{"id":65120,"date":"2013-03-16T04:49:42","date_gmt":"2013-03-16T08:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/?p=65120"},"modified":"2013-03-16T10:58:24","modified_gmt":"2013-03-16T14:58:24","slug":"evolution-new-choices-create-new-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/by-judith-gayle-2\/evolution-new-choices-create-new-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution: New Choices Create New Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Spring has arrived in the Pea Patch, even though patches of snow and ice are still melting in the deepest corners of the woods. The birds woke me this morning, their collective enthusiasm louder than I remember in months, and here and there dainty daffies are poking up, lending bright spots of yellow to a landscape still dressed in winter’s colors. The season was mild this year, as it was last, but not without its extreme events. That’s the new true: extreme. That’s what we’ve created with our carbon problems and that’s what we must learn to live with.<\/p>\n

\"PoliticalI usually wait until 0 degrees Aries to give my houseplants their first sip of liquid encouragement (fertilizer), giving them a leg up on production of new leaves and buds, but not this year. They beat me to it, the asparagus ferns sending up new shoots weeks ago, the spiders as well. It’s a fact that nature’s timetable has moved itself ahead by three or so weeks, at least around here, and the notion that we can “adjust” time by turning our clocks ahead an hour is silliness. Light does what light does. My three outside dogs come in at dusk: three weeks ago, that was six o’clock. Now it’s closer to eight and likely to spin out longer in the coming days.<\/p>\n

The deer won’t be coming in so close in the evening, I suspect, waiting to forage until the moon is high in the sky and the dogs safely inside. The red fox down the road won’t drop by for a drink just after the sun goes down, the chipmunks and squirrels will no longer use the fenced yard as a shortcut. Here in the Patch — and no doubt, across the planet — plants, animals and humans are all struggling to adjust to a changing terrascape, a potent reminder that we humans aren’t comfortable with change. We like to think we know what to expect, some of us so we can navigate circumstances, some so we can protect against them. We spent centuries learning how to succeed within the traditional norms, those in the Western world accustomed to survival at the top of the food chain. We made an art of it and culturized ourselves around those expectations.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Then something happened that evidently only a few of us expected: the growing imbalance of our human footprint triggered an emergency we couldn’t control with our religious invocations, our armed presence or our credit cards. We reached a survival imperative, calling on us to evolve beyond our competitions, our warfare and our mindless consumption of the Earth’s resources. We reached a point of no return that demands that we become more than we’ve been, or fail to thrive in this ecosystem. We either evolve beyond our habits, superstitions and denials, or perish, and many of us are still waiting, white-knuckled, for our neighbors to wake up and smell the ozone-depletion.<\/p>\n

It’s all about control, isn’t it? Evolution begins with surrender. That’s probably why it’s so painful to come to: we’ve lost control and are kicked into a corner with little else to do than accept our circumstances prior to formulating some plan to surmount them. Sometimes we need to scrap old traditions and accepted wisdom for what is intuitively being presented. Sometimes we need to just follow our nose to the next thing, allow our senses to interpret what’s going on, defy tradition and fertilize our plants a few weeks ahead of schedule. Now’s one of those times.<\/p>\n

Things aren’t just changing, they’ve already changed. And it wasn’t by coup or revolution, although if you listen to the Republicans bitch about socialism [sic] ruining the nation over at the three-day Conservative Political Action Conference — Romney’s message of mid-20th century solidarity, for instance — you’d think Marx himself ruled the roost in this nation. Paul Ryan gave a speech, snarkily referenced by the press as “lather, rinse, repeat,” regarding the dreadful crisis [sic] that is our debt. He fluffed that out by delivering another version of the GOP budget to the House, this one a Randian wet dream that reduces government spending to the lowest levels since 1948.<\/p>\n

Even more ridiculously stringent than the last — and capitalizing on most of Obama’s budget successes without giving him credit — this version finally shamed MSM into rejecting the proposal as politically serious. Their disdain of Ryan didn’t help the Progressive Caucus to get the word out about their own\u00a0common sense budget proposal<\/a>, of course. Media are still firmly in the grasp of austerity-thinking, so there was barely a hint of coverage, upending — once again — that mythical “liberal bias” you’ve heard so much about.<\/p>\n

