Category: Toastmasters

“A TOAST TO FREEDOM” by Tony Casson

On By Tony CassonIn A Toast to Freedom, ToastmastersLeave a comment

It seems appropriate to think about freedom as we approach the day on which we commemorate our independence.

I have written before about the “Toastmasters” group here at Oakdale, and I have posted speeches that I have given at some of those meetings. The following is a 5 minute speech I gave at a recent meeting. I thought I would share it with all of you.

I hope you find something in it that speaks to you.

“USE WELL THY FREEDOM”

“USE WELL THY FREEDOM”. Those four words adorn a low wall located in an older section of the Penn State University campus.

“USE WELL THEY FREEDOM”. A seemingly simple admonition to put to good use the freedom paid for in blood by so many American men and women since the founding of this great nation.

But is it something we do? Indeed, is something we even think about?

In the state of Florida, a well known professional football player and his equally well known super-model wife spent a reported $25 MILLION dollars on a 50 THOUSAND square foot home for them and their 2 children, while in the state of Louisiana ALONE, at the beginning of the last school year, there were 22 THOUSAND children who had no home at ALL.

Is THAT freedom used well?

In another part of the country, a man brags about the birth of his new child. Nothing unusual there, except that this is that man’s TENTH child, brought to life by SIX different women, none of whom he has been married to, a couple of whom were pregnant at the same time, and none of whom receive any emotional, spiritual, or financial support in the parenting and educating of those children.

Perhaps THIS is freedom used well.

In still another part of the country, a woman and her children are asleep in their beds late at night. In another room of the house, the husband and father reflects the glow of the computer screen he sits in front of as he engages in inappropriate sexually oriented “conversations” with people he doesn’t even know. Maybe he spends hours looking at ‘adult’ pornography. Perhaps he has even crossed the line and is looking at images of child sexual abuse referred to as child pornography.

Maybe THAT is an example of freedom that is being used well.

Since the founding of the United States of America, almost 2 MILLION men and women have sacrificed their lives to establish, preserve, and protect our freedom.

Are THOSE the freedoms they all died for?

In a recent Wall St. Journal report on how the average American uses the time in his or her day, it was stated that 2 hours and 50 minutes were spent watching television. Another 2 hours and 32 minutes were spent on sports and other leisure activities. Combined, the numbers equal 5 hours and 22 minutes of ‘me’ time each day.

Compare that to the 31 minutes that we spend caring for household members, and 11 minutes spent caring for non-household members, for a total of 42 minutes taking care of people other than ourselves.

We DO spend a whopping 30 minutes each day engaged in educational activities, although for many I think that is quite high, and when it comes to being involved in civic organizations or religious activities, we manage to spare an astonishing NINETEEN minutes each day.

Again, I believe that to be quite high in many cases.

If I have done my math correctly, the average American spends 91 minutes per day engaged in learning, taking care of other people, and taking part in civic organizations and religious activities. while we spend FIVE HOURS AND 22 MINUTES engaged in self-centered, self-serving, self-indulgent, and self-gratifying activities.

Which leads me to this question: Did all of those sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, and husbands and wives make the supreme sacrifice of their LIVES so that we can each think only of OURSELVES?

Is THAT using our freedom well?

As inmates in a correctional facility, we probably think that freedom is what we lost when we entered this place. Actually, nothing could be farther from the truth, because it was our FREEDOM that got us here. It was FREEDOM that was NOT USED WELL that closed the door behind us. It was the FREEDOM that we mistakenly believed gave us the right to think about OURSELVES to the exclusion of everyone else around us that keeps us behind fences and razor wire. We have convinced ourselves that FREEDOM is what makes the things WE want to do more important and more justified than what anyone else wants to do.

It stands to reason, then, that because we do not understand what freedom IS, it is impossible to understand how to use it WELL, and because we do not understand what true freedom is, we have all made ourselves SLAVES to those self-centered, self-serving, self-indulgent, and self-gratifying activities I spoke about.

Alright then….If freedom is NOT the “ME-dom” that we have made it, then what IS it?

