Category: Resist

The Need for a Lifeline

Resistance to ICE in Los Angeles and elsewhere is uplifting. The decision to send National Guards and deploy Marines was predictable.  The authoritarian in chief and his allies leave no room for dissent. That has been proven for some time. Long before this moment, we have witnessed the government’s overreach by militarized police and national guard. This has been winding up for decades. Both parties enabled it.

The violence we are witnessing against the peaceful is not new. The removal of human beings, the stripping of human dignity, the forced separation of families is not new to our history or to human history.

And I suggest to you that we no longer have the luxury to ignore the reality before us. Israel and the United States have nearly destroyed international laws regarding civilian care. Enough with pretending it doesn’t matter or there is nothing to be done.

We are born and immediately given a name and with it a host of expectations. One of those expectations is that we are a self-contained unit destined for success or failure depending on our circumstances. We have been conditioned to accept this as “just the way it is”. 

Birth takes a mammoth effort. The effort we made to grasp that first breath was immense.  We demonstrated then, that we have the capacity to do the seemingly impossible.

It’s time we remember the power we hold and return to the wonder and the passion for living. That is our way out. 

There is no decree that says we must suffer and allow the suffering of others. This shunning of our gifts has not served us. That has been our choice. And now it’s time to choose differently.

Saturday, June 14. Stand for peace, freedom, community and love of all of our relations.

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

Do Not Comply

There’s no way of knowing how this current unrest will end, but I have one certainty: I will never normalize, nor will I comply with the cruelty that underpins the power elite.

The inability of Democratic leadership to stop aiding Netanyahu’s war crimes and genocide; their refusal to acknowledge the working class; and their tepid response to the far- right takeover of the federal government are acceptances of cruelty. The centrist response of the Democratic party reflected the same weak rhetoric. There was no mention of the working class and Reagan was exalted. Why? Is the battle to end racism, sexism, homophobia, poverty, human health and hunger more than Democrats are willing to tackle? Or is it not convenient to their funders to stop militarism?

There are plenty of voices in the Democratic party that could have given a more passionate call to action, but leadership is still waffling while the cruelty carries on.

The only way we can stop the encroachment of the far right into our lives – which includes social security, Medicare, ending our dependency on the military and the government control in our bedrooms – is to support the Democratic ticket. But if Democrats do not acknowledge and act on the wisdom of caring for the least of us, if they do not allow some teeth to their bite and utilize progressive voices, they will again squander the votes so desperately needed to win: the poor, the marginalized, and the working class. 

The devastation of care through cutting funds, not only in the United States, but the countless people suffering world-wide is unconscionable.

Yet here we are. The boy king rocks the world with cruelty with little to no resistance. There’s little doubt we could do better, the question remains, will we?

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And how I spent much of my listening time before, during and after the speech at the Congress. Check out the State of the People – a 24 hour marathon of Black leaders – great conversations and a call to action.

The tepid Democratic Response from Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin

Bernie’s Response