randomness

human rights watch has been going on about how the nato/u.s. bombing of civilians in afghanistan could "hurt" the war effort, that it may turn into a "public relations disaster." this, from a supposed human rights organization? they sound more like a pr firm for the white house.

diego and frida, thanks so much for sharing two wonderful days with me and my loved ones during your boston area trip. i feel very lucky to have had this time with you. pinko, it was great to see you again, and kahlo, it was a treat to meet you. you guys are a great team. i admire how you have carved out a little space where you can be yourselves, regardless of your surroundings. thanks again for hanging.

the principal of the school went on the loud speaker this morning and gave a little speech about september 11. "a moment of silence, we are all citizen soldiers in the war on terror, the world changed, blah blah blah." this from a liberal who mocks republicans left and right, but who doesn't seem to give much thought about how the us bombing of iraq and afghanistan has changed the world for millions of people, and how there are millions of people in the middle east who "can remember where they were or what they doing" when the u.s. war machine decided to turn their homeland into a genocidal madhouse. man, what self centered arrogance, what privileging of u.s. suffering, and what silence about the murder of others done by the society that has allowed this very same principal to do quite well for himself. therefore, his silence should come as no surprise. yes, he is allowed to mock republicans, but not criticize the system. he is allowed to be a corporate liberal, but not a radical progressive. a moment of silence? how about a moment of silence for the "thousands and thousands" who lost their lives as a result of the coup in chile, also on september 11, 35 years ago today? the coup could never have happened without the support and funding of the cia. of course, there will be no moment of silence for that. in fact, it will likely not even be taught in any history classes offered at this "liberal" school, in this "liberal" town. in iraq today, a third of the population has either been killed, injured, or displaced, by the nearly 6 year marathon of destruction initiated by our government. we have had not one moment of silence for any of those millions, i would be willing to bet, in any public school in this country. in fact, if this "liberal" town attempted to do this, all the conservative people who seem to live in this liberal town, including many who call themselves liberal, would throw a fit. they would yell treason, call the school and its principal unpatriotic, there would be condemnations fron local media, and perhaps even federal investigations. yes, my friend, the limits of liberalism are profound.

so, here we have the accepted contrast between schools. town a has a mandatory pledge, and each class must fly the flag. town b does not do the pledge and teachers can decide if they want to fly the flag. however, neither town a or b has either the courage or wisdom to question u.s. foreign policy, neither town a or town b values the lives of people in other countries, and neither town a or town b tells the truth about our society and the brutality that is fundamental to its operation. when looked at this way, it becomes essentially meaningless whether a school is "good" or "bad", or whether the achievement gap is being closed, "or whether sat or standardized test scores went up. such tinkering within a system beyond redemption is nothing less than contemptible.

i have the privilege of working for an award winning headmaster and at a school ranked number 1 out of all the all the public schools in the state. but take it from me, we are no closer to wisdom and truth than anywhere else. as i have said before, school takes time away from education.

and now, i think i am ready for a moment of silence.