A Conversation With Paula Huston, Author

Paula Huston is the author of two novels and seven works of spiritual nonfiction.  Her most recent title is One Ordinary Sunday: A Meditation on the Mystery of the Mass (Ave Maria, 2016).  She lives on four acres on the Central Coast of California with her husband Mike, and is a mother, grandmother, and Camaldolese Benedictine oblate.  For more about her work, please visit her website at http://www.paulahuston.com.

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In the prologue to A SEASON OF MYSTERY, you mention two myths about aging. “One is that technology is my friend and if I only am willing to tap into its wondrous resources, I never have to age or die. The second myth is loftier and does not concern itself with wrinkle abatement; instead it assures me that the older I get, the more fascinating, wise and powerful I am destined to become.” You note that “underlying each of these myths is the same, unquestioned modern belief: the purpose of life is to get what I most want before I die.” How does this modern perspective on aging differ from previous generations? And what have we lost?

I’m not sure that we ARE so different from previous generations.  What made the words of Jesus so startling, even back then, was that they flew in the face of cultural givens about what makes life worth living.  People have always striven to get what they want.  The difference in our time is that so many of us are actually able to pull it off.  We have the technology, the money, and the permission from society to pursue our individual dreams in a way that would have been unthinkable, except among the extremely wealthy, during harder times.  And because the fulfillment of personal desires is now possible in a way it didn’t used to be, it’s become the measure of a good life.  We are judged, and judge ourselves, on the basis of whether we’ve gotten what we set out to get.  Yet even as recently as my grandparents’ generation, Minnesota farmers born near the turn of the 20th century, desire-fulfillment would have been an unattainable goal. Simply putting food on the table took everything they had. Elders who survived such hardships automatically accrued respect; they became role models for their children and grandchildren.  What we’ve lost in our time, I’m afraid, is that sense of wonderment at wisdom acquired the hard way.

You suggest that we should “consciously surrender up as many of our worries and plans as possible,” while taking a “deliberate focus on the present moment rather than on the future.” And recognize the consistent themes in our lives “don’t necessarily bear much relationship to reality. To be able to listen with spiritual ears, we have to set aside this self-created tale and simply wait for what comes next.” Much of this seems so against human nature. Is this a particular challenge within western culture, or is this dilemma imbedded within the human race itself?

Jesus’ words about the lilies of the field who neither sew nor spin but are beautifully arrayed by God make those of us who pride ourselves on how responsible we are a little crazy. Isn’t worrying about the future the adult thing to do?  Certainly, we need to prepare for what awaits us—the infirmities of old age, the possible need for a caregiver, mounting medical bills: we don’t want to be a burden to others if we can possibly avoid it.  But instead of just making some reasonable preparations, too often we strive for absolute security.  We convince ourselves that whatever happens in the future is completely up to us. Yet we can never predict what comes next: our best-laid plans crumble in the face of the unexpected. So why devote so much time and energy to what we ultimately cannot control?  Especially when all that earnest striving keep us so preoccupied that we fail to enjoy what’s happening all around us?  Is this a particular challenge in Western culture?  I don’t know.  But I’m guessing that the Western emphasis on “doing it my way” makes for a tougher road as we approach infirmity and loss of autonomy in old age.

You include a great quote by Thomas Merton in your book: “to find the full meaning of our existence we must find not the meaning that we expect but the meaning that is revealed to us by God. The meaning that comes out of the transcendent darkness of his mystery and our own. We do not know God and we do not know ourselves. How then can we imagine that it is possible for us to chart our own course toward the discovery of the meaning of our life?” Your answer is to invite the reader to listen and we’ll hear Jesus knocking (Revelation 3:20). Can you elaborate?

I can’t begin to tell you how many times over the years Jesus has knocked and I have ignored him because I was too preoccupied with my own agenda.  One thing I’ve noticed about becoming a senior citizen, however, is that Jesus’ knocking has gotten louder and I’ve gotten better at responding to it.  I think this may have something to do with losing friends to death. By now, I’ve been involved in the aftermath of too many sudden departures (planning funerals, helping pack up clothing and hauling it to the Goodwill, sorting through books and papers and all the items that people save for decades for no good reason whatsoever) to put overly much stock in my own preoccupations.  It can all end in a moment.  The more urgent question has become, How am I living?  Would I have any regrets if it turned out that today was the day?   

You make an interesting point that “if life’s purpose lies in getting what we want, as our culture insists, then freedom becomes a very big deal.” But this freedom gets in the way of love because we see love as constraining – so intimate relationships are lost. You note that the freedom of the gospels isn’t at all the sort of freedom we seek in 21^st century America.  Can you speak to the consequences of this tension?

