I think that those of us who want universal, single payer health care should pick a day and do a national “Call In Sick” day.
We can all spend the day calling our Congress People, rejoicing in our good health (if we have it) and perhaps going to see Michael Moore’s latest movie.
I went to see Micheal Moore’s latest movie last night, Capitalism: a Love Story.
Never have I heard a call for revolution delivered so calmly and peacefully and with such good humor.
Micheal Moore literally lays bare the roots and causes of our current economic crisis. I find it shocking that so few people could craft financial schemes that have impoverished so many of us. He also illustrates that impoverishment in masterful ways, both blunt and subtle.
But, he doesn’t just complain. He lays out specific ideas for fundamentally changing out economy. He also hints at ways that this revolution can be done in a peaceful, straightforward way. But, it’s clear that if that’s the kind of revolution we want, we’d better hurry.
I felt the power that a peaceful change can bring at the Inauguration, and that feeling is what I want to preserve in our book. But, having watched the movie is making me rethink aspects of our business plan. Ujjvala and I need to do some more talking over the weekend.
—-Joe
Today is Mahatma Gandh’s birthday, and two years ago the UN declared October 2 as International Nonviolence Day. Gandhi is one of Obama’s heroes, as has been reported nearly everywhere. Here is a link from an English language Indian paper, for a different perspective:
Americans Owe Enormous Gratitude to Gandhi, Obama Says
Violence tried to break the chain of peace that started with Thoreau, influenced Gandhi, and continued with Martin Luther King Jr,. Yet subsequent history was decided by these peacemakers, not by their violent opponents. I believe that the violence that is simmering the world will not prevail this time either. I hope you believe this too.
You who attended Barack Obama’s inauguration are not only a part of history. You are also a link in that chain of peace.
-Ujjvala
I voted for Barack Obama, but it’s just now that I’ve started reading his memoir, Dreams from My Father. Isn’t it remarkable that a young man could write such a profound, lyrical book? Wasn’t it moving how he described the different racial environments that he explored, and how they formed his drive to unite Americans? Many were inspired by that book to work for Obama’s election. His memoir shows me that the man in the White House is authentic. I’m so glad we have a President of his character.
Why do we tell our stories? That is the central question that is answered in memoirs, including in this memoir you can submit about witnessing the inauguration of our first African-American president. Consider your account not just a news story, but a new story, a story that can change people.
Think about any or all of these questions as starting points for what you want to say:
What are you teaching us by telling us this story?
What did you learn, or discover, or create, etc ?
What do you feel you are contributing to the current dialogue in the country?
Do you have any more questions that you think you can answer? Do you have a perspective that needs to be heard? There are more ideas on how to start in our Facebook page, “www.masondixonpublishing.com.”
Inspire us. Tell us your story.
-Ujjvala
Last night my wife took me to see the movie “Julie and Julia.” I’ve been interested in the works of Nora Ephron ever since I took a writing class from her many, many years ago. There were some interesting parallels with my life. Like, Julie I have a stultifying “day job.” I work in an industrial ceramics factory, running a huge grinding machine that shapes ceramic blocks for glass furnaces. The blocks can be up to eight feet long, and sometimes have to be ground to within 1/1000th of an inch. It’s dirty, noisy, and often dangerous work that demands my full attention for eight hours every day. My Bachelor’s in English and my Master’s in English education aren’t much help in that environment.
Also, like Julie, I’m a little hesitant about the idea of blogging. Giving up one’s privacy is somewhat daunting. However, it seems that we are becoming a society without boundaries or distinctions. When I was younger, the idea of mixing personal experiences with work was considered unprofessional. Now, when it’s unclear what information is true or false, I can understand that people need to see the “genuine” process of creating something like our publishing business.
And it has been quite a process. Vaiju and I took several months to decide whether or not to go through with this business. Neither of us is independently wealthy, so this is a substantial financial risk. It took me another month to create our business plan. I have had some experience and a fair amount of success as a grant writer, so I had done budgets and projections before. This was different, however. This was my own money and my own life being fit into a business plan. I put in every contingency I could think of and Fed-Exed it to Vaiju. When she agreed to try, I knew we could do it. I’ve known Vaiju for more than 30 years and I trust her judgement completely.
We’ve had some setbacks. Our first web developer was incompetent. I should have paid attention to the feeling in my gut as we were considering hiring him. But his references and education checked out, and his price and timeline fit our business plan. We lost several months and thousands of dollars as he struggled to get our website running. It looked like the whole project might fail. We ended up letting him go. Then we hired out current web developer, E-Market South, and the experience has been fantastic. The site looks great and works perfectly.
So now we will end up, like Julie, huge internet successes! With the help of you and your submissions, we can create our first book, helping to preserve the sense of hope and accomplishment we all felt on 1/20/09. As Barack said, it was never about him. It’s about us and what we can do as a Nation when we pull together. That’s the kind of spirit we are striving for here at Mason-Dixon Publishing. That’s the kind of spirit that can change all of our lives for the better.
—-Joe
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