Celebrating the sequester cuts to soothe their still-stinging loss of the presidency, the Republicans who gathered at CPAC reinforced their stance against all things Democratic, thick-skinned to the damage they’re doing to the economy. As Obama said today, regarding newly imposed spending limits on R&D, these “… don’t cut into the fat, they cut into the muscle, into the bone.” The nation is being forced to take a (presumed) two-year sabbatical from competing with other nations in advanced technology and growth, leaving us in the lurch in our dearly-held race for international superiority. And while that’s true enough, it doesn’t begin to speak to the social challenges that affect the down-line. Huffington Post<\/em> carried this leader, today:<\/p>\n

SEQUESTER’S TOLL: Thousands Of Job Cuts… Fewer Firefighters, Teachers… Army Tuition Assistance Program Loses Funding… Major Hospital Cuts… Vital Pre-K Program Slashed… Widespread Airport Delays… Poorest Schools On The Line… Seniors’ Cancer Care Affected… Clean Energy ‘Decelerated’… Homeless Vets At Risk… NASA On The Chopping Block… Parks Budget Devastated<\/em><\/p>\n

PRIORITIES: GOP PREPS BILLS TO BRING BACK WHITE HOUSE TOURS<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You might think that headers like these over at lib-friendly Huffy<\/em> aren’t impactful, but now that Arianna has merged with AOL<\/em>, conservative to its roots, those who frequent Huffington<\/em> are a mixed bag. Their hostility toward Obama is visceral, but their blanket approval of all things Bagger seems to be in a welcome state of wobble. As Sister Joan Chittister<\/a> said, regarding the failures of the Church to recognize and deal with the problems of this century, “There’s an ennui that sets in when people get nothing but old answers to new questions.” She considers that a dangerous inevitability; once you’ve lost the people, you’ve lost the game, entire. Perhaps the Pubs should listen to her advice.<\/p>\n

And speaking of Sister Joan, we’ve got a wild card in the Vatican that seems to be shaking up the natives. Papa Frank, as some wag recently dubbed him, has brought his Franciscan tastes with him, eschewing the traditional elevated throne, the garish garments and cloistered formality of his predecessors. He carries his own bags, pays his own hotel bills and rides the bus with the rest of the fellas. Jesuits are populists but let’s not kid ourselves that they aren’t conservatives as well. In fact, they were originally religious militants, referred to as “God’s Marines.” While Francis seems a gentler choice than Pope Ratz, an examination of the new Pope’s history tells us he has no use for gays, disobedient women in the clergy, condoms, or those who refuse to follow the rules.<\/p>\n

No doubt you have heard about the soiled underwear Francis has stuffed in his back drawer, the accusations that he delivered up two priests to the prevailing junta for refusing to quit practicing ‘liberation theology’ (remember the Rev. Jeremiah Wright?). He may well have interceded on their behalf at some point during their incarceration and torture, as he suggests, although some reports nail him as the narc<\/a> who put them there, instead. Records indicate that the Church itself was silent during what’s been called the “dirty war” that followed the military overthrow of the Isabel Per\u00f3n government, resulting in as many as 30,000 deaths. A silent Church in times of crisis should come as no surprise.<\/p>\n

Still, Francis is a welcome departure from the Diocesan priests who have traditionally run the show in Rome. He will bring change, even as he seeks to keep the faithful within the bounds of traditional dogma. He can’t help himself. Good man, bad man — however this turns out, it doesn’t much matter. It isn’t what he does that matters, now; it’s what he is, by definition of the principles to which the public believes he’s devoted himself. He breaks the mold, changes the zeitgeist, creates new choices and promotes new traditions.<\/p>\n

And that is a form of evolution, although maddeningly slow to those of us who have been schooled to expect instant gratification, raised in the tradition of thrill-rides. It flies in the face of our notions about how change happens — slap! bang! — suddenly throwing all the cards in the air. It quashes our notions about the romance of revolution, the high energy of passionate, unyielding devotion to a cause. And seriously, can we have it both ways? Somewhere — perhaps over the rainbow — there are virgins awaiting those who throw the passion of their devotion into self-sacrificing jihad. The expectations of extremism, wherever you find them, cannot sidestep some self-centered delusion; a little zealotry is a dangerous thing.<\/p>\n

