Despite some resistance from the authorities, Phil has continued to hold his sign high for Let’s Chat. Here’s a video update on his activities.
Congratulations, Phil! You’re doing a great job continuing to create new opportunities for people to interact in Kuala Lumpur. Who knows what the impact will be? At the very least there have been cultural exchanges between you and people from other countries. Perhaps in the future, more Malaysians will engage in Let’s Chat activities. And it seems like you are making new friends. Thanks for playing The Opportunity Game in your own inimitable way!
It has been over twenty-four hours since the California State Supreme Court refused to rule the egregiously homophobic Proposition 8 unconstitutional. I’m still in shock that the court found it legal to take away the rights of a group of American citizens. While I am sure that history will prove this decision to be the last gasp of a dying bigoted agenda, it saddens me that the court deemed this proposition worthy of any respect at all.
I find it ludicrous that supporters of Proposition 8 find that the marriage of two lesbians or gay men undermines the institution of marriage. How can the marriage of two men or two women possibly undermine another marriage that is healthy? It seems to me that supporters of Proposition 8 view marriage as a special club. It is only open to a couple composed of one man and one woman. Any other combination must be excluded. If one is to use marriage as a weapon of exclusion, I think that love should be the exclusionary determinant. If you do not love one another, you definitely should be persuaded not to marry. As long as love, respect and honoring of each partner is present, why is it necessary to forbid people to marry? Read the rest of this entry »
President Obama has decided to fight to bar the release of photographs documenting abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan by United States military personnel. This reversal of his previous stance seems to fly in the face of his promise of transparency in government. I’m sure that the President has thought long and hard about this decision. There are good reasons to chose to release the photographs just as he now feels that it is in the interest of American troops to withhold their publication. I can’t help but wonder however, if withholding the photographs is actually more in service of protecting our egos than protecting American troops.
I never met Augusto Boal in person but I have read all of his books. I am profoundly by his death. Selfishly, I am grieving my lost opportunity. Now I will never have the chance to personally study with him. His writing has been an important influence on the creation of The Opportunity Game. He was a master at eliciting and acting on the opportunity of every situation. Altruistically, I am saddened that the world no longer has his genius to inform us of what is possible.
Whenever any star permanently exits the stage of life, I feel a great loss. However, if I am truly honest, I also feel angry. Their absence leaves a hole that demands to be filled. This hole always reminds me that I can no longer lean back and let another do the work while I laze around in the background.
I could stop my exploration of my feelings here at anger. Certainly, most people would validate my awareness of my anger and compliment me on being so forthright. However, my anger is covering up something much more powerful. It is my excitement. I’m excited and I am fully alive when I act.
I don’t need a professional stage nor a paid audience to act. Acting is about awareness. It is about taking the stage with intention, being fully in my character and then acting in concert with the other players in the scene. Boal taught me that the world IS my stage and my audience is always awaiting and welcoming my appearance.
Boal lived his life with a fierce commitment to freedom, dignity and expression. He believed in the exquisite knowledge and power of people to act and direct their own lives toward the good. He founded The Theatre of the Oppressed in Brazil in 1971. His work traveled rapidly around the world. In The Theatre of the Oppressed people play and learn together. It is a game of dialog. To quote Boal, “We believe in Peace, not Passivity!”
Boal’s death is my cue to enter. He always exhorted people to “come closer”. I am now coming closer to you and thus to me. Act in Peace, Augusto! Bravo!
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