Blog Archives

Maya Angelou RIP

5/29/2014

And Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may tread me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

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Hansen on Michael Sam

5/15/2014

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Great commentary by Dale Hansen on the first openly gay NFL player. See the entire video below. Here is a snippet that summarizes the hypocrisy of Sports Illustrated suggesting that he will have a hard time in the macho world of the NFL. Well said Mr. Hansen and candid as well!

“You beat a woman and drag her down a flight of stairs, pulling her hair out by the roots? You’re the fourth guy taken in the NFL draft.

“You kill people while driving drunk? That guy’s welcome.

“Players caught in hotel rooms with illegal drugs and prostitutes? We know they’re welcome.

“Players accused of rape and pay the woman to go away?

“You lie to police trying to cover up a murder?

“We’re comfortable with that.

“You love another man? Well, now you’ve gone too far!

“It wasn’t that long ago when we were being told that black players couldn’t play in ‘our’ games because it would be ‘uncomfortable.’”

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Global ethics versus national interest

5/7/2014

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With the unrest in the Ukraine, the kidnapping of the young girls in Nigeria and a myriad of other national and international issues, the question of engagement with the rest of the world is front and centre. This interview with the former Prime Minister of the UK, Gordon Brown is very compelling. Relevant to the situation occurring today in Africa:

Now, what is remarkable is that civil rights in America were achieved in the 1960s. But what is equally remarkable is socioeconomic rights in Africa have not moved forward very fast even since the age of colonialism. And yet, America and Africa have got a common interest. And we have got to realize that if we don't link up with those people who are sensible voices and democratic voices in Africa, to work together for common causes, then the danger of Al Qaeda and related groups making progress in Africa is very big.

So, I would say that what seems sometimes to be altruism, in relation to Africa, or in relation to developing countries, is more than that. It is enlightened self-interest for us to work with other countries. And I would say that national interest and, if you like, what is the global interest to tackle poverty and climate change do, in the long run, come together. And whatever the short-run price for taking action on climate change or taking action on security, or taking action to provide opportunities for people for education, these are prices that are worth paying so that you build a stronger global society where people feel able to feel comfortable with each other and are able to communicate with each other in such a way that you can actually build stronger links between different countries.

So, engagement with the wider world is, in fact, in our national interest as well.

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My Pensées

The title of this blog is an allusion to the famous work of Blaise Pascal. This blog represents the variety of my interests and thoughts on any given day and are strung together, like Pascal's Pensees, in no particular order. I work in the field of mental health, education, and human rights. I write and am a human rights advocate. I enjoy poetry, jazz, spirituality, politics and a potpourri of other interests that you will see reflected in this blog.