My Fickle Muse

A muse is a mythological entity who helps makes things happen. Traditionally, a muse helps to inspire writers of all sorts - authors, poets, song and music writers. The muse comes and goes, darting around the mind and environment of the creative spirit. My muse seems to come and go more frequently lately - a fickle muse, one who perhaps travels to other venus.

I have a dear old friend, Jack Cook. Jack is a wonderful writer of stories, experiences, history and poetry. He has written books and columns and knows his craft well. Jack and I sometimes ponder and bemoan the disappearance of our inspiration to write, our muse, or muses (perhaps mice) as it were. We complain and sympathise with each other. We become depressed sometimes and even curse the disappearance of the muse.

Now it should be noted that my problem is much bigger than Jack's. He may pause every once in awhile, taking a rest, but his prose and poetry are certainly still there, along with his wealth of experiences. He has been a teacher, a carpenter, a prisoner, an organizer, a father, a barkeep, a keeper of the revolutionary spirit and so much more. Every once in awhile he just needs a break or has to dig a little deeper, or get a jump start of sorts. That's what I tell him anyway.

But the fickle muse does elude us every so often. She/he/it leaves us or just flits around in our heads. There are topics galore. Some are part of stories or beliefs that need to be told. Their telling is, in many ways, imperative. But the muse dances away, sometimes at the most crucial moment. Other stories are bigger, longer term projects that require time and research and thinking. Then there's the music, song, and art, all waiting to be strummed, sung, put to paper or clay and shared with others. Perhaps its all too confusing for my particular muse. Maybe they specialize and mine is just overwhelmed.

Most creative people experience this flight of inspiration. Some shrug it off. Others suffer through it impatiently. Many times there's a bottle of good bourbon or scotch sitting nearby. Something that allows us to wait and ponder as the muse wanders somewhere.

Recently some friends have encouraged me to write more or perhaps write in a more focused way (read book here). I resist. Partly because I think I understand the work involved and the enormity of such a project. But there is a temptation. My fear is the fickle muse and the bottles of bourbon needed to ponder and wait. Having said that, there are stories that should be told. Histories to be recorded and lessons learned. If only I had a more regular muse. We could get some things done.

Donald Trump & Joe McCarthy

I was 10 years old when Sen. Joe McCarthy opened his televised hearings with the goal of rooting out communism in our country. I remember watching the hearings intently. I remember asking my mother what this was all about and why everyone was being so terrible to each other? She didn't have a lot of answers but I knew she wasn't comfortable with what was going on.

As I think about it, this event probably had more to do with my future interest in politics than I knew. It also helped me develop what side I would be on in the future. What the country and I witnessed was bullying, insults and finger pointing. Pressure was put on people to name names, tell stories and provide information about friends and family members. There were questions about what books people read, what music they listened to, what parties they attended and who they associated with. Peoples lives were ruined. There was some outrage but there was also fear and sadly there were many people who went along with the whole process.

J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI, was also watching. He watched very closely and learned as well as taught. Joe McCarthy provided Hoover with cover to 'protect' all of us.

Fast forward to 2016. Donald Trump is talking about 'extreme vetting', creating a commission to root out those among us who are in effect 'un-American', at least in his opinion. He is also talking about 'viscously' removing people from the country who don't meet his, Trump's, loyalty test.

I think Donald Trump is confused about his own country, its constitution and the majority of the people who make it up. I watch his face, his mouth, his expression as he repeats words like 'extreme vetting' and 'vicious actions' as he talks about other people, some immigrants and others, fellow citizens. I see hatred and bigotry as well as real anger in his face. Joe McCarthy had some of these same looks, especially when he thought he had the American people behind him. Finally though, decency won out. A word of caution - it could have gone the other way and in fact, people like Hoover took the message and the activity behind closed doors and into the dark. For those who didn't witness that part of history, be watchful. It's easy to slip back into those very dark places where all of our freedom is at risk. Sadly I fear there are 10 year olds today wondering what this is all about and why everyone is being so terrible to each other.

