What are U.S. Marines doing in Peru? / ¿Por que hay militares de EE.UU. en Perú?

Machu Picchu, Peru (photo ToddAdams.net)

[El castellano sigue el inglés]
There’s a theory that when U.S. mainstream news starts running stories about a foreign country, it’s because the U.S. is planning on invading that country. Since I’m a permanent resident of Bolivia, friends in the U.S. ask me what’s going on in the Andes.

They tell me that Peru has been mentioned many times recently in the U.S. news. In just the last day or so a lot of articles about Peru were in the U.S. press. Here’s a small sample: An article about food in Peru appeared in a Las Vegas newspaper. NPR reported on infant mortality in Peru. And the Washington Post ran a story about a corrupt Peruvian military official.

Friends ask me, is the U.S. preparing to invade Peru?

To try and answer their question I started asking around and keeping my eyes and ears open. At the People’s World Conference on Climate Change, which was held October 10-12 in Tiquipaya, Bolivia, I heard a Peruvian delegate say how distressing it is having U.S. soldiers in Peru.

U.S. military in Peru was news to me, so I searched online for articles. I found that, yes indeed, the U.S. has sent over 3,000 Marines to Peru, and the Peruvian people are marching in protest.

Peruvians march in protest of 3,677 US Marines entering their country. 
Photo: teleSur / Rael Mora

News agency teleSUR correspondent Rael Mora suggests that the Marines may be in Peru to destabilize democratically elected presidents in the region (such as Evo Morales, the President of neighboring Bolivia).

The teleSUR article reported that protesters “drew attention to the history of U.S. military presence and its deadly consequences, including its involvement in massacres, torture, disappearances, and other human rights abuses. Many of Peru’s more than 70,000 disappearances during the country’s so-called ‘war on terror’ counter-insurgency strategy between 1980 and 2000 have been seen as part of the U.S.-backed Operation Condor, which saw dictatorships quash rebellious voices and leftist movements throughout the continent.”

US Marines train Peruvian military to suppress citizens 
(Photo: Rob Curtis/Staff, Marine Corps Times)

The Spanish language website defensa.com, dedicated to “Armies, weapons, technology on the web,” ran a lengthy article describing the movements of the U.S. Marines in Peru.

The Marine Corps Times says that U.S. Marines are training Peruvian military to violently suppress the Shining Path, citizens who have a different vision for the people than their government does, yet have used violence in pursuit of their goals, like their government. However, a 2012 Reuter’s article reports that the Shining Path has changed its violent ways and is instead using theatre and school clubs to build solidarity among people who are harmed by neoliberal policies that make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Members of the Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights (Movadef, the political arm of Shining Path) perform a theatre play in Lima August 9, 2012. 

Photo: Reuters/Vera Lentz

The article reveals that “security documents reviewed by Reuters show the armed forces think Movadef (the political arm of Shining Path) and leftist groups have stepped up protests to sow disorder as part of a ‘common goal: vacating the presidency through a coup by the masses,’ like demonstrations that brought down leaders in Ecuador, Bolivia and Argentina over the last decade.”

Will U.S. news soon be filled with stories comparing the Shining Path to Isis, as an excuse to wage war in the land of Machu Picchu?

Do the U.S. Marines in Peru have any connection to protecting the business interests of MMG’s gigantic Las Bambas mine in Peru, to open in 2016 despite protests that left four dead and 16 seriously injured last month?

The mine, located at 4,000 metres in the south of Peru, is set to deliver 400,000 tons of 
copper per year during the first five years of production placing it within the 
top three copper mines globally (mining.com).

Time will tell.

First published as Editor's Pick "What are U.S. Marines doing in Peru?" on blogcritics.org

***

¿Por que hay militares EE.UU. en Perú?

Machu Picchu, Perú (foto ToddAdams.net)

Hay una teoría de que cuando las noticias principales en los Estados Unidos empiezan a publicar artículos sobre un país extranjero, es porque los EE.UU. están planeando invadir ese país. Por que soy un residente permanente de Bolivia, amigos en los EE.UU. me preguntan lo que está pasando en los Andes.

Me dicen que el Perú ha sido mencionado muchas veces recientemente en las noticias de Estados Unidos. Por ejemplo, en el último día salió una gran cantidad de artículos sobre Perú en la prensa estadounidense. Aquí esta una pequeña muestra: Un artículo sobre la comida  en el Perú apareció en un periódico de Las Vegas. NPR informó sobre la mortalidad infantíl en el Perú. Y el Washington Post publicó una historia acerca de un oficial militar peruana corrupta.

Los amigos me preguntan, ¿los EE.UU. estan preparando para invadir Perú?

Para tratar de responder a la pregunta, yo empecé a mantener los ojos y los oídos abiertos. En la Conferencia Mundial de los Pueblos sobre el Cambio Climático, 10-12 octubre 2015 en Tiquipaya, Bolivia, oí una delegada peruana decir lo doloroso que es tener los soldados estadounidenses en el Perú.

Militares estadounidenses en el Perú era una sorpresa para mí, así que buscó en línea para artículos. Me encontré que los EE.UU. han enviado más de 3.000 soldados al Perú, y el pueblo peruano esta marchando en protesta.

Peruanos marchan en protesta por 3.677 militares estadounidenses que entran en su país. Foto: teleSUR / Rael Mora

Agencias de noticias teleSUR corresponsal Rael Mora sugiere que los militares estadounidenses  pueden estar en Perú para desestabilizar presidentes elegidos democráticamente en la región (como Evo Morales, el Presidente de Bolivia).

El artículo teleSUR informó que los manifestantes "llamaron la atención sobre la historia de la presencia militar estadounidense y sus consecuencias mortales, incluyendo su participación en masacres, torturas, desapariciones y otros abusos contra los derechos humanos. Muchos de más de 70.000 desapariciones en el Perú durante la llamada "guerra contra el terror" la estrategia de contrainsurgencia del país entre 1980 y 2000 han sido vistos como parte de la Operación Cóndor, respaldo de Estados Unidos, que vieron dictaduras acallar voces rebeldes y movimientos de izquierda de todo el continente ".

