Sorry ! …

Posted on | octobre 22, 2012 | No Comments

For several years and almost decades, it seems that asking for people's forgiveness has been a very fashionable, indispensable exercice... even if the "hurt" people didn't ask for anything, or didn't really feel offended ... Of course, the "offenders" could or should  have felt humiliated, ashamed and guilty if directly responsible for, or victims of the actions which were then denounced ...  

 I remember reading Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice where he denounced the evil deeds done by some white men and asserted that "the White heroes were dead", since everybody had been able to judge that instead of being heroes, they were villains. He wrote that all white people, and especially young white people, should feel guilty for what their elders had done.  

GUILTY ! The word was hammered through a whole page. As a European young woman, I remember I couldn't feel "GUILTY" for what some "bad white Americans or even Europeans had done ... I was really feeling "ashamed of them and for them" but didn't agree to accept responsibility for what I hadn't done or agreed with, for what I had not even been able to speak against... Eldrige Cleaver "agreed" with me , when he added :“the sins of the fathers are visited upon the heads of the children - but only if the children continue in the evil deeds of their fathers.” I was determined to fight against this oppression based on the colour of the skin and have done so ever since, with all my strength.   

I felt some situations and inequalities had to be judged as unbearable and corrected, fought for (or against!) ... Equality, and Justice should be enforced with and by peace and I have always been a great admirer of Martin Luther King Jr.'s actions because I think he had chosen the most brilliant - and courageous - way to fight againt inequality : non violence.   

 In some other fields, apologies seem to have flourished too. According to some, German young people should apologize to the families of the people the nazis exterminated ...Catholics should apologize to Protestants they persecuted long ago and to Jewish people they haven't protected enough ...  

Some other people advocate the uselesness of such apologies, explaining that no excuses can be granted for such horrible and crual deeds and that the villains ' "heirs" could neither measure the importance of the offence, nor accept the guilt when they are "innocent" of everything ...   

Taking full responsibility for an offence you personally didn't commit, without sharing the blame with anyone else, and without presenting mitigating circumstances (such as the historic context, the heart-rending choices some people had to make etc)is an action that very few people can make ...  

Thus, the idea of collective responsibility was born ...  with

the paradoxical notion of being "responsible" but not "guilty" ...

a concept I think hypocritical ...

On the contrary, a subtle distinction is made by C.S. Lewis:

"There is all the difference in the world between forgiving

and excusing. Forgiveness says “Yes, you have done this thing,

but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you,

and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before.”

But excusing says “I see that you couldn’t help it or didn’t mean it;

you weren’t really to blame.” If one was not really to blame then there

is nothing to forgive.

In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites." 

   

 

There are things I have done.
There's a place I have gone.
There's a beast and I let it run now it's running my way.
There are things I regret that you can't forgive you can't forget.
There's a gift that you sent you sent it my way.
So take this night and wrap it around me like a sheet.
I know I'm not forgiven but I need a place to sleep.
So take this night and lay me down on the street.
I know I'm not forgiven but I hope that I'll be given some peace.
There's a game that I played.
There are rules I had to break.
There's mistakes that I made but I made them my way.
So take this night and wrap it around me like a sheet.
I know I'm not forgiven but I need a place to sleep.
So take this night and lay me down on the street.
I know I'm not forgiven but I hope that I'll be given some peace.
Some peace, some peace ...

 

We all know that without "peace" and a quiet conscience it may be ...

quite impossible to live !

Thinking about theses concepts again and again, I couldn't help remembering a very famous and emotional passage of the book Love Story by Eric Segal. I  have commented this passage with generations of students being somewhat amazed at the change in the concept of "frogiveness" they expressed as time was going ....

 

 

It's the moment when Oliver is leaving the hospital, after Jenny's death. Oliver's father coming to support his son at last, faced him and told him : "I"m sorry!" Oliver then remembered Jenny's words : "Love is : not ever having to say you're sorry ... ", thus excluding his father from his grief ...

