The Booing of President George Bush and Mrs. Bush: Old School Conduct In The Here and Now
Jan 21st, 2009 | 9 responses
Old School
I’m Old School in most ways, with, I hope, mostly clear vision for the present and future, as you may, like me, be striving to master too…. It’s a winding road of trackbacks and do-overs and the occasional brilliant en puentes, right on the head visions, that’s for sure.
Yet there are time-tested ways and means to rely on, many which create rather than stifle; make room for growth, rather than poison.
In Old School, the inauguration would be seen as someone else’s ceremony (Barack’s) and all invited ought to have been treated with equal respect, including those who have completely bewildered many citizens, including those many citizens do not like from any side, including those who may be proven wrong or innocent once all facts are known.
The invitations were issued by Barack. In Old School: All guests bow to his vision for that day only. It’s a sign of respect for the convener and new presider.
Ceremony is not some foolish thing;
In Old School thinking, ceremony is for creating a cleansing, that is, a re-remembering of true selfhood, a renewed memory of how we belong to each other, a good group memory of just a few moments in time when old quarrels and hatreds and jealousies are set aside. Just for a while at least, everyone is striving to be at their natural and ceremonial best.
Amongst The Tribes
There are old, hard feelings amongst some of the tribal groups, and when I’ve been to Crow Fair, to Rendezvous, Sun Dance, Snake Dance, San Geronimo, or any number of Pow Wows, for at least the first three days, those old emnities are set aside as we all dance in the dirt circle together…. as a small number of human beings, or a huge mass of humans beings ‘dance up the primal dust’ together…
– literally then, our heartbeats synchronize, till everyone’s heart is beating close to the same diastolic and systolic rhythm as everyone’s heartbeat around them.. an amazing experience no matter how many times one has done it
–One friend, an old Sun Dance dragger of buffalo skulls, said, Creator sees this ceremony of humans at peace and intent on the sacred, and is made happy.
–In our family, the old people said that Creator saw from the sky the huge mass of humanity dancing in ceremony, as one giant heartbeat signalling skyward that human beings still remembered what fineness they are created from, how they are still all born from the one same seed.
–Many who are tortured, or twisted, or just plain bewildered, then in the dance and chanting and drumming, have a chance to remember how deeply we belong to one another. Many can feel in spiritual terms, the sacred bone hoop descend and circle everyone then, even those who may be distrusted, even those some loathe, even those one or the other reveres completely. Everyone. The hoop of Life does not make exclusions. It gathers together, winnowing into the dance circle the best of what we have in common.
That is ceremony.
There are Old School, time-honored ways of ‘proper conduct’ at ceremony.
First and foremost is to make whatever descent needed to retrieve one’s most unruined heart, and to bring that to the ceremony; the battered yet unruined heart… the most vulnerable but also the purest strength is in that heart… to wear that heart in earnest is the ultimate dress regalia taking first place over all other painted, or feathered or spangled ceremonial dress.
To bring the best heart to ceremony is Old School… to find resonance with other hearts…. it’s time tested conduct led by the greater soul.
Our Families, Meaning Yours and Mine
You know all this Old School conduct too, from your family holiday encounters. As my dad used to say when the house was so crowded it seemed like 500 St. Bernards crammed in a single mason jar…. first week we just love each other so much, cry out, sing together, weep together. Second week we war with each other, fight all the old unlaid ghosts again; somebody always gets hurt, someone always nurses them, the feathers fly hard. Third week, we make up, bind up the cuts, try to spackle the gouges. Fourth week we go home, saying what a horrible wonderful unforgettable time we all had and that we hope to do it again soon… but not too soon.
That’s ceremony. That’s one more way of life in the Old School.
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9 Responses to “The Booing of President George Bush and Mrs. Bush: Old School Conduct In The Here and Now”
Dr. E: There will be others on the low tail of the bell curve who defend their peers who engaged in such poor behavior at the Inauguration of Bush's successor, as they defend or find funny the people who bade Bush and his wife good-bye on their departure from the White House grounds, with their raised middle fingers. Sadly, Bush Derangement Syndrome and its constellation of similar syndromes have yet to pass.
I was curious what the turnout would be like, the hype and cult-worship counteracted possibly by economic concerns (which have also been subject to hype, as we have seen demonstrated by how many went to Washington “anyway” to see this event in person). The turnout was high and what I observed second-hand, most people were fairly normal, as was the case even among the people I saw at the large anti-war demonstration in Washington a few years ago. The extra-deranged anti-Bush low-lifes were simply the equivalent of the Communists at the large anti-war demonstration shouting “Nukes for North Korea! Courage against US imperialism!”
I too am old school. But what is the point at which a leader has been so inept, so guilty of misfeasance and malfeasance, so obscene, ultimately, so disrespectful of the led, that no matter the occasion, disrespect toward them is justified? It seems plain to me that there is such a point. Take Mussolini. Please. Or Saddam Hussein. Or Slobodan Milosevic. Or the emperor who has no clothes.
