Back Home To Ireland!

There is a strong belief among people of Irish descent that Ireland is of course their true homeland. Much of this is related to their family heritage and the bonds and history that grew from stories told by  family members. Many have had the expierience of hearing of the struggles, hardships and the trips themselves directly from parents, grandparents or aunts and uncles who traveled from Ireland to the United States in the late 1800's or the early 1900's. I am lucky to be one of those. So I recently made the trip back home to Ireland. I just returned and thought I would share some of what I saw.

I traveled on a tour with a group of 32 other folks. It took us through many of the sights and sounds of Dublin and then County Clare. We also visited the Aran Islands. It was a fascinating trip and I got to see up close the land of my heritage. Ireland truly is a beautiful country. The sea coast and the countryside are filled with outstanding sights as well as over 40 shades of green I'm sure. The geography is both rugged and warm. Archeological sites dot the land almost wherever you go. Abbeys and castles, some hundreds and others thousands of years old. Stone walls plotting out ownership of fields and marking pastures but not necessarily stopping sheep or cows from wandering.

Tourism dominates the economy of Ireland today. That same economy has taken a nose dive from the boom that took place a few years ago. Unemployment is running at around 14% and government cuts are being felt by everyone with more cuts coming. But tourism does continue and thrive from what I could see. The streets of major villages and cities are filled with people either visiting for the first time or returning on a holiday and all seem to be treated equally well by local people.

Galway is a fun place to be on a Sunday afternoon. Street performers are up and down Quay Street. Vendors and artisans also set up shop selling jewelry, food and handcrafted items of all sorts. The pubs are full and offer good food, drink and conversation. Honestly, no one is a stranger from what I saw. It is easy to get service, advice, directions or opinions on just about anything from both employees and fellow customers.

Ah the pubs. They certainly are the focal point in every place that we visited. Food, drink, conversation and music all flow from these gathering places. The music is wonderful. Most of what I saw was traditional but there is a mix of celtic rock, jazz and blues that can be found along the way. The pub music made me wonder why we don't do more of that in this country. Basically musicians meeting up in the late evening to play with each other, to share techniques in a public setting. Little jam sessions mixed in with conversation and camaraderie. A reserved table is set aside after the evening meal and a fiddler, guitar player, drum, pipe and accordion or some mix of them all, begin showing up to take their turns leading or playing a tune. Most of the time musicians buy their own drinks and interact among themselves. From what I could tell, these folks play for the love of the music, the tradition and the development of their own skills. It's a lot of fun to watch.

But the real purpose and foundation of my trip to Ireland was a return to my heritage. A quest to understand the struggles and motivations of the inhabitants of this beautiful island in the sea. My grandmother was a Kelly from the small village of Ballyfarnon in County Roscommon. It is the northern most village in Roscommon and is right on the border of Sligo. She, like millions of others, left family and home to travel to America as a young woman. She had very little in her possession when she left and probably not much of an idea of what she would encounter. I am still trying to retrace her experience but she most likely embarked from Queenstown and its harbor of tears along with so many others who were looking for a new and better life across the ocean. She arrived at Ellis Island and began her life in a new and different land. She became a cleaning woman first in NYC and eventually at a hunting and fishing club in eastern Pennsylvania where she met a local farmer turned hunting guide, my grandfather. They married and moved to New Jersey where she continued to work cleaning rooms and offices. He got a job in a mailroom as a clerk through one of his contacts at the hunting and fishing club. They raised a family of two daughters and a son.

I grew up listening to my mother and my grandmother telling stories about that life, about that home far away from which my grandmother came. As far as I know, she never saw her parents again. She never traveled back home. But she followed the news of the 'troubles' and the fight for independence. I know she yearned for the countryside and the traditions and language of her homeland. At the same time she was very proud of her new home and country. She watched her family grow and succeed and she knew how wonderful and strange it was for all of that to happen. That's the heritage and the experience that brought me back home to Ireland

Labor Day 2012 - Cesar Chavez

Yesterday was Labor Day. I am often reminded of the days of migrant farm workers struggling for their families and their rights in the 60's. Living in upstate NY I see issues related to migrant labor and illegal and legal immigration almost everyday. Vineyards and orchards are cared for and picked by today's farm workers. The issues are a little different. In the 60's no one was talking about or much cared about where these workers came from. They came and went across our borders. The issue then was pure money. These folks could be paid less then others and could be exploited in other ways because they were poor, away from home and unprotected.

Today hard working migrants are a bit more protected and are paid minimally, service worker wages. Every once in awhile you hear arguments about how they are taking jobs from Americans. But when investigated, few others will take these jobs. Farmers cry out for laborers and no one comes.

Cesar Chavez was another non violent hero from that time. He understood and utilized the symbolism and effectiveness of non violent protest. He utilized fasting and economic boycotts. He knew the exploitation. He knew the work. He knew the industry. He was influenced by Dorothy Day and he impacted the politics of the time. He fought hard and labored hard but the struggle obviously continues. - JW

César Chávez, 1927-1993, was an American farm worker of Mexican descent and the embodiment of a Christian laborer who coupled his leadership, organizing skills and his spirituality to non-violently promote the dignity and rights of workers.  This year marks the 50th anniversary of this labor and civil rights leader having founded with Dolores Huerta (Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, 2012) the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers.  -  The Faith and Politics Institute

United Farm Workers Prayer

Written by Cesar Chavez

Show me the suffering of the most miserable, so I may know my people's plight.  Free me to pray for others, for you are present in every person.  Help me to take responsibility for my own life, so that I can be free at last.  Grant me courage to serve others, for in service there is true life.  Give me honesty and patience, so that I can work with other workers.  Bring forth song and celebration, so that the Spirit will be alive among us.  Let the Spirit flourish and grow, so that we will never tire of the struggle.  Let us remember those who have died for justice, for they have given us life.  Help us love even those who hate us, so we can change the world.  Amen. 

