Exactly. What comes for one of us comes for us all. That's our strength and blessing, and our peril. We can use that connection to hold and lift each other!
I can hardly bear what is happening. But we can’t give up. We just can’t. My husband died 10 months ago and before he died I told him that I couldn’t bear it if Mr Trump won. And he told me I would have to bear it. But it makes my grief so much worse. What is wrong with us? I’ll never understand.
Oh, Kathy! I am so sorry for your loss and grief. And yes, what is going on in the world makes our personal grief so much heavier. I don't think this is something to understand; it just is, but we don't have to let it take over. Lean on nature and the outdoors to give you strength and grounding, and shine your light as best you can. (And if you feel like reading about how our terraphilia can help in hard times both personally and in the world, look for a copy of Bless the Birds, Living with Love in a Time of Dying. It's my look at living through loss with as much love and grace as possible.)
I am so glad it was useful and that it helped with that journey we all take, but we have not figured out how to uplift and support. May you continue to find what you need to nurture and grow in this new period of your life. Love and blessings to you.
Thanks for your true, forthright, and honest words. What this tyrant is doing to our country and the world is despicable and deplorable. Keep fighting the fight. Keep telling the truth.
Beautifully written. My heart aches for the immigrants and for all of us. America is made of immigrants, and our Natives. Most of the southwest was Mexico to begin with, making many of our immigrants actually Natives as well. We are all one, we need to clasp hands in support of our oneness. Quit looking at skin color and language as "others" as we were all "others" once too. Including trump (I have never capitalized his name) - his family and two of his wives were/are from "other countries" - the time is now, Susan, as you so beautifully stated, to embrace our friends and neighbors. They call themselves 'religious' - well, I for one want nothing to do with 'their' hateful form of religion.
Thank you, Susan. As you say, we are all immigrants, even the First Peoples, who migrated here thousands of years ago. I think these deportations are about instilling fear in all of us, keeping us paralyzed and compliant, so that the rich few can get richer and control everything. We just can't let them win!
I should say I did my teachers certification presentation on the pedagogy book not my masters. Earned my MFA with a dual concentration in fiction and creative nonfiction.
Susan, about your lawn in the complete picture of things. When I decided to sell my home in Boise and move down here to southwestern Colorado, I told my kids (who don't live in Idaho) I was sick to death of all the manicured lawns. I needed wildness and wilderness. When I lived down in southern Arizona and would go across the border, I felt they were living an organic lifestyle, and when I would come back across, it felt so "pasteurized" - so perfect. So unnatural, but something we all thought was right. I believe in blending into one.
Susan, I have written more in other places about lawns as poisoned food deserts, so I agree with you on all counts about lawns and needing wildness nearby. That's part of all of my 13 books! As for south of the border, I can't say that folks are necessarily living an organic lifestyle, since much agriculture there uses pesticides and herbicides, and in rural areas, sanitation can be quite poor. But your point is good about not trying to remake nature in our image of what is pretty and perfect. It'll kill us in the long term.
I've been working on turning our suburban backyard into a pollinator and wildlife oasis for two years. The increase in bird and other animal traffic has been very gratifying. The bird feeders are like O'Hare on Friday afternoons. My yard rabbits know us and slowly move out of our way when we're back there. They even come out when our Sheltie is around. 😁 So yes, with a little time, cash, and patience, it's possible.
Good for you! I tend to plant for bird and pollinator food and avoid feeders wherever possible, but each of us have different situations. Enjoy your habitat and those winged and four-footed neighbors!
You do a wonderful job of illustrating how the local is global and the global is local, both with people and with life, in general. This is an empathic offering and an important thing for people to see.
Thank you for the read, and for your comments, Christina. I agree: the local is global and the global is local, and somehow the current administration is managing to poison both in a hurry. We cannot remain silent now.
Susan, your comments about your fescue lawn make me grateful for the wild grasses here. We don't have a lawn, we have whatever seasonal nature brings: fall, winter, spring grasses and forbes--and whatever survives the summer scorching. We don't mow until whatever-it-is has seeded, or until fire danger requires. We're lucky: no neighbors to complain.
