After reading the account of what has happened in Camden, New Jersey by Kate Zernike in the New York Times (September 1), I was encouraged that America's Fergusons can be turned around.
I last passed through Camden about five years ago on my way to the shore. It was not a place that one stopped to ask directions.Properties and the overall city had fallen into total disrepair.
Camden is located on the banks of the Delaware River directly across from Philadelphia. At one time it was the headquarters for some of America's largest industries, RCA Victor being one.
Its down town boasted long standing, well known shops and a few chain stores. Ferries brought workers to work from downtown Philadelphia. On Sundays, families came there with cars filled with children who were thrilled because the cars were able to drive onto the Ferry and take them across the Delaware River.
The Walt Whitman Hotel stood as a proud mark of the importance the City gave to the partnership between education, business and the poetry of the famous writer. Much of what I have just described was obliterated in the late 60s.
Camden became over run with crime, drugs, murder, and prostitution about which corrupt politicians and the police did little. Efforts were made to revitalize the City by bringing in entertainment venues but only a small handful of citizens were really participating in the political process.
In the 80s small communities near Camden like Pennsauken rallied citizens to help bridge the services of stable suburban communities with the needs of City residents. Much of this effort was began by volunteers and religious congregations and a new Chief of Police who ordered his police force out of police cars and onto bicycles and to "walk" the neighborhoods.
I do not know the full, current story of Camden, New Jersey. I do know that without the commitment and leadership of citizens, elected officials and public servants living in and around Camden the turn around would have been impossible.
Whether or not these changes will last is anybody's guess. But the changes already made in Camden gives me hope for the future of many of America's Fergusons because of the how successful people and police and laws can be in bringing stability to a dispirited community.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
FERGUSON: DO WE "GET IT" ?
Less than a month since the protests began in Ferguson, there is some good news. People of different faiths, colors and economies are extending their interest and assistance in building bridges between them and people in the Ferguson Community.
Yet, there are many of us who still don't get it! We are still reluctant to understand what really happened in Ferguson, Missouri and other cities across the country.
We still talk past each other instead of listening to each other. We want quick answers! We are not ready to pickup our responsibility as voters to do the work of maintaining and furthering government that reflects and respects all people.
We are still ready to accept and elect, or worse yet not vote at all, officials who refer to us as great blubs like "the poor," or "the unemployed," or the "disabled or the elderly," while short changing many of us on opportunities for education, health services, or to earn fair wages.
We are still listening to and supporting local and national figures who attribute real, everyday problems to "political correctness," or some other scary" ism. We still believe that what happens "elsewhere" cannot happen in the suburb or city or region or place where we live.
We are still fearful of looking each other in the eye, much less of greeting strangers. We are still knit-picking at accounts of where and how Ferguson took place. Was it on a street or a highway? Should the National Guard have been sent for instead of according the state trooper credit for bringing order to an unimaginable civil uprising.
Yes, Ferguson is beginning to show that many of us do "get it," but until we begin to exert our power in conversations with each other, or take the time to write to our newspapers or to tweet or to vote at the ballot box, we will have "lost" it.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
IS AMERICA FERGUSON?
On August 8 I celebrated my 85th birthday in the well-appointed Florida home of my brother and sister-in-law. I was toasted with good food, and music performed by my children, daughter-in-law grandchildren and nieces and nephews and their spouses.
I spent several days catching up on family news and family myths and stories. I marveled at how much children had grown and listened to what they wanted to do next.
That light-hearted atmosphere lasted until my grandchildren used their tweeters to tell us the news of the shooting of Michael Brown gunned down on a small street in Ferguson. We left Florida on August 13 and I returned to my apartment in University City, about seven miles from Ferguson.
My apartment is in a retirement community where my neighbors include people who live independently and those who require daily care givers to assist them. I have become friendly with many of these care givers and my building's staff who live in and around Ferguson and I was anxious to talk with them.
