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The Swallows and the Buddha
Feet sink in the melting sand As paces carry me forward Along scribbled threshold between land and sea. Ahead, a mist masks an unfamiliar treeline, And beyond, fading reaches of headland. La sabbia squaglia sotto i miei piedi Mentre i passi mi portano avanti Per la soglia scarabocchiata fra terr’ e mare Avanti, una foschia maschera alberi sconosciuti E più in fondo, svanenti promontori estesi. Sad and slivery-green, the waves carry their stories ashore. Bubbled lines flee down the sandy slope, Too quickly to be read before they, Vanish forever into the sea. Far out on the water, fishing boats bob in the early morning light. Verde-argenteo e tristi, le…
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Would you have me argue that all human beings are equal?
Frederick Douglass was a remarkable worker for human rights. Although he lived more than a century ago, his thoughts remain pressingly relevant. He began life as a slave, but winning his own freedom, he fought not only for abolition of slavery but also gave his support to other human rights causes, such as the emancipation of women. Born in 1818 in Talbot County, Maryland, he was separated from his mother at an early age, he writes, as was typically done with slave children. His father, he believed, was his mother’s master. Even though it was against the law for slave children to be taught to read and write, Sophia Auld the…
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Angelina Jolie and the Refugee Warehouses
What makes someone like Angelina Jolie take an interest in the lives of refugees? What makes anyone take interest? In this video Angelina visits refugees in Afghanistan. It’s clear that there is no “foreignness” in how she relates to them. She sees them as people who are suffering, and to whom we should respond.