Militares estadounidenses entrenan a militares peruanos para atacar los ciudadanos (Foto: Rob Curtis / Personal, Marine Corps Times)

El sitio web en español defensa.com, dedicada a "Los ejércitos, las armas, la tecnología en la web," corrió un largo artículo que describe los movimientos de los infantes de marina de Estados Unidos en el Perú.

El Marine Corps Times dice que los marines estadounidenses están entrenando militares peruanos para reprimir violentamente a Sendero Luminoso, los ciudadanos que tienen una visión diferente para la gente que su gobierno, y han utilizado la violencia para alcanzar sus objetivos, al igual de su gobierno. Sin embargo, el artículo 2.012 de la Reuter informa que Sendero Luminoso ha cambiado sus maneras violentas y en su lugar se utiliza el teatro y clubes universitarias para construir la solidaridad entre las personas que sufren por las políticas neoliberales que hacen los ricos más ricos y los pobres más pobres.

Miembros del Movimiento a la Amnistía y Derechos Fundamentales (Movadef, la brasa política del Sendero Luminosa) presentan una obra del teatro en Lima 9 de agosto 2012.
Foto: Reuters/Vera Lentz 

El artículo revela que los "documentos de seguridad revisados por Reuters muestran las fuerzas armadas piensan Movadef (el brazo político del Sendero Luminoso) y los grupos de izquierda han intensificado las protestas para sembrar el desorden, como parte de un objetivo común: la desocupación de la presidencia mediante un golpe de Estado por el masas como manifestaciones que provocaron la caída de los líderes en Ecuador, Bolivia y Argentina en la última década".

¿Van a llenar pronto las noticias estadounidenses con artículos que comparan Sendero Luminoso a Isis, como una excusa hacer la guerra en la tierra de Machu Picchu?

¿Los militares de los Estados Unidos en Perú tiene alguna conexión con la protección de los intereses comerciales de gigantesca mina Las Bambas de MMG en el Perú, para abrir en 2016 pese a las protestas que dejaron cuatro muertos y 16 heridos graves el mes pasado?

La mina, ubicada a 4.000 metros en el sur de Perú, está configurado para entregar 400.000 toneladas de cobre por año durante los primeros cinco años de producción colocándolo dentro de los tres principales minas de cobre a nivel mundial (mining.com).

El tiempo dirá. 

Why is the Beach Covered with Dead Birds?

On the Winter Solstice I went to the Oregon Coast, only to find it covered with hundreds of dead birds. Their fresh corpses lay scattered along that morning’s hightide mark on Gearhart Beach.

I was alarmed.

The birds’ feathers were barely ruffled, like dead birds in a still-life painting. Scavengers avoided them. Except one seagull who took a single peck, then left to wash out his beak in the sea, shaking his head No! No! No!

What killed this huge flock of birds all at once? Was it mass starvation? Not enough food in the changing ocean currents of melting ice caps? Too weak to continue flying in the extreme winds of changed global climate? Like feathered rain they dropped into the sea, which regurgitated them onto the sand.

I was alarmed.

So, I consulted the oracle of news, Google, expecting to find an article addressing this alarming event. But I found none. Instead I found “Dead birds on beaches no cause for alarm.” It was the headline of a 1992 print article Google had chosen to scan and digitize online, with the added commentary, “No related articles.” But what about December 21, 2014, 22 years after that alarming article?

I searched some more and learned that for the past couple of decades, or more, volunteers have been walking beaches, and compiling mountains of reports of dead birds. Some of these groups are: Bay Keeper in San Francisco, Coast Watch in Oregon, and Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) in Washington state.

How connected are these groups? It seems pretty scattered. COASST has a blog where it mentions being connected to none of the above, but only to Beach Watch in San Francisco (not to be confused with the afore mentioned Bay Keeper), BeachCOMBERS in Monterey, California, and the British Columbia Beached Bird Survey. And what about the December 24th News Lincoln County article about the bird corpse apocalypse? It calls for citizens to carry cameras and take pictures of the dead birds washed ashore from the global-climate-changed acidic seas, and email the photos to biologist Douglas Cottam of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. I wouldn’t know what to do if I received hundreds and thousands of photos of dead birds in my email inbox. Poor Mr. Cottam.

It sounds like a lot of us are worried and trying to do something, and our efforts are scattered.

Meanwhile, big business and their politician puppets keep on delaying coming to any meaningful agreement to cut greenhouse-causing emissions, as seen in the recent Lima Climate Summit. And all of us alarmed at the bird corpses washing in with each high tide, which are ignored by the media. So many different groups and people trying to do good, yet scattered. Not yet united.

Divide and conquer is a time-tested method of social control. The reports are divided and not looked at as a whole. While dead common murres and cassin’s auklets wash up repeatedly on the North Coast of Oregon, in San Francisco the self-described “novice birder” who heads the environmental organization Bay Keeper claimed in a 2011 article that common murre nesting populations are “On the Comeback Trail” on the tiny rocky Farallon islands outside of the Golden Gate (where over 47,000 metal barrels of nuclear waste rust where they were dumped on the sea bottom 300 feet below in the 1950s-1970s). Yuck. Would you want to raise your babies in a place like that?

Then there’s the tactic of turning a blind eye to the true culprits — multi-national corporations. COASST, despite all its good work, hides neoliberal military-industrial complex culpability by not including effects of global warming as a “human” factor in its cataloging the massive deaths of birds. It turns a blind eye to actions by the military industrial complex, unless it is something visible that obviously killed a bird, such as an oil spill or physical objects. Lack of food and extreme weather because of ocean currents shifted with the melting of the ice caps because of human actions and policies are ignored as causes of the massive die-offs. Those die-offs are labeled “natural.”

So, it seems that earnest volunteers braving all kinds of weather to walk the beaches counting bird corpses on the West Coast of the United States are having their findings stymied by being divided geographically, organizationally, and/or categorically. The truth is being hidden through divide and conquer. I wrote to COASST, suggesting they coordinate with more groups, such as the ones mentioned above. Their response did not arrive in time to quote in this article.

As far as I can tell, there is no one looking at the big picture.

According to Google, rarely does this ongoing massacre of birds get reported in the media.

