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Addition to My Manifesto
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I've added a section to my Manifesto.
http://slicnic5150.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/views-%e2%80%93-section-7-%e2%80%93-on-redemption/
I back dated it so it so it would fit at the end of my blog.
check it out

October 23, 2009 | 4:03 PM Comments  0 comments



4th of July
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

As happens frequently when people find out that I’m an Army Reservist, I was asked (at about 1:30 this morning) about the benefits of Military Service. Those of you who know me (or have read my Manifesto: http://slicnic5150.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/nics-manifesto-views-section-5-on-military-service/) already know my standard response to such questions:
*Why do you want to know?
*“Service” isn’t about what you get out of it; it’s about what you put into it.
*Service is sacrifice. If you’re not prepared to make the required sacrifices don’t waste my time.
*It’s about preserving and protecting the Constitution of the United States of America and the citizens of the country I love.
*It’s about securing our democracy.
*It’s about hard freakin’ work with very little tangible compensation.
*Etc, etc, etc.
All of which I told the young man. As you all know, I’m not above telling someone whom I believe is trying to join the Military for the wrong reasons to stay out of my Military. However, this particular young man seemed sincere in his desire to receive honest advice before a decision. So, I provided the best council and advice I could: Visit recruiters from all the Service Branches find out what they each have to offer and make your decision based on the branch and component (Active, Reserve or National Guard) that can best meet your needs and the needs of your family. It’s not often that I run across someone with a genuine desire to be of “Service.” Someone who isn’t simply looking for “something for nothing.”
After the young man walked away, I started seriously thinking about what Military Service, Sacrifice and this holiday really means. It’s about extricating ourselves from an Oppressive Monarchy. It’s about laying the foundation for the Democracy we enjoy today. The same Democracy I swore an Oath to “Support & Defend against all enemies foreign and domestic” on March 19th, 2004 & am preparing to swear again before the end of this year when I re-enlist for 3 more years.
On this 4th of July, more than ever – as the Iranian Government continues its relentless crackdown on young people who are being slaughtered in the streets while they struggle to attain Real Democracy in their country – I feel the weight of that Oath. To me, the struggle in Iran is less about whether Mir Hossein Mousavi will make a better President than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (or which Iranian President would be better for the United States and our own National Security interests) and more about the People of Iran having their Voices heard and their Votes counted - just as our Forefathers wanted their voices heard, the right to elect their own leaders and the capacity to create a Democratic Nation, free from an Oppressive Government.
This 4th of July, my thoughts are with the Demonstrators in Iran, as I focus Positive Energy (http://slicnic5150.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/nics-manifesto-views-section-2-on-the-power-of-prayer/) on their struggle to affect Positive Change.

July 4, 2009 | 9:12 PM Comments  0 comments



"Stand By Me" for Iran
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

below is a video shot of Jon Bon Jovi's collaboration on a cover of "Stand By Me" recorded with an Iranian singer to show support to the democracy loving demonstrators in Iran. What are you doing to show your support?

July 1, 2009 | 8:14 PM Comments  0 comments



Rhythm Turner: Hate Crime Survivor
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I can’t say I honestly understand the difference between getting your nose broken for your wallet/car or as a result of domestic violence and getting it broken just because your attacker “Hates” you. I DO however have compassion for this young woman; the victim of an unprovoked attack and a student with no Health Insurance. She needs your help to get her broken nose fixed surgically. Please watch the YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5tGpnspl80 ) video. If so moved, go to her MySpace page ( http://www.myspace.com/rhythmandthemethod ) and contribute whatever you can to her health care fund. Keep her in your thoughts and join me in Sending Positive Energy to her and her loved ones affected by this tragedy for a speedy recovery of body and spirit.

