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30 August 2008

Frye’s 5 modes of language?

I am cleaning up the piles of papers in and around my desk that have accumulated over the summer and I found this scribbled note. I believe it refers to Northrop Frye’s linguistic modes. Here’s what I have printed:

  • Descriptive– Designed to convey knowledge of something
  • Conceptional– Designed to lead thinking in certain ways
  • Ideological– Designed to lead you to behave in certain ways
  • Imaginative– Designed to lead you to entertain certain possibilities
  • Kerygmatic– Designed to transform you

At one time I steeped myself in Frye’s writings. I was particularly taken with his fascination with the Bible and the central place it has in our being. He was an ordained minister as I recall.

Anyway, Frye put forth the notion that discourse developed in reverse of the list above. First came kerygma, then the imaginative, and so on. Each displacing its predecessor in dominating the discourse in society or culture. Dominating but not eliminating. For instance, the ideological mode is alive and kicking in the presidential campaigns. It uses a binary logic: you’re either one of “us” or one of “them;” you’re either “in” or “out;” you’re either a “patriot” or a “wimp.” And, of course,for some the litmus test of being a Christian is voting Republican. 

The conceptional mode provided the discourse out which philosophy and history developed. The last discourse to evolve is the descriptive mode which allowed for the development of science. Each mode can be used to compel life-saving belief: Belief in a certain ideology will save you, or a belief in a certain set of concepts will save you, or belief in facts and the scientific method will save you. 

Well… back to my paper sorting.

Posted 30 August 2008 † Jack § Discourse ‡ Comments (0) °
05 August 2008

Guilt and shame, accountability and evaluation?

I’ve held the suspicion that as much as anything an evaluation unit serves as the moral consciousness of an organization. This may account for why some administrators do not know what to do with evaluators or misuse them. This suspicion was reinforced for me this weekend after reflecting on the week’s events and readings. I was looking at data-based decision making in organizations. This led me to explore performance management and issues related to measuring performance and outcomes. Some of the researchers I read discussed the differences between evaluation and performance management, or accountability, systems. The differences between them has to do with their purpose as well as originating in different professional disciplines and bureaucratic environments. It dawned on me that accountability systems called for decisions similar to courts determining law violations and guilt or innocence. If accountability can be characterized as “guilt-based,” then can evaluation be characterized as “shame-based?” I don’t know. That may be extreme.

Last week for me began with two days of meetings on a proposed data-based planning and decision system for a division of a state department, or, rather, how the start of such as system begins with a needs assessment. So we discussed what a needs assessment entails and what it should look like. The next day was devoted to the role of “Getting to Outcomes” process and its computer equivalent, iGTO, in the data-based planning and decision making for the division. I then found myself digging out and reading a file of articles I had collected over the years on the “audit society.” Remember when that was a popular topic at the turn of the millennium: 1998-99 to around 2002-03, give or take a couple of years? The term, audit society, along with others: accountability, managerialist society,  performance oversight, quality assurance, getting to outcomes were an outgrowth of the performance management movements of the 1980s and 90s.

By the end of the week I had become intrigued with an “enhanced”  logic model developed by a Paul J. Longo that he called “the Performance Blueprint.” I liked what he had to say about his blueprint: “These enhancements have helped the Blueprint exceed the limitations often cited with regard to the use of logic models, most of which focus on how the logic model amounts to little more than a ‘Procrustean bed’ [here he references a 2001 article by Daniel Shufflebeam] that pays little or no attention to the underlying sociocultural and political variables associated with the program’s ‘context’ or ‘environment’ [and cites works by Fisher, Freddolino, Perrin and from the EVALTALK listserv of the American Evaluation Association].”

If you recall Greek mythology, Procrustes was an innkeeper. His bed was made of iron and he made his guest fit the bed. If they were too tall, he hacked off their legs to fit; if they were too short, he stretched them.  Thus, the term, “Procrustean bed,” refers to forcing a person, an argument, or an idea to fit into a predetermined pattern.

The discussions during the two days were interesting, as were observations of people jockeying for position either with things to sell or things to protect. Although the discussion was about needs assessment, the implications were evident to everyone: certain situations, circumstances, statuses and certain populations will be targeted and service providers and government managers will be asked to aim their amelioration efforts on them. And the providers and managers will be asked to give an account of their actions and the money they spend. In fact, one point discussed was “performance contracting.” 

[”Amelioration” is a word I like to use when I can. I think it is such a pretty sounding word for what we do to make things better for individuals and society.]

