Justice for the Jena 6

Little has changed over the years to suggest that America is no longer a racist society. There are far too many havens left in our culture in which racism is flourishing, and recent events in Jena, Louisiana have proven this to be true. If you haven't heard about what's happening there, it's time for you to open your eyes to the reality of this tragedy. Today, we speak out on behalf of the young men whose futures are being threatened by the very same government, judicial and law enforcement agencies that swore an oath to serve and protect.

Did you think Mississippi Burning was fiction? Did you think the Civil Rights Movement brought about some magical fairytale solution to the woes of American minorities? You haven't heard much from the Klu Klux Klan lately, so must be they don't exist anymore, right? Wrong. The difference now is that the racist practices once associated with hate groups like the KKK are now mainstream, because they constitute the very core of the beliefs of certain public officials in Louisiana.

This is a call to all those involved with the tragic railroading of these six young men to look deep within themselves and recognize the gross mismanagement and dereliction of justice that they have allowed to transpire. The eyes of the world are upon you.

As of 2pm today, August 30th, 2007, there are 122,127 signatures on the petition. To sign the petition, click on the banner in the corner of this blog.

All who read this are strongly encouraged to contact the media conglomerate of your choice and voice your disgust with the way these young people have been treated, and let the world know that you would like to see them released. It is important that everyone does this today, so that our voice will be heard loud and clear all at once!

For further information regarding The Jena 6, or what you can do to help, check out BlackPerspective.net

While you're at it, give this article a read.

Seven Generation Sustainability

I live in a heavily forested wetland region known as Michigan. I consider myself a native of this soil. Although Cheboygan, Kalamazoo, Okemos or Saginaw might share a difference of opinion, my mother drank the water of this land as I formed within her womb. I love this land, and tread lightly when possible. My wife takes this philosophy to the level of reverence. I used to think that because she was part Blackfoot, there was something in her upbringing that lent towards her being this way, until I met her parents. I knew from then on that for her, it was an entirely personal, spiritual quest, influenced by nothing other than her own heart's desire to be mindful of the Earth, and to take care of her in every way possible.

Through Stacy, I have been exposed to many "Native" beliefs, customs, rituals, and teachings. Of all the amazing concepts she has shared with me over these many years, there is one in particular that I keep wandering back to in my thinking. This idea comes from the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) and is known as The Great Law. The Iroquois Confederacy, also known as the "The League of Peace and Power" was originally formed through the alliance of five tribes: The Cayuga, Mohawk, Onandega, Oneida, and the Seneca.

The Great Law, referred to conceptually as "Seven generation sustainability" asserts that the current generation should be mindful of, and working towards, the well being of their children seven generations into the future. The official wording or translation reads similar to this:

"In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation... even if it requires having skin as thick as the bark of a pine."

It frustrates me to no end that people refer to cultures that are older and wiser than this modern day fascist facsimile as primitive, or savage. Especially considering that nothing could be further from the truth! These people had it all figured out 500 years ago. Respecting the beauty present in all things. Preserving the sacredness of life. Living in tandem with the Earth. Taking only what they need, and then, using every part possible so that nothing went to waste. Giving thanks, truly, sincerely, giving thanks for being alive.

When you acquaint yourself with "Native" thinking, and you immerse yourself in their spiritually anthropomorphic way of viewing the natural world, it all makes sense. To the point that I would label it common sense. Yet it would seem to be anything but "common" during this current age of unenlightenment. This environmentally conscious, respect based way of relating to our world has taken a back seat to the second coming of the anti-reason, nature-treason.

I believe there is something intrinsically wrong with severing our connections to the natural world. Somewhere along the line we need to wake up and realize that we are not destroying our environment, what we are doing is defiling the sanctity of our children's environment, seven generations from now. I don't know what goes through your head when you imagine the planet a hundred and fifty years into the future, if we should continue on the way we are now, but my imagination is dancing with images of Soylent Green, Logan's Run, ... Dune.

Image borrowed from http://www.iroquoismuseum.org/images/timeofunity.jpg

It's Good To Get Dirty

Something about dirt turns me on. I mean really gets all my synopsis firing on all cylinders. As a child, it was normal for me to return home covered in dirt. Pockets full of rocks and bugs, I would stand there just outside the front door pleading with my mother to let me keep the snake that had wound itself around my forearm, urinating on me as I argued that it really wanted to live in the shoe box in my room. I'll never forget the protests staged, and battles lost, to washing up at the end of the day, and the bath water being soupy with the remnants of that day's adventures. Hygiene was something to be suffered through at that age, and we were filthy, each and every one of us kids who spent our Summers outdoors. When I look back on it now, and I try to quantify all the cuts and bruises, skinned knees and elbows, all the broken bones; it stupefies me to try and guesstimate how any of us are even alive today.

As children we have it habitually drummed into our thinking that we should wash our hands before we eat. Wash our hands when we come home from school. Wash our hands at the slightest hint that anything "dirty" may have touched them because the world is a "dirty" malevolent place full of germs, plagues and viruses all bent on our destruction! This same attitude is undoubtedly at the core during the development of new anti-biotics, anti-bacterial soaps, and other agents of sterilization. But despite humanities greatest efforts, children still come home filthy dirty. Snotty nosed kids continue to sneeze in each other's faces with mucous induced abandon, and somewhere just now, a boy of seven has forgotten that earlier today he was digging some poo out of his shoe, and has rubbed his eyes.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Earth is actually an amazingly clean, healthy, benevolent realm in which to exist. It reminds me of that age old expression: "God made dirt, so dirt don't hurt!" Indeed. What many people fail to realize is that the Earth is designed to take care of her own. For all the nefarious renegade bacterium we have identified, there are countless good bacteria that work overtime to keep you and I safe and sound even when we are caked in mud. Who are we kidding here? We are mud. A highly refined uber-organic version to be sure, but we are all sacks of walking earth nonetheless.

There seems to be this idea, dating back thousands of years, that if we could somehow separate ourselves from the natural world, we would begin to inch our way towards immortality. What started as a fence to keep out the roaming nocturnal hyena, has grown to include homes supplied by central air units, impenetrable to even the smallest insect scavengers. We cringe in fear at the sight of spiders, recoil at the presence of field mice, and grimace at the prospect of going camping as if it were a punishment to be endured. Meanwhile we are bombarding our insides with "dumb drugs" like penicillin, that are unable to discern between "good & bad," and subsequently kill all bacteria.

All in the name of what? Safety? Comfort? Long life? And how many, if any of these three objectives have we actually attained through modern urban living? We are dying at astounding rates as we huff on our cigarettes, chug our buckets of high fructose corn syrup, and suck on each other's tail pipes every time we travel from A to B. We surrender our cash to poison botox injections as if we could rent immortality years after the eviction notice has been served. Viagra, Rogaine, "Grecian for Men," Cryogenics, Mutagenics, Cloning, Silicone, where does it end? Dirt is not the enemy. Germs are not the enemy. Little crawly creatures are not the enemy.

Try something different for a change. Go plant something, only, don't use a shovel use your hands. Next time you see a bug inside the house, let it crawl onto your arm and see for yourself it has no desire to harm you, then go set it outside instead of killing it. Try going a whole week with water being the only liquid you drink. Next time you need to go to the corner store that's only a mile away, walk. When you need to drive, roll down the windows, turn off the AC. Next cold you get, don't go to the doctor, gut it out. Give more hugs, everyone extends greetings, but nothing is quite so sincere as a hug. Relax, germs are good. Believe it or not, bacteria is the oldest relative