On Christmas Eve’s Eve

In our part of the North Country the mid-afternoon temperature is 37℉. The sun is shining. The sky is blue. An early Christmas present has been delivered by Mother Nature. Perhaps it’s time we reciprocate. We can do so without  the blessing of congress if we want to.

Many folks, mostly but not entirely Democrats, have been fussing and fuming about the refusal of a certain senator from West Virginia to support the proposed Build Back Better legislation [H.R.5376]. So far, I’ve seen little in the way of what can be accomplished by individuals, organizations, and local, state and federal governments using existing tools and additional creativity. That’s unfortunate, since failure to enable our society to proceed to accomplish much of what’s in the legislation without its enactment gives away much of the negotiating power that well-meaning progressives, be they Democrats or Independents, can exercise. In fact, such an approach might even attract a few Republicans, since they’re the ones that claim to want smaller government. Couldn’t society call their bluff?

doesn’t a star shine brightest on a dark night?

Photo by J. Harrington

One of the major reasons a cooperative, collaborative approach is needed is that too many in congress are more interested in representing the 1% rather than the rest of us. Let’s show what we can accomplish without the assistance of those relying heavily on corporate funds and/or dark money.

[UPDATE: for example, according to Bill McKibben, “New York City joined about 50 California jurisdictions earlier today, in banning gas connections for new construction. This matters—among other things, it will be a school for construction workers about how to use these new technologies. And it will be popular” 

I suggest that any who read this posting give themselves a Christmas present, belated if necessary. Get and read a copy of Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark. The excerpt below is a sampling. I think we’ll all need it to get through next year. Merry Christmas [almost!].

“Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency. Hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and marginal... To hope is to give yourself to the future - and that commitment to the future is what makes the present inhabitable.” 
― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

Christmas Mail

By Ted Kooser

Cards in each mailbox,

angel, manger, star and lamb,

as the rural carrier,

driving the snowy roads,

hears from her bundles

the plaintive bleating of sheep,

the shuffle of sandals,

the clopping of camels.

At stop after stop,

she opens the little tin door

and places deep in the shadows

the shepherds and wise men,

the donkeys lank and weary,

the cow who chews and muses.

And from her Styrofoam cup,

white as a star and perched

on the dashboard, leading her

ever into the distance,

there is a hint of hazelnut,

and then a touch of myrrh.

********************************************
Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.