Andrea Scarpino
Los Angeles
As the New Year approaches I thought we should reflect on what went well this past year and what we could work on improving. As my yoga teacher would say, we need to set our intentions.
Michael Moore says that he’s an activist because of how much he loves you, America. I’ve always said I’m an activist because I’m so terrified of what you’ve done to the rest of the world. That I feel an obligation to change you because I’m so scared for everyone else. But for a moment or two on Inauguration Day when we swore into office the first President of Color our country has seen, I have to admit, I loved you, America. I felt almost—yes—proud—to be your citizen.
And then the momentary togetherness disintegrated into backlash and back talking and America, you showed your ugly side again. This summer’s “tea parties,” the lies you told about so-called death panels, more immigration crackdowns, more troops, more troops, Joe Wilson’s “you lie,” the shooting at Fort Hood, the failures at Copenhagen, and now the targeting of Yemen. I feel overwhelmed, America, with our lengthy list of failures this year, the enormity of our possibilities, the enormity of our defeats.
I know it’s not just up to me to decide our resolutions, but here are a couple I think we could all get behind:
1. Breathe more, America. My yoga teacher says breath will carry the body through anything. Let’s see if it can carry us away from hysteria, toward groundedness, toward balance and sanity. Just five minutes every day, I want us to really breathe.
2. Think more. With more clarity. When we hit a dead-end, think harder. Try again.
3. Try being a little bit communist. Try for a little socialism. Just for a few minutes, maybe every Thursday, try some Islam. Try some Buddhism. This may be scary, but remember, we have our breath. Read about other forms of resource access, other forms of health care, schooling, transportation. Talk to people who know things we don’t know. Then try on each new idea, just a little bit. Keep thinking. Go back to our breath.
4. Remember that old Apollo 8 photograph of the Earth called “Earthrise”? It was published 40 years ago this year and showed us for the first time the Earth’s fragile edges. Nazim Hikmet describes Earth as “ a star among stars/ and one of the smallest—/ a gilded mote on the blue velvet.” In 2010, think of this every day. Every day, look at that old photograph. “A star among stars/ and one of the smallest.”
For a moment this year, I loved you, America. I thought we had promise. I felt hope. In 2010, let’s try for two moments and see how that goes.
Andrea Scarpino is the west coast Bureau Chief of POTB. You can visit her at:
Planet of the Blind 