Thank you for saying what we all need to hear. And for saying it so beautifully. We no longer can afford to be silent.
Susan A, If I could afford rural land here, I'd be doing what you and Bill have done with your beautiful place--restoring the natural communities and enjoying watching those relationships reweave themselves. As it is, I am here in town where lawns rule, for now. I nibble at the edges and do what I can with restoring natives here and there.
I agree: we must speak truth to power now. And not become complacent again.
We couldn't buy here now--this land is selling for $30-35k acre, on a fragile aquifer in an increasingly hot climate. We're just so grateful to have what we have.
Re truth to power. I was struck by what Sen. Lisa Murkowski said recently: "We are all afraid…I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real." Real, and increasingly violent.
I saw that clip of Murkowski, and was impressed at her honesty and her vulnerability in speaking. It raised my opinion of her, honestly.
I have to say that here in western Colorado, you couldn't touch any land for $30-35k, more like double that at least. And that would be land without water and no mountain views.... It's crazy. I'm glad you have what you have.
There was a comment from Rebecca McMackin that she has moved to a new house and is going to dig down in the soil, pot it up and see what the old native seed bank left there.
I've had some experience with the amazing surprises offered by the native seed bank in the soil, Cherie, so I will look forward to seeing what Rebecca finds! Here I'm living on what were irrigated sugar beet/corn/hay fields and before that, shad scale desert. So the seed bank is mostly agricultural weeds, including some really difficult ones like white top and bindweed.
Oh dear! Best of luck! Hope you may also find some gems there too. We’ve been mowing down the cheatgrass and when the mower broke I got a few really nice surprises! Like Leucrocrinum montanum (Sand lily)and Calochortus gunnisonii (Mariposa lily).
Ah, the blessings of those native bulbs, persisting for decades in some cases. Leucocrinum montanum is one of my favorites, and all of the Calochortus spp are so beautiful! Enjoy them.
Thank you for telling this story. The right now of the Trump regime is unbearable, Bukele is evil, horrors are being committed in the name of ... what? WHAT? Yes. We are all human. Please. PLEASE. PLEASE.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Beth. I think the Quaker phrase about speaking truth to power is one to act on now. We are all human, and we need to stand up for each other and for all of our fellow passengers on what Bucky Fuller called "Spaceship Earth." We are in this together, and we can rise up and do better.
We are, unfortunately, living in a dictatorship. I accepted living in a flawed democracy, based on an evolving Constitution, in which we were trying to improve our country. I cannot accept the current government or its policies, which are not at all based on the better angels of our nature, but on power hunger, greed and cult-like obedience..Our planet is faced with many crises, the most existential of which is global climate change, but instead of the needed research and action to mitigate this, we are spending taxpayer money to incarcerate an innocent man! Who will be next?
A few weeks ago my younger daughter and I took part in a demonstration in Shoreline, Washington. I was encouraged by the 3000 people who showed up, along with another 2000 in Edmonds, and by the support we got from passing motorists. Seattle had a much larger crowd, but this was before this abomination of justice. Even the gang members should have due process and an obvious "mistake" should be corrected. None of the people who support this have lived up to their oaths or affirmations.
David, as aways, your comments are well-thought out and well said. Thank you. I would argue though, that we are not living in a dictatorship--yet. And that is why we need to speak up now. So please let your anger fuel your actions of resistance and speaking truth to power. And let the size of the recent demonstrations give you hope and spur you to further action, whatever you can do!
Yes, of course we are not yet totally in dictatorship mode, but if the administration refuses court orders from even the Supreme Court and gets away with it, we are likely there. Fortunately, this is not 1932 Germany! However, I really don't understand why people were more worried about the price of eggs than of voting in a government that has no sympathy for the people it supposedly represents.
