NRA Convention and the Human Imagination

 

“This is not a gun problem. This is a mental health problem, this is a social problem, this is a cultural problem, this is a spiritual problem,” Trump claimed. https://truthout.org/articles/republicans-attend-nra-convention-the-same-weekend-as-9-mass-shootings/?utm

It's a mental health problem when politicians can't regulate gun laws yet make abortion illegal. It's a social problem when people of conscience can't break through the ceiling of profit and see how it is destroying the most powerful country in the world. It's a spiritual problem when the gender who carries life to the point of birth is made a plaything to show, criticize, rape and ridicule for the slightest misdemeanour, yet the gun lobby raises rights to own guns more than rights to justice. Life simply becomes the meat of the economy.

Patriarchy has been at war with life for centuries, building temples to warriors, teaching history as a series of battles, winners in the determination to kill and murder, to rule over, to trade in slaves, cut down forests, build highways, invent weapons of mass destruction, systems of the law that are beyond comprehending in terms of outcomes.

The only recognizable changes keep punishing the vulnerable and rewarding the powerful.

If God is the highest element valued by men, its POWER OVER EVERY THING NO MATTER HOW IT HURTS. When man takes control he loves everything that elevates his achievements - even climate change and mass starvation.

About Freedom

Freedom is possibly the most valuable possession in the world.

Because freedom is so precious I cannot be cavalier with it. The people I love, who love and care for me, must not endure false or exaggerated claims of freedom from me. I hold them in respect so I cannot afford to make false claims against them. Ever.

The price of freedom is the determination to not make false claims. And though I set out to understand how the world works, including social behaviour and norms, my views are not always right. What damage might be done by generalizations that seem true to me.

Some have access to media outlets which seem to give credibility to extraordinary claims. It's up to us to think seriously about whether the claims can be true or proven. We know now that being published does not guarantee truth. We know that some people in high places deliberately tell lies.

History is full of liars and murderers and their victims.

A good friend once said you cannot assume anything. So I have stopped using "I assume".

My freedom is also a duty to be honest with myself and all that I say and do. Failing that, my children are left to deal with a world that is not only dangerous but an example of who we are. 

It's complicated because if I keep preaching about what we should do and be. The natural connection between myself and other beings can be splintered.  Seem superior to assume I have a moral duty to police others. Will it do more harm than good? What power is available to us? How can you and I engage in democracy when power is so confusing.

Freedom is a blessing in that there are some things we can do, and it's a curse because there is danger in it.

So the best I can suggest now, is my responsibility and freedom is wrapped within my society. A society that is authoritarian, that punishes people for expressing themselves, makes it seem there is nothing I can do. There is something. Stay awake and informed. Work locally and humbly. Question assumptions.

Just because I have written about freedom doesn't mean I am right.

The Hidden Gems of Misogyny

 

What happens when the feminine aspect

^{is covered in shroud}

^{invisible unseen unspoken unborn}

^{the Handmaid knows in silence}

^{the poet weeps short verses}

^{naked words made illegal}

^{feelings broken and torn}

^{dissociated so that when}

^{someone asks}

^{are you alright}

^{there is only one answer}

^{fine thank you}

^{I am fine}

^{don’t worry about me}

^{as if}

^{as if there is no voice}

^{whispering through the eyes}

^{of the homeless}

^{and their mothers}

^{until you discover}

^{you were always alright}

^{always you}

^{beneath the layers}

^{the clothes and costumes}

^{designed to cover you up}

^{from head to toe}

^{beaten anytime your flesh}

^{escaped the cloth of denial}

^{the power so fragile}

^{it is easily offended}

^{demanding forever}

^{until the planet is quiet as death}

^{praising cruelty over and over}

^{until the birds are finally silenced}

^forever

^{where no-one can observe}

^{the change in climate}

^{no-one can see the dawn}

^{because the womb of existence}

^{has been silenced forever}

^unless

^{the life line is restored}

^{and loved}

^{feminine and masculine}

^{coming together}

^{for the sake of}

^life.

^{May it be so … one day.}

Robert Reich on Current Politics

"Under Republican authoritarianism, power is its own justification. Recall that in 2018, after Wisconsin voters elected a Democratic governor and attorney general, the Republican legislature and the lame duck Republican governor responded by significantly cutting back the power of both offices."  https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-happens-when-supermajorities?utm_source=substack&utm

Modern Values in Government

What is wanting a planet without humanity? It's voice. It's conscience. It's history. Art. Music. These only serve to confuse the hierarchy of power. Brute force. Slavery. Bigotry. Cruelty are the methods of ruling the world.

