conversation about guns.
(click to enlarge)

Handout from a circa 1972 workshop.


This old graphic demonstrates a general truth: if you seek change – good or evil – after a crisis, there is a narrow window of opportunity. If you wait for the perfect moment to act, the opportunity is lost, since people have a short attention span. Both heroes and villains need to pay attention to this.
I could give many examples from both good and evil, but these would deflect attention from our need to act on this issue, now.
There are so many opinions already out there, another one may seem superfluous, but here are some very brief thoughts:
1. Attempting to introduce more arms into any setting, especially schools, is insane. More weaponry simply introduces more possibilities for more tragic mayhem. If one only considers schools, in the United States there are about 14,000 school districts, 133,000 schools (ranging from one room rural, to immense structures serving thousands); with 55,000,000 or so students and perhaps 5-6 million staff, mostly teachers.
Solving this problem with more lethal weapons is no solution.
The NRA attempted to exploit post-Newtown hysteria on this.
2. The National Rifle Association (NRA) does not deserve the power it attempts to exercise.
It is useful to learn about the NRA. Here is an article that seems to summarize the bases well, though not from the official NRA perspective.
NRA claims to enroll about 4 million members at $35 dues. This translates into approximately one NRA member per 60 adult Americans, and by no means do all NRA members subscribe to the credo of the current leaders.
If we look at NRA leadership as it is, rather than what it pretends to be, it is nothing more than a “skinny 90 pound weakling” who, exposed, is no more powerful than the exposed Wizard of Oz. It has only the power the rest of us choose to give it.
NRAs big money backing may talk, but only possesses the same single vote influence that every one of us has with the people we elect to represent us. We have the power on this issue, if we choose to exercise it.
3. Those who demand the right to be armed and dangerous are fools, exposing their short-sightedness and, yes, impotence.
I am trained in firearms – Army years. But I’ve never owned a gun, and I have no intention to get one now.
In a ‘gunfight at the OK Corral’ I would be un-armed and dead.
I don’t need to go to the OK Corral, but if I did, and I was killed, my problems would be over, but my well-armed assailants problems would just be beginning.
Last I looked we have little laws in this country which frown on murder. And we have technology with which to find murderers that wasn’t available during the OK Corral days.
Someone lethally armed is potentially more a danger to him or herself than to any intruder or the hated government.
I don’t need to list examples. They abound.
The struggle for sanity in gun ownership is by no means over. It is just beginning.
Be on the court.
It is your legislators, national and state, who will have to enact the policies that are needed. They depend on you.
UPDATE:
from Peter Jan. 14:
Well since you put it that way…
Just guessing you should strengthen the connection between NRA-fear and legislators. They are the ones who are afraid of NRA, because it looks as if it can get them un-elected if they don’ play along. Also it would be well to look into the history of that, has anybody been un-elected by the NRA? Cause they sure have swung a lot of weight in DC. Power in DC is a very individual matter. Relationships between less than three or four people can have the effect of thousands of votes. NRA is probably as hollow as you say, but to let the air out of them you have to expose this, and that means revealing the actual mechanism of how this (tax exempt!) outfit pulls the strings it pulls, and what those strings are made of.
I don’t actually believe the rank and file membership does a whole lot in the way of lobbying. Lobbyists are all presenting themselves as representing a lot of voters, or a lot of jobs in your district. But day-to-day they don’t really have to trot them out. It’s like the filibuster.
Dick, to Peter, and all: If one feels they have no power, they have no power. We are far more powerful than we think we are; and the adversary is far weaker than it would admit it is….
From Phyllis Jan 15:
Good article! I honestly think most of our senators and congressmen are wimps/weaklings when it comes to the NRA. I wish they would all get a spine!! They cannot answer yes or no, but dance around a question when it comes to gun safety. So they get a F rating from the NRA, who really cares….and what does it mean to have the A+ rating??? Does that make them a better person?? Just asking….

#674 – Dick Bernard: The War for Peace…

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UPDATE Jan. 7, 2013: note comment at end from Garry Davis.
UPDATE Aug, 2013: Garry Davis passed away at the end of July, 2013. See this post.
Sunday [Jan 6,2013] I was privileged to be among nearly 100 people invited to a private preview of a very special eye-opening film, which has the potential to inspire the public with a new way of looking at the world.
In the documentary, which is still in development, World Citizen #1 Garry Davis engaged us with his fascinating life story. A riveting story-teller, he told us how his quest for a different kind of world began during World War II, when in the wake of his own brother being killed in action, he found himself killing German brothers and families in B-17 bomber runs on German cities.
He couldn’t see any sense in killing others to avenge the killing of his brother and this changed his life. He came to see no real sense in even national borders. In the end, he felt, people have to relate to other people, and figure out ways to get along, otherwise our human world cannot survive. Borders were artificial fences, especially as they defined countries.
His actions made him controversial.
The in progress film about Davis, which I think will be a very important one, develops the story of what happened later in Davis’ life, and how his commitment to peace could be a template for us all.
The screening was co-sponsored by Global Solutions Minnesota, World Citizen (founded by Lynn Elling and others in 1972), A Million Copies, and Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers. The Film Society of Minneapolis and St. Paul was also co-sponsor and great host for the event, which was presented in their theater at St. Anthony Main, Minneapolis.
Of course, life is not always simple. Paradoxically, on the same Sunday of the screening, another “war” was about to break out.
President Obama is nominating former Sen. and Vietnam War veteran Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense, and the issue appears to be drawn on whether Hagel will be sufficiently tough as a representative of American interests. Much will be said in coming days. Here’s a good summary of the first salvos.
This nomination battle is well worth watching.
Garry Davis is still very much alive, at 91, and at the screening on Sunday was Minneapolitan Lynn Ellling, near 92, who remains a lion in the quest for World Citizenship and Peace.
After the screening, about half of us stayed for an interesting Skype conversation between Garry Davis and Lynn Elling and others on the topic of world citizenship.
(click on photos to enlarge)

