â┚¬Å”â┚¬Â¦I can't change anyone but me; and maybe, just maybe, that's enough.â┚¬Â Ã¢â”šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Sunita Pillay
I sometimes wonder if I've sold out. I know it's ultra-uncool to work within the establishment, right? Currently in Orlando there is a debate raging concerning feeding homeless in public spaces, people are even getting arrested for trying to carry on this practice. I've decided to stay quiet on the topic and I resist the urge to comment on postings on Facebook â┚¬â€œ which is a rarity for me, honestly. When I look at the situation, I see our city government trying to work with this group, I chose to see what they are doing and in those actions I see the possibility of working with the government to eradicate this problem.
Getting arrested in a situation like this, when you're aware that you will get arrested, is considered an act of civil disobedience. I've come to think of â┚¬Å”civil disobedienceâ┚¬Â as an oxymoron. It seems the act is rarely civil: it creates often unnecessary drama and costs taxpayers money. The money (it takes no brainiac to connect the dots) could be put to better use, like say, solving the homeless crisis. Naturally those initiating the act of civil disobedience would argue that it is the fault of the City that the money is being spent on the arrestâ┚¬Â¦you know, the arrest they knew was inevitable.
I worry that a barracuda-like grip on a principle â┚¬â€œ or maybe just ego â┚¬â€œ begins to distract a group from the goal they set out to accomplish. In the case of the group I'm alluding to, they're hell-bent on making sure feeding the homeless happens in public and making that a sticking point, I feel at least, has started to overshadow the goal. Would it be so terrible to work with the City to accomplish this goal? The City appears to be willing â┚¬â€œ and more so than the press has painted them to be.
Don't get me wrong, our city government makes decisions that cause my eyebrow to cock, but I also think it is doing some great, dare I say progressive, things. This past weekend, for example, Brendan and I participated in one such program and safely ridded ourselves of old electronics. Keep Orlando Beautiful, a program set up by the dastardly City of Orlando, collected old electronics to be recycled or safely disposed. All we had to do was drive through Festival Park and hand our electronics to volunteers. We even got to register for a giveaway.
So what do you think? A sell-out working within the system? I leave it for you to ponder, because I know I will.
Ironically my little rant has distracted me from the task at hand: delivering your Monday Ripples. Here they are, folks: click, read, pass ’em alongâ┚¬Â¦you know the drill.
HEY! I'm Walking Here!
Do Charity Walks Raise Enough Money to Justify their Expense?
Here's an interesting conundrum: does the cost of producing a walkathon or run justify the amount of money raised by a charity? I found this post from a tweet â┚¬â€œ is that the right jargon? â┚¬â€œ by Margot Knight of United Arts of Central Florida fame. Thanks to her for sharing it. An old adage pretty much sums up my thoughts on the subject: you have to spend money, to get money. Let me know what you think.
A Beautiful Dayâ┚¬Â¦
Mr. Rogers was an Ordained Presbyterian Minister
I'm proud to say I went to the same college as Mr. Rogers. When I was attending Rollins, I would see him walking the campus now and again, and I thought it was scandalous that he wore his â┚¬Å”inside shoesâ┚¬Â outside. Thank goodness, this Today I Found Out post explains the real reason for changing his shoes at the top of the show. I've been thinking a lot about Mr. Rogers since PBS has come under attack recently; as this article points out, he famously spoke before congress in defense of PBS and won the politicos over in a big way.
Maybe, Just Maybe
The Summer of Love: Picasso's Monumental Gift to the People of Chicago.
I love this blogpost from The Elephant Journal and it's not just because it is about the year I was born. Sunita Pillay captures the esprit of experiencing art eloquently. It was also interesting to hear of Picasso doing something altruistic when he gets portrayed as being an egomaniacal, womanizing prick all the time. I'll let you click and read; why attempt to sum up what Sunita has done so well.
