The Soul of America -- A Chat with Jon Meacham

There are some days when I want to write an essay about the things going on around us, and other days when I want to write a poem to express my feelings about life. Then there are those days when I think that our time would be much better spent listening to Jon Meacham.

Here is an excellent interview in which Jon Meacham talks with Willie Geist about his book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. Thoughtful, articulate, and intelligent discussion on our history as well as the times we are living in.

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Monday Music: Journeys of a Dreamer (Davy Spillane)

"Journeys of a Dreamer" from Davy Spillane's 1990 album, 'Shadow Hunter.' One of Ireland's most noted Uilleann pipe players.

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Saturday Haiku: Tadpoles

a six year old child

scooping tadpoles from the pond

pure, messy delight

____________________________

Image: Frog and Tadpoles
Artist: Ohara Koson
Medium: Japanese Woodblock Print



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Susan Cain on The Quiet Revolution: The Power of Introverts

Last summer, I read Susan Cain's book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. I found it to be quite helpful and encouraging. Here is her TED Talk on The Power of Introverts. You can find her website at https://www.quietrev.com/author/susan-cain/.

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The Business of War

 Mourners carry the coffin of a child at the funeral procession for those killed in an airstrike on a bus in Yemen. Photograph: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images (Photo from The Guardian)

Buy American

With the constant barrage of news stories regarding presidential tweets, cyber attacks, and market trends, we can easily forget that we are still a nation involved in wartime maneuvers. Last week, it turns out, a U.S. made bomb killed 40 children on a Yemen school bus. In that same attack, eleven adults were also killed and 79 injured. According to an article in The Guardian, the weapon in question was “a laser-guided bomb made by Lockheed Martin, one of many thousands sold to Saudi Arabia as part of billions of dollars of weapons exports.”

Our American Empire has troops stationed across the globe, and war seems to be one of our biggest exports. Democrats and Republicans alike are all too ready to make weapons of war our abiding legacy. The Guardian article goes on to say,

The Obama administration offered Saudi Arabia more than $115bn in weapons in the course of its two four-year terms, more than any previous US administration, according to a report in 2016.

After the bombing of a funeral hall in October 2016 that killed 155 people, Barack Obama halted the sale of guided munition technology to Saudi Arabia, on the grounds that improved precision would not save civilian lives if the Saudi-led coalition were not taking care to avoid hitting non-military targets. The sales were reinstated by the Trump administration’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, in March 2017.

Whether led by a Nobel Peace Prize recipient or a real estate mogul of reality TV fame, America seems bent on fueling the war industry. It is so much a part of our daily business that news of wartime deaths in a distant country draws little attention. Most Americans have little appetite for further large scale troop deployment, yet by keeping the atrocities of war at a distance we help to set the stage for future wartime endeavors.

Realities of War

In 2014, in an essay, “Let’s Be Honest about War,” I stated that “if we truly saw the realities of war, most of us would be absolutely repulsed by the notion.”

In that essay, I included some notes on the realities of war:

On the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, Paul Fussell wrote a piece for The Atlantic Monthly titled, “The Real War.” In that article, Fussell made the case that most Americans have no notion of the true horrors of war. When we were engaged in WWII, reporters had an unwritten understanding that the true nature of war would not be stated for the sake of keeping people back home optimistic as well as for the purpose of not jeopardizing the war effort. Such a widespread lack of understanding about what front line troops were facing, Fussell points out, led to immense cynicism on the part of American military personnel reflected verbally in such acronyms as SNAFU, TARFU, and FUBAR.

No one wrote about conditions on the front line where soldiers had no latrines, lived in filth, saw the internal organs of their buddies scattered about, and faced the growing knowledge that they would likely not make it out alive. Fussell quotes General Eisenhower who wrote a rare explicit passage on the carnage of war in Crusade in Europe, describing the battlefield at the Falaise Pocket: "It was literally possible to walk for hundreds of yards at a time, stepping on nothing but dead and decaying flesh." Fussell goes on to tell of why the public was so unaware of the realities or WWII:

How is it that these data are commonplaces only to the small number who had some direct experience of them? One reason is the normal human talent for looking on the bright side, for not receiving information likely to cause distress or to occasion a major overhaul of normal ethical, political, or psychological assumptions. But the more important reason is that the news correspondents, radio broadcasters, and film people who perceived these horrors kept quiet about them on behalf of the war effort, and so the large wartime audience never knew these things. As John Steinbeck finally confessed in 1958, "We were all part of the War Effort. We went along with it, and not only that, we abetted it. . . . I don't mean that the correspondents were liars. . . . It is in the things not mentioned that the untruth lies." By not mentioning a lot of things, a correspondent could give the audience at home the impression that there were no cowards in the service, no thieves or rapists or looters, no cruel or stupid commanders. It is true, Steinbeck was aware, that most military operations are examples of "disorganized insanity," but the morale of the home front could not be jeopardized by an eyewitness's saying so. And even if a correspondent wanted to deliver the noisome truth, patriotism would join censorship in stopping his mouth. As Steinbeck noted in Once There Was a War, "The foolish reporter who broke the rules would not be printed at home and in addition would be put out of the theater by the command.”

