Category: Humanity

Until Humanity Wins

Cori Booker spoke for twenty-five hours on the Senate floor in a speech that outlasted the now second longest speech by Strom Thurmon in 1957. Thurmond, a segregationist, spoke against the Civil Rights Act. His speech proved useless and President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Bill into law two weeks later. Booker spoke against Trump policies. He covered social security and Medicare, education, immigration, public safety, national security and foreign policy, housing, the environment and farmers’ issues. He spoke at length about defending Democracy. But nowhere have I found that Senator Booker mentioned the slaughter of Palestinians or the Israeli theft of land that the United States government supports.

If I missed it, please let me know, but it seems the Democratic Party is still intent on the ill-conceived dedication to Netanyahu’s Israel that President Biden so devotedly upheld. 

I don’t get it. We’re still supplying weapons to Israel. Some accounts say we are supplying even more deadly weapons. Through the entire month of Ramadan, we watched as Israeli forces prohibited food distribution to starving people. We learned of bombed tents and more children murdered. Any thinking person, any feeling person knows this is a genocide, but we allow that debate to rage on. Our empathy and compassion have been dismantled by outrageous remarks of ignorance and inhumanity streaming from the White House and the rest of the crusaders. 

The Christian Right’s belief of “End Times” – of how it is foretold that Israel will triumph and everyone will be whisked to the pearly gates – bolsters a president hell bent on creating a resort from a genocide. How long will Christian Nationalists be pawns in this power grab? 

Me? I prefer peace now to pie in the sky. And I’m holding out for Humanity to win.

Only 15 Senators Back Sanders Bid to Block Arms to Israel

I didn’t know this when I wrote this. Booker was not one of them. And Tammy Baldwin again abstained.

The democrats are failing miserably. We need a new direction.

Never Again Must Be Now

We’re still in Ramadan and our Palestinian friends are engaged in daily fasts and prayers, while stories of starvation and tents bombed in the night haunt them. While heightened renewal of violence in the West Bank and Gaza robs humanity of its dignity, here we face the disruption of families and disappearance of immigrants and students by ICE, adding to the human nightmare. Israel, Russia and now the US are purveyors of violence and terror.

What will it take for us to resist the self-inflicted wounds of hatred and greed which underscore our lives? If you’re still waiting for superman; you’re ignoring the most important truth of all. You’re the one you’ve been waiting for. 

Regardless of the politics you hold; it is incumbent upon us to challenge violence in all forms. It’s imperative that we become a human shield for peace with our words and actions to end the inhumanity. It’s not a time to cower. 

We’re fed storylines to drive fear and to have us reject empathy and compassion. Our sense of normalcy is being erased and replaced with dystopia. Our politicians stand in lock step with Israel and supply weapons and money in the billions, and they allow the deportation policies causing suffering for many. Both parties vote to continue the downward spiral of human dignity. But where do we, as individuals, stand?

Colonialism, the theft of land and the subjugation of people have been the human history. It does not have to be our future. 

For people of peace and justice, there can be no room for debate. Our government is eradicating free speech and using the label of “terrorist” to dissuade those of conscience into silence. We cannot be silent.”Never again” needs to be now and for everyone.

Take back your power. Be human.

Take back our collective power. Vote, Wisconsin, Tuesday April 1

“NonViolence and NonCooperation” is the theme of this WDRT Conversation with author and nonviolence activist Rivera Sun. This hour is packed with historical facts and an enthusiastic call to action as we reclaim our humanity. Take a listen! Photo from our first meeting in 2015.

https://www.wdrt.org/?post_type=post&p=14055

Thinkin’ Bout us

There are fundamental understandings of living that I have come to accept. That we, human beings, are basically Good, and unfortunately, we have the choice not to be. That being alive is a gift to be cherished regardless of the difficulties, and yet, we often forget how precious it truly is. That all beings are my relatives and cultural differences are a beautiful mosaic to be appreciated, not feared and destroyed.

The great experiment in plurality, which was the only hope for our exceptionalism, is being dismantled. Ruthless greed has taken the place of high vision. Fear has removed the dream of brotherhood. False truths have robbed too many of their ability to think and reason. And hopelessness has found a home in too many hearts.

