barefoot anthropology

Spoonbills in Croatia

2011-07-15T11:08:00.002-04:00

Sacred Groves

2011-05-28T15:53:00.001-04:00

Dear Friends,

This summer I will be blogging at Our Mothers Keeper, a Mormon environmentalist blog.

Please check it out!

Jason Brown

Crème Snowlée

2011-01-18T22:54:00.000-05:00

Today’s forecast was “wintry mix” which meant the temperature lazily hovered around freezing, while snow turned to rain and rain back to snow in a continual and instantaneous metamorphosis that was miserable to walk around in. But there was beauty between the wet gray lines. The sleet coated the naked limbs and branches of trees and bushes with a fine coat of translucent ice. Each plant looked individually wrapped, ready for the show room, shiny and new. The foot or two of snow we got last week melted, but only the first few inches or so, creating an icy-icing, a slick layer of Crème Snowlée. Walking along pristine front lawns-turned slippery tundra, I would stop to break through it with the heel of my bulky snow shoe.

Seeing the Universe in the Trees

2011-01-07T13:44:00.003-05:00

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
-John Muir

“Still with all my faults, I draw my breath from an ancient earth.”
-Bowerbirds

I spent most of that day with my nose in a book memorizing the form of leaf shapes to Utah’s mountain trees, and the cumbersome Latin of their nomenclature. My summer had been spent rambling around in the mountain forests of the Wasatch and Uintah Ranges, and I was getting pretty good at identifying trees and some understory plants. Out on an assignment for my internship, I arrived at the Cedar Breaks National Monument campground just in time to watch the sun set over the chalky white and alternating red cathedral-cliffs that make up the monuments main attraction. The jutting striped walls were created by millennia of deposition when the area was at the bottom of an ancient lake. With time, millions of years, the Hurricane fault has slowly uplifted the area to over 10,000 feet. The wind and water slowly gnawed away grain by grain at the spires, canyons and arroyos; so much so that the Southern Paiute called the place “u-map-wich” or, the place where the rocks slide down constantly.

I began setting up my tent as the dusk breezes cooled the 10,000 foot mesas. It was getting cold and I wanted to cook a hasty bowl of rice before going to sleep. With the tent finished, I focused my attention on getting a fire going in the wind and, after several tries, ended up using my backpacking stove to boil the water.

Sitting on the ground while eating my bland meal, hypnotized by the silence, I glanced up at the night sky. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to see the thick dusty trail that makes up the Milky Way, our cosmic cul-de-sac. In Salt Lake City the stars where faint and few, outshined by stars of our own making. But here they pulsed and shined in their billions, white-blue light bursting through the atmosphere, that laid to rest all around me, millions of years after leaving home. As I sat in wonder and awe, the trees dosing sleepily in the night wind, I recalled the words of Brother Muir atop a Douglas-fir tree which he had climbed to shake hands with a Sierra storm.

We all travel the milky way together, trees and men; but it never occurred to me until this storm-day, while swinging in the wind, that trees are travelers, in the ordinary sense. They make many journeys, not extensive ones, it is true; but our own little journeys, away and back again, are only little more than tree-wavings—many of them not so much. (The Mountains of California)

Staring at the stars, mouth agape, I remembered that there was a resident astronomer at Cedar Breaks. It was nearly 10 o’clock, but if I hurried, I could make it in time to have a peek at the sky through a decent telescope. In the dark, I made my way over to a small group of campers, and arrived just in time to hear the astronomer, in a nasally voice, repeat his lesson for the night, “and remember, from Polaris, the North Star, you arc to Arcturus and speed on to Spica.” It was a simple mnemonic device to trace the position of these prominent stars. As I traced the path between the big dipper, the North Star, Arcturus and Spica with my finger, I could see how the big dipper spins around the North Star in a huge circle. It’s not that I didn’t know that the stars move in the sky as the earth’s axis tilts, but I had never comprehended its path all at once, which gave the sky a sort of readability that was liberating.

It is hard to describe the subtle feeling that came over me. It was a sort of warm security, of orientation, like arriving home from a long journey and settling into the familiar routes between door, hallway and bedroom. I wasn’t just in a forest, a National Monument, or the state of Utah, but hurling through space among the gaseous space dust, planets and stars that make up our galaxy. The very atoms in my body, turned out by the massive bodies of distant stars being born and dying. Separated by time, but unified in substance.

As I walked back to my tent, tripping over sage and scrub in the dark trying to take in as much starlight as I could before going to sleep, I thought of another passage, this one by Larry Rasmussen:

When you peer at the Southern Cross, Orion, or the Big Dipper, the gnat on your arm, the flower near your path, or the food on your plate, you are gazing at a neighbor who shares with you what is most basic of all—common matter as ancient and venerable as time and space themselves. (Earth Community, Earth Ethics)

In learning to find my way in the forest, I stumbled upon my place in the cosmos.

The Myth of Horizons

2011-01-06T01:17:00.001-05:00

In the warm glow of the waning day, I sat near the edge of a crumbling yellow cliff and looked out into the vast Pacific Ocean. The horizon, that familiar line that separates the ocean from sky seemed indisputable in its significance. Spreading in the distance, the water-sky horizon makes a neat line that appears to divide two worlds—unlike the heaving and interrupted squiggle-pastiche of the mountains and cities. But the line that makes us think “sea” and then “sky” simultaneously is a myth. There is no line between the ocean and the sky. The earth, sea and sky are in constant chaos, relation and exchange. The wind and sun evaporate water; the sea belches CO2 and misty fizz, the rain falls only to be evaporated by the sun in an eternal cycle—one eternal round. The lines that we seem to see so clearly between our bodies and our souls, our culture and nature are equally mythological.

Zion, Inc.

2011-01-04T19:45:00.002-05:00

This revelation is brought to you by the City of Enoch Country Club.
The asphalt prophets have paved the burial grounds of the United Order.
We preach a theology of prudence. Why resist when the world has so much to offer?
The Gospel of thrift has become the Gospel of wealth.
The millennium is here, but who knew it would take place in a mall?
The beautiful name of Zion used to hawk merchandise to our masses.
Has Mormonism become a pyramid scheme of the soul?

Pumice and Water

2010-05-14T11:20:00.004-04:00

(I found this poem in a back corner of my hard drive)

Pumice stone and ice cold stream water are my bread and wine this Sabbath
These ancient emblems of volcanic body spilled in atonement, at-one-ment for the land
The catastrophe blessing its priesthood
I hug cold stone-lined trails reverently approaching a tabernacle of ancient lava kneeling in still silent prayer
The windswept expanse whistles like a sad organ
My temple, my refuge, carpeted in green moss
Chipmunk, grasshopper, and dipper my congregation
My covenant with the earth renewed

-October 2007, Crater Lake National Park

The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Spring

2010-04-11T20:39:00.002-04:00

I sit in a steel chair, listening to the rhythm of well intending white shirts and Sunday dresses relate a 4,000 year old text to their morning commutes.

Exodus 3:2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him [Moses] in flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.

V. 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”

Outside, through the west facing window of the Sunday school classroom, the tiny yellow and green buds, flowers and leaves are emerging from the tips of maple fingers; stirring and tickling the wind-laced sky. The shiny green leaves take their first breaths of warm spring light in an April afternoon.

As I sit, staring at the trees, I wonder if perhaps the great I AM, is better interpreted as WE ARE; for surely God was present in those trees as much if not more than a brick building called a church.

God does not Micro-manage

2009-12-06T19:42:00.001-05:00

There is a common belief in mainstream Mormon culture that once the church was restored, God would never allow his church to stray. This is an interesting idea that I would like to explore in detail with respect to our attitudes toward church leadership and specifically the Church’s chosen strategy regarding Proposition 8 and other anti-gay rights legislation. First of all if we believed this doctrine, we would all be Catholics. If God never allowed his/her church to stray it would have never drifted from the earth and back again in the many incarnations it has had throughout history. But even if we assume that this belief only applies to the post-restoration Church, the argument still troubles me.

In my discussions with Mormons, I have never heard anyone assert that the men who govern this church are perfect. Yet, somehow we believe that in matters of church governance they manage to make perfect decisions, free of cultural or political bias, or personal foibles. In the many, and often dizzyingly circular discussions I have had over prop 8; I have asserted the opinion that the church was tactically amiss in involving itself in opposition to a civil rights campaign, rather than insisting on being a stakeholder in a wider discussion on protecting our religious freedom in whatever legislation was achieved by the gay-rights movement.

Besides, what would be wrong with supporting the right of minority groups to define their marriage-relationships in ways that corresponds to their experience and deeply held convictions (sound familiar)? But as a religious institution that believes in the divinity of male-female marriage relationships, the church could have saved itself a lot of bad press by affirming the rights of others while voicing our strong convictions be protected in any new legislation passed. The point of bringing up an abbreviated version of this argument is that there should be room in Mormonism to voice constructive criticism of Church policy without being labeled unfaithful or apostate. It does not create a crisis of faith for me to assert the error of church leader’s tactics. They are imperfect men in an imperfect world. But somehow, when the church makes statements on a complex political issue such as gay marriage, which merit at least preliminary discussion, thought and debate, our brains shut down and group-think takes over.

Here is another example. I believe that the principle that we are all equal before God is an eternal principle. Therefore it causes me no mental anguish to assert as I often do that the Mormon Church was simply racist for excluding members of African descent from the priesthood. I simply do not believe in a God that would contradict himself and the scriptures so obliviously. But don’t panic, this assertion does not necessarily negate the truthfulness of the Mormon Gospel, the inspired qualities that church leaders attain, or God’s hand in our lives or history. What it does affirm for me is that God allows us, and yes even the church as an institution to learn from our mistakes. The church made a historical mistake that many of that era were guilty of, namely rationalizing a strongly held cultural belief in terms of God’s mysterious will; denying responsibility for our own hurtful behavior. The myriad folk-beliefs that arose around blacks and the priesthood are testament to members and leaders desperate attempts to shift responsibility for a sinful practice to God him/her self.

Both the more distant issue of blacks and the priesthood, and the very current gay-rights movement show that the church is part of a complex world. Learning from our mistakes is an essential part of what it means to be human, indeed it is our privilege. Let us not deny this opportunity to our leaders by assuming that imperfect people can somehow implement perfect policy. God does not micro-manage he lets us stray, fumble, fail, and correct. He trusts us perhaps more than we trust ourselves.

PARECON

2009-03-28T10:26:00.001-04:00

US Solidarity Economy Forum

2009-03-22T16:21:00.000-04:00

Hey Mormon Workers! I just got back from the US Forum on Solidarity Economy; hosted at the Center for Popular Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The conference was four days of wonderful talks, tours, and workshops on all the inner workings of the Solidarity Economy Concept. Though an exact definition remains uncomfortably nebulous; everyone can pretty much agree that imagining a more just, compassionate and equitable economy should not be too difficult. A Solidarity Economy seeks to build on the values of cooperation, equity, justice, and compassion and tame the utility maximizing behemoth of Global Capitalism. Though the alternatives were pragmatic, the theoretical critique is sophisticated and has been developed over the past several decades in France, Quebec, and Latin America. The participants represented a broad range of political affiliations, economic ideology, and institutional strategy. Worker-Owned Cooperatives, Community Land Trusts, Credit Unions, and building a strong social and environmental movement were at the forefront of proposed actions and alternatives; but there is much debate about what the endpoint might look like. Can a Solidarity Economy be achieved by reform, and if so, would it take the shape of a repentant form of Capitalism? Or is capitalism so fundamentally flawed that an entirely new economy must be invented to replace the old one through? There was vibrant and passionate discussion about all of these issues and many wonderful current alternatives were articulated and highlighted.
In addition, many members of Hugo Chavez' so-called Bolivarian Revolutionary Socialist Movement were present, highlighting the virtues of what is being called "Socialism for the 21st Century." Despite criticism of Chavez' increasingly heavy political hand, much praise has been given to the government’s efforts to promote worker-owned cooperatives which have received lavish funding under Chavez. Another element of the Chavez model which seems to differ from state socialist models is the concept of “Popular Power” through empowering Communal Councils to participate in municipal budgeting. Participatory budgeting, though not immune form political intrigue and party sectarianism, has allowed Communal Councils (neighborhood size districts of 200-300 families) to apply for federal funding for community-based enterprise and infrastructure projects. However, besides the Venezuelan model of state heavy socialism, there was little in the way of political alternatives proposed. Much praise was given to the above mentioned institutions, Latin American Populism and Social Movements such as Brazil’s Movimento Sem Terra (MST) and the Argentine Recuperated Factory Movement.
The mood at the conference was very optimistic with the recent regime change in the US, and the potential for the economic crisis to shake things loose enough to actually allow some of these proposed institutions to flourish.
Below are some of the resources that I picked up at the conference.
www.berkshares.org Local Currency
www.cdi.coop Cooperative Development Center, MA
www.cdsus.coop –Cooperative Development Services
www.clcr.org –Center for Labor and Community Research
www.commongoodbanks.com –Common Good Banks
www.conservationeconomy.net –Conservation Economy (part of Eco-Trust)
www.coopfund.coop Cooperative Fund of New England
www.coophousing.org –National Association of Housing Cooperatives
www.cooplife.coop –Cooperative Life (New England)
www.cooppower.coop –Coop Power
www.equalexchange.com –Equal Exchange F.T. Co-op
www.ethicalmarkets.com –Ethical Markets
www.fabricasrecuperadas.org.ar –Fabricas Recuperadas Argentina
www.foodfarmsjobs.org Illinois Organic Food Task Force
www.gaiauniveristy.org Gaia University
www.geo.coop –Grassroots Economic Organizing
www.globaljusticecenter.org, www.justiciaglobal.net Center for Global Justice (PAR)
www.greenworker.coop –Green Worker Cooperatives (NYC)
www.highlandercenter.org –Highlander Research and Education Center
www.ica.coop – International Cooperative Alliance
www.jubilee4justice.org –Jubilee Economics Ministries
www.livingeconomies.org –BALLE Business Alliance for local living economies
www.mondragon.mcc.es –Mondragon Cooperative
www.nasco.coop –North American Students of Cooperation
www.natfed.org – National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions
www.ncba.coop –National Cooperative Business Alliance
www.ncdf.coop –North Country Cooperative Development Fund
www.ncfc.org –National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
www.nwcdc.coop –Northwest Cooperative Development Center
www.onthecommons.org The Tomales Bay Institute
www.parecon.org –Participatory Economics
www.populareconomics.org –Center for Popular Economics
www.priven.org Prout Research Institute of Venezuela
www.prout.org
www.proutinstitute.org Prout Institute
www.ripessla.net , www.lux09.lu RIPESS International organization of Social Solidarity Economies
www.sabbatheconomics.org –The Sabbath Economics Collaborative
www.thetake.org –The Take Documentary and resources
www.ussen.org –US Solidarity Economy Network
www.usworker.coop –US Federation of Worker-owned Cooperatives
www.uwcc.wisc.edu –University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives
www.valleyworker.org Valley alliance of Worker Cooperatives, MA
www.vclt.org The Valley Community Land Trust Greenfield, MA

Anarcho-Syndicalist Peasant=My favorite Scene ever!

2009-02-21T22:04:00.001-05:00

Deep Mormonism: A Manifesto of Process

2009-01-03T17:10:00.004-05:00

This is a small piece I wrote for the Session that I facilitated for a three day workshop held from Dec. 28-Dec. 30th in Utah.