One exception was in 2012 when the Press flocked to the Japanese dock that washed up on an Oregon beach after it broke off in the “new normal” extreme weather of a tsunami, which also triggered a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. Those reporters and camera operators couldn’t ignore the hundreds of dead birds all around them. One article mentioned the Japanese dock and bird corpses and blamed pelicans. It was not looked at in context of continuing shorebird die-offs.

Die-offs of meres and auklets have become so commonplace that COASST seabird program coordinator Dolliver described it as sporting event:

“Both species have different life histories but are constantly in competition for the top dead bird of each year. They drive a lot of baseline patterns we see every year because they are the top players . . . “

I am alarmed.

Auklets eat krill in the sea. Krill that are often no longer there from changing ocean temperatures and increased acidity. The birds are divers and swimmers, not strong flyers, and get swept to their deaths by bigger and stronger storms. Meanwhile corporations profit from disaster “relief.” Profit is the legally mandated mission for corporations. Empathizing with our sister and brother creatures here on Gaia and preventing disasters before they occur is not included in an accountant’s “bottom line.”

Since the news didn’t mention the hundreds of dead birds I saw, I emailed Phillip Johnson, president of Oregon Shores Coast Watch. He forwarded my question to the group and volunteers responded that they had counted hundreds of dead Cassin’s Auklets last Sunday, the same day I visited the beach. It was just the latest in a long series of corporate mass murders. Here I quote directly from our email conversation:

“I put out the word to our Clatsop County mile adopters, and sure enough, I heard from a number of them that they had seen large numbers of beached birds after the last storm.  I was right–most of them are Casssin’s auklets.  One response noted 30 dead birds in the space of a quarter-mile, and noted:

Cassin’s Auklets – They have been washing up dead on the beaches for several months but in larger numbers after the most recent storm.  Bad year for the seabirds – no food in the ocean.

 Another read:

There are hundreds of dead birds on the northern beaches.  They’re auklets.

And a third, from a CoastWatcher who is also a volunteer at the Wildlife Center of the North Coast and participates in CoastWatch’s beached bird survey:

The majority of the dead birds are auklets; especially the little cassin’s auklet. There are also dead common murres.

So, what I speculated yesterday is pretty much right–the ‘wreck’ of Cassin’s auklets continues . . . “

None of this was mentioned in the mainstream news. Big business owns the major media outlets. What else are “they” not telling us?

The day I visited the Coast and mourned at the sandy tombs of these gentle beings was the Winter Solstice. Longest night of the year. The return of the sun. Of the light.

When will our long night of global corporate greed and killing finally fade away into the light?

I am alarmed, yet I have hope.

First published as "Why is the Beach Covered with Dead Birds?" on blogcritics

Vote NO on 86 (Oregon); A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Do you want banks to run Oregon, to say what Oregonians can and can't do? Do you want banks to force us to raise taxes, eliminate social services and sell our state resources (such as our public school system of free K-12 education and State Parks) to the highest bidder, and give that money to banks? Sound unbelievable? It has already happened in countries around the world whose governments did what Measure 86 is proposing -- accept loans from banks. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund call raising taxes, eliminating social services and selling state resources "Structural Adjustments," conditions they place on money they loan to governments. I saw it happen in 2003 in Bolivia, where it led to bloodshed in the streets of La Paz.

Measure 86 is proposing that the government of Oregon change its constitution to allow it to go into debt to banks. Incurring debt is a way to hold a government and a people hostage to the desires of big business, the Banks. If you want a lot more details about how banks have been doing this, you can read the New York Times Bestseller Shock Doctrine by journalist Naomi Klein.

In the meanwhile,

VOTE NO ON 86

Snap Into Motion (Lyrics) by Joy Shulman

Back in the '80s we loved to sing this song by Joy Shulman, "Snap into Motion." I sing it still, to lift my spirits and get me moving. Here are the lyrics. If anyone can find Joy, many people would love to hear her beautiful music and rousing melody to this song. Joy???? Where are you????

Here are the lyrics as I recall them:

-->

Got the weight of the 

world on our shoulders

in this age of 

confusion and strife.

There's a way we 

all can get over.

Change the world by 

changin' our life.

(chorus)

Everybody

Snap into motion.

Livin' our dreams

in a big big way.

Sailin' our ship of 

peace on the ocean.

We know why we're 

alive today.

Changin' our

destiny from the past.

Makin' our future

pure.

We change our 

problems

all into fortune.

Change poison

into the cure.

(chorus)

Everybody

Snap into motion.

Livin' our dreams

in a big big way.

Sailin' our ship of 

peace on the ocean.

We know why we're 

alive today.

There is a way

there is a solution.

One by one we chant

and we win!

Talkin' about

human revolution,

Now is the time

we must begin!

(chorus)

Everybody

Snap into motion.

Livin' our dreams

in a big big way.

Sailin' our ship of 

peace on the ocean.

We know why we're 

alive today.

We know why

we're alive today.

We know why

we're ali-i-i-i-ve

tod-a-a-a-a-a-y.

(nam myoho renge kyo, nam myoho renge kyo, nam myoho renge kyo)

No More War! ¡No a la Guerra!

(El castellano sigue el inglés)
No "limited strikes" on the people and land of Syria or anywhere!

Whatever happened to "Do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you"?

Is the U.S. government (backed/manipulated by U.S.-based transnational corporations who profit from war) inviting neighbors to do "limited strikes" on the U.S. people and land because of its government's own many breaches of international agreements?

Common sense and even the Bible criticises this proposed aggressive act of "limited strikes", such as in Matthew 7:4-5  ^"How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

If the U.S. wants to be a "good guy" teaching the world in a paternalistic way, it can start by stopping being a Rambo-esque hypocrite and start being more Gandhi- and Mandela-esque by self-reflecting. The U.S. government needs to apologize for all the harm it has done and work hard to right its own wrongs for the well-being of everyone on our blue orb.

Here is a very partial list of U.S. wrongs that need to be addressed before criticising a "speck" in anyone else's eye:

1. Invading and occupying countries.

2. Manipulating/brainwashing its own citizens through media monopolies.

3. Mandating that corporations have to make a profit no matter how much damage they do to humans, and other living beings such as Pachamama (Mother Earth), in the process.

