ALR designletter # 1.9

ALR designletter # 1.9

Welcome to the ALR designletter, a semi-regular update on the activities at Another Limited Rebellion design, the world of socially conscious design, and beyond.

You are on this list because you have worked with, contacted, or have a personal connection to ALR design. The names on this mailing list will never be sold or given away. If you no longer wish to be on this list, just respond with "REMOVE" in the subject section and there will be no hard feelings. Back issues can be found on our web site in the ISSUES section.

ALR news
The events of September 11th have shocked and saddened us here at ALR, but in no way have our goals changed. As the weeks pass, it is our wish that we remember the unfortunate people who died in the best way possible: by preventing the pain and sorrow we currently feel from being inflicted upon any people ever again. What does this mean? It calls a complicated solution that does not boil down to simple demands for peace or war. Below are some links that may help begin this process. Next issue we will return to our traditional content.

On a personal note, many of my clients, friends and family, live and work in the New York area, so the 11th was a particularly harrowing day for me. Much of it was spent making frantic calls and e-mail messages and I am happy to say that, so far, everyone I know has been accounted for. Sadly, this is not the case for everyone this newsletter may come into contact with:
To those who have lost friends and loved ones in this terrible tragedy we offer our deepest condolences.

activism
As we've said before, while internet petitions may seem like an easy way to make your voice heard, they are rarely effective. They continue to circulate long after they are necessary, they rarely collect all the information needed and most importantly there is no guarantee they will even get sent to the proper parties. If you would like to sign several well written petitions about current issues, that will definitely get to decision makers, go to Act For Change's "current action page": http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/current_actions.cfm
I have personally sent many petitions this way and have received both e-mailed and written responses from the persons contacted.

Working Assets Long Distance, the creators of the site, will also be matching donations to various organizations helping the in the recovery from this tragedy (up to a total of $1.5 million) from now until November 1st at http://www.GiveForChange.com

news
E-mail has been an excellent way to stay in contact with friends and loved ones since the 11th and many inspiring stories, articles and quotes have been sent to me. However, many dangerously false statements, images and petitions have been sent as well. Dangerous because in these uncertain times communication is our best tool for change. If people are confused by misinformation, their ability to react in a healthy way will be hampered. In light of this, it behooves us all to carefully consider what we read and send via e-mail. Snopes is my favorite source for checking the validity of suspect e-mail. They have even created a September 11th specific page at http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/rumors.htm

A good source for basic factual information on current activities in New York City is the city's official site http://www.NYC.gov

If you want a more politicized view of the recent events visit, controversial radio program, Democracy Now's online counterpart: http://www.democracynow.org/
Current and archived reports from award winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales on this and other issues are available for download.

education
If you are concerned about the effects of the recent events on children, the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) has put up a September 11th specific web page with excellent resources for parents and teachers at: http://www.nasponline.org/NEAT/crisis_0911.html

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has a website that details the current conditions of suffering to which the women and children in Afghanistan are subject, along with myriad ways to help. If you are not familiar with the politics and history of the region this would be an excellent place to start: http://www.rawa.org/

words
Those of you that have visited my website have seen a short quote by historian Howard Zinn on the entry page. His words have taken on particular significance as the current events have called many people's beliefs into question and I think it is an excellent time to reproduce in toto the paragraph from which they were taken:

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic, it is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

From: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train: A Personal History of Our Times pg. 208 Howard Zinn

nosh
Believe it or not, the current issue of the satirical online newspaper, The Onion, contains some of the most astute writing about the events of September 11th. Funny without being harsh or inappropriate they are able to touch on sensitive issues in a thought provoking way (as good satire should do). Go to http://www.theonion.com/onion3734/index.html and give yourself a treat. Every article is well worth reading.

in closing
I hope some of the information I have provided will help you in this time of great upheaval. Below is a letter by Vietnamese Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh. It is the most powerful piece of writing I have been sent of late. I have placed it at the end of the regular newsletter due to its length, but it is well worth your time.

Thank you,
Noah Scalin, founder
ALR design
socially conscious graphic design
noah@alrdesign.com
http://www.ALRdesign.com

-----

All violence is injustice.

Responding to violence with violence is injustice, not only to the other person but also to oneself. Responding to violence with violence resolves nothing; it only escalates violence, anger, and hatred. It is only with compassion that we can embrace and disintegrate violence. This is true in relationships between individuals as well as in relationships between nations.

What needs to be done right now is to recognize the suffering, to embrace it and to understand it. We need calmness and lucidity so that we can listen deeply to and understand our own suffering, the suffering of the nation and the suffering of others. By understanding the nature and the causes of the suffering, we will then know the right path to follow.

The violence and hatred we presently face has been created by misunderstanding, injustice, discrimination and despair. We are all co-responsible for the making of violence and despair in the world by our way of living, of consuming, and of handling the problems of the world.

Understanding why this violence has been created, we will then know what to do and what not to do in order to decrease the level of violence in ourselves and in the world, to create and foster understanding, reconciliation and forgiveness.

In this moment, we invite our spiritual teachers, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and so many others, to be with us, to support us, so that we can hold in our arms the suffering of America as a nation, the suffering of humanity as a family, the suffering of the earth as a home for all of us.

We need their energy so that we can become lucid and calm, so that we will know exactly what to do and what not to do, in order not to make the situation worse.

We know deep in our heart that responding to hatred and violence with hatred and violence will only make hatred grow one thousand-fold. Only with compassion can we disintegrate hatred. This insight, this understanding should be with us in this very important moment.

If we look and listen deeply we can see that when we pray for the victims, we must also pray for the attackers. They are also victims of confusion and violence. If as a nation, America wants to be safe and secure, it has to help other nations, other peoples, feel safe and secure.

I have the conviction that America possesses enough wisdom and courage to perform an act of forgiveness and compassion, and I know that such an act can bring great relief to America and to the world right away.

Such an act could be a statement of the willingness to embrace all suffering inside and outside the nation, to look deeply in order to understand better the cause of the suffering and to act according to that insight. The act could be a project to bring relief to those who actually suffer within and outside the country.

I offer my heartfelt condolences, care and love for all who are suffering tremendously at this moment. I am aware that most of us have not been able to overcome the shock. Day and night I am deeply concerned with how to heal and transform this national and global tragedy.

We know that there are those of us who are trying to help, to heal and to support. We are grateful to them. We know that there are many of us who are trying to see to it that violence will not happen again.

I and many others will fast from September 21st to the 30th in order to support all who have died and all who are suffering terribly in this moment and embrace them tenderly with compassion, understanding, and awareness. This is my prayer in action.

Thich Nhat Hanh
September 20, 2001