INTRODUCTION
The following words are not pronouncements, they are not new dogmas, and they are not theses. The following is a window to a personal process that I hope will resonate with you all. I am not starting a new religion, I am thinking about my own.

Theology implied praxis, or, what we do in consequence of our strongly held convictions. Thus, in defining depth it is important to distinguish between the radical and the sectarian. In his classic work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire says:
“Sectarianism, fed by fanaticism, is always castrating. Radicalization, nourished by a critical spirit, is always creative. Sectarianism mythicizes and thereby alienates; radicalization criticizes and thereby liberates. Radicalization involves increased commitment to the position one has chosen, and thus even greater engagement in the efforts to transform concrete, objective reality. Conversely, sectarianism, because it is mythicizing and irrational, turns reality into a false (and therefore unchangeable) ‘reality’” (Freire 1970, 21).

Thus in calling for a Deep Mormonism, I am not pursuing a more fundamentalist interpretation of scripture, a wider separation between us and “the world,” or a zealous increase in evangelization. I am calling for a spiritual process, beginning, for most of us with Mormonism; but I am unsure where it may take me. I admit that I seek a theology that contributes to the collective goal of social and ecological liberation. That is my bias, my compass. It is a hope that since history is full of the movements that had their origins in religious ideas then why should Mormonism be any different?

Despite what it might appear, I am not simply picking and choosing my favorite sound bites from the scriptures and elevating them to concrete dogmas. Deep Mormonism is a process about engaging dialogically with the tradition, its history, the power of its ideas, its weaknesses and the theological problems created by a uniquely American religion. If I am honest with myself, this process may even lead me to reject any affiliation with Mormon or Christian Theology. But I am not prepared to simply dismiss my tradition because of contemporary trends in philosophy and politics no matter how compelling and I cannot deny that Mormonism is a part of my identity and I must therefore be patient with it.

This process began many years ago, in Sunday School, seminary, and reading the scriptures. The structures of the church that to me were potentially radical (capable of getting at the root of problems), slowly revealed themselves as being platforms for the static recitations of internally logical mythologized truths. Deep Mormonism is about articulating how I thought the conversation could have gone in that Sunday School lesson (how I have attempted to make it in a few of the testimonies and comments I have made over the past few years). It is about putting the fragments of ideas out into the open and seeing how they connect.

Influences and Inspirations
I remember reading the words of Brigham Young on the squalor of Industrial Era Britain as a missionary in the slums of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where trash was as plentiful as sand along a small bay on the Northern Coast. Brigham said, “The latter-day Saints will never accomplish their mission until this inequality shall cease on earth” (quote in Nibley 1989, 51). This has been one of the most powerful motivations to be an activist in my life. The Gospel has a threshold, which are the basic needs of human existence. Liberation Theology as articulated by Gustavo Gutierrez places an ethical duty to the plight of the poor. What Paulo Freire calls the “historical task of humanity.” Liberation Theology rejects that salvation of souls in preparation for the afterlife as an excuse for temporal poverty and calls for the immediate liberation of the oppressed so that they too may live life to its fullest, or in his words, become fully human. Mormonism affirms the tenants of Liberation Theology through the social teaching of the Book of Mormon and the D & C in addition to teaching that this life has a definite purpose beyond simply joining the saved, or hoping for an eternal reward. The threshold of the gospel, when our material needs are met, is where the real work beings for cultivating our minds and spirits. Therefore it is the task of a liberatory theology to “humanize” oppressor and oppressed that we may all reach a place where our talents can be cultivated and not simply assume that the poor will somehow be rewarded in heaven (Freire 1970).

Another ongoing influence is Native American lifeways and cosmology. Within a great majority of Native American cosmologies we find a spiritual and subjectified nature, a deep and abiding connection to place, and traditional ecological knowledge that embeds humans into the landscape as full participants, not as exploiters or passive observers.

Lastly, the Deep Ecology movement has been greatly influential, specifically in its call for a non-dualist Ecosophy. The Deep Ecological approach to the environmental crisis also contains a robust and well documented critique of Christianity’s role in the current ecological crisis and a rejection of “shallow” natural resource approaches to environmentalism which have largely failed to prevent the growing ecological crisis.

CATEGORIES OF DEEP INQUIRY
At the heart of my spiritual and religious process is my frustration with what I call fun-fact theology. These are bits of theology that while they are generally admitted to be true or relevant do not find themselves into our religious praxis. Whether this is because the real truth of these ideas have been safely relegated to some future millennial time or because they are considered non-essential to our salvation many but not all of the following categories of inquiry have grabbed my attention because of their place in Mormon theological purgatory. Following is a list of the categories that have occupied my thinking in regards to Mormonism, they are by no means complete, and clearly reflect what has been most pressing in my own process.

Non-dualist Earth Stewardship
In the Book of Moses the earth weeps over the sins of her inhabitants. We also learn of a spiritual creation; one that implies that plants and animals possess spirits. Mormonism also contains the belief that the intelligences that make up all of matter and life are co-eternal with God. This doctrine sometimes referred to as Hylozoism (all matter is endowed with life) is technically different from animism which states that all life possesses a spirit. However, Mormonism does not take the view that spirit is immaterial; therefore, Hylozoism would probably be a more accurate description of Mormon ideas on spiritual nature. Unfortunately, no matter how enthusiastic I get about these doctrines and their connections to ecological ideas, they are not actually practiced in any meaningful way. They are fun-fact theology. This is understandable considering that the scriptures also contain the Stewardship doctrine that Joseph Smith Proclaims in D & C 59 which contradicts the animism and hylozoism of the Pearl of Great Price. This more typical Christian stewardship doctrine states that the earth and everything on it was placed here for the material benefit of human beings; and that if we do God’s will we will be blessed with an abundance of the earth’s bounty. In the stewardship model, life was created by God as a backdrop for the human experiment, and makes up part a material accountability to fill the moral lessons of greed and material prudence.

The stewardship doctrine perpetuates Western dualism, meaning, it places human subjects (those capable of knowing and acting) in relation to a world of independent objects (only capable of being acted upon). This subject/object dualism is nearly ubiquitous in Western philosophy, science and culture. The view found in the Pearl of Great Price on the other hand endows nature with spirit. This implies that there is subjectivity in the natural world, a view held by Native and many other spiritual traditions for thousands of years.

Thus, for me stewardship is exactly what Joseph Smith described it in its social context, only I would extend this to the land. Stewardship is accountability to God for another subject, so in Mormon-speak, we are stewards over our home teechees, because they are subjects as we are. Imagine the power of an earth stewardship that is accountability to God for a natural world of which we are a part that is filled not just with material resources that are to be used prudently, but with other co-eternal subjects with whom we share this planet.

Deep Ecology suggests that this view, one that subjectifies the natural world is called non-dualism. This means that all of life on earth is made up of “particulars-in-relation.” This view rejects Western dualisms which objectify the natural world, but is not to be confused with Monism, which posits that we are all manifestations of the big one. Non-dualism requires that we see ourselves as beings-in-place. So for example, a deer is not a deer outside of the habitat which has shaped it. So, there was no eternal prototype of the deer life form which was simply planted on earth to serve as a human food source. Both humans and deer emerged organically and dialectically from that which shapes them. This view is also compatible with Gaia Hypothesis which suggests that the earth is quite literally, and not mystically, a self regulating entity (Bender 2003).

This idea of a subjective nature leads me to question Gods role as creator. It would seem that if Life is co-eternal with God, what meaningful role is there for a Creator? Creation seems to be more an inherent quality of life than the act of a divine subject carried out for his lesser children-subjects mediated by a universe filled with material waiting to be molded into life.

The Word of Wisdom
The word of wisdom is held up as a prophetic chapter of scripture which was before its time. I agree with this assessment, and have frequently felt inspired by its words. But what lies beyond a code of health and dietary restrictions? What are the implications of the Word of Wisdom on the way we interact with food and the way we grow it? How can processes become as sacred as doctrines?

Zion
In Sunday school, I was constantly frustrated whenever we talked of Zion. The conversation would usually start by talk about a millennial ideal that not even the early saints could live by and then lapse into a metaphorical Zionism of “the pure in heart,” wherever they may be. A Deep Mormonism would not be afraid of working toward not simply a Zion mentality, but a truly Zion Society. A society based on equality, beauty, cooperation, kindness, and in my opinion a rejects private property as an end of accumulation. I cannot resist quoting Hugh Nibley, for the following is one of my most favorite quotations and is like scripture to me: “One may not accumulate property, for then it ceases to be property and falls into the forbidden category of power and gain. Oil under arctic seas or mahogany in unexplored jungles can be neither private nor property, save by a theory of possession cultivated in another quarter” (Nibley 1989, 396).

A Theology with social and ecological values would not shy from rejecting consumerism, corporatism, capitalism, and competition. Cooperation is a core principle of a Zion economy. Indeed Deep Mormonism aspires to the Zionic standard of scriptural Christian communities: “They had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free and partakers of the heavenly gift (4 Nephi 1:3).”

Tomorrow and Tuesday’s workshops will hopefully present plenty of ideas for how to bring this about, but for me the central value of talking about a Zion society is that another world truly is possible, and that we can be integral an part of shaping that world. I seek a theology that does not simply preach the virtues of a spiritual life within a morally depraved world, but seeks to shape the world with a vision of what humanity is truly capable.

Race in the Book of Mormon
In reading and writing for the proposal for my summer research, I spent some time on The Book of Mormon portrayal of Native Americans. First, I find great power in the Book of Mormon and am not starting a historicity argument. But I cannot deny that Joseph Smith is just as visible to me as Christ in the Book of Mormon. The narrative is almost too obvious: A white and delightsome, agrarian people, come from the Old world, are tormented by a dark skinned, hunter-gatherer society with a poor work ethic. What do we do with a document that contains powerful spiritual lessons, witness of Christ, but also one that seems to teach a false doctrine of theological racism and social evolution?

Nationalism
I also find other Book of Mormon prophesy troubling; including the glorification of Columbus and the zealous American nationalism that seems to interweave itself into Mormon theology.

Priesthood authority, revelation and what it means to be a prophet
The schism which created Protestantism was over authority. These religious rebels declared that they did not need a priest to mediate their relationship with God. The doctrine of revelation as a process of spiritual learning is quite egalitarian, yet at the same time in Mormonism we find the absolutist doctrine of obedience to the prophets. To me the church is dangerously approaching the tyranny of old. Therefore, I would like to make a distinction between an institutional prophet and a historical prophet. Joseph Smith was a historical prophet, he challenged convention, criticized the social and religious order of his day and caused a fundamental shift in the way we practiced religion. An institutional prophet is a guardian of the status quo, an enforcer of calcified dogmas. What might happen if we freed ourselves of an institutional definition of prophet and extended it to those who speak truth and challenge structures of unjust authority? This does not mean we reject the leaders of the church, become antagonistic to them but see them for who they are: People who have relationships with God as we do, who run a large religious organization. Is the priesthood a vestigial organ or antiquated socio-political power structures? Does priesthood power actually exist? If so, then women must be co-equal holders of it.

Cosmology/Deity
In fun-fact theology, one paradoxical and ambiguous doctrine is that of Mother in Heaven. Deep Mormonism is not afraid to ask: Do we or do we not believe in a Mother in Heaven? And if so, how should the act of worship change? How does my theology change? In what ways do the goddess movement, ancient and pagan spiritual movements relate to Mormon doctrines of Mother in Heaven. In addition, I would like to have a more robust discussion of Mormonism’s apparent Henotheism, or worshiping of one God while acknowledging that there are many.

Homosexuality
What can we do with a theology and cosmology that is so deeply embedded in antiquated (not implying false) concepts of gender and sexuality? How to the politics of identity relate to Mormon theology and to what extent is the homosexual movement a product of Western concepts of essential identity?

RITUAL
That was a flavor for some of the topics that I have been thinking through. As I have stated, much of what brought about my crises of faith is the lack of praxis for some of Mormonism’s most profound ideas. It is one thing to declare the earth a spirit-being, and quite another to live life with this idea as part of the framework of your view of reality. For this reason, I am searching out ways to make the above a real and authentic part of my Mormonism, theology and praxis. Here are a few ideas I have had for meaningful praxis in these areas:
• Prayer to heavenly parents, Mother and Father in heaven
• Prayer with and spiritual interaction with nature, basic elements such as water
• Growing wheat for the sacrament on communal plots
• Celebrating or commemorating ecological events, ie solstice, equinox, first planting, harvest
• Consecrating agricultural work

DECLARATIONS
A Deep Mormonism:
• Is dedicated to the cause of lifting and liberating the poor
• Does not see the earth or the land as a commodity
• Upholds the dialectical process as sacred and essential to a living theology
• Believes that the earth is sacred and that our human identity is inseparable from it
• Sees relationships with each other and the earth as a kind of worship
• Believes that God is Male + female; and if not, something completely distinct from Western ideas of individuality

REFERENCES
Bender, Frederic 2003. The Culture of Extinction: Toward a Philosophy of Deep Ecology Humanity Books,Amherst, New York.
Friere, Paulo 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed Continuum, New York, NY.
Nibley, Hugh 1989. Approaching Zion Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, UT.

Don't Tread on Me!

2008-12-15T17:42:00.002-05:00

Chomsky on Obama Picks

2008-12-07T11:06:00.001-05:00

Walmart Worker Trampled on Black Friday

2008-11-30T14:08:00.002-05:00

No words, just the link.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008448574_shop290.html

THIS JUST IN: IRAQ WAR ENDS!

2008-11-13T21:58:00.004-05:00

The YES MEN Strike again! Check out this future edition of the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes-se.com/

A Mormon's Response to Proposition 8

2008-11-11T17:19:00.005-05:00

The recent surge of political energy demonstrated by California Mormons over Proposition 8 demonstrates what the Church can do: be a powerful force for political and social coalition building and activism. But, for some strange reason we have drawn a crooked line in the sand. The rights of homosexual men and women to define their relationships as they see fit has been deemed a “moral” issue which somehow threatens the sanctity of heterosexual marriages, but health care for all, two deadly and expensive wars, and the growing environmental crisis are “political,” and apparently unworthy of collective action or endorsement. I suppose that a church sworn to political neutrality on the surface can easily escape moral responsibility if moral issues are redefined as political[i]. What is moral about imposing a contemporary Christian interpretation of marriage on the rest of the nation? I say contemporary because as you may recall, in the late 1800s, Mormons defined marriage as between a man and multiple women. One would think that Mormons, who have experienced similar persecution related to the right to define marriage, would be a little more understanding of the present demands of homosexuals.

I am increasingly convinced that anyone who believes that homosexuality is a “social disease,” or wholly a lifestyle or personal choice has never met a Mormon homosexual. Over the past several months I have had the privilege of meeting and conversing with several homosexuals who have grown up in the Mormon Church. They have faced the pain of expulsion from school, disownment by parents, and cultural exile. I cannot imagine a torture more exquisite than to know that my own theology does not have a place for my inner most identity. Suicide is common among homosexual Mormons, who feel that there is no solution to the crisis of being true to their religion and to themselves. It is for this reason that I wish to state unambiguously and without reservation that I disagree whole-heartedly with the church’s decision to support a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage at the state and federal level. I believe it is unconstitutional and immoral to legislate against the desires of our fellow citizens who may not share a similar theology. My argument rests on the assumption and personal conviction that homosexuals are a kind of person, not people engaging in a type of sexual behavior. If we believe this then we believe that they have rights under the constitution.

