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to see ones own irony seldom makes it more gentle to accept...
The Dove Above Movement
Let There Be Peace On Earth
And Let It Begin With Me...
Let Peace Be The Ultimate Prize
we have heard a term become a buzz word, 'core beliefs'... i take myself
much too seriously at times... someone has to (self-deprecation, no applause, please...)
Peace is at the heart of my 'core beliefs'...
if an idea does not have peace at its core, it leaves me empty. if a policy does
not move toward peace but conflict, it has a dark center, it is an emotional black hole.
i will not say all war is wrong. world war II is the ultimate example. the war against
fascism and world domination by the axis allies was a war that had to be fought.
while not every move was correct, while not every battle maybe necessary, the cold
war had to be addressed on some level.
the conflict against international terror must be pursued in some way. not always
is war the best approach. but there must be an approach.
i accept the John Kennedy line from his inaugural address that we should never negotiate
out of fear and never fear to negotiate.
human built barriers are always temporary for we are not ourselves capable of eternal
determinations or constructions beyond perhaps our own eternal elimination as a species...
with that pleasant thought... i continue...
Not that my single pronouncement matters that greatly, but my only foe is needless violence... whether political motivated
savagery or crime in the street... governmental sponsored attacks whether overt or covert if not truly for defense, suicide
bombers, especially when a peace process is possible.
in the past i coined the term of simultaneous negotiated announcements; vis a vis 'we both stop together so no one losses
face--then settle the details in negotiation.'
if one side will not stop, how does one negotiate?
if seeking peace first before seeking perfect justice is wrong (remember i said perfect justice), then let me be wrong.
with peace, all good things become possible...
it is time to end the hate speak
and realise that people are people
no one people is better than another...
i personally do not believe that the supreme being
favors one faith or one nation or one race above another
if using the mother or father or parent metaphor
do we really believe that "God" favors one child
above the other
or desires to see her or his children
fight wars, kill, commit genocide
in the name of a heavenly parent.
ah, the dance, the human dance
you and i may disagree
a person of dubious character
once told me that
a cynic is usually a
disillusioned optimist...
one step forward
another step back
and two to the side
cha-cha-cha
altrusim is not dead
it lives on
it works singularly
the victims of those things
that we cannot help
or was an accident
or hopefully was just an accident.
but the resistence to fight
the systemic stuff
just goes on and on
ad nauseum
because some do not want
to give another that leg up
that little extra lift
in that silly game
the experts call
our zero sum game...
and then there are those
who seek a gift
rather than earning it
i know both places
i have seen it, lived it,
in the middle of it...
but that doesn't mean
we shouldn't keep alive
the effort to make a difference
to relieve the poverty,
to relieve the suffering
to make things a little more even
please forgive me
the great cliche'
of teaching one to fish
instead of just giving the fish
but from time to time
we still have to give the fish
those who cannot or will not learn
will still have to learn to fish
or whatever for the alternative
to eat tomorrow...
oh, are you white, caucasian;
black, african-american, irish, swedish, jewish,
palestinian, bahamian, or a contrarian
i do not care...
it ain't my job...
politically i believe we should level
the playing field so all, the same all
can have a fair chance...
it can't be perfect
because people ain't perfect
but we can try to be better,
that is what most religions teach,
trying to raise people closer to perfection
an unrealistic expectation
but if we do not reach higher
we can only sink lower
-with each one voice
though one or two or three voices
be amplified and pronounced
with each soul
another layer is added to the consequences
of an action that determines the fate of another-
to say in a single phrase
is what i dream is a
'simple leap of faith'
that people jointly stop
the violence
as the peace bell tolls
for without asking
there can never be an answer...
