Arrival and Departure

Sounds like an airport, I know. We are always leaving the past and arriving in the future. But what if we didn't hang out in the chairs by the gate, but lived fully in the moment that is neither behind us or ahead of us, but just now. Right now.

I have spent a lot of my mental energy since November 8th thinking about what is to come as a result of the election of Donald Trump to the highest office in the land. And it has been pretty debilitating at times. I cried myself to sleep on election night, and have broken down sobbing more times than I can count since then thinking about any number of outcomes (which I will not list because I'm sure you know what they are) that will affect people around the world, including my own family (but in truth I am pretty privileged). Even though Trump hasn't even taken office yet, people have suffered in the here and now, in very real and personal ways. Never has "bully pulpit" so literally referred to the office of the Presiden.

But the only time I can act is now. In this now I can plan, or I can cry, or I can pour another glass of wine, or eat another brownie, or post another article on Facebook hoping everyone will read it and understand. But it's the actual activities I have undertaken that have made me feel best - making donations to Planned Parenthood and the ACLU and Haven, going to the local meeting of the Democratic Party, writing a letter to the local Muslim Association to express my support, calling the offices of various politicians to protest Bannon getting anywhere near the reins of power, writing to the Town Manager asking that Durham (my home town) affirm immigrant-friendly policies that ensure the safety and security of students or others who might be in the country without proper documentation, but who have not committed any crime other than being born elsewhere to parents without connections. I even went to the Unitarian Church in Portsmouth last Sunday to find like-minded people and sit in communion with them. I NEVER go to church, but it was good to share time with good, open minded people.

I'm talking to people at work who voted for Trump, because honestly they are good people, too, and I want them to know that they are living in a diverse society that includes people who will be hurt by the policies that are going to come. I want to be the voice and the witness for those who don't have jobs at my company, who are in-visible to them. And I want to provide support to others to do that, too. Pantsuit Nation - do you know about it? It's a social media group comprised of people who support(ed) Hillary Clinton, who tell their stories from across the country about their neighbors and family members and co-workers and total strangers that are mean (or kind), hateful, (or righteously supportive). There are tens, maybe hundreds of millions of people who have made the choice to be HERE in this moment as strong, supportive, loving PRESENT humans. Others are painfully separated from what it means to be fully human, in communion with the rest of us, feeling a need to hate and separate because of some wrong that has likely been done to them. They too belong to the now.

I so want us all to be human together, in this moment, and in all those that will inevitably follow. If we acknowledge each other's truth, each other's experience, each other's pain and sorrow and joys and transcendences, then we will make a difference in the world. One day, one moment, one story at a time. Neither arriving, nor departing, but being right where we are, together.

Happy Poetry Month

Green Red Green

“What are you doing”

My passenger said,

For I wasn’t going

But lingered at the red

Light just turned green.

“I don’t know,” I replied,

Knowing I should go,

Unable to confide

How very low

Was the mood in me.

“Are you okay?”

She asked concerned

But I turned away

To hide how I yearned

To cease being me.

A car horn beeped,

A polite little sound,

So onward I creeped,

Though no peace had I found -

Green red green red and green.

April is Poetry Month (as if it is confined to just one month...). I'm going to try to write a poem a day. Maybe on average. We'll see.

Here's today's:

Broken Cork

The cork broke off

As I tried to remove it

From the half-empty bottle,

Leaving a stub stuck

In the neck.

I pushed it in

With my finger

And it dropped,

A dry little plop,

Onto the wine.

Now there are little bits

Bouncing on the ounces

I poured out of the bottle

Into my favorite glass.

But I hardly notice them,

When I take a sip,

Or the wine either,

For that matter.

Spring Equinox

Sun light warms my face

With the promise 

Of heat to come.

The earth and her creatures

Love the sun,

Celebrate,

The turn of the earth,

Its swing back to birth.

Gravity's sunshot

Urging, turning, weight

I’m yearning for fate,

The sun is the focus

Of transcendence,

And holiness,

Bliss,

And arrival –

We’ve come,

For the sun.

So with push and with pull,

The light has returned.

With its heat,

I’m complete

With arousal, carousal,

Back ‘round again,

Amen.