June 1, 2009 | 5:34 AM Comments  0 comments



Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

This subject has come up repeatedly since President Obama took Office, the passage of Prop 8 in California, Prop 102 in Arizona, as well as similar propositions in other states. I wrote a little about it (okay, I was mostly poking fun at the Army Service Ribbon) following my ‘Class A’ Inspection in December of last year. However, since then, a Gay friend told me her girlfriend is considering Military Service. Consequently, I’ve given the matter more serious thought.
I find it difficult to dissuade ANYONE who feels passionately enough about securing the liberty of this country to sacrifice their own freedom through Military Service. I’ve said it before in my (http://slicnic5150.wordpress.com/) Manifesto: "Once they voluntarily take the Oath of Enlistment, they are bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice and as such (for the sake of discipline and unity) surrender freedoms that the citizens they protect take for granted every day.”
This statement of sacrifice is no truer than in the cases of our Gay Service Members. As I said in December, at the time I enlisted, I didn’t give much thought to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass” because the only parts that apply to me are “Don’t Ask” and “Don’t Harass.” They’re pretty self-explanatory instructions and don’t really require “Da Vinci Code” level brain space. So I simply signed the documents stating that I had read and agree to the terms of the policy. What I recall of what I read in the policy Gay Service Members are prohibited from Stating Publicly that they are Gay, engage in homosexual activity or legally marry anyone of the same sex (even in the few states where it is currently legal.) Incidentally, this last prohibition prevents Gay Service Members from signing their partners up for Military Benefits that Married Straight Service Members are permitted to provide their dependants. I also stated that "I’ve encountered gay soldiers at every stage of my Military career. They are in my opinion not better or worse than any other soldiers I’ve interacted with. I also have friends who are gay - whom I love every bit as much as I love my straight friends. In my 20 years in the work-force, I’ve worked with and for gay men and women. So, it’s safe to say, I have no opposition to Gay Rights.” I assure you that I still feel that way. Which is why I find what I am about to say very difficult: Recently a West Point Graduate, Iraqi War Veteran, and Arabic Interpreter was informed that because he admitted he was Gay on a cable news show, he is being discharged. I’m sorry to say that at this point, I agree with the Military’s decision. It is not a bigoted opinion, it is a legal one.
When this soldier enlisted he signed the same documents I did. They constitute a legal contract. By going on TV while actively serving in the New York National Guard, he violated the terms (as unfair as those terms are) of his contract with the United States Government. By doing so he is (and should be – in my opinion) subject to discharge from service.
In my opinion, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass” was never meant to be the final solution to helping Gays serve in the Military. It was a stepping stone and now (since I believe the climate is right) it is the time for the next step. I believe it is time for the poorly conceived and poorly written policy to be retired and replaced with one that allows these brave men and women to serve openly and un-harassed. Joining the Military then blatantly going on TV and violating the policy is not the way to do it. That action is inconsistent with Army Values, the Soldier’s Code and the Soldier’s Creed. There is however, a mechanism in place for just this sort of thing. It’s called the United States Constitution and the correct path is through the First Amendment to that Constitution. You’d think a West Point Graduate would know that. I barely have a High School Diploma and I’ve read the United States Constitution. Hell, I better have read it! I swore an Oath to “uphold and defend” it, the same as he did...but I digress…. Under the First Amendment to the Constitution, every American is guaranteed the right to“…peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” For those of you who don’t know, “redress” means to “set right” or “remedy.”
If you are a Gay American, you desire service in the United States Military and you are unable to serve under the conditions created by the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Harass” Policy then (in my opinion) you need to have the strength of character to suck it up and take the necessary steps through due process to change it BEFORE you join.
As always, your thoughts are welcome.

