On Tuesday last, a number of our fellow citizens had the equivalent of an adolescent tantrum. It wasn’t pretty. Oh, we had warning of ill wind, blowing erratically, since so many of us find ourselves unhappy with Washington gridlock and stalled wages, but it hardly seemed reasonable to assume that the nation would tip itself over in such a tortured and skewed example of what I call ‘knee jerk’ behavior — but, you know — what part of ‘reasonable’ do we still expect these days?
By Judith Gayle | Political Waves
When we go to the doctor and s/he tests our reflexes, tapping our knee with that little rubber mallet, if all is well, our foot kicks out obediently but the doctor — a person of scientific method and an understanding of cause and effect — is deliberately NOT standing in front of us. On Tuesday last, America kicked itself in its own tenders.
“Skewed example” is easy enough to illustrate, especially on the local horizon. Thanks to a temperamental and disenchanted electorate, the GOP now controls two-thirds of state legislatures, the most since the 1920s. If you have elders in the family who remember what their parents endured during that period, ask them for stories of those Good Old Days marked by misery and despair.
I think we need another review of history, since we seem to have forgotten so much, and in the interim, allowed consumerism to replace integrity, privatization for profit to strangle the principles of commonwealth, and political influence to trample the concept of public service and statesmanship. Punch that up with the fact that this last midterm was bought and paid for — BOUGHT and PAID FOR — to the tune of $6+ billion. BILLION!
Consequently, in an odd-year election that historically belongs to (old, white, rural) Republicans — the same ones who believe the black president bought his children in Malta and purposely brought Ebola to these shores as punishment for slavery — those with the most to lose, as usual, did. To vent their national spleen over all they’re asked to bear, the American electorate decided to give over control of their future to those who will happily gut environmental and fiscal regulations, eliminate safety nets for the struggling and impoverished, block necessary governmental and judiciary appointments, and offer up corporate welfare with a wink, a wave and a chortle of glee.
And that’s only the beginning! While skimming all the good stuff off the top for themselves and their corporate masters, this new majority of legislators can now access even the slim bit saved aside for the poor, freely punishing the ‘takers’ of the nation for moral ineptitude and slothful, possibly criminal, behaviors unforgivable in the eyes of their vengeful, party-approved and increasingly elitist Prosperity Gawd. (Somewhere, the late Stranger In A Strange Land author, Robert Heinlein, is shaking his head, wondering at the hardheaded American Calvinism that forced his book out of school libraries for its brilliant revelation of the American psyche and culture, denying generations a clear-eyed look at itself.)
As Paul Krugman wrote in his New York Times blog, “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet midterms to men of understanding.” Despite everything, many of us seemingly don’t have a clue. Turns out it was only some 117,000 additional Dem votes in Alaska, North Carolina and South Dakota combined that handed control to the business class, according to Geoff Stone writing for Huffy. At least that many were no doubt denied a vote by one of the twenty-something states that have put stringent new voting laws in place, another ramification of conservatives seizing local government in so many states; more now than at any time since the Civil War.
In Ferguson, Missouri, for instance — where there doesn’t even seem to be pretense of equality — only one in four Diebold machines was working at one polling location, which (conveniently, don’t you think?) ran out of paper ballots by mid-morning. And speaking of the Pea Patch, one Missouri state House member decided to change her political party from Blue to Red on voting day, too late to wave off liberal voters. Here in the Show Me state we’ve shown the world our homegrown delusions, still blissfully unaware of what a national embarrassment we’ve become, although reviewing the international response to this election, voters in all fifty states deserve a well-earned punch in the nose.
Be prepared, there are assaults on all things progressive in the works. Keystone Pipeline will quite probably be wrapped in a budget deal: take it or take it in the posterior, America! And the celebrations on the right have mostly wound down to a roar with the exception of the Neocons, who are making a din sharpening their knives and planning which oil-endowed country to offer their military expertise to in exchange for “democracy” now. And the welfare of issues we care about like the EPA, the Department of Education? Liberal concerns like animal cruelty, endangered species, child welfare, consumer protection, women’s issues? Fat chance, citizen!
What can we expect from the new Red governors of Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts, along with Jan Brewer’s Arizona replacement, four of which have successfully expanded government-provided Medicaid access? It shouldn’t take too long to find out. Indeed, while Boehner and McConnell are aware they can’t turn back the Affordable Care Act in its entirety, they have already signaled their intention to bleed it from dozens of small, and even large, wounds. As announced today, their work may be moot, as SCOTUS has agreed to take up the lawsuit against ACA exchanges, the tax credits to low- and moderate-income insurance consumers. Without the exchanges, Obamacare may well breathe its last.
