The Political is Personal
At a teach-in on Israel’s blockage on Gaza Henry introduced me to Sylvia She was very involved in the growing Liberate Gaza movement She came from an unusually committed family
Category: No Time for Poetry but Exactly What Is
Viva Tang
Ten thousand and two texts A thousand and three tweets 644 Facebook status updates 87 cell phone messages save or delete Enough already! Take a deep breath Leave behind the technology And go out To…
A Brief History of Conscience against Empire
Bartolomé de las Casas was asleep And then he woke up Sophie Scholl was asleep And then she woke up Daniel Ellsberg was asleep And then he woke up Waking up Can cause you trouble…
Hospitality
He was an extremely smart and humble guy In the same class as my older brother and cousins He went to the University of Chicago Dropped out after a semester He then made his way…
J. A. Topf & Sons
Someone had an idea Someone mentioned it to a colleague Someone sent a memo to the higher-ups Someone gathered a group of movers and shakers Someone got the engineers on board Someone set production goals
I Know the Richest Person on Earth
1. In our Intercultural Studies class today Mariah, Ta’mare, and Rachel read the following stanzas Of “Our True Heritage” by Thích Nhất Hạnh: The cosmos is filled with precious gems. I want to offer a…
Present Moment, Only Moment
One day last fall Dianne told me on the phone “I think Hedy is dying of pancreatic cancer” I didn’t believe it But in any case All there was to do that day Was to…
Two Teachers
For two of my teachers I give thanks: Cao Ngoc Phuong Khuu Vinh Ngoc Thuy I first read Phuong’s autobiography Learning True Love: How I Learned & Practiced Social Change in Vietnam When it was…
The Power of a Photograph/The Power of Darshan
In the last couple of years I’ve read whatever books I could get my hands on Whose subject is Sri Anandamayi Ma (Her parents gave her the name Nirmala Sundari Which means “One of Taintless…
Try Giving Yourself Away
Rings and jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself. –Ralph Waldo Emerson In the late 1940s David Dunn wrote an article The reader response was overwhelming…