NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

When teaching about militarism I like to use two poems in order to demonstrate the ways that war, military service and sacrifice become naturalized in societies and also the way they come to be challenged. The first is from Roman poet Horace and one of his Odes, in which he coined the line "Dulce Et Decorum Est, Pro Patria Mori" or "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." In it, the poet calls upon Romans to develop greater fighter skills in order to frighten off the always growing list of enemies of the empire. The second is written in response to Horace and also to the patriotism and militaristic sentiment that it is meant to evoke. Written by British poet Wilfred Owen, who fought in World War I and died during the war, it illustrates a brutish and ugly face to war, ignoring the glorious odes which people may devise to get young people excited and invested in military service. The famous line from Horace, Owens refers to as "th

Audre Lorde and James Baldwin interview Essence 1984 JB: One of the dangers of being a Black American is being schizophrenic, and I mean ‘schizophrenic’ in the most literal sense. To be a Black American is in some ways to be born with the desire to be white. It’s a part of the price you pay for being born here, and it affects every Black person. We can go back to Vietnam, we can go back to Korea. We can go back for that matter to the First World War. We can go back to W.E.B. Du Bois – an honorable and beautiful man – who campaigned to persuade Black people to fight in the First World War, saying that if we fight in this war to save this country, our right to citizenship can never, never again be questioned – and who can blame him? He really meant it, and if I’d been there at that moment I would have said so too perhaps. Du Bois believed in the American dream. So did Martin. So did Malcolm. So do I. So do you. That’s why we’re sitting here. AL: I don’t, honey. I’

Published on Monday, March 3, 2014 by Common Dreams Ukraine in Context: What You Don't Know About a New Cold War In a crisis that betrays simple narratives, analysts hope for solutions that de-escalate the threat of violence while protecting ordinary Ukrainians from the various interests of elite powers - Jon Queally, staff writer   A Ukrainian soldier stands inside a Ukrainian military base in Crimea as unidentified soldiers, assumed to be Russian, encircle the base. (Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty) As the events in Ukraine have sent world leaders scurrying to develop and spread narratives that serve their own interests, the complexities of the geopolitical and economic implications—whether from a Russian, American, European or Ukrainian perspective—have become elusive to those trying to understand exactly what's going on inside the country. While the U.S. media is obsesse

Last year local businessman Adrian Cruz proposed the creation of a Chamorro newspaper. It would feature articles and columns in the Chamorro language and focus on issues affecting Chamorros. I and a few others submitted articles to support this newspaper. I was happy to learn earlier this year that Adrian had gotten enough advertising and support to print the first issue.  I wrote a story on the reunification of the Marianas, providing some background on how Guam was taken by the United States, but the other islands in the Marianas in Micronesia were not. My column appeared on the editorial page beside columns by Mario Borja who is heading the Chamorro Sakman project in San Diego and the infamous Robert Underwood, who wrote on the fluidity of Chamorro culture and the need to not only honor our ancient ancestors. Just the intellectual layout of the three columns was pretty cool to look at. Another issue is coming out soon. I'm contributing a piece in Cham