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There are a number of issues that are becoming increasingly important and yes, even urgent, as we press forward into the 21st century. Peak oil is one of these and I’ve written about it numerous times. Additionally, global warming and climate change is an issue that requires society’s focus, as are the issues of out of control sprawl, which threatens our farmlands and wilderness habitats and in more populated areas, creates large scale traffic congestion, which further adds to wasteful use of dwindling petroleum stocks.
New Urbanism is a design movement where these issues are openly addressed and alternatives are offered to sprawl (which Jim Kunstler calls, “the greatest misallocation of resources in the history of the world) and big box development. In fact, Kunstler has one of his more trenchant (and less polemical) posts on the importance of this visionary design movement.
While in Wisconsin for the College World Series, in Appleton, I spent some time walking the downtown area and visiting the neighborhoods just off West College Avenue (near Lawrence University). I’ve always enjoyed the grid like design of the Midwest, with its criss-crossed neighborhoods. What I liked about the city center of this community of 70,000, was the number of parks, neighborhood schools and areas that could be accessed by foot, or bicycle. Maine’s very own city of Portland, a city that is composed of various neighborhoods (Deering, Munjoy Hill, the West End, Bayside) is another good example of walkable design, although the I-295 spur that brings the suburban workers, from their McMansions, into the city, continues to become a greater and greater area of concern. One disastrous solution being proposed is adding additional lanes for traffic into the city, which will only enable those commuters traveling one to a car, each morning.
While there might be discussion and debate about the seriousness about some of the above mentioned issues and how far along we are on the peak oil continuum, New Urbanism offers proactive solutions that are workable and community-based. I urge readers to familiarize themselves with this movement because in my opinion, it offers reasonable and non-ideological answers to many questions and pressing concerns that are facing America, at this crucial juncture.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
American Death Machine: From My Lai to Haditha
On the morning of May 16, 1968, a group of soldiers from Charlie Company, a unit of the 11th Infantry Brigade, entered the Vietnamese village of My Lai. They were conducting a “search and destroy” mission, intended to root out the Viet Cong and any enemy sympathizers. The My Lai massacre was a wake up call to average Americans about the savagery that was being carried out in their names, during the Vietnam War. Up to that point, despite the widespread protests, mainly carried out on college campuses, most Americans were immune to the nightly body counts displayed on their black and white television screens.
With My Lai, Americans got to see what war does to young men, when they are ripped from their civilian lives of friends, family and work, and are thrust into the killing zone. In the course of about three hours, over 500 innocent civilians, many who had bowed to the soldiers as they entered the village, were murdered in cold blood, killed by American soldiers sent to destroy the Communist threat. During those three hours of carnage, women were gang raped, babies were murdered by soldiers crushing their skulls with rifle butts, and victims were mutilated by having a “C” (for Charlie Company) carved into their chests with bayonet points.
War is hell, or so it is said. Part of its hellishness is the way it takes ordinary people and turns them into animals—basic killing machines—existing simply to kill, or be killed. War, in order for it to be waged properly, requires a psychological metamorphosis. Ordinary mechanisms which prevent sadistic acts, such as torture, must be overridden. One of the ways that this is done is during the basic training of our troops, they are psychologically manipulated, in order to make them “lean, mean, killing machines.” And then we shake our heads when incidents like this occur.
The atrocities of My Lai were covered up for almost a year, before news began leaking out about what had occurred. A combination of loose talk and one conscientious GI, named Ron Ridenhour, who had ambitions of becoming a journalist, provided a conduit for the allegations to eventually reach the corridors of power, in Washington. Ridenhour was having a beer with fellow soldiers, when a member of Charlie Company began boasting about his exploits in My Lai. Ridenhour, horrified that something like this could have been carried out by fellow soldiers, set the information down and sought to substantiate the stories that he heard in the bar. Once back in the states, he sent his story to the top 30 names in charge of the military, where they eventually reached General William Westmoreland, who oversaw the overall operation in Vietnam. Consequently, an investigation into the charges was launched.
Finally, in late 1969, over a year after My Lai occurred, investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, revealed the grisly details to the American public. Hersh’s story indicated a coordinated cover up was conducted by those in charge in Vietnam. While there was enough evidence to convict 30 soldiers for their roles in the atrocities committed in the name of freedom and liberty, only one soldier was convicted—Lt. William Calley—the commanding officer in the operation.
