UNITY AND CIVILITY START HERE

UNITY AND CIVILITY START HERE

We can be savages. Oh, it is so very easy. Evolutionary documentation first shows us as beings with basic survival instincts, from Abraham Maslow’s first steps on the hierarchy of needs for self-preservation, food, drink, and shelter, we had much to learn, and it would be nice if we, indeed, learned to get to the top of his hierarchical pyramid to the grand pinnacle of self-actualization as enlightened beings. To get from those nascent times to build actual civilizations—societies—was a long, hard slog, to be sure. And a zillion years later, we prove to be flawed and most reliant on our severest, most basic instincts—not always and not at all times in history, but way too often. And that is not good, but is, albeit, predictable. The ancient is within us.

I have read many articles and social media posts since the shooting at the Congressional Baseball Practice, some of which call for elevated public discourse and unity, magnanimous outreach in a time of great turmoil. I have also read many that at once call for unity while slapping down those who don’t share our political views. Almost everyone has a precious point to make, but what is missing is starting with ourselves as the messengers and movers of society to get into a better state. As with anything and everything in the world of making change, we must start with ourselves. I choose to be magnanimous (but I will not tolerate being called names or being discounted in the sweep of a wide brush of ignorance by those struggling to resolve basic conflicts. Do your self-reflecting and growth before coming to the page, I entreat you).

On June 15th, one of our relatives posted the following:

"Yesterdays shooting in washington was like another shot fired on Fort Sumpter. Its only the beginning.If all you left wing snowflakes likes Rachel Maddow, Don Lemon Pelosi, and Schumer etc. don't stop spewing conspiracy theories and hatred towards our legally elected president Donald Trump,this hatred will fester into something much worse than yesterdays event. Please I know some of you lefties will now try to blame this on gun control. If you send me that crap, I will unfriend you no matter how much I might love you. Bad people can, and will always be able to get guns. So please I beg you lets all get together and stop the HATE MONGERING!!!!! God bless the capital police heroes, and lets pray for those wounded . God bless the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!! "UNITED"!!!!!"

For me, this post epitomizes THE PROBLEM. While his post is painfully short-sighted, contradictory, conveniently calls out the more notorious positions espoused by some of his political opponents but leaves out the hateful rhetoric his chosen political party has advanced without his noted criticism—, especially by the man at the top of the political pyramid, and is provocative while trying to be unifying, he came off as angry and ill-informed, making no positive headway. He also resorted to name-calling. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a snowflake. I am not a leftie. I am JOAN. I am HUGE within myself. I am a singular FORCE, committed to giving my strength to my beloved country. If anyone wants to call me a name, know that I answer to MOAB (Mother Of All Bombs—metaphorically speaking). Yes, I am a motherfucking MOAB, and am my own safe space; I give no credence to conspiracy theories, no ground to fools, and will criticize and hold to higher standards anyone of ANY political stripe who seeks to diminish AMERICA in any way, shape, or form. The Constitution of The United States of America is my Bible. The preservation, protection, and defense of our democracy is my SACRED MISSION.

I decided not to give response to this post publicly. But a private message will surely give my relative more than a little to think about. I love him and honor him as a Vietnam Veteran who was a medic who saw horrors so extreme that I can only thank him for his service and suffering, and wish him much-needed inner peace.

My grandfather fought in WWI, was gassed by the Germans, awarded the Silver Star, and died young. He stopped a convoy of German prisoners when he saw a young boy on a stretcher. He cradled the boy, gave him hard-tack and water, and comforted him. The boy was wearing a crude silver ring with a black German Cross painted on it. He removed the ring, gave it to my grandfather, and then died in his arms. I AM THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF THAT AMAZING MAN. My father enlisted in WWII and came away with a life-long knee injury. But he was 17 years old when he went to fight for our country, loving America, and wanting a better world for the children he would bring into it. Who at 17 can muster such heart to risk everything? A PATRIOT. I AM THE DAUGHTER OF THIS MAN. Happy Father’s Day to them both (I love you Grandpa,although you never met me, you will someday, and you will recognize yourself in me. Daddy, I love and miss you more than words can say. Thank you both for making me who I am). You see, magnanimity and fighting for America is in my DNA.