One of the first articles I turned to was the chapter by Ann B. Blalock and Burt Barnow, “Is the new obsession with performance management masking the truth about social programs?” in the 2002 book, Quicker, Better, Cheaper? Managing Performance in Government, edited by Dali Forsythe. The “masking” they refer to is the failure to distinguish between;

1) results that can be attributed relatively exclusively to the unique interventions of these programs– this is, to net impacts or cause-and-effect relations, and 2) results that are due to a variety of influences both within and outside these programs, or are occurring simply by chance. [Italics in the original]

They go on to make a distinction between “performance management” and “evaluation research”. They spend quite a bit of time on this actually.

They conclude by recommending

…moving toward full integration of evaluation within performance management. Such integration will require that performance management systems treat evaluators not as aliens from outer space, who land only periodically to study and give advice, but as part of any interdisciplinary team. It will require that evaluators become more sensitized to managers’ needs to have ongoing information for tracking outcomes, and to express the benefits of their professional roots with greater humility.

I’ll make further reports on performance management and evaluation. And I’m not that sure about equating accountability with guilt and evaluation with shame. I became interested in “shame-based” systems reading about restorative justice. Their proponents and researchers say restorative justice is “shame-based” in contrast to the guilt-based system of courts.

Posted 05 August 2008 † Jack § SPF-SIG work ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: ,
04 August 2008

Thinking for a living

Thomas Davenport wrote a book published in 2005 entitled, Thinking for a living. I remember it came out shortly after we had returned from Jamaica, where we worked in the first summer camp in Chapleton for the Fergus Simpson Foundation. There was a letter waiting for me when we got back. It was from Metro Schools letting me know my position in the Department of Research and Evaluation had been eliminated. So when the Davenport book came out, I thought, “Yeah, I think for a living, but am temporarily unemployed.”

I wondered if I could get unemployment compensation if I kept on thinking or would I have to stop? I didn’t wonder too long.

Posted 04 August 2008 † Jack § Reminiscence ‡ Comments (0) °
28 July 2008

Data and measurement needs of a coalition

“If a judge or commission member knows there are people in the community caring and that show up to the meetings, then they will very likely make totally different decisions.” 

Mrs. Camilla Bibbs-Lee was telling us a story to describe the multiple strategies of the Hamilton anti-drug coalition. We were sitting in her office, which doubles as a Weed and Seed “safe place” for kids in the MLK neighborhood of Chattanooga. Bibbs-Lee is the executive of the Community Anti-Drug Coalition Across Hamilton County, CADCA-HC. Markey and I were talking with her and Dr. Vic Bumphus, a criminology professor at nearby University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. We had come to inquire about their participation in a pilot of the revised evaluation WorkStation of the CADCA Institute.

Our conversation touched on a number of issues dealing with the monitoring and evaluation of a coalition, its activities and outcomes. They are quite complex. And reporting out is even more ticklish. What’s best to use:  words or numbers? a telescope for the “big picture” or a microscope for the “up close and personal?” a blender to serve purée or a pot to serve stew? Or, in the measurement terms we like to use in social research and evaluation, is it best to use:  1) qualitative or quantitative data; 2) big picture state-and-county-level data or sub-county and community level data; 3) incorporating the multiple strategies into a composite score or keep them separate and score them individually?

Bibbs-Lee was illustrating the concurrent nature of coalition work. She had just told us her approach was having several strategic components work together at the same time. “We look at our prevention interventions from a law enforcement, community policing, and neighborhood restoration perspective,” she had said. She implied that it takes all three together to affect change.

Since the fall, the coalition has joined with the city police, fire department, and county sheriff’s office in conducting compliance checks once a month of places that sell alcohol. Compliance checks are sort of undercover “sting” operations where an under aged youth or one that looks under aged attempts to, say, buy beer at a convenience store. The coalition recruits the “buyer” from among its youth groups. This is their “enforcement” piece. Then the coalition recruits neighborhood people to show up at beer board and court hearings, just to be present and to be prominent in their coalition tee shirts. She calls it “neighborhood watch.” This is their “community policing” piece– residents and police working together. The “neighborhood restoration” piece is a slower process, but it starts with residents “actually stepping up to the plate and taking part in the process.” In the meantime the coalition is working to attract social responsible merchants and businesses to the MLK (Martin Luther King) and East Chat (East Chattanooga) neighborhoods.

A month and a half ago the coalition had invited a dozen people to a beer board hearing in the city. Also showing up, though, were ministers, parents and grandparents from East Chat.  “So we had about fifteen to sixteen people sitting out there in audience observing the eight members of the beer board,” Mrs. Bibbs-Lee continued. 

