Lange and Guthrie

These are the photographs of Dorothea Lange. Throughout her life as a photographer, she captured the images of the downtrodden and the disenfranchised. Her photographs of the victims of the Great Depression helped move the country towards programs to help the poor and regenerate the spirit of a nation.
Following the Depression she moved her camera to document the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the discrimination against African Americans in the 1950's and the fight for justice anywhere she saw people struggling. She was one of America's most accomplished photographers- she was a warrior who used her art to move the conscience of a nation. I often wonder what images Dorothea Lange would make to depict today's injustices.
I have selected only a small sample of her work. I hope you will investigate further on your own.

The photograph below was taken of this 32 year old mother and her three children at a farm labor camp in  California during the Depression. It is Lange's most iconic photograph and it depicts the desperation of the times. Florence Owens Thompson had just sold the tires from her truck to buy food for her children. It is said that this photograph had such an impact on President Roosevelt that he immediately added more federal resources  to the Farm Security Administration.

In the squares of the city-in the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office-I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
Is this land still for you and me?
(final verse)
Woody Guthrie- "This Land is Your Land"

We Need a New Song at the Ball Game

After the attacks on our people on 9-11-01, all our major sporting events not only include our National Anthem, they included Irving Berlin's patriotic music: "God Bless America" or Bates/Ward's "America the Beautiful".We sing them at most big events- and just before "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the 7th inning stretch. These are great songs, they inspire national pride and cohesiveness. I don't take anything away from this classic bit of Americana. But there is another song we ought to consider. It too is a classic bit of American culture. It was written in the wake of the Great Depression, by a man who traveled the dusty back roads of America. He lived with the real people of our country. I'm referring to Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land".

Music historians tell us that Guthrie wrote this song in direct response to "God Bless America". Guthrie believed that Berlin's lyrics were "nationalistic-complacent-exclusionary and unrealistic". Guthrie's travels and experiences taught him that America was in the hands of the privileged, and the country rightfully "was made for you and me".

Gutherie is our most important Folk Music writer because he was able to capture, in music, the spirit of a country that has the highest ideals, but often falls short in living up to them. His music isn't all glory and flag waving, proudly proclaiming the favor of God. His music and its message is about the real struggle of common people- the folk. That is, after all, the essence of "folk' music. His music, and the work of others like photographer Dorothea Lange, resonate in the soul of a people-and change minds. I hope you'll  research the life of Gutherie and look at the photographic work of Dorothea Lange. You will recognize her iconic photos of the Great Depression, just as you know the music and "folk" spirit of Woody Guthrie. Their contributions to the American culture actually changed policies and lives.

It is so unfortunate that we seem to be re-living the events of Great Depression. The rich and powerful accumulated too much wealth at the expense of the working class back then as they are now. They inflated their own holdings fraudulently as they do now; and when the bubble broke it was the "folk" who suffered then as now. High unemployment doesn't touch the top 2%- it hits the middle class and the poor the hardest now, as it did then.

It is no wonder we never see musicians writing songs that glorify credit swap derivatives; or songs that celebrate the wonder of investment bankers; or tell of our cultural enrichment at out-sourcing jobs; or Wall Street bonuses; or our greatness because we have removed collective bargaining rights from teachers. Those songs will NEVER be written- because we know deep in our collective heart that the things we are seeing now (as a reaction to fear) do not lift us as a people. They don't give us hope- they embed cynicism and they will eventually diminish us and send our national spirit back to the dust bowl days of the Depression. Our parents and grandparents, and their ancestors fought the robber-barons of their day for social and economic justice. We can not stand by while greed has us fighting that same battle again. We're better than that.

What would it feel like if we rose from our seats in the middle of the seventh and sang "This Land is Your Land"? What would it do for our national spirit to sing the populist anthem Guthrie gave us-the one that says "this land belongs to you and me"? I'd sing that song. That's my Different Thought for today. Thanks for looking in.

Matthew 25:31-46

This passage in the New Testament of the Bible is of considerable importance these days. For those who can't readily conjure it in your memory, let me recap. I might add first, that this story from the Bible is only told in Matthew's Gospel. It does not appear in any of the other major Gospels. Of course, it's been translated into several versions-but the essence is the same, in spite of some changes in the wording. I'll do my best to be true to the underlying story.

