Rite of Passage

Rite of Passage

Green City, Missouri – Just after noon my father-in-law rode out on his big machine  to cut their football-field-of a-front-lawn.  I cut the smaller back yard with their self-propelled walking mower.

It must have been contagious. Before we finished two hours later, freshly mown grass with bright green ‘cut’ lines was the norm in the neighborhood. The neighbor across Pfeiffer Street to our left was riding and cutting on her John Deere; her neighbor rode his Cub. Not to be out done, the Mayor rode hard to catch up and contour his pasture-of-a-lawn to our right.

Each spring folks in this rural northeast Missouri town take to their lawn mowers. Grooming their lawn – “keeping it pretty” –  is a matter of pride and self-expression, a ritual. It’s part of their rite of passage in spring.

Grooming one’s lawn is an integral part of Green City’s community spirit. This simple task is taken seriously. It is a civic responsibility – a matter of allegiance to the community’s wellbeing. It is tantamount to the oath taken by an elected government official to bear responsibility for the welfare of his constituents.

Come spring in Missouri, tight bunches of petit magenta-pink flowers on Red Bud trees and creamy white flowers of the Wild Plum and Dogwood glow with radiance. Spring’s clean, light air casts their colors iridescent against a barren farmland cleansed by winter’s pure white snow. You can see through the patches of color along roadsides, in fields and yards to view the past. Spring is about transparency.

Spring offers us transformation with its longer days and warmer temperatures.  It gives us more comfort, spawns new hope, and drives our psyche to feel refreshed. Spring’s transformation confers on us an inner strength to be patient not only with ourselves but others, too.  It says, afford others their dignity by being fair.

 The rain and plow in spring turn the barren into plenty and provide for us. Spring stirs clusters of new life.  It says, “See through the changes at hand. See them through.”

Spring in Syria

Walking behind the self-propelled mower, I wondered about spring in Syria? How have the traditions of spring in the Syrian culture been affected by Bashar al-Assad and his army as they rain down shells and kill innocent children, women and men in their attempt to squash the yearlong uprising?

How do parents in Syria cope with the uncertainty of daily living and its routine? There must be constant anguish about sending their children off to attend school every morning, five days a week in a violent, unsafe war environment. Have their children been able to wander home and play intermittently in the streets along the way home?

Parents need stability in society to send their children out into the world. Children need structured learning on a regular basis at school. They long for the choice to interact freely with each other as a part of growing up. These aspects of childhood surely play out as ritual in springtime; rather, they did.

Have these same Syrian families been able to work along side of each other in sprucing up their shared courtyards – cleaning its walls and customary fountain, pruning its citrus trees and grapevines, planting flowers while letting the children play?

Families need to interact, too. Their pride looks for ways to be exhibited behind the closed doors of courtyards where life happens in a private way. What about the traditional lunch of chicken kebab, lamb kibbe, tabbouleh, hummus and flatbread? Hmmm….

How many of these same families, neighborhoods and communities have had their regular marketplace or “souk” days interrupted and even stopped by indiscriminate bombing and attack from the Syrian army?  

The souk is a thread in the social fabric of Syrian culture. It is the commercial place where people earn their livelihoods and others buy food, drink and staple goods for their nourishment and homes. Haggling at market over a woven rug, bartering over food prices, and debating local politics make the souk a vital part of daily living in Syria. Come springtime these marketplaces come alive again as the sun drenches vendors’ stalls and people mingle with a new energy.

And what about those weekly and even daily visits to places of worship? The quiet and calm right to practice religion in a sanctuary has also been interrupted. People fear going out at all.

What has happened to the expectations of the Syrian people trying to exercise freedoms associated with a march toward democracy?  They’ve been threatened and intimidated, jailed and tortured, even stamped out permanently in 9,000 cases and counting.

His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan described the Arab Spring as “a call for dignity, justice and freedom,” noting “there’s no going back on the legitimate aspirations of the people to have a larger say in the way their societies are organized.” Syrians, like other peoples of the Arab Spring, are saying let us determine and shape our rites of passage not only in spring, but every season throughout every year.

