Brigid’s Ritual

Also called Imbolc or Candlemas, Brigid is my favorite holiday. It honors Brigid, Celtic Goddess of smith craft, fire, and poetry. She was my first patron. Our ritual involves a pilgrimage to a well, and pledges –but first things first. We adorn quarter altars in the four directions, light candles, and clear the area with salt water (earth and water) and incense (fire and air). A short walk through the woods away from the main circle, the Druid circle awaits –itself cleared and readied with a cauldron in the center. Candles twinkle as the sun sets. We call in the quarter powers, invite Brigid to join us, and now it’s my turn to begin the journey to the well by myself. The path winds over past the iron bench at the crossroads. I see the face of the Green Man, barely visible in the dusk dark, engraved in a rock. Here the path takes a sharp turn behind a pine tree. The Druid circle opens up before me as I enter from the north. Oak trees and shortleaf pines surround the circle, and large limestones gleam white as they mark the quarters. I sit on a rock at the center, facing the cauldron, which is now a well with floating candles dancing amidst fresh picked purple crocuses. Vanilla incense fills the air, the candles flicker happily on the water. It’s a moment I look forward to all year –when I can sit here in the woods, in this magic spot, and talk to Brigid. To begin, we review last year’s pledges, then I speak about vows for the coming year. It’s an intimate and honest evaluation, and a reset for the months ahead.

I explain that I intend to stand balanced, aware, and active in 2024, in the face of the most significant election of my lifetime. Americans will decide whether we want democracy or Christian nationalism. I share about some of the actions I may take –an underground banned book network, providing transportation for any woman who needs to get abortion care in Kansas, working the polls on election day. I ask Brigid for strength to keep my wits and not succumb to fear or despair.

In the past politics would not take center stage in the expression or observance of my spiritual path. During the course of my life I have engaged with witches, Wiccans, Asatru, Odinists, and Druids. Like Protestant denominations, we have conservative and liberal factions. I was always versatile. In San Fransisco I avoided the far left new-age pagans because they had no rules or commitment to a particular course. But I loved my witches’ coven where we sang together in rituals, practiced kitchen magic over pots of stew, and provided a structure for study, advancement, and initiation. It was here I began volunteering in prisons as a visiting chaplain. I created Wiccan rituals for young women behind bars. It was joyful and eye-opening. As the prison experience grew to include men and higher security units in the federal system I moved into conducting Asatru and Odinist rituals. Some of these men were gang members with white nationalist beliefs. I shared spiritual and emotional tools and got along well with everyone. Gang members should be allowed to observe their religious holidays just as anyone else. The white power movement never interested me, and nobody spoke about blowing up buildings or shooting anyone. My role as a chaplain was to genuinely show up for human beings, not judge the uniforms and numbers. Politics –even nationalist politics– didn’t matter. Politics was not my focus — neither theirs nor mine. By then I had moved to Tennessee and joined a local Asatru group. The current and former military members and conservatives in that group didn’t bother me. Indeed, from west coast witches to free-world Asatru to Odinists in prisons, I made friends across the spectrum and we all learned a lot. This was over 20 years ago. I have long since retired from prison work and the politics of the country now render ideology impossible to ignore.

Here in 2024 normal times are like a fog horn, forlorn and unseen in the distance. I live in Arkansas now. I’m a Druid, a polytheist, and a witch. My partner and I enjoy our private rituals and celebrations. We used to visit with the Asatru group for Summer Solstice, but not anymore. I can’t find the motivation to break bread with the Maga cult members who believe convicted January 6 insurrectionists are hostages in their jail cells. Nationalists are mainstream Republicans now, no longer on the fringes of society. Republicans are no longer conservative. True conservatives want to conserve the constitution and have locked arms with people on the left who believe in democracy. Right and left have no meaning anymore in the face of the fascist threat. The world has changed profoundly since my experience in prisons.

I tell Brigid I want to embark on a writing project for the year. I want to combine a Druid sensibility and practice with action and write about it in the coming months leading up to the election and beyond. In the before-times, this melding of the spiritual and the political was rare. Now it feels necessary. How can I, a polytheist who believes in feminine and masculine divine, turn a blind eye to women bleeding out in emergency rooms across red states? Women and their doctors don’t have control anymore –only the Christian nationalist legislators can decide abortion access. In Republican states where abortion is illegal, most have no exceptions for rape or incest. In Idaho not even the mother’s life matters. In these red states with no exceptions, almost 65,000 pregnancies from rape have occurred since Roe fell –26,000 in Texas alone. Travel restrictions for pregnant women have sprung up in Texas municipalities. Bounty hunter laws reward snitches who tell on doctors and women who end pregnancies. Some of these red state legislators are looking at tracking women’s periods, and investigating miscarriages. A few have asked for citizen medical records from providers outside the state. In Missouri legislation is on the table to apply the death penalty to women who get abortions. It’s a nightmare.

Speaking of the death penalty, Alabama recently executed a prisoner via nitrogen hypoxia. Death by nitrogen gas. The American Veterinary Medical Association deemed nitrogen hypoxia too inhumane for animal euthanasia. Yet there he was, a Maga on TV, touting a successful new way to kill convicts and promising a bright future for the death penalty across red America. He left out that the nitrogen hypoxia experiment lasted 22 minutes. It was tortuous. I don’t think he cared.

One of the most stunning achievements of doublethink (see 1984, by George Orwell) is ascribing the term pro-life to fundamentalist Christians. Executions and forced births are anything but pro-life. Christian nationalists care about power and control. That’s it. Two plus two does not equal five, and we were never eternally at war with either Oceania or Eurasia.

I want to write and shout for democracy, truth, and genuine spirituality, which should inspire us to seek love, beauty, and happiness for sentient beings –including planet earth herself.

My tears now blur the lights in Brigid’s well. The malice and cruelty I have spoken about breaks my heart. I continue with my pledges, and end with hope of comfort and justice for victims of barbarity, corruption, violence, and lies.

I vow to return in 2025 before Brigid’s well with a year of writing about each of the eight Druid holidays, the world of spirits, and the truth about rising autocratic theocracy and the struggle against it.

I leave the well, touching the bright standing stone at the exit. Darkness is now complete. My partner waits at the bench at the crossroads. I sit next to him for a few minutes in companionable silence. Then he walks off to the well and I find myself alone in the big circle, lighter and more clear. I’m determined to meet these next few seasons with poise, and to write about my small contributions to the unfolding events ahead.

A neuroscientist I follow on social media suggests we look forward to small things every day to raise dopamine levels. I look forward to morning coffee and meditation, and my visits to the spirit grove. What do you look forward to, friends, and what will you do for democracy?

