Exiles in the Land of the Free

[H2O Man]

Years ago, after one of the Town Board meetings that Onondaga Chief Waterman and I attended in a community in upstate New York, a group of us decided to stop for a meal in a restaurant. It was in the evening, and so there were plenty of seats. We put two table together, in order to seat everyone in our group. A waitress took our order, and we began discussing the events from the meeting.

Pretty soon, we were discussing our plans for the next meeting. Other people had come in, been seated, and served. So one of our group asked the waitress if our meal was almost ready? She said that the owner had told her that she needed us to sign our names on a paper, before we could be served.

Probably the place was not used to serving a group that was mainly Onondaga, with a few black people, and a couple of white folks. Still, I thought that the idea of us being asked to sign a paper was insulting, and was prepared to walk out. But Chief Waterman said that sure, we’d be happy to sign our names on the paper. He signed it, and then handed the pen and paper to me. He had wrote the Town Supervisor’s name on it. So I signed another board member’s name on it, and everyone in our group signed in similar humor.

Being treated rudely was not a new experience. In fact, I had signed the town’s attorney’s name to that list. In an earlier meeting, the attorney had literally told Chief Waterman’s sister, Audrey Shenandoah, to "shut up" during a public hearing. Audrey is a Clan Mother, who has been invited to speak at the United Nations; with former President Bush; and with the leaeders of the former Soviet Union. But in the small towns we encountered small minds, and those experiences help to define what it means to be an Exile in the Land of the Free.

This type of "minority experience" in America is not new, nor is it unique. I write about it, rather, because it illustrates what many of the progressive and liberal democrats are dealing with today. We want to be seated at the table of democracy. And we want to be served. As Malcolm X used to say, simply being seated at the table with an empty plate in front of us doesn’t make us a diner.

Our numbers do not always make us a statistical minority, yet we are too often treated in the same disrespectful manner. That town attorney did not tell any of the men at the hearing to "shut up." It was only "comfortable" for the attorney to tell a woman to "shut up," despite her standing in her own community, or in the larger world. And we know that there are those who run the business of the nation who think they need to put our names on some list or another, because we participate in the political process.

In 1960, black Americans helped to send John F. Kennedy to the White House. After his election, they found that the pace of progress was not what they had been led to believe it was. The grass roots leadership began a series of protests, including at segregated lunch counters in the south. They knew that they were not only going to be refused service, but that they risked physical injury and incarceration – for sitting at a lunch counter. The Freedom Riders, the lunch-counter protests, and the campaigns that leaders such as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., led, were a necessary part of pressuring President Kennedy to honor the Constitution, and to honor supporters who helped put him in office.

I agree with people such as Ted Sorensen and Caroline Kennedy: that Barack Obama has many of the same positive qualities that JFK had. I expect that as president, Obama will listen to progressive and liberal democrats, and that he will appreciate that we helped put him in the White House. But I also anticipate that we are still going to have some serious difficulties in having our people at the grass roots level seated at the table, much less served. I also expect the new administration to urge patience, and to point out that majot changes take time, and cannot be accomplished with a "stroke of the pen."

Our responsibility will be to continue to put creative pressure on Washington, DC. Electing Barack Obama is not the solution to the problems we face; it is simply the beginning of our work, that allows us to advance to the next level of the struggle

[crankychatter]

1. good read for me to start the day - thank you - k/r NT

[H2O Man]

3. Thanks! n/t

[leveymg]

2. How do you always retain your optimism and balance? I find mine is shaky this morning.

:donut: :hi: Good morning.

[H2O Man]

4. Good morning.

Now that's an interesting question. A number of times over the years, I've had friends and associates express frustration, and note that we are still where we were years ago in our struggles. Rather than see that as a failure, I tend to view it as a measure of success: we are up against such enormous problems and difficulties, that maintaining our position in the same relative place can be viewed as the result of a dog-gone lot of hard work.

As a young man, I used to earn money by working on foundations and septic systems for new houses. It is hard, dirty work. Those driving by cannot see what it is you are doing. Few people look at a new house, and say, "Beautiful job on that foundation, and that's a heck of a nice septice system!" But without a good foundation, the house will not stand for long. And without a quality septic system, you'll have some serious problems which are a health hazard.

People who participate on the Democratic Underground have the opportunity to work on the foundation, and the septic system needed to properly take care of the republican polies that need to be flushed out of our homes. It's hard and dirty work, and few people will see it or appreciate it. But without it, our Constitutional democracy will not stand for long.

