Leadership and Political Change the Wellstone Way

Jeff Blodgett, the founding director of Wellstone Action, a national center for training and leadership development, opened his convocation speech last Friday by recalling his own experience of studying with Paul Wellstone at Carleton College during the early 1980s. He described Wellstone’s admiration for strong individual conviction and the view that one’s work should involve what one really believes in. Blodgett thus described the model of leadership and change embodied by Wellstone, noting that although it was not unique to his philosophy, it certainly made him a distinctive force in leadership development.

In emphasizing the issue of power and more importantly “social power” – being able to accomplish collectively with people holding similar interests – Blodgett referred to the principles of the Wellstone triangle, which embody three core concepts: community organizing, electoral politics, and public policy change. He emphasized that all three of these “realms” must be present in order to have great social power, stating that he associates “every successful social movement to this model”, citing the Civil Rights Movement as an example. The importance of organizing the community lies in strengthening numbers and building bonds; electoral politics involves “deciding who decides” and who is the representative; public policy change presents the fundamental vision that the movement embodied.

Blodgett highlighted the two key players involved in the successful social movement. The first, the leader, is someone “with a following, who moves a gathering from A to B, to gather social power for some end.” He pointed out that we mostly focus on the leaders – usually the party candidates, the spokespeople – and do not know about the other essential component: the organizer. These people “are where the rubber hits the road” – in essence helping to identify, support, and guide leaders. Blodgett said that emerging leaders should master qualities of both these players, arguing that the result would be transformational rather than transactional leadership. He defined the latter as simply “doing deals with a focus on maintaining the status quo as opposed to changing it,” while the former entails an inspiring force that “taps into people, empowers leadership, and takes the spotlight off you as the leader and instead on others, harnessing the energy of your following.” He stated that Obama was a great example of both a leader and an organizer, and attributed his recent drop in political performance to the faltering of his transformational energy; he “chose to lead with politics of compromise rather than advocacy,” in the process neglecting his followers because “he turned the ‘Yes We Can’ into ‘Yes I Can.’”

Blodgett focused on three essential qualities that the Wellstone leadership development model fosters. The first, authenticity, requires candidates to “seem real” to their voters. The second is strategy, the act of actually reconciling these two groups of people to a common ground of experiences and values. Blodgett emphasized how essential this is – that “without strategy, authenticity is just about you” and does not focus on the constituents. These two qualities would be worthless, however, without the third quality, “hard work.” Blodgett stated that this may be the most important, that candidates need to understand the superhuman efforts that leadership demands. In the constant need to empower leadership by harnessing grassroots power, galvanizing the voters, and properly channeling their energy, the successful leader must be willing to work hard.

In conclusion, Blodgett highlighted Paul Wellstone's embodiment of authenticity. He recalled that “for some of his voters, they didn’t necessarily agree with him, but liked that they knew where he stood,” summing up how Wellstone effectively built up and then channeled his social power. By stressing that “authenticity is good politics,” Blodgett returned to his strong admiration for conviction, urging us as Carleton students to use our time here to determine our true beliefs, and then head out into the world and work for them.

Stony The Road We Trod

Dr. R. L’Heureux Lewis opened Carleton’s African American History Month convocation with a common statement – that out of all months of the year, the shortest month is chosen for remembrance of the events in black history. The Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies at City College of New York stressed that “Black History Month is more just about African Americans – it’s about all Africans” and remarked that there exists a tendency to “only concentrate on twenty-eight days of Black history, which is insufficient, and should instead be every day of the year to learn and tackle the issues facing blacks and their history and culture.” Lewis stated that these common interpretations have created an environment that only focuses “on the surface of history” – that only the achievements of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King are acknowledged, without further recognition of the history of Africans as a people. He argued that “the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech is just a small part of the significance” of Black History Month.

Lewis, whose area of expertise is educational inequality in contemporary America, emphasized that despite visible accomplishments – the largest black middle class, the highest number of black students in college in history, and the election of a black president – there are still gaping holes, such as “the widening gap between blacks and whites, and more blacks falling under correctional control.” Lewis argued that these factors all contribute to “a new reality of Jim Crow laws,” and that this manifests itself as a problem with the public, because “We have a leader who is black – but how many black Senators? Don’t let the representation of one illustrate the conditions of many.” Here he segued into the issue of education and how it is “certainly a tragedy that one’s college chances have to be determined by one’s zip-code.” He lamented the problems of the system at large and how “quality education now in 2011 is not a constitutional right,” leading to the current situation in public schooling where an increasing number of black students are separated into failing institutions. Lewis argued that because of this we are “living in an archaic system: in 2011 our educational institutions – public schools – are more segregated than in a Jim Crow cell.”

