What to do about Democracy?
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Happy Inter-Dependence Day - by Carrie Lockhert
July 6, 2021
As an outspoken proponent of democracy and respectful political dialogue, I found the past 4+ years extremely challenging as I experienced (and perhaps contributed to) the yawning chasm of the growing political divide.
That said, I was convicted in my belief that engaging in respectful discourse and finding common ground was and is a critical skill to develop that would allow us all to depolarize the current political landscape. But it isn't easy, right?!
Fortunately, a friend from SpokaneFavs introduced me to Braver Angels, a national group with local, community subgroups that was specifically launched to "bring American's together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic". After reading their website and listening to a few debates, I became a member and have since participated in a "depolarizing within workshop" as well as 1:1 conversations in practicing effective communication with folks from "the other side".
Through Braver Angels I have learned that common ground exists, many of us have similar concerns and that together we can listen and hear people we may not necessarily agree with but can respectfully discuss critical issues that need our attention more than ever before.
I'm sharing this with you not as a plug to increase membership, but to offer a resource and invite you to consider exploring some of Braver Angel's work and seeing if it might be of benefit to you too.
Wishing all my neighbors a safe and enjoyable 4th of July and as I like to say... "Happy Interdependence Day!- because our best outcomes will be forged in community, not isolation.
-Carrie Lockhert
Recent Posts
THE FOREST FOR THE TREES
Jul 6, 2021
Pres. Lincoln & Fredrick Douglas -- from Bob Bartlett
Jul 6, 2021
DIMOKRATIA -- SUBMITTED BY SHELLEY SZAMBELAN
Jul 5, 2021
A Conversation Between Frederick douglass & Abraham Lincoln
Submitted By Bob Bartlett
This is exceptionally powerful, particularly when you listen to the comments following the performance. This short 40 minute play was written by two brothers-in-law, one a history professor in Maine and the other Bob Bartlett, a Sociology Professor at EWU, then updated for a fundraiser on Zoom held by St. Stephens Catholic Church in in inner-city Minneapolis to benefit a couple African-American Civil Rights non-profits who literally work in the neighborhood where George Floyd was murdered.
These two talented professors teamed up to imagine a conversation on race relations between President Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglas at the conclusion of the Civil War. A conversation 150 years ago that still resonates today. The reaction to this play also needs to be heard, it revealed lived inner-city experiences and truths that I frankly needed to hear. It influenced me enough that I called Bob, and gained his permission to share this you.
Watch The Video Here
FLICKER OF HOPE
A lantern burns in window bright,
A star on earth of fallen light.
A message sent, empathic glow,
To all who pass, cloaked hearts in tow.
We believe that you are love,
Whose angels guard from gates above.
While oceans stream the tears of earth,
Protectors we, of riches worth.
That lantern signals end in sight,
So hug this planet, hold on tight.
by Georgie Weatherby
Earth Day, April 2020
In honor of our precious earth,
After all, there is no Plan(et) B
In These Times- By Dick Warwick
We’re living in amazing times,
Before some big collapse;
Best collect a few supplies
As well as some good maps.
If you’re the type that must have guns,
Well, gather one or two,
But realize that weaponry
Most likely won’t save you.
For a house that stands divided
Has no chance of survival—
The only thing to pull us through
Is a general revival
Of our sense of the common good
And our place in the scheme;
We’re tribal, we’re not loners,
Function best when we’re a team.
If we reinstate that attitude
Before some huge train wreck,
It’s possible that we could save
Our collective neck.
Let’s put aside the rhetoric,
The posturing and bluster,
And give ourselves half a chance
Finally to muster
The good side of our nature—
Unselfish, kind and giving—
Maybe then our mother earth
Will let us go on living.
Respect is what it’s all about—
Not the sort that’s formed by fear;
But that which springs alone from love,
That which we hold most dear.
Listen to the planet speak
In your heart, that quiet voice,
For it’s now crucial that we make
A life-affirming choice.
For we’re living in amazing times
Before some big events;
We don’t need gear and guns and maps—
We just need some common sense.
- Dick Warwick
Dimokratia - Submitted by Shelley Szambelan
Start Here ->
His 2018 article offered lessons long before January 6, 2021 – a sad day that should be remembered as one of the darkest of our democracy. Although racial inequity has existed for far too many years, recent civil unrest resulting from systemic racism certainly was not widespread then either. We continue to ignore President Lincoln’s words at the peril of our democracy.