Recognizing What War Entails

Anyone who advocates for war should first take into account what war truly entails. “The Real War,” by Paul Fussell is one excellent source, describing conventional war in stark and unromantic terms (Fussell's article can be found here). Those religious leaders and politicians who support national military action must make themselves aware of the “disorganized insanity” of battle. They must acknowledge the practices of rape, mayhem, bodily dismemberment, civilian death, and community destruction that are unleashed in wartime. We as a people must acknowledge that many soldiers we send into battle will return badly damaged in body and spirit. They will never overcome the personal horror they witnessed, to which we are blithely oblivious. We as a nation must realize the immense destruction that we leave in our wake when we choose war, as evidenced most recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a result of more than a decade at war in the Middle East, we have brought debt to ourselves as well as our children and grandchildren. We have also brought about the destruction of infrastructure and the impossibility of a normal life to hundreds of thousands of people. We have made new enemies and bought at least another generation of ill will. We have forgotten about being a country that welcomes “the tired, the poor and the weary” and have focused on being an empire protecting energy sources. The democracy we pretend to be trying to export is becoming less and less recognizable here at home. In short, our military actions in recent years have brought horror to people abroad and a poverty of national purpose at home.

Our Continued Exporting of War

Those were some of the things I noted in that 2014 essay. Though we have not launched any major military actions in the intervening years, we have continued to facilitate war efforts in ways that the public no longer seems to notice, as evidenced by the bombing in Yemen last week which raised little discussion here at home.

In addition, we continue to ignore the plight of refugees who have been uprooted from their homeland by the war efforts that we have spawned by our reckless foot prints in the Middle East. When we are not putting troops on the ground, we are shipping guns and bombs to other factions. Since we once armed a rebel leader named Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, we should know that even our best intentions are unpredictable when we fuel wartime efforts.



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Muslim Physicians in doing Good in Rural America

Those of you in the Birmingham, Alabama area, please take note of this documentary that will be showing at the AMC Theater in Hoover at Patton Creek Mall. 

Angels Within is a documentary about Muslim doctors serving rural communities in America

Ashfaq Taufique, retired mechanical engineer president of the Birmingham Islamic Society since 1989 writes:

In today’s world of negativity and divisiveness, seldom do we see good things get the attention it deserves. Muslim Physicians by choice have decided to serve the rural communities and reject the notion of making big bucks in the urban communities.

It is my pleasure to invite you and your family to a free 90-minute film: "Angels Within"

Where: Patton Creek Mall AMC Theatre #6

4450 Creekside Ave., Birmingham, AL 35244

When: August 25, 2018, at 6:00 pm

The movie will be preceded by a small welcome ceremony and refreshments which will be served before the movie starts sharply at 7:00 pm.

Thwarting harmful stereotyping, ANGELS WITHIN is a 90-minute film that highlights the positive contributions of Muslim doctors serving remote rural areas of the United States. The story showcases Pakistani-American doctors from Alabama, Utah, Mississippi, and Wyoming who are challenging both diseases and prejudices on a daily basis.

Produced by Pakistani-American actor and director Noor Naghmi from Vienna, VA, the film shines a light on inter-faith harmony and peaceful co-existence in America that rejects political rhetoric. The film was also accepted into the Oscar competition in the documentary film category.

                                                                                                   Ashfaq Taufique

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Monday Music: Aretha Franklin - Bridge Over Troubled Water

We lost a memorable talent this week with the passing of Aretha Franklin. Much has been said of her abiding influence on the music industry. She has been dubbed "The Queen of Soul." Here is her soul rendition of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." You can also hear one of her gospel numbers over at Music of the Spheres.

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Saturday Haiku: Teahouse

moon upon the sea

clears the mind, gladdens the heart

teatime shared with you

______________________________

Image: "Teahouse in the Moonlight"  c.1930's

Artist: Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945)
Medium: Japanese woodblock print 

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Paul Simon on Late Night with David Letterman (1986)

In this interview, shortly after Graceland has been released to rave reviews and great success, Paul Simon talks about what he sees as important in the work of music and talks some about the process of writing. He then sings "The Boxer" including the new verse added when S & G did the Concert in Central Park:

                  Now the years are rolling by me
                  They are rocking easily
                  I am older than I once was
                  And younger than I’ll be
                  But that’s not unusual.
                  No, it isn’t strange
                  After changes upon changes
                  We are more or less the same,
                  After changes we are
                  More or less the same.

