On my mind

Except for those who have family members in the military, there has been little for the rest of the people in the U.S. to do to let them feel they too were contributing to the “war” effort—on terrorism in the Middle East in general, in Iraq in particular. One could argue as to whether the war is right or wrong – or whether it even merits being called a war – but in terms of bringing the conflict to an end, restoring peace, helping those on the firing line, there is no rationing, no shortage of goods, no savings bonds for sale, to allow others to feel they too are involved.

A letter to the editor in this past Monday’s “Pacific Daily News,” however, could change all that. A Marine Corps major, stationed in Iraq, writes that members of the newly constituted Iraqi National Guard are making an effort to bring the anarchy under control. But, he notes, they are severely handicapped. An Iraqi lt. colonel in the National Guard that he has met, for example, is a “real bright guy, speaks good English, lived in Europe for five years, but makes only $250 a month, does not own a car, rides a bus for two hours to get to work and lives in constant fear that his family will be targeted because he is in the guard.”

Asked why he stays in the Guard, the Iraqi lt. colonel replied, “You can’t just do nothing.”

The U.S. Marine major wrote, in his letter to the “PDN,” that he has decided to give the care packages that he receives from back home to his Iraqi friend, so that the friend may distribute them to his troops and their families. “We have so much, and they have so little,” he wrote.

What a great idea! And wouldn’t it be a greater idea if more people did the same! It has been said all along that military might is not going to win the “war” on terrorism. What is needed is to show the Iraqis, and other peoples in the Middle East, that there are many people in the U.S. who do care about their plight, do want to help them, are willing to share what they have, that the U.S. is not made up only of armed military who fire missiles into their homes and torture Muslim prisoners.

Making peace with the Iraqis, with the Muslim world, will not be easy, will not happen quickly. But it will not happen without effort. And it may well be at its most successful if it happens on a one-to-one basis, with individuals there discovering that individuals here are just as human, just as caring, just as ready to help, as are their own friends and neighbors.

The major provided his e-mail address: “lukerval@hotmail.com”. Write him, and ask him what you can do to help. I know I am.

***

Much has been written about Michael Moore, the controversial director of the movie “Fahrenheit 9/11.” The movie has not shown here, and I doubt it will, since it was independently produced, and our Hollywood theater does not show independently produced films, more’s the pity. (That is why “Whale Rider” never came here, for example.)

Moore has also written several books, the most recent being, “Dude, Where’s My Country?” Judging from the reviews of his movie, the book, which I have read, shows a lot of similarities. It is loud, assertive, repetitive, hortatory, and, needless to say, strongly anti-Bush, anti-Republican. But at the end, there are two chapters that are almost worth the price of the book. Chapter 10 is titled, “How to talk to your conservative brother-in-law,” and Chapter 11 is titled, “Bush removal and other spring cleaning chores.”

In chapter 10 Moore writes, “I firmly believe that many of these conservatives can be shown the error of their ways. They can be encouraged to think differently about the issues we are concerned about, to see them in a new light that will neither threaten them nor take away the core values they hold dear.” He identifies six steps as guides.

Among them: “Journey into the mind of the conservative; Respect them the way you would like to be respected; Tell them what you like about conservatives; Admit that the left has made mistakes.” All good strategies.

Next, he offers eight issues for discussion with the hypothetical conservative brother-inlaw. On the premise that this brother-in-law is (a) concerned primarily with how things affect him, and (b) convinced that anything Democratic is going to cost money, Moore’s issues are formulated along the lines of “Paying workers more money makes you money; Health insurance for everyone will make you money; Clean air and water save you money; Stopping the drug war will save you money.” While not thorough and detailed, Moore’s supporting arguments nonetheless make a lot of sense.

Chapter 11 is not applicable to either the CNMI or Guam, since neither gets to cast a vote for president in the November election, but for those places where people can vote for president (nearly everywhere else!), the suggestions in this chapter make good sense as well. Among them: Join Kerry’ campaign. Order a bumper sticker and put it on your car. Go door to door on every Saturday in October handing out literature, making phone calls from the local candidate headquarters, holding neighborhood potlucks. Travel to a swing Congressional district and work for the Democratic candidate. Take a non-voter to lunch on election day—and see that he/she also votes.

Moore does not offer reasoned discourse. But then, few writers do nowadays. At least he is willing to stand up and disagree with the media’s prevailing conservative rhetoric, to make known the counter-statements and counter-arguments to those offered by the president’s spin-doctors.

***

A book of a very different nature is “Nurturing Civilization Builders: Birthing the Best Schools in the World.” Written by former CNMI Teacher of the Year Barbara Gilles, in conjunction with Dr. Richard S. Kirby, and due to be published next month, the book is partially autobiographical, revealing that Gilles’ life experience in various settings throughout the world were instrumental in forming her beliefs and philosophy. Gilles believes—as many others do, with far less conviction—that the future of the world lies in how and what the schools teach today’s children. If the world is to survive, Gilles says, then the world must radically change the way children are taught, and what it is that is being taught to them. She believes education’s focus should be on teaching children how to relate and interact with each other, teaching them that the world—and all peoples, as well as all living things—are a single unity, teaching them that they must respect and care not only for each other, but for all the worlds’ people, respect for all living things. To survive, people will need to focus on preserving and protecting the environment, changing the political and financial and economical infrastructure, change habits and mindsets.

That’s a tall order, and there’s no denying it’s pretty idealistic. But Gilles makes some powerful arguments in her book as to why those changes are necessary and offers some details as to how we can begin to make those changes even now.

She writes, “Our current educational model has perpetrated a great travesty: the insiduous assumption that learning is a chore, to be accomplished only under threat of punishment or promise of reward….The ideal schools of the future will have classes small enough for each child’s individuality to bloom. At the same time, they will be large enough for each child’s sense of community and appreciation of diversity to be explored and strengthened – large enough also, to reap the benefits of cross-fertilization of ideas, styles and backgrounds in ways that enrich us all.

“The ideal school of the future…will integrate all subjects and learning experiences to enhance and reinforce the level of meaning students create. The lines traditionally separating school from community will blur or even disappear, while learning and living become one. It will support an integrative, whole-systems approach to learning instead of a mechanistic worldview.” Hopefully, once published, the book will be on sale locally.

***

Short takes:

I found USGS scientist Dr. Quick’s statement—that volcano eruptions are the only natural disaster whose occurrence can now be predicted with some degree of certainty—positively amazing. Imagine! A directly relevant instance where new science offers help in coping with Mother Nature. The knowledge has been developed during just the past twenty years—though, of course, it is no doubt based on much older data as well.

*Today’s “Tribune” reports that a bill has been passed by the Senate that would allow unlimited hiring of nonresident workers for Rota—in anticipation, apparently, that the proposed Korean factory for manufacture of military backpacks would be built on there. So much for Rota’s claim to eco-tourism!

*What is it between the governor and Pacific Telecom Inc’s Jose Delgado? As soon as one objection to the sale of Verizon’s MTC to PTI, is met, the governor raises a new one. Now it’s PTI’s choice of board members, to which no restrictions had been previously identified. As far as the cable monopoly issue is concerned, does the governor know that anyone else would even be interested—given the limited demand? The thought of the gov as adversary to his own committee is strange indeed!

(The writer is a librarian by profession, and a long-term resident of the CNMI. To contact her, send e-mail to ruth.tighe@saipan.com.)