Momentous Week – Day 1051

Skyrunner Leaping Over Obstacles – Photo: L. Weikel

Momentous Week

No matter how you look at it, this is going to be a momentous week in the history of our country. I know, I know. It’s as if we live in a land of hyperbole anymore. “The most consequential election.” “ The worst (and most) wildfires ever.” “The scariest pandemic in a century.” We all know I could fill the page with the myriad examples of extremes being exceeded we find ourselves dealing with every day.

All of which is why I don’t toss out that first sentence lightly.

So much has changed in the past five years or so (and that’s only the most accelerated change) that it’s virtually guaranteed that the direction our country takes by the end of this week could easily mark a mass transformation of the trajectory of our country. We will either be poised to meet the future with optimism via a change of perspective and values or we will be hamstrung by the old way of doing everything and subject to oppression by the moneyed few.

Infrastructure Impacts All of Us

If our lawmakers pass both infrastructure bills, we will begin addressing climate change as a priority, thereby enormously benefiting the planet and humanity but also, on a smaller scale, creating a huge new sector of quality jobs that will finally begin re-growing the middle class.

If the entire Biden agenda is not enacted and the more ambitious of the two bills is ‘postponed’ (read: smothered), a startlingly large portion of our country will plunge into even greater despair than many of us imagined possible during the Trump presidency. Those most disappointed and despairing will include vast swaths of precisely those who profess cynicism and mistrust of ‘the government.’ I truly believe most people who hold extreme views of our country are actually people who have lost hope that anyone will actually pass laws that benefit them.

They no longer believe that our country is one where those who commit great crimes are held accountable. How many of us despair of ever seeing justice truly meted out to those most egregiously and blatantly giving the finger to all of us who do actually play by the rules?

Held Hostage

Now? Let’s face it. We are being held hostage by a cynical minority that cares only about its ability to wield power and nothing about the common good. They don’t care about us.

We have to care. It is up to all of us to stop believing the lies and stop cowering in fear of each other. The only cheaters are those accusing everyone else of cheating. The actual liars are those caught lying over and over to all of us – but are never held accountable.

Those who are busy stoking our fears of anyone who doesn’t look like us are the ones who want us to give up on our country (and fellow citizens), baselessly reject our long-standing ability to conduct free and fair elections, and smear our internal and international reputation for being a place where honest work, integrity and innovation are rewarded and celebrated.

The Outlook

I’m sure you haven’t noticed that I’m fired up about both the stakes involved in passage of the infrastructure bills as well as the craven brinksmanship and utter disregard for our country being shown by the Republicans’ refusal to raise the debt ceiling. Their behavior is akin to a fanatic holding a gun to their own head. And the filibuster is a relic that is killing our democracy.

So what is the outlook as this week unfolds? What might be in store for us as the battle for our democracy unfolds before our eyes? I asked Ellen Lorenzi-Prince’s Tarot of the Crone for insight, since a Crone is probably the only one brave enough to look this stuff in the face and call it the way she sees it. This is what she said:

I – Magician – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

I – Magician

I am the Something

That comes from Nothing

I am the Mistress of Illusion

I am the Mistress of Reality

I am the One

Who Passes between

A mask with living eyes bursts out from the darkness of a cave. The Magician is the force that can manifest itself out of the void and out into the world. She is the ability to appear and act as one wills, the confidence to live one’s own life and no other and the power of originality. But the mask is also illusion. Your very body is the mask your soul wears, how your soul happened into flesh at the time of your birth. The Magician is one who knows both reality and illusion and who crosses between.

The animal of the mask is the Crone manifesting in the form of her familiar, her first companion and her aide in the making of magic. Magic crosses the boundaries between worlds, bringing the energies of spirit into form and dissolving forms back into essences. Magic will do the same for you, if you have the courage and the confidence to take it into your hands and shape it to your will.

The Outcome

Four of Swords – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Four of Swords – Reason

Necessity to guide me

Purpose to ground me

Construction begins

Construction to last

Four blades of a windmill stretch in each direction in a gentle sky. Solidity in thinking is represented by Reason. There are no figures in this card, illustrating how reason’s products and effects can appear disassociated from human sensibility. Yet the card also shows how the power of logical thought and planning can benefit humanity, by harnessing natural power and building the structures that define civilization. Clarity of thought, separated from both desire and daily routine, will redefine the problem and provide the steps necessary to resolve it.

The Obvious

My interpretation of the guidance represented by these cards is that if anyone has the ability to be a Magician in the circumstances our country and Congress is facing, it’s Madame Speaker. Love her or hate her, she is a Magician when it comes to doing her job. And unlike another arguable “Master” of the realm, she genuinely has the wellbeing of the populace at heart. She actually cares about regular people and wants all of us to have a better quality of life – and hope for our future.

The Outlook card, the Four of Swords, sure seems to indicate that perhaps – just maybe – our country really may begin the process of rebuilding our infrastructure after this week. We will begin to harness our natural power, which includes our innovation and optimism. Given even half a fighting chance, our country can rebound from the pall that’s come over the majority of our population over the past 40 years. We can begin making things again. We can create a country and a world that’s sustainable and in harmony with Mother Nature. We just have to have the will to do it.

Maybe we can learn something from the Magician in the House.

(I gotta believe.)

(T-60)

Surprised Admiration – Day 639

Photo: abcnews.go.com

Surprised Admiration

It’s not a stretch to figure out what the title of tonight’s post is referencing. When the announcement was made today that Joe Biden was selecting Kamala Harris as his running mate, I’d say my first reaction was a subdued, “Wow.” Not subdued because I was less than enthusiastic. My “wow” was quiet because it contained a surprised admiration that Biden had actually selected her.