I agree, and yes, fortunately this is not Germany in 1932! I don't think most people who voted for this administration saw through the disinformation to the real agenda. Which does not excuse them, but is a possible way to understand their votes. And to go forward, we have to figure out ways to understand each other and bridge our divides.
Yes! This affects us all! It is a travesty. We all know good citizens who are working hard and contributing to our society who are now in danger. So we are all in danger. Let’s not think for a moment that this is about them and not about us.
Exactly, Phyllis. Abrego García is, as Marisol pointed out so poetically earlier in the comments, the canary in the coal mine on human rights. And we need to heed his story and not only bring him home safely and soon, but stand up for all of us. Blessings and a hug to you!
When I lived in Skagit Valley in Washington State, I met descendants of migrant workers and also the farm workers. What I witnessed was they were decent hardworking people with strong family ties. I never asked them about their legal status because I figured it was none of my business. I doubt the farms would have been productive without the workers.
Some of them lived in miserable conditions and I wondered why they would come to another country to live in squalor. And the only thing that came to mind was that there were worse conditions from where they came from. And they wanted a shot at a better life, the same as my ancestors who arrived in the US during the 1800s.
What happened to Garcia is too horrid for words. I hope that all the people that care will some how bring him back to the US so he can reunite with his family and heal from the ordeal.
Thank you for sharing your experience with meeting migrant and farm workers in the Skagit Valley, Patricia, and for your comment about your ancestors. The people this administration are aiming at are the ones growing our food, tending our elders, cooking and washing dishes, maintaining our roads and bridges, building our houses--they are the people willing to do the jobs most "Americans" don't want to do. We should be grateful to them and appreciate them, advocate for better conditions for them, not frighten them into self-deporting or abduct them and send them to prisons far from their homes. They are here, as you say, for the same reason most of our ancestors came here: to make lives for themselves. Under the skin, we are all the same, and what endangered some of us endangers us all.
I agree with what you and others are saying. It is scary that Trump is now discussing sending American people who commit crimes to jails over there. Why? Is it because he can't do as he wishes with them here? One more way to take their rights away? It is a time to raise our collective consciousness to give the world strength.
Penny, Good questions. I know they are at least partly rhetorical, but here's what I think is the main reason: So he can freeze us all into passivity and compliance. A frightened populace is easier to control, just as it was for Hitler in Germany in the 1930s. And we can't let ourselves be silenced and divided. We need to uplift each other and stand up for each other, and for this earth, the only home we humans have ever known. Blessings to you!
I agree. People who think that the deportations have nothing to do with them need to rethink that. We are all linked together and what affects one person affects us all.
To paraphrase John Dunne, No one of us is an island (and I include all species in that). We must stand together and figure out how to mend what is broken in this world.
Thank you Susan for articulating this horrendous situation so clearly. Using our voices -and platforms - to speak out against the atrocities happening is an important part of the resistance. There are way more of us than them - I want to believe that in the end, the power that ultimately lies with the people will prevail. We are all in this together.
Thanks, Dave, and I agree: using our voices and platforms is critical now. We have to pick our issues, and not shout all the time, but I do believe we can make a positive difference. I don't, however, see this as "us" versus "them." I think the only out of this is to bridge as many divides as we can, so that ultimately, as you say, we are truly all in this together.
We are all related.
Exactly. What comes for one of us comes for us all. That's our strength and blessing, and our peril. We can use that connection to hold and lift each other!
I raise my glass to lifting each other… we must.
Yes we must. And we must also speak truth to power, as Quakers say. Our voices matter.
I can hardly bear what is happening. But we can’t give up. We just can’t. My husband died 10 months ago and before he died I told him that I couldn’t bear it if Mr Trump won. And he told me I would have to bear it. But it makes my grief so much worse. What is wrong with us? I’ll never understand.
Oh, Kathy! I am so sorry for your loss and grief. And yes, what is going on in the world makes our personal grief so much heavier. I don't think this is something to understand; it just is, but we don't have to let it take over. Lean on nature and the outdoors to give you strength and grounding, and shine your light as best you can. (And if you feel like reading about how our terraphilia can help in hard times both personally and in the world, look for a copy of Bless the Birds, Living with Love in a Time of Dying. It's my look at living through loss with as much love and grace as possible.)