Take Republican culture-warrior, Rob Portman, as a living example of the personal being political, now that his son is revealed to be gay. Portman has changed his mind about marriage equality, his zealotry against gay marriage suddenly deflated like a pin-pricked balloon. Matt Yglesias<\/a> wrote a piece over at Slate asking if Portman will now extend his soul-searching farther, revealing a new sense of compassion for children handicapped by poverty and limited opportunities. He calls Portman’s sudden change of heart the “politics of narcissism.” And surely it is, yet it’s a dent in the absolutes that seem to inform our dead-ended politics, these days. One more improbable voice — along with old devil-dog, Dick Cheney’s, for instance — that speaks for equality and civil liberty. One more chink in the tarnished armor of intolerance.<\/p>\n

Surely our experience of the last few decades has taught us something, and if we look carefully, we can see how hopelessly entrenched is this obstruction toward progress. Keyword: hopeless. Progress, like water seeking its own level, will find a way.<\/p>\n

By now most of us know that religion, no matter how problematic it has become in the halls of government, has less sway in our culture than ever before. The news agencies are pinging off reports that 20% of Americans declare no religious affiliation, citing the misuse of authority — sexual, financial and political — in most religious institutions. The sliver of religious extremism is still speaking loudly, but obviously not all of us are listening.<\/p>\n

In other news, Bloomberg reports that Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they have to consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways. Using a Nixon-era law, the administration is throwing a monkey-wrench into the wholesale exploitation of resources so dear to conservative hearts. The Chamber of Commerce has swallowed its tongue.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in a last act before leaving office, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a “pause” in Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling plans. We no longer expect such powerful companies’ screw-ups to lose them their place at the table, but it happened this month. Shell won’t be allowed any further exploration until they put an integrated management plan in place, including oversight of their various contractors and approved safety measures.<\/p>\n

In his recent ‘charm offensive,’ schmoozing groups of Republicans, Obama asked — nicely, it seems — that more of his judicial appointees get a chance at a vote. He has 35 nominees currently awaiting Senate votes, some re-nominated as hold-overs from 2012, and some 50 additional vacancies awaiting candidates. Republican obstruction has held up the court’s ability to function smoothly for the entirety of Obama’s first term, and now threatens the second.<\/p>\n

Pubs were charmed by this president, it appears, but not enough to agree to something so diverse and consequently progressive. Consider: Obama nominated the first openly gay black man to a Florida federal district court, the first Asian American lesbian to one in New York, and the first South Asian candidate to the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. They are typical of his selections. Eventually, these candidates will take their place in a diversified court system, bringing new experience to the American justice system.<\/p>\n

Can we count these things as progress, even if they have yet to be fully implemented? Can we see the clear presence of socio\/political evolution here?<\/p>\n

With 0 degrees Aries looming, with Mars having come home to his own potent power, it’s important to take a breath, find our peace, understand the energies that push us forward. There is appearance of stalemate all around us, obstruction so strong it will take all of us pushing behind the battering ram to make the changes we wish. But there is also, here in the increasing vibration of Vernal Equinox, a growing sense of the power behind our ability to create anew, girded with a love of our common humanity and an evolved sense of expectations.<\/p>\n

As you’re looking out across the world this week, all of humanity’s mistakes and hubris on display, remember: we’re the change we’re looking for. We’re not passive observers. If we want to open up our energy to evolution, we have to consider that unconditional love — the glue that holds the universe together — is that which we OFFER to one another, not that which we wait to be offered. We can be activists without being warriors; we can be the change without losing our peace.<\/p>\n

In this fiery energy, our passion for our personal and\/or political choices can singe us, if we aren’t careful. Good to remember that battling AGAINST something brings us to a stop, while working FOR something opens up a path. Our choice to battle, or not, may bring us to further impasse, and while that is always fun — and it is — we have another option: that of allowing our compassion to lift us into the gentler vibration of new understanding. Some of us will, of course, choose passion. You know — fun, adventure, learning.<\/p>\n

All good, all grist for the mill. Choices lead to change, new traditions, new ways of perceiving ourselves, and if we watch the news, we can find examples of progress everywhere we look. But because I always want to cut to the chase, I think the real change we’re looking for — the short cut to the Aquarian Age — will only happen when we surrender to love. That’s a choice that can change the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves Spring has arrived in the Pea Patch, even though patches of snow and ice are still melting in the deepest corners of the woods. The birds woke me this morning, their collective enthusiasm louder than I remember in months, and here and there dainty daffies are poking up, lending … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":""},"categories":[1744],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65120"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65120\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/planetwaves.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}