The Tree of Life

I am still thinking about it, having seen the movie two days ago.  The one thing I'm certain about is that it is not another "2001 - A Space Odyssey," even though I've read that Malick had that 1968 masterpiece in mind.  Stanley Kubrick's provocative movie has been at the top of my favorite movie list all these years and I've never deviated.  But 2001 allowed the mind to soar alongside the space ship and the gorgeous cosmic explosions. The viewer was invited to his own interpretation of the mind-bending end,  mine of course being a version of the concept of reincarnation.  I loved it.  I wrapped myself up in it.

This movie is different in that it was more difficult, for me at least, to jump inside.  It begins with the story of creation and continues through the gradual evolution from plant life to sea life to reptilians (we have a scene with a dinosaur playfully stomping on the head of a smaller creature at the edge of a riverbed) and eventually to mammals and humans. The loosely structured plot follows the story of an American family during the 1950s which opens with news of the death of one of three adult sons, presumably during the Korean conflict -- it never says.  There is emotion at the news, but not excessive; it is well controlled by both parents, but it shows for the first time how different the two are -- the stoic father who "stuffs" and goes on with the proverbial "stiff upper lip."  The mother's reaction emanates from the embodiment of grace which is what she personifies.  The plot is not linear.  Instead we learn of the relationships within the family by fragmented flashbacks, occurring during different stages of childhood juxtaposed with visions of the oldest son, Jack, now grown up and re-living, reviewing, re-counting the toll of his brotherly impishness towards his siblings and the filial conflict of his feelings for his father -- love and hate in their most basic expression.  Jack even prays that his father will die, another biblical allusion to join the quote from Job at the beginning of the movie. There are other allusions to religion or if not religion, a nod towards deism and nature.

Throughout the movie are more scenes of the roaring hot cosmic heavens and the roiling seas -- everything expressing the dynamism of life and death, a sort of refrain that reflects the insignificance of man. There are many visuals that are puzzling: stairs, water, hands, dancing and running, the scenes from the dinner table where, it seems, many families have difficulty being families. 

The ending is beyond me.  It could be heaven, it could represent the quantum theory of the time continuum, the end of the world. We find ourselves at the shore, with people wandering around bare-footed in a gently rippling incoming tide seemingly attempting to find and reunite with each other.  It reminded me of a reunion we attend with a lot of reservations and then hang around with a drink in our hand, waiting to meet old friends and hoping to be recognized.  There was a feeling of expectation and hope and then joy at connections that were made.

But it was sad and a little disappointing, too.

Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life should not be missed.  It is an important movie that demands discussion, interpretation and perhaps even a second viewing. I loved it. It is not another 2001, but it will gain its own place in movie history.     

Where's the Sacrifice?

I was born in the USA and I'm a proud and active citizen.  I don't think I'm very different from my friends and family -- from most of the people within my community.  I love my country and I don't like seeing it decline because of laziness, greed or apathy. We are mired in debt, two wars, entitlement programs up the yin yang,  and a system of rewarding greed and self-promotion like nothing I've seen in my lifetime.  There is also a tendency in our society towards psycho-social behavior that is devoid of responsibility and whose proponents enjoy the destruction of opposing ideas (or people) in order to elevate their own egos or agendas.

We have lost our sense of participation, of belonging,  which made us feel as though we were a part of something bigger -- ie, a sense that what we did could make a difference. We have abbrogated our responsibilities as citizens, more out of frustrations perhaps, than apathy.

So what can we do to correct the situation?  I'm no expert, but this blog was established to voice my opinion and that is what I will do:

Military and or National Service:
When people have to participate in or sacrifice for a cause, they tend to own that cause.  I believe that we should not only reinstate the draft, but begin some kind of compulsory national service for both men and women for between two and five years (soon after highschool graduation) and a reserve system of defense. There are too few of us taking the responsibility of military service today and as a result, we don't feel invested.  If we don't feel the sacrifice, how are we to feel strongly enough to defeat policies that require military action and the invasion of countries we do not belong?