Commenting on this sentence by Jenny, letting students give their opinions and how they understood it, has always been quite challenging and the session was always very animated ... : the debate was mainly on "hurting on purpose" or "hurting unwillinly" , responsibility for what you have done (or not done), said, (or not said) ...

The debate also consisted in finding whether it's easy or not to ask for forgiveness ... and whether sincerity could be tested and asserted ... It IS quite difficult to some people to say they're "Sorry" ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w142CaROC0&feature=fvwrel

Well ! I may be an idealist (I must be an idealist !) as my students told me ... but I still try not to hurt (those I love of course, but even those I don't particularly know ...)and when I happen to do it, I don't hesitate to ask for their forgiveness ...

Am I a dinosaurus ?    

  

I’m SO AWFULLY SORRY …..

Posted on | octobre 17, 2012 | No Comments

Please, forgive me …   What shall I tell you for an excuse, abandoning you for such a long time ???

I’ve had many « explanations », if not excuses, for not having the possibility to go on writing to those who used to  read me, and even wrote to me on the associated e-mail … a burnt out computer with part of my data and most registered PWs lost, life and its ever so busy routine, but especially the excruciating last months of a very  loved one, my Dad, who for months used to be a third child to me …

Once again, Time and Mehdi (the geek of this blog) have helped me out of this predicament, and I promise I’ll come to talk to you on a more regular basis … Thanks for forgiving me, and Mehdi for helping me  … The words of this song don’t really match my reasons , but I love the « Pleading for forgiveness » and I’m sure you can listen to it with pleasure …

Playing with colors …

Posted on | janvier 21, 2012 | No Comments

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Every nationality  has its own way of saying things, its own special expressions. Many everyday American expressions are based on colors.

Red is a hot color. Americans often use it to express heat. They may say they are red hot about something unfair. When they are red hot they are very angry about something.

 The small hot tasting peppers found in many Mexican foods are called red hots for their color and their fiery taste. Fast loud music is popular with many people. They may say the music is red hot, especially the kind called Dixieland jazz.

Pink is a lighter kind of red. People sometimes say they are in the pink when they are in good health. The expression was first used in America at the beginning of the twentieth century. It probably comes from the fact that many babies are born with a nice pink color that shows that they are in good health.

Blue is a cool color. The traditional blues music in the United States is the opposite of red hot music.

 Blues is slow, sad and soulful. Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded a famous song – Mood Indigo – about the deep blue color, indigo. In the words of the song: “You ain’t been blue till you’ve had that Mood Indigo.” Someone who is blue is very sad.

The color green is natural for trees and grass. But it is an unnatural color for humans. A person who has a sick feeling stomach may say she feels a little green. A passenger on a boat who is feeling very sick from high waves may look very green.            

Sometimes a person may be upset because he does not have something as nice as a friend has, like a fast new car. That person may say he is green with envy. Some people are green with envy because a friend has more dollars or greenbacks. Dollars are called greenbacks because that is the color of the back side of the paper money.

The color black is used often in expressions. People describe a day in which everything goes wrong as a black day. The date of a major tragedy is remembered as a black day. A blacklist is illegal now. But at one time, some businesses refused to employ people who were on a blacklist for belonging to unpopular organizations.

In some cases, colors describe a situation. A brown out is an expression for a reduction in electric power. Brown outs happen when there is too much demand for electricity. The electric system is unable to offer all the power needed in an area.

Black outs were common during World War Two. Officials would order all lights in a city turned off to make it difficult for enemy planes to find a target in the dark of night.

By Warren Scheer.  WORDS AND THEIR STORIES program in Special English on the Voice of America.

Thanks a lot to Warren !

Martin Luther King Jr.’s Day !

Posted on | janvier 16, 2012 | No Comments

For King, the right to vote was sacred

By Donna Brazile, CNN Contributor

January 15, 2012 — Updated 1417 GMT (2217 HKT)

(CNN) — Every third Monday in January we gather as Americans to commemorate the values and beliefs — as well as the ultimate sacrifice — of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

His tireless advocacy for civil rights, equal protection under the law, labor rights, and for the ultimate realization of our essential creed that we are « one nation, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness » is taught in every school in America, and is now enshrined in a memorial on the National Mall.

