‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Traitors Among Us
By Peter Molenaar Has everyone heard about the new tax code and its predicted effect upon our national debt? Naturally, the discussion has turned now to cutting Social Security, Medicare, and much more. Yes, money has always corrupted our democracy, but the open talk about having to satisfy “the donors” is new. Effortlessly, Wall Street wealth will now multiply at a faster pace. Arthritis and silicosis are the dividends meant for me. Smith Foundry Christmas party, December 19, 2017: Inadvertently, an old buddy (white male) brushed my shoulder. A Trump enthusiast, he hastened past, not wanting to engage in a stare-down match. No, not every white worker voted for D. T-rump. See the following, as taken from an online post: “Contrary to what those idiots on the Hill believe, people have worked 20 or 30 years and more and have paid into both ”¦. That”'s our money, you morons”¦.” Yet, we are told not to chastise our Trumpsters, because we [...]
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 [...]