In this Chapter of Matthew, Jesus speaks to his followers and instructs them on the way to achieve a place in heaven. He says that when God comes back to earth to select those who will be in heaven, he will separate them like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The test for what group you will be in depends on how you did the following things: He says, "I was hungry and you fed me- I was naked and you clothed me-I was in prison and you comforted me- I was sick and you cared for me". As the story goes, the followers were a bit upset knowing they had never seen Jesus in need like this. They questioned Jesus asking, "when did we see you hungry and not feed you? see you naked and not cloth you?-see you in prison and not comfort you, or see you sick and not care for you?" Then Jesus said: " Truly I tell you, as you did for the least of these my brethren, you did for me." Following verses go on to say that those who did NOT do for "the least of them" will suffer eternal punishment.

By way of full disclosure: I do not practice any religion. I'm not promoting religion by discussing this Biblical parable here. I was raised in a devout Catholic family and was educated in Catholic Schools. Though I don't practice a religion now, I recognize that some religions can contain some very important lessons that are good for mankind and have applications in civil, humane behavior. The story above is one of those. There is debate about this passage. The question is whether the clear message pertains only to ones personal life or whether it applies in a much broader societal way? Not being a biblical scholar- I can't say for sure.

I am, however, moved to think of how our leaders behave in light of this parable; and how we as a people hold our leaders to principals we claim to believe in. Believe me, the very last thing I want is for our government to be a theocracy- guided by the rules of one or more religions. But the next-to-last thing I want is government leadership (at any level of government) elected based on fraud, deception and hypocrisy. Somehow, we have allowed religion to be a huge factor in the selection of our leadership, and today's politicians play this to the hilt. This is particularly true of the very right-wing conservatives seeking elected office. They make a point of telling us over and over of their Christian beliefs and how it influences their lives and their politics. They call them "values". To be fair, some Democrats do it too. But consider Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachman, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour and the others who will seek your vote. Each of these politicians wear their Christian religion on their sleeves (or lapels buttons) then govern in the exact opposite direction- that is, forsaking the "least of our brethren".

In America "the least of these" are the poor and the working poor. In 2009 43.6 million Americans lived in poverty. 1 in 5 of our children are poor. 60 million of us do not have access to health care. Poverty and lack of health care are continuing to grow. Aren't these the very people Matthew's Gospel talks about? Yet the conservative mantra is: CUT! CUT! CUT!. Cut education, cut social security (that protects our seniors from living in poverty) cut medical programs for children, cut wages, cut family planning for the poor, cut social programs for the poor and the disabled- cut it all!- Except the military, of course. And by all means don't tax the rich. Our elected officials continue to give the corporations and the rich more and more tax breaks.

This is the richest country in the world. We still have the strongest economy and the greatest wealth in the world, yet we continue to allow the "least of us" to suffer while corporations and the rich continue to build wealth. They ship money and jobs to other countries and take advantage of the American worker all to enrich themselves. The privileged few own our political system and they rarely pay their fair share. I don't really care about their so-called religious values, but I resent the idea that many conservatives will convince you to vote for them because of their religious values. I don't resent the religion- I resent those who lie to us about their real values and intentions, while boasting about their religious values.

As long as I'm quoting Jesus, allow me to mention that it was Jesus who said: It will be harder for a rich man to attain heaven that it would be to pass a camel through the eye of a needle. Whether it comes from religious values or an innate sense of justice and social conscience-or our Constitution itself: now is the time to stand up and demand that our leaders (and those who would be our leaders) act on behalf of the people by providing for "the general welfare". We cannot be great if we do not have policies and purposes that protect all our people, not just the privileged few. If not your God, then at least history will judge us on how treat "the least of our brethren".

