The Human Agenda

Great Movie

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

“We are all on a pilgrimage of some kind”

Reflections by David Nelson D.Min.

When seven Brits, for a variety of reasons, accept an offer to come to India and reside at “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, they fail to find what they expect, but without exception they discover something else and often something better.  The film is wonderfully constructed with tiny intros for each of the seven key players.  They are quickly assembled in a row of seats at the airport beginning a journey that will change their lives now and forever.

Each person is seeking something different even though their paths converge on several planes.  Evelyn (Judi Dench) is looking for dignity following her husband’s death.  She has been a faithful homemaker and now must find a job.  She discovers not only a good job as culture broker, she also discovers herself in a more brilliant light.

Douglas (Bill Nighy) is faithful to a fault in an empty marriage and is looking for spiritual meaning in ancient sacred spaces.  He wants to explore the meaning in the other’s culture and religion only to discover that inside him there is a whole world of spiritual energy lunging for the light.

Jean (Penelope Wilton) is Douglas’s wife of 39 years and agrees to the India adventure but refuses to venture out of the hotel.  She is not happy with the marriage, with the foreign country or herself, but finally in a bold self-less gesture gives new hope to both herself and her husband.

Muriel (Maggie Smith) is looking for a quick hip replacement that is only available in India.  She has spent her life caring for others and has sharpened her racism and resentment to a sharp cutting edge.  She finds herself in “hell” unable to escape until an untouchable woman gives her a peek at a new way of looking at life and more important at herself.

Graham (Tom Wilkinson), a high court judge, has lived with a painful and shameful memory of the only person he ever loved.  He returns to India following retirement hoping to find that person and somehow make amends or at least to confess his lifelong guilt.  His reunion is a surprise and a completion far beyond what he was searching for.

Norman (Ronald Pickup) has been using women for his personal pleasure all his life and is frightened about getting so old he can no longer attract and perform.  He looks for and discovers a possible playmate and through a bit of uncharacteristic honesty accomplishes the seduction.   What he really discovers, however, is the value of relationship.  It is never to late to fall in love.

Madge (Celia Imrie) has failed at a number of marriages but still thinks that someone else can be the source of meaning and happiness.  Much to her surprise the quality of life is not determined by another person, but by each individual.  In her attempts and failures she eventually falls in love, perhaps for the first time, with herself.

Sonny (Dev Patel) is the young Indian man who actually believes in the fantasy of the “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and refuses to give in to the reality that the building and the idea are melting in front of him.  His mother comes to rescue him and return him to the home where he belongs and he almost, but not quite, gives up the hotel and the woman of his desires and dreams.

These eight characters provided me with more than eight metaphors for meaning in life.  The movie invited me to reflect on the final third of my life.  We are all on a pilgrimage and I suspect, like the characters in the movie, our desired destination may be a noble but in the end it may not be what happens.  Sonny says if first but all of the characters finally embrace the truth that “Everything will be alright in the end, and if it is not alright, it is not the end.”

 

 

Vital Conversatons

VITAL CONVERSATIONS

“Where we have been --- Where we are going”

 It started with a request from my friend Vern Barnet.  He asked it I would facilitate a discussion of Karen Armstrong’s book The Battle for God.  We met in the CRES living room and had a lively and enlightening conversations.  I loved the opportunity to listen to others and hear about their experience of life.  I also enjoyed sharing some of my own experience and thoughts on issues of concern.  With the support of Vern and CRES, The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council and Mid Continent Public Library, Antioch Branch, I started to organize and facilitate Vital Conversations on a regular monthly basis.

These gatherings are VITAL because they give opportunity to explore issues essential to living a full life.  We talk about faith development, spirituality, religion, politics, science, personal relationships, sexuality, current issues, and other topics as they emerge.  I need a community that is willing to address the issues of living in today’s world.

They are CONVERSATIONS designed to engage the participants in two important skills of communication: listening and speaking.  It is difficult for me at times to find groups where people really listen to each other.  Like me, many people like to talk about their own experiences and opinions.  Sometimes we listen to engage in debate.  Sometimes we listen to shape our response.  Sometimes we tune out and do not listen at all.  Listening for truth and to grow in understanding is both the challenge and the gift of these gatherings.  There are other times and places for debate, argument, confrontation, and passive enjoyment. 