Go well, and thank you for spending time with me,

Laurel Owen, February 2024

Solar Eclipse

Brigid’s Ritual, Part 4

A warm spring day suddenly cools by ten degrees,
The air is electric --like an incoming storm,
Shadows grow long in our woods
In the dusk-dark of the solar eclipse
A red fox trots by, my spine tingles
At the moment of alignment, the dance
Of planets and stars, mathematical equations--
The musical cadence of gravity,
Our earth twirling in space
And occasionally, predictably, lining up
With other spinning rocks --reassuring and thrilling--
The spectacle moves people to look up in wonder
In step for a moment with one another--
Dancers losing themselves
In the rhythm of our circling in the multiverse,
Time seems to pause as we relish
Our partial measure of the patters before us--
And bow to the mystery beyond.

Laurel Owen, April 2024

Spring Equinox, In the Balance

Brigid’s Ritual, Part 3

My partner and I sit on our bench in the woods. We inhale the early green smell of spring and relish the mysterious in-between moment –when day meets night at dusk-dark, and when day and night are equal. It’s the spring equinox. Before us the crossroads mark the start of two diverging paths, each ending at a ritual circle. We hug each other and take separate paths. Mine leads around a pine tree, and drops me at the north entrance of my Druid circle. A limestone, almost my height, marks the spot. I linger here at the portal, in a time outside of time, a place of balance. Just for a few minutes the harmony inherent in equal day and night washes over me. Chaos gets put off for now. In time, I ring a small bell, step into the circle, and approach the eastern stone.

The element of air presides in the east, representing clear thoughts, new beginnings, morning, and springtime. The ability to see through falsehood, to honor truth –this I aspire to. Sifting through the sheer volume of information today includes rejection of disinformation and hyperbole –and the talent to decipher. May rational thinking inform me.

Next I arrive at the south quarter. Here the power of fire, of summer, and midday rule. Bravery leaps to mind —standing up to bullies, resisting Christian nationalism. The commitment I make here is to love life fiercely enough to fight for it.

As I move to the west, the sun has almost set. The limestones in the four quarters appear luminous in the half-dark. The power of the west ebbs and flows with water. It symbolizes the undercurrents in life. Emotions under the surface go unseen and ignored at our peril. Let my feelings and intuition not be enemies, but reminders of delight, that instant pang when a song brings a memory to the fore. May the inner voice warn me of danger, and let me not be afraid –even if the lights go out– knowing darkness is temporary.

Finally I come to the north, the quarter of our cherished home in the multiverse –planet earth herself. I stand, grateful for this earthly sacred life. Climate change and wars of aggression across the globe threaten us all. May I walk mindfully and with purpose as a guardian of our treasure. May we all learn to hold dear our continents, oceans –and all life forms in the mix. Inspired by a sense of balance, as the equinox points to, may we build a kinder, more rational world together.

And now the door leading back into the world stands in front of me, the prospect of everyday life. Renewed and calm, aware of the challenge ahead, I step out. My partner and I meet at the bench, a creation from his metal shop. Regal, with its Celtic design work and tall back, it’s surprisingly comfortable. We talk until the dark envelopes us. Our herding rescue dog barks nervously, reminding us of schedules and routines. We walk back up to the house to put him at ease.

Earlier today my anxiety mirrored that of my dog. A video featured a white Christian nationalist named Nick Fuentes. He told his followers that when the nationalists take power, magic and ritual practitioners will be put to death. He said we’re worse than Jews and immigrants. Now, as I channel clear thinking, it’s easy to dismiss Fuentes as a maladjusted incel and fanatic. But my intuition warns me not to ignore such people. Front and center of the mass psychosis called Trumpism lurks a religious fervor devoid of rationality or true spiritual depth. The adherents think Trump is a Christ-like savior. Again, easy to dismiss. Trump has scores of felony indictments, is liable for sexual assault and fraud, and tells lies like most of us breathe. He’s a criminal, a confidence man. Unbelievably, the republican party is now full of cult members. Trump loyalists, swept up in this madness, currently dominate red state legislatures. In their bid to enforce minority rule, they attack voting rights and enact cruel laws against women and LGBTQ people. The connection between extremists and republicans is sealed. Indeed, Nick Fuentes dined with Trump on Thanksgiving in 2022. No, pagans won’t face execution. Not now. But if Trump is elected, the lights of democracy will go out. Freedom will diminish, and all manner of persecutions may well unfold.

I shake off the horror of religious nationalists and authoritarian charlatans –and smile. It’s card night with the neighbors. I have a bet with one of them. He says Trump will win. I say no. Americans will vote the power-hungry zealots and their poisonous leader back to obscurity. People like Nick Fuentes can shout all they want into the void, as is their right. Their opinions won’t threaten anyone –they won’t matter. My neighbor and I know our bet is a joke. We both want me to win. The loser has to buy two pizzas for a card game. I already told him I’ll take two cheese and tomato with fresh basil.

Laurel Owen, April, 2024

Ariel’s Message

Brigid’s Ritual, Part 2

I’m sad, Ariel, my world —-my country—- is in trouble.
Words in the spirit world tumble out in a non-linear way,
Projected —-not spoken.
She squeezes my hand.
Small, dark, and ancient, Ariel is a constant presence
Next to me when we fly as crows—-
Or sit as women near the bon fire
On a hill facing east.
She points to the sunlight surging across the horizon—-
And hope arrives in yellow and orange, filling me with
Warmth, expanding beyond me to encompass the world.
Fertile earth presents the first flowering of the 
Vernal season —-clusters of purple crocuses 
And white spring beauties.
It smells of moss, of green things to come.
The dawning of the day brings assurance of the passing
Of time, cycles.
Malice, religious fanaticism, and ignorance 
Can’t be disposed of by a thought or by 
The passing seasons.
However, by drawing my senses to the new day
Ariel has grounded me in my own motivation and belief:
The creative spark at the beginning of everything
Is as beautiful as dawn on the eve of spring tide—-
And at the end of all things
The color of love 
Is warm —-like the sun.

Laurel Owen, March 2024

The Resistance Starts with Crows

Before the crows arrive at dawn, I meditate. Sometimes a green frog serenades me from a lotus tub next to the porch. I call him Frogmouth. His lazy, companionable croaks soothe me as I sit in the dark stillness and watch my thoughts scurry and disappear. When I’m done, the first bird chirps. Dawn arrives. With it comes the raucous din of the crow family. It all began with a single crow and my bird bath. About forty feet from the porch the bird bath sits on a structure made of concrete and rocks. On top, a flat surface surrounds the bowl of water. The crow allowed as how the top of the bird bath seemed as fine a spot as any for a meal. I complied. And so it began. “Crow, Crow,” I’d sing. He’d answer, “Caw, Caw!” and fly off from the bird bath with peanuts, two at a time. By and by, he introduced a mate. Now I enjoy the whole family including two bickering and complaining youngsters. The family has left me love gifts, including small cleaned white bones, and shiny tin foil. Vocal, playful, and magical, these birds are a blessing. By the time my husband and my three dogs get up I have already meditated with Frogmouth and exchanged friendship with crows. Remember what Samwise Gamgee said in The Lord of the Rings? “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” My morning ritual of quiet gratitude and love of wild things -that’s worth fighting for. It’s the passion and motivation for non-violent resistance. Indeed, moments of calm and clarity balance the urgency many feel in these disturbing times.