And yes, although I’ll admit I’d rather skewer both 2015 majority leaders than cut them any slack for their policies of victimization, I don’t think either of them, establishment old-timers, want to lean as far right as their party has pushed them — but they will, trust me. Their party agreed to talk out of the moderate side of their mouths to win this election, but at heart the Bagger purists have no intention of allowing leadership to go mainstream. Think they’ll acquiesce to bipartisanship for the good of the nation? Look at the lineup.
Oklahoman James Inhofe, who wrote a book on the hoax of global warming, will be taking over the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and let a soon-to-be-missed Stephen Colbert flesh that out for you here. Think that irony can’t be beaten? Evangelically-inspired Texas radical and climate denier, Ted Cruz — crazy as a bedbug and twice as debilitating to secular America — will now, ironically, chair the Committee on Science and Technology.
From the Department of What Were They Thinking, the electorate exchanged someone of the caliber of Colorado’s Mark Udall — champion of government transparency, environment and women’s issues — for the likes of Iowa’s Joni Ernst, she of the hog nuts and the Smith and Wesson pointed at your face. “Our first Alex Jones Republican,” as Tbogg, San Diego blogger and sometime Hullabaloo contributor, wrote in his piece titled “When God closes a Bachmann, he opens an Ernst.” There isn’t a right-wing conspiracy theory Joni hasn’t made her own, and perhaps it’s a blessing for Udall that he lost his race to a glib pretender to the ‘moderate’ throne.
Pushing the progressive boulder up the hill has gotten even more ridiculous now, making the effort of any well-intentioned legislator — a rarity in itself — an almost unendurable frustration. Perhaps the efforts of the well-intentioned are better spent in grassroots organizations and think-tanks than striving for a larger perspective. Meanwhile, of course, that leaves the public at the mercy of the narcissists and the corruptly self-involved, who have perfected the art form of squeezing the little guy because — well, because Mr. Smith wouldn’t last more than ten minutes in today’s Washington, given the deadly cynicism, deep pockets and amorality that define it.
Now, here’s the kicker about this apparent division among voters: research indicates that around 80 percent of citizens are NOT ideologically divided, that by and large, they agree on most issues. Surprised? It’s a dilemma. Eighty percent of us, both those who are politically astute and those who pay no attention at all, want the same things. Very few of us lean heavily to one side or another; which is both the good news and the bad.
The worst news? The majority of us do not see the inherent danger represented by the regressive policies pursued by the right. Meanwhile, the left has largely surrendered its progressive roots in the face of today’s fiscal realities, with both government and culture worshiping at the altar of a free (rather than fair) market. Money speaks more loudly today than ethics, civic responsibility or altruism as the pendulum swings back, even beyond the inequities of the Gilded Age. That the majority of voters do not see the moral implications of such a philosophy, and its full embodiment as one of the nation’s two political movements, tells us a lot about any actual ‘exceptionalism’ that America once hoped for and can never inhabit as it continues on this path.
How did this happen? We’ve been working on it a very long time. Wrote the late Howard Zinn, in his book A People’s History of the United States: 1492–Present:
“How skillful to tax the middle class to pay for the relief of the poor, building resentment on top of humiliation! How adroit to bus poor black youngsters into poor white neighborhoods, in a violent exchange of impoverished schools, while the schools of the rich remain untouched and the wealth of the nation, doled out carefully where children need free milk, is drained for billion-dollar aircraft carriers. How ingenious to meet the demands of blacks and women for equality by giving them small special benefits, and setting them in competition with everyone else for jobs made scarce by an irrational, wasteful system. How wise to turn the fear and anger of the majority toward a class of criminals bred — by economic inequity — faster than they can be put away, deflecting attention from the huge thefts of national resources carried out within the law by men in executive offices.”
Is there a Best to go with the Worst? There is the possibility — should we become aware of the many factors manipulating us, the way in which we’re ‘handled’ rather than informed — that we could come together to make progress on those issues, ones that some 80 percent of us agree upon. It would take something of an earthquake, a suspension of suspicion and a willingness to end the separations — regional, cultural, racial and sexual — that divide us.
It would take an evolution of our willingness to meet one another as equals. It would take a reconsideration of both the way we engage one another and the way we allow ourselves to be spun by media, politics and religion. As Eric recently mentioned, we are more likely to vote AGAINST something than FOR it, and yet, that is exactly how things do eventually change. When some terrific idea comes along to capture the imagination of enough people, the old is effortlessly replaced and forgotten.
Over the short haul, then — at least the next two years — we have jumped from the frying pan into the fire, and I can already smell the scorch. Those who wanted less obstruction just voted for the obstructionists to lead the nation. And while the Dems could take up the (remarkably successful) Pub mantra of “do nothing and let them fail,” it’s unlikely that they will. They’ll still struggle to make some progress against a concentrated reversal of ideological fortune, which will most likely look damned pitiful, with the last hedge against acquiescence to plutocracy represented by Obama’s veto pen.
