Margot, I like the spirit and passion you and Concetta show. Yes, viewing the good cartoon from Puck magazine, I’m aware that I’m not in the middle of Summer but at its beginning yet still having dreams.
Brings me back to:
PUCK:
Fairy, thou speak'st aright;
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon, and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal;
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,
In very likeness of a roasted crab;
And, when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh;
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there [2.1.32-57].[3]
Puck made mistakes.
I have many ideas for change. However, I realize each seed of change contains its own germ of destruction.
I remember Aldous Huxley writing ‘Brave New World’ a vision of dystopia as a society evolves into fascism, then writing ‘Island’ a more Utopian island under constant threat in the larger world of greed, ambition and facism. Why? Because Island has large oil reserves.
Even so, I will never succumb to Fascist beliefs.
All through history—the communist revolution that Lenin took over and poisoned leading to Stalin, the French Revolution taken over by those like Robespierre and later giving us Napoleon.
Last October I visited SE Asia including Cambodia and the killing fields. I was shocked to learn that Pol Pot had been a Buddhist Monk for years before his reign of blood. He thought he was doing the right thing. So, I do not trust any leader of any movement.
There's been a lot of chatter about this in different areas, but to summarize my thoughts:
1. Prohibition of misogyny, racism, sexism, rape, child marriage, slavery (including in penal institutions), violent institutions, and hate speech (including Holocaust denial and the "Lost Cause" Southern win of the civil war).
2. Equality of all people regardless of anything.
3. Fully drawn out independence of government and government services from religion of any kind. No more of this Christian nationalism BS and institutional takedowns because of it.
4. Fix the constitutional lapses to get true independence of the three branches. We don't need to go back to 1776, we need to get everything in that was done later after the civil war and WWII that was related to the improvement of civil rights, voting rights, commerce regulations, etc.
5. Prohibition of persons under 14 years of age from working and requirement that they be in school.
6. Insurance for all that includes whatever services physicians deem as necessary.
7. Government benefits to improve the lives of the disabled, elderly, and persons in need, with whatever is needed and not just medical insurance and a pittance to live on.
8. Fully drawn out independence from technocracy. Government data is independent and should be held securely outside of companies like Palantir.
9. Tariffs require congressional approval. The President should not have that duty unless an official war declaration was made by Congress.
10. Education for all through a two year associates degree and then subsidies if you choose to go further in your education to help pay for it.
I’m in agreement that ‘WE’ need to do more, much more, to attack the bottom-line. I’ve been saying this for years, my voice falling on deaf ears, the sound of a falling tree in a forest devoid of others.
IMO, the problem is knowing what is the ‘WE’?
It seems to me that the WE is a distant view of the chaotic orbits around the STRANGE ATTRACTORS of different beliefs. The WE only has very limited forces of attraction but they appear to be strengtening.
Defining ‘WE’ and finding ‘CONSENSUS’ may be a more difficult journey than securing the Golden Fleece without the help of a Madea. Unfortunately, even among a mythical ‘WE’ I still find much patriarchy warning potential Madeas that they will be betrayed.
I am surely not suggesting it will be easy, and as you are a man explaining these things to me in ALL CAPS you are perhaps proving your own point about the patriarchal construct. Having looked at your Substack I see we share a frustration at the bending of the Dems to appease the centrists and center right refugees from the GOP. All I asked in this post was what you would do if you were able to create a different paradigm starting over from scratch. Do you have thoughts on that topic or did you want to argue with me over semantics? 😏
Sorry. My caps was not a yelling on my part nor an attempt to be patriarchal. Thus, I see we do not connect and I’ll unsubscribe and not bother you again.
I think we actually do share similar views, and you aren’t bothering me. I was joking in an attempt to lighten the discourse. I think sometimes electronic communication can be funky and we end up spending energy arguing when we agree. Did you have any thoughts about how you would do things differently? If you were to make a Project 2029, what would you want to include?
Mea Culpa. I misread you. I’m going to try to be more articulate and less confusing by pondering before responding. I’m driving now under a hot sun in a desert—both literal and metaphoric.
However, you and I are in complete agreement that resistance is not enough.
PS, saying Mea Culpa was not because I’m a Catholic or a follower of any religion.
This has been my biggest issue with these "protests" that have been popping up for the last few months. No one seems to have any kind of cohesive vision, and the Democrats just poo-poo any kind of progressive agenda (for the most part).
My vision? Universal healthcare, and that includes dental and eye care. Rent control everywhere. $30 minimum (thriving) wage. Universal pre-K and universal 2-year college. Publicly funded public transportation including high speed rail and service to rural areas. Tax the billionaires out of existence. Fully funded public schools - no more of this bullshit where teachers have to pay to outfit their own classrooms. And teachers earn $100k a year minimum. Codify Roe v Wade. The list goes on and on... Basically take our country and make it more like the other progressive nations in the world. Oh, and while I'm dreaming here, give the national monuments back to the First Nations people so that THEY can protect the land as only they can outside of the white supremacist capitalist government that stole them in the first place.
It's a tall order, but hey... Go big or go home, I always say.
I think that's essentially the full progressive agenda there. Not saying its a bad thing at all, but I think we can find pieces of it that might carve out a new party of folks who believe they are part of human rights, like other developed nations. We seem to be the only country where things like living, medical care, education, and transportation are "elective" instead of human necessities.
I agree with the things that Jennifer VanBenschoten listed. I would want the same for all of America.
Just some thoughts:
Margot, I like the spirit and passion you and Concetta show. Yes, viewing the good cartoon from Puck magazine, I’m aware that I’m not in the middle of Summer but at its beginning yet still having dreams.