Another facet of Black History Month on which Lewis focused was the “sanitation of our leaders.” He illustrated the common misconception that “King’s dream was the American dream” and that Americans only know him in the context of his famous walk on Washington but nothing regarding his life’s work or views. The same went for Rosa Parks and her triggering of the Montgomery Bus Boycott; “many people think she was tired that day and refused to give up her seat. She was not tired. She was a lifelong activist, but sadly most of us only graze the surface of history. We neglect the deeper nuances.”

In conclusion, Lewis commented on the role of students and educational institutions such as Carleton. He emphasized one crucial element of creating history, that of the “collective struggle,” noting the common mindset that “we come to college, and all we do is focus on our GPA or securing that internship. But really it’s about the bridges we build here.” He mentioned how the Harlem Children’s Zone, a community-based organization serving thousands of children and parents in New York City, was “built in the dorm rooms of Bowdoin College” and that such a vision “came out of a space just like Carleton.” Lewis contended that here remained the challenge, for “unfortunately we mostly do not have a vision in the first place,” and said that the way to break out of this is to deepen the bonds and relationships we have with different people from various backgrounds.“You must take advantage of dialogues and move out of your comfort zone. If you walk out of Carleton with the same group of friends, then Carleton has failed you,” he said. By inviting us to “struggle collectively for Carleton” and create a new college campus, where “students are connected to love and create like they never had before,” Lewis hoped to see a new legacy of commemorating history begin with us.

Socially Responsible Investing

Amy Domini, founder and CEO of Domini Social Investments, opened her convocation speech with a focus on how to invest with social responsibility in our current world, where amidst “the widening gap between the rich and poor” and a “deteriorating environment”, “large corporations continue getting richer and bigger returns.” The mission of Domini's investment management company is to provide investment vehicles to the socially responsible investor, and she emphasized that shareholders in Domini Funds made a difference in the world by engaging companies on issues such as global warming, sweatshop labor, and product safety. She pointed to how America’s architectural landscape illustrated our rapidly shifting ideals; that “first the churches and religious structures were the tallest buildings, then it became the houses of parliament, and now of course the skyline is occupied by buildings like Pan Am, representing just how the big corporations are dominating our livelihoods.” In this new dynamic, certain changes regarding responsible investment need to be implemented, she said.

Domini emphasized the important role of the investor, stating “how we invest today will shape the future.” In light of that, socially responsible investment focuses on people and the planet, in attempts to “improve standards of investing to meet better than average standards of regard” for those two areas. She said the effort seeks to “generate capital for underserviced and economically disadvantaged people”, thus establishing a dynamic that had previously been neglected in light of increasing profits and financial progression. Domini also noted that role of the shareholder and how they take on “the role of owners, meeting with companies on issues of concern.” This leads to a new development of investment, from what was historically considered to be the community – the immediate hometown – and emerged on a larger stage, involving both the national as well as global participants.

Domini drew upon the Sullivan Principles – two corporate codes of conduct developed in the 70’s in South Africa – as a major example of applying economic pressure in protest of the system of apartheid and substandard corporate social responsibility. Particular foreign companies pursued harsh programs of racial segregation and discrimination for their employees, and after evaluations of their practices, they eventually had to implement changes as a response. In light of this, Domini emphasized the evaluative procedure involving the particular companies her management firm handles. One example she gave was the food industry, where they demand certain standards in the practices of individual companies, and rate them such that “lowering sugar is considered positive, whilst advertising to children is negative.” These evaluations are then used to determine how qualified a company is in practicing socially responsible investment. Domini noted the risks inherent specific industries, stating that “we exclude companies selling addictive products, as well as nuclear powers due to concern, in this day and age, of terrorism.” On that note, she admitted that one of the main challenges is with the energy industry, because of rampant “corruption and damage to native communities” that irresponsible companies ultimately instigate.

In conclusion, Domini noted that the importance of socially responsible investment is gradually “entering the psyche of governments and companies,” thus alerting them to the role of financing in building safe societies. She pointed to a new global status quo, where “annual socially responsible investment reports are produced by over four thousand companies worldwide,” and in many countries the government has released legislation mandating this practice, putting pressure on companies to follow suit with this “universal reporting.” In connecting company management with NGO’s and investors, Domini and her firm “seek solutions to create more thoughtful citizens,” reaffirming the notion that “becoming an investor makes you part of the solution.”

