Migrant Rights!

 Dear Janet, 

Today, on International Migrants Day, the federal government released a statement claiming to “reaffirm our commitment to protecting migrants’ rights.” But here’s the truth: 2024 has been a year of endless attacks on migrant rights.

This week, they granted themselves new powers to “cancel, change, and suspend immigration documents,” while promising to fast-track—read: discriminate against—certain asylum claimants.

They say they “acknowledge the significant difficulties that many migrants face,” yet their recent sweeping immigration changes will cause 2.3 million permits to expire in the next two years, tearing families apart and leaving temporary permit holders and undocumented individuals more vulnerable than ever.

Cut through the noise. Speak with your friends, co-workers, and family to help separate fact from fiction about immigration.

And here’s one quick action you can take right now: forward this email to three people you know.

What? What! Is it we need to do?

USA could be congratulated for ending the rule of humanity on this planet. That's if you believe humans are ruling it.

Certainly we are destroying it. Greed. Climate change. Nuclear war. All of us arguing to save the world or not.

Certainly there are many theories presented every day. In media. In church. In the science lab. This causes a noise in politics. Contests of voices trying to be the loudest, to get the most votes, to sell the most stuff, to bring in the most money, to be the most popular.

When will we get over ourselves and who is the loudest voice? 

Are we happy? Are we winning?

The story this far beginning in the dark womb of a woman's body, an egg waits to be fertilized. Now we know that it takes male and female to create the embryo, then it needs warmth, nutrition and peace, to grow, to feed from food that finds its way (sorry I don't have the technical language for this process but I suspect you know what I mean).

Every day you wake up you think. Might be -- what's for breakfast? Might be a list of things you (have told yourself) you have to do, or else ... something you don't want to happen will happen.

You will have a list. For me it's what can I do to fix some of our problems. Violence against women, men, children.

Might be -- go to work, go shopping, go to school, place of worship, hospital, factory  -- to do whatever job you have promised to do.

This sounds quite banal yet its very important. Shortly after WWII the USA created drama programs for us to watch. A good guy, a bad guy, a gun and a couple of men. There were dramas in Europe and Asia as well. But it was made easy because the whole story could be finished in an hour. Good guys, bad guys, winners, losers. But we haven't fixed anything because there is still injustice, bad behaviour, wicked actors and people getting hurt. In Europe there had been stories in books and TV, on stage, in schools. All of this was necessary for social cohesion. Then there were many stories competing for the audience, advising different values.

Rather than cohesion we have competition for different beliefs, religions, politics. We spend our lives convincing others we are right or at least surviving. And to add more tension, we don't have equal options. Humanity is a problem. 

We isolated egos don't ask to be born but we dominate this world and the future. In our minds. For as long as we are here we will think about all problems we have or may have in the future.

We have to think about this. How do we want our future to be and how do we get there when we create stories that hold ourselves up as the good guys and the others are bad?

How Can We Teach Our Children to survive?

Listening to Cross-country Checkup on CBC radio about students being rude in the classroom. No-one seemed to talk about how to make kids behave. No-one mentioned while I was listening, how this is the result of humanity realizing our time on this earth is coming to an end.

We are doomed to suffer the torture of monsters who will kill us for the pleasure it releases from despair. That's a short tidy sentence. This is the holocaust, in endless cycles. Whether its the reign of Henry VIII, Hitler or Putin.

Do you dare ask what has happened to the young boys who grew up and carried on the cycles of despair because "its human nature". These are the conversations we need to have. Is it okay to give up because it's too late for us to change? Who is it that needs to change? And where would we begin?

Beginning with Patriarchy - a system where authority goes to the eldest male in the family and where females are viewed as owned by the patriarch. Women today have more voice than they did in the time of Henry VIII but there are lingering beliefs which make women vulnerable to the power of men.

This is not about being good or kind. This is a value which has influenced society today. Women resenting the power held over them and men resenting the resistance of women. Lest anyone truly believe the US Republican party is saving lives by making abortion illegal you just have to listen to a candidate recently selected to stand for President. I don't think I need to explain why this is not to protect women and her embryos. 

There are two main factions in North America: political power and wealth but neither are in control. Humans are not in control, we are anxious and angry and anything we talk about regarding our future is built on fear or anger. Is it any wonder students are rude or indifferent to rules of behaviour?