It is a choice for all of us as to how we want to proceed from here. I am acutely aware that we are and have been under the corrosive reign of the powerful who can stand a show of unityin spurts that are few and far between, as in extreme times. The trick is to engender unity and civil discourse when there is no tragedy involved. I am also acutely aware that Congressman Scalise—near fatally wounded—is virulently anti-gay. A lesbian saved his life at the peril of her own. She is also a woman of color. It remains to be seen if such an act of heroism changes his mind about LGBTQ rights and matters deeply affecting the black communities in America. BUT, the point is, that his or anyone else’s undemocratic views—even if they remain so after the Universe offers you a chance to be your better selves—do not and will not alter my own. I want unity and elevated public discourse more than I can express here. So, this is my choice: I proceed with magnanimity, love, and truth. I will curse like a sailor (my father was one, but would cringe at my language, while being proud of my courage); I will fairly criticize and fight anyone who does harm to America and our sacred, democratic values.

But, I choose to invite ALL to join me in true civility and unity, no matter their political stripe.

And I choose to do so magnanimously.

THIS IS WHAT WILL BE

This Is What Will Be

I got a coin in my palm
I can make it disappear
I got a card up my sleeve
Name it and I'll pull it out your ear
I got a rabbit in my hat
If you wanna come and see
This is what will be
This is what will be

“…I got shackles on my wrists
Soon I'll slip 'em and be gone (slip 'em and be gone)
Chain me in a box in your river
And I'll rise singin' this song
Trust none of what you hear (trust none of what you hear)
And less of what you see
This is what will be (this is what will be)
This is what will be


I got a shiny saw blade (a shiny saw blade)
All I need's a volunteer
I'll cut you in half
While you're smilin' ear to ear
And the freedom that you sought's
Driftin' like a ghost amongst the trees
This is what will be
This is what will be (this is what will be)

Now there's a fire down below
But it's coming up here
So leave everything you know
Carry only what you fear
On the road the sun is sinkin' low
There's bodies hangin' in the trees
This is what will be (this is what will be)
This is what will be.”

“Magic” ~Bruce Springsteen

“Unite.”  “Unify.”  The “United” States of America.  It is becoming illusion.  Not because you are any good at "magic." There is no "Wow, I never saw that coming; how'd they do that" in your brand of sleight-of-hand (not even when you made Merrick Garland disappear). We know the "wizards" behind the curtain. You are exposed for the small people you are, disgracefully using pomp and circumstance to make others believe in your non-existent "wisdom," "awesomeness," "largess." You fail miserably. The curtain is pulled back to reveal tiny hands on levers of power. And, any "awe" you inspire is at your audacity to think we don't see all of you for who and what you are. Maladroit "illusionists" at work: 

“Love of Country” drip from the lips of liars in the “glorious” halls of “The People’s House; “OUR House.” Facts do not matter to all too many we have given a place at our table. “Spin,” “Alternative Facts,” try to replace TRUTH and the inviolable dignity therein, as if  TRUTH is malleable,  can be defined only by those in power, with no understanding that it would be a serious tactical error to ignore that  there are three million more of us who know better, cannot be swayed, are not dumbed-down,  worship the power of language truthfully written and  unabashedly spoken. 

They say, “We are here to protect the American People.”

I say, “No. You are not.”

They say,”Our National Security is our top priority”.

I say, “No. It is not.”

They say, “We want our country to be great again.”

I say, “No. You do not.

They say, “We are here to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.”

I say, “You are not.”

The curtailing of rights and freedoms, the gutting of the Voting Rights Act, Citizens United, fear-mongering, turning neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother…we have seen it all before. We are closer to war than we have been in years. A Second Civil War is what you wish for. Divide and Conquer—or as the Romans said, dīvide et īmpera,( divide and we colonize, we imperialize) is a call for the wealthy and the duped  to act according to the basest of human instincts to the end of democracy, the institution of wealthy oligarchs as we see in Russia, with the wealthy and most powerful patting each others’ backs, as the duped, with tongues wagging—wait for what they’ve been promised, that which  is not coming—continue to vote the lie.

And, you use buzz-words: “Freedom,” Unity.” America First.”  Don’t any of you know we can interpret these rather expertly as we have been duped so many times before—and some of us have learned?  Some of us have never been dumbed-down?  Some of us have taken the responsibility for saving this democracy seriously and have seen beyond your shadow-play all along? 

