MODERN IFIGENIA

I was raised far away from "government" in Venezuela. What that meant is that government employees, including law enforcement, could act with impunity because there was no one to report to and there was no one supervising. Growing up "impunidad" was a word you heard all the time, don't talk to the police because they can can act with "impunidad." Impunidad: Impunity- without consequence. Knowing that powerful people could behave with impunity meant that you always avoided them, in most places it is a great honor to have a powerful person in your home or place of business; where I grew up it made you walk on eggshells until they left. When I moved to the U.S. nothing brought more relief than knowing you could trust those who worked for government. If they didn't do their job, there was someone to report to and there were consequences enough times that I didn't have to worry about that word following me around "impunity." You could ca...

Every day I look out of my back door and stare at two beautiful Pine trees. Those who don't know their histories see two well-formed plants that cast shadows, clean air and house neighborhood critters. I, on the other hand, see missed opportunities. Only after looking at what was lost among those trees could I begin to conceptualize how much good has been removed from the human experience due to trauma. I bought my home in 2006 and can assure you that the two Pine trees were planted and transplanted at the same time; they were nurtured (or not) by me in the same amounts. Both trees grew at the same pace for about nine years. Over a year ago there was a huge snow storm that toppled the Pine tree on the left. I tied it back up hoping it wouldn't die. Sure enough, the Pine tree was resilient and survived. In fact, if you were to look at it today you would not know that it once fell over and looks like a model Pine tree. People often see survivors of trauma after they have ...