Instead, I’d like to see the left and those in the middle look determined, as if they’ve got little to lose because — sadly — they don’t. They’ve already lost power, short-term. And that should make them more effective at raising the roof than they’ve been in a long time. Truly, it’s the Pubs game to lose now. They’ll be tasked with governing, something they have neither skill nor desire to do. The nation will look to them for forward movement, only some of us aware that their throttle is perpetually stuck in reverse.
Truly, it’s time to break out the first aid kit because the nation is playing with fire and its fingers will inevitably get burned. But it’s all grist for the mill when you think about shifting the dynamics of an era, isn’t it? Getting a gut full of what doesn’t work may be exactly the thing that changes our dynamic from voting against, to voting for.
I suppose I’m leaning on differences rather than similarities when I mention that those who are driven to get/have/keep are hardly those who are interested in coming to agreement on policies that help us all. Deepak Chopra tells us, “The highest levels of performance come to people who are centered, intuitive, creative, and reflective — people who know to see a problem as an opportunity.” Somewhere in that 80 percent that are in agreement for common cause there should be plenty of us who are not so much opportunistic as willing to seize the day.
It isn’t the reality-based community that is going to singe its fingers in these next months. Two more Pluto-Uranus hits lie in waiting, bringing us the loud squeal of cogs straining in the machine, the stink of grinding metal and the heat of melt-down. It’s on our plate, but it can’t be much of a shock. After over a decade of political nonsense, we are not accustomed to looking to a political party for our good, although we have and must continue to solidify our intent to hinder any powers that work against it.
We live in a time of evolution and revelation, bringing us opportunities to become more mindful, more inspired, more aware. If that leads to revolution, it seems more likely a change in our way of seeing ourselves and our options than a clash in the streets. And if that’s true, as Deepak says, our highest levels of performance are just ahead. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, and his decline was remembered for centuries. If the Republican Congress does likewise, their tenure will be short and informative.
It would be easy to mourn a loss of traction toward modernity and freedom today, but perhaps we could better spend our time practicing being “centered, intuitive, creative, and reflective.” Opportunity awaits our willingness to remain clear-eyed and open-hearted. The promise of progress lies just ahead because Shift happened, and — despite any evidence to the contrary — it is us.
Good piece, Jude and don’t you think the Democrats cowardice in not standing up for their own policies and loathsome repudiation of Obama added to the mayhem?
No better illustration can be found on the effect that expanded consciousness has had on a fellow human being than by watching how he or she votes (or doesn’t vote at all), unless maybe it’s observing the commercials and the programming, via any device, they subject themselves to. If I’ve learned anything this week, it’s that the U.S. public and those who would lead it are still in the infancy stage of ascension. Not to worry, there are two more blasts of cosmic squaredust , plus a full Moon conjunct the U.S. Sun and opposite transiting Pluto to get us over the hump.
So grateful you came back this weekend Jude, I wasn’t sure you would. IMO, your words “Getting a gut full of what doesn’t work may be the exact thing that changes our dynamic from voting against to voting for” says it all. The Universe has always known this, hence more squaredust next month as you mentioned, followed by a Full Moon conjunct U.S. Sun opposite trans Pluto, then a another blast of squaredust in March , then a solar eclipse and Equinox rolled into one, topped off by a lunar eclipse in April conjunct the U.S. Saturn and square the U.S. Sun. if we batten down the hatches after Thanksgiving, we may just ride it out to that new dynamic in 2 years.
Looking at the finer points of the astrology picture, transiting Saturn recently returned to the point where on March 2nd, he stationed retrograde at 23 Scorpio 19, opposite Sedna at 23 Taurus 20. I’m convinced that the Sedna story was created by Inuit women, perhaps a grandmother about 35 years old responding to a 5 year old grandson asking where his daddy was. She probably said something like “he’s gone fishing to get us something to eat”. “Where’s that?” he might have said, and she would say “to the deep water where the fish live” , to which he would ask “why do the fish live in the deep water?”
As the grandmother continued to embellish on her theme, she would have told him about a goddess who lived in the deep water who created the fish and all the other sea creatures. Perhaps then a 10 year old granddaughter might ask grandma “was she pretty?” To which she got the answer “yes child, and just like you she had long beautiful hair.”
Now when Saturn stationed for his retrograde period last March, transiting Jupiter at 10+ Cancer was square transiting Uranus at 10+ Aries. The Moon and Juno, both at 29+ Pisces formed a yod with Pallas at 0+ Virgo and Ceres at 1+ Scorpio conjunct Vesta and the north node at 29+ Libra. I believe these two planetary patterns, one with masculine major planets and the other made up between the Moon and minor feminine planets, were supporting the re-examination of Sedna’s story as portrayed by the patriarchal (Saturn) society we live in.
