‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Cut Worms And Radishes
By Peter Molenaar “Cut worms” are members of the largest family in the Lepidoptera, i.e., they are larvae of a moth. It was not a rabbit which murdered your tender young tomato, it was the devil incarnate. Behold the innocent one, plump and curled in the form of a C beneath the severed plant. What role in nature did its ancestors play? What Karmic consequences might ensue should you destroy it? In this matter, I choose to honor my Christian grandmother. Straighten the “worm” between thumbs and forefingers, meditate briefly, then pop it in two. On the other hand, experienced gardeners will follow mitigating steps: 1.) weed and rake the garden clean before turning the soil in late autumn, 2.) turn the soil again come spring, 3.) plant a trap crop. Who can eat a hundred radishes? Plant them in April, weeks before setting out expensive transplants. A few fallen radishes will reveal the whereabouts”¦ Hmmm”¦philosophical [...]
Fly the Friendly Skies
By Peter Molenaar Monday, May 18”¦ The Metropolitan Airports Commission was to convene its monthly meeting with a lengthy agenda. Star employees were to receive awards! Smile. However, the deeper concern was this: Should the low-wage classifications be bumped up $1.00 from the minimum wage? So rendezvous at the Lake Street Station for a light rail hop to Terminal I. Traverse the dark recesses”¦enter the light of day among red shirt activists. The gathering was lead by “15 Now” (Socialist Alternative) and SEIU Local 26. “Fight for $15/hour at MSP Airport” was the slogan. We were able to pass the security gauntlet (to mixed reviews) and entered momentarily the bourgeois market place. We did not dwell there, but ascended one flight to find the MAC meeting space. After much to-do, the time for public testimony did arrive. I had filled out a card requesting to speak on behalf of the Communist Party USA. To my [...]
Levels of Consciousness
By Peter Molenaar Let us recall that the realm of philosophy is divided into two camps. ”˜Philosophical Materialism”' asserts that the universe existed prior to consciousness, whereas “idealists” believe the universe was created from consciousness. Curiously, the Buddhists among us avoid the mind-body question, choosing instead to seek liberation via introspective meditation. (Note: some degree of ascetic detachment is recommended.) “Complete enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings” is the noble goal of the Mahayana. However, more than two thousand years of this practice hasn”'t achieved very much. So, we must agree with the Marxists that there is a material basis for human liberation”¦which is not to say that the “subjective factor” does not matter. When acted upon, ideas do become a material force. On the subject of “levels of consciousness,” Lenin had much to say. In [...]
