The Freedom of Privacy

I came of age in what was apparently a golden age of women being near equal citizens to men in the United States. The Supreme Court, illigitimately composed by the GOP voted to overturn Roe vs. Wade, saying that it was a 50 year long mistake that needed rectifying by a majority that includes a rapist, a sexual harrassing misogynist who's wife should be prosecuted for plotting the overthrow of the government, liars all at their confirmation hearings. It is gauling and appalling that my granddaughter's face more restrictions than I did. The Handmaid's Tale was actually a blueprint for the future that the current SCOTUS took to heart to make a reality rather than a work of fiction. What remains to be seen is what will voters do about it. We already know that Republicans are surpressing the ability of black and brown people to vite, and that they control state government in many states, even purple ones. So in order to turn the tide against this tyranny, it will take overwhelming nmumbers of people who do not usually vote to trun out. Will this and the January 6th inquiries light that kind of fire under voters at the midterm elections? I hope and pray they do, because it really an emergency. I am so very angry. Who will join me?

Women's Athletic Apparel

I have been fuming about this since the Olympics this summer, and am pleased to note that in retrospect, the rules on bikinis were ultimately changed. However, sexism, as well as misogyny, is alive and impressively disgusting at the highest level of sports. I have loved the Olymics all my life and yet this year I did not watch any of the events. Why? It was too hard to ignore the fact that the Olympics, with rules and regulations still largely controled by men, are perpetuating control over women and their bodies. The women's beach volley team from Norway was fined for wearing shorts rather than the regulation bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle.” Could anyone possibly enjoy watching a woman compete without being able to actually see her unclothed ass? And if she refuses to be practically naked, then she should be fined or disqualified?

It is disgusting at best. The older I get the more I understand that this is unlikely to change substantively in what is left of my life, and that there is little to nothing that I can do about it. I am heartened that my children's generation seems to be taking gigantic strides in the arena of equal treatment. Additionally, the previous administration taught me that about a third of United States voters, both men and women, but mostly men, mostly white, think that the old sexist, racist, homophobic ways really suit them. Those are things to deal with, but what I do not have to do is watch. Entering my curmudgeon stage, it seems.

Frida Kahlo, The Early Work

I really enjoyed an exhibit that I went to last month that featured quite a few of the artist's early works. I almost skipped it, thinking it was kind of an expensive exhibit entry price, and that COVID numbers were rising--are Frida Kahlo fans more likely to bbe vaccinated actually crossed my mind--welcome to the pandemic and the continuing realization that some people really cannot think for themselves or sift through facts. But I am glad that I decided to put a medical mask on, pony up the entry fee, because this small and concise examination of her early work points directly to her later and more famous works. She was a beautiful woman who thought she was ugly from an early age, and that sympathy with the grotesqueis a hallmark of her work, and that is true even at the beginning. She is endlessly fascinating and I would encourage seeking out her work where it is shown. It will get you thinking, which is usually a good thing.

The Hill We Climb

Amanda Gorman, the Youth Poet Laureate who performed at the inauguration of the 46th president was a phenomemon to behold. I encourage you to watch her poem in addition to reading it, because it is well worth the seven minutes it will take. If ever there was soaring oration, this is it and this is the time for it. **The Hill We Climb** When day comes we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss we carry, a sea we must wade. We've braved the belly of the beast, We've learned that quiet isn't always peace, and the norms and notions of what just is isn't always just-ice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it. Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished. We the successors of a country and a time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one. And yes we are far from polished. Far from pristine. But that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect. We are striving to forge a union with purpose, to compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and conditions of man. And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us, but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside. We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all. Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true, that even as we grieved, we grew, that even as we hurt, we hoped, that even as we tired, we tried, that we'll forever be tied together, victorious. Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division. Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid. If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade. But in all the bridges we've made, that is the promise to glade, the hill we climb. If only we dare. It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit, it's the past we step into and how we repair it. We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it. Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith we trust. For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption we feared at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour but within it we found the power to author a new chapter. To offer hope and laughter to ourselves. So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Now we assert, How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us? We will not march back to what was, but move to what shall be. A country that is bruised but whole, benevolent but bold, fierce and free. We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation, because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain, If we merge mercy with might, and might with right, then love becomes our legacy, and change our children's birthright. So let us leave behind a country better than the one we were left with. Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one. We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west. We will rise from the windswept northeast, where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states. We will rise from the sunbaked south. We will rebuild, reconcile and recover. And every known nook of our nation and every corner called our country, our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, battered and beautiful. When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.

Women in Color

I haven't had the wherewithall to write too much about the insurrection at the Capital yet other than that it happened. It is just too much, too over the top, both in that it happened, and people died and that it could have been much worse, but also in that there were clearly members of Congress who aided and abetted the sedition, who are more proud and defiant than penitent. I am still processing what it means about our country. All of that is very bad news and eventually I will reflect on it but not yet. The inauguration was a complete repudiation of all that the previous administration stood for, which was very hopeful and joyous to experience and to think about in the aftermath. First there was the shattering of the hgeights that women can aspire to with Kamala Harris being sworn in as the Vice President of the United States. Her spouse was at her side, beaming at her, and clearly very proud of what she has accomplished and ready to take on the role of the first Second Gentleman. It was a soul lifting moment. I love the memes around it, which essentially say put your shoes on ladies, there is broken glass everywhere. I think we have all learned our lesson about what her election means, which is nothing beyondf the fact that she was elected, women continue to be subdued by the patriarchy in very real ways every single day, but it was and is a great moment, so bask in it if you are so moved. The other thing was that women were wearing bold and bright colors. None of the uniform of men was on display. Instead it was a celebration of a new day. Yes we can!

Raise Hell

Molly Ivins was one of America’s most caustic and beloved political commentators. She was a loud, brash Texan with a knack for a needling phrase and had a long-running syndicated national column.  Ivins was also known as a serious critical force to be reckoned with by her friends and her foes. She was unabashedly progressive, but her main interest was in holding the feet of the powerful to the fire, no matter their political party.
She would have recognized the issues related to presidential abuse of powers that have been clearly delineated in the Mueller report and then resurfaced in much the same way in the whistle blower accusations of threats to Ukraine if they did not dig up dirt on the Bidens.  And people seriously think this is no big deal.  They see themselves as patriotice, while the founding fathers roll in their graves.