I know nothing of the Inuit society, but being where they lived back then, near the north pole and all, it was pretty cold and had to have been a pretty basic life style. The men and women would have had a daily routine set by needs, first and foremost food, the gathering and the preparation of it. At least some of the women stayed with the children while the men and likely some of the women caught bears and fish (what do I know?) and the women looked for whatever might be growing in that primitive region. No doubt they were driven by survival, but the young would have had the birthright of every child, an imagination. As the story of the goddess (deep under water who created the sea creatures for the Inuit to eat) grew and was re-told, it would have been re-fashioned by the fathers (and grandfathers if they existed) to be “acceptable” for young children.
As the story developed – a child’s question as to why the goddess was in the water instead of in the sky or on land – it was learned that Sedna had been “one of them”, a real girl with a desire to be more than her birthright promised, and the children, especially the girls, related to her dissatisfaction. As the story went, when a suitor for Sedna appeared showing off many furs and offered to give her a comfortable home better and more help with the housework than what she had then, she accepted, only to be duped by his lies. Too late, she realized this when she was already far away across the lake from family and friends, but daddy heard her cries for help and came to the rescue. (That would be the part where the dads insisted Sedna’s story be changed.) So, okay, but still both dad and daughter were gullible and eager for more riches and therefore had been mislead. We can relate.
But the story continued (perhaps this part was added onto the story later by the grandmothers) and upon threat to bodily harm dad reneged on his rescue of Sedna and sent her to the bottom of the sea, minus fingers that had turned to ice as she held onto the boat, which dad chopped off with the oar so he could get away. Icy fingers turned to big fish and Sedna turned into a goddess. Grandma’s revenge!
The Sedna story must have come about as a way to occupy the busy little minds of kids while the grownups did the chores, and although it was a creation by the feminine half of the tribe, the masculine half put their spin on it and it turns out that Sedna was a self-centered women not concerned with the needs of the group and therefore was punished. It’s time to re-think that version.
So, in that March 2nd moment-of-retro for Saturn, Venus was conjunct the U.S. Pluto at 27+ Capricorn. Venus could soften up any old Pluto but the U.S. Pluto. . . . tough nut to crack.
Saturn reached the degree where he stationed retrograde on October 27th, and Venus and Sun were both trine Neptune and ready to create a new version of the Sedna story. One where she’s not so inclined to be taken in by the promises of wily birds like the original Sedna was. Like the original story, it will take a while to develop all the nuances of the new version, probably at least 2 years. I will be checking on that progress from time to time and let you know.
be
On a May morning in 2011, many Canadians awoke wondering “What have we done?” What many fewer than half of us had done (given our electoral system) was commence years of reduced environmental protection, support for big oil (especially the tar sands & pipelines), climate change denial, & suppression of science, among other regressive steps.
Our next federal vote under the (new) “fixed election date” legislation will be in October 2015 – unless a snap election is called sooner, which is a possibility, as there’s at least one potential scandal brewing which could bubble over well before October.
In light of the experience many of us up here have had over the past 3 1/2 years, I can empathize with how you & so many others are feeling, Judith.
If I recall Canada’s chart correctly, Uranus would be hanging around the ascendant, & Pluto on the MH. I hope the current militant mood doesn’t get carried away.
be, I loved your telling of the Sedna story. Many women, including me, have at one time or another fallen for the siren song of a man who promises to fulfill our fondest dreams. The disillusionment & other assorted suffering which follows should be punishment enough – but too often, we continue to “pay”…..which brings to mind what’s been done in the name of Eve – but that’s another rant.
Bette, it’s true, the saying you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all the people some of the time, but it’s a dayam shame when more than half the people get fooled again and again. With the Patriarchy in so much control of our society’s government now, and apparently believing their own lies, sometimes fear what happened to your country could happen here too.
Yesterday’s full Moon at 14+ Taurus is in the same degree of the 20 year cycle of Jupiter and Saturn which started in 1940. That was just before World War II. These next two weeks may echo some of that ’40’s nostalgia. You know, back when only white men were elected to be the President of the US.
be
be, you reminded me of a quote attributed to the ever-wry Mark Twain: “It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them they’ve been fooled.” I, for one, can appreciate the difficulty of convincing them – run up against that one often.
But we don’t, won’t, quit, though next year could bring us May 2011 Part Two…..
As you describe Jude, we are experiencing our own folly and one come from lies and deceit – and gullible to them for many reasons not the least of which is that most of us are not inclined to be as “sophisticated” in matters if lying as are those who perpetuate the lies.
