Premonition

I moved from County Fair Mobile Estates in late summer 2005.  I was ready to go in July but, unbeknownst to me, the managers chose to go on a two week vacation just at that moment—I missed completing my business with them by a single day.  Of course they left no one in charge who could discharge such managerial duties responsibly.  I would just have to wait two more weeks to complete final paper work. 

It was frustrating but I had learned how to be patient in situations where there was no other remedy.  Although eager to start my new life in a much nicer mobile-home park, I resigned myself to ticking off the days.  It seemed like forever!

I kept up with my usual routines the best I could, which included going for occasional long walks in the neighborhood.  Walking was beginning to replace running as old track injuries resurfaced.  Wearing tennis shoes and pounding the pavement was not as easy or as much fun as it used to be, especially for my knees.

The old mobile-home park from which I was eager to escape fronted on Umbarger Road just south of the Santa Clara Fairgrounds.  Finally, the two week wait was almost over.  One Sunday morning I decided to go for a walk, the last day and night before I would move away forever on Monday. 

I remember hoping nothing bad would happen but a sneaky shadow of an unwanted premonition trailed behind me that day.  Something in the air did not feel right.  It brought back to mind a word from Berkeley college days: “vibes”.  The word never attained great meaning for the world outside the college campus (except from context and inflection) but for the hippies it carried plenty of wallop. 

Simply put, you could get “good vibes” or “bad vibes”.  The word itself, shortened from “vibrations”, was meant to suggest palpable emanations perceived on a psychic wave length.  For those stoned enough, “vibes” reached a level of reality that deserved space in a Physics textbook as an actual phenomenon. 

For the rest of us, it just meant a general feeling of impending “good” or “bad”.  Of course, some people only claim they had a premonition after a particular kind of episode or event has taken place.  It’s nearly impossible to discern an actual premonition from this kind of after-the-fact claim.

  Still, lest one think the perception of “vibes” was solely imaginary, a useless superstitious incantation, it should be pointed out plenty of people felt and acted on vibes.

An entire lifestyle could be adjusted to precautionary actions for “bad vibes” or a willingness to join in the fun and celebrate “good vibes”.

In short, the term could be used as a warning for danger.  If you were dancing at a party, say, and some bad apples showed up looking for trouble, you might say “I don’t dig the vibes here, let’s leave” which meant to get the hell away before trouble broke out. 

“Good vibes” was just the opposite: you could be in a new place and unsure of whether you wanted to stay.  Then you discover the music is good, people are friendly, there’s food and drinks, and you are made to feel welcomed. 

You are invited to join in the “fun and festivities” so there is no reason not to stay and enjoy the “good vibes”.  Nobody worries particularly when the vibes are bright and happy—life is good as it should be.  It’s only when the vibes are dark and menacing that the term takes on a much more sinister connotation.  That’s when a premonition of bad things about to happen enters the landscape, to be ignored at one’s peril.

Though I do not consider myself superstitious in the slightest, that Sunday as I went for my morning walk I was being dogged by a premonition of bad luck.  It was as real as if a large dark shadow was following me.  I was just one day short of my move which I was looking forward to greatly; indeed, nearly all the moving of furniture and personal possessions had already occurred.  I only needed Monday as a business day to finish up with the managers.  

The thought “what if” something bad happened on my last day broke through the surface of my subconscious mind from time to time but I did my best to set it aside.  Nonetheless, I was more nervous and jittery than usual, though neither quality was a part of my normal character.  Something was “in the air”—something was amiss but I knew not what.  I hoped it was “nothing” (a wandering premonition that did not even belong to me) but at the same time the feeling grew that something bad was about to happen.

The walk itself went well enough until I started back home, traveling west on Umbarger from Senter Road.  Now mind you, I only had about a quarter of a mile to go to return to my house when I first noticed a large black dog running free on the other side of the street. 

If you were to draw a picture of the one kind of dog you would least like to meet, this brute filled the bill nicely.  It looked to me to be largely pit bull but with a hybrid cross of uncertain parentage.  Its body language expressed that intense anger and hostility for which the worse of the breed is noted; at a great distance I could sense its inclination to attack, even before it finally noticed me. 