We the People have been here before. Our collective histories, both written and oral, confirm this and teach us “to make a way out of no way”. It is essential now that we rediscover who we are, not who we were told to be. Like the last of the coals that still carry the glow of warmth and light, we must protect those embers. We must feed them and breathe new life into their flames.

Grace Lee Boggs warned us that it was “time to grow our souls”. I think we are now in the battle to save our souls. I am not referring to any religious doctrine or ideology, but instead to the direct and encompassing action to know ourselves, discover our strengths and be fueled by our passions for life.

I’ve been thinkin ’bout us. 

There are ways out of this mess. Know who you are. Respect for others will follow. Co-create in community and with land. Everything we need here. We got this.

“To make a revolution, people must not only struggle against existing institutions. They must make a philosophical/ spiritual leap and become more ‘human’ human beings. In order to change/ transform the world, they must change/ transform themselves.” ~ Grace Lee Boggs

“I think people are really looking for some way whereby we can grow our souls rather than our economy. I think that at some level, people recognize that growing our economy is destroying us. It’s destroying us as human beings, it’s destroying our planet. I think there’s a great human desire for solutions, for profound solutions – and that nothing simple will do it. It really requires some very great searching of our souls.” ~ Grace Lee Boggs

Send Aid Not Arms

Growing up in a Christian household, I took the benevolent teachings of Jesus Christ to heart. “Love they neighbor as thyself” (Matthew 22:39) was instilled in me. Fortunately, there were models of kindness and people of faith to counter the hypocrisy that too often accompanies religion.  

Today the stark divisions of faith versus belief have brought us to a grotesque masquerade of power which has nothing to do with “Love thy neighbor.” If that basic teaching were understood and practiced, those of Christian faith would be rallying behind an end to the Palestinian genocide, not remaining silent. Or even worse, there are those who champion the slaughter as the forerunner that beckons the “next coming”.

Zionism, the belief of the divine right to kill and displace people, has no place in humanity. Whether Christian Zionism or Jewish Zionism, those who harbor ill will and use God as their excuse to plunder and murder are not in keeping with the great possibility of being human.

Love thy neighbor as thyself. If we have not discovered our rich essence as human beings, we cannot love. We must know, not simply believe, that we are sparks of the divine clothed in temporary bodies and given this one opportunity to love.

It’s been over one year. People are being starved. The United Nations has denounced the Israeli tactics as violations of human rights and on December 12, 2024 passed a resolution demanding immediate ceasefire and expressed support of UNRWA. South Africa and most nations of the world have declared that Israeli leadership is conducting genocide. We, in the United States, are complicit in war crimes as our dollars, weaponry and intelligence continues to support the inhuman slaughter of Palestinians. And once again, the US and Israel voted against the resolution, which passed with 158 votes of the 193 member assembly. Nine votes against and 13 abstentions

Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/12/un-general-assembly-demands-immediate-ceasefire-in-gaza-supports-unrwa#ixzz8uA7lIMYF

Soon we will be led by Christian Zionists chosen by Donald Trump.

The silence of Christians who are not Zionist must end. We need your voice to end this madness. Let us chose to send aid not arms. Let love of humanity win.

Support of UNRWA. Support of Human Rights.

photo of child – “Growing up in Gaza” – from Al Jazerra.

The Potter’s Hands

There’s a story about a potter’s wheel. As the potter spins the wheel, she lays her hand into the clay to hold it steady while with the other hand she slaps and shapes the outside of the clay into the vessel she chooses. This analogy is to our lives. We are the clay on the potter’s wheel. And on the outside, we are tempered in ways we cannot imagine. Yet it is the firm and steadfast grip that holds us from within that is as important to the shaping of our lives. 

Fear these days is palpable. Governments are struggling and militarism and violence have become the human go-to. Systems that we have relied upon, however ill equipped, are proving unworthy of our trust. And fledgling testaments to the possibility of human greatness, such as the United Nation’s Geneva Conventions of War, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are being challenged and sidelined by power grabs and our collective inability to change course.

In this chaotic moment, the distinction of what is happening to us on the outside versus the strength and sureness of the inside is worthy of our attention. We may not be able to stop the downward spiral that seems to be gripping humanity, but we can begin to slow it down. We can lean into the internal hand that holds us and recognize it as universal. We can remember our interconnectedness to all of life and begin again to remake our world from the inside, out. We can allow the outside to reflect the strength and vision of that internal hand. We can allow the wisdom of the potter lead, not the fates of ill-will and inhumanity. 

