Repurposing an old school

Here is the letter I sent to the committee that's deciding what to do with the property where Bingham school now sits, at the corner of 77th & Wyandotte in the Waldo area of Kansas City. To share your thoughts with the committee, come to the community meeting:

Thursday, January 10
6:00 pm
Keystone United Methodist Church
406 W. 74th St

Dear Ms. White:

Thank you for all the work on the Repurposing Initiative. It has taken tremendous dedication from the whole committee to solicit, analyze, and negotiate proposals for the closed school sites in Kansas City. I especially appreciate the effort that you and the committee have made to include the surrounding community in the conversations and the decisions.

I live a block from Bingham, and so am personally interested in what will happen to that site. It is unfortunate that Hen House backed out of the contract, as their proposal sounded most positive. Their commitment to the local economy and the way that they considered the needs and desires of the community in their planning were great strengths. Since their store was a replacement for the Price Chopper on Wornall, they would have added to the local economy without redundancy.

Now, we are again left with the difficult decision of what to do with the space. As a neighbor, here are my thoughts.

Yes, it’s an eyesore. The abandoned school building at the corner of Wyandotte & 77^th St. adds little to the beauty of the neighborhood. The boarded up windows and dirty brick seem despondent and neglected.

But surrounding the edifice are patches of green space brimming with life and action. On any given day of the week, you can find athletes and friends, young and old, playing baseball, football, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, and even Lacrosse. In the early morning dog owners slip through the gate to let their dogs run free for a few minutes, and on warm days families spread out picnics on the rough grass. Even without a playground, tables, or sidewalks, this area serves as an unofficial park for the community.

The city has determined that empty space is neither profitable nor manageable. That’s true. The old building must go, and the property needs a proper designation. So, how do we determine the best use for this space?

It seems that we have chosen the path of the largest bidder, to sell the land to a developer. Although many potential buyers made offers, only three were chosen to present to the public. The explanation was that these were the only three who offered the price range that the city was looking for. The community gave feedback at a public meeting, and given the limited choices, the public requested the one developer who promised to leave some green space for public use.

Unfortunately, this deal fell through, so we may be saddled with option two, a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, who promises to remain open 24 hours a day and, instead of green space, will install gas pumps. Who would want to live next to that?

If the city were a business, this would make some sense. But the city is not a business, it is a community, and so leaders must make decisions based on what will best serve the needs of the community.

Take a look around this area of town. The closest grocery store to this property is 1 block away, and it is rarely overflowing with business, most likely because there are 7 more grocery stores within a two-mile radius.

To discover what the surrounding neighborhood wants and needs look at how they’re already using the land: kids’ baseball and football practice, Sunday pick-up Ultimate Frisbee games, weekly Lacrosse practice, leash-free area for pets, play area for children.

Yes, the city is short on cash and could use a few million, but if we invest in the real needs of the residents now, when we have an opportunity, we will spend far less in the future addressing the blight, rise in crime, and rent in the social fabric of the Waldo neighborhood.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I look forward to the meeting this Thursday when the community will discuss the plans for the future.

Yours,

Dagney Velazquez

It's not about marriage

It’s nothing to do with marriage.
Across the country, people are making commitments to life partners, some to partners of the opposite gender, some to same gender partners. They do so in ceremonies and celebrations attended by friends and family as well as more private ceremonies. Together, then, they create homes.
Laws and constitutional amendments do not prevent or even deter this. No matter what North Carolina (or any other state) residents vote, people will continue exchanging vows to love one another through this life. No law can affect this.
What can the law do? It can not prevent relationships, but it can refuse to recognize people’s relationships with one another. It can discriminate between people. It can, and throughout our country’s history often does, deny to some groups privileges that it bestows on others. It can give financial breaks and physical protection to some but not to others.
It can turn its back on people it doesn’t like in hopes that they will disappear.
But we never disappear. We grow stronger, demand recognition as humans equal to all other humans.
“I’m not anti-gay, I’m pro-marriage,” one voter claimed.
No, this has nothing to do with marriage. Rather, this has everything to do with anti-people-not-like-you.
In the end, civil equality will win, and I will proudly tell my grandchildren that I was on the winning team, the team of fairness and humanity.
This post is inspired by and dedicated to Vicki and Janice who, after 30 years of committed love and raising two beautiful children together, will travel to New York in July to be legally married. To all who know them, their relationship demonstrates deep and abiding love, faithfulness, mutual support and unending friendship. I am grateful to have them in my life.

Math, the gateway discipline

“Math is like crack to you, isn’t it?”

One of my students in an Algebra class I taught said this to me. I took it as a compliment, though I’m not sure it was meant that way. It’s true, math excites and energizes me. It brings me pleasure, almost as much as it frustrates and confuses me. I’m well aware, though, that not everyone shares my excitement. If math were not a graduation requirement, our math classrooms would be nearly empty, populated only by the few math addicts, like myself.

The question I hear most often from my students is, “how am I going to use this in real life?” It’s a valid question. No one likes to suffer without reason. But I find myself reflecting that people don’t ask this of their music classes, their art classes, or even their literature classes. These studies are usually appreciated on their own merit, for the beauty, color, and depth that they add to life.

Albert Einstein said, “Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” Mathematics can stretch us in ways that nothing else can. It tests the limits of possibility of our minds and the universe around us, and then takes us beyond those limits.