Garry Davis (on screen from Vermont via Skype), Lynn Elling, film producer Arthur Kanegis and a guest share thoughts on the pursuit of world peace on January 6.


Such a topic, Peace, is not a simple one, and there are differences of opinions of how one achieves lasting Peace, but the importance lies in the potential good of the conversation, and of working together to resolve differences.
Garry Davis – and his counterpart Lynn Elling – experienced War up front and very personally in WWII, and neither considers War an option for achieving Peace.
In the War paradigm, which the upcoming debate over Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense is all about, the only conversation will be about the Power of one nation to dominate others, in my opinion.
I had seen an early draft of the Davis film in October, 2012, and it caused me to do reflecting on my own about the issues raised, long before the January 6 preview.
Indeed, Davis was and still is “controversial”.
So, too, were Nelson Mandela who endured years of prison before becoming a world hero; and more recently Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Laureate from Myanmar who couldn’t accept her award in person for fear that she wouldn’t be allowed back in her own country, and endured 21 years of house arrest within her own country, and made one of her first public international statements to the Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg College in Minneapolis in March 2012. Most recently, she had as a house guest, President Obama.
There is a very long list of “controversial” people who have made a difference and can be role models for us.
Being controversial is often very desirable and good.
I also remembered a couple of sentences written by Martin Luther King Jr. in his book, Why We Can’t Wait, published in 1964, shortly after the assassination of President Kennedy.
King had not long before endured the Birmingham Jail and some months later gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech on the Washington DC Mall.
He wrote this in his book:
“I am reminded of something President Kennedy said to me at the White House following the signing of the Birmingham agreement.
“Our judgment of Bull Connor should not be too harsh” he commented. “After all, in his way, he has done a good deal for civil-rights legislation this year.”
Immediately following these sentences, King says this, a message to all of us: “It was the people who moved their leaders, not the leaders who moved the people….”
We of that generation tend to forget a crucial fact: at the time of this conversation, Martin Luther King Jr was 33 years old; President John F. Kennedy was 46.
When Lynn Elling MC’ed the event where Minneapolis and Hennepin County became the first World Citizenship city and county in the United States on May 1, 1968, Lynn was 47 years old. Three years later, in March, 1971, Minnesota as a state became World Citizen. Mr Elling was heavily involved in both actions, which were non-partisan and had a very impressive list of bi-partisan supporters.

Lynn Elling at Minneapolis City Hall May 1, 1968 opening the event where Minneapolis and Hennepin County declared themselves World Citizenship Communities, and where the United Nations flag flew alongside the U.S. flag.


Minneapolis/Hennepin County MN Declaration of World Citizenship signed March 5, 1968, dedicated May 1, 1968


Lynn Elling with the Minneapolis Declaration at Minneapolis City Hall, Dec. 22, 2012. Photo compliments of Bonnie Fournier of the Smooch Project


Minnesota Declaration of World Citizenship March, 1971. photo courtesy of Bonnie Fournier, Smooch Project


The future is with the young. We need to help them choose a path which will give them a positive future.
UPDATE Jan 7. 2013: received from Garry Davis:
Hi Dick,
Great blog! Loved it! So happy you referred to my personal “history” site ( a real archaic opus compared to what one sees today, but still containing some interesting archival material). For instance, under “World Citizenship Movement & the World Government,” in the 3nd para. starting “In 2 years over 750,000 people registered, etc.” you will note “In June, ‘mondialized’ Cahors.”
This small southern French town (famous for its wine) actually started the “Mundialization Movement” from which the 1971 statement of “Mundialization” of the State of Minnesota derived followed by the State of Iowa on October 25, 1973. (For the full list see here). [NOTE: Minneapolis and Hennepin County MN mundialized March 5, 1968.]
Colonel Robert Sarrazac, former Maquis during WWII and my principal “organization” in Paris, was the author of the first “Mundialization” declaration.
Maybe a footnote could be added to fill out this important item.
Looking forward to having the pleasure of meeting you in the Spring.
Warmly, in one global village,
Garry

#666 – Dick Bernard: Newtown, to those who’d like to help change the conversation about Guns in America