3. Manipulating/brainwashing people around the world through "Voice of America" radio broadcasts that were started in WWII by the U.S. Department of War and continue to this day.

 4. Disregarding the Kyoto Protocol and other international summits/agreements about living more harmoniously with our Mother, the Earth.

What other wrongs would YOU add to this list?

Keep speaking out. We CAN turn the tide.

***

NO a los "ataques limitados" al pueblo y la tierra de Siria o en cualquier lugar!

¿Qué pasó con "Trata a tu prójimo como te gustaría que le hicieran a ti"?

¿El gobierno de los EE.UU. (respaldado / manipulado por las empresas transnacionales que se aprovechan de la guerra) invitando a los vecinos a hacer "ataques limitados" contra el pueblo de Estados Unidos y la tierra, porque de las muchas violaciones de su propio gobierno de los acuerdos internacionales?

El sentido común e incluso la Biblia critican este acto agresivo propuesta de "ataques limitados", como en Mateo 7:4-5 "¿Cómo puedes decir a tu hermano: Déjame sacar la paja de tu ojo ', cuando todo el vez que hay una viga en tu propio ojo? ¡Hipócrita, saca primero la viga de tu propio ojo, y entonces verás bien para sacar la paja del ojo de tu hermano. "

Si los EE.UU. quiere enseñar al mundo en una manera paternalista, tiene que dejar de ser un hipócrita Rambo-esque y empezar a ser más como Gandhi y Mandela por la auto-reflexión. El gobierno de EE.UU. tiene que pedir perdón por todo el daño que ha hecho, y tiene que trabajar duro para corregir sus propios errores para el bienestar de todos en nuestro orbe azul.

Aquí está una lista parcial de los males de los Estados Unidos que deben abordarse antes de criticar una "mancha" en los ojos de alguien más:

1. Invadir y ocupar países.

2. Manipular / lavar los cerebros a sus propios ciudadanos a través de los monopolios de comunicación.

3. La obligatoriedad legal de que las empresas tienen que obtener lo maximo utilidad, sin importar cuánto daño le hacen a los seres humanos y otros seres vivos, como la Pachamama (Madre Tierra), en el proceso.

3. Manipular / lavar los cerebros de gente de todo el mundo a través de "La Voz de América" ​​emisiones de radio que se han iniciado en la Segunda Guerra Mundial por el Departamento de Guerra de EE.UU. y continúan hasta el día en hoy.

4. Sin tener en cuenta el Protocolo de Kyoto y otras cumbres / acuerdos sobre el medio ambiente -- cómo vivir con más armonía con nuestra Madre, la Tierra Internacional.

¿Qué otros "males" añadirías a esta lista?

Sigue hablando en voz alta. Si se puede convertir la marea.

Native Appropriations, Fashion, and Evo Morales's 10 Commandments

Native people and friends filled the pews and stood along the walls of Reed College chapel on Wednesday, listening in rapt attention to Louie Gong (Nooksack), Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) and Jessica Metcalfe (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) discuss U.S. companies who "are guilty of misusing Native American sacred iconography," and pointing out who is doing good work. I'll simplify the argument as good -vs- bad.

According to the panel, these shoes are good.


And this outfit is bad.

Why? They seem so similar. Both are items of clothing manufactured in factories (probably in China). What's the difference?

The shoes are good because they were painted after-market by Louie Gong, a Native Artist. But the totem pole outfit is bad primarily because it was designed by a non-Native artist.

Appropriation of Native imagery is an insult to Native people. I agree. Gong argued that we should only buy Native iconography directly from Native artists. That sounds like a good idea.
But it's not the end of the discussion. What about when Native American artists are appropriating from Native people in other parts of our Mother Earth, Pachamama?

Here's a "good" story the panel presented, which I find has "bad" hidden within it.

Back in September Paul Frank threw a racist powwow fashion event and sold tee shirts about it. Both Jessica Metcalfe and Adrienne Keene wrote blog articles protesting this appropriation of Native sacred iconography, asked for apologies and Jessica suggested that Paul Frank collaborate with Native designers in the future. To their great surprise the president of Paul Frank talked with them on the phone, apologized and agreed to hire a Native designer to its team.

Of course Metcalfe and Keene celebrated this great victory of having Native voices heard by someone in the oppressors' power structure. Perhaps it will even be co-panelist Louie Gong who will soon be designing for Paul Frank. While this does indeed seem like a cause for celebration, can it actually be a cause for concern?

What if we ask who manufactures Paul Frank products?

It turns out that at least some of Paul Frank products are made in China — most likely by oppressed Native people.

A quick look at Naomi Klein's book No Logo quickly sickens the heart of anyone who cares about our human family. The documentary "Manufactured Landscapes" shows us how we as consumers are unwillingly oppressing our brothers and sisters. Capitalist globalization (including Paul Frank) is appropriating Native people's labor in China and elsewhere to manufacture commodities for consumers to buy, and generate profits for the 1%.

Native Chinese peoples, especially young single women, are driven by desperation to go to barricaded fortresses of Free Trade Zones and offer long hours of exhausting labor in exchange for un-nourishing food, overcrowded shelter, and a mere pittance of money. Suicide is rampant in the Free Trade Zones. But China is not alone. Capitalist globalization has a domino effect on oppression. China then oppresses Taiwanese with Free Trade Zones there that demand structural adjustments, much like the International Monetary Fund demands from colonized Native peoples in Third World countries around the world. Structural adjustments that allow imports of products from more powerful countries, which will cripple then eliminate local production. This is an economic colonization that creates dependency.

Doesn't this sound familiar? How different is it from the way colonizers have treated Native people for centuries? If we didn't give in to bribes forming dependency, then we were kidnapped, enslaved, slaughtered, or relocated.

Relocated like the desperate Native people in China, Taiwan , Nicaragua and elsewhere, whose labor and bodies have been relocated into Free Trade Zones to grease the wheels of capitalism.
Is it truly something to celebrate that Paul Frank will collaborate with a Native designer? No. I argue that it is a cause to mourn — for Paul Frank now has the blessing of Adrienne Keene , which allows the company to continue oppressing Native people in Third World countries who have been driven by desperation to work in factories in Free Trade Zones.