Men are afraid of their power being challenged and business owners afraid of losing their autonomy. These things nag us as we try to sleep. New worlds or broken old words break apart traditions and haunt the future. But children are already burdened -- could they understand this?

Enduring the Trauma of Genocide (w/ Gabor Maté) | The Chris Hedges Report

Lee Lakeman - Whoredom of The Left - Chris Hedges

 https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/lee-lakeman-and-the-whoredom-of-the-a0c?utm_source=podcast-email%2

"Lee battles a world going numb, a world banishing empathy, a world where solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized is increasingly a foreign concept. She warns that with the political and economic upheavals ahead, caused by climate change, the rise of authoritarian governments, misogynist demagogues and the breakdown of global capitalism, the exploitation of women and girls will explode".

Just Asking

 But Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the other billionaires who’ll be running the administration starting January 20 don’t want to pay their fair share to keep Social Security going. They’d rather kill Social Security.

https://robertreich.substack.com/account

My question is - how do we get out of paying for those who want to disenfranchise the world through money.

Connect the dots!

 Once upon a time there was a planet where one species dominated. When I say dominated I mean they believed it was their duty to be in control. Other species had to be cared for until the dominants wanted to eat them, then they were stored in sheds and killed as required. This worked fine for the dominants as long as they controlled all the other dominants on the planet. Trouble arose when different tribes competed for the dominant position.

It might seem obvious that if all the dominants were able to find a way to get along, to share the goods and responsibilities. The strange thing is - it was not those who had the least power who fought the most, it was those who were raised as the most powerful and their families.

It could be that those who were poorest couldn't fight because they were serving those at the top. And worst of all those at the bottom, the most abused were grateful for survival. But those at the top or near the top were anxious about losing any little part of their power - mostly the imagined superiority they clung to. 

Whether in the court of Henry VIII or the Government of USA, the obsession of its members was the amount of control they owned personally. For slim comfort they believed if they could create tensions among the others, if they could make them feel insecure, they could be in control.

Control was a dream, a fantasy, which did more harm than good because people who feel insecure don't problem solve, they create more problems. They don't use the gifts of the heart in wisdom to care for one another rather than compete.

Do Rulers Want to Destroy All Life and All of Its Memory?

 

When I hear of new wars or even old wars that never end I wonder if the reason is to clean the planet of all life here?

When I hear of politicians saying "grab 'er by the pussy" or make generalized remarks of hatred towards everyone who is different or who will not have anything to do with humanity if they can help it, I wonder if their long term goal is to find a way to kill off all life, its language and what little remains of compassion.

I believe there are some who hate anything that gets in their way. That they are entitled to get everything they want and not be criticized. 

It's not a full philosophy, it's a repugnance towards the messy life constraints. They want to get away from it all. Maybe move to another planet or at least have nothing to do with the masses.

Yes I have heard of several people who are so "special" they cannot deal with anything where they do not have control.

Where will this go from here? Remember the Handmaid's tale? Brave New World? 1984? 

Does it sound so ridiculous that right now there are souls planning  a world in which they are in absolute control? What do they need to achieve this? What would it take for this to happen? A planet that belongs to one corporation?

Astronomica

 

My latest book of poems "Astronomica" is now available at Ekstasis Editions. cover image- photo taken by Elaine Vickers

Acknowledgements

This fourth book is my attempt to understand the world as I lived it. My mother, one of four girls born to a man who fought in the first world war and returned to England with his bride.

They came to a small town in England where the daughters grew up and married young men who would be called up to fight in the second world war. Sadly my mother’s first husband was killed in the war when she was pregnant.

Marlow, a small farm town in England, the town I most remember before we emigrated to Canada was pretty and not too industrial. The lives of people were the stories I grew up with.

Father, mother, sisters and brother, came to Canada in 1965, settled in Lac de deux Montagne, got a job at Rolls Royce and met the boy I married. We moved to Toronto then to BC. Eager to learn who I was in this vast Universe, I learned to scribble.

Wanting all these years to jot down my experiences, poetry was the outlet I kept returning to.

With gratitude to the many teachers who helped along the way, I thank Ekstasis and all publishers who print memories, thoughts and hopes for peace in the future.

This porridge of egos and sleepless nights, are all a kind of love from one generation to the next.

I have a few copies now. Email ekstasis if you are interested in having a copy or janetvickers@gmail.com.