As I write this, Earth just experienced the hottest month on record, July 2023. Ocean water temperatures at Florida beaches topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists race to save coral reefs by removing them to artificial environments so they won’t die off. The arctic melts. In Texas, maga republican governor Greg Abbott ordered that no extra water breaks will be allowed for people working outside in 115 degree heat. In Texas state prisons people are dropping from heat exhaustion. Prisoners are taken to an air conditioned room and plied with water for an hour then sent back to population —with no air conditioning. Maui’s wildfire swept through the city of Lahaina on hurricane winds. People were incinerated as they tried to evacuate. The death toll climbs above one hundred as the dogs continue to sniff for survivors. One thousand people are missing. Three thousand pets are missing. The city’s banyan tree, planted in 1873, stands severely damaged.

The effects of climate change alone would be horrifying enough. Alas, extremist republican legislatures in red states across the country compound the bad news with harsh and unpopular new laws. I’ll start with Arkansas, my current home. Fourteen-year-olds can now work in meat packing plants and twelve-year-olds can be forced to give birth. The Attorney General wants to put librarians, teachers, and booksellers in prison for up to six years for suggesting banned books to minors. The maga legislature decided to defund black history for Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Any pregnancy that doesn’t end in birth looks suspicious to the fundamentalist Christians in charge. The Attorney General joined zealot AG’s in other red states and presented a letter to President Biden. They expressed the desire to send police to track women seeking abortion care out of state.

Alabama muzzled health care providers from even discussing out of state reproductive options with patients.

Idaho has forbidden professors at the university level from teaching about abortion, even historically.

In Mississippi a thirteen year old was forced to give birth after a rape. Her family could not afford the trip to Chicago for her care. The police say they are still investigating the rape and have not determined whether it was consensual. It’s hard to express the cruelty and indecency here.

The epicenter of right wing authoritarianism continues to be Florida, under the maga governor DeSantis. His anti-woke law allowed, for instance, a white nationalist mom to veto Amanda Gorman’s inauguration poem, “The Hill We Climb” for an entire school district. Shakespeare will soon be pulled from school shelves. AP black and gender studies –cancelled. In the state’s middle schools, lessons now include the idea that enslavement provided vocational training, and was therefore beneficial to slaves. The state authorized Prager University Foundation (PragerU) to provide teaching materials to public school grades K-12. It’s not a university. It’s a right wing propaganda non-profit. On their videos you can learn how to counter pro-choice advocates. Cartoon characters blithely wonder whether the colonization of natives was really all that bad. You can learn climate denial arguments. In fact, I bet you didn’t know that climate activists have a lot in common with WW2 era nazis (yes, really!). And feminism? –it’s mean spirited and oppressive. PragerU calls itself an alternative to left wing ideology. They founder admits the videos indoctrinate kids. Florida is re-writing history. An entire generation will get dumbed-down by state sponsored propaganda. Censoring books and revising history is an attempt to shape the next generation to be more receptive to republican authoritarians. Gen Z certainly is not receptive.

Some republicans, by the way, are so afraid of Gen Z they want to raise the voting age to twenty five.

At a Trump rally this summer in South Carolina, an eleven year old girl was asked why she loved Trump. “Because he tells the truth,” she said. That child’s answer brings us to the crux of the matter. The eleven year old doesn’t know better. The problem is her parents, maga cult members. They are indoctrinating their daughter to love a sexual predator, a pathological liar, an indicted criminal –a monster. The parents, probably non college educated, never learned critical thinking. They consume Fox or OANN —never any fact-checked media. These are the people controlling local school boards. They are the Moms For Liberty extremists who veto works of literature all over the red states. These are the true believers who applaud the deceptively tepid white Christian nationalism of PragerU. As Trump’s legal problems mount, some members of this cult threaten judges, prosecutors, and grand jury members —anyone they perceive is against Trump— with harm, even death. The people who beat police officers and shat on the floor of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 came from this group. We have millions of maga cultists in the US -maybe 30% of the population. And the republican politicians bow to them at every turn.

The maga movement, like the McCarthy era of the 20th century, is heartless and single minded. Knowing they don’t have the numbers to win, maga politicians seek the power of the minority over the majority. The maga citizens, in their ignorance, enforce the anti-democratic minority rule. That’s why maga leaders must be vanquished at the ballot box. The various dystopian state laws against women, transgender children and their families, and books must be struck down in courts. If not, we are looking at authoritarianism American style, with loud under-educated maga citizens controlling what we read. Right wing autocrats like DeSantis or Trump will eradicate leftists and root out the fact-checking media. Private choices about our bodies and the freedom to love who we want —a thing of the past. They will take away the right of women, nationwide, to decide when, and with whom, they start a family. We all need to resist this future. It’s not democracy, but theocracy. It’s fascism.

Now for the better news, and the reasons I’m not applying for asylum in Norway or Iceland. Donald Trump is facing four indictments with ninety one total felonies against him. The federal prosecutor Jack Smith has indicted him for election fraud in the 2020 election —as has the Georgia state prosecutor Fani Willis. These are the important cases; Trump has poisoned America with his coup-plotting lies. A few republicans have dipped a toe in the truth lake to test the water. Finally, they admit the 2020 election was free and fair, and Trump lost. They are late. And they are in the minority in their party. Anyway, some of them are growing vertebrae. In Arkansas, a literate federal judge struck down the book ban. He quoted a banned book, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451: “There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running around with lit matches.” Beautiful. Also in Arkansas, in a refreshing middle finger to magas, the Little Rock and Jonesboro school districts stated they would offer black history AP classes against the will of the state. Young people, men, women, liberals and conservatives are turning out in droves to vote for reproductive rights. So far, every ballot initiative aiming to take away women’s rights has been squashed in both red and blue states. Fox paid out 787.5 million dollars to Dominion Voting Systems for lying about the election. The maga house caucus continues to shoot itself in the foot. What a clown car ride. Senate maga Tommy Tuberville is blocking almost 300 military promotions to protest the Pentagon’s abortion policy. Veteran’s are appalled, and are speaking out. Two respected legal minds, former federal judge Michael Ludig and constitutional scholar Lawrence Tribe, published an article together in the Atlantic. They believe the constitution supports barring Trump from becoming president again –even without a conviction.

Samwise Gamgee said, “But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it’ll shine out the clearer.”

The maga era will pass like the McCarthy era before it —only if we act. Freedom and democracy are no longer a given.