“The city beer board has established a procedure they follow: first time violators get a warning or three-day suspension of their license; the second time, five days; the third time, seven days; and so on. At this particular hearing this one lady had sold to the same kid at an Oakie Dokie Market on three successive occasions and she was up before the board on this third occasion. Remember we spaced the compliance checks thirty days apart. Okay the board was ready to say we gave you a three-day suspension of your license, then five, now this time we will give you a seven-day suspension.  They allow folks to come up from the audience before they make the final decision. We had one guy who said, ‘No. Enough is enough.’ We had ministers to come up saying, ‘This is destroying our community.’ We had parents come up saying, ‘You know she’s selling to my kids too.’ We even had some folks come up saying, ‘You know she is selling to the same person five to six times a day.’ You know it is illegal to sell to people already intoxicated; that’s against the law.  So they sent it around to get a vote on it.  The motion to suspend her license for seven days failed to get a majority. A second motion pushed up the suspension to fourteen days. It passed unanimously. That is showing me there are signs it is beginning to catch on with these folks –especially with the beer board folks.

“The store is actually located across the street from a housing development. So one of the community issues we struggle with is we want to shut her down, but it is the only place people shop without catching a bus. So at the same time we are trying to get her shut down, we are trying to get other merchants to come in here and legitimately sell goods and services at reasonable prices.”

No one was cited during the compliance checks conducted the previous weekend. 

Bumphus said his big concern was being able to capture such activities of the coalition in a whole way. He is a member of the coalition work group on needs assessment and evaluation. A native of the state, he has a master’s in urban studies and criminology from the University of Nebraska and holds a doctorate in criminology and sociology from Michigan State. He has conducted evaluation and research studies for a dozen years or more and finds coalition work different and intriguing. 

He said that he’s done a lot of quantitative stuff, but it doesn’t have to be all quantitative when it comes to coalition evaluation. “Some of this qualitative stuff can lead us to different ways of seeing,” he said. “I’m interested in these two pieces: what the coalition is doing, actions that lead to community change and then what can be substantiated by community-level indicators that change has happened. You don’t see a lot of evaluations that pushes both of these and not in a systematic fashion.”

If there is anything we learn in research and evaluation it is to be systematic. 

The evaluation that CADCA-HC is piloting consists of keeping logs in four areas: community change, services provided, resources generated, and media coverage. “Community changes” are those things that change as a result of coalition action –such as policies, practices, and procedures– and are related to a major goal of the coalition. For instance, the first time a compliance check is conducted it is a community change. Thereafter it is a service provided. The coalition forged with city and county to do compliance checks. This resulted in practice and procedure changes. For instance, the city fire department sends inspectors to check for code violations. Their thinking is that where there is one violation such as selling to minors, there will be others such as fire code violations. Another result of this was the reactivation of the county beer board.

“Services provided” are the on-going activities of the coalition.  What is so useful is that a community change can also be recognized as a services provided. “Resources generated” are what we normally think of as in-kind donations: for example, the monetary equivalent of one thousand flyers printed and donated by BiLo, or police officers providing fifty hours in volunteering at the youth camp. And “media generated” includes the articles and stories of the coalition that appear in the Internet newspaper The Chattanoogian, and the interviews on Talk Radio, WGOW-FM, and the coverage by WTVC, Channel 9. The media piece does not have to be centered on the coalition, but it has to mention it even peripherally.

Dr. Bumphus said,  “These are good qualitative way of looking at what coalitions are doing that you can’t measure quantitatively. I think you have to have these measure of what you are doing as opposed to simply documenting increases and decreases in some indicator. As you know just assessing increases and decreases sometime misses the picture of what is really happening. It is important to know that these relationships have been forged because they will not come out in your traditional quantitative report. Also they often get lost in the narrative.”

The Hamilton County coalition is taking part in Tennessee’s SPF-SIG project and has received funds to carry out several prevention interventions. And until the opportunity came to take part in the CADCA Institute pilot, he said he had been concerned over having goals and objectives for their SPF-SIG interventions without having a direct method by which to prove they had fulfilled them. The directions and data provide by the state SPF-SIG office at best offered only indirect or proxy ways of measuring attainment of the goals and objectives. Coalitions do a lot of things that cannot be captured simply by recording an increase or decrease in percents of results from a countywide survey given every two years.  

To be comprehensive as well as to be palatable to most people, your evaluation reports have to include some parts that are quantitative and some parts that are qualitative, according to Bumphus.

Under the direction of Bumphus the coalition is keeping quantitative data on the compliance checks. Names and locations of the businesses where the checks are conducted are logged into an Excel spreadsheet. Also recorded are items such as the dates of the compliance checks, dates of rechecks, whether the businesses were cited for violations, and if cited, the disposition of the beer board. Later he’ll import the spreadsheet into his SPSS stat package for analysis.