Don't Worry- Sam's OK

I was very happy to see that the Great Recession is over for Sam. I read a small blurb in the Business section the other day telling me Sam got a nice raise. This is particularly heartening since so many of us are getting our wages cut or losing benefits, or just being laid off. It said that Sam got a 19% raise last year. Oh - who is Sam? Sam is Sam Palmisano, CEO of IBM. With his raise Sam's total compensation package is now $25.2 million. ($25,200,000.00) a year. That works out to $12,115.38 an hour, based on a standard work week. The average American worker makes $48,000.00 annually before taxes. Sam makes more than the average worker makes in a year, every day before lunch time! Is this a great country or what? I tried to be fair to Sam and reasoned that he probably works longer hours than the average Joe. I calculated that probably drops his hourly wage to somewhere just south of $11,800. And, I'm sure he works hard, increasing the stock value by sending American jobs to other countries. In 2009 alone Sam laid off over 5000 Americans and sent their jobs to India. He cut more in 2010. And he's just one of many CEOs to do this. The small blurb in the Business section didn't mention that part- I had to look it up.

I've said in other articles that I believe we are at a cultural crossroads. When I noticed this blurb about Sam I wondered how many of us stop to consider what this kind of news really means to us and the fabric of our society. Consider the work you do and how much you get paid (average would be about $23.00/hour). Is there anything Sam does in an hour worth 526 times more than what you do in an hour? Is Sam 526X smarter than us? Does he put out 526X more effort? Obviously, NO! But the wealthy in this country have established a system that is a wealth generating machine. Over the last thirty years, and at an even greater rate the last two years, the rich have increased their wealth more than any other time in our history They have set up a system where they own the rule makers. They've done this with huge campaign contributions to the conservative politicians who create laws and rules that have shifted wealth from a vibrant middle class to the top of the wealth heap. When you own the rule makers- you make the rules.

New conservative state Governors, and U.S. Senators and Representatives campaigned last fall under the banner: JOBS! JOBS! JOBS! Since this new batch of politicians have come to power they have not proposed a single piece of job creating legislation. The truth is they don't want more jobs. Jobs now will not benefit then in the next election and won't continually cheapen the cost of labor. Instead they have used their new positions to pursue ideological ends. They are trying to cut Head Start, de-fund NPR, cut Medical programs for children, reduce student loans and Pell grants, de-fund Planned Parenthood,  institute major cuts to basic education, cut heating oil aid to senior citizens, and destroy the ability of workers to earn a living wage through collective bargaining, just to name a few items. They are not on the side of the American worker or the poor. They are Sam's side!

Part of the debate at the center of this cultural crossroad is a great myth. The conservatives are great at promoting this myth. It has come out of years of conservative think-tank propaganda that gets repeated on the mindless news programs each day. It says that we have to let the rich accumulate wealth through tax breaks and corporate welfare because "they are the job creators". Bunk! The big corporations are, in fact, job destroyers. Yes, they own industry- but they do every thing in their power to replace the American worker with cheaper labor. They do it because we let them. We bought the myth that we need the rich. This began with Reagan's nonsensical " Trickle Down and Supply Side" economic ideas. The truth is, all the corporations need is cheap labor and that's what they are driving this country to be. All the while they get their paid-for politicians to go in front of the camera and yell, "We're Broke!" America is not broke, we've just let the rich guys have too much money and power. Screaming "we're broke" is part of the scare tactic that enables them to manipulate us.

When I think about Sam and his friends, I know they are what's wrong with our country today. They are the greedy, and they are opportunists. Look at what the investment bankers did when they nearly toppled the world economy a few years ago. The S&P top 500 companies in America pay their top person an average of well over $9 million a year. But if you listen to the conservatives, they will say the real problem is the  $35,000 a year public school teacher, the janitor, the firefighter, the folks who pick up your garbage and wait your table, clean your motel room, or check out your groceries. They are being asked to give more all the time, while the rich steadily increase their wealth. On top of all that, conservative politicians are doing their level best to give the rich even more tax breaks and sweetheart deals. These are not arguable talking points- these things are happening.

If you are a merchant, a skilled laborer, a real estate agent, a small business owner, work construction, a nurse, or anyone who earns a living because someone consumes goods or services (and that is just about all of us) consider this. As the new conservatives seek to make the middle class, and the poor, even poorer, they are destroying your customer's ability to help you earn a living. Sam and the other CEOs aren't your customers. The teachers, the factory worker, the small business employees and, yes, the public employees- the working people-are your customers. You need them earning a living wage. Complain about taxes if you will, but the greater cost to you is so much more if we do not have a middle class in this country.