This was not going to be pretty!  I felt like a ghostlike figure walking into certain doom, each step playing out with the utmost inevitability of a sure and gruesome fate.

I was on the left (or south) side of the street headed west, as there was no sidewalk on the other side of the street; just some hard-packed dirt where cars parked occasionally alongside a cyclone fence marking the boundary of the fairgrounds.  This frightening dog was sniffing around at the base of that fence, overgrown with weeds and sometimes paper bags with discarded food remnants.  

It was headed in the opposite direction, east toward Senter Road, and was perhaps 50 yards away when I first got a good look at it.  A shudder of fear went through me immediately.  I entertained a brief (but foolish) hope we could pass each other without incident.  The dog was jet black with a large head and heavy jowls, although it did not show any signs of distemper or rage--at least not yet.  

I remember desperately looking around for its owner, hoping somewhere somehow a person was actually walking this beast off leash.  At any second this owner might show up to whistle the dog back and regain control of it: no such luck! 

The dog had no collar and no dog owner was anywhere in sight, if indeed it even had one.  It may have been feral and on its own; it was impossible to say.  I could not believe, if it did have an owner, that anyone would let such an aggressive dog--notorious for its temper and unpredictable outbursts--run free on its own but I had not much time left to ponder the matter further.

I’m no expert on pit bulls but this dog had the shape and aggressive tendency of one, although much larger and longer-legged than normal.  Its mouth was full of sharp gleaming white teeth; it was in the full vigor of its prime.  I was not sure if a single human being could defeat such an animal if it began snarling, slashing, and biting! 

I rather doubted it but I had to consider, foolishly or no, what I would do once the attack began.  Of that I was already fairly certain—fate brought the two of us together that Sunday morning for a showdown and I knew the coming clash was unavoidable. 

As there was no other way for me to get home save by my present route, I decided to keep going: I feared turning my back and running would arouse its predatory instinct and initiate the attack.  

By now my premonition was running amuck and reinforced by a wild escalating fear that made my heart thump with powerful beats. 

I kept hoping this “killer dog” would not notice me but the thought was barely formed before the vicious brute raised its head and looked straight at me.  It did so with a flashing angry stare that far exceeded a normal dog’s regular curiosity; in truth, it fixated on me from that moment onward with a killer’s instinct. 

I kept wishing for the drama to defuse itself but instead every second brought real danger closer and closer.  I thought of “The Hounds of the Baskervilles” and wondered if this is what it was like to be stalked by a vicious animal bent on attacking and killing? 

Finally, this powerful canine assassin made a beeline for me, crossing the street at a sharp angle that led only to me and no other target.  As there were no other walkers around and hardly any traffic, it was clear that the dog’s temper was somehow sharply aroused by my presence and that it was coming straight for me and me alone.

Then, suddenly, from the direction of Monterey Highway and heading east on Umbarger, I caught out of the corner of my eye an old, beat-up, blue pick-up truck laboriously making its way up the street.  The pit bull monster dog was to the left side of the driver of the pick-up truck, both headed in the same direction.  The driver appeared to be going quite slowly, doing maybe 20 miles per hour.  

The climax of the crisis arrived suddenly, just seconds ahead of the impending attack.  I experienced this one dreadfully frightening moment when I had to make a split second decision, knowing I would only have one chance to escape unscathed.  Then came something more powerful than premonition: a moment of great clarity. 

Under normal circumstances, people should follow this advice: to break off eye contact with a dangerous animal.  Stop staring back at a breed with a reputation for vicious attacks.  I knew enough not to stare back, not to arouse a predatory instinct—staring would be perceived by this dog as a challenge and surely make matters worse. 

Yet “normal” was already gone so such advice meant little. The dog moved with an unnerving cockiness as though it knew before the attack how it could inflict maximum damage and emerge victorious.  As the dog with the killer instinct reached the edge of the pavement and started across the street headed straight for me, I decided to roll the dice.  It was a long shot but I could think of nothing else to do.

