Dear Joe,
We need more people like you. I think men, in general, are more radical than women. Even though women have been "liberated" and, by law, can do anything that men can do as long as they are physically able, women are still the "caretakers" and, as such, are more loving than men. This is not to put men down, by any means. My husband (and I) were brought up at a time when men made the important decisions and women had the children and took care of the family. He had the intelligence to see that I was better suited to look after the family finances and he was happy just to do his job. I later went to work because we needed the extra income to educate the children. And it was a good thing I did because he passed away 31 years ago at 53 and I was left with being father and mother. My son was only 15 and I had two daughters in college.
My daughter, the one that went to Mistah Jefferson's college, passed away seven years ago (cancer) at 49. This was the worst thing that ever happened to me. We are not supposed to have to bury our children. But life goes on and we have to deal with it the best way we can. My mother gave me the ability to handle things that came up in my life. She was very strong and passed that along to me.
I finally got around to reading "Under the Blue Mango". Very interesting. I thought when you first wrote about going to Belize, that it was for good. I was contemplating asking you what your wife thought about it, but said to myself that it was none of my business. So you answered my question without me having to ask it.
The simple life sounds good, but most of us would find it hard to do. Leaving my children would be too difficult for me. To live the simple life and not have to leave my home would be a lot more palatable. If the whole world lived that way, we would all be happier. I think God expected us to live that way, "each man living under his own vine and fig tree" where there would be no haves and have-nots and I think it will one day be that way. I don't think God is going to let things keep going the way they are now.
I don't know if you have read Michael Ruppert's "From the Wilderness". He had an article in Online Journal a few days ago and he's leaving US in fear of his life. I've read some of his stuff, but not on a regular basis. Can't decide about him. One thing he wrote was about the "Bush Family" that I don't doubt at all. If you haven't read it, do so.
I wish you good luck in all your endeavors, personal and otherwise. As I said before, I admire you for all of your work in third world countries and hope your health will let you continue for a long time.
I look forward to hearing more about your family when you're ready to talk about it.
Still your friend,
Mildred
Elberton, Georgia
PS: By the way, I was flattered that you printed my earlier letter and your response.
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Dear Mildred:
Well, I consider my attempt to assist and become part of the real world out there in places unimaginable to people caught in the great American labor gulag and its attending state generated hallucinations as an investment in my family. I've created the opportunity for my family to join me in the effort and the real world is there to discover if they want. And they can help a few good folks in the thrid world in the process. Not that some of my family do not already understand. Until recently, my daughter worked in an AIDS clinic in Mozambique. As for me, my next shot is in Thailand.
Someday I will write about how my wife and I, after difficult personal work on intimacy, trust and goals, found a way for her to be here in the states near her beloved family, achieve modest security and grow dynamically in our love for each other in this process ... without sacrificing real meaning in either of our lives. It's still a work in progress (the personal work between us, I mean), but it is nearing completion. I am far more radical than she. She is far more loving than I. But after age 50, balance and trust are somewhat easier, assuming you really want those things.
As for Ruppert, I'm about the same as you about him. But he is essentially right, and that's all we can ask of humans. He may be freaking out. Who the hell would not under those circumstances? But if a guy like Stan Goff is there for Mike, then so am I. When it comes to the blood and guts struggle for universal justice on the street and communicating it on the Internet, there are only four people I presently trust on the political left in this country. And Stan Goff is one of them.
Solidarity,
Joe