Let us be honest here, at this time and in this place, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Which is why you will not investigate Russia for helping you steal an election, and why you seek voter suppression, and why you pervert language so the duped  may remain so. You wanted it all: the White House, the Senate, the House.  And you got it, albeit through criminal means. But, you ought to be careful for what you wished for:

To Jefferson Beauregard Sessions:  We will not have bodies hanging in the trees as you long for the days of lynchings.

To Betsy DeVos: You do not even have the gift of sleight-of-hand, only your checkbook and a pen, only your billions to dole out to buy your resume another line.  But, see, I’ve got a coin in my palm, and I, too, can make it disappear.

To Mitch McConnell:  Yes, there is a fire down below, and it is coming up here, up to the halls of power you have co-opted, so run…and carry, as you so aptly do…only what you fear…as it is your only currency.

To Republicans:  We trust none of what we hear and less of what we see. We intend to cut you in half while you’re smiling ear to ear

To the American People: That freedom that we sought will not hang like ghosts among Jeff Sessions’ trees…BECAUSE, WE THE PEOPLE SAY:

THIS IS OUR COUNTRY; FIGHT WE MUST, AND WIN WE WILL, BECAUSE WE ARE SMARTER THAN YOU DARE TO THINK, ARE AWAKE, ALERT, WORKING FOR

OUR AMERICA AND ITS IDEALS AND

THIS IS WHAT WILL BE.

Song For Gwen

For Gwen Ifill:

Song For Gwen

I walked my stairs

In dead of night

I thought somewhere

I spied a light

Your smile so bright

Came to me

In my mourning

I watched your each

And every show

And “gone too soon”

Is all I know

But grace, it is forever

I can tell you

The time with you

We will not have

Memory must serve

As eternal salve

While we make our way

Poorer today than yesterday

Dear Gwen, you left

In sweet release

You earned your rest

Eternal peace

A legacy of grace and truth

You leave us

We who remain can see you still

In every good of human will

And the light of that bright smile

Will serve to guide us

We thank you, Gwen

Enlightened by the time 

When you were here 

among us

Your smile will reach us 

From above

A dazzling light of truth and love

Shining on and on upon us

Know, we love you.

~Joan Reale

November 15, 2016

TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS:

For every woman who had a safe and legal abortion--including one in my own family--you voted to take those protections away from others.

For every person who kept their homes through President Obama's initiatives--including one in my own family--while the candidate you chose rooted for you to lose it, those initiatives may well be gone (Republicans vow to undo them)--you voted for the loss of the homes of your American neighbors.

For every person who has a gay friend or family member--you voted for the redaction of gay --indeed, civil, HUMAN rights.

For every person who thinks he or she would never vote for the eradication of rights, the loss of homes, the danger to others...you did. And, now you must own it. You must own the whole package.

Here is what you now own:

Swastikas on Jewish bakery windows and synagogues.

The little black girl who went to school and was told to go home because she is a nigger. You now own her, her pain, her fear, her damage.

The gay man whose face was broken open, left to bleed on the sidewalk. His blood is on your hands. You now own his wounds.

The women who will not be paid equally for equal work. You now own their worries, the discrimination against them.

You own a lot more, too. You are now in league with Russian corruption of our electoral process. You are now a pawn on Putin's chessboard. You own the degradation of our sacred space.

FEEL RICH YET?

May Grace Accompany Us On Our Long Walk Home

Here everybody has a neighbor

Everybody has a friend

Everybody has a reason to begin again

My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town,

It's a beautiful place to be born.

It just wraps its arms around you,

Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone"

"Your flag flyin' over the courthouse

Means certain things are set in stone.

Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't"

It's gonna be a long walk home

"Long Walk Home"~ Bruce Springsteen - 

To Dr. Franklin: I did my best, and will continue to do so, to keep—and strengthen—the republic you gave us.

To my family and friends: my deepest appreciation for participating in our democracy so passionately, as your actions and sentiments have bolstered my faith in the furthering and deepening of our civic education and commitment, and the love of our country.

To my family and friends who have suffered deep discrimination by virtue of the color of their skin, religious beliefs, ethnicity, sex, and identities: I am one of you, one with you, and will always work to support a more inclusive, compassionate America.

To my friends and family whose politics differ from mine—by small or large degree—I extend my hand in healing and unity.  I pray you will take it, and together work with me to unify our America.