Literature and Professional Value Systems

On Friday 21st of January, Larry Buxbaum, Executive Director of the Hennepin County Bar Association, the largest of Minnesota's twenty-one district bar associations, opened his convocation speech by emphasizing the use of literature to teach values and ethics to professionals in a variety of fields. He stated how the idea of using literature and applying it to professionals has been done as a technique to illustrate values and ethical points, and that it engaged a larger portion of the population, because now non-professionals such as non-lawyer administrative assistants working with the professionals, are able to tell them to get off the ethical high-horse because they do not have monopoly of ethics and values. Buxbaum elaborated by emphasizing two types of literature what one reads, such as plays and poetry, and ones own life experience and stating that the latter allows anyone, regardless of their profession, to examine ethical issues.

He exhorted the audience to carefully examine their rich personal experiences and the value they bring to discussions of ethics. He stressed that using literature does not mean that this is literary criticism we dont need to debate what the author intended to say with every word, but instead highlighted the participatory element; that small groups examining professional literature facilitated the merging of personal experiences, which effectively highlighted ethical values. He referred to the Swedish play The Visit and how it illustrated that concepts of power, justice, and public and group behavior are all very much entwined, allowing its readers to see that our society has been guided by group hysteria and responses. Buxbaum asked whether ethics were constants, or whether they changed over time.

He noted that sometimes professionals are mistaken in thinking that they have a certain monopoly on knowledge of ethics and beliefs, and that this was a pre-sumptuous mentality. He reinforced his notion of the importance of the personal experience, and mentioned how this tied in with the crucial nature of context. This included cultural and temporal context, and he evoked scenes from Baldwin's short-story Sonny's Blues which illustrated how much of its dynamic was a function of context and its effects. In addition, he mentioned Miller's The Crucible and its allegorical reference to McCarthyism, further emphasizing the essential role of context. This segued into the assertion that we sometimes assume that our leaders are ethical just because they are our leaders, and how this proved to be largely incorrect. He thus emphasized that since we know our leaders will be setting the tone for those they lead, we should examine the essence between ethical behavior and leadership, and how to combine them.

Buxbaum concluded that not a day goes by where we don't have a new experience, which leads to introspection and forces us to re-evaluate what we mean by ethical behavior. Through closer examination and teachings of important ethic values illustrated in literature, he hoped this would allow us to grow as leaders, students, and citizens of the world.

Visions of the Gamepocalypse

By default, we clapped for him politely as he approached the lectern. But instead of allowing it to die down, Jesse Schell - CEO of Schell Games and author of the award-winning book The Art of Game Design - motioned for the audience to continue in a steady beat. As the rhythm filled the chapel where guest speakers to the college always spoke, he whipped out a harmonica. And blasted away vivaciously, with closed eyes and tapping feet, shoulders bobbing to the music. This young man was an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He knew we were undergrads; after such a fiery introduction, we knew he knew how to keep us engaged. The audience, though large and enthusiastic, wasn't pushing the limits of a full-house. Indeed I knew many classmates and peers who had heard of this talk by a 'game-designer', but were discouraged to attend by assuming that it was far too technical and esoteric for the average liberal arts student. I had heard of his game-design book once before; had not personally read it, but knew that it wasn't some overly-intellectual, inaccessible realm. And neither was his talk.

Schell opened by discussing how the program he taught at Carnegie Mellon University's Electronic Game Center - which features the slogan "The Graduate program for the Left and Right Brain" - thrived by “bringing together different disciplines to teach them how to be on creative teams.” By emphasizing this need to be interdisciplinary, he commented on such a growing trend in the contemporary world of technology; that the development of the iPhone required both engineers and artists, because with a team of “just engineers it would be too technical and not pretty, but without artists it would only be pretty and not technical enough.” Schell then linked with another “growing trend that has gotten a lot of attention recently,” which was that consumers were increasingly demanding authenticity in their products. He referred to the recent book Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want by Gilmore and Pine II and highlighted that now “as a society we’ve become so technical, that we hunger for something real.”

