tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21275462142341677382024-03-05T21:01:40.264-08:00FIELDNOTES BY DOCWhat does it mean to be human? That's a question that many have asked from perspectives ranging from theology to biology. Physical, or biological, anthropology explores humankind by focusing on our evolutionary heritage, paying particular note to biological variations and similarities that exist in our species, and that we share with other organisms, past and present.MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-20627262150624258642017-01-17T13:24:00.000-08:002017-01-17T13:24:56.744-08:00
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where
Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></b></div>
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Many of you know me and know that I have been an activist
from birth. Born into a family of two college Professors and one minister that
believed that it was both an American and a Christian’s moral responsibility to
make the world a better place than you found it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I am a native Southerner, born in
Arkansas, whose struggles with desegregation began with the integration of
Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. I first met a person of color
when I was six. I heard Dr. King preach at age 9. And I summoned the courage to
ask the school principal to lower the flag to half mass the day after Dr. King
was murdered in 1968. I was active in anti Viet Nam war protests in the South.
While living in Louisiana and North Carolina I volunteered during the first
wave of the AIDS epidemic. And I worked on rights for the LGBT community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We still have not achieved equality in the
U.S. You can be fired for being gay in many states. Women still do not have
equal pay, or job opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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What I would tell you about the
South is that it is not a homogenous whole. All Southern states are not
identical. Progress is happening there, though slower than other parts of the
country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>African Americans have often
modeled for us how to have faith and presevere in the wake of prejudice,
discrimination, poverty. The families of the victims of Mother Emmanuel Church
forgave their loved ones murderers immediately after his apprehension. Joy Ann
Reaves an attorney, author and anchor of a MSNBC show, upon hearing some
particularly distressing news from the Trump camp wrote on Twitter, “Jesus,
take the wheel.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apart from asking for
Jesus’ help ---<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where do we go from here</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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We’ve heard today about courageous individuals
who were martyred after becoming involved in the struggle for voting rights, leading
to the passage of the Voting Rights Act, in 1965.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels as this Friday, on inauguration day,
we will take a stepback.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The outcome of
2016 Presidential election shocked and surprised many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of us are still suffering from fear,
stress and grief in the wake of the unexpected outcome: International business
mogul and reality television star, Donald J. Trump, whose never done a lick of
public/governmental service, will be inaugurated this Friday, January 20<sup>th</sup>
as America’s 45<sup>th</sup> President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the best qualified person in modern
history to seek the office of President won the popular vote by almost 3
million vote while losing the Electoral College. People are sick because of
this. Calls to suicide hotlines have increased; counselors, trauma chaplains
have reported that the national response to this election is comparable to that
of the response in the aftermath of 9/11.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Upon winning, Trump immediately
began naming unqualified nominees to cabinet offices who would, if given the
chance, turn back the clock to the 1950s by dismantling the purpose and achievements
of those agencies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More often than not,
these individuals had connections to what has become known as the “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alt Right</i></b>,”
a movement aimed at mainstreaming the extreme right wing/Fundamentalist
Christian agenda. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One highly secretive
group, reported by “Hate Watch” of the Southern Poverty Law Center, is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Council for National Policy</i>, is
explicitly anti-Muslim, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant, anti-science, focused on instituting
a fundamentalist agenda in the economic and education realms, consists of many
who are neo Nazis, White supremacists, White nationalists and NeoConfederates. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Among the members are two of Trumps
chief advisors, Stephan Bannon, formerly of Breitbart News, and Kelleyanne
Conway, Trumps’ spokesperson. Robert Mercer, who is the founder of the group,
was also a high dollar contributor to the Trump campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another member, Betty DeVos’, Trump’s nominee
of Secretary of Education (who has never taught a class in her life), is heir
to the Amway fortune. She will advocate for private charter schools where
traditional fundamentalist values can be taught.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon after the election, this group met in
Washington, D.C., and were taped saluting Trump as Hitler had been, with the
words “Heil Trump.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Speaking as a native
Southerner, seeing something like that makes me feel as if the Civil War had
been fought over again and the South had won. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The shock we feel at seeing Trump
elected is due in part that we underestimated the scope of his Russian
connection. His fondness for Vladamir Putin is shared by members of his campaign,
including Stephan Bannon (as self-described Leninist) who adopted the
techniques of propaganda that include planting lies about Secretary Clinton in
targeted precincts within days of the election. Everyday we are learning more
about this, which may well have involved the activity of FBI Director Comey. It’s
deeply troubling, and may well meet the standard of treason against our own
government. So profound are these charges that Congressman John Lewis has
described Trump’s Presidency as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">illegitimat</i>e
and will not be attending Trump’s inauguration.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p> </o:p><b style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Where do we go from here? </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Opinions differ among our liberal
leaders. In the immediate future, there is no single way to respond.
Representative Lewis (and many members of the Black Caucus) are calling for
boycotting the inauguration, and will devote much time in Congress blocking the
Trump nominees and agenda. Others stress that the peaceful transfer of power is
a cornerstone of our government and our constitution is stronger than any one
person. And, we’ve rid ourselves of leaders who have acted in violation of our
constitution before. For this reason, Hillary and Bill Clinton will be
attending the inauguration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And Barack
and Michelle Obama, who live by the standard of “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when they go low, we go high,”</i></b>
will attend. But let there be no mistake. The Clintons, the Obamas, stand with
Senator Sanders and Congressman Lewis and most Americans. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For we are <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We are now one movement un</i></b>\<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ited
against a common threat. </i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Take careful note of those who are
not joining hands to work against the Trump agenda. Do you see Jill Stein in
line? Do you see Gary Davis? You may learn as much about those who are not
participating as those we are.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Where Do We Go From
Here</b>?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p> </o:p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Remember that the Right has been
working for years planning and plotting the kind of coup that the 1%, the
alt-right, pulled off with the help of the angry white working class and the
Russian government.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">There was internal
support from the U.S. Government., quite likely Director Comey of the FBI. Just
as the Alt Right created a singular movement, so, too, must we, act as one, and
begin now to protect the legacies of the Presidents – from Lincoln to Obama -
who have fought for equality and justice for all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where Do We Go From Here?<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->We must recommit ourselves to the values of the
first Civil Rights<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These include the values of inclusion,
compassion, nonviolence, tenacity and patience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>During her campaign for the Presidency, Secretary Hillary Clinton’s
slogan, “Stronger Together,” echoed these values.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At every campaign stop, she called for love
and kindness among America’s citizens, in a way that recalled Dr. King’s
emphasis on agape love from the New Testament. She encouraged us to understand
the anger of the opposition, to walk in their shoes. The slogan “Love Trumps
Hate” was commonly used on social media. As a lifetime activist I can tell you
that we may endure set backs, backlash, and defeats, but in the end, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Love Will Win</i>. Dr. King said, “Darkness
cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate.
Only love can do that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Secondly, we must educate ourselves about how
change happens in a representative Democracy such as ours. Politics is about <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">power </i>and it always will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Power is not a dirty word. Power is as
necessary to do good as to do harm. Power is negotiated through compromise and
we can influence those negotiations by making our voices heard. Working with
our congressional delegation, writing, calling, faxing them. When they don’t
hear from us, they may assume that we don’t care. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> Most of all, they
need our stories.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Stories put a human
face on legislation. Stories of those who had endured life-threatening
illnesses like cancer with no money, only to not receive treatment because
they’d gone bankrupt, helped pass the Affordable Care Act. Our own Senator
Patty Murray spoke eloquently on the floor of the Senate and read the stories
of our fellow Washingtonians that she had received. One little boy who had
written to her on behalf of his mom was present at the signing of the Affordable
Care Act. Recently, Larsen, Murray and Cantwell have asked us for more stories about
what the Affordable Care Act has meant to people.It is important to know who
our representatives are and not just come at them when we want something.</span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Send them handwritten cards and introduce
yourself. Thank them for their service.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Moreover, remember that all politics is local.
