Don't Just Vote!

Well. I didn't vote. Turns out I live a little less than a mile from the city limits. Even though I work in the city, go to school in the city, spend most of my free time in the city, and will move to the city fairly soon, the law says I cannot vote for city council members. I'm disappointed, because I wanted to vote, but I'm not angry. It makes sense. Instead of voting today, I will urge all of you who did vote to do more. Voting is just the beginning of active involvement with the world. There are a wealth of actions you can take after your vote that are capable of changing the world.

I've never been able to vote. But I possess a burning desire to change the world, so I've had to rely on other methods of effecting change. Though I can't wait until I can finally cast my vote, I doubt it will provide me with the same satisfaction that, for example, volunteering does. Here are some actions that you can take to make a difference outside of the ballot box:

• Volunteer. There are countless opportunities everywhere. Here in Boise, I've volunteered extensively with Idaho Fish and Game. The work has included re-vegetating the riparian zones of Idaho's streams and rivers that have been decimated by cattle grazing, which is immensely important work.
  
• Write a congressman, or even the president. Just pick an issue that stirs your soul and write. You can also utilize the resources of organizations such as Amnesty International if human rights concern you or Moveon.org if progressive politics concern you. Just search the web. You can find online actions everywhere!
• Engage in grassroots activism. If there is some issue that deeply affects you, hit the streets. Some of the most profound change has happened due to people sitting where they are prohibited to sit or from thousands, if not millions, of people flooding the streets to demand change.
  
• Discuss. Engage the people around you in real discussion about the problems that face our world. There is nothing wrong with open-minded discussions and arguments- they help us understand our world.
  
• Be creative! I fasted last summer to raise awareness about the plight of refugees in Africa. Though I didn't actually change anything on a large scale, I did open a few eyes wider, including my own.

Bright Eyes in SLC

Last night I saw Bright Eyes live at Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City. It was an incredible show! In the quiet between songs someone shouted, "Conor Oberst is Jesus!" Though I'm not quite that fanatical, Bright Eyes is just that epic. Oberst was bursting with passion as he played his songs. The band backed him up with a fabric of surreal music coming from an interesting mix of instruments, from a harp to a steel guitar to a trumpet. Oberst's poetry filled fans' minds with rich stories and profound observations that spilled out onto my pillow that night. There is an unquestionable otherworldy greatness to Bright Eyes that is undeniably evident live.

Bright Eyes, however, doesn't fit very well into the context of this blog. To make this post more relevant, I'll suggest that you check out the following video: Conor Oberst plays "When the President Talks to God" on Jay Leno (click the 'Watch Now!' link)

Local Happenings - POV Conference

The POV (Point of View) Conference at Boise State University will take place on November 8th and 9th next week. The theme this year is human rights. I actually don't know too much about this event. I am connected to it through Amnesty International. We will be tabling for the event on Wednesday, November 9th in Hatch AB of the SUB. I do know, however, that there will be some interesting workshops and film showings. Workshop topics include the death penalty, immigration and the dream act, the hague war crimes tribunal, and community arts and human rights. The films The Corporation and Hotel Rwanda will also be shown. I'm expecting an interesting event, and I recommend checking it out. Find out more at the POV website, or check out the full event schedule.

City Council Elections

Next Tuesday's elections will be the first time in my life that I vote. Last year I turned eighteen one week after the elections. While there is less at stake this time around, I'm plenty excited to cast my vote.

Before I vote, I'll add my two cents to the discussion. The prospect of Brandi Swindell being a city council member is ridiculous for too many reasons. She has no college education nor any experience related to the job she is applying for. While I am not crazy about Maryanne Jordan, she possesses extensive experience related to her job- a college education, co-owning a small business, and serving on the Boise City Planning and Zoning Commission, as President of the West Valley Neighborhood Association, and as Facilitator of the Boise Neighborhood Alliance. She has been involved with organizations relevant to a city council position, whereas Swindell's experience with organizations such as Generation Life, a religious right-wing organization, is completely irrelevant to a city council position. Regardless of Swindell's radical views or either candidate's out-of-state campaign donations, it just makes more sense to elect Jordan. This job should be approached in a pragmatic fashion, not an ideological one. Swindell certainly possesses an ideological fervor, but Jordan is very clearly the practical choice.

That said, I encourage everyone to vote on November 8th! Even though the ballots are small this year, voting is important. Of course, voting is only part of active involvement with the world. Vote, but don't just vote! (I'll write more about doing more than just voting next week...)

