I see this rant stuff a bit differently,although I sent all my letters
in (including Moveon.org SAVE THE INTERNET) today, too. To me, Jeff
sounds like a voice in the wilderness. More here:
http://www.mguhlin.net/blog/archives/2006/05/entry_1555.htm

While I can't necessarily offer an easy solution, I offer comfort that
has worked for me. Maybe, changing the world is too big for us. Maybe,
the expectation is that I change myself and let the world see what
happens when one person is committed to transformation. Time and again,
we've seen the power of transformation and divinity in a person's life.
Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jesus, and others you may know.

Each of us is called to be a leader, to unleash the power that is within
us. Now, I don't want to quote what I wrote at the link above in its
entirety, but here's a part that I really like from Edward Hays' book,
"St. George and the Dragon and the Quest for the Holy Grail."

Beginning a modern day quest for the Holy Grail (the Cup, not Mary
Magdalene as portrayed in The Da Vinci Code, BTW <smile>), George
encounters a dragon named Igor. The dragon and George have a long talk
and eventually, George gets a ride back home on Igor's back. George
shares his obversations that...

From my position high on the dragon's back, I noticed that the
dragon's body was covered with old wounds. WHenever the dragon
breathed forth fire to light the path in front of us, I noticed that
the wounds glowed golden-red in the dark. When I asked about them,
the dragon replied, "Oh, my friend, I have been slain a thousand
times, but I have always arisen again. THese old woulds are the
source of my power and my insight. Our greatest and worst enemies
are not the monsters who roam the forest or even wicked witches or
evil wizards. No, it is our scars, our wounds, and old injuries that
we must fear. As we journey through life we have all been
injured--hurt by parents, brothers or sister, schoolmates,
strangers, lovers, teachers. Each wound has the power to talk to us,
you know. They speak, however, with crooked voices because of the scars.

All of us have wounds--old ones and new ones--and whenever the
monster appears, when hell breaks loose, we know that our old wounds
are talking guiding us. It is these wounds that must be confronted
(Hays, 1986).

Like the dragon later told George, we must find a way to transform the
power of the wounds, and not give weight to the voice of the times when
we did our best and were rejected. The power to lead lies in the
transformation of the crooked voices and the confrontation of the wounds.

I disagree with Mark Ahlness' observation. Miguel Guhlin (that's me)
isn't one of the new voices that replaces Ted Nellen or Jeff Cooper.
Instead, I am just another middle-aged "George" trying to transform the
wounds he's suffered, the wounds that are a part of living. I hope that
Ted and Jeff will transform their wounds and rise again.

Thanks,

--
Miguel Guhlin
Email: mguhlin@...
Blog: http://www.mguhlin.net/blog
Advocate for Ed-Tech in K-16 - Join Texas Leads!
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