Straying From the Mission of this Blog...

Politically homeless. That’s what I am. I was born into a family with Republican parents who were good people. They didn’t support any type of character assassination and they disdained the petty greed that existed in political circles, where people used their position to better their bank accounts. They were fair people who believed that every person is responsible for their own future but that having a net provided by the government is a must for any great society and caring for those who cannot care for themselves was the responsibility of the fortunate.

I came of age politically during the 80’s after graduating from high school and watching the Reagan revolution turn my parents’ party on its head. I did not agree with the tenets set forth by this man and those who followed him and couldn’t understand my peers who used the phrase, “Are you better off now than you were four years ago” as a mantra to supporting the me-only era of politics that followed. That is why I registered as a Democrat.

As I aged, I peripherally kept up with the politics of our nation and spent some time living abroad, seeing our country from the outside as non-Americans see us. I was shocked to learn that not everyone marveled at us because I had been naively raised to believe that all things American were sought after by the rest of the world. In many ways, this statement was true at the time. The world took in our media, our clothes, our music and our culture and ate it up as a way to a better life. And I agree that our impact on righting some of the worlds’ wrongs has been monumental in this view of America as “the good guys”. We have been there to support countries when the rest of the world turned its back and sacrificed our own in order to do so. We were the country having a good time while much of the rest of the world was struggling to make ends meet. We were being raised on J.R., Sesame Street, Laugh-In and The Dating Game. Our struggles were internal and the rest of the world didn’t touch us on our television screens each night. In many ways, the rest of the world didn’t exist for Americans during that era as we were far enough away from Vietnam and not yet touched by 9/11. It was an era filled with partying, cocktail parties, elegant balls and a president whose image was that of a graceful movie star, an ideologue who saw the world through a myopic paradigm of self-congratulation.

I say this not as a diatribe but as a footnote to where I find myself politically now. In this limited two party country, where these two groups control the dialogue and the money, it is becoming increasingly difficult to affect change. And for that reason am I politically homeless.

Having lost the 2000 election under dubious means, the Democratic party caved in and ceased to exist. There has hardly been one vote made in the past five years that hasn’t handed the Bush administration every single thing that it wants. There have been singular stands on principle by single members of Congress but as a whole, the entire Democratic party is as self-serving and eager to be re-elected as their Republican counterparts. Because of the stranglehold of corporate influence on our presidential and congressional elections, not the lobbyists who are their mercenaries, we have a political landscape that on the whole produces leaders who owe unto others or already possess great wealth.

I am so incredibly disappointed in the party I am registered in and the government we have at this moment that like many, I try my best to become involved locally and to work toward a different model of living. It is disheartening, despite being a country as rich as ours, as technologically advanced and as good at heart as our people are, that we are not bringing the world into the next century on a vision of compassion, ecologically advanced sustainability and moral humility…relevance to our place in the context of history.

I cannot, in my life, understand the minds that feel that taking apart a pension system and leaving future seniors with a reduced income during years they expected to get back what they gave is a good thing. Is selfishness so out of control that our country will continue to use one third of the world’s energy while only possessing one fifth of the population? How bad does it have to get before we stand up and say that we do not want a government that functions in the me-only philosophy, whether it is the personal me or the national-me, it only leads us to the downfall of what we have been privileged to live during-the era of American superiority. I have faith that we have the power to reverse this trend and recoup much of what we are losing. But I also think that we need new leaders to speak the truth to the corporate greed that runs this country, to expect our companies to act as stewards of the future, not allow money to be distributed in such a fashion that it is impossible to live on a non-corporate salary and still make ends meet.

I’m not a pessimist. I work hard at solutions in my community to bring people together, to volunteer my time and energy for doing things for others and for making a stand against inequality in the world. But I will be damned if I’m going to accept the criminal actions of those in power and stand by and allow them to rape this country and claim patriotism as their right. It is time for the Republicans in this administration to go. But it is time for the Democrats to go with them and for regular Americans to take back this country, regardless of party, and make it a vision again for the world, not a selfish, spoiled, fat, ignorant kid on the playground who keeps saying, “Me, first”.

Princeton School Gardens Founder, Dorothy Mullen

With funding for deer fencing from the school district and a self-taught knowledge of organic gardening, Dorothy Mullen, a diet and lifestyle counselor in Princeton, NJ started an organic school garden at Princeton's Riverside Elementary School . "I'm so stupid, I don't know what I can't do," is the answer I got from her after asking about the history of the garden and how it had been so successful combining school gardens and curriculum. Her humble answer was a window into the enthusiasm she has brought to this "job" as a visionary, a gardener, a volunteer, an activist and someone keeps thinking outside the box.

Started as a peace-oriented community service idea after 9/11, and using merely one gardening book by author Dick Raymond, Dorothy broke ground with the first beds in October 2001. Now, the garden has grown to include a 35x65 vegetable and instrumental bed; a 25x30 boxed herb bed; a drought tolerant border lining the driveway; a 60 foot butterfly garden; a native grass garden and an instructional/curriculum garden.

As the beds have multimplied, the use of the gardens as a part of the school's curriculum has too. Teachers use the garden as a tool to teach math, science and creative writing, not to mention the growing season and vegetables, which teach children where their food comes from.

According to Dorothy, the curriculum ties were obvious. Although district and state curriculum didn't drive this type of garden-based education program, the participation rate of the faculty is now almost 100%.

Dorothy's vision is an ever-changing vista of color, growth and trial and error. She uses flowers and certain plants to divert attention away from choice vegetables in order not to go the pesticide, chemical route to gardening. She encourages parents to participate and engages families to pick a week in the summer to weed and harvest and water, while school is out of session. Her ideas know no bounds as this garden takes on an almost surreal role in the life of the school and the surrounding community.

It is a vision that should be modeled in elementary schools around the state and then expanded to middle school and high schools as well. Connecting children to the land, and to the process of growing living things and of seeing the cycles of life that coexist with the seasons reaps rewards beyond what a school classroom can provide.

We need more Dorothy Mullens who are willing to dig in and jump into an idea whose time has come. Thankfully, though, we have her to learn from.

The Town That Tries to Keep It Country - New York Times

The Town That Tries to Keep It Country - New York Times

This NY Times article from last year highlighted our farmers' market and its impact on our community.