Let in the Light

There’s a crack and the light is beginning to pour through. You can see it on the streets as more people realize the need to be visible. You can read it on social media as people are finding their voice. The hands-off rallies and gatherings have been peaceful, joyful events. They’ve become reunions of a sort. Reunions of the human family. Carrying signs that reflect the diversity of our woundedness and of our concerns, we greet one another in recognition of our mutual humanity. 

Some people have never thought of Trans rights or Palestinian liberation. Some have not considered a world without Immigrants. Some are fearful as their safety nets are being ripped away. Some are terrified by the brutality they witness from ICE agents or vigilantes turning racism into sport. People come to the rallies to learn, to make connections and, in some way, to say, “No more”.  Most importantly, we find we’re not alone.

Everyone who shows up wants to see a better day. That is our commonality.

May first is the international celebration of the working class. Each year Milwaukee’s Voces de la Frontera hosts a march and rally called A Day Without Immigrants. This year will be no exception. However, it is hoped that more white faces will buffer those who are made vulnerable due to the rhetoric and imposition of power. And let us not stop there. Let us continue to put ourselves on the line for our relatives of color. Let us confront the racism we have been steeped in, so that we can witness its end. Some of us are coming to the recognition this is not a game. There are no sides in humanity.

We are in this together and it’s time to let the light back in.

photo of Milwaukee May Day 2025 by Brandon Roost of Roost Photography / Milwaukee Wedding Collective

Capacity to Care

Of all the lessons I’ve ever learned, I’m grateful to those who demonstrated kindness and instilled a love for all of humanity within me. In my young life, Christian values had more to do with love and loving, rather than sin and fear of retribution. I could grow my capacity to care. And it felt good.

At a very young age, I learned about the kindness of St. Francis of Assisi, and participated in ripping sheets into bandages to send to leper colonies. It was empowering. And while the concepts of service to humanity or to the divine have transformed within me over the years, I know that the capacity to love and to care is something that can and should be practiced. The heart is indeed a muscle that can be stretched and can grow into a powerful resource. That is my anchor.

When the Pope chose the name of Francis, I hoped he would herald back a time when greed didn’t have such a hold on our lives. He didn’t disappoint. I don’t practice a faith, the hypocrisy is too much for me, but I was grateful as Pope Francis attempted to steer the ship back to the values of humanity that I hold in high regard. This is not meant to be a salute to Francis, but a salute to the qualities of human kind that we shared and that need to be uplifted now. 

Today, we’re steeped in judgement on ourselves and others. We use it as a mile marker to determine our place in the arbitrary hierarchy we believe God has made for us. From the perspective of Love, this is a ridiculous grid to live by. 

No two things can occupy the same space at the same time. Be occupied by Love.

Pope Francis and his capacity for care of Palestinians.

Stop the Madness

I ventured out to a field where I had planted twenty tamarack saplings. I only found half alive, but you never know, after winter sometimes things awaken again. So, I’ll wait and hope. 

I wanted to tell you all about the miracle that is Spring. I wanted to speak of rebirth, and resilience, of awakening from dormancy and of new life. And then I saw a video posted on Alt National Park Service of white vigilante men, possibly ICE, no names, no badges, no warrant, smashing a car window of a terrified husband and wife who were waiting inside. The couple videoed the entire episode – we must all do that these days – and you could hear them asking in Spanish to wait for their lawyer. You could hear their fear and as the unknown men smashed the window of the car they were sitting in. This is state sanctioned terrorism.

The husband was taken to an undisclosed location. His wife is here as an asylum seeker. Her husband is in the process of becoming a legal resident. They have one child. May he be reunited with his family, but given the reckless lawlessness that has taken over our country, no one can be certain justice will prevail.

Due process mans nothing to this administration as they claim to do the bidding of MAGA voters.

So, this is what you, MAGA champions, overwhelmingly voted for? Trump declared a mandate, but that is a lie, and it is the lie shoved in our face every time Rubio and Vance get to a microphone. Less than 50% voted for either Trump or Harris. The largest percent of eligible voters did not vote. That should tell us something.

You, who claim MAGA allegiance, voted to give the authoritarian free rein over the entire nation. How long will it take for families and communities to mend from this harm cascading all around us? How long will you allow this administration to continue unchecked?

You think your prayers and righteousness will cover it? God gave you free will. Use it. You have been duped. Admit it. Your husbands, fathers, and sons and even daughters are caught in this downward spiral of hatred, racism, homophobia and greed. What good are your prayers, if you have no voice to say, “Stop this madness.”  I pity your lack of courage and I am ashamed for your cruelty. Wake up while there is still time.

And to those choosing anger and blame and not recognizing we have all allowed this regrettable moment, it is time to reconsider. Righting this ship will take the majority of us. United. Let’s find a way.

Changing the Rules of Engagement

If you are speculating on how dire things will be and not taking action to stop the harm, you are missing an intrinsic reality: This is still within our power to change. 

Most recently I learned of the president of Namibia, who let it be known that western travelers and others will now be required to pass through a visa process to enter her country. The 72-year-old is changing the rules of engagement and requesting dignity for her people. I was heartened by the clarity of the declaration. It was not made in retaliation. It was made in reclaiming humanity that has been in imbalance far too long.

