‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Time Will Tell
By Peter Molenaar It is now past a month since the good surgeon replaced my worn bone-on-bone left hip with a joint of cobalt and plastic. It was a three-day hospital stay, during which a royal treatment was rendered by people from all over the world. However, it is about time to re-enter”¦movements, meetings and protests, and yes, the job at Smith Foundry. Of course, the recent down-time did induce some self-examination, which in turn led to some re-ordering of living space. Hence, an old scrap-book revealed the photo of a proud Boy Scout saluting. Patriotism was a simple thing back then. But”¦ Then came the clouds of napalm and agent orange, tear gas and uncertainty. Indeed, our ruling class has stashed enough wealth in foreign accounts to pay off our nation”'s debt, if only they would. What is meant by the word “revolution?” A revolution constitutes the ascendency to power of a social class and its allies over [...]
The Red Word
By Peter Molenaar The good news is: My left hip joint is, at long last, scheduled to be replaced. However, the day the Washington “Redskins” came to town, I was in some serious pain after laboring eight hours behind the grinding wheel. To make matters worse, it was a cold day and evidently the barometric pressure was low. But, neighbors, the indigenous core of our community had issued a call to protest. Happily, my resolve to participate prevailed over the forces of inertia. When I arrived a tad late, the crowd had already formed outside the Ancient Traders Market. The scent of burning sage united our spirits as the combined radiance of flesh dispersed the cold. There was no pain felt by being there. Clyde”'s voice was amplified. “Warrior Woman” Betty McCollum declared that hate speech has no place in this country. Six-Pro-Bowls (Joey Browner) invoked his indigenous aspect while commending the sentience of Native youth. Our new Mayor Betsy Hodges [...]
Who Should We Vote For?
By Peter Molenaar For the fun of it, I”'d like readers to take a Wikipedia adventure. Start with the 17th century philosopher named Baruch Spinoza. Follow the links. A history of philosophy and theology will be revealed. For entertainment, this course almost competes with post season baseball. Trust me. As it happened, owing to his contemplative prescience, our good Spinoza found matter and mind to be of one and the same substance. He was then a ”˜monist”' as opposed to a mind-body ”˜dualist”'. In his view, God and nature are pantheistically synonymous. However, in my view: 1.) ”˜Matter”' is all that exists independent of and outside of consciousness 2.) Matter is primary, i.e., consciousness is a product of the evolution of matter 3.) Matter is ”˜dialectical”', i.e., matter exists in motion as a unity of opposing forces. 4.) The content of consciousness is a more or less “approximate reflection” of objective [...]