Practice those values – compassion, inclusivity, tenacity, at a local level. It
takes practice, especially if you, like me, have a short fuse for ignorance and
criticism. I don’t like to lose. Study issues and get engaged. One way to do
that was highlighted by our County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson who has encouraged
people to apply for advisory boards at the local level.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">We can also help sponsor community forums
where people who understand the issues can educate others. A good example of
this locally is the work some have done to educate others about the Growlers
and harm done by noise pollution.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">My
Mother’s work with desegregation began in 1960 in our living room when she took
a chance and called together leaders from the African American Community to
support four students who were desegregating the local state college.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> We have local
organizations for the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Progressives. Several
churches collaborate for Greening Committees, for Peace Fellowships. If there
is not a group that addresses a concern you have, call it together. Chances are
you are not the only one.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -24px;">
<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"> Blog or Use
Social Media to help inform about the issues and events that are happening
locally and nationally.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Learn more about how change happens in our
society at the government level. We are very fortunate in having two booklets
created by a group called, Indivisible. This is a group made up of
Congressional Staffers. You should commit both books to memory <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Indivisible:
A Practical Guide for Resisting the Trump Agenda</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>These Congressional
Staffers have written up best practices for getting Congress to listen (and
your member of Congress in particular). Nobody is in a better position to see
how Congress works and passes legislation than a staffer. Those are the people
actually doing the work. There is a 2<sup>nd</sup> book <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Indivisible : A Group Leader’s
Toolkit</i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>I
don’t know if you want to be the leader or not, but everybody should know what
the leader is suppose to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Knowledge is power; that is why people like to
manipulate it so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stephan Bannon
has made his living making up lies about people and publishing them through
Breitbart news.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Know how to spot false
news and do not propagate it..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within
days before the election there was a purported news story that Hillary Clinton
was part of a child pornography ring and that’s why they sought to look on
Anthony Weiner’s computer. Seriously?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most Americans haven’t known Hillary since they were 20 like I have so lies
like this could make a difference in the election.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Do not repeat a lie in writing or on social media or in the
grocery story. Somebody’s going to see it and repeat it as the truth..<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look for multiple sources; trace a statement
to its original source and look at it’s context. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Know the
difference between fact and opinion. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Donald Trump discussed the assassination of
John F. Kennedy in 1963 in Dallas. A fact can be verified: JFK was assassinated
in Dallas, TX on November 22, 1963.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Trump went on to allege that Ted Cruz’s father was part of the
conspiracy to kill Kennedy. That’s an opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another example: 2016 was the warmest year in recorded history; that’s a
fact. An opinion would be, global warming can’t be happening we’ve had a terrible,
harsh winter this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Finally, working for change will change
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look inside and learn more about
yourself. Find your sources of strength whatever they maybe. And know that it
is not about you. Check your ego at the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have worked for change for about 55 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me a lot of growing to learn that
it’s about something so much bigger than one person. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Where do we go from here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If all of the goodness in this room rises to
an even higher level of goodness, love and determination and organizes smartly
in a manner shown to have made a succeeded, we can stop the misguided hatred in
its tracks. As an activist, I have seen defeats and victories and deaths, and I
still believe that someday we will get to the Promise Land that Dr. King spoke
of. Dr. King said, <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Avenir Book";">nothing can
stop the power of a determined people committed to make a difference.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-27960700199486696992016-11-11T16:10:00.000-08:002016-11-11T16:10:30.010-08:00<div style="text-align: center;">
TO DAD, On Veterans Day, 2016</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UwXJF_ZrmOqlT-v3VQGNPfMEEIJ-pjLdrizAb40K2S_qyrZIyuFDhrvc4_Vi2-_j9urEwtzVcquNQFLWud09dkwvJ6BuLxUA1-OanGh8TW4Kdc7cmn-41WtRyyYPp-gaB3siSBc5Q3Kx/s1600/HermanPS001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UwXJF_ZrmOqlT-v3VQGNPfMEEIJ-pjLdrizAb40K2S_qyrZIyuFDhrvc4_Vi2-_j9urEwtzVcquNQFLWud09dkwvJ6BuLxUA1-OanGh8TW4Kdc7cmn-41WtRyyYPp-gaB3siSBc5Q3Kx/s320/HermanPS001.jpg" title="" width="232" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Staff Sargent Herman P. Sandford</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Most of my friends know that my dad, Herman Prestridge Sandford, died peacefully at home on July 11th, 2016. My mom, who was married to Herman for just shy of 70 years, told us the day of his funeral, "I just don't think I can live without your daddy." And so she didn't. She died almost two months later on hospice care for an inoperable hip fracture. To even attempt to fix it would put her in greater pain than she was already suffering. She died on hospice care (as Dad had) on September 14th, 2016.</div>
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I chose to start writing again today for several reasons. Today is Veteran's Day. I always called Dad on Veteran's Day, on Pearl Harbor Day and on the anniversary of D-Day. This year, I can't do that. I'd give just about anything to hear my Dad's smile, or watch his face light up when I walk into their house after many months of separation. I am also writing because, well, I am trying to survive. More on that later. No, I am not terminal. I do have chronic illnesses that I am always working to manage. More on that later. Lastly, Dad would be absolutely aghast at the recent political elections. The night before the election I tried to console some friends by saying what Dad always used to say, "It will be all right." The next evening, as the returns came in. I felt as if I'd been sucker punched and had taken all my friends with me. Hillary and Bill are more than just politicians to us. Mom was Hillary's friend, beginning in the 1970s; together they worked on issues of Women's Rights, education, poverty, families and children. Both my parents were prolific letter writers. Throughout the Clinton administration - and afterwards - they both wrote to Bill and Hillary. Once an Arkansan, always an Arkansas. And it's a small state. More on all that later.</div>
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Dad died at age 94 after losing much of his mobility and independence. Until about 6 months before he died, I started to notice a more rapid decline in cognitive function. He was having trouble talking and he was having trouble reacting things I said to him over the phone. Some words - words he'd known all his life and probably taught to me - were no longer accessible to him. I believe he might have had some small strokes, but at 94 this hardly makes "Headline News." Dad was one of the most well-spoken people I have ever known. He loved words and language. He knew the right things to say and when and how to say them. I miss that deeply.</div>
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On December 7, 1941, Dad had just finished participating in a performance of "The Messiah.". At the time, he was attending Stephen F. Austin College, majoring in chemistry and math. He'd basically taken the "pre-med" curriculum, though his sights were set on chemical engineering. (This is rather remarkable in itself, in that he grew up in a very poor East Texas family. He was born at home and learned to walk on dirt floors.) When the call for army enlistees went out, he didn't hesitate to answer. He approached the Army Air Corps because he wanted to be a flyer. They told him to go home. His vision was too bad and he became 4-F. A while later, he was called up and, realizing that he had an aptitude for technology and engineering, they made him a radar mechanic. Ultimately he was shipped out to England, a member of the 561st Bomb Squadron, 388th Bomb Group, and spent the war on air bases in England.</div>