The argument I hear most in favor for Proposition 8 is that we live in a Christian nation. This is simply not true. We live in a secular republic with a majority Christian population. We do not have an official religion, which the founding fathers adamantly opposed despite most of them representing a variety of Christian and Deist traditions. If the goal of the Mormon Church and its allies is to impose a Theocracy in the United States, then we can begin to talk about constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, requiring prayer in schools, making the Bible the official text of the nation, etc. But, until that happens, (God forbid), we live in a pluralistic and multi-cultural society with a variety of values and perspectives; I don’t see that changing in the next few years. It is ironic that most conservative Mormons voice criticism of radical Islamists attempting to take over their respective governments in order to impose Sharia Law on the citizenry. It would seem that Proposition 8 is a similar if less militant and violent type of program: Seek to impose the ethics of the dominant religious tradition on religious and non-religious minorities. One of the myriad reasons given to justify the invasion of Iraq was to spread liberal secular democracy, yet we seek to overthrow it in our own country. If we agree that we live in a pluralistic and multi-cultural society, and not a Christian theocracy, what right do we have to demand of others an ethic that is not even their own?

The other argument I hear is that if the majority of Americans want to pass a constitutional amendment against gay marriage then homosexuals should just accept that, because, hey that’s democracy. The Civil Rights movement and the Gay Rights movement are analogous because the 14th amendment calls for “equal protection under the law” of its citizens. Thus, if it true that homosexuals are a kind of person, as they claim, and not simply persons engaging in a type of sexual behavior, then it is constitutional to support their right to define marriage how they see fit. We don’t have to agree with it, but we do need to respect it. Democracy is not simply about majority rules; it is also about protecting minorities, whether they be atheists, Homosexuals, Buddhists, Muslims, or African-Americans. The rights of homosexuals to marry is part of the expanding notion of natural rights that in the past several hundred years has incorporated white men who do not own property, to women, African-Americans, Native Americans, and to some extent animals and the natural world.

If the Mormon Church is serious about working toward a truly family friendly social policy, I would suggest we advocate for such reforms as paid maternity leave, universal health care, free child care, mandatory paid vacation, gender parity in wages, and a living wage so that working parents can support a family. I find it to be supremely ironic that in this sense, European countries are more family friendly that we are!

Despite my vehement opposition to Proposition 8, I would never support any action by states or the federal government which would force any religion to accept or sanction homosexual marriage within their own tradition; this appeals of course to the first amendment. This is ironically, the same side of the coin that claims that we live in a pluralistic and multi-cultural society. Yes it is important to fight for the civil rights of all types of people, but we must also respect the rights of Christians to believe that homosexuality is a sin. The freedom of religion allows for a free exercise of conscious and practice, thus, I would hope that within every religious tradition (free of state mandate) there might be an ongoing dialogue about our theologies and the reality of homosexuality. We must engage with homosexuals in our own tradition, lending a compassionate and Christ-like ear. In Mormonism, we should also be sincere about the real possibility of a church founded on revelation changing its position when the time is right. While I support the right of gays to define their relationships as they see fit, there is nothing in the constitution that says that Mormons must accept gay marriage as part of their theology until the theology is ready.

[i] thank you Ashley Sanders for this insight

Here is an Amazing article by an active gay Mormon:
http://sunstoneonline.com/podcast/wrathall.pdf

BBC: "Nature loss 'dwarfs bank crisis'"

2008-10-19T21:55:00.002-04:00

"...the reality is that at today's rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2-$5 trillion every year."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7662565.stm

Collective poem of Via Campesina Youth

2008-10-19T18:11:00.003-04:00

From: www.viacampesina.org A Global Peasant Movement

Sunday, 19 October 2008

The countryside is our life
The earth feeds us
The rivers run in our blood
We are the youth of the Via Campesina
Today we declare the beginning of a new world
We come from the four corners of the world
To stand together in the spirit of resistance
To work together to create hope
To talk together about our struggles
To learn from each others work
To be inspired by each others songs, music and stories
To build solidarity between our movements
To unite as a strong force for social change.
From here we go forward into the four corners of the world.
We carry with us a spirit of revolution,
The conviction that another world is possible,
And the dedication to fight for our way of life.
We will fight until we win, until youth all over the world
Are able to live in the countryside, as campesinos, with peace and prosperity.
When the state tries to repress us, we will unite in solidarity and continue the struggle.
When a compañera falls, we will pick her up.
When it gets cold, we will embrace each other so that the fire of our struggle will warm our hearts.
And each day we will place our bodies, our minds and our hearts on the line and fight for life, and fight for La Via Campesina

NPR Story on the Stability of Community Banks

2008-10-10T19:53:00.002-04:00

Stability is Sustainability:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95484254&ft=1&f=1006

The Rights of Nature

2008-09-30T17:31:00.004-04:00

Taken From: http://www.stuffedandstarved.org/

Nature's Constitution
Quietly last Monday, the Ecuadorian Constitutional Assembly changed the world. Seriously. As the report below shows, they approved legislation that would transform the planet, and ecosystems, from mere things into entities with legal rights to exist and flourish. It's the sort of thing that will give jurisprudence something to work on for a good long while.
The reason I find it all particularly exciting is that it takes the idea of individual human rights, and gives them to entities systems that are hard to define either as individual or human. As to what this means in practice, and whether it's adopted in the final constitution, we'll have to see. But as to what this means in theory, it's already revolutionary. More below the fold.

An excerpt from the document:

Art. 1. Nature or Pachamama, where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution. Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public organisms. The application and interpretation of these rights will follow the related principles established in the Constitution.

Art. 2. Nature has the right to an integral restoration. This integral restoration is independent of the obligation on natural and juridical persons or the State to indemnify the people and the collectives that depend on the natural systems. In the cases of severe or permanent environmental impact, including the ones caused by the exploitation on non-renewable natural resources, the State will establish the most efficient mechanisms for the restoration, and will adopt the adequate measures to eliminate or mitigate the harmful environmental consequences.

Art. 3. The State will motivate natural and juridical persons as well as collectives to protect nature; it will promote respect towards all the elements that form an ecosystem.

Art. 4. The State will apply precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles. The introduction of organisms and organic and inorganic material that can alter in a definitive way the national genetic patrimony is prohibited.

Art. 5. The persons, people, communities and nationalities will have the right to benefit from the environment and form natural wealth that will allow wellbeing. The environmental services cannot be appropriated; its production, provision, use and exploitation, will be regulated by the State.

The RNC Wecoming Committee

2008-09-03T19:47:00.003-04:00

Those who work with the RNC Welcoming Committee must agree to:

1. A rejection of Capitalism, Imperialism, and the State;
2. Resist the commodification of our shared and living Earth;
3. Organize on the principles of decentralization, autonomy, sustainability, and mutual aid;
4. Work to end all relationships of domination and subjugation, including but not limited to those rooted in patriarchy, race, class, and homophobia;
5. Oppose the police and prison-industrial complex, and maintain solidarity with all targets of state repression;
6. Directly confront systems of oppression, and respect the need for a diversity of tactics.

www.nornc.org

A People’s History of the United States and Zinn on Third Party Politics

2008-08-30T20:30:00.002-04:00

I recently finished reading Howard Zinn’s "A People’s History of the United States." Granted, it took me a year of off and on reading to get through it, but as of a few days ago I am officially done! It was a fantastic book; from page one Zinn is relentless in his critique of the power dynamics that played themselves out from the moment that Columbus set foot on Caribbean soil, to the Clinton era. I was most impressed by the anarchist undercurrent of Zinn’s commentary and his celebration of such notable radicals as Emma Goldman, Eugene Debs, and the Anarcho-syndicalist union The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Zinn draws out the underlying class loyalties of the American ruling class that according to my high school history books do not exist.

But, as I listened to a KPFK broadcast the other day, Zinn was a guest. He was asked to talk about the upcoming election. He was typical in his critique of McCain as a war-monger and of Obama as being a centrist and loyal to corporate money despite the rhetoric. And then, at the end of the interview, the host asked: “What role do third party candidates like Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney play in this year’s election?” To my horror, Zinn replied: “Voting for a third party candidate is futile” and continued,

“If there is even a marginal difference between Obama and McCain, and there is, that is there is a greater possibility of change with Obama than McCain, if that even small possibility exists, and small possibilities can mean a matter of life and death for people; then I think at the moment you are in the voting booth you have to put aside the idea of a third party candidate and at that point and vote for somebody who has a possibility of change. With Obama there’s that possibility, with McCain there isn’t. I don’t think that truth telling people like McKinney and Ralph Nader have their greatest power in the in the voting booth or the electoral process.

Host: But couldn’t they serve to push Obama to the Left?

Zinn: Up to the point of the election itself maybe, but the threat of a third party candidate is so small, that the idea of voting for a third party candidate is not going to push Obama to the Left…I think that what will push him in a good direction is a movement, a citizens movement in the country, which people like Nader and McKinney can lead. And I think that kind of movement is the kind that historically has moved presidents in a good direction, just as the great movements of the 30s moved Roosevelt in the direction of domestic economic reform.”

My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe that this was the same guy who had written a Peoples History! If anyone could understand the value of a third party candidate it is Howard Zinn, or so I thought. If the best we can hope for is a movement that will push a moderate president in a “good” direction, then how do we ever hope to achieve the kinds of things the “left” is striving for? In every category Obama has refused to take progressive stances on the issues: the war in Iraq, healthcare, taxes, etc. If we give up the idea of a third party candidate at the voting booth, then of COURSE a third party is no threat to Obama or McCain. It is that we are willing to vote for the candidate that best represents our values that make political parties accountable to us in the first place. If we see Obama as just another least-worst, then the democrats will continue to be beholden to corporations and not to us. This is why I have never been a democrat; they do not represent my values. In addition, it is precisely the third party and independent candidates like Eugene Debs who had the power to push Roosevelt in a left direction. If Debs had not received over a million votes, I don’t think Roosevelt would have paid much attention. Zinn is correct that a broad movement with good leaders will take us far, but we also need leverage. What better way push Obama to the left than with the real threat of losing our votes?

IMPLEMENT THE DRAFT, SO I CAN BURN MY DRAFT CARD!

2008-08-20T20:17:00.004-04:00

Today on Democracy Now! (www.democracynow.org) the guest was a retired army Cornell, now a conservative university professor talking about his new book. His name is Andrew Bacevich and the book is titled The limits of Power: on the end of American Exceptionalism. He described the two major candidates for this years election as having only operational differences in their approach to the war on terror and that the debate about the US foreign policy is dangerously narrow with both candidates essentially agreeing that the war on terror must be won, varying only in where they plan to focus the military's energies after they win the election.

Bacevich notes that when Nixon ended the draft which created a professional army his motive was to deflate anti-war movement. The slew of small US interventions that followed were a result of political elites showing off a well oiled professional army. Bacevich notes that American Citizens are insulated from the costs of the war. Not only are we isolated from the war by a corporate media, but we were told after 9/11 not to sacrifice, but to get back to the malls! There are many things that must change in our country for authentic democracy to take root, a mandatory military draft might be one of them.

I know I have had conversations with people about my reaction to a reinstated draft. My usual reply is that I would go to Canada. Imagine if every time the US government wanted to invade a country they had to go through every able bodied man and woman in this country. I think it would not only make congress think twice about a preemptive war, it would also awaken many Americans to the real possibility of being sent to war, and they would then be forced to analyze their feelings about said conflict. Blind patriotic flag waving might be replaced with community councils, fact finding missions and a vibrant resistance movement. If it worked for Nixon, it could work in reverse for Iraq! Implement the draft, end the WAR!

Legalize Democracy!

2008-07-25T21:02:00.002-04:00

Seven reforms that would make our democracy more legitimate:

Abolish the Electoral College

Implement an appropriate form of Run-off Voting

Reform state ballot access laws which obstruct third parties from running candidates

Full disclosure of private donations and full public financing for elections

No confidence option on all election ballots

Multi-party presidential debates

Make voting day a paid holiday

Airport Panic

2008-07-10T14:03:00.003-04:00

I follow a fluorescent corridor out of the fuselage into a large rectangular lobby, stumbling into a stream of human traffic that leads to my connecting flight’s gate. I have just flown two and a half hours from Orange County airport to Houston, Texas, and in a few hours will board another flight to Charleston, West Virginia. I follow the large illuminated signs that point toward ‘Terminal B.’ At a dead end hallway after a labyrinth of escalators and industrially carpeted pathway, I board a small mono-rail for the last leg of my intermediate journey. As I secure myself to handhold, a glossy voice announces the destination (first in English and then in Spanish). After a few moments I notice that I am alone on the train.

As I leave the train through automatic doors into Terminal B, I am again awash in a sea of faces, the most intoxicating mixture of human variety. The atoms that make up the molecules and organisms of society. But here we break from the comfort and magnetism of society and become completely atomized: producers, consumers, departures, arrivals; haves and have-nots. I am stumbling through Milton Friedman’s utopia.

As I make my way through ever narrower passages, I feel waves of panic. I am terrified by people and I am in love with them, all in the same breath. Eyes dive for cover as I peruse the being-scape. I hear many words but few conversations. A human ant colony teleporting ourselves into and out of each other’s lives, cities, jobs, dreams: A body catch a body as its coming through the rye.

I arrive at my gate. Why am I doing this? Why am I here? The birds outside spend their days searching for food to fill their bellies; but I have to fly across the country to exchange my labor for cash that will buy food that will fill my belly. In the distance I catch sight of a bird caught inside the airport. There is of course nothing I can do. So I take my seat, a few away from the nearest body, and wait for the airplane to board.

I live in the saddest world

2008-07-10T13:16:00.004-04:00

Off of highway 15 I found this sign. 10 acres paved parking. Hurray.
Near BYU I found a dead tree among fake tropical ones.
Near the top of a mountain I found this subdivision, with streets named after the animals and plants they had run off. Nature sells.
Off of highway 15 near American Fork I found "The [mostly bulldozed and turned into a Wal-Mart] Meadows!

This is What Democracy Looks Like: A Petitioner's Manifesto

2008-06-26T14:58:00.003-04:00

The sun is blazing down on me and sweat drips from my forehead. The West Virginia air is humid and thick as storm clouds cluster in unpredictable colonies in the sky. I have been working as a petitioner on the Ralph Nader ballot-access campaign for almost a week now and although the work is exhausting it has helped me to truly understand the role that third parties play in American politics. At first I was terrified of approaching total strangers and talking to them about their politics; but now my words are more fluid, more familiar, and my self-esteem is less attached to the many rejections, blow-offs, and rude comments that I endued on a day to day basis.

Today I am stationed in front of a super market on the outskirts of Charleston. A woman with an empty cart approaches the store front and I say “Are you registered to vote in West Virginia ma’am?” to which I hear a sharp “No thank you, I’m in a hurry.” Just one of the literally hundreds of people I have talked to today. The rejection fades as I approach another couple, rejection, and then an elderly man. He stops slowly on my left, eyes skeptical as most are, and listens as I tell him that the clipboard in my hands is filled with the signatures of registered voters like him, who believe that third party candidates have the right to be on the ballot. He signs, and nods as he slowly adds “there ought’a be more choices.”

