His Fans Like Him, His Detractors Do Not, but Trump is No Victim

People get to like, respect, agree with, admire, worship, and/or wish to emulate the 45th POTUS (I currently do none of those things but am open to future, joyful surprises). What people DO NOT get to do is say that people's mistrust of him or response to his antics are unfair or unprecidented. We are no where near the point of questioning his citizenship, which a previous president had to endure.

And, even if one were to dig him deeply, that same one must surely understand why feminists, same-gender loving people, transgender/gender queer/two spirit/nonbinary folk, Latinx, Muslim, people whose lives depend on having access to health insurance, environmentalists, people who fear he colluded with a foreign power, and people terrified of the possibility of nuclear war would perhaps not share that admiration of him.

I will say, the last two presidents have shared one thing in common - both have been suspected of practiciing religions which they do not...Islam (44) and Christianity (45), respectively. 45 was Baptized into a Protestant tradition (but then, so was his predecessor); however, to claim a kinship with the evangelical right is politically expedient for him but has not been the witness of his life (or speech) lo these last 7 decades.

In any case, people are entitled to like him (we tend to like the people who reflect who we are or who reflect the sort of person we wish to be), but they are not entitled to paint him in any way as a victim. Without experience, relevant preparation, or even the majority of the popular vote he became the most powerful man in the world. He arguably may have victims, but he is in no way or by any credible definition a victim himself.

Help Us Be Better (Prayer in Response to the Mass Shooting in Las Vegas)

Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Immaculate Heart of Mary,

Quan Yin, 

Lord Krishna,

Angels of grace and mercy...

We are all so tired.

We are tired of being angry.

We are tired of being afraid.

We are tired of feeling helpless.

We are tired of the cult of greed.

We are tired people being targeted for who they are.

We are tired of fighting.

We are tired of having our health care, our education, our wages, our relationships, our dignity being constantly threatened.

We are tired of mad men with WMDs acting as if human lives were pieces on a chess board. 

We are certainly tired of people by the dozens being mowed down in our streets, in our schools, in our cinemas and hotels. 

We are tired of being tired. 

We made and/or allowed this mess. It’s probably up to us to fix it. But to do that, we’ll need more hope, more compassion, more courage, more resilience, more wisdom, more commitment to higher, better ways...that’s where you come in, symbols of compassion, faces of love...

We dare not ask you to magically repair what we are unwilling to address, but perhaps you can inspire us, encourage us, whisper words of sanity, of healing, of determination to our hearts; somehow, in some way, maybe you will help us do what we have been unwilling to do so far. Help us be better. Inspire us to do better. And when we finally get our shit together, then add your blessings to our efforts. 

We’re tired. But we must do something about this chaos. So cheer us on if and when we collectively decide that we are better than this, that we deserve better than this, that we will no longer settle for this...this chaos, this pain, this madness. 

Help us help ourselves.

Help us help one another. 

Help us get motivated to mend what is broken, to nurture what is weak, to dream and work and move toward better days. 

Help us become the miracle that we need.

Amen. (dw)

I Sometimes Miss the Magic

I sometimes miss the magic.
Mystery, Wonder, and Hope remain close companions but Magic visits less and less in recent years.
Maybe I’ll find some old pixie dust or faded wizard’s robe in the back of a drawer or cupboard that will bring the magic back. Mine has become a reasonable faith, a humanistic spirituality and it serves me well and I share it passionately, but a leprechaun’s gold coin, a glimpse of a unicorn, or even a quick rent-a-ride on a flying carpet would be welcome. I think I’ll check those drawers and cupboards now. (dw)

Will & Grace as Good Medicine in the Time of Trump

If what W&G was meant to do was recapture a bygone moment, then it was not quite successful. If it was meant to help a generation reconnect with old icons, it came closer to the mark. But, if it was meant to provide a catharsis in a devastating, depressing, dystopian moment in American history, then it may prove to be the most important television offering of the Fall. 

When a group is hurting, feels powerless, and is routinely dehumanized, an age old coping mechanism is to fight back with fantasy, with camp, with humor, and with burlesque. If we can laugh at pain, we can endure it. If we can wink at hopelessness, we can resurrect hope. If we can imagine the Beast being defeated, we can transcend some of our fear of the Beast (the monster, the ghosts, the demons, the little green folk with ray guns, etc.). 

Transgender folk in military targeted? Mention Caitlin Jenner in charades.

DOJ suggests gay folk are not protected by civil rights laws? Jacks makes out with a Secret Service agent.

45 cozies up to the homophobic religious right? Grace leaves a Make America Gay Again hat in the Oval. 

The struggle will be long and arduous; a little laughter and self affirmation will help us endure it...and will also remind us what the struggle is for and why we cannot give up.

Comedy reboot = B minus.

Social Commentary = A minus.

Much needed healing catharsis = A PLUS.

Thank you Will & Grace (& Karen and Jack)!

Grieving the loss of the U.S.