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After the war, Dad returned to college at Baylor University, where he fell in love with Mom. They had both studied religion - then called "Bible Studies"- in addition to an academic major. Dad majored in English; Mom in sociology. Dad was an ordained Baptist minister. By now the "disconnect" between part 1 of Dad's story and part 2 may have occurred to you. He went into the war desiring to spent his life as a chemical engineer and, by the time he'd been discharged, his life's journey was on a very different path. Personally, I think that though Dad loved fixing planes, and even helped out on some classified missions, he wasn't fond of sending some flyers off in their planes never to return to base. He went on the get a Ph.D. in English, specializing in Southern Literature.</div>
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Dad was, during the 61 years I knew him, a sensitive loving man. Among many other things, he taught me the importance of unconditional love. Just about everything he did, came from that great love inside - singing, teaching, preaching, fathering and grandfathering. It was truly all about love. He accepted his children, myself included - different though I might have been then and now - for who we were and did all he could to help us become the people we are today. We were blessed to have grown up on a college campus. I began watching plays before I was old enough to understand them. He'd fool me into a production of Shakespeare by saying, "You'll love this one! It's got a murder and three witches!" To learn music, he didn't just take me to concerts, he brought home a Norton's Book of Scores, a conductor's baton, and a record album like Dvorak's "New World Symphony." He helped me learn to throw a perfect spiral pass or make a layup on the basketball court. He encouraged me to play guitar and sing. He let me travel during the summers to learn archaeology, even when my mom would rather I stayed home. His love taught me how to be independent. </div>
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Being independent was probably one of the great lessons he learned from being so far away from home, repairing radar units in planes. And it was that independence that helped him develop the man he became by the time I arrived, less concerned with fixing planes and intent on changing people's lives through teaching. Dad was very wary of most wars after WW II. He quoted General Sherman, "War is Hell, " on more than one occasion. And he said those words as only one who has been there can say them.</div>
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Dad, I love and miss you dearly this Veteran's Day. I wish above all you were here to dispense some sage advice or show us how to love in the midst of so much rancor, division and sheer panic. But he's gone now and I have to look inward to find that part of him inside me to find those answers, </div>
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As the Staff Sargent handed my Mom the folded flag that had been draped over my dad's coffin, he said, "He was a good soldier." Yes, indeed he was. One of the very, very best servant leaders to the end.</div>
MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-17861795712816463142014-05-10T14:31:00.001-07:002014-05-10T14:31:31.262-07:00Thank a Nurse<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The place: Boulder, Colorado; the time, 1979.</i></b> I’m lying in a
hospital bed trying to get comfortable with a headache way off the 10-point
pain scale and nausea to match. My neck so stiff I have to turn my whole body
to look in a different direction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a
physical anthropology grad student at CU – my favorite subject is gross anatomy
– and I’m so sick I haven’t yet figured out that it’s my sixth cranial nerve,
the abducens, that’s no longer working. I’m just aware that my right eye is
crossed – frozen, paralyzed, hanging out next to my nose – and I look a bit
like a demented Siamese cat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(If only
I’d called my anatomy professor, Dr. Brues, I could’ve saved us all a lot of
time and hurt, but that’s a story for another day). <o:p></o:p></div>
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I hear a quick knock and the heavy hospital door swings open.
A young woman in what looked like colorful street clothes (without a hint of
white) approached the stainless steel rail of the hospital bed. Through blurry
double vision I could see a stethoscope slung around the back of her neck and
the outline of hospital nametag on her top. She introduced herself – to this
day I remember her name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was the
“Head Nurse,” on my floor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That day in 1979, she didn’t take my pulse, she sat down on
the side of the white starch sheets covering the bed, held my hand, and began asking
me some questions, and they had nothing to do with whether I’d peed or pooped.
She wanted to know about who I was and what I did, which as a young Ph.D.
student, pleased me even through all the pain, because a young graduate student
will talk to anybody who even acts like they are remotely interested in what
they’re doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t remember all the details of our conversation. Even in
my foggy sickness, though, I am certain that I filled her ears with all sorts
of stories about the bones I’d examined and the cadavers I’d dissected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of all, I remember that as I concluded
my mini lecture, her expression grew serious. “Okay,” she said, “listen, you’re
really intelligent and know a lot of important things. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I’m telling you, ask questions…of
everybody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have to participate in
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t be passive. Ask a lot of
questions.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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And that was the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">first
time</i> – of which I’m aware – that a nurse saved my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because the events that unfolded over the
next 48 hours were critical, and my litany of questions – often humorous,
occasionally sarcastic, and at times, downright mean – helped determine that I
had bacterial meningitis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took two
weeks of IV penicillin to help my immune system overcome pneumococcal
meningitis, though it left me with some ongoing problems. But it was my nurse,
the Head Nurse, who initiated the healing process that February day: she called
me back into the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So if you’re here today reading this, chances are you need
to thank a Nurse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if you can’t call
one up in your personal memory, thank Florence Nightingale (1820-1910). Florence
Nightingale, whose birthday on May 12<sup>th</sup> marks the celebration of
International Nurses Week, set the highest of high bars for nursing today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where unnecessary conventions existed, she
defied them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where barriers to health
existed she moved heaven and earth to move them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fierce social reformer, innovative statistician,
dedicated educator, she cared for the sick, injured and dying in the Crimean
War under the most challenging conditions imaginable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her works, among them, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Notes on Nursing,</i> continue to provide ongoing insight and
inspiration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am able to write this blog post today, my first in several
years, in part because of the important role nurses continue to play in my
life. So, thank a nurse. And if you don’t know one, thank Florence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-3300611946670150392011-03-10T22:19:00.000-08:002011-03-10T22:30:48.727-08:00Loving Anthropology<p>Several weeks ago the authors of the blog Savage Minds challenged their readers to write about Why I Love Anthropology? Anthropology has been so much a part of my life – and for so long – that it’s not particularly easy to sort out all the “whys” of my love for this vast and important field. Yet I am grateful for this challenge because it brings home not only my passion for the peoples (and nonhuman species) – past and present – who we study, but it also my deepens my conviction that anthropology is relevant, indeed essential, as we contemplate the future.<br /><br />I am the daughter of two academics; Mom, the Sociologist and Dad, the English Professor, spent their careers at two small universities in an Arkansas town. The summer I turned five, my parents spent six weeks at the University of Colorado. During the day, while Dad prepped for his Ph.D. by studying Shakespeare and German, Mom took physical anthropology from Jack Kelso and Chinese Culture from Francis Hsu. Most days, I stayed back in a Denver suburb with my grandma, but whenever possible, I drove along to Boulder to visit campus and the University Museum. There, for the first time, my eyes alighted with the sights of Kachina dolls, Navaho textiles and ceramic pots, decorated with bold geometric designs in white, red and black. I soon found out that artifacts like these help us learn about the first peoples who’d settled in the Southwest. And I discovered that even in the river valley back home, prehistoric inhabitants had built wattle and daub houses, grown maize and beans, hunted deer and other species, and buried their dead in burial mounds (the closest one located within five miles of the family home).