Pre-dawn meditation, a love of the natural world and this earthly life, and friendship with crows -these guide my choices every day. As the opportunity presents, I choose to tell the truth, kindly. By kindly I mean carefully. For instance, if I walk up to an armed maga stepping out of a Trump truck in the Walmart parking lot and say, “Hey you got bamboozled by disinformation, and the guy you think is God’s flawed emissary on earth is a narcissistic con man who has lied to you from the get go” —it won’t work. And I just put myself in danger. The truth is unkind, and dangerous to impart. So I’m kind to myself. I pick the time, place, and audience for hard truths. Also, I volunteer at the library because I love books the way crows love shiny things. Working at the library puts me on the front lines in case the state pushes the book ban law. Perhaps an underground banned book network is in my future. I keep informed using fact-checked sources, which include The NY Times, The Atlantic, and various streaming mainstream media. When I encounter a maga cultist I politely avoid them. Abortion laws make me sick and angry, but I breathe and stand ready to drive a woman to Kansas if she needs care. For opinions I listen to never-maga conservatives as well as liberals, from The Bulwark and The Lincoln Project to John Fugelsang —all part of the pro-democracy coalition. I fancy myself a member. I vote. I write articles. Please pass this along if you like. And let me know what you’re doing for democracy and for our country.

Laurel Owen / August 2023

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

From Muck-Spouts to Snollygosters –Gadzooks!– When Modern Language Fails

Writing helps me make sense of the world. From age fifteen I have kept diaries. My major was English Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing. Since before the 2020 election my essay series about the alarming events here in the US kept me sane. I felt like I was part of the solution –writing for democracy. I shared, hoping Trumpist family members might heed my warnings. Here it is, 2023, and another essay is brimming. And I find modern language inadequate. Ultra-Maga, for instance, is a weak term. It does not convey the threat, hypocrisy, or insanity within. It’s like saying Very Right Wing, or Quite Whackadoodle. Republican House members are passing laws that outlaw abortion nationwide, they are interfering in the prosecution of Trump, and some are wearing AR 15 pins on their lapels. Red state legislators and Trumpist Governors –signing away the rights of women, children, and non-heterosexuals –these are not just unprincipled politicians on the right. No. These people are despots and villains. Finally, the entire collection of cowards, liars, and ignorant souls that make up the Trumpist party –they aren’t conservatives. This dire threat to democracy can’t just be called the Republican Party. As I update you, I will offer more colorful language from the Tudor era and the American south in hopes that it will entertain and motivate you.

Let’s begin with the House of Representatives, where Marge Muck-Spout is chief. Marjorie Taylor, I mean. Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House, lives to do her bidding. He’s Fapdoodle. Stupid. Fapdoodle stands for nothing. His goal was to grasp the Speaker’s gavel, and for the power of that gavel he sold out to Muck-Spout and company. He needs a harness and she a leash. They’d be a hit at an S&M party. I digress. From her field trips to the DC jail to visit January 6 defendants to her calls to arrest NY DA Alvin Bragg (who, yesterday, brought the first Trump indictment) –Muck-Spout is thoroughly despicable. She called for the separation of red and blue states. She heckled Biden during his State of the Union speech, even called him a liar. She harassed a school shooting survivor -turned- gun safety advocate on the street in DC. Here she explains gender: “I’ll tell you what a woman is. We come from Adam’s rib. We’re our husbands wives. We’re the weaker sex.” And the following is paraphrased: “I think all Republicans should call themselves Christian Nationalists and be proud. Because that’s what we are.” Muck-Spout opens her mouth and shallow pronouncements overflow. Yet she is representative of the caliber of people in the House chambers right now. She’s not alone. The House of Representatives does not pose the biggest danger, though, because the extremists don’t control all three branches of government (thank you, voters). While awful, their antics are mostly theater.

The real danger lies in the red state legislatures. The new laws pile on cruelty. Trumpism gave permission to the worst people on the right, and now they venture forth with renewed energy in the pursuit of some version of Gilead. I’ll start in Arkansas, since I’m a resident. Sarah Huckabee, an admitted liar for Trump, now casts a shadow in the natural state like Sauron in the east. I’ll call her Snollygoster, a dark-side politician. In the same week she OK’d a statue to commemorate dead fetuses, and rolled back child labor laws. So much for protecting kids. Another new law states you can only use the bathroom of the sex on your birth certificate. Abortion was banned here as soon as Roe fell. Now the Arkansas legislature is considering a bill to criminalize women who seek abortions. Snollygoster’s visage reflects the lack of compassion within. Like the laws she affixes her signature to –she’s ugly.

Over twenty lawmakers in South Carolina signed on to a bill that could bring the death penalty to women seeking abortions. OB GYN doctors are leaving red states because they can’t provide care with the threat of fines and prison over their heads. Women are dying in ERs from unresolved miscarriages because doctors are on the phone with lawyers. It’s a human rights crisis. The anti-choice laws make me angry in a way that’s hard to articulate. The utter disregard for women –their right to self-determination, privacy, their right not to be pregnant –the disregard is heartbreaking. How dare they. We can thank Trumpist supreme court picks –Christian fundamentalist zealots.

Tennessee passed an anti-drag bill. Other red states will follow. Drag shows are forbidden in public, where kids might see them. This does nothing but put a chill on gay pride parades and drag performers. One famous drag queen from Memphis wondered whether they could be arrested between their parked car and the venue. This is not about protecting kids. Guns are the #1 killer of children in the US today. The red states are silent about gun safety laws. Again, protecting kids is the excuse, not the real reason for the new laws.

Ruthless Tyrant is my Tudor name for Governor DeSantis, dictator of Florida. He fired a prosecutor because the prosecutor said he would not go after abortion cases. “Woke ideas come to die in Florida,” says the Tyrant. History books are being revised. A parent complained about Michelangelo’s David in an art class, calling it porn; the principal of the school was fired. Courses about black history or gender are being eliminated from college curriculums. If you are a kid in school, you can’t share what your family did last weekend if you have two moms or two dads. We call it the Don’t Say Gay bill. Republican extremists are taking over school boards, banning books. You can do five years in jail for showcasing a banned book in schools. Bloggers have to register with the state and pay $50 if they want to write about Ruthless Tyrant. Recently the Tyrant hired a speech writer. This young writer is white nationalist-friendly; he once admired comments Nick Fuentes made about how women are too goofy to have authority over men.* Nick Fuentes also believes women should wear veils to church, and should be beaten and burned alive for disobedience. The Ruthless Tyrant has found his footing as an enthusiastic leader of the authoritarian and extremist right.

As I write this essay, the news of Trump’s first indictment is unfolding. The Tyrant issued a statement using the term “Soros backed” to describe NY DA Alvin Bragg. When white nationalists hear “Soros backed” they transcribe it to “Jewish funded.” We don’t know the charges against Trump yet. Even so, the Tyrant declared he would not sign off on an extradition of Trump. He’s talking directly to the Trump base, the people who sacked the Capitol. The Ruthless Tyrant is discouraging the rule of law. His refusal to extradite is not only moot, since Trump plans to turn himself in, it’s unconstitutional.