"Lock Her Up" Chant Was Only The Beginning

There has been some fear about the direction of political discourse over the past year. Things do become heated in political campaigns. They always have and probably always will. No one party can claim a mantel of good, clean, calm language over the years. Sometimes however, the language of campaigns can be one of the greatest tests of leadership.

A few weeks ago the Republicans had their chance to gather in Cleveland, Ohio and scream, hoot and holler about their opponent and the state of the country. They took advantage of the opportunity. As they gathered to nominate their candidate and build support for his candidacy. They, their party and the candidate himself were well aware of criticisms about a political movement that looks and feels, at times, like fascism. It certainly doesn't help when video images show people raising their arms and shouting various chants of support. These images remind us of other movements in history.

It gets worse however when an audience of delegates to a national political party start chanting of their opponent "Lock Her Up, Lock Her Up". What these folks seem to have forgotten is that they were participating in a really important part of the democratic process - selecting their candidate and stating their case for political ideas. Instead we were reminded of a Banana Republic, mob rule and vigilantes.

Whatever you think of Hillary Clinton and the controversy surrounding her emails, she deserves what every other citizen deserves which is due process, not mob rule. Language and leadership really do matter. Crowds getting whipped up due to enthusiasm for their candidate is natural and as old as the political process itself. What people chant and how leaders react are things that can be controlled.

Now Donald Trump has crossed whatever lines are left, with a wink, a nod and a suggestion that 2nd amendment people may be able to deal with Hillary Clinton. He has disqualified himself as a candidate for President. He's probably broken the law, he's an embarressment and he's dangerous. He doesn't care about what he says, or worse, what people hear. He has raised the specter of violence wth his talk of rigged elections and 2nd amendment threats.

The Wonders Of Nature

The area I live in, like so many others right now is struggling through a dry, a very dry season. I'm lucky to be able to draw water from a beautiful, large lake. For the past few weeks I've been watering flower gardens, trees and shrubs to keep things alive, fresh and colorful. I'm amazed at what I see and experience during this simple task that takes me around my yard each morning.

Here are just a few examples. Three magnificent Osprey calling out to each other, or to me or to an enemy, high above, flying in circles. Wings spread with white underbellies, coasting along with the wind. The neighborhood Humming Bird, in full rest, on a wire across my driveway, contemplating the nectar from a red flower in the distance. The Honey Bee drinking from the birdbath as I'm filling it with fresh water, getting caught in a whirlpool and floating over the edge to the ground. There I watch as the bee flaps and dries its wings in the grass, taking off a minute later. The Butterflies, Grasshoppers and Crickets are out in force, moving between blossoms or from stem to stem, reacting to the sprinkles of water. One of many cats, sitting, watching me and the movement of the hose and waiting for her chance to stand at the birdbath and drink fresh, cool water.

I decide to spray a tall tree to hydrate its leaves and as I look up, close to a puffy cloud I see a huge dark spot. I look closer and see the white feathers on the fan of the tail. There it is in all of its beauty, a Bald Eagle soaring, gliding above my house and Seneca Lake. No flapping of wings. Pure and simple soaring in circular patterns.

Every morning there's something new to see, if I take the time to look for and see these wonders of nature.

Partisanship, Protests and Tactics

Protests have become pretty common place over the past few months. There's no shortage of causes, issues or injustices. Plus, protesting has a long and important history throughout civilization and in our country. There are those who try to present protest as their own concept of democracy and their constitution, but truth be told, the concept of protest goes as far back as humanity and its earliest development. Tactics have evolved and changed along with all of us and all of the things we do.

In the many movements that I'm aware of, there have always been tactical discussions, sometimes arguments and even splits among participants. Protests start as a reaction to something and evolve into discussions about how to best react to the identified issue. Some affected individuals feel more strongly then others and inevitably some, who may not even be affected, join in to manipulate the activity and ultimately the outcome. It's an old story and will continue to be repeated as time churns on.

