Allan G. Hunter's Blog, page 12

Diary 229

Monday, November 2nd

By the time you read this it will be time to vote. If you’ve already voted it will be time to wonder if your vote will be counted.  

Dire warnings swirl around in the press that this could be the last chance for democracy in the US. No matter who wins, the major task will be to try and unite Americans again, and give them back a sense of confidence in the system that once worked pretty well. I do not think the current ‘president’ thinks about that or cares. Yet we, the people, do. And there are many of us. Many more than the thugs who turn up at peaceful rallies with automatic rifles, who try to run opposition candidates’ buses off the road, who pose with their swastikas and their weapons. They are the minority. And you know what?  They know it.

And remember: we have an environment to consider. We’re not voting for the next four years, but the next four millennia.

Diary 228

Sunday, November 1st

Today carried that slight sense of dislocation that always follows the altering of the clocks – and the recognition that we all live now on ‘Industrial Time’ rather than by the rhythms of the sun and seasons.

It was a quiet day, as I wondered about what the next few days might bring. I’m keeping the faith that it will turn out well.

Diary 227

Diary 227

Saturday, October 31st

Halloween, a full moon, a blue moon, a sharp frost and snow still on the ground. Samhain, if you prefer the Gaelic name.

I’d wondered if this Halloween would be a bit tame, Covid-cramped and joyless, this year. Candy in bowls on a deserted porch, that kind of thing. Instead of that we had more kids come to the door than ever, and gaggles of adults, dressed in great and imaginative and sometimes downright silly costumes, marshaled them round the streets in a joyous and vaguely socially-distanced way. I shared this impression with friends and they all agreed: this year was something special.

It was as if everyone was saying that these joyless last four years, with a mirthless past nine months under a ‘president’ who would willingly have us all die to suit his agenda, would NOT get us down. It was life, and decency and energy reasserting themselves.

We’re here. No one can keep us down.

Diary 226

Diary 226

Friday, October 30th

Snow greeted us this morning. It wasn’t heavy, but it was snow. Four inches, I’d say – enough to make a snow princess with two small girls to help me.

France has declared a lockdown – one in which people are restricted from leaving their homes except for ’essential purposes’ like food shopping, for a month. The resultant scramble for people to get to wherever they needed to be for the next month caused over 700 kms (nearly 500 miles) of traffic jams around Paris — a record even for France.

Meanwhile the ‘president’ has made the claim that ‘Our doctors get more money if someone dies of Covid’. This, from the man who was hospitalized with it.

Diary 225

Thursday, October 29th

When Biden gets into the White House we may have to see a new kind of politics — if we’re to save humanity on this planet. There will be a lot less ‘reaching across the aisle’ for consensus, I suspect. The past four years have shown us that the Republicans regard such actions as weak and laughable, and they have no intention of changing that view. We cannot afford to waste time with their stubborn intractability.  This is the direct result of the actions of the existing ‘president’ and his his cronies, whose idea of consensus is anything they can force through. A new era awaits. 

Continuation 223

The outpourings of dismay about the destruction of the Liberal Arts at Curry College have been … gratifying. I suppose that’s the correct word. Thank you, all those of you who wrote such appreciative words. I doubt that those heartfelt comments will change anything, though. The College, and others like it, will change and become utterly unlike what it once was. It will become a type of trade school, grooming students for ‘jobs’ rather than for life. This seems to be what people who have to pay the tuition want.

This is a product of a very long-reaching series of events that have altered the very idea of what education might be in this country.

I remain optimistic, though. One cannot erase awareness and consciousness just through economic manipulations. We are a nation that has always thought beyond the mere practicalities of existence. That’s what we have the concepts of freedom, of equality, of equal opportunity. We all yearn to live decent, significant and heart-based lives. Colleges may go under or be altered, but the need for Liberal Arts will not fade away.

Diary 223

Tuesday, October 27th

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court today in what many regard as a disgracefully rushed and cynical process, the exact opposite of the way Mitch McConnell treated Merrick Garland four years ago. Barrett is an ‘originalist’ which seems to mean she regards every word of the Constitution as sacred.  If so, good.  Then she’ll have no trouble prosecuting and convicting the incumbent ‘president’.

This same ‘president’ has so far asked about invading Venezuela, whether nuclear weapons could be used against hurricanes (think of that, for a second), and if he might sell Puerto Rico [New York Times]. Great idea! No more trying to ignore the storm damage! And I bet there’ll be an eager buyer.  Putin would love it as a missile base.

In one week we get to throw this benighted person out.

Diary 222

Diary 222

Monday, October 26th

Today brought the news that my former employer, Curry College, had just axed the entire Politics and History Department, plus English, Sociology, Women’s and Gender Studies, Black Studies, Philosophy and Religion, and a few other departments, also in their entirety. This is only the start, for this and other small colleges hit by Covid, economic downturns, and dwindling confidence in this country.

I’m sad, of course, that the college will no longer be a Liberal Arts College, and that the Humanities seems to be an endangered species. I’m also sad for all the younger academics who had hoped to use their energy and enthusiasm to make a positive difference in the world and who are now with out jobs, without careers.

I’m sad for the students who will no longer be educated about the wider world.

Diary 221

Sunday, October 25th

Today came the news that, finally, a 50th nation has signed the treaty outlawing nuclear weapons – an agreement that becomes binding in 90 days. The wheels of democracy turn slowly. But we trust in it – and 60 million Americans have already cast their early ballots.

Just a reminder: in Canada the government is giving $1500 (US) per month to those most affected by Covid. The US managed to squeeze $1200 out of its coffers, and that is all we’ve had for the past seven months. Which Government do we think actually cares for its citizens? Not this Republican-led rabble.

Diary 220

Saturday, October 24th

Today was Yoga day, led by two very limber grandkids (5 and 7) and a suitable video. The kids were enchanted. I confess I had trouble with a few of the poses – Standing Pretzel was hard – but I also did fairly well with Resting Marmot, even if some people think that particular pose looks a lot like Middle-Aged-Dude-Lying-Down-for-a-Nap pose. I can’t think why we haven’t done this before. It looks as if it’ll be a regular fixture.

The world seems to beholding its breath until this election is over – a mere 11 days to go now. Certainly Boris Johnson thinks the result will guide him in his future idiocies to be inflicted on the UK, especially the no-deal Brexit decision.

As for ourselves, the early ballots have recorded over 6 million votes in California alone and probably the highest voter turn out since 1908. Despite all the attempts at voter suppression voters are at least turning out for once. It could be that all the ‘president’s’ attempts to disenfranchise us will back fire. He may have overplayed his hand or (to use and English phrase) he’s over-egged the custard. We shall see.  If you haven’t already, VOTE.