A list of heroes

This is me being super pissed off at my father during our visit to Israel in 1996. That trip was very emotional. I came back and swore I would never have children. There are some pretty heavy issues hanging over my family and you can almost always count on me to stir the huge pot of shit always steaming just under the surface of our lives. Visiting Israel was politically eye opening. Maybe not the way Israelis would like it to be. I came back with the opinion that before another American passes judgement on the situation in the middle east, they need to go there in person.

But that's not the American way. We just send our soldiers there with bombs. The great cry of "Support our troops" sweeps the nation. Those who dare to question our allegiance with Israel, or the right of our government to do whatever the hell it wants are considered unAmerican. If our government tells us that Iraq is our enemy, we must hate the Iraqis.

But if you go to Israel and you see the segregation, or you go to Old Jerusalem and you see the separate quarters, or to the Golan Heights, you will see more than the news will ever let you see. I think a lot more people would be ashamed of what we've done if they went. They would also understand the tensions that exist there.

Am I anti Israeli? That's a tough question. I have two Israeli half brothers. To be against Israelis is to be against my own family. Not to mention my amazing step mother who is the most competent down to earth woman who has been such a nurturing partner for my father. Then there's her whole cool family. Am I going to be their enemy?

No. But they aren't the Israelis who hate the Palestinians. Believe me when I say that not all Israelis want Israel to be the way it is right now.

It's weird how many people in McMinnville visit Israel for religious purposes. In some ways it offends me because they don't go there giving a shit about what hand Americans have had in the way things are there. They just want to see the relics of Jesus Christ. To me, you are missing the gorgeousness of Israel if you don't also see it for the people.

Here is a list of my heroes:

Ghandi- well, how can he not be a hero? He believed almost all the same things that Jesus did, only he's flesh and blood. You can see photos of him. He didn't turn water into wine or walk on water, which while being really neat tricks, isn't very practical. What he did do was lead an entire rebellion without lifting a violent finger. He showed what no other human being has been able to prove: that you can win a war against oppression and occupation without violence. Why we don't have a national "Ghandi" day is a huge mystery to me. I am in complete awe of what he accomplished in his life.

Martin Luther King- Because he did the exact same thing, but in our own country. He broke down dangerous walls in our society. Unfortunately he was assassinated before he could really finish the job and no one has made such gorgeous work of dissolving racial division since his death. But what he did accomplish was to make it impossible for America to ignore it's racial problems again. Though many people are trying every single day to carry on. He was a brilliant speaker and I get shivers when I hear his words or see footage of him.

The Organic Farmers of America- I don't even know most of their names. I can't afford to pay them what their work is worth. But they are a beacon of hope in the agricultural world which a lot of people don't realize they should be avidly interested in. Who is feeding you and your children is so much more important than who has the best sale on cabbage patch kids. Anyone who still thinks pesticides aren't dangerous on about fifty different levels is being willfully ignorant and actually stupid. With America being so obsessed with parenthood and having so many expectations of parent to be "perfect", it amazes me how so many parents are willing feed their kids dangerous chemicals.

Rosa Parks- do I need to explain this one? What an incredibly brave and beautiful woman!

Michael Pollan- if you haven't read his books, you need to. He will make you see the landscape of our country differently. He is a well respected journalist who has written books and articles on our relationship with the plants we depend on for life. His writing is funny, elegant, and deeply thoughtful. He is tackling issues of environmentalism and agricultural practices without being sanctimonious. If there is one writer I would like to emulate, it's this one.

Prince Charles- OK, I'll bet you're surprised by this one. In general I think he's an unattractive poor excuse for a royal spouse adulterous good-for-nothing. What changed my mind was finding out how he refused to let Britain use genetically modified seeds or to import any produce grown from genetically engineered seeds. Why? Because they appear to be dangerous and he doesn't want his country to be a testing lab for them. His decision was to wait until more is known about the long term environmental and health effects of these foods are. Not only that, I am very impressed with his personal interest in kitchen gardens and organic gardening. He is the only royal person I have ever admired for anything. If only our own leader cared so much about us.

Alice Waters- For making people wake up and pay attention to what they're eating. She has made vegetables and seasonal eating popular again. She supports organic farming. But most of all, her involvement in the program called "The Edible Schoolyard" is something I truly admire. This program should be sweeping across the country. What our children eat is really important, just as it's important that they understand how their food is made and how it is grown. Teaching them these things is one of the best things we can do for them. Please believe that I get the irony that my own kid doesn't eat more than two or three items of produce. It has been very tough as a parent who values good food and especially fresh produce, to have a child who mostly likes crackers. At least I've had the satisfaction and pleasure of feeding him carrots and peas that came out of my own yard.

Anne Lamott- for writing honestly, with humor, with pain, and for making it OK to admit that sometimes you want to strangle your little angel of love. My friend Carrie Souza sent me a copy of her book "Operating Instructions" when she found out I was pregnant. More than any other book I read about having a baby, this one prepared me for the torture, the love, the beauty, and the rage that all jumble together in the motherhood gig. She made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants. If there's any writer I emulate besides Michael Pollan, it's Anne Lamott. (I should note here that it's her creative non-fiction that I love, not her fiction.)

Who are your heroes?


P.S. It turns out I'm sick. Someone took sharp pebbles and rubbed them all over my throat and then left them there for me to swallow. I'm off to bed again.