This World Is Manufactured

This world is full of eyes 

Reaching the landscape 

Under the words spoken by 

Mighty dumb opinionators 

Parsing the lowest common denominator 

Every day then repeated on front 

Dummed down screens too big to not see.

Surviving the Politics of This Time

 

https://www.nationalobserver.com/podcast/mortal-giants/trump-post-american-world?utm

Certainly the corporate media today emphasizes the few who are at the top of the capitalist chart. Only business and money counts. Life without money is a slow hungry death. In between now and then will be stories of the vain narcissist, the talented hungry masses, and the large number of people who have been forsaken by the capitalist dream - to watch ordinary people quietly go mad while the extraordinary few brag, laugh and engage in silly games to show off their special cruelty.

The effective real people doing a lot of fixing and fix-up and caring, while the media ignores them as they promote pictures of a very small minority gloating over their fame and power. The silent masses will be weeping quietly. The wisdom accumulated from hard working genuine people will be forgotten.

First we can forget the mainstream. Go to the groups that are struggling, pouring all their energy into helping those who need help, creating space for the ideas that are most needed.

Then we can focus on the reality of our situation and do whatever we can to help. The first thing is to acknowledge we depend on one another to survive then move forward on that.

Humanity 101 - we already know this

 We think humans are one species but we behave as if we are many and we have to beat the others. We must win even if we don't know who or what it is we have to win. So we muscle in, go to war, and kill our relatives.

In this climate it is wrong to find the truth, to use our curiosity, our courage, our love for life.

Why is it we must hate and kill?

Because the most stupid are the most terrified.

What are we terrified of? We might be wrong? Our tribe may see us as stupid? Or that we may be tortured to death because we are not stupid enough?

The current unexamined power are those who have guns but no brains. Brains are a form of torture. The president does not have the most power.

That power goes to the key that unlocks the box. An inanimate box that holds the key to the box not owned by anyone or anything.

I don't know. No-one knows. Even the President is not allowed to know. This way we are all kept powerless. Nobody, no breathing person knows.

We humans are waiting for the big flood or fire to kill us all. Why?

Are we afraid that women will take over the men who have been trained to NOT THINK TOO MUCH, to rule the planet according to minutes of the last meeting?

We could learn the power-of-the-universal hug. We could lift the world up with our love and care. Find the power of compassion, support, wisdom and thinking through our problems as if we are all related. House and feed every human who needs it. Make health care available. Help those who need help.

I know this is the role of women, teachers, doctors and dentists. The warrior was trained so we could forget the power of loving kindness.

Losing Our Country Losing Our Minds

 https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/11/19/opinion/saving-cbc-saving-canada-poilievre?utm_source=National+Observer&utm_campaign=f25cc29e16-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024

Read this. Listen to CBC. Read National Observer. This is a critical time that demands our thinking, feeling and imagining a future based solely on greed for power.

The only thing that can save us from losing our selves is holding on to our relationship to other humans.

George Monbiot www.monbiot.com

The eye concludes that this is a species, beset by a lethal combination of conformity, distraction and a fear of offending powerful interests, actively collaborating in its own extinction. It sees a species dominated by Lords of the Desert: people prepared to destroy everything as long as they can command the ruins. It wonders whether the species has a survival instinct at all, or whether, instead, it has only an instinct to obey.

 

Humanity's War Against Nature

We might think we are heading into a dangerous age but we have been making this journey since the beginning of patriarchal capitalism.

It was the beginning of empire. Training young men to be soldiers. I'm not saying it should never have happened but there was a new power of the mind. It was strategic.  It was organizing levels of consciousness. Divide and conquer. It turned out to be really useful. 

What imperialism wanted was the warrior, willing to put his body into the battle to save his homeland from invasion. None of this was new it just became more obvious. Strong men had to be trained to kill strangers and kin regardless of how they felt.

Feelings had to become part of the weaponry and man had to give up his connection to his own mind. Distance himself from family, from mother and father, from belonging to the human race. Obedience was very valuable. War was very painful. Death final.

The timing of this I don't know. I am not a sociologist. I am a poet that's all. And I think this led to  misogyny, racism, classism and trauma between wars. Eventually humans became self-hating, wondering all their life if they were good enough, also trying to find the permanent in the future. But each century brought new groups. University graduates, scientists, artists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists, Rationalists, Heathens. Along with this came the non-believers, isolated egos competing for the most of what each wants, workers, millionaires, feminists, misogynists, semites, whites, teens, infants, left-handed, and on it goes. Each generation invents new groups which makes many people angry or at least intolerant.

