These are the things that remind me daily that I am living in West Texas:
1) My boss is shocked that I recycle
2) No one understands the utility or function of my down vest. Responses range from scorn to genuine puzzlement… “how does it keep your arms warm?”
3) I’m the only one who dresses in five layers. Hence, the importance of wearing a sweater and a down vest - along with a scarf, tights, a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt, and boots.
4) Dust storm, sheet cake, brisket, y’all, and sweet tea have become part of my vocabulary (speaking of which, I just made some sweet tea for the first time this week, though mine was Rooibos, of course)
5) Alan Keyes wants to speak at my university. I had never heard of him until yesterday. Apparently, he is a presidential contender.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
pray for peace
A very sad day for Kenya. A protester for peace has been murdered. The two sides seem intent on escalating this conflict, and in the meantime, I worry that they are throwing themselves into a fire that is burning beyond their control.
Monday, January 28, 2008
toni morrison endorses obama
"In addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don’t see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which, coupled with brilliance, equals wisdom.”
"In addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don’t see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which, coupled with brilliance, equals wisdom.”
Saturday, January 26, 2008
This week we had some kitchen fun.
Than made me a special cookie treat.
Than made me a special cookie treat.
Isn't he sweet?
After I ran out of flour on my first batch of cookies, Than was nice enough to drive to the store and get me flour to save my remaining batches. Then, always the innovator, Than came up with a brilliant idea. What if we used our ice cream maker that we got as a wedding gift?! So, the less-than-perfect flour starved cookies were folded into some homemade vanilla ice cream for a delicious twist. I highly recommend it. It came out similar to cookie dough ice cream, but the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies gave it a great texture with a hint of cinnamon. Yah for Than! I'm proud of you honey.
Friday, January 25, 2008
what happened to hope?
I’ve held out for a while against my husband’s pessimism, but gradually pessimism is taking hold of me to as I watch this presidential race continue to unfold. If there is one thing I need and feel our country needs, it is change. We need to fundamentally change the way we think about ourselves, our politics, and the world. There needs to be an ethic of the common good, instead of an ethic of self-aggrandizing. As I watch Democrats and Republicans split into their respective sides, the gulf between them widens. The pursuit of power daily minimizes the chance that our country will actually move forward from its partisan paralysis. And this means that rest of the world will continue to watch the bitter drama of the American stage with skepticism and disrespect. If there is anything that the world needs, it is leaders who act in the interests of the common good, who pursue justice, healing, reconciliation, equality. To borrow from Jim Wallace: leaders with a moral center.
The last few weeks have been ugly on the campaign trail. I have been sickened and outraged by the racial bind Americans are still trapped in. I have been repentant as I have seen the way “race” has been used to feed white power and privilege. Consider this: the fact that Barack Obama is increasingly leading among African American voters actually hurts him because it will alienate him from white voters. Barack Obama cannot talk freely about his identity as a biracial candidate with African roots or explicitly about his connection to the realities of racial injustice in this country because to do so will make him less palatable to white voters – even though it is clear that he has a keen understanding of these based on his own life experience. Meanwhile, the opposition candidates work to bring up Obama’s “blackness” as often as possible knowing the more he is associated with blackness, the weaker he becomes. The smear campaigns about his “Muslim” heritage or against his church, which is admirably dedicated to black empowerment and community revitalization continue. As a Christian, I am deeply troubled by conservative rhetoric against Obama’s church as “racist” simply because of its commitment to lifting up the marginalized black community.
This campaign is only bringing to light deep structural problems that exist in America – and I am saddened that there have not been more white people speaking out about this. I wish we were challenging this reality. Invoking Dr. King, Obama spoke last week of unity being the great need – the urgency – of the hour. He is right. Polarization by race and polarization by party will destroy us and the causalities will be the vulnerable and marginalized both in our own country and around the world.
Hope is believing in what is not yet seen. I still have hope because I believe the stance Obama has taken, the challenge that he has presented to the American people, is a prophetic one. It’s one that is less about him as a political figure (I am cynical about politics producing real change) and more about each of us staring deep into our hearts and asking if we are really ready to rise above self interest and work for the common good. Obama is calling us to heal what divides us in our neighborhoods, in our institutions, and in the world. The call is one that requires us to have deep empathy as we engage our differences and seek understanding. It is to give up our right to power and meet our neighbors in the middle. It is to work from the ground up.
