Living in a Democracy

On August 19, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

This morning I realized that the “world” into which I was born, lived my youth and middle age, has passed into history. Young 20 and 30 something citizens probably know little about that time — the 60s — when American society rocked and protested itself out of the post war era of our parents.

Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. ~ Edmund Burke

Adults in my life as a teenager were locked into the belief that American life was a happy prosperity wrought from a terrible war. My parents, former career military couple, returned to East Tennessee to their home roots where not much had changed in rural Southern culture. White culture prevailed and a sharp divide between the poor and rich kept the social boundaries in place. If there were blacks in my community, they were no where in sight. From an unpublished memoir of that time:

Religious life in East Tennessee left much to be examined. The culture had a dark underbelly. Women wore prissy hats with a white organdy veils and spotless white gloves as they sat in the pew with their families at Munsey Memorial Methodist Church. Peyton Place was being read in closets and under sheets by flashlight. Mom and her daughters were no exception. We lined-up, hats atop, white gloved, legs crossed just so, still marching to authority’s drumbeat. While the civil rights movement called to believers in Christ’s message to help end unjust laws and practices, and to stop brutality, torture, and the murder of black Americans—life went on as usual, the culture blinded by an interpretation of “God’s word” that blasphemed its true meaning. The deaths of four black youth in the Birmingham bombing did not move the moral lassitude in my hometown.

Just sayin’ . . .

How Climate Change Affects Food Supply

On July 28, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In Threshold, Ed Flanagan is a COO of a major community food bank. He is skeptical about climate change until he has to deal with unexpected shortages.

From Chapter 23:

As summer temperatures extended into October, the health of the people and the stability of the water supply preoccupied the minds of scientists, business leaders, and city and county agencies. Even the most stubborn climate deniers admitted that the situation was dire–no matter the causes. Action was required.

One morning Ed received a notice about shipments of imported fruit that were rotting on docks because cargo ships could not enter their ports. The recent rise in sea levels made it too dangerous. Ed had just finished reading a forecast of an expected rise in food costs due to lower production in the main food growing areas of the U.S. and in parts of the world that were experiencing either record rainfall and flooding, or the opposite: drought and record heat. Coffee prices soared as yields diminished. Food shipments lost at sea during mega-storms, and cargo planes grounded in record heat–each of these bore down on his mind like a locomotive coming around a bend, horns blasting its arrival.

Read from another chapter on Terrain.org.

Threshold in Your Classroom or Book Club

On June 15, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Reading at Tanque Verde High School in Tucson

Threshold is receiving great feedback from teachers for use in their classrooms to discuss climate change.

As a retired teacher, fully certified in Social Studies and Science ( Earth and Biology) I would have given anything to have THRESHOLD as a resource, in my classroom. Susan’s extensive knowledge and writing skill make this book readable, relevant and informative. If I should return to teaching, I will buy her book and lesson plans,(out of my own pocket if necessary) for the Social Studies or Science classroom. I have recommended this book to English teachers and Librarians.

Threshold is a novel about characters living in Tucson, Arizona “in the very near future.” Scientists, businessmen and women, government officials, and teenagers are experiencing the changes brought by increasing temperatures and water concerns. Teen characters are busy living their lives in very different circumstances. As the plot moves forward readers observe how each of them develops resilience to the changes as they affect their families and friends.

Teachers suggest that the descriptions of wildlife under pressure, the natural history of the Sonoran Desert, and the example of how one small city (South Tucson) engages youth in solutions offer relevant themes for their curriculum.

IF YOU ARE A TEACHER AND WISH TO BE INCLUDED IN NOTICES ABOUT A LESSON PLAN GUIDE CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT, OR WISH TO RECEIVE A COPY OF THE BOOK TO REVIEW FOR YOUR CLASSROOM PLEASE MESSAGE ME AT: https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeFeathers/.

Threshold - a Novel about Climate Change in the Southwest — Novel about Climate Change in Tucson and the Southwest

The Power of Stories to Foster Empathy

On May 28, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn Art and Culture, Childhood, Children's Literature, Education, PsychologyLeave a comment

Research from Loris Vezzali, social psychologist, points to the power of storytelling, to fiction, in shaping attitudes. This NPR program features a recent study that Vezzali, et al, conducted to determine whether children who read Harry Potter novels change how they relate to stygmitized groups of people (disabled, immigrants, or “other”).