Calley, originally sentenced to life in prison, with hard labor, found himself released after three days, pending instructions of President Richard Nixon. Calley was held under house arrest, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He later was freed on bail, and in 1974, had his sentence reduced to ten years and was later paroled, after serving but one third of the reduction. Meanwhile, the lives of the villagers had been shattered, never to return to the normalcy that they had known before the Americans had invaded their rural community and simple way of life.
In many ways, the revelations that accompanied My Lai were a catalyst in changing America's view of Vietnam and became a tipping point in the loss of support for the war. After this, popular support for the anti-war movement eventually led to Nixon ordering troop reductions and an eventual withdrawal of all American troops from the killing zones.
Despite Nazi-like atrocities conducted by American soldiers, wrapped in the red, white, and blue of American patriotism, we continue to support the masters of war. Allowing ourselves to be duped again, to fight against a menace that few can articulately define, the war on terror, much like the war against Communism, continues to reveal the depths that we’ll allow our young men to be taken to. Manipulated, psychologically scarred and often, permanently damaged by acts of cruelty that many of us will never know the full details of. First we hear news reports about torture by U.S. troops, of Iraqi prisoners. Then, we have the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha, these reports are but the tip of an ugly iceberg. The incident in Haditha indicates there may have been a My Lai-style cover-up. Initial reports of the deaths were given as caused by bombings, but death certificates show that the victims died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Apparently, U.S. Marines (our elite killers), shot and killed two dozen Iraqis, including children, and a man in a wheelchair, last November. Only now are we hearing reports about it. President Bush was quoted as saying, “I am troubled by the initial news stories. I am mindful that there is a thorough investigation going on. If, in fact, the… you know, the laws were broken there'll be punishment.” We’ll have to wait and see just how thorough the investigation of this is and just what the president ultimately does about the killing of innocents, in the name of freedom.
I think Dylan had it right back in 1963, when he penned his classic, “Masters of War”, as nothing good has ever come from war, yet we insist on sending our young men (and now, our young women) off to be permanently ruined for the greed and glory of old men, too old, or too cowardly, to do the dirty work themselves.
With My Lai, Americans got to see what war does to young men, when they are ripped from their civilian lives of friends, family and work, and are thrust into the killing zone. In the course of about three hours, over 500 innocent civilians, many who had bowed to the soldiers as they entered the village, were murdered in cold blood, killed by American soldiers sent to destroy the Communist threat. During those three hours of carnage, women were gang raped, babies were murdered by soldiers crushing their skulls with rifle butts, and victims were mutilated by having a “C” (for Charlie Company) carved into their chests with bayonet points.
War is hell, or so it is said. Part of its hellishness is the way it takes ordinary people and turns them into animals—basic killing machines—existing simply to kill, or be killed. War, in order for it to be waged properly, requires a psychological metamorphosis. Ordinary mechanisms which prevent sadistic acts, such as torture, must be overridden. One of the ways that this is done is during the basic training of our troops, they are psychologically manipulated, in order to make them “lean, mean, killing machines.” And then we shake our heads when incidents like this occur.
The atrocities of My Lai were covered up for almost a year, before news began leaking out about what had occurred. A combination of loose talk and one conscientious GI, named Ron Ridenhour, who had ambitions of becoming a journalist, provided a conduit for the allegations to eventually reach the corridors of power, in Washington. Ridenhour was having a beer with fellow soldiers, when a member of Charlie Company began boasting about his exploits in My Lai. Ridenhour, horrified that something like this could have been carried out by fellow soldiers, set the information down and sought to substantiate the stories that he heard in the bar. Once back in the states, he sent his story to the top 30 names in charge of the military, where they eventually reached General William Westmoreland, who oversaw the overall operation in Vietnam. Consequently, an investigation into the charges was launched.
Finally, in late 1969, over a year after My Lai occurred, investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, revealed the grisly details to the American public. Hersh’s story indicated a coordinated cover up was conducted by those in charge in Vietnam. While there was enough evidence to convict 30 soldiers for their roles in the atrocities committed in the name of freedom and liberty, only one soldier was convicted—Lt. William Calley—the commanding officer in the operation.
