‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Birthing the Seed
Largest Black Bean ever? Sacred to some Native American Tribes & regarded as “poor man”'s meat” beans are rich in protein, supplying 1/3 of the essential amino acids to the corn, bean and squash trinity. By Peter Molenaar Two seasons ago, amidst the typically mottled ones, the harvest of Scarlet Runner Beans revealed two completely black seeds. In their turn, these seeds would germinate and prove to be a new mutant strain. Will the largest black bean ever grown bear my name? However, in this New World, horticultural advance must largely be credited to the practice of Native American women. This is true, because the processors of the food were also the seed savers. Her gift to us was not merely that of the various beans, but also the tomatoes, peppers, squashes, melons, potatoes, pumpkins”¦and she gave us corn! We should pity the school child who has not been introduced to teosinte, the grass from which, by her hand, corn was born. In [...]
Beyond Word Magic
In The Alley Newspaper April 2017 issue, nestled between front page columns authored by good neighbors, a letter from the President of the United States was found! If overwhelming disdain did not prevent the reading, the ensuing wall of cognitive dissonance was likely to cut it short. Yet, I read on and on”¦to discover, deep on page 8, the credit to a former president, Dwight Eisenhower. “Hey, that was his ”˜beware of the military industrial complex speech,”'” replied the editor. Okay, I sort of get that. Bush-type presidents have big investments in arms production, so we fought Osama in Iraq, or something like that, making jobless generals to build an Isis with enough poison gas to create false flags in Syria (see what Daddy can do!). However, check out Ike, line 1: “Throughout America”'s adventure in free government”¦” Oh, gosh, golly. In the beginning , white property holders convened to establish the rule of law (in preference [...]
Project Earth
By Peter Molenaar March 8, 2017”¦ (Note: DAPL refers to Dakota Access Pipeline.) The Walker Community United Methodist Church continues to showcase our resilience, this time beckoning a “Café con Alondra.” The forum was to feature a panel of #NoDAPL veterans, fresh from the Battle of Standing Rock. Alondra Cano”'s presence was appreciated as well. As it happened, audience members were invited to state their concerns. By what path will we transition to the post-fossil-fuel society? Will an intervening crisis ensue? Does the slogan - “Workers and oppressed people unite” still hold true? Clearly, the assembled Native-American voice now serves as our spiritual intermediary to Mother Earth. Yet, Trump supporters have shouted: “How will that oil get to you without the pipeline?” Well, listen up. The oil in question has been shipped by train all along. Why would you support the ambitions of one sector of capital over another? Why would [...]
