Sunday, April 19, 2020

More than just another Wōdnesdæg

Ordinarily I do not "advertise" a particular event until the day it arrives. This means I assume most people know Memorial Day / Decoration Day is the last Monday in May and Veterans Day / Armistice Day / Remembrance Day  is November 11 and that no one much other than Marines and former Marines know or care that November 10 is the Marine Corps birthday.
But, in the instance of Earth Day, I am mentioning it early so no one has an excuse for not knowing Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day and this year –- 2020 -- is the fiftieth anniversary of the event.
The idea of a global holiday called Earth Day was introduced in 1969 at a conference on the environment. It was to be celebrated on March 21 with the advent of spring, and it was in some places. A separate Earth Day focused on the United States was founded by then-Senator Gaylord Nelson on April 22, 1970. Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations.
Any further background about Earth Day is there for you to research. It would be "nice" if more people did just that. We all need to be part of the Earth Day movement ....
One of the videos here is "Paradise" by Coldplay. It should be self-explanatory. The other might be mistaken for a celebration of the American Indian Movement, a militant civil rights organization founded in Minneapolis in 1968 by Dennis Banks, Clyde Bellecourt, Eddie Benton Banai and George Mitchell. Russell Means, who became a prominent film actor ("Last of the Mohicans," for instance) later was a major spokesman for the group. Some of those guys are in the video and the reason it is here is because Native Americans are primary among activists fighting for a clean environment. Think about it .... and, it is another chance to hear Joan Baez sing "Brothers in Arms" ....

6 comments:

Kelly said...

One of our daughters has a birthday this week and I always know Earth Day falls on one side of it, I just don't always remember which. I follow NASAEarth on Instagram and they've had a countdown to the big anniversary going for a couple of months, so this year I've been more aware of the date.

My husband was a Marine, once upon a time, so I'll have to ask him if he knows the Marine Corps birthday. I'm wagering he won't.

I'm off to listen to your music clips now...

Anita said...

Hei!

For en vidunderlig musikk av Joan Baez!
Også kontentet som var i videoen ,bildene, menneskene ,en kultur som er så "lost"..Det er jo å tenke på at, akkuratt disse sier, "Native Americans are primary among activists fighting for a clean environment! Det er noe å ta til, etter retning.Vi skulle alle tenke litt som dem
Jeg må beklage jeg ikke har hørt om Earth Day!Ja det er en skam!Men det er så mangen "dager" å følge med på ,det er rett og slett ikke tid til alt

Men denne gangen skal jeg se etter Earth Day!

Håper alt er bra med deg og dine!

Tusen takk for fin kommentar hos meg

Jeg må ut på hospitalet og jobbe igjen.Vi er nå bemannet med fire securitas vakter og 2 Health cares.Vi har ikke påvist smitte enda men jeg tester alle hver natt.Du vet det er veldig veldig vanskelig å holde ett smitteregime her blant fanger ,kriminelle og narkomane,men vi gjør vårt beste.Gir dem masse mat og goodies og det dem vil ha .Slik at dem er fornøyd og rolig.Neflix kjører døgnet rundt og alle har lov å røyke på rommet.Metadon får dem i bøttevis

Ok vi snakkes min venn i Amerikaen !



Fram Actual said...

Once upon a time .... I love those words ....

Somewhere along the line, once upon a time, I figured out that if you wanted to learn what someone actually was like and what they really felt and believed, the surest (and maybe only) way was to get a few drinks in them. I did that frequently when interviewing people who were applying for jobs .... not in the office, obviously, but in the evening when taking them out for dinner. Some people were hired and some not hired on that basis.

As for myself, my "almost always mantra" has been Marine Corps talk was only with other Marines or after I had six drinks. I rarely reached six drinks -- except with other Marines. I never have been sorry I was a Marine and, conversely, always have been rather proud of it. I have mixed feelings about the Marines and expect I always will -- some days were good, some not so good.

As for the Marine Corps birthday, I never have had trouble remembering it, but being the day before Veterans Day has made me pause and think about it every once and a while -- which day is which. It never has been a "big deal" to me and I have attended only a few birthday balls since getting out, one in particular so I would have the opportunity to shake the hand of a Medal of Honor recipient.