Calley, originally sentenced to life in prison, with hard labor, found himself released after three days, pending instructions of President Richard Nixon. Calley was held under house arrest, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He later was freed on bail, and in 1974, had his sentence reduced to ten years and was later paroled, after serving but one third of the reduction. Meanwhile, the lives of the villagers had been shattered, never to return to the normalcy that they had known before the Americans had invaded their rural community and simple way of life.
In many ways, the revelations that accompanied My Lai were a catalyst in changing America's view of Vietnam and became a tipping point in the loss of support for the war. After this, popular support for the anti-war movement eventually led to Nixon ordering troop reductions and an eventual withdrawal of all American troops from the killing zones.
Despite Nazi-like atrocities conducted by American soldiers, wrapped in the red, white, and blue of American patriotism, we continue to support the masters of war. Allowing ourselves to be duped again, to fight against a menace that few can articulately define, the war on terror, much like the war against Communism, continues to reveal the depths that we’ll allow our young men to be taken to. Manipulated, psychologically scarred and often, permanently damaged by acts of cruelty that many of us will never know the full details of. First we hear news reports about torture by U.S. troops, of Iraqi prisoners. Then, we have the killing of Iraqi civilians in Haditha, these reports are but the tip of an ugly iceberg. The incident in Haditha indicates there may have been a My Lai-style cover-up. Initial reports of the deaths were given as caused by bombings, but death certificates show that the victims died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Apparently, U.S. Marines (our elite killers), shot and killed two dozen Iraqis, including children, and a man in a wheelchair, last November. Only now are we hearing reports about it. President Bush was quoted as saying, “I am troubled by the initial news stories. I am mindful that there is a thorough investigation going on. If, in fact, the… you know, the laws were broken there'll be punishment.” We’ll have to wait and see just how thorough the investigation of this is and just what the president ultimately does about the killing of innocents, in the name of freedom.
I think Dylan had it right back in 1963, when he penned his classic, “Masters of War”, as nothing good has ever come from war, yet we insist on sending our young men (and now, our young women) off to be permanently ruined for the greed and glory of old men, too old, or too cowardly, to do the dirty work themselves.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
A few thoughts and some more pix
[Let's Go!!]
[Fans begin streaming into Fox Cities Stadium (home of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers)]
[Wheaton's Chris McDonough nabs a Fighting Bishop (N.C. Wesleyan) on strikes]
[Electronic scoreboard announces Wheaton's first game opponent]Some random observations about Appleton and the College World Series--
--I'm not sure whether the residents of greater-Appleton take a happy pill each morning, but I've never observed a more congenial area of the country. It's rare, upon entering a convenience store, walking downtown, or renting a car, not to be greeted by a pleasant demeanor and a convivial response from the folks we met in this part of Wisconsin. Having spent more than my share bemoaning the boorishness of society at large, I must say I wasn't prepared for the friendliness from this beautiful part of the country. With Madison as the state's capital, and the state's history for embracing progressive causes, maybe Wisconsin is the place for me? One dubious note; Joe McCarthy is a native son of Appleton.
--Wisconsinians (?) love beer, cheese, brats and did I mention, beer? Speaking of beer, a local variety that I grew fond of during my brief time in the state, was Leinenkugel, or "Leinies." My favorite Leinie was their Honey Weiss, a wonderful wheat ale.
--The absence of any coffee chains other than Starbucks, such as Dunkin' Donuts, Honeydew Donuts, Tim Horton's, etc. While downtown Appleton has a couple of neat privately-owned shops, I relied on the coffee at the local Kwik-Trip to start my day.
--Someone named Jeff Lindsey, a research engineer for Kimberly-Clark (one of the area's large paper producers), maintains a website where he has posted a plethora of helpful information about Appleton. I found his restaurant reviews and many of his other information about the city, informative, helpful, and accurate.
--Why doesn't Maine have a Woodmans? Woodman's is a mega-store that is employee-owned. Their prices are low, their selection is huge (I've never seen a dairy case with more brands and flavors of ice cream in my life). BTW, since their employee-owned, when you buy from them, some of the profits go back to their workers, rather than into the pockets of someone like Sam Walton, if you catch my drift.
