This essay, the seventh in a series on the pandemic, includes, among other subjects, an analysis of the 2020 election and critique of the Trump Voter. It concludes with a William Stafford poem, "A Ritual to Read to Each Other."
Pandemic Mangle
Pandemic Tangle
In this sixth monthly blogpost on the pandemic, Russian Interference, theology, the behavior of lemmings, President's Trump's take on American History, SCOTUS, the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, the election, and the global surge of COVID-19 cases are among the topics discussed. Read slow!
Pandemic Jangle
Donald Trump and the Republican Party have made white supremacy their core issue in the campaign, and the President threatens to stay in office even if he loses. He's made himself a threat to democracy. In the meantime, the COVID-19 pandemic spreads unabated. There is no national plan to confront it. How could this be happening?
Pandemic Gamble
One thing seems clear. Trump intends to stay in office indefinitely, no matter what. He will use any means to do so. All his efforts are intended to realize that result. The election is our next, best chance to intervene. My advice is to focus on the election. Focus on voting and on helping other voters vote.
Pandemic Scramble
This is the third in a series on the pandemic, featuring three intersecting foci: the spread of COVID-19, the Black Lives Matter confrontation with racism, and the presidential campaign leading up to a decision on election day, the third of November, 2020. Their explosive intersection has turned crazy!
Crazy Times
Introduction The outcome of the 2016 Presidential election still rankles and puzzles. How did Donald J. Trump get elected? How could anyone vote for him? How could that many people vote for him, the sixty-two or so million people who actually did? I don’t know the answer. Perhaps no one does. Because the times are... Continue Reading →
Man Thinking
Background Stanley Cavell, the American philosopher and Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Harvard University, died recently at the age of 91. Coming to philosophy by way of music and film, he authored a diverse assortment of philosophical texts including The Claim of Reason, Must We Mean What We Say?, Pursuits of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy of... Continue Reading →
Musings on Democracy
Introduction The right to vote is the basis and spiritual heart of democracy—precious, hard won, sacred. Yet, ninety million eligible voters didn’t vote in the presidential election of 2016. Sixty-six million people voted for Hillary Clinton and sixty three million for Donald J. Trump, who became President by garnering more than the requisite 270 votes... Continue Reading →
Digital Warfare on The Impoverished
Harpers Magazine included an excerpt in its January 2018 issue from Virginia Eubanks’ book Automating Inequality, just published by St. Martin’s Press. According to Eubanks, government officials, using sophisticated computer technology, are now able to routinely ensnare poor people in the digital equivalent of the poorhouse of yore by tracking them down, monitoring them, stereotyping... Continue Reading →
Towers of Babel and Song
Preface There is seemingly more babel per second on the public airwaves these days than ever before. The cacophony of white noise exceeds even the evocative power of the biblical story of Babel to penetrate and comprehend it. Given the discharge of daily excreta from Washington, what can anyone fruitfully say or listen to at... Continue Reading →