Abstract

Recent research shows that extended contact via story reading is a powerful strategy to improve out-group attitudes. We conducted three studies to test whether extended contact through reading the popular best-selling books of Harry Potter improves attitudes toward stigmatized groups (immigrants, homosexuals, refu-gees). Results from one experimental intervention with elementary school children and from two cross-sectional studies with high school and university students (in Italy and United Kingdom) supported our main hypothesis. Identiﬁcation with the main character (i.e., Harry Potter) and disidentiﬁcation from the negative character (i.e., Voldemort) moderated the effect. Perspective taking emerged as the process allowing attitude improvement. Theoretical and practical implications of the ﬁndings are discussed in the context of extended intergroup contact and social cognitive theory

Here’s the link to the NPR story below:

http://www.npr.org/2015/05/01/403474870/does-reading-harry-potter-have-an-effect-on-your-behavior

Loris Vezzali ResearchGate

The Wisdom of Kentucky Farmers

On May 15, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

When confusion reigns, I turn to voices of clarity to reset my “compass”. Wendell Berry is a wise Kentucky farmer, prolific author and poet, and activist for conservation of nature. Find a quiet time to enjoy this lively discussion full of nuggets of knowledge from a man whose vision provides direction for millions.

National Parks: Citizen Library

On May 4, 2017May 4, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn Childhood, Democracy, Ecoliteracy, Education, Environment, Memoir, NatureLeave a comment

In the previous post I described my joy in visiting the Central High School National Historic Site which preserves and tells the story of desegregation in Little Rock, AK. There I bought two memoirs, one by Daisy Bates (The Long Shadow of Little Rock), the other by Carlotta Walls LaNier with Lisa Frazier Page (A Mighty Long Way). [*This link includes an interview with Mrs. LaNier and an excerpt from the first chapter, and links to purchase a copy of the memoir.]

Both memoirs brought me renewed appreciation for the personal struggles of individual Americans striving for their civil rights, and the importance of parents being involved in their children’s education. Reading both books rendered a deeper understanding of historical events through the lived experiences of my fellow Americans. The NPS Interpreter was also a powerful communicator who brought history to life–another important function of our National Parks.

On my current sojourn in Kentucky, I drove to Mammoth Park –another National Park site–preserving and interpreting one of the world’s great natural wonders. In 2016 it celebrated its 200th anniversary!

In their gift store, I headed for the books section. There I found a historical novel by Roger Brucker, about Stephen Bishop, a famous and early explorer/guide at Mammoth Park (Grand, Gloomy, and Peculiar). Stephen was a slave at the time his owners assigned him the duty to serve as a guide at the privately owned wonder. It was already a favorite travel destination for wealthy and local people. The associated hotel inn for guests owned slaves who cooked and cleaned for guests. Charlotte Brown was a slave working at the inn. It was there that she fell in love with Stephen Bishop. They would eventually marry.

The novel’s story is told through the voice of Charlotte Bishop. The narration is based in part on Charlotte’s real story. Historical documents and testimonies from people who met and knew Stephen and Charlotte guided the author in writing this delightful book. (I am about half way through.)

My point is this: if we do not know history, how can we navigate the future? Each of these National Parks sites, and the books I found there, provide citizens with living history. Our National Parks are repositories for learning and recalling great moments and individuals in history.

Thank God for Daisy Bates

On April 16, 2017April 16, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn Books, Childhood, Citizen Action, Democracy, EducationLeave a comment

Thursday morning I was blessed to join a tour group from Baltimore’s Civil Rights Movement at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. They are teachers, leaders, and powerful women traveling the civil right trail — next stop Memphis at the National Civil Right Museum at the Lorraine Hotel.

Great women have made significant contributions to democratic societies. Daisy Bates is one of these women. As our talented NPS Interpreter stated today, “If it hadn’t been for Daisy, there would not have been a Little Rock Nine or desegregation as it unfolded in Little Rock.”

Daisy Bates was the President of the Arkansas NAACP at the time of the Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs the Board of Education which desegregated public schools in the U.S. Nine children were identified by the Little Rock School Board to integrate Central High School. At the time, Governor Orval Faubus was not supporting the federal mandate and called in the National Guard to keep out the black students. Daisy realized that the nine teenagers would need protection and help and she organized meetings and support to help them on the first and subsequent days of their trials and tribulations. This story, and the life of Daisy Bates, is chronicled in her memoir, The Long Shadow of Little Rock, which I am currently reading. The individual stories of the nine students are each dramatic and many are told in their memoirs. What white students did inside the school to the nine black students, following integration, and the teachers who turned their backs, is horrendous and rarely told. I highly recommend that you visit this national historic site to reset your compass on American history and the long struggle of all American people for fulfillment of basic rights. As we see today, that struggle if still in progress. But, looking back to such pillars of courage and decency as Daisy Bates gives me renewed hope for a future all of us can make happen together.

