Winning strategies are an important part of community organizing. The idea that service users should be from the community that are interested in changing is not a new thing. In fact, an example is mentioned in the book-where Germans and British in 1914 (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 405), sang Silent Night to each other in English and German, taking a break from the fighting in the trenches of WWI A unique way of organizing is to have creative ways of changing, as opposed to the traditional ways of social action and community building and development.
Social action has an emphasis on “internal change through consciousness raising and changing” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 357). Community building is “engaging a community to improve itself” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 122). In both types of community organizing, one needs goals, constituents, targets, and tactics. The social worker should be able to draw out the pieces which comprise this type of organizing. Often, the people, the ignored, the marginalized, the unwanted, serve as community guides in leading the community endeavor.
But, a newer tradition has established itself in community organizing-creative links to group consciousness. There are three of these creative means: “innovation, narration, and liberation tradition” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 410). There are four types of these traditions: “arts and cultural work, popular education, film, video, and radio productions, and public education”
(Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 411). I really appreciate these traditions, especially music and poetry and the life that they play in innovating groups of people to lead the community. Cultural activism in the forms of music, paintings, and poetry is what brings people together in political unity. “Cultural work can transform consciousness, can perform the acts of political education that, combined with community activism , makes social change transformational” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 412). Feminist theory also uses cultural activism to unite people. With the use of dreams, stories, journals, art, theatre, myths, etc. women can connect with other women and
make their point known and visible. Women also connect with men sometimes, when men show that the “practice of caring about others is not inherently female; both genders exhibit it when encouraged and socialized to do so” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 413). Both women and cultural activism are used to expose injustices and to create unity and social justice for those marginalized, oppressed peoples, who struggle for fairness and rights.
Another person who greatly influenced the learning process, and practiced it with indigenous peoples and functional illiterates was Paulo Freire. He published two books-one of which is called “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” (Hardcastle and Powers. 2004. p. 414), the other being called “Pedagogy of Hope” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 414). He was able to immerse himself in the lives of oppressed people, and he engaged people and their worldview in his work with social, “political and critical consciousness” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 414).
Narration is another way that liberation and empowerment can be used by people of non-dominant influence to face the dominant culture and to write positive narratives for themselves. As people write their own narratives, they will discover a wealth of tales previously untold, which have strength and power. It connects people, making them a united voice in the struggle for freedom.
REFERENCES:
Hardcastle & Powers. (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. pp. 391-420. New York: Oxford University Press.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
ADVOCACY
As J.C. Wakefield (1994, p. 3) says at the beginning of this chapter, chapter 13,
from a quote of his: "Economic goods are not the only kind of goods that are subject to considerations of justice; a minimal amount of a wide variety of social and psychological goods is also owed to each member of society as a matter of justice." Advocacy is defined as having "a role in transforming private troubles into public issues or personal problems into social issues. It has a role in challenging inhumane conditions at a micro- or macrolevel" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 356).
Social action, as opposed to advocacy, has a wider goal. Its distinguishing feature is "its emphasis on internal change through consciousness raising and changing. (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 357). Three progressive forms of change are seen by the blending of advocacy and action. (1) is guaranteeing everyone's human rights;
(2)joining in on the decisions of society and sharing the rewards; (3)transforming our society into a better one, and making it happen. "All three manifestations of change make invisible groups more visible, address social misery and disenfranchisement, link individuals, and presuppose the advocate's optimism or hope" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 357-358). Transformation is a wealthy word here. "Transformation is proceeded by visions of a different world..." (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 359). Revolution is often a part of transformation. In the case of a child who burnt down a house with a lighter, killing his brother, is often made to feel guilty. But, when the safety features of the lighter are looked at, it can be seen that the lighter was poorly designed with no child-proofing on it. It was to blame for the fire. There are six types of advocacy-ranging from self-advocacy to systems advocacy. Often we, as client's advocates, are in a position to change their lives. In social work, self-advocacy includes helping others to help their own situation, as well as themselves. Social workers use self-determination when working with others. SW's assist others to feel listened to and respected. Group advocacy often exists without a social worker to advocate for them. The more people you have in a group, the more education one will get, and information is the key to advocacy. A social worker working with group advocates has to learn to relate to them as individuals. We must work with them, not for them. To challenge the status quo, one must partake in community advocacy. Five ideas were presented for working with community advocacy. They are: (1) organizing events that reinforce the quality of the community; (2) Reinforce the status quo; (3) an advocate may demand that resources be made public; (4) local government should be responsible to those advocating for change; and (5) citizens who are advocating for change must be treated with justice and dignity.
One of the greatest senators that I have ever heard of was while we were in Minnesota-Senator Paul Wellstone. He worked tirelessly for the people. He would have his "helpers" drive around in an old "hippie bus" to different "people" events. He was for the oppressed, the mentally ill (he advocated for parity a long time before parity was passed), those who were on the low rung of society's ladder. He was against the Iraq War, but his life was cut short, by a still uninvestigated plane crash. The night he died, we were all aware of what had been lost, and what it was that had been taken from us. Senator Paul Wellstone was a prime example of a political advocate. Although not many people from high-up in the political sphere, are anywhere near as influential as Paul Wellstone. Most political advocates are everyday citizens who are working to change the political atmosphere of our country, states, counties, and cities.
Systems change is the final case presented in the types of change. "Institutional change implies widespread and basic alteration despite strong resistance" (Brager. 1967. p. 370). Many people advocate for systems changes, especially for corporate structures (the corporatocracy) and for politically unjust countries where the ruling class has all the money while the people live in extreme poverty.
I thought that it was interesting that our text recommended us to be aware of our supervisors, and to be aware of how they relate to internal (making changes for the client inside an agency) or external (where change occurs outside of one's employee) changes. Those supervisors in authority, such as our field supervisor, can be intimidating. Employees and clients may react to supervisors, or to anyone having the power, with "awe, avoidance, and anger" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 380).
Advocacy skills are to be kept with the client in mind and in action. If you are representing him/her as a client, it is important to empower them, and to consider their needs, and their self-determination.
References
Brager, G. (1967). Institutional Change: Parameters of the possible. p.. 61 In Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community Practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers P.R. (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wakefield, J.C. (1994). Debate with author of “Social work and social control: A reply to Austin.” In Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
from a quote of his: "Economic goods are not the only kind of goods that are subject to considerations of justice; a minimal amount of a wide variety of social and psychological goods is also owed to each member of society as a matter of justice." Advocacy is defined as having "a role in transforming private troubles into public issues or personal problems into social issues. It has a role in challenging inhumane conditions at a micro- or macrolevel" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 356).
Social action, as opposed to advocacy, has a wider goal. Its distinguishing feature is "its emphasis on internal change through consciousness raising and changing. (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 357). Three progressive forms of change are seen by the blending of advocacy and action. (1) is guaranteeing everyone's human rights;
(2)joining in on the decisions of society and sharing the rewards; (3)transforming our society into a better one, and making it happen. "All three manifestations of change make invisible groups more visible, address social misery and disenfranchisement, link individuals, and presuppose the advocate's optimism or hope" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 357-358). Transformation is a wealthy word here. "Transformation is proceeded by visions of a different world..." (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 359). Revolution is often a part of transformation. In the case of a child who burnt down a house with a lighter, killing his brother, is often made to feel guilty. But, when the safety features of the lighter are looked at, it can be seen that the lighter was poorly designed with no child-proofing on it. It was to blame for the fire. There are six types of advocacy-ranging from self-advocacy to systems advocacy. Often we, as client's advocates, are in a position to change their lives. In social work, self-advocacy includes helping others to help their own situation, as well as themselves. Social workers use self-determination when working with others. SW's assist others to feel listened to and respected. Group advocacy often exists without a social worker to advocate for them. The more people you have in a group, the more education one will get, and information is the key to advocacy. A social worker working with group advocates has to learn to relate to them as individuals. We must work with them, not for them. To challenge the status quo, one must partake in community advocacy. Five ideas were presented for working with community advocacy. They are: (1) organizing events that reinforce the quality of the community; (2) Reinforce the status quo; (3) an advocate may demand that resources be made public; (4) local government should be responsible to those advocating for change; and (5) citizens who are advocating for change must be treated with justice and dignity.
One of the greatest senators that I have ever heard of was while we were in Minnesota-Senator Paul Wellstone. He worked tirelessly for the people. He would have his "helpers" drive around in an old "hippie bus" to different "people" events. He was for the oppressed, the mentally ill (he advocated for parity a long time before parity was passed), those who were on the low rung of society's ladder. He was against the Iraq War, but his life was cut short, by a still uninvestigated plane crash. The night he died, we were all aware of what had been lost, and what it was that had been taken from us. Senator Paul Wellstone was a prime example of a political advocate. Although not many people from high-up in the political sphere, are anywhere near as influential as Paul Wellstone. Most political advocates are everyday citizens who are working to change the political atmosphere of our country, states, counties, and cities.
Systems change is the final case presented in the types of change. "Institutional change implies widespread and basic alteration despite strong resistance" (Brager. 1967. p. 370). Many people advocate for systems changes, especially for corporate structures (the corporatocracy) and for politically unjust countries where the ruling class has all the money while the people live in extreme poverty.
I thought that it was interesting that our text recommended us to be aware of our supervisors, and to be aware of how they relate to internal (making changes for the client inside an agency) or external (where change occurs outside of one's employee) changes. Those supervisors in authority, such as our field supervisor, can be intimidating. Employees and clients may react to supervisors, or to anyone having the power, with "awe, avoidance, and anger" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 380).
Advocacy skills are to be kept with the client in mind and in action. If you are representing him/her as a client, it is important to empower them, and to consider their needs, and their self-determination.
References
Brager, G. (1967). Institutional Change: Parameters of the possible. p.. 61 In Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community Practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers P.R. (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wakefield, J.C. (1994). Debate with author of “Social work and social control: A reply to Austin.” In Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
SOCIAL MARKETING
As defined by Andreasen, social marketing is "the application of marketing technologies developed in the commercial sector to the solution of social problems where the bottom line is behavior change" (Andreasen. 1995. p. 3). This is increasingly being looked at in our ever expanding, chaotic and global world. Although I had originally thought of social marketing with horror, I can now see its point, at least a little bit. The idea of competition does not seem right when you are working to better people's status', and positions in the the "real world," and enable them to function in a not-as-vulnerable environment. As Hardcastle and Powers (2004) say in the book, as adherents to the view of marketing, as "unprofessional and inhumane" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 323). They assume that those using marketing skills as consumers are ignorant and possessing of low consciousness levels. Educating clients and consumers about the products and services that they need and use is one of the reasons for a market technology. Social marketing has three defining traits: (1) "to benefit target individuals or society, and not the marketer; (2) the means of achieving improved social welfare is through influencing and...bringing about behavior change; and (3) the target audience is the core determinant of marketing strategies and processes" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 330). The book talks about conservative, political right-wingers, use techniques such as "staging" and "false front interest groups" to sway the public over to their side (Hardcastle & Powers, 2004. p. 332). There are six components to a clever marketing scheme. They are: (1) Probing; (2) Purchasers; (3) Products; (4) Price; (5) Place; and (6) Promotion. (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 333). TMS, or Target Market Segments, have as their most important people "the purchasers, donors or resource suppliers" (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 336).
A belief in the products and services that produce gains, for example my going back for an MSW at this time in my life, has been an interesting experience. My life has changed. I no longer see friends as often as I did, money is tighter, but most of all, my sleep has changed tremendously. I am up all hours of the day and night, trying to get assignments done and read the texts and many papers associated with the texts. This has been a lifestyle price. I also have some psyche price that I am paying. As an older graduate student, I have taken on a role that I love to play-as a student. But, I did not realize the repercussions that I would experience as an older student. Although the class accepts me somewhat, there is a segment of the class that just ignores me. Is it worth the psychic pain that I experience? Yes, I would say so. For I realize that I am not going to school to have experiences that the other students have, but to learn how to serve others-a long-time goal of mine.