<br /><br />My fascination with ancient times only intensified a few years later when my mother took a course on educational television in human evolution. To further her understanding, she ordered a plastic skull from a biological supply house. For days on end, we sat together at the kitchen counter with toothpicks and model airplane glue, gingerly piecing together the bones of the skull. She’d pronounce the names of each one slowly – sphenoid, parietal – as we carefully assembled one after the other, her hands guiding mine. I’d already learned that some folks regarded information about human evolution as downright “dangerous.” Indeed it was illegal to teach evolution in the Arkansas public schools until the Supreme Court decision of 1968. And yet, my mother assured me that anthropology taught us fundamental lessons about who we are as a species, as human beings, and those lessons implied certain responsibilities. Undaunted by fear-based attempts at censorship, she gathered a group of students together in our home once a week to study physical anthropology.<br /><br />And she applied anthropology in other ways as well. Anthropology provided her with the basis for understanding that all human groups should be accorded the same equal rights, that no population has an inherent biological superiority to any other. As she became active in the Civil Rights movement (working to desegregate our town and the local state university) and later, the Women’s Rights movement, she demonstrated the applications of anthropology to social justice. By tenth grade, I was taking my first course in physical anthropology and archaeology (a fact which contributed to my early departure from high school) and about six years hence, became a graduate student and Teaching Assistant at the University of Colorado. Speaking now as an early-retired Emeritus Professor, I believe today, more than ever, that anthropology gives context and meaning to our lives in unique ways.<br /><br />Carl Sagan once observed that “science is much more a way of thinking than it is a body of knowledge.” And yes, I do define anthropology as the “scientific” study of humankind. Anthropology is often identified by the objects, remains and artifacts – the stones and bones – that we study. But anthropology is not really about things, much less dead things. It’s about understanding our lives – and those of our ancestors and nonhuman relatives – in all of their complexities.<br /><br />Ultimately, anthropology provides us with a set of scientific tools that help us “locate” ourselves in an increasingly complex and ambiguous world. Margaret Mead described her own childhood as one in which she realized that “the past and the future are really ‘aspects of the present’.” And so it was with me. This is the unique perspective that anthropology brings to all its students. Anthropology offers us lenses that we can focus on our species that are universal in time and space. Examining our species through these lenses helps us to interpret how populations have adapted and changed – in both biological and behavioral ways – over millennia. Anthropology teaches us that we will make great errors (as individuals and as a species) when we take on the challenges of the contemporary world – and look to the future –without consideration of evolution, context, heritage and legacy.<br /><br />One of the most fundamental lessons that anthropology offers is that we humans are - first and foremost – members of the Animal Kingdom. As most species ultimately become extinct, it seems to me that we should occupy this status with a great deal of humility. Much of what are popularly thought of as “human” characteristics or capabilities – symbolic communication, food sharing, compassion, love, consciousness – actually have their bases in our evolutionary heritage and are, therefore, things that we share to varying degrees with many other species. In many respects, anthropology is the exploration of a paradox: we are the same (as other living things, other animals, other primates, and other humans) and, at the same time, we are different. We do ourselves a profound disservice when we fail to recognize our close connections – and responsibilities – to other species. It’s my conviction that we anthropologists have a special obligation to fully participate in ongoing discussions of extending the concept of personhood to other animals.<br /><br />Perhaps because anthropologists study something seemingly so familiar – ourselves – that many without any training to do so delight in presenting themselves as authorities on subjects pertaining to humanity. Lately, I’ve seen writings by folks in physics, engineering, psychology and theology, which complete erase or grossly misrepresent anthropological research. Some authors, addressing topics as wide-ranging as the evolution of religion – and society in general – to the work of Charles Darwin and the nature of biological evolution, give their audiences skewed and inaccurate information. Such work is as dangerous as it is deceptive and dishonest.<br /><br />And this is the challenge to those of us who love and study anthropology. We have a special responsibility to communicate the relevance and importance of our subject to our fellow human beings from all walks of life. I love anthropology because it is empowering both in the tools it applies and the knowledge it generates. And if we truly learn more about ourselves by focusing on questions of evolution, variation and adaptation, we inevitably identify meaningful changes that could help us all do better in this world. Now more than ever, if ours and other species are to survive in ways that are truly livable and sustainable, we must continue to learn and live the most important lessons of anthropology. </p>MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-81664376608546514602009-10-19T00:54:00.000-07:002009-10-19T00:57:12.956-07:00Evolution or Extinction: The Ultimate Challenge to Our SpeciesWhen I was teaching physical, or biological anthropology, I was often asked, "Is our species still evolving?" Sometimes, the question was posed to me a bit more forcefully, as a challenge to the reality of evolution, itself. Some students would ask, "If evolution occurred, why aren't we humans still evolving?" (And those were some of the easier questions I fielded in my thirty something years of teaching anthropology prior to my retirement several years ago due to an autoimmune disease). What made and makes these particular queries so simple to address is, first, the overwhelming evidence that we humans are still undergoing evolutionary change. About three years ago, for example, University Chicago Professor Jonathan Pritchard and his colleagues identified a number of genes that have been undergoing changes in the last 10,000 years - among them genes related to skin color, taste, smell, and brain structure. Biological evolution involves changes in gene frequencies over time. Of course, humans evolve in other ways - we make alterations in our behavior and these, in turn, are often preceded by environmental shifts.<br /><br /><br />Although space and time constraints for this particular post preclude further explanation of the mechanisms of evolutionary change, I felt compelled in my inaugural blog on this forum to underscore the following: nothing short of major evolutionary shifts will prevent humankind’s extinction. After all, far more species who’ve inhabited this planet met the fate of extinction rather than survival and subsequent evolution. But what kinds of evolutionary changes are requisite to our long-term chances of survival? Please note that I’m not suggesting that some sort of biological characteristics will suddenly emerge that will save our species at the last minute like a cosmic hail Mary pass. Quite to the contrary, alterations in behavior typically precede biological changes and we must make fundamental behavioral changes to have even a fighting chance of reversing the doomsday scenario we’ve created. The modern environmental movement, catalyzed by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, helped to raise initial awareness about the harmful effects of human behavior on ecosystems and other species, and while we’re currently making unparalleled progress in reversing some of our most destructive behaviors and initiating new, alternative measures, the obstacles we face are staggering. <br /><br /><br />What kinds of behavioral evolution in our local, national and global communities will reverse our species’ self destructive course? I believe that at this – perhaps the most critical precipice in our evolution in thousands of years or more – we are compelled to take several fundamental actions. First, we must reconnect with nature as intimately as possible, recognizing our deep emotional needs for the natural world. This will involve re-exploring our species’ place as a part of nature, with all the vulnerability that this implies. We must also become a more caring species, not only by cultivating feelings of compassion but also by learning to care in the most proactive and educated ways possible. Finally, we must all become more scientifically literate and thus better able to participate in the social and technological changes required of us at the present time. I look forward to delving more deeply into each of these topics in the days and weeks to come.MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-57261306447887284862009-09-20T23:42:00.001-07:002009-09-21T14:26:48.866-07:00It's Fall Again!Though I am no longer teaching, the beginnings of the fall semester still strike me at the cellular level. Growing up with parents as college professors, I learned, long before I ever called the roll of my own classes, that the fall semester brings its own unique sense of anticipation and excitement. Still today, former students write to me, sharing their plans for the year or seeking advice on careers or graduate school. Outside, the air gets cooler, the mornings brisker, I'm hit with a flood of memories - of shivering in the bleachers at football games, practicing marching band routines, pulling all nighters to the sounds of ABBA and Cat Stevens, and washing formaldehyde out of my pores after a day in gross anatomy class.