In that last half dozen years we have discussed books by and about protestant Christians, Catholic Christians, Mormons, Scientology, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Free Thinkers, Mystics, and Atheists.  We have read and discussed several collections about issues of interfaith relationships, race, politics, and ethics.  We read fiction and non-fiction books as well as watching movies and televisions programs.  We have used the “Art Form” to discuss movies.  We have welcomed guests to share their insights and experience with the firm conviction that it is more appropriate to talk “with” others rather than talking “about” others.  I always welcome your suggestions about how we can nurture Vital Conversations to be an even better and more attractive community for you to be a part of.

 

Enchantments - a great book

 

Enchantments:  A Novel by Kathryn Harrison

Few figures in history attract more attention and speculation that Grigori Rasputin.  He was the “mad monk” that either comforted the Romanovs with the hope of saving their son or destroyed their final years of power because he was such a charlatan.  We know through history that he was killed before the Czar and his family and that he had three daughters, who for a brief time, were sent to live with the Romanov family in their transition before all were brutally murdered and their bodies chopped up and destroyed.  One of those daughters lived a whole life after the end of The Russian Empire.  She died as a lion tamer in 1935 in Peru, Indiana after being mauled by a black bear.

Through the story telling of this oldest daughter, Masha, we learn of these days through the creative writing of Ms. Harrison.  I have always preferred the embellishment and speculation to mere bare boring facts.   I like to hear the conversations, taste the foods, and feel the emotions of my heroes and villains. This novel builds a narrative that contains both facts and charming and disturbing stories.  There are hints of young romance between Alyosha, the hemophiliac Romanov heir and Masha.  Masha returns to her childhood living with a father that attracted women and men through his mystery and faith healing.  The mix she creates delights, disturbs, and kept me reading.

This well know story of the struggle between the super rich powerful and the little people is acted out again and again in history.  It is accompanied often with hurt, violence and death.  Inside the story, from top to bottom, are real people living the best they can.  Some struggle with the burden of power, some suffer with the curse of poverty, but they all seek to survive and, when possible, sustain relationship.

Masha and Alyosha are separated by the painful realities of their world.  But in being fully present for each story shared, each friendly brush with lust, and each possible human touch, they remind us that life is worth the effort and that no act of love is ever lost in the universe.

 

Vital Conversations

“Facilitating a Vital Conversation”

A Human Agenda Top Ten List by David Nelson

 “The purpose of a Vital Conversation is not to win an argument but

to win a friend and advance civilization.”

Vern Barnet

1. Nametags or card-tents are important.  I prefer name tent cards (5 by 8) with first name in large letters.  Calling people by name increases the level of respect and understanding.
2.  Be conscious how you sit or gather for a conversation.  Six to eight people sitting around a table works best.
3. Begin with a “check-in” or “releasing conversation” where every person speaks to the group.  This should include name and something non-threatening but related to the topic.
4. Frame the conversation with “appreciative inquiry” type questions.  Individuals can listen and share disagreements more appropriately following some sharing of common ground.
5. The role of facilitator is to assist the conversation.  The more divisive the topic, the less the facilitator should share personal opinions.  Further the conversation with clarifying statements and questions.
6. Identify desired outcomes early in conversation.  Often people can agree on what they want in the end.  It is the paths to get there that are more diverse.
7. Ask for silence before responding to difficult questions.  Invite each participant to reflect on what he or she wants to accomplish and how he or she might articulate their response.  It is good to have paper and pen on the tables for notes.
8. Invite all participants to share their insight but be careful not to force people to speak before they are ready.
9. Avoid name-calling or judging others.  Reflect and respond to opinions and behaviors without evaluating others.
10. Wrap up conversations by summarizing key points.  Repeat quote about Vital Conversations (above).  Evaluate with two questions.  1) What worked for you during this conversation?  2) What could we do better next time?

 

Obituary

Writing your own obituary is a bold and playful act of wishful thinking.  Of course I don't know the circumstances or date of my death.  I like not knowing.  But I can write what I hope might be said about me after I die.  Here is my latest version.  It gives me some clarity for the way I am going to live my life for the next day, week, month, year and decade.  I commit my self to living up to my own expectations.

