As we enter the depths of summer.

Local roadsides are full of crown vetch in bloom. Baltimore orioles are back at the nectar feeder. Much, but far from all, of the natural world seems pretty much as it should be, at least in our neck of the woods. To the contrary, much of our economic, political, cultural and other segments of our society seem to be coming apart with the wheels flying off at the same time.

crown vetch in bloom

Photo by J. Harrington

Yesterday evening I looked out a downstairs window just before dusk. A whitetail deer, standing on the top of the small hill behind the house, looked almost white. I went upstairs and confirmed it was the angle of the sunlight and now the pelage that made the animal appear to glow. The sight, as brief as it was, was memorable.

The beauty of the birds and the flowers and bees and wildlife are tempered at this time of year by the bugs. We’ve got mosquotos, deer flies, and several other biting species. The dogs hate it, especially the little beagle, Harry, who snaps and tries to bite back. The dog walkers also hate it, especially as they’re standing still targets while the dogs sniff and do their business. I’m not sure how it works, but extra humidity seems to bring on extra bugs.

The way politics are playing out these days reminds me very much of the joke about the Friday night poker game.

A story is told about a 19th century gambler who was gambling in a small town. A friend told him that the game was rigged, but the gambler remarked, “I know it’s crooked, but it’s the only game in town.” 

Republicans are evil, for the most part. Democrats are less so and that’s supposed to be the reason we send them money and vote for them. I may do the latter, to help limit the amount of evil in politics, but I won’t send good money after bad. Both parties are more responsive to corporate “persons” than to human people. If I seem stuck on that theme these days, our “representatives” have been that way since before Citizens United. We need truly transformative change in our politics. I think it would be wonderful if we had a women’s strike similar to that in Iceland in 1975. Such actions may not transform our governance enough, but it would be a start.

According to the United Nations, we have a long way still to go:

In direct relation to the irreversible growth and greater diversity of the women's movement, another key development is that the meaning of "women's rights" has expanded enormously since the 1940s, from a mainly legal interpretation prioritized by Western countries, to the acceptance of socio-economic rights as equally fundamental to political rights, to the inclusion of the right to "family planning", i.e., a woman's right to control what happens to her own body and, most recently, to the right to live free from violence. The notion that women's rights are human rights has become more accepted since 1993, and the links between women's rights and both development (nowadays, "sustainable development") and peace have become clear. Task Ahead But as important as it is to understand the progress that has been made, it is equally crucial to be aware of the enormity of the task that lies ahead. Despite the almost universal recognition of women's rights at the formal level, the "deep[er] structure" of women's secondary status and oppression persists, whether in countries that top the UN gender equality index or those at the bottom. There is no country in the world where women enjoy equal status with men. Moreover, the gulf between rich and poor countries has increased, and the rise of various religious fundamentalisms is a threat to women's rights in many places.²¹

In Minnesota, voting is open for the August primary. Please be sure to check whether those you want to elect support human rights for all humans. We all deserve no less.

The Socialist and the Suffragist

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Said the Socialist to the Suffragist:
   “My cause is greater than yours!
     You only work for a Special Class,
     We work for the gain of the General Mass,
   Which every good ensures!”

Said the Suffragist to the Socialist:
   “You underrate my Cause!
   While women remain a Subject Class,
   You never can move the General Mass,
   With your Economic Laws!”

Said the Socialist to the Suffragist:
   “You misinterpret facts!
     There is no room for doubt or schism
     In Economic Determinism–
   It governs all our acts!”

Said the Suffragist to the Socialist:
   “You men will always find
     That this old world will never move
     More swiftly in its ancient groove
   While women stay behind!”

“A lifted world lifts women up,”
   The Socialist explained.
     “You cannot lift the world at all
     While half of it is kept so small,”
   The Suffragist maintained.

The world awoke, and tartly spoke:
   “Your work is all the same:
     Work together or work apart,
     Work, each of you, with all your heart–
   Just get into the game!” 

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