All this leads to the actual danger facing us. White nationalism. The Republicans chose a cruel path. Control over women’s bodies, suppressing LGBTQ people, banning books, elevating mindless muck-spouts, the revision of history, and encouraging lawlessness. Why? To cause fear, chaos, the deaths of women, to create civil unrest –then what? Swoop in with a dictator to restore white male rule. The Trumpist party is now trying to re-write the January 6 insurrection. On March 25, 2023, Trump gave his first 2024 presidential rally in Waco, Texas –on the anniversary of the fatal stand-off between the Branch Davidian cultists and the feds. Trump put his hand on his heart and pledged allegiance, along with a few thousand followers, to the January 6th defendants. Muck-Spout calls them political prisoners. In the background a video showed the Capitol that day. Loud speakers piped in a song about justice –sung by a January 6 choir in prison. During his speech Trump promised death and destruction if he is indicted. Ted Nugent presented the foreign policy platform, saying he did not want to give money to that “homosexual weirdo” Zelensky, the Ukranian president. A woman in the audience wore a gaudy hat and bragged about being a January 6 defendant, a badge of honor.

It’s times like this modern language fails me. For a few days I reached back to the dark ages, searching for words to describe the Waco event and its people. Then it hit me. We have a perfectly suitable phrase here in the American south: white trash. Hardcore Trumpists are white trash. Not necessarily poor, mind you. Marge Muck-Spout is a millionaire, after all. Donald himself is rich, and white trash. Willfully obtuse, complaining, grievance-ridden, conspiracy-believing, misinformed, ignorant, Fox-consuming, (often) fundamentalist Christian, (mostly) white people. Republicans represent white male rule, which is coming to an end. They don’t have the numbers. So they reach for power via autocracy. Repressive laws, misinformation from Fox and the like, loud dummies like Muck-Spout, corrupt Snollygosters like Huckabee, Ruthless Tyrants and Fapdoodles –these are the foundations of autocratic rule. And always out front –grifter Trump, making money from his throngs of insurrectionist-loving foot soldiers with their Trump trucks, Trump flags, and tacky hats. The party of white trash.

Gadzooks. What a heap of landfill garbage. I don’t even remember the party that once believed that character matters.

Here’s the thing. What the authoritarian right is counting on is that we don’t name it. So call them out. They are extemists. They are not normal. Speak truth kindly and without fear. They want us to be fearful of the white trash bullies. Don’t be. Stand up to them when it’s safe to do so. Right now all of us –conservative and liberal- who are pro-democracy should find a way to help get our country back on track. It’s a beautiful experiment worth saving. Do you have a friend who doesn’t believe in voting? Now is a good time to talk to them about what’s at stake. Most of us have Trumpist family members who have no idea Tucker Carlson is lying to them. Refer them to a news outlet, tell then about the Dominian law suit against Fox. If you are a true Christian, speak out against Christian nationalism and fundamentalism. Drive women to border states for reproductive care. Buy banned books. Tell children true history. Vote.

The good news is this: they won’t win. We won’t let them. Yesterday, March 30th, Trump was indicted by a NY grand jury. More indictments will fall –because they must. If rule of law is to continue, it must apply to all. The white nationalists will lose the general election just as they lost the midterms. Fox will lose the defamation case. The Republican Party will collapse and build back up as a rational conservative party. Women will be restored to first class citizenship. Children will be protected from assault rifles. One day Fapdoodle will go incognito in public out of shame. And someone like Chris Jones will someday be governor of Arkansas. It may take time, and it may be painful. But I have to keep thinking the best, not the worst, will happen.

The other reason to fight the extremist right is the Earth herself. Authoritarians don’t care about climate change. The only thing that matters to them is the acquisition of power and money. The earth, its plants and animals –and its denizens– are in danger in the face of the creeping authoritarian movement across the world. My brother believes Gen Z will save us as more of them hit voting age. He said it’s just a matter of what comes first, climate disaster or Gen Z coming of age. There may be truth there. Meanwhile, we can all shoulder some of the load. Let’s vanquish the party of Muck-Spouts, Fapdoodles, Snollygosters, Ruthless Tyrants, and white trash. Once and for all.

Laurel Owen, March 2023

*”DeSantis Finds His Voice: A Natcon Culture Warrior Who Praised a Prominent White Nationalist,” by Tim Miller. thebulwark.com

Thanksgiving

Years ago I spent a week in Paris visiting two friends. I traipsed around Montmartre and beyond, taking in the people, the handsome buildings, and the creative drive of the city. Instinctively I understood why American musicians and writers flocked to Paris in the early 20th century. New York City, my former home, has a creative pulse also. But where the heart of New York borders on tachycardia, the heartbeat in Paris is slower and more sensual, with an infusion of healthy love hormones, strengthened with good food and red wine.

I browsed in the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. At Notre Dame, I set foot on the stone floor where Joan of Arc might have stood. In her alcove I donated a few Francs for a candle, lit it, and communed with Saint Joan. It was one of the few deeply spiritual experiences in my life within a Christian church. With enough French to get around politely, I ordered food in cafes, and bought round trip Metro tickets. At one point I emerged from the Metro in an unfamiliar neighborhood, trying to figure out which way was north. An older woman came to my aid, asking me, “Quelle langue?” –What language? I smiled. She had not pegged me as American. I wandered along the Seine. Ate ice cream. Sat next to fountains on city park benches. I smiled fondly at gargoyles. I wondered what the story was behind a statue of a man holding his own severed head. From hidden doorways to inviting balconies, narrow medieval streets to the Champs-Elysees –I could not get enough. The French people were warm and funny, and appreciated my attempt at their beautiful language. They had an innate sense of style –even those without a lot of money cuffed their jeans just so, with an attractive pair of shoes and socks that matched. I wore pretty flowing dresses and comfortable flats and walked everywhere, soaking up the visceral engagement of all the senses that is Paris. The city captured my heart.

Just before going back to my friends’ house in the afternoon, my job was to pick up bread and pastries at the bakery. What I brought home with me from Paris, what changed my life, was what we experienced at their home every evening. At about 8:00 we sat down at the dinner table. Wine flowed. We passed the cheese tray, then had a soup, and another entree. Their commitment to sharing food and meaningful discussion for an hour every night impressed me. A more well-rounded approach to life includes a healthy relationship to food –shared with friends and family.

I bring Paris home every Thanksgiving. Mind you, I cook fresh food all year long. But on Thanksgiving I lay out a vegetarian feast in my best china, light candles, and create the combination of conversation and delicious food I found compelling in France. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday –a harvest celebration of old. A time to give thanks for blessings.

This year I’m most grateful for the outcome of the US elections. Just like France, a creeping right wing authoritarian movement is gaining traction. And, like the French, we beat them back. Decisively. Generation Z and younger women come out in huge numbers, motivated by the overturning of the right to an abortion. The potential loss of other privacy rights appeared inevitable. Young people were not having it. In swing states, people voted for Democrats (the only pro democracy party at the moment) for Secretary of State and Governor positions. That’s important, because those officials oversee elections. We need non-partisan public servants in those roles, not election deniers and extremists. Five states put reproductive freedom on the ballot. Even in Kentucky and Montana, people stood up for bodily autonomy. The senate will remain in Democratic hands. Biden will be able to appoint federal judges.