Because I respect their intelligence and the understanding and kindness they show the people they
serve I asked them to tell me what they could about Ferguson. I learned that the problems in Ferguson have been festering for a long time.
From our conversations I gathered a lack of accountability by public servant and office holder was a given, a part of daily life. When I asked them if they wanted to give me some examples of what they meant, this is what they told me.
" I nail the windows in my house shut for safety." "I had a grandchild killed by a stray bullet while he was playing." "Looting is not who we are." "I've raised my son who is now a pastor in our Church and is a bus driver." "I wish the noise would just stop and everybody would go home." "My community is more stable because we are home owners not apartment dwellers."
From these general conversations with people, I found that there is a protectiveness about St. Louis, this State and our country. People seem to find it difficult to speak of problems. We attribute threats to our safety to the fault of others, to "outsiders", to "the press" while we do little to decry the dangerous break down of law and order we witness.
We accept arrogance by local, state and national elected officials when they flaunt federal laws or make a mockery of this country and of the decency that has been a part of it and ourselves for so long.
We accept the fact that militaryvehicles are now used with zeal to patrol our streets.We accept the fact that guns once thought to be used in the "wild west" are now "must have"" items in our homes.
What has happened to us as a people that we elect and accept the appointment of officials that allow the body of a young man to lay in his own blood on a public street for hours as if he were on a battle field of war?
What has happened to us as a people when we are lulled into a false sense of security against "enemies" rather than recognize the greed and power that eats away at our lives?
What has happened to my country when we believe that what has happened in Ferguson Missouri
is the result of "outsiders", or the press or tweeters?
It is time to stop pointing fingers and recognize that what is happening in Ferguson Missouri is happening to each of us.
We are Ferguson!
I spent several days catching up on family news and family myths and stories. I marveled at how much children had grown and listened to what they wanted to do next.
That light-hearted atmosphere lasted until my grandchildren used their tweeters to tell us the news of the shooting of Michael Brown gunned down on a small street in Ferguson. We left Florida on August 13 and I returned to my apartment in University City, about seven miles from Ferguson.
My apartment is in a retirement community where my neighbors include people who live independently and those who require daily care givers to assist them. I have become friendly with many of these care givers and my building's staff who live in and around Ferguson and I was anxious to talk with them.
Because I respect their intelligence and the understanding and kindness they show the people they
serve I asked them to tell me what they could about Ferguson. I learned that the problems in Ferguson have been festering for a long time.
From our conversations I gathered a lack of accountability by public servant and office holder was a given, a part of daily life. When I asked them if they wanted to give me some examples of what they meant, this is what they told me.
" I nail the windows in my house shut for safety." "I had a grandchild killed by a stray bullet while he was playing." "Looting is not who we are." "I've raised my son who is now a pastor in our Church and is a bus driver." "I wish the noise would just stop and everybody would go home." "My community is more stable because we are home owners not apartment dwellers."
From these general conversations with people, I found that there is a protectiveness about St. Louis, this State and our country. People seem to find it difficult to speak of problems. We attribute threats to our safety to the fault of others, to "outsiders", to "the press" while we do little to decry the dangerous break down of law and order we witness.
We accept arrogance by local, state and national elected officials when they flaunt federal laws or make a mockery of this country and of the decency that has been a part of it and ourselves for so long.
We accept the fact that militaryvehicles are now used with zeal to patrol our streets.We accept the fact that guns once thought to be used in the "wild west" are now "must have"" items in our homes.
What has happened to us as a people that we elect and accept the appointment of officials that allow the body of a young man to lay in his own blood on a public street for hours as if he were on a battle field of war?
What has happened to us as a people when we are lulled into a false sense of security against "enemies" rather than recognize the greed and power that eats away at our lives?
What has happened to my country when we believe that what has happened in Ferguson Missouri
is the result of "outsiders", or the press or tweeters?