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Paul Simon on Late Night (1982)

An interesting interview with Paul Simon on David Letterman's Late Night. It is pre Graceland, and post Concert in Central Park.  There is a human quality that is almost as good as the early days of low budget PBS programming. Among other things, Simon talks about the Concert in Central Park and the events that resulted in his writing "The Late Great Johnny Ace." He also sings a few lines of "Citizen of the Planet," which he says is "half written" (it became a song several years later and was sung at the Simon & Garfunkel "Old Friends Reunion Tour" in 2003).

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Monday Music: Wartime Prayers (Paul Simon)

"Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations,
Appeals for love or loves release, in private invocations.

But all that is changed now,
Gone like a memory from the day before the fires.
People hungry for the voice of God
Hear lunatics and liars..."

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Saturday Haiku: Walkway

sometimes a walkway
requires a measured effort 

glad feet will follow

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Photo by Charles Kinnaird



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Van Morrison and Bob Dylan, One Irish Rover

"Bob Dylan and Van Morrison Sing Together in Athens, on Historic Hill Overlooking the Acropolis"

Comments from Open Culture about the following video:

On a summer day in 1989, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan met up in Greece and brought their acoustic guitars to the place in Athens where the ancients believed the muses lived. Philopappos Hill, traditionally known as the Hill of the Muses, rises high above the Athens Basin and has a commanding view of the Acropolis. It was June 29. Dylan had just wrapped up a European tour the night before at Panathinaiko Stadium, and Morrison was traveling with a BBC crew for an Arena documentary that would be broadcast in 1991 as One Irish Rover: Van Morrison in Performances.

Here then are the two legends, back in 1989.

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Monday Music: Bob Dylan with George Harrison at the Concert for Bangladesh

I was happy to find this footage of Bob Dylan at the Concert for Bangladesh singing "Love Minus Zero/No Limit." Then he is joined by George Harrison with "If not for You." Great quality video, and great fun looking back to those days.

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Saturday Haiku: Mountain Lake

the still mountain lake

and pristine alpine forest

cool the summer air

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Photo (Courtesy of Wikipedia): Saint Mary Lake and Wild Goose Island at Glacier National Park in Montana



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Fiber Artist Showcased in Montgomery

ASCA Gallery at the RSA Tower in Montgomery

The Alabama State Council on the Arts announced last week its closing reception “showcasing the work of our six 2018 Fellowship Artists. Sunday, July 29th 2:00-4:00 p.m. Gallery Talk: 3:00-4:00.”

The six artists honored were Scott Fisk, Elaine Farley Kinnaird, Miriam O’Mura, Charity Ponter, Jared Ragland, and Kami Watson. 

For those who missed the reception in Montgomery at the RSA Tower, I am showcasing the works of my daughter, Elaine Farley Kinnaird, here today.

As a fiber artist, Ms. Kinnaird works with various media to produce her art. Examples of her work can be seen at her website. 

"Pond"

As a recipient of a grant from the Alabama Council on the Arts, her work in Montgomery used fabric as the medium and resembled quilting. Each piece was made of pieces of fabric cut into different shapes and sewn together. 

"Broken Sea I" 

She stated in her talk that the shapes that came about in her installation were based upon drawings from shadows from her previous installation at Ground Floor Contemporary art gallery in Birmingham. The shadows were cast on the wall by the evening sun. She traced the shadows and saved the patterns which then evolved into her current exhibit.

In describing her work with shadows, the artist spoke of the importance of our being aware of what Carl Jung called our own shadow side.

"Broken Sky"

Ms. Kinnaird had seven pieces on display for the Alabama Council on the Arts. Four of the pieces hung like banners, while the fifth piece was a free standing sculpture. The sculptured piece was also made of fabric. 

"Broken Sea II"

Broken Earth I and Broken Earth II

She explained how she took the patterns from her “Broken Earth I and II” pieces and created a 3D fabric sculpture. She had to be innovative in designing a 3D fabric sculpture that would stand on its own. Her efforts paid off in that her fabric sculpture became the center piece for the entire show. 

  

Broken Earth III

Elaine Kinnaird holds an MFA degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (near Detroit). She is also a graduate of Birmingham Southern College and the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

The artist with her installation center piece
(Photo by Claire Keel)

More Gallery Shots

 

* All photos by Charles Kinnaird unless otherwise designated

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