I read “Bless the Birds” and loved it.
Thank you! I am honored (and I hate to promote my own work, so I'm always tentative about doing it). Blessings to you.
I read it before my husband died. It was just what I needed.
I am so glad it was useful and that it helped with that journey we all take, but we have not figured out how to uplift and support. May you continue to find what you need to nurture and grow in this new period of your life. Love and blessings to you.
🫂
I had to look that one up so I could tell it was two people hugging. Silly me. Thank you.
Thanks for your true, forthright, and honest words. What this tyrant is doing to our country and the world is despicable and deplorable. Keep fighting the fight. Keep telling the truth.
Thanks, David. Speaking truth to power, as Quakers say, is what we need now. And speaking it loudly and effectively!
Beautifully written. My heart aches for the immigrants and for all of us. America is made of immigrants, and our Natives. Most of the southwest was Mexico to begin with, making many of our immigrants actually Natives as well. We are all one, we need to clasp hands in support of our oneness. Quit looking at skin color and language as "others" as we were all "others" once too. Including trump (I have never capitalized his name) - his family and two of his wives were/are from "other countries" - the time is now, Susan, as you so beautifully stated, to embrace our friends and neighbors. They call themselves 'religious' - well, I for one want nothing to do with 'their' hateful form of religion.
Thank you, Susan. As you say, we are all immigrants, even the First Peoples, who migrated here thousands of years ago. I think these deportations are about instilling fear in all of us, keeping us paralyzed and compliant, so that the rich few can get richer and control everything. We just can't let them win!
That's exactly what they're about.
Sadly.
Have you read The Pedagogy of the Oppressed. I did my masters on it. It is amazing and feeds into what is going on.
I should say I did my teachers certification presentation on the pedagogy book not my masters. Earned my MFA with a dual concentration in fiction and creative nonfiction.
I have, but it's been a long time. Definitely worth revisiting now, Susan N, and thanks for the nudge.
We’re not helpless, yet.
Canary in coal mine, dead.
NOW, all hands on deck!
Blessings to you, Marisol, and thank you for that poetic reminder that we are not helpless (yet)! We cannot be silenced now.
Rephrased from what HCR said yesterday on this live Substack interview. There were way over 30K people tuned in!
https://thelefthook.substack.com/p/how-trumps-greed-grift-and-racism?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=2686450&post_id=161495689&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=watch_now_button&r=u6rg9&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Thanks much for the link, Marisol! I will listen later today after I write more on the book I'm working on. :)
Susan, about your lawn in the complete picture of things. When I decided to sell my home in Boise and move down here to southwestern Colorado, I told my kids (who don't live in Idaho) I was sick to death of all the manicured lawns. I needed wildness and wilderness. When I lived down in southern Arizona and would go across the border, I felt they were living an organic lifestyle, and when I would come back across, it felt so "pasteurized" - so perfect. So unnatural, but something we all thought was right. I believe in blending into one.
Susan, I have written more in other places about lawns as poisoned food deserts, so I agree with you on all counts about lawns and needing wildness nearby. That's part of all of my 13 books! As for south of the border, I can't say that folks are necessarily living an organic lifestyle, since much agriculture there uses pesticides and herbicides, and in rural areas, sanitation can be quite poor. But your point is good about not trying to remake nature in our image of what is pretty and perfect. It'll kill us in the long term.
I've been working on turning our suburban backyard into a pollinator and wildlife oasis for two years. The increase in bird and other animal traffic has been very gratifying. The bird feeders are like O'Hare on Friday afternoons. My yard rabbits know us and slowly move out of our way when we're back there. They even come out when our Sheltie is around. 😁 So yes, with a little time, cash, and patience, it's possible.
Good for you! I tend to plant for bird and pollinator food and avoid feeders wherever possible, but each of us have different situations. Enjoy your habitat and those winged and four-footed neighbors!
