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Issue 9: |
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| Article 2: |
Point/Counterpoint
(Zulma Prieto, Editorial/ Joe Rueff, Response) ( documents in both English and Spanish ) Zulma and I talked about the interest we hope we are
creating with the inclusion of articles that she has written. I suggested
that we present a "Point/Counterpoint" series in
which she will share an editorial that appears in El Puente and I will
write remarks related to her topic from my perspective. -- ED |
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Editorial by Zulma Prieto (en Español) |
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Today I find myself writing before the forthcoming Thanksgiving
celebration and 54 days away from Christmas. I cannot help but think that
I am writing from the land of discontentment. We give thanks between two
totally different celebrations and we are thankful for nothing. This is the land where you are constantly invited to pursue more. The ?American Dream?, the same as the ?Alliance for Progress?, is continuous propaganda to acquire more. It does not matter if you use most of your life trying to reach one more goal (usually associated with ?getting more?); the important thing is to spend like hamsters do, always running without ever asking where you are going. This is the land of fast food, instant coffee, and nowadays you can even have drive through churches. The question is, by running so much, do we have more time to spend in reflection or just merely enjoying what God has given us? After a long day of work, do you have one or more errands to do? Or perhaps you have a couple of meetings to attend and some shopping before you reach home? And by the time you get there, can you get past the everyday conversation to some meaningful dialogue with the people that surround you? Are you content with what you have? This is the land of abundance. Everywhere you look there is more than enough to choose from. Look at any supermarket and you will see aisle after aisle of any product in several versions and modalities. Sometimes you have difficulty in making choices. While we live in the land of overabundance and discontentment where there is always a good reason to buy something that we really do not need; people elsewhere have to go without everyday things that are truly necessities in their lives. Maybe the best way to stop the killing and misery in other countries lies in stopping the way we consume. How many cars does a household need? How many TV's do we need? How much food do we need to store? A short while ago while in conversation with a group of Latinos, I asked them to think back to five years ago. How many shirts and how many pairs of shoes did they have and how many had they bought during the year 2005. I continue asking the same questions of myself and others. I am asking the same question today to anyone who reads this editorial. How many lies do you believe from a system that wants you to lose your life buying what you do not truly need? How many people engulfed in the current economic globalization are in the most tragic poverty because in the Northern Hemisphere people are in permanent discontent. I do not celebrate Halloween, in my case is a matter of belief, and I also do not feel like celebrating a day that does not honor the natives of this land. They gave everything; above all they gave of themselves with kindness and generosity. How did the discontented newly arrivals return that generosity? Do we do the same today? Do we take away other peoples treasures, land and products and later ask them to celebrate democracy with us? After Thanksgiving comes Christmas. The season for presents and best wishes for all. What is our present to the world? Do we share what we have without taking away from others? That maybe is the best present that this ?Christian country? can give the world. What are we celebrating? |
| En Español |
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Hoy me encuentro escribiendo antes de la pr?ima celebraci? del D? de
Acci? de Gracias y a 54 d?s de la Navidad; y no puedo evitar pensar que
estoy escribiendo desde la tierra del descontento. Damos gracias entre dos
celebraciones completamente distintas y no estamos agradecidos por nada.
Esta es la tierra donde a usted siempre se le est?invitando a obtener m?. El ?Sue? Americano?, as?como la ?Alianza para el Progreso?, es una propaganda continua acerca de adquirir m?. No importa que usted emplee la mayor parte de su vida para obtener un logro mayor ( usualmente asociado a ?tener m??); lo m? importante es pasar como lo hacen los hampsters, siempre corriendo sin preguntarse nunca hacia donde vamos. Esta es la tierra de la comida r?ida, el caf?instant?eo y hoy en d? usted puede tener incluso iglesias con drive through. La pregunta es, al correr tanto, tenemos m? tiempo para pasar en reflexi? o aunque sea solo gozando lo que Dios nos ha dado? Despu? de un largo d? de trabajo, tiene una o m? diligencias que hacer? O tal vez tiene un par de reuniones a las que debe asistir y algo de compras que hacer antes de llegar a casa. Y para cuando llegue all? puede pasar de la conversaci? diaria a un di?ogo m? profundo con la gente que le rodea? Esta contento con lo que tiene? Esta es la tierra de la abundancia. A cualquier parte que mire, siempre hay m? de donde escoger. Mire en cualquier supermercado y ver?pasillo tras pasillo, cualquier producto en variedad de versiones y modalidades. Algunas veces hasta es dif?il escoger. Mientras vivimos en la tierra de la sobreabundancia y descontento, donde siempre hay una raz? para comprar algo que en realidad no necesitamos; la gente en otros lugares tiene que subsistir sin las cosas m?imas que son verdaderamente necesarias en su vida. Tal vez la mejor manera de parar la muerte y la miseria en otros pa?es yace en el hecho que tenemos que parar la forma en que consumimos. Cu?tos autos necesita una familia? Cu?tas televisiones? Y cu?to alimento almacenamos? Hace poco en una conversaci? con Latinos les ped?que pensaran hacia cinco a?s atr?. Cu?tas camisas y pares de zapatos ten?n y cu?to hab?n comprado durante el a? 2005. Contin? haciendo la misma pregunta a m?misma y a otros, y ahora la estoy haciendo a todo el que lea este editorial. Yo no celebro Haloween, en mi caso es una cuesti? de creencia, y tampoco me siento en disposici? de celebrar un d? que no hace honor a los nativos de esta tierra. Ellos lo dieron todo, dieron de s?mismos con bondad y generosidad. C?o devolvi?esa generosidad el descontento de los reci? llegados? Hacemos lo mismo hoy en d?? Estamos tomando los tesoros, la tierra y los productos de otros pueblos y despu? les pedimos que celebren la democracia con nosotros? Despu? de Acci? de Gracias, viene la Navidad. La temporada de los regalos y buenos deseos para todos. Cu? es nuestro presente para el mundo? Compartiremos lo que tenemos sin quitarle a otros? Este tal vez es el mejor regalo que este ?pa? cristiano? puede darle al mundo. ? Qu?estamos celebrando? |
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Counterpoint by Joe Rueff (en Español)
As I read Zulma's editorial I kept
looking for major points with which I could disagree. I found none. Oh,
there were a few spots in which I might have used different words,
couched my language, but in so doing I would have lost the poignancy of
her statements. We are a culture awash in abundance. And we find
ourselves embroiled in a war that seems to leave few options for a
successful end. Our guns and butter tendencies have left us with little
opportunity to make major contributions to really help the billions
ravaged by natural calamities both here and abroad -- Katrina, Wilma,
the Tsunami, earthquakes, starvation in Sudan, AIDS pandemic in Africa.
