Category: Uncategorized

The new covid relief bill is in the making and millions of dollars are being slated to go to the Pentagon in one form or another. The Republican measure includes billions for F-35 fighters, Apache helicopters, and even more to appease military lobbyists.

The manufacturing corporations who will benefit are in states where Republican Senators may need to “bring home the bacon” in order to win re-election in the fall. And while my friends on social media explain to me that this is how it’s always done, I’m stymied by how ignorant many on Capitol Hill remain on the plight of the majority of Untied States citizens. And more importantly I am shocked that far too many of us are not speaking up to remind them.

In August, the federal eviction moratorium is set to expire. There is no moratorium relief offered in this newly proposed bill. By October, it is estimated that some nineteen to twenty three million – renter households could be in jeopardy of eviction – and yet the Republican HEAL act, as it is known, is flagrantly ignoring this potential upheaval of human lives.

There are those on the Hill who are still fighting the good fight. Senator Sanders is among them, but unless and until the majority of citizens join in the cries for economic and racial justice, greed will continue to lead the pack. It’s time for more people to come to the aid of the few who have never given up on what this country can truly be.

An election in November will not save us if the trajectory of division and greed prevail. A united voice of the citizenry that demands compassion and kindness over militaristic power must emerge.

For that to happen, sitting on the sidelines can no longer be an option.

PHOTO BY NANCY WONG compliments of wikipedia commons.

PROTESTORS LOCK ARMS IN FRONT OF THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL TO PREVENT OFFICERS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT FROM EVICTING THE HOTEL’S TENANTS IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AUGUST 1977.

Circumstances have a way of teaching us who we are. Earlier this week ten chicks were hatched and the mother seemed stellar. But overnight she had pecked one of the chicks and it was nearly dead. I took it in and gave it water, warmed it and watched it revive. Two days went by, the chick strengthened and I thought, “let’s try”. Mom and babes were on a walk-about and I let the chick join in. All seemed fine, so I left for a short time. When I returned, there was the chick, pecked and disheveled in the dirt. I picked it up and this time it was much worse.

I couldn’t wrap my head around why. Sure, she may have sensed something about this chick that I could not see, but regardless of the why, the hen was being true to her nature…and so was I.

Compassion is a brilliant part of being human. It enlivens our heart and keeps us present to life.

Defund the policeversus keep the police just as they are, is the hot debate of the day. And if you follow the logic that says human nature is bad, then you are probably all in for militarized police.

But humanity is not single sided and if there is bad in us, there is also good. We have tried punitive measures. They have not worked. They have been used to harm people and surely they have brought harm to the men and women who wear the badge. What is being asked of us is to consider new approaches that could bring better results for everyone.

It may not be a smooth transition to restorative justice and community policing, but it is the path before us. Wisdom would say we should try. Compassion demands it.

Thanks to WDRT 91.9 Driftless Community Radio for continuing to air “Consider This” every Thursday 5:30 pm CD.T

Hope, like faith, cannot be blind. It needs to be active and engaged. It requires love and consciousness. And it exists in each of us.

These days hope is easily dashed. When we are hopeless we are easily misled and easily crushed. Fear becomes the dominant force.

And fear is hope’s enemy; especially the paralyzing kind that grips us when we believe there is nothing we can do.

I understand why many of my friends cannot follow the news. The facts and the fabrications are daunting. Just the numbers of worldwide refugees are enough to overwhelm us. The displacement of people due to war, natural disaster, persecution and violence have resulted in over 60 million human beings forced from their homes over the past two decades.

Sixty million children, women and men, young and old, have been driven from their homes. With daily news of over crowded camps, disease and starvation, they are crying to be recognized and desperate to be helped.

Recent events in Syria have underscored the fact that governments are not helping and are more likely the cause of forced displacement.

Hoping that our government or any government will save the day is simply blind. Religious leaders too, are often mired in politics, greed or scandal and guide with fear, not hope.

I am of the mindset that everything we need is at hand. It is not a whimsical fairy tale. It’s an idea born of experience.

Hope is the launching point of action. It is the direct result of courageous conviction and supreme trust. And it is born in the heart of an individual who refuses to surrender to ignorance.

I will leave you with these words of Desmond Tutu: “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

As our numbed grief gives way to anger and debates wage over gun control, I must pause and question, “What is at the root of terrorism”? Leaders are finally acknowledging white domestic terrorism and are willing to accept mental illness as blame. And while I do not doubt the illness of individuals who carry out horrendous crimes against humanity, it seems a futile gesture to simply blame guns and video games when our entire society is riddled with sickness.

Genocide and “might is right” have plagued this country from its inception. The ideals of the melting pot and “Give me your tired, your poor…” are unfinished tasks left to weary generations. But these observations do not answer the question, “What is the root of terrorism?”

What belief, what social construct allows a human being to hold himself or herself above another? What confused thinking has replaced human decency? What is the root of this disease?

In traditional healing of indigenous cultures, disease is not thought to be isolated to an individual. It is communally shared. Perhaps this should be a starting point as we reel from white domestic terrorism and seek solutions.

We have inherited a mindset, it is patriarchal in nature, it is controlling in its manifestation, and it is kept in place by fear. None of us are exempt from this mental disease. Some people function better than others in its wake, but none of us are immune.

What arises when the promises of this mindset are not granted or attained? Resentment of others and unfounded fear take root.

Fear driving people to have automated guns and violence taught in video games are sinister. But they are symptoms, not the cause.

If we want to see an end to white domestic terrorism, we need to eradicate the patriarchy that breeds it.

Driving home from WDRT where I recorded this piece on white domestic terrorism, I heard this song, “Times’s Up” by Song Suffragettes and decided it was an appropriate title and an important message.

Photo by Maryam Hassan. Thank you!