Dr. King believed so strongly not only in these values, but also in the moral imperative to heed the « fierce urgency of now. » He knew that in the face of injustice no moral man or woman can stay silent — and he paid for it with his life.

He was a « drum major for justice » He inspired us — not just with his eloquent sermons, rich in purpose; or his speeches, inspiring and provocative — but he challenged us with his dream, his daring imagination: to see an America where all of God’s children would be equal; all of God’s children would have a seat at the table.

He truly believed that we had to « take the first step in faith, even when you don’t see the whole staircase. » Just take the first step.

I’ve written and spoken about Dr. King many times, but this year, one area of his crusade seems particularly worthy of remembrance: the fight for the ballot.

Prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, African-Americans and many others faced regular and malicious restrictions to the free exercise of their constitutionally protected right to vote, especially in my native South.

Literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses: many insidious techniques were used by certain states to restrict, confuse, and write off, marginalize and disenfranchise so many eligible citizens from voting simply because of the color of their skin.

Southern governors and those in Washington comfortable with the status quo hid behind arguments about « states rights. » Yet these laws were little more than legislated racism and all knew the real goal behind their unequal effects.

In a 1957 speech titled « Give Us The Ballot, » Dr. King spoke plainly about the imperative of equal voting rights.

« So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind — it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact — I can only submit to the edict of others. »

For Dr. King, the right to vote was sacrosanct and foundational. It is the very essence of our social contract. Free elections create legitimacy. They imply the consent of the governed. He knew that unfair elections laws did not just hurt minorities or the working poor, they rendered hollow the very essence of American government.

It’s a message that’s as true today as it was then. The 47-year old Voting Rights Act has stood the test of time, but there are new obstacles to the ballot springing up in today’s America.

Around the country, conservatives in state legislatures are attempting to put fresh roadblocks in the path of this most basic right. The latest vogue in anti-suffrage legislation is mandatory photo ID laws.

From Tennessee to Texas, from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania, conservative Republicans and their allies are implementing laws that undermine, even flout, the Voting Rights Act.

The Justice Department has begun to challenge these laws, opposing new efforts in South Carolina and Florida. Laws in other states that have deep histories of discrimination, such as Texas and Mississippi, are also being examined. But many states, refusing to pass neutrally applicable laws, have vowed instead to sue the federal government in court.

These laws disproportionately impact minority communities — groups much more likely than white voters to lack photo identification for reasons as simple as the fact that they may not own a car and use the city bus to get to work.

According to  a study published in 2006 by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, as many as 23 million American citizens — that’s 11% of those of voting age — lack the government-issued photo ID many of these laws demand.

Keep in mind, this is not just a racial issue. Older Americans are less likely to have these IDs, as are lower-income Americans. College students, who already face challenges based on their seasonal residency, will face an even greater burden than they did previously.

Dr. King demanded that all Americans be given the ballot. We must demand today that we keep it. Demand to keep the ballot because our laws must be made by all of us. Demand to keep the ballot because an election where 23 million can’t vote is an election that undermines democracy.

MLK’s Memorial in Washington

This link will show you MLK’s new Memorial : MLK, « the stone of Hope  » is « emerging from the Mountain of Despair », not far from where he delivered his famous « I have a Dream  » in August 1963.

« Funny vocabulary » : starting again slowly, carefully …

Posted on | janvier 14, 2012 | No Comments

Let’s go slowly, one step at a time … and make sure that after the New Year’s Festivities, everyone has recovered from their « hangovers » … or at least, excesses … of chocolate ! Hope you had a great beginning of 2012.

Here is some « funny vocabulary » about « names » used in everyday conversation … it’s the sort of vocabulary you don’t really  have to know, but it’s better to understand these expressions because they’re used quite often ! Names … First, listen to the audio tape, then try to memorize the words you don’t know and which, you think, you might need …

 This is a « playful » lesson to amuse you … My former students will recognize some expressions they already know … Don’t take this lesson too seriously, and to this list, add « John Doe » for a boy or « Jane Doe » for a girl … (these are  the names given to unidentified people, by forensics for instance …)

Have a pleasant time ! See you soon …

2012 ….