The burden is on us. No one ever said that it would be easy. As we are seeing now, the structures of power are very powerful indeed. They inherently oppose change. It is not just black people who are hurt by the politics of power and privilege. It is white people too. We are all hurt by sacrificing the common good, by letting ourselves by silenced by the politics of fear. This feels really personal to me because I see what is playing out nationally on a day to day level. And yet most days all I hear is silence – especially from the white community. The burden is on us to challenge the prejudices, the cynicism, and the fear. The burden is on us to choose and work for change. The burden is on us to speak out against injustice – especially racial injustice. The burden is on us to sacrifice our own personal gain for the common good.
Shame on us if we ignore the call of the hour.
The last few weeks have been ugly on the campaign trail. I have been sickened and outraged by the racial bind Americans are still trapped in. I have been repentant as I have seen the way “race” has been used to feed white power and privilege. Consider this: the fact that Barack Obama is increasingly leading among African American voters actually hurts him because it will alienate him from white voters. Barack Obama cannot talk freely about his identity as a biracial candidate with African roots or explicitly about his connection to the realities of racial injustice in this country because to do so will make him less palatable to white voters – even though it is clear that he has a keen understanding of these based on his own life experience. Meanwhile, the opposition candidates work to bring up Obama’s “blackness” as often as possible knowing the more he is associated with blackness, the weaker he becomes. The smear campaigns about his “Muslim” heritage or against his church, which is admirably dedicated to black empowerment and community revitalization continue. As a Christian, I am deeply troubled by conservative rhetoric against Obama’s church as “racist” simply because of its commitment to lifting up the marginalized black community.
This campaign is only bringing to light deep structural problems that exist in America – and I am saddened that there have not been more white people speaking out about this. I wish we were challenging this reality. Invoking Dr. King, Obama spoke last week of unity being the great need – the urgency – of the hour. He is right. Polarization by race and polarization by party will destroy us and the causalities will be the vulnerable and marginalized both in our own country and around the world.
Hope is believing in what is not yet seen. I still have hope because I believe the stance Obama has taken, the challenge that he has presented to the American people, is a prophetic one. It’s one that is less about him as a political figure (I am cynical about politics producing real change) and more about each of us staring deep into our hearts and asking if we are really ready to rise above self interest and work for the common good. Obama is calling us to heal what divides us in our neighborhoods, in our institutions, and in the world. The call is one that requires us to have deep empathy as we engage our differences and seek understanding. It is to give up our right to power and meet our neighbors in the middle. It is to work from the ground up.
The burden is on us. No one ever said that it would be easy. As we are seeing now, the structures of power are very powerful indeed. They inherently oppose change. It is not just black people who are hurt by the politics of power and privilege. It is white people too. We are all hurt by sacrificing the common good, by letting ourselves by silenced by the politics of fear. This feels really personal to me because I see what is playing out nationally on a day to day level. And yet most days all I hear is silence – especially from the white community. The burden is on us to challenge the prejudices, the cynicism, and the fear. The burden is on us to choose and work for change. The burden is on us to speak out against injustice – especially racial injustice. The burden is on us to sacrifice our own personal gain for the common good.
Shame on us if we ignore the call of the hour.
Monday, January 21, 2008
walk this road together
I promise to post on something other than politics soon, but yesterday's speech by Barack Obama's at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta is too good not to share. Read the full text here. I was sad to miss it.
Some of my favorite parts:
"Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we've come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We've come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily – that it's just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved. All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price. But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won"
"Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone"
What a profoundly different message than what we have heard the last 8 years. It's a message that doesn't let any of us sit idly by. The call is for all of us, because change must go deeper than politics. It is heart transformation. It is community transformation. And it is costly.
Some of my favorite parts:
"Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we've come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We've come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily – that it's just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved. All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price. But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won"
"Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.
In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone
In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone"
What a profoundly different message than what we have heard the last 8 years. It's a message that doesn't let any of us sit idly by. The call is for all of us, because change must go deeper than politics. It is heart transformation. It is community transformation. And it is costly.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
open our eyes
This has been a frustrating week politically, and it has given me plenty to reflect on, especially with my work here. I won't go into all the details, but I have been working closely with the Black Student Association on my campus. Recently there has been a push by the group to change the name of Black History Month on campus and the name of their club because most white students (and some black students) are turned off by the focus on "blackness". In a school where there is already a small black minority, the group is dependent on it's ability to reach out to a white majority campus. While I understand this dilemma all to well, it saddens me deeply that we live in such a climate. I am confronting once again the fact that I am part of an institutional system that grants me privilege because I am white. At the same time, I commend these students for their passion and thei every dayr savvy. In order to "reach out" and survive every day, they must sacrifice part of their identity. I'm not sure some of them even realize this fully yet. We all do this to some extent when in a cross-cultural situation, but the problem of power is such that the sacrifice often falls disproportionately to the other. I'm daily humbled by this sacrifice and challenged to seek ways to give up my own power-based identity in response.
