Hope for a Better Nation

"America, we are better than these last eight years," Barack Obama said. "We are a better country than this."

Government, Mr. Obama argued, cannot solve all of the country's problems. But he said it has basic responsibilities to do what individual Americans cannot do themselves — "protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology."

He said that government had failed in those duties under President Bush. (I say that that failure began with President Reagan, and climaxed with President Bush.)

Mr. Obama promised to rewrite Mr. Bush's tax code to restore fairness to working people and take away economy-busting breaks for the wealthiest Americans. He promised universal health insurance. He offered a grand, perhaps grandiose, vision of ending America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil in a decade.

And he challenged Mr. McCain's absurd charge that because Mr. Obama opposed the war in Iraq, he will leave America defenseless. "We are the party of Roosevelt," he said. "We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country."

To be sure, there is much work and much which will have to be endured, before victory in November.

The Truth is the Wagon Train

There is a historical marker in east Texas. It records that in 1842, one John McGarrah brought his family to Texas and settled there, founding the town of Buckner. Soon a church was built, then a school, then a trading post -- indications that neighbors had settled nearby. Four years later, on July 4, 1846, John McGarrah and his neighbors elected their first public officials and opened a post office. The marker captures the story of civilization, the progression from solitary initiative to social cooperation. First the prime family unit; then the wagon train; then the church and the school for worship and learning; then a trading post for the goods of survival and comfort; then local government for roads and public order; then the post office for communications with others; then a public holiday for celebration and recreation.

It is the story of a political culture that nurtures obligation, reciprocity, and trust.

Yet, many in our society today believe in and promote the myth of John Wayne. It is the fuzzy myth surrounding the embodiment of the rugged individual as savior of the West, and by extension the role of society in the life of the individual. It is the belief that I can go it alone, with my gun and half a reason to use it; I don't need a government that "comes at me".

The truth is the wagon train: if we don't get there together, we won't get there at all.

This is the truth for our society today.

Asturias - Isaac Albeniz

This is worth every minute. John Williams is flawless.

Speech Like a Treasure

The Buddha understood the significance of speech, its power and its potential for good or ill. In his teaching on this the Buddha advises us to abstain from four unwholesome activities: lying, telling tales, harsh language and frivolous talk.

Lying - The Buddha instructs us to tell the truth, to avoid deception through speech, to be reliable and trustworthy. We should never lie for the advantage of ourselves or others. Our answers to questions should be plain and simple: called upon and asked as a witness to tell what he knows, he answers if he knows nothing, "I know nothing", and if he knows, he answers "I know".

Telling tales - Telling tales is an unwholesome activity that breeds discord and distrust. The Buddha instructs as follows: What he has heard here, he does not repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and what he has heard there, he does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension here. What we should be interested in is promoting unity and taking delight in the harmony that can be fostered by appropriate speech.

Harsh language - We should according to Buddha's instructions, avoid harsh language. This is abusive and hateful language that is designed to hurt those who it is aimed at. In contrast he urged us to be gentle and polite in our speech, advising us to be friendly and full of sympathy . . . with heart full of love and free from any hidden malice.

Frivolous talk - Finally, the Buddha gives further recognition of the importance of using language in a wholesome and productive way. What we say should be of benefit to others and ourselves: He speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is useful. Speech, says the Buddha, should be like a treasure, uttered at the right moment . . . moderate and full of sense.

Like any other wholesome actions, Right Speech brings good results such as respect and trust. It is also a social cohesive, bringing unity and harmony between people.

Theory of a Thousand Marbles

A friend sent the following story:

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having a fixed commitment. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities. I'll call it the "theory of a thousand marbles."

You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.

Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.

It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail, and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container.

Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.

There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.

This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. Let's use it well.

Iron and Wine - Lion's Mane

What's important.

Ignorance is Optional

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." -- Thomas Jefferson

Believe it or not, ignorance is optional. We control whether we have the knowledge to be fully functioning human beings. This includes the fundamentals of science, technology, history (and biography), government, politics, and spirituality (and ethics), and the arts. The more we know about the things we need to know, the easier and more fulfilling our lives will be.

But what is ignorance? I think that there are five factors which encompass ignorance, and which lead to a painful and diminished life.

First, is sheer ignorance: Ignorance of critical facts about important events in the news, and ignorance of how our government functions and who's in charge.

Second, is negligence: The disinclination to seek reliable sources of information about important news events.

