Tag Archives: Humanity

POEM: A Lousy Take on Lao-Tse

A Lousy Take on Lao-Tse (Tao Te Ching 38) When Tao is lost There is virtue When virtue is lost There is morality When morality is lost There is propriety Yet oddly Even when Awe is lost Tao remains The … Continue reading

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POEM: Tracing Humanity

Tracing Humanity They say that You can tell A lot About a person By what they do This, of course, is on track Still, there is a better weigh The difference between animals and humans That which earthly scales can’t … Continue reading

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POEM: Unemployable

I am unemployable Partly because no one can afford what I’m worth Partly because I prefer to give it away This short poem harkens to a more organic way of relating to one another than contractual relationships.  What if people … Continue reading

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POEM: Traveling North Still

I was traveling on a journey And it was definitely not south I watched the mile markers grow in number Until I found myself in a different state Noticing that The mile markers restarted And lo, it was different Though … Continue reading

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POEM: Paying Attention

Are you too broke to pay attention? This one-line poem most directly seeks to de-link material wealth from perhaps the greatest tool available to humans: consciousness, or mindfulness.  Being able to access mindfulness, regardless of wealth, status, or “worldly” power, … Continue reading

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POEM: Escaping Hubris

Indigency is the quickest road Out of hubris Few of us can afford Its high price Hubris, or arrogance, is powerfully seductive in the human mind.  This excessive self-confidence seems to be an inescapable part of egocentricity.  Nonetheless, as humans … Continue reading

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POEM: Barbarian Hordes

Only after building the wall To keep the barbarian hordes out Did I realize That we are the barbarian hordes Exclusion is the most barbarian practice.  Inclusion is the most enlightened practice.  To evolve in our humanity we need to … Continue reading

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POEM: Lifting Fog

Lifting Fog You can’t fight city hall They are too big to fail We are too small to make a difference A mere drop in a vast sea These lies can travel through vast deserts of grief and despair Like … Continue reading

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SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: A Christian Perspective on Justice

Here is a portion of a document that I drafted a couple of years ago while I was a board member of Toledo Area Ministries (TAM).  It was never adopted in any form, but I put a lot of work … Continue reading

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POEM: Being Human Takes Time

Being human takes time Sometimes going in slow motion Gets you there faster Neither switching channels Nor reading the last chapter first Helps the race Turn off the technology of the moment And turn on to your own life story … Continue reading

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BP Tar Sands Refinery Expansion – PEOPLE’S HEARING Testimony

Below is my testimony at the PEOPLE’S HEARING to respond to the Ohio EPA’s sham public hearing on BP-Husky’ Draft Air Pollution Permit as part of their Oregon Ohio refinery re-tooling to process oil tar sands, the dirtiest oil on the … Continue reading

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Kent State Massacre POEM

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Kent State Massacre, where four students were killed and nine students were injured when National Guard troops opened fire on anti-war demonstrators.  Below is a picture of Arlington Midwest at Kent State, May … Continue reading

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May Day Street Theater – Corporate Zombies vs. Village People

This is the script for the street theater production that was performed tonight to kick off Occupy Toledo‘s May Day Fest week’s worth of events: May Day Eve Celebration Occupy Toledo April 30, 2012 “The Corporate Zombies vs. The Village … Continue reading

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In Politics Stupidity Is Not a Handicap

In Politics Stupidity Is Not a Handicap–FUNNY PEACE QUOTE BUTTON In Politics Stupidity Is Not a Handicap–FUNNY PEACE QUOTE BUTTON This cool design is linked to a button, but other great Top Pun products like T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, caps, … Continue reading

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What Are Conservatives Conserving?

What Exactly Are Conservatives Conserving (Earth) POLITICAL BUTTON What Exactly Are Conservatives Conserving (Earth) POLITICAL BUTTON This cool design is linked to a button, but other great Top Pun products like T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, caps, key chains, magnets, posters, … Continue reading

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Force Attracts Men of Low Morality

Force Always Attracts Men of Low Morality–PEACE QUOTE BUTTON Force Always Attracts Men of Low Morality–PEACE QUOTE BUTTON This cool design is linked to a button, but other great Top Pun products like T-shirts, bumper stickers, mugs, caps, key chains, … Continue reading

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Any Jackass Can Kick Barn Down, Takes a Carpenter to Build

Any Jackass Can Kick a Barn Down Takes a Carpenter to Build–PEACE QUOTE BUTTON Any Jackass Can Kick a Barn Down Takes a Carpenter to Build–PEACE QUOTE BUTTON This cool design is linked to a button, but other great Top … Continue reading

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Violence Protects the State

Stephanie N. Van Hook, Executive Director of Metta Center for Nonviolence in Petaluma, California, has written a commentary in Znet on How Violence Protects the State.  Here is an excerpt: “Violence in opposition to the State relieves the State and … Continue reading

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POEM: Getting Your Ducks in a Row

I once put all my ducks in a row Only then realizing What am I doing with all these ducks?! Getting one’s ducks in a row is an idiom or metaphor that most people are familiar with, meaning that we … Continue reading

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Anarchism: Cooperation, Decentralization, Social Cohesion

David Morris writes in On the Commons, regarding the anniversary of the death of the Russian Peter  Kropotkin, an article: Anarchism Is Not What You Think It Is — And There’s a Whole Lot We Can Learn from It:  The … Continue reading

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