I think that the consequences are all too obvious.  By “keeping our options open,” we’ve condemned ourselves to living elbow to elbow and yet feeling alienated and alone.  In the midst of thousands, we struggle to find a sense of community. Our skittishness about commitment to long-term relationships of any kind, especially marriage, means that we never experience the deepest mystery of life—the mystery of intimacy with another human being.  The freedom that Jesus talks about in the Gospels is completely different.  He shows us a way out of enslavement to self-centeredness and the deep loneliness this spawns in us.

You make an interesting point about questing (striving for meaning) and how it can get in the way of settling (resting in contemplative awareness). “In our endless questing, we never stumble on a beautiful secret: that God’s time – Kairos time – is always present and available to us… At any instant, if only we are aware enough to catch it, we can enter a suspended moment that contains within it layer upon layer of history…” Can you elaborate?

I got this notion of the “suspended moment” from a technique used by the novelist Virginia Woolf.  She often stops an action scene in mid-stride to fill in everything else that is going on around the main character in the midst of this dramatic moment.  We see the butcher down the street carving pork chops, the flower shop owner burying her nose in a bouquet of roses, the moon going down over India, 20,000 miles away—actually, I am making up these details, but you get the point.  Everything we do at any given moment, no matter how intense and dramatic these few seconds may be for us personally, is part of a great river of ongoing life. A billion other things are happening at any given time. A kairos moment is one in which we momentarily become aware of all that lies beyond the personal. 

You mentioned how a favorite monk friend, Fr. Bernard, greeted a first-time visitor. The visitor asked Fr. Bernard, if he ever got sick of being a monk. Fr. Bernard shook his head and told the visitor the monks have a saying that keeps them grounded. “Memento mori.” The visitor asked him what that meant. Fr. Bernard explained, “Hello, I’m going to die.” Then you note that: “From its beginnings in the third-century Egyptian desert, Christian monasticism has concerned itself with final things…. Physical existence, they believed, is meant to prepare us for eternal life with God. And there is no other way to meet our future except to undergo the terrible transition of death.”  It seems like most of 21^st Century western culture, especially now, is moving in the opposite direction. Why? Would you say that ignoring “memento mori,” leads to nationalistic thinking, like a longing to ‘Make America Great Again’?

When we can’t bring ourselves to face reality, our only recourse is to live in fantasy. Assuming that anything created by human beings is going to last forever, whether we are talking about the pyramids of Egypt or 1950s America, is a pipe dream.  Death comes for all of us and the real question is how we are going to use our brief time here on earth.  One time Fr. Bernard was interviewed by a journalist who asked why he’d chosen the monastic life.  “Life is short,” he said, “and I want to live it the best way I can.” 

“We cannot hold on to a single thing, no matter how we try.” I’m curious, what things, in your life, have you found to be particularly hard to let go of?

I have found it hard to let go of people I love when it is time for them to die. I am already grieving as I watch our sweet and innocent grandkids graduate from elementary school and enter the big bad world of junior high. I am finding it difficult to let go of my physical endurance—the old days of fifty-mile Sierra backpacks are clearly coming to an end.  And I think a lot about the eventual, inevitable end of this happy marriage of ours.  No matter which of us goes first, the other will have to learn how to live without that loving partnership.  And that will be the hardest loss indeed.

You describe the Benedictine rule of hospitality as being “rooted in this deep human need to be included, to find a home among caring neighbors.” It sounds genuine, but yet, you point out, “let’s face it; many (if not most) people are not inherently loveable.” In your own life, what’s been the way out of this dilemma?

Over the years, I’ve watched the monastery take in and shelter some wounded, difficult people—not as potential monks, but as temporary workers or guests.  I’ve watched what happens to the angry and the hurting when they are treated with kindness and respect. Hospitality at this level is like a balm for the soul, and sometimes it can even work miracles.  So when I find myself at a decision point in my own life—shall I open my arms and heart and home to this difficult human being or shouldn’t I?—I always think about the patience and gentleness of the monks who refuse to harm a “bruised reed,” as the Bible puts it. 

You think back upon handling the transition from leaving an earlier career as an educator. “Thank heaven for the cloud of witnesses that surrounded me, people from countless generations before who’d taken the trouble to record their own experiences of the dark patches on the spiritual path… Without all of them, those living teachers and long-dead saints, I may have given in to fear and rushed back to the only life I knew – the life of academic striving and artistic ambition – if simply to recover the blessed security of feeling purposeful again.” Why is this particular fear so intense?