Now we see the end of our species in nightmares and artificial intelligence. The most powerful nation squandering its power on officials who are narcissistic, seemingly bent on destroying the nation they belong to because they have told themselves they are better than the group they have been slotted into.

We are self-hating animals, tired of all the labels, losing our identity to fashion.

Who Has The Authority To Speak?

 

I remember when I lived in the Bible Belt I got a few calls from unnamed men.

I emailed a few people to see who wanted to meet in a discussion group. The subject was multi-culturalism.

A male voice who I don't recall identifying himself said "You don't have the authority to do this". I wasn't sure what it was that caused him to call. He was polite and I can't remember what I said. I suspect I was equally polite and said thank you for calling. I wasn't sure what he was talking about. 

Most of the people I met were polite and helpful and some were even advanced in their dedication to humanity and worked bravely but new movements such as multiculturalism and feminism were often shut down.

Even the radical new movements were polite but it wasn't long before women who had started groups left them.

A couple of groups managed to leave their mark and created books before leaving or moving on.

Now the most powerful nation in the world has a president who openly ridicules women. White Supremacy uses women and those with brown skin to serve as second class.

How does it benefit us all? It plunders us towards war and violence. Furthermore it is the ignition to violence, fear and discontent. Respecting life is good for us. Encouraging freedom of different ideas to the point where a group is encouraged to believe they are superior to another group. It taints every mind with fear and doubt, it is cruel to those who are dependent on others for their care.

 

Consequences of Power Without Nurture

“The consequences of this election are clear for those on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Jennifer Krill, executive director of the environmental justice group Earthworks, in a statement. “Low-income communities and communities of color will bear the brunt of impact, from poisoned air and water to extreme weather events and rising sea levels, all within our lifetimes.” Winona Hauter.

https://truthout.org/articles/biden-made-slow-but-steady-progress-on-climate-trump-is-poised-to-dismantle-it/?utm_source=feedotter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FO-11-11-2024&utm

Man As Saviour Woman As Nuisance.

 This might seem outrageous but I see our planet becoming antilife and pro power unless we wake up to what is happening.

The recent election coverage broadcast in Canada, revealed how controllers of the world have become more famous and adored. Love for the arts, music, literature, education and social engagement have become irritants to politicians.

Reporters want more sports, more winners and leaders, more wars, more death, more toys, more power.

We have reached the stage where reality is replaced with ego. This means that the feminine has become redundant, not in reality, but in choice.

Man has become more aggressive, more angry, more judgemental and more violent. As in the time of Hitler who wanted to be in control. Of everything.

We might call this narcissism which has been the major focus for leaders and although we might dismiss this as extreme, I remember thinking that the candidate for president must have more conscience than the one recently.

Grab her by the pussy, bitches, cat ladies, idiots -- have returned as misogynist anger, but I can't help but think as we take away the privilege of white men, they are incensed to be seen as privileged rather than great leaders.

Rulers do not care about how others see them. They feel they have proven they are miles above everyone else, and they have earned that position by their own gifts. Rulers are demigods not humans.

The people of colour, women, gays and others simply don't belong here. It's a feeling deeply rooted in the ego who has been praised for winning the war, whatever and whenever it is.

To be a firefighter, doctor, nurse, pastor, teacher, politician, police officer - takes courage and strength when they work with others for the greater good. Society doesn't exist in war or political battles. There are winners and losers. That's all.

Requiem for Humanity

 

Sometimes we were given opportunities to improve our lot, but because it was offered to all, not just to you and me, we didn't see the value in it. We became social crocodiles. We voted against it because we believed that true power was only given to a special minority. We were still children in a moral sense, behaving badly.

We looked for politics that would make us special. We didn't understand that uplifting all of life would also uplift us.  And because we wanted special status we never blamed ourselves for the outcomes, we would jeer and laugh at the ridicule shown to others in a short moment of smugness.

This is how we lost the world, allowed those who did the work to be burned as witches, murdered as queers, hung as Africans. We are in the minority but we decide the fate of the future of all.

When people go hungry and homeless while a special few fly jets to different planets, we are saying life is common, not special. Then we treat each other as trash.