Discussion of the quantitative data from the compliance checks led us into the topic of the levels of measures needed to assess the work of the coalition. “You need community-level surveys to track community-level change,” he said. He has conducted community surveys. Some have been the door-to-door interview type where the respondents have been selected from a “frame” with probability sampling; others include handing a questionnaire to every fifth person (or some n) coming though the doors of a community center.

Coalitions working with the SPF-SIG have access to data and indicators for needs assessments and evaluation. However, there are no data or indicators below the level of the county. The problem is that I may have good data and information from valid and reliable measures but it is, at best, only countywide and I as a coalition am working in communities. My efforts may be successful but may not be evident.

(By the way, “SPF-SIG” is the acronym for Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant, which is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services and is administered through the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Now isn’t it quicker just to say “Spiff sig funded by sam sah and administered thru see sap”?)

Dr. Bumphus said that with community-level data he’s more comfortable in saying whether they accomplished their goals and objectives or not. “I feel less comfortable with the ‘big picture’ surveys. If it says my indicator went down, I couldn’t know what part my organization played a part in that. If it says it went up, I couldn’t know if I am really at fault. So I am left out because of not having the kind of indicators that really focus on the kind of problems we are working on with the four interventions we have.”

It is difficult to obtain data and information for needs assessments and evaluation at levels below national, regional, state, county. So often because of funding requirements and obligations, agencies and service providers use data that, at best, approximates their target areas and populations.

I am reminded of the story about the drunk on his hands and knees going around a street lamp in a nearly deserted parking lot. A guy walks up to him and asks, “What cha doing?” The drunk says, “I’ve lost my keys and I’m looking for them.” The man asks, “Did you lose them here?” The drunk points to a dark portion of the lot where you can see a vague silhouette of a car. “Naw, over there.” “Then why are you looking over here?” the man asks. “Because I can’t see anything over there,” the drunk replies. 

Isn’t this the position federal and state grants put organization far too often?

For the Hamilton coalition the use of the special student survey prepared for SPF-SIG work and given at grade levels 6, 8, 10 and 12 in the 30 counties selected to participate in the project is an issue. Because of their large student population, schools were sampled. But, Bibbs-Lee said, none of the schools in the areas on which the coalition has focused its “Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol” intervention were in the sample.

She said that if she could show CMCA works in one sub-area of the county she can transfer it to another area and it will more likely get buy-in and work. “That’s the whole idea of evidence-based practice,” she added.

The multi-dimensional nature of coalitions and their work is interesting isn’t it? And I have some ideas of how to capture this multi-dimensional effort, but that will have to wait until next time.

Posted 28 July 2008 † Jack § Reportage ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,
23 July 2008

NPN presentations on ‘contributing factors”

We’ve been twisting and pulling the concept of “contributing factors” here recently. It is part of what coalition people are being asked to identify in developing their logic models for SPF-SIG work. I found two presentations to be given at NPN (National Prevention network) dealing with contributing factors both from Washington state. 

In the descriptions below Workshop 4f will be Tuesday, 26 August, and Workshop 7G will be Wednesday, 27 August. NPN will be held at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel. Here’s the blurbs that appeared on the NPN agenda

4F - Using Community Specific Theories of Change to Guide Selection of Appropriate Strategies

Underage Drinking-Intermediate / IOM:  Selective

Marc Bolan and Inga Manskopf 

Using the data-based decision-making required of SPF-SIG communities, the 12 Washington SPF-SIG communities identified risk and protective factors that exist in their communities.  Because there are no specific risk or protective factors that correspond with environmental prevention efforts – a requirement for Washington State SPF-SIG communities – the list of risk and protective factors was expanded to include three environmental variables – availability of alcohol and access to alcohol, enforcement and promotion.  The set of variables, including risk and protective factors, was renamed “Intervening Variables.”    Based on Harold Holder’s work, we then asked Washington SPF-SIG projects to explain why they thought the intervening variables existed in their communities.  Their observations essentially identified behaviors, practices, or beliefs that they believed contributed to the presence of the intervening variables.  Some of these “contributing factors” are measurable with existing data.  For others, it will be necessary to devise measurement and evaluation systems as the project proceeds.    The communities were then asked to determine which contributing factors influenced which intervening variables.  Some contributing factors influenced multiple intervening variables.  Identifying these relationships resulted in the creation of a relationship “map.”  Through use of the map, it became more possible to identify strategies that need to be implemented in order to positively impact the contributing factor and, ultimately, positively impact the community’s intervening variables.    The presentation will feature some of the tools used to ensure a match between possible strategies and the community’s contributing factors and population characteristics. Conference participants will be able to describe:  (1) the relationship between intervening variables (risk and protective factors) and contributing factors; (2)the relationship between strategy selection and contributing factors; and (3)how local evaluation models were built for the 12 Washington State SPF-SIG communities.   