Profiles of the Candidates
Precinct Map (scroll down to 'Precinct Locator')
Boise guardian Story About Campaign Funds
Dan Popkey Article
Brandi Swindell's Website
Maryanne Jordan's Website

Local Happenings - Tunnel of Oppressio

I've been quiet for a few days, partly because I've been busy but mostly due to a tough break-up. I'm not going to waste your time writing about the break-up, not because it hasn't affected me deeply- because it has- but because this blog isn't a forum for that type of writing. That said, I experienced exactly what I needed yesterday. The Tunnel of Oppression happened very successfully on November 1st in and around the Hatch Ballroom (for a description of what the Tunnel is, refer to my earlier posting on the subject). From 9:00 am to 7:30 pm I was there as a Tunnel guide and with Amnesty International at the coinciding Social Justice Fair. Those long hours kept me busy- talking and walking- and therefore forced my mind to wander from the sorrow, loneliness, and self-pity that had taken up residence in me. The emptiness in my heart was eased by a community of engaged and caring individuals who are committed to changing the world, slowly but surely.

The Tunnel began with a scene depicting soft racism in the wake of Katrina. Three white middle-class folk sipped martinis and discussed their frustration at seeing poor black people receiving sympathy and government aid after the hurricane. Their language was no doubt incensing, but a bit unbelievable. However, the scene remained effective and provided an emotionally simple way of beginning the tour and easing into the next scene.

Four or five actors dressed in casual military attire and sporting pipes, knives, and cameras viciously attacked another actor dressed in a black robe and hood in the second and most effective scene. There was no question that the atrocities committed at Abu Ghraib were unfolding here, and even though this was acting, it was severely disturbing. Audience members were encouraged to take part in the abuse but could only muster blank stares and sometimes tears. The actors recreated the photographs from Abu Ghraib with an eerie accuracy. After the scene, the audience shuffled their feet quietly away, taking with them an intimate understanding for the scope of atrocities committed in the War on Terror.

In the next scene a small group of immigrants struggled to cross the border amongst graves marked ‘unidentified’. Their struggle was amplified by an insensitive television journalist and armed militia men who beat back the immigrants. The depiction of the immigration struggle brought to life an issue that everyone knows of but no one really understands. The tour then meandered into a makeshift bathroom that provided the stage for different sorts of gender related oppression: two girls taunted a “dyke”, one of those girls then threw up in a stall in an effort to lose weight, a boy tried hard to be a man by using steroids, a young couple worried about an unwanted pregnancy, and a rape was attempted. We don’t know whether or not the rape was committed- we just heard her scream from behind a bathroom stall door. With the screams echoing the tour rushed through a brutal episode of Native American assimilation. As the audience exited the Tunnel, they became the victims of fierce anti-gay fury. Demonstrators shook hateful signs in faces and shouted dangerously at each and every member of the audience. Their hateful frenzy, albeit acting, caused one to know the pain of being hated for being homosexual, even if one is not.

The entire experience was tremendously effective. Though I wasn’t present in the post-Tunnel debriefing sessions, I gathered that public response to the tour was positive. Eyes and hearts opened to better understand modern forms of oppression that are often overlooked. It is difficult to deny these oppressions while they are staring you down. Oppression is evident when we hear the facts about its many forms today, but when our heart is involved oppression is not only undeniable, but is an affront to everything human within us. The Tunnel of Oppression very much involves the heart.

(If you wish to learn more about the Tunnel of Oppression, I recommend conducting a simple google search for it. I did so, but could not find a central website for it. It appears that the Tunnel is simply an idea that is interpreted differently by different universities around the nation.)

CD Review: Emmanuel Jal and Abdel Gadir Salim - Ceasefire

(CD review originally written for the Boise Weekly)

Ceasefire is stunning. This collaboration between Emmanuel Jal, a Christian from southern Sudan, and Abdel Gadir Salim, a Moslem from northern Sudan, sends a powerful message throughout the country in the shadow of war. For more than twenty years the Moslem north had battled the non-Moslem south until a peace agreement earlier this year. Sudan’s future, however, remains uncertain. Ceasefire is a powerful and symbolic cry for lasting peace that is urgently needed at this crucial moment in Sudan’s history.

The music lives up to the historical backdrop. Jal is a rap sensation whose popularity has exploded from Nairobi to all of Africa and beyond. Salim is a respected and popular composer, singer, and oud player whose songs reflect the musical traditions of Sudan. He is absent from about half of the songs, which are written and performed by Jal. The remaining songs are written and performed by Salim and his band but feature occasional bursts of rap by Jal. The result of this unlikely and eclectic collaboration is a vibrant and diverse fabric of sound that incessantly stirs up the soul.

Emmanuel Jal’s rap is soft but solid, and his talent is unquestionable. His warmly mellow voice flows over lively, energetic beats. Like his message, his rap stands in sharp contrast to the harsh American variety, and Jal’s style is much more listenable, despite the language barrier. He alternates with grace between each of the five languages (there are translations) on this CD, sometimes multiple times in a single verse. In between verses, joyous and hopeful choruses explode over the music, adding an exotic dimension that accents Jal’s laid-back rapping.