Brings me back to:
PUCK:
Fairy, thou speak'st aright;
I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon, and make him smile
When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile
Neighing in likeness of a filly foal;
And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl,
In very likeness of a roasted crab;
And, when she drinks, against her lips I bob
And on her wither'd dewlap pour the ale.
The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale,
Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me;
Then slip I from her bum, down topples she,
And 'tailor' cries, and falls into a cough;
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh;
And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there [2.1.32-57].[3]
Puck made mistakes.
I have many ideas for change. However, I realize each seed of change contains its own germ of destruction.
I remember Aldous Huxley writing ‘Brave New World’ a vision of dystopia as a society evolves into fascism, then writing ‘Island’ a more Utopian island under constant threat in the larger world of greed, ambition and facism. Why? Because Island has large oil reserves.
Even so, I will never succumb to Fascist beliefs.
All through history—the communist revolution that Lenin took over and poisoned leading to Stalin, the French Revolution taken over by those like Robespierre and later giving us Napoleon.
Last October I visited SE Asia including Cambodia and the killing fields. I was shocked to learn that Pol Pot had been a Buddhist Monk for years before his reign of blood. He thought he was doing the right thing. So, I do not trust any leader of any movement.
“Ring the bells that still can ring,
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That is how the light gets in.”
Leonard Cohen
Good reply. I’ll have to wear it to see if it fits on me.
There's been a lot of chatter about this in different areas, but to summarize my thoughts:
1. Prohibition of misogyny, racism, sexism, rape, child marriage, slavery (including in penal institutions), violent institutions, and hate speech (including Holocaust denial and the "Lost Cause" Southern win of the civil war).
2. Equality of all people regardless of anything.
3. Fully drawn out independence of government and government services from religion of any kind. No more of this Christian nationalism BS and institutional takedowns because of it.
4. Fix the constitutional lapses to get true independence of the three branches. We don't need to go back to 1776, we need to get everything in that was done later after the civil war and WWII that was related to the improvement of civil rights, voting rights, commerce regulations, etc.
5. Prohibition of persons under 14 years of age from working and requirement that they be in school.
6. Insurance for all that includes whatever services physicians deem as necessary.
7. Government benefits to improve the lives of the disabled, elderly, and persons in need, with whatever is needed and not just medical insurance and a pittance to live on.
8. Fully drawn out independence from technocracy. Government data is independent and should be held securely outside of companies like Palantir.
9. Tariffs require congressional approval. The President should not have that duty unless an official war declaration was made by Congress.
10. Education for all through a two year associates degree and then subsidies if you choose to go further in your education to help pay for it.
eta: forgot 11! Bodily autonomy for all!
I like this! Thank you! Lots of food for thought here.
I’m in agreement that ‘WE’ need to do more, much more, to attack the bottom-line. I’ve been saying this for years, my voice falling on deaf ears, the sound of a falling tree in a forest devoid of others.
IMO, the problem is knowing what is the ‘WE’?
It seems to me that the WE is a distant view of the chaotic orbits around the STRANGE ATTRACTORS of different beliefs. The WE only has very limited forces of attraction but they appear to be strengtening.
I often feel as if I’m screaming into the void. Defining ‘we’ is crucial and then finding some kind of consensus is the challenge.
Defining ‘WE’ and finding ‘CONSENSUS’ may be a more difficult journey than securing the Golden Fleece without the help of a Madea. Unfortunately, even among a mythical ‘WE’ I still find much patriarchy warning potential Madeas that they will be betrayed.
I am surely not suggesting it will be easy, and as you are a man explaining these things to me in ALL CAPS you are perhaps proving your own point about the patriarchal construct. Having looked at your Substack I see we share a frustration at the bending of the Dems to appease the centrists and center right refugees from the GOP. All I asked in this post was what you would do if you were able to create a different paradigm starting over from scratch. Do you have thoughts on that topic or did you want to argue with me over semantics? 😏
Sorry. My caps was not a yelling on my part nor an attempt to be patriarchal. Thus, I see we do not connect and I’ll unsubscribe and not bother you again.
I think we actually do share similar views, and you aren’t bothering me. I was joking in an attempt to lighten the discourse. I think sometimes electronic communication can be funky and we end up spending energy arguing when we agree. Did you have any thoughts about how you would do things differently? If you were to make a Project 2029, what would you want to include?
Mea Culpa. I misread you. I’m going to try to be more articulate and less confusing by pondering before responding. I’m driving now under a hot sun in a desert—both literal and metaphoric.
However, you and I are in complete agreement that resistance is not enough.
PS, saying Mea Culpa was not because I’m a Catholic or a follower of any religion.
This has been my biggest issue with these "protests" that have been popping up for the last few months. No one seems to have any kind of cohesive vision, and the Democrats just poo-poo any kind of progressive agenda (for the most part).
My vision? Universal healthcare, and that includes dental and eye care. Rent control everywhere. $30 minimum (thriving) wage. Universal pre-K and universal 2-year college. Publicly funded public transportation including high speed rail and service to rural areas. Tax the billionaires out of existence. Fully funded public schools - no more of this bullshit where teachers have to pay to outfit their own classrooms. And teachers earn $100k a year minimum. Codify Roe v Wade. The list goes on and on... Basically take our country and make it more like the other progressive nations in the world. Oh, and while I'm dreaming here, give the national monuments back to the First Nations people so that THEY can protect the land as only they can outside of the white supremacist capitalist government that stole them in the first place.
It's a tall order, but hey... Go big or go home, I always say.
I think that's essentially the full progressive agenda there. Not saying its a bad thing at all, but I think we can find pieces of it that might carve out a new party of folks who believe they are part of human rights, like other developed nations. We seem to be the only country where things like living, medical care, education, and transportation are "elective" instead of human necessities.
Yes! All of this! 👆🏻