Alas, we are not out of the woods. Millions of Americans voted for Trumpists. The House of Representatives will be run by MAGA nut jobs –by a razor slim majority. It’s a shame that older people –still bamboozled by the lies of Fox –believe MAGA Republicans are the best choice. But because of the pro democracy wins across the country generally, the House will just look like a clown car ride. They want to waste our time and money. Last I heard, Marjorie Taylor Greene intends to impeach Joe Biden and other members of his cabinet, summon Dr. Fauci to congressional hearings, and try for a national abortion ban. The House will disband the January 6 committee, and turn on its members. All theater.

What’s genuinely frightening are the draconian abortion laws in red states. MAGA law makers promise they will get more cruel. Florida went MAGA, due to redistricting, and the Governor’s Anti-Woke law and Don’t Say Gay bill should scare every American. Here in Arkansas, a school board near Little Rock wants to outlaw words like Equity, phrases like White Privilege, and books about slavery or LGBTQ sexuality. History books in Texas are under revision. The other day Trump had lunch with a Christian Nationalist named Nick Fuentes. Fuentes believes in a fascist take-over of the US. Trump, a serial liar and criminal facing state and federal charges, wants to be elected president again in 2024. Quelle Horreur –what horror.

In spite of the upcoming MAGA side show in the House, and red states descending into Christian Nationalist dystopia, the red wave did not break as predicted. And for that we can celebrate whole-heartedly. As the Grand Old Party implodes, we now have no functioning conservative party in the US. May they be reborn –sane.

But we must continue to hope, organize locally, and vote. I have begun with a Jane.org t-shirt and bumpersticker. In states where abortion is illegal, “We Are Jane” translates as “I’m a safe space for pregnant people and I will offer you information about reproductive health care.” In some states those conversations are illegal. Too bad.

I’m grateful to you, my readers. I’m grateful for pro democracy voters, and for women who will not be silenced or intimidated. I’m especially grateful for the chance to take a breath, relax for a minute, to not be so afraid. I planned to put on a brave face if the country went sideways. My husband and I discussed moving to a blue state –or even another country. But no. Democracy won a big battle.

Finally, I’m grateful for a holiday devoted to good food, and sharing, where I can bring Paris home. That city still inspires my heart.

Laurel Owen

November, 2022

Photo by Boris Ulzibat on Pexels.com
Photo by Maria Orlova on Pexels.com

Time To Vote –The Fight is Not Over

It’s October 24th, 2022. The full color of fall graced us here in NW Arkansas. This morning the rainy gray sky accentuated the gold and orange of the Maples, the red Oaks, and yellow Gum trees. Everywhere this bright blanket covers us, and it smells like leaves –tired of being green.

It was a fine day to vote early. No problems –no armed civilians with assault weapons, no proud boys. Not much drama at all. We aren’t a swing state, after all. Georgia right wing enforcers are thwarting voters by denying signature matches. In Arizona armed men with masks hover near drop boxes, taking pictures of voters –and their license plates– as they drop their ballets. It’s called intimidation.

GOP leaders shout their fear-based rhetoric at a screaming pitch, and the Fox-type disinformation media repeats it. According to them, crime is eating up our cities, the economy is failing, and Biden is a puppet of Marxists. They are pro-Putin. Let me list current GOP plans for America:

-Ban abortion coast to coast. Women are already dying in emergency rooms from untreated miscarriages and non-viable fetuses. Doctors fear prison in red states. The death toll will increase exponentially, as will unwanted children.

-Cut medicare and social security.

-Slow down funding to Ukraine.

-Turn federal elections over to state legislatures, where (Republican) partisans choose electors, not the votes of the people.

-Ban books having to do with LGBTQ sexuality, slavery, or anything GOP censors find uncomfortable.

-Make Don’t Say Gay law federal.

-Revise history books so white people won’t feel bad.

-Install Donald Trump, a pathological liar and criminal looking at state and federal indictments, as president in 2024.

-Reverse student loan forgiveness.

-Reverse Biden’s cap on insulin costs.

-Deny climate change.

-Impose Christian Nationalism, prayer in public school ad nauseam.

-Impeach Biden. Pay back for Trump.

-Bring Dr. Fauci, Anthony Blinken, and Merrick Garland before a house committee. More pay back.

Any one of these things is ghastly. Are you paying attention? You’ll know it if you’re losing sleep, aging faster, and finding yourself beset with nervous tics and palpitations.

Recently the New York Times came out with a poll that scared us even more. After Roe was overturned, Democrats looked good in the polls, favored to win the senate and even keep the house. The other day the Times announced a new poll showing a slight favor for the GOP. All the pundits piped up about the gas prices and inflation, and what democratic politicians were saying wrong. Talking heads wagged their tongues, sideswiped by the magic of GOP messaging.

Very few bothered to broadcast one important fact. The NYT interviewed about 800 people across the country for that poll. That’s it. How many young people answer a strange number during the day? Not many, apparently.

What we are seeing is a power grab from a minority party. White male power is coming to an end, and they want to take down the country if they can’t win. The GOP can’t gain power with the popular vote, so they have figured out how to manipulate uneducated Americans with Fox, employ fear and repression in their tactics, all with a fake Christian veneer that fools gullible people even more. Can you imagine a world where we no longer have democracy? Where right wing extremists run the country, fix the voting to favor themselves, where women have no reproductive rights, and where puppy-killing charlatans like Dr. Oz actually hold seats in the US senate? Imagine Kari Lake as vice president. How about Marjorie Taylor Greene on the judiciary committee? Enter hair twirling, nail biting, and high blood pressure. For many of us full blown mental and physical health issues loom large. Especially young women, forced to give birth without regard for their circumstances.

What I want to say is this: the country is in the throes of menace and delusion. What remains to be seen is whether Americans will stand up to this threat and vote in the next two weeks. About 25% of the population has been taken in by the extremists. They swear Trump won and the January 6th insurrection was no worse than Black Lives Matter protests. One infinitely stupid woman said, “I don’t care about abortion bans. Only 1% of women get raped.” Forget the callousness on display. Where did she get that number? One in five American women are sexually assaulted. That’s more than 1%. Oh wait. If Fox or Newsmax say it –well it must be true. The politicians and media personalities who have brainwashed vulnerable people have committed an evil act. They lie knowingly to gain influence and favor with the cult of Trumpism.

Indeed, when we save our country, we will have to grapple with two big problems. One is dealing with the millions of true believers. In a democracy you can’t just force re-education on people, nor would we want to. How do you deprogram QAnon cult members on a national level? Will we have to wait for the Trumpers to die off? Or do they fall back to the dark corners of the Republican Party to emerge in another incarnation thirty years from now? Liz Cheney, love her heart, suggests that if Trump runs in 2024 the GOP will shatter. One hopes. I vote for Liz to lead a true conservative party. The other problem is the false perception that entertainers are news anchors. Would it help to bring back the Fairness Doctrine? If you call yourself The News, you should have to fact check. Somehow we need to go back to agreeing on facts, even if we disagree on how to solve problems based on those facts. Truth is essential.