Weaving a Future From Dreams and Wisdom

 

"Harris is the rule of law; Trump, lawlessness. Harris, inclusion; Trump, exclusion. Harris, decency; Trump, loathsomeness. Harris, the American Dream; Trump, the American nightmare. Harris wants the best for the country; Trump wants the best only for himself. I don’t need to go on. You know all this. The question is why doesn’t everyone else? " Robert Reich.

 “By fascism I just have in mind (1) the cult of personality of a Leader; (2) the party that becomes a single party; (3) the threat and use of violence; and (4) the big lie that must be accepted and used to reshape reality: in this case, that Trump can never lose an election.” Robert Paxton (The Tyee, Nov. 5)

I have only heard a couple of people explain why they are voting for Trump, and I sense, which is not proof or rational judgement, and it seems like they don't really know or cannot articulate.

So I have a theory, based on feelings not logic, not provable, that its somewhat like a nice cup of tea, known, warm and comforting.

I also believe that our most common theories work like a blanket on an infant's cot. We are not ready to give it up, so when we do our worst, when we are left without any way to tackle it, trying to overcome grief and shame, we'll find something to blame.

The Wheel of Justice

 

When a narcissist with great ambitions takes over the media, daily reports keep telling us we have no hope.  It's not because of some mysterious reason. Bullies begin by threatening your neighbours and friends and the isolated egos who struggle to survive feel overwhelmed, the power we need is to do what is needed.

It's not easy because most people do not think they have power over others or the kind of power to change the course of events. Most of us think in terms of personal actions. What can an ordinary person do?

That we live in a time where power is in media, wealth and fame, puts the majority of people in the faceless, nameless public.

For centuries, no matter where you live, we are told we live in a hierarchical society. The nation sets up gates in the city where most of us are locked out of metaphorically high towers.

But it's not just one narcissist who is concerned here. We are living in a time where many people are looking for justice and the power of love to get us through this. Of course we don't have a plan to take over the hunger for money, power and fame. We don't have a gun that will make everyone kind and brave, instantly.

The long war against human greed and violence is still being fought although its very difficult to point out what we can do about it. It's not an easy fix. There are too many monsters in the way.

These monsters are not just a particular group of people. Not just misguided Christians, Capitalists and Truck Drivers. Not just white people. Not just males. If we want to blame a particular group we could say humans but humans are also the doctors, the nurses, the teachers, the students and the shop owners.

These monsters have written poetry, songs, built cars, homes and shopping centres. They are everywhere. They are us after having been traumatized in the centuries old habit of struggling to win. So in our desire to get rid of them we can't send them to jail or hang them.

We cannot win our battle to define then imprison THE BAD GUYS. We have to change the way human society works. Not with games and prizes. But with the heart and the stomach and the eyes and the ears.

With words to up our own dedication to the nameless cause of future survival.

Warning From George Monbiot

 https://www.monbiot.com/2024/10/30/dont-do-it/

Dear US voters,

in the spirit in which I would beg a dear friend not to get a facial tattoo, I’m writing to ask you not to vote for Donald Trump. While the decision to do so would make a statement, signalling your justifiable anger about the pain you have suffered, it is likely to disfigure you, damage your life chances and prove irreversible. 

In the link above is a lengthy warning. I live in Canada but believe humanity is under threat for its survival.

Last Thoughts Meandering Through The World

This

is my home where I wake and sleep

in gratitude for the man who takes care of me.

Gratitude for the first borne

for making me a mother.

then second and third

and their children.

These keep me disciplined

as much as possible.

In gratitude for those who remember

how I used to be. 

At least I have a roof over my head

three meals a day and care.

I don't know how long I shall have them.

I've forgotten how to keep on top

of the essential needs

and so tired of listening

to squabbles from the radio

the television the gossip

and the warnings leaving me

to understand how we have not cared

for one another sufficiently.

There are caring people who offer

advice, mention their concerns

for the future of humanity

gates, locks and words

as if fear and panic

is merely looking

for the right words

to go away

empathy looking for certainty

inventing the next century.

.

The Source of All Our Problems

 😔 

It's life! Because of life we must build schools, hospitals, roads, cars, medicine. This is why some have created AI. It can run this world  without humans.

We are closer to this realization than we think!

Imagine sports heroes being puppets. Imagine politicians as clowns operated by artificial intelligence. Imagine redundant hospitals turned into sports arenas.

Imagine no roads, no wars, no schools, no movies, no entertainment, no traffic jams. Look at how much we could save if we killed off all people in a nuclear war! There would be no more racism, no misogyny. No pollution. 