It is time to stop pointing fingers and recognize that what is happening in Ferguson Missouri is happening to each of us.
We are Ferguson!
Sunday, August 3, 2014
"FINAL SOLUTION!" AGAIN?
I grew up in a family who discussed current events at the dinner table. Differences of opinions were expressed sometimes with passion and sometimes with supporting text from newspaper writers, authors, friends, and the experience of grandparents and older generations..
The images and sounds from those dinner table exchanges remain with me still. Two words in particular could evoke fear in me and still do. Those words , "final solution" produced a clammy chilly feeling along with nightmares.
Today, when I hear or see the word "solution" applied to complex issues or programs like gun control, or disputes between people or nations or political parties, I am still uneasy. In 2014, issues around the world and domestically need much more than quick "solutions" to be understood.
We dare not be afraid to ask hard questions as we seek remedies. Nor can we be frightened by having our allegiance to fairness tested as we look at history.
Two columns in The New York Times (8-13-2014) helped me better understand the surge of
anti-Semitism and how the war between Israel and Hamas could be won. The first "Why Americans See Israel the Way They Do" by Roger Cohen, and "How This War Ends" by Thomas L. Friedman gave me much to think about.
If we begin to listen, respect and seek out differences of opinions and experiences maybe we can begin to work with people around the globe toward a quieter time when children can sleep peacefully
and safely without worrying about "final solutions."
Sunday, July 27, 2014
VOTE! BUT READ THE FINE PRINT!.
Midterm state elections may not appear as exciting as national congressional ones, but it is at the state level that voters are tested for the ability to govern themselves wisely. If we are less than well informed about the issues, we may find ourselves voting for and encouraging short term, quick fixes for complex issues.
Whether health care, or gun control, or agriculture, or education or environmental regulations or privacy and abortion rights, we need to sort out deceptive advertising from real planning.
A case in point.
We need better public transportation to get to work, to school, to medical facilities or just to be able to move about freely. We need to fix and maintain our bridges, roads, streets, infrastructure. We need to give men and women jobs to do these things, through the taxes we pay.
Put all these words together on a ballot here in Missouri, and ask voters to vote "yes" on "Proposition 7" which promises to do all that. Yet, in small print on the same ballot is the
following:
"Provisions in Amendment to Prioritize Projects and Prevent Other Taxes"
Groceries, prescription drugs, rent and utilities will be exempt from this sales tax increase;
Priority will be given to repairing the most unsafe roads and bridges;
Increases in the gas tax will be prohibited;
Funding can not be diverted for other uses.
Sound good? You betcha, until we start to ask questions.
Why these exceptions? Short term for sure, long term economically questionable. Why have a sales tax at all on the necessities listed? Who determines priority and for what reason? Why not tax gasoline which is needed by commercial and private vehicles which do not use public transportation? And what if there is a dire need to take funding from this Appropriation and use it for something like a disaster? Why not use it?
Sometimes, in midterm elections it's easy to push a voter's buttons by mentioning those things we dislike the most or by cleverly playing one need off against another. As citizens we need to be aware of those "buttons" and turn them off and vote for issues and candidates concerned with improving the quality of life for all citizens in our communities.
So in this midterm election go to the Polls and vote but be armed with information and questions before you pull that lever or check that box!
Whether health care, or gun control, or agriculture, or education or environmental regulations or privacy and abortion rights, we need to sort out deceptive advertising from real planning.
A case in point.
We need better public transportation to get to work, to school, to medical facilities or just to be able to move about freely. We need to fix and maintain our bridges, roads, streets, infrastructure. We need to give men and women jobs to do these things, through the taxes we pay.
Put all these words together on a ballot here in Missouri, and ask voters to vote "yes" on "Proposition 7" which promises to do all that. Yet, in small print on the same ballot is the
following:
"Provisions in Amendment to Prioritize Projects and Prevent Other Taxes"
Groceries, prescription drugs, rent and utilities will be exempt from this sales tax increase;
Priority will be given to repairing the most unsafe roads and bridges;
Increases in the gas tax will be prohibited;
Funding can not be diverted for other uses.