I think we rightly fear the loss of purpose in our lives.  We are designed by God to do good work, to create, to love, to commit ourselves to others.  Our careers, especially if they are very satisfying to us, can make our lives feel meaningful and important.  That’s why losing a job can be so devastating.  How will we ever find this sense of purpose again?  One of the biggest challenges of the spiritual life, I think, is to stop equating a purposeful life with a particular career.  To become open to change.  To welcome mystery.  To look toward an unknown future with anticipation instead of dread.  We can only do this if we truly believe that God is interested in us, has work for us, and is patiently waiting for us to stop clinging with white knuckles to what is safe and familiar.    

I absolutely love what you have to say about the modern-day view of the elderly. “The elderly are often the last people we think of as our natural-born teachers. How could they be? They grew up in different times, we tell ourselves. The world has totally changed, we say. They may be quaint, even mildly interesting with all those walking-to-school-in-three-feet-of-snow stories of theirs, but who can connect to them in this day and age? Their attitudes are based on values that have become obsolete. They are irrelevant. Sad, maybe, but these are the facts.” In response, “Some of them [the elderly] simply withdraw, preferring to keep their experiences to themselves or to save them for people their own age, the only ones who can understand…The ultimate result is a Grand Canyon-sized gulf between the very people who should be spending the most time together: wise elders and the young.” What are the ramifications of this rift between the elderly and the young?

I think we are seeing the ramifications of this rift in the obvious distress that plagues so many young people today.  Too many kids suffer from depression, anxiety, or a perspective on life that’s confined to the personal and emotional.  Their busy parents, usually both working full-time, do their best to help, but the only people who really have the time to connect on a deep level are the older generation.  I know that I am a much better grandma than I was a mother, and this is primarily because I have the time and mental space and, let’s face it, life experience to handle with equanimity and good cheer the hurts and confusions and longings that my grandkids and other children bring to our table.  I loved watching my husband, who taught public school for 35 years, sitting on the sofa helping 5-year-old Sophie learn to read before she started kindergarten.  There’s a natural rhythm between old and young that is a blessing for both; when that gets disrupted, it’s a major loss for our culture. 

Towards the end of A SEASON OF MYSTERY you offer a couple of examples of incredible grace. Henri Nouwen leaving a solitary, scholarly life, to become part of the L’Arche community, finding grace living among those who are physically and mentally challenged. And Fr. Chris, a friend, who became afflicted with Devic’s syndrome. Fr. Chris had been used to doing everything for himself, but, for a period of time, the only thing he could offer his caregivers was love.  Is this part of the bigger picture? The way to see aging? And dying? To open ourselves up to a deeper experience of love? Of grace?

There is no doubt about this.  My closest friend, just a year younger than I am, was struck by MS a decade ago.  Our relationship became deeper as her physical disabilities became more pronounced.  Now that she is mostly in a wheelchair, I am often her “pusher.”  This friendship of ours has become a constant source of grace for me.  I am in awe of the way she deals with constant pain, the loss of her mobility, the sorrow over her inability to work anymore.  Every time I am with her, I learn something new about faith, patience, and what happens to people when they pray without ceasing.  The gift I receive from her each time we are together is pure love, which is an enormous source of strength for me.  I think this is what the aging have to offer: a view of reality we often can’t access as busy, striving middle-aged folks, and a hard-earned conviction, grounded in love, about the most important things in life. 

In terms of your writing process, is there a certain time of day that works best for you? Place? Do you have any tips to offer to writers?

Oddly enough, I go to my studio up in the pine trees at about 2:00 each day and write till 6:00.  This makes dinner pretty late each night, but it’s the time that seems to work best for me.  I need to be totally away from the house, the bills, the dishwasher, the laundry, to sink deeply into the writing.  My advice to would-be writers is this: find a place to work that is only for your writing, even if it’s just a card table set up somewhere in the house.  Find a schedule that is realistic and then stick with it.  And give yourself Sundays off!

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Just that I appreciate the invitation to go a little deeper into some of the issues I talk about in Season of Mystery.  That was a special book for me, and by now it’s not one of my more recent, so I was glad to get these insightful questions of yours. I can tell that I am already in quite a different place than I was when I began writing the book seven  years ago.  Then, I was more focused on the aging of those around me; now I am in the middle of my very own adventure!

Trump and White Evangelicals

Johnnie Moore

Eight-one percent of white evangelical protestants who voted in the November, 2016 presidential election voted for Donald Trump.  They constituted one of the highest concentrations of his supporters and undeniably helped elect him president.

The Pew Research Center reported that at the time of Trump's election, seventy-eight percent of white evangelical protestants approved of him. A year later that support had declined to sixty-one percent.

