On this page there are reprints from Library Journal, The Daily Star, Times Herald-Record, AM NewYork, Daily Herald:
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LIBRARY JOURNAL
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Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana. This award-winning 1925 poem—praised by William Carlos Williams and aptly called “magisterial” by historian Howard Zinn—was recorded in 1969 in the voice of its author, Eli Siegel, with whom the filmmaker studied. Kimmelman's belief that the poem is “so visual, I felt it had to be made into a film” has resulted in a striking one. Hot Afternoons ruminates on a time and a place, connecting them poetically with the entire world of people, events, and ideas and creating in effect an eternal moment of the spirit. Kimmelman has armed the poem's reading with a diverse array of both historical and contemporary images, which unfold to reveal Siegel's thoughts. What might not at first come to mind is that the film helps make poetry more accessible to today's young viewer. As you “read” the film's images, the words of the poetry seem to become more palpable to the ear, beyond the distinction lent them by Siegel's voice. A lovely short film for audiences from young adult and up.—Jeff Clark, James Madison Univ. Libs., Harrisonburg, VA |
The Daily Star |
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Food shouldn't focus on profit As a lover of our state's heartland, I applaud Cary Brunswick's March 29 column on the food crisis. The Wall Street Journal reported that Michael Hess, an administrator in the U.S. Agency for International Development, said: “People are making two bucks a day. And we're seeing food prices go up around the world.” I'm asking all of us to think about this question, stated by Eli Siegel, founder of the education Aesthetic Realism: “What does a person deserve by being alive?” Do we really believe that there is not enough farmland in the world to raise enough food for the world's people? What makes food so scarce? The Journal reports, “Rising prices for energy and electricity contribute, as does strong demand for food from big developing countries.” Must “strong demand” cause higher prices? Doesn't that mean that when someone sees more demand, they see an opportunity to make profit? Writes Ellen Reiss, Class Chairman of Aesthetic Realism, about supply and demand: “A baby...wants milk, and there are cows in America that can supply that milk, and people and trucks that can have the milk reach her; and therefore the baby should get the milk. It is hideously ugly to make what people need depend on their being able to provide someone with a profit. Yet millions of people in America right now are not getting good food, shelter, clothing—though the rich American earth is sweetly able to supply these. Only when production in America is based on good will, usefulness to people—instead of profit for a few individuals—will ‘supply and demand' become decent and sane.” When Americans finally object to people making profit off of the human need for food, there will be enough for everyone—and that baby will get her milk! |
Times Herald-Record |
Friday, September 21, 2007 Catskills Edition |
Imagine health care that is compassionate and real In early March I got the call every child of an elderly parent dreads: My mother, Kathy Balchin, age 80, had fallen, breaking her left wrist and right leg. Coming home was out of the question. She needed hospitalization, nursing home care, then physical therapy. She was in a state of shock. My father, Robin, 83, was in crisis. Imagine this scenario:
But this is not a dream. These are facts. This happened this spring in England. Kathy and Robin Balchin live in England. They have the National Health Service, and every single thing—what I've described and much more—was provided for them. You can call it socialized medicine, you can call it what you like. But I'm sure glad they have it, and you would be, too, in my place. It would be SO EASY to have a similar system here. The most amazing medical equipment is on hand today. Our technology is tremendously advanced, but our ethics are lagging. American philosopher Eli Siegel, founder of Aesthetic Realism, said that contempt, thinking we'll be more by making other people less, is the greatest interference in people's lives, including in economics. One of the most foul instances of contempt today is the exploitation by a few people of the sickness, pain and worry of millions of others, including the elderly. Ellen Reiss, the Class Chairman of Aesthetic Realism, explained why for-profit companies and decent health care are like oil and water when she wrote: “Once you are after profit, you can't be too interested in what people deserve....It will cramp your ability to make money from them.” The most pressing needs of Americans today are seen as an opportunity for profit. It doesn't have to be that way. In order for every American to get the health care they deserve, this question, which Eli Siegel asked, must be addressed: “What does a person deserve by being a person?” The other day, my mother's cast was removed after more than four months. The physical therapists will be coming more often now that she is learning to walk again. My parents are not bankrupt, they are in their home, they have no health-care debts and will be able to continue the same modest lifestyle they've had these past years. They are even planning a bus trip to Scotland! Kathy Balchin said, “You wouldn't believe the treatment I've received. Everyone has been so good to me. I'm so grateful to the National Health Service!” So am I. Christopher Balchin lives in Yankee Lake, teaches social studies and is a co-author of Aesthetic Realism and the Answer to Racism. |
She and my father do not fill out a single insurance form. They don't have to worry about money. Every minute in the hospital and nursing home, and transportation, is free of charge. Is this even conceivable?
MANHATTAN'S LARGEST CIRCULATION DAILY |
Big oil prospers, America suffers As husband and wife, we are among millions of people who are furious because of escalating gas prices the oil companies are forcing us to pay. We are being held “ransom” as some people continue to make record profits for themselves—while knowing all too well that hard-working Americans need their product. The economist Eli Siegel, founder of the education Aesthetic Realism, explained that much business conducted in America—which includes the oil business—is based on contempt for people, “the addition to self through the lessening of something else.”It is contempt—sheer contempt—that while 2007 was such a difficult year for the American consumer who is more and more plagued by distressing economic worry, it was a very “happy” one for Exxon which “proudly” reported an earning of $40.6 billion, its best ever and the largest annual corporate profit in American history. Last year was also quite satisfying for Chevron Corporation—their best year with a profit of $18.7 billion. Shame on them!
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Daily Herald |
Contempt is basic root of all injustice My heart and sympathies go out to the people devastated by the shooting rampage at NIU. This kind of horror has occurred all too often in our nation, leaving people to wonder why things like this happen. American educator Eli Siegel showed that contempt, “the addition to self through the lessening of something else,” is the cause of all human injustice. Contempt can take many forms: Making fun of the way someone dresses, laughing at a person when they make a mistake or ignoring a coworker when they are talking. Taken further, contempt is what has a person deny the reality, the feelings of other people to the point they can take their life. In his great book James and the Children, Mr. Siegel writes, “As soon as you have contempt, as soon as you don't want to see another person as having the fulness that you have, you can rob that person, hurt that person, kill that person.” The study of contempt and its opponent–good will–is a national emergency. , East Rockaway  |
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© 2008 by Aesthetic Realism Foundation
A not-for-profit educational foundation