Read on to uncover the connection to today's blog....
Here is a blog that is by a young man who is the son of a good friend: http://storyofthesummer.tumblr.com/
It is about the story of summer in Peoria, and about the disenfranchisement of many who live here. I see this disenfranchisement of many others than those reflected in his article, and who are ignored by the powers that be... Some of these folks have risen in spite of how this community has received them, and in some cases has literally slapped them down in their attempts for recognition. My blog today is for all the disenfranchised... who ever and where ever you are.
Interesting article on the full moon and the other
Peoria; having lived here since the early 1970’s I have always seen this other
Peoria; the Peoria that Richard Pryor has described and mocked through his comedy.
It is a community that snubs or ignores
its famous; a community that is more interested in serving the great yellow god
called CAT than acknowledging and rewarding those who have talent and could
bring real fame to this community. A
city where mediocrity is rewarded and genius is ignored, at best, and is punished
at worst.
When the great yellow god held power, until the early
1980’s, this was a city whose main focus and function was to produce workers
whose effort fed this hungry god.
Education and educators were programmed to serve this need for
mediocrity by encouraging their young not to think critically; after all critical
thinking does not produce the fodder needed by the hungry manufacturing industry. A population of critical thinkers may have no
interest or desire to feed this god, and if there is no supply of workers how
would this industry god survive?
So slowly but surely critical thinking as a part of
education was removed from Peoria’s educational system and from most of those
employed by it. Students were no longer
challenged to think critically, to solve real problems, or to make real
contributions to the world. The
community ignored or pushed out those who have made deep insightful and
meaningful contributions to society. Sadly
many of these great people are not known by the majority of the folks that
populate Peoria; other Peoria, real people of Peoria, or otherwise.
Jose Phillip Farmer, Nita Sunderland, Preston Jackson,
Marlene Miller, Richard Pryor, Betty Friedan to name just a few.
There is no interest by those in political power to remember the
talented brilliant people that add a whole new dimension to the term “other
Peoria”. This Peoria, like the one you
write about is also populated by folks who have been disenfranchised, like
those in your Story of the Summer, but they too are as you say, "more resilient than every moneyed
politician, developer and powerful member of the status quo could ever be".
The names I mention, and many, many others, have risen
above the petty political games of this community; and in spite of this they
have used their talents, their intellect, and their ability to express their
beliefs to make great contributions to the world. Perhaps someday each of those who have made a
real mark on the world will be taken in by this community, recognized, and
honored for their great contributions.
At least that is my dream. But
until then your words of pointing out what to me is obvious may cause people to
wake up and realize what really is going on right here and now in River City.
Good article!!
Google the names I have mentioned above and read about some of the great and lasting contributions made by these treasures from Peoria. Nita Sunderland is one of many such Peorians, and this makes me proud to say that I am from Peoria.
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