There are things we can do. Support people who are now rising up in states like Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio. Sign the letters of support that show up in your Email. You can pick up the phone and call or E-mail your Congress people. Tell them to stop giving breaks to corporations, subsidizing the rich- and work on sensible solutions for working people. Solutions are available if we have the political will to enact them. Most of all, study the issues. Don't believe what you hear or read in any one media (even this article). Check it out and devote your thoughts- Different Thoughts- to the public debate. I assure you, Sam will be OK. Let's make sure the rest of us are too. Thanks for looking in.

"The Drywaller"

I go to a gym regularly- the same gym I've been going to for years. When you do that for a while you get to know some people you run into fairly often.We start out with a familiar nod, that turns into a short comment, then a conversation. These are"gym buddies". We don't know too much about each other, only that we come here regularly, and we have a few things in common. We even have names for other people.There are the "New Year's Resolutions". These are folks with great ambitions, who show on January 2nd and are gone by Valentine's day. Then there are the swim suit people. They usually show up just after the New Year's crowd is gone. They come in early spring just to improve their appearance in their swim suits, and will pay a whole year's membership to do it. They'll be gone soon too. Finally "the regulars". That's me and my gym buddies.

I was talking to one of  my gym buddies the other day (we just call him The Drywaller) when he asked me about another friend of mine whom he hadn't seen in a while. I told him I hadn't seen Todd much lately either, and said I thought that was because he was getting a little busier with work. Both my friend and "The Drywaller" work for drywall companies- though different ones.

The Drywaller then told me he got laid off from his company in December. He had worked there for over twenty-two years. He said that when they laid him off, he lost his medical coverage and had to pay for the COBRA because he just couldn't go without coverage. The Drywaller and I are about the same age, so I  know all too well that men in their fifties cannot be without medical coverage. It takes 3/4 of his unemployment comp just cover his COBRA and house payment. I think I showed the proper amount of outward concern, while experiencing way too much inward panic at the thought that could be me some day. The final chapter to this exchange was him telling me he had been in touch with his old company friends. He found out they have started to get some work lately, but the company (a locally owned company) had quietly hired a bunch of younger guys, because they could pay them much less. He said the company is telling their crews they are doing very well in profits.

I have been thinking quite alot lately about how the big corporations and thier political toadies have abandoned the American worker. They have driven down the income of the middle class for nearly thirty years, by busting unions and sending jobs to other countries. They claim to love America - but they seem to hate Americans. Talking to The Drywaller made me realize it isn't just the big companies who have committed this crime against "the general welfare", they have now taught the small companies to do the same. Local companies, at least, used to be counted on to value the worker. After all these are our neighbors, our friends and relatives, our gym buddies. Now there is no regard for anything except the bottom line. American companies big and small are making record profits and sitting on piles of cash ($1.3 trillion at last estimate) while the American working middle class withers. Some captains of industry say they aren't hiring now because of the "uncertainty" in the future. Translate that into- we're doing just great without you!

Future offerings from Different Thoughts will discuss and explore some ideas about how we can change this. I do think that there is the beginning of a groundswell among the people to take our country back from the corporations and the politicians they own. I hope so. The Drywaller and I will thank you.

Natalie Portman Got Me Pregnant!

I know, you're as shocked as I was to learn that Natalie Portman got me pregnant. After all she's a wildly successful movie actress and, to be honest, probably doesn't even know me. Let's not kid ourselves, for sure she doesn't know me! OK- I'll tell you the truth. I'm not really pregnant and I've never even met Natalie Portman. But a couple of weeks ago Natalie got accused of setting a bad example by glamorizing pregnancy without the sanctifying act of marriage to accompany her delicate condition. This public scolding came from Mike Huckabee. If you don't follow the daily nonsense of early Presidential politics, I'll remind you that Mike Huckabee is the former Governor of Arkansas, a serious Presidential contender in 2008, and is positioning himself for another run in 2012. Interesting that Arkansas ranks 4th nationally in live births for women 15-19 years of age. Natalie must have very busy down in Arkansas.

