‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Too Much To Ask?
by Peter Molenaar March 10”¦ Lord knows that the industrial grinding wheel imposes an arduous task upon a worker. Nonetheless, I am happy to have returned to Smith Foundry in the aftermath of hip replacement surgery. It is, after all, $20 / hour plus benefits. Note: in Minnesota, 137,000 children live with parents who earn the minimum wage. February 25”¦ Hundreds gathered at the capitol rotunda to demand: “Raise the Wage.” Lead by Organized Labor, representatives of constituent nationalities were the featured speakers. The finale featured the song of Ojibwe drums. March 3rd”¦ (more…)
Turn, Turn, Turn
By Peter Molenaar It was a pleasant surprise to find not one, but two of my comrades on the front page of last month”'s Alley Newspaper. Pete Seeger and Meridel Le Sueur were both amazing human beings. Truth to tell, however, Pete”'s Party status has been somewhat hazy. He was “close”, they said. As for Meridel, thirty some years ago I gave her rides to and from meetings ”“ so I”'ve known all along that she was a Communist. Pete Seeger passed away January 27, 2014, at the age of 94. In point of fact, in the period of rising fascism, at age 17, Pete did join the Young Communist League in opposition to the pacifism and left-isolationism he encountered at Harvard University. He believed the whole world should unite to defeat Hitler. THIS MACHINE SURROUNDS HATE AND FORCES IT TO SURRENDER rang the words of his banjo. In the prime years of his life, so it followed, the “authorities” did their best to hound and to blacklist [...]
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 [...]
