Roberta's contributions to the In Theory column
Nov 24, 2017 0:26:04 GMT -8
anni, Roberta, and 2 more like this
Post by Brian on Nov 24, 2017 0:26:04 GMT -8
Internet service is slow and cranky every Thanksgiving Day, when more people shopping and streaming. Twice Roberta tried to post, only to get the screen saying that the ProBoards server was down temporarily. I want her words appear here.
Roberta is the official atheist among several local ministers who write for the In Theory column in the Burbank Leader, a community newspaper owned by the Los Angeles Times. This week's question: "What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving? Do you cultivate gratitude in your everyday life?"
As this goes to press I will be flying home after three weeks in Southeast Asia. Shortly before we arrived in Cambodia, their prime minister, via his puppet judge, had outlawed the country’s last remaining opposition political party.
The U.S. involved then-abandoned Cambodia in our imperialist stupidity in the region, creating an opening for the murderous reign of dictator Pol Pot. After his death, a fledgling democracy was attempted in this small and poor country. When it collapsed, Hun Sen, Pol Pot’s political descendent, came to power.
Now his dictatorship is secure and I fear that citizen participation in civic life, already low, will disappear. To see life going on without outrage or activism is no surprise since any dissent is severely punished. Witnessing this makes me very grateful for our democratic liberties, and high level of civic engagement.
Democracy like gratitude is an activity, not a static state, and neither can be assumed; Cambodia isn’t the first democracy to end and won’t be the last. Just take a look at Freedom in the World 2017, and be sure to get all the way to the end where the United States is included on the list of “Countries to Watch,” ones at a turning point in their political history. Both the Trump and Obama administrations are cited as diminishing our democratic tradition and place in the world.
I am one of numerous locals who enjoy the democratic opportunity of the weekly Montrose Peace Vigil, to remind the community of our endless wars and the possibility of peace. If you are grateful for our freedom of expression, want peace and like to have fun, you are welcome to join us on the Peace Train. On Saturday evening, Dec. 2, we will be chugging down Honolulu Avenue for the eighth year as a Silver sponsor of the Montrose Christmas Parade. Email me at rmedford@ucla.edu to get onboard!
Roberta Medford
Atheist
Montrose
The U.S. involved then-abandoned Cambodia in our imperialist stupidity in the region, creating an opening for the murderous reign of dictator Pol Pot. After his death, a fledgling democracy was attempted in this small and poor country. When it collapsed, Hun Sen, Pol Pot’s political descendent, came to power.
Now his dictatorship is secure and I fear that citizen participation in civic life, already low, will disappear. To see life going on without outrage or activism is no surprise since any dissent is severely punished. Witnessing this makes me very grateful for our democratic liberties, and high level of civic engagement.
Democracy like gratitude is an activity, not a static state, and neither can be assumed; Cambodia isn’t the first democracy to end and won’t be the last. Just take a look at Freedom in the World 2017, and be sure to get all the way to the end where the United States is included on the list of “Countries to Watch,” ones at a turning point in their political history. Both the Trump and Obama administrations are cited as diminishing our democratic tradition and place in the world.
I am one of numerous locals who enjoy the democratic opportunity of the weekly Montrose Peace Vigil, to remind the community of our endless wars and the possibility of peace. If you are grateful for our freedom of expression, want peace and like to have fun, you are welcome to join us on the Peace Train. On Saturday evening, Dec. 2, we will be chugging down Honolulu Avenue for the eighth year as a Silver sponsor of the Montrose Christmas Parade. Email me at rmedford@ucla.edu to get onboard!
Roberta Medford
Atheist
Montrose
When I mentioned the Peace Train and Roberta to our friend Frieda at Thanksgiving dinner, Frieda said: "Roberta Medford? She writes the best pieces in the Burbank Leader for In Theory."
Here's the link to the complete In Theory column in the Burbank Leader: www.latimes.com/socal/burbank-leader/opinion/tn-blr-me-intheory-20171122-story.html
And this is the previous thread on the Montrose Peace Vigil message board with some of Roberta's contributions in the past year: montrosepeacevigil.proboards.com/thread/623/robertas-latest-contribution-theory