The people I’ve talked with in Texas this week say two things. My friend Cindy, a white business woman in Grayson County sums up one of those things. “The divisions in this state are so strong, I don’t think we’ll ever be able to talk to each other. It just starts out hateful with neither side willing to back down.” As she talks, she describes how community proceeds in spite of the… Read More
It looked like a done deal to lots of folks who are paid to make authoritative calls on such things. Chances were slim, they said a week ago, that Gingrich, Perry or Santorum could stage a comeback in the South Carolina primary that took place last Saturday. It’s heard of, but none of those campaigns appeared anywhere near as strong as Romney’s given the current playing field with its corporations=people, money=free speech rulebook. Enter… Read More
Listen to the voices of your neighbors. One hundred voices from across the U.S. All talking about change. All speaking their dreams. Give the book to yourself, to friends or family. Join us in the EX:Change as it continues to offer its invitation to all of us — Listen to each other. See what is there in those with whom you think you have nothing in common. See what is there in… Read More
It’s Labor Day. Over the course of our country’s history, one place many people have found work has been in the military. I’m not a military person. I know a few veterans and I like them but outside movies, newscasts and the anti-war protests I’ve been a part of over the years, I know almost nothing about military service. I hadn’t counted until now, but turns out six of the people who… Read More
“I heard from the Idol people. I’m goin’ to LA in October!” Mr. Prude was at the bus stop Tuesday morning. “I went right to the Western Union office and sent my mom a telegraph. Next thing I know my phone was ringing and she was saying, ‘I knew you could do it!’” So this is how the story of Mr. Prude was unfolding for me. Here was a man I took… Read More
Ever since my garage door crunched itself into an intractable accordion, trapping my car inside, I’ve been riding the bus. I like it. It takes more time, but it’s easy – and its richer. One of my companions at the bus stop most Tuesdays and Thursdays is Mr. Joey Prude. The first time we spoke was on a Thursday. That day, like every other day I’d seen Mr. Prude he sat under… Read More
I have a friend who lives with chronic pain. He has Rheumatoid Arthritis. The other day we were sitting drinking tea. It was the first time he told me of the RA diagnosis he received last December. “It hits like a train,” he said. “But, man is it ever teaching me about making choices.” “Three things,” he said. “First, it doesn’t feel fair. It isn’t fair, and it is what’s going on,… Read More
My friend Murry is in a protracted conversation with esophageal cancer. He knows all too well that his condition didn’t come from nowhere. The president spoke yesterday to matters in the Middle East – to the changes signified with the public uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. He spoke to Israel and Palestine– to that protracted conversation. We all know that none of that came from nowhere. Today I took a photo of… Read More
I heard no fireworks. In the center of the rural Midwest, I was aware of no celebrations – raucous or otherwise – in bars, in living rooms, in church fellowship halls. I was an outsider. Just visiting. I may not have been sensitive to the signs. Midwesterners are also known to be a rather reserved bunch. But, this winter I’ve had occasion to observe both Green Bay Packers fans and energized mass… Read More
In American elections the principle of democracy known as majority rule is in play even if the majority doesn’t bother to vote. This, naturally, is reflected in our elected officials. Right? Ask Wisconsin. Elections are about change. They can be about democracy. Then there’s the notion of EX:Change. It’s the idea I’ve been so captivated by since the 2008 presidential election and the electrifying cross-partisan enthusiasm for the word change. When change… Read More
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