7G - Using Effective Community Surveys to Choose and Evaluate Environmental Strategies

Underage Drinking-Intermediate / IOM:  Selective

Marc Bolan and Glenna Younkin, MA

The SPF-SIG project has a goal of causing community-level change.  That means affecting change in a larger group of people than just the recipients of parenting classes or 6th graders receiving instruction in a school-based curriculum.  Community-level change calls for use of environmental strategies, particularly policy and practice changes.   The Washington SPF-SIG communities were required to prioritize a minimum of one environmental intervening variable and a group of related contributing factors.  But we found very little information available about how to choose the correct strategy to meet a desired set of community goals.  Further, we found little information about how to implement environmental strategies with fidelity.    In this session conference participants will be able to:  (1) identify problems associated with choosing and evaluating environmental strategies; (2) describe the role that community-based surveys can play in selecting the correct environmental strategies to implement in specific communities and in evaluating the impact of those strategies; and (3) describe at least three critical considerations for selecting and implementing community surveys. 

Ironically I found this stuff on the web after I had prepared a “Contributing Factors” worksheet adapted from materials from these folks. The material  was used at the National SPF-SIG Meeting by the Intervening Variables Workgroup of the National Cross Site Evaluation Initiative, Bethesda, Maryland, July 17, 2007. The worksheet includes a form, three examples, and a working definition of “contributing factors.” I’ve added the worksheet to the Tools section of the web site.

Posted 23 July 2008 † Jack § SPF-SIG work ‡ Comments (0) °
22 July 2008

Eats: The Blue Plate

We’ve fallen into a habit. When we go to Chattanooga we very often manage to grab a meal at The Blue Plate, close to the aquarium (191 Chestnut St, Unit B, Chattanooga, TN 37402). Today we shared. I had the meat loaf with whipped potatoes (and gravy) and green beans; Markey got a vegetable plate with the broccoli casserole, collards, carrots, and cole slaw. While there we were caught in a thunderstorm– huge downpour and lightening. What were we to do? Two cups of coffee and one piece of key lime pie. (We shared the pie, too. Hey, we’re careful about what we eat!) In the past we’ve had the turkey and dressing, the pot roast and the peanut butter pie. (I believe it was raining very hard then too.)

Here’s a blurb about the place from their menu: “The term ‘Blue Plate Special’ dates back to the early days of dinner history. The original fast-food restaurants, diners were mobile food wagons that began swarming U.S. cities in the late 19th century. They were dubbed ‘diners’ because they reminded people of dining cars on trains.

“Diner hosts would serve their daily specials on disposable blue plates that were first manufactured during the Depression. Much like today’s TV dinner trays, the plates were sectioned to keep the meat, starch and vegetable separate and, of course, only came in the one color.

“In those days, a blue plate was reserved for the diner’s daily special. Today, at The Blue Plate, every dish is a made-from-scratch specialty and every plate is blue.”

We recommend it.

Posted 22 July 2008 † Jack § Eats ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged: , ,
08 July 2008

The Last Beat, Maybe?

I was walking thru at parking lot at Vandy this afternoon when I saw a bumper sticker that said:

Old Hippies For Peace

I thought I ought to look for one of those for myself. But checked myself instead. I was never a hippie. My stay in California and living in San Francisco pre-dated Hippiedom. I guess I was more of a Beat than a hippie. My tromping grounds was North Beach. Haight-Ashbury was simply a corner. I’ve had a book title in the back of my mind for some time called, “The Last of the Beats.” Maybe I’ll sit down some day and write it. I guess I should have a typewriter on which to write it, though.

I lived in a little walk-up at the base of North Beach. One room, a small kitchen, and bathroom. The room had a Murphy bed. My landlady was sure the street would soon fall into the maw of Chinatown. She would point to the newly opened Chinese laundry down the corner and say, “See, that’s how they begin.” I walked to the corner and caught a cable car down to… what was it? Market Street?. There I got a trolley and made my way to San Francisco State College. At first I majored in math, but after a semester I changed to English and Walter Van Tilburg Clark became my advisor. Mark Harris also taught in the English department. You know the author of Southpaw, and Bang the Drug Slowly.

