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Monthly Archives: January 2021
quote: “The Outsider prophet…..”
Reflection: Our nation is setting a dangerous precedent with untenable consequences for all its’ citizens
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!
quote: “Let us make our existence…..”
poem: pilgrim, poet, prophet reincarnate
poem: pilgrim, poet, prophet reincarnate
once upon a time, I was a pilgrim
sailing the world upon a great ship
whence shipwrecked and wounded,
holy monks restoreth me body and soul
hence my seeking and calling, cometh
the mystic hermit monk of the
glen, the glade, the dell near the rivers edge
and its’ rituals of contemplating and cleansing
thence comes the poet of here and now,
liberating soul and spirit,
witness of Self truth and authentic belonging,
Earth being, witnessing the Cosmos, all in all
writing with the passion of righting wrongs,
asserting truth to age old lies,
breaking the silence, liberating the oppressed,
and healing the lovesick world
thus, shall speak the visionary prophet
of days to come, seer and holy troublemakers,
imagining wholly alternative futures
celebrated in stories, poetry, music, song, dance
our very existence a direct threat to the
worldly dominant totalizing systems
of the Emperor’s infidelity and brainwashing,
the hope of the prophets echoing for evermore
thus our being through time spiralling
deeper, wider, higher coming full circle
integrating individual paradoxical tension
as the One Cosmic Universal Consciousness of All
Tat tvam asi
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 12, 2021
image: ‘Nautilus’ by Josephine Wall
(reader’s note: Tat tvam asi is Vedic Sanskirt
translated as ‘Thou art that’ meaning existence
is Truth of the Self as One without a second as
presented in the Chandogya Upanishad (8th. to
6th. century BCE))
Reflection: Writing about the Insurrection and other national traumas of the past four years and writing to know what I believe
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
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
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: only scratching the surface vis-a-vis knowing Truth
poem: only scratching the surface
vis-a-vis knowing Truth
one must beware of using
only a small portion
of our memory and thoughts
to define and respond to all of life
David Hume called thought
‘a little agitation of
the brain’ of which we make
a model of the whole universe
Thoreau said consistency
is a hobgoblin of the little mind
leaving a great soul
with simply nothing to do
Patanjali taught cessation
of the turnings of thought
so that the Spirit stood in its’
true identity as observer of the world
Richard Burke described
Cosmic Consciousness
as intuitively knowing the
universe is God and God the universe
Father Bede Griffiths wrote
that we in the West think the mind
is everything yet there are three levels
of body, mind, Spirit leading to ‘silent witness’
teachers open the door
but we must enter by our-self
and emerge liberated as Self-knowing
the Higher Truth within and without
Herb Stone
here&now working poetry
January 8, 2021
image ‘Sage Patanjali, Author of theYoga Sutras’, artist unattributed
Reflections: Recuperating and Redeeming the Soul of Our Nation
Reflections: Recuperating and Redeeming the Soul of Our Nation
Sitting here this morning reading the latest news updates and reflecting on yesterday’s attack on our U.S. Capital and our democracy, I feel bereft and forlorn. God knows it has been a very hard year, and more, for all of us and much more for so many others.
Here in my community over the past year we have faced a deadly, destructive tornado to start 2020, the ever worsening pandemic, social injustice and civil unrest, the recent anarchist bombing of our city, and yesterday this attack on our U.S. Capital and our democracy.
And yes, I, like many of you, feel I have left some skin in the fray. Resisting from the very beginning the outgoing presidential administration and its sycophants and the nationalism, fascist, racist, and social injustice it has spawned in our nation at every turn. Those responsible must be held accountable.
Certainly we face more challenges ahead as we work to heal our nation’s wounds and divisions from the flame thrower, hateful, narcissistic fascist bully some would call ‘president.’
With the incoming Democratic presidential administration and its’ control of the U.S. Congress, we long for calmer heads, steadier hands, justice, healing, and reconciliation where deserved. Certainly, those responsible for these crimes and attacks against our nation must be held accountable and face the consequences of their actions. But let us now return to the hard work of becoming a more perfect union for all our citizens with liberty and justice for all. The challenges are many which face us.
Just now, I feel like I need to remove these bloody, shredded clothes hanging from my wounded body, take a deep cleansing soak, get some rest, and recuperate, so I along with you, may return in our efforts together to save the soul of ourselves and our nation.
Beloveds, I always feel better having written it down. And now let us walk each other Home again as True Selves in Authentic Community of Belonging. Thank each of you for being there!
photo ‘A New Morning Dawns Outside My Door’