Be, your Sedna story rings true … one can wish’n’hope now that it is the structure built by the deceivers that will come tumbling’ down — since tunblin’ is what’s supposed to happen next with US Pluto return coming and all — am I keeping up with all this?
Here’s a lovely snippit of a group of young Tibetans (who I’m sure would love to hear Be’s Sedna story: ) blowing their conch-shell trumpets; is this the 7th trumpet? Are the walls come-a-crumbling down? I though the idea of blowing a conch shell to stir the fates would fit the Senda tale nicely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHhl-iMqOA
As noted in the comments to Eric’s “Anger and Desire” post on Wednesday, the pain of weariness is being felt, and we are tired of this shit. What is so befuddling to me in all of this shit is the superficial, knee-jerk, simplistic, single focus blame that is so prevalent, utterly lacking in any depth of examination. It is jingoism (“extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy”) that is now inflicting its uncontrolled havoc on domestic policies.
I can only be astounded at seemingly intelligent people who just don’t think, let alone reflect, and are content to be told lies. I had lunch with a friend on Friday, who went into a rant about “Obama handing out welfare to his kind.” The gist of his racist rant was how many more people are collecting benefits since he was elected. When I challenged him, and asked if it was more people or more money per person, he could not answer me. When I next asked if he considered whether or not the financial debacle that occurred just prior to the 2008 election had anything to do with any alleged increase in “welfare”, he could not answer me. Or would not. Instead, he went to the men’s room.
This man is educated, intelligent, and as he approaches age seventy, becoming more, well, aware of something other than the previously unquestioned narrow Pub outlook inflicted on him by his family tradition. I cannot grasp how anyone (not just my friend) with any sense could possibly be so obnoxiously closed minded. Do they not see the idiocy of what they champion? Probably not as that would take reflection. So many, when questioned let alone challenged, resort to covering their ears and screeching, or just yell the same jingoist phrases louder. I don’t know how we will begin any conversation about what it is we may have in agreement with this type of reaction being so prevalent. The only plausible excuse for such behavior is that perhaps they too, in their simplistic perspective, feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of issues and problems. Unlikely, but an excuse that gives the benefit of my doubts.
At least, as Eric noted, we have the “ability to have astrology to use as a platform or analytical tool to review and consider these events makes it a little less tiresome, more meaningful, and easier to see in context.”
With the “two more Pluto/Uranus hits lie in waiting, bringing us the loud squeal of cogs straining in the machine, the stink of grinding metal and the heat of melt-down.:” My description of the Pluto/Uranus square aspects has been that it is a grinding of the gears. be’s description of “cosmic squaredust” is apropos. (great term, be!) Somehow, I don’t think the “squaredust” will be all glitter. We best be ready to catch the metal shavings of that “cosmic squaredust.”
Glad you are writing about this sorry state of affairs, Jude. As much as I would like to ignore this “shit”, I need your reasoned words to keep my head out of the sand and refrain from sticking it up my . . . posterior.
With much gratitude,
JannKinz
Zerozity, you are right about Jude’s “reasoned words” keeping our heads out of the sand, and so on. . .
I appreciate that you shared your story about the friend whose racist rant belied his seeming intelligence. It made me realize something about my brother’s wife and their daughter, which is that not all that spews from their mouth and pen is coming from their own experience. I’m not sure they even realize it, but most – if not all – (of their and your friend’s) bigotry stems from their ancestry. What they have ingested from their parents since tiny children is carried forth, like the Sedna story, with each generation adding their own personal, distorted viewpoints to the original (possibly even unconscious by then) tale. It is the purpose of Nessus, now transiting (as he has for some time ) the U.S Sibly chart Moon in Aquarius to bring this somewhat buried bigotry (and other toxic concepts) to the surface of the national conscience where it can be dealt with.
Now that I think of it, this is a good example of the dichotomy of the two rulers of Aquarius, old and new, confronting their differences. Uranus pulls the Aquarian nature into new territory while Saturn pulls the Aquarian nature back into a defense of the past. Too bad Obama has to be the guinea pig, but at least he makes it a global experiment that will be recorded and noted as an evolutionary step forward (or goddess forbid, backward).
aword. . . would love to hear the blowing young Tibetans but alas, slow-dialup does not accommodate utube. My mind/heart’s ears can hear them though!
be
be, I’m not so sure that it is ancestry that begets the bigotry, but rather the environment of the upbringing – that ingesting. Bigotry was not in my family growing up, but there were other issues with family, and I have often said that I turned out fairly well either in spite of or to spite my father. (That was said mainly in regard to my “choice” to follow the same career path as he and his father had – becoming a lawyer. I refer to that as a “genetic defect.” ;D ) I am grateful to have grown up in an environment that definitely was not racist, especially in Detroit and Detroit area in the 1950s and 1960s.