Third, is wooden-headedness: The inclination to believe what we want to believe regardless of the facts.

Fourth, is shortsightedness: The support of public policies that are mutually contradictory, or contrary to the country's long-term interests.

Fifth, and finally, is a broad category I call bone-headedness, for want of a better name: The susceptibility to meaningless phrases, stereotypes, irrational biases, and simplistic diagnoses and solutions that play on our hopes and fears.

Why does this matter? It matters because mistakes are the products of ignorance. It matters because ignorance limits our options for solving our problems.

One of the first steps that we Americans can do to move from ignorance to knowledge is to become familiar with our Constitution. You can learn more here and here.

Learn -- because you have an option.

Endangered Species Act

Thanks to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) -- the 1973 law that requires the federal government to protect endangered species and plan for their recovery -- iconic animals like the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon and the gray whale have rebounded to healthier numbers. It is one of the real success stories of the green movement.

If the Bush Administration has its way, however, those protections may soon be endangered themselves. This week, the White House proposed a sweeping regulatory overhaul of the ESA, virtually eliminating the independent scientific evaluation of the environmental impact of federal actions.

The administration has gone to great lengths to circumnavigate the clear language of the law by rigging the science (in many cases ignoring their own scientists), negotiating settlements favorable to industry and simply refusing to obey court orders. This time, however, the administration means to rewrite the law itself.

It's no secret the Bush administration, along with conservative Republican lawmakers and special-interest industries -- mining, logging and oil -- dislike environmental laws. Their interests should not outweigh our common public interest to preserve all life.

A loud public outcry is needed to halt the process. The president must not be allowed to achieve this dishonorable goal.

(To read more about biodiversity and it's importance to us all, visit E.O. Wilson's Biodiversity Foundation site. To see wonderful examples of life on our planet, visit Frans Lanting's site.)

Energy Fiction vs Reality

America, one of the wealthiest countries on the planet, now pays roughly the same price for oil as the poorest nation, and we respond in immature and irrational ways, stamping our feet and calling for action.

A toxic combination of $4 gasoline, voter anxiety and presidential ambition is making it impossible for this country to have the grown-up conversation it needs about energy. Our presidential candidates are talking about tax gimmicks, tapping into the oil reserve, or drilling everywhere and anywhere now.

Here is the underlying reality: A nation that uses one-quarter of the world’s oil while possessing less than 3 percent of its reserves cannot drill its way to happiness at the pump, much less self-sufficiency. The only plausible strategy is to cut consumption while embarking on a serious program of alternative fuels and energy sources. This is a point the honest candidate should be making at every turn.

Yet four times this summer, Republicans stopped the Senate from taking up legislation that would have provided tax credits to an array of renewable energy entrepreneurs.

Like a nation of small, selfish, petulant children, we cannot rise above politics to establish a policy.

The Union of Concerned Scientists have four things which can start today; it is not dependent on future technologies:

1. Make better cars and SUVs - The technology exists to build cars, minivans, and SUVs that are just as powerful and safe as vehicles on the road today, but get 40 miles per gallon (mpg) or more.

2. Modernize our electricity system - A national standard requiring 10 percent of our electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020 is an attainable goal. We are already using clean, safe, renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass (fuel from plant matter) to produce clean energy.

3. Increase energy efficiency in homes and businesses - Like better technology for transportation and power generation, the technology for more efficient motors, appliances, windows, homes, and manufacturing processes is here today.

4. Support American ingenuity - Vigorous support for research and development is critical to achieving practical solutions. Yet, we invest far more in subsidies for the fossil fuel and nuclear industries today than on R&D for renewable energy or advanced vehicle technologies. For instance, Congress appropriated $736 million for fossil fuel research and $667 million for nuclear research in 2001, but only $376 million for all renewable energy technologies combined.

(To this list, I would add building up our railway system, as explained in my post here.)

While the United States has a clear-cut moral responsibility to lead the way internationally, we also have the financial and technical expertise that will help us reap the economic benefits of new markets for clean technology exports. If, however, we choose to sit on the sidelines as the rest of the world moves ahead, we will lose our competitive advantage to Europe and Japan.

Masters of War

Betrayal of Principles

At the end of World War II, 1200 heavy bombers flew over the vicinity of Royan in western France and dropped napalm, killing German soldiers and thousands of French civilians, destroying what was once a beautiful little resort town. This was April, 1945, and the German soldiers were stranded, left behind, waiting for the war to end.