To my fellow Americans who care not (perhaps at this moment) to unify and would instead seek to sow greater discord:  I will pray for you and the country we share. Just remember:  we are, all of us, in this together.  We sink or swim TOGETHER.  For the past year and a half we have seemed more like the two bloody sides in a most uncivil Civil War that must end with as much graciousness we can find within ourselves.  Now, it is all of you who must find room—and inclusion—within yourselves for a country so vast and beautiful in its diversity to truly thrive as the UNITED States of America.  My pledge, I give you. Will you give me yours?  It is my prayer that you do.  It is my prayer that all of us listen with open minds, hearts, and souls to each other, as this must be our common goal.  Today we must end the disparagement, the hateful rhetoric, and the destructive gloating that one side of us won and one side of us lost.  Remember, there is only ONE side: ours, together. This is America.  There is only one.  THE ONLY ONE.  We must come to share a vision of America where there is equal justice for all; where we support greater rights, not fewer; where we can live and let live in peace—even if we do not share beliefs in some of our Supreme Court decisions, we ought not wish nor work to impose our religious beliefs on others, as it goes against the basic pillars of our democracy: the Separation of Church and State, and freedoms fought for and died for by those heralded and unheralded. We may have our very real differences, but our laws and protections under them must be greater than any person, any principle that would leave any of us abandoned in times of greatest need.  We have lived in times of great neglect, suffering, abandonment, obstruction, the abdication and, yes, treasonous, acts of a political party in power over both Houses of OUR Congress.  Shame  on them.  Shame on us for allowing them to commit these atrocities against our democracy.  They are OUR servants. They did not serve us well. We must all learn more now about the power-mongers and how they have operated in the shadows of our consciousness to continue to cling to their power.  They have used many of us with imperfect knowledge of how this all works who voted yesterday.  Now, let us all call out our representatives whose obstruction has had less to do with political ideology than the attempt to delegitimize a duly and democratically elected president.  In truth—and these are hard truths to accept—and, whether you agree with me or not, we must start acknowledging what has been behind this if we are ever going to get through this together:  fear, a racist thrust shooting through the realization that our once strongly white majority is losing its hold on power as our nation gets browner, as whites have come to know that the Hispanics in our population will—within little more than a decade or so—be in the majority.  We are so used to what has been.  Now we have to make a true effort to come to peace with what will be. This is scary for so many Americans.  But, a little shared history here:  My Italian ancestors were feared and discriminated against when they came here.  My wife’s Jewish ancestors—those who survived after being nearly annihilated in the Holocaust—were discriminated against.  The ancestors of my Irish friends suffered that same initial fate.  My best friend’s Asian ancestors were put into “concentration” camps in our—their—own country.  My black friends…my God…there are no adequate words to describe the crimes against humanity you have—and continue to—suffer. Our Native Americans, the tragedy against whom has been absolutely thorough and shameful, suffered the loss of their indigenous land, were relegated to reservations, and now fight for some respect to be shown to their ancient burial grounds and their precious water supply.   Yes, ours is a shared history of suffering.  We MUST learn our history, embrace our commonalities, and unite to save ourselves.

To all my fellow Americans who have suffered the degradation of Unions that would give them an equal voice against those with now almost unbridled power over them, I say, “Fight for the worthy cause of protecting our workers.”  Today dawns on political parties that are vastly changed.  We get to tell them to stop the nonsense and live up to the ideals of our Constitution.  We get to write their script.  We must be sensible and judicious.  Let us all read our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and its first ten amendments, our Bill of Rights.  If you agree with them, fight for the ideals enshrined within them. Dig deep and deeper still to allow for freedoms that will keep us greatly protected, no matter how they may chafe against our grain, against some of our religious and social principles for the reasons aforementioned. As I have often said about the Freedom of Speech, “I might wholly and entirely disagree with what you say or write, but I would die for your right of unfettered expression to continue to do so.”  You see, democracy demands some self-sacrifice . 

To Hillary Clinton: I thank you for your unwavering, constant, multi-decade fight for all that is righteous and right in America. You were the one, Hillary.  You were IT--the best of our best. Your brilliance, knowledge of foreign and domestic affairs, the geo-political intricacies of global inter-relationships, the fear you struck in patriarchal countries that oppress women, the empowerment of those women to rise up for change when you were poised to hold the most powerful leadership position in the world, your championship for Women's Rights as Human RIghts, and your absolute dedication to the rights of children and the most impoverished among make you--absolutely--a PHENOMENAL WOMAN. It is these attributes and accomplishments that made hostile foreign powers (Russia, et al), criminals (Assange and foreign oligarchs), and cowards work in a dark under-world, aided by a corrupt FBI, to thwart our efforts.  You are the one, Hillary. You will always have my respect and support.  You will always have my love. 

