Sunday, October 9, 2011

An Accolade

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. “
     A friend’s 8-year-old son posted on Facebook, “I am so sad that Steve Jobs died.  RIP.
I will miss you.”  Okay, so there’s no way an 8-year-old is missing or overcome with grief and sadness over Steve Job’s death. Granted, it’s a huge loss. Perhaps even a significant, mutha of a big deal, especially to his family, but come on!  I don’t care how tech-savvy the next generation is, does Max even know who Steve was?  I’m certain Max doesn’t own Mac because his mom, a single mom, is a UPS driver and although they have a decent insurance plan, “the brown” work their asses off for diddlysquat. But I will say this: given his extraordinary contributions, Steve undoubtedly will be written in the history eBooks as one of this century’s greats; right up there with Einstein genius.
     I revel being around those who push the envelope; those that dare to build their own soapbox, climb up on it, and profess their beliefs of steel, even when tomatoes are being hurled in their faces…Those very individuals are the mentors, the changers, the volcanoes on the verge of a revolution eruption. And I, for one, dig these folks.
They’re on Wall Street right now as I speak. They’re in the trenches in Nogales, in Afghanistan, in Salinas, in Soma, Japan... 
They’re feeding stray dogs, riding bikes to end the AIDS epidemic, taking mosquito nets to Africa, dancing for abused and unwanted dogs, singing in convalescent homes, spooning rice at soup kitchens. They are the unnamed geniuses that not only scream, shout and motivate, but also take action. They are the exceptional individuals with the creative power or natural ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. They are not the CEO’s of BP or the owners of The Texas Rangers.  
They don’t necessarily graduate from Yale or Harvard, and most don’t have daddies who can get them in.
Steve didn’t graduate from any college.  In fact, he attended Reed College, a liberal arts college in Oregon, and because of lack of money (and probably boredom), he dropped out.
     With all the media coverage of Steve’s passing, it seems something of global importance got second seat this last week: the coverage of 3 women, 3 extraordinary warriors was quite diminutive, yet, their contributions toward change reach beyond extraordinary. The Nobel Prize Committee lauded their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and women's rights to fully participate in peace-building work.

      Tawakkul Karman, a 32-year-old mother who heads the human rights group Women Journalists without Chains, has been a leading figure in the protests against Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. "She is known among Yemenis as 'the iron woman' and the 'mother of the revolution.'"
     Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, 72, is a Harvard-trained economist who became Africa's first democratically elected female president in 2005. She was seen as a reformer and peacemaker when she took office in Liberia, a country ravaged by civil wars that is still struggling to maintain a fragile peace.
     Leymah Gbowee, head of the Women Peace And Security Network, was honored by the Committee for mobilizing women "across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women's participation in elections.”

YOWZAA! SHAZAM! These women are rockin it for peace, justice, women’s rights and bring it all not only their nation’s table, but to the world’s platter because they are the visionaries, the idea-makers, the rebels, the ones crazy enough to think they can change the world!
     I once spoke with a woman in Aptos, CA who stands on her town’s bridge every Sunday, dressed in black clothing, complete with a black veil. She stands in total silence for hours on this bridge, and has for many years. This location has been the spot for women to stand in silent protest of war.  Any war.  All wars. Including the current wars in which our President (the recipient of The Nobel Peace Prize two years ago) has increased troops and kept us in.
     I do believe, this woman, who probably won’t ever make billions or win a prize, is that kind of misfit Steve Jobs was talking about; the one who sees things differently. The one who doesn’t care about the status quo. She may not be a tech genius, or who the hell knows, maybe she is, but she’s a fearless warrior who acts on her ideals and beliefs in anticipation of a better world.  Bless her.  Bless Steve. Bless the 3 recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, and bless all you people out there in the trenches day in and day out. 
Don’t forget to take 2 Advil and wear protective gear!
~tpg

To read more about the Nobel Peace Prize winners:

4 comments:

  1. yes please!!! and thank you very much! I will share: Amy Goodman (democracy Now! The war and peace report) put her on the list for accolades. ? she is providing great coverage of the events at Occupy Wall street. I listened to NPR last night; weekend edition. There was a show about the history of desserts. NOTHING about O.W.S. w.o.w. NPR. F-
    Love you!! Delphine

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  2. I look forward to your blogs with much anticipation!
    So just know that there are many if us out there, reveling in
    Your juicy tidbits of the ordinary and not so ordinary
    Points to our lives!! Annie

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  3. Ah,my friend, you covered all the bases. I, too, was especially pleased to see the three women receive the Nobel Peace Prize..these brave, deserving women in far-flung places standing up for women's rights and getting world-wide recognition just warms my heart. As do you with your blogs...makes me want to go back out into the forests again and protest clear-cutting, but alas, I'm 2000 miles away from Oregon. Still, we can all do what we can, where we are, with what we've got. Pass it on...yes, I'll pass this blog on, for sure!

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