(c) Mary Downes 2016

It’s the Ides of March, marking the middle of March, back when the months meant ‘moon-ths’ and the middle was when it was full (in 2016 the full moon in March falls on the 23^rd). It was the Ides of March that marks the anniversary of Julius Caesar’s assassination, way back in 44 BCE.  In what seems like a complete coincidence, we will celebrate the life of St. Patrick on March 17. Patrick changed not only the history of that small island but perhaps that of the whole western world (I’ll get to that in a minute).

As a General taking on the Gauls (and others), Julius Caesar extended the Roman Empire into what we now call Great Britain, eventually taking to it Latin and all the arts, crafts and works associated with it. Caesar’s arrogance and insistence on fighting in contradiction to orders from the civilian forces in Rome (when he crossed the Rubicon) eventually propelled him into the role of co-consul with Mark Antony and then all-powerful emperor in perpetuity (czar and tsar both come from ‘Caesar’). Just one month later, 60 Senators turned on him and stabbed him a total of 23 times right in the Senate’s Chambers. It was Shakespeare who immortalized the warning to “beware the Ides of March,” which is directed especially to those who pursue absolute power and ignore the predictions of soothsayers (ancient word for ‘pundit’).

In dooming the dictator, the Roman Senate also inadvertently doomed what was left of the Republic. Democracy with a small ‘d’ was gone forever from Rome once the rules had been so flagrantly violated – first by Caesar, but then by the conspirators. It is perhaps necessary to remind Americans in this election season that it was Roman Republic, and not the Roman Empire, after which our founding fathers modeled our own form of government. Sometimes the distinction seems to be lost on the very people most insistent on remembering how things were back in the days of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Three-hundred years after the death of Julius Caesar, in 313 CE to be precise, Roman Emperor Constantine was the first to give legitimacy in the eyes of the government to Christianity. Not only did Constantine legalize the religion, he shaped it, declaring Sun Day the day of worship for all religions and cults, and forcing orthodoxy in the Christian Church by convening the Council of Nicaea. It was at this meeting among Christian leaders from various sects and beliefs throughout the empire that the relationship between God and Christ was voted on, the date of Easter was divorced from the date of Passover, and in which the solar (Julian) calendar was designated once and for all the proper way to measure time. The lunar calendar (which was the Jewish calendar) was out, except, oddly enough, when it came to figuring out when Easter should be celebrated.  All this puts our difficulty in universally adopting the metric system in a new light.

Incredibly, Constantine personally made his way to Britain to battle the Picts in Scotland (the Romans never did conquer them). He even died in York, England not far from where my own mother was born. York is also not far from where Maewyn Succat was born (exactly where that is remains a mystery) sometime around 385 CE. At 16, Maewyn was kidnapped and enslaved by an Irish landowner. The son of a well-off Roman who served on the equivalent of the city council, Maewyn labored half-starved and otherwise deprived for six years on the Irish west coast, at which point he simply left, following a vision he’d had in a dream.

A few years later, having attributed his survival to the Christian God he had learned of before his captivity (but which he hadn’t much believed in), Maewyn (now Patricius or Patrick) willingly and deliberately and against the better judgement of everyone he met inside the church and out, became the first-ever Catholic missionary to actual ‘barbarians’, far from the comforts of Roman civilization. In short, he returned to the very place in Ireland from which he had escaped slavery in order to spread the gospel.  Patrick could have faded into obscurity, but he did not. Instead, he was successful beyond his wildest hopes not only in Ireland but throughout the western world. In fact, the whole concept of ‘the western world’ exists in part because of Patrick.  

“With the Irish – even with the kings – he succeeded beyond measure. Within his lifetime or soon after his death, the Irish slave trade [which he’d been caught in] came to a halt, and other forms of violence, such as murder and intertribal warfare, decreased. In reforming Irish sexual mores, he was rather less successful, though he established indigenous monasteries ad convents, whose inmates by their way of life reminded the Irish that the virtues of lifelong faithfulness, courage, and generosity were actually attainable by ordinary human beings and that the sward was not the only instrument for structuring a society.”¹

Because Patrick was in the hinterlands, and because Rome’s hold on the western front was rapidly declining, no one was around to correct his unorthodoxies. In 409 CE, when Patrick was about 25 years old, the last Roman garrison in Britain would be abandoned. The very next year, Rome itself would be ‘sacked’ by the Goths. You know the surly teenagers in dramatic black clothing who think they know everything but are really pretty clueless? not those. The originals didn’t get the designation ‘barbarians’ for nothing.

