This Door Is Not An Exit

These are times that demand creative dissent. To those who would limit poetry to the dubiously ‘private sphere’ of singular reflection and ‘master narrative,’ I ask, isn't this conventional role ultimately a disabling one? Might poetry instead be the space where private and public urgencies meet and invent a third place of possibility? Heather Thomas

American civic life needs an honest broker, one who possesses the poet’s core values of illumination, imagination, reflection, and sincerity. American democracy needs the citizen-poet to address a gamut of difficult-to-solve public issues such as cultural fragmentation, national health care, decrepit infrastructure, threats of terrorism, energy consumption, climate change, nuclear proliferation, warfare, poverty, crime, immigration, and civil rights. David Biespiel

Julian Assange and Wikileaks
In response to concerns about the possibility of misleading or fraudulent leaks, WikiLeaks has stated that misleading leaks "are already well-placed in the mainstream media. WikiLeaks is of no additional assistance.

Only in rare cases does secrecy serve a benevolent purpose. The sheer number, 250,000, of sealed diplomatic documents speaks to how ridiculous this whole business has become. The calls for extrajudicial treatment of Julian Assange are very telling. There is a move in this country to redact the Constitution and/or ignore it as one of those quaint and archaic documents, like the Geneva Conventions. Hysteria in the halls of Congress. Hyaenas on the hunt. Bradley Manning, who has been in solitary confinement at a military jail in Quantico, Virginia, since July 29th. He is not allowed to exercise in his cell; has been denied a pillow and sheets; is under constant surveillance; and is allowed no contact, even indirectly, with the media. He has not been convicted of any crime. In the meantime the Department of Justice has subpoenaed the Twitter Records not only of Assange and other with close ties to Wikileaks, but also those of the 635,561 followers on Twitter, among whom I am proud to count myself. Any journalist worth her salt would be doing the same thing, following the primary sources. I began really trying to do this during the lead up to the Iraq war. Remember the “Winnebagoes of Death?” I decided I would read the UN IAEA reports to learn what they really said. No surprise, it was not what the media was telling us. I am not a journalist. But I do want to be an informed citizen.

Assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords
I do not fully trust the government. I strongly disagree with a lot that is going on. Almost a return to the feelings I had in the 60's. But, like then, I will not resort to violence. Nor do not think it is necessary to wear a diaper or wander the streets barefoot in order to create a more peaceful world. We are ordinary people and we can start with our words. I am no fan of Sarah Palin, but she is not responsible for the tragedy in Arizona. We can not point our fingers at others and wash our hands of responsibility. We must ask ourselves, how can I create a more peaceful world. We are not helpless. We must do it, one kind gesture, one kind word at a time.