Forty-six percent of white mainline protestants approved of the way he was governing a year later (via a Pew Research Center survey conducted in Nov. and Dec.)

Among black protestants and Hispanics, it's a very different story. Trump had a seven percent approval rating among survey respondents, which was consistent with their support at the time of the election. The approval rating among Hispanics remained the same, at seventeen percent.

In January, the Pew Research Center asked if Trump's election had led to worsened race relations. Sixty percent of respondents said yes, compared with only forty-six percent at the time of his election.

Given this background, an article in last week's New York Times bears particular relevance. In the article, Johnnie Moore, one of a core group of white evangelicals who advises Trump, boasted that his group continued to have influence with the president via special "listening sessions."

"This White House," Moore stated, "is open to evangelicals."

Moore went on to say that he personally visited the White House about twenty times last year. "Not a day goes by that there aren't a dozen evangelical leaders in the White House for something." One almost has to assume that they are mostly white.

Which begs the question: What sort of influence do Moore and the rest of the dozen evangelical leaders really have over the White House or the current president?

Robert Jeffress, another member of this evangelical advisory group, said "I can't look into the president's heart to know if he really believes in these positions [that the group is advocating]... but frankly, I don't care. As a Christian I'm seeing these policies embraced and enacted and he's doing that."

One could infer from Jeffress' statement, that the evangelical group doesn't pay much attention to the way Trump or his advisors in the White House act in their personal lives.

What Moore and Jeffress seem to be missing is that, many of the current president's actions and actions of his staff are anything but Christian.

To take just one example, witness the recent blow-up over allegations of domestic violence on the part of one of Trump's ex-senior advisors. Two of this former advisors' ex-wives reported significant abuse. Serious enough to have Trump's chief of staff ask for the advisor's removal. In speaking about the situation, Trump has said nothing about the abuse, while praising the advisor's work.

Speaking of the president's chief of staff, John Kelly, Mr. Kelly came under fire after the Charlottesville debacle as saying the Civil War was the result of a failure to compromise [over the issue of slavery.]

That same event in Charlottesville caused the president to remain pointedly silent for a day, then say there were "good people on both sides," meaning the KKK as well as the civil rights demonstrators who were present. As you may recall, Trump refused to admonish the KKK.

Would Mr. Moore or Jeffress call any of these actions Christian?

And while the president has publicly proclaimed he is now against abortion, he is also set to deport about one million DACA "Dreamers" in early March, refusing to take a leadership role in reaching a legislative solution to the issues of immigration and refugees. In fact, the current administration is seeking to lower the number of immigrants and refugees admitted to the US to historic lows in modern times.

How are these actions pro life?

Robert Jeffress

It seems as if the white evangelical movement is fixated on the term pro-life, to the extent that many of them are blindly excusing practically all of the current president's/his advisor's behavior in exchange for that one consideration.

Perhaps the time has come to consider a broader definition of pro life to include the rest of life after birth; calling such actions "life affirming." This would include taking a stand to support DACA, Medicaid expansion, SNAP (food stamps) and standing against the current administration's plan to pay for significant increases in the military budget and building a wall across the Mexican border with significant cuts to Medicare and other social services.

As to the Judeo-Christian definition of religion, here's what is found in Micah, Chapter 6: "...the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with the LORD your God."

Jesus' own mission statement was taken straight from Isaiah when Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth: "The spirit of the LORD is upon me, Because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD..." (Luke 4:18)

Most all major world religions aim to take the focus off of ourselves and on to others. The standard for living is simple, get along with others, treat them as you would like to be treated. It seems that the current president has been the very definition of one who cannot seem to understand this one, basic truth.

I would ask Mr. Moore, Mr. Jeffress and any other member of their particular evangelical crowd: Do Mr. Trump and his advisors fit the definition of a Christian that you want others to emulate? And if not, how can you say you are having any kind of an influence in the White House?

Mr. Moore, I would ask you, specifically, what are you discussing when you go to the White House and "personalize" issues for the president and his staff?

All of this leaves the lingering, overarching question: What is the point behind the dozen (mostly white) evangelicals coming to the White House on a daily basis?

G.K. Chesterton once said, "Let your religion be less of a theory [or adherence to a dogma] and more of a love affair."

After all, Jesus himself , speaking of the Pharisees, said that "by their fruits you will know them."

The Greensboro Four - Civil Rights Heroes

The Greensboro Four

On February 2, 1960 Ezell A. Blair Jr., David Richmond, Joseph McNeil and Franklin McCain - four African-American students at North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro - began a sit-in at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter. [Here's a timeline of the demonstration].