To President-Elect  Donald Trump:  Do your best for ALL of us.  You MUST be better than your campaign rhetoric.  You MUST be president of us ALL, for in your hands now lies a fragile, but honorable democracy that you must serve honorably.  You must dispense with corrosive language unworthy of a president-elect.  I am lending you my faith.  May your actions and words be worthy of it.  I pray for you and our country.  It is in America’s greatest interest that you succeed.  I pray for your success, as your success will be ours—if you indeed keep us ALL in your heart and mind, and at the forefront of the decisions you make on behalf of us, of OUR nation.  God be with you and our American family.

To my friends and family who wished to see our mighty country elect the first woman president: I have had to reach deeply inside myself and call upon the better angels of my nature in order to summon the grace to write this. For all the devastation I feel, I also join in history—with great empathy— my brothers and sisters of the Civil Rights and Womens’ Movements to keep hope for a better America alive within me. Those who suffered—and continue to do so—never stopped moving forward. Not in the face of naked, vicious racism and sexism. Not in times of grievous and lethal wrongs.  Not ever.  To all of you I say: We Shall Overcome.

So, I leave everyone with this:

I pledge allegiance to the flag

Of the UNITED States of America,

And to the republic for which it stands,

ONE nation, under God, INDIVISIBLE,

WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

And, to Abraham Lincoln:  I thank you for your grace and for inspiring the better angels of my nature.  

Ignorance Is A Bullet, Have Mercy On Us Everyone

(thanks Johnette Napolitano)

What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees
Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be? ...

Disease's growing, it's epidemic
I'm scared that there ain't a cure
The world believes it and I'm going crazy
I cannot take any more
I'm so glad that I'll never fit in
That will never be me
Outcasts and girls with ambition
That's what I wanna see

~”Stupid Girls,” by Pink

"Punks are running wild in the streets and nobody anywhere seems to know what to do and there's no end to it. It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy so we don’t go out anymore, we sit in the house and slowly the world we're living in is getting smaller and all we say is please and please leave us alone in our living rooms, just leave us alone.

Well I’m not going to leave you alone."

~”We’re Only Gonna Die For Our Own Arrogance,” by Bad Religion (Skunk Records Version)

So, here we are in the Age of Anti-Reason, an age of raging, proud, fierce ignorance.  In America.  The Trumpets tell us it is ok to be uncivil, uninformed, undisciplined, out-of-control.  Decorum?  What’s that?  Civility?  What’s that?  Knowledge?  What’s that?

And, what does it sound like?  I know it is a chorus led by a man of non-sequiturs, of nonsense, the ultimate, consummate narcissist.  It is a chorus led by a man full of sound and fury, signifying nothing—I am so sorry Will—except the amplification, the inflammation of rage looking for a place to land, to do damage, to let out the demons of disappointment and an easy, more comfortable way to deal with anger through blame and the lowest, most base expression of it.

Because anger is sexy.  It is easy.  It can make us feel falsely powerful. And, the ultimate deceiver that it is, it is most inviting to those who would rather not read, reflect, think. It is base reaction. It is far harder to dive deeper into the layers of the much more intolerable and important feelings it masks.  Like feelings of regret, insecurity, fear.  Regret that we might not have made better choices in our lives when we had them before us.  Regret that we did not, perhaps, get better educated, use our time to look under the covers of our troubled selves and ask harder questions that would make us feel vulnerable—sometimes unbearably so—and, in so doing, allow unknown doors within us to open and allow in the light that makes us—and all things—grow.  It is often a defensive reaction, this anger. If we are insecure, afraid, it may make us feel less so—momentarily.  If it were the cure, we would be healed once we expressed it.  In healthy acknowledgements and expressions of anger, it can be. But when it is an anger that cannot be assuaged, it is something else entirely.  It is corrosive.  It grows with incitement.  And not a thing gets better.  Being more reflective, deliberate, open, vulnerable is scary, indeed.  But, I know no braver way to face and progress through challenges, hurt, fear than to do exactly this.

