Opening notes: For those who are not inclined to respond to lyrical writing, I recommend scrolling down to where four links are provided… which will — more directly — get to the point. #483 there delineates TOSCA prosaically for the uninitiated. http://oxtogrind.org/archive/336 offers a shortcut from another angle… for those pressed for time. That said, as an educator for 40+ years, I never approved of substituting a precis for… the real thing. — ROx

One Love Teaching for Change
Dedicated to Howard Zinn, a public intellectual who mattered….
by Richard Martin Oxman http://oxtogrind.org/archive/378

“Having offered up my son for sacrifice outside of the school system, it is time to do the same with myself… within the established order… once again.” — The author, high on the vibrations of http://www.playingforchange.com/episodes/3/One_Love, from a speech given in front of Bechtel International Center on the Stanford University campus, 2010.

“In all of my contact with Howard Zinn — even in the midst of intense protest — he always exuded gentle appreciation.” – Marcelle Cendrars

It is true that there is Heaven on earth… and we do not see it. It is spread before us like the most excellent of meals. It has been lovingly prepared for us… like our heartbeats.

Yes, it is clouded over (shrouded over is a better expression here) with physical pain, the spread of all kinds of disease… and — so unnecessarily — with our stuff, our schedules… our rush past the flowers… which are our children, our breathing together with the songbirds… our friends. Our justification or acceptance of war.

All the law enforcement in the world — for whatever good side it may embody — cannot honor that Heaven. Ditto for armed-to-the-teeth warriors. Only our attitudinal set, our hearts, our resolve… the kind that’s necessary in a healthy marriage. A marriage made in Heaven crying for gentle appreciation. Like between lovers, between parents and children, among songbirds in lovely leafy arbors. [Pause.] All attempts at making ourselves less vulnerable to so-called enemies (through violence) are doomed.

Human nature is not what we have let ourselves be taught. We ought to let, give (such) peace (of mind) a chance. Truly, rise above what is taught in our schools, as a rule.

One of the major problems which runs through most discussion of education reform is manifested in a huge sin of omission. We come across demands for changing this and that, for increasing pay and benefits and so on, but… there is rarely, if ever, a heavenly call for an end to teaching war within the classroom… which is what the regimentation of school life, the imprimaturs placed on authority figures therein… and 99% of currrent textbooks in use are all about. The subliminal — if not overt — primary message is to support the status quo. [Pause.] No, no, no. [Pause.] NO to the saluting, the polite pc discussions, the letter writing to First Ladies et al. For it all has culminated forever — so definitively documented — in parents giving over their offspring obscenely.

Oh God, please do not feel that your NCLB challenge, the abomination of campus recruitment, the momentum of “George W. Obama,” or any of the other horrors you are encountering cannot be overcome… that the resignation, the apathy, the cynicism… cannot be circumvented. [Pause.] There is a new paradigm for your consideration, born of Howard’s soul.

Heaven on earth has zero to do with preparing our youth to embrace the call for so-called patriotic violence… when (not if and when) AUTHORITY sounds the trumpet. Nothing at all to do with the dominant warrior culture which envelops us like a toxic trap. [The U.S. military is, arguably, the greatest single polluter on earth, and -- unquestionably -- debilitates all socially-conscious work*.]

*See http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23783 for just one current example on a grand scale.

The usual pledge of allegiance is given a singular tweak by the folks at http://www.teachingforchange.org/. And they are worthy of your support. For they are deeply associated with the teachings of the late great Howard Zinn. Enough said, yes?

Howard, along with others at http://oxtogrind.org/archive/336, provided his green light for a project that I have been deeply involved in in California. In short, we are aiming to “take over” the State of California (TOSCA*), legally and nonviolently, by having twelve unaffiliated, non-politician citizens serving as Governor of California together (on an equal basis, for the first time in history) in lieu of having a single, self-serving careerist at the helm (once again).

*See http://oxtogrind.org/archive/495, http://oxtogrind.org/archive/491, http://oxtogrind.org/archive/490, and http://oxtogrind.org/archive/483.

The idea is pure poetry to me. And if successful we would have — for the first time in history — a Governor preaching the need for civil disobedience, delineating HOW concerned citizens can go about transforming the spirituality and social policies of the nation. Vigorously, creatively, repeatedly.

But even in an electoral loss… our organizing would create a solid foundation for pushing the agenda of TEACHING FOR CHANGE.

And we would all move a little bit closer to realizing our Heaven on earth.

Contact Richard at tosca.2010[at]yahoo.com ASAP.
P.S. The only criticism that the author has of TFC at present is that they are not communicating 24×7. But that’s par for the course among socially-conscious organizations, of course. The thing is, the author wants to educate one and all about the necessity for embracing the revolutionary profile of those who from time immemorial have taken to the hills in armed struggle… eyes and ears wide open ’round the clock. Not in the sense of encouraging the taking up of arms, but, rather, with a recognition that radical transformation of society will not come without a 24×8 effort.

One thing that the author would like help with is in understanding how the upcoming March 4th education-centered protests throughout California expects to address any of the above. Or… how the planned demonstrations will serve the agendas of Rethinking Schools or Teaching for Change. Or… why it’s not crucially important for one and all to take advantage of the spotlight that’s guaranteed on March 4th to push national educational priorities… to a greater degree than what’s planned at present.

P.S. The first link at the top connects to Henry Giroux, a highly prestigious supporter of TOSCA. Another invaluable asset for TOSCA, Mickey Z, posted a very sweet capsule of Howard’s lifetime thrust:

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/victories-lessons-howard -zinn.html

The video embedded in Mickey’s #2 Lesson will make it very clear what we must do in solidarity as a top priority as soon as possible. In all humility, I say you must not be concerned with what others might or might not do, what has or has not worked in the past… as per your perception.