The Buck and Mike Blog

During this election year we have heard a lot of crap about who is patriotic and who is not. So-and-so candidate is not patriotic because he doesn’t wear a flag pin. Another candidate is unpatriotic because he stood too far away from the American flag to be photographed by everyone at every angle. The very idea of questioning a candidate’s patriotism is insulting. Like they want to take a pay cut and serve their country so they can sell out to Italy because they like pizza? Dumb!

If you want to be patriotic, buy only goods manufactured in the U.S. and stay away from Wal-Mart, which has cost more American jobs than any other company. If you want to be patriotic, volunteer to tutor or mentor kids, stop driving your gas-guzzler and buy a bike, become a Big Brother or Big Sister, or get your butt down to New Orleans and help build a Habitat for Humanity house so one of your fellow Americans can finally get their lives back after three long years. That’s patriotism.

Vow to read the Declaration of Independence in its entirety every July 4. After 232 years, it’s still an inspiring and magical document. Listen to the annual reading of the Declaration on NPR’s Morning Edition, where all the hosts and correspondents read portions. Then figure out what you can do to show your patriotism.

Yellow ribbons and flag pins are meaningless. Do something instead. Wrapping yourself in the American flag is disingenuous and, in July it’s too hot!

Have a good Independence Day!

patriotism, Wal-Mart, Big Brother or Big Sister, Habitat for Humanity, Declaration of Independence, NPR, Morning Edition

A couple of weeks ago, Norway became the sixth country to sign on to marriage equality. (See chronology below.) Others will follow shortly, as one of the last barriers to civil rights equality continues to topple worldwide.

Norway has allowed Civil Unions since 1993, making it a pioneer. Because so many of my Mormon pioneer ancestors came from Norway and other Scandanavian countries, I am especially proud of their leadership in the movement toward recognizing the basic civil right to commit yourself to someone you love.

Chronology
Beginning with the most recent, these countries and states grant complete legal marriage equality to same-sex couples. (Click each for details.)
2008
Norway
California

2006
South Africa

2005
Canada (8 out of 10 provinces legalized in 2003)
Spain

2003
Massachusetts
Belgium

2001
Netherlands

Norway, marriage equality, civil rights, Civil Unions, Scandanavian countries

I turn 60 years old today!

I know, it’s just a number, but it’s still a milestone. No everyone makes it to age 60, so I’m grateful to have made it this far.

Just three years after the close of World War II, 1948 was an eventful year whose happenings were to launch many of the social and political trends of our time:

-Israel declared its independence
-The Supreme Court ruled that religious instruction in public schools violated the U.S. Constitution (McCollum v. Board of Education)
-Hell’s Angels was founded
-Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated
-UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
-Pres. Truman ended racial segregation in the U.S. armed forces

A few things I have learned
At age 20, you worry about disappointing your parents. You know your grandparents will accept you and love you no matter what.

At age 40, you worry about disappointing your parents and your children.

At age 60, you still worry about disappointing your parents and kids. Your grandchildren will love you no matter what.

Finally, I have the chance to embarrass my daughter by wearing plaid shorts only to discover they are back in fashion.

Besides family and friends, my life is made rich by vivid memories of people and events that shaped me: John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Vietnam, Woodstock, Nixon, Stonewall, polio, AIDS, the Beatles, the Iron Curtain, the Bamboo Curtain, the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Rights Movement . . . the list is long.

Advice
A couple of people have asked me for sage advice. Here are my twelve commandments:

1. Be yourself.
2. Stand up for your beliefs.
3. Don’t take crap from anyone.
4. Be kind.
5. Slow down.
6. Be independent, but accept help if you need it.
7. Stop whining and blaming.
8. Think broadly and deeply.
9. Be skeptical of authority.
10. Make art.
11. Have grandchildren.
12. Vote Democratic.

P.S. Besides me, some other cultural pioneers were born in 1948: Al Gore, Prince Charles, Kathy Bates, Todd Rundgren, Kenny Loggins, Bernadette Peters, Billy Crystal, James Taylor, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Richard Simmons, Raffi, Gary Trudeau, Dianne Wiest, Cat Stevens, Kathleen Battle, Terry Bradshaw, Brian Eno, Olivia Newton John, Wolf Blitzer, Mikhail Baryshnikov, T-Bone Burnett, Bobby Orr, Christopher Guest, Rhea Pearlman, Peggy Fleming, William Gibson, Bryant Gumbel, Stevie Nicks, Grace Jones, Jimmy Cliff, Alice Cooper, Gérard Depardieu, Samuel L. Jackson, Ozzy Osbourne, Howard Dean, John Carpenter, Jackson Browne, Jerry Mathers, and the late Nell Carter, Johnny Ramone, Rick James, Ronnie Van Zant, and John Ritter

McCollum v. Board of Education, Mahatma Gandhi, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

Gas here is now $4.40 per gallon and I got a bike (the Electric Blue Novara Runabout pictured here). I purchased the used bike at the Community Cycling Center, a wonderful place that takes donated bikes, refurbishes them, and resells them at reduced prices to help finance their operations and outreach, including classes on bike safety and mecanical repairs. A most worthy cause.

I bought my helmet at A Better Cycle, “a worker owned and collectively run used bicycle shop in sunny South East Portland” that, wouldn’t you know it, closes every May 1 for International Workers Day. (Welcome to the Peoples’ Republic of Portland.) The two spacey 20-somethings insisted on this one, the Bern Watts. It’s a “multi-impact” hardhat style developed first for skateboarders and adopted by bikers.