Getting Back Spring’s Transformation

United Nations and Arab League special envoy, Koffi Annan hopes he has succeeded in getting Assad to agree to a six-point peace plan. A cease fire began today, and seems to be holding. But it will be tested tomorrow - Friday - when Syrians congregate for prayer at mosques. Heavy weapons remain in city squares such as Homs. Snipers rest on rooftops. Troops are still present, too, and at the ready. Annan's peace plan was one more necessary step in an international process that will eventually isolate and remove Assad. Of the six points in Annan’s peace plan for Syria, two demanded transformation this spring:

Mr. Assad, end the violence and accept “an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people.”

Mr. Assad, fulfill your commitment to “respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed in Syria.”

Upon assuming power after his father’s death and during his first address as Syria’s new leader in July 1999, Assad proclaimed his Damascus Spring for change and a more pluralistic, civil society. It began to happen. Access to the outside world via the technology of the internet, satellite dishes, and mobile phones occurred. Foreign newspapers and publications showed up at newsstands, and open criticism of the government was reported in local Syrian media. Then Assad suddenly reversed course a year later and began jailing people who opposed his rule.

Last spring, Assad struck back again to prevent the Arab Spring from establishing a foothold.

As one Middle East expert noted, feelings of grief, anger and helplessness in the Syrian people grew out of Assad’s repression. Yet the Syrian people could not be held down any longer. They transformed these downtrodden feelings into compassion and solidarity, and rose up. The fear was gone. There was a choice of flight or fight, and the majority of the Syrian people have chosen the latter.

The UN and international community must not allow Assad to continue his assault on Syrians’ rite of passage to democracy.

See It Through

Spring is pure and its rights must be respected, not only in America, but in Syria, too.  A Greater Syria in spirit requires the building of a civil society complete with human rights and opportunities to establish individual rites of passage. Syrians want civil rights as well as political rights. They long for equal access to economic opportunity.

What will next spring bring for the people of Syria? 

Genocide in an Election Year

We watched the election returns on CNN Europe in Karmen’s apartment overlooking Zagreb’s main square. So many people from the former Yugoslavia were hoping for a Clinton victory.

During the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton had been speaking out against the Bush administration’s inaction in Bosnia. Only after losing the election and just before Clinton’s inauguration, did the Bush administration issue a “finding of genocide.”

Clinton won, and there was renewed hope for a U.S. plan of intervention in Bosnia. Yet only in August 1995 – over three years later – did the Clinton administration finally act in Bosnia, when NATO bombed the Serbs for almost three weeks during Operation Deliberate Force.

This action ultimately led to an end to the Croatian and Bosnian wars. America had finally shown its political will and leadership to stop the ethnic cleansing and war crimes. Some 20,000 died in the Croatian war, with hundreds of thousands of refugees. In the Bosnian conflict upwards of 110,000 died and over 2.2 million people were displaced.

Election Year 2012

It’s once again an election year in the U.S. and this time the people of Syria are the victims. This time U.S. President Barack Obama faces the challenge of stopping what can be defined as “genocide.”

Since the uprising began a year ago in Syria, Bashar al-Assad and his military have been conducting a well-coordinated campaign of arrest, imprisonment, detention, torture and killing. The Syrian military is now attacking the northern city of Idlib, just as it did in Homs for four weeks, to destroy another opposition stronghold. The Syrian government is also shelling mosques, schools, playgrounds, and even a hospital, according to the Associated Press.

An estimated 7,500 Syrians have been killed, and upwards of 100,000 Syrians have fled and are now refugees in neighboring Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. An estimated 200, 000 Syrian people have been internally displaced.

In her book, “A Problem from Hell – America and the Age of Genocide,” Samantha Power identifies actions that are considered as genocide. She notes “deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civilian area.” Such attacks take place “with intent to destroy the lives and existence of citizens.”

Article 2 of the United Nations Resolution 260 – the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as …“causing serious bodily or mental hardship to members of the group,” and … “deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction.”

Obama vs. Bush and Clinton

While economic sanctions against Syria have been in place for a while and have hindered Assad’s efforts to squash his own people, a recent UN mission to Syria and a separate Security Council effort to achieve a cease fire have stalled.

Obama has said “no” to the arming of the opposition movement. He has been quoted as ruling out any deployment of U.S. military even while the Syrian National Council and Free Syrian Army have agreed to coordinate their actions.