I stared back into its angry blazing eyes as hard as I could.  I sent back an equally strong animal response as though accepting and relishing the challenge to a physical confrontation--even though by now I could plainly see the dog’s teeth and how its open hostility was about to lead to an attack.  The dog fixed its own gaze on me just as intently, as I hoped it would, oblivious to anything but me as its prey. 

Generations of instinct bred into it could lead this pit bull to act in no other way.  So intense became its preoccupation with me that it failed to track the blue pickup truck that was moving slowly up the road; the staring contest between us ignited a furious intensity in this wild animal.  It was halfway across the street, not more than 20 feet from me, when the truck struck it a fairly good blow. 

I could see the driver but poorly through his dirty windshield; he appeared to be of Asian background, perhaps Filipino, with a bit of a smile on his lips on a face that was otherwise drawn taut and showing strain.  He had braked and slowed down right before his collision with the dog, perhaps to avoid killing it outright, and yet he had not slammed on his brakes, either. 

It seemed to me he wasn’t trying to avoid hitting the black brute but only lessen the intensity of the impact.  He was guessing at the right amount of force.  He let the truck roll forward slowly as the dog tried to stay ahead of the fender and escape but the truck finally knocked the brute off its feet. 

I still have the image frozen in my mind watching its front legs frantically whirling like an egg beater to regain its footing even as it was being pushed forward by the truck.  The legs were moving so fast they all became a blur.  I experienced an inward shudder at recognizing the strength and agility of this dog and what might have happened had it actually attacked me! 

The driver kept letting the truck roll forward which kept the dog off its feet without rolling over it. After much effort, the now half-crazed dog suddenly regained its feet and scampered off, running for its life and farther and farther away from where I stood, transfixed, watching this whole scene play out in slow motion. 

The man in the truck never stopped.  We never exchanged so much as a single word but I am convinced we both saw and understood the episode the same way.  A brief look between us said more than words ever could.  It would have been nice to have had a chance to thank him but I’m sure he knows how thankful I am for him in my heart.  I do not know who he was or where he came from but he certainly showed up at the most opportune time imaginable!

What is the moral of this story?  I now know that “good vibes” and “bad vibes” do exist.  A premonition can still have meaning and should not be ignored!  I also know that there are good human beings everywhere who sometimes show up out of nowhere just in the nick of time to help us when we most need it. 

Was that a miracle, an intervention from on high, or just an incredibly fortunate piece of luck?  I don’t know and suppose I never will.  What’s important was that my faith in people was strengthened immeasurably and has never been shaken since.  

  The dark shadow of the premonition that had been following me around that morning burst and evaporated in a shower of a million pieces and suddenly I was aware of the day being filled with radiant sunshine.  I knew then I would make it through my last day in fine shape. 

The next morning I saw the managers and finished up my last bit of business with them, arranging for a refund to be mailed to my new address.  I jumped in my car and headed for my new place and my new life.  I came out of the mobile-home park’s driveway near the exact spot where this incident occurred.  

I put on my blinker, turned right, and drove away. 

I never looked back.  

Foreign Policy: Ten Principles

While we’re on the topic of the president’s ineptitude in all matters presidential, the question of “foreign policy” deserves a modicum of consideration.  We appear to be watching a perplexing display of behavioral spasms when it comes to decision-making.  

A contributing factor to this bewildering lack of direction might well be the absence of a consistent and well-defined foreign policy.  Our government’s approach should not depend on luck, happenstance, and serendipitous circumstances. 

One is left with the definite impression that most Americans would be uncertain as to how the White House defines its current relationship with the rest of the world, other than a few truncated grunts and interjections: “Us strong them weak, us good guys them bad guys, us smart them very dumb, us rich (ha ha) them poor,” and the like. 

Okay, maybe some Americans can sum up our foreign policy a little better than that but I’m betting there are still a lot of my fellow countrymen who aren’t even sure what our foreign policy is, let alone feel capable of analyzing whether we are consistent and successful in its application.