All of this is worth a discussion as we face issues today around the environment, economic fairness, the US Presidential election, guns and violence to name just a few issues.

I come from a tradition of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience. The kind of protest practiced by and encouraged by Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, Cesar Chavez and many more. These leaders of the nonviolent movement understood both the moral and tactical aspects of their acts of civil disobedience and non cooperation with civil authorities. They understood that their actions in many cases would lead to their arrest and jail sentences, some significant and others minimal.

Although there are still some leaders and believers in non violent civil disobedience, there seem to be many more who view protest and the protest movement as confrontational in nature, stoking violence and participating themselves in violent responses. We can usually predict the outcome. Violence begets violence and the cycle continues.

Too much shouting, too much name calling, too much closed mindedness for me. I tend to believe that a non violent response to violence has a major impact on the perpetrator of violence as well as on the audience viewing the violence. That's its power. Public opinion and authorities in power can and have been swayed by non violent actions.

But in todays environment of confrontational protests, audiences, authorities and even participants become confused over positions and support. It is easy to find fault with everyone and as a result the status quo continues. The status quo of yelling past each other, not taking any time to listen, raising fists, etc. We'd all be better off taking a little more time to step back and talk to each other.

Bigotry, Lying and Stream of Consciousness

We've all been witnessing the debates, the rallies, the conventions, the interviews, protests and everything else associated with the Presidential election in the U.S. We've also seen history. There have been historical events that have helped identify the moral compass of the world. There have also been historical events that have helped identify the moral compass of the U.S. These things include the rise of Hitler, the atrocities of the Holocaust, the use of nuclear weapons in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the spectacle of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the Nixon tapes and Watergate. When I say moral compass I would emphasis a notion of and a recognition of the times when people decided, usually after the fact, the importance of speaking up about injustice, immorality and hate.

So here we are in 2016. The reality is that we have a candidate for the highest office in the country who is promoting bigotry on various levels and who, based on his own words, lies and changes stories about his own history, beliefs and accomplishments. The challenge is, as it always has been, are there people willing to condemn not just the language of one man but in reality, the movement he's created.

I think it's important to be clear. This candidate is a bigot. He's proven it over and over again. His statements about Mexicans, Muslims and immigrants in general. He seems to be able to lie without any effort and with no sense of remorse or apology. In some cases he seems to be proud of his lies. Most disturbing though are his stream of consciousness rants, where people, real people are subjected to his hateful speech and attacks. Journalists, political figures, parents of soldiers, immigrants and so many more, are subjects of his hatred.

We sit and wonder, how can this be? Where did he come from? Who is he speaking for? Sadly it is us. He came from us, our own insecurity, fear and mistrust. He speaks for so many who feel as though the world has left them behind. He is a fear monger in a time when fear is rampant. He is a divider.

All I know is that people who believe in justice, freedom and peace must speak out.

The Real Apprentice - Donald Trump

Apprentice - a person who is learning a trade from a skilled employer, having agreed to work for a fixed period at low wages. Synonyms: trainee, learner, probationer, novice, beginner, starter, cadet, tenderfoot.

Who knew that a reality show would play out in real time, with real people, running for President of the United States? Perhaps Donald Trump? But here we are, less then 100 days before a national election and the GOP somehow decided to back, support and hire an apprentice as their candidate for the highest office in the country.

Everyday Donald Trump proves that he is in fact, an apprentice, as well as all of the synonyms associated with the word. Worse yet, he proves that he is not doing well in the role. All that's missing is someone, a mentor and skilled employer, and some process to tell the candidate that in fact, he's fired. It is a cop out to say that will be done by the electorate. The GOP went through a process and ended up with Trump as their candidate but if the leadership of the party truly cares about the continuation of the GOP, they need to come up with some type of solution to stop the destruction of their own organization. It is unchartered territory but a withdrawal of the candidate may make sense.

You can renounce statements and positions but eventually this apprentice needs to be fired.