It has long been said that patriarchy is in its waning days and we should expect a backlash. I guess we are in the midst of that backlash at this moment. But it does not make it right, nor does it mean we have to surrender our values and all that we have come to learn. We do not have to bow and grovel before ignorance.

This is a time that requires a fierce trust in humanity’s best angels. It requires a courage that withstands the grotesque distortion of values and remains resolute to higher truth.

It demands that we reach the reachable. And what should we invite them to consider? I would argue that we need not try indoctrination into a political party, or another religion. We should invite people to discover the strengths that we each hold, encourage everyone to celebrate their uniqueness and to honor the earth, our collective home. We need to beat the drums of our mutual humanity and call for the reachable to come back to the simplest of truths. We are alive and the power of peace is still available. 

In her new book Defund, Black Lives, Policing and Safety for All, Sandy Hudson invites us to re-examine our understanding of policing and to consider what gains can be made as we re-invest in humanity with dignity for all. This is a lively and compelling conversation that highlights the necessity for change. Take time to listen here.

You can find more of my podcasts on the transition to restore humanity at Changing the Narrative on WDRT. Thanks for listening and sharing.

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

He’s Counting On You

Welcome Spring. Walk in Beauty and Fight like Hell the injustice and ignorance. Uplift Humanity.

ODE TO THOSE WHO HANDED OVER THE REINS

Do you so want a Savior that any savior will do? He said you’d love him even if he killed a man on Fifth Avenue and you said, “Yes”. He talked of grabbing women and you said, “OK”. He said reporters who challenged him were evil and so are all democrats and you said, “Yep”. 

He said he would clear the swamp and you said “By all means”. He freed 1500 mostly violent offenders of the insurrection and you said, “Well, OK”. With his unelected sidekick, he began destroying the federal government, eliminating jobs that keep you safe – like park rangers, NOAH, air traffic controllers, etc. and you said, “Right on chief, let ’em have it.” He started to deport your friends, neighbors and co-workers and you said, “Hmmm, yes”. He tells you it will be a bumpy financial ride as he jolts the economic world with tariffs – on allies and enemies alike – and you say, “Trusted you so far.” 

He obliterates the history of Black and Queer soldiers that fought alongside many in combat and you say, “It’s a white man’s world, isn’t it?”

He sends green card holders to be imprisoned in foreign lands – without trials – breaking fundamental laws of our country and you say… nothing. He continues Biden’s genocidal campaign in Gaza to heartless applause…and he cozies up to Putin in your silence.

In less than two months he has shown you how right he was from the very beginning.  He’s still counting on you – to ignore everything he warned you about – and to keep you buying his merch. And that includes electing his mouthpieces, however rude, arrogant, hateful and inhuman they may be. He’s counting on you… to be just like him. 

Here the translated words of new flyers dropped in Gaza (see flyer below): To the people of Gaza, after what happened and the end of the temporary ceasefire and before we start Trump’s compulsory plan which we will proceed with whether you liked it or not, this is the last call for anyone who may share information with us in return for financial support…
Reconsider this. The world map will not change if Gaza’s people disappear. No one will notice you. No one will ask about you..

Neither America nor Europe cares about Gaza. Even the Arab states. They are our allies. They provide us with money, oil, and arms. They only send you shrouds. The game will end soon

Let us prove them wrong. Call your Senators and Reps today, everyday. #FreePalestine

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?

*******

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

Change Course

There’s no doubt we’re in for a ride as the chaotic upheaval of the government continues. Certainly, there’ll be people in need and hopefully we’ll find a way around failing systems to help. If you’re still falling in line with Republican or Democrat talking points, it may be time to consider the talking point that suffered the most in both parties’ rhetoric: our humanity.

When a government abdicates its responsibility to protect the welfare of its people by choosing instead to build wealth through military industry and resource theft, that government is not worthy of its people’s allegiance. Since October 2023, we have witnessed a government unyielding in its support of genocide. The hand off from Biden to Trump was seamless and now we are expected to complete the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by a single decree of our president / king. 

And just as South Africa and others accused Israel of genocide, there is now a request for the International Criminal Court to investigate Biden, Blinken and Lloyd for their complicity in genocide by “aiding and abetting” Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

European nations are uniting in fierce opposition to Trump’s erroneous statements on Ukraine. And we must reckon with what appears to be another US resource grab in disregard for the sovereignty of Ukrainians – and what it could mean for other nations if Putin’s aggression continues with US approval.

As the United States wealth gap increases and countless marginalized people face the terror of hatred unleashed and run amuck, we shouldn’t ask, “How did we get here?” In a country whose entire history has been one of attempted genocide of Indigenous people, cruelty of enslaved people and the scapegoating of anyone who challenged the normalcy of the “divine right of kings” – the question should be: “How do we emerge from this horror?” 

It’s beyond time for us to acknowledge, challenge and change the storyline of empire that has been our history. Yes, we have been led by high ideals but time and again we have surrendered those ideals. Whether out of fear of the powerful or the desire to climb the ladder, we have squandered beloved community. We have sacrificed our humanity, our individuality and our human family and for what? Changing course is still an option. It will require a commitment toward peace and peace building. It will require a truth telling and courage to face the backlash that will surely, is surely, coming. It will require a restoration of each individual’s humanity and the reinvigoring of community. It is possible and it is happening for some of us. We can remain frozen in the fear of this moment of violence and repression or rekindle and support the ideals of liberty and equity for all. Choose. 

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