If you're exasperated with the state of this world imagine heaven on earth. But wait a minute there wouldn't be sex or BBQ'd steak. No reason to strive for first place, no shopping, no Christmas tree.

PUSSY

Now I have your attention, please understand this post will not be about sex but gender.

The reason I am using it is because there is a tendency to blame women which no-one wants to talk about.

There is outrage about the issue of gender. Having lived for 70 years on this planet I can confess my guilt. My school friend Suzanne called me out as a cissy. It was true. I didn't have courage engaging in conflict by expressing my values until after 1975 when a met a couple of women who were educated about world affairs of how women were valued. 

At that time I mostly sensed discrimination in bad behaviour, bad manners, and people who weren't nice. Feminism was not something I thought about other than I thought it dangerous. I experienced issues of discrimination and preferred to fight it discreetly. To call it bad manners. Give it attention.

A neighbour said her husband thought people who write letters to the editor were just seeking attention. This was when I learned if I wanted to get ahead I had to adopt popular beliefs.  Actually I learned to fit in watching sitcoms on TV.

It didn't work. Told I think too much, it hit home. Just look pretty and say yes. Be normal. Don't complain about how you have been treated. It's the pecking order, common sense, normal, natural. No-one will mind if you keep your thoughts to yourself, smile, look happy. 

Since those days I learned there was a lot of anger. Good kind teachers were too soft, kids would not be afraid of them and would misbehave. I was known as having "nice apples" and could get along if I kept my opinions to myself.

Today I see women in the news, in business and politics seemed to indicate we were getting on. Ups and downs were endured. Husband and children doing okay. I can't complain.

But now I know I am dangerous. I listen to news on the radio. I have an arts degree in adult education. I watch documentaries on TV. I read Chomsky and Harari. And the turmoil in our world is about women who have 'nice apples' also have wisdom and courage. We have learned that the path to a good future is to nurture the best in us. Not competing for the most of what each of us wants, not war, not weapons of mass destruction, not authoritarianism. Not lies, not hate, not quick slogans, not accusations not descrimination. Money is powerful if its used for the greater good, not locked up in the bank.

I am not saying we should give everything away. I am saying we should be socially responsible and ask ourselves what will be good for our conscience and our future. We are not just the shape of our genitals. We are thinking creatures, capable of doing a lot of good and perhaps surviving.

I Blame Media

 

The elections rely on every one who has a vote. But we need to dig deep into our resilient wisdom that gets buried sometimes. Especially when the planets move around. 

Instead of any discussion on Canadian politics the radio kept broad blasting US politicians, mostly one in particular. I thought CBC was better than that. Who was responsible for what is broadcast here?

Apart from the general mood which has more influence than I would like to admit, the reported violence over and over creates a darker mood. I feel in my stomach that humanity is dying. Not physically but mentally.

Thinking is necessary for survival even if this sentence sounds trite. 

Is it possible to grieve for humanity?

 Yes it is, I think.

Reading the news is not just a report of what's happening in society. It's also a sign of how we judge one another. 

When a politician who has no apparent integrity calls for support by creating a dichotomy around lies and media gives him more air time than politicians who have a real argument to make, because its entertaining and can be justified in bringing more money to the publisher, we may ask ourselves, what is the value of this?

The answer may come back in monetary terms. But what is the economic value to humanity?

Is media a kind of evil game? Are we really asked to vote for people who have the ability to put down whatever is alive, and who has nothing good to say about how to deal with serious problems like war, famine, climate change and integrity.

When I scroll down letters to the editor that merely show off our ability to insult with clever words.

I went to vote earlier today. All who volunteered were serious and seemingly dedicated to the idea that people should be treated with dignity. That voters are not gullible but caring humans who want to do whatever they can to make the world livable.

I came home feeling good that I had done what I could to save our species from dying by the egos of narcissists, warmongers, misogynists. My efforts are not showy, not extraordinary, but part of caring for life that's here and life that will come after us if we care for it.

Capitalism idolizes those with huge bank accounts, athletic winners, and the stunning beauty of young healthy bodies. Yet the people who keep society going are ridiculed because they are not perfect, or they struggle to survive. Families break down trying to reach extraordinary achievements caring for others even when money is short.

Wisdom, empathy, intelligence and integrity is available to us as long as we value it.  .....

Astronomica

 

now available at Ekstasis.

