Earth Day

                                     April is the Cruelest month,

                                      Breeding lilacs out of the dead land,

                                      Mixing memory and desire, stirring

                                              Dull roots with spring rain.

                                                
                                       T. S. Eliot – The Wasteland                                         

As I sit here looking out my window upon the third day of intermittent, then heavy, then dry, then fluffy and by any measure – beautiful snow, I cannot blame the time of year on my uneasiness.  

But I am beginning to feel that “I” am the “dull root” being stirred – not with a sense of renewal, but with dread and suspicion. My elegant, bright daffodils are still maintaining their valiant stance even as the spring snow tries to bury them.  What beauty!  What courage, I think! And, I am a part of this rhythm of earth’s renewal. Will my courage wane?

Now we are threatened with a plague and many of us remain strong, even while meekly peeping our mask-covered heads now and then out of our self-imposed quarantine. We respect Nature; we even respect the virus because it is new and stronger than any of us. But it is part of Nature – like the asteroid’s that took out the dinosaurs all those millions of years ago. Like the Black Plague centuries ago. It is a sign that Nature is in charge and we are all part of it. We can battle the virus and will survive it. It is part of Nature as are we.

But there is something else that we may not survive. And this is what is now stirring my dull roots. Does it stir yours? 

I worry.  I worry about our Wildlife reserves.  Our parks and our wilderness areas. 

Did you know that our current president has rolled back  some 95 different laws and initiatives to protect our earth, our water, our wildlife, initiated by previous administrations (mainly Obama’s) and some national forest lands which had been set aside way back in the twenties to protect those lands from development.  

See: https://e360.yale.edu/features/open-for-business-the-trump-revolution-on-public-lands   

We as Americans need to wake up before we lose what we’ve fought to retain all these years.  Our earth and our natural environment are under attack but that is not all.  We are in danger of losing our Democracy.  This man wants to be King. We must not allow it. 

It is Spring and the earth is awakening. So must we. 

America's Denouement

In his inaugural address on January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy observed among many other truths that we, as citizens, must be vigilant:  

“Let the word go forth that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans, born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.”  

Are we still committed to those rights 57 years after those words were spoken?

With the advent of Trumpism, we are losing our Democracy, slowly but surely.

Under the title, Kennedy was Right:  we are Heirs of the First Revolution, John W. Whitehead wrote a piece in the Huffington Post back in 2013.  He seemed to see it coming even then, back before Donald Trump was elected president. This is what he says:

The freedoms we often take for granted did not come about through
happenstance. They were hard-won through the sheer determination,
suffering and sacrifice of thousands of patriotic Americans who not only
believed in the cause of liberty but also acted on that belief. The success of
the American Revolution owes much to these men and women. In standing
up to the British Empire and speaking out against an oppressive regime,
they exemplified courage in the face of what must have seemed like an
overwhelming foe.
Those revolutionaries were average citizens, not agitators or hotheads. They were not looking for trouble or trying to start a fight. Like many today, they were simply trying to make it from one day to another. But they finally had enough and decided to stand and fight for the one thing that makes an American an American:  freedom.
It wasn’t easy. Many lost their livelihoods and homes. Many lost their lives.
But, like Tom Paine, they would not be sunshine patriots. They would not shrink from service to their country.
If we are to survive as a nation, we must regain the spirit of the American revolutionaries. It’s time to turn off the television set, put down the cell phone and, if need be, take to the streets and make sure our voices are heard. Some of our fellow citizens are already on the front lines of freedom. Let’s join them. In the words of Patrick Henry:”

Why stay we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me: give me liberty, or give me death!

From The Blog @ The Huffington Post 

11/22/2013 10:52 am ET Updated Jan 25, 2014
Kennedy Was Right:  We are the Heirs of the First Revolution, by John W. Whitehead

An Orderly Transition. . .

I keep hearing this phrase on the cable channels, over and over again since the beginning of the peoples' protest in Egypt over a week ago.

What the pundits are saying is that they want a continuation of the regime with different faces but the same philosophy which is to maintain an autocratic hand on the people and above all, preserve the peace treaty with Israel.

The Middle East is experiencing a wave of desire for liberty and preserving a peace accord with Israel is not going to stop it. I think our President has expressed the perfect pitch up to now. Now, however, he's going to have to be seen as siding with the demonstrators and preventing a massacre by the Egyptian troops (not necessarily the military, but the police or perhaps just hired goons) as a result of Mubarek's sly manipulation of the situation. This morning, bus-loads of armed and violent "thugs" motored onto the streets of Cairo, creating the first signs of violence into a week-long peaceful protest. This allows Mubarek the pretext upon which to order the army to exert force -- in order to keep the peace.

He needs to go now, even if that leaves a void in the government. ElBaradei is probably not the man to lead a new government in Egypt, but he might be able to muster enough support to maintain order until a new leader is chosen.

These are smart, sincere people who should be heard. Let us listen, Mr. Obama.