Years ago, for the final in my class, we listened to a talk by Bryan Stevenson, the civil rights lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. It is a brilliant talk by a singular human being. He ended with the quote below. “ … I believe that many of you understand that the moral […]
Seeking Haystacks
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Seeking Haystacks: Innocence
“Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.” -Albert Camus Trung Lee, a student from Vietnam, wrote in my class, “A civilization that is spineless and twists its principles at any moment’s notice will not survive, for someone who stands for nothing will die for nothing.” […]
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Seeking Haystacks: Bearing witness
In “A Man for All Seasons,” Sir Thomas More dismisses his daughter’s pleas to save his own life by compromising his ideals and acquiescing to Henry VIII. He says, “When a man takes an oath, Meg, he’s holding his own self in his own hands. Like water. And if he opens his fingers then, he […]
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Seeking Haystacks: Martin’s birthday
Years ago we lured Millard Farmer — the iconic social justice lawyer featured in the book “Dead Man Walking” — to speak at our high school (CRMS) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We gathered in the early morning. Millard was tall and lean in all ways, an impressive presence, comfortable standing before 200 sleepy […]
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Seeking Haystacks: Radically contagious
“Americans have mastered the ‘art’ of living with the unacceptable,” —Breten Breytenbach I have been circling this statement for months, disturbed by Breytenbach’s insight about who we are: a people seemingly ill-equipped to face our huge environmental, civic and political issues. Our nation appears unable to engage in any meaningful introspection, which proceeds truth telling […]
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Seeking Haystacks: The beauty we seek
I am a teacher — an audacious claim for one who learns more from his students than he imparts. Yet, my students keep me honest and thinking! In our last class a student was speaking on how we might steer our valley, our planet, towards a more just, sane and sustainable way of being — […]
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Seeking Haystacks: An Introduction
As a child, I longed to be a hero, to be seen not just as Arthur, but as King Arthur, bringing chivalry to an unchivalrous world. I had a wicked crush on my third-grade classmate, Susie Wirth, and during recess, we would ride around on the back of her broom — she was a good […]