The fear of the "Military Industrial Complex" voiced by Dwight Eisenhower when he left the office of the presidency in 1961 should forever be imprinted on our brains. This was a life-long military man who commanded Allied forces to victory in WWII.  Still he realized the dangers and articulated them fifty years ago.  We must be vigilant so that we don't allow the kind of unwanted sprawl that mired Great Britain into centuries of Imperialism.

The point is, of course, that regardless of what kind of service we are willing to give,  we should all be doing something to contribute to our country. Everyone feels better about themselves when they contribute something and as a result, we must strive to get rid of this  mantra that we are "entitled."  

With a national service in place, we could then build support for our policies throughout the world  through "service," rather than the unpopular occupation of countries by our military.  Much of what the Special Forces in Vietnam accomplished was about helping the natives to help themselves.  That is not happening in Afghanistan or Pakistan and we are not winning "hearts and minds," we are making more enemies. 

Foreign Policy: 
Get out of Afghanistan. If we haven't accomplished our goals by now, then we never will.  (See my blog entitled "Afghanistan -- Why are we There" dated 07-15-10).  My opinion has not changed.  Again, refer to Dwight Eisenhower's speech warning of the military industrial complex back in January, 1961.

Politics:
Change the rules of elections so that senators, congressmmen AND the Supreme Court must have term limits -- not just the presidency. This is essential.  When our congress can not do the work of the people because of their obsession with losing their seats in Congress and regularly go to bed with the lobbyists, something must change. And when the Court begins to make laws, and rescind precedence because of  idealogical bias, (knowing, of course, that there will be no price to pay, that they will not (ever!) be thrown out of their jobs), they are subjugating the will of the people to their own political positions and lowering the standards of the Court.  (See Citizens United Ruling, January 2011--a ruling that favors the interests of business enterprises by allowing them to spend unlimited funds on the candidate of their choice -- the ones whose agendas are in alignment with their own).

Immigration:
We must increase all present initiatives to strengthen our borders and plug the porous areas between Mexico and our border states of  Texas, Arizona and California.  We must re-address our immigration laws and limit the number of under-educated immigrants allowed in our country; unfortunately our current political system coddles the underclass that supports this kind of
immigration and panders to them for their vote, but this kind of infusion does not enrich our society; it drains it.

Diversity is important too and I recognize that. But diversity does not mean that we stand apart because of our differences.  I think diversity can make us stronger by filling all the gaps and uniting us.

The Economy:  I don't feel qualified to discuss it, but someone out there needs to.

Education:
I had a Liberal Arts education which exposed me to all kinds of thinking -- liberal and conservative and downright "off the wall."  I loved it;  it was fun, it opened many, many doors for me, but more than that, it inspired me to learn. Of course, college is all about learning, but learning should be a life-long pursuit.  And this is what a liberal arts education can teach and what I think is missing in our business/service oriented society today.

Science and Math have been neglected as as a result, we rank 17th in Science around the world and 25th in Math.  Since everyone knows we have the best universities, why do we not have the most qualified graduates?  Young men and women are coming to America from all over the world to benefit from our extraordinry schools; our immigration laws require that they leave after they graduate. What is happening here?  We are losing the most desirable, well educated  immigrants, the benefit of their expertise (they are often educated in the higher tech fields) as well as their tax dollars down the road. It is a convoluted system that requires thought and reform.    

I believe education begins at home; tots should be exposed to books, the alphabet, un-complicated numbering using fingers and toes. Read to your little ones.  They may not understand every word, but they will learn to love books and by the time they reach kindergarden, they will have some awareness of these simple disciplines and an appreciation of literature. The teachers we hire are up to the task of teaching, but parents often want more:  they want their kids entertained and not disciplined; they want a baby-sitter; and woe to the teacher who raises his voice to their child or Dad will soon appear to school administrators with a brief case and an attorney.  Kids are stronger than we give them credit for; they can work hard in school without creating some imaginary emotional or psychological malady.  I survived the old school practice of learning by rote for memorizing multiplication tables, number combinations and learning to spell. Because it is chiseled in my brain, I can still do sums in my head faster than the grocery store checker after all these years  I am neither condoning nor condeming the current methods or the old methods -- just stating the fact that the harder you work, the more you will gain.

