Veterens Day. The front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer carried a story about a Marine Veteran who said he grew up watching war glorified on such shows as: Combat. After he got into the Service, he did tours of Vietnam and Iraq and said he saw the real reality of war… I’d recently interviewed Cleveland’s John Smith (not his real name), a Veteran who has also seen the reality of war. He was a medic who developed Post Traumatic Stress and has undergone an extensive amount of counseling through VA Hospital programs… Several years ago, I interviewed another former Army medic. He lived in the state of Washington. He was at “Hamburger Hill” in Vietnam, the second bloodiest battle in that war’s history. For three days, he said he was on the hill, amidst a constant firefight, attending to soldiers. When the battle ended, he said he (almost robotically, read: in a state of emotional disassociation) walked down the hill, found a tarp and curled up under it in a fetal position. He was airlifted out, and eventually was sent back to the States. Out of the Service, he got a small house boat on a slough of the Columbia River — and rarely left it. (A dimension of his PTSD was agoraphobia.) When he did infrequently leave, he’d take a small skiff and go down the slough to a railroad bridge that reminded him of one he knew in Vietnam. There, he’d camp for weeks at a time — away from everyone. Note: As a formal mental health counselor, I know about the various symptoms of PTSD. And I know how real (another ‘reality’ of war), and debilitating, they can be. It is my belief these Veterans should have every counseling avenue imaginable available to help them heal. And even at this, I don’t think people ever really heal entirely from war.
Met with an activists from the country of Columbia, who is on a speaking tour in America. Jenry Nermi is the Director of the Christian Center for Justice and Non-Violent Action in Columbia. She said Columbia has been in the midst of an “armed conflict” for the past 50 years, the struggle between the government and the para-military that is aligned with it, vs guerilla groups aligned with the poor. Ms. Nermi said America’s “Plan Columbia” to eradicate coca crops has actually hurt, more than helped. She said aerial fumigation of coca crops is done so high up, that the spray also often affects all surrounding crops — tremendously damaging small subsitence farms, and so on. What’s more, the spray is Glyphosate, a Monstano product that she said is causing rashes, eye problems, respiratory problems (no studies have been done to see if there are cancer links, and so on, yet). Ms. Nermi said what is really needed in Columbia is “agrarian reform.” That is, she said there are currently few rural roads to get these farmers’ produce to local markets, so growing the coca is often the only option the farmer sees for feeding his family. If these farmers had these roads, and perhaps some humanitarian help to, eventually, move toward more sustainability, the coca growing there would, most likely, drop in kind. Note: The American “War on Drugs” needs to be fought more, I believe, in the American home. For a number of years, I was a licensed chemical dependency counselor working with addictive family systems. One of the things I observed, time and again, is if a youth grows up in a “dysfunctional home” and is shorted emotionally by parents who are alcoholic, or drug addicted, or gambling addicts, or the parents are addicted to work, addicted to TV, and so on… the youth, consequently, grows up with emotional holes inside. Holes they, in turn, begin filling with alcohol, drugs (like cocaine), and so on. In other words, we need to deal with the root of the drug problem: which is healing more of the families in America.
Went to a Bible Study at St. Coleman’s Church in the heart of the near westside of Cleveland. The topic of “sin” came up. An all but ‘lost concept’ on many Americans these days, sin was described in a multitude of ways among this particular group. One that was particularly interesting, I thought: One person said sin is maintaining our gluttonous lifestyles in America — while, for instance, global warming seems to be increasing exponentially. (Several years ago, I interviewed Bluffton College Environmental Science Professor Bob Antibus. He said if the whole world consumed — energy, material goods — as the average American consumed, we’d need three earths!) “Bless me Father for I have sinned… I could have bicycled to the store, but I drove… I could have recycled, but didn’t…” Wouldn’t that be refreshing, and enlightened? Note: We are readying for yet another tour and need donations. If you can help, please send your donations to — “Schriner Election Committee,” 2100 W. 38th St., Cleveland, Ohio 44113. (We’re effective at what we do, but like other campaigns, we need donations to keep going. Thanks.)
I interviewed Gordon Fine, 67, who is the president of the Student Parent Organization (SPO) connected to Waverly School in the heart of inner city Cleveland. He recently moved from suburban Cleveland to this area because he felt: compelled to help. Some of his 20 grandchildren are at Waverly School. He said he walks the hallways informally meeting with students, learning about them, their concerns. In a sense, he’s like an additonal counselor (read: concerned role model) — without the title. We would do well, I believe, to involve more Gordon Fines in the school systems of America… Several years ago, I gave a talk to an Education Class at Antioch College. After the talk, I sat in on the second half of the class and learned about a pilot educational program at a Rhode Island High School. The parents, a couple neighbors, a business person from the community, the school counselor, and a teacher… all formed a “team” around the student. Each month they met to discuss, and help formulate, the student’s goals, help assess his/her progress, and so on. What an excellent way to help the student, and in addition, get more of the community actively involved in the local school system in general.