References
Andreasen, A.R. (1995). Marketing social change: Changing behavior to promote health, social development, and the environment. In Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. p. 522. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hardcastle, D.A., & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
A belief in the products and services that produce gains, for example my going back for an MSW at this time in my life, has been an interesting experience. My life has changed. I no longer see friends as often as I did, money is tighter, but most of all, my sleep has changed tremendously. I am up all hours of the day and night, trying to get assignments done and read the texts and many papers associated with the texts. This has been a lifestyle price. I also have some psyche price that I am paying. As an older graduate student, I have taken on a role that I love to play-as a student. But, I did not realize the repercussions that I would experience as an older student. Although the class accepts me somewhat, there is a segment of the class that just ignores me. Is it worth the psychic pain that I experience? Yes, I would say so. For I realize that I am not going to school to have experiences that the other students have, but to learn how to serve others-a long-time goal of mine.
References
Andreasen, A.R. (1995). Marketing social change: Changing behavior to promote health, social development, and the environment. In Hardcastle, D.A. & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. p. 522. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hardcastle, D.A., & Powers, P.R. (2004) Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. New York: Oxford University Press.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Robert Van Alstine
A once homeless man was murdered on Wednesday, November 18th. He was part of our program at Street Outreach Services (S.O.S.). He had been living in a transitional living situation with several other men. He was an active member of the program, and regularly attended groups and activities put on by S.O.S. He was a very gentle man, who loved to barbecue for others in the house where he lived, and for the women living next door to him. He had gone out drinking with a friend to Fields Landing Tuesday night. Around 4:30 am, he was heard banging on a door and calling for help. Robert Van Alstine, aged 30, was found by a man answering the door, mortally wounded. They called an ambulance, and took him to a local hospital, where he died around noon, Wednesday afternoon. He had been stabbed to death. The circumstances surrounding his torment and death remain unknown at this time.
I remember Robert as a quiet, lonely man. He had a tattoo over and under his eye-a vertical stripe, and several other tattoos on his person, including an anarchy symbol on his neck. He would be on the sofa, watching television, when we went to pick him up for group. He was always there. I remember once going with Robert and a group of people from S.O.S. to the pier on Woodley Island. He was like a child, exploring the water and the sea life. He was fascinated by the jelly fish in the water. He put his hand in the water, retrieved them, and gently released them back into the water. He did this several times, each time his fascination grew.
Robert did not say very much about himself. He was aware of everything going on around him, but he contributed little to the conversation. His presence will be greatly missed by the clients and staff at S.O.S. and the Hope Center, where he would hang out with his peers. I, personally, was effected by his death. I was at first very angry with him and the murderer. I wrote a poem in my head to the murderer, asking him in not very nice terms, how he could live with himself? Why did Robert go out drinking, when it was forbidden in the house? My anger dissipated and my tears and compassion took over. Why you, Robert? You, the quiet one, the shy one? You who would help anyone with a need. Your time of pain and suffering are over. May you be at peace, Robert, and may the one who took your hard, beautiful life be reprimanded.
This gets into a discussion on prisoners. I am of the belief that prisoners are also victims. I would like it if we could tear the prisons down and start over again. Give everyone a chance. I realize that some prisoners are dangerous, and should be kept locked up for society's sake. But most prisoners are victims of their upbringing. If only we could prevent their eventual fall into this lifestyle, of committing crimes, being imprisoned, let out, and the cycle begins again.
I do not believe in the death penalty. If Robert's murderer were to get the death penalty, I would protest it.
For every man and woman should get another chance at life. Until a man takes his last breath, he should be given the chance to reform himself. This is my belief. The fact that putting a man to death does nothing to bring back the life of another. It is a cruel, barbaric practice. Why is the death count in the United States so high? Retribution is not worth it. When we have restorative justice practiced in the U.S., then we'll have peace.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
NETWORKS AND NETWORKING
First of all, I do not agree with these authors' views. Although he says some things that I agree with, like the fact that, "Interdependence and fair exchanges foster network cohesion and solidarity" (Hardcastle and Powers, 2004. p. 297). But, I believe that labor organizing and community organizing are two separate processes. Community organizing, as a process, is for people who are stuck in unmitigating circumstances; whereas labor organizing is for a company that is bargaining with its workers. The fact that people are referred to as "units" is dehumanizing and demoralizing.
I see networking as an important process in social work. Networking, as defined by Barker (2003) in The Social Work Dictionary, is: "efforts to enhance and develop the social linkages that might exist between people. These efforts include strengthening the supportive quality of existing networks, establishing new ones, creating linkages among the various networks to promote more competent support, and mobilizing these networks" (p. 294). In our book, bargaining is the most widely used strategy (a win-lose situation). A win-win situation is collaboration and cooperation. I do not see why these methods are not used more often. Although, for marginalized people, core beliefs are motivating us to function on their behalf. What I take issue with are the rules of engagement. "These rules govern where the bargaining will occur; the length and nature of the sessions; the format, agenda, and procedures; and even the shape of the bargaining table," (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 304), which is petty and trivial where people's lives and struggles are concerned. The dominant culture has to pursue these unimportant things, like the shape of the bargaining table, to maintain control of the people. If we want to fight for people's rights, we have to remain in solidarity with them and not worry about the rules of engagement.
References:
Barker, R.L. (2003). The Social Work Dictionary. (5th Ed.). USA: NASW.
Hardcastle, D.A., & Powers, P.R. (with Wenocur, S.) (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. (2nd Ed.). New York:
Oxford University Press.
I see networking as an important process in social work. Networking, as defined by Barker (2003) in The Social Work Dictionary, is: "efforts to enhance and develop the social linkages that might exist between people. These efforts include strengthening the supportive quality of existing networks, establishing new ones, creating linkages among the various networks to promote more competent support, and mobilizing these networks" (p. 294). In our book, bargaining is the most widely used strategy (a win-lose situation). A win-win situation is collaboration and cooperation. I do not see why these methods are not used more often. Although, for marginalized people, core beliefs are motivating us to function on their behalf. What I take issue with are the rules of engagement. "These rules govern where the bargaining will occur; the length and nature of the sessions; the format, agenda, and procedures; and even the shape of the bargaining table," (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 304), which is petty and trivial where people's lives and struggles are concerned. The dominant culture has to pursue these unimportant things, like the shape of the bargaining table, to maintain control of the people. If we want to fight for people's rights, we have to remain in solidarity with them and not worry about the rules of engagement.
References:
Barker, R.L. (2003). The Social Work Dictionary. (5th Ed.). USA: NASW.
Hardcastle, D.A., & Powers, P.R. (with Wenocur, S.) (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. (2nd Ed.). New York:
Oxford University Press.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
International Social Work
International social work is based on a society which is living in chronic poverty and chronic hunger, as one of its manifestations. In rural areas throughout the world, working the land to provide nourishment to its people, as well as to making microbusiness ventures with other countries with the fruits of their labors, is one way that social workers can be involved in eradicating hunger and poverty. As defined by the Brundtland Commission, called Our Common Future (Schobert, & Barron. 2004. p. 182), it was said that: “the essence of sustainable development is ‘a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development, and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations’” (World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987. p. 46). Every poor, hungry country looks for this, to meet their human capacities and to ensure health and safety for their members.
The World Hunger Relief, Inc. (WHRI), an agribusiness intervention, works to promote development and end hunger in countries that are developing. They train and educate others in sustainable agriculture, which consists of animal husbandry as well as crop production (Scales & Streeter, 2004. p. 184). In Ferrier, Haiti, a rural community with a population of about 4,000 people which suffers from chronic poverty and chronic hunger, WHRI went in, along with several other organizations, to produce both fruits and vegetables, and to start a small animal husbandry. The project was a success for about three years, when political unrest forced its hand, and an international embargo on Haiti allowing the production of fruits and vegetables to eat, but not as a cash crop to be exported to the U.S. The members of the cooperative decided to “fell the trees to supply much-needed firewood, lumber, and charcoal” (Scales & Streeter. 2004. p. 185).
Social workers are able to “effectively employ interpersonal and group skills to identify problems, to mobilize strengths and assets, and to forge collaborative alliances to empower communities” (Scales & Streeter. 2004. p. 188).
The idea of working with rural communities in developing countries is intriguing. It is not that we, as a nation, do not have impoverished neighborhoods with hungry children in them. Or sections of the country where medical care is non-existent. In America, at least in North America, hunger and poverty is not an all-encompassing problem as it is in some developing countries. And, if we were to work with the skills and mindsets that we learned in graduate school, we could possibly do a lot for promoting world-wide peace and advocating for the rights of human beings.
Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.), (2004). Rural social work: building and sustaining assets. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Schobert, F.M. & Barron, D.A. ( 1987). Community development in an international setting: The role of sustainable agriculture in social work practice. In Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.), (2004). Rural social work: building and sustaining community assets. (p. 182). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. In Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.), (2004). Rural social work: building and sustaining community assets. (p. 182). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
The World Hunger Relief, Inc. (WHRI), an agribusiness intervention, works to promote development and end hunger in countries that are developing. They train and educate others in sustainable agriculture, which consists of animal husbandry as well as crop production (Scales & Streeter, 2004. p. 184). In Ferrier, Haiti, a rural community with a population of about 4,000 people which suffers from chronic poverty and chronic hunger, WHRI went in, along with several other organizations, to produce both fruits and vegetables, and to start a small animal husbandry. The project was a success for about three years, when political unrest forced its hand, and an international embargo on Haiti allowing the production of fruits and vegetables to eat, but not as a cash crop to be exported to the U.S. The members of the cooperative decided to “fell the trees to supply much-needed firewood, lumber, and charcoal” (Scales & Streeter. 2004. p. 185).
Social workers are able to “effectively employ interpersonal and group skills to identify problems, to mobilize strengths and assets, and to forge collaborative alliances to empower communities” (Scales & Streeter. 2004. p. 188).
The idea of working with rural communities in developing countries is intriguing. It is not that we, as a nation, do not have impoverished neighborhoods with hungry children in them. Or sections of the country where medical care is non-existent. In America, at least in North America, hunger and poverty is not an all-encompassing problem as it is in some developing countries. And, if we were to work with the skills and mindsets that we learned in graduate school, we could possibly do a lot for promoting world-wide peace and advocating for the rights of human beings.
Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.), (2004). Rural social work: building and sustaining assets. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Schobert, F.M. & Barron, D.A. ( 1987). Community development in an international setting: The role of sustainable agriculture in social work practice. In Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.), (2004). Rural social work: building and sustaining community assets. (p. 182). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
World Commission on Environment and Development. (1987). Our common future. In Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.), (2004). Rural social work: building and sustaining community assets. (p. 182). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
VISIONARIES AND RISK TAKERS
I liked what it said in our text, (Hardcastle and Powers. 2004), that “social workers must be visionaries and risk takers, able to formulate fresh approaches and challenge the status quo” (p. 211). This is one of the reasons that I am becoming a social worker. I would like to assist others who are in oppressive and marginalized states, and do so in my internship, as well as in my life. In my internship, I help in empowering the homeless, looking for ways to reinforce their living situations, while helping them to see a safer, more predictable way of living than on the streets.
The violence that they experience is not from each other, but from those people who are looking to hurt or injure them-kids and others who fail to recognize themselves in each of the homeless ones. That is a big part of working with vulnerable populations, the fact that we are just one paycheck, or job, away from being in the same or similar situations. “There but for fortune go you and I” (Ochs, P. 1970). I see the homeless as very much abused by and negative toward society. As children, a lot of (in fact, most of the currently homeless), were mistreated as young ones. This continued throughout their lives-in domestic violence situations, in the despair that follows from this treatment, and wondering if they have a right to protest the society in which they find themselves in-a society which is fraught with injustices: crimes of white collar workers; wars which have devastated nations and peoples; drugs, both legal and illegal, which have wasted the best and brightest of minds; medical “advances” which have saved many lives, but also have caused new diseases to crop up. Once safe drugs could “cure” these diseases, but now they have become resistant to the antibiotics to treat them; as well as the crimes of ordinary criminals, such as assault, battery, stealing, lying, and murder. No matter where the crime originates, the effect is the same. It turns people away from their source of goodness and their humanity. I believe that abuse and crimes perpetuated on children will be repaid on those who initiated the abuse or crimes. The web of life continues and we constantly devastate the land, her people, and our nations. The cycle of abuse goes on and on.