--Staying at a budget hotel doesn't have to be a disaster. In the past, we've had some real horror stories associated with the Motel 6's, Travelodges and other budget chains (like the crack deals taking place outside our room at the Motel 6 in East Halsted, Illinois, back in '94). These experiences have turned me off to staying in the budget lodging category. However, while the La Quinta where 14 Wheaton families following the team stayed (as well as most of the Marietta parents) was economy personified, the place was clean and quiet (except for one night when the Wheaton gang commandeered the pool area). At $49/night, it served its purpose. I'm sure that the fact that it was in Wisconsin had something to do with it.
--Unfortunately, we ran out of time, as Wheaton's appearance in the championship round prevented me from making a trip to the Green Bay Packers' Hall of Fame.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Pix from the Division III World Series
Just a few pictures from the College World Series in Appleton, Wisconsin. Wheaton faces their first elimination game today.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Higher Education
This has been a busy stretch for Mary and I. With the college baseball season continuing and a pending trip to Wisconsin, for the College World Series, plus Monday’s special graduation ceremony for Mark and his baseball teammates, we’ve been riding life’s rollercoaster to the top. Yesterday, I had a busy day planned for my part-time employer and then, I rushed home to mow my lawn that has begun its transition to pasture land.
As parents, we feel very fortunate that Mark had the opportunity to attend an academically rigorous college like Wheaton. When he first began looking at colleges, Mary and I were concerned about whether or not we could afford some of the better schools that Mark was visiting. Since he was a top recruit for baseball, as well as having the kind of high school transcript and SAT scores that an academically-oriented school such as Wheaton looks for, this helped him to qualify for financial assistance that made his four years possible. While it wasn’t a cakewalk by any means for us, it quickly became apparent that Wheaton didn’t want a student body made up entirely of children of the privileged and the well-heeled.
Monday’s graduation ceremony for the baseball team was really special for several reasons. Since these eight young men were unable to march with their classmates on Saturday, due to playing in the regional championship game against USM, the school scheduled a private ceremony on Monday afternoon, in Wheaton’s historic chapel. This was more personal and much shorter than the regular one and with the rest of the baseball team and coaches in attendance, plus parents and family members, it was an intimate and very nice touch provided by the school. In addition, all the officials of the school—the dean of students, the president, the provost and others—all donned Wheaton baseball caps.
Interestingly, I just watched a documentary pertaining to the problems attending higher education in America. Declining by Degrees is a PBS film that follows 30 students and their teachers along the path of higher education. This well-written and well-produced documentary exposed many areas of concern that unless addressed, could result in some negative outcomes for future students.
I have sensed that higher education, even at some of the more prestigious schools, wasn’t as rigorous as it might have been in the past. A college degree today, particularly at some of the “cookie-cutter” state schools, unleashes graduates that are not serious scholars and not very sophisticated as thinkers. Grade inflation has a lot to do with this. Also, many classes at larger universities and colleges are not taught by professors, but are conducted by teaching assistants, often graduate students. This all contributes to the incremental “dumbing down” of our country.
While we knew that Mark’s high school, Greely High School in Cumberland was a strong public school, we didn’t know how well it had prepared him, until he went to college. Greely had instilled good study habits, to go along with an intellectual curiosity that was aided by parents who cared about the world and spoke openly about issues. As a result, Mark made the most of his four years at Wheaton.
While the film exposed many problems, especially at many larger public institutions, it also showed positive examples of schools that still do things the right way and provide an academic environment and has high expectations of its students. Highlighting Amherst College (a school with a similar focus and academic reputation as Wheaton), the documentary emphasized the smaller class sizes, close interaction between students and faculty and young students that seemed to be making the most of their opportunities.
In addition to some of the issues mentioned, the rising cost of higher education is putting it beyond the reach of many students from middle class homes and families of the working poor. In the past, America had a social contract, which said that if a student wanted to go to college, then opportunities would be provided through grants, and other means, which would ensure a college education for all students. Instead, much of that prior funding that closed gaps caused by socio-economic differences have been cut. At no time since WWII has it been more difficult to obtain financial assistance for higher education. As a result, college is no longer an option for many graduating seniors. Those students who do make it through four years, are graduating with debt loads that place an undue burden on them, as they set out on life’s journey.
If this trend continues, it will just acerbate the class divide that already exists. In addition, it will create an entire underclass with little or no hope and lead to social pathologies that are much more expensive to address on the back end. I hope that our leaders will allow others the same opportunities at an education that they received. I’m not very encouraged by the current administration of privilege, but possibly, future administrations will reinstate Pell Grants and some of the other funding opportunities that have been taken away to fund tax cuts for the wealthiest few.
