Tisha: I think they've retired…but seriously, we need a centralized forum for activists to meet regularly and strategize on issues they want to change. Cleveland has a loosely structured activist base, and it would make sense to bring it all together. It might even make activism convenient; imagine that.
Deb: I want to talk about how the reality of the present leaves no room for a future.
Tisha: The truth hurts...so let's begin the hurting...everyone in consumerist America generally wants to live in relative ignorance by denying the repercussions of their consumerist, wasteful lifestyles (SUVs, urban sprawl, non-green construction) which threatens the environment and global balance. That's the present reality. To complicate matters, we’ve also got our nation's political inadequacy, and its several billion dollar deficit which compromises our nation’s strength. Our country is diminishing as a result of its debt, while altering our future's stability and leaving a legacy of wastefulness and self-absorption to the next generation....
Deb: My brain is blown over Bush's no child left behind program. The dumbing down of America’s youth reaches new heights...I love it (psych) when teachers are mandated to teach on a level that’s the lowest common denominator! I know I want my children to grow up to be "just like everyone else."
Tisha: And to think like everyone else, too - it’s tragic, really. I want to know what is this program creating? Is it positively or negatively affecting students’ creativity and their learning processes? I’d like to see empirical data on it - where’s the research on this program to chart its effectiveness (or lack thereof). I don't have much to say about it because I don't have kids. With programs like these in our nation, I don't have a lot of incentive to have kids in the first place.
Deb: It interferes with the highly intelligent and creative children who don’t test well. Case in point: those artists and inventors who failed out of school or barely passed.
Tisha: The frustration has just hit me recently, as I’ve become more involved working on educational projects with you in Lake County, I’m seeing the downside of testing, the inherent problems of school systems, and the resulting fallout (affecting students). It’s apparent in the low self confidence of these intensely bright kids; I’ve seen first-hand that they respond better to creative, non-traditional teaching methods.
Deb: Let's get into governmental/political use of war/disease/famine to control the races. That scares the hell out of me.
Tisha: Didn't Stalin do that in Russia to create ethnic cleansing? I may be off here - my Russian history is rusty. But history demonstrates that nations continually repeat its mistakes, and America is copying and implementing the bad habits of other nations (e.g. using war as a method of control).
Deb: And now we have the constant threat of terrorism and the Homeland Security Act. How soon will we all be wearing id chips?
Tisha: Our pets do, if you’re into that sort of thing...
Deb: The government continues to obfuscate programs like GPS, while the automotive industry markets it as a safe and secure way to travel when it’s no more than a tracking device. If you’re paying attention, fourth ammendment rights no longer exist. I suppose these comments could label me a threat to the country?
Tisha: Actually, you're just a threat to the community (laughs)
Deb: Let's turn this over to you - what’s your brain crying about?
Tisha: Throwing myself into mad attempts to write when I've no spare time. If I am moved by a particular idea, psychologically I’m compelled to write on it whether it's convenient or not. It's the writer's curse: ideas never come when you've time to sit down and leisurely write. The other week I was crazy to do a commentary on Cleveland's art collective Experimental Behavior, a new trans-artist event & creative exchange...but with all the work deadlines I have, I never know when or if I'll fit in my own personal writing projects. This results in getting up insanely early to write and/or staying up insanely late to write. I hope this isn’t hypergraphia setting in.
Deb: What in hell is trans-artist...we must’ve landed on Tisha-planet!
Tisha: Welcome to my world; get used to it, or get out...
Deb: Writing is a passion that can exhaust the brain, but feed the soul. Compulsions to write like that are verifications that you are alive. As far as hypergraphia…you and Virginia Woolf! Atleast you have a driving force behind you, even if it is writing. I'd prefer a great partner of the opposite sex.
Tisha: You’re not behaving, are you? Are you going to go into your diatribe about "the perfect man?" The perfect man exists, but he has imperfections.
Deb: Men truly are imperfect; the more imperfect, the better. Women need to get accustomed to this reality; now we’re verbally and mentally going where very few people dare to go.
Tisha: That's what redheads do naturally...and I want to know why do our conversations turn into an inventory of confessions?
Deb: Because confession is good for the soul. We all need an outlet to express our belief systems and individual anxieties.
Tisha: Confession brings anxiety, but I think it has an admirable disciplinary quality. I feel that if I can be honest with myself even to the point of confession, it causes responsibility to myself...it's a hard way to live.
Deb: Taking responsibility for oneself is a new concept for this generation and most people as well. The typical American reaction is: why in hell would you want to take responsibility for your own thoughts and actions? It’s so much easier to blame someone else!
What makes your brain cry? Email us at MBIC@coolcleveland.com for a double shot of red analysis
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