But back to Patrick. He was the first to unconditionally condemn slavery. The Romans would not have agreed. Even the church would have been dubious. But there was no one from Rome paying any attention to him. So he went on celebrating the traditional Irish holidays along with his pagan converts. One of these holidays was Imbolc, the spring celebration that falls on February 1, and which is one of the four major parties in the Irish pagan calendar. From time immemorial, the feast was held in honor the goddess Brigit, who oversaw childbirth, fertility, good crops, and smith work (also associated with magic). Under the Christian influence, the day also celebrates Saint Brigid, a contemporary of Patricks’ who becomes one of the Church’s most famous feminist leaders (granted, there are not very many who are actually remembered and celebrated).

Brigid (later St. Brigid) became high abbess at Kildare, one of the most important centers of monastic learning anywhere in Ireland. What made it particularly special (though not unique) is that it admitted both men and women. Like many women in the early Irish church, Brigid was ordained, likely as a Bishop, and in that role ordained other clergy (think on that for a moment…).  

The founding of monasteries throughout Ireland was incredibly important for a number of reasons, perhaps most importantly because as the sun went down on the western Roman Empire, libraries and other centers of learning were being deliberately destroyed, civil order broke down, no one was obeying the laws about not killing, stealing, raping or paying taxes. The infrastructure (roads and aquaducts) fell apart, traveling became really dangerous, and no one had time for education or philosophy or speeches. It was the beginning of the so-called Dark Ages.

Meanwhile, Patrick’s converts learned Latin and Greek (which Patrick taught them) and also figured out how to write down all their own Irish myths and stories. Irish was actually 

the first vernacular literature ever written down in the west (as far as anyone knows). These unlikely scholars began to copy whatever books and manuscripts they could get their hands on. Like the Irish today, they were also welcoming of all comers. The Irish democratized history by writing down Irish history/mythology and preserving it for posterity. This was viewed as equally (maybe more?) interesting as the Latin philosophy, oratory, and drama that they spent their days and nights copying over and over. The Irish take on their own history was an inspiration to the foreigners who came in increasing numbers seeking sanctuary from the craziness on the mainland. In this way, much of European folk tales, poetry, and mythology was also recorded, often for the first time.

Not only did the Irish copy 

down words, they illuminated 

their books with incredible artistry

Eventually, the flow reversed and the pilgrims ventured back to found monasteries throughout what we now think of as Western Europe. While the Catholic missionaries unquestionably contributed to the ugliness that was the Middle Ages, these centers of learning did in fact spin a thread between the ancient and modern worlds, preserving much of what survived of Latin literature, along with the traditions associated with reading, writing, and learning.

While the deaths of Julius Caesar and Saint Patrick may not seem to have a lot in common, other than occurring in the middle of March, they are linked by the reach of Rome into what is now England, the adoption of Christianity by another Roman Emperor, and the unlikely savior of much of the learning of that distant Republic. If not for Patrick, the darkness of the dark ages likely would have persisted. If there had been an Enlightenment, it would have been a different sun that provided the light. There would be less to inspire Thomas Jefferson and John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, there would be no city on a hill, no democracy, no debate.  We might well live under an oligarchy, or a dictatorship, without religious or other freedoms. 

So as you lift your glass to toast St. Patrick on Thursday, thank him not only for the Irish, but for saving the western canon.

Excerpt from ‘The Deer’s Cry’, attributed to St. Patrick:

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun,

Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire,

Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind

Depth of sea,

Stability of earth,

Firmness of rock.

¹ This quote, as well as the excerpt from St. Patrick’s prayer, and much of my understanding of St. Patrick and the missions he and his followers established, is based on Thomas Cahill’s ‘How the Irish Saved Civilization’, published in 1995.

Election Year Observations

What follows is a collection of articles and videos that I've shared over the past few months relating to the Democratic and Republic nominating process, and the candidates for their respective parties' nominations, and some of the issues that have been raised. Almost all of this is culled from what I have posted on Facebook, but in the interests of establishing a more thoughtful presence on this blog, here goes. 

