Wow! I'm starting to question what the point of having a blog is, if I can't even keep up with it. Truth be told, I'm about three and half months away from my last entry, however, it only seems like a few weeks ago that I wrote it. I'm not sure how to feel about this. Perhaps, I haven't really taken the time to be reflective personally or just in general past few months or so, besides a gigantic update that I sent out to some select friends (hopefully that doesn't seem all exclusive, even though the statement inherently implies that but I can't lie, they're probably the only people that show significant interest in my life, if you're one of those people and reading this, I hope a simple "thanks" will suffice. :) ) It's hard to say how life has been the past few months in a nutshell, so I won't even attempt to do that, but I'll speak on some things that have crossed my mind the past few weeks. Aside from the harsh reality that my final quarter is going to be anything but lax, I'm ready to boldly take on the task of completing this quarter and doing it well. I have a suffocating schedule, but sprinting to the finish line I think is my only option. As long as I don't collapse along the way, I will be dreaming and smiling towards bigger and better things with arms wide open and with a humble heart ready (hopefully) to seek out what the Lord has for me.
The past few weeks have been quite eventful, and the fact that school has started up has really nothing to do with that. I've been pensive about different things. The 40th anniversary of MLK Jr.'s death, seeing some inspiring spoken word poets, thinking about how wack the news is, protesting, and to my delight, I was able to see two of my best friends from college, Miguel and Kevin. It has been quite a bit to consume but still a great week and half into the quarter nonetheless.
This past week I was able to see two great friends from college, Kevin and Miguel. It was brief, and a weekend together isn't really an ideal amount of time to catch up but then again, as I get older, I realize more and more that "ideal" is less and less. In any case, it was great to catch up from where things left off. No awkwardness had developed from the lapse of time passed without much conversation. It felt like stepping into your favorite pair of shoes. It was comfortable and refreshing. We talked, and hung out, played some Rock Band, shared laughs, and it was by far one of the most simple but enjoyable weekends I have had all year.
The 40th anniversary of MLK Jr. assassination was last Friday on April 4th. If you didn't know about it, it's probably because the media didn't care about it enough spend time covering it. In fact, if you were me, I assume you probably still saw the Sean Hannitys, Glen Becks, Bill O'Reilly', Lou Dobbs, (Name of other conservative political pundit). I don't know, anyone can take their pick. These guys were probably running off the mouth about the same stuff, asserting their neo-conservative agenda on the airwaves. Why these guys have shows is beyond me, and why people even listen to their narrow-minded, non-objective material is saddening. I don't even bother. Most of the time I laugh at what they say and then I have to remind myself that I'm contributing to their ratings. Whatever though, my personal boycott would have no lasting effect on their ratings. Seriously, I already know everything these guys are going to say. Glenn Beck is going to talk about Reverend Wright's comments and attack Obama's character. Sean Hannity takes the same route. Dobbs will talk about the need to "protect" our borders and trash immigrants. At least O'Reilly has diversity, but still nonobjective. These guys will probably ride this material until the elections are finished.
Back to MLK, I was fortunate enough to see some clippings of MLK Jr's last speech that he gave. It was by far one of the greatest speeches I've ever heard. He makes Obama look like child's play, and that's not really a dis because Obama is pretty damn good, however Obama looks more rehearsed at times whereas, MLK is raw but still so finely polished. Fire in his eyes, beads of sweat making their odyssey through the pores and finding a home all across his face, the masses who bundled up to see him were brimming with hope and inspiration by the time he was done. He had the uncanny ability to speak about very real issues almost poetically. The passion inside of him left with every word that came off the tip of his tongue. He left it all on the podium and there was no doubt that he was tired every single time as it showed in his body language. It felt like every single time he gave a little of his life in speeches, but not in vain. His words, animate as they were would not cease to die off but rather, just as quickly as they left the heart and then the tongue they met the desperate ears of the masses and gave life to people who's souls were dying, whose hearts were crying, except the world never had never heard their pain before because their yells were met with silence. The crowds usually left invigorated with a new sense of life. This almost sounds Christ-like in it's effect but this is really how I perceived it. In his final speech, it's by far one of the most chilling things to see MLK look up and boldly say that he doesn't fear any man, even amidst death threats that he received constantly. It was almost as if he was looking his potential killer in the eye and telling him he didn't fear him at all because he had already seen the "promiseland". It's all a little too surreal for me and it sends chills through the body while goose bumps begin to form.