When I read the news, listen to political commentaries, and take part in the debates over current issues, I realize that we could do with a bit more poetry of logical ideas. Too often when it comes to the important things of life, logic and clear critical thinking get left in the dust and we find ourselves in confused and ugly messes.

Not that mathematics makes sense of everything. The same genius I quoted before also said, “Mathematics are well and good, but nature keeps dragging us around by the nose.” Just when we think we have everything figured out, a black hole opens up and nothing makes sense anymore. That is the world of nature, and so that is the world of mathematics. It not only orders and classifies, but it is full of mysteries, such as why does that number pi keep showing up all the time? And how can two imaginaries come together to form something real? If I told my daughter that two unicorns can create a horse, she’d never believe me. Sometimes, math is a wonderful, powerful mystery.

The poetry, the logic, the mystery, the discovery- these are why math is addictive for me. And it’s why, in an institution of higher education, we require our students to at least try a taste, in hopes that they will go out into the world and infect it with a little more reason, a little more beauty, and a little more poetry.

Religion: a faith or an excuse?

For many it is a deeply held faith, but for others it is an excuse to avoid civic duty, operate outside the bounds of the law and grasp for power.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

They are the first words in the Bill of rights. I am no constitutional expert, but I can see where they would leave room for interpretation. What does "free exercise" mean? How far can it go?

It was intended to keep the government from getting involved in religion and vice versa, but what do we do when these two worlds cross? When a religious organization buys property, must it abide by all the laws that apply to other property owners? The taxes and codes associated with property fall under the authority of government, but would restricting the legal use of property be prohibiting free exercise of religion? On the other hand, how might allowing free reign to all religious organizations trample the rights of others? And does a religious organization need to be allowed to do anything it wants in order to exercise freely? Do these words mean that anything goes?

This has always been and will probably continue to be debated, but it is disturbing how often religious authorities use the shield of religion and faith to hide their own self-serving purposes, to wield power, or to oppress others. Not all religious people do this, in fact many are sincere in their faith that inspires them to good deeds. When some people's use of religion costs others, though, a line must be drawn.

It makes no sense, for example, that clerics do not pay the same in income taxes as the rest of the country. A minister does not have to pay tax on the portion of income used for housing, which includes rent or mortgage, utilities, furnishings, and all household items. This means that often half of their income is not taxed, and yet they still benefit from all those services paid for by all our taxes. How is it right that our tax dollars are subsidizing the clergy?

Labor laws, intended to ensure equity and justice in the workplace, hold religious organizations to a lower standard. Sex and race discrimination that are penalized elsewhere must be overlooked in faith-based organizations, as people use religion as an excuse for their bigotry. The government won't touch that.

But when religious organizations move out of their private sphere and into the world of education, medicine, and commerce, is it unreasonable that they must submit to the authority that governs these spheres? No, in fact we recognize in so many ways that this is reasonable. Religious schools must meet certain standards to be accredited. Hospitals must follow health codes. Churches must charge sales tax on commodities sold.

And so why, if the government requires specific minimum standards for health care insurance, standards set for the good of public health, would it not apply to all employers choosing to operate in the sphere of employer-employee relations? It may have been religious fervor that inspired the building of a hospital, but its existence is not necessary for the free exercise of religion. A high-minded faithful person may have felt called by God to start a university, but its parent organization does not require its continuance to practice its faith. Therefore, they fall under the regulation that any other organization would fall under, including laws that we all must follow for the good of society and for justice for all.

Over half of the states in our country already require that any health care insurer that covers prescription drugs include contraceptives in the coverage. This is nothing new, and the laws were created with public health in mind. If private citizens believe this shouldn't be required and want to do away with the laws, then they may. But it is time to stop hiding behind religion to dominate over others, and it is time that we stop catering to that behavior. Freedom of religion does not apply here.

What will you do when you're 111 years old?

"I'm too old to...."

Never mind, because in light of Warina Zaya Bahou, that excuse just crawled in the corner, released one last pathetic whimper, and died of asphyxiation.

Today at 2:00 p.m., Bahou, born in 1900, will become the second oldest person to become a naturalized citizen of the United States (who was the oldest? Fifteen minutes of intense googling did not reveal an answer).

The first time I tried the excuse I was just 14 years old. After playing violin for 4 years, I lamented that I wished I had chosen cello as my instrument, but it was too late to switch instruments- I was too far along in my musical career. I was too old. (insert eye roll here)

It's an easy excuse, one that is always standing by, waiting for the opportunity to jump to the aid. Pass by an opportunity 10 years ago? It's too late now. You're too old to begin something new now. Like Waterboy, though, the "mama always says" battles the creepy "I'm too old" excuse. My mama always said to me, "Well, two years are going to pass, one way or the other. At then end of those two years you will have either accomplished this or not. Either way, you'll be 2 years older. Saying it's too late isn't going to stop the two years from happening."

I wonder whether a similar voice whispered to Bahou. I don't know how long she worked toward naturalization, but even if it took 10 years, that would mean she didn't begin it until she was over 100. Did her mama's ghost tell her, "Well, in 10 years, you will be 111, there's no stopping that, and either you will be a U.S. citizen or you won't. Which do you choose?"

Suddenly, I'm feeling young, spry, and full of potential.

Why my daughter wants to be president

This morning, during our commute, while I’m still waiting for the caffeine jolt from the 6 a.m. coffee, my daughter’s brain is in full gear. An excerpt from our conversation:

Aliyah: I want to be the president when I grow up.

Me: Why do you want to be president?

Aliyah: So that I can make rules.