When I was in Graduate school at
Indiana University I took a course in Speech Interpretation. In it I ran
across a poem by James Oppenheim, titled "1914 -- and After."
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/cca6109ac75acc67.html There
is a paucity of information available on either the author or the book
from which it was taken, War and Laughter, The Century Company,
1916. Nevertheless, it rings as true today as it did during World War I
("The War to End Wars"!). Since then we have had the anguish of the
Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, Viet Nam, and the wars
in and with Iraq. So instead of reacting directly to Zulma, I urge you
to read both her article and Oppenheim's words. Remember, as we enter
the forthcoming holidays in a gift-giving mood, that perhaps the
greatest gift we can give is to rededicate ourselves to the service of
humanity and to allocate our resources more effectively to benefit the
billions of our brothers and sisters world wide.
(The underlines are mine for emphasis.
Please forgive the use of the masculine throughout. It was the style of
that period and should be taken in a generic sense.)
Joe Rueff
WOULD YOU END WAR?
Would you end war?
Create great Peace.
. . .
You rave at the war, do you?
Do you know that the war has struck
in the face with a fist
A race of clerks,
And turned them to men?
The flabby boys of London died
athletes Ypres. . . .
The Lords of large estates
proved in their deaths equality. . . .
Vast millions have ceased
to whimper over the coffee at breakfast,
And ceased from family
cowardice,
And from industrial bondage,
And now the mother gives the
son she feared to release for a night's
adventure,
And the man who demanded safety
first leads the charge from the
trenches,
And life is so real
that men are ready to lose it. . . .
For in war they have found
Peace:
The Peace with oneself,
the being used for a great purpose,
The releasing of the spirit
in the heart, and its victorious sweep in
the soul,
The assertion of manhood,
which means courage, hardness, discipline,
and adventure.
Such is Peace. . . .
But that which we call Peace?
This monstrous machine that
weakens millions in factories,
This lust of money for its own
sake: to swell one's social stomach
larger than one's neighbor's. . .
.
This poor little personal strife and
family pride,
This softness of muscle and cowardice
of spirit. . . .
Is this Peace?
Is merely keeping alive,
Peace?
Better the young die greatly
than live weakly. . . .
Would you end war?
Create great Peace. . . .
The Peace that demands all of
a man,
His love, his life, his
veriest self;
Plunge him in the smelting
fires of a work that becomes his child,
Coerce him to be himself
at all hazards; with the toil and the mating
that belong to him:
Compel him to
serve. . . .
Give him a hard Peace: a Peace
of discipline and justice. . . .
Kindle him with vision,
invite him to joy and adventure:
Set him at work, not to create
things
But to create men:
Yea, himself.
Go search your heart, America.
. . .
Turn from machine to man,
Build, while there is yet
time, a creative Peace. . . .
For if you reject great Peace,
As surely as vile living brings
disease,
So surely shall your selfishness
bring war.
James
Oppenheim, 1914 -- and After
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En Espańol |
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Como yo le?el editorial de Zulma yo mantuve el buscar los
puntos mayores con que yo no podr? convenir. Encontr?ninguno. Ah, hab?
unos pocos lugares en los que podr? haber utilizado palabras diferentes,
formularon mi idioma, pero a tan hacer habr? perdido el patetismo de sus
declaraciones. Somos una cultura inundada de sobra. Y nosotros nos
encontramos nos enredamos en una guerra que parece salir pocas opciones
para un fin exitoso. Nuestras tendencias de fusiles y mantequilla nos han
dejado con oportunidad peque? para hacer contribuciones mayores para
ayudar realmente los mil millones destrozaron por las calamidades
naturales aqu?y al exterior -- Katrina, Wilma, la Tsunami, los terremotos,
el hambre en Sud?, pandemia de SIDA en Africa. Cu?do yo estaba en cursos
de posgraduado en la Universidad de Indiana yo tom?un curso en la
Interpretaci? de Discurso. En ello yo me top?con un poema por Mermeladas
Oppenheim, titul?"1914 -- y Despu?." TERMINARIA Usted la GUERRA? ?Terminar? usted la guerra? |
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Article 3:
The "Sound Approach to Learning" Series by Dorinne Davis 4. The Trunk of The Tree of Sound Enhancement Therapy? |
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