There are the waves, and there is the wind, seen and unseen forces.

Everyone has these same elements in their lives, the seen and unseen, karma and free will. —Kuan Yin

Home, sweet home

Here we are on the eve of an election that has most of us feeling jittery. And not just those of us who feel that another Trump presidency would be a stomach-churning, heartbreaking disaster. I have seen clips of Trump supporters saying that they would consider leaving the country if Harris wins.

I usually go out of my way to avoid insulting people who vote for the Don. People are complicated creatures. I am sure there are very fine people (!) on both sides of the political divide. Yet in the interviews I’ve seen with T-supporters on social media I am astonished by the misinformation that often informs their allegiance, and their lack of interest in what might actually be true. Why?

A combination of factors contribute to profound stupidity. Capitalism’s mandate to serve profit and nothing else, through lies, damn lies, and advertising—social media’s similar motives, including its structure of a continuous feed of tiny bits of random content that wreak havoc on our ability to pay focused attention to anything, and the dominance of these influences over a sense of natural community, has left many of us wandering in a desert of confusion, fear, and an urgent desire for tribal affiliation.

Let’s not leave out the education system which, with some exceptions, is not designed to encourage critical thinking, especially now that desperate politicians are trying to use it for actual brainwashing.

Has it always been thus? Probably. I can’t go too far in sociological musings, but I will say that at present, when powerful cause and effect on a global scale is in our face, when basic safety and security are out of reach for so many, the conditions for mass disorientation and irrational beliefs are ripe.

Trump and his henchmen are like a boil that has come to a head on a deep systemic sickness of fear, anger and desperation. They did not cause the sickness; they manifest it.

What they offer are not dreams; they offer nightmares. They think they are fighting against democrats. What they are really fighting against is reality—what we are and what we could be, if only we understood the power of copying and utilizing the great systems that allow the earth to spin around the sun, that allow light and earth and water to bring forth living things that have their own will and destiny and that are inextricably connected to the whole. These systems do not rely on lies or violence; they rely on inherent inclination.

The tide will turn, as it always does. Port Townsend, Washington

We are at a critical point in the history of our species, in which our lack of respect and understanding for how the world works, for how we work, coupled with an over-reliance on our cleverness and will to power, has brought us to a watershed moment. Either we evolve a critical mass of more inclusive consciousness or we will destroy ourselves.

I hope for the best. The exploration of humanity’s potential for greater awareness is a messy journey and it will continue to be messy.

Art by Laura K. Popenoe

The vote is precious. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it. — John Lewis, late civil rights activist and member of the US House of Representatives for Georgia

Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it. — Susan B. Anthony, women’s rights activist during the suffragette movement in the early 20th century. 

Let’s use it. VOTE!! See you on the other side.