Posted on | janvier 1, 2012 | No Comments

Best wishes to You and to the entire world … May 2012 be happy for all of You.  

As a present, here is one of the nicest examples of wishes I’ve ever received …  Let yourselves penetrate by the song which is so powerful in any language …

A  WONDERFUL YEAR TO ALL OF YOU !

He was named Steve … In several ways, he changed the world …

Posted on | novembre 6, 2011 | No Comments

On the 6th of October, Steve Jobs died, « peacefully among his loved ones » … Immediately, the press published all the articles they had prepared … (his death was « announced », if not expected, dreaded as any other inevitable but predictable event …) As he had promised, he had stepped back from business in awareness … He was « ready to go », a fighting man who was tired of fighting, a man who knew nothing could be done for him … He had fought till the end, in dignity and courage … a « simple » man, among simple men …

I was stunned … but refrained from  joining the flow of emphatic tributes written on the spur of the moment … Didn’t feel like it …

I must admit my « discovery » of Steve Jobs was quite late … He was already very famous, and criticized by a lot, when I first became interested in the man … My son, knowing that I was in permanent search for « great men », great deeds, great examples, forwarded me that wonderful, undescribably inspirational Stanford University Commencement Address : « Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish ! »

 As a teacher of English, trying to find « strong » and impressive texts and messages to interest her students, I was completely seduced … by the words, by the accents of sincerity of this beautiful speech. I knew my students, if given the opportunity, would love this text … They did … We studied this Credo, this lesson of life and of hope, and, as they discovered an aspect of the man they didn’t know, the exchange was very rich and fruitful … They explained a lot about the technological advances he originated (they knew a lot about them …),  some criticized aspects of his character, « well known » flaws of the man – nobody’s perfect ! – but they had gained respect for him and spoke with moderation and enthusiasm.

Mostof my students LOVED some of the key sentences he had pronounced, and hammered in for the Stanford Students … »Connect the dots, looking backwards ! »  »Don’t lose faith »,   »Keep looking for what you love, don’t settle ! », »Death is the best invention of Life ! », « Follow your heart and intuition ! » , « Stay Hungry ! Stay Foolish ! »

All of them were concerned and mesmerized, understanding that the words pronounced for the sake of students from an extremely famous American University could echo in them and become, in a way, a part of their own credo … They were « just » suburban High-school students nearby Paris, France, but shared the emotion and respect the Stanford students had felt for Steve Jobs, the technological genius, but most especially, the inspirational man …

Since we studied the strong words and lessons of life forcefully expressed in this speech, many of my students have found reasons to fight and hope, and never let go … For them, he had become an example, a hero because he had proved to be such an exceptional courageous and sensitive man, after all …

Yes, I know that this speech, and these ideas have moved and marked many of my students forever … We won’t forget you, Steve, we admire your strength,  determination and will-power, we miss you a lot and won’t forget …

9.11 … Ten years later …

Posted on | septembre 9, 2011 | No Comments

This was what was left of the Twin Towers on the evening of  Sept. 9, 2001 … Desolation, along with shock, death and tears … Ten years later, after long months of mourning,  a Memorial to the victims was inaugurated with music, to  »the Sound of Silence » and devoutness … Thousands were still grieving their loved ones … and members of their community.

cnn.com/2011/US/09/11/911.ground.zero.music/index.html?iref=allsearch

Chosen among thousands of projects, this Memorial is « reflecting Absence »  : the absence of the Towers that were standing there, of course, but mainly the absence of the thousands who died on that day … and who will not be forgotten … in spite of the void they left, a void symbolized by the holes in the water …

Follow the explanations and the photos of the site given by its conceptor, in this very interesting website about the 9.11 Memorial in New York City and possible interpretations, given by its creator, of the meaning of water in the Memorial.

http://www.911memorial.org/webcasts-exploring-911

The innocent victims will never be  forgotten …

Today : Sept. 5th = Labor Day in the US.