On a brighter note, at least for those who know Mark and/or follow college baseball, the College World Series games will be broadcast on the web, so you can follow Mark and the Lyons, as they try to capture their first national championship. There will be a link at the official NCAA Championshp 2006 site. I’ll also try to blog a bit about the trip, the games and the Fox Cities region via my other blog, over at Write in Maine.
As parents, we feel very fortunate that Mark had the opportunity to attend an academically rigorous college like Wheaton. When he first began looking at colleges, Mary and I were concerned about whether or not we could afford some of the better schools that Mark was visiting. Since he was a top recruit for baseball, as well as having the kind of high school transcript and SAT scores that an academically-oriented school such as Wheaton looks for, this helped him to qualify for financial assistance that made his four years possible. While it wasn’t a cakewalk by any means for us, it quickly became apparent that Wheaton didn’t want a student body made up entirely of children of the privileged and the well-heeled.
Monday’s graduation ceremony for the baseball team was really special for several reasons. Since these eight young men were unable to march with their classmates on Saturday, due to playing in the regional championship game against USM, the school scheduled a private ceremony on Monday afternoon, in Wheaton’s historic chapel. This was more personal and much shorter than the regular one and with the rest of the baseball team and coaches in attendance, plus parents and family members, it was an intimate and very nice touch provided by the school. In addition, all the officials of the school—the dean of students, the president, the provost and others—all donned Wheaton baseball caps.
Interestingly, I just watched a documentary pertaining to the problems attending higher education in America. Declining by Degrees is a PBS film that follows 30 students and their teachers along the path of higher education. This well-written and well-produced documentary exposed many areas of concern that unless addressed, could result in some negative outcomes for future students.
I have sensed that higher education, even at some of the more prestigious schools, wasn’t as rigorous as it might have been in the past. A college degree today, particularly at some of the “cookie-cutter” state schools, unleashes graduates that are not serious scholars and not very sophisticated as thinkers. Grade inflation has a lot to do with this. Also, many classes at larger universities and colleges are not taught by professors, but are conducted by teaching assistants, often graduate students. This all contributes to the incremental “dumbing down” of our country.
While we knew that Mark’s high school, Greely High School in Cumberland was a strong public school, we didn’t know how well it had prepared him, until he went to college. Greely had instilled good study habits, to go along with an intellectual curiosity that was aided by parents who cared about the world and spoke openly about issues. As a result, Mark made the most of his four years at Wheaton.
While the film exposed many problems, especially at many larger public institutions, it also showed positive examples of schools that still do things the right way and provide an academic environment and has high expectations of its students. Highlighting Amherst College (a school with a similar focus and academic reputation as Wheaton), the documentary emphasized the smaller class sizes, close interaction between students and faculty and young students that seemed to be making the most of their opportunities.
In addition to some of the issues mentioned, the rising cost of higher education is putting it beyond the reach of many students from middle class homes and families of the working poor. In the past, America had a social contract, which said that if a student wanted to go to college, then opportunities would be provided through grants, and other means, which would ensure a college education for all students. Instead, much of that prior funding that closed gaps caused by socio-economic differences have been cut. At no time since WWII has it been more difficult to obtain financial assistance for higher education. As a result, college is no longer an option for many graduating seniors. Those students who do make it through four years, are graduating with debt loads that place an undue burden on them, as they set out on life’s journey.
If this trend continues, it will just acerbate the class divide that already exists. In addition, it will create an entire underclass with little or no hope and lead to social pathologies that are much more expensive to address on the back end. I hope that our leaders will allow others the same opportunities at an education that they received. I’m not very encouraged by the current administration of privilege, but possibly, future administrations will reinstate Pell Grants and some of the other funding opportunities that have been taken away to fund tax cuts for the wealthiest few.
On a brighter note, at least for those who know Mark and/or follow college baseball, the College World Series games will be broadcast on the web, so you can follow Mark and the Lyons, as they try to capture their first national championship. There will be a link at the official NCAA Championshp 2006 site. I’ll also try to blog a bit about the trip, the games and the Fox Cities region via my other blog, over at Write in Maine.
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