On the diplomatic front, the Obama administration has been successful in keeping the diplomatic pressure on Syria, in part by isolating China and Russia in their support of Assad.

In October 2011 and again in February 2012, UN Security Council resolutions were vetoed by China and Russia. European countries pushed the first resolution that threatened sanctions against Syria, while in the second one the Arab League put forward a peace plan that called for Assad to step down. The Obama administration threw its weight behind each resolution to broaden the coalition of countries against Syria.

It seemed to work. Following Russia’s election, newly elected once-again president Vladimir Putin hinted that Russia would not tolerate much longer the violent repression by Assad against Syrian people. China followed suit by demanding a halt to the violence and to allow UN and ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) teams to enter Homs to assess the need for humanitarian aid.

Strong, well-timed rhetoric has been a part of this diplomatic pressure. America’s Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said the U.S. “is disgusted” with China and Russia after their first veto. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared of their second veto, “It is just despicable” asking “Whose side are they on?” Answering, “They are clearly not on the side of the Syrian people.”

Most recently, Secretary Clinton edged a little closer to recognizing the genocide that is occurring in Syria by labeling Assad’s actions as “war crimes."

Mind, Emotion and Will

The Obama administration has shown sound political thinking in building upon economic sanctions aimed at stopping the violent killing of Syrian citizens. It reacted with proper emotions and strong will when China and Russia vetoed two UN resolutions.

It must continue to think clearly, show emotional support for the lives and human rights of Syrians, and act with a will that reflects the historical values of America in stopping Assad.

Under Article 1 of the UN convention on genocide, once a signatory confirms genocide, it is obligated to take actions “to prevent and punish.”

The first Bush and Clinton administrations avoided use of the term of “genocide.” These two administrations showed no will and did not demonstrate America’s values by acting early enough to prevent genocide in Croatia and Bosnia. Obama must not do the same.

Secretary of State Clinton’s recent use of the term “war crimes” referred to one individual’s actions against that country’s people. Genocide refers to the collective actions taken by the person in power – Assad – and his government forces – the military, to enact decisions to kill Syrians and destroy opposition to his rule.

To prosecute war crimes, the UN must set up a tribunal under its jurisdiction. This step requires that the UN show a “threat to international peace and security.”

During the Rwanda genocide, the UN Security Council had to prove such a threat to overcome the UN charter ban on interference in a nation’s domestic affairs. It did so by showing that the fleeing of refugees into neighboring countries and related burdens of caring for them was destabilizing neighboring countries, according to Power in her book.

The same destabilizing threat currently exists in Syria as its citizens are fleeing into neighboring countries and fostering increased political tensions in the Middle East. An estimated 83,000 Syrian refugees are now in Jordan, over 7,000 in Lebanon, and upwards of 10,000 in Turkey.

Obama should go to the UN Security Council with a resolution to set up a tribunal to try Assad based on the threat he has created to international peace and security.

He should also be prepared to take a series of actions, including:

- The set up of humanitarian aid zones in those countries hosting Syrian refugees, complete with a UN stabilization force lead by American troops.

If any other parties like Hezbollah or Iran meddle in these safe zones, we must prepared to defend the rights of the refugees to seek humanitarian aid.

- Going back to the UN general assembly and asking for permission to impose an arms embargo on Syria.

Russia and Iran should be included in this embargo because their supplying of weapons to Assad allows him to continue attacks on innocent civilians.

- Sign the treaty banning the use of antipersonnel landmines.

By doing so, the U.S. could further isolate Russia and Syria.

Syria, Russia and the U.S. are three of 37 countries that have not signed this treaty. Syria has been mining areas near the Lebanon and Turkey borders to stop the flow of their citizens out of the country.

True Leadership

While the consequences of such actions are unpredictable, the killing of Syrians by Assad will certainly continue.

The U.S. position on genocide must be decisive… If there is one “pre-emptive” war to fight, and always, it is a war against genocide wherever it is committed and whenever – even in an election year.

The Obama administration must show that America is a democracy with more than a human face, but a country and superpower with a soul. America’s conscience is not based on our nation’s vital interests, but on values associated with human rights and political liberties such as freedom of expression (the rights to speak out, associate with other citizens, and assemble to demonstrate against tyranny).

