Future Amnesia

Denying food to the hungry, shelter to the unhoused, health care to the poor, and civil rights to all; while transferring the savings from this parsimony (and more) to those with the most, who need it least.  

Thousands of people who have been drawn to our land by our long-standing promises of sanctuary, fairness, and the promise of a better life--even some who have lived here and contributed for decades--are kidnapped and deported to hell-holes even more dangerous than the ones they fled to reach our shores.  Denying these captives of an opportunity to defend themselves - even a writ of habeas corpus, the most basic of civil rights under two-thousand-year-old Common Law.   

Doing all this while weekly finding assurance within the walls of a church; feigning worship of a God who clearly condemns their every workweek action; yet finding validation from a preacher who wouldn't dare to call out their blasphemy, for fear that the jingling in the offering basket might be silenced.  

We have been here before.  

One day, our nation will awaken to the cruelties being committed in our name, and end them ... 

And the next day Republican school boards across our land will create curricula that will prevent the history being created today from being taught tomorrow.

Bill Moyers' Passing

I think it may be a bit self-indulgent to feel like it was like a punch in the gut when I learned a few minutes ago the Bill Moyers has died.  He was ninety-one years old, and has shared from the depths of his soul for his entire life.  It is time to let him rest, rather than be envious of whatever thoughts he might have left unshared at the end of his time.  

One of the last television shows I would try to schedule around was Bill Moyers Journal on PBS.  He would interview guests I had never heard of, but would seek out once I learned of them.  His extended conversations with Joseph Campbell are such a treasure-trove of insight on mythology, showing commonalities of the elements of the heroic narrative that spans cultures, and unites humanity.  The way they shared their conversation invited the listener to be part of it.  It really conveyed a feeling of oneness with humanity.  

As brilliant as Bill Moyers was, it was never his intent to display his intellect, but to facilitate our visit into the intellect and imagination of the guest he was interviewing.  It's been a while, but I've enjoyed many hours hiking in the woods, with the volume my earbuds set so I could hear my footsteps, and the squirrels, but also take in the insights of  conversations like this one, with Campbell.  

Moyers & Campbell