Radical???

Waited to blog for a couple of days in order to digest what is going on around me.   Our new President was sworn in and it was amazing to see 1.5 million + people in Washington D.C. to witness it.  What wasn't amazing were the many negative and down right ignorant comments made by my friends, colleagues, and students.  The old cliche "As much as things and they still stay the same", is alive and well.  Racism and narrow mindedness must be a part of the human genetic make-up.  I was impress by most of my students openness and kind spirits for the new President.

In a conversion with other teachers, I was referred to as the most "Radical person they know", it left me wondering what kind of circle these guys run in.  Of course they could have meant that I am the slang meaning of "radical",  "excellent and cool".  But since that was probably not their intent,  I must assume that they meant that I believe in considerable change from what is usually accepted or traditional values.  But I think what is really being said is that if I don't believe the way they do, then I am outside the mainstream of what is normal and morally correct.  On that, I would take issue.  I believe that if there are less guns then less people would be killed, that medical services should offered to everyone, no matter if they are poor or even if they are not American citizens,  that everyone in this country should be fed and not go to sleep hungry---actually everyone in the world, that everyone should be treated with common decency no matter what their beliefs, looks, race, religion  and sexual  orientations are,  that if someone decides for themselves to have an abortion, that they should have access to a doctor, wether not I or anyone agrees with their moral decision.   I also believe that we should avoid wars at almost all costs, it doesn't seem morally equitable to kill over a million people either directly or indirectly because 30 or less insane people killed 3000 Americans.    If that makes me a radical,  then I accept the label proudly.  I would also suspect that Jesus, Ghandi and the Dali Lama would not disagree with me, But they were and are the radicals of their time.