I welcome feedback (but please be respectful...)



3-5-16 This very short video of Ted Cruz from his college days speaks for itself. Not that 18 year old boys don't evolve, thank goodness they do, but this one - not so much.
Ted Cruz seeks World Domination

3-3-16 Bernie may not seem to care about Hillary's 'damned emails' but Obama's Attorney General's office seems to... “DOJ does not give immunity without something valuable from a potential target like Bryan Pagliano. The situation just got more precarious,” tweeted Mr. Turley, a law professor at the George Washington University.
Washington Times article on granting immunity to Bryan Pagliano (the guy who set up Hillary's private email system)

3-1-16 This is a long read but is very helpful in understanding just what the hell is going on (to borrow a quote, with ironic intent). This has been shared frequently by friends on FB.
Vox Article on Authoritarianism and the Rise of Trump

2-29-16 This is the widely circulated (i.e., 60 million views) takedown of Trump by John Oliver. It's hilarious and if you haven't seen it, why not?
John Oliver on Trump / Drumpf

2-28-16 Holy Moly... Tulsi Gabbard, 1 of 5 Vice Chairs of DNC until she resigned today to endorse Bernie Sanders, is active in Hawaii National Guard, an American Samoan, a Hindu, and a Congresswoman. Take THAT Hillary Clinton.
Tulsi Gabbard endorses Bernie, steps down from DNC

2-26-16 Alternative reality alert. I think that something is really wrong. Has anyone measured gravity lately, or the speed of light? I think we've gone off the deep end, which might be because the earth is flat, or time travel is possible. The answer may not be 42 after all.
38% of Floridians think it's possible Ted Cruz is Zodiac killer...


2-25-16 Not a direct election year post, but why are the candidates NOT talking about this?
Burn Pits and Veterans' Getting Sick


2-22-16 Just read the wikipedia article on HRC, and I have to say, though I am not a big fan, you have to give the woman credit for breaking down barriers since the start of her professional life, before the White House was even a real possibility for her or even Bill. She has a solid history of making massive strides for women and children world wide (yes I know, welfare reform and other bad shit, but read the article). The list of her accomplishments is impressive. I love Bernie and his passion, and recognize he is tapping in to a deep well of distrust and frustration that the Clintons helped dig, and which makes me want for more from our country. But if you look at Hillary's positives (and not just her negatives), she is pretty amazing. I would suggest to all the Bernie supporters out there to remind yourself of what she has done, read this article, take a deep breath, and be ready to get behind her if Bernie doesn't make it. President Trump is just too awful a possibility.
Wikipedia on Hillary Clinton

2-18-16 More on Scalia's death than on the Presidential race, but they're related... 
"[Scalia] was no more an originalist than the man on the moon. What was originalist about Bush v. Gore? What was originalist about the Second Amendment decision? What was originalist about Citizens United for God’s sake...? We have been regulating campaign contributions since the late 19th century. Where in the Constitution does it say that money is speech? Originalism? Are you kidding me? But in any event, if you believe that, then the president has a solemn responsibility to make a nomination and the Senate has a solemn responsibility to consider it seriously, right?"


2-18-16 Michael Dukakis - love him or hate him, he's right on. The full interview is amazing in its candidness about way more than Scalia, who was his classmate in law school. 

Dukakis on Scalia and the open SCOTUS seat

2-17-16 Inside dope on what might be playing out in the White House in terms of SCOTUS nomination. Very interesting. 
SCOTUS Blog on Obama's Options

2-14-16 Just the Facts Ma'am
SCOTUS Blog on history of court vacancies


"Bad political maneuvering" says former RNC head Michael Steele of the move by

Republicans to block an appointment to SCOTUS. Michael Steele on Republicans 

intransigence over SCOTUS vacancy

2-10-16 I love good infographics. Rowan (14) watched this with me and was blown away.
Income Inequality video

2-10-16 NH Primary Results town by town
NHPR Primary Results by Town

2-9-16 Feminists of a Certain Age. A wonderful read about the pressure for women to vote for Hillary, and why younger women's draw to Bernie is proof of the distance we've actually traversed. Shasta Willson article on Women's (Lack of) Support for Hillary Clinton