So what’s with the “multi-impact” thing? “Oh, that way you can fall on your head repeatedly and not have to replace your helmet,” he said, “I have one and I store it in the freezer so my head keeps cool in the summer. Awesome, huh?”

Uh, yeah, dudes. Awesome.

Community Cycling Center, A Better Cycle, Bern Watts

We have moved to Portland, Oregon! Well, at least I have. Mike is helping finish off some end-of-fiscal-year things at his employer and will join me in a couple of very long-seeming weeks. I spent several solitary and reflective days driving from Washington, DC, to Portland. My stops are numbered on the map. I learned things driving across the country for the first time. Warning: this is a long post. It may take you as long to read it as it took me to drive it. » Read the rest of this entry »

Portland

Congratulations to all the couples who wait in line starting today to get marriage licenses in California. Waiting today will be easy, because some of you have waited decades for this day. You are part of history today. (I’m thinking especially of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who have waited more than 50 years for this day.)

And congratulations, Californians, for making it possible. California has broken the barriers of discrimination on many other occasions. The state was founded by a diverse mix of peoples seeking a better life. During its rocky history the many different groups of Californians have worked our their issues with each other and blazed the trail for others. As in the past, the rest of the country will follow your lead in the march to equality for all.

Sister-in-law Marsha shared with me a new and amazingly ambitious photographic animation piece by Blu. The video, “MUTO,” is an animation by BLU, painted on public walls. Made in Buenos Aires and in Baden. Produced by Mercurio Film with music by Andrea Martignoni.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo

animation, BLU, Mercurio Film, Andrea Martignoni

In a decision released today the California Supreme Court overturned the state’s ban on gay marriage, concluding that the Domestic Partnership currently offered to same-sex couples in the state is not a legitimate substitute for marriage equality. The court made clear that all couples, regardless of sexual orientation, have the right under the state’s constitution to join in family unions. Having a separate designation for gay people called “domestic partnership” makes gay people, in effect, second-class citizens, a violation of the equal protection clause of the state constitution.

In the past, California has led the nation in civil and human rights issues. Today it once again shows its willingness to provide justice for all citizens and an equal playing field on which to form our families.

On behalf of our family, Mike and I with to thank the California Supreme Court.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
—Theodore Parker (1810-1860, American Transcendentalist and Unitarian minister, abolitionist, and prison reformer)

You can download a copy of the decision here.

California Supreme Court, Domestic Partnership, Theodore Parker

It is so easy to get tired in cyberspace. The results of our hard work are not obvious. Perfectionists like me take way too long to write something that can be read in 30 seconds and forgotten by all. We are all busy with our lives and wonder why anyone would be interested in what we have to say.

People do read and some people actually find it interesting. That’s because our personal blog, like those of others, is the place where the events, ideas, people, and stories important to us intersect to create a mix not found anywhere else.

I believe there are still important reasons to blog:

So the Buck and Mike Blog will live on as that place where our personal Events, Ideas, People, and Stories intersect. The blog will begin to change its character so that it doesn’t require so much upkeep. Entries will probably be shorter and more varied. Hopefully, the posts will be more frequent.

And, as always, we welcome your comments and suggestions.

I’d rather read blogs than write them.

I’d rather live life than write about it — and I’d rather live life than sit in a chair in front of my PC fretting about why I haven’t written about it.

Liv’s blog is full of life and I’ll continue to read hers, but as for me, I’m signing off for the foreseeable future. And in the morning I’m going for a nice long walk in the nice fresh air I’ve read about.

Sometimes when something interesting happens in my life, I imagine it being channeled through my sister Marsha. Marsha is a story-teller, and if I imagine her telling my story it’s always a better story, because she’s a better story-teller.

Today I left work at my regular time, 6 p.m. That gives me just enough time to get downstairs to catch the S-1 bus home. There aren’t many S-1 buses in the evening so I am always sure to get to the bus stop before the last one passes me by. » Read the rest of this entry »

Just as we approach the Easter season, I was sickened to read that three Mormon missionaries had been photographed vandalizing a Catholic shrine built specifically to remind pilgrims of the stations of the cross, the path Jesus is said to have walked on his way to his crucifixion. The Shrine of the Stations of the Cross is in the small town of San Luis, Colorado, east of the city where my Mother lives. We can say that three young men clowning around together could cross a line that none of them would have individually (mob rule), that they were young, or any number of excuses, but the fact remains that representatives of a religion with a history of being persecuted should know better and should be ashamed. Apparently, they are. At least one has written an apology, hand delivered to the Shrine’s congregation by the mission president. The missionary was still serving in Colorado and has been sent home in disgrace.

The event happened in 2006 and the two other missionaries have since completed their missionary work and have gone back to their homes (the three were from California, Idaho, and Nevada). Their local LDS Church congregations will convene disciplinary councils to determine what action should be taken against their church memberships. From the sounds of today’s Deseret News article, the LDS Church is urging severe punishment. The Church has turned their names over to the authorities for criminal charges. As ordained representatives of the church at the time, the three could now face excommunication.

As a Mormon missionary in Colombia in 1968 (see photo above) I had a contrasting experience. I wrote to Rev. Pat Valdez of the Shrine of the Stations of the Cross expressing my sorrow for their loss and sharing my own missionary story. (Click here for the text of that letter.) The stupid and immature actions of these three young men do not reflect the attitudes of the vast majority of Mormons. I like to think they would act as my companions and I acted 40 years ago. We worked hard to heal divides. I want to think that all our our efforts were not wasted.

» Read the rest of this entry »

Mormon missionaries, San Luis, Colorado, Shrine of the Stations of the Cross