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If you’re interested in making a difference in this guns-in-America conversation, here are some thoughts:
Yes, it is Christmas time, and preparations take center stage such as each of us prepare for our own family rituals at this season.
Christmas is often a confusing time, desperately depressing for many, far too much ‘noise’ and competing priorities. We each have our own narrative. “Christmas shopping” is a major one.
Today and forward, the funerals continue in Newtown CT.
This morning some adult men were joking about going out to buy guns before they were made illegal; I had just read an excellent commentary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune from someone with Asperger’s Syndrome about sensitivity to those with such ailments. I wondered if the guns-trumping-everything bunch can see themselves as mentally ill….
As we continue to be overwhelmed by the horrific facts of Newtown, it is easy to become paralyzed into inaction, or, equally terrible, to rigidly refuse to consider other points of view. Neither mitigate towards change in the status quo that led to all of the hideous acts, Newtown only the most recent.
This is an opportunity for deep conversation and some change in course in our country, state and community in many areas: guns, mental health (including every single one of us), video games, sanctioned bullying demonstrated by adults in sundry ways… Even in my small corner of the communications universe, my first post on this topic last Saturday brought some comments (added at end of this post); and the same column used in the Woodbury (MN) Patch has ignited some continuing conversation [44 comments as of early Dec. 19].
Here are some other ‘threads’ not commonly seen to consider as this conversation hopefully continues.
1. The Status Quo is Very, Very Powerful
Newtown is not the first gun crisis we have experienced, and it won’t be the last. Those who do not want meaningful change know the simplest tactic is to simply wait out the initial turmoil – and life will go on, unchanged. Relevant, I think, is this handout from a workshop I attended perhaps 40 years ago which demonstrates the dynamics of response to a disaster. I prefer to leave it in its original form. It speaks for itself. This is a flow chart to spend some time contemplating, in my opinion.
(click to enlarge)

Worksheet from workshop circa 1972

We are the politics we like to criticize and judge, more so than the politicians. Change is possible, but takes lots of work, and persistence.
Ditto to the crisis sequence is the very real problem of instituting real and continued Change. Another old handout I have from the same time years ago showed what we all know is true: change is exceedingly difficult, even if one knows that beyond the resistance to change is a better something Change001. We embrace the status quo (think over-eating, etc) because it is very hard to change behaviors. The initial response to change is reduced efficiency (or pleasure, etc), which is why most of us do not actually change those behaviors we know that we should.
2. We will not Rid Our Nation of Guns. The best we can expect is a much healthier attitude towards them.
The guns the Connecticut Mom apparently kept to protect her from potential hostile others, ended up being the instrument of her own death, and of many others….
I have never owned a gun, and never will. I qualified as expert with the M-1 in the military (WWII vintage, something like a deer rifle with a small ammo clip).
A recurring image is at my 87-year old Uncle’s farm house this Fall. He showed me his guns. He had, if I recall correctly, six of them, including 30.06 and 12-gauge shotgun and some old-timers from his Grandpa’s day. My Uncle is no gun nut, and the guns were not for self-defense. He occasionally hunted for deer or for pheasants on his own property – that was it. He didn’t keep a stash of ammo. If he needed a box of shotgun shells, that’s what he bought – not cases.
He and I didn’t talk about the National Rifle Association (NRA), to which he belonged, off and on. It is pretty clear to me, though, that he has not much time for the present NRA.