The previous year I had attended Lassen Junior College in the little town of Susanville in the Sierra Nevada. I was the editor of the school’s newspaper. The paper’s advisor was a Stanley C.  Crockett, who had just joined the faculty that fall with a friend, Ed Sugars. Both had newly minted master degrees from San Francisco State. That year Crockett would take a bunch of us on weekend jaunts to North Beach where he had kept a pad. Literarily, a pad. It was during these times I became acquainted with Bach (J. S. and his Magnificat), jazz (West Coast, Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Shorty Rogers, Cal Tjader; third stream, MJQ and John Lewis and Milt Jackson;  as well as some East Coast dudes like Miles Davis, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messagers), Wittgenstein, and a bunch of other literature and literary dudes. Crockett was a grad student of S. I. Hayakawa and I met him. I also met Lawrence Ferlinghetti. City Lights Books and a record store, whose name I’ve forgotten, were the two places I spent a lot of my time and loot when I moved to San Francisco the following fall. I never did attend a party with Big Daddy Nord, however.

I liked San Francisco and the West Coast. I didn’t get into Southern California at all until our 25th wedding anniversary trip to Santa Monica and environs that we took when it was only our 22nd wedding anniversary. But that’s a different story that I’ll tell another time. I probably would be there still, but I had an uncle to die on the East Coast, in North Carolina. And my father asked me to return there to take over the care of the 500 or so pullets that he had. My uncle was in the egg business and raised chickens. I had helped him off and on over the years and he and his wife had no children and there was no one free to help, except me.

So I left San Francisco and wound up in Gloucester, North Carolina waiting on chickens, answering their every whim with water and feed, keeping them safe from the fox, the raccoon, the possum and delivering eggs throughout Carteret County. It was a lot different from the boulevards of San Francisco. But, you know, I never thought about it until now.

Posted 08 July 2008 † Jack § Reminiscence ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged: , , ,
05 July 2008

Land of the free/home of the brave and e e cummings and hot dawgs

We had friends over last night with their kids for hot dawgs and pizza  topped off with the fireworks from the Cumberland River. Here in upper Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood we are within a short walk to an ideal spot from which to watch the fireworks. And they were an “extravaganza.” There were lots of oohs and ahs from the kids and there was clapping at the end by us and the other adults from the neighborhood. That night after everybody had left we caught some of the repeat of the PBS special on the Fourth of July celebration in Washington and I went to bed with the words of the American hymn rolling around in my head: “Land of the Free, home of the Brave.”

See, I’ve been reading e e cummings’ i six nonlectures. I’ve gotten thru the first two. He makes a big point of the poet being free and brave and not going along with the crowd. I had not realized this about cummings before. Or at least to this extent and how he brought into stark relief the conundrum of individual vs the collective. 

Weekend before last Markey went to West Virginia to attend a wedding. I stayed to complete a task that I had agreed to do and to have it to FedEx that Monday morning. I took a little break Saturday afternoon and walked out of a Borders with a copy of the book. I do not recall it ever being mentioned in the various array of lit classes I took in schools. cummings, himself, was and is considered still I guess a minor poet in what then called “modern” poetry. (An aside: I am trying very hard consciously not to ape subconsciously cummings’ runoneccentric style.) But we liked him and one of the first books we bought as a married couple was a poetry collection of e e cummings from which we read to each other. Golly, where did those days go?

Any way… I had not realized what a staunch individualist he was and advocated and the extent he had devoted thought to it. (In fact I’ve just gone back and lower-cased his name as he preferred and to acknowledge his need to defy convnetion.) Early in his second nonlecture he says,

… but, so far as I am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality. If poetry were anything– like dropping an atombomb– which anyone did, anyone could become a poet merely by doing the necessary anything; whatever that anything might or might not entail.. But (as it happens) poetry is being, not doing. If you wish to follow, even at a distance, the poet’s calling (and here, as always, I speak from my own totally biased and entirely personal point of view) you’ve got to come out of the measurable doing universe into the immeasurable house of being. I am quite aware that, wherever our socalled civilization has slithered, there’s every reward and no punishment for unbeing. But if poetry is your goal, you’ve got to forget all about punishments and all about rewards and all about selfstyled obligations and duties and responsibilities etcetera ad infinitum and remember one thing only: that it’s you– nobody else– who determines your destiny and decide your fate. Nobody can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else. Toms can be Dicks and Dicks can be Harrys, but none of them can ever be you. There’s the artist’s responsibility; and the most awful responsibility on earth. If you can take it, take it– and be. If you can’t, cheer up and go about other people’s business; and do (or undo) till you drop.

Poetry and all of art is not a matter of do-ing, but of be-ing, he says; and there’s no formula for be-ing. There are no  patterns and rules and cookbooks to follow. And there is no metric for be-ing. No way to measure it; there are no outcomes to quantify. And if you decide to be a be-er and not a do-er be prepared for punishment and sanctions. 