Hardcastle and Powers. (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. (2nd ed.) New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Ochs, P. (1970) There but for fortune [Recorded by J. Baez]. On The First 10 Years [vinyl]. Side one, track # 5.
The violence that they experience is not from each other, but from those people who are looking to hurt or injure them-kids and others who fail to recognize themselves in each of the homeless ones. That is a big part of working with vulnerable populations, the fact that we are just one paycheck, or job, away from being in the same or similar situations. “There but for fortune go you and I” (Ochs, P. 1970). I see the homeless as very much abused by and negative toward society. As children, a lot of (in fact, most of the currently homeless), were mistreated as young ones. This continued throughout their lives-in domestic violence situations, in the despair that follows from this treatment, and wondering if they have a right to protest the society in which they find themselves in-a society which is fraught with injustices: crimes of white collar workers; wars which have devastated nations and peoples; drugs, both legal and illegal, which have wasted the best and brightest of minds; medical “advances” which have saved many lives, but also have caused new diseases to crop up. Once safe drugs could “cure” these diseases, but now they have become resistant to the antibiotics to treat them; as well as the crimes of ordinary criminals, such as assault, battery, stealing, lying, and murder. No matter where the crime originates, the effect is the same. It turns people away from their source of goodness and their humanity. I believe that abuse and crimes perpetuated on children will be repaid on those who initiated the abuse or crimes. The web of life continues and we constantly devastate the land, her people, and our nations. The cycle of abuse goes on and on.
References
Hardcastle and Powers. (2004). Community practice: Theories and skills for social workers. (2nd ed.) New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Ochs, P. (1970) There but for fortune [Recorded by J. Baez]. On The First 10 Years [vinyl]. Side one, track # 5.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
THE CANARY EFFECT
Last night I saw a documentary on Native Americans. It was a powerful, perceptive portrayal of what we have been studying throughout the Master’s of social work program. It was called “The Canary Effect.” For those of us who attended this filming, we were awe-inspired. It drove home the patriarchy of manifest destiny. It spoke of the battered and bruised and despairing lives of those on the reservation, and in our cities, who are accosted with an enormously high suicide rate (10 times the national average), the scourge of alcoholism, the rate of unemployment (at 85% on some reservations), the effect of environmental atrocities on reservation lands which result in unsafe, unsuitable drinking water for the population, high rates of domestic violence, child abuse and neglect-which are rampant, high crime rates, including murder, and a number of other social ills which plague the Native peoples. What have we done to them? What are we responsible for?
In Red Lake, Minnesota, on March 21, 2005, a horrific crime was perpetrated in the school there. A young 16 year old boy killed a teacher and a security guard, a policeman, and his grandfather-who also was a policeman, as well as five students and finally, himself. Jeffrey Weise’s father committed suicide. His mother sustained a brain injury in an automobile accident. He was living with his grandfather at the time of the shooting. This was the worst shooting since the Columbine massacre in Colorado. I had heard of the shooting in Minnesota when we were living in Eureka. It was downplayed quite a bit-there was no public outcry for the victims-as there was for the Columbine slaughter. This was a horrendous catastrophe. It left those of us who saw it, with many questions and much sadness. It is the boredom of reservation Natives that we have contributed to. It was brought up again tonight, in this excellent film.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
In Red Lake, Minnesota, on March 21, 2005, a horrific crime was perpetrated in the school there. A young 16 year old boy killed a teacher and a security guard, a policeman, and his grandfather-who also was a policeman, as well as five students and finally, himself. Jeffrey Weise’s father committed suicide. His mother sustained a brain injury in an automobile accident. He was living with his grandfather at the time of the shooting. This was the worst shooting since the Columbine massacre in Colorado. I had heard of the shooting in Minnesota when we were living in Eureka. It was downplayed quite a bit-there was no public outcry for the victims-as there was for the Columbine slaughter. This was a horrendous catastrophe. It left those of us who saw it, with many questions and much sadness. It is the boredom of reservation Natives that we have contributed to. It was brought up again tonight, in this excellent film.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Thursday, October 8, 2009
COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION
In Streeter and Scales, chapter five discusses the integral parts of individuals, and the seeming dichotomy between them. On the one hand, you have a culture of individualists who are involved in the mass “production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services” (Scales & Streeter, 2004, p. 55), versus those who are into protecting and saving the environment, and much like the Native peoples, are dealing with the devastation of the natural world by mistaken consumers. They were the ones clearing the land to build houses, fishing the waters to provide food for their people, hunting the buffalo, and killing the Native peoples, who wished to remain on the side of protection and sustainability. But, living in society as we do, a blend or cooperation of both sides to this matter, is important. There are some good things that the white man did. For instance, he provided for education, for the arts, for musical events, for libraries, for hospitals and medical care, for fountains, for the preservation of parks, etc. In our global society, these things are good.
It is important for us to be organized and to cooperate with one another. In a world where resources are fewer and fewer, and jobs are becoming fewer and fewer, the social worker strives to meet these balances by providing services to the hurting, the poor, and the marginalized. In a perfect world, we would have enough of these services to provide for everyone. But being that we live in an imperfect world, we will have to make do by building community assets and community capacity. To collaborate with other communities who are experiencing similar problems as our community is having, is the most significant procedure.
Scales, T.L., & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.) (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. p. 55. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
It is important for us to be organized and to cooperate with one another. In a world where resources are fewer and fewer, and jobs are becoming fewer and fewer, the social worker strives to meet these balances by providing services to the hurting, the poor, and the marginalized. In a perfect world, we would have enough of these services to provide for everyone. But being that we live in an imperfect world, we will have to make do by building community assets and community capacity. To collaborate with other communities who are experiencing similar problems as our community is having, is the most significant procedure.
Scales, T.L., & Streeter, C.L. (Eds.) (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. p. 55. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
RURAL IS REAL
In Scales and Streeter’s book, Rural Social Work (2004), in chapter 4 on Rural Is Real, the author states that “Human relationships tend to be more genuine among rural people. The potential is great for a small group of committed individuals to achieve something of lasting impact or meaningful change” (Yevuta, 1999, p. 43). I believe that this can be true of rural social work-in that the contacts which you make are smaller and more intense with the people that you meet. In a suburban or urban environment, the contacts that you make are more spread out, and you are less likely to spend an adequate amount of time with them. I would like it very much, if I were to work in a rural environment and get to know the people of that environment. Of course, the ethical dilemma that comes to the fore, is one of multiple relationships. This dilemma, which I’m sure that all social workers at sometime have to meet, can best be met by doing your assigned job while using a strengths perspective and respecting the right of the other to be aided and assisted. If one remembers that the natural assets of people are important, and to help them in a culturally sensitive way, I believe that the social worker will be able to function. But, one must keep this in mind at all times when working with other people.
Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Yevuta, M.A. (1999). In Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. p. 43. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Yevuta, M.A. (1999). In Scales, T.L. & Streeter, C.L. (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. p. 43. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
RURAL SOCIAL WORK
One thing that I particularly like about HSU’s approach to social work is their commitment to a practice with Native peoples, and an emphasis in studying about their history, their role in a rural environment, and their current strengths, as well as their struggles, despite these hardships. They are a resilient people and are to be admired and treated with respect and compassion. Studying about them has been a very enlightening experience, and one which I will always treasure. In light of our class on Communities, this subject matter is a potent one. The book, Rural Social Work, does provide us with a taste of what it was, and is, like to be a Native person, and how social work developed among rural peoples. I wonder, at times, what this area, Humboldt Co., would have been like if the Native population were left alone to develop, or not develop, the land which lies amidst the Redwoods and the sea. What would have happened to the land if the white man hadn’t confiscated it, and the Native peoples were allowed to flourish and grow at their own pace and in their own time? Could this have happened? I think so, if not for the greediness of the white man, and his desire to possess and control everything, including the land.
But, since the white man did place Native peoples on reservations, did clear-cut the land, and did fish the lakes, streams, and oceans, as well as pollute the waters and the skies and the air we try to breathe, humankind looks toward a government that will take care of them and their ways, including a social welfare system. Although the book says that rural areas are “dynamic and rapidly changing” (Scales & Streeter, 2004, p. 44), we hold onto a “romantic notion [which] portrays rural America as made up of pristine, sedate, unchanging pockets of nostalgia” (Scales & Streeter, 2004, p. 44). Social work is a product of this notion. Progress, as such, is a white man’s view of the world. Sure, we have medical care systems, systems of education, libraries, an agricultural system that produces mass amounts of food and transports it to far-away places throughout the world, etc., etc. Even the terms gemeinschaft and gesellschaft, which represent the ideas of community and rural ways of life vs. urban and an impersonal way of life, originated in Germany, a white-man centered country. It is all about relationships. And, because of relationships, we have a program known as social work. It is about systems of social concern, systems made up of “progressive” men from European cultures, and socialization. But, have we really progressed? Daily, we live under a threat of nuclear war and annihilation by other “socialized” countries; we kill and maim other people in wars, as well as our own people; we terrorize our own children by our words and actions, leaving them crying into the dark night. Yet, we move on, as a society, as a nation, as a world. Globally, which is how we now think of the world, we can only see our little place in it. But, we must be able to see our place in that world. And that world for me, is to aid others, and to see that we can affect others lives-as other people have affected my life. I would like to give back to that small, little world that I exist in, something that others have given to me-a sense that life is worth the living, because its alternative will only happen much too soon. As we all move towards a time of death, may we all see a hope in the light, and make of this world a better place.
Scales, T.L., & Streeter, C.L. (Eds). (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
But, since the white man did place Native peoples on reservations, did clear-cut the land, and did fish the lakes, streams, and oceans, as well as pollute the waters and the skies and the air we try to breathe, humankind looks toward a government that will take care of them and their ways, including a social welfare system. Although the book says that rural areas are “dynamic and rapidly changing” (Scales & Streeter, 2004, p. 44), we hold onto a “romantic notion [which] portrays rural America as made up of pristine, sedate, unchanging pockets of nostalgia” (Scales & Streeter, 2004, p. 44). Social work is a product of this notion. Progress, as such, is a white man’s view of the world. Sure, we have medical care systems, systems of education, libraries, an agricultural system that produces mass amounts of food and transports it to far-away places throughout the world, etc., etc. Even the terms gemeinschaft and gesellschaft, which represent the ideas of community and rural ways of life vs. urban and an impersonal way of life, originated in Germany, a white-man centered country. It is all about relationships. And, because of relationships, we have a program known as social work. It is about systems of social concern, systems made up of “progressive” men from European cultures, and socialization. But, have we really progressed? Daily, we live under a threat of nuclear war and annihilation by other “socialized” countries; we kill and maim other people in wars, as well as our own people; we terrorize our own children by our words and actions, leaving them crying into the dark night. Yet, we move on, as a society, as a nation, as a world. Globally, which is how we now think of the world, we can only see our little place in it. But, we must be able to see our place in that world. And that world for me, is to aid others, and to see that we can affect others lives-as other people have affected my life. I would like to give back to that small, little world that I exist in, something that others have given to me-a sense that life is worth the living, because its alternative will only happen much too soon. As we all move towards a time of death, may we all see a hope in the light, and make of this world a better place.