By the way, Native designer Louie Gong suggested boycotting Pendleton because they are not Native owned and have been appropriating Native designs for more than a century. The audience gasped. Meanwhile, Gong specializes in painting Native designs on shoes, especially canvas tennis shoes. Where are those shoes manufactured? You guessed it. Most likely they are made in China.

What ethical difference is there, if any, between a non-Native appropriating Native iconography, and a Native appropriating the labor and lives of Third World Natives in Free Trade Zones to produce his or her designs? Are we unintentionally adopting the same mindset as the oppressor?

I suggest that instead of competing to get to the top of the heap on the sinking ship of globalized capitalism, we could better honor our Native Traditions by looking to the sustainable wisdom of our ancestors, like our brothers and sisters are doing in Bolivia.

President Evo Morales is the first Indigenous president in the Americas. Recently he proclaimed a new era, Pachakuti, in his December 21, 2012 speech, Manifesto of the Island of the Sun . In this speech he spells out 10 Commandments for dismantling capitalism and for living well based on ancestral wisdom.

I greatly admire Louie, Adrienne and Jessica's struggles to protect, revitalize and disseminate Native culture and identity. And I hope we will each read and reflect on President Evo Morales's speech, reconsidering what is truly worthy of celebration.

Article first published as Appropriation of Native American Iconography in the 21st Century on Blogcritics.

The Dragon King's Daughter; A 9-minute SGI Buddhist comedy for 6 - 7 actors

By Lynette Yetter
Inspired by The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, translated by Burton Watson, Soka Gakkai, Japan, 2009, pp 224-228.

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Shakyamuni Buddha 

Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated

Fabric waver 1
Fabric waver 2 / Lotus bearer
Bodhisattva Manjushri (aka M Dude) 

Dragon King’s Daughter

PROPS: 

-- shimmery blue fabric, approximately 1.5 yards x 3 yards

-- 2 plastic headbands with a topknot of fake hair fastened to the top of each

-- cardboard cutout of giant lotus flower with LOTS of petals, big enough to appear to be a vehicle for a person to ride on

-- a large paper (approx. 5- to 10-foot long white butcher paper, covered with images of lotus flowers)

FADE IN:

SHAKYAMUNI

In the future ages if there are good men or good women . . .

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Excuse me, Shakyamuni, what is that thing on top of your head?

SHAKYAMUNI

This protuberant knob of flesh on the crown of my head is like a topknot of hair, is it not? It is one of my 32 characteristics as the buddha.            

                            

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Cool!

Shakyamuni CLEARS her throat and prepares to once again begin her speech.

SHAKYAMUNI

In the future ages if there are good men or good women who, on hearing the Devadatta Chapter of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . . . 

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

What is the Devadatta Chapter?

SHAKYAMUNI

It’s what we are in right now. We floated up off of Eagle Peak into outer space in the Ceremony in the Air that transcends the framework of time and space. You and I and everyone here are characters in the Devadatta Chapter. Does that answer your question, Boddhisattva Wisdom Accumulated?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Thanks! 

(Beat)

I just accumulated some more wisdom! Or was that knowledge? Never mind. Please continue, Shakyamuni.

SHAKYAMUNI

As I was saying, 

(Beat)

In the future ages if there are good men or good women who, on hearing the Devadatta Chapter of the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law, believe and revere it with pure hearts and harbor no doubts or perplexities . . .

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Believe with a pure heart. That’s like faith, right? 

SHAKYAMUNI

Of course.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

And we can substitute faith for wisdom, right?

SHAKYAMUNI

Of course.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Then I AM accumulating wisdom, and not just knowledge, because I DO believe with a pure heart!

SHAKYAMUNI

That’s why you are Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulated. Now listen-up so you can accumulate some more wisdom.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Okay.

SHAKYAMUNI

. . . will never fall into the realm of hell, hungry spirits or beasts . . .

BWA puts his hand in the air and waves it to signal that he has a question.

SHAKYAMUNI (CONT’D)

You have a question?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Is the realm of hell, hungry spirits or beasts the lowest three of the 10 Worlds?

SHAKYAMUNI

Yes.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

But, I thought that with the Mutual Possession of the 10 Worlds and Three Thousand Realms that all of the worlds are mutually inclusive. So, even the world of Buddhahood contains Hell, Hungry Spirits and Beasts. If that is true, how can those good men and good women not experience those worlds? I’m confused.

SHAKYAMUNI

Good point. We’ll leave that to Tien Tai to sort out. For now, just bear with me, okay, so we can continue with this play?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

A play? I thought we were in the Ceremony in the Air?

SHAKYAMUNI

It’s both. We are in a play ABOUT the Ceremony in the Air. And the playwright is being creative with the tale. Now, don’t you want to know what happens next?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Sure!

SHAKYAMUNI

Okay then, there’s just a little bit more to my speech. Can you wait that long?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

I’m all ears. Go ahead!

SHAKYAMUNI

Now where was I . . . Will never fall into the realm of hell, hungry spirits or of beasts, but will be born in the presence of the buddhas of the ten directions, and in this place where they are born they will constantly hear this sutra.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Don’t those good men and good women get to do anything else beside constantly hear this sutra?

SHAKYAMUNI

This is a parable, a metaphor for the mysterious workings of life. Of course they get to do other things. 

(Beat)

Remember, you promised to wait until I finished the speech.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Oh yeah. Sorry. Go on.

SHAKYAMUNI

If they are born among humans or heavenly beings, they will enjoy exceedingly wonderful delights.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Like ice cream?

SHAKYAMUNI

Even better. Now please wait until I finish.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Okay.

SHAKYAMUNI

And if they are born in the presence of the buddhas, they will be born by transformation from Lotus Flowers.

Silence. A long pause. BWA is content and mellow, enjoying listening attentively, waiting for the speech to continue.

SHAKYAMUNI (CONT’D)

That’s it. I’m done. That’s the speech.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

(Applauds) Great speech! 

(Beat)

Well, I’ve got some other things to be doing. Can I go now?