Just as chilling is the RFK's announcement (also on youtube) of MLK's death. Upon the delivery of bad news, it seemed as if the whole crowd got punched in the stomach instantaneously. Inhaling something as foul as those words in the air that evening was nothing compared to exhales of hopes lost, dreams shattered, and beliefs in a better future crushed. Truly a gripping moment in history and one that I can only imagine the power of because I wasn't even alive to experience it. However, the thought of it still stings a little and lingers like a pungent stench. In any case, the sad thought of this really isn't what stands out the most to me in RFK's speech. What is most memorable is his message of reconciliation. I'm sure in the moment he said what people wanted to hear least. People just found out that one of the nation's most courageous leader had his life taken away from him through the cowardice act of assassination, and their emotions were probably everywhere, and RFK simply tells them to love. He tells them to be the example of love that they want see in the world. Again, very Christ-like, and very counter-intuitive to the images of violence and war they were seeing or hearing about. I really can't get enough of these two speeches, because they are relevant to our time now just as they were when Christ walked the earth. The messages of love, reconciliation, and compassion are timeless. Perhaps, because they are the only ones that we can't fully comprehend, grasp, or embody ourselves. Something is extremely appealing about these terms and how they are manifested and I'm not talking about the generalized, idealized contexts in which they are presented, but because they are truly revolutionary. They are the hardest revolutions to uptake because they first require the internal revolution. The inside of us, out into the world type of revolution. They require every individual to change how they think, perceive, act, etc. Plus the track record of anyone personifying those characteristics isn't too flattering. MLK, JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, Mother Teresa, Che (debatable), Jesus (not debatable, heh). For the most part, that pattern suggests that to love is to die.
I often dream about this lifestyle. Being a part of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IV, IVCF) for four years, I remember the tag lines of "Be a world changer" and the emergence and shift in the Fellowship from being mainly evangelistic towards being more holistic in it's approach and making a strong push for social justice. This comprehensive approach was easy to criticize being birthed into a space with a lot of young people who were hungry to see the world change, but didn't know where to begin. A few years later, a few years wiser, and a few pounds heavier, I still dream. Some may consider it akin to a youthful spirit that will fade with time as I step out into the real world and "realize" what I already know. That this lifestyle is not glamorous, not easy, sometimes not fun, dangerous, no guarantees that anything I do will bring praise to God, but I remain firm in my choice to dream. These notions were further affirmed to me as I protested yesterday against homeland security on our campus (I obviously don't like the idea that the UC funds the research of independent contractors to make weapons of mass destruction, that the military especially recruits people on the lower stratum of socioeconomic ladder, and since race and class are inextricably linked that means that people of color are specifically targeted even though lower class whites are make up most of the deaths, this among other things). I don't like the militarization of the border and the building of a wall instead of bridges to ensure that we accommodate the effects of globalization that we don't think twice about imposing on other people. While chanting with a voice that that was dying and passing out flyers, I received a comment from some random cat who was passing by. He responded to my passing out of flyers by saying "No thanks, I like killing Muslims" to which I kindly responded with a forced smile, "have a nice day." This was not the first time that I have heard such comments. Heck, I've been on the end of these types of comments more than once as well. For whatever reason he said it, it made me sad to know that there are people who still feel and think this way. Even if it was said to intentionally aggravate me, it's very mentioning was unacceptable. Not that I expected it, but IV didn't prepare me for action, but this was not due to lack of effort. Plus, nobody I know or have ever heard of has really got "change" down to a science. Many times, the change seems miraculous. One thing is certain though, and that is that the fundamentals of change were rooted in dreams, love, compassion and a heart for reconciliation. For the record, I don't believe that pursuing social justice comes narrowly by means of signs and chants but rather it's just one of many ways. And so I dream...
The past few weeks have been quite eventful, and the fact that school has started up has really nothing to do with that. I've been pensive about different things. The 40th anniversary of MLK Jr.'s death, seeing some inspiring spoken word poets, thinking about how wack the news is, protesting, and to my delight, I was able to see two of my best friends from college, Miguel and Kevin. It has been quite a bit to consume but still a great week and half into the quarter nonetheless.
This past week I was able to see two great friends from college, Kevin and Miguel. It was brief, and a weekend together isn't really an ideal amount of time to catch up but then again, as I get older, I realize more and more that "ideal" is less and less. In any case, it was great to catch up from where things left off. No awkwardness had developed from the lapse of time passed without much conversation. It felt like stepping into your favorite pair of shoes. It was comfortable and refreshing. We talked, and hung out, played some Rock Band, shared laughs, and it was by far one of the most simple but enjoyable weekends I have had all year.
The 40th anniversary of MLK Jr. assassination was last Friday on April 4th. If you didn't know about it, it's probably because the media didn't care about it enough spend time covering it. In fact, if you were me, I assume you probably still saw the Sean Hannitys, Glen Becks, Bill O'Reilly', Lou Dobbs, (Name of other conservative political pundit). I don't know, anyone can take their pick. These guys were probably running off the mouth about the same stuff, asserting their neo-conservative agenda on the airwaves. Why these guys have shows is beyond me, and why people even listen to their narrow-minded, non-objective material is saddening. I don't even bother. Most of the time I laugh at what they say and then I have to remind myself that I'm contributing to their ratings. Whatever though, my personal boycott would have no lasting effect on their ratings. Seriously, I already know everything these guys are going to say. Glenn Beck is going to talk about Reverend Wright's comments and attack Obama's character. Sean Hannity takes the same route. Dobbs will talk about the need to "protect" our borders and trash immigrants. At least O'Reilly has diversity, but still nonobjective. These guys will probably ride this material until the elections are finished.
