The United States has been called "The Land of Opportunity." Here, anyone can come and make something for themselves. You can get a good job, or start a business of your own. You can own your own home. You can worship as you wish, speak your mind freely, and elect your government. Here, you can truly be free. This American Dream has been the bright light behind the eyes of millions of immigrants over the last two hundred years. We've had uncountable millions of young men and women give their lives to ensure this dream.
Yet, to quote Langston Hughes, this is a dream deferred.
In my home town, you've got a few options when you get out of high school. You can get a job at McDonalds, or one of the handful of other fast-food joints in the surrounding area. You can get a job with the local grocery store, or go down the road a ways to get a job at the new Wal-Mart. You can get a job at the last factory in town (standing for a 12 hour shift at minimum wage, while your temp agency gets the lions' share of your paycheck). A lot of kids end up joining the armed services, where they get sent to the other end of the world to catch a hot one for Exxon-Mobile.
A few kids go off to college, but a number of them don't make the cut. Why? Because our high school barely taught us how to get into college, much less how to succeed at college. Our tiny, underfunded school has failed every student who attend. Some of us go on to university and succeed, but very little of that is thanks to our "education." Perhaps the wisest among us decided to go to community college, get a trade certificate, and then go on to be auto mechanics or nurses.
But do you know what the true tragedy is? Even these options are becoming less and less available to people. Getting a job at Wal Mart or McDonalds or Arvato isn't as much of a no-brainer as it used to be, with lay-offs and hiring freezes. Student loan money (along with money for the middle school and high school) is drying up, as tax payment slows to a trickle while private loan companies shut their doors. Mechanics and Nurses are in a market glut; for the most part, all their jobs have been filled. The crummy jobs we had are scarce; the money for education is drying up; and the hope that our specialized labor will carry us through is quickly becoming a thing of the past.
Working class kids, be they white, black, or Latino, be they rural, urban, or suburban, be they native-born or immigrant, deserve more options then a fast-food job or the Marine corps. They deserve the true opportunity to become the best that they can be.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
What a day.
It's been a hell of a day.
First thing this morning, Meghan had to undergo a very painful and, frankly, quite horrifying procedure called a colposcopy. For those of you who don't know what that is:
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/cevicalconditions/a/colposcopy.htm
The purpose was, unfortunately, to get a biopsy because of an abnormal pap. The experience was quite painful, and when all you want to do is hold your partner's hand but they make you wait in the lobby...it's shaping up to be a hell of a day.
We arrived home, though, safe and sound. Watching movies and taking care of my baby has been the plan for the day. It drives me absolutely insane when the person I love the most in this world is suffering and I can't do a damn thing to stop that.
I also received some terrible news from my friend, Nolan. Colin, a friend of mine from high school, passed away early this morning. He was home visiting his family, and apparently suffered a seizure. Colin was 20.
How can you...write about something like that? I don't know what to say. I want to cuss, and yell, and scream, and cry, and demand an explanation. And I wasn't even very close with Colin. We knew each other, we respected each other, and we made each other laugh, but we were never close. Nevertheless...I can't stop seeing him.
So...it's been a hell of a day. Colin, rest in peace. Prayers, good thoughts, good karma, and good ju-ju are with you and your family. And if anyone wants to throw some of that our way, it would be much appreciated.
Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.
First thing this morning, Meghan had to undergo a very painful and, frankly, quite horrifying procedure called a colposcopy. For those of you who don't know what that is:
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/cevicalconditions/a/colposcopy.htm
The purpose was, unfortunately, to get a biopsy because of an abnormal pap. The experience was quite painful, and when all you want to do is hold your partner's hand but they make you wait in the lobby...it's shaping up to be a hell of a day.
We arrived home, though, safe and sound. Watching movies and taking care of my baby has been the plan for the day. It drives me absolutely insane when the person I love the most in this world is suffering and I can't do a damn thing to stop that.
I also received some terrible news from my friend, Nolan. Colin, a friend of mine from high school, passed away early this morning. He was home visiting his family, and apparently suffered a seizure. Colin was 20.
How can you...write about something like that? I don't know what to say. I want to cuss, and yell, and scream, and cry, and demand an explanation. And I wasn't even very close with Colin. We knew each other, we respected each other, and we made each other laugh, but we were never close. Nevertheless...I can't stop seeing him.
So...it's been a hell of a day. Colin, rest in peace. Prayers, good thoughts, good karma, and good ju-ju are with you and your family. And if anyone wants to throw some of that our way, it would be much appreciated.
Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Posting Policy
So, to set up a clear guideline, for myself and for my readers:
Every Saturday, there will be a primary post. This will be on major national or international news, larger public policy or political issues, the deeper end of my political philosophy, or important areas of my personal life. I say this aloud to tie myself to posting SOMETHING every week, to get into a routine.
In-between primary posts, I will post "Extra" news. Local or state news, minor policy news, or whatever happens to be on my mind. This way, I'm not limited, but I am structured. This is good for me (I now have an obligation to keep up) and for all two of my readers (you now have a set time to check for bigger updates).
Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.
Every Saturday, there will be a primary post. This will be on major national or international news, larger public policy or political issues, the deeper end of my political philosophy, or important areas of my personal life. I say this aloud to tie myself to posting SOMETHING every week, to get into a routine.
In-between primary posts, I will post "Extra" news. Local or state news, minor policy news, or whatever happens to be on my mind. This way, I'm not limited, but I am structured. This is good for me (I now have an obligation to keep up) and for all two of my readers (you now have a set time to check for bigger updates).
Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.
An Unlikely Pundit
What do you say we start from the beginning?
It seems I need a bit of structure in my blogging. So, I have decided that every Saturday, I will make a new post. It could be your basic op-ed, on the news or public policy. It could be a focus on higher political ideals, from a philosophy of Freedom to what Socialism truly is. Others will focus (a great deal) on my life, specifically my fiancée, my work, or anything else. Some will simply be art pieces. But first, an introduction to your humble writer: The unlikely pundit.
I am currently between jobs. I've worked as a sales associate in a fine jewelry store, as an assembly line worker in a digital media factory, as an usher at a movie theater. I've portrayed both Santa and the Easter Bunny at the mall on the bad side of town, I've worked under the table doing gigs for my family and friends, and I've registered young voters supporting Obama. But right now, I can't find work. I'd like to get a job that's relaxed and low-key, a job where I make enough to pay all our expenses, a job that I'm proud to work at. When someone invents that job, let me know. Until then, I want anything that will bring in enough money for me to take care of my little family.
My dream job would be one as a community organizer. I want to work for an organization that focuses both on community economic development and on grassroots activism and lobbying. A job that both helps individuals and communities directly, while also focusing on long-term, institutional changes. This job may be sneered by the far right, by the Sarah Palin's and the Rush Limbaugh's and the Michael Savages' of the world, but I think there is nothing more honorable than making a living by doing good things.
I am also an "artist." I don't know if I fit that term. There are two things I see when I hear the word "Artist": one is an annoying putz drinking espresso, trying to show everyone that they're intellectual by using big words; the others are truly and deeply creative, amazing, talented individuals, who's skill I cannot hope to match. I don't want to be the former, and I wish I was the latter. But nevertheless, I will use the term for now, until a better one comes up. I have aspirations to be a film-maker and a fiction writer, on top of my (hopeful) career in community organizing. I love acting. I enjoy getting on stage and putting on a different person, and then using that to communicate with an audience. I would love to write, direct, and preform in films professionally. Apart from movies, mini-series', and short films, I would like a big focus to be on documentaries. I'm also something of a fiction writer. I love writing poetry and short stories, although I'm out of practice. I've planned on one magnum opus, a few novel series, and several short stories, along with several poems, but I haven't had an opportunity to work on either my acting or my fiction lately.
I guess any artist would say both fiction and non-fiction can be used to convey the truth. That's another part of what I want to do with my life. It's another part of my motivation.
I've recently "found religion," if it can really be called that. I recently discovered that I was a Unitarian-Universalist. I believe that all folks find their way to truth on their own, and they make their own peace with God. In that way, I guess I'm an old-fashioned Anti-Nominist. I can't force you, I can't threaten you, you just gotta find what works for you. And that's what a church is for. I've got plenty of my own beliefs about God, about the soul, about spirituality, and about the nature of humanity. But as far as actual religious views, I don't think there's any way any person can claim absolute authority over something that, at the end of the day, nobody knows 'till they shuffle off this mortal coil. My religion is very important to me. Like many other things in my maturing life, it's a routine that gives me comfort.
But the biggest part of my life is being in love. I've found my soul mate. Finding your soul mate doesn't mean you've found someone who is perfect all the time. It means you've found someone is your perfect match. We've both got problems, we've both got issues, we've both got baggage. But we are perfect, in the end, for each other. I love her for a million reasons, but in the end, beyond the little things I love, beyond the physical, beyond her being my best friend, beyond our compatibility, there is a deep draw I feel towards her that I cannot define. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want her to be the mother of my children.