SHAKYAMUNI

Good man, wait a little while. There is a bodhisattva named Manjushri whom you should see. Debate and discuss the wonderful Law with him, and then you may return to your homeland.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Okay.

Two Fabric Wavers run out carrying the blue fabric onto the stage from right to left, with Bodhisattva Manjushri hidden behind, ducking down and running along at the same speed as the Fabric Wavers. The Fabric Wavers are rippling the blue fabric as if it is the ocean. Their bodies are hidden behind the fabric.  They stop. Manjushri (still hidden behind the fabric) has a giant lotus flower made from cardboard fastened to him, as if it was his chair or magic carpet or his space ship that he can zoom around on. As the Fabric Wavers continue to ripple the fabric to look like ocean swells, Bodhisattva Manjushri stands up. The Fabric Wavers slowly kneel, lowering the fabric to reveal Bodhisattva Manjushri on his Lotus vehicle.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED (CONT’D)

Wow! Bodhisattva Manjushri is rising out of the sea and floating in the air on a giant lotus flower with a 1,000 petals! Where did you come from, Dude?

The Fabric wavers drag the fabric and exit Stage Right. Off stage they set down the fabric and pick up cardboard cutouts of many Lotus flowers.

M DUDE

My real name is Bodhisattva Manjushri but you can call me M Dude. I have just come from the Palace under the sea of Dragon King Sagara.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Cool!

M Dude steps out of his Lotus vehicle. Bows to Shakymuni, then goes to side of Bodhisattva Wisdom Accumulating.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED (CONT’D)

When you went to the palace of the Dragon King, how many living beings did you convert?

M DUDE

The number is immeasurable, incapable of calculation. The mouth cannot express it, the mind cannot fathom it. There will be proof. Wait a moment.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

(speaking to the audience directly in a dramatic whisper) Everyone wants me to wait a moment!

Lotus Bearer enters carrying a large paper covered with images of Lotus flowers, as if the Lotus flowers are more flying carpets carrying more people. Lotus Bearer walks around moving the Lotus flowers in a way that looks like they are flying.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED (CONT’D)

Wow! Look at those countless bodhisattvas seated on jeweled lotus blossoms emerging from the ocean and coming here suspended in the air above Eagle Peak.

M DUDE

All of these beings have been converted and saved by me. They carried out all the bodhisattva practices, which are too numerous to mention here in this short play.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

You are of great wisdom and virtue, brave and stalwart, you have converted and saved immeasurable beings. Now those in this great assembly, as well as I myself, have all seen them. You expound the principle of the true aspect, open up the Law of the single vehicle, broadly guiding the many beings, causing them quickly to attain enlightenment.

Lotus bearer EXITS Stage Right.

M DUDE

When I was in the ocean I constantly expounded the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law alone.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

This sutra is very profound, subtle, and wonderful, a treasure among sutras, a rarity in the world. Are there perhaps any living beings who, by earnestly and diligently practicing this sutra, have been able to attain buddhahood quickly?

M DUDE

There is the daughter of the dragon king Sagara.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

What is her name?

M DUDE

What?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

What is her name?

M DUDE

Her name is “the Dragon King’s Daughter”.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

But, the Dragon King has a name. You told me so yourself. His name is Sagara. What is his daughter’s name?

M DUDE

She doesn’t have a name. After all, she is female and only 8 years old and a reptile to boot. Who cares if she has a name? We’ll just call her the Dragon King’s Daughter.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Hmmm . . . I still want to know her name. If she doesn’t have a name, we should give her one - like how Nichiren Daishonin gave names to his formerly-nameless female followers. He called them nuns and gave them beautiful names. I think we should name her "Momo!"

M DUDE

Can I get on with the story?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Sure. Go ahead.

M DUDE

Anyways, the Dragon King’s Daughter has just turned eight years old. Her wisdom has keen roots and she is good at understanding the activities and deeds of the sense organs of living beings.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

What does that mean?

M DUDE

The translation is kind of complicated, what with different cultures and all. Let’s just say that she is really wise and understands everything and everybody. She is capable of achieving enlightenment.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

And she is only 8 years old? Wow! That’s hard for me to believe.

M DUDE

Why?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

When I observe Shakyamuni, I see that for a really really long time - like forever and ever, he carried out harsh and difficult practices, accumulating merit, piling up virtue, seeing the way of the bodhisattva without ever resting. There is not a speck of the universe where he has not sacrificed his body and life for the sake of living beings. Only after he had done that was he able to complete the way of enlightenment.

Before his words come to an end, the Dragon King’s Daughter (who has the prop -- a headband with topknot of hair -- hidden somewhere on her person) ENTERS Stage Right as the Fabric waver runs around her with the fabric in such a way as to make it seem that the Dragon King’s Daughter is appearing magically in the assembly. When she is in front of Shakyamuni, she bows to him, and so does the fabric bearer (as if the fabric bearer is her shadow). The fabric bearer from this point on stays near the Dragon Kings Daughter like a shadow, holding the fabric bundled in her arms.

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

Having heard his teachings, I have attained enlightenment -- the Buddha alone can bear witness to this. I unfold the doctrines of the great vehicle to rescue living beings from suffering.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

You know what Shariputra would say, if we had enough actors to have Shariputra present? 

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

What would he say?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

He would say to you, and I quote, (clears throat), “You suppose that in this short time you have been able to attain the unsurpassed way. But this is difficult to believe. Why? Because a woman’s body is soiled and defiled, not a vessel for the Law. How could you attain unsurpassed enlightenment? The road to buddhahood is long and far-stretching. Only after one has spent immeasurable kalpas (that’s a really really long time like forever) pursuing austerities, etc etc etc can one finally achieve success. Moreover, a woman is subject to the five obstacles. 1. She cannot become a Brahma heavenly king. 2. She cannot become a king Shakra. 3 She cannot become a devil king. 4. She cannot become a wheel turning sage king. And 5. She cannot become a buddha. 

(Beat) 

How then could a woman like you be able to attain buddhahood so quickly?

The Dragon Girl cups her hands, miming holding a precious object.

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

Do you see this precious jewel that is worth a major world system?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Yes.

The Dragon Girl mimes handing the jewel to Shakyamuni. He immediately accepts it.