For that reason, I thought it was time to offer some advice about principles we could adopt. 

I know some of my ideas will seem strange.  The words may burn a hole in the very paper upon which they are written and will prove more potent than some readers can handle.  I would advise safety goggles or at least 3-D sunglasses before you look at them, just to be safe. 

You might also wish to consider making an appointment with a psychiatrist, for after you are finished reading my comments, you may find your world turned topsy-turvy and your psyche thoroughly transformed by thoughts new and wild.  Good luck!

TEN PRINCIPLES

1.      The United States affirms its belief in peace and diplomacy as the first cardinal principle of its foreign policy stance.  That is to say, the U.S. openly announces that it wishes to maintain peaceful relations with the other nations of the world.  Toward this goal, there should be a de-emphasis on threats, bluffs, intimidation, saber-rattling, bellicose rhetoric, insults, provocation, shouting matches, spying, warlike moves, brinkmanship, and the like.

2.      The United States should remain a member of the United Nations in good standing.  The U.S. should be proud of its participation in international organizations.  The U.S. should keep its commitments made under international treaties.

  

If it becomes advisable to consider making changes to one or another aspect of our foreign policy, the White House should begin an open discussion with both Congress and the American public.  There should be a long and thorough airing of issues and proposed solutions rather than a reliance on the unpredictable impulses of any one person or agency. 

3.      Foreign policy should represent our commitment to constitutional principles, democratic beliefs, and the American people’s preference for peaceful constructive engagement between themselves and the citizens and governments of other nations.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt developed the policy of “good will” toward our South American neighbors.  Such thinking should be reintroduced and amplified a thousand-fold.

4.      Another cardinal principle includes non-intervention in the affairs of other countries.  Even as we expect our own sovereignty to be respected, so too must the US respect the sovereignty and independence of other nations.  This pledge of non-interference must be extended to countries with a different form of government than our own. 

5.      The US should stop supporting military dictatorships around the world.  It should stop giving military aid and millions of dollars to dictators who build their own personal fortunes or use the arms and money against their own people.  This paid brutality contradicts fundamental American values while creating distrust of and hostility toward the U.S. 

6.      The US should demonstrate a much greater willingness to build up the infra-structure and industrial development of other nations.  The poorest regions of the world do not need more war, famine, and social chaos.  These areas are breeding grounds for violence and terrorism.  These regions need communication and transportation systems, water and electricity, social services, agricultural revitalization, construction projects, a dependable currency, and a strong modernized economy for buying and selling.  To the extent other nations wish to industrialize and move toward a technology-driven society, the U.S. should do all in its power to help them accomplish those aims.

7.      The U.S. should remember that its “best foreign policy” is to maintain a democratic form of government at home, alongside a high standard of living for its people.  Our government must remember that America’s influence around the world is best served when our nation is seen as a role model for a peaceful, productive society—one in which its citizens enjoy both freedom and economic opportunities to build a better life for themselves and their families.  Successfully addressing issues of inequality at home ultimately leads to the greatest positive influence on, and respect from, nations abroad.

8.      American foreign policy should reflect the good will and known generosity of the American government and people.  We should be willing to share our knowledge, expertise, and wealth through international agreements as well as people-to-people engagement.  The fundamental cause of unrest around the world is the great and growing divide between rich and poor, the haves and have-nots.  Extreme poverty and squalor in drought-stricken regions of the world, now facing calamitous famine, will lead to destructive unrest if the richer nations sit on their hands and do little or nothing. 

There are too many people living in refugee camps or endangering their lives through treacherous crossings of the Mediterranean Sea in unseaworthy boats.  There are too many people traipsing the exhausting journey of stateless families desperately seeking asylum anywhere they can find sympathy and support.  

These dire circumstances call out to all good people of conscience to do more to ameliorate such great hardship and suffering.  Refugees fleeing persecution, poverty, and war are not America’s enemies; in years gone by, people just like them came to these shores to build a new life.  They made significant and lasting contributions to American society though their labor and ingenuity. 