<br /><br />Though I am no longer teaching, this year feels especially intense. Perhaps it is the unsettled mood of our country; over the past month we’ve witnessed anxious angry crowds and mourned a long list of individuals, from a senator to writers to actresses to rock stars to television journalists, many of whom contributed to changes that at one time were undesirable or unthinkable in our country. Most of us have suffered more personal losses, from childhood friends to relatives to a beloved pet. As our lives and society shift at breakneck speed, fall feels like the comfort food of the seasons, a warm blanket that we snuggle in as we release the fiery freedoms of summer and the losses of the year, and brace for the icy incubation of winter.<br /><br />Though I am no longer teaching, I am laying out a plan for the academic year, something that was required of me every year of my career in academe. It’s an exercise that takes place in the fall as teachers start learning their students’ names and reacquainting themselves with returning colleagues. Faculty members are asked to articulate their “goals and objectives” and, later, when the spring semester winds down, they’ll be evaluated on their progress with respect to the same.<br /><br />Though I am no longer teaching – at least in a university setting – I am still compelled to step forward at teachable moments, to discover new knowledge and to share my insights with a larger audience. I am still convinced that anthropology, widely shared and applied, will make and, indeed, already has made, a huge difference in the world. I am equally convinced that science - and my own specialty of biological anthropology - is absolutely essential for our continued existence as a species on this fragile blue marble.<br /><br />Though I am no longer teaching, I am still convinced that each year, every year, I must search for ways to share the most important lessons that I have learned. These include the importance of passing on an academic/intellectual legacy – a set of ideas and practices that provide context and history to how I study the natural world in a manner modeled for me by my mentors and teachers. Now, as a senior scholar, I may rearrange, add on, or remodel the elements of this legacy, but the fundamental supports remain the same. This legacy molds the ways I learn about the past and present worlds and influences the paths I envision to a sustainable future. <br /><br />Though I am no longer teaching, I want to provide an overview of what to expect to see on my blog this year as if we were sitting together on the first day of class. Expect me to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s <em>On the Origin of Species</em> by focusing on the relationships that we humans have with other species and the environment. These relationships are essential for understanding humankind’s place in and responsibilities to the natural world and they are inextricably tied to our ability to heal, change and create a better world. Expect me to talk about our need for love and beauty, a drive to form positive, emotional connections with other species, nature and our fellow human beings, and the vital importance of working toward something that is bigger than ourselves. I promise to live, write and photograph in keeping with my mentor, Dr. Brues’ adage that “Everything is relevant if you’re smart enough to see it.” I’m very likely to talk in the next few blogs about the relevance of anthropology to analyzing complex issues of health care and environment , for I believe we humans we’ll either grow together by confronting these challenges directly and honestly or we’ll surely drown, much more quickly than any of us expect, in a swill of greed, fear, ignorance, and arrogance. <br /><br />Though I am no longer teaching, I am still propelled out of bed in the morning by the love to share what I’ve learned and the drive to discover and experience new things each day. Whether I express it in words or pixels, this love is why I do what I do. And despite the rancor and vitriol and raw fear of the debates we’ve heard of late, I genuinely believe that we’ve yet to experience our greatest goodness, and the opportunities for this present themselves every day. <br /><br />And so, though I am no longer teaching, I wrap myself in my blanket and prepare for the days ahead, and share a line from one of my favorite movies, The Lion in Winter, spoken by Katherine Hepburn, in her Academy Award winning performance of Eleanor of Aquitaine.<br /> <strong><em>We have such possibilities my children, we can change the world.</em></strong>MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-78869622729378222062009-09-20T23:38:00.000-07:002009-09-20T23:41:11.343-07:00IT's Fall Again!MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-50938820430318008152009-09-20T23:17:00.000-07:002009-09-20T23:25:03.901-07:00MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-91428410875785833472009-08-26T12:51:00.001-07:002009-08-26T22:36:58.810-07:00Requiem for a Lion<em>For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die</em>. Edward M. Kennedy (1932-2009)<br /><br />On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. Soon after Walter Cronkite announced the news to the nation, my third grade teacher tearfully passed the information along to us; classes were dismissed and we went home to our parents where most of us continued to watch the tragedy unfold on our black and white television sets. For almost three days, bleak, heartbreaking images became imbedded in our memories – a young widow kneeling to kiss her husband’s casket, a tiny son saluting his father, a saddled horse with no rider and two men in morning coats following behind the casket of their slain brother, the President of the United States. Sitting beside my sisters and me on the couch, my mother and father put aside their own grief to help us understand the pivotal events that were taking place before our eyes. They pointed to the television set and attached names to the two men who accompanied Mrs. Kennedy. One was attorney General Robert F. Kennedy; the other the youngest brother of the Kennedy family, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who was only thirty years old at the time of his brother’s death.<br /><br />As a devoted follower of politics and current events, I would see and hear Senator Edward Kennedy many more times in my lifetime. I watched him as he eulogized his brother, Bobby (who, like Jack, was felled by an assassin). I listened to him deliver keynote speeches at political conventions, question Supreme Court nominees on the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings and debate issues on the Senate floor. I followed him as he ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1980 and then continued on as an active, outspoken and productive Senator.<br />Senator Kennedy is being heralded today as one of the greatest senators of modern America and of that I have no doubts. During his forty seven years in the Senate he played a key role in over 2500 pieces of legislation – and many of those were pivotal. Many of those impacted my life directly. As a child of the segregated south, I appreciated Kennedy as a champion of civil rights and human equality. He spoke out passionately for the passage of the Civil Rights Act and an end to segregation. As a girl and young woman, I was unable to participate in school sports or to have access to scholarships to college sports. But, Ted Kennedy’s enthusiastic participation in the passage of Title IX helped to provide those opportunities for future generations of girls and women. As one who grew up in one of the poorest states in this country (Arkansas), I saw people with inadequate nutrition and healthcare. Ted Kennedy was an early and strong advocate of the WIC program (providing food and support for women and children), as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Indeed, Senator Kennedy is one of our country’s most vocal spokesmen for the position that health care is a basic right. Speaking as a person who is disabled, I owe Senator Kennedy a great deal of gratitude for his passionate sponsorship of the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA. He helped to de-stigmatize mental illness by supporting inclusion of mental illness in the ADA. As one who has lost friends to AIDS, and served as a volunteer in AIDS service organizations, I remember that Ted Kennedy was a force behind the passage of the Ryan White Act, which provided emergency funding for many of those affected by HIV/AIDS, at a time in this country when anti-viral drugs like AZT were often unavailable due to high cost. There simply isn’t the space here to enumerate his many acts on behalf of our country, but you can read about his remarkable record here <a href="http://kennedy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Kennedy%20Accomplishments.pdf">http://kennedy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Kennedy%20Accomplishments.pdf</a>.<br /><br />In short, it’s quite likely that your life was made better now, or in the future, because of the hard work of Senator Kennedy. The Kennedy legacy - the dream of human equality and freedom – will never die. When he “passed the torch to a new generation” by endorsing Barack Obama for President, he called us all to join the fight to fulfill this great dream. It is incumbent on all of who would like to see that legacy brought to fruition to do everything we can at the present to bring about health care for all Americans. There could be no greater tribute to the “lion” of the Senate and no greater contribution to our fellow Americans.MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-22590506708852668622009-03-27T18:42:00.000-07:002009-03-27T19:53:39.689-07:00Seeing the Trees...and the Forest: Evolution in NatureOver the past month I've been spending one evening a week learning more about forest ecology here in the Northwest. I'm not going back to school - would that my health were good enough for that - or planning some new career, but I am becoming a forest steward in a terrific program sponsored by the Cooperative Extension of Washington State University in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources. The course is designed to help independent owners of small forests develop short and long term plans for their land.