They had been meeting privately, discussing the issue of segregation, and decided to do something about it.

These four young men walked into the Woolworth store around 4:30 that afternoon, sat down at the "Whites Only" lunch counter, ordered coffee and were refused service. They remained at the counter until closing time.

The next day twenty-five men and four women went back to the Woolworth lunch counter with them. This time white patrons heckled them as a TV camera caught the demonstration, along with reporters from both local newspapers. Once the news of the sit-in spread, a Student Executive Committee for Justice was formed to plan future demonstrations. The NAACP lent their support as well. And Blair, Richmond, McNeil and McCain became known as the Greensboro Four.

Ezell Blair Jr./Jibrell Khazan

By Wednesday, February 3, more than sixty students, one-third of them female, joined the sit-in. Students carpooled to the Woolworth store in shifts. The KKK showed up and the national headquarters of F.W. Woolworth issued a statement that their policy towards segregation "would abide by local custom."

By Thursday, February 4 more than three hundred students (from No. Carolina A & T, Bennett College and Dudley High School) joined in the protest. Some students went to SH Kress Co.'s lunch counter to spread the sit-in.

Within a few days, the sit-in movement had quickly spread to Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and even the Woolworth store in New York City. By Easter weekend of April 16-17 a meeting of sit-in leaders was held at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, making it a national movement.

David Richmond

On July 25, F.W. Woolworth in Greensboro began to serve all customers, regardless of color. Four Woolworth's employees became the first African-Americans to be served there. The same day The Kress store's lunch counter in Greensboro became integrated.

By August, 1961 over 70,000 people had participated in sit-ins, mostly in the south - at "Whites Only" lunch counters, kneel-ins at segregated churches, sleep-ins in segregated motel lobbies, swim-ins at segregated pools, read-ins at segregated libraries and play-ins at segregated parks.

The Greensboro Four had begun a movement that ultimately spread across the US, resulting in major efforts to integrate public institutions.

Joseph McNeil

All of the Greensboro Four found difficulty staying in Greensboro after graduation, being labeled as troublemakers. Ezell Blair, Jr. moved to Massachusetts to attend the New England Conservatory of Music. He eventually worked as a teacher and counselor to developmentally challenged individuals in New Bedford. In 1968 he joined the Islamic Center of New England, changing his name to Jibrell Khazan.

Franklin McCain was originally from Washington, D.C., moving south to attend North Carolina A&T. He earned bachelor's degrees in biology and chemistry and a master's from that institution. After graduation McNeil moved to Charlotte, NC where he worked for Celanese Corporation for thirty-five years. McNeil died in 2014 from respiratory complications

Joseph McNeil joined the Air Force after graduating from North Carolina A&T. He had a thirty-seven year career in the military, retiring with the rank of Major General.

Franklin McCain

David Richmond was the only member of the Greensboro Four who returned to the town to live. Nine years after his graduation he came back to take care of his ailing mother. Eventually, Richmond found work as a housekeeping partner at the Greensboro Health Care Center. Richmond died in 1990 of lung cancer, at 49 years of age. At his memorial service, Richmond was awarded a posthumous Doctor of Humanities degree from his alma mater.

All of the Greensboro Four had the trajectory of their lives changed by their involvement in the sit-in movement. They influenced an entire national movement that eventually resulted in the integration of thousands of public spaces in the south and elsewhere.

Photo Credits: mostly from Wikepedia

My family's immigrant experience

Anthony Salerno, my Father

A tweet yesterday by the actress Mira Sorvino had to do with telling her own family's immigrant experience. In it, Mira referenced a powerful article about Jennifer Mendelsohn, who has researched a few immigrant experiences of members of congress who are now actively engaged in anti-immigrant efforts.

It motivated me to think back on my own family's experience.

My Grandfather, Carmello was a shepherd in Sicily. Times were tough, and he immigrated to the United States in search of a better life for his wife and two children. So he took a chance, coming across the Atlantic on a boat in steerage. He was one of millions of people who came through Ellis Island during its peak years.

Once in his new country, he worked as a laborer - helping dig out the Holland Tunnel, among other projects. It was difficult, dirty and dangerous work.

Eventually there were eight children. Including my father, Anthony.

My Dad told me that, growing up, the family only spoke Italian in the home. The kids, going to the neighborhood public school, quickly learned English. But my Grandparents never really learned the new language.

The neighborhood in Garfield, New Jersey, where my Grandpa and his family lived was primarily Italian. The local stores were run by Italians. They prospered and quickly adapted to their new country.

My Dad was a first generation American.