9.      The United States must recognize that it is this extreme poverty that is leading to disastrous social disintegration and the destabilization of entire regions.  It is not enough for the United States and other western nations to pledge peaceful diplomatic interactions with other governments as its priority.  The underlying social and economic conditions that produce the combustible fuel for violence and war must also be addressed: immediately, consistently, and determinedly over a sustained period of time. 

10.  The only way to avoid or lessen the likelihood of war and terrorism is for the United States to change the direction and nature of its foreign policy.  Our government must stop propping up military dictators simply because they behave in a manner favorable to the interests of U.S. corporations and military planners.  America’s reputation for democracy must reflect the hopes and aspirations of its people and not just the economic needs of the rich. 

Now one or more of these ten principles may shock the reader to his core!  Nevertheless, a strong argument can be made that these principles have always been a part of America’s foreign policy, historically speaking.  The principle of equality among nations dates back to the Revolution and the founding of the country itself.  George Washington adopted the policy of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries; he pledged peace and kept us out of war. 

All of these principles flow from the democratic principles upon which America was founded. 

Perhaps no one is articulating well what Americans believe when it comes to how our nation should interact with other countries, but we have always had sound principles for foreign policy. 

Truthfully, what is written here is not actually meant to be “shocking” except insofar as the average American may have become bewildered and confused in recent years by what our government does (or does not do) abroad. 

If one has not seen such language in a long time, it takes time to reacquaint oneself with several of the bedrock principles upon which American foreign policy is based. 

Inconsistencies and contradictions have overwhelmed our foreign policy for too long.  We cannot support a right-wing military dictatorship in one place while asserting our belief in “democratic government” without appearing confused and insincere.     

When the current occupant of the White house is impulsive and unpredictable as to what he wishes to accomplish in the way of foreign policy, such a state of affairs inevitably reflects quite poorly on America: on all of us.  Granted, some presidents are not well-educated or experienced in such matters, but all can learn. 

They can study anew the cardinal principles of our democratic philosophy.  They can relearn and reaffirm the democratic and constitutional principles upon which our nation is founded. 

They can read the words of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and many other Founding Fathers.  They can become familiar with the historical record of America as a country intent on maintaining peaceful relations with other nations, where peace is the highest priority and war contemplated only as a last resort.  Only in peacetime do nations achieve their highest levels of productivity and citizens achieve their greatest creative expression as human beings.

Well, I guess it’s safe now to take off those 3-D sunglasses and safety goggles, set aside the fire extinguisher and cancel your appointment to see a psychiatrist.  These words were never meant to be incendiary or shocking though I still fear they may have that effect on some few readers.

We need a foreign policy that is clear, consistent, democratic, and humane.  These ten principles are meant to help light the way by reminding us who we are and from where we came. 

We were born in revolution and we pledged peace and equality with other nations of the world so that they, too, in time could discover the blessing of liberty, the joys of democracy, and their own potential for economic productivity in a democratic society at peace.

We should not and must not impose our will on others but we can certainly do all in our power, through example and persuasion, through diplomacy and negotiation, to show our faith in peace and friendship as the best way to create and sustain a peaceful and prosperous world.

Let us revisit, rethink, and reaffirm our belief in these basic principles of a sound, democratic, and productive foreign policy that makes friends, not enemies, of the government and people of other nations of whatever race, religion, or cultural history. 

America, as a nation of immigrants with all of its incredible diversity, is well-suited to take the lead in the re-emergence of a sane attitude toward all the world’s peoples by implementing a foreign policy that is founded on peace and good will: a foreign policy that will carefully nurture hopes for a better future for all great humanity: for the one family of mankind, bar none.

Wild Europe

“Exploring Civilization”: it’s an interesting word, “civilization”, isn’t it?  Who gets to decide who is and who isn’t civilized?  Are we civilized?  What about the Mayan and Aztecs or before them the Olmec, Toltec, and Zapotec?  What about the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and Pueblo peoples of the Southwest? 