May 16, 2009 | 11:27 PM Comments  0 comments



Forgiveness & Anger
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

In 2007, I wrote a blog about my brother called "Love and Hate."
Up until that point, I had been operating under a false assumption regarding Hate. It was two years into therapy for anger management that I realized the error in my thinking. I believed that hate was the opposite of love. The opposite of love is indifference. At the same time, I realized I was also wrong about forgiveness. I had always associated forgiveness with the obvious religious context. Being an atheist, I didn’t believe it applied to me. I stated in that blog, the anger and hatred I had been carefully nurturing toward my brother for everything he’d ever done to me (in our 30 year association) was only hurting one person: Me. Therefore, I took the unbelievable weight of anger I had harbored toward him toward him for 7 years and I tried to let it go and convert my hate to indifference. That was over a year ago.
Recently, I was reading an article on the Common Ground News Service – originally published in a Portuguese newspaper. In the article an Israeli Journalist (Roi Ben-Yehuda) and a Muslim Activist & Scholar (Raquel Evita Saraswati – whose blog I’ve followed for over a year, in an effort to understand the Muslim mind) were asked to offer opinions on a variety of issues surrounding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
NOTE: Don’t worry, this is not a rant about Israelis & Palestinians…. I am nowhere near qualified to offer a constructive opinion on that issue. Quite honestly, the more I read about it, the less I understand it. This is about anger & forgiveness
Toward the end of the article, the interviewer (Margarida Santos Lopes) asked for advice these two would give to Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims & the rest of the world in response to rockets, suicide attacks, faulty negotiations, and repressed attempts to demonstrate peacefully against Israel’s expansion into the West Bank. I don’t know why (perhaps because she’s not yet even 26 years old and at 26 I was still trying to figure out which cartoon I liked best) but Ms. Saraswati’s response impressed me. For me personally, here’s (to borrow a term from her blog) the “Money Quote:”
“…we are greater than the sum of our anger and the scars of our pain…. Images of hate serve only our most destructive aims – a masochistic appeasement of the worst of ourselves…. The lives of our children are worth far more than what we are doing to one another today.”
Now here’s a person who (at not even 26 years old) not only understands forgiveness but, practices it in the face of anger (better than I do at 39) and can articulate in one paragraph what it took me 2 years in anger management to (and entire blog entry) realize. Unbelievable. I hope one day to achieve that level of peace within myself.
Feel free to read the entire translation of the article...Part 1 here:
http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=24620&lan=en&sid=0&sp=0
And part 2, here:
http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=24663&lan=en&sid=0&sp=0


January 27, 2009 | 6:59 PM Comments  0 comments



Nic’s Manifesto – Disclaimer


Nic’s Manifesto

 

(A work in progress)

  

I’ve been inspired.  March 11th 2008, marked the launch of New York University’s Moral Courage Project at the Wagner School of Public Service.  As a result, I’ve decided to compose my very own Manifesto.

 

  

I actually had to look up the word Manifesto in the dictionary to find out what it is – Manifesto: a public declaration of Intentions, Motives or Views.

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Sections of this document contain elements (i.e. Soldier’s Creed, Soldier’s Code and the Oath of Enlistment) originated and copyrighted by the United States Army Training Doctrine.  However, the Opinions expressed are the sole Views of the Writer and DO NOT reflect any Policy or View of the United States Armed Forces.  The document should be read (as it was written) in the context of a Private Citizen of the United States of America.

As noted above this is a Work in Progress.  I don’t personally believe it will ever truly be finished during my life time.  As I grow and the world changes around me, as I am introduced to new ideas, philosophies and facts not yet considered, I will undoubtedly change as will my priorities and views.


October 12, 2008 | 11:10 AM Comments  0 comments

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Nic’s Manifesto – Intentions


My intentions are simple:

1) Lead by example in every action and interaction.