Thank you, Mark, for encouraging our community to engage in civil civic discourse that includes constructive disagreement. The echo chamber of social media and news organizations whose reporting has a political – not objective - lens disrupts and distorts these efforts. A house slips from its foundation when government cannot be trusted to tell the truth, or interferes with a free press, which is essential to democracy and not “an enemy of the people.” Democratic decision-making should be based on fairness and equality. An independent judiciary is designed to facilitate that, but there is much room for improvement. Society needs to have honest and courageous conversations while committing to do better to ensure that all citizens experience equal justice under the law in every branch of government. Citizens must choose to stabilize our house instead of fostering the division that tears it down.
Shelley Szambelan, Spokane Superior Court Judge
Prof. Bradford Vivian wrote for The Conversation how:
Lincoln’s ‘House Divided’ speech offers alternative ways to imagine the nation than as a patchwork of “red” and “blue” states.
Americans belong to a union first, parties second. Party machinery and false political prophets divide the house of the people; the people have the power to stabilize that house if they choose to do so. The union was founded on a dedication to equality. It retains a firm moral foundation by preserving commitments to principles of equality over region or party.
Vacuum Cleaners In a Blizzard
Huddled out the back door of the thrift store
the death of Capitalism laid bare:
caged without reason behind chain link facing
front and ranked at attention a dozen captive
soldiers with no battle to bear and wearing
identical Grenadier caps of snow.
No one will use them again, disposable
mercenaries heralding planned
obsolescence and the death of the noble.
Or perhaps simply discarded broken home
appliances, nobody's symbol but my own.
Snow piles up in the night and that's no image
out there, asleep under the bridge.
(From Not Me, Exactly, c. 2020 by Dennis Held)
Submitted By Lynnette Vehrs
These last 15 months have been like no other for health care providers. Our nurses are real heroes! I have been tremendously proud to represent and advocate for our nurses as the Washington State Nurses Association President. I have had the opportunity to speak with Washington State Congressional Representatives along with our Washington State Legislators on behalf of supporting and protecting them.
Our nurses walk into work everyday knowing they might contract the virus or worst yet bring it home to their families. When we have lost our own nurses to the virus it is as bad as losing your family member. The depth of despair is expressed with our tears and hugs. The joy and relief is bright when we are able to save our patients.
The nursing profession is a Science and an Art -
They are Strong yet have the
Gentlest of touch.
They walk with determination
But always take time to listen.
They are educators, teaching and
Sharing knowledge every day.
They are there when you need
Them the most.
They are Nurses!
By Gail Gabel, RN
Excerpts from My Country 'Tis Of Thee - Submitted By Claire Rudolf Murphy
Crime and the Alarmists - Clarence Darrow - 1926
It is safe to say that almost all crimes are committed by boys in their early teens
or by those who began in effect a criminal career at that age. Saving criminals is,
in the last analysis, only saving children; and saving children means not only
saving criminals but their victims, too. Most of the criminals come from cities and
most of them were born and reared in the poor and crowded districts where they
had little chance to develop into anything but criminals. A little knowledge of
biology, psychology, and life makes this plain to understand. No well-informed
person believes that one is born a criminal or with even a tendency to crime. If
so, crime would not be of the individual’s own choosing nor his end be due to his
own volition. No child is born a criminal. He may be born weak or strong and,
therefore, his power of resistance be more or less; but the course he takes is due
to training, opportunity, and environment. The protection of the child or the
grown person comes from habit. Religion many teach precepts, but this means
nothing without habits. The school may give a certain kind of education, but
unless this creates habits which fit the child for life it is of no avail.