“Sign a quick petition for me today sir?” “Who’s on it? What! You have got to be kidding me! Ralph Nader! I don’t want him on the ballot! He’ll steal votes away from the democrats!” a typical democrat reply. But, this man seems interested in my response, which I appreciate. “Well sir, don’t you think that a candidate should win an election based on their own merit and not simply because there are only two choices? And if the two major parties are losing votes to independents, doesn’t that just mean they have lost touch with their constituents? Isn’t democracy about choice and doesn’t Nader have the right to be on the ballot?” He pauses, to digest my words, nods his head and says, “I see your point…ok I’ll sign.” I think to myself: I’m getting good at this! When I started petitioning for the campaign, I expected we would meet up with the bitter Democrats who believe that Nader lost them the elections in 2000 and 2004. The irony of course is that in opposing Nader’s access to the ballot they are sanctioning the ever narrowing scope of political dialogue. If the democrats are losing constituents to third party candidates like Nader, it is because they are not adequately representing progressive values not because Ralph is a spoiler. Having third parties like the greens and Ralph Nader, can only serve to make the Democratic party more accountable to its constituents, because they if they are not, they will lose more people like me, who believe that the Democrats are just as beholden to the special interests that are clogging the authenticity of our democracy as the republicans.

I am standing at a small pedestrian walkway between a mall and a bus stop. A man with bad legs, a shaved head, and no front teeth slurring a thick New Jersey accent storms through the alley yelling: “They can’t deny me food when I am hungry!” He asks if he can use my phone to call the train station, saying “I’m getting out of this place, I’m going back to Philly!” I hand him the phone. As he makes his call, I catch pedestrians on their lunch breaks and reflect on the previous day in front of the super market—it had ended with us being kicked out by the store manager for “soliciting.” There is a certain feeling of despair that comes over you when on top of all the apathy, rudeness, and opposition to our cause, we have the rug literally swept out from under us. One of Ralph Nader’s key issues is to end ballot access obstructionism, where state ballot access laws make it near impossible to run a candidate on the state general election ballots. On top of this already unfair and unjust obstacle, we live in a society where public spaces are rapidly being converted in to private spaces. Many Americans can go through their entire day without interacting with anyone: from the suburban home to the car, to the cubicle, to a self-check-out grocery store. Private shopping malls and “Town Centers” have become the public space of our time, yet they do not allow the same rights as genuine public spaces. Our lives have become so dependent on technology and dispersed that public spaces are becoming a rarity. A development in Huntington, West Virginia—one of our petitioning locations—is a prime example. “Pullman’s Square” is a recent development that has revitalized the down town with new shops and business locations (after sprawl and manufacturing job losses destroyed them). There is even what appears to be a public park with a fountain and lawn. On a Friday night this square is bustling with teenagers, couples, and families; but due to the fact that the area is owned by a development company, it was off limits to us petitioners, who had to stay a safe distance from it all as security guards watched us like hawks.

As the man finishes the phone call, he thanks me and stumbles off. I continue to petition the small pedestrian walkway that leads to the mall entrance until the sun begins to set behind the large apartment and commercial buildings and decide to call it a day. Being a petitioner is not easy, but it can certainly be rewarding when you run into people who understand the importance of third party candidates and appreciate Ralph Nader’s years of tireless service to consumers and democracy. As I finish the day my feet are tired and my throat raw. Sometimes it is difficult, but what keeps me going is the idea that third parties are an essential part of our democracy, and that our democracy is in great peril. This is what democracy looks like, people in the streets promoting a cause, fighting for change, raising their voices.

A Navajo Man

2008-05-26T14:59:00.001-04:00

Since April 25th, I have been on a ranch in New Mexico, enrolled in a three week Permaculture Design Course. As I drove from Provo, Utah to Las Vegas, New Mexico, I passed through a number of Native American reservations. Growing up in Orange County California, Native American issues were practically unknown to me. The native populations of the South Coast we all but wiped out by disease, slave labor, and forced integration. So, in traveling through many Native American reservations, I began to see that in many cases the third world we romanticize as being in Latin America or Africa is really in our own back yard. Conditions were squalor, and the air was filled with depression and hopelessness. How is it that my culture could simply roll over these first peoples with such reckless abandon?

I offer no easy answer. But when I arrived at the Wind River Ranch, I noticed there was a Navajo man in our class. I have been to Latin America, and have spent many hours in the presence of the First Peoples of Guatemala, but there was something very personal about being in the presence of a Navajo man. It was my ancestors that conquered his. During the first week of the course, we learned each other’s names, covered the course material, and dug our hands into the soft red sandy soil of a grass land flood plain. In our class discussions, the Navajo man would make long, slow, and deliberate commentary related to his people and to Native Americans in general. His insights were good, and everyone respected him; but I could not bring myself to talk with him. One day as we were both in the kitchen on separate tasks, he spoke to me in a quiet voice, asking where I would go next. I replied, and we started a conversation. At one point I told him about a friend that was doing her field work for her anthropology degree on the Navajo reservation. I told him that I was an anthropologist, and wondered what he thought of them. He took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. He was kind, and said that there were some that are good, but that some take without asking, and disturb things that were not meant to be disturbed. I asked how I, as a white person could be in closer solidarity with Native American movements. To this, there was no easy answer, and in response he began to recount to me his journey, one that would take him through a small kitchen in New Mexico, talking to an ignorant white kid from California.

He had grown up on the reservation. And as a young man realized that he had quite a talent for baseball, he could run fast and hit far. But whenever his team would play border towns—meaning towns on the border with the reservation—he would always ask himself why the other teams had bleachers, dugouts, clean uniforms, and nice equipment. All he ever had was a dusty field. He would ask his parents and his grandparents why, and they would simply reply that that was the way things were. Gerry had more questions, and only ever received “I don’t know” answers. All these unanswered questions led him to doubt the wisdom of his people. He began to notice how the blacks and the Latinos were treated by the whites, and began to understand. This was something he felt was real, and he began to direct his hatred toward whites, and started getting into fights. He showed me the scar on his wrist, his nose, and his eye brow. He felt that his situation was hopeless, and began to drink heavily. He was in and out of jail many times, and had to rely on family members to bail him out. At some point he began to tire of the never ending cycle of destruction that he had put himself in, and one night while in jail, made a promise to God that he would turn his life around in order to help others. He faced many trials along the way, but eventually gave up alcohol and drugs, fighting, and most of all hatred. He began to understand why things were the way they were, and began looking for ways to make them better.

The Navajo man’s pedagogy utilized his whole body and face to express the emotions of others, and to illustrate his frustration. I didn’t really get a straight answer to my question that day, but we had many more conversations throughout the two week course and the wisdom of his stories became apparent. Solidarity is understanding the other so that they do not seem so other anymore. It was teaching me his ways. He had taken a life that was destined for ruin, and turned it into one that was successful. He shifted from draining society, to regenerating it; a paradigm of consumption, to one of production. Which is illustrated perfectly by something he said one day in class when we were getting a little apocalyptic. My Navajo friend raised his hand and said: we may be surrounded by shit, but it is our job to turn it into compost. His life is a perfect example of what Permaculture is all about. Shepparding a society that is on a crash course with disaster, to one that is sane, rational, and above all sustainable.

One night we kneeled over stones and made hurricanes with our hands to make fire in the ancient way. In my mind, a hand drill was almost fictional, could anyone really actually do that? But he could, with large calloused hands he drew smoke from the charring wood beneath his drill and turned it into fire. When I tried it, well, there was less smoke and no fire.

One day when the class had planned a day hike to see some petro glyphs in a nearby cave, my friend decided to stay behind out of respect for the tribes that had left them. I approached him quietly, and asked if it offended him that we were going. He was kind, and said no, that for us it was a learning experience. But for him, he had been taught that there are places one must not go. That there are spaces that are sacred, a concern that must have been at the heart of his ambivalence toward anthropologists; they came in handy sometimes, but mostly they were just whites looking for an adventure, a place to dig, a people to study. Sacredness and boundaries really are foreign concepts to the Western mind, which is dominated by a history of frontier, discovery, and invention.

At the end of the two weeks, I was grateful for my Navajo friend’s wisdom though still unsure how to proceed. I told him that perhaps I could help raise some money for the ailing schools, or for the local baseball teams. He smiled and nodded appreciating the effort. As we said our goodbyes, I looked at him and said, ‘The irony of the situation is that for 400 years whites have been trying to save your people in one way or another. But when the shit hits the fan, it will be your people who save us.’ He liked this idea, laughed, and disappeared into his large Dodge truck.

Politics and the Spirit

2008-04-05T22:00:00.003-04:00

Today I participated in a protest against the war in Iraq. It was not unlike many other rallies I have attended in Salt Lake City’s downtown. In the past, I have been skeptical of the purpose and effectiveness of anti-war demonstration, but today my mind turned to an experience I had during the summer of 2006 and the special circumstances of the Salt Lake City rally.

While I was traveling though Chiapas, Mexico during the summer of 2006, we happened upon a flyer that announced a Zapatista march and rally for later that day. We decided to attend, despite cautious feelings about being outsiders and avoiding trouble. The meeting place for the march was in a church yard and the march route was proposed and then agreed upon by all in attendance. Before we formed rank, an organizer offered a solemn and simple prayer. I felt real and sincere energy emanating from the protesters as we were welcomed and marched and sang protest songs in unison through the dusk-shadowed streets of San Cristobal. There were processions of indigenous women and mothers with children lashed to their backs and clusters of men in cowboy hats, brightly colored woven cloth and worn shoes; some were even barefooted. They marched in solidarity with another community that was being threatened with the expansion of an airport near Mexico City. The air was filled with feelings of urgency, solidarity, and hope. In Chiapas, rallies and protests have become a part of the social fabric, part of an ongoing struggle over life and death issues such as access to arable land, political representation, and social equality.

The Salt Lake protest happened to be during the LDS General Conference. As we marched down 400 south, our signs and slogans met the eyes of conference goers as their cars moped through congested streets. A few waved, cheered, or honked. The rest jeered, looked away, or laughed. I had listened to the first session of conference before coming to the protest and felt no spiritual contradiction in worshiping God with my fellow saints around the world in conference and raising my fist to oppose an unjust, ruinous, and costly war. I felt a longing for those feelings I had felt in Chiapas: urgency, solidarity, and hope. There was no urgency because the bombs are falling over someone else’s homeland. But they are our bombs. Our tax dollars paid for them. There is no solidarity because the Mormons scoff at the liberals and the liberals roll their eyes at the Mormons. Unfortunately, protesting the war is seen as a cultural activity. Only liberal peace-mongers protest because, in many people’s minds, there are certain kinds of people that protest, as if it were a pastime or a hobby. And those that do attend rallies are so steeped in post modern irony, that they can hardly take seriously the cliché of marching or chanting. But as I recalled that cobble stone church yard in Chiapas filled with bowed heads as we prepared to march down the streets of San Cristobal, my heart longed for a Mormonism that was more deeply engaged with the world from which it seeks acceptance. In Chiapas, politics and the spirit are connected.

Provost, Provos and Provo

2008-03-30T16:12:00.002-04:00

Provost: (1785-1850)
A French Canadian Fur Trapper. The first what man to see the Great Salt Lake. He narrowly escaped death at the hands of “savages.” Where Provo, Utah got its name.

Provos:
The radical Dutch counter-culture movement that exploded onto the European stage in the early 1960s which created virtual panic for the national government and local authorities. The Provos were a radical group of freethinkers; inspired by anarchism, Dadaism, and radical philosophy. They used non-violence and performance art called “happenings” to provoke reactions from the local police, working towards social change. The group was officially formed on May 25, 1965 by anarchist Roel Van Duyn and others who quickly began organizing around the international anti-war movement. In their brief manifesto they proclaim: "It is our task to turn their [the state’s] aggression into revolutionary consciousness." The group’s tactics are generally associated with “Situationism” and the work of Guy Debord, who authored Society of the Spectacle a Marxist inspired critique of industrial society’s obsession with consumption. The groups loosely defined mission was to break the strangle hold capitalism had on society through creative action directed locally. The Provos were a mixture of radical leftists, Marxists, street kids, and artists. Many were anti-work, and praised the writings of Paul Lafargue who penned The Right to Laziness. But most were more politically active, writing anti-monarchy leaflets, organizing demonstrations, and publishing a magazine. One Provo even landed himself on the city council in Amsterdam.

The Provos are most famous for their series of “white plans” of which the white bicycle was the most popular. The plan called for the prohibition of cars from the city’s center and the strategic placing of white community bicycles that would be maintained by the police. The group even donated fifty bicycles that they had painted white, but which were quickly confiscated by the authorities and the plan never materialized. Other white plans included the white chimney, which called for filters to be placed on all large smoke stacks in order to reduce air pollution, and other white plans that called for better health care for women, legalizing squatting, and disarming police officers. One plan even proposed that victims of car accidents be immortalized in the pavement by outlining their bodies in white paint. The so-called "traffic terrorism of a motorized minority" would thus become an ever-present reminder of the violent potential of the automobile.

As the movement grew, the police began to react more and more violently, which created a mystique for the group who were few in numbers but do to media coverage appeared to number in the thousands, which terrified government authorities. During the royal wedding of Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands to a German man who had been a member of the Hitler Youth, police expected a massive terrorist attack by the Provos, and over 25,000 troops were deployed! A newspaper headline even said “The Provos are Attacking!” The Provos ended up lighting off a few harmless smoke bombs, but the police reacted violently and images of the embarrassing incident were printed all across Europe. By 1966 political violence was at its zenith in Amsterdam, hundreds were being arrested, and demonstrations were made illegal. Eventually the group began to faction into more radical elements who supported the use of violence, and some who began to seek political careers within the system. These were criticized for institutionalizing the movement, and after 1967 most had gone their separate ways. The Provos dissipated into political and social obscurity. Today the Provos are survived by the Kabouters (gnomes) a leftist political party in Holland.

Provo:
The Utah city with 105,166 people. Most conservative city in America with over 100,000 people. 88.52% white. Home to BYU, the LDS MTC, and a host of other Mormon-specific acronyms (mostly surrounding dating).

Five Years In Iraq

2008-03-22T18:53:00.001-04:00

With the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq upon us, and as President Bush praises Iraqis for fighting Al-Qaida, the lives of Iraqis continue to get worse. According to polls cited on Democracy Now, 2/3 of Iraqis want us to withdraw immediately. However, in a recent interview with Dick Cheney on a morning talk show, he made it clear that public opinion is of little importance. Well sure, why would it be, the Iraqi government hasn’t privatized the oil yet. Over the weekend, the Winter Soldier Investigations were held at the Labor College in Maryland, Receiving practically no corporate media coverage. Again, www.democracynow.org was there, and the stories of the soldiers are worth listening to.

To watch the testimony see www.ivaw.org

On March 19th 2003 I was living in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. I went grocery shopping that day and bought a news paper with large letters and images of the invasion. I was so sad, yet all around me the Mormon missionaries I served with were proud and pleased (the white ones that is).

On March 19th 2008, I attended a small candle light vigil in Provo Utah, organized by a high school senior named Alex. He and his guests felt good about what they were doing, and told the newspaper reported that they believed they were making a difference. I felt saddened that they actually believed that this small rally would sway the opinion of the man whose office we stood in front of: Orrin Hatch, or anyone else for that matter. I have been to rallies against the war every year since 2005, and it would seem that each year they become less relevant to the determination of the architects of this new foreign policy.