2-8-16 Check out this coverage by "The Real News" of the Bernie rally yesterday. Familiar face (i.e., mine) around 2:00 minutes in.
The Real News covers Bernie Rally in Portsmouth, NH

2-8-16 Bernie vs. Hillary in historical context. I begged people to read this before they voted.
Bernie vs Hillary and then a friend urged people to read this one Slate Article on Hillary as better candidate

2-8-16 Plug for a book (I haven't read) on the rise of the Koch Brothers and how their family has ties to Nazi Germany. 
Democracy Now interview with author

2-3-16 I do not think it is a good idea for Hillary to get in a fight with Bernie over who is more progressive. Actually, I don't think this is a good idea for either of them. But if you are interested in who receives the lion's share of lobbying money from Wall Street interests (spoiler alert - it's not Bernie Sanders...), this is where to go . Even if you already get the idea, this is eye opening. It shows just who sponsors that top rated reality show, "Survivor - the POTUS Primary".
Open Secrets on Super PAC support for politicians and POTUS candidates

2-2-16 My little rant on FB after the Iowa caucuses: "I don't understand why they don't look at all the delegate ties in Iowa (i.e., statewide) and give half to one candidate and half to the other. What is the rationale for bringing chance into it? It's embarrassing how undemocratic and just plain butt headed our voting system is. From caucuses to electronic voting fraud to super delegates to brokered party conventions to campaign finance freeforall to winner takes all to the electoral college to voting on TUESDAYS! Who with a straight face can really say this is a democracy? This goes for both parties."

2-2-16 Investing in students who have no money is a good bet, especially because they pay back their loans rather than take huge risks (like Wall Street continues to do) under the correct impression that the feds will just bail them out if they screw up. (I said in response to a meme about Elizabeth Warren saying "If Wall Street can borrow money at 0.75% interest, so can college students. We need to stop treating students as profit centers."


1-30-16 Don Trump on Team America: “We don’t do anything — we’re not good....we’re going to get used to winning again. We’re going to win at the military, we’re going to win at the border, we’re going to win on trade.” His vision is one in which everyone else in the world is either our enemy or our competitor, which is a vision of a dangerous world. It's not smart and it's not safe. 
Salon article on Trump dumbing it down

1-27-16 "The first votes will be cast in Iowa in just eleven days. Anyone who shrugs and claims that change is just too hard has crawled into bed with the billionaires who want to run this country like some private club." Elizabeth Warren. Works for those on both ends of the political spectrum (not so much for those in the middle).

1-27-16 Hillary Clinton is "the most qualified candidate for president of the political system we now have. But Bernie Sanders is the most qualified candidate to create the political system we should have, because he’s leading a political movement for change."

Robert Reich nails it.

Salon article by Robert Reich

1-21-16 Anniversary of SCOTUS decision on Citizens United, which FB grabbed as a fun memory from my wall 5 years earlier. I noted that 'Those were the days, Citizens' United, followed by the sequel, playing now, Citizens Disempowered...' 

2010 NY Times article on Citizens United Decision

1-21-16 A plug for a grassroots campaign to get big money out of politics, in the spirit of one of NH's hero's Granny D (who ran for Senate against Judd Gregg and pulled a surprising chunk of the vote for a protest candidate who was in her 90s at the time. 
Democracy Now interview with Granny D (Dorris Haddock)
Website of NH Rebellion, which keeps up the fight for campaign finance reform

1-21-16 Old Elizabeth Warren interview / video talking about how Hillary got bought. Tells it like it is. Make sure you watch to the end, there is a kicker. So very heartbreaking.
Vimeo video of Sen Elizabeth Warren


1-21-16 Two ads, two visions.
Hillary ad
Bernie Ad

1-19-16 UNH-WMUR poll showing Bernie with a Yuge lead (and my daughter Haley works at the UNH survey center and made some of the calls). 
WMUR/UNH poll of NH voters in advance of NH primary

1-10-16 Wishing Trump was faking it, but this reminds me that he - and we - are part of a bigger, more global picture. Of course.
Guardian take on Trump as to-be-expected

1-1-16 Happy New Year. The first post of the Year is a look-back at the Republican hero Ronald Reagan, whom this Salon author refers to as 'a cipher' in this illuminating article. 
Salon on Reagan