What Would You Do For 2 Seconds?
When you come to the wall of fire,
Will you ease up and say no?
And so stay at the cusp of agony.
Or will you sit up and say yes!
Push through the pain,
Be consumed by order and beauty,
And so find what person lies
on the other side of fear.
The Other Side
Pull yourself to the edge of the abyss
Peer into the depths of oblivion--
Behold! to find you did not perish,
But did break through the illusion
of pain and distinction
Leaving only the oneness of creation.
20090318
quotes
some professors think "quotes" is not a word, because "to quote" is the verb and "a quotation" is the noun. but english has moved on.
the uselessness of the internet is no more evident than when it comes to quotes. quotes are always either inaccurately quoted, plain made up, or mis-attributed to Confucius. and even if they are correctly quoted and attributed, the source text is never mentioned. so before you print anything out and frame it on the wall, unless wikisource.org has a copy, you going to have to go to the library to look that shit up.
ive had enough of these "traditional native american saying" and "ancient chinese adages" (#3) that actually were said by Amelia Earhart (#10). for some reason it's considered ok to write, " 'blah blah blah...' -Ghandi" on something to be bought and sold, like a desk calendar. ok, so even if Ghandi said one of the 14 versions of a particular quote floating around the internet, i still have no idea when and in which speech or letter he said it. Confucius wrote quite a bit, so i want the book, chapter, and line, not to mention the translator and source anthology.
the internet is also useless for trying to find original chinese. i spent nearly an hour trying to find the original chinese for this quote:
"Inscribe in your heart / Every inch of the time at sunset."[1]
the following Harvey Milk quote exists in several versions on the internet, the following is the correct version:
"If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."[2]
Another quote:
Footnotes:
>>>>[1] Cyril Birch, ed., Anthology of Chinese Literature: Vol. I (New York: Grove Press, 1965), 180; Ruanji, Yonghuaishi (Poems of My Heart), C. J. Chen & Michael Bulcock, trans.
>>>>[2] Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street: the Life & Times of Harvey Milk (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1982), 372; Harvey Milk, political will, Frank Robinson ver.
>>>>[3] Ibid, 371; Harvey Milk, "That's What America Is" speech, Gay Freedom Day Parade delivered, 1978-06-25.
the uselessness of the internet is no more evident than when it comes to quotes. quotes are always either inaccurately quoted, plain made up, or mis-attributed to Confucius. and even if they are correctly quoted and attributed, the source text is never mentioned. so before you print anything out and frame it on the wall, unless wikisource.org has a copy, you going to have to go to the library to look that shit up.
ive had enough of these "traditional native american saying" and "ancient chinese adages" (#3) that actually were said by Amelia Earhart (#10). for some reason it's considered ok to write, " 'blah blah blah...' -Ghandi" on something to be bought and sold, like a desk calendar. ok, so even if Ghandi said one of the 14 versions of a particular quote floating around the internet, i still have no idea when and in which speech or letter he said it. Confucius wrote quite a bit, so i want the book, chapter, and line, not to mention the translator and source anthology.
the internet is also useless for trying to find original chinese. i spent nearly an hour trying to find the original chinese for this quote:
"Inscribe in your heart / Every inch of the time at sunset."[1]
the following Harvey Milk quote exists in several versions on the internet, the following is the correct version:
"If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."[2]
Another quote:
On the Statue of Liberty it says: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free..." In the Declaration of Independence it is written: "All men are created equal and they are endowed with certain inalienable rights..." and in our national anthem it says: "Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave o'er the Land of the Free."
For Mr. Briggs and Mrs. Bryant and Mr. Starr and all the bigots out there: That's what America is. No matter how hard you try, you cannot erase those words from the Declaration of Independence. No matter how hard you try, you cannot chip those words from off the base of the Statue of Liberty. And no matter how hard you cannot sing the "Star Spangled Banner" without those words.[3]
Footnotes:
>>>>[1] Cyril Birch, ed., Anthology of Chinese Literature: Vol. I (New York: Grove Press, 1965), 180; Ruanji, Yonghuaishi (Poems of My Heart), C. J. Chen & Michael Bulcock, trans.
>>>>[2] Randy Shilts, The Mayor of Castro Street: the Life & Times of Harvey Milk (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1982), 372; Harvey Milk, political will, Frank Robinson ver.