We are in an election year. If Barrack Obama gets elected will he withdraw the troops? I doubt it. He may withdraw the troops and then invade Pakistan.

Organizations

2008-03-22T18:48:00.001-04:00

Permaculture/Intentional Communities
www.ic.org – Intentional Community website
www.cohousing.org – National Cohousing Association
www.egfs.org –Emma Goldman Finishing School IC
www.urbanwater.info –Great Resource for Urban Watershed work
www.bioneers.org –Bioneers
www.earthactivisttraining.org –Earth Activist Training (CA)
www.oaec.org -Occidental Arts and Ecology Center
www.pathtofreedom.org –Path to Freedom House self -eliance (CA)
www.permacultura.org –Permaculture Latin America
www.permacultureactivist.net –Permaculture Activist Magazine
www.permaculture.org –The Permaculture Institute
www.livepower.org –Live Power Community Farm, Biodynamic farm (CA)
www.culturechange.org –Culture Change, Transport Network
www.solarliving.org –The solar Living Institute
www.lostvalley.org –Lost Valley
www.aprovecho.net –Aprovecho Education center

Forestry/Agroforestry/Arboriculture
www.arborday.org –Arbor Day foundation
www.aftaweb.org –Association for Temperate Agroforestry
www.cifor.cigiar.org –Center for International forestry Research
www.metafore.org –Forest Certification Resource Center
www.earthsourcewood.com –Earth Source Forest Products
www.ecotrustforests.com –Eco-Trust Forests LLC
www.theforestguild.org –The Forest Guild
www.dovetailinc.org –Dove Tail Inc. Community Forestry
www.iatp.org –Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (see forestry center)
www.sfiprogram.org –Sustainable Forestry Initiative (cert.)
www.sierrainstitute.us –Sierra Institute Community forestry
www.safnet.org –Society of American Foresters
www.sustainablewoods.net –The Sustainable Woods Network
www.fsc.org –Forest Stewardship Council
www.pacificforest.org –Pacific Forest Trust
www.forests.org –Forest Protection Portal
www.forestethics.org –Forest Ethics advocacy
www.treeswaterpeople.org –Trees Water People
www.communityforestryinternational.org –Community Forestry International
www.fao.org/forestry/en -FAO
www.greenleafforestry.com –Green Leaf Forestry Great Program!
www.natlforest.org –The National Forest Foundation

Environmental Organizations
www.deepecology.org –Foundation for Deep Ecology
www.greenbeltmovement.org –African Reforestation Organization
www.carbonfund.org –Carbon sequestering for your life
www.treepeople.org –LA Org, reforestation, and urban water
www.sierraclub.org –DUH
www.greenpeace.org –DUH
www.earthfirst.org
www.earth-policy.org – Earth Policy Institute
www.ifcae.org –Institute for Culture and Ecology
www.ser.org –Society for Ecological Restoration
www.wiserearth.org –Wiser Earth Environmental Org data base
www.nwf.org –National Wildlife Federation
www.worldwildlife.org –World Wildlife Fund
www.RAN.org –Rainforest Action Network
www.foe.org –Friends of the Earth
www.nature.org –The Nature Conservancy
www.nrdc.org –Natural Resource Defense Council

Localism/Bioregionalism
www.ecotrust.org -Eco-Trust does amazing work with the concept of Bioregionalism
www.middleburyinstitute.org –Middlebury Institute for the study of Secession
www.cascadia-bioregion.tripod.com –Cascadia Bioregional page
www.planetdrum.org –Planet Drum Bioregional Org, (CA)
www.vermontcommons.org –Vermont Commons, secession
www.republicoflakotah.com –Lakotah Freedom!
www.ilsr.org –Institute for Local Self Reliance

Urban Planning/New Urbanism/Green City
www.smartgrowthamerica.org –Smart Growth America
www.smartgrowth.org –Smart Growth
www.communitygarden.org –American Community Gardening Association
www.postcarbon.org –AMAZING RESOURCE, Post Carbon cities, relocalize
www.sustainable.org –Sustainable Communities Network
www.cityrepair.org –City Repair in Washington
www.lincolninst.edu –Lincoln Land Institute
www.apta.org –American Public Transportation Association

Agriculture/Food/Food Sovereignty/Ethical Consumption
www.attra.org –National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
www.foodfirst.org –Institute that studies food and development related issues
www.foodroutes.org –where does our food come from?
www.localharvest.org –Find CSA’s and local farmers
www.sustainabletable.org –GREAT resource for basics of sustainability and ethical consumption
www.familyfarmdefenders.org –Family Farm Defense and Agro issues
www.organicconsumers.org –Organic Consumers Association, protecting organic standards (see also Organic Farmers and Gardeners Union)
www.viacampesina.org –La Via Campesina Food Sovereignty/Peasant Movement
www.nfu.org –The National Farmers Union
www.greenerhoices.org – Ethical Consumption, eco-labeling
www.coopamerica.org –Great Resource! Fair trade etc.
www.seedsaversexchange.org –Seed Savers and sellers
www.cityfarmer.org –Urban Agriculture!
www.foodsecurity.org –Community Food Security’s North American Food Policy Council
www.nffc.net –National Family Farm Coalition
www.slowfood.com –Slow Food International
www.acresusa.com –Acres Magazine
www.eco-farm.org –The Ecological Faming Association
www.organicvoluteers.org –Organic Volunteers, WWOOF
www.growbiointensive.org –Ecology Action, Bio-intensive farming
www.foodsovereignty.org –IPC Food Sovereignty
www.iatp.org –Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
www.agpolicy.org –Agriculture Policy
www.fb.org –The American Farm Bureau
www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp -Natural Resources Conservation Service (Conservation Security Program)
www.farmland.org –American Farmland Trust

Fair Trade
www.usft.org –United Students for Fair Trade
www.citizenstrade.org –Citizen’s Trade Campaign –GREAT Resource
www.tradejustice.org –Student Trade Justice
www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org –United Students Against Sweat Shops
www.transfairusa.org –Trans-Fair
www.fairtrade.net –FLO
www.responsibleshopper.org –Responsible Shopper
www.globalexchange.org –Global Exchange
www.foodalliance.org –Food Alliance Certification
www.naturallygrown.org –Naturally Grown Food Certification
www.ifat.org –International Fair Trade Association
www.cottonfieldusa.com –Organic Cotton Products
www.nosweatapparel.com –NO SWEAT

Labor/workers Rights/Popular Movements
www.IWW.org –Industrial Workers of the World
www.ufw.org –United Farm Workers (Cesar Chavez’s group)
www.workerssolidarity.org –Workers Solidarity Network
www.mstbrazil.org –Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement
www.aimovement.org –American Indian Movement
www.appaf.org –American Palestine Public Affairs Forum
www.laborradio.org –Workers Independent News
www.USLEAP.org –Worker and Trade solidarity
www.labornet.org –Labor NET
www.aflcio.org –AFL-CIO
www.workingforamerica.org –Working For America Institute
www.solidairtycenter.org –Solidarity Center
www.georgemeany.org –National Labor College

Cooperativism/Solidarity-conservation Economy
www.usworker.coop – The US Federation of Worker Owned Coops
www.geo.coop –Grassroots Economic Organizing, solidarity Economy!
www.conservationeconomy.net –Conservation Economy (part of Eco-Trust)
www.ica.coop – International Cooperative Alliance
www.ncba.coop –National Cooperative Business Alliance
www.ncdf.coop –North Country Cooperative Development Fund
www.ncfc.org –National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
www.socialinvest.org –Social Investing
www.socialfunds.com -Social Funds Investing
www.greenworker.coop –Green Worker Cooperatives (NYC)
www.equalexchange.com –Equal Exchange F.T. Co-op
www.cooplife.coop –Cooperative Life (New England)
www.coophousing.org –National Association of Housing Cooperatives
www.nasco.coop –North American Students of Cooperation
www.uwcc.wisc.edu –University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives
www.nwcdc.coop –Northwest Cooperative Development Center

International Development/Post- Development
www.us.oneworld.net –News and resource for international development
www.sdi.gov –Sustainable Development Indicators
www.oxfam.org –Oxfam-fair trade, poverty
www.care.org –CARE
www.rainforestalliance.org –Rainforest Alliance –cert and sustainable Agro
www.journeytoforever.org –Journey to Forever, great resource
www.treeswaterpeople.org –Trees Water People
www.usaid.gov –US AID
www.undp.org –UN Development Program
www.FAO.org –Food and Agriculture Organization
www.who.int –World Health Organization
www.wvi.org –World Vision International
www.wri.org –The World Resource Institute
www.sustainableharvest.org –Sustainable Harvest International
www.ecologic.org –EcoLogic Development Fund
www.rainforestrelief.org –Rainforest relief
www.skoll.org –Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship

Participatory Democracy/ Corporate Accountability
www.celdf.org – The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund- works with communities to stand up to corporate power, and establish ordinances promoting authentic democracy
www.reclaimdemocracy.org –AMAZING resource and activism
www.poclad.org –Program on corporations, law and democracy
www.duhc.org –Democracy Unlimited (Humboldt)
www.nationalinitiative.us –The National Initiative for Democracy, People Power
www.citizen.org –Public Citizen

News, Media, Publishing and Information
www.enn.com –Environmental News Network
www.riseup.org – Rise Up- web hosting, email
www.zmag.org –LEFT news, theory, conflict watches, and articles
www.akpress.org –AK Press publishing
www.microcosmpublishing.org –Out of Portland, cool stickers
www.bigpicture.tv –Videos of activists talking about THE ISSUES
www.globalissues.org – Great Resource
www.democracynow.org –Democracy Now Radio and Podcast, great news source!
www.indymedia.org –Independent Media Center National Organization
www.multinationalmonitor.org –Multinational Monitor magazine started by Ralph

Anarchism
www.catholicworker.org –The Catholic Worker Magazine and movement page
www.cpt.org –Christian Peacemaker Team
www.dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/index.html -Anarchy Archive

Non-Profit/Land Trusts
www.lta.org –Land Trust Alliance
www.tpl.org –The Trust for Public Land
www.iceclt.org –Institute for Community Economics
www.worldlandtrust.org –World Land Trusts for conservation
www.pacificforest.org –Pacific Forest Trust
www.alcnet.org –American Land Conservancy

Health and Health Care
www.commonweal.org –Common Weal Holistic health
www.healthcare-now.org –Health Care advocacy group!
www.phmovement.org –Peoples Health Care Movement

Political Economy
www.worklessparty.org –Work Less Party out of Canada, with some amazing ideas
www.ussf07.org –US and World Social Forums
www.gp.org –The Green Party of the United States
www.newamericandream.org –New American Dream
www.codepink4peace.org –Women for Peace!
www.unitedforpeace.org –United For Peace and Justice
www.highlandercenter.org –Famous center, MLK, etc.
www.ccrjustice.org –Center for Constitutional Rights
www.ACORN.org –Association of Community Organizations for reform now
www.amnestyUSA.org _Amnesty International
www.corporatewatch.org –Corporate Watch
www.gp.org –US Green Party
www.democrats.org –The Democratic Party
www.sp-usa.og –Socialist Party USA
www.hrw.org –Human Rights Watch
www.neweconomics.org –The New Economics Foundation

Anthropology
www.sfaa.net –Society for Applied anthropology
www.aaanet.org –American Anthropological Association
www.eanthorg – AAA Anthropology and the Environment
www.culturalsurvival.org –Cultural Survival

Utah Environmental Resources

2008-03-22T18:46:00.001-04:00

ENERGY use
There are all sorts of things we can do to save energy. First of all we should know where our energy comes from. Coal? Solar? Hydro-electric? Reducing electricity consumption from a coal fired power plant can have an impact on global warming if we all act collectively. Turn off lights, unplug appliances you are not using, use energy star certified appliances, clean the back of your refrigerator regularly, find programs that support alternative energy such as wind or solar. You can also simply lower your thermostat and put on a sweater in winter or open a window in summer. When you have your own place, look into passive solar design, double and triple pained windows, and solar panels. And of course, hold your elected officials accountable, and put pressure on them to support a green economy.
Links:
http://www.utahcleanenergy.org/
WATER use
If you live in the West, chances are your water is coming from a long distance away. In Utah, we depend on giant reservoirs and catchments of water up Provo and Rock canyons for our water. This water has been diverted from natural hydrological cycles to water lawns, agricultural fields and fill bathtubs. Of course it isn’t wrong to use water, but the more conscientious we are about our use, the more the water can stay in the rivers, stream and lakes. Limit shower time, REPLACE lawns with native and drought tolerant vegetation, don’t wash drive ways sweep them. And of course, hold your elected officials accountable, and put pressure on them to support a green economy.
Links:
http://www.utahrivers.org/
http://www.slowtheflow.org/
http://www.conservewater.utah.gov/
http://www.cuwcd.com/ (Central Utah Water Conservancy District)
FOOD and General consumption
This, in my humble opinion is the most important! What we eat and what we consume are intimately connected to the ecological and social problems we face. Our cheap food is heavily subsidized by fossil fuels and drenched with fertilizers and pesticides that affect our water ways and drinking water. That inexpensive t-shirt you’re wearing was probably produced in China for a pittance, at the expense of US manufacturing jobs. On average, the food on our table comes from about 1,200 miles away! These are usually called FOOD MILES. This combined with toxic and destructive industrial food production practices are wreaking havoc on our earth and our health. Buying organic and fair trade food and products is a great step to reducing out impact, but it is even more impactful if we buy LOCAL organic food. Local food is usually grown by small farmers, who use fewer chemicals, and who have a stake in the local economy. Supporting them means they won’t have to sell their land to a sub-divider! So start small, buy more organic products at the store, DO NOT shop at Wal-Mart, patronize farmers markets and support local farmers before buying store bought organics.
Another thing we can do is reduce or stop our meat consumption. Meat production in the US is both unethical and environmentally destructive. Another thing we can do is reduce, reuse and recycle our waste. Provo and Utah generally are not the best recyclers, if you are dedicated, there are ways to recycle most things.* And of course, hold your elected officials accountable, and put pressure on them to support a green economy.
Links:
http://www.100milediet.org/
http://www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org/
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://www.factoryfarms.com/
http://www.sustainabletable.org/
http://www.themeatrix.com/
http://attra.ncat.org/farm_energy/food_miles.html (food Miles)
http://www.coopamerica.org/
http://www.foodfirst.org/
http://www.organicconsumers.org/
Transportation
This one is pretty obvious, when we drive we emit all kinds of bad stuff, this not only affects the climate, but also our local air quality and water ways. Utah has what are called inversions, which trap all the pollution from cars in the valley, causing serious respiratory problems for children and elderly. So, use public transport, drive less, bike and walk more, plan errands around a single trip. Or you can offset your emissions with a reputable NGO like Carbon Fund. And of course, hold your elected officials accountable, and put pressure on them to support a green economy.
Links:
http://www.carbonfund.org/
http://www.rideuta.com/
Ecological Literacy/sense of place
In reducing our impact on the planet it is also ESSENTIAL that we acquaint ourselves with the natural systems and beings that surround us. Ecological Foot Print can be measured quantitatively, but literacy is a qualitative impact that each of us has to find for ourselves. Understanding the basics of the hydrological cycle, carbon cycle, learning to identify local flora and fauna, volunteering with invasive plant removals or river clean ups, hiking, camping, hunting responsibly, etc. These are only a few ways in which we can reconnect to the land, gaining a better understanding of why all the other things are necessary in the first place. And of course, hold your elected officials accountable, and put pressure on them to support a green economy.
http://www.earthday.net/ (Ecological Foot Print Quiz)
http://www.ucweeds.org/
Political Engagement and awareness
Lastly, it is ESSENTIAL that we are engaged with the ongoing debates on the local, state, and national political stage. There are very real differences in how candidates approach the environment; research each and come up with your own conclusions about who might be the best candidate to guide us to the green economy. Stay up with news, and read books and articles about relevant issues, then write editorials, articles, emails, or letters to appropriate representatives about your concerns.
http://www.enn.com/
http://www.npr.org/
http://www.globalissue.org/