Scales, T.L., & Streeter, C.L. (Eds). (2004). Rural social work: Building and sustaining community assets. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Monday, October 5, 2009
LET'S EXTEND THE CLAN
Solidarity within the community is important to organizing and is essential to communal caring and inclusion in the circle of life. As Richard Rorty says: “the telling of stories which alter our self-understandings so that we come to see ourselves as sharing a common predicament with strangers” (Festenstein, 2003. p. 131). I believe that this is what we, as social workers, do. We listen to others telling of their experiences and their stories. And, we share ours with them. It is a matter of communication and interest. But, this common interest may be difficult to find and embrace. This may be hard and challenging for me to accomplish, but I think that it is essential in social work. If we are to get to know individuals, as well as the communities they live in, we will be tested and tried for a period of time before we are “accepted” by the individuals. When that time comes that we become part of the individual’s, or community’s, conscience, we will know that we have arrived. We will share with that community a sense of “empathy and compassion” as Rorty (2003, p. 131) says. In an idealistic sense, Rawls (1971), a political philosopher explains, that we have to get outside of ourselves in order to help people. Another thing that we, as social workers, must do is be authentic. Members of the community or individuals who we work with are not ‘stupid.’ They will be able to size us up in no time. If we want to create a bond with them we must be real and not phony.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
TREE OF LIFE
CONCEPT OF COMMUNITYCommunity is an interesting word-we yearn for a sense of community, a sense of belonging, a sense of fitting in. Community also means a geographical location, where a sense of empathy resides. In my life, I found a sense of empathy and belonging at the Hope Center, a mental health alternative for people in Recovery. I served as an intern there, as well as a mental health client. The people there were “my kind of people.” It was easy to talk with them and to empathize with them in their struggles. There is a distinct culture among mentally ill people-one that is very different from the average work-a-day world. Maybe it is because we’ve all experienced a mental illness and have been part of the “system.” We have struggled to get appointments with our doctors, struggled with the medication and side effects, struggled to understand our “problems,” struggled to overcome the difficulties that we encountered along the way, and struggled with the people outside of the “system” understanding us.
The Hope Center was more of a horizontal structure than a vertical entity, in that the power and the structure of the Center were in line with an equal power base. Whereas, a vertical structure would be one from the top down-a hierarchical structure. Although roles were played, by both the clients and staff, it was more on an equal playing field. Members, or clients, learned their roles and were allowed to contribute to the governance of the Hope Center. This was done by ongoing meetings in which the members were listened to and their advice was considered. Although this “system” is not significant in the world of global economics and megacorporations, it worked well with the members and staff at the Hope Center. It is resisting “pressures toward mass society” (Hardcastle & Powers. 2004. p. 107), and protects the individual member.
Mutual support and communal strength are necessary for this type of community to exist. This is referred to as “free riders and suckers” by the power elite that rules society-the dominant male influence. In a perfect world, all would commiserate for the common good. We, as social workers, have to decide whether or not we want to aid such communities, or be a part of the power elite whose concerns are money instead of mankind. In my life, I know which side I’m on.
Hardcastle, D. A., & Powers, P. R. (2004). Community practice: Theory and skills for social workers. (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
This blog is a reaction to the film, “Salt of the Earth.” As I viewed this film, I thought that it was done very well with respect to the time period in which it was made. Although the “Red Scare” was out there, and the filmmakers, actors and actresses were all black-listed, the film was quite representative of the struggles of people of Mexican descent. Esperanza, which means ‘hope,’ is at first, a typical wife of a miner. She stays at home to watch the children and handle the household chores. And, they were not easy chores. With no plumbing to heat the water and the fact that she had to chop wood to heat the water and carry it up to the house, which was owned by the mining town, was a strenuous daily job. When her husband, Ramon, goes to wash up and finds no hot water, an argument ensues. Ramon tells Esperanza that the miners are striking for their safety issues, while Esperanza says: “What is more important than sanitation?” (Biberman, [director]. 1954). This is the first time that Esperanza speaks against her husband. The men have a union representative, the women have each other. The men are striking for one reason only-for the safety of the miners and for equality with other miners, while the women want to add sanitation to the strikes requirements, but the men say no. There is a lot of male ‘machismo’ going on with the men. They look to their peers for strength, while the women, who are fighting for equality as well as for sanitation, have a subtle strength. They begin to be seen while the men are striking. At a men’s union meeting, the women offer to take over the picket lines when the men are threatened with jail time. Most of the men say no. Esperanza says to the union spokesperson to take a vote on whether or not they can strike in their husband’s places. After 103 yes’s and 85 no’s, the women are strikebound. These are feisty women who form a circular picket line. When they are arrested, they go out singing “solidarity forever.” When released from jail, they are back on the picket line.
There are many changes in the movie, beginning with Esperanza and finally, with Ramon. Esperanza learns that she, too, has a place to assert herself among the striking miners, and among her sisters in solidarity. She is seeking equality with the men. She says to Ramon, as he raises his hand to strike her: “Never strike me again—that was the old way. Sleep where you please but not with me.” (Biberman, [director]. 1954). She has developed into a liberated woman. This was an amazing feat for Esperanza. Although of Hispanic origin, the actress who played Esperanza, as well as the men from the mines, were all portrayed as Mexicans, not Mexican-Americans. In one scene, in fact, the supervisor of the mine says, in answer to Ramon’s question about who would work the mine if they didn’t, and the supervisor answers, “the Americans,” meaning the white men who worked in the other mines. (Biberman, [director], 1954). As if they were not part of the American country, but illegal immigrants. But, as the film showed us, they had been on the land owned by the Delaware Mining Co., for many years before the mining company bought the land. This film was really quite interesting in that this film was produced and directed by one of the 50 motion picture executives “black-listed” from the American film industry by the House Committee on Un-American Activities~or Joe McCarthy’s fear mongering. It pre-dated the ‘60’s decade of liberation and equality. It had taken place in a time and place that was way ahead of its time. It actually discussed women’s liberation from the household chores that women were bequeathed with. It is full of consciousness and hope.
The articles written by Michael Yellow Bird were very stimulating and thought-provoking. In his first piece, “What is the Highest Form of Patriotism? I Say Acknowledging Our Addiction to Patriotism,” (n.d.) is a piece about the war in Iraq. He is addressing the Peace Vigil and Rally in Kansas City, Mo., and wants to understand the Indigenous People’s part in the war. He had previously written an “Open Letter to All Indigenous Peoples,” subtitled “Why Are Indigenous Soldiers Serving in Iraq” (Yellow Bird, 2006. p. 1)? In hopes of obtaining answers to this question, which does not fit with the First Peoples “beliefs about life, truth, and justice” (Yellow Bird, 2006. p. 1). Michael Yellow Bird waited in vain for the political tribal leaders to respond to his writing. He received many positive emails back from the First Peoples’ members. He wondered why it was that so many of his people were serving in the military. As he says: “on the gentler side, my approach corresponds to that of Buddhist writer, practitioner, and teacher, Noah Levine (2007). Levine, who says… “In America, we like to talk about equality and human rights, but this country was founded on violence and oppression” (Levine, 2007). America has not been a very compassionate country~the way that they stole “the lands and resources; extinguishing our languages; ignoring our histories; trivializing our heroes and heroines; and forcibly removing our children from their homes and putting them into off-reservation government boarding schools” (Yellow Bird, n.d.). In fact, it can be said that America is a nation of power and wealth, obtained by a greedy leadership which has hurt and abused countless
peoples and nations for the sake of its own power and might. Once we recognize and work to change our current view of the world, and our minute role within it, we will see that it is only by working with others for peace and compassion~towards the down- trodden and oppressed peoples of other cultures, nations, tribes and diversifications other than the white, patriarchal, nationalistic, and selfish leadership, which we all had to bear.
My grandparents immigrated from Ireland with only the clothes on their backs. They were thankful that another nation would take them in and give them a chance to possess “the American dream.” But, their dream did not last very long. I have fought it since college days when I realized that we were killing innocent people~in Viet Nam, in our ghettos, in our barrios, among Native Peoples; and now, in Iraq and Palestine, in Darfur and Nicaragua, and recently, in Honduras and Iran. But settling these differences with wars and bombs and bullets, is not the answer. We must all work together to create a more peaceful, compassionate world.
Firing Squad
Saddam Hussein is a bad man
So let’s line up the children of Iraq
And shoot them.
Saddam is a very bad man
So let’s line up the mothers of Iraq
And shoot them.
We know that Saddam is a bad man
So let’s line up all the old people of Iraq
And shoot them.
Saddam is a very bad man
And firing squads are old fashioned
So let’s just bomb Baghdad.
After we bomb the Iraqis
With our “shock and awe” two-day plan
Surely they will welcome us as liberators.
Surely the Iraqis will thank Allah
That they have been so fortunate
To have been bombed with such precision.
Surely they will recognize
That Saddam is a very bad man
And their oil is better in our hands.
Saddam Hussein is a very bad man.
So let’s line up the children of Iraq
And shoot them.
--David Krieger, 2003.
In Michael Yellow Bird’s work “Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism” (2004), he proposes the fact that the cowboys and Indians visible in a child’s play set, have come to mean for him-“America’s past and present infatuation with colonialism and genocide” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 34). He bought the play set to help his students understand the “oppression of Indigenous Peoples by paralleling our situation with that of other more well-known groups of color” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 35). He uses the analogy of Nazi prison guards and Jewish prisoners, as well as African American slaves and their slave masters, and the illegal aliens from South America or Mexico and their INS border guards (Yellow Bird, 2004, p. 35). Such analogies are crucial if one is to have an idea of what Indigenous Peoples have gone through with the colonialists of the United States, both past and present. He then launches into the Chinese women who make these plasticized toys under horrendous working conditions, with little pay, and with toxic chemicals that cause poisoning of the lungs-all for the sake of American toy companies, which do not make the toys in our own country. Going to pay for these little figurines, he comments on the pictures on the bills that he pulls out. He pulls out a five dollar bill, and comments on the picture of Abe Lincoln, saying that Abe ordered the hanging of 38 Dakotas-the “record holder for the largest hanging of people from one gallows” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 37). Yellow Bird then points out that the Indians seen on television are attacked brutally by the white men, and mercilessly killed. Further on in this paper, Yellow Bird says that: “the cowboys and Indians phenomenon has been directly implicated as contributing to the killing of other dark-skinned people in other parts of the world who have been regarded as impediments to American colonialism” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 43). In Viet Nam, a war which existed in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and involved the killing of Vietnamese and Viet Cong by Americans, who looked at these women, children and men, as though they were killing Indians. They even referred to the enemy territory as “Indian Country.” And what were we fighting for??
A Little Girl Begged Us Not to Kill Her Family’s Farm
She begged us,
With her child like screams
Not to kill or harm
The earth
With all our bombs
And hate.
But it was too late
The sky was filled
With so much rage.
Darkness
Had replaced the blue skies
Her eyes
Had already seen
This transformation
And I was helpless
To defend her
From this assault
On her heart.
I could see the captain,
His battle hardened face,
Glistened with wet cheeks.
I had to close
My own eyes,
So as to shelter me,
From her look
That tore holes
In my soul.
--Unidentified, July 15, 1967
In the invasion of Iraq, many years later, it looks like Osama bin Laden was equated with Tecumseh and Geronimo-all as terrorists. In the game of cowboys and Indians, the Indians are still the enemy, and they “have developed a certain sense of internalized denigration and personal contempt within our consciousness resulting in self-effacing and destructive patterns”
(Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 45). These are the modern Indigenous Peoples, who suffer from not only alienation, but alcoholism (which the white man introduced), drug abuse, violence, and suicide. Because of the white man’s treatment of First Nation’s lands and homes, cultures, languages, and religions, and the demeaning and oppressive way they treated, and continue to treat, First Nations Peoples-in a deplorable way. Yellow Bird takes issue with the white man’s “colonial policies and arrogance…” (Yellow Bird. 2004. pp. 33-48), and the issues that he takes make sense to me. My peoples, the Irish, were in a similar situation with the British. The British starved and used the fields of the Irish to fatten cattle on, whereas the Irish could have been growing potatoes on them. There is a song about Co. Mayo, where my people come from, about a children’s cemetery there, and the great number of children who all died in the potato famine. The British restricted the use of Gaelic (the language of Ireland) and made them give up all cultural events-like dancing and singing. The Irish are a very musical, lyrical people. They devised a way of dancing that the British could not detect-they danced with their arms plastered to their sides, and the British could not see their feet moving swiftly when they passed by them and looked in the windows. To this day, Irish dancing is done with arms against their sides, in remembrance of their determined ways.