The apostle Paul wrote, “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.”

I understand that people have different beliefs – or NO beliefs – when it comes to God and when it comes to the Holy Bible, but I challenge ANY person to find fault with that statement.

Imagine for a moment that YOU have a son or a daughter wearing the uniform of the military of this country. None of us would want our child to die at all, but if he or she must, I for one would pray to God that the life he or she gave would be sacrificed for a nation of people who cared about one another and NOT for a nation of people whose concept of freedom has made them slaves to selfishness.

You see, my friends, freedom is NOT about the rights that YOU have to do what you want to do.

Freedom is NOT about the rights that I have to do what I want to do.

This is because freedom isn’t a RIGHT at all. Freedom is a RESPONSIBILITY.

Freedom is the responsibility each one of us has to look out for one ANOTHER.

It is only when we truly understand what freedom IS that we can then begin to understand how to use it well.

Until we have learned to escape the slavery of our own selfishness, we will never be able to make our freedom even BEGIN to come close to being worth the cost of the life of someone’s child, parent, or spouse. Until such a time as that, ANY life lost will have been lost for nothing, and life is NOT worthless.

We only make it so when we insist on not using our freedom well.

I thank you.

“WE ALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TODAY” by Tony Casson

On By Tony CassonIn Martin Luther King Jr, Toastmasters3 Comments

“A Toastmasters Update”

I have mentioned Toastmasters before, and we recently held our first speech contest in the chapel in front of about 100 fellow inmates and staff. I have stated before that I am a reluctant public speaker and the angst I felt prior to this event honoring Martin Luther King Jr was of unreasonable and mammoth proportions. Fortunately, God stood with me and saw me through it. I won 2nd place. The man who won 1st place is a very gifted and talented young man named Derek Weatherspoon and I am glad that he won. For myself, I won simply by proving I could do it, and I won by moving many individuals to comment to me afterwards. I am humbly grateful to all of them for their kindness, and ETERNALLY grateful to God for his unwavering guidance, support, and strength. Here, then, is the text of that speech:

“WE ALL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TODAY” by Tony Casson

“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the Mountain of Despair a Stone of Hope”. Those words, spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 became the theme for the four acre memorial honoring him in Washington, DC.

The figure of Dr. King is sculpted to appear as if he is stepping out of a 30 foot tall block of granite, which represents the Stone Of Hope. The expression carved into his face has been variously described as ‘determined’, ‘resolute’, ‘stern’, and by some, ‘angry’.

In preparing this speech, I looked to the words of Dr. King himself and I tried to imagine his voice as he spoke about his hopes and his dreams, not just for the black man, but for all of mankind; and not just for America, but for the world.

After carefully considering all that I had read, and after looking around at the condition of the world today, I came to the conclusion that the expression on the face of the man emerging from the Stone Of hope was one of disappointment.

Even though we are preparing to inaugurate an African-American as President of the United States for a second term, I believe Dr. King would be disappointed that it has taken so long, and that we still find it necessary, and appropriate, to refer to him as an AFRICAN- American, rather than simply as an American.

I believe that Dr. King would be disappointed that words he spoke during a lecture at the University of Oslo in 1964 are, sadly, just as true today as they were the day he spoke them. He said, “There is a sort of poverty of spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we have grown materially, the poorer we have grown morally and spiritually. We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not yet learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”

While it is true that the law prevents us from posting signs over doorways, drinking fountains, and places of business that state ‘white only’ or ‘colored only’, INVISIBLE signs that separate people are still in existence today.

Within the confines of this institution, one doesn’t have to strain to hear reference to the ‘white side’ of the dining hall, or to the ‘black side’; to the ‘white entrance’ or to the black entrance’. And in the housing units themselves, official signs may contain words that are within the law and are politically correct, but it is the INVISIBLE signs that tell us we have ‘white TVs’ and ‘black TVs’.

In his Nobel Peace prize acceptance speech, Dr. King said, “I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies; education and culture for their minds; and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits”.