I took the kids to a “Candidates Night” in our neighborhood. There is a mayoral race this year, and the current Cleveland mayor, Jane Campbell, spoke about Hispanic issues (the neighborhood had a big Hispanic population). She said since her administration started, the high school graduating rate for Hispanic youth has jumped from 32.4% a year to 50% a year… Several years ago on a Hispanic Immigration Border Tour, we researched the “Hispanic Council Program” in Eunice, New Mexico. Hispanics in this border town, who had been in America for awhile, set up a grassroots program to help new Hispanic arrivals. Bi-lingual tutors helped the new Hispanic youth with school work and scholarship funds were raised for youth who wanted to go on to college. Seminars were held to inform new arrivals about the array of social services they could utilize. There was also information about how to start small businesses in America, and so on. One of the coordinators, Leon Navarette, told me that new Hispanic arrivals here often get stereotyped (work wise). Many have much more talent than “putting a foot to a shovel,” he said. Note: While on the border tour, I told the Hobbs, New Mexico Sun newspaper that we shouldn’t look at new Hispanic arrivals as a burden; but rather as a tremendous opportunity: to help.
We stopped at the Catholic Worker “Storefront” for the disadvantaged where we volunteer when we’re back in Cleveland. I got in a conversation with a 24-year-old black male who lives in the inner city and is in his second semester at Tri-College here, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Tri-C is, in part, subsidized by local tax dollars, and “Issue 6” this year is asking Cleveland residents for more help. According to campaign literature, 85% of Tri-C graduates live and work in Northeast, Ohio (little “brain drain” in this case). The man I talked to also gets grant money for his education, and with the help of free meals (at places like the Storefront, and elsewhere), along with other services (free medical clinic, affordable housing complex, etc.) around the area, he is able to stay buoyant enough to, hopefully, complete his education. Note: In fact, all told, the safety net for at least some people (like this man) in the Cleveland area is not all that bad — yet, admittedly, it could always use improvement.
Met with a human rights activist from Columbia, South America. He is currently in the U.S. to raise awareness (behind the scenes) about the plight of the poor living deep in the forests of his country. According to this activist, through an intricate (and quite violent) web of multi-naitonal companies, factions of the Columbian government, and para-military groups clandestinely linked to the government, these villagers are being regularly terrorized (including many killings) in order to force them off their land. Land they have lived on for generations. The reason they are being forced out, is the multi-national companies want wholesale access to the forest’s natural resources, said the activist, who requested anonymity. The reason he requested anonymity is because a fellow Columbian activist, who had been vocally standing up for the rights of the villagers, was recently found murdered. Note: We’ll buy the cheap lumber from Home Depot without giving it another thought. Yet somewhere in a forest far from here, people are being terrorized so we can maintain our excessive U.S. lifestyle and the people behind the multi-national companies (and the governments they manipulate) — can make as much money as possible. One of the answers: As an example, forgoe the new home additons (new wooden flooring, new furniture…) in America, England, France… to reduce the demand for lumber, then take the savings and funnel it into a humanitarian aid agency to help the people in the forest villages of Columbia (Peru, Mexico…) become, and stay, sustainable. I mean most of us (in the “First World”) are already ‘overly sustainable,’ so to speak, in comparison to most of the rest of the world. An addendum… Several years ago I researched a development outside of St. George, Utah called: Kayente. This was a development of single story homes that were built with ‘low profiles.’ That is, the ceilings (as an example) were only about 10 ft. high — to conserve building material and enhance “view corridors” toward the western cliffs nearby. What’s more, lower ceilings means there is less air to heat, cool.
We’re back in Cleveland, Ohio after what amounted to a 5-month, 7,000 mile campaign tour (our second of the 2008 Election cycle). We are taking the week off as we transition back into the city. (And the journal entries will resume shortly.) *We will also be readying for the next set of campaign tours, and we need donations to help get these under way. We also need donations to make some more campaign literature, buttons, and so on. If you believe in what we’re about, please consider helping: Schriner Presidential Election Committee, c/o Joe Schriner, 2100 W. 38th St., Cleveland, Ohio 44113.
Periodically as we travel, we will stop in at a gym to work out. Today in Findlay, Ohio, we were invited to “Jim’s Gym.” A work out facility, with a twist. Music is often Christian music, and it’s an unwritten rule here that no one (or practically no one) dresses immodestly. How refreshing. I also couldn’t help but think, when did we start thinking it was ok to dress immodestly on the tennis court, at the track, with cheerleaders at a game… I mean this is nothing more than soft porn, and we participate in it when we watch, or allow our children to dress in this fashion, etc. It’s sin. And just because most spiritual leaders don’t have the gumption to say so these days, doesn’t change that. It’s sin… We stopped in Attica, Ohio where we were approached by a woman on the street who asked about the campaign. She got excited and said she was going to write something for the local newspaper — even though she wasn’t even a reporter. “I’ve done that over the years, and they’ve always accepted the stories,” she smiled. (If it were all that easy out on the campaign trail!) Note: A sign on Jim Gym’s wall reads: “Seven days without Gym’s Jim, makes one weak.”
We traveled to Delphos, Ohio (pop. 7,000) where I was interviewed by reporter Mike Ford of Delphos’s newspaper. He asked me about education. I said I believed it was currently too competitive in America. And to temper it a bit, we propose one-third of curriculum (k-12) be volunteer work out in the community. “I want our Sarah, Joseph and Jonathan learning as much about helping others, as I do them learning about Math, Science, English…,” I said. I also explained competition could be tempered a bit on the playing fields of America as well. For instance, I said to Mr. Ford: “Wouldn’t it be refreshing if, in the midst of a pitched, see-saw, grid-iron battle, a coach let all of the second string in — simply because it was ‘their turn’ to play…” Today was our Sarah’s 10th birthday. We took her to a Mexican restaurant in Van Wert, Ohio where, instead of a cake for dessert, she had: fried ice cream. (Part of our ‘diversity’ platform.)