<br /><br />My partner and I own five acres of northwest coastal forest filled with conifers like Douglas Firs, Western Hemlocks and Western Pines and deciduous tress such as Red Alders. Our primary goal is to maintain a healthy, sustainable forest where we, and our friends and family - and those who come after us - can walk, listen and learn from nature.<br /><br />Putting myself back into a classroom on the other side of the desk brought back memories of my own school days, of favorite professors and classes, and most especially of the nature hikes I used to go on with my closest graduate school friends and a very special mentor, Dr. Alice Brues. During my last few years as a graduate student in Boulder, Dr. Brues would invite us to drive her somewhere up into the foothills where she knew of trails, or lakes, or special forests. I don't recall ever having to be pursuaded (or have my arm twisted) to go along, or even to be the designated driver. As Alice clambered over the rocky hills, binoculars firmly in hands, we'd watch her, watching and calling to birds, admiring wildflowers, and identifying trees. I'd never before been in the presence of someone who knew so much about nature and talked about it with such passion and authority. It was possible to imagine Alice completely comfortable walking through the woods with Charles Darwin and the two of them having an animated conversation about birds and beetles, a scampering mammal or an outcropping of basalt.<br /><br />Within the first few minutes of my forestry class I knew that I was home again, in the woods. Themes that I've heard all of my life as a physical anthropologist were applied to species of trees, mammals and invertebrates found in forest ecosystems. As one teacher reviewed some basic species of tree identification in northwest forests I heard a familiar admonitition, "Watch for variation, though, when you're beginning to learn to identify trees...Even in the same species you'll see variation in height or width or even in the dimensions of leaves."<br /><br />I heard in my mind a well-known quotation - actually the title of an essay, by a famous geneticist, Theodosius G. Dobzhansky, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in light of evolution." I thought about my walks over the rolling pine-needle strewn trails of the forest surrounding our home. As I sit under on a stump under a new grove of Red Alder, I sometimes imagine the mighty glacier that helped form these rocks, soils and hills as it retreated. I think of what has become a truism in science that, indeed, nothing makes sense in biology except in light of evolution.<br /><br />This evening at dusk I came within three feet of a woodpecker, as I strained to see her markings and the length of her beak to determine her species. Was I was looking at a large downy or small hairy woodpecker? Careful to move slowly, so as not to startle her, I was so close to her I could hear her beak each time she struck the suet and seed brick. Suddenly she flew away, leaving me behind to make up my mind about her identification as I paused to examine the hole she'd chisled into the seed brick. While it's true that evolution helps us make sense of what we see, what are the clues we focus on to gain insight about the evolutionary process? Those clues - the observations that we can make around us in our own backyards - and in the privacy of our own homes - revolve around this phenomenon: variation in populations. And that - particularly when it comes to our own species - is the domain of the physical anthropologist.<br /><br />Over the next few blogs I'll be talking about the importance of variation in populations and the study of variation by anthropologists - and a few naturalists or so. For now, consider that physical anthropology is actually organised around the investigation of a central paradigm - that we humans are all the same, and that we humans are also all different. The exploration and interpretation of this paradigm is a central task of physical anthropologists, whether we are considering human beings in the present or our ancestors in the past. And it is essentially the same paradigm that naturalists apply when they endeavor to tell a female downy from a female hairy woodpecker or, to ask themselves, in turn, why does this variation among and between species exist in the first place. Variation is an exciting and sometimes controversial subject, but it's absolutely essential to evolutionary processes and therefore to our understanding of nature and of ourselves.<br /><br />I look forward to picking up here next time. In the meantime, learn this name: Ernst Mayr. That's it for now. Class dismissed.MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-8375469450800820192009-03-09T18:12:00.000-07:002009-03-09T20:25:01.295-07:00A Very Good Day for Science: President Obama and Stem Cell ResearchDuring his inauguration, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, pledged to restore science to its rightful place in society. Specifically, he stated<br /><br /><br />"Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."<br /><br />Today, he took key steps in that direction. In the presence of a mixed audience comprised of patients, caregivers, family members, health care workers, scientists, policy advocates, government officials he issued an Executive Order, REMOVING BARRIERS TO RESPONSIBLE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN STEM CELLS. By taking this action, scientists who use embryonic stem cells to conduct research will once again be able to apply for and receive government funded research - something that is essential to run costly scientific projects at the molecular/cellular level. Treatments and possible cures for conditions including diabetes,heart disease, Parkinsons, and others, will be furthered by this line of scientific inquiry. It is a great day for science indeed.<br /><br />At the same time, President Obama took another action to put scientific research back on track in this country. He issued an official Memorandum charging the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to draw up recommendations relating to scientific integrity and transparency. Noting that the public must be able to trust the results of scientific inquiry and, further, that the government should not supress the results of scientific studies, he made it abundantly clear that his administration would rely upon scientific studies in developing policies relating to such areas as the environment, health and national security. He further outlined guiding principles for how the recommendations relating to scientific integrity should be implemented by the various departments and agencies of the Executive branch of our government. I encourage everyone to read his entire memorandum posted on the White House web site at <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-9-09/">http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-9-09/</a>.<br /><br />It's essential that all of us - scientists and general public alike - commit to becoming (and remaining) engaged in our government. During George W. Bush's administration, serious blows to science, scientific integrity and policies related to climate change, wildlife conservation, birth control and diseases, were incurred in ways that may have, in at least some instances, cause irreparable harm. I am especially grateful to the work of the Union of Concerned Scientists <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/">http://www.ucsusa.org/</a> for their efforts to expose the egregious actions taken to cover up or - in some instances - rewrite scientific investigations by members of the Bush administration. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit organisation, has developed standards relating to scientific integrity that are readily available on its web site.<br /><br />We must stay involved and informed; for the sake of our country and indeed, the rest of the world, we must never again allow an anti-science agenda to control our government and its policies. It is incumbant on all of us to work to educate others about science and how scientific findings can inform the policies of our society and help us in working toward the greatest good for all.MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-790737470163217792009-02-25T14:58:00.000-08:002009-02-25T15:55:39.811-08:00New Discoveries Pertaining to the Evolution of Sex<p>What do we know about the evolution of sex? Specifically, what do we know about the process of internal fertilisation of eggs by sperm?<br /><br />Information relevant to these key questions have been documented in a new discovery that was recently reported in the journal <em>Nature </em>and discussed in an online article by the BBC. </p><p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7909984.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7909984.stm</a></p><p>The discovery actually happened in the laboratory when a group of scientists at London's Natural History Museum began investigating Placoderms, a group of fish dating from the Devonian ("the age of Fishes), that were characterised by a strong external armour-like covering. One particular specimen, dating to approximately 365 mya (million years ago), shows particularly striking and direct evidence for internal reproduction. A small embryo, 5 cm in length, was found inside this particular fossil. Internal fertilisation is also suggested among the Placoderms, in general, by evolutionary changes to the pelvic fin which forms a structure known as a <em>clasper</em>. The anatomical modification provided a means for male and female fish to connect - so to speak - during mating. </p><p>The Placoderms were among the earliest jawed vertebrates. thus occupying a place in our evolutionary heritage near the origins of vertebrates. Placoderms - like most species, both ancient and modern - became extinct. They were suceeded by a group of bony fishes that ultimately evolved into the tetrapods - animals with a four-limb pattern that include birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.