Though most of the songs concern peace for Sudan, one stood out for its address of another urgent issue in Africa. ‘Nyambol’ tells the story of a young girl who suffers abuse and then escapes a forced marriage to ultimately achieve an education and become “an important person” and “important leader” in her village. The song showcases both Jal’s rapping ability and his understanding that peace in Sudan, though extremely important, is just one of the many issues in Africa deserving the world’s attention. He shows definite promise for being both a musical messiah and force for social change in the future.

The ultimate lure of the album is Abdel Gadir Salim’s music. Jal’s tunes heavily emphasize a pop sensibility that is no doubt great, but Salim generates a deeper, more mature sound that is quite unlike any popular music in the States. His rich, textured voice gives off a wisdom that is only developing in Jal. When Jal jumps into Salim’s songs, however, Salim and his band help Jal achieve a clarity that isn’t as evident on his own songs.

If the historical backdrop, eclectic music, and important message of Ceasefire don’t cause your jaw to drop, then the personal histories of the musicians surely will. At the age of seven Emmanuel Jal lost his mother and was taken to a camp in Ethiopia where he was trained to be a soldier. In 1991, along with scores of other child soldiers, Jal was forced to walk hundreds of miles to join a rebel group. Abdel Gadir Salim once survived a brutal stabbing while attempting to hold a concert in Khartoum. Both musicians endured this unimaginable adversity to become important figures, not only in Sudan’s future, but in Africa’s future. I can image that Ceasefire is only the beginning.

(visit Emmanuel Jal's website)

Local Happenings - Tunnel of Oppression

Nobody is reading this blog yet... but that is alright. Hopefully I'll be able to gather some eyes and minds around the screen to hear what I have to say. Earlier this evening, the first Amnesty International of BSU meeting for the semester happened. It was pretty small, and just a bit awkward (like most first meetings, or maybe just most activist meetings), but definitely worthwhile. I mention it here because it inspired excitement in me for an upcoming event. On Tuesday, November 1st, BSU is hosting the Tunnel of Oppression. An actual, physical tunnel will be constructed in one of the ballrooms of the SUB. Actors will play out different scenes of oppression in the tunnel as guides (one of which will be myself) bring groups of people through to understand oppression in a more intimate fashion than we usually have the capacity for. The experience is supposed to be very eye-opening and emotional. For example, it is rumored that one of the scenes will depict a Fred Phelps anti-homosexual rally (Fred Phelps is the leader of the fiercely anti-homosexual Westboro Baptist Church) and another will stage the preparation for detainee abuse at a Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. Though there have been serious questions among BSU activists about the organization and execution of the Tunnel of Oppression, I have high hopes for the event. It is a delicate subject, so I can only hope that the people behind the Tunnel are serious and organized. I'll write more about the Tunnel as the date approaches and passes.

Local Happenings

I plan to make 'local happenings' posts a regular, informal part of the Friction blog. Whereas other posts will be thought-out pieces that have probably been extensively revised and edited, these posts will be informal rants about what has been happening recently here in Boise, Idaho. You'll find my take on significant news items; summaries of meetings, rallies, and other political events; upcoming events; and more.

Last Wednesday, I attended a public hearing in BSU's Jordan Ballroom concerning proposed changes to the graduation requirements for Idaho high schools. The proposed changes would drastically cut the number of electives while making 8 credits each of math and science (thats all four years of high school) required. They would also require students to pick electives with a career focus, require taking either the SAT or ACT to graduate, require a 'C' average of junior high and middle school students to move on to high school, and force students as young as sixth grade to consider career options. Students, parents, and teachers have reacted to these proposed changes with outrage, as have I. It is evident that these changes will cut down on such activities as arts, music, and other programs that enrich the high school experience and provide for a well-rounded education that colleges look for. That is the most common concern. In addition, I personally feel that such an emphasis on career consideration is ludicrous for anyone younger than high school age, and that career consideration in high school is hardly productive. I've graduated and still have no clue what career path I will follow, but that is perfectly okay. I am attending college and will eventually grow into something just right for myself. No one needs to be locked into a career path they chose in the naivete of high school. I also hold deep concerns about the plight of students who struggle with either math or science. Requiring such students to advance beyond the basics will not result on smarter students going on to college, but rather in more decisions to drop out of high school.

The public hearing was packed. They had to add additional seating at the last minute and there still wasn't sufficient room for everyone. After two hours of public testimony about the proposed changes, there was only one comment in support. Every single comment against the changes was met with tremendous applause. Many teachers, parents, and students spoke with great passion and emotion about the arts and music programs they feared would be lost. A genuine concern for the well-being of our future generations was clearly evident. I think it was fairly clear what the teachers, parents, and students thought about the proposed changes to their lives, and I hope whatever happens next reflects that sentiment.