‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Questions for Mom and Dad
By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar By dint of a mother who remained a Christian until her dying day, and his atheistic father, their son is inclined to believe that science illuminates the face of God. But, Mom and Dad, some questions for you remain: When we visited our national parks did we not acknowledge the spirit of the original beholders? Why then do the oceans now rise against the shores of Earth and why so many forest fires, hurricanes, and floods? My goodness, Mom and Dad, is the collective labor-time of the working masses no longer the source of value within the realm of commodities? (Sorry to be such a difficult child!) Did we not honor the one who rebuked the capitalists occupying the temple and was subsequently crucified? Why then are cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security even considered? Mom and Dad, what should I do to help make America good again?
Pondering the Breath of Life
from the series Raise Your Voice.... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar It can be said with certainty that the neighborhoods served by this paper constitute a community of shared memories, one of which is indelibly etched within. Presumably, then, the young poets among us will grant an old man some license: Most of us bold enough to leave our mother’s womb will inhale the scent of lilacs when in bloom. Yet every blossom withers before evoking again and again: the breath of life. While pondering the breath of life, we might acknowledge our Ward 10 councilperson. Aisha has returned with reports from her recent tour of Cuba, an island nation long tormented by a blockade which now threatens to pull the electrical plug from incubated babies. Naturally, some voices have emerged on the local scene which appear to mimic the vocal shrugs: “stuff happens” and “that is the cost.” Others believe Aisha deserves commendation for her compassionate example. In [...]
Democracy Defense Networks Loom
from the series Raise Your Voice!... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar To begin once again on a personal note: subsequent to his having a stroke, the writer here continues to reconnect a broken brain to a broken body, a body broken by 35 years of heavy labor at Smith Foundry, an enterprise which famously polluted the lungs of children (now totally absent from the zone near Cedar Ave. and 28th Street). Which is to say: he will continue to march with the masses, with a cane in hand, but the rapid-response mode is not in his future. Even so, he took part in a UNIDOS assembly held at El Colegio (4137 Bloomington Ave.) where, in keeping with the rapid-response networks that engaged the ICE occupation, democracy-defense networks were envisioned. Naturally, our polling places will be defended, while a list of triggering possibilities is pondered, such as: cancellation of mid-term elections, or perhaps another violent episode of election result denial. PETER MOLENAAR [...]
