-First Precept-

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to condone any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, and in my way of life.

I'm a meat eater and I have been my whole life. My branch of Buddhism (Soto) doesn't call for vegetarianism, but I feel like it would be a more religious/ethical choice based on this precept. So why haven't I made the switch? Because it's hard. I come from a family that has been known to serve several kinds of animal at one meal. Our idea of vegetables consists of potatoes and sometimes rice if we're feeling particularly faux-Asian. But mostly meat-and-potatoes all the way. So it's a little difficult for me to get used to the idea of substituting delicious chunks of cow with seitan and potatoes with a variety of healthy beans and green leafy vegetables. However, working in a place where I have to pass adorable calves and bonded families of cattle every single day definitely makes me feel guilty. So I'll be trying to work on this one, at least for meals I prepare myself. Interesting note: Buddhists who are given meat as an offering MUST accept it. It's considered self-righteous not to.

-Second Precept-

Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to cultivate loving kindness and learn ways to work for the well-being of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am committed to practice generosity by sharing my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in real need. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others. I will respect the property of others, but I will prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

I think I do pretty well on this one. I'm active against social injustice and in learning how to live sustainably.

-Third Precept-

Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivate responsibility and learn ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without love and a long-term commitment. To preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am determined to respect my commitments and the commitments of others. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct.

Done pretty good on this one too.

-Fourth Precept-

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivate loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to learn to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy, and hope. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to criticise or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I will make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

I'm terrible at this one. Seriously. I think I'm a pretty good listener, but I am susceptible to gossip, and I can be very critical of people due to a deep streak of cynicism I've cultivated since college. I'm also not very good at reconciling grudges. I make friends easily, but once you piss me off in some unforgivable way, you've made an enemy for life. Obviously, forgiveness is a huge part of Buddhist philosophy, but it's one of the areas I'm least good at. I'm trying though.

-Fifth Precept-

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practising mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I am committed to ingest only items that preserve peace, well-being, and joy in my body, in my consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family and society. I am determined not to use alcohol or any other intoxicant or to ingest foods or other items that contain toxins, such as certain TV programs, magazines, books, films, and conversations. I am aware that to damage my body or my consciousness with these poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations. I will work to transform violence, fear, anger, and confusion in myself and in society by practising a diet for myself and for society. I understand that a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and for the transformation of society.

I drink regularly (though rarely to excess). I enjoy it. I'm not a "bad drunk" and never have been. But drinking and other miscellaneous intoxicants are a BIG no-no in Buddhism. Will I ever become a teetotaler? Probably not. But I try to be conscious of how much I drink, and of my actions while I'm drinking. I also need to get onto that good diet/exercise thing.

Maybe a vegetarian experiment will help with that...

Vietnamese roasted chicken is something else. I was skeptical when I came in from work to a smell which can not be described as anything but vaguely fishy in an Oriental market sort of way. I assme this is due to the fish sauce in the recipe, which is basically composed of anchovies left to ferment in the Thailand sun for 12 months. Ick. I was ready to be very disappointed, since I was planning to use the leftover shredded chicken for a buffalo wing soup.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I took that all-important first bite and discovered the chicken tasted nothing like fish. It just tasted like a perfectly roasted, scrape-off-the-bone-with-a-fork, mouthwateringly tender roast chicken. It could not possibly be cooked any better, and (unlike my last chicken fiasco, which left me with a terrible case of food poisoning) it is fully cooked too.

Yum.

Vietnamese Roasted Chicken
- 4-6 quartered chicken legs (w/ thigh)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Assemble ingredients in crock pot. Cook for four hours on high or until the meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees. Eat.

Verdict - B
This chicken was tender and easy to make, but pretty greasy. I think next time I need to de-skin the chicken first before roasting it. Also, the smell was pretty unpleasant. This is not a kid-friendly recipe (but in my experience, not many Vietnamese recipes are.) I don't think I'll make this again, just based on the fact that the smell of fermented fish guts has now permeated my apartment, and I'm having to burn copious amounts of sandalwood incense to compensate. Also, while the spices on this were good, I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather put on chicken than sugar and fish sauce.

If "real Americans" are hateful enough to scream "Kill him!" about the opposing political candidate at a rally at the same time as they purpose to believe in a loving God, I really, really don't want to be one.

And If the "patriots" want someone to jump and cheer "Go America! Hold that line!" even when we're going in a direction that half our own nation and more than half the world considers is a wrong path, they need to hire cheerleaders at union addresses and stump speeches. As a citizen, that's not my job. Sorry. My job is to make sure my elected representatives represent MY country in the way that I believe is ethically-minded and progressive, because I believe in the continued prosperity of our nation. We foster continuous prosperity not by clinging to the past, but by adapting efficiently to the future.


