The first Port Angeles Wa parade since 2020 lockdown mandate was smaller and very few floats. Even the large, loaded logging trucks were missing. I remembered at the 2019 parade shouting out, " lets morn the trees." Logging a main source of industry, employment and shipping to the orient countries for Port Angeles. It was not appreciated. Wrinkled foreheads told it all.
This year was very intimate and full of children lining the streets with their family groups. Camp chairs and coolers of drinks lined the sidewalk below my window. The elements were there with marching band and music from floats along with candy flying through the air.
Celebrating our country's birthday along with the evening fireworks reminds me of the battles to
declare our freedom from the tyranny and taxation with no representation in England.
No representation is the main issue and taxation with no voice, no vote. With voting scheduled in the fall, I pray all those who are in need of safe abortion healthcare will be heard and supported by the majority by voting. Now we are experiencing a minority imposing religious beliefs over healthcare for the poor. A heated issue and rightly so. For me our voting process needs reform. We are 50 states and many territories with population concentrations now dictating. Currently Midwest over west and east coast with larger population centers. Major legislation affecting ALL women needs to be voted on a national level.. Not by the states separately...noting the states now banning abortion have the larger poor populations in need of care and equal access to healthcare.
Teaching: to vote and not become discouraged. As a country we are 246 yrs old and have yet to accomplish what the Declaration of independence says as written:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Note: women have only been included since 1926, and Black voters provided enforcement of the Rights to vote in the 1960's.
We are in a process to become all we have written as laws, and we must vote to keep our government representatives from abusing their power. At any time politicians can ignore enforcement of these laws..so the strong discrimination of Blacks was dismissed by the prevailing attitudes in a part of this large land. Equally women faced being treated as " unequal". I consider this country is only 50 years into a full voting representation. Now is the time after two presidential elections ignored the popular votes over electoral ones! Reform the electoral college in this age of technology is necessary and NOT relying on horseback transportation to cast votes
in the 1800's our norm!
********
Footnote
Active gunman event during a parade in Highland Park Illinois. Seven dead including children.
Voting has not
resulted in gun control legislation over the last 30 years of mass shootings.....How can this happen?
money and gun lobbyists have VOTED without our representation......and almost anyone can buy a lethal weapon and not to defend from overtake by another country as the Bill of Rights amendment stresses, so as not to be colonized again, but to mass murder of children by children?.......
*********
July 11 2022
July 11 2022
This late Sunday morning I find the shop owner is watering the doorway flower tubs. The Alley Cat boutique is painted in a pale pink. It borders the alley I walk to the lot where my car is parked. It has whimsical women's clothing, much like the ones I would have passed by while living in the "Haight Ashbury Street" neighborhood in the 70's. I made extra money-making clothing for sale in a consignment shop. Jean skirts were my specialty. Sewn from recycled jeans and sewn on a treadle sewing machine. It is quite impossible for me to not reference my past experiences.
Especially the creative ones and sharing them with others. My quilted part of the skirt was usually of mountains, oceans, and trees. Not city life, but where my heart was longing to be.
I have yet to go in. My sizes are usually not found in boutiques of this kind. Yet I fancy this woman has her story to tell me and it would be nice to see how she finds her stores treasures.
Teaching: For me to find a common ground and reach out more in my neighborhood. We all have more in common than differences. The pandemic for me was a time to live in a mood of mistrust and a need to just survive. Time to thrive again.
July 11 2022
I could no longer wait to drive out to the point on the 3-mile spit that surrounds the coastline of Port Angeles. I drove out to the end that houses the Coast Guard Station. It is visible from my studio window and look back from across the water. In the photo I aimed it to be right above the stump to find it easily in the photo.
My apartment is in a historic building former Hotel Lee Plaza. It is the tallest building in town and easy to see from this distance. Saved from destruction 20 years age it now houses apartments for low income and disabled.
I has been two years since I took my small convertible smart Car for a drive to my favorite spot in Port Angeles. Early morning brings only a few residents and visitors out to walk, run and walk their pups.
Meditation on the spot directly across from my apartment brings me a sense of belonging. A sense of "place" I have not felt since moving here a few months before Pandemic lockdown.
Teaching: Remember to give myself the opportunity to see from as many angles, views and locations. My apartment is not the only safe place to explore. I am ok., I made it through the worst of it.
Update Inaguration 2021: A Young Bright Woman of Light The Future of America
***
1 John 2:15
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. Love for the Father is not in them."
***
I am writing to all my friends. The politics of this world has divided us. I am a friend that can no longer be blind to the choices made by some to follow conspiracies that are not about love for others our neighbors. You have chosen to " be in this world" instead of "of this world". A world full of conspiracies only provides the "glasses" that see conspiracies everywhere in our elections, our congress, our opposition leaders, fake news reporting, and ignorance of our Constitution.
***
Romans 12:2
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will."
