Modern Abolitionists – All
I remember trout fishing in the mountains just east of Salt Lake City when we lived there in the ’60s. Beautiful, clear, achingly cold streams in mountain valleys so picturesque you almost didn’t care if you caught any fish at all. The prize might well have been just breathing in the view along with the cool, clean air. One hot afternoon I followed a small feeder stream away from the river I had been fishing. About a hundred yards or so up the ravine the small stream literally disappeared under a dark, thick wall of shrubs and scrub oak. I spread some branches apart, almost like a curtain, and peered in, finding a dimly lit, shady glen with a likely looking pool to fish. I’ve always thought of stream fishing for trout kind of like making magic. You have to get to the water without the trout seeing you, or even feeling the vibration of your footsteps. It’s almost like slipping inside a big bubble so carefully that the bubble doesn’t break as you pass through the membrane. Quietly, slowly, I stepped through the growth and into the glen, approaching the pool on cat’s feet. The spot was dark and cool, but before I had gone a few steps I quickly discovered that unlike the rest of the entire State, this particular spot was filled with hungry, ravenously hungry, mosquitoes. In fact, even on a hot, humid, cloudy afternoon fishing for Wisconsin brookies, I’ve never had so many mosquitoes on me as I did that instant. Needless to say, I was out of there in a flash, and to my pleasant surprise, the mosquitoes stayed in their version of mosquito hell. Not a one followed me out, a happy ending.
Today the shady wall behind which exceptional wealth lives has turned transparent with the advent of the present administration. Perhaps I judge too harshly, but I believe they are examples of today’s slave holders. I fail to see their humanity anywhere I look. If we are wealthy, we can buy our citizenship with a Golden Pass for a cool $5 million. But if we are poor and desperate enough to leave our homes, and take whatever risk to get here with hope in our hearts for a better, safer life, we are called criminals, taken from our jobs and homes to wind up in Panamanian resettlement centers, or Guantanamo Bay. There is no love for humanity in this, no recognition of the human family here, no human solidarity at all. When we are blinded by money, we lose our moral compass and become lost in a jungle far deeper than the Darien Gap.
Federal workers, our Veterans, our neighbors, men and women doing the work that makes our country run, workers, proudly paying their bills, feeding their families, buying homes and a future have suddenly become corrupt, or lazy and inept. Even though paying the federal workforce is only 4 to 5% of our budget, it is here that the Administration’s red chainsaw cuts with glee. When workers get pushed around like plastic pawns and don’t jump to their owner’s commands, their “pulse” needs to be checked, and the number of neurons in their heads reduced to one or two. This is slave owner talk; these are slave owner tactics. Slave owners put money ahead of human worth. Is this what we really admire? What we really want to emulate? Where do we stand? Will we speak out? Will we demand change? This is our moment, America. Stand up for the humane Country we grew up in.
I’m not a supporter of war, never have been. I believe in peace and cooperation. Sadly for the brave people of Ukraine, President Zelenskyy will eventually likely cede more of their precious territory to Russia in exchange for security from another invasion. But the attempt to publicly humiliate him in front of the world only humiliated us. Most of the rest of the world was revolted. Not very long-ago President Zelenskyy rode wave after wave of praise and standing ovations in speeches before both the House and Senate. Suddenly, tag teamed by our President and VP, we have turned our backs on him and his people. Anyone else who sought safety under our shield was clearly, crudely abandoned. Everyone around the world immediately understood this message.
Are you a modern-day abolitionist, opposed to slave holding and division? We must use the power of our voices. Our legislators need to hear from us often and unflinchingly. We also have the power of the purse. We can reduce our spending to the bare minimum. This is the time to stop shopping, for buying only absolute necessities – to send our own message to wealth. We are ALL related, and together we can reclaim our love for one another, our respect for one another, our proud protection of one another. Let’s support one another, instead of shopping. This transcends politics, and it transcends, racial and gender differences. This is how we retain our humanity. If I was able to escape mosquito hell, we can surely break free of the pettiness of division. We can rise as one in support of “liberty and JUSTICE for all.”