Me: What kind of rules do you want to make?

Aliyah: To make countries stop fighting each other.

Me: That’s a good rule.

Aliyah: And I heard that there are still slaves. I don’t want there to be slaves.

Me: No, neither do I.

Aliayh: Also, some people think that basketball is just a boys’ sport, and that’s wrong.

Not a bad platform, really. Her top priorities are peace, human rights, and equality. Listening to the news, reading politicians’ speeches, and looking at how I spend my own time, these don’t seem to be the top priorities for many.

Buzz phrases like, “bring to justice,” are mere euphemisms for vengeance, and I rarely see peace, wholeness, and healing as even desired outcomes. There is a sense of satisfaction in watching thieves led away in handcuffs, and our nation celebrates when we kill our enemies. I admire organizations and individuals dedicated to reconciliation, but also wonder why this isn’t the standard operating procedure for all of us.

Slave traders, though, do need to be brought to justice, or at least shut down. There are many fighting this good fight, but not nearly enough. Today there are more slaves in the United States than there were before the Civil War. Why do we tolerate this? If we deployed as many resources in addressing this as we do fighting illegal immigration and undocumented workers, would the problem still be so looming?

Ah, and the forever present sexism alive and well today, both subtle and overt. It was tears of shame, anger, and confusion that welled in my eyes when trying to explain to my daughter the lack of women in politics. Another piece of this morning’s conversation:

Aliyah: We haven’t had very many women presidents, have we?

Me: We haven’t had any.

Aliyah: What? But why not?

Me: Well, for about the first 150 years of this country’s history, women weren’t even allowed to vote.

Aliyah: That doesn’t make any sense. Why wouldn’t they let women vote?

That’s a tough one. Although the nonsensical can sound sensible in adult discourse, it is difficult to explain intolerance, narrow-mindedness, and bigotry to a child. It just doesn’t make sense to her.

My hope is that it never does, because if fighting, slavery, sexism, and racism never make sense to Aliyah, she will indeed make a very fine president.

Governor Brownback's answer to poverty: get those women married

Shortly after returning a $31.5 million grant to enable Kansas to develop its own online health insurance exchange, months after cutting the state’s education budget by $100 million, and after spending millions of dollars this summer in an attempt to shut down all of the state’s women’s health clinics, Kansas Governor Brownback is applying for a $6.6 million federal grant to create his marriage initiative program. He claims that this will address childhood poverty in the state.

What is the reasoning? According to Census reports, 50% of families in Kansas living below the poverty level are single mother households. The Census doesn’t bother to report the number of single father households living below poverty. And so Brownback has concluded that the answer to these single mothers’ woes is to find themselves husbands, and he is going to pay them to do so.

The project will use the millions of dollars to hire counselors who will encourage single parents, mostly women, to get married, offering the incentive of a free marriage license. And this is how he intends to address the problem of the thousands of children in poverty, a number that will most likely increase in the coming years thanks to the vast cuts in the educational budget, cuts that disproportionately affect the lower classes.

There are so many things wrong with this plan that it’s difficult to know where to begin. I’ll try.

First, counseling with a predetermined agenda is not good, ethical, or healthy counseling. If a counselor meeting with a single mom is instructed, before even meeting her, to encourage her to marry, there is no room for helping the woman assess her life and herself and determine what would be best for her and her family. She is not counseled, she is coerced. Marriage is complicated enough, but a marriage entered into under coercion is even more likely to end in disaster. Since women who divorce experience a drop in their standard of living, these women are likely to end up even worse off than they were before.

There might be a good reason single mothers aren’t married to the father of their children. He might be abusive, irresponsible, unsupportive of his children, or the mother and father may have no love for one another. Pushing them into marriage will only exacerbate the problems. If he is abusive, now he is around even more to verbally, emotionally, physically, or sexually abuse his spouse, and now it will be even more difficult for her to escape. If he is a man who can’t hold a steady job, she now has one more person to support. And she’s stuck, because though the $50 marriage license was free, who’s going to pay for her $5,000 divorce?

This project also disempowers women. The studies that show that divorced women suffer a lowered standard of women speaks to the need to address the persistent gender inequality in our society. The $9 million would be better spent on helping women, especially heads of households, obtain education and job skills that would better their families. Global organizations that combat poverty have discovered that educated women tend to reinvest their education into their families and community. Instead of investing in education and training, though, Brownback is reducing opportunities for education, especially for the lower class, a majority of whom are women and children. It would appear that his motive is to force women’s dependence on men.

You want to help children in poverty, Brownback? Stop reducing their educational opportunities. You want to help struggling single mothers? Address the gender gap in income, education, and training. You want to increase the divorce rate and domestic violence? Continue your planned course of action.

I Didn't Want to be a Mom

Motherhood was not part of the plan. Any of my friends from high school can vouch for that. I just didn’t have that motherly instinct, and nurturing is one of the last words anyone would use to describe me. Plus, I didn’t like children.

This is why one of the biggest surprises in my life was when I fell in love with my daughter.

By my mid-20s, thanks to outside influences, I at least opened up to the possibility of having a child. I never focused on it as a goal, but simply decided that if it happened I’d be ok with it. I was 28 when I conceived, and I must admit that my first thought was, “Huh. Well, I guess I’d better buy a book about this.”

