A More Perfect Union

I saw this video today and I thought it was important enough to me to post it on my blog. You may have seen it already - Obama's speech about race issues in the US, in his campaign and in politics. I think it's a brilliant explanation and acknowledgment of what's going on in this country regarding race.

I really want everyone to know that I am a racist. I admit my negative, prejudiced, oppressive and automatic thoughts, beliefs and feelings toward people of color. I am ashamed of it. Yet if I turn my head away from my own tendency to oppress people, I will continue doing it. So as I look at my racism, I encourage you all to look at yours in whatever sneaky ways it shows up in your life. And just notice it. That's all. Racism permeates United States culture and has since the founding of this country. We can't really escape it. What we can do is increase our awareness of where our beliefs, our assumptions and prejudices come from. We might be able, with more awareness, to create a gap in our thought process in which we can see people and situations freshly, rather than through a lens constructed by decades of those in power trying to convince us that people of color or women or the poor or immigrants are bad for whatever reason.

This speech that Obama gave - no matter if you support him or not - was helpful for me to understand even more the issues of race that confront us individually and as a country. I hope you take some time to watch this video. It's about 35 minutes long. Please watch it. And let me know what you think. The link is on the right side of my page under my favorites.

Who knew

Well, folks, I learned how to ski. I started in December while Toby's family was here and learned a ton from them. But something happened last weekend and I really got it. I finally understand the cultural phenomenon of the 'ski bum.' It's a blast once you can do it! I went down more advanced runs and learned how to keep my skis parallel while turning instead of doing the snowplow/pie-shaped ski thing to keep myself going slow. Hurrah! I went fast! I even kept up with Toby. I did fall a couple times, but it didn't hurt nearly as bad as the last few years when I tried snowboarding.

We went up to a resort called Breckenridge. What a beautiful place! We stayed in a condo nearby with 9 of our friends. It was cozy and fun to hang out with everyone and have a break from the madness that is our lives right now in school. We had gorgeous weather and good snow. We didn't get many pictures, but here's one from the top of a blue run that I did with Toby.



And this is our friend Jeremy after he jumped over a creek and landed in a huge snowdrift.



Hope you're all enjoying the end of winter! Welcome spring!