Now The Democrats Turn

Well the Republicans had their chance last week and pretty much blew it. From the mean spiritedness to Clint Eastwood, who in my opinion, seemed to be working as a double agent of some sort, making Obama's day.

As I said, there is a mean spiritedness that just comes through in both the speeches and on the faces of the Republicans. The poor - read welfare - the sick, the disabled, all seem to be at fault or worse yet just people to be ignored.

So now the Democrats will go at it. They are a different crowd. You can see it in all of their actions. From feeling comfortable in their crazy hats and outfits to cheering, chanting and booing. They seem to have more fun. But fun isn't the issue this time around. Millions are unemployed, families are losing their homes and a health crises always seems to be looming.

And then there's foreign policy, hardly touched in Tampa last week. The war in Iraq was ended under this President but we seem to have just shifted from there to Afghanistan. Iran seems to be next with some shouting for a preemptive strike. I hope some sanity prevails. It seems to be taking a long time for people to realize that in this day and age, war isn't an option anymore. Forget the moral arguments (for now). It just isn't any kind of practical solution to global problem solving.

There's also the environment. Whether it's fracking and gas drilling or climate change and natural resources, there are certainly enough challenges for all of us.

So the Democrats have their job cut out for them. There's lots to cover and people seem to be pretty sick of nothing getting done.

National Political Conventions Are Here

As I've stated elsewhere, I'm a real political junkie. I am really interested in politics and political strategies. I have strong feelings about issues but love to watch and learn from any political party or entity.  From the time I was just a youngster I have stayed up and watched political conventions of the two major parties in this country. Sometimes that has meant little sleep for sustained periods.

This year is no different, although the Republican Convention in Tampa has already had delays and will be shortened due to Tropical Storm Isaac and now people are even talking about moving to one day conventions in the long term. It's been many years since real candidate decisions have been made at national conventions. Everyone has known for months that Mitt Romney would be the Republican nominee. We all also knew that President Obama would be the Democratic nominee. But there are new things that can happen at conventions. For one thing people have a chance to learn more about candidates. In addition, delegates and surrogates can cause or get into trouble and what party they belong to makes no difference.

So this week all attention is on the Republicans and Mitt Romney. Next week it will be the Democrats and President Obama. So I expect to be spending a lot of time watching all of the proceedings on tv and getting a little less sleep.

I was listening to some commentary on the radio yesterday that reminded me of a convention from the past. In 1964, Barry Goldwater was nominated as the Republican candidate for President. It's really interesting that George Romney, Mitt Romney's father, was the spokesperson for the moderate wing of the Republican party that year. He was very concerned about the direction of the party and its move toward the right. He spoke out strongly and fought for a plank in the party platform that year to support civil rights legislation. He lost that battle. He fought hard against what he considered to be Goldwater's extremism. I learned through the commentary yesterday that Mitt Romney attended that convention as a 17 year old and watched his father try to stand for moderation in the party. The senior Romney wrote Goldwater after the convention pointing out why the party needed to be more inclusive rather then moving in one direction or the other.

Here we are in 2012 with Mitt Romney seeming to move further and further to the right of center and it makes one wonder if he thinks about that convention in 1964 and what his father was trying to accomplish. I guess we'll see.

The Execution of Marvin Wilson

Let me say right off the bat that I’m opposed to capital punishment. Always have been and probably always will be. I’ve never believed the ‘eye for an eye’ concept as any kind of good public policy, but more on that in future posts. A Texas man convicted in the shooting death of a 21-year-old man in 1992 was executed Tuesday in Huntsville. Marvin Wilson was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m. (7:27 p.m. ET) on August 7, 2012.

Here’s the thing. Wilson's IQ had been measured in testing at 61. Wilson, 54, had been declared "intellectually disabled" by a court-appointed neuropsychologist. "Despite all the signs of Mr. Wilson's intellectual disabilities and the diagnosis of the court-appointed neuropsychologist, the District Court of Jefferson County (Texas) concluded that Mr. Wilson is not mentally retarded," according to a posting by the ACLU, with "not" italicized for emphasis.

Wilson was convicted in the shooting death of Jerry Robert Williams in Beaumont, Texas. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Williams was abducted and shot after a "physical confrontation" between the two men. Obviously, Wilson needed to be held accountable for his actions and that could have been done in a much more humane way than death by lethal injection.

Now I haven’t seen the court records or its final determination in this case but it sure sounds like the court may not have understood that the older term “mentally retarded” is in fact included in the newer terminology of intellectual disability as defined by the federal government. I don’t know if it is the case but what a shame if a man was executed because a court didn’t understand the definition of an intellectual disability.

The Supreme Court ruled a number of years ago that executing individuals with an intellectual disability is unconstitutional. The problem is that in that ruling the Court left it to the individual states in determining the level of disability. Ergo, Marvin Wilson’s problem - Texas and it’s definition/determination.

What really amazes me is the deafening silence from groups that present themselves as advocates for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities - The Arc and NYSARC are examples but there are others. These organizations have a bully pulpit of sorts and are in a position to educate the general public, politicians, lawyers and other advocates and professionals.

The United States is in the minority when it comes to capitol punishment in general. We should certainly be able to make clear determinations about the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. This decision by the Texas Court was a slap in the face to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court turned down Wilson’s appeal, so they took the slap. Within the same week, the individual who killed and wounded people in Arizona copped a plea and got life in prison. Strange and sad that Marvin Wilson didn’t have a chance.