This reaction may sound absurd or even offensive to some women. I have friends and family members who worked very hard to become pregnant, and some even who were devastated when nothing worked. My heart goes out to them. I know what it is like to have a great desire for life or a dream of what you would like to be and do only to be frustrated in every attempt. And it can not be easy to know that it comes easily or unplanned to those for whom it is not a great desire.

But there it is. I was pregnant, and although I wasn’t worried about making ends meet or how I would raise her, I still wasn’t sure what it all meant. I wasn’t at all sure I would have the ability to love a child, and that uncertainty was my greatest fear.

The first relief to that uncertainty was the first time I heard her heartbeat. To the doctor, it was a routine checkup, but when I heard that little fluttering for the fist time, rogue tears leapt out of my eyes and softened my heart. She continued to capture my love, this little life, as I watched her on the sonogram and then felt her increasing strength within. By the time she was born, I already knew her, and we snuggled up together as if we’d always known each other.

Eight years later, people still wouldn’t describe me as nurturing. I’m still not too fond of babies, unless of course they are related. My baby girl, though, has a fierce hold on my heart, and I watch her in amazement every day. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her, teach her, and support her in discovering and pursuing her greatest dreams.

And I will do all that I can to help other moms, moms with life obstacles a thousand times greater than mine, do the same for their children.

More on that later.

Is "luxury" a bad word?

The early morning drive to school is tough for my daughter and me, but we have fortunately discovered that the morning news sparks her inquisitiveness and leads to some of our best conversations.

Yesterday morning we heard this story. In Beigjing, officials are cracking down on the advertising of luxury, banning certain words and images from billboards and other ads. My daughter, who dreams of visiting China, piped up,
"What's going on in China? What are they doing there?"
"Well, it sounds like they're banning the advertising of luxury," I respond.
"What's that word, 'luxury?'"
So, the remainder of the ride we talked about the difference between necessity and luxury. Our morning commute is long enough that she had a fairly firm grasp of the concepts by the time we reached her school.

That afternoon, we stopped by my parents' house, and while Aliyah snacked on peanut butter crackers I told my mom that Aliyah learned a new vocabulary word that morning. I briefly summarized the conversations, and my mom said,
"Well, let's see how well you remember, Aliyah. I'll quiz you. Is visiting grandma's house a necessity or a luxury?"
"It's a necessity."
"Very good!" Big hug and a kiss, "And what about homework? Necessity or luxury?"
"Luxury."
"Yes! You understand the words perfectly."

At this point, being the good mother that I am, I rolled my eyes and and questioned the wisdom of ever bringing my daughter back there again.

But maybe they had a point. In my mind, I played out a couple of scenarios. What if her attitude were reversed? Homework is a necessity and visiting grandma is a luxury. Necessity must always come before luxury, so she works hard at achieving the best grades and, eventually, the best-paying job, the most successful business, achieve, achieve, achieve. work, work, work, and when you have leftover time, you can indulge in a few (but only a few, everything in moderation) luxuries like visiting grandma, playing with friends, traveling to China. My mind and spirit are exhausted just thinking about it.

Then I play out the scenario with her answers. Yes, there's the homework, but first, take care of the necessity of visiting grandma, laughing with Papa, digging in the fresh dirt in the garden, riding bikes. Yes, studying this field would have more career potential, but studying the subject where her passion lies is necessary first. Investing time there could lead to a great business opportunity, but China must be visited first.

What if our hearts' desires and longings were the necessities, and we questioned all those things that the culture and authorities try to convince us are a must? What if we didn't blindly accept every time we heard, "You need to..." "You have to...." "You must..."

What if we simply said, "no," and instead chose for ourselves what is necessary and what is luxury? What if we didn't feel the need to justify, explain, or defend our choices to those whose necessity and luxury lists are different from ours? What if we didn't question their lists?

My latest necessity? Summit Mount Elbert.

What Christians misunderstand about Freethinkers and what Freethinkers misunderstand about Christians

Over 50 people packed into the back room of Perkins for the evening's discussion. Armed only with pie an coffee, Christians, atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, and even one or two Wiccans, settled in for an evening of understanding one another. Probably the biggest surprise of the evening was that we actually did.

Fred, the ever brave moderator, kicked off the evening by inviting a couple of testimonies. The first woman shared the story of how she became an atheist. Raised in a Catholic home, she converted to Methodism in college and eventually teamed with her husband to lead a campus ministry. Great personal tragedy led to a struggle with God, which eventually led to questioning the existence of God. She said this was just the starting point, and it was through a long process of searching, questioning, and rationalizing that she finally concluded that she no longer believed in God.

The second testimony sounded like the carbon copy of the first. This young woman was not raised in a religious home, and she made many very unhealthy life choices that led her to a life situation that almost destroyed her. Through the influence of her grandmother and some powerful sermons, she came to understand God's love and said that her faith has kept her from going back down the road of a destructive lifestyle.

To then warm up the crowd for discussion, Fred showed the following 3 clips, allowing a few minutes reaction from the crowd after each:

What we all share in common was already suggesting itself as most people in both groups laughed at the first clip and were drawn to Campolo's passion for feeding the hungry and helping the poor. We were able to begin the discussion of the stereotypes we tend to assume about one another and how, though some may fit the description, the vocal minority often distorts the reality of most.

We were able to peacefully assemble three lists that evening. First:

What do Christians misunderstand about atheists and other non-believers?

1. They do not know that many atheists have a Christian background.

2. They equate atheism with Paganism or Satanism.

3. They say that atheists are amoral or have nothing on which to base morality.

4. They believe that atheists are deficient and need to be saved.

5. They view atheists as unhappy and/or angry.

6. They pity them.

7. Many Christians make these assumptions while admitting they don't even know any atheists.

What do atheists and other non-believers misunderstand about Christians?