Agreed
You do a wonderful job of illustrating how the local is global and the global is local, both with people and with life, in general. This is an empathic offering and an important thing for people to see.
Thank you for the read, and for your comments, Christina. I agree: the local is global and the global is local, and somehow the current administration is managing to poison both in a hurry. We cannot remain silent now.
Susan, your comments about your fescue lawn make me grateful for the wild grasses here. We don't have a lawn, we have whatever seasonal nature brings: fall, winter, spring grasses and forbes--and whatever survives the summer scorching. We don't mow until whatever-it-is has seeded, or until fire danger requires. We're lucky: no neighbors to complain.
Thank you for saying what we all need to hear. And for saying it so beautifully. We no longer can afford to be silent.
Susan A, If I could afford rural land here, I'd be doing what you and Bill have done with your beautiful place--restoring the natural communities and enjoying watching those relationships reweave themselves. As it is, I am here in town where lawns rule, for now. I nibble at the edges and do what I can with restoring natives here and there.
I agree: we must speak truth to power now. And not become complacent again.
We couldn't buy here now--this land is selling for $30-35k acre, on a fragile aquifer in an increasingly hot climate. We're just so grateful to have what we have.
Re truth to power. I was struck by what Sen. Lisa Murkowski said recently: "We are all afraid…I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real." Real, and increasingly violent.
I saw that clip of Murkowski, and was impressed at her honesty and her vulnerability in speaking. It raised my opinion of her, honestly.
I have to say that here in western Colorado, you couldn't touch any land for $30-35k, more like double that at least. And that would be land without water and no mountain views.... It's crazy. I'm glad you have what you have.
There was a comment from Rebecca McMackin that she has moved to a new house and is going to dig down in the soil, pot it up and see what the old native seed bank left there.
I've had some experience with the amazing surprises offered by the native seed bank in the soil, Cherie, so I will look forward to seeing what Rebecca finds! Here I'm living on what were irrigated sugar beet/corn/hay fields and before that, shad scale desert. So the seed bank is mostly agricultural weeds, including some really difficult ones like white top and bindweed.
Oh dear! Best of luck! Hope you may also find some gems there too. We’ve been mowing down the cheatgrass and when the mower broke I got a few really nice surprises! Like Leucrocrinum montanum (Sand lily)and Calochortus gunnisonii (Mariposa lily).
Ah, the blessings of those native bulbs, persisting for decades in some cases. Leucocrinum montanum is one of my favorites, and all of the Calochortus spp are so beautiful! Enjoy them.
Thank you for telling this story. The right now of the Trump regime is unbearable, Bukele is evil, horrors are being committed in the name of ... what? WHAT? Yes. We are all human. Please. PLEASE. PLEASE.
Thanks for reading and commenting, Beth. I think the Quaker phrase about speaking truth to power is one to act on now. We are all human, and we need to stand up for each other and for all of our fellow passengers on what Bucky Fuller called "Spaceship Earth." We are in this together, and we can rise up and do better.
A very important issue, Susan.
We are, unfortunately, living in a dictatorship. I accepted living in a flawed democracy, based on an evolving Constitution, in which we were trying to improve our country. I cannot accept the current government or its policies, which are not at all based on the better angels of our nature, but on power hunger, greed and cult-like obedience..Our planet is faced with many crises, the most existential of which is global climate change, but instead of the needed research and action to mitigate this, we are spending taxpayer money to incarcerate an innocent man! Who will be next?
A few weeks ago my younger daughter and I took part in a demonstration in Shoreline, Washington. I was encouraged by the 3000 people who showed up, along with another 2000 in Edmonds, and by the support we got from passing motorists. Seattle had a much larger crowd, but this was before this abomination of justice. Even the gang members should have due process and an obvious "mistake" should be corrected. None of the people who support this have lived up to their oaths or affirmations.
Yes, I am angry!