I had another friend who told me years ago that I made him see something other than the rote following of the Pubs that his father had ingrained in him. To paraphrase the Oldsmobile ad of several years ago: “That’s not your grandfather’s GOP.” Now the claim is that Buicks don’t look like Buicks. Pubs don’t look like Pubs used to either. Is that good or bad? If you are looking for the same thing, it’s bad. If you are looking for something improved under that new design, look carefully and don’t assume that it is the same powertrain. So, it’s about change and adapting.
I do like your characterization of the rulers of Aquarius. Does this mean that Uranus and Saturn comprise a Dr. Doolittle Pushmi-pullyu for the “Age of Aquarius”? ; D
Thanks, be. More to think about. Reflect, as Deepak says.
JannKinz
Ha ha, love the genetic defect concept jann, and I’ll give you that the early environmental saturation is hard to remove until later in life for most of us. It’s also fair to say that not EVERY red head child had a red head dad, but by and large, if one or both of your parents were bias against a race or political party there’s a good chance you will have that same blind spot at least for a couple of decades. It’s the influence of Nessus on the U.S. Moon that made me say “ancestry” when a better choice might have been the “family environment”. But Nessus IS connected to our ancestral line’s tendency to repeat bad behavior, your genetic defect notwithstanding! Nessus is the clue that something undesirable has been repeated for generations which is indicated by the aspect (Moon = family) and which is ripe for closure. Better at a conjunction then at a square I would imagine.
As we have braved the cardinal cross, and 5 of the 7 repeating squares between Pluto and Uranus, it’s obvious that removing the stains takes repeated cleansing. Lady Macbeth’s “out out damn spot” seems appropriate at this time.
be
The Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago and we celebrate its anniversary on the same day Gorbachev warns about a new cold war. Ain’t we got fun?
Hi Mary — yes, I absolutely agree that we paid a heavy price for Dem nervousness in owning Obama but I’m damned if I can figure out why they turned their backs on HIS SUCCESSES! They’re impressive, given the uphill climb! I’m going to give Bill Maher props (again) for going after Dems last week and this one, pointing out how MUCH has gone correctly under this president, reversing so much that was in the tank before he took office. Here’s a clip of that conversation; worth the watch:
Most of what the Pubs bitched about — that their own boy, Dubby, broke in his Pottery Barn experiment to liberate the world[‘s oil] — has been turned back to pre-Bush levels, and the ACA has not proved nearly as costly as the Pubs projected, but the Dems couldn’t stand the heat of the radical-right’s hateful disdain of this president, fearing they’d lose any moderate votes … as if those who carry that signature attitude would lean toward anyone who voted with, or for, the black guy anyhow!
And, thanks, Jann, for your comments — once again, it illustrates how even those who SHOULD know better, don’t! Jim Wallis, the (white) progressive theologian that was arrested in Ferguson protests last month, puts it this way: “Disagreement with Obama’s policies is, of course, legitimate, but so much of the animosity, even hatred for Obama as a person, has roots in our country’s complicated history with race. Not talking about it is to be oblivious to its continued influence on our lives and our politics.”
This is — continues to be — the REAL elephant in the room that half of our population … and no big shocker WHICH half … is in denial about.
In large part, I blame the losses this year on the obvious — only a third of the nation voting, the majority of them rural and white, not to mention a loaded number of campaigns in red states rather than an over-all election. As well, this is the result of — a frequent rant of mine — the “false equivalency” meme that the media is complicit in spreading, a bunch of BS that BOTH sides have radicalized and refuse to compromise (mythology that is good for ratings and bringing the rubes back to see who’s ahead. As I write, Sunday pundits are weighing in to Twitter and Facebook to see what’s being said — now THERE’s a real well of wisdom to tap, eh?)
As I was ranting this morning that from the git-go Obama should have used the bully pulpit to point an accusing finger at the obstructionists and make clear to the American public ALL THE BENEFIT PUBS WERE HALTING so the public would know who to blame, my son said, “You mean go black on their ass?” And there it is, there.
Making candid commentary on what’s real and true drives those who cover their own fears and hypocrisies with mythologies like “valor” and “patriotism” and “REAL America” bonkers, so it’s clear that truth-telling would further enrage a threatened white populous, especially when the Prez has had to endure THREE TIMES the threats to his life that the average does, along with what appears to be near-negligent security. Obama has had to micro-manage the appearance of being an “angry black man” since his first day in office, much to the detriment of us, him, and a disillusioned black community who was hoping for more.