***
Our country was founded by people wanting democracy to be tempered by spiritual values of justice , equality and liberty for all.
A mob of rioters, intent on harm and destruction came to the Capital to express only their extreme minority views of
"STOP THE STEAL"
They believe not in our democratic process with verified and audited elections or the Constitution. They are filled with anger, and only a love for a country THEY want, that THEY no longer SEE in the faces of many citizens of America. The mob was clearly predominantly WHITE. [Whites will be in the minority by 2050.]
It is our responsibility to pursue the truth and make choices that reflect LOVE not hate for others in any form or venue. We do not have the right to create the truth we want or prefer and then choose the ones we want to believe. It is AMERICAN to love the ideals of "Justice and liberty for all" and to be able to "pursue happiness." These are the spectacles I wear when in the world of politics.
I can understand the 2021 election disappointment when the 2016 election results did not reflect my values or even my candidate. Many friends were so disillusioned they curled up into a ball and withdrew from participation in life. They did not look to others for a conspiricie or riot before the Capital. Even when the antiquated electoral college did not reflect the popular vote win by the opposing candidate.. Approval by the electoral college winner Trump did bring to mind how I remember his outrage of Obamas win in 2012 with the electoral college , and said it was in need of reform.
"The electoral college is a disaster for democracy... a total sham and a travesty..Donald Trump 2012
I would rather see ..simple votes....Trump "60 minutes 'November 2016
1+1=2, not 3, we don't get to choose 2 or 3, what we believe has no bearing on the truth, it just is.
Our responsibility is to search and pursue the truth regardless of what I or others want to believe.
" The receptivity of the masses is very limited, their intelligence is small, but their power of forgetting is enormous. In consequence of these facts, all effective propaganda must be limited to a very few points and must harp on these in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him/her to understand by your slogan. .........The great masses of people will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one." [ Qanon is an example of a "Big Lie", " how could it not be true? It is so evil that pedophile democrats [ not republicans?] rule our country and harm children. Who wants to NOT be for the protection of children.]
Mein Kamph by Hitler
"WE won by a landslide....THEY stole the election.....We must fight....I will walk with you.....I love you, you are special.....
HIS TRUTH, THE TRUTH?
I would like everyone to note there were no riots prior to the January 2017 inauguration of Trump. Obama was cordial during the transition. We who lost accepted our democratic election results. Even though the popular vote elected Clinton and previously Gore in 2000. I as an 'independent" have voted for the person, not the party. [ Independents are a third of registered voters and growing in numbers each election. Independents make up to 50% of the tallied Democratic and Republican voters. This results in half or more not being Republican or Democrats...We are 50,000 plus strong and not included in many surveys]
***
This cartoon is an homage to the American Revolution that created this flag. I saw how it can speak for us all in this political climate by adding the capital building being embraced by the snake. It stands for the building itself, the democracy it represents, and also the rioters that feel their America is slipping away. Including the first and second amendments being threatened and a "way of life" being lost. Their vision is in the right, as evidenced and confirmed by the phrase "Make America Great Again"..an America of white Christian faces, unenforced constitutional equality, vigilante just-us, to carry guns for killing openly, and ......? WE have the right to vote and elect representatives and protest peacefully if not being heard., yet clearly our nation is moving ahead of our past filled with bias, discrimination and only the dreams of the wealthy.
The America I can support is one that People the world over responded to after Jan 6. The top democratic nations were broken-hearted by the actions of a few to commit crimes in the name of "Democracy". There were three non-democratic countries that responded with jokes and celebration in the events unfolding from Jan 6. Iran, China, and Russia. This should say very clearly about the TRUTH of these events...Where do you stand about this event?.. Democracy is inclusive of all equally ......I am for the freedom of speech I have to speak my mind and heart as I do today. My dearest friend, a 10 year immigrant from Russia, has been disheartened by these events. She has lived under authoritarian leaders most of her life and can see all too familiar behaviors by some in this country...She did not have a voice to speak up for human rights as we do here. The first amendment does not include incitement to attack the democracy that gives us the freedom to express ourselves politically or spiritually.
My slogan is to "Make America the Best It Can Be" To be a country of inclusion, tolerance, equality, justice for every color of our country's' citizens.
What has love got to do with this event?
It was a selfish love and mislead passion that has been fueled by untruths, fears, hatreds, loss of a lifestyle. and more.
WITH LOVE WILL COME A DESIRE TO FIND A PEACEFUL PATH IN OUR COUNTRY' TO GUIDE US ALL
MAKE AMERICA PEACEFUL AGAIN.
A country dedicated to evolving in a changing world, where we include all who live on this land. Where WE pursue a greater purpose, a higher intention to have opportunities for every citizen, every child of God to be safe, secure, and proud to be involved in making this happen....this is when America and my faith come together.