</p><p>I'll have more to say about the evolution of animals and plants in upcoming posts on variation and intermediate forms.</p><p>Thanks to Graeme Wright for information about the findings pertaining to Placoderms.</p>MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-82270346425706372782009-02-22T02:30:00.000-08:002009-02-22T02:30:05.153-08:00Announcing: Classic and Contemporary Readings in Physical Anthropology<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1klRlnm_iHn1YG4Lk0FZ1rwwUyFuzOqCi8He6s4UsNVikcRIAWr9WUX_BT_r2HQ7ufXFtFXnu5YStflyxaVtirQVSwRXhrQ6EWWFNgGssb-gWCaZUnZN_bvpGThyphenhyphenRP3mKLCGNc3KDXiW/s1600-h/imageservlet.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305564645164082882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX1klRlnm_iHn1YG4Lk0FZ1rwwUyFuzOqCi8He6s4UsNVikcRIAWr9WUX_BT_r2HQ7ufXFtFXnu5YStflyxaVtirQVSwRXhrQ6EWWFNgGssb-gWCaZUnZN_bvpGThyphenhyphenRP3mKLCGNc3KDXiW/s320/imageservlet.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />I'm happy to announce a new book of readings in physical anthropology which I edited with Dr. Eileen Jackson. We selected readings that reflect important articles in the history of physical anthropology as well as more recent offerings that highlight new discoveries and innovative methodologies. We include the vision of physical anthropology as originally seen by its founder, Ales Hrdlicka, as well as a groundbreaking article by Sherwood Washburn on the new physical anthropology. Key articles on evolutionary theory, primates, human genetics and contemporary human variation are included. Discussion questions follow each chapter along with key terms and recommended web sites. Publication information is presented below along with a link to the publisher's website.<br /><br /><p></p><p></p><br /><br />Classic and Contemporary Readings in Physical Anthropology, 1st Edition<br />Mary K. Sandford<br />ISBN-10: 0495510149 ISBN-13: 9780495510147<br />160 Pages Paperbound<br />© 2009 Published<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cengage.com/cengage/instructor.do?codeid=6132&sortby=copy&type=all_radio&courseid=AL03&product_isbn=9780495510147&disciplinenumber=15&codeFlag=true">http://www.cengage.com/cengage/instructor.do?codeid=6132&sortby=copy&type=all_radio&courseid=AL03&product_isbn=9780495510147&disciplinenumber=15&codeFlag=true</a>MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-47483753702638191302009-02-19T20:02:00.001-08:002009-02-19T20:13:30.783-08:00In the News: Updates on Blog for DarwinBloggers from around the world participated in the "Blog Slam" program, "Blogging for Darwin," in honor of the 200th birthday of Charles Robert Darwin, the man who is arguably the single most influential life scientist ever. One hundred sixty five bloggers from such diverse locations as Turkey, the Galapagos Islands, and the United States posted writings from 12th February to the 15th February. These blogs will be archived by subject and available as permanent resources for students and teachers. The two blogs I wrote as part of this endeavor were published on the front page of the "Blog for Darwin" site. You can explore "Blog for Darwin" using the following address:<br /><br />http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341cb34753ef010535dc7c8a970bMK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-86517202843125822902009-02-14T00:02:00.000-08:002009-02-14T00:36:37.055-08:00Advice to a Young (or Old) Scholar: Reading Darwin, Part 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gYdxExP0OqHcWs8r-U-gBWBDuqKzcLCfBRVJq9u7Rx_yPSStvu2lbR0HFXglP_13-1lQiM0Tb3C2k6k9mLCWZpmZJW8r9Z9eS6wpgh6QgDpadmMAUzms-YI_HHPOey_T7wgu5OfJ-Ipk/s1600-h/1892_letters_F1461_fig04.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302569153452083762" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gYdxExP0OqHcWs8r-U-gBWBDuqKzcLCfBRVJq9u7Rx_yPSStvu2lbR0HFXglP_13-1lQiM0Tb3C2k6k9mLCWZpmZJW8r9Z9eS6wpgh6QgDpadmMAUzms-YI_HHPOey_T7wgu5OfJ-Ipk/s200/1892_letters_F1461_fig04.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Now that I’ve made the challenge to actually read <em>On the Origin of Species</em> by the 24th November 2009 (the anniversary of the book’s First Edition), I want to offer some advice that will probably make your experience with this incredible work more enjoyable. If there’s a Cliff Notes (or something like and similar) for <em>On the Origin of Species</em>, I couldn’t find it back in ’76 when I was taking Dr. Greene’s seminar on Evolutionary Theory. Fortunately, there are many resources that will make your experience with this book more enjoyable and enlightening – you’ll be making something akin to your own Cliff Notes as you go. And while you don’t have to assemble a scale model of the Beagle or explore your backyard with a bug box, there are a number of ways that you can prepare your brain for experiencing this masterpiece of scientific elegance.<br /><br />Whenever we read historical works – whether they’re scientific tomes or novels – learning something about the context is crucial to our understanding. It’s a point that’s often (and unfortunately), lost particularly by those who wish to play “gotcha” with the lives of scientists from times past. So, before you lose yourself in On the Origin of Species, find out more about the person and times of Charles Darwin. And he had a fascinating life indeed. As a boy, he was a passionate collector – of practically anything – and, as an adult at Down House, he cared for his children, juggled several books and projects at a time, and struggled with disabling chronic illnesses.<br /><br />What we’re really after here is a contextual overview of Darwin’s life before delving into the specificity of his work. Scientific investigations aren’t acts of special creation. Darwin’s life and science were born out of the intellectual and social milieu of 19th century, and influenced by his predecessors, teachers and colleagues. What were the intellectual and scientific foundations for his work? Who influenced him, and how?<br /><br />If all this sounds like you’ll need (minimally) a new set of Encyclopedia Britannica just to get started, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that you won’t need anything beyond a computer with internet access. A great place to launch your study of Origin of Species is at Down House, itself, home to Charles and Emma Darwin and their children. It was here in his study where he wrote by the fire in his favorite chair and peered through his microscope at slides of stems and seeds. Fortunately, we can take a virtual tour of Down House with David Attenborough as our guide by exploring the estate’s website at <a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.20235">http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.20235</a> .<br /><br /><br />For learning about the person of Charles Darwin we have virtual access to his autobiography, a work that was edited and includes supplementary material by Francis Darwin, his son. <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1461&viewtype=text&pageseq=1">http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1461&viewtype=text&pageseq=1</a>The elder Darwin never intended to publish his autobiography – he wrote this rich collection of stories solely for his children and future generations. The work is a gift to all who want a better appreciation for his life and an excellent prelude to your explorations of Darwin’s scientific work.</div>MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-78311362157191967982009-02-12T19:10:00.000-08:002009-02-12T20:01:07.274-08:00A New Challenge: Reading for DarwinHave you actually read Charles Robert Darwin’s book, <em>On the Origin of Species</em>? That’s both a question and a challenge that I’m posing to you today on the occasion of his 200th birthday. If you have not, I want you to consider – as you ponder the meaning of his life and work – reading (or re-reading) his magnum opus. If you have studied the volume, perhaps you might want to pick it up again; I would be quite surprised if you aren’t filled with a sense of awe when you contemplate Darwin’s actual words.<br /><br />If you aren’t familiar with it, what you might immediately observe about <em>Origin of Species</em> is the sheer vastness of this work. The book is a comprehensive synthesis of Darwin’s knowledge, as well as his own experiments and observations, from his beginnings as a naturalist to his maturation as a scientist. But its significance is not in its sheer volume. Rather, the vastness of his work reflects his breadth and meticulousness as a scientist and, more important, the magnitude of evidence he used 1) to demonstrate that biological evolution is a scientific fact and 2) to formulate his argument for evolution by means of the mechanism he named natural selection.<br /><br />These points may seem rather mundane in light of other recent articles and blogs circulating around the virtual world in Darwin’s anniversary year. Yet I feel compelled to review some very basic information about Darwin and to stress the importance – now more than ever – of reading primary sources and understanding them in their historical contexts. It’s easier than ever to access the body of Darwin’s work. Thanks to some very dedicated scholars, digital technology and the information highway, you can read the complete works of Charles Darwin – a virtual library – online at <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/">http://darwin-online.org.uk/</a>. It’s even possible at this marvelous site to see drawings of specimens that Darwin collected during the voyage of the Beagle, to read his natural history treatises and other important books, and to pour over every single page up through the 6th edition of his most famous – and one of the most groundbreaking – books in human history.