This all ties into our national conversation right now. Every day I think about the difficult terrain Barack Obama must navigate as a biracial candidate for President of the United States. I think about the death threats and assassination fears. I think about how he has had to navigate the lines between "whiteness" and "blackness" his entire life in a social system that wants to put him in one box or another according to convenience. I think about his wife and his children. I think about the incredible strain and political genius he must exercise every day as he seeks to authentically articulate who he is and at the same time reach out to a white majority country that desperately wants to forget his "blackness." I think he has done an incredible job.
An op-ed written in the New York Times by a Seattle native today says it clearly: the epic problem for Obama is "how to make history, without mentioning what's so historic about his candidacy." I think this quote from Ron Sims - King County Executive who ran for governor and lost - is also telling. "“He’s got to stay away from race." “He’s got to stay away from it. Race remains the one thing a black cannot talk about openly in a political campaign in this country.”
This fundamental problem is beyond politics. It's brought me to my knees.
This all ties into our national conversation right now. Every day I think about the difficult terrain Barack Obama must navigate as a biracial candidate for President of the United States. I think about the death threats and assassination fears. I think about how he has had to navigate the lines between "whiteness" and "blackness" his entire life in a social system that wants to put him in one box or another according to convenience. I think about his wife and his children. I think about the incredible strain and political genius he must exercise every day as he seeks to authentically articulate who he is and at the same time reach out to a white majority country that desperately wants to forget his "blackness." I think he has done an incredible job.
An op-ed written in the New York Times by a Seattle native today says it clearly: the epic problem for Obama is "how to make history, without mentioning what's so historic about his candidacy." I think this quote from Ron Sims - King County Executive who ran for governor and lost - is also telling. "“He’s got to stay away from race." “He’s got to stay away from it. Race remains the one thing a black cannot talk about openly in a political campaign in this country.”
This fundamental problem is beyond politics. It's brought me to my knees.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
a civil right's lesson
Well, I was discouraged by the New Hampshire results last night. However, I was inspired once again by Obama’s concluding speech: his clear indictment of privilege and injustice in this country and his call for all of us to stand (and vote) for change.
This whole process seems to me an interesting test of prevailing narratives in our country. Already, people are talking about the reasons behind the discrepancy between pre-election polls and votes.
There were several statements made yesterday that I’m still pondering:
Gloria Steinem’s op-ed in the New York times yesterday titled “Women are Never Front Runners.” There were many things that outrage me about her argument; most strikingly, her dismissal of history. Like it or not, the uncomfortable truth is that race does matter in America. Contrary to Steinem’s argument, gender is not “the most restrictive force in American life” – except when it’s paired with race and socioeconomic status, but certainly not for white educated women like Steinem. Steinem tries to argue for gender over race saying black men have “ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women,” and she cites the fact that black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark the ballot. Excuse me? While black men may have been legally able to vote long before women, it would be another 100 years before they would gain (along with black women) full voting rights at a bloody cost. This statement is offensive. In addition, currently there are 16 women in the United States Senate. To put things in perspective: Barack Obama is the third African American to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. I am a feminist, but I'm concerned by this posturing.
Furthermore, while I am not African-American, I find Bill Clinton’s disparaging comments about Barack Obama’s rise as a “fairy tale” disturbing. While perhaps unintentional, Hillary Clinton’s comments about Martin Luther King Jr in relation to false hope were equally patronizing and dangerous. "Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act,” Mrs. Clinton said when asked about Mr. Obama’s rejoinder by Fox’s Major Garrett after her speech in Dover. “It took a president to get it done.” Read about it here. Just what exactly is she implying? That the black dreamer needed a white man to actually get things done?
Finally, while not directly endorsed by the Clinton’s, this is perhaps the most insensitive insinuation:
"Today, in Dover, Francine Torge, a former John Edwards supporter, said this while introducing Mrs. Clinton: “Some people compare one of the other candidates to John F. Kennedy. But he was assassinated. And Lyndon Baines Johnson was the one who actually passed the civil rights legislation."
While I recognize that Obama cannot afford to get mired in a debate about racial politics, white people should be ashamed that comments like these have been made unchecked. I have nothing against the Clintons, rather I think all of the above reflects white privilege at work, and it's the elephant in this election that no one wants to name.
On a final note, I love reading the stories about Obama’s family in Kenya praying for him and crowded around the radio. Who could have predicted a relationship between our national election and a village in Kenya - it's such an inspiring visible reminder of our connection to the rest of the world. Let us remember to keep Kenya in our prayers.
This whole process seems to me an interesting test of prevailing narratives in our country. Already, people are talking about the reasons behind the discrepancy between pre-election polls and votes.
