‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
Thor and Pandora
by Peter Molenaar To the ancient observer, the approaching cumulonimbus cloud appeared as a giant hammer from which lightning bolts penetrated the earth. Hence, the hammer-wielding Viking god associated with thunder storms and destruction, but also healing and renewal, was born in the people”'s mind. Thor was his name. In the modern world, Thor”'s considerable legacy is honored once a week (“Thor”'s day”). But what redemption might he bestow upon the suffering people of Japan? Curiously, there is a chemical element which also bears his name. Thorium, atomic number 90, has emerged as the alternative to uranium. (more…)
Beyond Wisconsin
by Peter Molenaar March 13, 2011”¦ There were pleasant greetings between the handful of neighborhood folk who attended the most recent rally in Hudson. David Bicking was there. His handmade sign read: “Labor Creates All Wealth”. In jest, I pondered out loud, “Oh, I thought ownership of the means of production created wealth.” And then, yet another great semi-truck roared beneath our occupied overpass. Honk. Honk. Honnkkk”¦ Are public workers being unjustly scape-goated? Well, for starters, millions of good paying American jobs have been shipped overseas. And then came huge tax breaks for super-wealthy people in a time of war. To which we must add some wildly irresponsible Wall Street speculations and sub-prime mortgage schemes which culminated in a $700 billion bailout. You be the judge. My own handmade sign read simply: “Tax the rich”. Some long ago training as a draftsman found a nice expression. Requests for photo poses [...]
Millions In Motion
By Peter Molenaar The people in this neighborhood of the world have yet another opportunity to experience an enhanced human connection””to elicit a smile and eye contact from the Arab people among us. For example, don”'t just plop coins on the counter at the corner convenience store, but boldly ask: “What”'s your opinion regarding the Egyptian Revolution?” You are likely to discover a knowledgeable person. Why the commotion in Arab lands? In Egypt, we are told, the corruption of the old regime cost more than $6 billion in public money per year. Estimates of the former president”'s accumulated fortune range as high as $70 billion. Mubarek”'s good buddies became merely billionaires while millions lived on less than $2 per day. Heartless brutality appears as the hallmark of a regime which sadly was considered to have been a “good friend of the United States”. (more…)
