Category Archives: political division

poem: ex-president X sounds pleasant in our mouth and in our ear

Posted on by
Reply
poem: ex-president X sounds
pleasant in our mouth and in

our ear

the new moniker for the man
whose name is never said
referring not just to one
small man’s official title but also
to their enormous responsibilities

ex-president X was thrust shocked
into our brain resulting
in trauma and toxic shock syndrome
sickening the minds of millions
and radicalizing millions more

like the X factor
ex-president X was
inexplicable and unknowable
bombastic evil personified
and a shadow upon the land

there must never be
another such assault
in our system politic
posing such a threat to
our sanity and way of life

less stalwart souls
and discerning minds
are lost and flummoxed
and the most fragile perish
from the incompetence

now ex-president X is removed
from the world stage
a bad actor and two bit con
flubbing his lines
bombing another gig

may he live out his life
in ignominy and loneliness
far from the world stage
a history lesson learned
never to be repeated

ex-president X rolls
off the tongue, is pleasant
in our ears, and timely
so that the grieving, lamenting,
accountability, and healing begin

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 22, 2021

photo by The Columbia Dispatch
‘The Maddened Crowd’

poem: ode to our nation on inauguration day 2021

Posted on by
2

 

poem: ode to our nation on inauguration day 2021

today our nation
inaugurates our 46th.
president and vice president
Joe and Kamala
who feel like family
Papa and Auntie

after the past four years
of a president and his administration
bullying its’ citizens
undermining our rights
eroding our democracy
empowering domestic terrorist
cutting off world allies
causing death and confusion in a pandemic
and leading an insurrection
we citizens of good conscience
find some relief and optimism again

fellow Americans
let us come together
in confession, repentance, and reconciliation
healing one another and our nation
that we will finally do the hard work
of forming a more perfect union together

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 20, 2021
Inauguration Day

Photo credits: Vox, AP, AFP

Reflection: Our nation is setting a dangerous precedent with untenable consequences for all its’ citizens

Posted on by
Reply
Reflection: Our nation is setting a dangerous precedent with untenable consequences for all its’ citizens

As citizens, we need more protections against Presidents, and other elected officials, who prove to be mentally unstable, including sociopathic narcissist with fascist tendencies, who brainwash and radicalize others through constant hateful lies and disinformation, and who incite others to violence against our government through seditious speech and acts of insurrection.

While the outgoing president may eventually face legal culpability for his crimes while in office, we have had to endure four years of his undermining and attacking our democratic principles as a nation resulting in serious damage to our psyches, our souls, and our social order, and the loss of life through incompetence, neglect, and violence.

One problem we have seen is that the majority of politicians can not be depended upon to police and adjudicate other politicians because they are chiefly guided by their own political self interest, including electability, over the principles of ethics and laws. These politicians are true Machiavellians in their ideology which is called ‘godless. scheming, and self -interested’ in Machiavelli’s book, “The Prince,” which is one of the first works concerning politics and ethics ever written. Apparently things have not changed much as to the behavior of politicians since that book was written in 1513.

Our Constitutional and democratic processes have been put to a severe test which has revealed untenable outcomes in the four year term of a person elected, with outside, foreign influence, to the office of president and who was never fit, and is incompetent, to fulfill that high office with all the powers and influence it commands.

This whole debacle in its’ smoldering aftermath must be reviewed with the objective of not repeating the errors and oversights that led to the election of the outgoing unfit president, and other elected officials, and of identifying triggers and safeguards, and consequences against sitting presidents, and other elected officials, that call for more ready accountability for those who are unfit and who incite anti-democracy radicalization, sedition, and violence.

We are witnessing a trainwreck in the history of our democracy which threatens its survival, and those of us who believe in the non-violent transforming of our democracy to include all persons in a more perfect union, must resist and turn back these dangerous precedents and untenable consequences before it is too late.

Let the hard work begin!

Reflection: Writing about the Insurrection and other national traumas of the past four years and writing to know what I believe

Posted on by
Reply

Reflection: Writing about the Insurrection and other national traumas of the past four years and writing to know what I believe

The tagline, “I write to know what I believe”, comes from my poetry blog where I post all my original writing. This has never been so true as for me now.

As I grapple with the recent onslaught of the insurrection and the other trauma of the past four years, I can not help but grieve for the great mortification and ignominy that has been visited upon our nation and its peoples. And thus I write about it. I have written several things recently and posted them, and they have received little response which I attribute to the suffering, shock, and discomfort each of us are dealing with at this time.

In my life I have learned that the worldly and personal suffering visited upon us must be sat with, grieved, and we must cry out and process it before the revisioning and healing can begin. And so I write which is my way to engage all of this and eventually, hopefully, work through it for myself. Sharing our stories, I believe, is the greatest gift one can give and receive, and it is always my hope someone may find my writings helpful in their own journey of authentic becoming and belonging.