Back to MLK, I was fortunate enough to see some clippings of MLK Jr's last speech that he gave. It was by far one of the greatest speeches I've ever heard. He makes Obama look like child's play, and that's not really a dis because Obama is pretty damn good, however Obama looks more rehearsed at times whereas, MLK is raw but still so finely polished. Fire in his eyes, beads of sweat making their odyssey through the pores and finding a home all across his face, the masses who bundled up to see him were brimming with hope and inspiration by the time he was done. He had the uncanny ability to speak about very real issues almost poetically. The passion inside of him left with every word that came off the tip of his tongue. He left it all on the podium and there was no doubt that he was tired every single time as it showed in his body language. It felt like every single time he gave a little of his life in speeches, but not in vain. His words, animate as they were would not cease to die off but rather, just as quickly as they left the heart and then the tongue they met the desperate ears of the masses and gave life to people who's souls were dying, whose hearts were crying, except the world never had never heard their pain before because their yells were met with silence. The crowds usually left invigorated with a new sense of life. This almost sounds Christ-like in it's effect but this is really how I perceived it. In his final speech, it's by far one of the most chilling things to see MLK look up and boldly say that he doesn't fear any man, even amidst death threats that he received constantly. It was almost as if he was looking his potential killer in the eye and telling him he didn't fear him at all because he had already seen the "promiseland". It's all a little too surreal for me and it sends chills through the body while goose bumps begin to form.
Just as chilling is the RFK's announcement (also on youtube) of MLK's death. Upon the delivery of bad news, it seemed as if the whole crowd got punched in the stomach instantaneously. Inhaling something as foul as those words in the air that evening was nothing compared to exhales of hopes lost, dreams shattered, and beliefs in a better future crushed. Truly a gripping moment in history and one that I can only imagine the power of because I wasn't even alive to experience it. However, the thought of it still stings a little and lingers like a pungent stench. In any case, the sad thought of this really isn't what stands out the most to me in RFK's speech. What is most memorable is his message of reconciliation. I'm sure in the moment he said what people wanted to hear least. People just found out that one of the nation's most courageous leader had his life taken away from him through the cowardice act of assassination, and their emotions were probably everywhere, and RFK simply tells them to love. He tells them to be the example of love that they want see in the world. Again, very Christ-like, and very counter-intuitive to the images of violence and war they were seeing or hearing about. I really can't get enough of these two speeches, because they are relevant to our time now just as they were when Christ walked the earth. The messages of love, reconciliation, and compassion are timeless. Perhaps, because they are the only ones that we can't fully comprehend, grasp, or embody ourselves. Something is extremely appealing about these terms and how they are manifested and I'm not talking about the generalized, idealized contexts in which they are presented, but because they are truly revolutionary. They are the hardest revolutions to uptake because they first require the internal revolution. The inside of us, out into the world type of revolution. They require every individual to change how they think, perceive, act, etc. Plus the track record of anyone personifying those characteristics isn't too flattering. MLK, JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, Gandhi, Cesar Chavez, Mother Teresa, Che (debatable), Jesus (not debatable, heh). For the most part, that pattern suggests that to love is to die.
I often dream about this lifestyle. Being a part of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IV, IVCF) for four years, I remember the tag lines of "Be a world changer" and the emergence and shift in the Fellowship from being mainly evangelistic towards being more holistic in it's approach and making a strong push for social justice. This comprehensive approach was easy to criticize being birthed into a space with a lot of young people who were hungry to see the world change, but didn't know where to begin. A few years later, a few years wiser, and a few pounds heavier, I still dream. Some may consider it akin to a youthful spirit that will fade with time as I step out into the real world and "realize" what I already know. That this lifestyle is not glamorous, not easy, sometimes not fun, dangerous, no guarantees that anything I do will bring praise to God, but I remain firm in my choice to dream. These notions were further affirmed to me as I protested yesterday against homeland security on our campus (I obviously don't like the idea that the UC funds the research of independent contractors to make weapons of mass destruction, that the military especially recruits people on the lower stratum of socioeconomic ladder, and since race and class are inextricably linked that means that people of color are specifically targeted even though lower class whites are make up most of the deaths, this among other things). I don't like the militarization of the border and the building of a wall instead of bridges to ensure that we accommodate the effects of globalization that we don't think twice about imposing on other people. While chanting with a voice that that was dying and passing out flyers, I received a comment from some random cat who was passing by. He responded to my passing out of flyers by saying "No thanks, I like killing Muslims" to which I kindly responded with a forced smile, "have a nice day." This was not the first time that I have heard such comments. Heck, I've been on the end of these types of comments more than once as well. For whatever reason he said it, it made me sad to know that there are people who still feel and think this way. Even if it was said to intentionally aggravate me, it's very mentioning was unacceptable. Not that I expected it, but IV didn't prepare me for action, but this was not due to lack of effort. Plus, nobody I know or have ever heard of has really got "change" down to a science. Many times, the change seems miraculous. One thing is certain though, and that is that the fundamentals of change were rooted in dreams, love, compassion and a heart for reconciliation. For the record, I don't believe that pursuing social justice comes narrowly by means of signs and chants but rather it's just one of many ways. And so I dream...
