We had the good fortune last night to attend a lecture by Cokie Roberts (sponsored by the U.S.Capitol Historical Society) on the role of women in government. Though there is plenty of grist for that particular mill in the recent presidential campaign--and now, Obama's cabinet selections--Ms. Roberts chose to speak about previous eras, where the role of women has been either overlooked or underplayed. Using primary sources such as previously unpublished letters and reports written by women in Washington, she amply illustrated her point that American women have wielded power and influence in government since before the Revolution.
I'm ready to seek out both her books at this point. I obviously have a lot to learn about the women who helped make American history.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Unexpected treasure
(1947 Deller reunion--click to enlarge) This week, when I went over to Baltimore to see my mom, I was surprised to find that she had visitors: two of my cousins (my Uncle John's daughters) whom I had not seen in at least 40 years.
Lest you think we have long-standing family feuds or something, let me say at the outset that I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 first cousins--on my mother's side alone--so it's always been sort of difficult to keep up with each other. I, unfortunately, have always left that task to my mother, who has always been an inveterate letter writer.
We went to lunch and had a great visit before we all had to disperse for our assorted destinations. But this short encounter left me with an itch to look back at all my pictures and files and --in my most intrepid of excursions--into my own memories to see what information I had about my family.
The short answer is that the most rewarding stuff I found was the work of my mom. Letters telling about her childhood, written to granddaughters and nieces, and anyone else who asked. What treasures these pieces of paper are: all that's left of our family history. And my mom is one of the last of her generation who can tell those stories.
Looking at all this, I asked JC what we had to tell about what our lives have been like. His answer--as I'm sure many of ours would be--was that nothing much has happened to us that was interesting. Hmm. I imagine my mom didn't think blackberry-picking with her dad was earth-shaking either, but the window she gives us on what life was like then is wonderful and tremendously interesting to us city-dwelling couch potatoes who get our blackberries from Chile via the local supermarket.
It would be a great gift to our children to tell them where we came from and how far and fast we have traveled in our own lives. Maybe we should all start writing down our memories.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Responsibility
I am heartened by the outcome of our recent election. Not because of the Obama victory, though that is, I believe, a good thing. Not, in fact, because of the overwhelming landslide that carried Mark Warner into office, even though that restored my faith in the Virginia electorate. It was not even Virginia’s return to the Democratic fold that prompted my restored feelings of optimism, although that was long overdue. No. My uplifted emotional state is due to the return of responsibility.
Perhaps it is just me (and those of you who know me know that that prefix statement REALLY means that I don’t think it is) but there has seemed to be a slow and steady decline in any feeling of responsibility in any number of fields over the past twenty years. From students who were willing to blame everyone and everything but themselves for their failures to salespeople who met complaints with a smile and an indifferent shrug, America has been suffering from a severe case of not-my-fault-ism and unwillingness to expend even the slightest energy toward righting wrongs.
Since I seem to have an overdeveloped sense of guilt and/or responsibility (vestiges of my Roman Catholic upbringing) I have been exceedingly frustrated and disturbed by this trend, and have been only too willing to work overtime at assigning blame. I have run through the usual suspects over the years, with my villains running the gamut from too much TV, to not enough supervision, to parents more interested in money than kids, to lack of community due to air-conditioning and garage-door openers (don’t get me started—I’m not always rational)..to just plain laziness. I had stopped short of government, but then along came George Bush, who has proved a convenient and likely scapegoat for just about everything else, so why not pile on?
This presidential campaign exacerbated every scrape and scratch on my bruised and battered sense of what’s right and wrong. So much of what went on in speeches and campaign ads and even in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms (which now seem to hold only pundits and talking heads and their laptops) just seemed to be so…unworthy of our political process. While it was abundantly clear that the road across America was littered with policies and programs and industries that were seriously broken, debate centered around personal attacks and misrepresentations (on both sides) of what the other candidate stood for. Never before had I witnessed such a crying need for critical thinking skills among the electorate, skills that would allow voters to tease out the truth from statements that went wholeheartedly for the biased interpretation of just about everything.