In another of Michael Yellow Bird’s papers, “On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indians Studies” Redux (2007), I find in him a person who lives up to his word and actively supports the truth, as he perceives it. One of his colleagues, Professor Ward Churchill, was being asked to leave the University of Colorado for his remarks about the genocidal nature of the U.S.’s Middle East policies. Prof. Churchill’s remarks were said to be “at odds with simple decency, and antagonistic to the beliefs and conduct of civilized people around the world” (Owens, 2005). Professor Yellow Bird refutes this comment by saying that: “they, meaning the State of Colorado, Governor Owens and the United States, are in no moral position to lecture him, or any Indigenous Peoples, about decency, appropriate conduct, and understanding the facts of history” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). Also, the assault of online
“listservs, Web sites, blogs, and emails,” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). has created a web of “hate mail” that cowards can view their opinion on, by such anonymous means. They feel safe to speak their opinion on such media. The University of Colorado was trying Churchill for other, non-related scholarship, having to do with the Arikara and Hidatsa and Mandan tribes that were almost wiped out due to a smallpox epidemic. In 2006, Professor Yellow Bird stood up for Churchill and testified that the epidemic had been a “deliberate act done by the military and/or civilian populations” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). The results were to fire Churchill. This is just another example of the white man’s ways of getting underserved, revolutionary scholarship out of the mainstream’s public eye. Dismiss Churchill, who speaks a truth, and our nations academic institutions will, once again, be safe places for “anti-intellectual and anti-Indigenous” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99) discourse. The following poem, I think, reflects the Native/white problem. It is called “Dear World.”
Mother has lupus.
She says it’s a disease
of self-attack.
It’s like a mugger broke into your home
and you called the police
and when they came they beat up on you
instead of on your attackers,
she says.
I say that makes sense.
it’s in the blood,
in the dynamic.
A half-breed woman
can hardly do anything else
but attack herself,
her blood attacks itself.
There are historical reasons
for this.
I know you can’t make peace
being Indian and white.
They cancel each other out.
Leaving no one in the place.
And somebody’s gotta be there,
to take care of the house
to provide the food.
And that’s gotta be the mother.
But if she’s gone to war.
If she’s beaten and robbed.
If she’s attacked by everyone.
Conquered, occupied, destroyed
by her own blood’s diverse strains,
it’s conflicting stains?
Well, world. What’s to be done?
We just wait and see
what will happen next.
The old ways go,
tormented in the fires of disease.
My mother’s eyes burn,
they tear themselves apart.
Her skin darkens in her fire’s heat,
her joints swell to the point
of explosion, eruption.
And oh, the ache: her lungs
don’t want to take in more air,
refuse further oxygenation:
in such circumstances,
when volatile substances are intertwined,
when irreconcilable opposites meet,
the crucible and its contents vaporize.
—Paula Gunn Allen
References
Allen, P.G. (1986). In Niatum, D. (Ed.) (1988). Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry. pp. 121-122. San Francisco: Harper and Row.
Anonymous. (1967). A Little Girl Begged Us Not To Kill Her Family’s Farm.
Retrieved from: http://wwwvietnamexp.com/poems/page2.htm
Independent Productions/International Union of Mining, Mill and Smelter Workers (Producer), & Herbert Biberman (Director). (1954). Salt of the Earth [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from:
http://www.archive.org/details/salt_of_the_earth.
Krieger, D. (2003). Poets Against War. Retrieved from: http://poetsagainstthewar.org/displaypoem.asp?AuthorID=2491
Levine, N. (2007). Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Owens, George. (2005). In Yellow Bird, M. (2007). On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indian Studies?” Redux pp. 91-99. Retrieved from:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v022/22.1yellow_bird.pdf
Yellow Bird, M. (2006). “An Open Letter to All Indigenous Peoples: Why are Indigenous (American Indian) Soldiers Serving in Iraq?” Indian Country Today. 4 Aug. 2006
Retrieved from: http://arikaraconsciousness.blogspot.com/
Yellow Bird, M. (2004). Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism. WICAZO SA Review. pp. 33-48. Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v019/19.2bird.pdf
Yellow Bird, M. (2007). On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indian Studies?” Redux pp. 91-99. Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v022/22.1yellow_bird.pdf
Yellow Bird, M. (in press). “What Is the Highest Form Of Patriotism? I Say Acknowledging Our Addiction to Patriotism.” Unpublished manuscript submitted for publication. University of Kansas.
There are many changes in the movie, beginning with Esperanza and finally, with Ramon. Esperanza learns that she, too, has a place to assert herself among the striking miners, and among her sisters in solidarity. She is seeking equality with the men. She says to Ramon, as he raises his hand to strike her: “Never strike me again—that was the old way. Sleep where you please but not with me.” (Biberman, [director]. 1954). She has developed into a liberated woman. This was an amazing feat for Esperanza. Although of Hispanic origin, the actress who played Esperanza, as well as the men from the mines, were all portrayed as Mexicans, not Mexican-Americans. In one scene, in fact, the supervisor of the mine says, in answer to Ramon’s question about who would work the mine if they didn’t, and the supervisor answers, “the Americans,” meaning the white men who worked in the other mines. (Biberman, [director], 1954). As if they were not part of the American country, but illegal immigrants. But, as the film showed us, they had been on the land owned by the Delaware Mining Co., for many years before the mining company bought the land. This film was really quite interesting in that this film was produced and directed by one of the 50 motion picture executives “black-listed” from the American film industry by the House Committee on Un-American Activities~or Joe McCarthy’s fear mongering. It pre-dated the ‘60’s decade of liberation and equality. It had taken place in a time and place that was way ahead of its time. It actually discussed women’s liberation from the household chores that women were bequeathed with. It is full of consciousness and hope.
The articles written by Michael Yellow Bird were very stimulating and thought-provoking. In his first piece, “What is the Highest Form of Patriotism? I Say Acknowledging Our Addiction to Patriotism,” (n.d.) is a piece about the war in Iraq. He is addressing the Peace Vigil and Rally in Kansas City, Mo., and wants to understand the Indigenous People’s part in the war. He had previously written an “Open Letter to All Indigenous Peoples,” subtitled “Why Are Indigenous Soldiers Serving in Iraq” (Yellow Bird, 2006. p. 1)? In hopes of obtaining answers to this question, which does not fit with the First Peoples “beliefs about life, truth, and justice” (Yellow Bird, 2006. p. 1). Michael Yellow Bird waited in vain for the political tribal leaders to respond to his writing. He received many positive emails back from the First Peoples’ members. He wondered why it was that so many of his people were serving in the military. As he says: “on the gentler side, my approach corresponds to that of Buddhist writer, practitioner, and teacher, Noah Levine (2007). Levine, who says… “In America, we like to talk about equality and human rights, but this country was founded on violence and oppression” (Levine, 2007). America has not been a very compassionate country~the way that they stole “the lands and resources; extinguishing our languages; ignoring our histories; trivializing our heroes and heroines; and forcibly removing our children from their homes and putting them into off-reservation government boarding schools” (Yellow Bird, n.d.). In fact, it can be said that America is a nation of power and wealth, obtained by a greedy leadership which has hurt and abused countless
peoples and nations for the sake of its own power and might. Once we recognize and work to change our current view of the world, and our minute role within it, we will see that it is only by working with others for peace and compassion~towards the down- trodden and oppressed peoples of other cultures, nations, tribes and diversifications other than the white, patriarchal, nationalistic, and selfish leadership, which we all had to bear.
My grandparents immigrated from Ireland with only the clothes on their backs. They were thankful that another nation would take them in and give them a chance to possess “the American dream.” But, their dream did not last very long. I have fought it since college days when I realized that we were killing innocent people~in Viet Nam, in our ghettos, in our barrios, among Native Peoples; and now, in Iraq and Palestine, in Darfur and Nicaragua, and recently, in Honduras and Iran. But settling these differences with wars and bombs and bullets, is not the answer. We must all work together to create a more peaceful, compassionate world.
Firing Squad
Saddam Hussein is a bad man
So let’s line up the children of Iraq
And shoot them.
Saddam is a very bad man
So let’s line up the mothers of Iraq
And shoot them.
We know that Saddam is a bad man
So let’s line up all the old people of Iraq
And shoot them.
Saddam is a very bad man
And firing squads are old fashioned
So let’s just bomb Baghdad.
After we bomb the Iraqis
With our “shock and awe” two-day plan
Surely they will welcome us as liberators.
Surely the Iraqis will thank Allah
That they have been so fortunate
To have been bombed with such precision.
Surely they will recognize
That Saddam is a very bad man
And their oil is better in our hands.
Saddam Hussein is a very bad man.
So let’s line up the children of Iraq
And shoot them.
--David Krieger, 2003.
In Michael Yellow Bird’s work “Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism” (2004), he proposes the fact that the cowboys and Indians visible in a child’s play set, have come to mean for him-“America’s past and present infatuation with colonialism and genocide” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 34). He bought the play set to help his students understand the “oppression of Indigenous Peoples by paralleling our situation with that of other more well-known groups of color” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 35). He uses the analogy of Nazi prison guards and Jewish prisoners, as well as African American slaves and their slave masters, and the illegal aliens from South America or Mexico and their INS border guards (Yellow Bird, 2004, p. 35). Such analogies are crucial if one is to have an idea of what Indigenous Peoples have gone through with the colonialists of the United States, both past and present. He then launches into the Chinese women who make these plasticized toys under horrendous working conditions, with little pay, and with toxic chemicals that cause poisoning of the lungs-all for the sake of American toy companies, which do not make the toys in our own country. Going to pay for these little figurines, he comments on the pictures on the bills that he pulls out. He pulls out a five dollar bill, and comments on the picture of Abe Lincoln, saying that Abe ordered the hanging of 38 Dakotas-the “record holder for the largest hanging of people from one gallows” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 37). Yellow Bird then points out that the Indians seen on television are attacked brutally by the white men, and mercilessly killed. Further on in this paper, Yellow Bird says that: “the cowboys and Indians phenomenon has been directly implicated as contributing to the killing of other dark-skinned people in other parts of the world who have been regarded as impediments to American colonialism” (Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 43). In Viet Nam, a war which existed in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and involved the killing of Vietnamese and Viet Cong by Americans, who looked at these women, children and men, as though they were killing Indians. They even referred to the enemy territory as “Indian Country.” And what were we fighting for??
A Little Girl Begged Us Not to Kill Her Family’s Farm
She begged us,
With her child like screams
Not to kill or harm
The earth
With all our bombs
And hate.
But it was too late
The sky was filled
With so much rage.
Darkness
Had replaced the blue skies
Her eyes
Had already seen
This transformation
And I was helpless
To defend her
From this assault
On her heart.
I could see the captain,
His battle hardened face,
Glistened with wet cheeks.
I had to close
My own eyes,
So as to shelter me,
From her look
That tore holes
In my soul.
--Unidentified, July 15, 1967
In the invasion of Iraq, many years later, it looks like Osama bin Laden was equated with Tecumseh and Geronimo-all as terrorists. In the game of cowboys and Indians, the Indians are still the enemy, and they “have developed a certain sense of internalized denigration and personal contempt within our consciousness resulting in self-effacing and destructive patterns”
(Yellow Bird. 2004. p. 45). These are the modern Indigenous Peoples, who suffer from not only alienation, but alcoholism (which the white man introduced), drug abuse, violence, and suicide. Because of the white man’s treatment of First Nation’s lands and homes, cultures, languages, and religions, and the demeaning and oppressive way they treated, and continue to treat, First Nations Peoples-in a deplorable way. Yellow Bird takes issue with the white man’s “colonial policies and arrogance…” (Yellow Bird. 2004. pp. 33-48), and the issues that he takes make sense to me. My peoples, the Irish, were in a similar situation with the British. The British starved and used the fields of the Irish to fatten cattle on, whereas the Irish could have been growing potatoes on them. There is a song about Co. Mayo, where my people come from, about a children’s cemetery there, and the great number of children who all died in the potato famine. The British restricted the use of Gaelic (the language of Ireland) and made them give up all cultural events-like dancing and singing. The Irish are a very musical, lyrical people. They devised a way of dancing that the British could not detect-they danced with their arms plastered to their sides, and the British could not see their feet moving swiftly when they passed by them and looked in the windows. To this day, Irish dancing is done with arms against their sides, in remembrance of their determined ways.
