Sacred Masculine

Even though gender is a construct beyond 

the reproductive organs - I need to respect 

the hero, the sacred masculine

as it has been witnessed here.

The real man who goes out to the garden

to build a wooden box for tomato stakes

come summer.

The man who takes an afternoon nap

before he prepares supper

who knows when I am sick before I do

who keeps the TV volume down

when I take a nap.

Who held, fed and changed our first born 

while I went to the theatre,

who survived the highway-to-office battles

for fifty years, the endless sales calls, 

unmentionable skirmish in the belly, 

who had the insight to admit he couldn’t stay 

in the manager’s chair without slipping 

into that alcoholic night. Who realized

he never wanted to be a stranger to his children.

The sacred masculine holds the ability

to fix the gate or vacuum cleaner

look for the best hotel, weed the garden

coach kids how to kick a soccer ball into the net

listen to the troubles and achievements of friends,

buy birthday cards, potatoes or eggs

and allow the ‘other’ a seat on the subway

without spreading.

The sacred masculine adapts to the world 

as it is, his level gaze informing

the warrior of the weapons required

who will never win fame because

he didn't take a gun and kill something.

.

Delusions and Fantasies

 "And it's not a secret: Les Moonves, the Executive Chairman and CEO of CBS, said, as reported by the Hollywood Reporter about Trump's candidacy: "It may not be good for America, but it's damn good for CBS." He added: “Donald's place in this election is a good thing. … Man, who would have expected the ride we're all having right now? ... The money's rolling in and this is fun... I've never seen anything like this, and this going to be a very good year for us. Sorry. It's a terrible thing to say. But, bring it on, Donald. Keep going.” Thom Hartmann, AlterNet.

The trust in our civilization to represent truth and justice, to find balances, to protect us against the abuse of power, is a delusion.

A society is based on what individuals and groups contribute to it.

1. It depends on our level of education - a recycle of greatness propaganda, or the facts plus a humility to engage with them? 
2. It depends on the kind of vigilance we bring to raising a family, watching children grow and making sure we intervene with guidance and integrity when they appear to be heading down  a destructive path. We will have to care for the family of humankind as we have cared for our own family. 
3. We will need to apply the skills we have learned to build community to the rebuilding of our nation. This is not the nationalism of bragging violence, but a nationalism of concern.
4. We need to listen to others who express ideas we don't agree with and respond with respect to explain why we don't agree.
5. We will need to give up the demand that others see the world as we do.
6. To stretch our awareness and interrogation of our own interests as part of the dialogue. Give up the simplistic divisions and generalizations such as LEFT and RIGHT, MALE and FEMALE, WHITE and BLACK, to include all in our circle.
7. To accept that we are part of the animal kingdom who have evolved in amazing ways - creating music, art, stories, and ideologies. And while our exploration and behaviours have been far from perfect, we can learn from our errors.
8. To see that errors are not failures but signals to redirect our goals.
9. Particularly that economics is not just about profit and wealth for a few. Greed is not an inspiration to create more, it is a collapse of values that diminishes the organic journey to a forced and shallow end.
10. And finally, that the ultimate goal of our existence is not to kill, subdue, and conquer others for our egocentric interests, but to celebrate the mystery and reality of it with a level gaze.

Oppressive Power Needs Enemies - People Don't

As soon as the death of Osama bin Laden found its way to the media, 'experts' were interviewed to identify the next in line. A new book by James A. Baker (who served under Reagan and George H. W. Bush) was published about a week later, titled Beyond Bin Laden: America and the future of terror.

In Uganda there is a bill threatening to make homosexuality punishable by death. Recently, John Cummins, running for leadership of the Conservative party in BC, said he believes that homosexuality is a personal choice and does not need protection under the Human Rights Act, as if to appeal to socially conservative religious groups who have openly identified as being anti-homosexual.

The treatment of women in Afghanistan, and other middle-eastern nations, makes them public enemies by requiring garments that cover their face and bodies, thereby making the feminine illegal in public. 

Terrorists, homosexuals and women are all enemies created by authoritarian interests. Of course there is a great deal of difference between those who blow up innocent people and those who love members of the same sex. However, left unchallenged to their ultimate conclusion they are treated the same. Enemies maintain the status quo, the justification of hierarchy by creating fear. Oppressive power claims ownership of the world and all its vassals by exploiting human emotion.

We need to revere life, to celebrate it, to nurture it, to create laws and systems that allow it to thrive. We need dialogue, education, music, art, poetry, transportation, work, housing, food and water.  This is enough to fill the air waves with noise as we struggle to find peace through social justice after centuries of dysfunction and violence. The task is overwhelming enough.

We don't need control, we need guidance.  We need thinkers and listeners more than charismatic speakers. We need community more than IPads and game apps.  We need wisdom through experience in conflict resolution as we learn how to live with one another, rather than hours of escapist entertainment.

We need to develop our own counsel more than we need hundreds of news channels, sponsored by a few powerful interests.

We need love, starting with self-love.

Wherever there is a heightened rhetoric around good and evil, there is an enemy-creating industry mandated to keep the masses living in fear and feeling powerless.

Yes this is apple pie, naive, idealism, written millions of times before, like a letter from a kindergarten class. But here is the clue - children get it! What happens to the minds and hearts of those who have been cleverly subjected to propaganda in all its packages, that we think preserving life is silly.