Politics
Entries related to things political.
Operation Lysistrata
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 11/11/2007 - 13:18My earliest memory of Aristophanes’ plays was reading a copy of The Frogs, which my older brother had. Other than the crude jokes early on in it, I don’t remember much. Years later, a friend in college produced a modern adaptation of a Greek play as her senior project. I don’t recall if it was Aristophanes. I seem to remember it using large puppets, having a Greek chorus, and I having something to do with sex and war.
Was it Lysistrata? I don’t know. However, this week, people around Fairfield, CT will have a special opportunity to see a production of Lysistrata, or perhaps more accurately, a documentary about the Lysistrata Project.
In January 2003, two women in New York City, Kathryn Blume and Sharron Bower, thought to organize readings of the ancient Greek play by Aristophanes, Lysistrata, as a protest of the imminent preemptive war on Iraq. Originally conceived as a local event, however, over the course of a several weeks, word of the Lysistrata Project quickly gained momentum and became a worldwide happening for peace. On March 3, 2003 over 1,000 simultaneous productions of Lysistrata were performed in 59 countries around the globe.
The film "Operation Lysistrata" shows how two women transformed their individual aspirations for peace into a movement which allowed the global community to share in their vision, using grassroots activism, conflict resolution, community building and the role of art in a functioning democracy.
There will be a screening on Monday, November 12, 2007 at The Fairfield Theatre , 70 Sanford St, Fairfield, CT at 7:30 PM. It should be a fun evening. It makes me think of the great quote attributed to Emma Goldman, “If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution.” If our political activism, even on matters as important as trying to stop a senseless war, can be filled with fun and art, then I worry people will burn out to quickly and the efforts will fail.
Looking for Lilies: Politcs, Media and Role models
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Wed, 11/07/2007 - 07:16I must admit that Glamour is not one of the magazines I regularly read. I dislike the role of being a thin sexy shopper that it seems to promote. It might be that there is something useful between the covers, but It isn’t a place I normally look for inspiration.
However, it is a place that many people look, and last night, I received an email about their Women of the Year.
The article starts off with a quote from Sheryl Crow,
“When I think of strength and grace, I think of Elizabeth’s undefeatable spirit. She is simply one of the most honest, most deeply inspiring people I have ever met.”
It ends with a wonderful quote from Elizabeth,
It’s not only her children whom Elizabeth inspires. “Life is rarely what we expect it might be,” she says, “but we need to look for the lilies. We need to do what brings us joy and what gives us a sense of purpose.” As the whole world watches Elizabeth Edwards doing just that, she’s showing us all nothing less than how life should be lived.
It is great to see joy and purpose brought to the political stage. It is great to see fighting bravely against cancer as glamorous. It is great to see standing up for what you believe as glamorous. It gives me hope that our media and our country isn't as completely screwed up as I sometimes thing.
(Cross posted at DailyKos)
Also, I added a comment there, which I'll add to the body here:
I have a six-year old daughter, Fiona. Those of you who have followed various campaigns may have seen her on the trail.
We are constantly looking for positive female role models for her. We have a list of movies we like to watch, like Bend it like Beckham, Whale Rider, Gracie, and so on.
So, what tips do you have for good role models for young girls?
Tinkering with pedagogical interests
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 11/06/2007 - 16:34On November 1st, approximately 35 students at Morton West High School in Berwyn, IL staged a sit-in in the school cafeteria. Reports are that around 25 of the students locked arms and refused to move when they were ask to.
As I read stories about this, I can only wonder what Avery Doninger would have to say. Over the past several months, she has learned a lot about what sort of speech is allowed to students, in what locations, and under what conditions.
An article in the Chicago Suburban News uses the word ‘disrupt’ in one form or another half a dozen times to describe the protest. “Officials say their actions disrupted the educational process” the article reports.
The event took place in the school cafeteria, where so many important lessons are learned. The administrations reaction to the protest was to lock down the school and call in the police. One has to wonder if it was the students actions that were disrupting the educational process, or an over reaction by the administration that disrupted the educational process.
The article quotes Rita Maniotis, head of the PTO and parent of one of the protesters as saying, “We don’t want this to come to a lawsuit, but we don’t think it’s appropriate that these children be expelled.”
The article refers to a statement by Superintendent Nowakowski which says,
“Not only do students have a right to express themselves on matters of conscience but we encourage them to do so. In this instance, it is critical to note that the Morton administration did not say that the students could not protest. Rather, we asked that the students simply move their protest to an area of the school that would not disrupt the ability of the other 3,400 students at Morton West to proceed with their normal school day.”
