Through Paths Unknown

last week i wrote about the hopelessness i felt.  i am still disturbed about the prospect of a republican victory in the upcoming midterm elections.  i am troubled that the democrats in congress are not addressing the economic problems that so many face.  while people struggle to pay for the essentials of life, president biden and our party look for ways to place blame for rising prices of housing, food, and fuel rather than seeking solutions that demonstrate that government is not powerless.  indeed, there are many factors over which government has little or no control, such as the effects of the covid pandemic and our emergence from it, the logistical problems faced by suppliers of goods, the inability of oil refineries to meet the demand for gasoline, and the war in ukraine, that have combined to cause our economic woes.  

rising prices are disproportionally hurting those towards the bottom of the economic ladder.  most of us can tighten our belts a little and weather higher prices, but those who were struggling before inflation became so great had already economized as much as possible.  now they are caught by the need to make difficult choices in order to pay their bills.  all too often, the lower middle class and the poor are finding themselves choosing between health care and feeding and sheltering their families, making do with clothing that should be replaced, and buying unhealthy foods rather than more expensive nutritious food.

a few days ago, millions of us watched the first presentation by the house committee that is investigating the events of january 6, 2021.  we saw the beginnings of the case against donald trump and those around him.  it is essential that as much of the truth be made public as can be discovered.  at the same time, republican criticism of the lack of a plan for combating inflation is valid.  democrats hold the majority in both houses of congress and a democrat is the president.  it is their responsibility to address the needs of the people by finding ways to ease the pain of inflation on those least able to bear its costs.  republicans have no plan, either, and, if they take control of either or both houses of congress, their answer will be to attempt to enrich those at the top of the economic ladder while doing little for those at and near the bottom.  a republican majority in congress will be disastrous for the nation, and that is where we are headed unless democrats act quickly to demonstrate their concern for the pain many are feeling.  it will not matter how guilty trump and his minions are.  exposing their perfidy is important, but so is addressing the economic difficulties so many americans are facing.

may we awaken to the awful damage trump and trumpism have caused our nation.  may we turn from his misogyny, racism, and greed, and look to caring for one another.  may we rally to the cause of freedom based on the ideals of our founders.  may we recognize the dangers posed by christian nationalism and the followers of donald trump.  may we become a more tolerant, compassionate people, electing those who share our values.  shalom.

A Reason to Be Living

it is not often that i feel hopeless, but right now i do.  i know that this feeling will pass, but, as i think of the problems that we face, i see few solutions.  fuel and food prices have risen and continue to increase, putting a strain on the finances of many.  since democrats are the majority party in the congress and the president is a democrat, our party is blamed for this situation.  most americans know in their hearts that economic forces beyond the control of the federal government are the cause of inflation, but, when things are going badly, the party in power takes the hit at the polls.  the prospect of a republican majority in the house and senate is frightening, given that party's current state.

trump loyalists are in control of the republican party.  they are determined to carry the upcoming mid-term elections at all costs.  they continue to promote trump's big lie that president biden won the last presidential election fraudulently.  where republicans control state legislatures, they have passed laws that make it easier for them to hold onto power.  they have begun enacting state laws allowing them to intimidate voters in democrat-leaning precincts.  they have made it more difficult to vote.  they have taken control of elections away from impartial officials and given that power to the legislature.  under trump's influence, our basic right to govern by the consent of the people is gravely threatened.

those in the republican party who dare to challenge this program of harassment, voter suppression, and intimidation are ostracized and targeted for electoral defeat.  only two republicans have been willing to participate in investigating the incidents of january 6 and what went on in the days leading up to it.  other republicans have refused to participate and have joined the former president in calling it a "witch hunt."  a mentally unstable political novice has won the republican nomination for senator from georgia, a man who has been repeatedly accused of threats against women and who makes claims as outlandish as those of the former president.  the court have removed several republican candidates in michigan from the ballot for allowing fake signatures on their petitions to run for office.  a celebrity physician who has promoted phony cures for disease has become the republican senate nominee in pennsylvania.