And where was the press when it came to Joni Ernst, with ONLY the liberal blogosphere going after her wing-nut commentary. Nobody in the mainstream mentioned that she was certifiable, nobody! And even now, with climate change no longer in question — proven, settled science — the press still allows the Right to cling to its carbon-loving BS as an actual, and somehow credible, opinion. False equivalency: a betrayal by the Fourth Estate to the intelligence of citizens everywhere. Since everyone has an opinion these days, and they’re all “equal,” it’s no wonder we’re confused to the point of madness; especially those who have looked to others to GIVE them their opinion.
I will admit feeling very sorry for this president. It seems to me that he isn’t white enough for the white folks, black enough for the black folks, he’s too moderate for the progressive, and waaaay to socialist for the conservatives. He’s too warlike for the peaceniks, too peaceful for the Neocons — and, watching him walk that razors edge these last six years, I don’t know why ANYBODY IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WANTS TO BE PRESIDENT ANYHOW! What a thankless job, and perhaps too much for any one person to wrap his/her arms around! (I know that’s an earthquake of a notion in terms of old-era governance, but perhaps we can explore the possibility as we enter this new paradigm.)
Ultimately, the Dems who embraced Obama’s successes and ran a more progressive, positive campaign won. The future of the Dem party is going to be aligning with the populist wing, as outlined here by Bob Reich, prioritizing a more aggressive financial recovery that will bolster the shrinking middle, impact Main Street issues, even in rural areas, and will even TRICKLE DOWN to improve the lot of business in general:
Part of that 80% of issues we American’s agree on is global warming, consumer protections, end to Citizens United, stabilized Medicare and Social Security, repair and improvement to infrastructure, yadda — and that’s the progressive ticket no matter WHAT you call yourself!
This election … all of them in these last years, really … points out to me again and again that the Republican ticket is simply the denial of these basic needed pieces of efficient governance! How do they SELL that to the public with any authority? Is it worshipping in the temple of capitalism that gives one this level of tunnel vision verging on pathology?
My struggle, be, isn’t with the Ascension curve; I have ultimate faith in that — I see and FEEL that amperage. My struggle is in stopping myself from deeming my fellow citizens less than idiots for having made so critical an error in judgment as they did on Tuesday, especially at so important a time in history.
Pondering how this happens, DON’T MISS this YouTube by John Cleese on stupidity — does give a bit of a rationale on what we’re looking at, I suspect.
And thanks, Bette, for giving me a template by which I can assess the level of our absurdity. I’ve sorrowed for your right-turn over the years, especially since the tar-sands issue has brought it to public awareness here in the states. And celebrated the energy your indigenous citizens have brought to that struggle, as well. Despite a gutsy attempt, our own native population hasen’t managed that level of traction.
Be and Jann, that stain of inherited behavior is illustrated by the Biblican injunction that talks about sin “unto the 7th generation.” We pass down dysfunction. I think the discussion about ancestry might better be explained using the word ‘clan.’ We are clannish, we are tribal — the farther we travel toward homogeny, the less able we are to cling to our “specialness” as defined by clan specifics. That is, let’s confess it, a cheat if we believe in the cycling soul, anyhow; for instance, my Nordic and Northern European heritage is part and parcel of THIS incarnation and likely a reflection of prior experience but it isn’t ALL that I am … just part of my focus this time around!
There’s also the question of authoritarianism v. anti … some of us just aren’t good at being bossed around, so we find a home under the Big Blue Tent much easier to live with; while the Pubs are good at lock-step because they don’t question. Maher used a phrase to explain that seeming ignorance in political matters that may resonate for you, Jann — he said that many of us do not “pop the hood” to look and see what’s going on under the surface. And that can be blamed on a culture that has been — as Zinn told us — both religiously mandated, as well as calculated to keep us happy with the bread and circuses while the larger strings are pulled by the puppet masters to rule the world.
THAT unquestioned, unnoticed and dark energy, the channelers tell us, is, in large part, over now but it is the average citizen, largely uninformed, that is playing catch-up now with the information that we need in order to make sensible decisions. Only a third of us voted in such a difficult time — think of that!
The U.S. — I think BECAUSE of its ease and privilege — comes in behind almost 300 OTHER countries in numbers of a participating electorate! Perhaps, after the next two years of being squeezed by radical legislators, we’ll get an education about what’s in our own best interests! (Wings crossed!)
Conch music, aWord — a fine hat-tip to the Sedna energies! Today they’re making Tibetan sand Mandela’s in Portland OR … creating a perfect sand painting to then destroy and begin again, because nothing is permanent! Here’s an example, time-lapsed, along with some fine chanting!
