Saturday at Iddybud
This is what I can imagine myself doing to folks who chose the culture wars over rational, ethical morality in this last election. Thanks to Biomes Blog for the photo.
Blogger Ron Brynaert's recent discussions, Theories about Tom Zeller Jr., Kucinich Still In It, and Simon Rosenberg Will Destroy The Democratic Party, are all valuable to those who feel the world didn't magically change on November 3rd and that we didn't suddenly shape-shift into a bunch of kooks. Powerful sources in the Democratic party seem eager to leave their energetic base behind and eager to neglect the integrity of the American electoral system. Hearing the mainstream media (the Bush bootlickers) calling concerned Americans "conspiracy theorists" - accompanied by no strong vocal defense of the public from any Democratic leader - shows me that we have an extremely serious problem in our nation, and I fear it will not come to a good ending for the Democratic party if they remain on this road. We may see a whole new "Left Behind" series, in manifesto form...and this time it will be the Democrats who are left behind. They've relied too long on us decrying Bush while they languished in complacency themselves. Bush's re-election is where the rubber meets the road. What the Democratic party does NOW will make or break them. Here's a facetious-yet-interesting thought: If the Democratic powers-that-be fail their base and prove themselves to be no more than Republican-lite, perhaps we should ALL join the ONE party in the nation, the GOP, and force change from the inside.
I'm directing you to David Chin's "A Picture's Worth". Go to the Gallery section and look for the photo that inspired a young man to contemplate the supreme value of quiet simplicity.
He found it in the face of his pet.
In these days of political unrest, my dear readers, it's important to remember how to return to the innocence of nothingness. Your inner strength depends upon it. Quoting Max Ehrmann's Desiderata, "With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
Any bystander who walks by my room nowadays may think I’m off my rocker. A quick stroll by will reveal a 15 year old boy lying on his floor, tracing the patterns under his desk with his finger, something that has managed to keep this boy entertained for almost an hour. What is there to look at, one might say? The patterns. The weaving of so many lines in the wood display a true beauty of nature. An estranged glance of “what the hell?” is usually expected, and then turning to leave the room to keep themselves occupied with something else. Sigh. The art of nothingness and doing nothing is an art that is truly missed. People wish for it, yet when they get it, spend it foolishly. Perhaps one day, more people will realize what they’re missing if they just stop for a minute to look around....
Last, I'd like you to enjoy the ending of this autumn, wherever you are in North America.
For many of us, this Autumn has represented itself as a grave disappointment, much as we sometimes note the passing away of life as leaves fall from the trees and our gardens die away.
Rebirth comes with time and effort. We great Americans who are feeling crushed by the weight of this election must take heart and never lose hope. What we do now will help America to be true to herself and to thrive for our children when we're long gone. We can do it by never letting untruths pass by without pointing them out and debunking them, regardless of what is politically popular. A kindred spirit named Jerry Katz wrote of such feelings, and I will quote him:
"Author E.B. White captured the tension in an essay admiring his wife's
passion on the fall day each year when she lays out the spring bulb
garden. The passing of the years and any thoughts of her own approaching
death cannot stop her from assuring her garden's rebirth.
There was something touching, he wrote, in "her studied absorption in
the implausible notion that there would be yet another spring, oblivious
to the ending of her own days, which she knew perfectly well was near
at hand, sitting there with her detailed chart under those dark skies in
the dying October, calmly plotting the resurrection."-
Let's plot the resurrection of our secular freedom, which is the only true and uniting American religion.