It’s our choice.

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photo by Ahmed Kassem : Pottery hand made craft by young girl in Tunis village in Fayoum Egypt

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

A New Day is Upon Us

Black youth in ten different states received personalized messages telling them they will be taken to plantations to pick cotton. If you want to learn more about this check news outlets for details – while you still can, of course. News agencies, who challenge the incoming administration, are preparing for cuts in funding and diminished licensing. 

Married gay couples are seeking legal advice to protect their union, and trans people, the prime escape goats for heterosexual fear, are being bullied and far worse.  Calls to suicide hot lines for LGBTQ+ youth are up as much as 700%.  And let’s not forget about the round up of our neighbors and friends as deportations begin.

And maybe you didn’t see this coming. Maybe you feel safe in a white and sanitized world. Maybe you believed no one could be “chosen” and cause so much harm. But here we are. 

Because a “promise made is a promise kept” says the incoming 47th president. So, let’s see what else has been promised that will unite us and help the healing of this country. As the divide and conquer continues unchecked and the majority of the MAGA world seems content with prayers, I doubt many will speak up when they come for our neighbors. Just like old time Germany and how did that poem go? First they came for the Catholics, but I wasn’t Catholic, so I did nothing. They came for the gays, but I wasn’t gay, so I did nothing. I wasn’t Jewish, so when they came for them, I did nothing. And there was no one to help when they came for me. 

There are consequences when we give away empathy and compassion; consequences when leaders are permitted to act out of vendetta; and there are consequences when our humanity and individual sovereignty are relinquished.

It might all be hyperbole. The rantings of an old man drunk with power. But what about us? What choices will we make in this new day? Our choices or lack thereof brought us here. It will be our choices – and our humanity – that will save us.

Elections Are Over

And now we begin…

Elections are over. And God will be given the credit or the blame. That’s the way we play it.

We prefer not taking responsibility; and accountability is out of the question.

The Democratic leadership shut the door on Arab Americans and others demanding our government stop arming Israel’s genocide. They turned their backs on the working class. These were fatal errors.

Trump played his hand quite well, convincing people he doesn’t mean them when he speaks of deportations and making people forget about his Muslim bans. Got to give it to him, he’s slick. Now we get Elon slashing experts from the government and, Kennedy in charge of our health.

But don’t, please don’t tell me it’s because you prayed or didn’t pray hard enough.

Don’t blame your God for your ignorance.

You have a brain. and in you there is a heart still beating, so compassion and empathy must be there somewhere. Find them.

We had choice, many choices for many years and we squandered them away.

We had the choice to end racism. We threw gasoline on that fire. Signs read “Back the Blue”; they do not read “Stop Killing Black People”.  And after 500 years, Biden apologizes for Federal Indian Boarding Schools – while remaining complicit in Israel’s genocide. Jimmy Carter warned us to walk away from fossil fuels, but greed got in the way. Now it’s “Drill baby drill”.

We have been selfish. Now we will see where our selfishness leads.

We can still choose a way out – learning from one another, caring for one another, celebrating the preciousness of life and protecting this incredible home we call Earth – could do it. 

Our humanity must become our resistance. Unity our strength.

Cutting Our Ties to Terror

A new terror has descended on the world as Israel unleashed the simultaneous explosions of pagers followed by a second day of explosions of walkie talkies in Lebanon.

Israel’s defense minister claims this is a “new era” in Israel’s war effort. The simultaneous pager explosions on Hezbollah fighters killed at least thirty-seven and wounded 3400. Hospitals were overwhelmed by amputees, eye injuries and more. The second day of attacks came through walkie talkies and killed at least 20 and injured 450. And while Israel is not claiming the second round of explosions, this new form of terror and dominance is rocking Lebanon, the region and the world.

The United Nations Human Rights chief said this, “Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings… violates international human rights law and… international humanitarian law.”

And now the question falls to us, the citizens of the United States, whose government has for the past eleven months supplied Israel with war machines and money to carry out what is being denounced world-wide as crimes against humanity, what will we do?