Schell pointed to the recent explosion of “social games”, commenting on how video games were “reaching out to reality” with systems of virtual achievements for players to obtain and measure progress. He then highlighted a similar pattern in reality; that “game structures” in the form of accumulating points and progress were rapidly appearing in the real world – from credit cards to Starbucks. In arguing that it has become “increasingly difficult to disentangle reality with games”, Schell wondered about the point in time when these two were inseparable. He painted the picture of a scenario that admittedly was not entirely hypothetical: waking up to video game advertisements of big companies; pervasive product placement on toothbrushes and cereal boxes in the form of games; an intricate world where everyone had personalized accounts that stored points and accumulated high-scores from games, which fed back to the consumer by offering rewards and discounts and more promotions. Constant internet - and by association, Facebook - connection was the status quo. More importantly, everything one did - high-scores, new records, increased average point score - appeared on everyone else's live feed. In essence, a lifestyle so ingrained with technology and social networks that everything would be monitored and saved – a livelihood Schell argued could be taken as “either a disgusting nightmare”, or could “encourage us to become better human people”. The former is obvious; constant intrusion of privacy and rights (although today one could ask exactly how much the public is concerned with this, considering Mr. Zuckerberg is the 2010 TIME person of the year...), a Orwellian evocation of surveillance and paranoia. For the latter, Schell purports that there is wiggle-room for the individual - in light of everyone knowing what book he/she reads, what movies he/she watches, what he/she just ate - to improve their lives. In the age of heightened self-consciousness, one would care even more how they appear before the world - especially online. So one might choose McCarthy over Meyer - on the Kindle of course - to impress the circle of literary friends; might choose to watch Bergman instead of Bay (because one can only take so many sophisticated explosions and wailing Decepticons) to satisfy the celluloid junkie buddies.

There is something inherently irresistible about video games. Schell explained this mass appeal; how “they give us clear feedback” alongside “a sense of progress”; how they provide “mental and physical exercise” with “something to satisfy our curiosity”, and of course the possibility of success and the sense of freedom. He then referred to the concept known as the Singularity, describing it as the extent one can accurately predict future trends and events. But with technology becoming more and more pervasive, this window of time is rapidly closing, and that soon “we will reach the Singularity when one will not even be able to predict what will occur within five seconds from now.” Schell discussed how this would inevitably lead many to become "future-blind”, but because the world was changing so quickly, and one could conjecture and fail and then conjecture again, there would also be room to actually practice this art of prediction.

Regarding the ‘Gamepocalypse’ – the scenario mentioned earlier where everything one did was monitored and uploaded to the Internet – Schell described this road as “long a twisted, with many things along the way.” He discussed these at length, such as the role of “microtransactions” and the unprecedented success of Apple’s app store and its one billion downloads, which he argued would change the way big game companies and their conventional, console-based products, would operate in the future. With regards to big names like Playstation and XBOX and the Wii, Schell discussed the sudden emergence of social game networks such as Zynga and Playfish, which he argues present a huge threat to the conventional idea of the game console. With online socializing taking the nation by such a storm, people are much more willing to forgo visual depth and plot of console games - not to mention the cost of paying $30-50 for one - and instead join a Farmville or Mafia Wars fiasco with multiple friends on Facebook for free. And Schell recognized the strain this attitude put onto the big game companies; many were unwilling to be the first to set up to the plate and invest in this new area. But some have already gone there: EA Games (Electronic Arts) laid off 1500 employees to buy Playfish Games for $400 million. Microtransactions are becoming a much more prominent factor in the modern game design industry.

As mentioned earlier, Schell claimed that the road towards the Gamepocalypse was long and complicated. He wasn't going to predict when it would come about. But he was taking note of new factors and aspects springing up along the way. With increased customization, sharing capabilities, geo-tracking and more, games were being rapidly integrated into our daily lives. But regardless of whether it leads to a waking nightmare or a prompt for comprehensive re-evaluation of our lives, Schell believed it “all has to do with people creating things.” Creation using new technologies to achieve particular ends, and having those ends determine what times of people we really were. Artists who create for the sake of the aesthetic? Humanitarians who create to improve the lives of others? Profiteers who create to deepen their pockets? As we become propelled into the twenty-first century and beyond, Schell placed increased emphasis upon that very motivation to create, because when we finally reach the Gamepocalypse, the very stuff of that reality depends on what we want and are willing to do with that new world. And no, it won't be based on how many friends you have on Facebook.

A Spiritual Oasis

One would have never thought that amidst the dizzying maze of overhead bridges and perambulating roads, an oriental garden of seemingly untouched tranquility lies virtually disconnected from its urban surroundings. Scores of traffic whiz by each hour tooting their horns and blaring their mechanized modernity with pride, but step inside Nan Lian Garden (南蓮園池) in Diamond Hill, Hong Kong, and will find themselves strangely separated from the bustling metropolis that envelops this oasis of calm, for little more than the occasional soft hum of engines can pierce its verdant interior.