we watch as mass killings are rampant in this country and do nothing about it.  we refuse to pass sensible laws that would keep guns out of the hands of mentally ill, violent, and immature persons.  we allow weapons whose only purpose is mass killing to be sold with few restrictions.  we have citizens walking around armed to the teeth with no laws to prevent this practice.  we listen as the gun lobby tells us that "people kill people, not guns," while we continue to tell the survivors of mass shootings and their families that "our thoughts and prayers are with them."  what good are those thoughts and prayers without actions that demonstrate our compassion?

our government is poised to take away the right of women to control their own bodies, as male-dominated legislatures pass laws that prevent women and their doctors from making private decisions about women's health issues.  as unwanted children are brought into the world, the same people who tell us that abortion is murder refuse to support the care of those children that women are forced to bear against their will or to take the necessary steps to curtail mass murders in schools.  we have allowed a right-wing-dominated supreme court to have the final say over reproductive and voting rights in this country to the detriment of democracy.

may those who believe in the ideals on which our country was founded rally to the struggle against the erosion of those ideals.  may we stop the movement to adopt laws and practices that will lead to authoritarianism.  may we reject trumpsim in favor of tolerance, diversity, and freedom.  may we again support the needs of those who have been left behind in our affluent society.  may we demonstrate true patriotism by rejecting demagoguery and misogyny and by having compassion for all our people.  shalom.

From All That Terror Teaches

a few days ago we witnessed another mass killing in our country.  seventeen children and two adults were gunned down and another seventeen were wounded for no reason.  such senseless murders have become commonplace, and those in power do nothing to prevent them.  as many of our elected legislators tell us that more guns are the solution, most of us know that this response is ridiculous.  if more guns ended such killings, we would be the world's safest country.  there are commonsense measures that would reduce the number of such events, and most americans are agreed that these are needed.

we don't understand why anyone needs weapons that are designed only for mass murders.  these weapons are not for self-defense.  they are not for hunting.  they are not for target shooting.  their only purpose is to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible.  we don't understand why an eighteen-year-old should be allowed to legally purchase two such weapons from the same gun store.  we don't understand why background checks and registration are not required for all gun purchases.  we don't understand why mentally unstable and violent people can legally purchase or continue to own guns.  we don't understand why every gun owner shouldn't be required to complete training on gun safety.  we don't understand why a license is not required to own a gun and a national system of licensing and registration is not in place.

we have had such laws in the past but they have been repealed in the name of "second amendment rights."  the seventeen innocent children who were just killed had the right to attend school without fearing for their lives.  their parents had the right to see their children grow into healthy adults.  their teachers had the right to practice their profession safely.  those who decry sensible gun laws ignore the rights of the victims of gun violence.  the national rifle association has evolved from an organization that promoted the legitimate uses of firearms and gun safety into a behemoth that enriches politicians, gun manufacturers, and related businesses.  its members call for turning teachers into armed guards, making schools less safe by limiting the number of exits, and forcing children to attend schools surrounded by armed guards.

may we adopt measures that will make our society safer rather than more dangerous.  may we see the campaign contributions of the gun lobby for what they are:  a successful attempt to buy the loyalty of politicians.  may we see the difference between legitimate ownership of guns and the arming of potential murderers.  may we have more compassion for the rights of victims and be less concerned with the "rights" of gun zealots.  shalom.