I believe Dr. King would be disappointed because poverty in the United States of America, and around the world, is at the same levels, or higher, than when he had the AUDACITY to believe that it could be otherwise.

Dr. King’s efforts opened up opportunities for education that previously had not existed for many people, but I believe Dr. King would be disappointed to know that cases of school segregation still languish in Federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; cases that were begun BEFORE he was assassinated in 1968.

And he would be further disappointed that those opportunities are willingly rejected today by so many young people who choose, instead, faster, far more dangerous and deadly ways of traveling on the road to what they perceive is success. A road that leads many of them only to death, or to incarceration in institutions such as this one.

And on the issue of dignity for the human spirit, I believe Dr. King would be PROFOUNDLY disappointed that the most undignified, vilest, most derogatory term that a white man can use in reference to a black man is used with disturbing casualness and frequency BY black men in reference to other black men.

I believe Dr. King would be the FIRST to stand before us all and tell us that word has no business crossing the lips of ANY man, black or white, at any time, for any reason.

I believe that Dr. King would be disappointed that many of those he left behind have chosen to honor him with symbols, but have somehow forgotten his substance. I believe Dr. King would rather see safe, healthy, educated, and well-fed children playing on the streets of progress, rather than see his name on signs marking the streets of his forgotten hopes and dreams.

But we have an opportunity today, to resolve to pick up the hopes and dreams of Dr. King and carry them into the promised land that he glimpsed before he was murdered.

We have an opportunity today, to resolve to become a small part of the solution so we can never be accused of being a BIG part of the problem.

In 1963, in Detroit, Michigan, Dr. King challenged the world when he said, “If a man hasn’t discovered something he is willing to die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

We have an opportunity today to prove to the world that not only was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. VERY fit to live, but that what he died for was worth the price that he paid.

That what he DIED for was worth the price that his wife paid.

And that what he DIED for was worth the price that his 4 little children paid.

We have an opportunity TODAY to resolve to work to change the expression on the face of the man emerging from the Stone Of Hope from one of disappointment, to one of SATISFACTION for a job well done.

And I pray to God we do not fail to take advantage of it.

I thank you.
Note: May be reprinted without permission of the author.

Choosing New Beginnings – Toastmasters

On By Tony CassonIn Toastmasters1 Comment

“Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.”  Proverbs 22:1 NLT

 “We live by making choices.”   David Fink

      Toastmasters has been mentioned in these pages a couple of times. Have I also mentioned how much I hate public speaking? Yes? Well – I hate public speaking. So it was for exactly that reason that I asked for another opportunity to do it. I know it is beneficial, and I know that I need it, so I gave my second speech recently. I probably should have given more by now, but I really hate public speaking. Have I mentioned that?

      Well…I am still alive. I didn’t even need to use the barf bag that I brought for emergencies.

      The subject matter of the speech was such that I thought it was something worth sharing, so I decided to insert the speech here (I had it written out anyway, so what the heck). I hope everyone who reads it is able to get something useful from it. The speech was titled “New Meanings”, and it went like this:

      Good evening fellow Toastmasters, distinguished guests, and staff.

      David Fink said, “We live by making choices”, and when we all chose to name our Toastmaster’s club “New Beginnings”, I believe we chose well. Just saying “New Beginnings” evokes images of a new day being introduced with the sun peeking over the horizon. I believe each new day to be a gift from God and is, by nature, full of hope and opportunity.

      One of the most important things we need to do to take advantage of the “New Beginning” we have each chosen for our lives, is to be open to change and to be willing to look at old things in new ways. We must – each one of us – endeavor to discern new meaning among those things that are most familiar to us. Doing this will enable each of us to make the most out of each new day.

      Opportunities abound in which we can find ways to attach new meanings to our “New Beginning”. Everything that is familiar to us can be molded, shaped, and reinvented into something fresh, meaningful, and positive:  the way we dress; the way we walk; the way we talk; the way we see ourselves; and the way we in which we look at other people.