During the Korean War, a surprise U.S. air attack on east Wolmi island on Sept. 10, 1950, killed 100 or more South Korean civilians. In clear weather from low altitude, U.S. forces napalmed numerous small buildings, strafed children, women and old people in the open area.

In November, 2005, U.S. Marines shot 24 Iraqi civilians, killing men, women and children at close range. Aws Fahmi, a Haditha resident who said he watched and listened from his home as Marines went from house to house killing members of three families, recalled hearing his neighbor across the street, Younis Salim Khafif, plead in English for his life and the lives of his family members. "I heard Younis speaking to the Americans, saying: 'I am a friend. I am good,'" Fahmi said. "But they killed him, and his wife and daughters."

In war, there is nothing noble. In war, there are only betrayals of the principles for which the war was supposed to have been fought. I don't want to honor military heroism -- that conceals too much death and suffering. I want to honor those who have opposed the horror of war.

Buddhists believe that all life is precious. "No killing" is the First Precept. For those who have, with intent and foresight, harmed or caused harm, their future is determined by the law of Karma. There is no exception.

However, Buddhists don't believe in passivity. We believe we should do something about the conflicts in the world. But we should not do war. Because war makes things worse than they were before. War has consequences which you cannot predict.

What we can do is change from a military superpower to a humanitarian superpower. We are enormously wealthy. Let's use that wealth to help change social and economic conditions around the world. Is this less of a goal than is war?

The Wind - Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam

For another wonderful version click here. Bless you, Yusuf Islam.

The Buddhist Way of Life for Householders

The Buddha considered economic welfare as a requisite for human comfort, but moral and spiritual development for a happy, peaceful and contented life.

A man named Dighajanu once visited the Buddha and said, ‘Venerable Sir, we are ordinary laymen, leading a family life with wife and children. Would the Blessed One teach us some doctrines which will be conducive to our happiness in this world and hereafter?’

The Buddha told him that there are four things which are conducive to a human’s happiness in this world. (1) he should be skilled, efficient, earnest, and energetic in whatever profession he is engaged, and he should know it well; (2) he should protect his income, which he has thus earned righteously, with the sweat of his brow; (3) he should have good friends who are faithful, learned, virtuous, liberal and intelligent, who will help him along the right path away from evil; (4) he should spend reasonably, in proportion to his income, neither too much nor too little, i.e., he should not hoard wealth avariciously nor should he be extravagant—in other words he should live within his means.

Then the Buddha expounds the four virtues conducive to a layperson’s happiness hereafter: (1) he should have faith and confidence in moral, spiritual and intellectual values; (2) he should abstain from destroying and harming life, from stealing and cheating, from adultery, from falsehood, and from intoxicating drinks; (3) he should practice charity, generosity, without attachment and craving for his wealth; (4) he should develop wisdom which leads to the complete destruction of suffering, to the realization of Nirvana.

Many people think that to be a good Buddhist one must have absolutely nothing to do with the materialistic life. This is not correct. What the Buddha teaches is that while we can enjoy material comforts without going to extremes, we must also conscientiously develop the spiritual aspects of our lives. While we can enjoy sensual pleasures as lay people, we should never be unduly attached to them to the extent that they hinder our spiritual progress.

Riding the Rails

During the 1850's, the nation was expanding. California had just opened, and there was a need to unite the coasts. The railways were built, largely with federal funding.

Today, for this vast nation with large pockets of clogged highways, AMTRAK has been getting very little federal aid since its creation in 1971 as a public service corporation.

Japan and Western European countries have modern, fast rail services, with modern equipment and solid rail beds coursing throughout their territories with governmental assistance. They are a public service, not meant to make a profit, anymore than public libraries or public schools, although the rail passengers do pay for their tickets.

In our country, AMTRAK has aging equipment, has to use the freight railroad beds and has very little money for rolling stock and track capacity, especially at critical “chokepoints” where delays occur with freight trains.

With soaring gasoline and airfare prices, more Americans need mass transit and AMTRAK to get to their destinations.

The American people have to ask themselves how robust and convenient a modern passenger rail system they want. As good as the one in Canada? As good as the systems in France and Germany?

Given the distances we must travel, the high fuel costs, and the impact of fossil fuels on our environment, America can justify a first-class, high-speed passenger rail system that will save more than it costs.