Yet trying to make sure that students can proceed with their normal school day is substantially different with the standards about students’ freedom of speech concerning a substantial disruption of pedagogical intent and this will likely become a key part of this case as it proceeds to court.
Instead, the message that Superintendent Nowakowski seems to be promoting is that of ‘Freedom of Speech Zones”. Yes, students have the right to free speech, and he seems suggest that free speech shouldn’t circumscribed by whether it substantially disrupts the pedagogical intent, but whether or not it is convenient. It is a dangerous trend, runs counter to our history of embracing freedom of speech.
I do hope that Superintendent Nowakowski handles this case better than Superintendent Schwartz has handled Avery Doninger’s case. I look forward to visiting the Second Circuit of Appeals on Avery’s case, but I don’t think I can justify flights out to Chicago.
For All the Saints
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 11/05/2007 - 20:44Yesterday, we went to church. The first reading of the day was from Ecclesiasticus. It is that wonderful section that begins, “Let us now sing the praises of famous men.” It talks about the great variety of famous men, leaders, musicians, writers, and others of home there is no memory. It is a great reading for the Sunday after All Saints Day; a reminder that we are all in this together, the rich and the forgotten.
It is also provided the title for James Agee and Walker Evans monumental book, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”. That book was written about poverty in the south during the Great Depression. Now, over seventy years later, we have others to now praise famous men.
John Edwards, as part of his “American Heroes Week” spent last Saturday with a bunch of supporters helping rebuild home in New Orleans. We still have poverty in our country, and Hurricane Katrina briefly blew away the façade that had been hiding it.
The San Diego Fires
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Mon, 10/22/2007 - 19:49As I continue to dig through the messages in my inbox, another theme I’m finding is one about how we respond to disasters. The fires in San Diego bring an immediacy to these issues, but the issues are much greater.
One group that is doing important work on looking at how we deal with disasters is the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP). It was founded by Ben Smilowitz, a UConn Law student who volunteered with the Red Cross and a managed a client service center in Gulfport, MS, during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Around a week ago DAP sent out a press release critical of the timing of the TOPOFF4 exercise,
because an updated National Response Plan is not yet in place. Originally, the Exercise was planned to follow the close of the comment period for the newly proposed and highly controversial National Response Framework (NRF). In a large-scale emergency, it would be critical for plans at all levels of government to be aligned with the national coordinating plan. But, state and local officials have not had time to align their plans with the NRF because it has not been finalized.
They also point out
that the Department of Homeland Security made a similar error in April 2005, when it held TOPOFF3 before the deadline by which state, local and other federal agencies were to have revised their own plans to reflect the National Response Plan (NRP) issued in December 2004 with little input from state officials.
While the timing of the exercises might not have been optimal in terms of making the exercises as effective as they should have been, they do illustrate what seems to be a key aspect of dealing with disasters. Disasters often come unexpectedly or at inopportune times.
Today, DAP issued a press release about the comments they are submitting on the NRF. They note that "The description of the FEMA Director and DHS Secretary's responsibilities conflicts with requirements of the Post Katrina Reform Act…Federal exercises frequently ignore recovery or give it lip service if addressed at all… Not all 'lessons learned' are publicly reported or followed up with changes to plans… the TOPOFF III after-action report still has not been issued."
Only seven and a half hours later, they had their next press release out about San Diego.
Noting that ‘Gaps In Disaster Services [are] More Likely To Get Fixed If Made Public’,
The Disaster Accountability Project's toll-free hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is ready for CA wildfire-related calls. California residents, firefighters, and relief volunteers can report problems or whistle-blow gaps in disaster relief services in the wildfire response and relief effort. Individuals should use the toll-free hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) to report the specific location and nature of the disaster relief/response gaps.
Soon afterwards, I received an email from a good friend of mine who is a therapist in San Diego. She notes that two of her friends have lost their homes and were evacuated this morning. Her family is still safe, but they have been close before. She notes a huge dislocation of people, currently over 250,000 evacuated. She urges people to send money to the Red Cross and to help out in other ways because, she notes “this is not going to be over soon as so much housing and business has been destroyed.” She also notes that the therapy community is mobilized and helping, which I believe is too often overlooked in the aftermath of a disaster.
So, for the people of San Diego, I offer my prayers. If you know people struggling with the disaster in California, make sure they know about DAP’s toll-free hotline. It might not help with the current disaster, but it will help as we all learn to deal better with disasters in the future.
(Technorati tag San Diego Fire)