[islandmkl]

5. thanks for the monday message...

it's a good way to start the week...

:patriot:

[H2O Man]

7. Thank you.

The start of this week offers us the opportunity to focus our efforts on advancing progressive and liberal democratic interests for the fall elections. That's a great way to start any week.

[mopinko]

6. nice read. and i second the notion that it is a good way to start the day.

obama will follow if progressive people lead. that is the way it was in chicago when he was on the streets. it is what helped the first black mayor of chicago lead in the face of ugliness and staunch opposition. we will have to surround him with our words, our voices, and our actions. we will need to both direct him and protect him.
1-20-09 is just the beginning of a long war to wipe the grime off our constitution and our country. we will need patience to persevere. i am so glad YOU have it. i am pretty short on that.

[H2O Man]

8. With patience,

the smallest catepillar can climb the largest mountain. More, its efforts can be rewarded by a transformation. We need to patiently continue on that path, and we will surely transform this society.

[Peacetrain]

9. This is such a profound statement, I hope you will forgive me

but it bears repeating

"Our responsibility will be to continue to put creative pressure on Washington, DC. Electing Barack Obama is not the solution to the problems we face; it is simply the beginning of our work, that allows us to advance to the next level of the struggle" H20 Man 7/14/2008


No one person has all the answers, each person adds or takes back from the reality. I am supporting Barack to start that procedure of taking back what not just the last 7 years but since Reagan, our ability to impact on our own government.

Something as simple as stopping the manipulation of numbers on people unemployed, will start a truth in government movement.

I have this great sense of optimism, that I have not felt in years.

Thank you for the wonderful op!!

[H2O Man]

11. Thank you.

In his 1974 book, "The Imperial Presidency," Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., showed how many of our nation's presidents have sought to expand executive powers, by using the "threat" of war. While I fully agree that we must concentrate on the severe damage done since 1980/Reagan, we also have to appreciate that what the worst presidents have done (Nixon, Reaga, Bush, & Bush) was only possible because of what many, many other presidents -- including some of the best -- did before them.

We are in the midst of a long struggle. But that is the true meaning of democracy, is it not?

[Me.]

10. K & R

[H2O Man]

12. Thank you. n/t

[Me.]

16. Particularly Liked

The caterpillar bit

[H2O Man]

18. I like it, too.

Today, I worked at a catepillar's pace, and completed an op-ed for a regional newspaper.

[Me.]

26. Looking At A Regional Paper Today

I saw a forum where the Cons (glad to see that appellation adopted) and liberals go at each other quite like the various factions here at DU, do. What was heartening was that despite the Con nature of the area, a poll on getting out of Iraq had 63% saying we should.

[Gregorian]

13. One would think a melting pot to be tolerable of difference.

The odd part is, there is nothing but difference. Nothing is the same.

So where does this intolerance and bigotry arise? After all, it's a country of immigrants.

Leadership is one important facet in steering the minds of the American people. Whether it be racism or the flagrant usage of energy.

We've missed our mark. In almost every way. Let capitalism reign.

But now we've reached a pinnacle of our excess consumption. It's just a reflection of our own lack of reflection.

There is a trickle down theory. It isn't economic. It's social. It's time to stop being reckless and careless. It's time to care.

What a story, Mr. Waterman. My ignorance was bliss. But I would rather have been awake, like you were. I am, now.

[H2O Man]

17. Time

is a strange thing. The western world tends to view it as a straight line; tribal cultures view it as a circle. It may be a combination of those two.

Time, as we understand it, it certainly a measure for the actions we take in our lives. More, because it is always "now" -- and it will be "now" in a day, a month, a century, and more -- then "now" provides us the perfect opportunity to be awake, and take meaningful actions.

Very good to see you here.

[Gregorian]

22. The circle is big

When the circle is large, it appears to be a line. The world is flat. No, it's round. It's strange how big a difference there is when one sees it one way versus the other. Responsibility or disrespect.

This morning I am furious. Have you ever tried to find silence? It doesn't exist any more. Silence from the machines, I mean. Not the birds. Nature is dying. All because we are so out of touch. In touch, people saw the moon and the stars. Now we watch the DVD. A house is a place to stop and rest between trips. Not a place to call home. Home is never good enough now. It's just a stopping point between shopping runs, or trips.