I prefer to believe that young people will come out in great numbers in the next two weeks. One in five Gen Z identify as LGBTQ. Women will not accept second class citizenship. They will vote. Soon the GOP bad actors will be revealed for the power hungry ghouls they are, and disbanded. Pushed back. Defeated. Then I can stop writing this series of articles, bearing witness to stupid and crazy.

It’s not just women or LGBTQ people who are in danger. Land masses, melting icebergs, polar bears, whales, wolves, coral reefs –the planet itself– stands to be harmed irreparably. The extremists in the GOP are climate deniers –unmoved by species extinction. This makes me sad as I watch the trees change. This beautiful earthly life is in danger.

Republicans will not fix inflation. Like creeping authoritarianism, climate change, Covid, and gas prices, inflation is a global problem. And crime? It’s higher in red states. Ignore the noise.

Vote. Volunteer. Speak out. Take care of yourself. Exercise. Meditate. Enjoy good food with friends and family. Find your community. Savor the fall color. Play music. Dance. Ask your neighbors how they’re doing. We are all scared. Democratic leaders act like deer in the headlights –that’s because many of them understand the peril. But for all their faults, Democrats still believe in democracy. Let’s save ourselves and the earth –she gives us this bounty of one brief life.

Laurel Owen, October 2022

Another Installment of Crazy, and some Hope

The other day I arrived early to the assessor’s office here in my Arkansas county. It was time to get my new red hybrid registered and taxed. Nobody was waiting in line, so I approached the window. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a security guard sitting at a desk in the lobby. He was talking to another employee. I overheard the end of their conversation. “Well,” said the security guy, “everything is spelled out right there in the bible. The end of time. It’s all happening in plain sight, just like the bible said it would. All the signs are there.” Then, as an after thought, he added, “Dagumit.” Dagumit sounded like a throw away term. Righteous knowledge of biblical truth animated his tone. The actual end of the world —not so much, worthy only of Dagumit. When you live in Arkansas you learn to live with biblical fundamentalists opining in state buildings. It’s uncomfortable for those of us who are non-Christian, but I accept I’m out numbered here. At least, that’s what I think in normal times.

Today, it’s unsettling. Religious zealots make up one part of the 30% of the country that have become more powerful under Trump. Let me take a moment to list some of the lunacy within this 30%. You’ve got flat earthers, anti-vaccine conspiracy nuts, anti-maskers, election deniers, white nationalists, and QAnon types who believe democrats are non-human pedophiles. Are we looking at mass psychosis? These people are the Trump Base, and they appear to be cult members. They besieged the Capitol next to armed militia members. These are the citizens sending death threats to politicians, judges — or anyone who does not believe Trump won the 2020 election.

Across the country these unhinged people are voting in primaries for people who say Trump won in 2020, for Trump apologists, and for candidates who believe in forced births and forced pregnancies.

You might think —yes, but they are a minority. True. But the Republican leadership has caved to this Trump cult. They will not stand up. Indeed, the best example of how far the Republican Party has strayed from its roots is to look at the most recent Conservative Political Action Committee — CPAC— meeting. They welcomed Victor Orban, Hungary’s authoritarian leader, to the stage. His speech validated the manufactured culture wars. “We need less drag queens and more Chuck Norris,” he crowed, to loud applause. Culture wars are the main platform of today’s GOP. Above the stage the emblazoned words spelled out “We are all domestic terrorists,” a reference to solidarity with January 6th insurrectionists —now deemed martyrs. Outside the convention hall a makeshift cell had been constructed. Inside the cell sat a man in an orange jumpsuit, tears falling down his cheeks. Marjorie Taylor Greene knelt in front of him, holding his hands, and attendees prayed outside the cell. He represented the January 6th defendants. He was the symbol of the unfairly imprisoned victims of left wing radicals —who stole the election. Or so they want you to believe.

What’s their cause, exactly? “I’m a Christian Nationalist,” quipped Marjorie. She thinks all Republicans should call themselves Christian Nationalists and be proud.

Just this week Marjorie’s rhetoric heated up. She’s selling t-shirts that say “Defund the FBI.” Fox and other irresponsible right wing blowhards have been referring to the FBI as the Gestapo. Why? Because they executed a search warrant on Trump’s Florida home. Turns out, their liege Mogul kept various documents —including some top secret and classified. This is after the DOJ subpoenaed the documents, spoke with Donald’s lawyers, and politely made visits to retrieve them over the course of the last year. When the warrant was released to the public, however, it listed three possible crimes including the Espionage Act. It seems the focus of federal investigation was not just about borrowed documents.

Still, the right wing media warned of imminent leftist authoritarian takeover. “If the FBI can do this to a former president, they can do it to you,” said a prominent Fox entertainer. as she pointed a finger to the viewers. Trump riled his followers with talk of a raid, invasion of his house by federal law enforcement. Again, violence was unleashed.

Freshly activated, a January 6th rioter shot into a Cincinnati FBI field office, armed with an AR 15 and a nail gun. He got chased down and killed after he brandished his weapon in a corn field. In Phoenix a group of armed Trump supporters stood outside an FBI office. Far right pinheads are calling for death to FBI agents.

Liz Cheney, an anti-Trump Republican, could not safely campaign in Wyoming to save her house seat due to death threats. The Trumpist won instead.

True conservatives have left the party or have been side-lined. Some have switched to being Trumpist for money and power. Adam Kinsinger calls the current Republican Party “creepy.” Trump says if he wins in 2024 he promises to pardon all January 6th defendants, enforce speedy executions of drug dealers, and fire all non-loyal civil servants in the federal government. Lauren Boebert, one of many Trumpy house members, says she does not believe in the separation of church and state. Election deniers are winning primaries. And the supreme court will decide on a case soon that would put control of federal elections in the hands of state legislatures (not courts or civil servants). Trump could win if he goes unchecked.

The news gets worse. A woman in Louisiana is carrying a baby with parts of its skull and head missing. She is not allowed to have an abortion in Louisiana. A 16 year old in Florida was deemed insufficiently mature to have an abortion, so she will be forced to carry. A mother in Nebraska gave her daughter an abortafacient pill. They both now face charges. Women are checking into emergency rooms with pregnancy complications and not receiving treatment because doctors are afraid. The Idaho legislature decided that saving a woman’s life is not reason enough to allow abortion. Biden had to sign an executive order to facilitate medical decisions in emergencies. The DOJ is suing Idaho.

Now for some hope. Donald Trump is in trouble. The louder the bluster, the more scared he is. The DOJ is moving in, the state of Georgia has him in their sights for election fraud, and NY is looking at his business dealings. Even in the face of potential violence, justice must prevail or we lose democracy.

