WHERE NEGATIVE ON NEGATIVE DOESN’T MAKE ANYTHING POSITIVE

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

One place where the Bush family might claim a legacy in American politics is in its reliance on casting an opponent in a negative light rather than advancing what one member called “the vision thing.” Not just a rival’s record, either, but spouses and children have been targeted as well. Just ask John McCain about the gossip spread in South Carolina back in 2000.

So here we are, 16 years later with another Bush in the running and our mailbox keeps getting attacks on his GOP opponents, most of them funded by his Right to Rise USA super PAC. Well, in one flyer, it was just three of them – Donald Trump somehow keeps going unnoticed. In the flyer, a photo shows Gov. Chris Christie from behind, to emphasize his obesity – while conversing closely with President Obama, a touch intended to inflame the hate-Obama core of the Republican base. It’s rather heavy-handed, actually.

The brochure does try to say something positive about its candidate: JEB, Tough, Tested, Ready. As we watch him in action, though, we have reason to doubt anyone in the field sees him that way.

As I view the waves of negativity, I keep thinking of individuals who are fountains of gossip – mostly dirty stuff, or at least juicy. Not what you’d want to hear about yourself. But then, when you mention this person to a mutual acquaintance, the response is something along the lines of “You should hear what they say about you.”

And that’s how I’m feeling about Jeb. Just what is he saying about US, behind our backs? Or worse yet, what would he do?

The negative approach just doesn’t build trust, does it?

AN ESSENTIAL ROLE

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Within a religious tradition – I’m tempted to say any religious tradition – there are wise, seasoned guides. The ones who know from their own faithful practice what temptations and struggles the aspirant will face and how to overcome them.

Known in the various traditions as guru, swami, roshi, rinpoche, abbot, mother superior, bishop, or simply elder, among others, the best of these are adept at listening and then asking the right question.

In doing so, they hold the individual and the spiritual teachings together. As I know from my ongoing Quaker practice and earlier training.

These poems pay homage to that role.

Elders 1~*~

For a free copy of the chapbook, click here.

PRAYING FOR A SAVIOR IN THE PARTY

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 6 Comments

As Donald Trump deflects blows to his populist demagoguery, we can feel the panic setting in on the Republican Party.

For the true believer in the “conservative” cause, it’s the recognition that the Donald’s anything but consistent in his ideological framework.

For the pragmatic problem-solver, it’s the recognition that the Donald’s business dealings have been idiosyncratic, piecemeal, erratic, flamboyant, egotistical – anything but a steady, reliable hand on the helm.

For the party leaders, it’s the recognition they can’t trust him, especially when it comes to their side of the operation. Just where does he stand, anyway? And what about all those out-and-out lies?

It’s the rogue elephant running through the circus, indeed.

Discussion of a brokered convention is percolating in the background. Keep any single candidate from winning on the first round of voting, and the delegates are free to wheel and deal. That’s the key, of course, thwarting a first-round victory.

The crux of this approach, in the minds of some strategists, is to start over – prevent any of the current candidates from clinching the nomination and then rally around a fresh face. But who?

The name of Paul Ryan, the new Speaker of the House, has surfaced. It’s a fascinating twist, especially if he can find a way to hold his own members of Congress in sway.

It’s a long shot, of course. And it would come at the end of what’s shaping up as a long, ugly primary campaign.

AN EXCLAMATION POINT IS RARELY A RAISED SWORD EXCEPT IN COMEDY

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

The red lawn sign – three of them, actually, in a pile of snow in front of a suburban store for lease – caught our attention:

JEB!

It’s that exclamation point, actually. Ever since one turned a pioneering Rodgers and Hammerstein musical into a 1943 Broadway hit, advertisers have looked to that imperative period to jazz up an otherwise flat word or concept. In the case of Oklahoma, the bright touch suggested the backyard of Texas or Arkansas might actually have something romantic or charming. And so it was Oklahoma! in a time of World War II, with a story and music to match. Back when the genre was often labeled American musical comedy, in fact. And think, one of the main characters was Jud – sounds like Jeb? – in a rivalry with Curly. Could that be the Donald?

Back to those lawn signs, though, where I keep seeing something else happening. The strong stroke on those exclamation points keep bending, and what I read is this:

JEB?
JEB?
JEB?