2) Introduce (without imposing) my personal beliefs with regard to morality and freedom in the local and global community. Remembering the paradox: Those who crusade for freedom often do it the greatest disservice – Irshad Manji

3) Live a moral life that exemplifies the following principals:
Integrity – Do what is legally and morally right
Loyalty – Bear truth faith and allegiance to the United States of America, its Constitution, my fellow soldiers and the citizens we serve
Personal Courage – Face physical and moral fear, danger and adversity
Selfless Service – Put the welfare of the nation and the people of the United States of America before my own
Respect – Treat people as they should be treated
Duty – Fulfill my obligations
Honor – Live up to all the principles listed

4) Live and follow the Soldier’s Creed:
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
     I will always place the mission first.
     I will never accept defeat.
     I will never quit.
     I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I will always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy engage and destroy the enemies of the United States in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

5) Live and follow the Soldier’s Code:
     a) I am an American Soldier – a protector of the greatest nation on earth – sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
     b) I will treat others with dignity and respect and I will expect others to do the same.
     c) I will honor my Country, the Army, my unit and my fellow soldiers by living the Army Values.
     d) No matter what situation I am in, I will never do anything for pleasure, profit or personal safety which will disgrace my uniform, my unit or my country.
     e) Lastly, I am proud of my Country and its flag. I want to look back and say I am proud to have served my Country as a soldier.

6) Act with compassion rather than Re-Act with anger in order to perpetuate positive energy and counter negative. “…we are greater than the sum of our anger and the scars of our pain….   Images of hate serve only our most destructive aims – a masochistic appeasement of the worst of ourselves.” – Raquel Evita Saraswati

7) Have the Moral Courage to challenge leaders who have confused authoritarianism with leadership. An unjust law is no law at all. – St. Augustine.

8) Pursue and defend Universal Human Rights. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”

9) Stand up and be counted among those who championed morality in a seemingly amoral world.  I’ve never seen the world in terms of good and evil.  To me that smacks of a religious overtone, a judgment call that we should not be making.  Instead, I see the world in terms of tolerance.  Ignorance versus knowledge.  Fear versus understanding. - Matthew Alexander


October 12, 2008 | 10:10 AM Comments  0 comments

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Nic’s Manifesto – Motives


My motives are less simple:

 

Years ago I read a translation of Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno (first published in 1959) by John Ciardi.  I won’t say it shaped my life because my parents already had a fairly good head start on that.  I can say however, that it impacted my life quite dramatically.  Even though I am an Atheist, I was raised Catholic. 

A great many of my opinions about morality were shaped by that upbringing.  Dante’s Inferno reinforced those opinions.  To this day, when faced with a choice between Action and In-Action, I am haunted by one passage in particular.  Ciardi’s translation of the narrative is unforgettable; it has stayed with me since my first reading.  It takes place towards the beginning of the book before Dante and Virgil (his guide) begin their decent into Hell. Virgil escorts Dante through the vestibule outside Hell proper.  There they pass the Opportunists and the Nameless.  Those doomed to dwell right outside Hell for all eternity and never enter. 

 

They took no sides therefore they are given no place…

            …These are the nearly soulless

whose lives concluded neither blame nor praise.

            They are mixed here with that despicable corps

                        of angels who were neither for God or Satan,

                        but only for themselves.  The High Creator

            scourged them from Heaven for it’s perfect beauty

and Hell will not receive them since the wicked

might feel some glory over them…

            …They have no hope of death…

            And in their blind and unattaining state

                        their miserable lives have sunk so low

                        that they must envy every other fate.

            No word of them survives their living season.

                        Mercy and Justice deny them even a name.

                        Let us not speak of them: look and pass on…

 

I understand and appreciate the presents of the Opportunists in the passage:  that despicable corps of angels who were neither for God or Satan, but only for themselves.    Having taken no sides in the conflict between Heaven and Hell, they had no right to enter either.  They are left with no place in the afterlife.  I get that.  It’s the Nameless that disturb me.  They are mixed here (with the Opportunists)…lives concluded neither blame nor praise…  They made no impact during their lives, neither negative nor positive.  No word of them survives their living season. Mercy and Justice deny them even a name.  They are people barely even worth mentioning.  Let us not speak of them: look and pass on… 

Even without the religious connotation, this passage has always had a powerful effect on me.  The implication being; to lead such a meaningless existence that you are not worth notice while you’re alive, you’ll be worth even less notice after you’re dead and gone.  To be forgotten, over-looked or ignored is a fate worse than Death.  In an epic poem that describes in detail the horrors and eternal consequences of impenitent sin in the Christian Hell (my parents believed that Hell was simply an eternity in the absence of Gods love) it is this passage alone that has left the most enduring impression. 