3. The NRA and the Gun Industry Needs to be Called to Account.
This, too, will be hard. Our weapons industry provides lots of jobs. Think the problem of change.
The current version of the NRA is not all that old. When I first became teacher union staff in 1972, I can remember the first visits to our national headquarters in Washington DC. Across 16th Street, then, about a mile north of the White House, was an old standard issue office building housing the then-National Rifle Association. That NRA was a very different organization than todays version.
4. Is Change Possible? Yes. Is It Easy? No. Can it be Delegated to Someone Else? No way. It’s in each of our courts.
Some years ago I happened across a wonderful book, “Why We Can’t Wait”, written by Martin Luther King Jr in 1963-64 about 1963 in America. It remains in print and available. I highly recommend it.
MLK was then 34 years old. In his final chapter, “The Days to Come”, he talks a lot about political engagement and political leaders like Eisenhower, Kennedy and LBJ. At page 132-33, commenting on JFK’s assessment of the importance of Bull Connor to the Civil Rights successes, King says this: “It was the people who moved their leaders, not the leaders who moved the people.”
This is the powerful message to anyone who wants to impact change. It is the responsibility of each one of us to make our small bit of difference. It takes more than just signing a petition, or saying something else should do it. It is solely up to each and every one of us.
COMMENTS FROM THE PRECEDING POST ON THIS ISSUE:
From Mary Dec. 15:
I attended a workshop yesterday by Noel Larson who is expert in treating people damaged enough to do these acts….and heard about Connecticut there in a large room filled with people dedicated to providing therapy to heal from abuse and perception of constant danger…ironic – if payment is available they have guarantee of work – very difficult work.
I am very sad.
From Jeff Dec 15: watched Congr. Carolyn McCarthy on MSNBC this morning. She is an RN, lost her husband and her son was terribly injured in a Long Island shooter incident in the early 90’s.
She should be watched, she is plain spoken and like most nurses, direct and doesn’t pull punches.
She and another panelist said we have to admit that gun owning is a right, the Supreme Court has determined that. We need to do something about automatic weapons, multiple bullet clips, closing the gun show loophole and strengthening background checks. Find common ground with responsible gun owners , sportsmen that can overturn the perversity of the extreme NRA views. (our political system is gerrymandered under our house districting system to allow the NRA to bully reps)
Michael Bloomberg is putting his money in the fight to find districts where tipping points can be influenced. That is a good thing.
The other thing Cong. McCarthy said is we need to emulate the campaigns against smoking, for seat belt use….long term changing of a culture and mindset by stigmatizing parts of the gun culture are necessary. So gun responsibility, gun safety should be the buzzwords… not gun control. (I note that both George Lakoff, and Nate Silver wrote about this terminology in the past few days).
Bob reminded me of his post from June 29, 2009, here.
From an elementary school teacher in MN: My principal was in the air force and today he talked about wanting to get a gun permit for conceal and carry in the school to protect everyone (which didn’t go over well at all given that everyone is so emotionally raw right now and does not want anything except stricter gun controls) Oh well……..he thinks he personally would save all of us and all 770 students. A little of his ego is involved here I think. Alot more discussion to follow.
From Carol Dec 15: “This morning, a madman attacked more than 20 children at an elementary school in China. As of this writing, there are no reported fatalities.
A few hours later, a madman attacked an elementary school in Connecticut. As of this writing, 20 of those kids are dead.
The difference? The weapon. The madman in China had a knife. The madman in Connecticut had three semi-automatic guns.”