Capping this assault on my own good sense and that of the American voter was the selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Instead of being greeted by a rousing country-wide tsunami-like bellow of “John McCain, what are you THINKING??”, this announcement apparently generated enthusiasm for the Republican ticket.
Now, in the interest of perfect honesty here, I will say that I could have voted for John McCain up to that point. He seemed to be a reasonable man, with policies as reasonable as much of his competition for the nomination. But someone somewhere at the Republican convention must have slipped something into his drink, hypnotized him into some sort of weird political trance, changed his reading glasses, or erased his conscious memory in some way…did the Vietnamese ever watch The Manchurian Candidate?...and he walked out on stage apparently convinced that Sarah Palin was the answer to the American voter’s prayers. I guess that assumes that we were all praying for Caribou Barbie, a woman as insular as they come, whose convictions vary with her location and current ambition, and whose inability to utter a complete and cogent sentence boggles the mind. Had John McCain teamed up with just about anyone short of the anti-Christ, he might have done better in my book. Unfortunately for him, the best speech I heard him make, the most heartfelt and honest look at the mind of John McCain, was his concession speech. Had he spoken that well from the beginning, had he ignored his handlers, had he run from his own heart, he might have been president today.
Which (sort of) brings me back to my initial statement. Responsibility is that quality that people hunger for. We want someone who will deal with us and the issues from a position of honesty and candor. We don’t necessarily want someone who will tell us it’s all right, or who will trumpet “Mission accomplished!” when it’s not. We want someone whom we feel we can trust, and that someone has to be a responsible individual: one who demonstrates-- and brings out in us-- our best qualities and our highest levels of patriotism.
I don’t know that Barack Obama has better answers for the problems that beset us. I don’t know if he can fix what’s broken. In fact, I’m pretty sure he can’t. One man, even with a Democratic majority in Congress, can only do so much, and we are in pretty bad straits. However, I know how he makes me feel, how he makes other people feel, how he makes the country and the world feel. He makes us feel that we are not going to be victims anymore, but will be active participants in rebuilding our own corner of the world, and our reputation in the farther reaches of it. He is treating us as the responsible people we can and should be, and once were. He expects us all to be more than we are, and he’s allowed us to dream again of what we could be.
I hope that none of us is disappointed.
Perhaps it is just me (and those of you who know me know that that prefix statement REALLY means that I don’t think it is) but there has seemed to be a slow and steady decline in any feeling of responsibility in any number of fields over the past twenty years. From students who were willing to blame everyone and everything but themselves for their failures to salespeople who met complaints with a smile and an indifferent shrug, America has been suffering from a severe case of not-my-fault-ism and unwillingness to expend even the slightest energy toward righting wrongs.
Since I seem to have an overdeveloped sense of guilt and/or responsibility (vestiges of my Roman Catholic upbringing) I have been exceedingly frustrated and disturbed by this trend, and have been only too willing to work overtime at assigning blame. I have run through the usual suspects over the years, with my villains running the gamut from too much TV, to not enough supervision, to parents more interested in money than kids, to lack of community due to air-conditioning and garage-door openers (don’t get me started—I’m not always rational)..to just plain laziness. I had stopped short of government, but then along came George Bush, who has proved a convenient and likely scapegoat for just about everything else, so why not pile on?
This presidential campaign exacerbated every scrape and scratch on my bruised and battered sense of what’s right and wrong. So much of what went on in speeches and campaign ads and even in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms (which now seem to hold only pundits and talking heads and their laptops) just seemed to be so…unworthy of our political process. While it was abundantly clear that the road across America was littered with policies and programs and industries that were seriously broken, debate centered around personal attacks and misrepresentations (on both sides) of what the other candidate stood for. Never before had I witnessed such a crying need for critical thinking skills among the electorate, skills that would allow voters to tease out the truth from statements that went wholeheartedly for the biased interpretation of just about everything.