Most of those who follow a criminal career have had little education and cared
little for books. Most of them could not be fitted for professions by education;
their only chance was some sort of work. They passed the school age without
becoming scholars, and the schools have given them nothing in the place of what
is generally called an education. When very young they began a life that almost
inevitably leads to crime. If it is the duty of the state or any organized institution
to provide for the education of the youth, then the most important thing is to fit
them for the job of living. Many boys come to the adolescent age with only scant
education in books and no education that fits them for any self-reliant life. For
the large class who have no taste for books society furnishes no training in the
schools. These boys are thrown on their own resources with no occupation that
will furnish them a chance to live. The schools could as well teach manual trades
as books, and a large part of those who cannot succeed with books could do well
in working with their hands. There is no more reason why schools should
prepare one to succeed in a profession than why they should teach certain ones a
useful trade. Most boys like to use their hands, and the proper training for trades
should be begun when very young. It is seldom that a mechanic enters on a life of
crime. He forms habits that keep him safe.
The child is born with the same instincts that move all other animals. When he
wants something he feels the urge to take it in the easiest way. It is only training
that teaches him that he may get things one-way, but not another. His training
must be developed into habits. The life of a child is a conflict between primal
emotions and social restrictions, and he must be fortified, not alone by teaching,
but by habits, if he is to live the rules that society lays down. Intelligent teachers
and wise parents know what this means. It is only rarely that a boy is carefully
trained and fitted for life is sent to jail.
Submitted By John Costello
The Forest For the trees
By Rena Priest
2021-2023 Washington State Poet Laureate
& member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation
I have seen a tree split in two
from the opposing weight of its branches.
It can survive, though its heart is exposed.
I have seen a country do this too.
I have heard an elder say,
That we must be like the willow –
bend not break.
I have made peace this way.
My neighbors clear-cut their trees,
leaving mine defenseless. The arborist
said they’d fall in the first strong wind.
Together we stand. I see this now.
I have seen a tree grown around
a bicycle, a street sign, and a chainsaw,
absorbing them like ingredients
in a big melting pot.
When we speak, whether or not
we agree, the trees will turn
the breath of our words
from carbon dioxide, back into air –
give us new breath
for new words,
new chances to listen,
new chances to be heard.
The Framer & Divisions - Submitted By Andy Lang
I've actually tinkered with things like these issues in the past few years -
"The Framer" is about more than building the right wall, obviously- but I have always been struck by the fundamental principle that framing the strongest structure- wall, home, etc., takes tension- the healthy kind that finds compromise in its opposing forces and becomes something stronger still for the gentle pressures all the parts contribute to the whole.
"Divisions" speaks to the what the earth needs us to remember- that we share it, that we cross it to be together rather than be apart.
The Framer
The framer plies a trade hidden, behind
Smooth plaster and lath; generations of
Life inside the bones of strong walls, crafted
By one who understands the value of support
And connectedness, and simple true materials
Tested first by sun and rain, drought and thick, heavy winter.
Upon the solid footing of stone,
Connected to the earth, reliant
On its steadfast nature, the bottom plate,
Straight, true and carefully measured.
Each stud in his wall, placed with care and knowledge,
An understanding of the wood’s strength and value.
There’s no selection necessary- each piece,
The Framer knows, has a place and purpose.
No board is perfect- this is known, and welcomed-
Instead, that which is different: the checks,
The gentle warpings and cups,
The very character and nature
Of once-living things are welcomed by the Framer;
A perfect position for every part in his creation.
The Framer understands that only these
Add the strength of tension and pressure
Necessary to hold the load of a world,
Subtle in its task yet complex in its connection
To a life it protects and nurtures.
Each section of the Framer’s creation
Meets the next, pushing into the past,
Pulling forward to the future. This is how
Tree becomes a wall, becomes a home, becomes a world.
Finished, the Framer leaves no trace of his craft
On the surface, but deep in the center,
The bones of the world remain strong and true-
The beauty and grace he crafts from the worth of each
Create the treasure of all.
- Andy Lang
Divisions
Hate should never divide us;
thoughts and words
should never divide us.
Rivers and mountains and fields
should be our only divisions.
These are divisions given us
by the heart of the world,
barriers to be explored
and enjoyed and experienced --
These are the divisions
that should define us--
divisions that are placed
to help us know who we are,
what we are capable of,
how blessed we are
the song of the world
is so rich and varied.
These are the divisions
we are meant to love
and cherish every day;
we are meant to come together
in and over and through these divisions
to better understand:
we are all verses in the song--
and the waters, and the stones,
the trees and the wild grasses
and the brambles,
and the dust in the breeze
call the tune.