>>>>[3] Ibid, 371; Harvey Milk, "That's What America Is" speech, Gay Freedom Day Parade delivered, 1978-06-25.
20090316
if you fall
Anita Bryant--
How terrible a thing
To fall on the wrong side of history.
So proud and righteous,
but leaving others to inherit only
the shameful burden of your name.
How terrible a thing
To fall on the wrong side of history.
So proud and righteous,
but leaving others to inherit only
the shameful burden of your name.
20090307
Civil Rights
Today's amazing one woman performance of "A Colored Girl's College Tour" (which moved us to standing ovation) made me realize just how mutually exclusive the civil rights movement in America and Daoism are. In the former, you make noise. In the latter, well, you just don't try to change the world. And if you do, you do so by setting a better example, not by telling other people what to do. You improve the choir by being a truer voice yourself, not by telling anyone else how to sing. You save the planet by recycling or inventing a better solar cell, not by throwing moltov cocktails at logging employees.
Daoism and American civil rights style liberalism are so much at odds that Daoist statements would be censured in a modern context. For example, the following would be considered racist:
African-American culture might have a point. In any case, diversity is a virtue: we shouldn't god forbid all be Daoist, but more couldn't hurt. African-American leaders who disagree with the overarching cultural paradigms include Fredrick Douglass ("Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.") and Bill Cosby (stop being angry at the white man and teach your kid goddamn English).
Daoism is why I love the Economist, Wired magazine, and the 350 movement. Whereas I am informed politically by what my religion says, Christians are informed politically by what their religion is. Jesus may have said turn the other cheek and love (not "pray for" as sometimes incorrectly translated) your enemy, but the name and creed (Jesus died for your sins; gay marriage and abortion are sins) are more important than Jesus' message. Such religion is Myxozoa.
Which is more important, doing what Jesus said, or believing in him? Two Januaries ago I learned in UU Church that the early church believe in the former, but 1000 years ago they started to emphasis belief in Jesus in lieu of belief in Jesus' teachings.
Whereas the Environmental Justice movement says to make noise, march in rallies, get that legislation passed, an economist would say, a parade couldn't make the grain grow in Soviet Russia, a rally (alone) won't save the planet today. Without actual progress in green technology, all of our victories are hollow--you can prevent an old-tech incinerator from being built in your community, but you may have just doomed another community. A $100 laptop and free internet access may one day do more for the continent of Africa than 100 of years of politics. Be it engineering, economics, or whatever, the best way to save the world is to just keep doing what you're doing.
Daoism and American civil rights style liberalism are so much at odds that Daoist statements would be censured in a modern context. For example, the following would be considered racist:
Minorities of every kind have been and still are discriminated against beyond belief. When your life's work is destroyed in an instant of inhumane cruelty, Chinese culture says bow your head, pick up the pieces, and try harder (Jesus much?). Look where the Chinese community is today. African-American culture says you will get nowhere if you do like the Chinese.
African-American culture might have a point. In any case, diversity is a virtue: we shouldn't god forbid all be Daoist, but more couldn't hurt. African-American leaders who disagree with the overarching cultural paradigms include Fredrick Douglass ("Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.") and Bill Cosby (stop being angry at the white man and teach your kid goddamn English).
Daoism is why I love the Economist, Wired magazine, and the 350 movement. Whereas I am informed politically by what my religion says, Christians are informed politically by what their religion is. Jesus may have said turn the other cheek and love (not "pray for" as sometimes incorrectly translated) your enemy, but the name and creed (Jesus died for your sins; gay marriage and abortion are sins) are more important than Jesus' message. Such religion is Myxozoa.
Which is more important, doing what Jesus said, or believing in him? Two Januaries ago I learned in UU Church that the early church believe in the former, but 1000 years ago they started to emphasis belief in Jesus in lieu of belief in Jesus' teachings.
Whereas the Environmental Justice movement says to make noise, march in rallies, get that legislation passed, an economist would say, a parade couldn't make the grain grow in Soviet Russia, a rally (alone) won't save the planet today. Without actual progress in green technology, all of our victories are hollow--you can prevent an old-tech incinerator from being built in your community, but you may have just doomed another community. A $100 laptop and free internet access may one day do more for the continent of Africa than 100 of years of politics. Be it engineering, economics, or whatever, the best way to save the world is to just keep doing what you're doing.
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