Acknowledgements

This fourth book is my attempt to understand the world as I lived it. My mother, one of four girls born to a man who fought in the first world war and returned to England with his bride.

They came to a small town in England where the daughters grew up and married young men who would be called up to fight in the second world war. Sadly my mother’s first husband was killed in the war when she was pregnant.

Marlow, a small farm town in England, the town I most remember before we emigrated to Canada was pretty and not too industrial. The lives of people were the stories I grew up with.

Father, mother, sisters and brother, came to Canada in 1965, settled in Lac de deux Montagne, got a job at Rolls Royce and met the boy I married. We moved to Toronto then to BC. Eager to learn who I was in this vast Universe, I learned to scribble.

Wanting all these years to jot down my experiences, poetry was the outlet I kept returning to.

With gratitude to the many teachers who helped along the way, I thank Ekstasis and all publishers who print memories, thoughts and hopes for peace in the future.

This porridge of egos and sleepless nights, are all a kind of love from one generation to the next.

cover image- photo taken by Elaine Vickers

I have a few copies now. Email ekstasis if you are interested in having a copy or janetvickers@gmail.com.

Power And Nurture, still, again!

The sign of mental illness is how a single unit fits into his world.

I call this unit MAN. He is beautiful, creative, strong and troubled. He can't get away from his worries because he knows too much and spends most of his time trying to unthink all the thoughts rushing into his mind.

This applies to WOMAN too if she arrives at a position where she has some control over her life. But first she has to break through the cloak and mythology of what society has told her - she represents.

Great Britain caused a lot of suffering while it was looking for success, for wealth, and civilized behaviour among its citizens. I don't know if it's possible to be in control. I think it's more of a desire based on social status and conditions which cause suffering for many. 

We want to be in control of our own lives but there are too many of us competing for space in the city or town and on top of that is influence from powerful sources who want other things, like wealth, popularity, love and friendship. So we attempt to create systems to organize life for the greater good.

There is one thing I want to remember. Very few people seek control. They seek belonging, community, being appreciated, loving and being loved. But the media seems to be bored whenever we talk of love. We tend towards generalizations that we fear and generalizations that make us feel better.

It has helped me to understand two forces of energy. Power and Nurture. When a society is built on power for power's sake, we end up causing a lot of suffering for those who have the least power, while those who have the most don't know what nurture is.

In times of war we train humans to be strong by ignoring and denying their nurturing feelings. We think of them as weak. If you're planning to kill and bomb the enemy to think about feelings is painful.

It raises all kinds of torture for the mind. It dismisses the soul. It ridicules the suffering of the enemy. It responds to conscience with anger, it finds someone else to blame. (You're just trying to make me feel guilty). 

Attempting to win wars with strategy, schooling, judgement that we are doing the right thing - all's fair in love and war, we end up hard, insensitive, looking for scapegoats to blame. We make a show of winning as we kill thousands and millions.

Or we choose to create societies that keep us busy, patting each other on the back. Being kind to ease our conscience, setting up boundaries of who we can trust and who we can't, dividing good guys and bad guys. Then we question ourselves to ourselves, forever, endlessly, blowing up in anger when something triggers.

How long can we live like this?

A World That Hates Women is A World that Loves Killing

 

A world that hates women is a world that loves killing

created by a single species who has discovered how to win

at all costs but not how to win forever, to be dominant

in control hawkishly watching everything that moves

listening to every sound for signs of aggression.

We Are Broken. How Did We Get Here?

Listening to Cross Country Check Up on CBC radio, I heard different voices say students have to wait months to see a councillor/counselor. Teachers including Principles are subjected to violence. Children are bullied from early grades by other children. Children are abused by parents. Here is the lack of community/social support everywhere - police force, politicians, teachers and doctors. 

Sounds like the media stories about society are breaking apart while we have politicians who throw out more insults and threats. Donald Trump is popular and could win the election. Pierre Poilievre could lead in the Canadian elections. Justin Trudeau is incompetent say news headlines. These stories don't say why. CBC radio and television are threatened with no funding, police forces are threatened with defunding. While our society is drowning in bad news popular politicians call for defunding the nation, health care, policing, public schooling.

Sounds like voices promoting the defunding of Canada.

What is the cause of this breakdown? Is it capitalism drawing every drop of blood it can while so many things are going wrong? Should we find someone to blame like the PM of Canada or the Liberal Party? By January we could be ready for absolute climate collapse as teachers, doctors and preachers hide in their basements while the whole world is covered in water and fire. Where will the next witch hunts take us? I mean this proves there are witches here, doesn't it?