A few General Organizations:
http://www.sierraclub.org/
http://www.greenpeace.org/
http://www.wiserearth.org/

BYU and Utah Organizations
Eco-Response BYU- BYUecoresponse@gmail.com The Utah Valley Sierra Forum- http://uvsf.blogspot.com/ The June sucker recovery project- http://www.junesuckerrecovery.org/ The Utah Native Plant Society- http://www.unps.org/
Tree Utah- http://www.treeutah.org/
Slow Food Utah- http://www.slowfoodutah.org/
Utah Rivers Council- http://www.utahrivers.org/
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance- http://www.suwa.org/
Salt Lake Sierra Club-http://utah.sierraclub.org/saltlake_group.asp
Wasatch Community Gardens- http://www.wasatchgardens.org/
Post Carbon Salt Lake- http://www.relocalize.net/groups/saltlake
Nature Conservancy Utah - http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/utah/
HEAL Utah (nuclear waste Issue) – http://www.healutah.org/
Mormons for Equality and Social Justice – http://www.mesj.org/
University of Utah Office of Sustainability – http://www.sustainability.utah.edu/
On World Café – http://www.oneworldeverybodyeats.org/
Save Our Canyons – http://www.saveourcanyons.org/
Utah Environmental Congress – http://www.uec-utah.org/
Utah Vital Signs Report - www.utahpop.org/vitalsigns/
Utahans for better transportation - http://www.utahnsforbettertransportation.org/
Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment - http://www.uphe.org/
Friends of the Great Salt Lake – http://www.fogsl.org/
Utah Back Country Volunteers- http://www.utahbackcountry.org/
Utah Society for Environmental Education – http://www.usee.org/
Utah Moms for Clean Air – http://www.utahmomsforcleanair.org/

*Recycling in Utah
Waste Management is pretty much the only local recycler, but it’s tough to get apartments to sign up with them, there is no city mandate for recycling. So you can either take your recyclables to the city drop off @ 1625 South Industrial Parkway This the Provo city Compost station, which is open Spring/Summer/Fall Monday - Friday 8 am -6 pm, and Saturdays 8 am - 5 pm. Winter hours are Monday - Thursday 8 am - 6 pm. Its basically a big space to dump organic waste, but there is a large green waste management bin a the far end.
You can recycle-Paper, cardboard, 1 & 2 plastic, aluminum and tin cans: NO GLASS
You can also recycle paper, aluminum cans, and cardboard at BYU campus.
There is one place in Salt Lake that recycles glass, if you ever want to make the trip:
Rocky Mountain Recycling Inc (801) 975-1820 2950 W 900 S Salt Lake City, UT
Other Utah Recycling Organizations:
http://www.recycleutah.org/
http://www.utahrecycles.org/
If you would like a tour the Waste Management Recycling Facility in West Jordan call: (801) 280-8200 press zero and ask to talk with Troy Larson

Vignette

2008-03-22T18:41:00.001-04:00

I just started working at the Provo City Water Sources Department. Every Morning we stop at a gas station, Mavericks. There are usually a lot of people there, getting gas for the day, buying coffee. I see coke trucks and other mechanical beasts of burden. There is a gaggle of sea gulls that circle overhead. One day a man in a taxi drove off with the pump in the tank. He stopped suddenly and ran out shaking his head to put the pump back. As we drove away, we passed a McDonalds with a DVD rental machine outside, there was already a man standing confused in front of it, getting his media fix for the day. We pass a large truck with a Lexus add on the side, a car in nature, whizzing down a country road. A car in its natural habitat. Our foul attempt to reconnect to the nature we destroy at 60 MPH. On the radio, the report talks about the recent Starbucks share holder conference, a gathering of the faithful in times of trouble. The audience erupts in applause as the CEO takes center stage and prophesies of future growth and innovation. I feel comforted that their stock has fallen 45% in the last year. The quicker the economy crashes the sooner we can get back to what matters most. The announcer’s voice explores the idea of an ethical stock market that would not invest in Sudan for example. A glossy stock broker’s voice chimes in with a sneer at how ridiculous it would be for a stock person to have to think about morals AND profits.

Aprovecho Internship Manifesto

2007-11-21T23:31:00.002-05:00

In unity and solidarity with all those who are working toward an earth worth living on, a culture worth celebrating, and a philosophy worth sharing.

A personal manifesto, a declaration of independence and of interdependence. I declare independence from the life that is being sold to me in the media and by my peers. I declare a life of interdependence with my fellow beings.

Independence from agriculture, from oil, from clear cuts, from suburbs, from toxic chemicals, from war, from malls, from cars, from a culture of death.

In solidarity with Frankie, Phoebe, Alex Hessler, Alex, Mat, Abi, Emily, Mellissa, Nathan, Sam, Angie.

With the rough skinned newt, the spotted owl, salal, Douglas fir, and the white tailed deer.

I declare to you all that I will not stop working until we have created the world we envision. It will not be perfect, nor necessarily achieved in our lifetimes, but perhaps the saplings that are just now beginning to emerge out of the moist forest floor, will witness the great change, when they reach their branches far into the air, 5 or 600 years from now. They will see a humanity that has lost its poison, its oil, one that lives simply, in harmony with its surroundings.

Sometimes I catch myself getting excited about the ideas of Permaculture, that upon further examination seem as old as time and as simple as could be. Are we really fighting an uphill battle to keep poison out of our food and homes, to maintain our communities, traditions and cultures, protecting the life support system we call earth from degradation, poisoning, and extinction?
It will be a long and tired battle. But we must keep fighting.

I will learn to grow food, to prepare it, preserve it. I will learn to plant trees and harvest them. I will learn the names of the life forms that are in my bioregion, and make sure that they have a home here in perpetuity. I will lessen my dependence on cars and fossil fuels. I will put down roots in a place, learn its history and become a part of its history. Know my neighbors and community. I will renounce war and proclaim peace.

Mom and Dad, this is not a hobby. It’s not a phase. It’s not even a career. This is life, as it should be lived. In community, in sweat, in laughter.

I am far from perfect, and embrace my challenges and weaknesses. I am not very good at living with others yet. I am selfish. I have so much to learn about myself, about how to be part of a family, a village, a bioregion. I admit the fear I feel of my own body, of work, of sweat, and will continue to work toward the synchronizing of my body and mind into a soul.
I will live in a village, even if I live in the city. A place of Human scale, a natural habitat for humans.

I will work in defense of the Forests for they are our greatest ally. They create abundance without a drip of human toil, and yield generously to us air, water, and medicine. I will fight the WOPR. I will fight the old paradigm of forestry that seeks to maximize profit at the expense of the whole. Sustained yield is not ecologically sustainable. I will work for a paradigm shift.
The movement of which we represent is not new, it is timeless, we are but its current stewards.
When it is done we will be better people for having fought the fight. And even if we lose, the spaces we create will be refuges for the Spirit, for culture, happiness.

I will continue to struggle with methods. I will ask myself what the appropriate role is of militancy, activism, violence, non-violence, working within the system and outside it. These are questions that are not readily answerable in my mind. But I declare that I will do anything and everything I must to win. Even if that means after much thought picking up a weapon, god willing my weapon will be my words.

I pray for the humility to stay focused on my core values, and to not dogmatize my solutions. Care for people, care for the earth. I must have faith in and love people.

This is my declaration! In defiance of those who would profit from the destruction of earth and the exploitation of her creations!

Commercializing Mormonism

2007-09-14T19:14:00.002-04:00

Need I say More?

A Revolution in Political Consciousness

2007-09-08T23:08:00.001-04:00

I split the trip up into three days. Day one took me from my home in Provo, Utah to San Francisco, where I stayed with a friend who lives in the city. Day two, I traveled from San Francisco—crossing the golden gate bridge on my way out of the city—to Arcata, where I stopped at an ex-girlfriend’s family cabin near the sea. I’m now on day three, in the middle of Redwood National Park between Arcata and Cottage Grove, Oregon where I will be spending the next two months as an intern at a small intentional community called Aprovecho Education Center. I wind and wane through sun sparkled and shade darkened corridors of green shaggy moss that repel from old growth Redwood trees. Clusters of ferns nestle up to their massive trunks and listen to the wind whisper through ancient branches.

It occurs to me. I am driving through a museum. A place set aside from intensive clear cuts and cancerous urbanism that rage only a few miles away in any direction. The road was perhaps bored deliberately through the forest to reassure travelers and tourists that the system we are immersed in is working; that although we may be wreaking havoc in other spheres, this one was safe, true, “wild.” But maybe it simply reinforces the myth we tell ourselves over and over when we come to worship in these sacred groves; a myth that goes something like this: we are advanced humans, we are separate from nature, it is ours, we act as its benevolent protector, and whenever we preserve swaths of old growth forest and plaque them with names we are acting altruistically because these trees could certainly be converted into cash, the life blood of our economy. But we preserve them so that we have places to come and marvel at the nature we control, and because our strong economy gives us the privilege of doing so. This sad narrative means that nature’s primary value in its natural state is aesthetic, not as a support system and community.

I pull the car into a turnout and crunch onto the shoulder’s course gravel; my back bends as I stare upwards. I can barely make out the points of trees that make up the canopy. The lumpy forest floor is teaming with electric green life. I pick up a clump of green moss and moist soil and think to myself—I am a stranger here, a visitor, a tourist. The forest, though visible in form is invisible in function. I enter with no knowledge of its complex cycles or processes, its motion and change. It is inert, still, a painting on the wall that I am eager to capture with my camera for nostalgia, a mass of raw materials for my use and enjoyment but instead of being turned into toothpicks, this forest it is nothing more than a screen on my television or my passing car window that earns sighs and wonder and is then quickly forgotten, when we change the channel. We destroy one part of the land for profit, and abandon another for aesthetics.

As I sway with the tight curves of the road that weaves its way though shaded asphalt and rugged coast line, my mind wanders. Is it foolish for me to wish that all forests looked this beautiful and supported flourishing human communities? Large corporations and their benefactor the state own millions of acres that could be under community control; communities that not only depend on the forest for their livelihoods, but see in the forest more than raw materials for conversion into cash and calories, they see it as part of their community. I imagine a small militia of men, women and children saying “ya basta” like the Zapatistas of Chiapas, Mexico, to the corporations that treat these majestic trees like corn and wheat. Not a cohort of ex-urban hippies like me, but people who truly understand the life and death struggle we are facing globally and locally. A humble band of poor, uneducated of indigenous peoples and white folk who decide to expropriate the forests from the tight fists of power, while huddled around clandestine camp fires, safe in the bosom of the forest. I chuckle to myself at the absurd romance of the thought and what a poor revolutionary I would make. I am afraid of violence in even the smallest doses, and the expropriation of a corporate owned forest would surly illicit a violent response, especially if we were armed, would they use napalm and destroy the forests further? Or would they surrender the land to the humble demands of community control and autonomy? The day dream is exciting to me and I readjust myself in the driver’s seat smiling to myself. The headlines, the electricity in the air of doing something so radical in a country so bogged down in the lies it tells itself. What if we could do it non-violently, I mean the Zapatistas don’t even carry real guns anymore. Expropriation…is that what it’s going to take to save the forests? Am I willing to fight? Is it even possible to make such changes through the system? If so I am certainly willing to try…

*****
I squat near a chopping block; smoke from the wood cooking stoves in the outdoor kitchen wafts and fades in the afternoon breeze. Today is my small group’s turn to cook the evening meal and I am chopping small pieces of wood to feed the fire boxes. As I chop and stack in mechanical motions, my mind and body begin to synchronize. I have been at Aprovecho Education Center for about a week as an intern and my soul is already full. My surroundings are pristine, not in the sense of a wild untamed nature, but because I am surrounded by a humanity that isn’t afraid of putting down roots. I am living briefly in what may be humanity’s natural habitat. Small groups of kin and friends, who cook for each other, work together, love and take care for each other, and make decisions collectively. We take our sustenance from gardens and the surrounding forests, build our homes from local materials and take responsibility for our waste. Yes, we even compost our feces here. It is not whisked away out of sight and mind with one sterile flush, it stays with us and we are forced to deal with it. A strange idea at first, but one that relates to the root problems of modern society: dislocation from our bodies and the earth, and action without responsibility.

I am looking out my dorm room window at the gardens, and the hornets that rise and descend from the roof. I am recounting these recent life experiences because I believe the time has come to shift our consciousness, our loyalties. Our cultural, political and economic institutions are at the breaking point and with the increasing scarcity of fossil fuel energy, may become obsolete. If we are to survive as a species, and if we are to continue to improve the quality of life for future generations, we must begin dismantling the systems of economic and political tyranny that are destroying the earth and its people. Paying attention to our bioregion is one way in which we can begin this transition. A bioregion can be defined in a number of ways, but the newly concieved "June Sucker Nation" refers to the very small region where the June Sucker fish flourishes, specifically the Utah Lake area and its tributaries. Our watershed is the most precious gift we have been given as earth stewards, and a gift that we must pass on to our children. As citizens of June Sucker Nation, it is our duty to ensure the health and security of our water source and the biotic community we share it with. This may mean limiting urban growth, planting trees, designating protection of riparian zones, and creating citizen-based watershed councils. But above all it means shifting our consciousness from that of state and national patriotism, to local and biological citizenship and stewardship.

As the lines on our maps begin to shift away from arbitrary political borders toward boundaries that make ecological sense, we will begin to revitalize our local political institutions with decisions that make sense at a local level. In this type of world, letting Wal-Mart into our community would be unthinkable due to its effect on our friends and neighbors with whom we interact and do business. Large, poorly planned, car-dependant, housing developments will seem ludicrous in the face of oil scarcity and the impending loss of farm land we will need to produce our food. The concept of Bioregional living is of course not new, it has been the underlying logic in most indigenous communities. For example, the native peoples of this region would never have damned the Provo River, because they depended on the annual rejuvenation of native fish species for their sustenance. But settlers to this region dammed it, and the fish died off in mass because their aim was not survival, but profit.

Though a total revolution of political consciousness may be our final goal, we can start much more simply by reading and understanding the history of our watersheds, our rivers, and our biotic communities. How many endangered species are there in our backyards? How can I create a favorable environment for native plant and animal species? What sorts of things can we do to ensure that the June Sucker continues to spawn naturally without the intervention of scientists? Where does my food come from? How much of my food can I reasonably produce on my property? Do I really need two cars? One? What are the mountains called around my house? Do I need the government to tell me that it’s not good to litter or dump motor oil in the drain? As we begin to ask ourselves these questions, our ability to act as free and creative human beings will coincide with the increased health of the ecosystem. Bioregionalism is not mandating change; it is working toward a “permanent culture”, creating it from the grass-roots and empowering communities to make their own decisions with the perspective that we are not nature’s masters but its brothers and sisters.