We Shall Breathe the Air Again

as i sit in my comfortable home, i think of what it must be like for the people of ukraine who have lost everything except their lives.  their homes are destroyed, their livelihoods are no more, they are often separated from other members of their families, loved ones have been killed, other family members are off fighting in the war, perhaps never to return.  many have been forced to flee to other countries to live on the charity of others.  i wonder how they have the courage to go on in the face of so much loss.  

i try to imagine how great their suffering must be but i have no experience to help me stand in their shoes.  there are many in the world who know what it is to lose so much--the people of syria, the tibetans, the palestinians.  in our sheltered lives here in this country, we have not experienced such loss in over one hundred and fifty years.  we sit in comfortable chairs, sleep in comfortable beds.  when we flip a switch the lights come on.  our cars sit in our garages ready to take us wherever we want to go.  for most of us, hunger is a very temporary condition that is easily remedied.  certainly, there are those who live under much poorer conditions.  there are those among us who must struggle to provide food and shelter for themselves and their families.  many are homeless.  it is easy to turn a blind eye to the plight of the poor, but even they do not suffer the horrible situation so many in ukraine now face.

like others, i am filled with admiration for the courage of the ukrainians.  they endure for the sake of preserving their homeland and their national identity.  they fight to keep their freedom and their democracy.  they stand firm against an evil that would force them to be the subjects of a foreign power, as most of the world supports their struggle.  knowing how many millions of people are on their side must be a source of strength for them.  perhaps their war against oppression will free the people of russia in the end, as more and more russians become aware of the awful destruction their leaders have brought to ukraine.

may we continue to stand with the ukrainians in their fight, doing whatever we can to help them.  may we work with other countries to support them and to care for those who have been forced to flee their country.  may we give thanks for our own freedom and our peaceful existence in a land where we do not have to fear a foreign enemy's invasion.  may we summon whatever compassion we can for both the people of ukraine and for the ordinary people of russia who are being forced to support an unjust war.  shalom.

Sweet Freedom's Song

as the debate over forced birth continues and as the campaigns for the upcoming midterm elections intensify, we see the dystopian future that awaits us in the country if republicans prevail at the state and national levels.  we have seen how the governor of florida has punished the largest employer in the state because the disney corporation has refused to kowtow to his wish to silence discussion of the existence of gay and trans humans in the public schools of florida.  after insiting that abortion is a matter that should be handled by each state and as it appears that the supreme court will rule that the constitution demands such a course of action, republicans at the national level are calling for a national prohibition on abortion.  the leader of the republican senate re-election campaign has called for all programs, such as social security, medicare, and medicaid, to be voted on every five years so that these programs would end if a republican majority were in control of the congress at that time.  a republican candidate for state office in michigan has said that democracy leads to socialism which in turn leads to communism, as he advocates for increasing restrictions on who has the right to vote in elections.

the idea that those who disagree with you ought to be punished and their voices silenced is antithetical to what our country stands for.  turning elections over to state legislatures rather than being conducted by impartial election officials makes it possible for legislators elected by a minority of the voters to reverse the will of a majority of the people of their state.  since many states now have electoral districts that were created so that the republican party will control the legislatures of those states, even when a majority of voters statewide oppose that party makes a mockery of democratic ideals.  we are faced with a choice between democracy and a religious tyranny where right-wing christians will dictate how everyone lives.  under a republican regime in washington and in a majority of state legislatures, dissent will not be tolerated.  laws that give conservative christians control over school curricula will proliferate.  books will be banned and burned.  years of progress in civil and women's rights will be reversed.  our country will cease to be one in which the ideals of freedom and tolerance are honored and strived for.  instead, a religious minority will exercise power over the majority of americans as voting rights are curtailed and courts, led by the supreme court, side with this minority.

may we turn from the path we are on.  may we refuse to be controlled by the religious right.  may we work to make room in our media and public debate for a variety of points-of-view.  may tolerance win over religious and racial bigotry.  may we not become so focused on our individual economic concerns that we ignore the danger posed by those who would make a mockery of democracy.  shalom.