Spirits of the Mountains

On April 11, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn Childhood, Culture, Ecology, Nature, Photography, Spiritual, TravelLeave a comment

Mt Humphreys at 12, 800 ft. in San Francisco Mts.

The spiritual nature of the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff was an awesome experience for me. The sight of these sacred mountains took me off guard when they first came into view, and indeed, were the focal point of the sky all the way to Holbook, Arizona. I can see why so many first nations hold these mountains in such reverence, when from anywhere for hundreds of miles the shimmering white peaks are a beacon of light and orientation. The Hopi believe the Kachina spirits live at the top of the peak. Looking at this forested hillside on the way up the mountain to Snowbowl, I can almost feel the spirits there.

Birches and Pines on Mt. Humphreys on the way up to Snowbowl.

On March 29, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn Citizen Action, Climate Change, Democracy, Environment, EthicsLeave a comment

This video of an interview with Rebecca Solnit, columnist with Harper’s Magazine, prolific author on climate change, environmental issues, and other culturally relevant issues, is a clear point for those of us who feel disoriented by the sweeping changes being made in D.C.

https://hot.dvlabs.com/democracynow/360/dn2017-0328.mp4?start=2758.0

From this interview on Democracy Now on March 28, 2017, this excerpt is most important for those of us who are engaged in resisting the dismantling of hard won environmental protections and action on climate change. I recommend listening to the whole interview at the link above. Solnit has a comprehensive perspective on “where we are” and what is the work now.

What concerns me, after 30 years of activism, is that a lot of people will think, “Well, we did something today, and we didn’t see results tomorrow.” So one of the things I’ve been writing about for The Guardian and elsewhere is just trying to remind people that this is a long process, that we may be in, you know, the early stages of really redefining what democracy is going to mean in this nation, reforming the systems that were already moribund and stagnant before—you know, Trump is a consequence of a dysfunctional system, not a cause of it. So we have enormous transformative work to do. And people are actually doing it. If we keep at it, if we’re smart, if we’re skillful, if we’re more passionate about solidarity than the kind of perfectionism of nitpicking small differences, I think that extraordinary things could happen, not that they’re guaranteed. It depends on what we do. But it’s an exciting and even exhilarating moment, as well as a heart-rending and terrifying one. And those things can coexist.

Following the Trail of Water

On March 26, 2017March 26, 2017 By Susan FeathersIn Culture, Education, Environment, Nature, Sustainable Society, Sustainable Society, Ecoliteracy, Writing, Philanthropy, Nature, Wildlife ConservationLeave a comment

A friend of mine, Mark Hainds, is a forester and author, who has challenged himself to walk the entirety of the U.S. – Mexico Border. In doing so, he is noting the conditions of the landscape, meeting the people who live there, the people who are passing over the border in hopes of a better future, and experiencing the deep peace from long hours of silent walking. Be sure to visit his site above.

On Friday morning I dropped him off at mile marker 40 on highway 82 near Sonoita, Arizona. This is grasslands – basin and range territory – home of historic ranches, antelopes, and hardy people who love the land.

To a visitor is can seem very still but to locals who know its subtle changes, it is an exciting place to call home.

Luckily, the Nature Conservancy and the Bureau of Land Management had foresight to preserve large tracks of riparian habitats (those areas where water flows near the surface of the ground, and in wet seasons, runs in streams and rivers). When you gaze out across expansive grasslands and see a line of bright green trees, you have found water.

Today I followed the traces of water across the landscape by looking for those trees. While I walked the fields and paths, small herds of tawny pronghorns on far hills bounded in the high grass, white rumps flashing in the sunlight.

At the historic Empire Ranch, I listened for the voices of families, ranch hands, and cowboys lingering in the old structures of the house, cottages, corral, and barn.

Empire Ranch Grounds circa early 20th century

Wandering the paths into a cottonwood gallery, I felt spirits walking next to me. A time gone but with lingering energies, whispering to us modern day visitors.

What are they telling us?

Would it be a cautionary tale? The ranch was passed through many hands, each family working it for 35-50 years, then to developers, and finally into the protection of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The ranch and 42,000 acres of riparian corridor and grasslands is now Las Cienegas National Conservation Area which we all can visit.

Yet these images show a time gone by, when the big cattle ranches reigned, and then died as water receded, and the demand of beef declined.

Perhaps we live in a more enlightened time. But, that remains to be seen. Will we remember the lessons of the past, or are we doomed to repeat mistakes with forgotten memories?

The ghosts of the land whisper to us. What are they telling us?

One whose spirit speaks to me is Aldo Leopold: “Conservation is getting nowhere because it is incompatible with our Abrahamic concept of land. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”