I'm sorry. This is off topic. But it really isn't. This running, and this being out of touch is a symptom. A being separate. Not being together.

My first encounter with the phrase "what goes around comes around", was with a man named Willis Jackson. I was only 15. He was a black man who worked in a VA hospital where I had decided to volunteer. He grew up in Montomery Alabama. He was there when there were riots. He became my mentor. I am forever grateful. This society is a failure in so many ways. Technology can only do certain things. I cannot substitute for the most important. We've missed the simple basics, while longing for progress. I'm worn out from the selfishness. My body is literally wearing out from the years of anxiety due to the emptiness of this advanced society. But we're not so advanced as our weakest facets. What is the point in going to the moon if we're still hungry down here? What is the point in having a restaurant if only a select group is welcome? And now, we've taken on the very planet that definitely sustains our very lives. We are blind. A line means we can simply put our garbage behind us. Just be irresponsible. But a circle means we have to live with our actions. What goes around does indeed return again.

It's the very perception that different is different. Different is just part of the same reality we all belong to. In fifth grade John Augney was suspended from elementary school for having hair that was too long. When I look back on the pictures, I cannot believe it. A handsome young kid. He was a dead ringer for James Dean. That same judgment. Someone different. A threat. Not conforming to the rules. Don't people ever extrapolate their thinking? What would or could be the logical conclusion of your thoughts and actions.

I'm still struggling to get a house built. I don't have electricity yet. I've lost a lot of hope. I wanted to build a house that was away from it all. Now I realize this place is no longer rural. So I'm just building another stupid house. I feel guilty. The very thing I hate, I am doing. In fact, I feel like the waitress in your restaurant example. I want to be separate from these people in this society. But for different reasoning. We've really messed things up. I feel that all I can do now is try and tolerate the masses and their cars. I can no longer run from it. It's everywhere. I think that before our numbers were so great, and our lifestyles so damaging to the environment, we could live together. But now I think we can't. And I even think that the restaurant experience may have been partly due to a subconscious sense of too many people. I don't konw.

[H2O Man]

24. The restaurant

experience was a result of fear. In that case, it was fear of people that look different, because their skin is a different color, and their hair is longer, and they dress differently, and some speak in a language that was unfamiliar. Fear, of course, is the worst enemy that any person can have.

Your comments on silence are interesting. I've had a sweat lodge on one lonely corner of my property for many years. A "new" neighbor seemed to think it was too lonely. He cut down the trees on his property near it, and started a dump. Along with the unsightly collection of junk he piles there, he also burns some foul smelling trash. He also seemed to have believed that a stone wall on my property was annoying, and helped himself to a large section of it. I haven't had time to thank him yet.

My sons and cousin built me a new, larger lodge elsewhere on my property. I like it very much, although it is in a location where one can hear some traffic. During the first sweat in it, last month, members of my family and three of my closest friends took part. I compared the sound of distant vehicles to how our brain -- which is surely as much of a machine as any car -- works. In parts of it that we identify as ourselves, we have the too constant "noise" .... and it takes a concentrated effort to move to a different part of our consciousness. But we can do it. We can indeed listen to those birds you mention, which by no coincidence is the sound that transformed the meanest of humans, the first Tadodaho, into an advocate of peace: the song of the smallest birds. And, again by no coincidence, soon others in the lodge were able to focus on those little birds outside the lodge. The vehicles were no longer a distraction.

Of course, you know this as well as I. But some times, both of us benefit from someone reminding us of this.

[Gregorian]

27. I know it. but you have just put it in a way I've not heard before.

I'm so glad I'm not alone in my value. Because one can feel quite abnormal in the quest for silence. But you put it in a brilliant perspective. Our own noise. I've got to remember this. I become enrage so easily at what I perceive as an invasion into my privacy. Well that means a lot of outrage in these times. We're also molded after our mentors. I must be emulating my father. It's work to break the cycle. And I applaud you for your self control. Although, now that I think of it, I have a neighbor who has a couple of structures on my property. And even though he's suing me (another long story) we like each other. And I even told him it was fine that his structures were there. But then they don't impose on me. They're a long ways away. Noise on the other hand is like someone reaching right into my space. I struggle with being conscious in a world of the unconscious.

But there is that "circle" again. I become what I do. People all around me advised me to sue this neighbor. I adamantly refused. That too will come back. Kindness will return.