      Even the way we think about familiar words can bring about new meaning to them. For instance, let’s take the word “pride’. Most of us think of pride as taking satisfaction in our accomplishments. Too much pride can lead to arrogance or conceit, and most are also aware that the Bible warns us against that very thing. As we begin to grow, we become more confident and more sure of ourselves. We naturally take pride in who we are becoming and the direction our life is taking. Unfortunately, this self-assurance we develop can turn to cockiness , and that arrogance I mentioned, turning what should be a positive into a negative.

      In prison especially, pride can get in the way of what we are attempting to accomplish. It can stop us before we ever get started. Pride can impede our “New Beginning” before we take the first step.  However, by attaching a whole new meaning to the word, we can open up an entirely new pattern of behavior that is EXACTLY what is needed to make dramatic progress in our pursuit of change.

      Some 35 years ago,  I worked for a Los Angeles-based drugstore chain called “Thrifty”. With about 10 other people, I traveled the west coast taking inventory and in each store’s break room there was a sign that gave the “Thrifty” definition of pride. It was:   

                        Personal

                        Responsibility

                        In

                        Daily

                        Effort

      PRIDE. It means that I take RESPONSIBILITY for everything that I do each day. It means that each task that I undertake – no matter how seemingly insignificant that task may appear – will come with a personal commitment on my part to perform that task to the best of my ability. It is an understanding that no task is too menial, too unimportant, or beneath me. It means that I will take responsibility for ME.

      Personal Responsibility In Daily Effort.

      Such a seemingly simple concept, but far too often many of us think that we are better than the jobs we are given or even better than the other people doing the same job. The truth is, we are all the same, especially in prison, and there is no such thing as an unimportant task. Unfortunately, we sometimes let the sameness prevent us from performing to a level that makes us stand out. No matter how negatively we may view a job or task, and no matter how negative the environment around us may seem to be at times, we cannot become the people we all wish to become unless and until we take ourselves seriously and hold ourselves personally accountable for every job we perform, every action we take, and every word that comes out of our mouths.

      If we are wiping tables in the dining hall, or mopping the floor; cleaning the common area in a housing unit, or scrubbing the shower; if we are painting a railing, or picking up trash, our focus should be on the task at hand and we should endeavor to do whatever it may be that we are doing to the absolute best of our ability. I worked in the butcher shop for 15 months and earned the nickname “Tony The Butcher”, which is really quite funny since they rarely let us touch knives. However, “Tony The Butcher DOES sound better than “Tony The Guy Who Takes Chicken Out Of Boxes And Puts It On Pans”. Regardless, I took that job seriously and performed it to the best of my ability even if the conditions or the circumstances were not ideal….even outright negative at times. When we take personal responsibility for everything we do each day, we are making a statement to everyone around us that “There is a right way and a wrong way to do every job no matter how seemingly unimportant it may be, and I CHOOSE to do it the right way because I take Personal Responsibility In Daily Effort! I take responsibility for ME, my actions, and the words that I speak.”

      Once we have learned to do that, we can then attach new meaning to another word we are all very familiar with: PRISON. We can change it from a negative PLACE, to a positive ATTITUDE when we apply the following new meaning:

                          Personal

                          Responsibility

                          In

                          Spite

                            Of

                            Negativity.

 

      I thank you.

AFTERWORD:

      OK, so that’s how it was intended to go. The whole speech, were I to simply read it, would have taken less than three minutes but I went from memory (and mine’s not that good, but we strive to do our speeches with no notes), and I wound up wandering along, borderline hyperventilating, for about 6 minutes. There is a tendency to digress and embellish as we speak, but apparently it was all good because the 30 – 35 people in attendance were extremely supportive and gave me lots of positive feedback. I guess it sounded worse from where I was standing than from where they were sitting. Once my heart rate returned to normal, I put away my barf bag backup and basked in the afterglow. Trust me – for some of us, getting up there is no easy thing.

      I can only say that Toastmasters is a very beneficial program. We are not quite at 30 paid members yet, but we are getting close. Unfortunately, there are over 1700 men here in need of something positive. The money is a drawback for many, but we still seem to attract more each month. It will be nice when it gets to the point that we need to start a second club on the compound. What needs to happen is that the same attitude needs to be injected into every aspect of prison life and I will address these types of issues in my upcoming series “America’s Culture Of Incarceration”.