1. They think all Christians are Bible thumpers.

2. They think Christians are ignorant and incapable of thinking critically.

3. They think that everyone who claims to be a Christian follows the teachings of Christ.

The longest list of the evening, though was:

What do we have in common?

1. Love

2. Dignity of the individual

3. Humor

4. Integrity

5. Morality

6. Desire for companionship

7. Compassion

8. Freedom

9. Curiosity

10. Diversity

11. Creativity

12. Misunderstood

13. Sex

14. Fear

15. Blood

We ended the evening with a brief presentation of 10 Things Christians and Atheists Can and Must Agree On, as delivered by thoughtful blogger David Wong.

So, all an all, an enlightening and civil evening. But then, it's only the first. Rumor has it that Fred and Cole, the leaders of this newly fused group, have at least 5 more discussion nights planned. It's not too late to join the fun. Go to the meetup site for the latest information and to sign up.

Brian Greene tells us everything may not be all there is

What's it like to stand on the edge, looking beyond known reality to where we might be going next?

It is a life full of uncertainty, anxiety, and discomfort, says Brian Greene, theoretical physicist and author of best-selling book, "The Elegant Universe," "The Fabric of the Cosmos," and newly released "The Hidden Reality."

Yes, that's right. I used "theorectical physicist," and "best-selling" in the same sentence, which is a little like a movie about social networking winning an Oscar for best musical score. It's an unexpected and yet intriguing combination.

Unity on the Plaza was filled to capacity and then some Thursday night for the first speaker of the year in the Linda Hall Library series based on the theme "innovation," and it wasn't just all the geeks of Kansas City congregating. Children, science teachers, musicians, college students, techies, and the intellectually curious sat in rapt attention as Greene managed to weave stories of his children, pictures of ants on a telephone cable, and theories of muliple universes with such mastery that the theories of complex physics were within the grasp of even those who had never passed Calculus.

Before launching into string theory (read the book because I'm not even going to attempt a summary of his summary here) and the seemingly contradictory concept of repulsive gravity, Greene tossed out the provocative idea that, "what we thought was everything may only be a small part of everything."

In fact, Greene opened our minds to so many far-reaching theories that by the time, toward the latter end of his presentation, that he informed us that there may be as many as 10 physical dimensions, we were all actually willing to accept it. "Well, of course there are, Brian," I could hear our collective brains conceding, "how else could you explain this wild, wacky universe, um, multiverse." (The very literary among you might recall that a really smart mathmetician/monk posed a similar idea over 100 years ago in "Flatland").

Really, at times it felt like I had jumped onto a roller coaster that took off before I had time to engage the protective shoulder harness. We raced up and down the concepts of space, energy, time and origins. Our imaginations spun furiously under us, and at times I was barely holding on with my fingertips. It was such fun that I didn't want the ride to end, but the pace was so frantic and the turns so sharp that I was constantly afraid of falling off.

And then it ended, just like that. After an hour and a half of cramming my mind with the infintely large and the inconceivably small, I walked out into the cool night, and my only thought was, "well, here I am. I guess it's time to go home now."

At home, I kissed my little girl good-night, snuggled into the warm embrace of my love, and dreamed of the everything beyond the everything, in which my spirit found great comfort. Why? This I can explain no more than I could explain why there are 10^500 possible shapes to the other 7 dimensions. It just is.

Oklahoma Mayor thinks guns belong in school

When buying school supplies next fall, be sure to add a Colt revolver to the list.

Nathan Bates, the mayor of Stillwater, Oklahoma, the town that hosts Oklahoma State University, wants to lift the ban on concealed weapons on college campuses across the state. After all, he reasons, students are probably already carrying concealed weapons anyway. Lifting the ban would remove the consequences from those who are caught.

He also boasts that if a malicious shooter arrives on campus, students with guns could respond more quickly than the police.

Oh, did I mention that Bates himself is a student at OSU? Yep.

As an educator, the thought of concealed weapons allowed on a campus is a little frightening. More than once I’ve had to dismiss a student from class, and quite often they’re not too happy with me. There have been times when I was a little nervous about the student’s emotional reaction. My dean is adement about ensuring our personal safety and encourages us all to take precautions. I’ve been cautious, but feel confident and safe in the classroom. This would completely change if concealed weapons were allowed.

Is it possible that one of my student’s has a concealed weapon? Possible, yes, but not likely. Although many may have weapons at home, they know that if they are caught with a weapon on campus the consequences are serious enough that it’s not worth it. If they were allowed to bring weapons to school, many would, and I wouldn’t feel safe teaching and managing my class. I’m not alone in saying I would never teach on a campus that allowed concealed weapons.

I also shudder to think about how the few incidents of students fighting in the hall (not common, but still a reality) would have escalated quickly had weapons been involved.

But what about the idea of protecting the self and others if a shooter arrives on campus? It’s not that simple. Look at the recent shooting in Tucson, Arizona that injured 19 people including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The shooting happened in a crowded area, and Arizona allows the carrying of concealed weapons, so where were all the weapons of protection? Where were the heroes? Those not present boast that had they been there they would have taken out the gunman, but the truth is, none of us knows how we will react in a given situation until we are in it. I don’t believe that the residents of Arizona are any more cowardly than the rest of the country’s population.