An eye-catching welcome amongst a sea of green right at the entrance of the park

A brilliant range of colors flawlessly combine together

in contribution to the park's peaceful vibe

Straightaway one notices the architecture of the buildings inside the garden. Adopting characteristics from the Tang Dynasty ((618-907 AD), these wooden structures are perfectly integrated amongst streams flowing over dark glossy rock surfaces and underneath brightly colored bridges, lazy lotus ponds, and rows of delicately maintained bonsai trees. Not a single nail was used in the construction of this 35,000 square meter park, illustrating the harmony with nature and spiritual consciousness that the architects embraced. Gentle waves of inner peace are contagious to tourists and local residents alike as they all enter this beautiful park zoned off from the frantic schedules and rushing crowds that the rest of the city entails. Add emphasis to the numerous Buddhist figures neatly tucked away behind the haze of incense and praying cushions - all protected in their divine state by numerous signs prohibiting photography and video recording - and one cannot help but feel a meditative bliss immediately fall over their senses, soothing us from the hustle and bustle that is at all times just an arm's length away.

Steps into the temple that occupies the central component of the park

Multiple layers of traditional Chinese architecture (Tang Dynasty characteristics) result in an effortless integration with its mountainous background

Rows of exotic trees and plants alongside buildings that house souvenirs

Although audibly isolated from its urban surroundings, the ubiquitous city buildings nonetheless add a unique visual flavor to the park. High-rise apartment buildings that extend out of shopping mall complexes are a typical feature of many residential areas in Hong Kong, and Diamond Hill is no exception. Many a snapshot taken from inside the park will undoubtedly find a grey structure or two lurking in the background, but by no means are these seen as intruders. Rather, any urban presence is ultimately indicative of the city's ability to effectively maintain the existence of both traditional and modern aspects of life with minimal compromise. The deep spiritual, religious, and meditative nature of Nan Lian Garden is held in even higher regard and reverence amongst visitors, all of whom are undoubtedly relieved to find a reprieve in this peaceful realm. Within a city that never sleeps, locations like this really serve as a refreshing haven for many whom too frequently find their lives deeply steeped within an urban monotony, and with increasingly conscious attitudes towards environmental and cultural preservation, more such parks would ultimately be very warmly received by the populace.

Skimming the temple rooftops are the towering bodies of nearby residential estates.

In all of its entirety, the spiritual essence of the Buddhist figures are neatly encased amongst an urban mindset that is still very respectful towards the traditional and the religious.

It's Time

"As if you could kill time without injuring eternity." ~Henry David Thoreau, "Economy," Walden, 1854

Time is a magazine, a Pink Floyd track off The Dark Side Of The Moon, and what can manipulated to extreme ends in countless bouts of science fiction. It's also what the clock face shows, a phrase taken straight from Albert Einstein's own mouth, showing that even one of the most influential and influential scientists of mankind could offer no scientific qualms concerning time, but instead conceded in revealing a basic, obvious observation - that he was as knowledgeable as the next man in having a one-liner about time.

I remember reading W.H. Auden's poem Stop All The Clocks back in eighth grade. It was for a literature class, and by all means I hadn't really stopped to ask myself the implication of what he was describing, but rather persisted in trying to wrestle my brain around grappling the identification of similes and metaphorical value in order to inject substance onto paper, hoping for a good grade. I think it advances my point to say that the essay didn't do so hot either, considering I was trying too hard to stand out as superior to my classmates, and clumsily commanded what I thought at the time was verbal dexterity, when indeed my fourteen year old bold comments and flashy generalizations about time were not at all as grand as I had initially envisioned. But the image the poet offers for us as food for thought is something for us to chew on for eternity. Stopping time, even for mere moments, would definitely have implications too profound to grapple with in a teenager's blog.

That isn't to say it hasn't been thrown around before, and indeed by the very same teenager. Late nights at the college library have most certainly involved me counting down the remaining number of hours I have for sleep until my alarm clock stirs me from blissful abandon. My roommate and I have discussed the possibility of technology advancing to where each human is able to crawl into a realm that is timeless - a domain that can only be used for sleep and recuperation. So no sneaking off with incomplete work assignments safely concealed within underpants - a nasty little Christmas present for just about anyone - but indeed just a safe haven to ensure that we can carry on producing and functioning like the workaholics we are after great, interminable lengths of sleep. Of course it's never going to happen - but the implications for us were nonetheless distractingly dreamy.