Posted on | septembre 5, 2011 | No Comments

The First Labor Day

Labor Day parade,
Main St., Buffalo, N.Y., ca. 1900.
Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920

On September 5, 1882, some 10,000 workers assembled in New York City to participate in America’s first Labor Day parade. After marching from City Hall, past reviewing stands in Union Square, and then uptown to 42nd Street, the workers and their families gathered in Wendel’s Elm Park for a picnic, concert, and speeches. This first Labor Day celebration was eagerly organized and executed by New York’s Central Labor Union, an umbrella group made up of representatives from many local unions.  Debate continues to this day as to who originated the idea of a workers’ holiday, but it definitely emerged from the ranks of organized labor at a time when they wanted to demonstrate the strength of their burgeoning movement and inspire improvements in their working conditions.

Miners with Their Children, at the Labor Day Celebration, Silverton, Colorado,
Russell Lee, photographer, September 1940.
America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1933-1945
The FSA/OWI collection has more than 60 photographs documenting Silverton, Colorado’s 1940 Labor Day celebration. To see this mining community’s parade and other festivities, search on Silverton.

New York’s Labor Day celebrations inspired similar events across the country. Oregon became the first state to grant legal status to the holiday in 1887; other states soon followed. In 1894, Congress passed legislation making Labor Day a national holiday.

For many decades, Labor Day was viewed by workers not only as a means to celebrate their accomplishments, but also as a day to air their grievances and discuss strategies for securing better working conditions and salaries. Nowadays, Labor Day is associated less with union activities and protest marches and more with leisure. For many, the holiday is a time for family picnics, sporting events, and summer’s last hurrah.

• Read about other significant days in the history of labor. Search the Today in History Archive on labor to find features such as the history of the eight-hour workday.
• For images and documents pertaining to labor unions, search across the American Memory collections on the term labor union.
• American Memory contains an extensive array of materials related to  parades and processions. Search the collections of photographs and prints using the keyword parades, or the name of a specific parade.  The collections of motion pictures also document many different kinds of parades including a small Massachusetts town’s celebration of Labor Day.

Words and their stories : Once a month !

Posted on | août 28, 2011 | No Comments

Expressions with the Word « Cold »

Here is the VOA Special English program  : WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. 

This very interesting program studies stories related to words, forming « idioms », expressions that are not directly translated from one language to another one. At the end of each month, you’ll be given a  usual word which has given birth to several expressions, some of which have no links with the original « root » word. This is a good way to enrich your vocabulary … 

Cold weather has a great effect on how our minds and our bodies work. Maybe that is why there are so many expressions that use the word cold. 

 For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, for example, are said to be cold-blooded.  Cold-blooded people act in cruel ways. They may do brutal things to others, and not by accident. 

For example, a newspaper says the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer.  The killer murdered someone, not in self-defense, or because he was reacting to anger or fear.  He seemed to kill for no reason, and with no emotion, as if taking someone’s life meant nothing. 

Cold can affect other parts of the body.  The feet, for example.  Heavy socks can warm your feet, if your feet are really cold.  But there is an expression — to get cold feet — that has nothing to do with cold or your feet. 

The expression means being afraid to do something you had decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization.  But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned.  All the work of the organization will be your responsibility.  You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation. 

Cold can also affect your shoulder.  

You give someone the cold shoulder when you refuse to speak to them. You treat them in a distant, cold way.  The expression probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face-to-face.  You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you.  Or, to someone who has lied about you to others. 

A cold fish is not a fish.  It is a person.  But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth.  A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone.  

Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted.  A cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy.  Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feeling, broke the hearts of their lovers. 

Out in the cold is an expression often heard.   It means not getting something that everybody else got.  A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise, that he was left out in the cold.  And it is not a pleasant place to be.   

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by  Marilyn Rice Christiano.  Maurice Joyce was the narrator.  It was reported by Shirley Griffith. 

Many thanks to them.