So where do I stand on the issues? 

Civil Rights: I'm a proud member of the American Civil Liberties Union. I believe in equality for everyone with the exception of criminals. In fact, the only issue I have with the ACLU is the fact that they oppose the death penalty. I think the case of heinous crimes, violent criminals should be put to death for the betterment of society. I do not believe that prison = rehabilitation. A lot of the time, criminals come out of jail even more violent and streetworthy than they were when they went in. The prison system doesn't work. Corporal punishment does. Singapore will publically cane you for vandalism. Do you think that there would be many vandals in America if we "spanked" young adults in front of a crowd? Don't think so. (Also interesting to note, Singapore has one of the lowest crime rates in the world.)

Defense: I believe in a defensive military with the most high tech toys available to mankind. I disagree with "preemptive" strategy. I believe the National Guard is for guarding the nation, not traipsing across the world as an alternative to a military draft. I think if the bulk of the National Guard had been here instead of abroad, many people in Hurricane Katrina would not have lost their lives. I also believe in going to war as the absolute last resort. Examples of times when I think international war is necessary? Stopping the Nazis from taking over the world. WWII is pretty much the only justified international war I can think of. Vietnam? No. Korea? No. The Gulf? No. Afghanistan? (Close, but no cigar.) No. Iraq? Definitely not.  

Economy: I believe in a free market, but not to the point that it causes greedy people to destroy millions just so they can make millions. I believe Americans should be more self-sufficient, and should support local agriculture. I think American materialism is really hurting us, and that the counterculture trend towards minimalist/green living is a GREAT thing. I believe in the global economy, except in the case of foreign oil. I think the fact that we buy oil from people who can't stand us is ridiculous. You really want to stop terrorism? Carpool.

Education: America has one of the worst educational systems in the world. We are in wars with countries most Americans cannot point out on a map. Most Americans could not pass a citizenship test if it was given to them. Yet we are the leaders of the free world. And in comparison to some of the less free world, we are profoundly stupid. This is a problem that REALLY needs to be addressed. All students with an A-B average should get a free ride to college as long as they maintain their grades. All undergraduates with an A-B average should get a free ride for a graduate degree. And the tenure system sucks.

Environment: I'm a theoretical environmentalist even if I'm not one in practice a lot of the time. (Though I have put those new squiggly looking lightbulbs in most of my lamps and try to turn them off if I'm not home.) I do think that the environment is very important though, and everyone from corporations to individuals should be held responsible for maintaining it. I'm interested in environmental policy and I'm trying really hard to learn more about it. "There is no Planet B" isn't just a cute tee-shirt logo. It's the truth. I believe in self-sufficiency and plan to move onto a small farm as soon as I can rustle the money up, in order to produce most of my own food. I also support local/organic farmers and farming practices. I still drive a gasoline car, but only by economic necessity. If it was up to me, I'd be in an electric car already.

Government: I believe in a transparent government with records openly available to the public. (Not the kind where you ask for the records and 7/8ths of the document is blacked out.) I believe in holding politicians accountable for their actions, positive or negative. I also think the practice of adding amendments to bills which have nothing to do with the main purpose of the bill is corrupt and should be abolished.

Faith: While I am deeply religious, I believe in the separation of church and state, mostly because there are so many different church doctrines and only one state. Mixing the two is hidebound to be deeply unfair. I also think that looking down on people for believing something different than you is hypocritical and ignorant. I don't care if yours is the "one true religion" or not. I also believe in tolerance - different strokes for different folks, and all that jazz. I won't hurt you if you won't hurt me. Live and let live.

Family: I believe that education starts in the home and that parents should be encouraged to "bring their kids up right." Parents should be held responsible for the wrongdoings of their children up to adulthood. I don't think spanking emotionally scars kids. And I think families should watch less TV in general.

Foreign Policy: I believe in benevolent diplomacy. It is much easier to make someone your friend than it is to fight them. I believe as a friend to other nations, we have the responsibility of aiding them when we agree with them and talking them down when we don't. It's kind of like when your best friend is drunk and wants to get into a bar fight. If the person they want to fight threw a drink in their face, I will probably stand behind them. If the person they want to fight accidentally bumped them and caused them to spill their beer, I will probably remove my friend from the bar. I think international diplomacy should work the same way. I think the United Nations is ineffectual as it is, and should be vastly reformed to make it a legitimate power in the world. So do I believe in global government? To a point. If you want to get in a war and the rest of the world tells you it might be a bad idea, telling them to go f*ck themselves is not necessarily the most diplomatic of decisions.