I'm usually an optimist...but less so today. I'm grieving the loss of the U.S.

I feel like I'm approaching the "acceptance" stage of grief. I have been in denial and I have bargained with the gods of justice and sanity, but I'm seriously close (at least today) to just throwing up my hands and saying, "It is what it is."

White supremacists are no longer the crazy uncle or the evil neighbor or the fictional movie character...they are now running the show. Homophobia has practically become a religion. We have declared war on the poor, the sick, and on the planet. We act as if science is just one more opinion that we can take or leave. Transgender people serving their country with honor are summarily dismissed on a whim. Families can be ripped apart if they are brown, religions can be vilified if their Prophet is from Mecca rather than Nazareth, someone who applied for multiple draft deferments feels entitled to insult war heroes, couragious people who claim their right to peaceful protest have their patriotism questioned, a constitutional scholar can become president and have his faith and citizenship questioned and be replaced by the very person who so ridiculously questioned them! Someone can brag about groping women without their consent and that doesn't hurt his political ambitions, we are closer to nuclear war since anytime since the Bay of Pigs, Nazis are said to include "good people" while athletes of color protesting white supremacy are called "sons of bitches" by the most powerful person in the world - who, btw, is the same person associating with and defending Nazis! If this is really who we are, then we deserve the comeuppance which is surely at hand.

It's too much. It's too depressing. It's too sad. It's too frightening. It's too disgusting. And I'm too weary. This dystopian time will not last forever and sanity will return, but the US will never again be what it was nor what it once perported to strive to become. We will join the burning rubbish heap of history where fallen empires wind up. Our borders will be secure and we will have an economy and education and families...we aren't going away, but the shining city on a hill myth is being ripped from us (and perhaps it was arrogant to hold onto it in the first place).

I'll probably return to denial and bargaining. I hope I do. I pray for such a resurrection of hope and determination. But right now, I'm afraid it's over for us, for the US. I'm afraid that I'm dangerously close to accepting the seemingly inevitable. The angels will defeat the beast (according to the Christian apocalyptic myth), but the angels seem to be getting a pretty severe ass whipping for the time being. And that makes me very sad. God helps us.

The Power of a Bent Knee

I've never qualified as a sports fan (unless you count Buffy the Vampire Slayer fight scenes as a contact sport), but current events have made me much more aware of all kinds of things and people about which I used to be totally ignorant. For example, I now know who Colin Kaepernick is...and I'm glad I do. He is courageous, maybe even heroic, and in the most peaceful of ways he has reminded us of what is right, what it means to be American, and what our constitution guarantees us. By kneeling he has stood for human rights. He has inspired reflection, dialogue, and peaceful activism. Still not quite a sports fan, but I have definitely become a Kaepernick fan.

Navigating the Difficulties

NAVIGATING THE DIFFICULTIES 

The storms. Mother Nature crying out in pain. Climate change, and those who reject the evidence of it. Fires. Earthquakes. The threat of war. People terrified of losing lifesaving healthcare. Xenophobia. The normalization of blatant racism. Demonization of same-gender loving people. Dehumanization of gender non-conforming, gender queer, and transgender people. Islamaphobia. Anti-Semitism. Inexperience and ineptitude in high places. And this is all in addition to personal difficulties, uncertainties, regrets, and fears which might seem daunting enough without angst on a global level. 

How to find peace in the midst of the chaos? How to hold onto faith, or at very least, hope? 

For me, this is where spirituality comes to the rescue. I turn to my sacred texts and I find Joseph recovering from betrayal, false accusations, abandonment and not only surviving but thriving and helping others do so as well. I see Jacob wrestling with the unknown and refusing to give up until he receives a blessing. I see Ruth widowed and in distress but finding ways to survive and take care of her loved ones. I see Jesus having love for Lazarus that death itself could not sever. I see Hagar crying because she has been exploited and abandoned by a powerful man and is alone in a desert facing almost certain death when suddenly she finds a well in the wilderness and a friendly community and her life is saved and takes on new meaning. The sacred stories remind me that difficulties are part of life, but so is navigating them and finding new opportunities and renewed joy. 

The faith community is also a source of strength for me. We pray together, sing together, laugh together, cry together...TOGETHER. We're never alone. We don't have to face anything in isolation. 

And in addition to stories and community, spirituality gives me the gift of prayer. Prayer for me is an inward experience, an embrace of high ideals, a immersion in hope, a summoning of strength, a moment to draw from the well of peace, a reminder that there are possibilities that we may yet see and seize. Prayer also reminds me that I am part of a larger life that cannot be diminished by any situation or circumstance. 

Maybe some of us are feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. There are many ways to navigate the difficulties. My primary way is to engage and depend on my spirituality: my sacred texts, my loving community, and the comforting power of prayer. My prayer in this moment is that those facing the storms of life discover within themselves an abundance of peace, hope, courage, and comfort. Amen.  (dw)