      In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my little glimpse into a Toastmaster’s meeting, and I thank YOU for your time.

“A Toast to Toastmasters – Speaking Out for Speaking Up”

On By Tony CassonIn Toastmasters, Volume 31 Comment

“Those who stammer will speak out plainly.”  Isaiah  32:4b  NLT

“Then there was a maiden speech, so inaudible, that it was doubted whether, after all, the young orator really did lose his virginity.”  Benjamin Disraeli

      Back on November 13, 2011 an article was posted in ‘The Chronicles’ that was written by Richard Roy regarding a very positive decision made by the administrative staff here at Oakdale FCI. That decision was to allow inmates to start a prison chapter of ‘Toastmasters’. All who were involved in making that decision should be applauded for supporting a program that has proved to have a positive effect on the lives and the character of those individuals who participate in the program and embrace its mission.

      For those not familiar with ‘Toastmasters International’, it is a worldwide organization of locally chartered ‘clubs’ formed for the purpose of providing an environment in which its members may develop oral communication and leadership skills. In a friendly, supportive atmosphere, members deliver prepared speeches to fellow members of various duration and with different objectives in mind. The speaker is then evaluated in a constructive, positive manner. Members gain confidence developing speaking skills while developing our ability to become better listeners as well.

      Many famous individuals have been Toastmasters through the years including several astronauts – James Lovell, John Young, and Walter Schirra; Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s ‘Hardball’; Former U.S. Senator John Tunney; Debbie Fields Rose, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies; and Peter Coors, chairman of Coors Brewing Company. For those who are interested, there is a wealth of information about the organization to be found on their website at Toastmasters.org.

      Even though we have met twice a month since Richard’s article, we actually just had our official chartering ceremony on August 1, in the chapel. Members, friends of members and many members of staff, including all three of our Associate Wardens, were present. The Honorable Robert D. Downing, a retired judge who was the driving force behind Toastmasters becoming welcome in the state and federal prison system here in Louisiana, was our guest speaker.

      Richard Roy and Steve Marshall (also a contributor to ‘The Chronicles’) played major roles in the program that was put on to demonstrate what takes place at a typical meeting. Both were excellent, as were the members who had roles as speakers and evaluators, as well as those with minor roles. Our mentors from the ‘street’ were proudly present to help us celebrate becoming officially chartered as the ‘New Beginnings’ Toastmasters club (our official name). Three of them come in regularly, on their own time, to assist, support, and encourage us. Two members of staff that Richard mentioned in the first article, Ms. Papillion and Ms. Smith, were also present at the ceremony. They have been with us week after week where they have seen what the rest of us have seen: Men helping each other become better, helping each other grow, and helping each other reach beyond themselves and overcome their inhibitions and fears.

      Not that it has helped me. I still have major anxiety when I have to get up before the group, even if it is for a small portion of the proceedings. I would have definitely made a better Chief of Staff than President of the United States. But I am working on it, and I couldn’t ask for a more supportive group.

      What amazes me are some of the stories told as men get up and give their first speech to the group, which is called an ‘Icebreaker’. The purpose of this first speech is to get to know the person a little better and to help the individual ease into speaking before the group by talking about a familiar topic – themselves.

      None of us here really has an excuse for the behavior that got us here, but some of these men certainly have REASONS that are far more compelling than any that I could offer. I led a sheltered, privileged existence compared to many of those around me. To think that I squandered more opportunities than many of them have ever had causes me a little embarrassment, but is inspiring as well. I ask God to use my embarrassment to help me be determined to move forward from here and never look back.

      I am proud to be a member of this fine organization, and this very special group of men. Through their courage and determination, I will overcome my fear and I will become a confident public speaker and an individual who is determined to do what I can to help others avoid what we are all going through.

      All of it except Toastmasters, of course.

      I thank all of the people who have supported us and have pledged continued and increased support in the future for this worthwhile program.