Barefoot Anthropology: a manifesto

2007-09-08T22:33:00.001-04:00

When I began thinking about barefoot anthropology as a way of living, I wondered how I would do anthropology from inside academia. But now I seriously doubt I will ever scale those walls. I am having too much fun.

Barefoot anthropology is whatever we make it, but for me, right now, at this moment:

It is anarchism

It is a not-so-colonial way of relating to the earth and to my brothers and sisters

It is activism, it is Swaraj

It is anti-war, but not necessarily anti-violence-e.g. I would never fight for a nation-state, but I would fight to defend my family from the pollution of our water supply, yes even with violence

It is farms, forests, and workshops

It is my watershed, the June Sucker, and the White Fir

It is Democracy in all things: Earth Democracy for all of earth’s creatures!

It is folklore, cherry tomatoes, sunshine and muddy fingernails, knowing the seasons, the plants, and most importantly eating black berries

It’s the smell of burning wood and cooking food

It is laughter

It is loving to understand people, smiling, caring, talking and laughing

It is Jesus Christ and Pol Pot, embracing the best and the worst of which humans are capable

It is knowing there is a God but letting her be everywhere or nowhere

It is research that is self-funded, autonomous of corporations, research that empowers,
improves, critiques and praises

It is traveling light, on the ground, in buses, cars, bikes, horses, boats, with the people

It is subverting every discipline until it’s worth its salt, and its scholars can grow their own food!

It is the middle finger to the entire discipline of Development, the World Bank, IMF, and WTO, development is for embryos!

It is to labor for my own support, not studying poor people, making money and then telling rich kids about it

Field work is everyday

Hierarchy is for ladders and insects

It is telling myself I am brilliant even if I still can’t read Bookchin without a dictionary

It is People before research

It is being ethical in everything I do

It is universal health care as a human right

Barefoot anthropology is a more humane, engaged, poetic, symbolic less scientific way of interpreting the human experience

Participant observation is just another way of saying life, writing, and relationships

Observation in all situations not just ones that will make me respected by peers

Talk is cheap, let’s get to work!

The Myth of Civilization

2007-05-15T00:02:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Georgiana and I hiked up Rock Canyon in Provo, Utah instead of going to church. We sat by a small river of melting snow giving way to gravity and ate sandwiches and read out loud from holy books. We prayed, and laughed, talked, and projected scenarios into the future. We walked holding sweaty hands, and snapped silly pictures of each other.

The trees were alive with green leaves, wildflowers were flaunting their spring flowers, bees, flies and wasps buzzed hurriedly from plant to plant, and caterpillars wove silken cocoons from whence they would soon emerge as colorful butterflies. A rattle snake shook his tail at us in defiance of our species, and refused to budge from his sunny spot on the trail.
As we walked, we contemplated what these hills had seen, what they looked like before civilization's heavy hand had brushed through them. We speculated on the why and how of a dried river bed full of chalky boulders. We lay lifeless, practically vertical ,in a grove of gnarled pine trees on a steep slope, near the ruins of a makeshift shelter, probably built by a zealous boyscout.

We were not alone, many others had a similar idea that Sunday afternoon, to escape the turmoil of urban life. But, let us not forget that nature is not but a pretty painting that we can stop and take in whenever we tire of our banal surroundings, it is the very life that pumps through our veins, and the very air we breathe. It does not hang on a wall, separate from bodies. It is in our bodies, it is who we are. The myth of civilization is that we are separate, and that nature needs us, and not the other way around.

BYU Alternative Commencement

2007-04-28T00:27:00.001-04:00

For links to articles, reviews and an MP3 of the BYU Alternative Commecement, please visit:
http://byualternativecommencement.com/

On this day, BYU students created a new reputation for the potential of Mormonism and BYU as an institution. One that lives up to our revolutionary roots. Participating in the BYU Alternative Commencemnt was the crowning achievement of my BYU experience.

BYUSA Elections! Power to the People

2007-03-24T01:38:00.002-04:00

On Friday, March 23, 2007 Ashley Sanders and I held a mock BYUSA ralley in Brigham Square. I was wearing a suit! We had a mega-phone and threw hnor code indugences out to the crowd of about 100 screaming fans! It was great fun! In this picture i am handing out induglences to our loyal supporters.

(Ashley)

"Fellow Cougars,

Thank you for gathering to support Jase and I in our run for BYUSA presidency! Would that it were a happier, more peaceful time, but alas, it is not. We gather here today at a time of great peril. Even as I speak there are many people on parts of this campus who are plotting to destroy our way of life. These people hate honor. They hate our freedom to obey. I do not need to remind you Cougars that you are inheritors of a divinely inspired document. I am speaking of the Honor Code, a rule book written by godly and inspired authors who possessed a radical vision for a new world: a world where people would not live in fear of ambiguity and relativity, a world where the length of your dress would say something about your level of spiritual commitment. And now there are those who want to destroy this document and introduce a wanton secularism into our midst. Brainwashed by a tradition of liberal thinking and human rights movements, these infidels call for free speech, facial hair, and even women's liberation. Everything is coming to pass as Ernest Wilkinson prophesied. Beatniks, buzzards, and surfers are infesting this campus and spreading godless ideals and lascivious American rock music. We have tried to make our enemies easy to distinguish by imposing rigorous dress standards and curfews on ourselves. But this is a new type of world and it it will require a new type of warfare. We must hunt down these enemies of honor and all who house them! As with all wars, this will require a great deal of money and a lapse in personal standards. Desperate times call for desperate measures. To raise that money, we must fight honor with honor! We will lower our principles in order to raise theirs. And so, following a long line of religious innovators, we present to you the most compelling of BYUSA platforms: the sale of honor code indulgences! For those of you not familiar with this spectacular idea, indulgences allow you to pay for sins in order to fund a noble cause. So run, don't walk!

We have here some of our favorite prototypes, free to the first voters:

1. Form-fitting clothing freebie! $40 tomorrow, the cost of a vote today!
2. One use of the bathroom at the house of the opposite sex, not as decorum and taste dictate!
3. One facial hair liberation card, going, going, gone!
4. 45 minutes past curfew at a house of your choice!
5. Turn in two minor transgressors, get one serious transgression free! And finally,
6. Switch to the Democratic Party, no questions asked!

Buy them for your friends, give them to your lovers! Selling these indulgences will not only help fund the war on honor terror, it will also shorten confession lines at the Honor Code Office. And for those who still aren't sold on the idea, we assure you it comes tried and tested. BYU Athletics has been experimenting with Honor Code indulgences for years, and the money keeps on pouring in! And for those who think that a mere student service organization can't handle this type of responsibility, you're right! We will be handing this operation over to administration the first chance we get. We want this to succeed. After all, Jase and I, share something in common with Martin Luther King: A dream! That one day men and women will be judged, not by the content of their character, but by the length of their sideburns and skirts! Your money will not go to waste, and that's a promise. In fact, if you elect us, we have what it takes to shut down these opponents of honor! Why don't I have my running mate Jase tell you what we're gonna do!

(Jason B)
Hello, Cougars! Let's hear it for honor! Okay, check it out. The funds we raise from these indulgences are invaluable to our empire and the spread of its ideals. Let's start with the basics. As with any free and just government, we will need a prison. First and foremost, then, your money will go to build Wilkonamo Bay! Modeled after Gauntanamo and named for our man Ernest, this prison will serve as a corrections facility for enemies of honor and any person who looks mildly liberal. We will also need to beef up campus security and honor compliance, and so part of these funds will go to create the House of Un-Mormon Activities. Patterned after successful witch-hunting organizations of the past, HUMA will act as a link between the administration and the Student Honor Association to guarantee free nachos to anyone who will turn in their friends. To ensure 100 percent honor compliance, we will enlist the services of our underworked campus police who will rigorously enforce a corporate aesthetic. And finally, to maintain order, we will reinstate student spy rings and implement a surge in private student contractors who will ferret out the enemies of honor and bring them to justice. Buying and carrying indulgence slips is not only honorable; much like a yellow ribbon on a suburban bumper, it will be vital to proving what side you are on! In this war, you are either with us or you are against us! We stand at the threshold of a new era, an era in which we will cry from the housetops until our mantra sounds in every ear:

"LET HONOR RING!" Let me hear you say it!

After this, we dispursed as fast as we could, and nothing was spoken of it again.

Wounded Knees

2007-02-04T15:13:00.001-05:00

When it rains, I sit in sills and stare through dropping pins of water that collects around the ankles of our burrows, boroughs

We project our insecurities onto our gods and sciences

Sacrament cups, test-tubes and low-fat foods in quick succession

I pray on wounded knees for peace
In a world that is falling to pieces

Poem? No just fumbling with small sticks and flints on wet-white-ground
I am utterly afraid that what lies on the other side of the equal sign really are just numbers

February 4, 2007

Liberate your Face

2007-01-02T00:31:00.001-05:00

I write as a BYU student; one who loves the place where he studies and the people who surround him. But I grow weary of the consequences of a pervading self-righteousness that emphasizes image over substance. I talk of course of the Honor Code; and more specifically, one of its sections which I will refer to as the beard clause. The Honor Code is a troublesome document, because it couples standards of character with social standards of appearance. The latter, equates Honor with appearance, an ideal which stands in the way of our progress as a people. For the some two years I have attended this university I have been kicked out of the LRC in the library over five times. Why you ask? For the simple reason that I don’t like to shave my face or cut my hair as often as the aforementioned document prescribes. Once, the police were even called, as witnesses may recall, because I had committed the most heinous of acts; I refused to leave after an LRC employee asked me to.

Our campus, as you may have noticed, is drenched in Honor Code propaganda which decries the abominations of facial hair and shaggy hair. One video that is frequently played in the library commons portrays a scruffy young man who is desperately lonely. A self-propelled razor comes out of nowhere and shaves his scruffy face, the root of all evil in his life. Then, magically, a beautiful, white, and obviously righteous young lady catches a glimpse of his shiny face and they are happily joined by hearts and songbirds. This social norm, arbitrary as it is, is portrayed as the key to success and happiness.

I am not arguing that the Honor Code should be done away with; true and sincere honor is what defines us as a people. But the beard clause, created in the 1960s to distinguish us from radicals and hippies, is out of date. Just as women can now wear pants, and sandals can be worn without socks—both very socially conditioned norms—facial hair and the length of a male’s locks are arbitrary markers of our affection for conservative culture. The “you signed it” logic just does not hold. Of course I signed it; I had to in order to get in. But I think we would be fooling ourselves if we thought that everyone who signed it fully agreed with its restrictions. These are not immutable laws written by the finger of God in stone, they are flexible social norms; and as history has shown, they evolve.

What is the point of denying me use of the library computers, humiliating me in front of my peers? Do they think that makes me want to run home and grab a razor or some scissors? No, it makes me angry and loath the restriction even more. Thus, the question I pose to us all is where do we draw the line between persuasion and coercion? D/C 121:41says “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned” (my emphasis). What powers then are we maintaining by enforcing the appearance standards of the Honor Code by force? If there is no place for descent in our community there is no room for growth. When we enforce our morality in secular ways we are no better than a Taliban, or a lynch mob. Has BYU become a bastion of Mormon fascism? A Mormon Taliban? Is intolerance our creed? As a potent example, I remember someone seriously suggesting to Cecil Samuelson at a Q and A that we begin to enforce the Honor Code with police! This is exactly my point! Elements of character such as cheating on tests, and plagiarism, are easily enforceable because they have direct consequences on our characters, and most schools have these types of requirements written into their respective Codes of Honor; but mixing arbitrary social norms with moral integrity misses the point of Honor and falls squarely on the side of fascism.

The time has come to strike the beard clause from the Honor Code!
_______________________________________________

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

At what point did our University turn into an Orwellian nightmare?
It was a typical day of attending classes, and I was in the LRC writing a paper before I headed off to a weekly BYU club meeting. I was minding my own business when a rather ominous LRC employee stooped down at me, eyes on the floor, mumbling what appeared to be a request to leave the premises, for I had committed the all too common but grievous sin of allowing the hair on my face to grow a little too long. After a clarification I informed the young man that I refused to leave, seeing as I only had about half an hour before the meeting, and my stubble was only about two days old anyways. The typical discussion ensued, where the words "you signed it" came up several times. I was firm in my decision; I refused to subject myself to this ludicrous clause in the honor code. Not to be defeated the young man told me he was going to call the police. THE HONOR CODE POLICE!

Before I go on with the story, I seem to remember a certain Q and A, where a zealous young man asked President Samuelson if the honor code could be enforced, and after this author yelled at the top of his lungs, "are you suggesting an honor code police?!" President Samuelson responded very professionally, assuring me that surely the clean cut student did not mean that at all. President Samuelson's response was indicative of the wisdom of someone of his experience. He said that the honor code should not be enforced because that would defeat the purpose of it. The honor code is just that, a code of personal honor, not to be enforced by a secret police, a Mormon Taliban.

Anyways back to the story, as I said, the young LRC employee was seriously threatening to call the police on me for not shaving. The amazing part is that they actually showed up, and after escorting me out of the LRC, I received the third degree from a companionship of real police officers (they had guns and everything). I couldn't help naming off, in my mind, the handful of religious figures in the history of our own church, not to mention practically all artists' renderings of Jesus Christ himself who sported the handsome facial hair being demonized here. I received an official warning from the Provo Police department and was told that if IT ever happened again I could go to jail for six months. Imagine the laughter that would arouse in jail! What are you in for? Well actually I forgot to shave one time too many over there at BYU, ya well they take appearance very seriously. The police calmly explained that one could obtain a beard card by having a skin condition, or a cultural one I suppose. What does that say about beards? They are for the "other," the sick people, if one needs a special permission slip to wear one then one automatically interprets anyone on campus as an outsider, one who does not belong or know the rules. This is severely distressing to me. If we are judging people solely based on their appearance, what will come next, the number of LDS pop-films in their collection? I left the ordeal furious; I felt violated, harassed, only at BYU could someone have the cops called on them for not shaving! Our emphasis on honor has been misplaced and those of us who don't fit the BYU mold are suffering the brunt of the discrimination, which is exactly what it is!
The purpose of the honor code is to uphold the moral standards of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the core of our convictions as Christians. The problem with legislating appearance within the frames of an honor code is that it then becomes a measure of righteousness to those who choose to conform to contemporary conservative fashions, however fickle and fluid they may be. Many people have said to me well if you want to grow a beard why did you come here? I came here to be with my people! I am LDS. I came here to make the spirit an essential part of my liberal education. Are we not, as LDS people trying to perfect the saints? If we impose an arbitrary system of dress and grooming standards on those that come here, are we not saying something about the type of Mormons we want to feel at home here? President Wilkinson's decision to outlaw facial hair in early 1960's came as violent reaction against the vibrant youth culture that was developing in opposition to the conservative establishment of the times, a culture that has since died out and the stigma of beards has long since past. The time has come that the Beard Clause be removed from the Honor Code, beard lovers of BYU UNITE!

Winston Smith,
BYU Anarchist and beard lover

The Kibbutz I've Always Dreamed Of...

2006-06-06T15:15:00.001-04:00

This continual separation from my life in the north, conjures longings for things I despise or criticize like convenience, microwaves, paved roads. I am not complaining of my treatment or the poverty of my hosts, but the simple lack of understanding between two people.