You know it wouldn’t take much, just a slight alteration, and you can hear the founding fathers advocate rebellion and being prepared for hanging. And you know what else? With another slight twist and turn cummings could be speaking of those who follow Jesus.

Jesus once told his followers:

[A]nd whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (Matt 10:38-39)

And

As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. …When they bring you to trial and hand you over… and you will be hated by all because of my name…  (Mark 13:9,11,13)

I must include another quote from the second nonlecture. cummings was born and raised in Cambridge where his father was a professor at Harvard and later a clergyman. He grew up living among notable professors and intellectuals and their families and children. Yet prior to this quote he has been describing his fascination with the Somerville section of town. It was very different from the Cambridge world of professors and intellectuals. It is the old “Town vs Gown” conflict. Somerville was the world of workers and merchants, clerks and housewives, saloons and theaters. He called Cambridge “virtuous,” and Somerville, “sinful.” And it attracted him as a schoolboy and he went there to explore despite being beaten up and attacked because he was an outsider. At this point he says:

Little by little and bruise by teacup, my doubly disillusioned spirit made an awe-inspiring discovery; which (on more than several occasions) has prevented me from wholly misunderstanding socalled humanity: the discovery, namely, that all groups, gangs, and collectivities– no matter how apparently disparate– are fundamentally alike; and that what makes the world go round is not the trivial difference between a Somerville and a Cambridge, but the immeasurable difference between either of them and individuality. Whether this discovery is valid for you, I can’t pretend to say: but I can and do say, without pretending, that it’s true for me– inasmuch as I’ve found (and am still finding) authentic individuals in the most varied environments conceivable. Nor will anything ever persuade me that, by turning Somerville into Cambridge or Cambridge into Somerville or both into neither, anybody can make an even slightly better world. Better worlds (I suggest) are born, not made; and their birthdays are the birthdays of individuals. Let is pray always for individuals; never for worlds. “He who would do good to another” cries the poet and painter William Blake “must do it in Minute Particulars”– and probably many of you are familiar with this greatly pitying line. But I’ll wager that not three of you could quote me the line which follows it

General Good is the plea of the scoundrel, hypocrite, & flatterer

for that deeply terrible line spells the doom of all unworlds; whatever their slogans and their strategies, whoever their heroes or their villains.

Isn’t what he’s saying is that you can’t make a better world by simply changing the “system” whatever that system may be. Better worlds are “born” through individuals. Which brings me to Mother Theresa and Jean Vanier.

The first book we had by Jean Vanier was bought in the Christian bookstore in South Charleston called “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” So it must have been sometime in the 1970s. It was run by Mary, a Catholic, and Susan, a Protestant; both with a charismatic turn. Mary was probably why the store carried Jean Vanier. Anyway I forget the name of the book and I can’t find it. Undoubtedly we’ve loaned it and left it many moves ago. The cover had a drawing of people following someone whose hands we could only see– hands that had nail-shaped scars.

In the book Jean Vanier describes a dorm room bull session with students he had following a series of talks at Notre Dame University. He quotes one student who disparaged Mother Theresa for not working for system change. All she did was bring physical comfort and God’s comfort to individuals who were dying. Poor, homeless people dying on the streets. Apparently Mother Theresa had spoken at Notre Dame earlier, before Jean Vanier’s appearance. And the student in question said she had asked Mother Theresa why she wasn’t trying to build support, build a mass movement to improve the conditions, to demand change. Mother Theresa had replied that Jesus had only instructed her to touch the people she came across as she walked the streets of Calcutta. As I recall Jean Vanier had commented about the condition of young activist willing to throw themselves into maws of the systems– whether political, economic, social– but not willing to touch individuals.

My experience with systems is that they can be deadly. I know of a school district with conditions placed on teachers such that a third to a half of all teachers hired leave the system within five years. I remember reading a quote by some management guru that “put a good person into a bad system and the system wins every time.” Shouldn’t we try to change systems, then?

So what’s the outcome of this reflection on the Fourth of July?” Where are we in this day and time? Who are the revolutionaries? The free? The brave? Who’s willing to go against the grain? Who’s no longer going about other people’s business? I’ll just leave this with a mantra given to our church by Bishop Tudor Bismark on his first visit with us. He said,

There are many voices in the Spirit, and these voices want to be manifested in the earth.

Response to the spiritual voice creates an atmosphere.

An atmosphere sustained creates a climate.

A climate sustained creates a stronghold.

A stronghold sustained creates a culture.

Cultures have pulling power.

One person can change an atmosphere.