I guess it's OK for anybody to hold an opinion about the lifestyles of public figures like Ms. Portman.  But I became troubled by the fact it was Mike Huckabee making this point in a nationally televised interview. Of course when he caught a little flack over his statements, he did what all politicians do; he denied he meant to criticize Miss ( not Mrs.) Portman, then suggested the rest of us just "misinterpreted" what he said. I swear, we're all going to have get better about not "misinterpreting" politicians when they get caught saying things they wish they hadn't said. Next year is an election year, so lets all brush up on those skills.

So why is it troubling that these kinds of statements come from Mike Huckabee? There are a couple of items that really stood out for me. The first isn't so much troubling as it is amusing. Conservatives, like Mr. Huckabee, didn't say a word when their Vice Presidential candidate had a teenage unwed mother in the family. In fact, young Bristol Palin was lauded as a shining example because she chose "to have the child". No abortion talk around here. Yea! for Bristol. But when a "Hollywood" type (who is, by the way, an Ivy League college graduate, millionaire, older person- not a high school kid who hooked up with a loser like Levi Johnston.) makes this choice- she's a bad example. Maybe Bristol should have been more like Natalie, come to think of it. I don't mind the debate if it helps advance the culture, but we have to be consistent and avoid the the obvious call of hypocrisy.

The second point is actually troubling. There are conservative men and women who are vying to not to lead their political party, but to lead our nation and  be world leaders. At the same time Mr. Huckabee is blaming a movie star for a very real social problem, his party is attempting to cut all funds for low-income reproductive health care provided by Planned Parenthood. The Republicans in the House voted out ALL funding for Planned Parenthood. I am not talking about abortion services! The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortion except in very limited circumstances. I'm talking about the other 97% of services for women that addresses the problem Mr. Huckabee and many conservatives decry. If you want to help solve the problem of unwanted pregnancy or teen pregnancy it makes no sense cutting the very lifeline to the services that help prevent it. And, those services aren't even just about birth control- they are about cervical and breast cancer screening, SDT screening and treatment, general health care and information to help keep women healthy. These are women who would not otherwise have access to any health care provider. Planned Parenthood serves more than 2.5 million clients each year.

If it all boils down to "bad examples" being the cause of teen pregnancies and the struggles of single mothers, then we need smarter people trying to lead us. We need people who understand the complexities of a diverse society and don't propose to eliminate services, for political reasons, that serve the poor. We need people that don't make judgments based on limited personal moral positions- but see there is room in this country to care for those who need our compassion- not our judgments. The selection of our leaders deserves some different thoughts.

"Rights"

Last night was a night all about "Rights". Part of that focus I chose, and part of the focus on "Rights" came to me without invitation. I was preparing to go hear a lecture being given by Dr. Paul Lauren, when I turned on the news, to see the day's developments and have a bite to eat before departing. BREAKING NEWS! the report was that, only a short time ago, the Wisconsin State Senate had abruptly changed course (and rationalizations) and voted away collective bargaining "rights" of public employees including teachers. I was pretty appalled at the methods used, but even more shocked that hard fought employee rights to bargain in the workplace had been wiped out in that state for public employees. I'm pretty sure that we, as a nation, are beginning a real cultural revolution and this was the first battleground. I'm convinced that what is happening now is ultimately about "Rights" and they will define our culture for the next generation. So with a sad feeling settling in, I went to the lecture.

Dr. Paul Lauren was the speaker. He described himself as "a mild mannered professor, who enjoys fly fishing". I could see that part was true. What brought me to hear him speak was the topic, and the other thing this man is. He spoke on "The Conscience of Mankind: The History and Future of Human Rights". It turns out this mild mannered fly fishing professor is also one of the world's leading experts on Human Rights. He has traveled the globe as an envy of the U.S., worked tirelessly for the United Nations, and has a list of honors long enough to stretch around the block. He is an eminent scholar, a Senior Fulbright Fellow and a College Professor. He is also a person who was on the streets of Harlem during our struggles, been in Bosnia to campaign against the atrocities there, and has put his life in real jeopardy to live out his convictions everywhere humanity has turned on itself.