There were several statements made yesterday that I’m still pondering:
Gloria Steinem’s op-ed in the New York times yesterday titled “Women are Never Front Runners.” There were many things that outrage me about her argument; most strikingly, her dismissal of history. Like it or not, the uncomfortable truth is that race does matter in America. Contrary to Steinem’s argument, gender is not “the most restrictive force in American life” – except when it’s paired with race and socioeconomic status, but certainly not for white educated women like Steinem. Steinem tries to argue for gender over race saying black men have “ascended to positions of power, from the military to the boardroom, before any women,” and she cites the fact that black men were given the vote a half-century before women of any race were allowed to mark the ballot. Excuse me? While black men may have been legally able to vote long before women, it would be another 100 years before they would gain (along with black women) full voting rights at a bloody cost. This statement is offensive. In addition, currently there are 16 women in the United States Senate. To put things in perspective: Barack Obama is the third African American to serve in the Senate since Reconstruction. I am a feminist, but I'm concerned by this posturing.
Furthermore, while I am not African-American, I find Bill Clinton’s disparaging comments about Barack Obama’s rise as a “fairy tale” disturbing. While perhaps unintentional, Hillary Clinton’s comments about Martin Luther King Jr in relation to false hope were equally patronizing and dangerous. "Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act,” Mrs. Clinton said when asked about Mr. Obama’s rejoinder by Fox’s Major Garrett after her speech in Dover. “It took a president to get it done.” Read about it here. Just what exactly is she implying? That the black dreamer needed a white man to actually get things done?
Finally, while not directly endorsed by the Clinton’s, this is perhaps the most insensitive insinuation:
"Today, in Dover, Francine Torge, a former John Edwards supporter, said this while introducing Mrs. Clinton: “Some people compare one of the other candidates to John F. Kennedy. But he was assassinated. And Lyndon Baines Johnson was the one who actually passed the civil rights legislation."
While I recognize that Obama cannot afford to get mired in a debate about racial politics, white people should be ashamed that comments like these have been made unchecked. I have nothing against the Clintons, rather I think all of the above reflects white privilege at work, and it's the elephant in this election that no one wants to name.
On a final note, I love reading the stories about Obama’s family in Kenya praying for him and crowded around the radio. Who could have predicted a relationship between our national election and a village in Kenya - it's such an inspiring visible reminder of our connection to the rest of the world. Let us remember to keep Kenya in our prayers.
Friday, January 4, 2008
hope - wow!
Well, the results of the Iowa primaries are in. Than and I watched all four hours of the primary coverage. My excitement grew as Obama surged ahead. By the time they called him the winner, I was ecstatic. No one who was watching last night could deny this historic moment – on both sides.
I didn’t intend to cry, but tears rolled down my face anyway when Obama gave his victory speech.
The media kept calling Huckabee and Obama insurgents. While I don’t especially like that term, the connotations of insurgent vs. the establishment does highlight the revolutionary nature of this primary. I’m proud of my generation for voting in Iowa. And I’m proud to see democracy and grassroots politics in action. And maybe most fundamental of all, I was proud to see an African-American man addressing our nation drawing from the deepest traditions of vision and change in our history and our world.
Than commented after Obama’s speech that his speech was unique in that it didn’t focus on him as an individual – what it focused on was a movement, a perspective, and a hope of a better world that we are all a part of and responsible for shaping.
Here’s what I noticed: in a single speech, Obama touched on poverty, genocide, terror, Africa, the civil right’s movement, the Iraq war, community activism, hope, unity, multiracial identity – as well as a whole host of other issues. Most of these themes were not even addressed by any of the other candidates, yet these themes are central to our present moment. And Obama gets that.
On to New Hampshire…
I didn’t intend to cry, but tears rolled down my face anyway when Obama gave his victory speech.
The media kept calling Huckabee and Obama insurgents. While I don’t especially like that term, the connotations of insurgent vs. the establishment does highlight the revolutionary nature of this primary. I’m proud of my generation for voting in Iowa. And I’m proud to see democracy and grassroots politics in action. And maybe most fundamental of all, I was proud to see an African-American man addressing our nation drawing from the deepest traditions of vision and change in our history and our world.
Than commented after Obama’s speech that his speech was unique in that it didn’t focus on him as an individual – what it focused on was a movement, a perspective, and a hope of a better world that we are all a part of and responsible for shaping.
Here’s what I noticed: in a single speech, Obama touched on poverty, genocide, terror, Africa, the civil right’s movement, the Iraq war, community activism, hope, unity, multiracial identity – as well as a whole host of other issues. Most of these themes were not even addressed by any of the other candidates, yet these themes are central to our present moment. And Obama gets that.
On to New Hampshire…
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
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