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

I presented the precious jewel, and the world-honored one accepted it. Was that not quickly done?

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Very quickly!

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

Employ your supernatural powers and watch me attain buddhahood. It will be even quicker than that!

The Fabric waver swirls the fabric around and around the Dragon King’s Daughter. Hidden by the fabric, the Dragon King’s Daughter fastens a topknot to her head, just like the topknot of Shakyamuni.

The Fabric waver drops the fabric. The Dragon King’s Daughter has her hands folded in prayer position and chants to the audience with a confidence of the entire universe in her heart.

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER (CONT’D)

Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo.

BODHISATTVA WISDOM ACCUMULATED

Wow! If you, a child, a female and a reptile can become a Buddha instantly by chanting Nam myoho renge kyo, anyone can do it! 

Dragon King’s Daughter looks out to the audience and says -

DRAGON KING’S DAUGHTER

We all can become buddhas! Let’s do it, right now! Will you chant with us? 

All the actors turn towards the gohonzon and chant in unison with the audience -

ALL

Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo. Nam myoho renge kyo.

THE END

What if? Thoughts on the Newtown, CT massacre and peace

(El castellano sigue el inglés)
I mourn the deaths of the children and adults in Newtown, CT, killed in a Rambo-style massacre by an American. I mourn the deaths of children and adults everywhere who have been killed by weapons made in the United States, sold by the United States. I mourn the loss of dignity of people trying to make a living, and US culture offers them jobs as accessories to mass-murder -- working for defense contractors, the military, as a politician supporting war, or as an artist developing movies, video games, even novels, which teach and glorify mass-murder. I mourn being part of a culture which lives on the American continent only because our fore-fathers mass-murdered millions of indigenous people (including some of my native Algonquian relatives) and stole the land.

To end the cycle of violence that is systemic in US society, what would happen if the government sets an example by withdrawing the military from everywhere except military bases in the 50 states and stops making and selling weapons for export? What if US tax dollars, instead of paying for mass-murder, were used for humanitarian projects such as housing, education, health, community gardens, parks, arts and music?

As Gandhi and other pacifists have demonstrated throughout history, we can resolve conflicts in other ways, without violence. I mourn. And I have hope -- for any problem created by humans, can be solved by humans.

There are myriads of paths of learning how to live without violence. One path is improving communication skills and the art of dialog. Compassionate communication, also known as "nonviolent communication," is a skill we can learn through books and classes and practice. Lots of practice. It involves expressing our observations, feelings, needs and requests in respectful ways, and to learn how to better listen with empathy.

US former president Jimmy Carter is an expert mediator of international conflicts. In a talk he gave at Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles, he said that all international conflicts are based on the same issues as any disagreement in a family. The scale is the only difference. What if the family is filled with domestic abuse, as our entire society seems to be?
Global domestic abuse? There are excellent books and programs for victims of abuse (everyone in the world), as well as programs for the abusers to learn how to change.

The key is to self-reflect, with the help of a skilled guide, on ones own beliefs, and to embrace other beliefs that are more respectful of life. Like Nichiren Daishonin wrote many centuries ago, "You must quickly reform the tenets you hold in your heart."

Nothing is impossible.

Article first published as What if? Thoughts on the Newton, CT Massacre and Peace on Blogcritics.

***

Yo duelo la muerte de los niños y adultos en Newtown, CT, muerto en una masacre al estilo Rambo por un estadounidense. Yo duelo la muerte de niños y adultos de todo el mundo que han sido asesinados por armas fabricadas en Estados Unidos, que se vende por los Estados Unidos. Yo duelo la pérdida de la dignidad de las personas que tratan de ganarse la vida y cultura de los EE.UU. les ofrece puestos de trabajo como cómplices de asesinato masivo - que trabajan para los contratistas de defensa, las fuerzas armadas, como una guerra político de apoyo, o como un artista en desarrollo películas, video juegos, incluso novelas, que enseñan y glorificar el asesinato masivo. Yo duelo ser parte de una cultura que se vive en el continente americano sólo porque nuestros antepasados asesinaron en masa millones de personas indígenas (entre ellos algunos de mis parientes nativos algonquinos) y robaron la tierra.

Para poner fin al ciclo de violencia que es sistémica en la sociedad estadounidense, ¿qué pasaría si el gobierno pone el ejemplo al retirar a los militares de todas partes, excepto las bases militares en los 50 estados, y deja de producir y vender y exportar armas ? ¿Qué pasaría si los impuestos, en lugar de pagar por el asesinato masivo de guerra, se utilizaron para proyectos humanitarios, como la vivienda, la educación, la salud, jardines comunitarios, parques, artes y música?

Como Gandhi y otros pacifistas han demostrado a lo largo de la historia, podemos resolver los conflictos de otra manera, sin violencia. Yo duelo. Y yo tengo la esperanza - que cualquier problema creado por los seres humanos, puede ser resuelto por los humanos.

Hay una infinidad de rutas de aprender a vivir sin violencia. Un camino es mejorar las habilidades de comunicación y el arte del diálogo. Comunicación compasiva, también conocido como "comunicación no violenta", es una habilidad que se puede aprender a través de libros y las clases y la práctica. Un montón de práctica. Se trata de expresar nuestras observaciones, sentimientos, necesidades y demandas de manera respetuosa, y aprender a escuchar mejor con empatía.

El ex presidente estadounidense Jimmy Carter es un mediador experto de los conflictos internacionales. En una charla que el dio en el Royce Hall de la Universidad de California, Los Angeles, dijo que todos los conflictos internacionales se basan en los mismos problemas que cualquier desacuerdo en la familia. La escala es la única diferencia. ¿Y si la familia está llena de violencia doméstica, como toda de nuestra sociedad también parece ser? ¿Es abuso doméstico Global?

Hay excelentes libros y programas para las víctimas de abuso (todo el mundo), así como programas para los abusadores para aprender a cambiar.

La clave es la auto-reflexión, con la ayuda de un guía experto, en las propias creencias, y abrazar otras creencias que son más respetuosos de la vida. Al igual que Nichiren Daishonin escribió hace muchos siglos, "Usted debe reformar rápidamente los principios que tienen en su corazón."