I mention this, because she's the reason. It's because of my partner and our future children that I write about politics. I don't just want to make a better world for myself. I want it for my family. I don't want my children to be raised in the miseries of this world. I want to make a better future for my kids and my partner.
That's why I write. That's why I organize. It's not just my past, my intelligence, my "perspective." It's for Isabella and Tobias, it's for Sophia and Oliver, Adrianna and Isiah, Rosalind and Elijah. It's for Meghan. It's for my grandkids.
If that's not a good enough reason for a revolution, I don't know what is.
So, this is me, and this is my work. Hope you enjoy.
Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.
It seems I need a bit of structure in my blogging. So, I have decided that every Saturday, I will make a new post. It could be your basic op-ed, on the news or public policy. It could be a focus on higher political ideals, from a philosophy of Freedom to what Socialism truly is. Others will focus (a great deal) on my life, specifically my fiancée, my work, or anything else. Some will simply be art pieces. But first, an introduction to your humble writer: The unlikely pundit.
I am currently between jobs. I've worked as a sales associate in a fine jewelry store, as an assembly line worker in a digital media factory, as an usher at a movie theater. I've portrayed both Santa and the Easter Bunny at the mall on the bad side of town, I've worked under the table doing gigs for my family and friends, and I've registered young voters supporting Obama. But right now, I can't find work. I'd like to get a job that's relaxed and low-key, a job where I make enough to pay all our expenses, a job that I'm proud to work at. When someone invents that job, let me know. Until then, I want anything that will bring in enough money for me to take care of my little family.
My dream job would be one as a community organizer. I want to work for an organization that focuses both on community economic development and on grassroots activism and lobbying. A job that both helps individuals and communities directly, while also focusing on long-term, institutional changes. This job may be sneered by the far right, by the Sarah Palin's and the Rush Limbaugh's and the Michael Savages' of the world, but I think there is nothing more honorable than making a living by doing good things.
I am also an "artist." I don't know if I fit that term. There are two things I see when I hear the word "Artist": one is an annoying putz drinking espresso, trying to show everyone that they're intellectual by using big words; the others are truly and deeply creative, amazing, talented individuals, who's skill I cannot hope to match. I don't want to be the former, and I wish I was the latter. But nevertheless, I will use the term for now, until a better one comes up. I have aspirations to be a film-maker and a fiction writer, on top of my (hopeful) career in community organizing. I love acting. I enjoy getting on stage and putting on a different person, and then using that to communicate with an audience. I would love to write, direct, and preform in films professionally. Apart from movies, mini-series', and short films, I would like a big focus to be on documentaries. I'm also something of a fiction writer. I love writing poetry and short stories, although I'm out of practice. I've planned on one magnum opus, a few novel series, and several short stories, along with several poems, but I haven't had an opportunity to work on either my acting or my fiction lately.
I guess any artist would say both fiction and non-fiction can be used to convey the truth. That's another part of what I want to do with my life. It's another part of my motivation.
I've recently "found religion," if it can really be called that. I recently discovered that I was a Unitarian-Universalist. I believe that all folks find their way to truth on their own, and they make their own peace with God. In that way, I guess I'm an old-fashioned Anti-Nominist. I can't force you, I can't threaten you, you just gotta find what works for you. And that's what a church is for. I've got plenty of my own beliefs about God, about the soul, about spirituality, and about the nature of humanity. But as far as actual religious views, I don't think there's any way any person can claim absolute authority over something that, at the end of the day, nobody knows 'till they shuffle off this mortal coil. My religion is very important to me. Like many other things in my maturing life, it's a routine that gives me comfort.
But the biggest part of my life is being in love. I've found my soul mate. Finding your soul mate doesn't mean you've found someone who is perfect all the time. It means you've found someone is your perfect match. We've both got problems, we've both got issues, we've both got baggage. But we are perfect, in the end, for each other. I love her for a million reasons, but in the end, beyond the little things I love, beyond the physical, beyond her being my best friend, beyond our compatibility, there is a deep draw I feel towards her that I cannot define. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want her to be the mother of my children.
I mention this, because she's the reason. It's because of my partner and our future children that I write about politics. I don't just want to make a better world for myself. I want it for my family. I don't want my children to be raised in the miseries of this world. I want to make a better future for my kids and my partner.
That's why I write. That's why I organize. It's not just my past, my intelligence, my "perspective." It's for Isabella and Tobias, it's for Sophia and Oliver, Adrianna and Isiah, Rosalind and Elijah. It's for Meghan. It's for my grandkids.
If that's not a good enough reason for a revolution, I don't know what is.
So, this is me, and this is my work. Hope you enjoy.
Seek Peace, Fly High, Find Love,
Poncho.
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