Although they garner huge publicity, the incidents of shooters on a campus is relatively low. Do we really want to increase the risk? There’s the falsity of the idea that there are always, or usually, good guys and bad guys. For the most part we are all just humans who sometimes react, overreact, or underreact. Add concealed weapons to a college campus, a place teeming with young people in high stress, competitive situations, often suffering from lack of sleep, and you’re setting the stage for disaster.

There’s a reason OSU school officials oppose the legislation. Maybe Bates should listen to those whose business it is, and has been for many years, to promote a safe, effective learning environment.

The cost of our cheapness

Last Friday, in a quest for a tortilla press (I was later informed that real Guatemalan women use their hands, not fancy gadgets, but since I’m Puerto Rican, tortillas do not run in my blood the way red beans and rice do, so I need a fancy gadget, so there) I trudged through the snow to the local kitchenware store.

Not too far into my jaunt, something struck me as rather odd. Though the snow on the sidewalk was too deep to detect any signs of said sidewalk- in some places I sunk down knee deep- the street was perfectly clear. The only other pedestrians I passed were those forced to brave the drifts to catch their bus.

Cars zoomed past as I clumsily negotiated the icy sludge. If there was ever a doubt that we cater to motorized vehicles over foot power, this illustration pulverized them.

But clearing the public sidewalks would take immense amounts of money, and we don’t even have a sufficient budget for plowing the streets. Yeah, I get that. We have to save money where we can. Other ways we choose to save money include:

1. Roads devoid of bike lanes. Even new roads in this city do not include a lane for bikes. After all, not that many people bicycle (maybe because they fear being sideswiped by rude, careless motorists?)

2. Highly processed food. Michael Pollan outlines in his book “Ominvore’s Dilemma” the attraction of the cheap crop of inedible corn that creeps into most of the processed food we consume. Sure the preponderance of high fructose corn syrup contributes to painful, debilitating diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart failure, that are killing Americans by the millions, but it’s cheap.

3. $0.79/lb chicken breast and $0.89/lb beef. Ever wonder how you could possibly raise a chicken or a cow for this measly amount of money? You don’t want to know. Really. But it’s already hard enough for struggling Americans to feed their families, especially in this economy. Most can’t afford to buy meat at the prices necessary for sustainable farming. But here’s a well guarded secret: we don’t actually need meat at every meal. We don’t even need it once a day. In fact, our over-meat consumption also contributes to the diseases listed above.

4. Education. Let’s look at American businesses. Those who want to excel and beat the competition attract the best and the brightest employees and managers through generous compensation and healthy working environments. Those businesses satisfied with substandard production and sinking revenue try to get as many work hours for the dollar as possible. Which business models do most of our public schools follow? (This is not a slam on teachers or administrators. The ones I know do the very best they can with the resources they’re allotted, sometimes with fantastic results, but some of the very best burn out before their time).

Are these over-generalizations? Perhaps. They were just the thoughts running through my head spurred on by frozen calves. But then I read this in this morning’s paper, about the ever escalating percentages of Americans with unhealthy diets, weights, and life-styles, despite the increasing amount spent on gyms, diets, and workout equipment. It’s not an individual by individual problem. It’s a massive social issue that requires massive social change.

Because our cheapness is costing us billions of dollars and millions of lives.

I'm on the library's most wanted list

This is not normal for me. I'm usually fairly responsible person; I pay my bills on time, I'm prompt, I keep my house fairly clean- well, clean enough. I just have this little problem with library books and that whole bring-them-back concept that libraries are so uptight about. So, for the first time in my life, I had a bill sent to collections and, although I finally did return most of the books (still can't find one) my fines were high enough that I had to set up a 3-month payment plan with the library.

It's embarressing and a little surprising, so I spent some time digging down deep within myself to discover why I struggle so much with responsible library patronage. Here's what I finally came up with:

I don't like returning books.

I mean, I really, really don't like returning books.

I love them. I love to hold them, smell them, listen to that sweet crackling when they are opened, spend hours bonding with them, scribble thoughts in their margins ( another big library no-no, admit turn out), stay awake all night sharing a bottle of wine with them, and drifting off to sleep with them. Returning those who have come to mean so much to me after only a few short weeks seems crude and heartless.

Now, if I were advancing in my spiritual practices, this is where I would talk about the need to release our attachment to the things of this world. I would even rejoice over this discovery of another fetter in need of breaking.
I'm not going to do it. Not just because I'm stubborn (which I am), but also becuase I have discovered freedom in the discovery. Instead of purging myself of this relationship with books which I find so nourishing and pleasurable, I need to adjust my lifestyle so that I no longer damages my credit or taxes the patience of those sweet librarians.
So, no more removing books from the library for me. Research will only be conducted within it's walls; books with whom I would like a deeper relationship I will buy (Half Price Books is my new best friend) and, once the relationship has run its course, will sell back.

If the rules of the game don't work for me, then it's time to change the game. I'm at peace with that, as are all of my new lovely books.

Tweaking Twain: Publisher introduces new and improved "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn"

Read this on the news a couple of days ago. I had to double check the website to make sure it wasn’t a satirical news website. It wasn’t: it’s true. They’re coming out with new and improved Mark Twain, rest his soul.

To make Twain’s classics “Huckleberry Finn” and “Tom Sawyer” more palatable for readers, publisher NewSouth Books in Alabama is working with Twain scholar Alan Gribben to publish the classics with some revisions, such as replacing each occurrence of the word “nigger” with the word “slave.” Gribben claims this word is less offensive to readers and so people will be more likely to embrace the classic novels.