I have read too much, seen too much, heard too much unbridled anger and ignorance in this way-too-long election cycle.  Brutal and bruising campaigns are nothing new in American politics, but this one takes the cake.  But, hanging back as I have for over a year before coming to this page, I have got to say, now, I want to be the girl with the most cake.  I want to plunge my hands in up to my elbows and pull it away from the gluttons feasting on it while our democracy starves for higher, better discourse.

I am sickened by the hateful rhetoric not only of the Trump campaign, but of the comments I read and hear in social media and just walking around in the real world.  I hear the repetition of insults, mis- and dis-information, lies, and a frightening rejection of facts and civility.  To those guilty of this behavior I say, Trump’s words do not fit well in your mouths.  They don’t fit well in anyone’s mouth.  Do not just swallow, regurgitate, and repeat.  As sentient beings, it is worth a little time to think, get better informed, and reject—even if you support Donald Trump—the way in which he speaks.  Being thoughtful is no crime. 

A family friend posted comments on Facebook last night that were embarrassingly ill-informed.  She wrote that “Killary” is causing great racial divide, hates whites and police officers, and that this “Isn’t what Martin Luther King wanted.”  She went on to say that King wanted to unite us, like her candidate, Donald Trump.  To her and those who think she wrote something brilliant I say, “People, I have read Dr. King’s speeches, books about him, the Civil Rights Movement, seen hours of film footage that, when strung together over my lifetime spans weeks, months.  I know Dr. King’s stances on policing, poverty, and political realities of his time that still plague ours. I admire Dr. King and his eloquence and non-violence, his call for peaceful and meaningful dialogues.  I love Dr. King.  People, your candidate is no Dr. King.”

The posting went into other postings that stated Muslims are killing Christians—in some Muslim countries that is happening—but never told the further truth that these extreme crazies are killing other Muslims in greater number than any other religious group.  If you have some background knowledge of religion’s role in war, torture, the utter subjugation of women and others who do not follow that particular religion, you would know the subject is vast in scope, and no religion—except, perhaps, Buddhism—

            comes away unsullied.  

                       

The postings continued to include that Trump did not leave thousands of U.S.  troops in Benghazi to be slaughtered and that “Killary”/"Crooked Hillary" did.  Really?  I was unaware of our vast invasion of Benghazi.  Probably because there was none. (And, while there were and continue to be mistaken nods to Secretary Clinton as Commander-in-Chief, she could not have sent troops anywhere as Secretary of State).  Now, when you put stuff out on social media, you ought to fact-check before you do so, because people with more knowledge can call you out on it.  In fact, facts don’t seem to matter so much in this political season.  But, they matter to me.  And when more well-informed responses are made to vastly uninformed commentary, the request that others not exercise their 1^st Amendment right and stop commenting to the posts is intolerable to me.  As Voltaire said, and I closely paraphrase, “I may disagree with what you say, but I would die for your right to say it.”  You see, it is rights such as our 1^st Amendment that make us great. That is not a slogan on a hat.  That comes from one of the greatest political documents in history: the Bill of Rights.  (And, one more thing about the Benghazi matter: requests for additional security to our embassies were made by Secretary of State Clinton and were denied by our Republican Congress.  In the Republican sequester that cut funding in so many areas, our nation has suffered terribly.  In Benghazi, the sequester, and Republican obstruction to all-things-Obama, proved lethal).  Ignorance is a bullet.  If it gets Trump elected, have mercy on us, everyone.

Change.   People want change.  I get that.  I want change, too. But it matters very much what kind of change to support.  You know, it’s funny that so few cannot see the change right in front of them—an epic, historical change: the first woman to become President of the United States of America; the first woman to hold the most powerful office in the world.  Now, that is change.  It would be a paradigmatic and seismic shift unlike any other in history. And that makes many uneasy.  Like Vladimir Putin.  I think we should question loudly and often why a dictator such as Putin does not want to see Hillary Clinton become president, or, why he wants to see Trump win the election.  I have a theory:  Putin would be able to swiftly—and with supreme confidence—take advantage of Donald Trump.  He entertains no great optimism of taking advantage of Hillary Clinton.  In fact, the world of awful dictators and subjugators of women fear the direct, even perhaps immediate, effects a Hillary Clinton presidency would bring.  Imagine the possibilities:  the emboldening of repressed women around the globe, the demand for greater human rights in patriarchal countries that stone, beat, humiliate, imprison women for wanting basic human rights.  Yes, the patriarchy is shaking in their shoes.  Even patriarchal Americans cannot wrap their heads around what the prospect of our first female president would do to their entitled sensibilities.  So, yes, the greatest change I can think of bringing to America and the world is President Hillary Rodham Clinton.  I wonder if many women in America are questioning why a brilliant, accomplished woman has to work so much harder to gain support and trust than a woefully uninformed man.  Oh, wait…I forgot.  That is the reality of the female experience in every field—and it is as powerfully at work today as it ever has been. 