Sound good? You betcha, until we start to ask questions.
Why these exceptions? Short term for sure, long term economically questionable. Why have a sales tax at all on the necessities listed? Who determines priority and for what reason? Why not tax gasoline which is needed by commercial and private vehicles which do not use public transportation? And what if there is a dire need to take funding from this Appropriation and use it for something like a disaster? Why not use it?
Sometimes, in midterm elections it's easy to push a voter's buttons by mentioning those things we dislike the most or by cleverly playing one need off against another. As citizens we need to be aware of those "buttons" and turn them off and vote for issues and candidates concerned with improving the quality of life for all citizens in our communities.
So in this midterm election go to the Polls and vote but be armed with information and questions before you pull that lever or check that box!
Monday, July 21, 2014
MORE ON THE DELIGHTS OF WALKING
Here in St. Louis we have been experiencing glorious weather as much of the country suffers through horrific storms, flooding and draught. Even so, we are grateful for the cool, bright mornings and warmth which creeps in later in the day.
The weather is more "Fall-like" and walkers make the best of it on trails and in parks. I live near one trail, really more a path that runs about two miles in one direction but continues on for miles.
The trail near me has wild foliage on one side, while the other side skirts an area of commercial shops and homes. The walkers hail from St. Louis, Russia, Asia, South America, Europe and Mexico.
As I pass them I am treated to the lyrical sounds of their native languages mixed in with broad Midwestern drawls. No matter the spoken greeting, we "converse" with a smile, wave of the hand and a "good morning", and I feel we bring the world a little bit closer.
People walk alone or in pairs. Some walk with pets. Some ride bicycles with children. All smile easily and when the weather is good, gesture, "what a day!"
Our trail is inhabited by song birds. squirrels, and families of rabbits. Some walkers stop to pull a berry or two from a wild bush and one is growing his own herb garden in a discarded paint can.
The path is used by people of all ages. Two walkers in particular, who I guess are in their 80s or 90s
always walk together. One is half the size of the other. They move in unison and seem to roll from side to side with each stride.
The gentle breezes, the cumulous clouds and blue skies remind me of the seashore, but as the humidity begins to build, walkers will leave the delightful trail and head for the Mall. There,
bird calls will come through speakers, the air will be cool and dry but we will still be walking.
The weather is more "Fall-like" and walkers make the best of it on trails and in parks. I live near one trail, really more a path that runs about two miles in one direction but continues on for miles.
The trail near me has wild foliage on one side, while the other side skirts an area of commercial shops and homes. The walkers hail from St. Louis, Russia, Asia, South America, Europe and Mexico.
As I pass them I am treated to the lyrical sounds of their native languages mixed in with broad Midwestern drawls. No matter the spoken greeting, we "converse" with a smile, wave of the hand and a "good morning", and I feel we bring the world a little bit closer.
People walk alone or in pairs. Some walk with pets. Some ride bicycles with children. All smile easily and when the weather is good, gesture, "what a day!"
Our trail is inhabited by song birds. squirrels, and families of rabbits. Some walkers stop to pull a berry or two from a wild bush and one is growing his own herb garden in a discarded paint can.
The path is used by people of all ages. Two walkers in particular, who I guess are in their 80s or 90s
always walk together. One is half the size of the other. They move in unison and seem to roll from side to side with each stride.
The gentle breezes, the cumulous clouds and blue skies remind me of the seashore, but as the humidity begins to build, walkers will leave the delightful trail and head for the Mall. There,
bird calls will come through speakers, the air will be cool and dry but we will still be walking.
Friday, July 11, 2014
COMMON SENSE DISARMS NRA & LEGISLATORS
The photograph of a tall man standing by the check-out counter of a store wearing a shotgun slung over his shoulder caught my attention. Below the photograph was a small article.
