We attended the Green Party National Convention last month in Pennsylvania. (I am currently vying for the Green Party presidential nomination.) A video from the Presidential Candidate’s Forum to the general assembly was released recently. To view it, see: http://wilderside.wordpress.com/2007/07/18/daily-greens-green-party-presidential-candidate-forum/ *My segment is at the 35:20 mark on the video.
8/22/07
I attended a Bible Study in Avon Lake, Ohio. The readings revolved around the prophet Isaiah telling the Isrealites that they were so concerned with shiny “anklets… pendants… and veils…” — that they’d forgotten about the poor. And as a result, it wasn’t going to bode well for these advantaged Isrealites. After the reading, I was introduced to the group as a presidential candidate. I said I had a strong social justice platform. And I explained that in the year 2007, “anklets, pendants and veils” could easily be substituted for nice suburban homes, luxury cars and air conditioning — while two-thirds of the Third World live in stark, abject poverty. Avon Lake, Ohio, is an upscale Cleveland suburb. And my comment sparked, oh, a bit of a debate. On the optomistic side, these kinds of encounters are getting me ready for the National Debates next year.
8/21/07
We’ve come back home to Cleveland. I interviewed Athmo Bhandari in nearby Westlake, Ohio. He’s from India. He said the people of America are already at war, with themselves. That is, he said an extremely large portion of the population are on any combination of synthetic drugs (prozac, rittalin, vallium…). A just as significant portion are addicted to any combination of ‘illegal’ drugs (cocaine, heroine, marijuana…). Then there are all those addicted to alcohol. And if it isn’t these substances, it’s rampant materialism, compulsive sexual acting out, compulsive overeating… Isn’t it fascinating how people from other cultures see us, much more objectively. I’m a former drug and alcohol counselor and I know the reason we can’t see it very objectively, just like an active alcoholic can’t see it very objectively, is simply: because we are in denial.
8/20/07
“average JoeOhio Tour” cont: I gave a talk at Sacred Heart Church in Fremont today. The reading during the Mass was about the Isrealites of old worshipping false gods, like “Baahl.” I said our modern day false gods are: excessive entertainment, like prime time shows; extraneous activity, like too many sports and hobbies; work addiction, like 50 hour (plus drive time) work weeks… while meanwhile little unborn babies go to their slaughter every day with few to protest, some 24,000 people starve to death in the Third World every day, with few to care; and little kids daily dodge hunger, needles and bullets in our own inner cities, with few to see… Note: We then drove back to Cleveland through a driving rainstorm and high water on the roads everywhere. As there were pans almost everywhere in the motor home — under a bunch of leaks. Do you think Gulliani’s campaign vehicle(s) leak? And that is why we’re the “peoples’ candidate.” My wife Liz would say, after such a comment, that I’m “all wet” — and she’d be right in this case! (Sorry.)
8/19/07
I heard one of the best talks in all our travels. It was given by Rev. Daniel Orr at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fremont, Ohio. He was talking about God’s word being like “fire.” That is, it sears to the very heart of the matter. And in the year 2007, the ‘matter(s)’ include, said Rev: Daniel: We (Americans) are plenty responsible for a lot of oppression and innocent blood. The gloss hides the migrant laborers who pick our food for a pittance; the young people in China who live in barracks and make our shirts, shoes, dresses; the laborers in Guatemala who pick our bananas with no EPA to regulate what is sprayed. The gloss is thick. And we help keep it that way. We seem to be able to justify great expense on one of our own family members — presents, camps, lessons, toys, parties… We have an unspoken preoccupation with those closest to us — our families and friends. If we have any energy left over, or any change, then that goes to those who need it. Where is the justice in that?” Afterwards, Rev. Orr asked me to say a few words. I said our platform called for people to sacrifice in as many ways as possible — so there was, indeed, justice. That is, many of us could easily go to housesharing, old Volkwagon Beetles, less clothes, less dining out, no air conditioning… Yet we are so focused on our own comfort, while people go without just the basics in shelter, food, medicine…
8/18/07
We stumped at the Farmer’s Market in downtown Fremont. I passed out a lot of flyers, including one to a high school Government teacher from Springfield, Ohio (he was up visiting relatives). He affirmed our efforts and said he includes teaching about independents in his class. The guy playing guitar and singing at the Market brought up independent candidates as well. In between songs, he said he was totally turned off at this point by the two major parties and exhorted those at the Market to consider independent candidates. I gave him a flyer… Our platform calls for people to support local farmers, and to that end we bought some peppers and corn at the Market. We ate the corn raw, a new culinary experience for me. Note: I interviewed Pattee Kuzma at her home in Fremont. Her son Keith has Downs Syndrome and is autistic. Pattee and her husband John are absolutely wonderful parents who have done practically everything to help their son. (Among many other things, Pattee has facilitated a “Special Needs Group” through her church.) What’s more, the state has helped too. Through Ohio’s Passport Program (for the severely disabled), the Kuzmas are given so much a month to pay for eight hours of in-home health care a day for Keith. This has been a tremendous help, said Pattee.