In another of Michael Yellow Bird’s papers, “On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indians Studies” Redux (2007), I find in him a person who lives up to his word and actively supports the truth, as he perceives it. One of his colleagues, Professor Ward Churchill, was being asked to leave the University of Colorado for his remarks about the genocidal nature of the U.S.’s Middle East policies. Prof. Churchill’s remarks were said to be “at odds with simple decency, and antagonistic to the beliefs and conduct of civilized people around the world” (Owens, 2005). Professor Yellow Bird refutes this comment by saying that: “they, meaning the State of Colorado, Governor Owens and the United States, are in no moral position to lecture him, or any Indigenous Peoples, about decency, appropriate conduct, and understanding the facts of history” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). Also, the assault of online
“listservs, Web sites, blogs, and emails,” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). has created a web of “hate mail” that cowards can view their opinion on, by such anonymous means. They feel safe to speak their opinion on such media. The University of Colorado was trying Churchill for other, non-related scholarship, having to do with the Arikara and Hidatsa and Mandan tribes that were almost wiped out due to a smallpox epidemic. In 2006, Professor Yellow Bird stood up for Churchill and testified that the epidemic had been a “deliberate act done by the military and/or civilian populations” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99). The results were to fire Churchill. This is just another example of the white man’s ways of getting underserved, revolutionary scholarship out of the mainstream’s public eye. Dismiss Churchill, who speaks a truth, and our nations academic institutions will, once again, be safe places for “anti-intellectual and anti-Indigenous” (Yellow Bird. 2007. pp. 91-99) discourse. The following poem, I think, reflects the Native/white problem. It is called “Dear World.”
Mother has lupus.
She says it’s a disease
of self-attack.
It’s like a mugger broke into your home
and you called the police
and when they came they beat up on you
instead of on your attackers,
she says.
I say that makes sense.
it’s in the blood,
in the dynamic.
A half-breed woman
can hardly do anything else
but attack herself,
her blood attacks itself.
There are historical reasons
for this.
I know you can’t make peace
being Indian and white.
They cancel each other out.
Leaving no one in the place.
And somebody’s gotta be there,
to take care of the house
to provide the food.
And that’s gotta be the mother.
But if she’s gone to war.
If she’s beaten and robbed.
If she’s attacked by everyone.
Conquered, occupied, destroyed
by her own blood’s diverse strains,
it’s conflicting stains?
Well, world. What’s to be done?
We just wait and see
what will happen next.
The old ways go,
tormented in the fires of disease.
My mother’s eyes burn,
they tear themselves apart.
Her skin darkens in her fire’s heat,
her joints swell to the point
of explosion, eruption.
And oh, the ache: her lungs
don’t want to take in more air,
refuse further oxygenation:
in such circumstances,
when volatile substances are intertwined,
when irreconcilable opposites meet,
the crucible and its contents vaporize.
—Paula Gunn Allen
References
Allen, P.G. (1986). In Niatum, D. (Ed.) (1988). Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry. pp. 121-122. San Francisco: Harper and Row.
Anonymous. (1967). A Little Girl Begged Us Not To Kill Her Family’s Farm.
Retrieved from: http://wwwvietnamexp.com/poems/page2.htm
Independent Productions/International Union of Mining, Mill and Smelter Workers (Producer), & Herbert Biberman (Director). (1954). Salt of the Earth [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from:
http://www.archive.org/details/salt_of_the_earth.
Krieger, D. (2003). Poets Against War. Retrieved from: http://poetsagainstthewar.org/displaypoem.asp?AuthorID=2491
Levine, N. (2007). Against the Stream: A Buddhist Manual for Spiritual Revolutionaries. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
Owens, George. (2005). In Yellow Bird, M. (2007). On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indian Studies?” Redux pp. 91-99. Retrieved from:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v022/22.1yellow_bird.pdf
Yellow Bird, M. (2006). “An Open Letter to All Indigenous Peoples: Why are Indigenous (American Indian) Soldiers Serving in Iraq?” Indian Country Today. 4 Aug. 2006
Retrieved from: http://arikaraconsciousness.blogspot.com/
Yellow Bird, M. (2004). Cowboys and Indians: Toys of Genocide, Icons of American Colonialism. WICAZO SA Review. pp. 33-48. Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v019/19.2bird.pdf
Yellow Bird, M. (2007). On the Justice of Charging Buffalo: “Who stole American Indian Studies?” Redux pp. 91-99. Retrieved from: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wicazo_sa_review/v022/22.1yellow_bird.pdf
Yellow Bird, M. (in press). “What Is the Highest Form Of Patriotism? I Say Acknowledging Our Addiction to Patriotism.” Unpublished manuscript submitted for publication. University of Kansas.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Neuroplasticity and Community Organizing
This second blog focuses on Norman Doidge and his view of Neuroplasticity, as well as on CO, or community organizing. Doidge is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, whose interest is in brain plasticity. He defines neuroplasticity as the brain’s ability “to change its structure and functions” (Doidge, n.d.). He says further, that “it is revolutionary. It has a major impact in all that we do” (Doidge, n.d.). The brain is adaptable, changeable, and malleable. It all started with Freud, who called this process the “Law of Association by Simultaneity” (Freud, 1880-1890’s). He said that changes come about because of thought. Freud influenced another psychiatrist, Dr. Eric Kendall. In the late 1900’s, Dr. Kendall said that: “human thoughts and learning turn on the genes in our brain center” (Kendall, late 1900’s). It was previously thought that the hardwiring of our brains was predetermined by our genetics, and that nothing in our brains could change. It was also thought that if one was born with brain deficits, one had to live with them. Then, the brain was thought of as a computer-which led to neurological nihilism, but was shown to be much more complicated. It has been shown that neuroplasticity exists, and that the proof of this lies in stroke victims, who learn to use their paralyzed limbs; in those who are blind from birth-and begin to see; those with chronic pain-it is erased; those with learning disorders-they are cured; and those with chronic anxiety and depression-it is alleviated. We, as human beings, must learn to appreciate the brain, and believe that change is possible.
My thoughts on neuroplasticity are in alignment with those scientists who say that anything having to do with “human training, education, and culture is based on the brain” (Doidge, n. d.).
The brain, which is in a state of flux, as is the universe, will most probably have more attributes than neuroplasticity, As our knowledge of the universe expands, so too does our knowledge of the brain. As Doidge says: “This is a sense of the fantastic” (Doidge, n. d.). This is, indeed, a revolutionary work. It entices other scientists and philosophers to search for even more discrete parts of the brain, and the universe. As was said in the lecture by Doidge, supernatural ideas come about when discussing or thinking about neuroplasticity. The development of the Universe and the development of the brain have definite links. For does not the Bible say: “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God” (St. John, circa 90 CE). At the beginning of chapter 2, entitled “The Priest of the Sun” in “House Made of Dawn” by N. Scott Momaday (1968), it begins with the Bible verse quoted above. This novel was a Pulitzer Prize Winner in 1969. What it is referring to is Abel’s (the main character’s) inability to “fit” into the world of the Reservation or the world of the White Man. The Pastor and priest, Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah, is running a Native American Church, but is using Christian scripture to address the Native peoples in Los Angeles. As was common from the beginning was the sacredness of the Word, and what separated man from every other species was the Word. But, as mankind progressed and discovered his world, he was able to see that other species (whales, dogs, birds, etc.) were able to communicate with each other without using words. Like the theory of neuroplasticity, we were able to discover that more vocalizations were produced than by words. As we continue to explore the universe around us, as well as the brain, we will discover greater access to the brain’s, and the universes, secrets-waiting to be found.
CO, or community organizing, is defined as: “a values-based process by which people-most often low- and moderate-income people previously absent from decision-making tables-are brought together in organizations to jointly act in the interest of their ‘communities’ and the common good” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). This article talks about social justice and economic justice. They, the community, take action by negotiating with the powers that be. If these negotiations fail, they put pressure on the institutions by a variety of means (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). Building power is what differentiates CO from other strategies of social change. (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). CO’s are “organizations that are democratic in governance, open and accessible to community members, and concerned with the general health of the community rather than a specific interest or service function…” (Borgos & Douglas, 1996. p. 2.). They have four principles of contemporary CO. They are: “A Participative Culture; Inclusiveness (which includes peoples ‘of color, low-income constituencies, immigrants, sexual minorities, and youth’) (Borgos, & Douglas.1996. p. 2.); Breadth of Mission and Vision (‘integrating a diverse set of issues and linking them to a larger vision of the common good’) (Borgos, & Douglas. 1996. p. 2.); and a Critical Perspective where (‘effective governance depends on civicness-not consensus’) (Borgos & Douglas, 1996, p. 3.). This may ‘generate conflict, but also stimulate participation and sharpen political discourse in ways that lead to deeper forms of social collaboration’” (Borgos, & Douglas. 1996. p. 3.).
CO’s fight for “fairness and equity” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 1.), is used by various marginalized groups. Fisher and Romanofsky (1981) separated out four distinct phases of historical periods. The first (1890-1920), was dominated by the settlement house movement and was based on building community-thus; social workers were came into being (Fisher & Romanofsky. 1981). The second phase, (1920-1940), which was run by social workers, occurred during the Great Depression. It was based on national organizations, as communities did not organize to solve economic problems. The third chapter of CO’s history took place during the 1940’s to 1960’s. Social workers took a new interest in community organizing, as well as the
rise of Saul Alinsky and his new approach to community organizing. (I will talk later about Saul). The fourth and final phase of community organizing was in the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s. In the 1960’s grassroots movements were widespread. Activists in the 1970 have struggled with many federal anti-poverty movements (Fisher & Romanofsky. 1981). Since the ‘80’s, many movements incorporating CO’s have flourished. Saul Alinsky (d.1972) was the founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). He is inspirational to me. He was instrumental in organizing Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council which, along with the Catholic Church in Chicago, won victories on “child welfare, public school improvement, and neighborhood stabilization” (Alinsky. Late ‘30’s). BYNC also helped organize the packing house workers into a union with collective bargaining. They fought the Chicago “machine” (Miller, 2000). Cesar Chavez, founder of the National Farmworkers Association, later to be called the United Farmworkers Union. This organization had tremendous results for Hispanic community throughout the United States, but especially in CA. Alinsky, along with the Catholic Church, as well as many mainline denominations of Protestant persuasions, helped to fund Alinsky and his movements to fight racism and poverty throughout the United States. Alinsky fed on the Civil Rights movement of the South, and used funding provided by the Churches, students, and religious seminaries to promote Community Organizing in African-American and Hispanic-American communities.
(Miller, 2000). This movement I became involved in. I worked at a drug-crisis center in Oakland, CA, which was located in downtown Oakland. Here, I worked with African-Americans, including the Black Panthers, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans, as well as with sexual minorities, and for women’s rights. I protested the war in Viet Nam in Berkeley, and in San Francisco and Monterey, CA. As I moved to Cheyenne, WY, I also protested nuclear power and the White Train. Although not a Community Organizer, I have a familiarity with the different movements and the rights that they were fighting for. I hope to get back into neighborhood organizing to assist marginalized, oppressed peoples in their struggles for a better life, and an end to war. My belief in people, “in the ability of regular folks to guide their lives, to speak for themselves, to learn the world and how to make it better” (Beckworth & Stoecker, n. d.). It is important to not lead, but to facilitate CO (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). If the people can see that “it is they who must do something about their own problems, and that it is only THEY who can be trusted to do the right thing…” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 1.). The Community Organizers “build power out of that community” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.). The organizers are responsible for creating strategies to motivate the people in the community, and to “challenge those feelings which inhibit action…fear, apathy, self-doubt, inertia, and isolation” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.), and to encourage those feelings which “support action…anger, hope, self-worth, urgency, and a sense of community” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2). There are several dilemmas in organizing the people for campaigns. One is to “depolarize in order to negotiate resolution of these conflicts” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.). Another dilemma is “how to balance the work of campaigns with the ongoing work of organizational survival” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.).
References
Beckwith, D. & Stoecker, R. (n. d.). In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001). Community Organizers: Who Are They?
Borgos, S. & Douglas, S. (1996) In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001). The Basics-What is CO?