Already you’re hearing the excuses: Timothy McVeigh didn’t need guns to kill all those people, the terrorists on 9-11 didn’t need guns to kill all those people, yadda yadda. As though a 20-yr-old living with his mother could have pulled off a massive truck bombing or flown planes into buildings. An unstable 20-yr-old needed guns.
I’m not going down the rabbit hole of Patch comments, etc. again. Nothing changes with these idiots. Somebody by now has probably claimed that if some kindergartener’s mom had only packed heat in their lunchbox, they’d all be safe.
From Barbara Dec. 15: I am totally freaked out about this. It must be because of the little kids. Little kids, for God’s sake. Evil, evil, evil.
I am on a massive personal inventory about my complicity via relative silence, and how to mitigate against that going forward.
For starters, Heather Martens and Protect Minnesota have infrastructure in place (and have had for years) about guns and violence. So in MN, there’s a foundation in place.
From Jeff Dec 15: This thing has made me numb… and I can still not comprehend it.
Something has to be done to question the ethic of violence in our society, from these types of murders, to video games, to movies to our own govts reliance on violence to pursue its foreign policy.
Merry Christmas.
From Will Dec 15: Dear Folks: I just finished writing the President most of you voted for plus my Congresspeople urging them to stand up to the NRA and immediately introduce much stricter controls on those types of weapons that are most frequently used in massacres such as at Newtown CT and the others.
My heart wasn’t in this next part but I suggested if they focus on assault weapons, maybe their constituent voters who murder only animals aka “hunters” will not be vindictive at election time. After all, some of these Congresspeople do some good work even though they’re Democrats and need to be dragged much farther to the left such as The Green Party or Workers International League/SocialistAppeal.org.
When I wrote Mr. Obama, I noticed his list of subjects, like my Sen. Amy Klobuchar (but unlike Sen. Al Franken and Rep. Betty McCollum) did not include guns nor gun control. So, flustered, I hit the Homeland Security button which promptly was refused and I tried a few others (Drone, Rice, Boehner, Bachmann) before finally managing to sneak under the wire with “other.”
From Greg Dec 15: Regarding a comment in the Gail Collins column that if more good people carried guns they could respond when a person starts killing. A number of years ago I read a story that I wish I had saved.
It occurred outside a county court house in a rural Texas county. A man accosted his ex-wife as she was about to enter the court house, I believe for a post divorce hearing.
The man started shooting at her. Nearby an uninvolved man saw what was happening. he drew his gun and began shooting at the first man who then began firing at this second man. Result: the second man, a good Samaritan, was shot and killed.
At Sandy Creek school and at the theater in Aurora the shooter was said to be clad in protective armor. Thus not only must a person be able to draw and fire at the attacker, but must connect with a head shot … virtually impossible in those circumstances.
The proposal for rifle storage and usage [Rabbi Michael Lerner of Tikkun] tracks closely my experience in the 1970s while on U. S. military duty in then West Germany. Gun clubs existed in cities where people could store their weapons under lock and key and go to shoot at targets. Seems like a reasonable approach.
People who think they are protecting themselves by keeping a loaded gun in their homes may wish to reflect on the experience of the Rochester Minnesota minister who accidentally shot his grand daughter after mistaking her for an intruder.
From Jeff Dec 15: People who want to reform the gun madness have to start from the premise that gun owning is in the constitution and the Supreme court has recently upheld individual rights to own guns and been very hesitant to strike down certain limitations or restrictions.
aa) change minds with spending money on the same campaign that reduced smoking and diminished it to nearly pariah status… enlists teachers, doctors, police, military men , actors, hunters, religious, etc. to work on changing the gun culture, and part of that will have to be rewarding positive gun ownership
bb) work on closing the gun show loophole, work on passing the ban on automatic weapons, multiple ammo clips,
cc) strengthen and bring technology to bear on background checks
dd) allow pediatricians to ask parents if they are gun owners and how they store their guns
ee) increase funding for mental health, and remove the stigma attached to mental illness (remember Paul Wellstone)
Find common ground with gun owners and sportsmen…they are parents and grandparents too.
Jeff Dec 16: we need to ask ourselves what would our governments and our fellow citizens be doing now if the Newtown killer’s name was Abu Abdallah? I can only imagine the actions that would follow, the unmitigated demands for investigations , etc. Yet a madman takes his gun owning mothers automatic weapons and kills 28 people and we as a nation wonder what our elected reps might be able to do? The Patriot Act was forced down our throats as a result of 9/11, the HSA is one of the largest departments of the govt ,,,, yet it seems every week we endure shootings like this.
Paul Dec. 16: Here is another strong voice in support of the commitment of teachers to their students. The bravery of the Sandy Hook teachers in the face of an unimaginable nightmare is astounding.
From Judy Dec 16: This is wonderful.
From Flora Dec 17: My heart is heavy from the tragedy at the elementary school in Connecticut.
This Wednesday, Jefferson High School will show a film made by last year’s senior from Edina High School, called “Minnesota Nice”. It is the film on bullying, followed by homeroom discussion. I hope every effort matters in making the schools a better place for everybody.
Wishing for Peace everywhere,
From Norm: Excellent piece Dick.
I singled out the following ready to send around because where ‘serious’ can’t do the trick maybe a little
tongue-in-cheek will work:
A safe society is one where everyone packs heat all the time: wouldn’t it build character for citizens to learn their responsibility early on? There’s no problem finding a firearm for
small hands: if every one of them had had a piece in his desk, and opened up on Lanza from all directions right away, only a few more would be dead now, maybe even fewer, and the survivors would have learned about pride and self-sufficiency instead of fear and surrender. We have fire drills; don’t we care enough about our kids to give them rapid-fire drills? And come to think of it, kindergarten is not too young to learn freedom through armed revolt (see lesson one above): what more oppressive, authoritarian institution is there than a school to its students? K-12 students with suitable weapons could be learning to fight tyranny before the school crushes their spirit and turns them into slaves of big government.
From Greg Dec. 17, to his Church in Minneapolis: Many people are probably like me, we want to do something tangible for the dear people of Newtown Connecticut. I think it was upon the death of Princess Diana that a book of condolences was placed in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda. People were able to come and sign their names as a demonstration of their sorrow and desire to connect with the people of Great Britain. I did.
In the news coverage of events from Newtown I’ve seen a number of images from St Rose of Lima Church and its pastor.
Let’s place a book of condolences on a pedestal at the crossing next Sunday for people to sign. Priests can make an announcement this Sunday so people will be aware of this opportunity to connect with our sisters and brothers in Connecticut.
Thanks.
Greg