Capping this assault on my own good sense and that of the American voter was the selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Instead of being greeted by a rousing country-wide tsunami-like bellow of “John McCain, what are you THINKING??”, this announcement apparently generated enthusiasm for the Republican ticket.
Now, in the interest of perfect honesty here, I will say that I could have voted for John McCain up to that point. He seemed to be a reasonable man, with policies as reasonable as much of his competition for the nomination. But someone somewhere at the Republican convention must have slipped something into his drink, hypnotized him into some sort of weird political trance, changed his reading glasses, or erased his conscious memory in some way…did the Vietnamese ever watch The Manchurian Candidate?...and he walked out on stage apparently convinced that Sarah Palin was the answer to the American voter’s prayers. I guess that assumes that we were all praying for Caribou Barbie, a woman as insular as they come, whose convictions vary with her location and current ambition, and whose inability to utter a complete and cogent sentence boggles the mind. Had John McCain teamed up with just about anyone short of the anti-Christ, he might have done better in my book. Unfortunately for him, the best speech I heard him make, the most heartfelt and honest look at the mind of John McCain, was his concession speech. Had he spoken that well from the beginning, had he ignored his handlers, had he run from his own heart, he might have been president today.
Which (sort of) brings me back to my initial statement. Responsibility is that quality that people hunger for. We want someone who will deal with us and the issues from a position of honesty and candor. We don’t necessarily want someone who will tell us it’s all right, or who will trumpet “Mission accomplished!” when it’s not. We want someone whom we feel we can trust, and that someone has to be a responsible individual: one who demonstrates-- and brings out in us-- our best qualities and our highest levels of patriotism.
I don’t know that Barack Obama has better answers for the problems that beset us. I don’t know if he can fix what’s broken. In fact, I’m pretty sure he can’t. One man, even with a Democratic majority in Congress, can only do so much, and we are in pretty bad straits. However, I know how he makes me feel, how he makes other people feel, how he makes the country and the world feel. He makes us feel that we are not going to be victims anymore, but will be active participants in rebuilding our own corner of the world, and our reputation in the farther reaches of it. He is treating us as the responsible people we can and should be, and once were. He expects us all to be more than we are, and he’s allowed us to dream again of what we could be.
I hope that none of us is disappointed.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Over?
Well, I've cast my vote and now, will be sitting back to wait and see what everyone else has done. If people hold to their previous statements, at least half the population will be moving to Canada (that seems to be the universal threat if either "that one" OR "that WOMAN!!!" ends up winning.) While I don't really believe those threats from either side, it is apparent that there will be at least a few highly disgruntled voters tomorrow morning.
The task at hand, then, for all of us, seems to be adjusting to the outcome. No matter who wins, it's going to be a rough year for all concerned. I cannot imagine taking on any task as gargantuan as the one that faces the winner. No matter how low the bar set by our current president, expectations will be high, and those expectations all hold a tinge of desperation. While I think the American public has a rather healthy attitude toward the value of campaign promises (summed up by "Yeah. Right...") all those words and all that rhetoric are bound to come home to roost some time.
So...to all the candidates, winners and losers, I will say, as someone once said to me after I lost an election, "I don't know whether to say I'm sorry, or to congratulate you." I think the real winners are those of us who no longer have to listen to campaign ads, or avoid proselytizing friends, or debate the merits of the candidates. My blood pressure is bound to recede a few points at not having to listen to inflammatory idiocies on a regular basis, and not having to defend my intelligence against the everyday spout of lies and misdirections that constitute a presidential campaign. I know there is more to come in the analysis and rehash of the actual election process and the endless electoral college explanations. I know I will see much more of the candidates and their reactions, more maps, more talking heads, and more laptop-wielding politicos on TV...but the end is in sight. Thank God.
The task at hand, then, for all of us, seems to be adjusting to the outcome. No matter who wins, it's going to be a rough year for all concerned. I cannot imagine taking on any task as gargantuan as the one that faces the winner. No matter how low the bar set by our current president, expectations will be high, and those expectations all hold a tinge of desperation. While I think the American public has a rather healthy attitude toward the value of campaign promises (summed up by "Yeah. Right...") all those words and all that rhetoric are bound to come home to roost some time.