David E. Nelson

1945-2045

 David Nelson completed the earthly portion of his life today, February 19, 2045, just two days short of his 100^th birthday.  He died peacefully in the arms of his wife Ann.  His family and friends at a Holy Eucharist are celebrating him on Sunday.   His wife, children Lars and Lucia, their spouses, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are hosting a celebration and party following the Eucharist.  This will be held in the backyard of their home for the past 64 years. 

 David’s adult life can be divided into three significant parts.  For 24 years he served in parish ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  The parishes included a rural church in Central Kansas, a town-gown parish in Manhattan, Kansas and a multi-staff parish in Kansas City, Missouri.  David’s leadership in liturgical worship and social justice was widely recognized and appreciated by both the local and national church.   His writing during this time included adult study material, family devotional guides, and journal articles.   He provided spiritual direction in both individual and group settings and was appreciated by his personal story telling and warm preaching style.

 The second third of David’s life saw an expansion of his influence.  As an Appreciative Inquiry Coach he assisted individuals and groups in a variety of settings.  These included the Department of Health and Human Services, Emergency Medicine, Head Start, and Community Action Agencies.  He provided training in Team Building and Appreciative Supervision in 39 states and Europe.  As a leader in the interfaith community he was one of the founders of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council and served as Convenor for a number of years.  He continued to host Vital Conversations once a month into his 80s.  One of the most satisfying segments of this period was his work with the Life Connections Program at the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas.  It was in this setting that David demonstrated the power of appreciative inquiry to assist in the transformation of individuals to become the wonderful human beings they really are.  He continued to provide mentoring and coaching to men who left behind their criminal thinking and behavior and became leaders in their community.

The last third of David’s life was lived in a quiet and comfortably engaged pattern that many saw as a model.  His practice of swimming, meditation and journaling kept him both healthy and balanced.  His presence at meetings was often recognized as a gift to others who were in attendance.  The most important spiritual-human discipline, according to David, was his “happy hour” every day with Ann.  They share it with others on occasion, but most often it the two of them gathering about 5 p.m. every day to share a glass of wine and conversation about their day.  David often told others that this was the secret of his balanced life.

 His family remembers David Nelson fondly.  Each one is ready to share stories of times with “Farfar.”  Their second home in Estes Park, Colorado was a place where the family gathered several times a year and every “Barnbarn” (grandchild) can tell of precious memories shared. 

The stewardship of David’s life can best be celebrated by those who knew and loved him by recommitting themselves to living fully, learning much, laughing often, loving well and leading themselves and others.

 

 

Preparing for Retirement

Reflections on Retirement

“It’s your life.  Don’t miss it.”

David E. Nelson – Appreciative Inquiry Coach

 Some of you who are reading this are in the early days of your career and wonder why read on.  Some may be looking forward and counting the years, months or even days until that moment arrives.  And still others, like me, have reached that crossroads on the journey of a life.  I was shocked when my family offered to host a retirement party for me a year ago.  I still thought of myself in that first group.  Time moves forward at a faster and faster speed we all will soon discover.

 I will leave it for others to work on some of the financial plans about retirement, it is the social, physical, and personal matters that I want to reflect on in this space.  From my experience this past year, I have discovered it is important to follow Stephen Covey’s advice and “begin with the end in mind.”  Think today, at whatever point in your journey, about tomorrow.  Put actions in place that will position you to thrive when you step across that threshold into retirement.  Even if your retirement will come in stages, as mine has, there are moments when it becomes clear that life is different now that making money has become far less a demanding reality.  I offer this list for you to consider and to revise for your own planning to enjoy the last half of your life.