The U.S. soul and core values stem from it being a nation of immigrants. America pursued and achieved its manifest destiny by allowing immigrants to become American citizens. Immigrants are still coming to overcome economic woes, and find remedy in civil liberties to overcome political prejudice and persecution.

How many Bosnians, for instance, came to American during and after the Bosnian War? How many people from north Africa and the countries of the Arab Spring, including Syria, will immigrate to our country?

Genocide, no matter what the scale, whoever the people, no matter what the timing, requires immediate and decisive steps as part of a willful effort to end it.

Building a coalition to stop genocide requires time to overcome different geopolitical positions, and the diverse historical and cultural values of peoples and nations around the world.

Continuing with decisive actions to stop Assad’s genocide in Syria will not hurt President Obama's chances for being re-elected. Rather, such actions will show the leadership that Americans expect of their president not only for domestic concerns, but foreign policy matters, too.

Home Place

Mom grew up Hungarian during the 1920s and 1930s in rural Merrill, Michigan.

Hungarian church. Hungarian cuisine. Hungarian school through sixth grade. And Hungarian spoken at home until she went off to college.

First generation American.

The Great Depression struck her family. Like so many others then (and now), the Toths lost their family farm to foreclosure. They called it “home place.” It was their homestead: all of the children were born in that kitchen.

Mom’s family also lost all of their “collateral” in the foreclosure. Animals. Tractors. Plows. Car. Furniture. Mom still dreams of the bank official chasing their cattle down the road to auction. Their rights to being part of the American dream seemingly vanished.

But like so many immigrants who still come to America, Mom’s family never gave up on their dream. They rented one farm. Then another, and a third. Saving scarce dollars, they eventually bought a second farm. They showed mettle.

They also received help from other families – sharing plows and tractors, and tending crops together. They became a community of immigrants – Americans determined to participate in society and make a difference.

“Home place” – it was the first time I had ever heard my mother use the term. It isn’t so much like homeland in homeland security, but “native land” as in “firm may she ever stand.”

“Home place” for a family and any individual is a sense that you belong. You feel that you have rights and opportunity. You sense the need to exercise those rights in order to pursue your dream and achieve self-actualization.

When I went to Hungary for the second time in April 1990, it was my first attempt at trying to help a controlled press break free of government censorship and controls. The Party and government controlled editorial personnel and content, printing, distribution, and finances. There were no such things as marketing or the marketplace of ideas.

Hungarians working in the controlled press felt hapless. The government held the power, rather than members of the press watching over government. Government said “no” to free and independent thinking. It squashed the exploring of new ideas. It said “no” to self-actualization for journalists and media managers alike. It controlled their destiny.

I began day one of the workshop dressed in my double-breasted Valentino suit and Zegna tie, polished black dress shoes, and slicked back hair. Some 25 participants from 15 “samizdat” (underground) journals and a weekly magazine published by the government’s chamber of commerce showed up.

This Westerner and the participants started out separated by two opposing political systems. During four sessions each day for the first five days, I slogged through my pre-planned lessons. They didn’t work. The conversation was one way. I was lecturing sullen faces that said “no” to everything.

“No” to developing an image and marketing position.

“No” to readership research.

“No” to alternative distribution.

“No” to subscription promotions, incentives and rebates.

“No” to strategic thinking – whether for marketing or self.

The participants did not feel empowered by the transitioning political system. Each individual seemed unsure about the right to communicate using freedom of speech. As a group that had assembled voluntarily, they did not assume their rights to openly explore solutions for dismantling controls over the press. It was as if there was a government official sitting in the room wagging a threatening finger. Fortunately, the participants were not giving up. By the end of week one, they began airing frustrations.

The following Monday the suit had found its proper place in my garment bag. Now, it was rolled up sleeves and blue jeans. I probed the participants’ indignation about being controlled, and tried to build awareness for speaking freely. Instead of lecturing participants about marketing in a free market system, I worked through each  “no” and tested every idea. Interchange emerged, and participants began talking energetically at the same time.

The closed mind and the theoretical were slowly being replaced by a can-do spirit and hands-on problem solving. Participants took up the challenge to individually express ideas and to collectively seek doable, strategic applications.

On the final day, we reviewed the two weeks. Straight faces of doubt showed some relief. Faint smiles and hope peaked out of tight faces. And we had a new participant.