#665 – Dick Bernard: When will we learn? Thoughts immediately after Newtown CT

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Friday morning we took a quick trip over to an area shopping mall to watch our 7th grade grandsons school band do a half hour mall concert. I’m always proud watching kids perform, and watching the teachers work their magic with those kids, and this concert was no exception. This band was a unit, playing a medley of Christmas songs for quite a throng of us, likely heavily sprinkled with parents and grandparents and other family of the students (our grandkid also had his aunt there. His Mom and Dad were at work, his Mom as a Middle School Principal a few miles away.)
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Concert at the Mall December 14, 2012


December 14, 2012


Enroute home we stopped at a store on busy France Avenue to pick up some items, and decided to have lunch in a casual dining place across the drive. Meal over, we walked past one of those ubiquitous flat screen TV’s on the wall, sound off, closed captioning on.
I noted something about a shooting in a school, and the view of the top of a school somewhere provided by a news helicopter. We stopped until the closed caption at least identified where the breaking news was taking place, and saw it was in Connecticut, and drove home.
The rest is history, and as we all know, the massacre at the Newtown CT elementary school became the story of the day, and will now dominate for awhile the public and perhaps even the political conversation – and it is a conversation we all need to be involved in about our American reverence for rights, freedom and guns, regardless of deadly capacity.
We’ve had plenty of warning and even practice in this conversation: Not long ago was the Aurora theatre; followed by the assault on the Sikh Temple; followed by the attack on the business in Minneapolis; the Portland Mall…and on and on. There were similar events before; others still to come. Pretty uniquely American….
Random acts of violence involving guns. We know that such events trigger similar events. Someone, somewhere gets an idea….
The debates again beginning will be predictable, I fear.
After Aurora the on-line Patch newspaper editor in Eagan started a poll/conversation on gun control. I had joined the conversation thread then.
Consistently about 60% of respondents were against any kind of gun control, and were passionate about it; the rest of us were more or less evenly divided in favor of gun control, or of restrictions on guns and ownership.
Aurora passed, and on life went, but the poll remained and I was still on the list to receive comments. After each of the above incidents the comments began again. I just looked (early a.m. on Dec. 15) and there are 684* comments, with the percentages consistent with my above comment.)
I’m guessing that sometime today the poll will return to my inbox, with the predictable passions continuing.
Of course, the 60% against gun control is reflective only of those who take the time to present their point of view in a non-scientific poll. It is just a poll, and is so acknowledged there.
But at least respondents present a point of view, even though it is one I have always disagreed with.
If there is to be a change in gun policy in this country, it is going to have to be from the people, including the many who think they can’t do anything, and complain that it’s up to the politicians.
Not so.
WE are the politicians in this and so many ways.
A wrong position on guns has for far too long been a political death sentence for our political leaders, and if we don’t like that, we’re the ones who will have to be, as Gandhi said, “the change we wish to see”.
Those middle schoolers at the suburban mall went home safely yesterday; 26 people, mostly tiny children, in a Connecticut town didn’t….
POSTNOTE: My favorite blogger has a good summary of yesterdays news about the CT massacre and the politics here. A pull quote from William Saletan included in this post: “This morning, a madman attacked more than 20 children at an elementary school in China. As of this writing, there are no reported fatalities.
A few hours later, a madman attacked an elementary school in Connecticut. As of this writing, 20 of those kids are dead.
The difference? The weapon. The madman in China had a knife. The madman in Connecticut had three semi-automatic guns.”
* UPDATE Dec. 19, 2012: I had wondered when the first comment would be added to the 684. I note that the article itself remains focused on the more recent Minneapolis shooting, but this comment appeared overnight from “Terry the Terrible”: “Bla, bla, bla. They already tried a ten yr experiment banning extra capacity mags, bayonet mounts(??? Musta been afraid of drive by bayonetings) and such and it did absolutly nothing twards reducing crime so we know another ban on (so called) assult weapons would be useless and stupid. Also. All of you folks that think taking all of our guns will solve every little thing need to be educated and taken to the range for a day of learning about and shooti.g yourself. You may even find that it is FUN! O.k., sorry for the rant. Peace… all you wicked and violent sounding gun grabbers. Leave us alone already- one of us might save your lives someday.”

#663 – Dick Bernard: Dr. William Beeman "The Consequences of the U.S. Election on our Relationship with Iran"

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Today at the annual meeting of the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MAP) about 60 of us heard a fascinating talk by Dr. William Beeman of the University of Minnesota on Iran. He is a man of diverse talents, including academic.
Dr. Beeman is recuperating from a recent surgery but that didn’t deter his presentation. He is an expert in his field, and it showed.
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Dr. William Beeman, December 11, 2012


Near the end of his 45 minute presentation, Dr. Beeman addressed the title of his talk.
In his mind there is no question that this presidential election was one with big consequences for foreign policy in the Middle East. Mitt Romney’s advisers were from the neocon group which gave us Iraq; whilst Mr. Obama has an opportunity to work for a more moderate approach to the region.
But Beeman said this wouldn’t be easy: U.S. policy develops over decades and is driven by powerful people within government who continue from administration to administration. Regardless of who is elected, the ship of state is really much like a large ship – easy to see, hard to turn.
Policies we in the public might not notice can become crucial in one persons hands or in those of someone else.
And whoever is elected is torn.
But elections do make a difference.
Most of Beeman’s talk centered on the dismal history of relations between Iran and the U.S., mostly going back to our CIA’s role in the overthrow of the Mossadegh government in 1952. Since the overthrow of the Shah and the Hostage Crisis of 1979, the U.S. has had no diplomatic relations with Iran. (But Beeman mentioned that tourists can get visas to go to Iran, and he has.)
I gather that much of this history is outlined in Beeman’s book “Great Satan versus the Mad Mullahs“.
The books catchy title matches the speakers engaging style.
When I left the room today, I knew more about Iran than I thought I knew, and I thought I knew a fair amount. Beeman filled in blanks for me on topics I’d never really given much thought, like women’s rights in Iran; our 1970s “Atoms for Peace” program and its very integral role in the Iranian nuclear program, now a fear-monger staple.
He mentioned that since 1990, Iran seems always to have been “two years away” from a nuclear bomb. There seems a pattern.
I’d recommend checking looking up Beeman’s book.

At the MAP meeting December 11, 2012

#662 – Dick Bernard: Pearl Harbor Day one day after.

