Well said.
Scope Of Democracy’s Loss
Well said.
Month: November 2016
The Fight Never Was About Me
Your fight is over, someone typed, how’s it feel to be a loser?
The fight, I say, was never about me,
My whiteness
My straightness
My middle class existence
My religion
The fight was about the others who are also us.
For their rights
For their justice
For their well being
For their freedom to worship. Or not.
And OUR fight isn’t over.
LESSONS OF LIFE & HISTORY
From my friend, Mike Steeden. Read more at mikesteeden.wordpress.com.
Cairo smelt of sweet dates, sweat, camels dung, hashish and tangible fear
white noise barter and banter in the bazaars irked her more than a little
also, she noticed that the wily toffs, those gaudy suited moneyed ones
donned the reddest fezzes, wore ‘hammer and sickle’ fashioned cufflinks
bewildered she took the last ocean liner out of Alexandria
across The Med, home to timeworn England’s pastures green
within her productive invention, she saw
towering evergreens mask a nest of ferns
disguise an undergrowth of helpless combs
paint a permanent eventide, never to betray
a murder, self-destruction or a clandestine union
of thickest skinned untamed carefree true lovers
now safe and sound, the bespectacled librarian
read Shakespeare and counted pennies
she loathed bigots, arranged marriages and Chaucer
and, although her mousey disposition indicated otherwise
virginity was an irrelevant thing she could not claim
as her own, less spoken of, timid virtue
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Plan-It
Saturn scheduled a shindig, inviting eight of her closest friends. Even Pluto
Who technically wasn’t in the same social circle received an embossed envelope
Worthy of a royal wedding reception and signed in gold script with a grand flourish.
Mercury responded in a flash, while Neptune tried to come up with a worthy excuse.
Earth and Mars forgot to r.s.v.p., while Jupiter sent a hand-written affirmation.
Venus began planning her outfit while Uranus graciously declined, having already
Made plans to visit the arboretum on the same day. The event was a huge success
Stars waited outside the venue, waiting to catch a glimpse of their favorite celebrities
All dressed up in velvet and ice, flashing their concentric rings to the universe.
A Death in the Family
She lived a good life
Protected and nurtured us
Now lost forever
Yet birds keep flying
The sun continues to shine
Heedless of her death
Our grief is immense
Life, though, continues apace
While this old world turns
I’ve been asked repeatedly today how I feel about Trump winning the election. Truthfully I feel like there has been a death in my immediate family. Ultimately I know we will be alright, but right now I’m experiencing a deep grief.
I spent a sleepless night in which my thoughts circled relentlessly like a dog chasing its tail, and I recalled reading Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s book, On Death and Dying, in which she introduced the five stages of grief:
- denial,
- anger,
- bargaining,
- depression, and
- acceptance
From my psychiatry courses in college (where a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing) I remember that one can cycle through these stages in a variety of ways unique to each individual.
I ran through denial pretty quickly. The numbers were there. And while it was heartening to note that Hillary won the popular vote, Trump undeniably took the electoral college votes.
Anger is my current companion. I’m not angry at Trump or his supporters so much as I’m angry at their willful ignorance. They don’t care that he has no real plans to implement his policies. They like him because he’s not a career politician, and he isn’t politically correct.
I’m angry at the registered voters who just didn’t show up. I’m angry at those who used their votes to protest by voting for non-viable candidates. I’m angry at the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle voter suppression tactics that were employed in several states.
I can’t imagine there’ll be much bargaining involved, but depression is anger’s little sister and I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid going down that rabbit hole. Today I smiled at everyone I saw and hugged a woman at work who supported Trump. Little steps.
Acceptance? That’s going to take awhile. But I won’t be like those conservatives who disrespected President Obama and actively rooted for his failure these past eight years. I’m going to support Trump as our president while continuing to fight for the rights of all those living in our country: health care, reproductive rights, racial and gender equality, etc.
I know other bloggers have addressed this much more eloquently than I, but I think the healing starts when we lay it all on the line. This piece was part of my healing process. Maybe it will help someone else along the way.
Peace, people.
Ennui
Every time he sighed
She heard, I’m through loving you
He meant, I’m so lost
Ennui so intense
That his desire to do naught
overtook boredom
He lives in grey tones
Avoiding the bright facades
Embracing nothing
Ennui is one of those words that I chronically mispronounced for much of my life. Most avid readers will understand this. We come across a word with which we’re unfamiliar and discern its meaning from context without ever bothering to stop and look up the correct pronunciation. For many years I mentally said, “in you ee,” rather than “än wē.” Sometime soon I’ll address “facade” and “docile,” both of which I mentally mispronounced.