I still feel its presents with me to this day however; I’ve matured since my first reading of The Inferno and I’ve gained perspective.  I understand in my sober adulthood, the world is larger than me and I’ve realized there is a greater tragedy than to be personally forgotten.  Greater than leading such a meaningless life that: no word of [me] survives [my] living season.  That tragedy would be to forget my loving parents who taught me right from wrong in the first place.  It is their legacy, not mine, that must be perpetuated.  I have focused my energy toward honoring my Mother and Father by choosing to pursue the positive.  I do so in the tradition of their Christian values even though I have no God to love or fear.  My conscience and my parent’s memory are all I have to guide me.


October 12, 2008 | 10:10 AM Comments  0 comments

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Nic’s Manifesto – Views – Section 6 – On Freedom


On Freedom – I can understand the theory of wanting to free people; I just don’t think we should go hellfire damnation around the world freeing people, unless it is directly related to our own National Security. – Gerald R. Ford

The present day military (and by extension, the American people) owe Former President Ford a huge debt of gratitude.  During his single term in office, he was instrumental in the elimination of the Draft and converting the United States Military into an all Volunteer Force.  Consequently, today’s Military is a stronger, prouder military because every single Service Member is participating of his/her own free will.  For that reason, I personally have a great deal of respect for the man despite the fact that he’s the only American President not put in office (or the office of the Vice-Presidency for that matter) directly by the voters.

Every Service Member (regardless of their chosen branch of service) takes the same Oath when they Enlist.  That Oath binds us to: …obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the Officers appointed over [us] according to the regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice…

As long as I wear the uniform of my country’s Armed Forces, I strive to do so honorably.  I will fulfill the obligation of my Oath and follow all Legal Orders issued by the officers over me and my Commander and Chief (whoever he may be) regardless of whether or not I personally agree with them – as is my duty.  When I am called to deploy (for whatever reason) I will do so and stay true to our Warrior Ethos:

     I will always place the mission first.

     I will never accept defeat.

     I will never quit.

     I will never leave a fallen comrade.

Our Oath and Warrior Ethos must take precedent over personal political views.  When my fellow American Service Members are put in harms way, it is my Duty and my Honor to stand by their side and do whatever it takes to support their mission so they return to their families and loved ones Alive and Whole.

That being said, Freedom of Expression is the right of every citizen and is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.  As a soldier, I voluntarily surrendered that right (while in uniform) for the sake of Unity, Discipline, out of Respect for (and the preservation of) the Chain of Command and to Sustain Mission Readiness.  However, while out of uniform (as a private citizen of a country I love) I believe the Military’s first obligation is to ensure the Rights and Security of Citizens in this country.  Unlike many politicians, I don’t believe it is the roll of the United States Military to police the world.  I say this in the spirit of Frederick Douglass who asserted, A true patriot is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins.

As unpopular as this opinion might be during the era of the “Global War on Terrorism,” I don’t believe the world should be viewed as a giant board game on which Politicians are free to deploy Sailors, soldiers, Airmen and Marines like game pieces with the intention of forcing the proliferation of democracy.

Unless our National Security is directly threatened, our focus should be on our primary mission and the first part of our Oath of Enlistment: …to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies foreign and domestic [and] bear truth faith and allegiance to the same…

I proudly wear my uniform for one reason and one reason only; to preserve the Constitution of the United States of America for the future generations.  I do so with heartfelt thanks to Former President Gerald R. Ford and in total agreement of his position on freedom.  The Oath we took means so much more to me and our men in uniform because (thanks to him) it was taken voluntarily.


October 12, 2008 | 9:10 AM Comments  0 comments

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