Thanks for an excellent conversation this week, dearhearts. Keep your heads high, your aspirations higher and your hearts open! Hugs and blessings to all …
Can’t wait to get through the door of the new paradigm Jude. Many thanks for this 2nd article, and wow, me thinks that our not-too-hot, not-too-cold President is JUST RIGHT for the period of Now, the turning-the-corner-and-heading-in-a-new-direction moment. We just can’t get far enough away from the chaos we are mired in to get a good perspective on the progress we’ve made. We’ve pulled out all the poison from the wound and it was painful and is a mess to look at. But even the President has survived the ordeal, in spite of the media, in spite of his inept protection team and in spite of brutal assaults on his character and accomplishments, he is a testament to the endurance of the Human Being. Loved the son’s shrewd and astute “go black on their ass” remark.
be
Whew, people, I am breathless reading these fast-moving words and high-flying concepts. Delicious and stimulating they are. I’d like to add my take on why people voted the way they did. Where I live there was record high voter turn-out, about the level there usually is for a presidential election (60-ish percent). And it seems everybody came out of the woodwork to vote Republican. My take on this: people don’t really know how government works. They don’t know how the world works. Hell, they don’t usually know where the food they eat comes from, how it is produced, where trash goes, etc., etc., etc. You could call this stupid, but I see it as a childlike quality that humanity as a whole exhibits when acting as a whole. The question is, how does it happen that we as a people live in a world system that is incomprehensible to us?
What I see is the near-fruition of a long-crafted plan to create overworked people who are struggling to survive and a system too complex to get inside without a pretty hefty admission fee. Leave it to the elected officials, is the attitude. Things going badly equals still struggling to have enough, equals elect someone different. Whether this is some group’s conscious plan or not, I don’t know. Maybe it is a universal conspiracy to have humanity evolve. In my own life, sometimes things have to get bad before I can really see them, and before they can heal.
On a deeper level, I see the death-throes of a reality paradigm that is based on duality. The duality paradigm begets the scarcity myth. There isn’t enough for both of us. This is the institutional structure that needs to fall the most, in my opinion. When people’s consciousness evolves to the understanding that there is enough for both of us, two things will happen: There will be, and life will become a lot simpler. We will not need such a heavy overlay of bureaucracy, and maybe not even elected officials, to govern ourselves.
I have felt this on a personal level so deeply these past months, this past full moon (my natal placement), with all those heavy hitters in Scorpio (my rising, Venus, Neptune and North Node), and with several other factors leaning heavily on my natal Mercury (as I work on a book launch!) I hope that this is the chaos of the unravelling that has to happen, so that all the unhealthy elements can fly out, and we can clearly see who we are, what we are capable of, and how to grow into our highest potential. It’s a great challenge, all this, and it helps me immensely to think of it in terms of an experiment in consciousness. I received a clear message this summer, one I hadn’t asked for, but which came to me as I walked into a garden: “The Earth will win.” Meaning, I felt, don’t waste your energy worrying about the Earth. It’s humanity that stands to die by its own hand. The Earth will be okay. It’s not that I have since abandoned my Earth-loving ways; it’s that I have realized that I must care for the Earth the way I would keep my sheets clean, take care of my body, and want to be in loving environments: because it’s good for me and good for all. Not because I should or because the Earth is about to die, but because I need to learn the impact of my butterfly wing actions on the rest of life here. The pull of fear is strong. But if I, for example, can heal the places in me that still operate in that old paradigm, then there is hope that everyone can.
Oh gosh, is it something about this thread that encourages people to go on and on and get more and more impassioned as they go? Thanks so much, everyone who’s posted, and thank you, Judith, for the article. I benefit so much from the open exchange of ideas and sharing of wisdom that happens here.
Thanks for your thoughts, Phyllis — we talked about some of the things you mentioned last week, and added toxic food and environment, along with public over-medication to further the level of befuddlement you outlined so well. Seems like everything is designed to keep us confused at the moment, and that can’t be accidental (I prefer your universal conspiracy theory to goad us toward evolution than anything darker, at least post-2012!)
I applaud your commentary on “enough” — I’m a true believer that this is the core of the fault line separating humankind, promoting duality on this planet. As I’ve mentioned before, Neale Donald Walsch sez that’s one of the Big Three concepts that could change the world. There IS enough, for all of us. When we get that, everything changes!
And yes, I agree — I’m confident Gaia will do just fine, ultimately, but I’m also pretty sure she’d like to take us along with her. It would be good if we understood how fragile we are, here. A little loving cooperation wouldn’t hurt, so let’s visualize the Pubs feeling VERY UNCOMFORTABLE as they push toward dismantling the EPA, shall we? And pray for well-placed stumbling blocks to keep them from wounding the Mother any further!
Come visit again, dearheart — you’re always welcome to “get passionate” here!