Some Days I Wonder …

Carol A. Hand

Raised Fist Image by Keith Tyler, Courtesy of Wikipedia. (Details below.)

***

Mr. Trump is coming to town today
“power to the people”
Long lines of supporters wait to hear him
“power to the people”
Lined up for blocks above streets
in dark sweltering skywalks
“no power to the people”
As they wait for electricity to be restored
on this quiet lovely sunny day
in the part of the city where Mr. Trump will soon appear
*
How fervently I wish real heart and intellectual power
would be restored to the people
as children are once again
being torn from the arms of loving families

***

A Pleasant Quiet Sunny Day – June 20, 2018

***

Note:

The “Raised Fist Image” by Keith Tyler, Courtesy of Wikipedia, “… is a variant of the clenched fist motif which has been widely used by leftist, workers, and liberationist groups since the nineteenth century. The motif itself is not under copyright.”

Keith Tyler’s image was released into the public domain by its creator February 2007. “The wider motif itself is not protected by copyright.”

24 thoughts on “Some Days I Wonder …”

    1. Thank you for letting me know about Mr. Trump’s plans to visit the UK, Nelly. I’m surprised. I thought he wouldn’t be welcome. Maybe he will stay? Only kidding. I think your PM is enough bad news, Honestly, I don’t understand how anyone can support such hardhearted buffoonish leaders…

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    1. So true, Sha’Tara. I wonder why it’s so hard for people to “go against the grain.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve grown weary enough of people complaining about someone in authority to take the risk of setting up a forum so they could share their concerns directly. They would be silent in the presence of power and say everything was just fine, and later continue sniping to each other. The only blessing for me was knowing it was no longer my problem. But Mr. Trump is a hole … oops I meant whole … other story because of the great harm he does and foments in every direction.

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      1. Without “bragging” (I certainly have no need of that false crutch) I could tell you exactly why rank and file people fear institutionalized authority; why it is so difficult to them to rebel against or overthrow illegitimate representation. As to Trump, and in keeping with… why can’t Americans see that their president is deranged? Mentally whacked out? A kind of modern day Nero? Trump is insane, even worse than was Reagan in his last presidential year. Some madmen realize the harm they cause and relish in that realization. Trump doesn’t have the wherewithal to even understand how he creates the chaos he does. He certainly enjoys the fallout, but if he was trying to deliberately do it with some long-term nefarious plan, he’d go into meltdown. Americans need that little child to tell them that their emperor has no clothes. Maybe, now that the technology exists, future presidential candidates, senators and congresspeople should receive a mandatory IQ test as well as a test designed to discover latent psychopathic tendencies? Results, of course, would be made public since the individuals in question are seeking to represent the public, as public servants. If they choose to not have their scores publicized then their only option would be to step down. Perhaps I should pass that on to Hugh Curtler in his “suggestions for better government.”

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  3. Everyday it’s something else. He lies and convinces people that those speaking truth are lying. Only he is right, only he knows best, only he can… This form of government we call democracy has been revealed to be a very fragile thing. I was getting depressed and then I saw your little garden and smiled. We humans think we’re so important. Nature doesn’t care about our politics, our borders, our laws… and at the end of life neither will I. So good to hear your voice. ❤🙂❤

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    1. Astute observations, Kathy. It’s enervating and exhausting to keep up with the ongoing destruction of protections for people and the earth. Yet I feel the same sense of hope you mention when I hear your voice in your blog and comments and see your lovely gardens and puppies. I send my best wishes to you, dear friend. ❤

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  4. I hear you, Carol!

    It’s the “Thank you sir, may I have another?!” syndrome, mixed with never ending ignorance and programmed ‘patriotism’. No power to the people, because most people have relinquished their power for a ‘life of working two or three minimum’ wage jobs, while resting in a very false sense of security, a nonexistent sense of security!

    And now, there isn’t even a LEFT to stand against this tyranny.

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    1. Ah Dave, I agree that there is no Left left. In my more generous moments I understand that people are doing the best they can with what they have been given. It’s my job to do the same while remembering to be compassionate toward others. That’s certainly not easy these days.

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  5. Our leaders only represent a very small number. They may be dark yet so many of us (we the people) are LIGHT. Regardless of the insanity and ruthlessness displayed by the small number of dark, may we who are LIGHT shine even brighter now. Prayer is a MUST for those children to be reunited with their parents!!

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  7. I believe in peaceful protest and this motif perfectly fits the cause. We’ve lost our ability to have real dialogue in this country and it’s anyone’s guess what to do to get it back. Thanks for this post, Carol.

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    1. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments, PJ. My colleague and I use dialogue as a key foundation for the classes we teach. We’re hoping to demonstrate the benefits of creating a safe space where people can listen thoughtfully and respectfully consider viewpoints that differ from their own. Interestingly, this was something that was done in the city of Chicago to quell the violence that surrounding labor unrest in the decade following the 1886 Haymarket Affair (http://www.illinoislaborhistory.org/the-haymarket-affair/). Jane Addams (1961, “Twenty Years at Hull-House”) describes the efforts of the leading citizens to create a forum for dialogue given their belief “that the only cure for the acts of anarchy was free speech and an open discussion of the ills of which the opponents of government complained. Great open meetings were held every Sunday evening in the then new [Hull-House] auditorium, presided over by … representative citizens…, and every possible shade of opinion was freely expressed…. Fanaticism is engendered only when men, finding no contradiction to their theories, at last believe that the very universe lends itself as an exemplification of one point of view” (pp. 118-119). Of course, my colleague and I teach a small class face-to-face and have the luxury of creating new courses and experimenting with teaching approaches, at least for the moment.

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      2. Quote: “Fanaticism is engendered only when men, finding no contradiction to their theories, at last believe that the very universe lends itself as an exemplification of one power of view” I think that is the grave danger within the “scientific” community these days. With so much faith being place in science and technology, scientists of all stripes are having a field day at the moment. If only most of that wasn’t being wasted in questionable “space exploration” or in destructive military-industrial complex expansion.

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