Doidge, (n.d.). On the brain and neuroplasticity. Retrieved September 6, 2009, from:
Fisher, R. & Romanofsky, P. (Eds.) (1981). In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO.
Freud, (1800-1890’s). In Doidge’s speech on neuroplasticity
Kendall, (late 1900’s). In Doidge’s speech on neuroplasticity
Miller, M. (2000) Organize! Training Center. In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO.
Momaday, N. Scott. (1968) House Made of Dawn. Mass Market Paperback (1969).
Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO. pp. 1-4. The New York Foundation. (1994).
Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) Community Organizers: Who Are They? pp. 1-3The New York Foundation, (1994).
Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) Community Organizing: The Basics-What is CO? pp. 1-3. The New York Foundation, (1994).
St. John, (circa 90 CE), In: Senior, D. & Getty, M.A. (Eds.) (1990) The Catholic Study Bible. p. 148 of the New Testament. Oxford University Press, New York, NY
My thoughts on neuroplasticity are in alignment with those scientists who say that anything having to do with “human training, education, and culture is based on the brain” (Doidge, n. d.).
The brain, which is in a state of flux, as is the universe, will most probably have more attributes than neuroplasticity, As our knowledge of the universe expands, so too does our knowledge of the brain. As Doidge says: “This is a sense of the fantastic” (Doidge, n. d.). This is, indeed, a revolutionary work. It entices other scientists and philosophers to search for even more discrete parts of the brain, and the universe. As was said in the lecture by Doidge, supernatural ideas come about when discussing or thinking about neuroplasticity. The development of the Universe and the development of the brain have definite links. For does not the Bible say: “In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God” (St. John, circa 90 CE). At the beginning of chapter 2, entitled “The Priest of the Sun” in “House Made of Dawn” by N. Scott Momaday (1968), it begins with the Bible verse quoted above. This novel was a Pulitzer Prize Winner in 1969. What it is referring to is Abel’s (the main character’s) inability to “fit” into the world of the Reservation or the world of the White Man. The Pastor and priest, Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah, is running a Native American Church, but is using Christian scripture to address the Native peoples in Los Angeles. As was common from the beginning was the sacredness of the Word, and what separated man from every other species was the Word. But, as mankind progressed and discovered his world, he was able to see that other species (whales, dogs, birds, etc.) were able to communicate with each other without using words. Like the theory of neuroplasticity, we were able to discover that more vocalizations were produced than by words. As we continue to explore the universe around us, as well as the brain, we will discover greater access to the brain’s, and the universes, secrets-waiting to be found.
CO, or community organizing, is defined as: “a values-based process by which people-most often low- and moderate-income people previously absent from decision-making tables-are brought together in organizations to jointly act in the interest of their ‘communities’ and the common good” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). This article talks about social justice and economic justice. They, the community, take action by negotiating with the powers that be. If these negotiations fail, they put pressure on the institutions by a variety of means (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). Building power is what differentiates CO from other strategies of social change. (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). CO’s are “organizations that are democratic in governance, open and accessible to community members, and concerned with the general health of the community rather than a specific interest or service function…” (Borgos & Douglas, 1996. p. 2.). They have four principles of contemporary CO. They are: “A Participative Culture; Inclusiveness (which includes peoples ‘of color, low-income constituencies, immigrants, sexual minorities, and youth’) (Borgos, & Douglas.1996. p. 2.); Breadth of Mission and Vision (‘integrating a diverse set of issues and linking them to a larger vision of the common good’) (Borgos, & Douglas. 1996. p. 2.); and a Critical Perspective where (‘effective governance depends on civicness-not consensus’) (Borgos & Douglas, 1996, p. 3.). This may ‘generate conflict, but also stimulate participation and sharpen political discourse in ways that lead to deeper forms of social collaboration’” (Borgos, & Douglas. 1996. p. 3.).
CO’s fight for “fairness and equity” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 1.), is used by various marginalized groups. Fisher and Romanofsky (1981) separated out four distinct phases of historical periods. The first (1890-1920), was dominated by the settlement house movement and was based on building community-thus; social workers were came into being (Fisher & Romanofsky. 1981). The second phase, (1920-1940), which was run by social workers, occurred during the Great Depression. It was based on national organizations, as communities did not organize to solve economic problems. The third chapter of CO’s history took place during the 1940’s to 1960’s. Social workers took a new interest in community organizing, as well as the
rise of Saul Alinsky and his new approach to community organizing. (I will talk later about Saul). The fourth and final phase of community organizing was in the ‘60’s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s. In the 1960’s grassroots movements were widespread. Activists in the 1970 have struggled with many federal anti-poverty movements (Fisher & Romanofsky. 1981). Since the ‘80’s, many movements incorporating CO’s have flourished. Saul Alinsky (d.1972) was the founder of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). He is inspirational to me. He was instrumental in organizing Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council which, along with the Catholic Church in Chicago, won victories on “child welfare, public school improvement, and neighborhood stabilization” (Alinsky. Late ‘30’s). BYNC also helped organize the packing house workers into a union with collective bargaining. They fought the Chicago “machine” (Miller, 2000). Cesar Chavez, founder of the National Farmworkers Association, later to be called the United Farmworkers Union. This organization had tremendous results for Hispanic community throughout the United States, but especially in CA. Alinsky, along with the Catholic Church, as well as many mainline denominations of Protestant persuasions, helped to fund Alinsky and his movements to fight racism and poverty throughout the United States. Alinsky fed on the Civil Rights movement of the South, and used funding provided by the Churches, students, and religious seminaries to promote Community Organizing in African-American and Hispanic-American communities.
(Miller, 2000). This movement I became involved in. I worked at a drug-crisis center in Oakland, CA, which was located in downtown Oakland. Here, I worked with African-Americans, including the Black Panthers, Hispanic-Americans, and Native Americans, as well as with sexual minorities, and for women’s rights. I protested the war in Viet Nam in Berkeley, and in San Francisco and Monterey, CA. As I moved to Cheyenne, WY, I also protested nuclear power and the White Train. Although not a Community Organizer, I have a familiarity with the different movements and the rights that they were fighting for. I hope to get back into neighborhood organizing to assist marginalized, oppressed peoples in their struggles for a better life, and an end to war. My belief in people, “in the ability of regular folks to guide their lives, to speak for themselves, to learn the world and how to make it better” (Beckworth & Stoecker, n. d.). It is important to not lead, but to facilitate CO (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001). If the people can see that “it is they who must do something about their own problems, and that it is only THEY who can be trusted to do the right thing…” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 1.). The Community Organizers “build power out of that community” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.). The organizers are responsible for creating strategies to motivate the people in the community, and to “challenge those feelings which inhibit action…fear, apathy, self-doubt, inertia, and isolation” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.), and to encourage those feelings which “support action…anger, hope, self-worth, urgency, and a sense of community” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2). There are several dilemmas in organizing the people for campaigns. One is to “depolarize in order to negotiate resolution of these conflicts” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.). Another dilemma is “how to balance the work of campaigns with the ongoing work of organizational survival” (Parachini, L. & Covington, C. 2001. p. 2.).
References
Beckwith, D. & Stoecker, R. (n. d.). In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001). Community Organizers: Who Are They?
Borgos, S. & Douglas, S. (1996) In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001). The Basics-What is CO?
Doidge, (n.d.). On the brain and neuroplasticity. Retrieved September 6, 2009, from:
Fisher, R. & Romanofsky, P. (Eds.) (1981). In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO.
Freud, (1800-1890’s). In Doidge’s speech on neuroplasticity
Kendall, (late 1900’s). In Doidge’s speech on neuroplasticity
Miller, M. (2000) Organize! Training Center. In Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO.
Momaday, N. Scott. (1968) House Made of Dawn. Mass Market Paperback (1969).
Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) A Brief History of CO. pp. 1-4. The New York Foundation. (1994).
Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) Community Organizers: Who Are They? pp. 1-3The New York Foundation, (1994).
Parachini, L. & Covington, C. (2001) Community Organizing: The Basics-What is CO? pp. 1-3. The New York Foundation, (1994).
St. John, (circa 90 CE), In: Senior, D. & Getty, M.A. (Eds.) (1990) The Catholic Study Bible. p. 148 of the New Testament. Oxford University Press, New York, NY
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Neuroplasticity and the Brain
This blog is based on the class from 8/25/09. What interested me particularly was Prof. Yellowbird’s discussion on his family, and what they have experienced in terms of dreams and prophesies, and “seeing and sensing” dead people, as well as being healers, in the endogenous people’s tradition. It must have been an extraordinary upbringing which emphasized these gifts and allowed them to flourish. Growing up in an Irish-Catholic household, I was privileged to grow up with a grandfather who was from Ireland, and who regularly “saw and talked to” his dead wife and shared these experiences with me. Dreams were always intense and meaningful to me, as are prophetic messages which have come through my dreams, I believe. I am looking forward to more significant discussions on these topics by Dr. Yellowbird, and more.
He began the lecture by talking about the mind and its 100 billion brain cells, or neurons, and the fact that these neurons communicate with each other and the body, by means of axons and dendrites. The brain “has far more capacity to respond to stimuli than it does to receive those stimuli in the first place” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, pp. 1-2).
The parts of the brain divide the brain into “four distinct lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and the occipital lobes” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1), as well as the cerebellum and brain stem. The cerebrum, in which the basal ganglia is located, acts to control movement. In diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, the basal ganglia is affected.
Memory in humans can “be defined as a function of the brain that gives us our ability to store and retrieve information” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, p 1). The role our memory plays in sensory, as well as in conceptual modes, is a complex phenomenon. The brain’s capacity for storing messages, such as short-term messages, and long-term memories-which the different lobes process and store, are also complex occurrences. Little is known about how this process
actually works, however. The hippocampus is also thought of as having an ability to store memories (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2).
The fourth part of this article, “What is consciousness?” (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1), has been discovered, and is said to exist. It is said that consciousness provides the “presence of a direct link between the mind, human awareness, and the physical brain” (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1). This article also talks about electromagnetic fields, and the information located in the many, many neurons. When one is fired in unison with other neurons, it has an impact on the electromagnetic field-creating a stronger EM field. Consciousness is associated with these neurons (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2).
As I look upon the brain with amazement and awe, I see these processes of electromagnetic field theories, a schizophrenic friend once said to me, as the lifeblood of the brain’s ability to function and produce memory, consciousness, etc. I see the brain as an incredible, living, breathing organ which allows us to experience in many ways the information that it embraces. As Prof. Yellowbird said in his introduction to the course, neuroplasticity implies that our brains are continually able to change and adapt to its never-ending experiences (2009, lecture). Neuroplasticity, is the sense of the brain’s being molded, or reshaped, throughout our lives (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2). Neurons, with their attending axons and dendrites, can send messages across synapses (a point of connection between two neurons [memoryzine, 1996-2006, p. 2]. Information, which races across dendrites, through the synapse, and on to other dendrites, up axons, and on to other neurons, is a wondrous achievement of the brain. Up to 15,000 synapses exist in a toddler’s brain, with declining numbers as people age (memoryzine, 1996-2009). Throughout a course of “synaptic pruning” we delete connections that are incompetent and unused, and build onto those neurons which are more activated (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 3). Learning new ideas or having new experiences strengthens the neuroplasticity of the brain, helping one to learn something new and/or remember it. Short-term memory, which is brought about by electrochemical changes in the brain, can lead to long-term memory by “reverberation”-(although still unclear as to how this process works), scientists theorize that when we perceive information that is new and useful to us, new pathways are created in the brain by neurons speaking back and forth to each other, or through the neuroplasticity of our brain (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 3). Functional MRI’s (fMRI) can show this happening in our brain. It holds out a promise of hope for people suffering with degenerative brain diseases or trauma to their brains. (memoryzine, 1996-2009). If it works for them, it may work for other people suffering from mental illnesses-much like EMDR works for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A therapist that I know uses EMDR on patients with PTSD. It is an exciting, new technology, which has proven to be effective for some people. If we could aid people by simply tapping on various spots on their body, or teach them the methods of tapping, we could maybe, in time, eliminate mental disorders-or at least ameliorate the significance they have in individual’s lives. But, this is a long way off, as I see it.