The next morning an editorial appeared in Magyar Nemzet, one of the four government-run, national daily newspapers. The new participant had been a reporter.

The headline read, “The Disposition of a Smile.”

The editorial began, “It was a dramatic contrast.”

It described the potential for transformation of Hungary from a closed political system to an open society. The writer offered a challenge to journalists, media managers, and the general public alike to move from a closed “no” mindset to one marked by a daily quest for self-determination. It would be necessary to build momentum step by step for developing a free and independent press, and a democracy.

The editorial ended with the question, Es mi? “And Us?” (When will we join him?) The reporter was demanding Hungarians to openly challenge the old system.

He was in a way equating my mother’s “home place” with every citizen’s franchise in a democratic society. Don’t foreclose or deprive yourself of the right to your personal sovereignty. A key tool in claiming one’s franchise is the collateral that you can use to ensure self-actualization. An individual’s right to practice freedom of expression is that collateral.

This “collateral” had been implied during the workshop. It meant feeling free enough as participants to try new ideas upon leaving the confines of the workshop – whether the government liked them or not. If one doesn’t speak up, he’s not heard. If people don’t assemble and work toward the common good, progress on issues of public interest will be limited. Finding that “home place” could be accomplished, but it required mettle.

Today in Hungary the new prime minister and his party’s majority in Parliament have been rolling back the country’s democracy. The media face new censorship and intimidation.

I want to go back and ask, “Es Mi?”

This second post of R.A.P.P.S. is dedicated to my mother, Clara J. Mitchell.

Step Out

When my father passed away in mid January heading toward 89 years, a most lasting impression was his subtle determination to participate in community, take stands on public issues, and practice the freedoms of expression embodied in our country’s First Amendment and Bill of Rights.

Religion. Assembly. Petition. Press. Speech.

My father was a biology teacher and family man. Happy go lucky. His persona was a blend of Charlie Brown and Jimmy Stewart in the film, “It’s A Wonderful Life.”

His style of communication was full of dry wit, and subtle. It caught you off guard. He humbled you with his graceful way. Dad was a quiet leader.

As an early advocate for a greener planet and the environment, Dad lead the charge in the Flint, Michigan area in helping pass the Michigan Beverage Containers Initiated Law of 1976. It was part of his commitment to the environment and our country’s bicentennial celebration.

To promote the passing of the law, he encouraged neighbors to drop off beverage cans and bottles that transformed our front yard into one giant pile over 10 feet high. When a local opponent drove his car through the pile and scattered it late one evening, the Mitchell children stacked up the pile again. Determined to make his stand, Dad staked out a 8’ x 4’ sign the next day that proclaimed, “Last of the Litter!”

We won that campaign.

Earlier in adolescence, at the very school where Dad and Mom were teaching, I tried to work some of Dad’s quiet magic. As a student council member, I heard daily complaints about the flies and cockroaches in the cafeteria. With the cafeteria doubling as a study hall, it seemed that all we did was 'shoe' and swat flies, and flick crawling roaches off of our tables.

Determined to find a solution, I asked a fellow council member to join me in searching out alternatives. The only viable option meant calling the county health inspector’s office. So we did. We petitioned for a sanitation inspection.

In the inspectors came. Out went the lights - for a week. In came a special crew to disinfect and clean up - the cafeteria and kitchen ceilings, walls, floors, tables, cooking utensils and table ware.

The student body was fired up, at first. But eating sack lunches while sitting on a drafty gym floor grew old. Come the following Monday, everyone was ready for study hall and lunch in the cafeteria.

First in line for lunch, my younger brother waited for the serving line door to open. When it did, he blurted out to the cook, “What are we having, fried cockroaches?”

Down came a big hand on his collar, as the principal said, “Son, you’re going to take a few days off from school.”

The clear and present danger test had been breached, at least for junior high students. More importantly, however, we petitioned for change, and we succeeded.

We won. We discovered our voice, and we tapped our rights of freedom of expression to make our school a healthier place to learn.

Now, it’s 2012, and an election year.

"Be sure to vote," Dad told me at Christmas.

I would like to do more.


This is the first post for the blog, R.A.P.P.S. by Johnston M. Mitchell.
It is dedicated to his father, the late Lloyd A. Mitchell.