Through the process of a good education then, we can encourage young people to strive for more, take pride in working hard and graduate with honors in science, math, and liberal arts. The Obama administration encourages service abroad and rewards the student with help towards college tuition when he returns home.  It's a good plan and one that broadens the student's view of the world through interaction with people from other countries -- the greatest education of all.  Representing one's country abroad with dignity and integrity should be a prerequisite for many desciplines in one's curricula.  Education should be a means to broaden us intellectually and move our families and our country forward into the world community, rather than to -- only -- satisfy one's desires and make money.  We must begin now to reach our young people and instill in them a desire to work hard and be prepared for competition in science and math down the road.  If we do not, we will surely begin to decline as a nation, as some are already predicting.

Our Planet:
I have a vision that one day cities will be built for people instead of cars.  We Americans have always had a love affair with our cars. But in a way, they've kept us isolated.  For decades, we strived to move away from our cities  because we are able to commute from work, then commute back to large homes either in suburbia or out in the country. Mass transit is a way of life in some cities but still on the drawing boards of others.  The trend may be reversing itself today, I hope,  as many people are beginning to move back into city centers in order to re-establish a sense of community and enjoy a more simple and meaningful life that had been sacrificed through hours on the highway.  It has been a wasteful and profligate quarter of a century.

As to the subject of waste, we are, as Paul Newman once famously said, "a throw-away society," with tens of thousands of plastic bottles in our land fills.  We do not repair anything, because appliances are built with a "controlled obsolescence" mentality -- they are built to fail beyond repair within a very short period of time.  And we are back-sliding. I seem to remember a much more elevated consciousness about the recycling and paper vs. plastic issues back in the seventies than is evident today.  Our auto makers are deaf to the cries for more fuel efficient vehicles. Global warming is a fact.  Why do we listen to the nay-sayers when we have evidence:  floods, tsunamis, the shrinking of the ice in the arctic.  We should be doing something about it now while we still can, while the warming is still a warning.  We are willing to sacrifice if we need to.  But someone needs to ask us.  

Perhaps I've offered a soft and simplistic approach to these issues -- not a detailed plan on how to correct them.  But there is an uneasiness in the country today about how we are faring and a fear that we are not faring well.  I am not a politician, but as a citizen I do have a duty.  My duty is to voice what I feel is wrong, and what needs to be fixed. If I can stir others to join together and do something about it, propose a viable plan,  then I've served my purpose and will support that person or group with all my energies. 

I firmly believe we as a nation are willing to sacrifice and to set our sights on something better. The rewards will be worth it.  We are a great and strong people and we can do it.  But someone needs to ask us.

(c) May, 2011 Sue McGhee

The Sad Tale of Greg Mortenson

I read Nick Kristoff's column in The New York Times last night via Twitter and agree with a lot of what he said in defense of Mr. Mortenson.  I feel sorry for him and loathe what he is accused of doing at the same time.  I don't agree, however,  that he should be given the benefit of the doubt or that we should "reserve judgment" as does Mr. Kristoff.  When people take on the responsibility and the privilege of managing huge sums of money for the benefit of a world-wide charity, then they need to be prepared to account for and answer to the public whose money it is they is spending.


I first read about Mortenson's good works in a book called, "Half the Sky," written  by Kristoff and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn and was duly impressed. I think I am as disappointed with these accusations as everyone else who was aware of the schools being built in behalf of Afghan and Pakistani girls, whose education has,  for centuries, been left to happenstance, serendipity or the kindness of strangers.  Nevertheless, his book, "Three cups of Tea," Mr. Mortenson's memoir, is being scrutinized for factual errors, hyping and just plain ol' lying.  We must give him the credit that he deserves, certainly, but at the same time, we must demand the answers that will either absolve or condemn him.  Let us hope for the former.

Should Donald Trump Run for President

When the Eagle Flies with the Condor: A Novel of the Sixties

No, he should not.