You know, kind of like deep-fat batter frying okra. It’s a southern thing.

Which issue do we tackle first? Well, for starters, I’m offended by the idea that the word “slave” is somehow less offensive. A human who owns another human like any other property- cattle, clothing, a house- is absurd, inhumane, and evil. That this word is somehow more acceptable might be a clue as to why we have more slaves in the United States now than we did before the civil war. It’s just not offensive enough to us.

But let’s get back to that dirty n-word. Is it an offensive word? Absolutely. Is it demeaning to an entire race of people? No doubt. Does it need to be completely purged from our current vocabulary? Certainly. Should we pretend like it never happened? No.

Twain didn’t write fairy tales. And though the protagonists in these books are children, they are not children’s books. He wrote about and for the times, often using humor as the medium for his cutting criticisms of society, a society deeply entrenched is racism, who used words like “nigger” because a majority of them believed that black people were inferior human beings. To turn our eyes from this reality, to pretend it didn’t happen, that it is not a prominent part of our country’s history, is to doom us to ignorance, stagnation, and repetition.

You may disagree with me. You may think that works like Twain’s have no place in a cultured, educated person’s library. Fine. Keep it off your shelves. But for god’s sake, don’t bastardize the man’s writing. If, 100 years from now, someone were to republish my writing removing or changing all the little parts they found offensive, I would rise up out of my grave and knock them over the head. Assuming that Mark Twain was no less spirited than I, let’s not risk it.

Jesus is returning May 21, 2011

Jesus is returning May 21, 2011, according to Raleigh, N.C-based group “We Can Know.” According to its leaders, they have read the scriptures and checked them twice and, sure enough the return flight is scheduled for this coming spring (the weekend before Memorial Day weekend, unfortunately). That’s what the group is proclaiming on billboards across the United States, including two in the KC metro.

Ok, so it’s very easy to laugh at and ridicule groups like these. I mean, the only thing erroneously predicted more often than Jesus’ return is tomorrow’s weather (cloudy with a high of 34). It’s also tempting to shake heads at the thousands of dollars wasted on the billboards in major cities across the country proclaiming their insight.

Their folly, though, is just a humorous, well-advertised example of the folly that many of us commit regularly: spending our energy on anxiety, excitement, and hope for an anticipated future rather than living fully in the here and now. Running through our heads and our conversations are phrases such as, “I’ll be happy when…,” “I can’t wait until…,” “If only…” “What if…” and “Are we there yet?”

When our eyes are always looking forward and our hope is always in tomorrow, discontent robs our peace and anxiety clouds the beauty of the moment.

The danger doesn’t end with a life squandered, for there are other dangers lurking in this folly. An anxious, discontent, fearful people are easy to control and manipulate. Every great dictator, autocrat, and cult leader knows this and leverages it to great advantage. Where there are not obvious reasons for discontent and anxiety, such as the economic depression that Hitler used to his advantage, they can be manufactured: “a woman over age 40 has a better chance of being killed by a terrorist than of getting married!” (false, by the way)

So what about vision casting, goal setting, and dream building? These are useful in discovering one’s guiding intention for daily living, and in fact can help in determining what is important in life and what small things can be released. They become dangerous, though, when they remove focus from daily life, present companions, and joyful contentment.

Nourish your dreams and your visions, but live fully in the present without dwelling on the past or manufacturing anxiety over the future. It’s what Jesus would want- ask him yourself in May.

For my mother, on her 60th birthday

I don’t remember the day when I first realized my mom was a woman and not just my mom. Perhaps it was the day that she went shopping for a new suit to prepare for arguing in front of the Supreme Court. Or maybe it was the day I found, in an old photo album, a black and white head shot from her early 20s and almost cried at the image of such a beautiful, stylish woman. Or it could have been the first time we shared a bottle of wine and laughed long into the night.

Probably it is an ever growing realization. She is a strong woman: of that I have never had any doubt. Defense attorneys would tremble when facing her in the courtroom, and she has never backed down from a life challenge. It was in the midst of battling breast cancer that she set the goal of hiking the Grand Canyon, a goal she accomplished less than a year after her last treatment. No doubt about her mental or physical strength.

And her power of negotiation is a wonder to behold. She possesses an unstoppable combination of complex reasoning, pure eloquence, and endearing charm. People not only give her her way, but come away feeling better for having done so. Though it infuriated me as a teenager, I now find myself attempting to emulate her.

But these qualities weren’t the ones that surprised me when I discovered my mother is a woman. In fact, they may have blinded me to her deeper qualities, those closer to the core of her being: passion and tenderness.

My mother, as it turns out, is not only strong, courageous, and determined, but she also pours her heart into the people and things that she loves. Her children have never doubted

for a second that she is on their side, cheering the loudest and crying even more than we do when we lose. Her friends value her intense loyalty and steadfastness, for they know and feel a love that is full and tenacious where it chooses to love. Professionally, she has consistently chosen the path that follows her heart rather than the money, which is why she has laid aside practicing law in order to teach it. And now she pours herself into her students, whether it is accompanying one to court who has been harassed by the justice system, or bringing one who lived thousands of miles from home to her own home and family for Thanksgiving.