Being in, and around, social work all my adult life I was pretty familiar with the basic issues concerning Human Rights. So, I can't say I learned anything startling. But what an honor it was to listen to a man who has devoted himself to promoting, and advancing the human experience in the face of ever present forces beset with greed for power and wealth. It's actually uplifting to know that such people exist. His calm resolve helped quell my earlier sadness. He talked about how greed turns to tyranny, how tyrants use violence, and that violence usually is the result of fear. Fear is an emotion that comes naturally. Fear is also an emotion that can be easily manipulated. Fear will lead us to do things or permit things we would normally never allow. And that is how Human Rights violators, violate the Conscience of Man.

I was left to consider the events of the day against this backdrop of "Rights". I can see that rights are not granted all at once and they don't disappear all at once. I began to reflect on the continuing rise of greed for power and wealth we're seeing in America today, mostly by corporations who now own so much of our wealth. In future postings I'll be discussing some specifics on these issues. But for today I began to see the how the seeds of fear are used to erode our rights and sometimes our decency. Just today Rep. King held hearings on Muslims (American Citizens!) as we are being taught to fear them. Just yesterday Wisconsin Rebublican senators voted away the rights of workers, as we are being taught to fear and blame them for our economic troubles. Just yesterday the Idaho legisalture voted away collective bargaining for teachers. It's already happened in Ohio and Michigan. Seems we just need someone to fear and someone to blame. The fear doesn't even need to based in truth- it almost never is. Even though employee rights are probably not in the same category as slavery and genocide, I began to see that the human experience is enhanced by the protection of all rights, and that the human condition erodes little by little when greed and fear chips away at any of our rights. Dr. Lauren reminded us that "rights" are preserved when people have had enough and take action. We are seeing that action now in different parts of the world and here at home. Lets hope it results in the preservation of rights, not the destruction of them!

Thanks for considering some Different Thoughts!

Getting Started

As you can see, this is my first dive into the blogesphere. I began thinking about it some time ago when a friend of mine started a blog and began discussing her blog with me. My initial comments where not that positive about the whole business of blogging. You see, I have always been in awe of good writing, and I believed that any attempt to turn writing into little vinyettes of language was just plain wrong. My old fashioned reverence for language simply would not permit me to accept anything less than real drawn out elegance in the use of the written word.

Now I am coming to accept that communication in this medium is quite simply the way it will all be done. So I'm adapting. This is not the easiest thing for me as those who know me would attest. I waited the longest time before using the cell phone as an everyday convenience. Now it's the only tool I have. Texting came hard for me too, but I'm good with it now. I found out I have to be good with it or I would not be in the loop with family and friends. I'm still a bit of joke to my family about the switch to digital photography. You guessed it- I clung to film till it was nearly impossible to buy anymore. But, as it is with most things, I'm ultimately glad to pick up the new things the world has to offer and embrace the usefulness of innovation. Still I love language and though I might not be the best practitioner of it, I continue to try my best.

I have also decided to start this venture because, as I get older, I find I am less sure about many things than I ever was as a young man with all the answers, and impeccable logic to back it up! The world is a complicated place. I think to better understand it you have share thoughts and ideas with others. This is the essential human experience; and this seems to be how it's done. If I combine that with my outright facination with the issues that shape our society, then the question is: why not blog? In answering that question for myself I did have to face the other big question: who cares what you think or write? After some nervous time and self doubt I decided the answer to the second question was that it ultimately didn't matter. I love the idea of our culture and how we care for ourselves and others who share it. This brings in a wide range of topics to see and react to as we navigate these interesting, and I dare say, dangerous, exciting times. Politics, religion, money, ideas and a wide range of belief systems all collide to form our culture. It's quite a show and we can get a front row seat if we take notice of the things happening all around us.

So now I'm a blogger- that thing I said I would never be. I have some goals for this activity. I hope to share thoughts that provoke both you and me to think more. These are times that require good thinking skills. I will never assume that my thoughts are more important than those of others. Therfore the reader will sometimes disagree. I expect that, and welcome the reader's reaction. I hope I can find and share humor from time to time. I will always endeavor to be respectful in a world that seems to value that less and less. These are my goals and these will be my thoughts- Different Thoughts. Thanks taking the time to look.