Donald Trump is the epitome of what is wrong with the country.  Not the fact that he is a successful entrepreneur and has learned how to make billions from the real estate market -- that's good.  I mean that in spite of his success, he shows a lack of responsibility and yes, gratitude to the country that allowed him to rise to the top. His rant about Obama and his U. S. citizenship shows either an abominable lack of knowledge of the issues or no concern for the real problems facing our nation.  He is a salesman and a showman, true, but his vile attacks, his dearth of respect and decorum and the needless dredging up of the "birther" question demonstrates his extraordinary ability to deflect attention from the serious conversation we need to have.

With the money and fame he's acquired over the years, his responsibility should be to BUILD, not DESTROY. He should be giving back to the nation that allows him to make such outlandish accusations. Instead, he is destroying faith and support in the presidency that we so desperately need right now by demeaning everything Obama says. Donald Trump, and others who are able to buy an election, are likely to be in the race for their own advancement and egos.  Why do we have to put up with the kind of rhetoric that only the wealthy can afford to dish out?  Where are our real patriots?

In Congress? I don't think so. Instead, we find that our congress people are largely there by acquiescing to the lobbyists year after year, lobbyist who pay them money to vote according to their agendas. Since they don't want to lose their seats, they go along with it and as a result of their conspiracy with the corporations, they remain year after year perpetuating the myth that they are representing the people. By throwing roadblocks on the pathway to unity and a cohesive method of governing, Congress continually restricts progress by creating stalemate, indecision and ineffectiveness of the system to which they have sworn an oath to uphold. We need fewer candidates like this, not more.

I consider Trump to be a clown, but more than that, I think he represents a dangerous trend--one of tearing down instead of building up. Go back to your tv show, Mr. Trump since that is where all showmen of your ilk belong. Stay out of the conversation of adults. You are exactly what we DON'T want in our candidates -- a lot of vacant, vindictive slander, loud meaningless bluster, but like poor Charlie Sheen, ultimately full of bull pucky.

The Magic of Fiction

As a child, when the world became too fraught with the typical trials of childhood along with atypical family upheavels,  I'd often head for the back yard and the swing or hammock or run upstairs to my room and  open up a book, escaping  into the world of fiction:  another family, another land, another life. 

It still works today.

Today, with all the tragedy and unrest in the world, the Japanese earthquake and subsequent tsunami, the  Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions, the current fighting in Libya, the constant political excoriation of our president, first because he didn't commit our forces to the fray, then because he waited too long and now because he didn't officially declare war and get approval from the Congress, there simply becomes too much negativity.  So what do I do? Of course,  I head for my room and begin to read, usually something I've read before, anything that will take me away to another world, different characters who live fascinating lives in exotic lands.


Is this a  childish reflex?  Maybe.  But I couldn't continue living my life with any semblance of sanity without it.   It is my protection  against all the
embroilments of the modern political world and prickly family involvements. I recommend it to others.  It's better than TV, a movie or both.  Fiction becomes a part of you -- it can wrap you up in a  rich labyrinthe of words and carry you off into a world of fantasy. 

I love my life, but my life becomes enriched when I can get my hands on a good piece of fiction. 

I realized today, that the reason I want to get back to my own novel and read it again and again are the characters.  I spent so many years with these people, they are like another family, friends that are cut from fabric that I selected and shaped by my own will and preference. Now that the book is finished, they are no longer daily companions and I miss them.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

And what's the solution for someone like me?  Continue to read, of course. Or -- you've got it! Write another book.

Voices from Tahrir

My heartfelt congratulations to the people in Tahrir Square. Now that Mubarek is gone, what next?

Will the U.S. be happy with the results of a free democratic election, no matter who becomes the next Egyptian leader? Even if the Muslim Brotherhood gains seats in the newly formed Parliament, it does not mean it is not a democratic process. The Brotherhood, as I understand it, represents no more than 25 or 30 percent of the population, but that is a significant minority which must be heard.

The fear is of course that a new Egyptian democracy will be hijacked as it was in Iran June a year and a half ago or back when the Shah was removed from his throne during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The people of Egypt are not going to let this happen: theirs is an educated and intelligent movement and they have history to learn from.

The U.S. can not support democratic elections in the middle east and then quarrel with the results.

Egypt

Will the people in Tahrir Square be happy with Suleiman as interim president -- until the September elections?