28-Sep-2006: Introduction
Why am I doing this? Because I often think: I must save that thought
as I go through my life. Some thoughts could be important,some trivial, but I do have a passion.
I've read a few online blogs the past couple of years. I read in the newspaper today that 18,000 new
blogs are being created every day. I don't want this to be a commentary on events as they happen in the
world. Instead, I intend to take a longer range view on issues. I hope you find some of it interesting.
This may sound cynical, but I think that most of what I say to other people is wasted.
It is idle chat offered without thought or construction. We rarely have time to actually listen to each
other. On
the other hand, I have been stunned when friends have told me that a casual remark I made years ago changed
the direction of their lives. That scares me.
What am I saying? I was a secondary school teacher
from my late 20's to late 30's. What did I know then? Not much. I was fairly certain that the technical
instruction I gave was useful.(I taught English literature and composition.) But what about all the personal
stuff that gets transmitted? I taught in a comprehensive high school next to a large Algonquian reserve.
I was proud years later when former students told me that I was the only white teacher that they were sure did
not have a touch of racism.
I do recall one incident in class when a student submitted an assay called "Packies."
The essay was one long racist rant. I refused to grade it. He insisted that it was my duty as a teacher to
grade it and that I was infringing on his right to say what he wished. I stood firm. He then said, "But everybody
knows that what I wrote is true." I gave the only answer I could (with a slam of the palm on my desk to
emphasize it): I don't care if the entire world holds racist views. In this classroom, in this one place,
racism and racist comments will not be tolerated! I noticed a shy Algonquian girl smile when I said that.
The student gave in and agreed to write an essay on a more agreeable subject. Whether I had an effect on
the ranting student or not, I don't know, but I did send a message to the young woman that not all whites are
assholes. (And some, too many, were; consider the students in a remedial class whose teacher said to them:
The reason you are here is because you are stupid. There were times when I was an asshole too, but not
in such a vicious assault on a group of children.
What do I think about? Many things. Like the poor and disenfranchized. I also try to figure out
the minds of those who think that longer prison sentences will reduce crime, when it is so patently obvious that
longer sentences result in more crime, not less. (Check out the USA's prison population and crime statistics.)
Such people puzzle me, because they turn their backs on what, to me, is "common sense." They often claim to have
"common sense" as well, but their "common sense" and my "common sense" are so different that sometimes
I wonder if there are two humanoid species sharing the planet. This is something I will come back to
frequently.
I also like to wonder about the history of our universe and planet, trying so hard to wrap my head around the
immensity of time and space. And, of course, I think about our relationship to that history — where we fit
in.
So, I hope this will be a place where I can order my thoughts more clearly than can be transmitted by
the casual spoken word — and that you will have more time, if you are interested, to consider what
I have to say.