‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Messiah Before Profit
By Peter Molenaar Faithful readers of the Alley will recall two pages from last month”'s issue, devoted to the conversation surrounding the fate of Messiah Lutheran Church. As things stand, Messiah will be marketed, starting at the rumored price of $800,000. Any takers other than the adjacent corporate interest which intends to demolish it? Hey, when inside these historic sanctuaries, I feel the presence of my Swedish ancestors. However, the question is way deeper than my self-centered concern. Check it out: “Messiah Lutheran”'s interior presents”¦ lavish use of wood, with pointed arches emblematic of the English Gothic style, carved wood paneling, and the intricate stained glass window above and behind the altar lends the interior a graceful ambience”¦ perhaps the most splendid interior architectural feature is the system of wood hammer beam trusses, each characterized by a series of sizable vertical members with lathe-turned [...]
Vietnam and Naked Truth
By Peter Molenaar A good part of our neighborhood gave its attention to THE VIETNAM WAR on public television. For my generation, the series was an edifying reminder of that war”'s impact upon our inner-being. Kent State Massacre, May 4, 1970”¦ Nixon”'s people informed the grief stricken parents: You should be happy your son was killed, he was “just another communist”. Who were these “communists”? As far as I know, the Communists thought it was wrong to compel working-class youth to war on behalf of capitalists who wanted space for the deindustrialization of our country”¦ thereby smashing our jobs base, our unions, and our wages. Then later, 1979. In the northeast corner of the Smith Foundry shower room at 1855 E. 28th Street: I was stark naked with my back to the corner, while an African-American Korean War veteran taunted me. Evidently, the Mai Leis of that war had resurfaced. I asked him: Would you kill a man who had faced down the [...]
Ready for Some Football?
By Peter Molenaar I trust that no Vikings fan from this neighborhood has given up their seat or TV time to boycott the NFL. However, in D. Trump”'s words, those who “dishonor our flag” are “sons of bitches.” The historical “bitch” was, of course, the enslaved woman the master would rape”¦only to have her mixed-race children torn from her breast and sold “down river.” These were the Black mothers who cradled the men who built the house D. Trump lives in now. Charlottesville”¦ We witnessed the Nazis rally their friends, with an eye towards the “final solution.” To the consternation of “traditional conservatives,” D. Trump did not fully condemn these forces. Yet, push come to shove, such conservatives will combine with the Fascists”¦ democracy be damned. This too, we know from history. Children ask: What happened to that nice man who was our president? Yet, some “leftists” [...]