1. Discover what you love to do.  What fills your cup?  What activities, connections, and engagements do you cherish and feel renewed afterwards?  It has been sad for me to hear some of my friends tell me how difficult it is to retire because they don’t know what to do with their time.  Their daily and weekly agenda was driven by job demands and they did not invest their time or energy to discover the true joys of their life.
2. Remember no job is who you are.  You may be a great supervisor or office manager, etc. but you are always more than that.  And if your identity is wrapped too tightly around a profession or a job, retirement can be very difficult.  It is important to keep defining yourself while employed in ways that expand your humanness.  Perhaps there are aspects of your present employment that will remain very special, but no one is only their position.
3. Learn more about human “being” than human “doing.”  So often I get caught up in activity.  Often people say to me, “You must be really busy.”  I respond, partially tongue in cheek, but also honestly, “No, busy is not one of my goals.”  Retirement gives me the chance to be comfortably engaged rather than just busy.  Now I get to select activities that satisfy me and add to my family and community.  My Native American friends tell me that a bird, a fox, or a tree know clearly how to be a bird, a fox, or a tree.  But we humans often appear to not understand how to be a human being.  Each of us will make that discovery on our own and the definitions will differ.
4. Reflect on how you want to be remembered.  In several of the classes I teach I have people write their obituaries.  I ask them to do a bit of wishful thinking about what words they would like to have said about them after they die.  Some are hesitant and even resistant, but most discover significant insight in completing the assignment.  Some of my clients have created clever statements that spark laughter, but even in these playful reflections new insights are often embraced.  Several have even made some major adjustment in their lives based on how they want to be remembered. 
5. Be selective in your circle of friends.  In much of my professional life I was engaged with people I would never have selected as friends.  My profession laid on me the responsible to be present to them and engaged in positive ways.  Not all these connections were without their rewards.  In fact at times I gained much more than I would have ever expected.   Being selective for me means finding those I grow with and not merely those I agree with.  I want friends who share my politics and my spirituality.  I also want friends who will share a different perspective in a respectful and engaging manner.  I have weekly meetings with people who articulate a very different political or spiritual opinion than my own.
6. Learn to say “yes” and “no”.   Too many of my friends are easily seduced into getting more involved than they really want.  People who allow others to write the agendas of their lives will often complain to their family and friends rather than make the decision to say “no”.  Living life “on your terms” is not a selfish decision; it is a human decision that can speak volumes to the people who look to you as a model.  In retirement you have earned the right to say yes or no and not be manipulated into serving on another committee, hosting another party, taking care of your grandchildren, or going back to work as a “consultant”, unless these are your choices.  Think carefully as you discern how you want to spend these precious years of your life.
7. Keep expanding your horizons.  Retirement does not have to mean ending your human evolution.  I am convinced that the only wasted day in my life is the day I claim no new learnings.  Sometimes the learnings are from a class.  It is delightful to see all the free or low cost classes available in every community I am familiar with.  Sometimes the learnings are from events and discoveries in the daily news or events.  Sometimes the learnings are difficult and even painful.  But each day as you claim a new learning your horizons lengthen and your life expands.

Keep the list growing by adding your own.  “It’s your life. Don’t miss it.”

 

Hope for a better world in the future

This book offers a simple description of a complex situation.  It helped me understand the tragic realities of our nation and much of Europe's relationshp with Islam.  What could have been avoided following 9/11 was not because of decisions made and actions taken.  There is hope and I choose to cling to that hope that we can reframe our relationship with one of the world's great religions and in the process pave the way for a more peaceful and promising future for all the reisdents of this fragile planet.

Crusade 2.0:  The West’s Resurgent War On Islam

By John Feffer

Open Media Series City Light Books

Introduction

Target: Islam

“By denouncing Islamophobia, we stand with the vast majority of the Muslim world against the intolerance of al-Qaeda, its anti-Semitism and its imperial aspirations.”  23

One:  The Myths of Crusade 1.0

“The first set of Crusades pitted a frankly barbaric set of Europeans against a more advanced Islamic civilization and prevented a much more peaceable interrelationship from developing.  Crusades 2.0 threatens to create an equally dangerous rift that will continue to consume many lives, waste much wealth and distort our very understanding of our Western selves.” 30

Two:  Islam:  The New Communism

“The ‘global war on terror’ was a vague phrase that not only suffered from being a category error – it was impossible to wage war on a technique or against a non-state actor – but could equally apply to other groups on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations such as Basque Fatherland and Liberty or on it list of state sponsors of terror like Cuba.” 63

 “In an October 2005 speech at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the president introduced the term ‘Islamofascism’ into the presidential discourse.  Rather than simply being a handful of evildoers hiding out in caves somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistan border, Islamofascism was a civilizational threat comparable to the Soviets, an enemy that required national mobilization.”  64.