So...to all the candidates, winners and losers, I will say, as someone once said to me after I lost an election, "I don't know whether to say I'm sorry, or to congratulate you." I think the real winners are those of us who no longer have to listen to campaign ads, or avoid proselytizing friends, or debate the merits of the candidates. My blood pressure is bound to recede a few points at not having to listen to inflammatory idiocies on a regular basis, and not having to defend my intelligence against the everyday spout of lies and misdirections that constitute a presidential campaign. I know there is more to come in the analysis and rehash of the actual election process and the endless electoral college explanations. I know I will see much more of the candidates and their reactions, more maps, more talking heads, and more laptop-wielding politicos on TV...but the end is in sight. Thank God.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A Week with Audrey
Let me say this at the outset: I am no baby person. I have friends (forgive me, all of you) who melt at the very sight of an infant, who adored every moment of their children's babyhood, who cried when their little ones boarded the kindergarten bus. Not I.
My children were (and still are) wonderfully beautiful and intelligent, but I loved them most when they finally learned to speak. Perhaps it is my basic insecurity. I get panicky when I don't know what I'm doing--and babies are (and always have been) the ultimate unknown country. How do you KNOW what's wrong when they can't tell you, when their only switch seems to be OFF or ON, smiling or crying? I need more sophisticated controls, more fine-tuning.
We have spent this week in San Diego in the company of our daughter and 4-month-old granddaughter. Young Audrey is a marvel. If one ever wondered how our species survives, all it takes is one look at her in the morning when she wakes. One wriggle, one baby kick and squirm, one sunshiney smile, and we are toast. Anything she wants or needs is hers, whether it be room service at 3 AM or an extended walk in the garden to distract her from whatever is causing her to whimper...she can trample all over our sleep patterns and restaurant ways and recreational reading habits, and we barely notice. She smiles at us as if we are what she prizes most in this world--and that is reward enough.
Don't get me wrong. I suspect that if I were to be the primary caregiver for an infant, I would probably fail utterly. My daughter (and son-in-law) do an admirable job, with remarkable good humor. I can do a pretty fair back-up routine, and haven't forgotten the basics of diaper-changing, baby-holding and transfer, and the intricacies of car seats and porta-cribs. But I am still not a baby person.
I may, however, be an Audrey person, and I hope that Audrey turns out to be a Grandma kind of little girl.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Cloud
Is it the economy, or the presidential mudfest, or the time of year, or what? I'm finding it difficult to read the paper, or follow through on projects, or even write much. The weather has been gorgeous, but there still seems to be an oppressive black cloud hovering overhead, making it hard to breathe. I think it's called the future.
I went through the paper yesterday and there's not much joy in Mudville. Negative headlines far outnumber (if not obliterate) positive ones. I'm no Pollyanna, but when the only happy-face headline involves the results of Lehman Brothers contributing to a Habitat for Humanity housing effort in India--and the worry that funds for charity projects like these will dry up--I think we're in worse trouble than just the economy. Is there nothing good happening anywhere?
I'm tired of the McCain/Obama campaigns. Both sides are just repeating the same old songs, with additional random accusations flung at the other guys. Why not say something new? Why not address the reality of the situation and at least try to offer, if not hope, at least some sympathy? I don't believe much of what I hear from either camp any more. Just let us vote and get these people and their petty accusations off my TV screen.
I can't help worrying that, with all the mud that's been thrown, the emotional tenor of the campaigns, and the rampant fear engendered by the economic crisis, whoever wins will be the long-term loser. When campaign appearances start to sound like KKK rallies, and even candidates can't rein in their own supporters, when people who want us to elect them show no signs of being thoughtful citizens, much less LEADERS, even economic worries take a backseat to fears of anarchy. How far have we regressed as humans? The only way to get through hard times is together, with the support of our friends and neighbors--and it appears we are even losing that in today's divisive atmosphere.
