Politics

The Monster Mash

Soon after the election, someone messaged me asking how I was doing in light of Trump’s triumph. After thinking about it for a while (I think there was a moment on election night when tears had threatened, but never materialized), I said that, to my horror, I was finding myself more comfortable with despair than I would have been with hope.

Despair, I said, has never let me down.

But don’t think despair has made me all mopey. In fact, it’s energized me. Politics has become a horror movie, an apocalyptic adventure, a zoo of fantastic beasts. Read more about The Monster Mash

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A Vote for the Country

I have often boasted that my very first vote for President was for a woman. It was in the Illinois primary of 1964, and I registered Republican in order to vote for Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who had challenged Senator Barry Goldwater for the Republican nomination. I voted for Lyndon Baines Johnson in the general, and I’ve never had cause to regret either vote.

It has since become my belief that you vote your heart, your conscience, or your protest in the primaries, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so. Read more about A Vote for the Country

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A Perspective

Yesterday morning I had a conversation with a Mexican-American friend of mine. He was born, 40-some years ago, and raised in what I’ll call the backside of Dallas. We were talking about the gunman who took it upon himself to answer in kind for the many black men killed for little reason by law enforcement agents. I was depressed, because I felt that in so many ways that man’s actions might derail the powerful Black Lives Matter movement, which seemed to be gaining a lot of headway across the country. Read more about A Perspective

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Redneck Revolution

Most folks reading this blog will have a fairly good idea of what we mean when we talk about an “under-class.” We picture inner city ghettos and barrios, sometimes Native American reservations. Sometimes we think about women or gays or anyone black, brown or tan. Read more about Redneck Revolution

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Berned Out

It’s been a tough election season in more ways than one. I believe I can safely say that we are all sick and tired of being trumpled on. The freak show that was the rest of the Republican slate all talked over each other trying to appeal to the baser instincts. Some folks thought it amusing. I found it indigestible. Read more about Berned Out

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Seriously!

In conversation with friends over the weekend, I bemoaned the fact that the newspeeps seemed to have decided to take Donald Trump seriously. They made the very good point that it’s about time we took him seriously, because he is a very serious threat, and I agree. But I wasn’t talking about that kind of serious. I was talking about the kind of serious where you give the man’s utterances credence and discuss them as if they are worth some kind of consideration, based solely on his popularity with a certain demographic. Read more about Seriously!

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Which Way?

When Gandalf asks Frodo to lead the way to Mordor, Frodo hesitates at the gate. Right or left? he asks. Left is the reply. And some of us smile. Left, we think. That’s always the right way. Others will remind us that left is the way to Mordor, but we know who wins the day. And so our fellowship heads left.

According to this recent piece in The Atlantic (and in contrast to contrary assumptions), our fellowship is expanding. Given the current crop on the right, we can only hope. Read more about Which Way?

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