Anthony Salerno, during WWII

He grew up, fought for his country in World War II and married my Mom.

They had eight children.

After the War, my Dad and Mom settled in Michigan, where he worked in a produce market, in a hotel as a cook, and eventually for the New York Central Railroad. He worked steadily for the railroad for over thirty years. During that time frame, Dad held a variety of jobs, from pulling switches for trains, to handling hundreds of thousands of dollars of business annually as a railroad freight agent. He showed me by example what it meant to hold down a job and be dependable.

From an early age, Dad instilled the value of an education - frequently mentioning that he had dropped out of grade school because of the Great Depression, to find work. So, all of his children went to college. I remember the day Dad walked me downtown to the bank to set up a savings account for me. "This is for your education only!" he emphasized.

All of my brothers had paper routes (this was during the days when routes were walked by kids, lugging bags full of newspapers). We were used to working from a very young age. One of those routes, Detroit Free Press, involved getting up and delivering the early morning papers before going to school.

We didn't have a car in our family until I was in middle school. One of the first rides we took was to a low-income neighborhood where my Father asked us: "Do you think anyone chooses to live in poor housing? They're not here because they like it." He encouraged us that the whole reason for getting an education "was so that you can help others who need someone to stick up for them."

Taken together, my seven siblings and I have earned two doctorates, three masters degrees, five bachelor's degrees and two associates degrees.

My Father and my Grandfather taught their children the value of work. Of loyalty. Of being a productive citizen. And of having a heart for the underdog. No, they did not assimilate effortlessly. Yes, they faced difficulties and challenges. But they never gave up.

These things are what I learned from my family's immigrant experience. I'm proud to be the grandson of an immigrant!

What about your own family's immigrant experiences? Feel free to share! 

Martin Luther King, Jr. & Sh**hole Counties...

Last week, the president was reported to have said he didn't want immigrants from certain "sh**hole," countries coming to the United States.

He supposedly made these remarks, several times, during a meeting with Congressional leaders who were focused on DACA and immigration reform.

When the conversation came around to Haiti and Africa, the president allegedly said, "Why would we want these people from sh**hole countries?"

The remarks came at a time when close to 800,000 DACA immigrants are a few weeks away from being deported. Last week the current administration in Washington decided to deport 200,000 Salvadorian refugees. In many cases to their death upon return.

In an interview with the New York Times, Senator Richard Durbin, the only Democrat in attendance at the special meeting on immigration, said: "Some of the comments he [Trump] made were clearly racial during the course of that meeting in the White House. The were hate filled and vile."

As might be expected, the president's remarks accentuated the growing split among the evangelical community what has resulted in a significant eroding of their support for the president. Said Rev. Earon James, "Your pro-life argument rings hollow if you don't have a problem with this [Trump's] xenophobic bigotry."

The president spoke about welcoming immigrants from Norway. I'm not sure that the president realizes seventy-two percent of Norway's population growth in recent years was due to immigration. 

Yet, Norway is a country that is economically healthy. 

In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, it has the lowest economic inequality in the world. 

Norway is also know for its socio-economically diverse schools, coming in second worldwide for the countries that the World Economic Forum (WEF) tracks.

The WEF points out that one key to Norway's success is its diversity. Immigration hasn't damaged the Norwegian economy, it has strengthened it.

So, the bottom line is that, most likely without much thought on the subject, the president pointed to a country that was a perfect example of the benefits of immigration.

Tyler Cowen, an economics professor at George Mason University in an opinion piece written for Bloomberg View stated that "One of the most striking facts, unbeknownst even to many immigration advocates, is the superior education of Africans coming to this country. Of adults ages 25 or older born in Africa and living here, 41.7 percent have a bachelor's degree or more, according to 2009 data." This compares to a rate of 28.1 percent among native-born US residents. And the estimated percent of African-born migrants without a high school diploma is 11.7. About 11.4 percent of native-born US residents do not have a high school diploma. 

Cowen continues, "Consider Nigerian-Americans, Nigeria being Africa's most populous nation. Their education levels are among the highest in the US, above those of Asians, with 17 percent having a master's degree."

This week we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., and later this year we will mark the fiftieth anniversary of his assassination. Here's a few quotes from him:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that."

"The time is always right to what is right."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in moments of challenge and controversy."

The New York Times covered the response of blacks in the US to the president's remarks. Here's what some of them said:

"We are in the grips of the revenge of an American conscience that's never repented of racist history," Pastor William Lemar said. "Things that were left smoldering, embers have caught a bit of wind from our current president, and from time to time we are are seeing flashes of fire. The narrative that held America together has been fractured. The ground is shifting underneath us. You have to tell a truthful story about how America got where it is. The factories are not gone because of immigration."