<br /><br />Charles Darwin’s work – and the results thereof – has been a guiding force in my life since I was a little girl. I remember the first time I heard his name – a memory that occupies the same compartment of my brain as those that recall picking up fossilized corals and shells while roaming fields near my home in Arkansas and seeing my first dinosaur skeletons extending up toward the high ceilings of the Denver Museum of Natural History. My parents have always been voracious readers and one of their greatest gifts to me was the love of learning – through books, museums and even the fields beneath our feet. Early in my childhood, my mother, a sociologist, followed her fascination with humankind into the discipline of anthropology where she discovered physical anthropology, or the scientific study of human evolution and variation. A few years later (circa 1964), she introduced a handful of college students to topics like natural selection, fossil evidence for human evolution, and biological variation. Meanwhile, both of my parents helped to fend off the less informed; the latter included at least one biology teacher who was convinced that men had one less rib than women and those who leaned on me to make a false choice between “the Bible” or “Darwin.”<br /><br />So, today, in honoring Charles Darwin, I also want to honor those individuals who introduced me to his work and modeled for me an understanding of its relevance for our lives today on this tiny planet. My parents showed incredible courage in navigating the often circuitous and confusing course required by the life of the mind. Mom taught evolution before it actually became legal to do so in the state of Arkansas in 1968. I would’ve otherwise been denied the opportunity to learn about Charles Darwin and natural selection until I reached college (1971).<br /><br />Ultimately physical anthropology became my academic home where I taught for close to twenty-five years before my recent retirement. Several semesters into graduate school at the University of Colorado, I took a seminar in Evolutionary Theory taught by Professor David L. Green. It was there – around a long seminar table, worn with age – that I first experienced the true excitement about biological change over time as we read and discussed <em>Origin of Species</em> in its entirety, along with works by Thomas Henry Huxley, Teilhard de Chardin, Ernest Mayr, George Gaylord Simpson, and Jacques Monod (among others). As can be inferred from my presence here today, physical anthropology remains my passion. Link by link, my education as a physical anthropologist was forged; Professor Dennis Van Gerven helped me learn to recognize and interpret variation in ancient, prehistoric and modern skeletons and Dr. Alice M. Brues – a key founder of physical anthropology – took me right to the historical roots of physical anthropology – through gross anatomy and natural history. Most important, she led my friends and me into the foothills surrounding Boulder where she taught us to view the world around us – the birds, wildflowers, trees and, even, the mountains themselves – through the eyes of a naturalist with whom Darwin himself would’ve felt completely at home. It was altogether fitting, then, when Dr. Brues was named recipient of the inaugural Charles R. Darwin award by the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. I thank these people – and I thank my former students and colleagues, who continue to challenge and teach me with their questions, discoveries and perspectives – as I remember the life and work of Charles Darwin today.<br /><br />Thus, I challenge us all – in a world where knowledge and understanding of science is absolutely essential for our continued life on this planet – to read and continue to talk about Charles Darwin’s greatest contribution to science by November 24, 2009, the 150rh anniversary of publication of Origin of Species.<br /><br />Let the learning begin and the conversation never cease!MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-36654513394356331122009-02-09T21:35:00.000-08:002009-02-09T21:41:26.653-08:00The Economy: It's Science, Stupid!A saying made famous in the War Room of President Clinton’s 1992 campaign was the oft-quoted “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” It’s not entirely clear who first coined the phrase – I’ve heard both James Carville and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned as possible authors – but there’s no doubt of its inherent wisdom. It’s as true today as it was in 1992 and given the rate at which our economy continues to worsen it ought to become a mantra repeated dutifully by every member of our society who has any possible contribution to make to economic recovery.<br /><br />In all the recent talk about the economy – in all the Senate debates, press conference, Sunday news shows – it has become equally clear that Democrats and Republicans – at least with respect to the current economic crisis – are divided along the lines of evidence-based versus ideology-driven policy. President Obama promised during the campaign and his inaugural address to restore science to its rightful place. Without scientific evidence and critical thinking we will see further deterioration of this society and our ability to positively impact the rest of the world. Ideology-driven policies are subject to biases, prejudices, exclusion and raw emotions, like fear.<br /><br />The wide ranging effects of ideology-driven policy in this country have never been more apparent than in the monumental clean up necessitated by eight years of presidential malpractice at the hands of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Right now, in the face of evidence that 1) an economic stimulus package is absolutely essential to turn the tide of the economic downturn and 2) spending is an inherent part of stimulus, Republicans continue to argue for government to keep its hands free of intervening in the economic wows. If anything, Republicans want tax cuts – particularly for corporations and business people at the upper income levels – a practice that helped to catapult this country into the precarious situation at present. Indeed a test vote in the Senate today got the votes that will be needed to pass a stimulus package but only three Republicans had the moral courage to cross the proverbial aisle and join in support with their Demographic colleagues.<br /><br />When Obama says “I won’t return to the failed theories of the past eight years.” he is implying that his administration’s approach to macroeconomics is based on empirical data. We have, in other words, scientific evidence – reliable data – that a spending approach/stimulus package will promote economic recovery. Harvard economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman has discussed the importance of economic stimulus for weeks now. Indeed his most recent column in the New York Times expresses his fear that the stimulus – now delayed by Republicans and perhaps watered down in ill-considered attempts at compromise – will be too little, too late.<br /><br />The economic system, together with its inexorable ties to subsistence practices and the physical environment, is arguably the most basic foundation upon which society rests. The integration of the environment, subsistence, and economic exchange and their impacts on other aspects of society are well documented among anthropologists. Theoretical orientations including cultural materialism, cultural ecology, political economy and political ecology all reinforce the key position of the economy in other aspects of society.<br /><br />Anthropologists also recognize, however, that different components of society change at different rates, creating a cultural lag. And, American society demonstrates a cultural lag between science and empirical thinking on the one hand, and an ideology that’s lagged far behind – an ideology closely akin to magical thinking, on the other. And so, for example, in the face of overwhelming evidence for climate change and global warming, there are those who deny it and attempt to argue against it. And, as Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday approaches – and in light of the tens of thousands of fossils, DNA studies and comparative anatomical investigations that have taken place since Origin of Species was published in 1859 – we still find individuals who will argue vociferously that human beings were created in their present form some 10.000 years ago. Understanding and interpreting data that informs us about our economic crisis presents a similar challenge in today’s world.<br /><br />Scientists should be actively engaged in responsibly representing and explaining the results of empirical investigations. I’ve always believed that anthropologists have a tremendous responsibility in this regard. We who have inherited hundreds of years of empirical studies focused on our own species (and our close relatives the living primates) – we who devote our own legacies to the further study of humankind – must contribute to resolving the complex and dire problems of the contemporary world.MK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127546214234167738.post-30476094862608716342009-01-08T22:48:00.000-08:002009-01-14T11:13:55.642-08:00Stay Tuned...<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><em>Fieldnotes by Doc</em> is a blog about all things anthropological, written by an anthropologist. If you're familiar with this field, you know that it covers a vast territory. There will undoubtedly be a slight bias in the articles I write and publish. I am a physical, or biological, anthropologist, and my work has included investigations of past peoples in places like the Caribbean and west Mexico. But I promise not just to talk about my own research. Archaeological discoveries and other new findings pertaining to anthropology, are in the news everyday. And every current event, every crisis facing our world, can be viewed from anthropological perspectives. Which means, yes, I will from time to time talk about politics, current events, and international crises.</span><br /><br /><br /><br />Stop in again soon, and we'll look at the world around us through anthropological eyes.<br /><br /><br /><br />-- DOCMK "Doc" Sandford, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/10957770203145250079noreply@blogger.com0