Oh, and one more thing. In the spirit of disclosure and honesty I have to say the “hot dawgs” were not really “hot dawgs.” Hot dawgs as any true West Virginian knows come smothered with chili and cole slaw. You don’t ask what’s in them or if they are healthy and you get the authentic ones at Chris’ in Charleston. What we had last night had no pig. They could not be, strictly speaking, “hot dawgs.” No, these were just ersatz dogs made of chicken or turkey and anything healthy and organic.

Posted 05 July 2008 † Jack § Individuals and Community § Kids § The artist ‡ Comments (0) °
18 June 2008

Youth missing in seas off coast of Australia

Our eldest grand-daughter, Sarah, is stationed at the YWAM training center in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. She sent us this release from the base concerning her missing friend and fellow staff member, Jeremy Earnshaw. Keep in mind the seasons are opposite in Australia from us. It is summer here, but it is winter there.

Dear friends & family,

As you may or may not be aware on Monday 16th June 2008 we as YWAM Australia experienced a terrible tragedy. Two of our YWAM Newcastle staff were sightseeing along the coastline on their day off. As they walked along the rocks at about one o’clock in the afternoon a freak wave washed them off the rocks and into the heavy seas that had been pounding the coast for several days.

Witnesses to the incident managed to throw a floatation device to Jesse Lee who managed to stay afloat for about an hour in the rough seas until he was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter as the water was too dangerous to enter by any other means.

The other young staff member Jeremy Earnshaw was not seen after being washed into the water and has not been sighted since. It’s now two days since the incident occurred and despite extensive search and rescue efforts by several different local authorities, Jeremy still remains missing. We are still believing for a miracle but as time passes we understand that the likelihood of this happening diminishes. Please continue to join us in praying that he would be found.

We have been in constant contact with Jeremy’s family since they were notified soon after the incident on Monday. They are a wonderful faith filled family who love God and have been incredibly gracious throughout all our conversations.

Jesse Lee, after being rescued, was admitted to hospital and treated for hypothermia before being released later in the evening. Jesse is doing well with no lasting injuries and is grateful to be in the loving embrace of his YWAM family here.

The search for Jeremy continues with police boats, jet ski’s and divers being deployed as soon as the ocean conditions improve enough for it to be safe for them to enter the water. 
We here in Newcastle have been so blessed to know God’s amazing love for us as he ministers to us both spiritually and physically during this time. Thank you so much for your warm embrace and support. Your prayers have been and are greatly appreciated.
A full news report can be found at:
http://theherald.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/prayers-from-alaska/791403.aspx

If you would like more info or have any questions please direct those to Daniel Norris at d.norris@ywamnow.com or through his facebook. Thanks.

With love and greetings from us here;
David Stephenson
YWAM Newcastle

Our granddaughter’s blog is a twww.sarahhaddad.wordpress.com

Posted 18 June 2008 † Jack § Missions ‡ Comments (0) °
18 June 2008

What’s a Zip?

I’m sure the NBA Finals are being thoroughly analyzed this morning throughout the media sphere; pundits, writers, commentators in and on newspapers, Internet, radio, tv. My reflections are a little different. I got up this morning after watching the game last night thinking about the names: the “Celtics,” the “Lakers.” These names are links to traditions, styles, demeanor as well as to history and rosters of greats and near-greats. The name, Celtics, I know, captures the έlan of the Boston Irish. Much like my New York “Knicks” is short for Knickerbockers  and echoes the Dutch makeup of early New York City and the character of the city.

I don’t know what to make of the “Lakers,” I’ve always assumed, the name came with the franchise when it moved from Minneapolis and the “Land of Lakes,” i.e., Minnesota. Although I am not sure exactly what a “laker” is. Someone who spends time on lakes?

You have to be careful with team names. When I was called in to work sports on the Asheville “Citizen” Friday nights during high school basketball season we were aware of the danger. The state had a school for the deaf in Morganton. Its high school sports teams were called, “Bears.” Every now and then someone would report that a high school had either beaten or had been beaten by the North Carolina School for Deaf Bears.

When we lived in Cross Lanes, West Virginia and our kids were going to high school, we kept up with local sports. Nearby Putnam County had a town called Poca, derived, I guess, from the nearby Pocatalico River. Their high school team was called– you guessed it– the Poca “Dots.”

And that brings me to Youngstown State University and their nickname of the “Zips.” What a problem, huh? How does one depict a “Zip” in a homecoming parade? In Indianapolis I worked with Duane Richards. He was from Youngstown and went to Youngstown State. He remembered one parade which had a float with a guy dressed as a zipper.

Posted 18 June 2008 † Jack § Uncategorized ‡ Comments (2) °