I LIve by My Own Design

last week we learned that this country's  supreme court is poised to overturn fifty years of reproductive freedom for women.  the leak which revealed their preliminary vote on a case in which the state of mississippi is seeking to severly curtail the right to abortion showed that a majority of the court made up of five conservative justices has indicated its willingness to reverse the row-versus-wade decision that made abortion legal throughout the country.  in the draft of the decision, written by justice alito, it was argued that there is no constitutional right to abortion based on the concept of the right to privacy.  according to this line of thinking, what goes on between a woman and her medical provider is subject to regulation by each of the fifty states.  each state would have the power to make whatever laws its legislature sees fit in this matter.  many of the republican-controlled state legislatures in the country have already passed laws that all but outlaw abortion. Some have passed laws that eliminate that right if the federal supreme court rules that there is no national right to abortion, which it seems that the court will do.

the ramifications of such a decision are great.  in many states, we would return to a situation where women are forced to bear children that they do not want or cannot afford.  victims of rape and incest who become pregnant will have to either carry their pregnancy to term or travel great distances to reach a state where abortion is legal.  this means that women who do not have the means to travel have little recourse.  they will have to bear their unwanted children or turn to a provider that operates illegally.  some states are even contemplating passing laws that will prosecute medical professionals and others who assist women from their states, even when the abortion takes place in a state where the procedure is legal.  state-enforced childbearing is a draconian measure that takes away women's rights to control their own bodies.  such laws ignore the realities with which women must live and diminishes their power to live on an equal footing with men.  as margare attwood has said, women become slaves to the state.

the same reasoning that applies to a woman's right to choose whether to bear a child or not also applies to a number of other issues.  in his opinion on this case, justice alito's argues that abortion is not ingrained in our nation's history and traditions.  neither are civil rights, the right to same-sex marriage, and inter-racial marriage, all of them rights that previous courts have ruled are guaranteed in this country by the constitution, using some of the same intrepretations of the constitution that were applied in roe-versus-wade.  the same political groups that have campaigned against reproductive freedom are opposed to national court decisions that granted these rights to all those living in the usa.  these conservative groups will argue that each state has the right to regulate the rights of its residents, using the argument that the majority of voters within a state should decide all these matters through their elected representatives to each state's legislature.  if such a view is allowed to prevail, much of civil society's progress over the last hundred years will be undone, and the country will be further divided.

may we not allow our country to step backward in our treatment of those who live here.  may we understand the need for women to control their own bodies.  may we see that forced childbearing is a horrible idea that should not be enacted either by court ruling or law.  may medical professionals and their patients continue to have the right to make decisions without government interference.  shalom.

Don't Tell Me What to Do

life is filled with contrasts.  for every positive, there is a negative--two sides of the same coin.  love/hate, life/death, plenty/want.  often it is difficult to differentiate between the two.  as soon as we are born, we begin the process of dying.  love sometimes morphs into an obsession that engenders hate and loathing.  some of those who live in plenty are unhappy, filled with want for that which they cannot have.  our lives are spent searching for balance.  we seek love that does not engender a clinging to that which is loved.  we prepare for death in the midst of life.  we try to discover when we have enough so that we do not crave more than we need.

we see the suffering in the world, much of it caused by our own actions.  as we watch the war in ukraine, we see the results of one man's craving for control over territory he longs to possess.  we witness the needless death and destruction caused by putin's attempt to force the ukrainians to bow to his will.  the desire to control and possess when we already have more than enough plays out in large and small ways and has throughout history.  we seek to force others to be what we want them to be, rather than accepting them as they are.  i've watched parents try to mold their children into something they are not, often with disastrous results.  this sort of control is a political and social issue now in our country as we witness those who want children to be permitted to be their authentic selves labeled as "groomers" by those who would have children forced to live according to their biological characteristics rather than their sense of personal identity and gender.  gay identity is treated as something shameful that cannot even be discussed in schools by the passing of laws forbidding its mention.

may we see the continuity of life and death, the ease with which hate is labeled "love," and the great harm that is done when we seek to control the lives of others.  may we accept life as it is, living it as authentically as we can and allowing others to do the same.  may we know when we have enough and be willing to let go of that which is excessive.  may we be at peace with ourselves and one another.  shalom.