May 2nd, 2008 by nathanielbsmith
In the Knoxville Museum of Art (placed strategically close to the US government nuclear research facility at Oak Ridge), I recently saw an unusual temporary photo installation, “A Hundred Suns,” by Michael Light–aptly named, since all the photos are of intense light emanating from open-air nuclear explosions.
The tests were in a period when the government, though it should have known better, was posting soldiers within 2 miles of a nuclear explosion to “harden” them and then sending in to “invade” the bombed area, simulating an attack on an enemy city, to see how they withstood the radiation. Not very well, it turns out.
It was also the period when the government, when it really did know better, was saying above-ground tests wouldn’t hurt anyone. Actually, among other victims, they wiped out thousands of sheep, a whole town in Utah, and John Wayne. Continue Reading »
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March 7th, 2008 by nathanielbsmith
It is highly unlikely that I could ever think like Osama Bin Laden, because, among many other reasons, I am not from Saudi Arabia, not a multimillionaire, not a religious fanatic, not a murderer, and am not living in hiding among mountain people in North Waziristan.
Yet, lots of writers try to imagine what people very unlike them were thinking. Have you ever read a history of Napoleon, a biography of Benjamin Franklin, a historical novel set in the time of Julius Caesar? Though the writers never met their subjects, they used sources, their power of reason, and imagination as well as they could.
So… if I could think like Osama Bin Laden… I would be very satisfied with what I had achieved to date. Let me try to take stock, from within his mind: Continue Reading »
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December 17th, 2007 by nathanielbsmith
A new granddaughter was born Saturday, wonderfully named Sophia, wisdom. She weighed in at 5 pounds 13 ounces, premature enough to need special treatment in the ICU. She has several tubes coming out of her, and her heartbeat, breathing, and oxygen level are carefully monitored by state-of-the-art-looking equipment. She breathes rapidly and shallowly, with added oxygen until she develops enough to deal with the atmosphere as it is for the rest of us.
By contrast, I recalled an article printed in the Washington Post the morning she was born, “Sealed Off by Israel, Gaza Reduced to Beggary,” by Scott Wilson. What would her situation be like if she had been born there instead of (fortunately, well-insured) in one of the United States’ most medically advanced centers?
According to that article, in part:
“…The Israeli government is increasingly restricting the import into the Gaza Strip of batteries, anesthesia drugs, antibiotics, Continue Reading »
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November 23rd, 2007 by nathanielbsmith
This week I’ve been spending time with two grandchildren and rereading Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States (1980). The juxtaposition is startling. The children are innocent, cute, having useful limits set for their exuberance, watching PBS shows about playing games with diverse kids, learning to be nice to people; Zinne brings out the horrors of injustice, oppression, discrimination, sexism, poverty, and warfare, along with the heroic, painful, seemingly eternal struggles to overcome these abuses.
I wonder what it would take to turn these children into adults brandishing guns, shooting people in foreign deserts, aiming artillery at ancient cities, calibrating their bombs over the next Hiroshima, cruising in their warboats. Continue Reading »
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October 7th, 2007 by nathanielbsmith
I couldn’t refuse his dinner invitation, and over wine, after conversation about the turns his life had taken since his military days, I noted that he still had that jar of ears on his shelf. Yes, he replied, I keep them to remind me to listen to the voice of the people. It is because of that episode with the poet Carolina that I decided, as they say, to move into electoral politics. And as you see…. But, I interposed, isn’t the past an embarrassment? No more here than in your land, he replied. Everywhere, people love it: redemption, rebirth, reelection. At any rate, all the others—my dear fellow colonels—are, as it happens, dead. At that word, four brutish mastiffs, lying under the table, pricked up their ears and began to growl. Down boys, he commanded: Not now. And, he added, as we stood after our copious meal: Now it is I who reap the promises of free trade, who travel regularly to your capital, who receive the freedom medals. Those ears—yes, I owe it all to them. The jar behind him bounced slightly but was far from falling to the floor.
N.b.: poetry readers will recognize the references to this well-known prose poem of Carolyn Forché:The Colonel by Carolyn Forché
What you have heard is true. I was in his house. Continue Reading »
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July 25th, 2007 by nathanielbsmith
“God ‘08: Whose, and How Much, Will Voters Accept?”
article by Michael Loo in the New York Times, Week in Review, 7/22/07
This article, starting with the religious beliefs of a certain Republican candidate for president, goes on to present some results of a Pew Research Center survey in February ‘07, “Voters Remain In Neutral As Presidential Campaign Moves Into High Gear.”
Of all perceived negatives, “Doesn’t believe in God” is the most powerful, scoring 63% of respondents in the “less likely to support” category, compared to “Homosexual” and “Muslim,” both 46%, “Mormon” 30%, and, in better news for non-discrimination, “Woman” only 11%, and “Black” tied with “Christian” at 4% (apparently ignoring that Mormonism considers itself a Christian faith). Continue Reading »
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July 16th, 2007 by nathaniel
Joe Sestak is a great listener and visitor; in part, perhaps, because the rest of us progressives in Chester County don’t have proper representation in Congress yet, he kindly comes to see us and hears our views. Of course, many of us even outside his district also supported him in 2006 and will again in 2008.
Congressman Sestak kindly stopped by the Turk’s Head Festival in Everhart Park on Sunday, July 15, 2007, for about an hour. Here he and I are chatting over the handout-laden Democratic table, with West Chester resident Tracy Cosbi in the background, who, like our photographer Jim Jones, spent many hours working at the Festival.
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June 7th, 2007 by nathanielbsmith
On June 2, ten of us from Chester County sought fun and education at the Fairmount Water Works, situated in the narrow bank between the Schuylkill River and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
We got to enjoy lunch from the best table on the terrace, in a shady corner overlooking the river, with only neoclassical columns between us and the cool flowing waters.
If you’re ever on an excursion to the Museum of Art (one-time site of the reservoir that supplied the city with drinkable water), eat at the Water Works!
Then we had a very informative tour guided by Ray Finkel and viewed two short movies. A fine day! Thanks to Water Works supporter and consultant Dee Owen for setting it up for us.
I’ll draw some lessons after copying some highlights Continue Reading »
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May 23rd, 2007 by nathaniel
History is so useful — how else can we gain perspective on today’s human experience? Take the Roman Empire, which went on for about five centuries, or as long as from Columbus’ fateful trip to today. Sure, we have new tools and toys now; but look at Roman pots and pans, Continue Reading »
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May 6th, 2007 by nathanielbsmith
“If war is the answer, what is the question?” has long been a popular slogan. The shorter version, seen at peace marches and on many yard signs, is “War is not the answer.”
War, however, as a constant in history, must be the answer (though not necessarily a good one) to something. Continue Reading »
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