- Andy Lang
Be Kind- Zak Abel
Submitted by Ramona Tyler
A.m.e.r.i.c.a. - Arbor of Hope
An introductory episode to the brand new show on Spokane Talks.
Submitted by - Mike Gahvarehchee
Watch the Introduction Episode Here
Bill Campbell
“Freedom at the Arboretum” is a great rhyme, and of course our liberties are very important. But it seems to me that far too often in our society, we extend liberties to the few at the expense of justice for all. I’ve come to believe that liberty and justice are conjoined twins; that real liberty is not possible without justice.
BIG GEORGE
1.
You like blue?
Well, an unhealthy
Adherence to blue
Means you’re the devil’s
Handmaiden.
You’re the bedwetter,
The bully, the thief.
You like salmon?
Trick question—
I like chicken. Fish
Eaters are scum.
In fact, they have no morals.
No reason to live.
2.
As you toss
Beer bottles into
The recycling bin
Suddenly the inside
Of the garage glows pink
And shines all
Aflutter
With evening light.
A headline on top
On the newspapers
Deep in the bin
Stops you:
Neo-Nazi Robocalls Reported
In Sandpoint.
How are we even talking
About this? Not my fault,
Not yours,
Right?
And it’s easy to look away—
Just fringe white supremacist
Nazi nobodies
Who nobody knows.
But if grievance is the coin
We spend so merrily—
Treasuring our differences
While ignoring
All that together ties us—
Then what are we buying?
At what cost?
Sweet grievance.
You have your reasons.
I have mine.
Favorite
Reasons cached
Deep in our pockets
And fondled until
They’re raw
And ready to explode.
3.
A black friend—
Sociology professor, PhD
Storyteller, catch-and-release
Fly fisherman—
Says when white people
See a policeman
They know he’s there to help.
When a black person sees
A policeman she knows
She may possibly get hurt
Or die.
Then George Floyd
Is murdered on video
Reminding us
White people we’re racist,
Even though we don’t the ways how.
So decked out
In our high
And mighty compost-like
Stink—
Everybody owes us
Our blessings, our 401Ks
And our guns, everybody—
We require a sacrifice
Like George
To get off our couches
And open the blinds.
Ignore means
To refuse to pay attention to.
Big George’s
Plea—
I can’t breathe—
An invocation
To abandon
The privilege
Of remaining ignorant—
Who me?
Racist?
Wait a minute
The police?—
Not a gift
Easy to put away
Or trade
For an action flick
At Gold’s Pawn Shop,
But an invocation—
I can’t breathe.
Written and submitted by John Whalen
The Power And Glory - Submitted By Sue Roberts
I happened to come across this song by Pete Seeger. The lyrics seem to resonate with your gathering. Phil Ochs covered it too, and while I prefer Pete Seeger’s singing, Phil Ochs added this last verse that I think speaks to our times:
Only as strong as our love for this land
Only as tall as we stand
But our land is still troubled by men who have to hate
They twist away our freedom & they twist away our fate
Fear is their weapon and treason is their cry
We can stop them if we try.
Submitted By Ramona Tyler
THE STAIN
Remove the stain…
Of epithets and slurs of hate, cloaks of white, sidestepped debates.
Remove the stain…
That history carries like a fight, unwinnable, still burning bright.
Remove the stain…
That purifies those born with rights, a roll of dice that made them white.
Remove the stain…
That haunts our past and hangs from trees, examples made, etched memories.
Remove the stain…
Of equal and yet separate, a place reserved so none will fret.
Remove the stain…
Of bus and train divided so, our fellow man, the common foe.
Remove the stain…
Drinking fountains, luncheon space, all distinguished by one’s race.
Remove the stain…
Of flags still flown on proud display, Confederacy lives on today.
Remove the stain…
Of eyes turned downward, begging pleas, instead treat all humanity.
by Georgie Weatherby
Striving for a More Perfect Union:
Equal, NOT Separate
May 20, 2021
NO DIFFERENCE - Shel Silverstein
Small as a peanut,
big as a giant,
We're all the same size when you turn off the light.
Rich as a sultan,
Poor as a mite,
We're all worth the same when you turn off the light.
Red, black or orange,
Yellow or white,
We all look the same when you turn off the light.
So maybe the way to make everything right,
Is for someone to reach out and turn off the light!
Submitted By Barb Cantlon