Much of the "we upon the bridge" video shows protests to the North Dakota oil pipeline construction. I have met some of the activists, including a few who were extras in the film, "Dances with Wolves" and took part in the horseback buffalo hunt. That is where and when the notion first entered my mind.

It would seem you are ahead of me in regard to Earth Day. Good for you ....

Thank you, Kelly, for coming and for writing a comment for me. Semper fi to your husband and happy birthday to your daughter and take care and be safe ....

Fram Actual said...

God dag, etterkommer av skjoldpikene ....

The Indian culture is alive and well thanks to "actual" Native Americans who want and who work to make it so, Anita. All a person has to do is look for it and to keep an open mind when it is encountered. Just as among all of us, there are good and bad and mostly somewhere between individuals.

Many Native American tribes operate casinos now and have accumulated significant wealth, but the "trickle down" economy is only partially successful. Reservation life has both its good and its bad points, and the choices are not as easy as they may appear to be. Often, it is a case of "unblemished water" vs. "energy independence," and most of us have a difficult time compromising .... who is to decide between individual rights and what is best for the collective body? There always will be some who lose the most and some who win the most.

Yes, Joan Baez has a beautiful voice.

I have confidence your blog troubles will disappear forever.

I have hope you will think about Earth Day.

Thank you, Anita, for coming and for writing a comment for me. There is no doubt your work is difficult, even in normal times. You have to believe you are doing what is for the best and know you are doing more than your share to keep people safe.

One more time: Be safe, be happy and do not let anybody or anything ever make you afraid ....

Anita said...

Nei nå måtte jeg legge meg ned på sofaen og le!!Etterkommer av skjoldpikene!!
Ja..Hmm..på en måte er det slik :)

Det jeg lurte på..Jeg er svært intressert i Indiansk kunst / kultur og reservatene..Engang da jeg var en 15, 16 år fikk jeg ett tilbud om å studere indiansk kultur ,kunst og håndtverk hos dem..Tror det var en plass i Dakota?..I stedet gikk jeg Kunst og Håndtverk skolen I København( Danmark) og senere Norge.(Livet er noen gang ett mysterium hvor hell og lykke bestemmer vår skjebne ..Hva om jeg gjorde det eller det ?)Kunne du fortalt litt engang om du du har tid..Om reservatene og har du noen gang besøkt ett reservat?Legg gjerne ved noen linker.

Takk for fin tilbakemelding.Jeg har fri nå ca en uke.. Fritiden skal jeg ha det fun hjemme på balkongen.Kansje grille noen hamburgere og sette ut blomster.Vi har plutselig 20 varmegrader!

Snakkes !
Anita

Fram Actual said...

I grew up next door to the Upper Sioux Agency in Minnesota, which is where the Sioux Uprising of 1862 began.

There are more than 300 Indian reservations in the United States, Anita. I have lived in a town on the Fort Peck "rez" in Montana and adjacent to the Yankton Sioux "rez" in South Dakota. I also have friends or acquaintances on the Pine Ridge, Sisseton, Cheyenne River, Rosebud and Standing Rock reservations, and know other individuals who were born and raised in those places, but moved along elsewhere. As you might guess, "rez" is local slang for reservation. I have been to all these places and to Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge, a few times.

The reservations system is complex, with a variety of federal, state and tribal rules and laws. There are tribal governing bodies and tribal police. The reservations are wide open and people from anywhere and everywhere come and go as they please.

As I have noted in the past, I have Native American relatives through both marriage and blood, and attended a number of powwows and sweat lodge ceremonies, and find nothing remarkable or unique about any of it .... enjoyable and fascinating are words I would use ....

Anita says: "Life is ever a mystery where luck and happiness determine our destiny ...."

Fram replies: You got that right, skjaldmær!

I was thinking "shieldmaiden," but apparently the word maiden is synonymous with the word virgin, and the presence of Alexander in your life, I assume, rules that out. Perhaps the Old Norse word, "skjaldmær," would be best suited.

So, skjaldmær, thank you, for your return visit and comment. Enjoy your burgers and your flowers and stay out of mischief ....

Something special ....