99 Glasses of Wine
Call it escapism
Or call it empowerment
Whatever works best
After the third glass
My political leanings
Became slightly vague
Give me liberty
Or pour me a deep merlot
Full bodied freedom
Feminism in Action
He told her to smile
“You look so much prettier”
She stuck out her tongue.
Don’t cut your hair, girl
You don’t want to look too butch
She shaved it all off.
Just a little kiss…
He touched her against her will
She rescued herself.
The Difference We Make
We cannot all be stars, shining unrestrained, but each of us can make a difference.
Make a difference. Say no to hate. Vote for Hillary.
I’m with her.
Joe Biden at FAMU/VOTE BLUE
Warning: This post is all over the place. It started out as a recounting of my experiences at a rally featuring Joe Biden and then it morphed into the lists of accomplishments of both major party candidates. So sue me.
Living in a high-profile state is a treat during presidential election years. In the past six months I’ve attended separate events where former President Bill Clinton, and Vice-presidential nominee, Tim Kaine, have spoken. Today I was privileged to be present at a rally featuring Vice-president Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden.
Today’s event was held on the campus of Florida A&M University with dozens of local and state Democratic candidates in attendance. I’d been to FAMU before, and gambled that parking would be in the same place even though the venue had changed. It was a great gamble. I quickly made friends with a young woman who was headed to the rally, and we walked up the hill together.
After standing in an epically long line for nearly two hours we finally made it through the metal detectors as some of the local dignitaries finished speaking. I’d resigned myself to being in the back forty when a young man came and asked if my friend and I would like to move closer to the stage. Soon we were standing just a few yards from the the speakers. Better still, we had a shade tree.
Congresswoman Gwen Graham was on hand to welcome the Bidens. Gwen is a strong voice for Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives. My hope is that she’ll be our governor some day.
By the time the Bidens arrived my feet were in agony. I hadn’t really planned on attending the rally today and had worn boots that, while darned adorable, weren’t all that comfortable. So I did what any sensible person would do–I took them off. Ahhhhh!
The Bidens took the stage together. Jill spoke about meeting Joe when he was running for office and she was a college student. She’d attended a campaign rally and was impressed by his passion and integrity. So much so that she voted for him.
The Vice-president spoke then. He is personable and funny and invested in making this country a place where everyone has a place at the table. He spoke about the cuts Trump has proposed and the programs those cuts would affect: Social Security, funding for education, and health care chief among them.
As Joe Biden began winding his speech to a close I decided to put my boots back on in preparation for walking down the hill. I asked a sturdy young man If I could lean on him and he gave me a huge grin. He probably thought I was a nut, but patiently stood there as I got my left boot on.
When I put my right toe into its boot I got a Charlie horse (cramp) in my calf and almost said a bad word, but managed to restrain myself. I thanked the young man who held my hand through the whole thing. Age does have its privileges.
The crowd was fired up and ready to vote as we headed in separate directions. My new friend had cut class to be at the rally and thought she might catch the end of it if she hurried. She promised to vote tomorrow.
Tomorrow. Election Day 2016.
I’m sixty years old. I cannot recall a more important or divisive election in my lifetime:
On the one hand we have Trump:
- a blustering demagogue who has been in bankruptcy proceedings numerous times, even though he encourages people to think he’s a great businessman.
- someone with a history of litigation against those he’d rather sue than pay for services rendered.
- a bully who encourages violence against those exercising their rights to free speech.
- a misogynist who has bragged about groping women because as a celebrity he can do as he pleases.
- a man who has refused to release his tax returns and has shady ties to Russia.
- an anti-Semite.
- a candidate who has mocked the disabled, stereotyped Latinos, Blacks, Muslims, and women.
- a man who has been endorsed by the KKK.
Then on the other, dare I say, sane hand, we have Hillary Rodham Clinton:
Cut and pasted from a Daily Kos article:
Oh, she’s also been endorsed by more newspapers, Conservative and Liberal, than any candidate in history.
Is she perfect? No, but she has faced numerous investigations by the FBI and a GOP led congress and neither entity has charged her with a single thing.
Don’t sit around thinking your vote isn’t needed. It is.
Peace, and common sense, people.
Praying for Eyebrowz 