After two weeks in Belgium, I flew to Dallas, TX for the final week of my training. It was a pretty wild swing from one place to the other -- Belgium is almost stereotypically European, with tons of small stores, few chains, narrow streets and close spaces; Texas, on the other hand, is wide and … Continue reading (Personal) What I Brought Back From Texas
Tag: politics
(Politics) If Respect Is Mandatory, It’s Not Respect
Earlier this week I received this response from a person named Kenny Stiles to my post on why I'm boycotting the NFL this season. Kenny thinks that the league should make all players stand for the National Anthem; not doing so is "the wrong way to protest" and a slap in the face for all … Continue reading (Politics) If Respect Is Mandatory, It’s Not Respect
(Personal) Spit and Vinegar into Clear Water
I think most Buddhists, if we're really honest with ourselves deep down, flirt with the daydream of what we'd look like enlightened. I know personally I would love to resemble Budai, the eternally-laughing bodhisattva known for his jovial attitude, wisdom, contentment, and the fact that you can rub his belly for good luck. In my … Continue reading (Personal) Spit and Vinegar into Clear Water
I’m…37? Yeah, 37.
Yesterday I celebrated my 37th birthday by watching Kubo and the Two Strings, playing two rounds of mini-golf, and having a dinner out with a few friends. It was tremendously fun, and I really appreciate folks coming out to help me ring in another personal new year. I have amazing friends, and to say that … Continue reading I’m…37? Yeah, 37.
(Political) Social Justice Cleric
This is the fifth Presidential election of my politically active life, and each one has taught me something about the American public and the nature of being a responsible citizen. This one taught me perhaps the most painful but also the most important lesson: a community is only as good as the people who belong … Continue reading (Political) Social Justice Cleric
(Politics) Self-Respect as a Form of Protest
As a culture, I feel like we're bathing in a pool of reminders to consider ourselves discontent, incomplete, and unworthy. Advertising is predicated on the idea of creating a need for whatever needs to be sold, and since it's so ubiquitous we're awash in a chorus of commercials, billboards and banners that scream to us … Continue reading (Politics) Self-Respect as a Form of Protest
(Personal) Affirmations
One of the things it's been recommended we do to prepare for the Trump Administration is to learn how to be our own lights, to live our values openly and consistently. What does that mean? Well, Gandhi put it best when he said to "be the change you want to see in the world". I … Continue reading (Personal) Affirmations
(Politics) Navigating Trump’s America
Unless a miracle occurs sometime in the next two months, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States this January. If you're a liberal like me, this is an alarming fact for all kinds of reasons. The election of Trump -- who won the Electoral College but lost the … Continue reading (Politics) Navigating Trump’s America
(Politics) Feeling the Bern, But I’m Still With Her
In 2000, the very first year I was old enough to vote, I turned to Ralph Nader. I was a young voter and fairly liberal, but Al Gore just wasn't inspiring me. Nader, the Green Party candidate for that year, spoke my language with a passion that I could really get behind. Of course, since … Continue reading (Politics) Feeling the Bern, But I’m Still With Her
(Politics) In(ter)dependence Day
Today is the 240th anniversary of the birth of our nation. The Declaration of Independence was signed (at least apocryphally) on this date long, long ago. It stated that as a nation, "we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable … Continue reading (Politics) In(ter)dependence Day
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 