‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Criticism And Self-Criticism
Yes, the revolutionary process is again unfolding and is, this time around, discernible and understandable even to us “broad masses”. It is natural, in this context, for the most “gifted” to step forward as “partisans of the people”. It is natural, as well, that a competition for leadership status will develop between individuals [...]
Mixed Bag
Unlike the esteemed guru who, it is said, once transcended all earthly attachments, the rest of us are bound to the spiritual ups and downs which reflect the satisfactions and irritations of our existence. St. Paul’s Church, 11-11-11… It was in conjunction with the 200th birthday of Wendell Phillips, renowned opponent of all forms of [...]
Occupation Time
Just moments ago I witnessed a national TV news report which exposed the deliberate short supply of chemotherapy drugs made available for children. Profits before people… Yet the ongoing protests against corporate greed lack a clear set of demands. Sure, the slogan “Power to The People” has merit. But what? Does the banner [...]
Fishing Trip
It is good for an inland worker to visit big water from time to time. My father and I are just now returned from fishing Lake of the Woods in northernmost Minnesota. The curvature of the horizon is discernable to the eye there. So, thank you Smith Foundry for letting me go. As I was not pressed to engage the machine, the promising sunrise [...]
Doo Wop And Cannon Falls
The luckier members of my generation were again able to watch public television’s annual review of the Doo Wop Pop Rock music emergence (late ‘50s—early ‘60s). As always, it was an awesome emotional head swoon. Moreover, let us self-reflect, the splendid performances of so many popular Black artists served to educate and humanize millions [...]
High Heat
By Peter Molenaar The weather we’ve endured recently has produced the oft heard comment: “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity”. Well, OK. Let’s bear in mind, however, that temperature is a measurement of how energetically molecules are vibrating. Note: In the desert we feel comfortable even at relatively elevated temperatures. Why? [...]
What’s in a Name?
By Peter Molenaar 13,000 years ago the great glacier, which had covered these parts for many thousands of years, began to recede. Giant ice boulders left among the drift created the holes which became our lakes. One such lake would come to be called Mde Maka Ska. The people migrated northward with the receding ice. Those who remained [...]
Thor and Pandora
by Peter Molenaar To the ancient observer, the approaching cumulonimbus cloud appeared as a giant hammer from which lightning bolts penetrated the earth. Hence, the hammer-wielding Viking god associated with thunder storms and destruction, but also healing and renewal, was born in the people’s mind. Thor was his name. In the modern [...]
Beyond Wisconsin
March 13, 2011… There were pleasant greetings between the handful of neighborhood folk who attended the most recent rally in Hudson. David Bicking was there. His handmade sign read: “Labor Creates All Wealth”. In jest, I pondered out loud, “Oh, I thought ownership of the means of production created wealth.” And then, yet another great [...]