“Once President Bush finally embraced the rhetoric of Islamofascism, the hard right shifted into overdrive.” 66

Three:  The Launch of Crusade 2.0

“After September 11, the Bush administration understood the uses of fear.  By keeping the country in a prolonged state of fear, the architects of the administration’s anti-terrorism policy could advance a fundamentally irrational agenda.  As a result, America misidentified terrorists, saw weapons of mass destruction where they didn’t exist, and supported quick-draw military solutions when diplomacy would have been more appropriate.  Fear disabled the rational thinking of the American electorate, which accepted the wrong conclusions of Washington policy makers.”  89

“After 9/11, the administration failed to capitalize on the international goodwill directed at Washington to broker a broad, multilateral effort against terrorism.  Even Iran provided assistance for the attack on the Taliban in Afghanistan and Syria cooperated with intelligence on Islamic extremists.  The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas denounced the terrorist actions.  The Council of Religious Scholars in Jordan condemned what it considered ‘a heinous crime.’  ‘American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians,’ the statement of the Council on American-Islamic Relations read in part.”  91

 “The framing of the conflict with al-Qaeda and it supporters as a ‘war’ – rather than a campaign for criminal justice – made certain tactical senses of the Bush administration…To declare war on al-Qaeda and cast that war in civilizational terms elevated the extremists to the level of warriors in a battle of truly biblical proportions.  And the specific wars that followed – in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan – served as recruitment opportunities for the extremists.” 92

 “A change in U.S. policy in the Middle East – fully withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting democracy movement in the region, accepting the role Islamists play in democratic politics, brokering a peace deal between Israel and Palestine – would deprive al-Qaeda of its mobilizing symbols.”  94

 Four:  The Crusade Continues

“U.S. Special Forces now operate in seventy-five countries, 20 percent more that during the Bush years.”  110

“In the conspiracy theories of Islamophobes, Muslims are on the verge of taking over the country by building mosques, imposing sharia, and winning halal certifications. 136

Five:  Turning European

Target: Multiculturalism

“Right-wing pundit Dinesh D’Souza goes to far as to claim that multiculturalism led directly to 9/11.  That’s a lot to pin on a philosophy that’s far from radical, that’s grounded in democratic practice and universal values, and that’s been widely adopted by corporation and universities.”  161

“If Europe and the United State engage the new Turkey, they will discover a willing partner.   More importantly, they will take the first step in ending Crusade 2.0.” 173

Ending Crusade 2.0

“Only when the monotheistic traditions sit down as cousins of equal stature, rather than Jews and Christians on one side against Muslims on the other, will the countries in the region achieve a just peace – and thereby remove on the chief motivating factors for Crusade 2.0”  179

 “We must distinguish between this resistance and the acts of al-Qaeda and its ilk.  By addressing the underlying injustices, we can isolate and eventually close down al-Qaeda.  By ending the wars of occupation, by reaching out to Turkey, by expanding our notions of an exclusive Judeo-Christian culture, we can change the structures that perpetuate injustice.  As a result, Islamophobia – and anti-Western animus – will both disappear.  Like an army that has run out of provisions and lost its way, Crusade 2.0 will grind to a halt, the last of its kind.”  188

 

 

 

Timothy B. Tyson

I just finished reading this true story and will get to meet and listen to Timothy Tyson tonight at St. Paul's School of Theology.  I am also the son of a pastor who modeled for me a passion for justice well ahead of his time.  My father also was on the receiving end of lies and hate speech.  I love my father for his courage and his witness.  He modeled "the christic" which is in all of us.  We may not end war and injustice in our lifetimes, but each day we can take a bite out of them by living justly, working for understanding, and refusing to give room for hate in our hearts.

“The bloody, tangled history that taints and confounds all of us could have been much better if human beings had acted differently, and it could have been far worse, too.  It may yet be unspeakably worse; no one should underestimate the venom of ancient wrongs.  But I remain stitched to the labors of redemption and to what Charles Chesnutt, another storyteller from North Carolina, called ‘the shining thread of hope’ that permitted him, over a century ago, to close his one story of white supremacy, racial murder, and unresolved injustice:  ‘There’s time enough, but none to space.’”  Timothy B. Tyson

 

A Novel About Russia

Why Read and Discuss A Book About Russia?

