i'm used to people getting up from the table and walking away when i want to talk about something "serious"

i have friends and family members who roll their eyes when i get passionate about injustices. i have friends and family members who are supportive and great listeners. i am compelled to study and research politics and human rights. it is a dark thing to learn about sometimes. but this i know: that in order to understand the light, we must experience the dark. they are linked. even if we ignore the horrible things that happen in this world, they still affect us...so we might as well look them straight in the face, and do whatever we can to bring light to the dark. a couple things i want to mention that i found interesting in my morning readings:

1) an excerpt from "destructive emotions: how can we overcome them?" a scientific dialogue with the dalai lama. i find this paragraph very interesting...i neither agree nor disagree with it. i'm still grappling with it in my head.

"I think when Kant said that it's one thing to be happy but another thing to be good, he thought first of all that the demands of being a good person are so hard--that there are always temptations. The demands of living a morally good life are such that you might have to sacrifice all the things that would bring you happiness. You might have to give up your life. You might have to ask your children to give up their lives for some important cause.

"Kant went so far as to think that if you performed a moral action because you were emotionally pushed to do it, it had no moral worth. For example, he thought that although the love between parents and children is natural, it has no moral worth--because morality has to involve struggle against the self.

"He [Kant] thought that if there is a kind of happiness you have to give up when you stand by an important moral cause, that is a price you should be willing to pay."

at the moment, i think i believe that being good and being happy are inseparable. but, this is interesting, nonetheless. think about it.

2) am obsessed with piero ferrucci's book, "the power of kindness." your heart and soul will devour this book. will be reading it over and over again. here's an excerpt from the final pages:

[in reference to global problems: hunger, war, injustice, pollution, the waste land] "No one can ignore these difficulties because they touch us every day in many ways. But they are so big that we cannot imagine even scratching their surface by ourselves, except a few exceptional individuals who have the capacity to act and inspire others on a large scale.

Yet each of us can take a stand internally against such disasters--which implies choosing how we want to be. It happens anyway. We have to coexist with these enormous troubles, and we all take some attitude toward them. Perhaps we ignore them to defend ourselves against the anguish they arouse in us. Perhaps we feel guilt. Perhaps we make social and political commitments. Being kind is taking a stand...

Just as important is to realize that microcosm is macrocosm: Each person is the whole world...If we can bring some relief and well-being to just one person's life, this is already a victory, a silent, humble response to the suffering and pain of the planet. This is the starting point."

now,i want to ask you to do something. first, become informed. second, take action. so instead of watching "wife swap" or "super nanny" tonight, take some time to watch some Bill Moyers episodes online. below are the topics and their links.

1) Healthcare--Single Payer. Bill Moyers talks with David Himmelstein, a medical doctor who teaches at Harvard, and Sidney Wolfe, a medical doctor who works for Public Citizen. Interesting to see how Obama supported single payer healthcare as a senator...not any more. interesting, yes? can't resist saying it, Obama is a brand.

2) Learn about consumerism and the fantasy of "green" products. Moyers interviews Daniel Goleman who recently wrote "Ecological Intelligence."

3) Torture. A gruesome topic for sure, but revealing of what goes on behing closed doors in our government. This documentary is incredibly informative and well put together.

take action.

1) tell everyone you know about single payer health care, and be loud about it. AND write your government representatives that you want single payer health care.

2) go to good guide and modify your shopping list accordingly. may i suggest you start by simply cutting your shopping habits in half...do you really need all that stuff?

3) pay attention to what government officials are doing...is it really what the american people want? raise your voice...write letters, talk to neighbors and families. let your representatives know that you are watching them closely and will vote them out if necessary.

though i am used to people walking away from me when i have something i want to really talk about, it doesn't mean i enjoy it.

please leave your comments here about your thoughts after watching some of these clips. and tell us how you took action.