Thank you. It's little shared stories like this that can make big changes. Hmmm, my own noise may be the most destructive. I think I'll go for a walk now. By the way, I lost my beloved cat, Farnsworth last week. There is a very young little buck that likes us, and comes around. I think he actually liked Farnsworth. The buck still comes around. So I'm not fully alone here. You've given me something to think about. What do I see? What do I hear? There is a choice.

[H2O Man]

30. Where I live

had been considered the "western front" before the Revolutionary War. The soldiers who participated in the "border wars" against the Iroquois got land grants after the war. Most were approximately a square mile, and being interested in local history, I've got copies of most of the old deeds. The land was marked off with chains, and it is interesting to look back in time to see how these deeds were documented, with mention of "the boulder," etc.

When I bought this house, which had been a stage coach station in the late 1700s and early 1800s, I was the first person in the "neighborhood" to have a survey done by modern methods. (It had been a "cross-roads" community, with a population of about 20, at the time when my house was a stage coach station, post office, and doctor's office.) One of my neighbor's garage and pond are half-way on my property. But it's no problem at all, because he is the very definition of a "good neighbor," and is always helping people around here.

Another neighbor is "Old Fred." He is in his 90s. He has always been a something of a hermit. He used to live in this house when he was young. As a youngster, he enjoyed talking to the old folks in the area, and learned a lot about local history. His mind is still very sharp, and although he sometimes expresses frustration in the winter, when he has to take more breaks when he shovels the snow after the big storms, he is strong.

I've always been more comfortable living out in "the sticks," and value the time I can spend alone, looking at the creek, etc. My habits often overlap with Fred's. We can see each other at the falls, and sit for long periods without a word passing between us, or -- if he's in the mood -- discussing what people who lived in the post-Civil War era told him about the area when he was young.

Recently, a group of young folk has been spending considerable time down near the falls. They tend to focus all their attention on consuming massive quantities of mind-altering substances, lighting firecrackers and fireworks at all hours, and behaving in other mildly annoying ways.

Even in this tiny, isolated corner of the world, different people experience time (and land) in very different ways.

[cliffordu]

14. K and R - best post of the WEEK.

[H2O Man]

19. Thank you.

Much appreciated!

[grantcart]

15. always a delight to read your work - Richard M Nixon

I was moved to tears - Dick Cheney


It caused me to great intraspection of my hyeterical believes - George W Bush



An uncomfortable read - Condi Rice



You go to the dinner you have with the restaurant you have - Donald Rumsfield




Kick and rec - George Carlin

[H2O Man]

20. As we get closer

to this summer's conventions, it is interesting to talk to my conservative friends. Yesterday, I spoke with an old friend who has been active in politics for many years. He said that he thinks that Barack Obama will win by a landslide, because of two reasons; first, Obama is a good politician; and second, because the republican party does not care for McCain. As you've noted before, we have a limited number of weeks to work towards our November goal .... and it is looking like if we do our best, we are going to elect a President with a mandate.

[grantcart]

23. I have found it asounding that even though I have talked to a number of people who are

not going to vote for Obama I have yet to find either a person that is enthusiastic about voting for McCain or who thinks he is going to win.


And yet the national polls show us only 5 points apart and even if it is 10 points it is not much more than that.

[Annces]

21. Things were simpler

when we were united against the British.

If the British march by land or sea from the town to-night, hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch of the North Church tower as a signal light.

One if by land, and two if by sea; and I on the opposite shore will be, ready to ride and spread the alarm through every Middlesex village and farm, for the country folk to be up and to arm.

[H2O Man]

25. In the 13 colonies,

the best estimates are that 1/3rd of the people were "Patriots"; 1/3rd were supporters of the British crown; and 1/3rd did not want to be involved in the conflict. Still, the differences were most obvious and clear in that era. Today, too many people are confused, and believe that people like Bush care about them.

[ms liberty]

28. Thank you. I needed an attitude adjustment today!...

I've been somewhat down today; my county's democratic party is quite moribund, and I'm not sure how to approach the problem. I haven't felt too terrific, mainly because I haven't slept well for several days...and I guess maybe I have the midsummer blues.

You've given me a much needed mental shake, and I really appreciate it.

[glitch]

29. That is shocking. Great response though, but how ashamed that waitress must have been

to be forced to act so uncivilly for a job.