Then again, the idea of hyper-advanced technology bearing the fruits of incontrovertible benefits and creating the ultimate utopia have been questioned before, particularly with Brave New World. Huxley has shown us the devotion that people of London in 2540 exhibit for technology, as it has been taken up with religious fervor, most obviously seen in the absolute integration of the phrase 'Ford' into human life, such as the exclamation "Oh Ford!" to indications of time with A.F. instead of A.D. So unfortunately for us college students, perhaps hoping that technology advancing to such a level may push the bliss of infinite sleep to becoming insignificant in the larger scale - that is, the futurism offered by Huxley in the form of sleep-learning will become an utter reality.

And with that it's indeed time to hit the sack. Before I go, here's a product of inspiration resulting from recently breaking my alarm clock early in the morning as I emerged from a murky world of dreams. Enjoy~

Alarmed

This morning, whilst flailing around within my dreams,
I struck out and destroyed an alarm clock; shattered machine.
There lay time broken with its cell detached and cold;
The hands paused and went dormant; having dreams of its own?
Clumsily, I attempted restoration; the cell returned to its position,
- Gracious power returned to the ageless entity -
But lightning struck twice, and again it dropped to the floor,
Releasing cataclysm and a fractured glass pane.
Within this I saw a crack ripple through its frame;
- For a moment, there was a crack in time itself -
And amidst this I realized that time had momentarily froze;
Merely a fraction before other clocks continued their death drum.
And I wondered if one continued to destroy clocks for eternity;
- With endless abandon and continuing the carnage forever -
Would these fractions accumulate to something more substantial?
And that we could actually stop time in its tracks?

A Patch Of Corn - A Year On From Ground Zero

The woman was most certainly in her late forties, face darkened with years working in the sun-laden fields, hands callous with the damage of demanding physical labor. She gestured towards a small small, solitary patch of corn stalks standing in a quiet corner of her farm fields. Although the heavy grey clouds overhead hide the sunlight, the stifling summer air can easily mean dehydration for anyone working in the unforgiving farmland.

The woman is asked about the corn stalks, for they seem an anomaly amidst the rows of rice terraces that make up the majority of her family's agricultural income. Her eyes glint as she answers - the corn is grown on the very patch of land that her older sister and sixteen year-old son are buried under.

About four hours later, ten miles away in the town of YingXiu, a great white slab lies upon steps of crimson red carpet. It is a memorial site; a giant analogue clock face with thin fissures serving as clockhands, marking a ghostly hour of death at two twenty-eight in the afternoon. The sight steps on the accelerator for memories a year earlier; at the time the entire region was shuddering in a devastating earthquake of 8.0 magnitude, shaking apart the land and shattering hundreds of communities and thousands of lives, while drawing the eye of international attention immediately. Today, however, the site is silent. Chinese President Hu Jintao alongside other members of his cabinent is bowed in a deep, quiet minute, whilst a squadron of soldiers handle large vases of flowers and arranging them before the memorial.

The president and the rest of the political figures of authority proceed to pay their respects to the victims that reaches a staggering figure of approximately ninety-thousand. Each person in the line lays down a single white chrysanthemum flower before the giant white clockface, whilst giving their attention in the form of silence to the dead.

It was such a solemn event that captured the intense despair and tragedy of the calamity a year earlier. It was the worst to afflict China in thirty years, and with so many of the deaths being students and young children didn't provide a modicum of salvation for anyone. There has been a constant battle between parents who have been left childless; wives who have been left widows; husbands who have been left alone, against those responsible for the shabby construction of schools in the area. But with the collective opposition of government hush money, or intimidation to keep quiet has prevented much of their unquenced torment and anger from being expressed. Even now some still have doubts over the real figures of student and children deaths and numbers missing are truly accurate; some get the feeling the government is avoiding confrontations with those allegedly responsible, because such claims may only be riding upon interminable sadness and rage, and that such pursuits would ultimately use up much of the resources provided by such generous dontations from around the world.

The suicide rates of survivors have been clear indicators of the true trauma. Soldiers of the Communist Party that spent entire weeks after the earthquake carrying survivors over the trecherous, improvised mountainpaths to safety ended up losing their own children and loved ones back in another region, and have found the grief simply too much to bear. They have lost any type of memorabilia in the earthquake debris; the only thing that remains is a passport photo they carry in their wallets, or the final colored drawing done by the child before they were claimed by the earth. Others strip their walls of any reminders of the family they once had; picture frames are turned over and hidden, whilst photos are wrapped and stashed away - out of sight.