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Yesterday, December 7, was Pearl Harbor Day. Much of the day I was out-and-about.
Dad’s brother, my uncle Frank, died on the USS Arizona that day, and especially since the 50th anniversary, 1991, it’s been a very significant date for me. I visited the Arizona Memorial in November, 1985, Frank’s burial place literally underneath my feet, in the remains of the battleship that was his home for the last six years of his life. Were he still alive, he’d now be 97. I’ve written about Frank and/or Pearl Harbor often. Most recent is here.
A year ago, December 7, I was at the Veteran’s Service Building in St. Paul to remember the 70th anniversary of the attack. There I met Edgar Wentzlaff, a crewman on the Arizona, who survived. He didn’t remember my Uncle, which wouldn’t be a surprise. What surprised me was that yesterday’s Star Tribune carried a long article about now-95 year old Edgar. Time is running out for the survivors of WWII; tell their stories while they are still alive.
Back home yesterday was an e-mail from my brother, Frank, born Nov 1945, first male child after Frank died, and named for my Uncle Frank. The e-mail included a photo of a man in California, Gary Hanson, who I’ve communicated with, who has made a scale model of the Arizona. Behind me as I type is my own model of the Arizona, made by my friend and colleague Bob Tonra back in the mid 1990s; beside it is a scale model of the USS Woodworth, also by Tonra. Woodworth is the Destroyer on which my mothers brother, Lt. George W. Busch, spent three years in the Pacific, 1943-45.
(click to enlarge).

USS Arizona and DD460, USS Woodworth, models in my home office December 8, 2012. Both models in wood, made by friend and colleague Bob Tonra ca 1996. The "water" with the Arizona is dried Hawaiian foliage from two Hawaiian friends.


Gary Hanson with his Arizona model.


Pearl Harbor and the effects of War (Frank was a peacetime victim, technically) is never far away, a constant reminder of the elusiveness of peace, and the brutality and stupidity of war. It also reminds about how complex and difficult an issue this business of war and peace can be, even among passionate people of seemingly like-interests. War…and Peace…is a family matter.
Pearl Harbor is also a reminder of the need for, and fragility of, enforceable World Law, and the need for a system in which such law has a place at the table.
Working on the issue is no simple task, far beyond absolute 100% right positioning, “standing for something”.
Back home yesterday afternoon I watched again the History Channel program, “The First 24 Hours”, about the first hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I had seen the program before, but events immediately preceding the program made me more mindful of the difficulties we face to prevent the next and likely much worse cataclysm if nations cannot figure out how to get along.
Back then, until the day war was declared, December 8, 1941, the U.S. was a nation divided about whether or not to enter WWII, which had already been raging for several years.
An extremely strong interest group at the time was “America First”, whose motivation was basically as its name suggests. Our isolationism ended only with a disaster that we felt we could only remedy by an extremely long and deadly World War II.
Then, and today, our dilemma is not so much external (like terrorists); rather it is within each and everyone of us, dedicated to our own top and non-negotiable priorities. Thinking, somehow, that we can prevail over our opposition, or win by sneak attacks of small and major scale (that’s why I used my December 7 blog space for the Minnesota Orchestra lockout: in my mind, it was a simple power play now gone awry, with no face-saving way yet found to settle on terms of a contract. Most people don’t care about an Orchestra being locked out, but the effects are felt by those who do.)
Even within the so-called “peace” community, of which I am a part, there is often disagreement, to the detriment of those same advocates for peace.
Yesterday, on Pearl Harbor Day, I saw a copy of the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, supposedly an everlasting and legally binding pact to end all war, following up on the 1914-1918 “war to end all wars” and the resulting Armistice Day commemoration, which later was changed, in the United States, to be called Veterans Day, losing the essence of the day (in my opinion.) In the United Kingdom it is called Remembrance Day.
Of course, the WWI Treaty of Versailles, intended to end War, only helped to spawn Hitler and WWII. And the ink was hardly dry on Kellogg-Briand when ways to bypass its supposedly iron clad language were found, including by the signatories.
I support people with the passion for Kellogg-Briand, etc. But my friends whose passion is making Kellogg-Briand binding once again, seem not quite as passionate about simple things like promoting Peace Sites, places of peace in our midst; or remarkable movements with results like the 1968 and 1971 Declarations of World Citizenship in Minneapolis and Hennepin County, and then Minnesota.
It can be most frustrating.
And on we go.
Where do you stand?
We live in an increasingly fragile world, and the actions we take, or do not take, and the work we do together, or not, will contribute to the problem…or the solution…one person at a time.

Ruhel Islam, owner of Gandhi Mahal Restaurant in Minneapolis, accepts plaque recognizing his restaurant as an International Peace Site from World Citizen founder Lynn Elling (seated at left) Dec. 7, 2012


NOTE to Twin Citians: Gandhi Mahal is a great restaurant. Check it out.

#657 – Dick Bernard: Watching the Spielberg film, Lincoln.