When our financial gurus start bruiting about sums of money that we can barely comprehend, when presidential "assurances" cause the market to drop even further, when it's becoming increasingly clear that there's no one left in charge who we can trust or rely upon, what do we do? Covering our eyes, holding our ears, and singing at the tops of our voices hasn't seemed to help (and I suspect that's what we've all been doing for the past few years.) I'm not sure that there's any remedy except to put our heads down against the wind, gather our courage, hold on tightly to whatever we have left, and try to bull our way through the storm.
It would sure help if we didn't have to do it alone.
I went through the paper yesterday and there's not much joy in Mudville. Negative headlines far outnumber (if not obliterate) positive ones. I'm no Pollyanna, but when the only happy-face headline involves the results of Lehman Brothers contributing to a Habitat for Humanity housing effort in India--and the worry that funds for charity projects like these will dry up--I think we're in worse trouble than just the economy. Is there nothing good happening anywhere?
I'm tired of the McCain/Obama campaigns. Both sides are just repeating the same old songs, with additional random accusations flung at the other guys. Why not say something new? Why not address the reality of the situation and at least try to offer, if not hope, at least some sympathy? I don't believe much of what I hear from either camp any more. Just let us vote and get these people and their petty accusations off my TV screen.
I can't help worrying that, with all the mud that's been thrown, the emotional tenor of the campaigns, and the rampant fear engendered by the economic crisis, whoever wins will be the long-term loser. When campaign appearances start to sound like KKK rallies, and even candidates can't rein in their own supporters, when people who want us to elect them show no signs of being thoughtful citizens, much less LEADERS, even economic worries take a backseat to fears of anarchy. How far have we regressed as humans? The only way to get through hard times is together, with the support of our friends and neighbors--and it appears we are even losing that in today's divisive atmosphere.
When our financial gurus start bruiting about sums of money that we can barely comprehend, when presidential "assurances" cause the market to drop even further, when it's becoming increasingly clear that there's no one left in charge who we can trust or rely upon, what do we do? Covering our eyes, holding our ears, and singing at the tops of our voices hasn't seemed to help (and I suspect that's what we've all been doing for the past few years.) I'm not sure that there's any remedy except to put our heads down against the wind, gather our courage, hold on tightly to whatever we have left, and try to bull our way through the storm.
It would sure help if we didn't have to do it alone.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Kingston Trio
Nick Reynolds is dead. Nick Reynolds, as in Bob Shane, Dave Guard...and later, John Stewart: the Kingston Trio. I am sure that means nothing to the vast majority of people online, but they were the soundtrack to my freshman year in high school. They were the group that crossed over from folk to Top 40. Who doesn't remember "Tom Dooley" or "MTA" or "Tijuana Jail" (and the calm baritone response to Nick's frenzied Spanish yipping in that introduction: "No more drinks for the dwarf.")? But I always liked the tongue-in cheek songs that you found on their albums or in their concerts and not on the radio...Zombie Jamboree, Merry Minuet, Ballad of the Shape of Things....
As much as the music, the Kingston Trio brings back times and people. My introduction to them was via Tom Magrogan, president of our CYO, and an avid fan who had all the albums--and was murdered in his early 20s before his life began. They bring back the years BEFORE the Beatles, the years of Joan Baez and her copper kettle, of The New Christy Minstrels, of Peter, Paul and Mary...and the Kennedy years, when joining the Peace Corps was a valid ambition, and the world's problems seemed to be solvable.
We were all much younger then. Goodbye Nick.
As much as the music, the Kingston Trio brings back times and people. My introduction to them was via Tom Magrogan, president of our CYO, and an avid fan who had all the albums--and was murdered in his early 20s before his life began. They bring back the years BEFORE the Beatles, the years of Joan Baez and her copper kettle, of The New Christy Minstrels, of Peter, Paul and Mary...and the Kennedy years, when joining the Peace Corps was a valid ambition, and the world's problems seemed to be solvable.
We were all much younger then. Goodbye Nick.
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