the stain of quantanimo
barbed wire and orange jumpsuits
share the tropical island
with our small foe made smaller
with the fall of the evil empire
little sympathy for the guilty
imprisoned there
with their own choices
their own fate chosen
their hatred spilling in plots
accomplished or began
against innocent civilians
and that is, oh god,
to use the jargon
modus operandi
to choose to punish the innocent
for the sins of those
who may, and i say, may
be, if not guilty,
at least, responsible,
for aggressive policies chosen
whether here or elsewhere
i am not debating politics
i am not arguing the minutua
of who, in the past, did what to whom
let there be little doubt,
let there be no confusion
i understand the real time
of battlefield, whether traditional warfare
or the innocent urban scapes
and seeking out those who would honour terrorism
and who have decided to attack 'non-combatents'
for the guilty have
chosen to find the most innocents gathered
to sent some despicable message
that there are 'no innocents' in war,
which i do not believe
innocence means just that
the ultimate guilt by association
for those who cannot defend themselves
but we must stand for something
our words our rhetoric our calls for peace
for democracy
for a better future
for those under the yoke of tyranny
must stand for something
and the gulag of quantanimo
needs to be opened
at least just a crack
just enough to sort the innocent from the guilty
to re-enact the basic liberties we would reserve
for ourselves and would give as we so claim
to the peoples not yet safe
not yet free
procedures and lawyers
and some semblence of justice
as we would call for in other nations
who hold dissidents
incommunicado
under questionable terms
without other specifics
without fingerpointing
or arguing about what was proper
in 2001 or 2002,
now we should proceed
and wipe away the stain of quantanimo
once and for all
make the words having meaning
"with liberty and justice for all"
as much of a reminder to myself
as to tell you or another how
you might yourself believe
i try to look upon image
that paint beauty to this human soul
i see the beauty of the pure female form
as a man for i am a male soul
i look upon the portrait of the cliche' red roses
the awe of the rainbow above rain cleansed skies
the carved grandeur of hills and canyons
the long ago expressed constructions
of temples and cathedrals
and sculptures and canvases that say more
with what remains than what was used in material
to create what we call art
for art is what is left as a gift from the soul
beyond the mere matter used in its creation...
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I am an American but also a citizen of the world, as we here all are. there are questions that fall upon great nations
and upon those who themselves attempt great things. this is about knowing when the details in perspective displaying life
in the background of a large landscape are more important or when the grand landscape itself is paramount.
as simple same daily evolution
dayscape fade
sunset fade
moonlit fade
sunrise fade
and upon dayscape again
conflict
dialogue
peace
conflict
dialogue
peace
the simple evolution
not the spiral downward
to the deconstruction
of peaceful resolution
another construction
of reconstruction-
conflict
willingness to end conflict
end to conflict-
call it naivte' theory
both parties must accept a naive wish
that other party wants peace as much
as you want peace...
those unilateral
and simultaneous pledges
that i will stop and you will stop
and it all has stopped
or the last gasp of a dying claim
that i will only stop after you have stopped
and the waiting for real or innocent
calamity to intervene
into greater conflict
and excuses and fingerpointing
and accusation and innuendo
and still the battles rage
both bloody and in the bigger
warzone of the mind...
My Favorites
Favorite Band or Musician: Bob Dylan
Favorite TV show: West Wing, Northern Exposure
Favorite movie: Wizard of Oz
Favorite book: MASH, The Peter Principle
Favorite sports team: Green Bay Packers
Favorite food: Sausage-mushroom pizza
My Hobbies
writing poetry
Most Admired
Walt Whitman, Shakespeare, Bono, Dylan, Lennon, Paul Simon
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Favorite Links
The Avalon Project, Yale, great documents collection
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how many people have ever lived
does it match the number of stars?
not that it matters, or does it
is there a star for everyone
to look up and find in this galaxy
the next galaxy
the universe
and the universal
the innocent victim
a dead star
in the sudan
an innocent killed
as collateral damage
when is enough
to the damn when is enough: enough
i have no sympathy for the freedom fighters
or the terrorists
depending on the damn politics
and your point of view
if you will not accept peace
but demand only complete victory
and if the terror stopped
and their people would suddenly be closer
to being free then
should not the terror stop
the daily little and big fights
afraid to be weak
afraid to be strong
afraid to send the bad guys the wrong message
there is no message
beyond, beneath, above and below
the only message is live and let live
i hear no secret voices
only the echo of the innocent victims
israeli, iraqi, sudanese, chechnyan, american,
palestinian... everywhere just more victims...
flag draped coffins coming back to dover
shroud wrapped bodies in the desert
national flags of any nation draped over bodies
and do you want to reload the bombs and bullets
or sit together at the table
whether to settle the latest silly nationalistic
jingoist dispute
or at least share a single meal
for one moment to see
that no one has horns and a tail
and maybe our children can share a wish
a dream, a prayer for peace
just once
so the next meeting can be just a little easier
that is my religion
that is my worship
that is my call to a higher power
that the innocent not be called on to die
for reasons that amount not more
to greed, bigotry, and some kind of tribal hatred
i have no desire to debate
the philosophy of your god
is greater than my god
or what may or may not be
the alleged true name of this god.
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