"The Haitians are family-oriented, strict with their kids, and hard-working," said Xavier L. Suarez, who became Miami's first Cuban-American mayor in the 1980. He went to Notre Dame d'Haiti on Sunday to show support.

"If you're going to stereotype them, you should say they're law-abiding, super-ethical, warm and kind to strangers," he said. "They want to thrive in this country, as I did, and become part of the American dream."

There were a host of other international organizations that weighed in on the president's remarks.  Time magazine reported that Rupert Colville, the UN's human rights spokesperson said, "There is no other word that one can use but 'racist.' This isn't just a story about vulgar language, it's about opening the door to humanity's worst side, about validating and encouraging racism and xenophobia." 
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For extra credit, you can take a look at Nicholas Kristoff's opinion piece on what so-called "sh**hole" countries can teach the US.

Photo Credits: first two - The New Yorker

Meet Kaz Boyle: Composing Music for Films

Kaz (Kazimir) Boyle

After completing his Bachelor of Music in Composition at the U of I, Kaz (Kazimir) Boyle attended the University of Southern California graduate program in Advanced Film and Television Scoring, studying under such legends as Elmer Bernstein, David Raksin and Christopher Young. While at USC Kazimir met many film students and soon gained a reputation as a trusted musical collaborator.

Kaz then joined Hans Zimmer's team at Media Ventures. His experience in Zimmer's tech world led to several opportunities working for James Newton Howard.

In 2002 Kazimir opened Flash Music, LLC, his own studio in Hollywood. Since then he has been busy with myriad freelance projects: independent feature films, cable television MOWs, television commercials and cutting-edge short films. 

You went to USC attending their master’s program in advanced film & television scoring. What was your main take-away from that experience?

I’m most grateful for the people I met while studying at USC. There were several film students, as well as my fellow composers who have remained friends and collaborators to this day.

What led you to USC in the first place? i.e. The move from a love of music composition to a love of scoring music for film and television?

I’d already loved the idea of composing specifically for film, and I knew that a move to Los Angeles would be essential to make that happen. USC was a great facilitator – I was able to make the move with a plan in place for my first year.

You created the score for OLD FASHIONED, along with more than 15 other films. How do you begin a collaboration with a director? What do you discuss?

This is an excellent question, and the answer is specific to the director and the film. Many projects, like OLD FASHIONED are first time collaborations, and it takes a lot of listening, a lot of asking questions, and a healthy amount of trial and error. In an ideal situation, the director walks that line of knowing what he or she wants the music to DO for the film, but open to my creative approach for what the music will BE.

How about your experience with OLD FASHIONED, specifically – what made this project different and/or appealing?

OLD FASHIONED was one of these felicitous collaborations. Rik ADORES music, and its role in the film was exceptionally important. Music was built into the script, and features heavily in many scenes. Before I began working with him, Rik already had a playlist of music that inspired him, and reflected the beautiful story and the characters Amber and Clay. He had ideas for instruments he felt captured moments and the setting. Clearly music was not a weak spot in his director’s tool belt, yet he was open to listening thoughtfully to new ideas. He trusted me, and appreciated experimentation.

You’ve also done lots of additional musical arrangements for other film projects. Can you describe the networking that results in receiving such assignments?

So many of my opportunities I can trace back to a combination of luck, and hard work. I’ve never been good at “networking” when it hasn’t been organic. I have, however, tried very hard to say yes to everything, and that can open some surprising doors. Once a door is open, I do the best work I can, and that breeds successful repeat collaboration as well as word of mouth recommendations.

You’ve worked with Elmer Bernstein, Hans Zimmer and Quincy Jones. That’s quite a wide range of composers/arrangers/musicians! Is that sort of range normal for folks in the industry?

I don’t think there is a “normal” anything in the world of film music. Every composer has a different story about their start in the business, the musical gifts they bring to their work, and the folks that helped them along the way. That said, I’m very aware that my opportunities to work for the legends that I have, has been an extremely rare blessing.

You’ve also worked for quite a diverse group of organizations, including Pushing Daisies (ABC), Hallmark Entertainment, ESPN, the History Channel and HBO. Is that range also normal for someone in the industry?

I do feel that if you do put in enough years, get a healthy dose of the aforementioned luck, and say yes to whatever project comes you – eventually many composers do build up an interesting resume of production companies and channels that have featured their work.

What made you decide to open up your own studio, Flash Music LLC?