David, as aways, your comments are well-thought out and well said. Thank you. I would argue though, that we are not living in a dictatorship--yet. And that is why we need to speak up now. So please let your anger fuel your actions of resistance and speaking truth to power. And let the size of the recent demonstrations give you hope and spur you to further action, whatever you can do!
Yes, of course we are not yet totally in dictatorship mode, but if the administration refuses court orders from even the Supreme Court and gets away with it, we are likely there. Fortunately, this is not 1932 Germany! However, I really don't understand why people were more worried about the price of eggs than of voting in a government that has no sympathy for the people it supposedly represents.
I agree, and yes, fortunately this is not Germany in 1932! I don't think most people who voted for this administration saw through the disinformation to the real agenda. Which does not excuse them, but is a possible way to understand their votes. And to go forward, we have to figure out ways to understand each other and bridge our divides.
One thing they've forgotten is that there are more firearms in this country than people. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
OMG. That is a truly scary thought. Thanks for the reminder though.
Yes! This affects us all! It is a travesty. We all know good citizens who are working hard and contributing to our society who are now in danger. So we are all in danger. Let’s not think for a moment that this is about them and not about us.
Exactly, Phyllis. Abrego García is, as Marisol pointed out so poetically earlier in the comments, the canary in the coal mine on human rights. And we need to heed his story and not only bring him home safely and soon, but stand up for all of us. Blessings and a hug to you!
And hugs back to you, Susan!
When I lived in Skagit Valley in Washington State, I met descendants of migrant workers and also the farm workers. What I witnessed was they were decent hardworking people with strong family ties. I never asked them about their legal status because I figured it was none of my business. I doubt the farms would have been productive without the workers.
Some of them lived in miserable conditions and I wondered why they would come to another country to live in squalor. And the only thing that came to mind was that there were worse conditions from where they came from. And they wanted a shot at a better life, the same as my ancestors who arrived in the US during the 1800s.
What happened to Garcia is too horrid for words. I hope that all the people that care will some how bring him back to the US so he can reunite with his family and heal from the ordeal.
Thank you for sharing your experience with meeting migrant and farm workers in the Skagit Valley, Patricia, and for your comment about your ancestors. The people this administration are aiming at are the ones growing our food, tending our elders, cooking and washing dishes, maintaining our roads and bridges, building our houses--they are the people willing to do the jobs most "Americans" don't want to do. We should be grateful to them and appreciate them, advocate for better conditions for them, not frighten them into self-deporting or abduct them and send them to prisons far from their homes. They are here, as you say, for the same reason most of our ancestors came here: to make lives for themselves. Under the skin, we are all the same, and what endangered some of us endangers us all.
I agree with what you and others are saying. It is scary that Trump is now discussing sending American people who commit crimes to jails over there. Why? Is it because he can't do as he wishes with them here? One more way to take their rights away? It is a time to raise our collective consciousness to give the world strength.
Penny, Good questions. I know they are at least partly rhetorical, but here's what I think is the main reason: So he can freeze us all into passivity and compliance. A frightened populace is easier to control, just as it was for Hitler in Germany in the 1930s. And we can't let ourselves be silenced and divided. We need to uplift each other and stand up for each other, and for this earth, the only home we humans have ever known. Blessings to you!
I agree. People who think that the deportations have nothing to do with them need to rethink that. We are all linked together and what affects one person affects us all.
To paraphrase John Dunne, No one of us is an island (and I include all species in that). We must stand together and figure out how to mend what is broken in this world.
Thank you Susan for articulating this horrendous situation so clearly. Using our voices -and platforms - to speak out against the atrocities happening is an important part of the resistance. There are way more of us than them - I want to believe that in the end, the power that ultimately lies with the people will prevail. We are all in this together.
Thanks, Dave, and I agree: using our voices and platforms is critical now. We have to pick our issues, and not shout all the time, but I do believe we can make a positive difference. I don't, however, see this as "us" versus "them." I think the only out of this is to bridge as many divides as we can, so that ultimately, as you say, we are truly all in this together.
I agree, so many divides need to be bridged if we are going to get out of this.