The earthquake does what all natural hazards do; they demonstrate the true fragility of human life amidst the progressing events of Mother Nature. It expresses with frightening clarity just how transience our existence is on the planet; that in the bigger picture of plate tectonics and physical geographical processes our established settlements are trivial and superficial. The despair that shocked us has never been so raw and devastating before, and even with life beginning to move on in a compulsory direction if it must rise and progress, SiChuan and the rest of China is still feeling the tremors of the May 12th 2008 earthquake, because hearts and souls are still shaken by its tremendous power.

Crouching low on her knees before the nearest corn stalk, the woman gently ran her palm along its thick stem. Her brown lips cracked a thin smile; she grips herself to not feel despair or sadness any longer, because this cornstalk represents what she hopes to soon embrace: that out of the disaster and tragedy, the small and new seeds of life can break from the trauma and begin to grow and thrive once more.

Waltzing with the Great

I was digging through some old movies in my cabinet and came across The Great Waltz, which was originally filmed in 1938. For the next hour and forty minutes I was charmed by its classical masterpieces that were both enormously powerful and stunningly graceful, created by composer Johann Strauss II. Some, such as The Blue Danube, were strikingly familiar, and contained enough energy to fill a palace. Others were softer and more graceful, but still got my foot tapping to the beat as I watched the characters waltz enthusiastically in the black and white motion picture.

In particular I felt very moved by watching the autobiography, especially with the artistic inspiration and sympathy that I received. Johann Strauss II was a musical protege from the start of the movie, portrayed as one who could not leave his passion as he secretly scrawled music scores whilst working as a banker. When he is fired for slacking on the job, I felt reminded so that there was a great difficulty to become financially stable when living as an artist. Later in the movie when he first becomes successful and signs a contract to a member of the Imperial Palace, thus agreeing to hand over every piece of completed music he writes, I feel that he had attached himself to something that perhaps did not fully appreciate his abilities - for personally I felt that no amount of money could substitute or be exchanged for his composition. When he becomes married and thus very financially comfortable, there is a sudden sense of anxiety and bitterness, for I felt that he was caught between two different worlds and decisions. Despite having everything he could have possibly wanted materialistically - money, fame in Vienna, and wife - the only way he could continue to further pursue his musical passion was to give even more of himself to the Imperial Palace.

The matters were complicated when the opera soprano Carla Donner seems to be the only one who really appreciates his ability for writing such brilliant waltz pieces. Yet she is a member of the Imperial Palace, and thus visibly puts pressure onto the marriage between Strauss and his wife with her love for his music. The beginnings of an affair between her and Strauss came across to me as even more tragic because for Strauss, he could only take his zest for music further by being with a woman such as Carla, who understood his passion more than his wife. Strauss realized that although he was socially and financially happy, spiritually he was not because his own passion could not progress unless he hurt someone important in his life.

I felt a strong pull towards the portrayal of the young artist in The Great Waltz. There was the brooding atmosphere of trouble when Strauss is pulled into an affair with Carla, and for me there was even more pain because I saw his music could only progress by moving past what he currently had. When his own wife was so devoted to his welfare and happiness, Strauss still could not afford to lose his grip upon his passion, and here the tug of war began erupting even further. What compounded the problem was his integration and interaction with the rich: the close friends of Strauss particularly did not prefer the rich, and this is peaked with the revolution that occurs later in the movie. Here Strauss puts even his own social bonds and connections at risk here for the pursuit of his passion and love, and I found myself looking at the plight of an artist as he faced such pressures and restrictions. I always saw it as too unfortunate when one delved too much into the arts that they neglected their family and loved ones, but after viewing The Great Waltz I saw it as almost inevitable - or at the very least very likely to happen. And with that I found myself wondering if I would have to deal with such a frightening dilemma if I were to pour myself into an artistic passion. Would there still be room for anyone or anything else in my life? Or would my only love be what I was creating?

The Calligrapher

He was a man no older than forty. His serious face became even more stern as his brow furrowed with concentration. Instead of brush writing on a table or platform, he used the jagged concrete street surface.

The skill of his East Asian calligraphy was unquestionable. The thing that drew the crowd around him was his lack of something we all take for granted: his two hands.

It was four in the afternoon in one of the busiest locations in Hong Kong: the sprawling district of Mong Kok. With the nearly interminable Nathan Road that runs through it, traffic can stream through here all day long. Add that to the magnitude of pedestrian shoppers that filter through its alleys and sideways, and it's just chaos all very local to Hong Kong. Today I had just finished a periodic visit to my dentist, and as I began heading back towards the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) station through a road that mainly sold electronics, I noticed a line of people all motionless in the middle of the street.