Will we continue to allow our government free reign in support of the terrorist regime that Israel has become? Or will we demand peace? If we believe the story line that Israel needs our help in self – defense, then when do we acknowledge the need of those who are being illegally attacked as needing the same kind of defense?

The entire argument is insane. War will never bring peace. Supporting violence will only beget violence. The Biden administration would do well to cut ties with terror.

And we would be wise to ensure it.

By Al Jazeera English – Growing Up in Gaza, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17512081

Listen to Bernie and learn why we need to stop sending Israel supporters he introduces a resolution to block another $20 billion arms sale to Israel. He says, “We must end our complicity in the immoral & illegal war against Palestinians.”

I agree.

Where Are the Voices for Peace

Thousands of dead, millions displaced and stalled peace talks. These are the headlines out of Sudan. Aid trucks are not given adequate passage to reach innocent women and children and the story of war repeats itself ad nauseum.

The same story plays out as Israel now invades the West Bank. Palestinians refer to this as another Nakba.  And the cries for ceasefire continue to be ignored and the world continues to watch and the United States continues to fund this genocide. Some watch in horror, some with disregard.

Most disconcerting are the proclamations of the leaders. In Sudan’s case, Al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese army refuses to attend peace talks and has said that the fighting will continue for 100 years and there will be no forgiving the Rapid Support Forces as the civil war wages on. 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz calls for the mass displacement of Palestinians in what had been the more secure West Bank. He wrote, “We need to deal with the threat exactly as we deal with terror infrastructure in Gaza…This is a war for everything and we must win it,”.

Somewhere, somehow, someone must find a way to stand for peace. People are following these ruthless leaders. Soldiers willingly give their time, bodies and lives for senseless power grabbing greed.

Somewhere, somehow, someone must stand for peace.

The United States has been among the many powers who have led by force. We have touted war as a means of achieving peace. There can be nothing more ridiculous and insane. 

Sudanese and Palestinian people are the latest victims in the human history of conquest and violence. When we finally work as hard for peace as we do for war, this dynamic will change. 

Check out these voices for peace:

The Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice – a network of over eighty organizations advancing a sustainable world free from violence and injustice.

The Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine – a coalition of over eighty organizations working towards ceasefire in Palestine and a US arms embargo to Israel.

And for a personal dive into our humanity and peace: The Prem Rawat Foundation’s Peace Education Program

You can listen to my conversation with Palestinian American Muhammad Kharbush, “And Still They Survive.” Born in 1948, the year of the Nakba, Muhammad gives his oral history of the past 76 years. Thanks to WDRT studio.

Our Diversity is Our Strength

I believe and often say, “Our diversity is our strength”. Now that has become a tag line of the Democratic Party. If you think about it, that wasn’t something that could have been said by many candidates throughout our history. It is hard to accept diversity when you are not accepting the differences among us. It is hard to champion diversity when the push towards status quo sameness is drilled into us from birth. It is impossible to honor diversity when fear of other is used from the pulpit and political soap box to provide scape goats for the powerful to hide behind. 

But there it was, loud and clear, “Our diversity is our strength”. Words are easy to mimic; more difficult to understand and nearly impossible to bring to fruition. But here it is, a clarion call to the wise to recognize what Nature has always taught. We are here because of what has come before and what will come after. We’re intrinsically tied to all living things. When one is elevated, we’re all elevated. And while we may not recognize it, when one is harmed, we too, are harmed.

The United States has been an experiment in humanity and we are by all accounts in a critical moment. Can we the people, recognize the value of “the other”. Can we care for “the other”? 

Our collective history is fraught with genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery and other ongoing racial injustices. Our debates about helping immigrants is hypocritical and ironic, given the reality that most of us are born of settlers who infiltrated this land and its peoples.

Thought has its own evolution. And while the ideals of unity, compassion and caring are not new, maybe the time has come for their acceptance. Perhaps a wider audience is now ready for a new reality that’s not merely lip service. Time and actions will tell.

And high on the list must be the end of the apartheid of Palestinian people. We must end racism here and we must not support any forms of it throughout the world. Come on DNC, honor what the vast majority of our citizens want: #CeasefireNow and stop supplying Israel with war machines. Anything less is the continuation of a ruthless and inhuman history. This is now ours to change.

We are waking up.

I remain hopeful. Do the right thing.