The article said that a new "trend" seemed to be happening in the battle for gun control. Chain stores, churches, malls, theaters and other public places are beginning to post signs that say "no guns," even in states that have carry laws.
When I read this, I wondered why would this be happening?
Why would this be happening in states and areas that have welcomed the gun business? Maybe it is because retailers, sales people and consumers do not want to shop in the middle of a shoot-out.
Why would the Clergy post "no gun" signs outside houses of worship? Maybe because Clergy know it is going to take more than faith and a "good person with a gun to stop an irrational person with a gun" from entering their sanctuary and killing people.
Why would legislators and the NRA need to blame lack of community mental health programs for the daily murders and massive atrocities committed in our neighborhoods? Maybe it is to keep us busy hunting for the needle in a haystack while the business of gun and ammunition sales soar.
Why would the NRA and legislators support laws to encourage parents to use shooting ranges and other devices to teach their children how to use guns "safely?" Maybe it is because the NRA and legislators want to lower the current age limit for the sale of guns to sell more guns to minors.
Why would public school administrators defy the NRA and legislators by not allowing teachers and students to bring guns to the classroom? Maybe because administrators and parents know that student and teacher safety is best assured by trained, accountable police forces.
There is much to celebrate in this country. There is much to be grateful for too in the concept of laws to guide us toward justice and fairness and for government which provides the opportunity to
learn, to speak our mind and to elect people who we believe will hold our well-being as a priority.
The NRA holds much power but it is not absolute power. We need to remind legislators that even in the "good old days" of the wild West, people posted "no gun signs" at the town's limits and elected a Sheriff to restore law and order and get rid of vigilantes.
2014 is the year to disarm the NRA by using common sense. 2014 is the year to elect legislators who will use their common sense to stop the sale and distribution of unregistered guns and ammunition that are killing innocent people and disrupting our way of life.
Common sense is a strong, old fashioned American virtue. We need to use it now.
The article said that a new "trend" seemed to be happening in the battle for gun control. Chain stores, churches, malls, theaters and other public places are beginning to post signs that say "no guns," even in states that have carry laws.
When I read this, I wondered why would this be happening?
Why would this be happening in states and areas that have welcomed the gun business? Maybe it is because retailers, sales people and consumers do not want to shop in the middle of a shoot-out.
Why would the Clergy post "no gun" signs outside houses of worship? Maybe because Clergy know it is going to take more than faith and a "good person with a gun to stop an irrational person with a gun" from entering their sanctuary and killing people.
Why would legislators and the NRA need to blame lack of community mental health programs for the daily murders and massive atrocities committed in our neighborhoods? Maybe it is to keep us busy hunting for the needle in a haystack while the business of gun and ammunition sales soar.
Why would the NRA and legislators support laws to encourage parents to use shooting ranges and other devices to teach their children how to use guns "safely?" Maybe it is because the NRA and legislators want to lower the current age limit for the sale of guns to sell more guns to minors.
Why would public school administrators defy the NRA and legislators by not allowing teachers and students to bring guns to the classroom? Maybe because administrators and parents know that student and teacher safety is best assured by trained, accountable police forces.
There is much to celebrate in this country. There is much to be grateful for too in the concept of laws to guide us toward justice and fairness and for government which provides the opportunity to
learn, to speak our mind and to elect people who we believe will hold our well-being as a priority.
The NRA holds much power but it is not absolute power. We need to remind legislators that even in the "good old days" of the wild West, people posted "no gun signs" at the town's limits and elected a Sheriff to restore law and order and get rid of vigilantes.
2014 is the year to disarm the NRA by using common sense. 2014 is the year to elect legislators who will use their common sense to stop the sale and distribution of unregistered guns and ammunition that are killing innocent people and disrupting our way of life.
Common sense is a strong, old fashioned American virtue. We need to use it now.
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