Carol Dweck, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, and wrote the book, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” in February of 2006. It is a book which talks of two ways of thinking and being-1) the fixed view of self and the world; and 2) the growth mindset, about stretching and growing yourself in the world (Dweck, 2006). She spoke on NPR’s Tech Nation, and was interviewed by Moira Gunn (2006). Dweck (2006) talked of two boys who “loved failure.” This, she said, was not a life-defining experience for them, but was part of the growth mindset. They looked for opportunities to change. Dweck also said: “When people are rejected and have a fixed mindset, their mindset is about revenge. They do not have a taste for forgiveness and moving on” (Dweck, 2006). She compares praise for intelligence, and praise for efforts or strategy. She said those children who were praised for their intelligence, when confronted with a difficult class, and who had a fixed mindset, didn’t put as much effort into studying. For those taking the same class, but having a growth mindset, they received better grades, and wanted to try something new. Also discussed by Dweck (2006) were the CEO’s of Enron, who had a fixed mindset and couldn’t make mistakes. Their business went down the tubes. They figured that they knew all the answers. Learning a growth mindset is just a belief that can be taught, and you can’t tell the potential that people have, once taught this mindset. This mindset information is important for growing and understanding the workings of the world.
EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as Meridian Tapping Techniques, is about tapping in certain spots on your body. This practice is derived from the fourteen points of acupressure from Chinese medicine (Reed, 2009). Gary Craig developed EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, in the early ‘90’s (Craig, 2009). It was first discovered by Dr. Roger Callahan, an acupuncturist and psychologist, and originated from TFT, or Thought Field Therapy (Reed, 2009). Craig was a student of Dr. Callahan’s, who simplified this process, and made it more accessible to the common man.
What all of these techniques have shown is the power and majesty of the brain, and how to change it. Dan Rathers report on the XIV Dalai Lama and Buddhist monks interacting with scientists at the Waisman Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin. Here Dr. Richie Davidson began to engage the Dalai Lama in conversation at the Dharma Sala’s “Mind and Life Institute” 16 years ago (Davidson, 2008). The scientists, began to study compassion. The Buddhist monks had 10,000 hours of training in meditation. What they found was that fMRI machines measured the gamma activity of Buddhist monks, showing neuroplasticity of the brain. There was a connection between the mind and the brain, with the brain being able to rewire itself. It was thought that the brain stopped developing in early childhood (Rather, 2008), but the exploration of neuroplasticity showed that the brain was capable of transforming itself, even in older people. Using a stroke patient, they showed a man with determination and purposeful behavior moving a limb, which before the onset of neuroplasticity was thought to be impossible. They showed that getting disabled limbs to
move was not impossible, but only had to be trained by using the brain through a process of constraint induced movement. When you exercise the brain, you are growing new connections, which then further stimulates the brain. “There is a direct link between exercise and neurogenesis” (Rathers, 2008). This led into a discussion on science and religion. The Dalai Lama was able to say that “beyond the monastery is secular ethics, for people without belief in religion, they can have common sense beliefs based on science” (Lama, 2008). Scientists were able to see that “meditation on compassion, and a desire for peace…and keeping compassion even towards your enemy,” (Lama, 2008) is a worthwhile way of living.
What these writings showed to me were that the neuroplasticity of the brain allows for us to grow and create our lives in such a way that there is hope for mankind on the largest frontier of man’s life-the brain. What we are heading for is a transformation of mankind based on the brain, and its ongoing and ever-changing complexity.
He began the lecture by talking about the mind and its 100 billion brain cells, or neurons, and the fact that these neurons communicate with each other and the body, by means of axons and dendrites. The brain “has far more capacity to respond to stimuli than it does to receive those stimuli in the first place” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, pp. 1-2).
The parts of the brain divide the brain into “four distinct lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal, and the occipital lobes” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1), as well as the cerebellum and brain stem. The cerebrum, in which the basal ganglia is located, acts to control movement. In diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, the basal ganglia is affected.
Memory in humans can “be defined as a function of the brain that gives us our ability to store and retrieve information” (Memoryzine, 1996-2009, p 1). The role our memory plays in sensory, as well as in conceptual modes, is a complex phenomenon. The brain’s capacity for storing messages, such as short-term messages, and long-term memories-which the different lobes process and store, are also complex occurrences. Little is known about how this process
actually works, however. The hippocampus is also thought of as having an ability to store memories (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2).
The fourth part of this article, “What is consciousness?” (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1), has been discovered, and is said to exist. It is said that consciousness provides the “presence of a direct link between the mind, human awareness, and the physical brain” (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 1). This article also talks about electromagnetic fields, and the information located in the many, many neurons. When one is fired in unison with other neurons, it has an impact on the electromagnetic field-creating a stronger EM field. Consciousness is associated with these neurons (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2).
As I look upon the brain with amazement and awe, I see these processes of electromagnetic field theories, a schizophrenic friend once said to me, as the lifeblood of the brain’s ability to function and produce memory, consciousness, etc. I see the brain as an incredible, living, breathing organ which allows us to experience in many ways the information that it embraces. As Prof. Yellowbird said in his introduction to the course, neuroplasticity implies that our brains are continually able to change and adapt to its never-ending experiences (2009, lecture). Neuroplasticity, is the sense of the brain’s being molded, or reshaped, throughout our lives (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 2). Neurons, with their attending axons and dendrites, can send messages across synapses (a point of connection between two neurons [memoryzine, 1996-2006, p. 2]. Information, which races across dendrites, through the synapse, and on to other dendrites, up axons, and on to other neurons, is a wondrous achievement of the brain. Up to 15,000 synapses exist in a toddler’s brain, with declining numbers as people age (memoryzine, 1996-2009). Throughout a course of “synaptic pruning” we delete connections that are incompetent and unused, and build onto those neurons which are more activated (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 3). Learning new ideas or having new experiences strengthens the neuroplasticity of the brain, helping one to learn something new and/or remember it. Short-term memory, which is brought about by electrochemical changes in the brain, can lead to long-term memory by “reverberation”-(although still unclear as to how this process works), scientists theorize that when we perceive information that is new and useful to us, new pathways are created in the brain by neurons speaking back and forth to each other, or through the neuroplasticity of our brain (memoryzine, 1996-2009, p. 3). Functional MRI’s (fMRI) can show this happening in our brain. It holds out a promise of hope for people suffering with degenerative brain diseases or trauma to their brains. (memoryzine, 1996-2009). If it works for them, it may work for other people suffering from mental illnesses-much like EMDR works for those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A therapist that I know uses EMDR on patients with PTSD. It is an exciting, new technology, which has proven to be effective for some people. If we could aid people by simply tapping on various spots on their body, or teach them the methods of tapping, we could maybe, in time, eliminate mental disorders-or at least ameliorate the significance they have in individual’s lives. But, this is a long way off, as I see it.
Carol Dweck, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, and wrote the book, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” in February of 2006. It is a book which talks of two ways of thinking and being-1) the fixed view of self and the world; and 2) the growth mindset, about stretching and growing yourself in the world (Dweck, 2006). She spoke on NPR’s Tech Nation, and was interviewed by Moira Gunn (2006). Dweck (2006) talked of two boys who “loved failure.” This, she said, was not a life-defining experience for them, but was part of the growth mindset. They looked for opportunities to change. Dweck also said: “When people are rejected and have a fixed mindset, their mindset is about revenge. They do not have a taste for forgiveness and moving on” (Dweck, 2006). She compares praise for intelligence, and praise for efforts or strategy. She said those children who were praised for their intelligence, when confronted with a difficult class, and who had a fixed mindset, didn’t put as much effort into studying. For those taking the same class, but having a growth mindset, they received better grades, and wanted to try something new. Also discussed by Dweck (2006) were the CEO’s of Enron, who had a fixed mindset and couldn’t make mistakes. Their business went down the tubes. They figured that they knew all the answers. Learning a growth mindset is just a belief that can be taught, and you can’t tell the potential that people have, once taught this mindset. This mindset information is important for growing and understanding the workings of the world.
EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as Meridian Tapping Techniques, is about tapping in certain spots on your body. This practice is derived from the fourteen points of acupressure from Chinese medicine (Reed, 2009). Gary Craig developed EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques, in the early ‘90’s (Craig, 2009). It was first discovered by Dr. Roger Callahan, an acupuncturist and psychologist, and originated from TFT, or Thought Field Therapy (Reed, 2009). Craig was a student of Dr. Callahan’s, who simplified this process, and made it more accessible to the common man.
What all of these techniques have shown is the power and majesty of the brain, and how to change it. Dan Rathers report on the XIV Dalai Lama and Buddhist monks interacting with scientists at the Waisman Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Behavior at the University of Wisconsin. Here Dr. Richie Davidson began to engage the Dalai Lama in conversation at the Dharma Sala’s “Mind and Life Institute” 16 years ago (Davidson, 2008). The scientists, began to study compassion. The Buddhist monks had 10,000 hours of training in meditation. What they found was that fMRI machines measured the gamma activity of Buddhist monks, showing neuroplasticity of the brain. There was a connection between the mind and the brain, with the brain being able to rewire itself. It was thought that the brain stopped developing in early childhood (Rather, 2008), but the exploration of neuroplasticity showed that the brain was capable of transforming itself, even in older people. Using a stroke patient, they showed a man with determination and purposeful behavior moving a limb, which before the onset of neuroplasticity was thought to be impossible. They showed that getting disabled limbs to
move was not impossible, but only had to be trained by using the brain through a process of constraint induced movement. When you exercise the brain, you are growing new connections, which then further stimulates the brain. “There is a direct link between exercise and neurogenesis” (Rathers, 2008). This led into a discussion on science and religion. The Dalai Lama was able to say that “beyond the monastery is secular ethics, for people without belief in religion, they can have common sense beliefs based on science” (Lama, 2008). Scientists were able to see that “meditation on compassion, and a desire for peace…and keeping compassion even towards your enemy,” (Lama, 2008) is a worthwhile way of living.
What these writings showed to me were that the neuroplasticity of the brain allows for us to grow and create our lives in such a way that there is hope for mankind on the largest frontier of man’s life-the brain. What we are heading for is a transformation of mankind based on the brain, and its ongoing and ever-changing complexity.
References
Craig, G. (1990’s), retrieved from: http://www.psychotherapy-center.com/eft_intro.html
Dweck, C. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. Retrieved from: www.mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/index.html
Gunn, M. (2006) on: NPR’s Tech Nation, 3/14/06.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from: http://www.memoryzine.com/howmemoriesaremadeinbrain.html p. 1.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from: http://www.memoryzine.com/howthebrainworks.html pp. 1-2.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/neuroplasticity.htm pp. 1-6.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/partsofthebrain.html p. 1.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/whatisconsciousness.html pp. 1-2.
Rathers, D. (2008). Retrieved from: Dan Rathers Reports on Mind Science (part 1 of 6) (On YouTube, 5/5/08).
Reed, S.B. (n.d.) The history of EFT. Retrieved from:
www.eft-therapy.com/eft-basics.htm
Yellowbird, M. (2009). From: lecture
Craig, G. (1990’s), retrieved from: http://www.psychotherapy-center.com/eft_intro.html
Dweck, C. (2006) Mindset: The new psychology of success. Retrieved from: www.mindsetonline.com/abouttheauthor/index.html
Gunn, M. (2006) on: NPR’s Tech Nation, 3/14/06.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from: http://www.memoryzine.com/howmemoriesaremadeinbrain.html p. 1.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from: http://www.memoryzine.com/howthebrainworks.html pp. 1-2.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/neuroplasticity.htm pp. 1-6.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/partsofthebrain.html p. 1.
Memoryzine. (1996-2009). Retrieved from:
http://www.memoryzine.com/whatisconsciousness.html pp. 1-2.
Rathers, D. (2008). Retrieved from: Dan Rathers Reports on Mind Science (part 1 of 6) (On YouTube, 5/5/08).
Reed, S.B. (n.d.) The history of EFT. Retrieved from:
www.eft-therapy.com/eft-basics.htm
Yellowbird, M. (2009). From: lecture
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