There’s no question that she is absolutely qualified to both hold the position of vice president and step into the position of president should the need arise. But she has many other outstanding qualities that complement Biden and will combine with his strengths to create a formidable governing team. And boy, do we need a resurgence of good government.

Most of all, my “wow” was subdued because it surprised me. I was impressed with Biden’s self-confidence and maturity. And no, just because he’s 77 years old does not by any means translate into wisdom or maturity. Mere age alone does not confer self-confidence. Nor does it confer wisdom. And it sure as heck does not confer maturity.

Our Current President

Let’s face it. I don’t even need to write anything under this heading – it is self-explanatory. We’ve all been living (and dying) at the mercy of the whims of a person who lacks these very qualities that Joe Biden just exemplified in his choice of running mate.

The reason I was pleasantly surprised by Biden’s choice is precisely because so many men in his position (and yes, white men in particular, sad to say) would have been both intimidated by how roundly she scored points on him in that early debate and then vindictive as a result. Indeed, I seem to recall some relatively has-been male politicians (Ed Rendell springs to mind) recently being quoted as counseling Biden against choosing Kamala “because she was too ambitious” or “rubs people the wrong way.”

What a bunch of garbage. But when I heard that there were men, the Old Guard, so to speak, of the Democratic party weighing in on the danger of choosing a powerful, God-forbid ambitious woman, my heart sank. There it was again. That same old trope.

A Stellar Field

Let me be clear: I felt that the field of candidates from which Biden had to choose was extraordinary. And those candidates were all stellar in their own ways because he’d promised he would choose a woman as a running mate. And for ever (so far), especially in this country, for women to compete with men they’ve had to jump higher, be smarter, have thicker skin, be more creative, and do it all for less money. So I challenge anyone to honestly tell me they were surprised when it was obvious that the ten or so candidates he was vetting were all superlative candidates.

Given this state of affairs, he could not have made a poor choice. He could’ve made a safer choice – safer as far as his ego goes. He could’ve chosen someone thought to have a more deferential temperament. Or perhaps even more saliently (especially to some of the small men counseling him) he could’ve punished that uppity chick who chastised him on national tv using her own lived experience of being a child who benefited from the busing he failed to support.

Joy and Hope

After my initial, “Huh, wow,” response to hearing the news, I started watching the coverage of the selection on tv. The reactions expressed by so many commentators, activists, and politicians honestly made tears roll down my cheeks. For the first time in so long, I saw joy on people’s faces. I saw hope and heard a renewal of faith in the true nature of our country being expressed.

It felt like when we elected Barack Obama. For me at least, I was seeing an expression of unity and inclusion, a celebration of diversity and an expression of self-confidence that doesn’t require subservience to feel powerful. I was seeing an expression of our country and its values that so very many of us have yearned for and were perhaps beginning to despair of ever seeing again.

It’s overwhelming to consider how many people in our country feel invisible, disposable, voiceless, and worthless.

Which is why it was incredibly powerful to hear so many people interviewed this evening, including those who often do the reporting of our news say, “I feel seen.” Over and over, I witnessed the tears in their eyes. Saw the joy written all over their faces. Heard the hope tingeing their voices.

The election isn’t won yet. Not by a long shot. But the spontaneous expression of joy and hope I witnessed this evening was like a steady, yet gently soaking rainstorm on a vast landscape of parched cracked earth.

Photo: cbc.ca

(T-472)

A Quickie Tonight – Day 310

Train to Lansdale (formerly known as the R5) – Photo: L. Weikel

A Quickie Tonight

No, you guys. That’s not  what I mean!

I’m finding my ability to keep my eyes open this evening is seriously compromised, and thus I will not be discussing my interpretation of Paper Wasp’s appearance ‘in my face’ this evening.

I’ll weigh in on that tomorrow.

Unexpected Opportunity

I’m more tired than usual this evening because I spent the afternoon and evening in Philadelphia. I had the good fortune to be invited to attend the first ever Workers’ Presidential Summit, which was sponsored by the AFL- CIO in Philadelphia.

This has been my lucky political year so far. First, I was invited to an event where I got to meet and listen to Corey Booker a few months ago.

Today, I had the opportunity to hear Joe Biden, Andrew Yang, Bill DeBlasio, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Amy Klobuchar address a room full of union workers at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

What a cool thing – to be able to get a sense of these people a little closer up, a little bit more personally and authentically, (or at least not separated from me by a tv screen). I have to say, attending these events has made a difference for me in how I perceive some of these candidates.

Which leads me to feel the need to make one statement before I go to bed this evening:

While I do feel it will be better to have the Democratic field of potential contenders winnowed down sooner rather than later, I actually feel like it’s a great opportunity for people to get their ideas out in front of the public and potentially drive some policy changes in those who ultimately become the nominee.

Make That Two Statements

The second statement I want to make is that I feel we are incredibly fortunate to have such outstanding candidates from which to choose. And my favorites weren’t even represented today, much as I really like some of those who spoke, and gained respect for others.

But I can state that each person who spoke today was sincere and smart, poised and ready to lead the country to a more unified, caring, and prosperous future.

I felt proud of each of these individuals, and appreciative that they care enough about the state of disunity, anguish, and fear of the future so many in our country are feeling to stand up and do something about it.

As I ran to catch my train (and it arrived just as I was hustling down the steps at Jefferson Station), I realized that I feel hope. And it feels great.

Sleeping Beauties – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-801)