Any answer seems to get lost in the sound of traffic.

SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR I’VE LEARNED IN SWIMMING LAPS

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

A year into swimming in Dover’s indoor pool most weekdays, I’ve settled into a routine. For each length of the pool, I engage a different stroke in a sequence of freestyle, breaststroke, sidestroke (my left side going in one direction and right on the return), and backstroke – in part to help me keep count of how many laps I’ve completed and in part because I find my freestyle – or Australian crawl, as it was called back at the Y of childhood – is my most exhausting and thus wouldn’t get me very far in a session. These days, by the way, the glorious butterfly stroke is out of the question, except for members of the high school swim team in the next lane. (Yes, I can say I swim with the swim team. I just can’t claim to swim on it.) So 18 laps – or 36 lengths of the 25-yard lanes – gets me a bit past a half-mile, my daily goal. Decent enough for my age, I suppose. Even if the younger swimmers are doing circles around me.

But another realization has set in. Some days that half-mile is longer than others. Which also means some days it’s shorter. That is, internally speaking, distance loses its universal, mechanical measurement. And it’s not necessarily a factor of how much time it takes me to swim those laps, either. This old body runs on its own clock or its own speed. With measurements that can be surprisingly rubbery.

All I can do is keeping plugging away and hoping I make it to the finish line. Wherever it is.

 

BLIZZARD? WE KNOW THAT PAIN

~ Jnana Hodson ~ 5 Comments

Following the rapidly changing weather forecast for the weekend as it evolved over the past seven days has spurred many emotions where I live. For a while, we watched our snowfall predictions rise for Saturday and then Sunday, prompting us to reconsider scheduling a gathering at our house. Let’s wait, my wife counseled, suggesting the next weekend could be even worse. And then the anticipated depths we viewed kept declining until, suddenly, there was no precipitation of any kind on tap for the weekend. What a relief, we thought.

But then we saw where that snow would be headed. It’s a strange feeling for New Englanders to see a blizzard steering south of us. Sparing most of us, in fact. We know what it’s like to be hammered and then buried. But we’re equipped to dig out, too, and accept it as part of the price of living where we do. We even know what it can do to a crowded city, where there are few places to dump the mounds as they accumulate. Driving along a street, you’d keep asking, Is that just a big pile of snow or is there a car under there?

It doesn’t take much snow to lock up a city, in fact. No matter how prepared a metropolis, six inches can really muck things up. And a foot can take days to clear free. But two? Now it’s getting serious.

We also know that even an inch of wet snow can make for some very hazardous driving. Forget what those four-wheel-drive advertisements say. We’ve seen enough of those vehicles spin off the road into the median strip or guardrail. There are acquired tricks to driving under these conditions, along with cautions. I think of it more along the lines of boating.

So when we see expectations of up to two feet of cold wet flakes blowing across Virginia and Maryland and even a corner of North Carolina(!) — and similar impacts on the District of Columbia and Baltimore — our sympathies fly southward. That’s even before Philadelphia and New York City are hit.

You probably don’t have neighbors with snowplows on their pickups, for one thing. You might not even have your own snow shovels at hand, much less snowblowers. As for those boots and gloves? We understand.

I can’t help but recall the broader term for “global warming” was “climatic instability,” which is what we’re seeing. Remember that if you hear the word “record” being applied to this storm. And no, I won’t refer to it by the cable channel’s name.

If you’re bearing the brunt of this storm, you have our sympathy. We know you’ll have your own names for the experience, few of which are publishable in polite circles. Our best advice is to stay put and take things easy as long as you can and hope you stay warm. Declare yourselves a snow day. And remember, this too shall pass.

RUNNING WITH THAT VALUES THING

~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

Keep seeing more reactions to the Ted Cruz charge that Donald Trump embodies “New York values.”

Yes, the Donald had an emotionally charged retort in the debate, but the sound bite keeps echoing.

Is anybody asking just what values the junior senator from Texas embodies?

Are they “Texas values” like those we saw in LBJ or, gasp, the Bushes? Or the Koch Brothers, behind the scenes?

And if they’re not, just whose values is he advancing? Let us start articulating the Texas stereotype in its many negative connotations. He’s damned if he is and damned if he isn’t.

Well, he did raise the issue. Let’s see what it’s worth.