This place is free of billboards, freeways, TVs, refrigerators, and airplanes. Yet I long for something different from simply the opposite of my known world. These people are not fighting for a cause; they are simply trying to survive. It is a life that I am so willing to romanticize but one that I have proven unworthy of living. I do not even think I want to anymore.

I stood looking over the four cuerdas of milpa I was helping to weed, wondering if there was an easier way. If maybe, I don’t mind that machines produced our staple foods. Then I could have my low maintenance garden in the back, and still feel like I was worth something. I see myself as a curmudgeon in a small mountain cabin thinking he is a good writer, or an activist, or simply better than the rest of his neighbors because once he lived in a mud brick dwelling in the Guatemalan highlands. Am I always looking for some angle on everybody else?

How about this, you are not very strong, very brave, very attractive, or even very nice. You have a lot to repent for, and don’t even believe in God like you could. Eternal life is the greatest gift of them all, yet so intangible and far away that it seems irrelevant. Not that I’m caught up in the daily toil for existence like these people, so what’s my excuse? Maybe I’m pretty caught up in the beauty of the earth? Maybe I just can’t get over man’s inhumanity to man, especially when I get behind the wheel.

The utopia in my mind is almost like that great gift; maybe that is the greatest gift, a perfect society, like the one in Zapatista murals or hippie-tourist enclaves. Eternal life is, living forever in a European hamlet that never gets too cold, everyone is a radical and a saint, and agriculture is easy. Man and woman work together, and there is no fighting. No disease. Right on the coast, but with thick forests all around us. Humble, quaint little homes that don’t look too much alike but aren’t contrived. Tropical plants, but no mosquitoes or sweat.

The Kibbutz I’ve always dreamed of.

(Written during the summer of 2006, while conducting an ethnographic study of deforestation in the small indigenous village of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, in Sololá Guatemala)

Buddhist Economics

2006-02-02T17:09:00.001-05:00

E.F. Schumacher, an English economist, is most famous for his work Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. In this work Schumacher breaks with the traditional Neo-Classical model of economics--handed down to us by Adam Smith and David Ricardo, whose ideas have since been canonized in the annals of Western Capitalism--and argues for an international development paradigm that puts people before profit, and dignity before efficiency. One chapter, entitled Buddhist Economics, terminology coined by Schumacher himself, captures the essence of what a Buddhist economy might look like, an economy that values work with a human face and scale and seeks to maximize well-being with a minimum amount of consumption. Following is an attempt to present some of the main ideas of the essay; it is by no means a comprehensive analysis of the field of Buddhist economics or Buddhism itself, and I would encourage us all to read and re-read this insightful volume.

RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
The Buddha taught that there is an eight fold path that leads us toward a good life and away from suffering. One of these paths is right livelihood. Every able bodied man and woman should engage in some sort of work. Work is a source of joy and satisfaction to the doer, and provides a sense of dignity and self-reliance. In the Neo-classical model (NCM), labor which becomes a commodity that is bought and sold in the market is seen as an input or an expense that should be minimized. Schumacher writes, “Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated with out destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure” (58). Thus what happens to work when we create machines that do it for us? This type of technology is seen as taking away from human dignity. Schumacher says that there are types of mechanization: mechanization which enhances mans abilities and talents, and that which takes his place (58). In his observation of poverty in South East Asia Schumacher observed that the principle of work could do much to create a just society, one that utilizes appropriate technology to put production in the hands of communities instead of centralized mega-corporation that mechanize production and create a vast workforce of laborers living on subsistence wages, doing work that is repetitive and not conducive to human creativity.

The NCM assumes that humans by and large are utility maximizers (Homo economicus); creatures that seek to maximize their utility through rational choices made in the perfectly competitive market place (a type of “market” that never has and never will exist). Again this abstraction fails to take into account the fact that most humans tend to cooperate and not compete, and act out of compassion and not individual utility derived from consumption of goods. Right livelihood teaches that we should engage in work because it is gratifying, not just to fill out pockets or bellies or to participate in a never ending cycle of conspicuous consumption.

SIMPLICITY AND NON-VIOLENCE
The two main emphases of Buddhist Economics are simplicity and non-violence. We may all be familiar with the idea of non-violence because of Mohandas K. Gandhi’s use of this tactic in the Indian independence movement. But non-violence goes far beyond the idea of avoiding physical violence. Simplicity and non-violence are ways of interacting with the rest of the world, and notions that help us to reduce our impact on the earth and the unnecessary suffering of others.

Buddhist economics views consumption as a means to the end of well-being. Thus maximum well-being is sought from minimum consumption. In the NCM, consumption is seen as the end, with the factors of production—land, labor, and capital as the means (61). Schumacher writes, “The ownership and the consumption of goods is a means to an end, and Buddhist economics is the systematic study of how to attain given ends with the minimum means” (61). In a classic Buddhist mind set, attachment to wealth is seen as a hindrance to liberation from wants. Simplicity naturally follows the desire to be free from wants, as opposed to a consumer society which insists that freedom is only guaranteed by access to more and more things.
One of the five precepts of Buddhism is non-violence, envisioning an economy with this principle in mind may seem utopian to us, but as we can see the global economy has dealt more than its share of violence to humans, non-humans, and our ecologies, as a result of expanded commodification of life, and dislocation of communities from the means of production. Our dinner plates and the clothes on our backs all have a secret past that for the most part is out of harmony with the principles of simplicity and even basic compassion. Sweat shops and factory farms are taking terrible tolls on the land and the people who must labor there. But because their production takes place out of sight and out of mind, and because consumers are mostly denied information about the products we buy, consumers are greatly unaware of the suffering that occurs in the production of every meal and every garment. As consumers it is part of our duty to better understand the supply chain that provides us with our daily bread. If we are to be truly concerned with the well-being of others and of ourselves we must not support industries that contradict our values. We must begin to incorporate all of our actions into a cause and effect paradigm that recognizes the ecology of living on a small planet. Every thing is connected to everything else!

LOCAL RESOURCES FOR LOCAL NEEDS
The mantra of Buddhist economics is, “local resources for local needs.” Because Buddhist economics tries to maximize well-being through minimum consumption and toil, it would be logical that needs be met at the local level. Here there is more information available to the consumer, and far less energy is needed to carry goods from producer to consumer. This makes both economic and ecological sense. Just as countries try to import less than they export, communities can strengthen local economies by producing locally. Most Americans consume food that was produced thousands of miles away, carrying with it a burden of fossil fuel consumption that is not reflected in the prices of goods. Diversification and organic production also have positive benefits for the environment and communities. Diversifying crops increases the number of other forms of life around the crops and comes much closer to an actual ecosystem than massive mono-crop industrial farms, and does not expose humans or non-humans to harmful chemicals typically employed in industrial farming.

After reading Schumacher’s work I would like to consider myself a Buddhist Economist. Living simply and in harmony with the earth has a myriad of bebefits both for the soul, the community and the world. In order for us to solve the host of problems that have been created and passed down to us by faulty economic assumptions (among other factors of course), we must become more eco-literate, and better understand that everything is connected and that all of our choices have consequences, especially our consumption habits. There are many things we can do to live in greater harmony with the earth and reduce unnecessary suffering. Growing our own food is probably the best option, which can be done in small plots or in community gardens. Learning skills that can be shared within the community like carpentry or sowing can be sources of work and dignity exchanged at the local level. Reducing the amount of meat we consume, and purchasing more organic fruits and vegetable, locally if possible, will also have a positive impact on both the community and the environment. Becoming a Buddhist economist doesn’t require withdrawal from society (although sometimes the commune life sounds pretty inviting). It starts with an increased awareness of the impact of our lifestyles on other beings (not just humans), and a commitment to do the extra work in avoiding habits that are destructive. It is about living simply and finding happiness therein.

Here is a basic summary of Buddhist economic principles.
People before profits
Local resources for local needs
Simplicity and non-violence
Minimum consumption for maximum well-being

For more information on Buddhist economics, and ecological economics check out these websites…

www.redefiningprogress.org
www.smallisbeautiful.org
www.ecoeco.org
www.truecosteconomics.org
www.squarefootgardening.com

REFERENCES
Schumacher, E.F. 1989. Small is Beautiful Harper Perennial, New York

who said stewarship had to be geometric?

2006-01-14T14:28:00.001-05:00

Who said Stewardship had to be Geometric?

Who said stewardship had to be geometric?
Right angles pastels patterns and flowerboxes
The wild meander of wild rivers compartmentalized by the ax and gun of man
Groves to clearings, green to brown, chaos to order
The least we could have done was ask permission
Patterns and stick figures like feet on the sand, leaving a mark that fades away with the tide
Only this time the tide has retreated leaving our many footprints like scars on the land
Oh Humans, is it really you as far as the eye can see?
Grids like graphs divide the land into dollar signs, slumps and curves.
The rules of nature became the exceptionÂ…
Small strips of untamed land, dark rivers with tears of silt

My catalogue whispers reassurances; all this was not for nothing.
Just leave your name on this 3x5 card and we will take care of it for you.

18/2/05 in a plane to Chicago

Big Sur
I stood in a grove of red wood trees surrounded by moss and moisture and almost forgot that there were suburbs next door, that down south the earth was dying under the weight of the species I owe my consciousness to.

The sun rose and silhouetted small farms, not shopping malls with similar names, or ranches that arenÂ’t ranches at all.

HWY-15 just south of Provo As I emerged from the electric grids of a suburb, headed for another just like it, I slowly slipped into an expanse of floating white fog that extended infinitely on both sides of the road. As infrastructure faded I passed through time to small farms and age sagged silos giving in to gravity. Thought the natural landscape had long since been vanquished the open space was a relief. As the sun began to break through the fog I could make out rows of apple trees whose leaves had been shed and whose branches slumbered till the spring. I imagine the days when the first people roamed these lonely hills in search of sustenance. They too have yielded under the weight of my civilization, and not inevitably it seems but unfortunately.

Orange County intersection of Bastanchury and Lakeview.
its strange that only five years ago this master planned upper-middle-classuburbanan compound was a grove of orange and avocado trees. it had probably been that way for a hundred years. before that it was a natural space with trees and animals an ecosystem. usually its the old folks who talk about what used to be, when they were young, but i'm still young and progress is moving to fast for me.

the first lines of manifesto

2006-01-03T17:39:00.001-05:00

I think I've actually written several manifestos in my life. Ya, I take myself way to seriously, and each time they turn out a little different. I remember in one I swore before God and angels that I would never own a fancy car, or a mini-van. That I would always be a punk rocker. That's funny, cuz I never really was a punk rocker, I just though I looked like one for about three years. And because I inherited some Dead Kennedy tapes from my aunt. From then on I would spend all my allowance on spike bracelets and music I thought a punk should own. After my time in the Dominican Republic (two years as a mormon missionary) I mellowed out a bit and gave up art as a career option and started in on anthropology. I don't think I will ever give up on the idea of creating art, I just didn't want to have to make money doing it. This whole barefoot anthropology thing came to me in a Nancy Scheper-Hughs article assigned to me in a theory class. She suggested that anthropologists might consider actually caring for those with whom they work. It turns out I don't actually want to make money doing anything, so living like a peasant is quite appealing to me, without all the socio-political disadvantages of course ( I am a romantic remember). There's always exploitation in time clocks no matter who is punching them so why not live without them, pretty simple I thought. So below are some points on which life may seem less mysterious and perilous. Not even close to what I have in scores of moleskin journals, but its a start.

anyways here goes:

1. I want to write, no matter how horrible or boring or serious I get.

2. I want to photograph, my soul has never been as warm as it has been looking into the eyes of a brand new photograph which I created with the help of technology (which I grudgingly thank at times).

3. I want to live beautifully, and as E.F. Schumacher believes Small is Beautiful. So whatever that means I hope I can make it happen, though I am notoriously distracted by large tracks of land in the country and Spanish architecture.

4. Music

5. I was born Mormon, but I struggle with organized religion like a cow thrown in a lake. But if I can just live as closely to the Sermon on the Mount as possible I think I'll be ok. (Tolstoy and Vonnegut may agree).

6. I want to be able to call my community a village, for whatever romantic reasons, community appeals to me, all though I am hopelessly misanthropic, I hope its just a phase, it's been one of my longer ones I hate to admit, and I'm pretty sure I can trace its roots back to a period of Kurt Cobain worship that hit just after puberty.

to be continued...

my personal ahimsa

2005-12-23T17:43:00.001-05:00

Well to begin with, it would seem that all religious traditions have hints at non-violence. But none have generated the kind of political action and social change that ahimsa has sparked. I deeply admire the Jains in there commitment to it, and vegetarianism;Buddhism and Hinduism also put considerable emphasis on it. It is to me the most beautiful doctrine. In all of my writing about the future in personal journals, and whenever I catch myself daydreaming about living on a commune, it always occurs to me that my most important contribution to life on this earth may simply be in how I choose to live. I can find precious few other doctrines that better capture my vision, even Christ's Sermon on the Mount, is basically a similar plea. But what I like about the eastern traditions is that they do not stop at the human-god, human-human relationships, but cross over into the human-earth, human-non-human interactions. To me this is the most powerful and enlightening aspect of the eastern traditions, that has the power to effectively deal with the myriad of social, and environmental problems our world now faces.

Basic Principles
Local and sustainable food and energy
Non-violence and simplicity
Cooperation
Love
Action

LIFESTYLE AND ACTIONS
· Plant and nurture a tree every year
· Strive for a vegan and % raw diet
· Cook and power home with sustainable fuels such as solar, ethanol or biogases
· Avoid driving unless with sustainable fuels such as bio-diesel (cars are violent, strive for a car-free existence)
· Spin and make a % of clothing and fabric for household uses with sustainable local fibers
· Grow a % of food, medicine, and fibers organically and ecologically and with as little violence as possible i.e. no-plow, Permaculture etc.
· Bicycle or walk as much as possible
· Participate and promote barefoot philosophies such as health-care and education
· Meditate peace/Atonement daily
· Fast and pray oft (daily prayers)
· Establish or support an animal and/or life sanctuary (see life sanctuary document) for abused animals and/or humans
· Search the scriptures of all religious traditions daily and attend services
· Promote/ live Buddhist economics
· Live and work communally and cooperatively in a community
· Promote peace by many means such as peace tours, talks or rallies
· Engage in direct action, non-violent resistance and insistent lobbying and advocacy for just causes utilizing all my talents and creativity to make the world a better place for both humans and non-humans alike
· Limit possessions (no TV)
· Write and express myself in appropriate mediums such as photography, painting, and short stories and seek to publish and promote Ahimsa ideals

virtual me

2005-12-19T23:34:00.000-05:00

i write in journals too. i want this space to be accessible to people all over. i feel passionately about making a difference in this world i've been born into. i'm not bitter. well maybe a little. but i want to make a difference. i want to live a life less ordinary. not that ordinary is something to be. but that there are certain ordinary activities that should be. i aspire to live like. be like. talk like. dress like. these people:

Jesus Christ. mahatma gandhi. buddha. juan bosch. EF schumacher. vandana shiva. my mother. hugh nibley. Kurt vonnegut. leo tolstoy. noam chomsky. ralph nader.

and thousands of others who lived life beautifully simply and selflessly.

i want to work with my hands. till the earth. walk not drive. photograph. speak. write. make love. have children. know the names of plants around me. teach.

more to come...