April 11, 2009
Posted by David Rothenberg on Tuesday, April 28, 2009
In the superb new movie, Sugar, a young Dominican man is trained and convinced that the fulfillment of his dreams would be to play major league baseball. He is a talented, sensitive athlete and his prospects are good…as he enters a training program which slightly resembles a cult.
Young men at the brink of manhood are grilled, drilled and prepared to move to the United States and become prosperous athletes, bringing pride and dollars to their families and country. It’s about dreams – sometimes self-motivated and sometimes imposed. It is a fascinating metaphor for almost every aspect of life.
We all have dreams, individually and collectively, and it is often difficult to determine if these are your own deeply felt aspirations or if you are attempting to fulfill the hopes and lost dreams of a parent, a guardian or an entire community.
The election of Barack Obama is more than political. In addition to his persuasive and effective leadership, our young President’s emergence as a world leader is also about the fulfilling of dreams, inspiring hope and possibilities for millions of Americans left out of dream-making for nearly four centuries.
Of course with every dream-maker comes the dream-killers, the holders of the negative norm, determined to rain on a celebratory parade. Enter Fox television which to date can find nothing hopeful or positive in the Obama presidency. This week they were in a state of horror and shock over Obama who bowed upon meeting the King of “Saudi Arabia. There are few words that can describe Fox’s collective reaction to this ceremony… it was described as a capitulation to terrorism, an abandonment of democracy and other irrational observations. Jon Stewart gave a harsh and accurate description of Daddy and Baby Bush’s capitulation to the oil interests in Saudi and the ravenous profits enjoyed by private Texas oil companies because of Bush ties with the monarchy. There are all sorts of ways to bow before a king…one is ceremonial and the other is by trading away your nation.
Dreams are not to be dismissed; particularly if they are realistic and within reach. Every kid “on the corner” will not become a rap star, every E channel interview with a successful American Idol entrant does not reflect the thousands who have been turned away, whose talents weren’t sufficient or whose dreams were not reached. But TV shows nurture the fantasy and the dreams, sometimes fanning the flames of unrealistic expectations.
One of the wonderful aspects of growing older is that your dreams…or to be more personal, my dreams are often about other people and a hope for a sense of happiness, tranquility and peace. I meet so many young men and women at the Fortune Society whose dreams have been shattered, often before they had an opportunity to explore the possibility of realizing them. And so, in an environment that nurtures the sparks that remain, we are witness to people realizing their own potential. Dreams coming true do not always have to be about self.
I am not suggesting that people of a certain vintage, like me, in the early stages of senescence are devoid of dreams. They merely shift from earlier days, and with time, hopefully comes wisdom, reality, and a curious kind of serenity.
Watching the young man in the movie Sugar struggle, my heart went out to him. I wanted to shout words of encouragement as he realizes that the dreams he is carrying belong to others. It is a rich portrait and the athlete is a stand-in for all young aspirants, irrespective of personal goals.
I am convinced that our dreams are the first step in action and when nurtured in a creative and positive atmosphere, they can be achieved. I recall my friend Bob Brown, who after serving nearly three decades in prison, told us of his childhood abandonment, neglect and abuse, and said that he went on to live out the crocodiles of his dreams. When he came to the Fortune Society he worked with others in an atmosphere of love and acceptance to find new dreams and when his daughter was born, he could realize and recognize the hope that exists in dreams.
We are living in Obama-time which means that dreams are being dream … and that there is hope in the air, amidst economic and social turmoil. But the dreams of a young Dominican athlete and those of a young president are the things which keep us churning and caring.
I’m David Rothenberg…out on a limb!
Young men at the brink of manhood are grilled, drilled and prepared to move to the United States and become prosperous athletes, bringing pride and dollars to their families and country. It’s about dreams – sometimes self-motivated and sometimes imposed. It is a fascinating metaphor for almost every aspect of life.
We all have dreams, individually and collectively, and it is often difficult to determine if these are your own deeply felt aspirations or if you are attempting to fulfill the hopes and lost dreams of a parent, a guardian or an entire community.
The election of Barack Obama is more than political. In addition to his persuasive and effective leadership, our young President’s emergence as a world leader is also about the fulfilling of dreams, inspiring hope and possibilities for millions of Americans left out of dream-making for nearly four centuries.
Of course with every dream-maker comes the dream-killers, the holders of the negative norm, determined to rain on a celebratory parade. Enter Fox television which to date can find nothing hopeful or positive in the Obama presidency. This week they were in a state of horror and shock over Obama who bowed upon meeting the King of “Saudi Arabia. There are few words that can describe Fox’s collective reaction to this ceremony… it was described as a capitulation to terrorism, an abandonment of democracy and other irrational observations. Jon Stewart gave a harsh and accurate description of Daddy and Baby Bush’s capitulation to the oil interests in Saudi and the ravenous profits enjoyed by private Texas oil companies because of Bush ties with the monarchy. There are all sorts of ways to bow before a king…one is ceremonial and the other is by trading away your nation.
Dreams are not to be dismissed; particularly if they are realistic and within reach. Every kid “on the corner” will not become a rap star, every E channel interview with a successful American Idol entrant does not reflect the thousands who have been turned away, whose talents weren’t sufficient or whose dreams were not reached. But TV shows nurture the fantasy and the dreams, sometimes fanning the flames of unrealistic expectations.
One of the wonderful aspects of growing older is that your dreams…or to be more personal, my dreams are often about other people and a hope for a sense of happiness, tranquility and peace. I meet so many young men and women at the Fortune Society whose dreams have been shattered, often before they had an opportunity to explore the possibility of realizing them. And so, in an environment that nurtures the sparks that remain, we are witness to people realizing their own potential. Dreams coming true do not always have to be about self.
I am not suggesting that people of a certain vintage, like me, in the early stages of senescence are devoid of dreams. They merely shift from earlier days, and with time, hopefully comes wisdom, reality, and a curious kind of serenity.
Watching the young man in the movie Sugar struggle, my heart went out to him. I wanted to shout words of encouragement as he realizes that the dreams he is carrying belong to others. It is a rich portrait and the athlete is a stand-in for all young aspirants, irrespective of personal goals.
I am convinced that our dreams are the first step in action and when nurtured in a creative and positive atmosphere, they can be achieved. I recall my friend Bob Brown, who after serving nearly three decades in prison, told us of his childhood abandonment, neglect and abuse, and said that he went on to live out the crocodiles of his dreams. When he came to the Fortune Society he worked with others in an atmosphere of love and acceptance to find new dreams and when his daughter was born, he could realize and recognize the hope that exists in dreams.
We are living in Obama-time which means that dreams are being dream … and that there is hope in the air, amidst economic and social turmoil. But the dreams of a young Dominican athlete and those of a young president are the things which keep us churning and caring.
I’m David Rothenberg…out on a limb!
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