It would seem by learning about the United States of America, the now fallen empires such as Britain, Germany, France, Russia. China and all their colonial possessions. 

There is a deep division today. The rights of people, their health and education. And the values of those who are expected to keep order by control.

Some of us are not comfortable with brutality but of most us are not expected, not trained to maintain control. Yes we want systems of justice, laws, holidays and jobs. We want houses that will stand up to rough weather. We want to know where to go to get justice. We want the status quo. We admire the legal system and their knowledge of its strength. We want machines to be safe, to be built according to the rules.

We want fairness. We want to know the rules so we can move around freely. But those who are expected to hold up the systems we rely on know there is injustice, personalities that follow the rules convenient to their progress. Their jobs are stressful. Life is stressful because there are no guarantees.

Evil people learn how to manipulate systems and groups so they can do whatever they want. They don't love, they threaten, they seek a position where others kiss their feet because of fear. They value fear because societies of fear can be managed as long as you are the top. Not the bottom. The bottom is hell. The top is heaven. Almost. Meanwhile they seek to bully so they can feel "their power". 

And this word "power" is where I lose my readers. Because we are all familiar with the harsh parts of history. World War I and II, the French Revolution, the Holocaust, the fight for Communism in East Europe.

Tomorrow we celebrate the death and crucifixion of a young man who wanted to bring peace and love to the world but who was nailed to a cross, left to die a slow excruciating death. Now we call him the son of God. We created a trinity - Father, Son, Holy Ghost. There are other beliefs and religions, many began centuries before Jesus. Holy Men have been with us since the beginning of civilization. We punish those who don't follow 'the rules' with great pomp and eagerness. We build scapegoats from minorities, enslave them, blame them for everything that allows the rulers to continue governing by fear. 

The names and doctrines of our new movements change. Our heroes change, Our commandments change with new faiths and doctrines but the habits are essential. Blame minorities who are peaceful and creative. Make love immoral. Kill the Goddess. Maintain control over the whole planet. Seek to dominate other planets when ours has been abused to death. Imprison the wise, the creative, and worship the brutal haters.

Every so many generations, a war of contempt for life, brutalizes the heart and mind of all living things. Particularly those who have a history, traditions, and noble practices.

When we are loved, guided and educated, we know in the head and gut, we the public must not give up. Too much has been lost and too much is here to be lost. And if there comes a time when we forget who we are, everything shall be lost.

When You Hate - Bertrand Russell

 “When you hate, you generate a reciprocal hate. When individuals hate each other, the harm is finite; but when great groups of nations hate each other, the harm may be infinite and absolute. Do not fall back upon the thought that those whom you hate deserve to be hated. I do not know whether anybody deserves to be hated, but I do know that hatred of those whom we believe to be evil is not what will redeem mankind.”

— Bertrand Russell, Human Society in Ethics and Politics (19…

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Dear Prophet

It's not your fault.

You did not want to be crucified

as an example of what happens to men

who think and feel for themselves

what is right and wrong

seeing and hearing all those desperate voices

clamour above all other voices

what is really wrong

and what is right.

Yes I am just a singular voice

a granny who has lived and grieved

for all the inventions and arguments

who is to blame

who is an angel and who is a devil

it's not you who created these

good guy bad guy contests

that keep surviving even as we

witness people designated as leaders

influencers ... priests of fame and gold

the National News microphone at your lips

even though your body is not in the flesh

and your mouth cannot preach

to us who don't get it

don't realize your heart is inside all of us

with different names like

Moses, Mary, Joshuah

and all the Davids who ever lived

while Eve has been silenced

for now

but one day she will speak louder

so loud we shall weep

not because we are hurt

but because she knows

what it's like to be blamed 

vilified and hated for all that

she did not do

horrified at how easy it is

for mortals to cast off their sins

and even as this planet aches

closer to death

we remember

it's not the Earth that shall die

but all limbed creatures

and their stories

like the meaning of stars

rain and wind

without songs

to the rhythm of blood

pulsing through busy veins.

It was not your fault

no matter how many times

your name was taken in vain

how many temples and churches

built in your honour

and how many lives taken

competing for the golden sword

wedged in the rock.

Here we are ... still

shutting down everything

that appears to be pointing at us

and not them.