Now was George Bush comparable to any of these? Of course not, certainly not to his own people. And yet, and yet, there are those troubling questions of gut-wrenching estimates of needless Iraqi dead, maimed and displaced, of dead and injured American soldiers, of torture, of a pit in the center of Manhattan, of politics in the pursuit of naught but power, of looming economic ruin. When do “disappointments” become obscene?
Would I have heckled Bush had I been there? I do not know. Perhaps, as Bush himself maintains, only history will know.
And by the way, the inauguration was NOT President Obama’s. His inaugural committees may have planned and paid for events and other aspects of the inaugural festivities, and he may have been sworn in as President during the inauguration, but the inauguration was mine. It was held on my capital steps and my capital mall to inaugurate my president, because of the democratic process in my country. It was yours and every other American’s and it was mine.
DLS, nice to see you again. Bell curve, that's a good way of looking at it. There are ceremonies for 'counting coup' on the 'enemy' without harming them… but the time and place is not at august ceremony. On another note, Nukes for North Korea? Gosh. I guess I have seen the bell curve too DLS, just at the DNC in Denver a few months ago where people who were angry at Michelle Malkin began screaming and surrounded her yelling Kill Michelle, Kill Michelle. I wonder if they realize that only makes her more determined, stronger in her commitments.
I thought too, as you did, that most people at inaug seemed very regular. I sense that Obama represents different things to different people which can be truly exhausting. Hopefully he is knowledgable to resist and just be however he is and at his best. Let's hold that thought.
dr.e
dear futzinfarb: THAT is exactly a question that many are trying to parse…what “misfeasance and malfeasance” and especially how. How did this come into being. I dont believe we have the facts by half.
and regarding whose inauguration it was, I referenced it as Obama's hoping to highlight that in 'old school' manner, you try to avoid making a scene at your host's gala. But, I see what you mean, that all that we have in the Smithsonian for instance, and the builidng itself, the entire plant that is washington dc governance belongs to all of us.
I was just wondering, do you think they would let us stay in the Smithsonian overnight so we could just wander around and look at stuff in peace? Wouldnt that be cool!?
dr.e
Dear Futzinfarb, Thanks, for standing in or near the corner I am standing in, according to DLS the corner of the “extra deranged.” It could have been me out there protesting Bush's “oil for blood” empirialism. Wow, given the state of daily commentary on the Bush Presidency I would venture that DLS stands on a very small tract of opinion.
It's funny cause in a way I see this as a near non-issue, like CNN trying to make a big deal out of Robert's cock up. For 4 hours I watched mostly celebration laden with symbolism, interjected only ocassionaly with lightly stated references to the old regime, mostly negative. They could comments of how Europeans feel, off the cuff comments by journos, direct attacks on past policies or the public caught in a momentary slip of decorum. But it did not tarnish the gracefulness of the whole.
Dr. E. — I was not there, but I watched on TV and when it was mentioned, it passed quickly, until the helicopter flew out, then it came up again as some flipped the bird to the departing Bush's. A CNN announcer sang a goodbye song cynically to infer, Not goodbye and fare the well, but goodbye and good riddance. The event is not just about the new opportunity, to be able to begin again, but a celebration of the demise of the old. Yes, “Ding Dong the witch is dead.”– kind of feeling.
I don't know what a “new school” approach would look like, but I enjoyed your wonderful description of the “old school” ceremony. And I think most did just that, but if you could have heard every whisper under every breath, the people coughing up the very soot they have been forced to breath for 8 years………..Did you witness the discomfort of some in their seating arrangements.
Alice walker had a wonderful piece where she felt that it will be important for us to mirror back in our actions the behaviors and the kindness, the psychological openness we are currently being invited to engage in by Obama, especially when the heaviness of the office weights fully on his shoulders.
And it is true, that when I listen to Obama, he encourages the better part of me to show itself. Mind you he is quite capable of being socially graceful while downgrading the policies of the very man he just gave a complement to and who is sitting only 3 rows behind him.
I wondered aloud what part of me was stirred up in experiencing 8 years of Bush. While we are on opposing sides of the political spectrum, still I am influenced in ways I don't wish to take responsibility for. What would Bush do, were he among the throng who worked so hard to defeat his policies carried over in the personhood of McCain. I invite you to imagine a rebel rousin', Texas cowpokin' , home spun, self interested, dry drinkin' Bush, break with the requirements of the old school ceremony. What would he do? Would he give us one of those million dollar smirks for national and international interpretation? We would expect him to do something, though, we would, I think…………………..something non-old school. Remember when Cheney gave the finger to his fellow congressman……..talk about breaking with tradition.
And Futzinfarb, Obama made it plain, when all you could hear was the wish to honor the man, he deferred to the people who have been out there in his behalf, who have been unhappy about the direction, hell all the directions, this country has wandered down since, likely Reagan. He made it plain that it will be the peoples white house, transparent government, and that this party, the inauguration, was the people's inauguration.
Dear Futzinfarb, Thanks, for standing in or near the corner I am standing in, according to DLS the corner of the “extra deranged.” It could have been me out there protesting Bush's “oil for blood” empire ventures. Wow, given the state of daily commentary on the Bush Presidency I would venture that DLS stands on a very small tract of opinion.