The faces of the President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris referred to as "Next in Line"
The faces of our country as it exists. Half men and half women, along with the multiracial makeup of this country. As I and many other women have expressed, I am so aware that all girls and those to be born after this election will know the reality to be seen as the co-leader of our country. Yet an even greater awareness is how every male child as of this day will see a woman in this role. Women have been asking for equality, have already seen their ability to govern and to lead.
It began with the movement to vote as equals to men.
A feminist movement in the midcentury asked that women be seen in new ways along with men. Both were to be released from cultural norms.
"It's not fair " has become a cry of "it is our time !"
All women that have kept the goal in view are to be thanked by us all. Men and women both.
Women head corporations and men can stay at home with the children. Liberation comes to everyone when all are free to pursue their goals. " The pursuit of happiness," is meant for ALL.
Again thank you for believing in yourselves and any sacrifices made personally to see us reach this goal of equality in representation.
I have waited 50 years of my voting life to see this happen and know how important this is to those who follow. 2008 and 2016 held the promise before us.
"A beautiful noise"
Bravo to all that voted on November 3, 2020.
***
God loves all equally. It is in praise and to honor our Creator when we see others as God does.
Portland Oregon "Mothers for BLM" [conflicted views of each other]
It is 4am and I am up writing this political subject blog from my reactions to watching parts of the DNC and RNC in times of COVID. There were no large arenas or masses of citizens roaring in response to their party candidates. I have been in an artist mode creating several satirical cartoons about my observations. They are full of questions about how our country has an incredible way of reacting to our government and to fellow residents of this large land. I am going to begin my observations and reactions to past and recent events and finally, hopefully, find my responsibility in this political environment.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
I want to profile myself first, as a 71-year-old "baby boomer"woman born after WWII. Raised in a small suburban neighborhood, my parent's American Dream home, south of Portland Oregon. I was the first in my family's generation to graduate high school and to go on to receive my BFA from UofO. I came from a modest home, although a struggle for my parents to keep steady employment, I lived in the same home until I left for the university in 1967. I have traveled, lived, and worked from Alaska to Florida and Vermont to California since graduating in 1973. Currently, I live on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.
"Evolution" [from a "white life"]
I realized the year 2020 also means "hindsight" and that's where I will start. To take a look at all I have lived through and seen over the decades along with historical studies. I believe our country, perhaps the world is bearing its true soul to us all. One blessing from the pandemic?
Who we are, who we want to be in the world,
who we are going to respect, who we are going to include,
who we are going to give compassion, who we consider essential,
who we want to feed, who we want to have a livable wage,
who we will provide affordable medical care for.
The hope of finding some answers will require "the endurance of a relay race." [ Michele Obama's phrase in Aug podcast]. It could take weeks, months, years and even decades to see the changes required by hearts. To move on to a more loving society in the future, I will suggest a closer look at the past first. The following are some of the duality of America's intentions in the world.
We are those that built a new country for the freedom of worship and independence from tyrannical rule.
We are also the conquerors that committed genocide of native peoples for the land's natural resources.
We are the companies that built the infrastructure across the land on the backs of immigrants/slaves from the Orient and Africa.
We are who opened our doors to the world for the persecuted to build a life of freedom and do the dirty jobs at the lowest wages.
We are the country the world's "dreamers" have traveled to, to thrive and some to just survive.
We are the leaders in capitalism that still fails to encompass all residents of all colors.
"United Shades of America"
We are white workers fearing loss of jobs {failing economy] and rejecting our growing "melting" pot.
We are who believe that any move to be inclusive of all citizens to uphold their inalienable rights is a move towards socialism, a virus on the capitalist way.
We are global warriors in the name of peace and expanding our trade beyond our country, along with providing the war machines for the world.
Next a look at what I have witnessed since my birth and shaped my political thinking. I was a teenager watching the turmoil from three assassinations, equal rights riots, with deaths, and seeing elected officials finally enforcing the amendments made 100 years earlier. Especially the right to vote and access to equal education. Women have 100 years of voting history and people of color since the 1960s. Basically, we have only 60 years of true democracy for all. Still dependent on the area of the country and its enforcement. As a college student, I personally participated in anti-Vietnam war protests, participated in a "mock" political convention after witnessing Nixon, Kennedy, and McCarthy [ shook hands and spoke to all three] speak. I also embraced feminism gratefully. I became so disillusioned by the mid-70s I stopped voting until the nineties.
Finally, I realized that not voting was letting others vote for me! By the year 2000, corruption in politics was very clear to me. Now 20 years later I believe we are in a time of change and reckoning.
"Strange Bedfellows".[ how we see them ]
So, what has love and God got to do with it?
First thing first, "Love thy neighbor as thyself". With this commandment, I will frame my decisions when I vote. I will listen to the platforms and watch the actions of those that are representing me and my "neighbors".
"Running out of time?" [endagered species and polution]
I have said and made my peace with the politics of this country. Thank you for listening to my "ranting and ravings". I implore you to take your vote seriously and "lead with LOVE" in your mind and heart.