Nada es imposible.

Book Review: Lucy Plays Panpipes for Peace

Book review by guest blogger, Tantra Bensko
Lynette Yetter’s novel draws from her own life when she went to the Andes, pulled by the sound of the panpipes as a tool for transformation. Yet it is fiction, in the way called for in David Shields’ Reality Hunger. It means more knowing she really did something truly audacious and death defying. Here, we get a glimpse of how close to reality it is, and how the fiction made it into the powerful book it is.

“Hurtling through space and time, the blue orb was rapidly self-destructing. Vital fluids pumped out of its innards burned in orgies of greed. The vapors ate away its luminous ozone skin.

Indigenous Elders, you might call them brain cells of wisdom, were ignored.

New synapses of fiber optic cable and satellite rays rationalized the destruction as ‘progress.’

Chaos surged like a flooding river.”

Thus begins the story in which Lucy goes to participate in the ancient culture of the Andes.

Her words continue to swell when she extends her viewpoint outward, such as “Each person, a black-clad spark of soul, pulled by the inexorable gravity of survival. Together the seething mass of humanity ran. In their black mourning clothes, they were like primordial darkness churning. The light of humanity in their hearts bound each to the other as if to birth a new galaxy of life, in Warrior Town.”

It’s obvious Lynette knows how to write powerfully. I also appreciate how real and down-to-earth the language is, how honest and wholesome this book. It’s hip in a DIY kind of way, with Lynette doing a tour on bike for this book as activism inspiring others to follow their dreams and stand up for peace, and play. It also is a great example of what David Shields call for in his manifesto Reality Hunger, which is taking the world by storm now. Lynette Yetter’s Lucy feels real, and the events occurred in the way that anything occurs in our memories—as fiction–stories we’ve told ourselves repeatedly and bundled into plot packages.

One of the things I like best is that she includes the vantage point of manifesting and finding our future—and doesn’t just include the times her intentions worked. Her idealism, naïve ideas of the simplicity of finding her heart’s desire are sweet, and ironic when faced with reality. She manages to keep her humor about the ups and downs that causes, though she feels such things very passionately, and they can shake her. Her naïve idealistic determination makes her follow the sound of pan pipes to Peru, where she plays in various venues, joining in with indigenous musicians, as she believes the sound can help create visions of harmony for others as it did for her. She believes she can make a difference to bring more peace to this world through them. But it’s just that quality, and her passionate empathy and love, that create the inspiring events of this book.

Lucy takes on oppression and segregation, pointing out the false flag of 911, the cultural imperialism of missionaries, the modern tendency to block people out of simply going out and camping under the stars, and she wonders at anomalies of government/military connections. In South America, she plays indigenous peasant music only recently made legal, and has no trouble associating with citizens  in the Andes who disrespect unfair political authority, and encourages harmony in dangerous situations. Even in competitive traditions she fosters a sense of oneness.

She acknowledges how magical the world is through synchroncities such as running into the man who wrote a song she was playing. Yet, this isn’t a treatise on creative visualization. The irony that can undercut such magic becomes obvious when she gets to know the song’s author. I love that combination. She’s not living out some formula, pretending it always works. So, when her intentions do manifest, her visions do come true, they are far more believable and powerful.

We learn about Andean folklore, such as the respectful relationship of miners to the Tios, earth spirits who live underground. We also learn that kusillos are androgynous entities who bridge the known and unknown.  And we follow closely: shocking international business practices, the role of civil disobedience in social progress, and the involvement of the U.S. in civil war. This book made me cry for a long time, tremble, and even shout out loud.

David Shields would like her book. In his, Reality Hunger, which also came out in 2010, he claims “Most, perhaps even all, good work (or, okay, work that excited me) eludes easy generic classification: once we know it’s coloring entirely within the lines called 'novel' or 'memoir' or 'Hollywood movie,' I honestly don’t see how anything emotionally or intellectually interesting can happen for the reader. . . . Just as out-and-out fiction no longer compels my attention, neither does straight-ahead memoir.”

I asked Lynette about the fiction/memoir interface: “My book and reality. It is heavily based on my own personal experience in Peru and Bolivia.

In order to better tell the Truth, to express Reality, I chose to fictionalize my experiences. As an old hiking buddy and PhD in English once told me — fiction is where we express the deeper truths of life. In short, she said, ‘Fiction rocks!’ Lucy Plays Panpipes for Peace started out as pure memoir — emails sent to friends and first person stories I told at performance spaces in Los Angeles.

But, it was too limiting to stick to chronological events and specific people.

By fictionalizing reality I can lump many people into a single character who then becomes an archetype. And in that process, new characters – 100% fictitious – are sometimes born. My favorite is Aunt Bert.

Aunt Bert came to me in a vision, you might say. I was riding in a bus along the shores of Lake Titicaca, when suddenly Aunt Bert appeared in my mind. She told me her life story. As I looked out the bus window at the scenery passing by, I was so moved by her life that I even cried at the sad parts. And when I got to where I was going, I wrote down what she had told me. That is how Aunt Bert came to be in the book.

Speaking of reality – to me, Aunt Bert is one of the most real characters in the novel – yet she is 100% fictitious.

Reality is so multi-dimensional. On one hand, it is the material world we can document with calendars and cameras and weights and measures. Yet it is also the invisible realm of the mysterious that animates all of life – is life. By fictionalizing the material world, I strive to reveal the deeper truths of what is invisible yet is the most powerful truth of all – our own lives.”

David Shields asks “A character is either ‘real’ or 'imaginary’?. . . . To be alive is to travel ceaselessly between the real and the imaginary, and mongrel form is about as exact an emblem as I can conceive for the unresolvable mystery at the center of identity.”

I can feel this book in my heart. I know Lynette bravely accomplished the amazing feats in this story, yet it isn’t a heavy handed recitation of her travels, or an SGI tract, but a call to go into our deepest selves, to cry, because there is a reality there that the fictionalization allows to live in a moving way, inside of us. There is no boundary between story and life, Lucy and Lynette, or our hands, wet with tears, and the pages they turn, which catch the light of the sun, that is not separable from the light of consciousness.