It's funny cause in a way I see this as a near non-issue, like CNN trying to make a big deal out of Robert's cock up. For 4 hours I watched the inauguration, mostly celebration laden with symbolism, interjected only ocassionaly with lightly stated references to the old regime, mostly negative. It could come in the form of comments of how Europeans feel, off the cuff comments by journos, direct attacks on past policies or the public caught in a momentary slip of decorum. But it did not tarnish the gracefulness of the whole.
Dr. E. — I was not there, but I watched on TV and when it was mentioned, it passed quickly, until the helicopter flew out, then it came up again as some flipped the bird to the departing Bush's. A CNN announcer sang a goodbye song cynically to infer, Not goodbye and fare the well, but goodbye and good riddance. The event is not just about the new opportunity, to be able to begin again, but a celebration of the demise of the old. Yes, “Ding Dong the witch is dead.”– kind of feeling.
I don't know what a “new school” approach would look like, but I enjoyed your wonderful description of the “old school” ceremony. And I think most did just that, but if you could have heard every whisper under every breath, the people coughing up the very soot they have been forced to breath for 8 years………..Did you witness the discomfort of some in their seating arrangements.
Alice walker had a wonderful piece where she felt that it will be important for us to mirror back in our actions the behaviors and the kindness, the psychological openness we are currently being invited to engage in by Obama, especially when the heaviness of the office weights fully on his shoulders.
And it is true, that when I listen to Obama, he encourages the better part of me to show itself. Mind you he is quite capable of being socially graceful while downgrading the policies of the very man he just gave a complement to and who is sitting only 3 rows behind him.
I wondered aloud what part of me was stirred up in experiencing 8 years of Bush. While we are on opposing sides of the political spectrum, still I am influenced in ways I don't wish to take responsibility for. What would Bush do, were he among the throng who worked so hard to defeat his policies carried over in the personhood of McCain. I invite you to imagine a rebel rousin', Texas cowpokin' , home spun, self interested, dry drinkin' Bush, break with the requirements of the old school ceremony. What would he do? Would he give us one of those million dollar smirks for national and international interpretation? We would expect him to do something, though, we would, I think…………………..something non-old school. Remember when Cheney gave the finger to his fellow congressman……..talk about breaking with tradition.
And Futzinfarb, Obama made it plain, when all you could hear was the wish to honor the man, he deferred to the people who have been out there in his behalf as a matter of the social justice movement, and who have been unhappy about the direction, hell all the directions, this country has wandered down since, likely Reagan. He made it plain that it will be the peoples white house, transparent government, and that this party, the inauguration, was the people's inauguration.
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Comment related to the picture. . . I read this from a woman that spent the day before the Inauguration in a Crow Sweat Lodge in Montana. . .
“The Montana Crow Agency adopted Obama into their family when Obama was in Montana this
past summer by Hartford and Mary Black Eagle (the adopters), Obama's given native name, Awe Kooda
Bilaxpak Kuuxshish, translates into ” One Who Helps People Throughout
The Land.”
“. . . it was great to see the Crow Agency folks at the very
beginning of the Inauguration Parade, right behind Barack's Obama's high school
bands from Hawaii and Chicago.”
Sure would be nice if a little bit of the trillion dollars could go to the Native Americans in that part of world with Pine Ridge falling so far below our national standards. . . .
River-
It seems to me that you are offering the civil rights movement as an example of how to give voice to dissent without disrespect. Perhaps I misunderstand. But: As a transplant to the south during a part of that era, I can tell you that a big part of opposition to the civil rights movement was due to a sense that the ni**ers just needed to respect “decent ” white folk. Was it really so long ago, that we've forgotten that a black person sitting at the counter of a “white” diner or a black person drinking from a “white” water fountain was seen as potently disrespectful as flipping someone off with the bird? I propose, instead, that that the civil rights movement might be better interpreted as modelling the value of utter disrespect for the outrages foisted on us by immoral, incompetent, and venal leaders.
dear futzinfarb. . .reading your comment it feels like you are stretching my comments to places that are not of my fabric or intent. . .but then i am not really good at expressing in words so please forgive my ineptness. . . .
I too am a child of the racial south. . .and so deeply know first hand of the injustices you speak of, on one side of the family was a cherished Native Grandfather that was viewed as trash because he followed the Native ways. . . and on the other side was a locally powerful white Grandfather that was a leading in the community and was the leader of the local KKK. . .When my parents married, it was with the vows, he would give up drinking, and she would give up her dirty Indian family, my father was not a member of the clan, but all that hatred still expressed through him, and found vent to eight children that worked his soil much like the black slaves. . .I have seen blood dripping down my brother's back for not hoeing deep enough to extract the johnson grass from cotton fields. . .I know of the world you speak with all of its brutality and ignorance. . .they are all of me. . .
and having said that. . .i so deeply believe that we are incomplete until we learn to hold everyone outside of us and inside of us with honor. . .I think that honoring others even when we disagree, even in the most hideous circumstances, is more about what allows us to stand with integrity and dignity than about the other. . .
dear futzinfarb. . .i am not completely there yet, but every time i work the dissonance to honor, if find other don't seem so far away. . .