Healthcare: I believe in affordable healthcare. I don't believe in socialized healthcare. All you have to do is take one look at Canada's healthcare system to see that socialized healthcare doesn't work. It's a nice theory, but in practice it sucks.

Homeland Security: Again, a good idea in theory, but in practice, not so much. I don't think I should be considered a dangerous criminal for wanting to carry shampoo onto an airplane. Nor does the NSA have any business having the privilege to hack my every email or text message. That's called abuse of power. I believe in keeping our country safe, but I would rather be free than safe. There is no use being safe if it's only from behind the bars of a cage.

Immigration: I protested for humane immigration reform in college and started the organization Students Against Xenophobia (SAX). Yeah, I was one of two white kids yelling, "Si, se puede!" in a picket line on May Day with my halfbreed Mexican friend while rednecks screamed, "GET BACK TO WORK SPICS!" at us. Not because I believe people should just be able to get into the country any time they want (they shouldn't) but because everyone has the right to a better life. These people aren't criminals. They're fruit pickers and janitors. They just want to protect their families like everyone else. And the political system in Mexico is constantly collapsing. Which means no jobs. And no food for your kids. So should we help them? Yes we should. Because I don't know about you, but I have no interest picking my own fruit unless I'm at one of those U-PICK places.

Poverty: I think we should use long-term solutions to poverty (like better education and more job opportunities) instead of supporting a failing welfare system. We now have several generations of families who have barely had a real job among the lot of them. This is unacceptable to me. I understand that poverty is a real problem and people sometimes need help. But people who ride the system should be punished.

So yeah. That's where I stand on the major issues. Wanna fight about it? (Just kidding. I'm a writer, not a fighter.)

"During times of war, hatred becomes quite respectable, even though it has to masquerade often under the guise of patriotism." - Howard Thurman

"I love America more than any other country in the world and, for exactly this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." - James Baldwin

My new goal for this week is to work consistently on my screenplay and hang out by myself more often in general, because I've gotten really easily irritated lately. Then, this morning, I realized it's because ever since I moved into my own place, all of my free time is being taken up by other people. Between relatives and clubs, I was home one night last week. I am an introvert. This is unacceptable. 

I'm also going through night owl withdrawals. When I was in college I could easily stay up until one or two in the morning, because my earliest class was at two thirty in the afternoon. Night is my favorite time of the day, and now I barely get to experience any of it anymore. (At least not unless I want to feel like a zombie the next day at work.) Now that I have to get up by six in the morning five days a week, staying up late has not only become inconvenient, it's become nigh impossible. I went to a video game tournament on Saturday and was yawning by nine thirty. That's a little ridiculous. (Although I did manage to whup some serious Street Fighter ass, so at least that was some consolation...)

So back to the screenplay. I was reminded of it by my mom when we went to a double feature yesterday (Journey to the Center of the Earth and Hellboy II) when we saw some previews for some movies that looked like they were going to suck pretty hard. "You need to finish your screenplay," she said. Words I have heard a dozen times over the last few months. She was there when I came up with the concept for the short story, and she was the one who talked me into formatting it into a screenplay in the first place, telling me what a great movie it would be. 

Unfortunately, most of my screenplay notes are still boxed up in the study from when I moved into my new apartment. And they're mixed in with about twenty-five pounds of notes, concordances, rejection slips, awards, and other assorted rick-a-rack. 

Still, if I can just get a scene worked on, I'll be a very happy horror writer. 

I also need to organize my closet and paint something for my cousin's new baby daughter (which I promised to do when said infant was still in utero) so I guess there's a lot of stuff that needs to get done. If I could only kick some people off of my schedule for a few days, maybe I could get something accomplished.

 

So I went caving for the first time in over a decade on Saturday, and it was much, much scarier than I remember. Of course, last time I went was with a guided "wild" cave tour when I was a kid. This time I was in a wild cave (Limrock in Scottsboro, AL) and I went with real cavers. Cavers = a strange breed of people who are not afraid of rock-climbing in the dark on boulders that are jagged as knives in some places and smooth as wet glass in others, people who see a space too small to shove a large dog through and think to themselves, "I wonder what's on the other side of that tiny hole?"

To be honest, a lot of the people that do that regularly are much more hardcore than myself, but it was still the most fun/most terrifying thing I've ever done in my life. I will probably do it again next month. Especially since I've already shelled out for the NSS (National Speleological Society) membership, a helmet, and other assorted caving gear. 

It's really one of those "face your fear" activities. I was so numb with spent adrenaline by the time we staggered out (seven hours later) I was almost comatose. But it really makes you appreciate daylight. And not having to climb cliffs or scoot your way into a pitch black pit. Oh, and hot baths. I've never been so dirty in my life. I'm still finding grit in unexpected places. Like between my teeth.