8/17/07
“average JoeOhio” our cont: We traveled to Clyde, Ohio, where we were introduced at Mass at St. Mary’s Church. We then headed to Green Springs, Ohio (pop. 1,000), where we stumped in the downtown area. I got in a discussion with a group of guys at a motorcyle shop there. Ron Conn told me that while he laments the big box stores like Wal Mart driving the small town businesses out; he sympathizes with those who shop at Wal Mart because many jobs these days don’t pay that much anymore. “It’s a Catch 22,” he said. We walked about Green Springs passing out campaign information and putting up flyers in all the stores, that were left… We then headed to Fremont where there was a small concert on the Village Green. I walked about passing out more flyers, then the kids and I got into a nearby pick-up football game. Our Jonathon, 4, racked up ‘minus 12 yards’ on his three rather improvised runs. And while the statistic looked bad (the Cleveland Brown’s running backs’ statistics notwithstanding) — Jonathon had a tremendous amount of fun doing it.
8/16/07
“average JoeOhio Tour cont: We’ve headed west into Ohio stopping in Norwalk. A man-on-the-street, Harold, told me he found it amazing (and scandalous) how much better our lifestyles in America were in comparison to those in the Third World. He said to try and make things more equitable, he regularly donates to the international aid agency: Food for the Poor… We then did a whistle-stop event in downtown Norwalk where a reporter from the Norwalk Reflector asked me about my biggest issues. I said with global warming and nuclear proliferation, in either case, our kids might not have a world to grow up in. And with abortion, some kids never make it into the world at large in the first place… We then stopped at Sheri’s Coffee Shop (excellent place) in Norwalk where I sat in on part of a Bible Study. I said what Harold (mentioned earlier) was doing to help the poor could very well diminish the ranks of Al Quaida. That is, the more youth in the Third World see a way out of abject poverty, the less apt they’d be to join a terrorist cell (often a Third World version of a gang).
8/15/07
We spent the past five days in Cleveland catching up on paper work. To earn some personal income while we were back home, I also scraped a house up the street in preparation for painting. Some of it was lead paint, and I had to take a lot of precautions with a respirator mask and in the disposal of the paint chips themselves. Like has happened so often in our “Industrial Age,” we have sped ahead with the lates innovation (lead, DDT, carbon dioxide emission…), only to find — in tragic retrospect — that these ‘innovations’ are tremendously toxic. We would do well to follow the Amish of giving things time and prayerful discernment (not to mention much more thorough testing) before we adopted the latest ‘innovation.’ Note: Along these lines… We are forever ‘racing for a cure.’ Wouldn’t it make sense, common sense, to: stop using stuff that causes cancer in the first place!?
8/10/07
I did a two hour blog talk radio debate the other night with two other candidates vying for the the Green Party nomination. Go to the site, scroll down and click on the words: “Green Party Presidential Candidate Debate. Note: We are earnestly seeking donations for our next couple tour legs. And in the immediate, we have to do work on two of our campaign vehicles. Please help, if you can: Schriner Presidential Election Committee, 2100 W. 38th St., Cleveland, Ohio 44113