Beloveds, I see you and hear you and encourage each of us to collectively share the pain now so we may come together in healing and reconciliation at the appropriate time. First we have much work to do, including accountability, confession, repentance and revisioning before we can heal and reconcile. As for me, I shall continue writing it out towards that end. Much to do! Let us bear one another up and love one another!!

poem: the president that never was suffers his apocalypse

Posted on by
Reply
poem: the president that never was
suffers his apocalypse

the president that never was
upon leading an insurrection
at the U.S. Capitol resulting
in five deaths, numerous injuries,
destruction, and desecration

will be be flushed
from his bunker where
the hounds of hell await him
constantly nipping at his bloody heels
as he attempts his escape

and purged from our system,
vomited out, so that the bloody
vultures of history nibble at his
bones, picking them clean, for as
long as he may persist

for his skulduggery and demonic madness
resulting in evil and criminal behavior
which toxicity has crazed millions
a holding cage awaits so that his chant
‘lock ‘em up’ rings in his ears eternally

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 10, 2021

image: ‘The Flag of the Traitor’ by the New York
Times

(reader’s note: A poem of social injustice
and losing our souls. This is the hell that awaits
anyone who puts themself above all else for
their own selfish, private gain. When we become
so separated from the Cosmic Consciousness
and lost in our soul, we suffer in agony and
bring that suffering upon others. In this poem,
I vent my outrage at the events of the past four
years that have allowed a man of such incompetence
and madness to so destroy our nation culminating
in an act of treason which has poisoned the mind
of millions and who is yet to be held responsible for
his crimes. Now is not the time for a stiff upper
lip or silence. We must speak truth to power
and do the hard work of containing this madness.
Only deep personal and collective redemption
and transformation will lead us to reconciliation
now and save our souls and that of our nation.)

Reflection: The White Nationalist Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the Scourge of Privileged Exceptionalism

Posted on by
Reply

Reflection: The White Nationalist Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the Scourge of Privileged Exceptionalism

There are two very significant social/cultural mechanisms at play in the white terrorist attack upon the United States Capitol which can help us all understand better what happened, why it happened, and what is to come of it.

One is that the insurrection demonstrates the threat of the raw power and control of a populist narcissistic fascist figure in their ability to brainwash and command control of others who share their toxic values which are always self serving and always end in violence.

Populism is always framed as an ‘us vs. them’ conflict and contains two primary claims: 1) a country’s ‘true people’ are locked in conflict with outsiders, including establishment elites, and 2) nothing should constrain the will of the ‘true people.’ (reference: https://institute.global/policy/populists-power-around-world)

Populism is always a threat to democracy and there are always people susceptible to its’ appeal ‘to fight the elites as one of the true people.’ This brings to mind Benjamin Franklin’s answer, which is so relevant now, when he was asked if we have a monarchy or a republic, and he responded, “a republic if you can keep it.”

Second, the insurrection, and the weak, disorganized response to it demonstrates the ugly truth of white supremacy in the United States, and its’ continuing toxic legacy of hate, social injustice, and violence directed to black Americans.

Robert Jones Jr., author of ‘The Prophets’ and creator of the social justice media site ‘Son of Baldwin,’ puts it this way: “White supremacy ensures that white folks violence is always framed around “rights” and black folks violence is always framed around “crime.” This is so evidently true as witnessed in the law enforcement response to Black Lives Matter nonviolent protest earlier this year and its response to the white supremacist movement involved in the insurrection at the United States Capitol. BLM non-violent protesters, viewed as criminals, are meet with overwhelming law enforcement force, violence, and arrest while law enforcement’s encounters with white supremacist are much more careful to not infringe upon their ‘rights as citizens.’

Bottom line, populism and white supremacy are two of democracies biggest threats. Those that wrongly adhere to these movements will always exist calling for perpetual vigilance by those who wish to keep our republic guided by authentic democratic principles guaranteeing the liberty and rights of all people. We must forever repudiate the sickness of privileged exceptionalism, and as guardians of democracy must ever resist, at every turn, the forces that perpetuate these evils upon others using non-violent means to disrupt their organization and influence through , as John Lewis would say, ‘engaging in good trouble’ for the common good of all who love democracy and wish to see it reach its’ most full potential.
Doing our part as social/cultural change agents and activist for social justice, let us each awaken from our somnambulance and prepare the way for the common good of all peoples loving democracy!

