Begin With The Words [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

republic (noun): a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.

“The term [Republic] originates from Latin, meaning “matters of the public.” Republics emerged as a response to absolute monarchies, aiming to create systems more responsive to the will of the people.” EBSCO

No child or adult in this nation has ever stood before a flag and sworn allegiance to a monarch or dictator. The same is true of our elected representatives. And yet, this Republican administration, the Republican Congress in their obeisance, consolidate power into the executive, into the hands of a single man.

The conservative justices on the Supreme Court, men and a woman who also stand before flags and pledge their allegiance, granted this president immunity from the law, effectively making him a monarch, effectively undermining the republic.

The Republican Congress and conservative Supremes no longer swear allegiance to the Republic or to the Constitution, but to a dictator, a divided nation under authoritarianism.

No longer a Republic, liberty and justice for all is the first casualty.

Many law firms and universities suspend their commitment to truth and abandon their allegiance to the law (the Constitution) and the pursuit of knowledge. They genuflect and swear oaths to the dictator.

Who knew that this nation that prides itself on rugged individualism, the veneration of liberty and the exercise of free will would roll over so easily, pledging their allegiance to something so sullied as a rapist wrapped in something so ugly as Christian Nationalism; a bully, pathological liar with nary a scruple to his name? Given all of our cowboy swagger I imagined we were made of sturdier stuff.

You’d think our pledge of allegiance to the flag of The United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands…would have inspired more fortitude in our elected leaders, more respect from our highest court, more dedication from practitioners of the law and seekers of knowledge.

If we are going to ask our children, our citizens, to place their hands over their hearts and speak the words in unison, then the Pledge of Allegiance certainly deserves more deference from our populace and the representatives that we elect.

Perhaps, in speaking it by rote, we’ve either forgotten or perhaps do not fully understand what it means? Let’s begin with the words “Allegiance” as it relates to the word “Republic”…

allegiance (noun): loyalty. commitment. faithfulness. fidelity.

To what do we pledge our allegiance (return to the top)?

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE PLEDGE

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Recover The Reins [on Two Artists Tuesday]

“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”Phaedrus

My first question: is this the Phaedrus from Plato’s book or a quote from the guy who hung out with Socrates? Historically, they are one and the same person but one is a character and the other the person upon which the character is based. I suppose it doesn’t really matter since either way the words are sifted through time and translation.

And, either way, they are as relevant today as when they were spoken/written. They are especially relevant on this day since today we vote.

Phaedrus, the character-in-Plato’s-book, offers an analogy of the soul as a charioteer holding the reins of two horses. One horse is good and pulls toward the sacred. The other horse is bad and pulls toward material gain. The charioteer steers them to a common center. The middle way.

Things are not always what they seem. A wild teasel. A strawberry in a skeleton costume. It was my first thought when she showed me this photo. It’s appropriate to the Halloween season-just-passed and the election-day-present.

One thing is as it seems: this nation’s soul has lost the reins of the chariot, if it ever had them. The wild teasels are run amok, their pundits loudly claiming to be strawberries. Many are deceived and deceiving. Conspiracies. Angry thorns in their mouths.

The horses pull this way and that. They are quite capable of ripping the chariot in half.

Today we vote. Perhaps it is possible to see through the seeming. Perhaps we can recover the reins and bring our divided team toward a common center? A middle way?

read Kerri’s blog post about SEEMING

Not So Difficult [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Good human beings.

Since I was a child I’ve been told that Santa keeps a list. Naughty or nice? Naughty means taking from others; being mean. Nice means giving to others; being kind.

It’s not so difficult.

Tomorrow is election day in these un-united-united-states. Election officials fear for their lives. A sad statement for the sacred epicenter of a republic: the right to vote. Safely. Securely. Without intimidation.

It’s really not so difficult. Good human beings look out for each other.

The Big Lie continues to swirl around the folks on the right. Evidence is not required when filling bellies with hot air. All that bloviated gas-bagging makes people angry. Seeing nothing but red, people become easy marks. Red is the color of gullible.

Good human beings are not bullies. They play fair. They do not gerrymander or twist the rules so they win the game before playing. Good human beings bring their best ideas to the center. They offer their ideas. They consider the ideas of others. They need not always get their way. They require a safe place to freely speak and guard that space for everyone.

It really isn’t that difficult.

Naughty means consumed with self-interest. Nice means enlivened by service to something larger than self.

Naughty means hoarding all the pie. Nice means sharing slices with others.

Tomorrow we vote. To bully or be kind? It’s really not so difficult.

read Kerri’s blog post about GOOD HUMAN BEINGS