drew dellinger - planetize the movement

Van the Man

Tonight Van Jones received an NAACP Image Award.

Van gave some great remarks in acceptance that were humorous, inspiring and compassionate.

In conclusion, he addressed some words to Glenn Beck, saying something like:

'To Mr. Glenn Beck. I see you. I love you, brother, and there's nothing you can do about it . I love you, and there's nothing you can do about it. Let's be one country. Let's get the job done.'

Interestingly enough, just last night someone left a comment on this website that said:

"GET REAL YOU LIBERAL MORON ,VAN JONES SUCKS SO DO YOU"

Not exactly an edifying contribution to our national discussion, and somehow pathetic in its use of ALL CAPS, as if that makes a lie into a truth.

It was nice to be reminded by Van tonight that we can always choose to love, no matter what. May we continue to embody love and compassion for everyone. Our enemies are not each other, but rather our own hatred, fear, and delusion.

'Let's be one country' indeed.

bibliophilia (books to look for)

Darwin's Sacred Cause

How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution

excerpt:

"The real problem is that no one understands Darwin's core project, the nucleus of his most inflammatory research. No one has appreciated the source of that moral fire that fuelled his strange, out-of-character obsession with human origins. Understand that and Darwin can be radically reassessed.

In sounding the depths of Darwin's anti-slavery we have exploited a wealth of unpublished family letters and a massive amount of manuscript material....This, then, is the untold story of how Darwin's abhorrence of slavery led to our modern understanding of evolution."

--Adrian Desmond and James Moore,
Darwin's Sacred Cause  (HMH Books, 2009)

the poetry spot

Not the Same

When you climb
out of a black well
you are not the same

you come to
in the blue air
with a long sore scar
circling your chest
like the shoreline
of a deep new sea

your hands are webbed
inviting you
to trust yourself
in water stranger
and wilder
than you've ever known

your heart has a kick
your eyes have
a different bite
you have emerged
from some dark wonder
you can't explain

you are not the same


--Dorothy Porter

(From The Bee Hut, Black Inc. 2009.)

Lucille Clifton, 1936-2010

Lucille Clifton died February 13, 2010, at 73 years old. She was an amazing poet. If you haven't checked her out, you might enjoy doing so. Below is a poem from Ms. Clifton. Blessings for her journey and gratitude for her truth-telling voice.

the earth is a living thing

is a black shambling bear
ruffling its wild back and tossing
mountains into the sea

is a black hawk circling
the burying ground circling the bones
picked clean and discarded

is a fish black blind in the belly of water
is a diamond blind in the black belly of coal

is a black and living thing
is a favorite child
of the universe
feel her rolling her hand
in its kinky hair
feel her brushing it clean

--Lucille Clifton

lovethissong

"Through the wild cathedral evening, the rain unraveled tales."

--Bob Dylan, "Chimes of Freedom"