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We went to Lincoln this afternoon. It was our second try. Last night was sold out at the local theatre. Today, the theatre was full.
The film, of the last three months of Lincoln’s life, and the passage of the 13th Amendment, is well worth the abundant kudos. It is worth seeing. Here’s one of many reviews, a commentary by Bonnie Blodget in today’s Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Of all the American Presidents, I feel I know the most about Lincoln, having visited many of his haunts and memorials over the years, and read a lot about the era.
He is no stranger to me.
At the time of the film, early 1865, he had just turned 56 years of age, really in his youth. A line in the film from one of his cabinet members was that he had aged 10 years in the previous year. The emotional wear of America’s most disastrous Civil War could do that.
Most presidents age pretty quickly, in front of our eyes. They have a difficult job.
We tend to try to simplify major characters of history like Lincoln, and in the process lose track of some of the other realities of their lives. There was plenty of political chicanery involved in Lincoln’s reaching a destination – emanicipation of the slaves. The struggle was hard for a right which most of us now take for granted, and admire.
Politics can be a very nasty business – a contact sport. Lincoln had to play with the best.
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In the museum at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC, 2006


He served in politics at a time when it was as rough and tumble as any we experience today, and in his day, when the United States had roughly 10% of the our current population, the electorate was exclusively white men. One of the arguments against freeing the slaves was the very real and scary possibility that if Negroes were freed, and given rights as citizens, then women would want the right to vote – one gathers this was a rather horrifying thing to contemplate.
As it happens, the slaves were freed, and for a few short years were actually allowed their freedom, including the right to vote and own property. But in less than 20 years ways around that right were found, and it wasn’t until the 1960s when it became relatively certain that those rights would be relatively permanent, even in the most reluctant southern states.
Women, on the other hand, had a much longer wait for their right to vote. It wasn’t until 1920 that Women’s Suffrage became the law of the land. For probably obvious reason, that right, once granted, was not tampered with.

1910 Postcare to Grandma Busch on the farm in ND. Grandma was 26 at the time. Womens Suffrage was still ten years in the future.


We now live in a new world, now, and for some it is not a very comfortable world.
But winning justice is a slow and torturous process and people like Abe Lincoln and legions of others have brought us far.
Take some time to see Lincoln.
It gives much food for thought, along with a lot of history you may not have learned in school.

#653 – Dick Bernard: Thoughts on being "for" or "with", rather than "against".

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Nov. 14 I had the great honor of being on stage with five students at Great River School in St. Paul MN. Paving the way for me was my dear friend, Melvin Giles, peacemaker par excellence whose mission, quite succinctly, is “bubbles instead of bullets” in the pursuit of peace.
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Melvin Giles, at left, and Dick Bernard with the five students who organized the event.


My role was to help dedicate Great River School as a World Citizen Peace Site; the students who received the dedication plaque were organizers par excellence whose work had brought together their second annual day-long IRace Summit, “A Young Person’s Perspective on Racism”. The Dedication as a Peace Site and raising of a flag of planet earth was the culminating activity.
Melvin, who works with Peace Poles and is active in the international organization World Peace Prayer Society, later said “I like the way you invoked [World Citizen founder] Lynn Elling’s spirit into the dedication. It was the first time I experienced the raising of the World Peace Flag at a Peace Site Ceremony. I also thought it was powerful that volunteers and parents were present.”

Some of the participants at the Peace Site Dedication Nov. 14, 2012


It was my great pleasure to be involved in the ceremony. It reminded me of another recent Peace Site dedication, on International Day of Peace, Sep. 21, where new Eagle Scout Eric Lusardi’s motivation and great effort brought to fruition a focal point for peaceful relationships in his community of New Richmond WI.
My main point to the young people in attendance was it would have to be their responsibility to take on repairing our world for their future. I think most of them, at some level much more profoundly than we adults, understand the meaning of that snip…if only we adults could internalize this message….
I’m long retired now, but this week in particular has been full of examples of where peace works, or is severely strained.
I have seen this week, as I see every week, the profound difference between being FOR something, rather than being AGAINST; of being cooperating FRIENDS or competing ENEMIES.
Tonight I facilitate a de-brief of a successful three day conference at the end of September which could easily have fallen apart due to the untimely serious auto accident of the conference coordinator three days before the event was to take place.
Succinctly, there were perhaps twenty or so of us, roughly equally divided between North Dakota and Minnesota, who were doing the routine stuff to make the conference work. We didn’t expect to be in charge at the end.
But the accident happened, and it fell to us to pull it together.
In the end, everything happened, and happened pretty well. On my end, here in the cities, the ten of us, mostly only casual acquaintances, took on our share of the load, and shared our unique and special talents to pull the threads together and make the event succeed.
Tonight we talk about next time, should the event re-mount in the future.
I have on my list, as I write, five other events this week on which I could comment. Some of them I would comment on the sad role of conflict in our adult life; another on the need for inclusion of excluded individuals in a particular conversation; another conversation about the passion of my friend Lynn Elling for appropriately remembering World Law Day in 2013.
And there are others as well.
But those kids at a St. Paul school, and that young Eagle Scout in New Richmond WI, give me hope for the future of this world in which we live.

Handmade poster from many years ago made by friends Lynn Elling and Win Wallin


Before the Great River event, one of the staff at the school showed me a book, Education and Peace, by Maria Montessori. (Great River is a Montessori School.) The link also shows other books by Maria Montessori on the topic.