We were warned by a girl a couple of years ago. Could we blame women for bringing down the entire planet? Could we blame Satan? Could we blame the economy?

There are people responding to this crisis, groups trying to warn us way back. You'd think we would all be behind that fight. Park our cars in the garage and take public transport. But wait a minute the drivers are on strike.

So we could have shuffled some money around to make sure drivers were well paid. Make sure doctors and nurses were well paid. Pay for schools to hire more teachers. Put a stop to selling all houses to the highest bidder.

What's happening today was often predicted by many adults, social workers and free lance professionals. In short we could have invested in the society we live in for the sake of people, but instead we watched dramas of violent greedy people finding evil ways to win. We could wake up to the reason that just societies teach people to care for others and that we were never isolated units competing for the most of what each of us wants.

We are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and cousins who cannot survive the anxiety of everything being a contest for ultimate survival as we step on millions of faces in order to get to the top of the ladder.

Contempt for Differences Equals Contempt For Life

 

https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2024/10/07/Thomas-Piketty-Plan-Save-World/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=071024 

We have different opinions because we have different experiences. If you're parents were easy going and didn't make a lot of demands, you may feel no-one really cares, you are not important enough for anyone to notice you, or if you're parents were demanding you may feel responsible for the happiness of others.

Your whole life might be looking for signs you have worth, maybe intelligent, or rich or good looking. If so you will suffer.

This whole universe has planets, weather, birds and demons trapped in the human psyche. The determination that everything is about you and you know more than everyone else, will either make you mad, stupid or bitter.

Even the very educated, wise or beautiful struggle. The confidence trick is the oldest most broken habit in the world. 

Humanity And Their Big Reveal

 

Politicians, influencers, specialists and the whole patriarchal history of life in war, needs to think about how we might survive into a sustainable world. First we need  wisdom. Second we need to recognize how fear of admitting mistakes  hurt our chances for survival. 

Thinking is not the same as doing and admitting where we have made mistakes makes us targets for ridicule. Much easier to talk about what others are doing wrong.

How bipedal creatures with a life span of 80 years destroy hope for the future is mostly about beliefs and values. It shouldn't be but we get stuck here and can't seem to see the big picture. 

We as represented in corporate media, politics and religion are trapped by our stories, reluctant to simply shrug and focus on today. So how can we liberate ourselves from self-delusion? We can't! We can self-interrogate but this doesn't mean we will be free of delusion tomorrow.

Do we really want to see ourselves as others see us? Are others clear of their own self-delusion and do they want to dismiss "the other" in a way that makes us feel good?

Beware of generalizations that smear the other. I remember receiving a call from a man who did not identify himself before saying "you don't have the authority to do this." What was it "I" was doing? Writing newspaper columns on history using materials from the museum? Working for a group of seniors creating programs on history? Multi-cultural conversations bringing people of different backgrounds and religions together? Identifying feminist conversations? 

At that time, women were targets of criticism and verbal attacks if they expressed ideas for changing conversations about the role of women in the world. That's not to say this community was misogynist. This was a community run by Christian traditional views that emphasized men as head of the family. Men as the authority on right and wrong.

Human societies have established hierarchies, pecking orders, but do not talk about it or reason with it.

Humans are ruled by unspoken values that allow us to believe we are right and that all is well. We leave our beds and go into the world with this confidence until somebody challenges us.

We tell ourselves we are strong. We can tackle the constant messages from "out there" telling us more than we want to know, telling us we are not always right, we don't know everything, we don't know anything. Shut up and go back to bed!

The best thing about our species is this. WE DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING. WE ARE NOT ALWAYS STRONG. WE ARE FLEXIBLE. WE HAVE MORE TO LEARN. WE ARE CAPABLE OF COMPASSION. WE CAN CRY, FEEL GUILT, EMBARRASSMENT AND SAY SORRY! AND ALTHOUGH WE HAVE CONSTRUCTED COMPLEX SOCIETIES. We cannot assume anything! But the most valuable tool in the kit, is, love. It binds us through emotion as long as we are not trained to dismiss our vulnerability.

WE ARE CAPABLE OF LOVE, SELF DOUBT AND COMPASSION! That is our strength.

Well that's my opinion anyway.