Who defines what is “civilized” and what is not?  We know that in 1492 began the meeting of two new continents and cultures . . .

One had a high degree of moral sophistication which the other mostly lacked; one culture (or civilization) had learned to make intelligent use of natural resources; one had come to understand the supreme importance of certain virtues such as honesty, integrity, courage and honor.  One group was far more civilized than the other, in my opinion; one understood best what was meant by the ideas contained in the phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. 

As to who was civilized and who was not, I am referring to the fact, of course, that Native Americans represented a highly intelligent culture that HAD achieved civilized social and political organization.  American indigenous cultures promoted individual integrity and autonomy while the other group, from Europe, represented a savage way of life that was barbaric at best and barely human at worst. 

The Vikings made countless raids against England.  They commonly attacked and looted monasteries, slaughtered monks, raped women, and enslaved women and children.  They attacked other countries in Europe along the coasts and following the rivers, repeating these bloody slaughters time and again. 

European nations and principalities themselves were dominated for centuries by kings and princes who were aristocratic, autocratic, and tyrannical.  The kings and nobles of one country fought against other king and nobles.  They fought with one another constantly, impoverishing their nations and costing the lives of thousands of people. 

These wars were frequently a contest for power and wealth, conducted most violently; their conquests were sustained by brute force.  Indeed, wars were endemic to the continent of Europe, to say nothing of the violent oppression and civil wars that often raged within each nation’s own boundaries.   

Even the names of the wars indicate their longevity and severity, such as the Seven Years War, the Thirty Years War, and, most famously of all, the “One Hundred Years War” between England and France, to name but a few. 

The royal court and a relatively small group of aristocrats controlled nearly everything, devoured the wealth of the nation, oppressed the peasants and engaged in one war after another. There was little or no moral restraint when it came to these wars which often led to acts of bloody brutality accompanied by oppression and poverty. 

Virtually no freedoms were allowed the masses of men and women, the peasants and serfs.  As for liberty of conscience, there was virtually none to speak of, at least not in the way we frame such concepts today.  Religious intolerance existed in its most extreme form; individuals could be tortured for not behaving or believing a certain way. 

Dissidents and heretics were imprisoned, tortured, and killed for daring to act or think independently for themselves.  The Salem Witch Trials in 1692 was not so much an American anomaly as a predictable carry-over from the colonists’ European heritage.

In the modern period, from 1500 onward, Europe would present itself as “civilized” and much of the rest of the world as “uncivilized.”  During this period, European nations sailed to Africa and began a history of slave trading on an unimaginable scale as millions of Black people were enslaved.  Countless more never survived the Middle Passage.    

Nothing seemed to slow down the European nations bent on territorial conquest and the relentless exploitation of resources and subjugated peoples.  In Mexico, South America, and North America, Indians were enslaved, maimed and brutalized--often worked to death if not killed in wars or murdered outright, to say nothing of the tens of thousands dying from unfamiliar diseases. 

All of this activity amounted to genocide, the very opposite of what the word “civilized” is supposed to convey to us.

           

Yet if we include knowledge of their environment, material culture, lifestyle and moral values, we would find that many Native Americans tribes and nations were quite civilized at the time of the first contact between the Old and the New World.  The Sun Stone of the Aztecs is but one example of the complexity of the skill in stone-carving possessed by the Aztecs, based on their detailed knowledge of astronomy and their own history of migrations dating back thousands of years.  

Of course as most of you have guessed, I’m all mixed up and I have it all backwards . . . at least that’s what other professors and history books would say: the Europeans are always the good guys and the Blacks are inferior and the Indians are savages. 

I don’t believe this is true but I do recognize how common that viewpoint was, and is. 

The author of our textbook, Howard Zinn, does not accept that pro-European viewpoint which we call Euro-centered.  His book, A People’s History of the United States, is considered a radical alternative to traditional textbooks.  He presents shameful, tragic, and bloody episodes in American history that are often glossed over or ignored. 

I truly look forward to the day when one of our history textbooks might begin with a chapter called “Wild Europe” but for now it remains only a dream!