I suppose it is natural that one who is so passionate is also tender, but this is the one I forget the most. It is difficult to remember that this strong, powerful woman can be wounded. And so sometimes I slip and say a harsh word, and immediately see the hurt in her eyes. Or I will hear the pain in her voice when she relays the story of discovering that a few of her best students cheated on an exam. What is truly amazing is that each time her heart hurts, she become not colder or more callous. She does not build impenetrable walls around herself. No, she instead becomes more compassionate, loves even more deeply, and continues to extend herself to those around her.

These qualities combine to make the most incredible woman I know. The day that brought her life to earth is to be celebrated indeed, for my mother has made the world a more beautiful, more joy-filled place, and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Happy Birthday mentor, friend, hero, comfort, mom. I love you.

An upper for the teacher

As a teacher, opportunities for celebration, both large and small, pop up everyday. A few highlights from the last couple of weeks:

1. One of my students walked into my room with a shopping bag full of clothes. “These are for D____,” she said, “because I know he’s homeless and doesn’t have anything. I bought these for him. I know what it’s like to be homeless; I was homeless when I was 10. So, would you please give these to him?”
2. All of the statistics are stacked up against one of my students. His parents are unemployed and have absolutely no money. They live with his grandparents, who also have very little. He spent most of last year in prison. But I have watched this young man fight the odds and rewrite his future. He has been one of our most diligent students this semester, and it looks like he’s going to earn our college’s presidential scholarship: a two-year full ride.
3. Finally, all those college science classes are paying off. A couple of my more ambitious students are reading science lessons on their own. They came to me last week and again this week with questions about cellular biology and genetics. Fun to pull that dusty knowledge off my brain’s shelves. Even more fun to watch their eyes light up every time they learn and understand a new concept.
4. On the last day before Thanksgiving break, I substituted at our family literacy program. We’ve teamed up with the local school district for this program. While their children attend a half-day of pre-school, parents (all mothers in this case) attend ESL classes. I taught both the morning and afternoon sessions of ESL on Friday and loved it. These women impress me beyond words. They have undertaken the task of learning a new language and culture in a new country in order to increase their own and their children’s opportunities. They do so not only with great strength and determination, but also with beautiful grace and humor. Spending a day with them lifted my spirits (which were already fairly high) and instilled a fresh sense of hope in me. Oh, plus I got to watch the kids play in shaving cream, and you just can't put a price tag on that kind of fun.

Even as winter approaches new life springs about me everyday. What a very good place to be.

Using the Bible as a rulebook is like using a Monet as a power drill

You won’t get the job done effectively and you risk ruining both the wall and the Monet.

This article is inspired by the recent decision of an appellate court in Texas concerning an arbitration agreement in a contract between a Christian School and a teacher. According to the contract, employees agree to seek “Biblically based mediation” to address employment conflicts.

I’m not going to address the legal aspects here; that’s my mom’s job. What I am going to rant about is the idea that there can be any such thing as Biblically based mediation.

If you think that the laws of our country can be confusing, open to a wide spectrum of interpretation, and at times even contradictory, the Bible, when used as a rulebook, is a million times more so. Consider these facts:

*The Bible has been used to both defend and oppose slavery.

*The Bible has been used to both promote and destroy women’s rights.

*Faithful Bible followers embrace the use of alcohol, even using it in religious ceremonies, while other Bible followers condemn alcohol as an evil tool of Satan.

*Reformed theologian John Calvin, mister sola Scriptura himself, watched on approvingly as a man was executed for heresy. The man’s crime? Suggesting an alternative theory to the nature of the bread and wine used in communion.

*The Bible commands people to “love your enemies,” while also instructing specific groups to annihilate their enemies.

*Biblical law requires that a man who rapes a woman marry that woman.

*The Bible is used by both rich and poor to prove their favoritism in God’s eyes.

So, if you want to risk inconsistent, unjust, possibly oppressive and most likely sexist mediation, then go ahead and sign an employment contract with such an arbitration clause.

If, however, you would like to work toward a life that is life-giving and freeing, appreciate the Bible for what it is- an ancient document containing the history and tradition of many cultures and several people including beautiful poetry, rich tradition, and even some enduring wisdom- and don’t try to use it as something it’s not- a rulebook, life guide, legal standard, or moral ideal.

How do you translate that?

Last week I substituted in our ESL program for the first time. These students are awesome, by the way. They were all eager to learn and hard-working, and they had amazingly positive attitudes.

Ok, back to the lesson. They were learning to conjugate verbs in the present perfect tense, and to help them practice this as well as their listening skills, their instructor left a handout with the lyrics to Pink’s “Glitter in the Air,” with blanks in place of many of the verbs. We listened to the song a few times so that they could fill in the blanks.

After listening to the song twice, we went over the lyrics to ensure that everyone had the right verbs in the blanks. I then asked the class if there were any other words or phrases that they didn’t understand.

One young man raised his hand and asked me about the song’s phrase, “Have you ever been touched so gently you had to cry?” After I explained the word “gently” he asked, “Why would you cry if someone touched you gently?” A very good question indeed.

I looked over to the women’s table (for some reason they tend to segregate themselves by gender, and all of the men looked clueless) and asked, “Can any of the women answer this question?” One looked at me with understanding in her eyes and answered, “It would make you cry if you had never before been touched gently.”

Yes, that would make someone cry. Yes, that would melt a heart. Yes, that would break something open that needed healing.

And so I started to wonder how many people in the world need to experience a gentle touch that would make them cry; how many people need a gentle word to relax their spirit; how many people need an embrace that feels like home.

The next line of the song is, “Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?”