Many women do not remember, or perhaps ever knew, there was a Women’s Movement.  Some Blacks, thankfully lesser-so, don’t seem to grasp the unbelievable fight for equal rights, equal justice under the law that was the Civil Rights Movement and continues to be a fight today (and, yes, equal, civil rights and equal justice for all includes our LGBT community, Mike Pence); and some Hispanics may fail to remember Cesar Chavez.  And a too-large portion of all American voters don’t know or remember much at all.  Yes.  This is the cost of the dumbing-down of our country.  It is exactly like that old adage:  “If you think education is too expensive, try ignorance.”     If there are punks running wild and rough-shod over our country, it is that 1/10^th of 1 percent.  And all those who would rather remain ignorant.  Are we really as stupid as polls suggest?  Are we really as bigoted?  Are we really as indecent, uncivil, and obscenely ill-informed in such great number? 

Well, we can’t be stupid any longer.

Hillary stated something during the first debate that has not garnered the attention it deserves:  Words matter.  Words ought to be measured and precise.  Words ought to be deliberate and well thought out before they are spoken.  Because language is power as surely as knowledge is power.  “In the Beginning was The Word…and The Word was God…” I love language.  I understand its power.  Now, I feel something coming on, something welling up inside of me, and…I am going to—quite deliberately and with great forethought—use the “F-word.”  Get ready.  Here it comes.  I am a feminist.  FEMINIST.  Yes, I am.  I believe in the advancement, opportunity, and equal protection under the law of women. You see, there is nothing obscene about that.  This much-maligned “F-word” has been redefined by those who love the status quo, those afraid of powerful women.  Why else would patriarchy be so prevalent, so ancient, so brutal if women represented no threat?  In Hillary we have a powerful, intelligent, accomplished, incredibly well and deeply informed woman who can rock the world in a very, very good way.  I believe.  I believe.  Indeed I do.  And, at this most important, revolutionary time in our lives, our nation, our world, I call for change, too.  Elect Hillary Clinton to the presidency, and that is just what we will get.

I just have two more words for you of great power, great import that await their place on my lips:  Madame President.

~Joan

Gratitude For Beauty Among The Ruins

Gratitude For Beauty Among The Ruins

“…In a world so hard and dirty

So foul and so confused

Looking for a little of God’s mercy

I found living proof…”

                                                                        “Living Proof,” by Bruce Springsteen

            It is night.  It is quiet.  I am watching Karen.  She is not watching me.  She is at the computer.  On the screen is a partial family tree of her family.  I look at the screen.  Words in innocent font have an unimaginable power:

            “Auschwitz”

            “Married”

            “Father”

            “Mother”

            “Brother”

            “Son”

            “Poland”

            “1942”

I look at Karen.  Her face bears the weight of loss, of inhumanity.  It is an heroic face. The face of my wife paying homage to her loved ones lost at the hands of evil incarnate.  The face of one bearing eternal witness.  It is quiet. The silence has a decibel level of its own.  History and horror ring in my ears.  I am crying.  She does not see me.  She is seeing in her mind’s eye what no one should see.  On her lap is a Polish dictionary.  She is working to interpret the birth, the marriage records of her family.  The death records, too.  In neat boxes, they connect through time to her.  I want them to know her. I want them to know they will live on because of her.  I love her more than I thought I could love.  She is the beauty among the ruins.

She switches screens.  I see scanned photos appear.  The creases and worn edges cut me.  And, my heart is both proud and breaking when I see her face in those of the lost.  My mind goes where no mind should go.  Into the lines of the terrorized.  Into the world of stark black and white.  And, at the most unbearable point, I turn away.  Because I see Karen walking in those lines.  In Poland.  In Auschwitz.  And I want to do something, stop everything, protect and defend and save.  And I can do none of it.  But, I see Karen.  I see love in the work to figure out a Polish word.  I see grace and dignity.  I see my wife.  And I am grateful for this beauty among the ruins.