poem: new years eve post-apocalyptic blues and authentic new beginnings

Posted on by
Reply

preface: Beloveds, when I write a poem
like this one, of social criticism, hard truths,
suffering, difficult emotions, I am concerned
many will just pass it by with no thought, as a
downer. Who wants to read that stuff? My
hope is that such poems might challenge
our thinking, might unite us in shared
experience, might shake us awake, might spark
new insights  into the challenges we all face
together in authentic communities of belonging.
And a reminder, the redemption comes at the end so
please read it all the way through. Peace upon
peace, dear ones, for a better year we have earned.

poem: new years eve post-apocalyptic blues
and authentic new beginnings
on the eve of  the new year 2021
wondering if the apocalypse has
already happened and we are
just to numb to notice

this talk about the lessons
we can learn from the pandemic
and its’ new normal and how
we will be the better for it

to be a victim of the machine
and its’ broken systems
in which we are but a cog
is maddening and a tragedy

let us count the ways:
a terrorist bombing in Nashville
which could have been prevented
leading to a communications blackout
due to corporate greed and inaction;
a pandemic due to a reality show
president so incompetent he broke the
public health system;
a broken medical system swamped by
viral death;
alt-right anarchist riots sowing discord
and chaos across the nation;
police killing blacks and treating
black protestors like criminals;
and the count goes on

please, no more platitudes
no more stiff upper lip
no more too numb to notice
no more waiting for the  new normal

let us be witnesses
speaking our truth to power,
authentically belonging together
taking action, being the change
for a better world, you are the
only one who can change you
and acting together, we the world

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
New Years Eve 2020

Thoreau quote image made by Herb Stone

Reflection: Richard Rohr on our apocalyptic times and our need for a stabilizing spiritual practice over the next four months (and always)

Posted on by
Reply

Reflection: Richard Rohr on our apocalyptic times and our need for a stabilizing spiritual practice over the next four months (and always)

(with thanks and respect to my patron saint, Gertrud Nelson for sharing Richard’s words with me)

“We are without doubt in an apocalyptic time (the Latin word apocalypsis refers to an urgent unveiling of an ultimate state of affairs). Yeats’ oft-quoted poem “The Second Coming” then feels like a direct prophecy. See if you do not agree:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

……..

Stand as a sentry at the door of your senses for these coming months, so “the blood-dimmed tide” cannot make its way into your soul.

If you allow it for too long, it will become who you are, and you will no longer have natural access to the “really deep well” that Etty Hillesum (Dutch author of the Nazi persecution of Jews in Amsterdam and who was killed in Auschwitz) returned to so often and that held so much vitality and freedom for her.

If you will allow, I recommend for your spiritual practice for the next four months that you impose a moratorium on exactly how much news you are subject to—hopefully not more than an hour a day of television, social media, internet news, magazine and newspaper commentary, and/or political discussions. It will only tear you apart and pull you into the dualistic world of opinion and counter-opinion, not Divine Truth, which is always found in a bigger place.

Instead, I suggest that you use this time for some form of public service, volunteerism, mystical reading from the masters, prayer—or, preferably, all of the above.

You have much to gain now and nothing to lose. Nothing at all.
And the world—with you as a stable center—has nothing to lose.”

photos: Gertrud Nelson, my patron saint
Richard Rohr (who I read widely) with my dear, late friend and spiritual teacher Jeff Blake

Thank you God for friends and teachers like these💓

Reflection: God by whatever name vis-a-vis American partisan politics

Posted on by
Reply

Reflection: God by whatever name vis-a-vis American partisan politics

Consider this beloveds: God, by whatever name you call God, does not give a big fig about American partisan politics of either party. In the Cosmic picture your personal partisan political beliefs just are not that big a deal in any way other than they are soul killers. Only your ego makes you think they are so important which then is idolatry because you are identifying God as being like you and liking the things you like (like being a Republican or Democrat) and disliking the things you dislike such as the opposite political party. Balderdash! You are defining a God much too small. According to God come down to man, the Son of Man, Jesus, and his manifest Universal Cosmic Christ consciousness, as the Son of God, God has a plan for us, and it was Jesus mission as taught through the Gospel message which involves the singular politics of God’s kin-dom (Kingdom) vis-a-vis the human Empires of this earth. God’s kin-dom plan opposes the partisan, divisive, oppressive politics of the Empire of man and is, in fact, an alternative community vision of man grounded in neighborliness, radical grace, and radical love for one another. And Jesus, the Universal Cosmic Christ, manifested this vision on earth and taught this lesson in the ‘good news’ of his Gospel message expressed so well in the Beatitudes, his highest commandment, the Sermon on the Mount, and his teaching of the disciples to pray. God’s politics is neither personal nor partisan; quite the contrary it is universal bringing all together for the good of all beings. Get over your small self and the Truth will set us all free!

Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
September 17, 2020