I slowed and moved over to join the line, which soon began to elongate into a gathering throng of people twenty-strong. It was a young man alone on the street, with great big sheets of thin paper called XuanZhi 宣紙 paper laid out on the rough concrete before him. On the ground beside where he crouched were a couple of dirty Bonaqua water bottles, a cracked inkstone, and a small circular seal paste plate. Between the dry blackened remaining stubs of his arms clasped a battered and decrepit paintbrush.


My chest tightened as I saw a small pouch lying near the set of phrases he was currently working on. He was begging for money - a few pieces of change that the enthusiastic shoppers of the bustling electronics and hardware stores around him may want to get rid of. He continued writing without pause, at times using his teeth to straighten and realign the thick paintbrush that sat neatly in between his two arms, which were severed at the wrist. I felt myself wondering what tragedy could have befallen this unfortunate man. Could it have been a deformity from birth? Had he suffered a devastating burn or injury that resulted in amputation? Was it a devastating accident that he experienced during his previous job as a carpenter or blacksmith, which could've been very well-paying? I felt these questions bombard me as I continued to silently eye the painting calligrapher, who let the brush dance elegantly under his control. One would have needed the practice for several years to achieve the standard he was producing before my eyes at that moment. And even so it would be with all ten fingers and a very dexterous wrist: I couldn't let myself imagine what sort of hardship this man experienced without the prehensile hands we took for granted. Had he been this skillful before he had lost the lower halves of his arms? Or had he been forced to adapt a different way of calligraphy due to his physical ability - and still managed to create something so artistically masterful?

The phrases he wrote were all ancient Chinese sayings: ways of the word spoken by philosophers and scholars and emperors alike. They embodied a very traditional aspect: four characters per line, which could have vast symbolic meanings. Between his focused and delicate strokes observers moved forwards to drop a few coins into the small pouch that openly displayed its empty interior to the crowd. The clinking of metal upon metal triggered the man to look up from his work and nod at the generous act, as he crinkled his haggard face into a sad smile, and verbally expressed his thanks out loud before continuing with his writing.

It took no longer than five minutes before he gently laid the brush down onto the inkstone, wiping his forehead with what remained of his forearm. He then hopped backwards and used his feet to slowly nudge the seal paste plate forward, where he then hoisted the metal container to his mouth and pried open the cap using his teeth. The bright red paste was used to imprint his name onto the completed work as a sign of his own craftsmanship and creation, serving as the artist's signature upon his piece of brushwriting. The seal itself was made of gray stone - no longer than a finger - and the calligrapher fumbled with it for sometime before he finally managed to dip it into the sticky paste and stamp it onto the sheet. A nearby onlooker knelt down to inspect the writing more closely, before nodding and dropping a couple of money notes into the small pouch before rolling up the paper and carrying it off with him.



Beside the calligrapher were a couple of already completed sheets, held down at the corners by the empty seal box and some half-filled water bottles. The wind ruffled the edges and began lifting the bottom of the sheet, but it was very legible to onlookers as they crowded round to admire his work and at the same time feel a stinging in their hearts at his downtrodden condition. One of the Chinese proverbs I found the most meaningful was this one:

(The proverb is read from right to left:自強不息)

Translated, its meaning referred to the mindset of constantly standing strong for yourself and no one else. It emphasized self-improvement and self-governance: the strength of willpower for the individual only. This struck me has incredible apt, because here we had the calligrapher fending entirely for himself on the streets of Mong Kok. His physical disability could have always had the potential to faze his artistic talent and abilities, but instead of allowing that to heavily affect him he fought onwards. Even without individual fingers to guide his brush and a palm to steady his strokes, the calligrapher amazed every onlooker with his poise, accuracy, and grace. The elegance of his work was unquestionable: and here the very proverb he was writing out to sell to other people was an ancient philosophy that he was still living by in today's ruthless modern world. The strength of his own willpower was incredible, and that afternoon I felt myself feel inspired by this calligrapher, knowing it meant even more so that things we take for granted should instead be appreciated to an even greater extent.

The entrance into the year of 2009 probably hit the world in showers of sparkling lights, excitement, and exploding fireworks. People of Hong Kong were rushing out to get their hands onto great deals in the stores on the street as monetary issues become more and more difficult to handle. But amidst such energy, this calligrapher was a reminder of how the strength of an individual truly should not be underestimated - and more importantly one thing we cannot take for granted either.