Film scoring is primarily a freelance, project-based career. Though I often wish I could work for a company that paid me to show up 9-to-5 to compose music, much of my work has had to be entrepreneurial. Starting Flash Music allowed me to formalize and add structure to how I go about business part of my career.

Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for anyone interested in pursuing a career in scoring music for film?

In no particular order: Learn the craft. Learn about story, about character. Watch movies. Listen to movies. Listen to as much music – soundtrack and not – as you can. Know more than enough about the music-making technology to facilitate your creativity. Be a people person - this career is all about working with many other people to tell stories. Be prepared to balance your assured awareness of your genius with crippling self-doubt. Find opportunities to actually write music to picture – failing and getting up again is essential. If you’re able to identify and nourish a music that is innately your own, that is so much more valuable than being able to sound like a clone of some top tier film composer. Be savvy about finances. Try (it’s hard but try) to find balance in your life – work and family. And I’ll sound like a broken record here, but SAY YES!

Looking back, what particular skills/experiences contributed to your success?

My undergraduate study at the University of Illinois introduced me to experimental music, which I feel contributes to my open mindedness and willingness to experiment. My work under Hans Zimmer taught me many skills, particularly electronic music production. My upbringing instilled in me the value of being kind, honest, and friendly.

Who are three of your favorite musicians/composers, and why?

This is a tough one, so I’ll just stick with film composers and list the first three that come into my head. First is John Williams. His mastery of the orchestra is unparalleled. His brilliant thematic writing combined with his narrative approach to a scene sets the bar for every other composer. Next is Ennio Morricone. Morricone has written some of the hands-down most gorgeous melodies of all time. Finally, I’m going to say Hans Zimmer. I have come to appreciate so many elements of his genius. Zimmer is an envelope pusher who strives to discover a story’s “big idea”. His control of sound and love of experimentation has allowed him to reinvent himself musically many times over.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

Thank you so much for this opportunity, and the great variety of questions. It’s not often that I take time to put my ideas and experiences into words, and it allowed me to be mindful of my past, as well as my present.

You can find out more information on Kaz, via his website.

Practical wishes for the New Year

Happy New Year!

Happy 2018!!!

As a kid, the slow movement from one year to the next didn't really register like it does now.

Then came adulthood.

And for some unforeseen reason, someone messed with the time clock and pushed the "fast forward" button.

But even at this stage of life, post-retirement, the value of fresh beginnings isn't lost.

Fact is, there is something powerful in experiencing the turn of the calendar from one year to another.

It's more than marking a change from 2017 to 2018. More than acknowledging that one year has come and gone and another stands fresh before us.

We need a re-set. Especially living in the Northern Hemisphere - where the onset of winter is readily apparent.

Our human concept of time can only take in so much. Spiritually speaking, I believe that God knew this and did us a favor by giving us one year at a time.

2017 may have been a great year for you. It may have been awful. Or somewhere in-between. But the fact is, it's not 2017 anymore.

The New Year gives us a chance to be refreshed mentally, physically, emotionally and deep in our spirit.

So, here's what I wish for you this New Year:

Patience: Not everyone thinks, looks or acts like us. Patience helps us slow down and begin to understand and appreciate the differences. Patience allows us to see people and situations from another point of view.

Love: Almost every religion on the planet places a great emphasis on love. One of the classic definitions of love is found in the 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance."

Kindness: Is the oil that lubricates human relationships.

Forgiveness: It's been said that God is a God of second chances. If we're made in God's image, then we're in a perfect position to pass some of that forgiveness along. If you don't believe in God, then consider this - if you've been alive for more than a year, the chances are very high that you've needed to be forgiven. Why not choose to pass the favor along?

Grace: This one is linked closely to forgiveness. It's unmerited favor. Being extended a helping hand when you didn't necessarily earn or deserve it. Grace comes in many forms - like the last time someone let you into the turn lane in rush-hour traffic. Or someone offered to carry your grocery bags to the car when you had small kids with you. Or a neighbor shoveled snow off your sidewalk.

Hope: The epistle to the Hebrews begins with, "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." It's interesting that this same epistle goes on to list several people who lived out this hope. Often in the middle of very difficult circumstances. Even if you aren't a Christian or a believer in any religion, there's no denying the positive effects of hope. Hope lights the way through tough times, helping us realize we'll get through them. Alexander Pope said, "hope springs eternal in the human breast."

Peace: This isn't referring to the absence of war. Rather, it's the calm of knowing we're all connected to the same human race. It's assurance (call it "blessed assurance," if you're religiously-minded). It's comforting and it indeed settles the soul.

Happy New Year to you!

Photo Credits: top india.com; middle NDTV.com; bottom pinterest.