David E. Nelson, D. Min.

I was born in 1945 and grew up living in the shadow of the Cold War.  Soviet Russia was the evil empire that was seeking to gobble up all the nations around it and destroy our way of life.   We practiced air raid drills hiding under our school decks and against the walls preparing for the immanent attack of the Russians.  Neighbors in California build bomb shelters for their survival and there were conversations about who would be allowed entry and who would be kept outside.  I even had nightmares about a bright light and total darkness and silence.

I did not know anyone from Russian, or from many other countries for that matter.  Most of my thinking and understanding about the world came through my family, my school and my church.  They were all wonderful and safe places, but the fear of the evil Communist threat was felt deeply in my head and heart.  This living in fear began to recede a bit as I read Newsweek, Time and US News and World Report in preparation for speech and debate at Excelsior High School, but I had a very conservative speech coach that continued to remind us that we were in danger.  The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 brought many of these fears to the surface even as I did not fully understand all the circumstances.

The Cold War is over.  The Soviet Union has dissolved and a variety of countries now exist with different types of governance.  My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting St. Petersburg, Russia in 1993 and discovered a beautiful city that needed paint and flowers, but appeared very interesting and attractive.  My interest in Russia began to grow.  In recent years I have been more and more drawn to this country of mystery.  The story of the Tsars, Rasputin, Communism, and struggling democracy invited me to read and study more.

I was thrilled when several months ago a friend at the library informed me that we have an author in the community who has written a book about Russia that she would like for our Vital Conversations group to read and discuss.  The book is Rodina:  A Novel of Mother Russia.   I met Kirsten Berg and started reading the book.  I was hooked.  The historical novel covers the period from about 1861 through World War II and the liberation of Leningrad (the name given Saint Petersburg in 1924).

Kirsten has been a part of Vital Conversations and will be present to discuss her novel on March 14^th.  The story she tells is a true story.  The historical events she writes about are all painfully and powerfully revealed through the lives of a family we get to know personally.  The experience of reading this historical fiction was both painful and attractive.  It is hard to believe the courage and strength of the human beings in this story.  I shed many tears as I read about the monumental battle to defend the Motherland against the Nazis.  Orthodox Christianity emerged for me as a spiritual force giving hope to so many during such a difficult time.  The book touched me and I am excited about discussing with Kirsten and with you.

On my web blog are discussion questions Kirsten has prepared.  You can also bring your questions about the book, the history of Russia and the impact on our world today of this amazing nation.  I hope you can read the book, but even if you can’t, you are welcome to join us and become engaged in a delightful Vital Conversation. 

 

RODINA - Discussion Questions

Rodina:  A Novel of Mother Russia

By Kirsten E. A.  Borg

Questions for Discussion

1. With which character(s) did you most identify?
2. How did Evgenia feel about reading books?  How does her attitude compare with that of Americans in general?  Your book club in particular?
3. Imagine yourself in Father Ivan’s Church?  How do you feel?
4. Why did Lisya have to leave Derevnia?  Have you ever been in a comparable situation?
5. How does the status of Alexander Pavlovich compare with that of doctors today?
6. Why did Lisya become concerned about the status of women?  How did it change in the course of the novel?  How has the status of American women changed in your lifetime?
7. Did the Russian Revolution eventually make things better – or worse – for Evgenia and her family?  For most Russians?
8. What was Vladimir seeking?  Where did he search?  How did he find what he was looking for?  Can you relate to his quest?
9. Why was Stalin such a problem for Katya and Alexie?  Was their dilemma typical?
10. 10.   Where was your family during World War II?  How dies their experience then compare to that of Evgenia and her family?
11. 11.   Why are older women in Russia so strong and influential?  What our older women in the USA?
12.     12. Why was Babushka Tatiana so homesick?  In her place, would you have been?
13. 13. Why did Katherine go to Russia?  What did she find?  Have you ever connected with your roots?  Why is it important to do so?
14. 14. “Whatever doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”  Does this statement describe Russians in general?  Americans in general?  Is there a difference?  Why?
15. 15. The author spent several years researching and writing RODINA.  Why do you think she did it?
16. 16. After reading RODINA, how has your attitude toward Russia changed?