The best news came out of Kansas. Abortion is protected in the state constitution. A post-Roe referendum appeared on their primary ballot, the first since the supreme court overturned Roe. The voters had to choose whether to take out the abortion protections from the state constitution. The Catholic church and the anti-choice movement sent out texts to voters with the intent to confuse. They said women’s reproductive rights were in danger, so vote yes to protect women’s right to choose. Actually, No was the vote to keep the constitutional amendment in place, in other words, “No, I don’t want to change the state constitution.” And in the red state of Kansas, in the face of obfuscation, in long lines and 100 degree heat —women, independents, and conservatives voted overwhelmingly to maintain abortion rights. “No,” they said. Loudly.

We need more No voting in November. No to Christian nationalism. No to Trump and Trumpism. No to medieval religious laws against women. No to vacillating fearful Republican politicians and fringe cultists who vote for them. No to the Republican Party in their current cruel dystopian form.

Maybe we can vote yes as well. Biden will go down in history favorably. Surely people will approve of the first bill addressing climate change, a bi-partisan infrastructure bill, an executive order to protect women’s reproductive healthcare, a bill to help veterans get the care they need for burn pit exposure, a bill to make computer chips here instead of in China. That’s only a partial list of Biden’s accomplishments. Already we see Democrats (now the only pro democracy party) winning seats in the senate. Can we also keep the house? Can we get our country back on track? I don’t want to keep bearing witness to fascist madness descending on our United States.

Please vote. Unfortunately it’s a binary choice at this point in history. In the future, let’s have a parliamentary system, or four parties. But in November, the only way to beat Republicans is to vote Democrat. Let’s send the Trump cult wing nuts right back to the fringe of society where they can lurk, shunned and powerless. My hope is that one day I can walk into my county courthouse and not feel unsettled by a Christian droning on about the end of the world. “At least Christian nationalists don’t run the country,” I’d say to myself, and smile.

Laurel Owen

August, 2022

Thoughts on Roe and Beyond

My cultural anthropology professor in college told us about a conversation she overheard between two men from Africa. One was from a patrilineal tribe, the other from a matrilineal tribe. The matrilineal man explained, “Of course the baby belongs to the mother. She carries it, births it, and it’s only right that her family name and inheritance should come down through her.” “Oh no!” said the patrilineal man, “you are wrong. If you have a bag of coins, who owns the coins —you or the bag?” This sums up the different perceptions concerning women in matrilineal and patrilineal societies.

Our society has changed slowly toward more rights for women over the centuries. The musings of the tribesmen seem lightweight compared to what the new radical right has in store for women here in the US. A Supreme Court zealot named Justice Alito has written a draft to overturn Roe v Wade, which would outlaw abortion. The draft was leaked.

If passed, half the country will immediately ban abortion. And because the Republican party is no longer benign, the red state Trumpists are falling all over each other to see who can be more cruel. Some say no abortions with no exceptions. The Texas law encourages vigilantism. Missouri is writing a law that would outlaw travel to a neighboring state to have an abortion. Also in Missouri, the original law made no exception for ectopic pregnancy, which is fatal to the mother. A representative who helped pen the law admitted he did not know what an ectopic pregnancy was. Texas pharmacists, as of this writing, are afraid to fill abortifacient prescriptions for ectopic pregnancy for fear of reprisal from SB8-empowered vigilantes. My guess is a lot of the extremist republicans don’t know or care that, for instance, pregnancy can be fatal to breast cancer survivors. The flush of estrogen needed for developing a fetus is poison to a woman who has had estrogen-receptive breast cancer. She may not survive after that pregnancy.

The ugly onslaught of repressive laws now pivots to birth control. A low IQ senator from Tennessee said out loud that birth control should only be allowed for married couples. A Florida politician wants to outlaw IUDs –he also wants to join Missouri in barring women from interstate travel for abortions.

Alito’s leaked draft references a 17th century English misogynist named Mathew Hale. Hale did not believe rape could happen in a marriage. Women, Hale opined, were formed from Adam’s rib as helpmates to men —how can men rape themselves? In the US, rape in marriage could not be prosecuted until the late 20th century. Oh yes, we have a history with Hale. He also convicted two women of witchcraft and had them hanged. Shades of The Handmaid’s Tale. In the eyes of this man, and his current fanatic followers, women are not fully human.

Mathew Hale, Justice Alito’s words, and the merciless laws being written in the red states leave me with the same queasy feeling as the patrilineal tribesman left me with; women are bags to carry something belonging to men, or the state. We are not more important than what we carry in our wombs.

Let’s dispense with the term pro-life to describe the new right. Forcing a thirteen year old rape victim to carry her rapist’s child is not pro anything. It’s flat cruelty. To forbid travel to another state is authoritarian. Putting the fetus above a woman’s life is misogyny. Announcing that life begins at conception, then imposing laws to enforce this belief is fundamentalist Christian theocracy —not democracy. Once the theocracy takes hold, women, non-Christians, non-heterosexuals —we are all in danger. Whatever the Republican Party is today, it’s not pro-life. A minority of nihilists and fascist friendly right wingers want to hold power. And they will do anything to grasp it. When extremists come to power, women’s rights go out the door. Mussolini, Franco, and Hitler outlawed abortion. Indeed, limiting women’s rights is one of the markers of fascism. During the Trump era, fundamentalist Christians ascended to a majority on the Supreme Court. Under the Trumpist Republican Party, the ultimate goal is a coast to coast ban on abortions.

It’s hard to describe the level of anger, sadness, and fear many of us feel right now. It’s our country. And Roe was a right we grew up with. So was democracy.

So I meditate. Every day. And I relish that moment when all fleeting thoughts recede. And at the end of fretful thinking and regret —all that’s left is goodness. Love. Joy. The act of connecting to that ultimate love exists in every religion. In my own spiritual path we believe this earthly life is sacred. The gods and goddesses are loving aunts and uncles, warm and close. I’m a pagan. Every season offers a reason for joy, for reverence, for acceptance of change. Every celebration ties us to the earth, to land spirits, to our ancestors, and our gods. We revel in the magic of it all. The multiverse is beautiful.

All world religions provide guidelines for being a better person. Even people who aren’t religious can find deep meaning and points of light. One friend, an atheist and alcoholic-in-recovery, pictured her dog as her higher power. Good choice. The judgement-free love of a dog has no equal. Another friend dances to find oneness with the ether. Some people look to philosophy, reason and science for well-being and illumination. A man on death row told me he had never been moved by a religious feeling — until he read Plato.

Now we can talk about the real meanings of pro-life and pro-choice, which are not mutually exclusive.

If your inner wisdom guides you to believe that life is serendipitous, and if you find yourself pregnant unexpectedly, you may want to choose to bring that life into its full mystery and meaning. Or perhaps your love for life informs a decision to end that pregnancy for self preservation. Both are OK. Each is life affirming. Either option may be hard. And women must be trusted to decide. We are not bags.

Right now, at this difficult juncture in our country, we need to embrace what inspires us to love life and make clear choices. What’s at stake here is not just fetuses or a woman’s right to self determination. Our democracy is in danger. The rising tide of callous power-grabbers on the right want to turn us into a fascist-friendly country. Climate change legislation, private choices, access to books and honest history in schools, freedom of the press —all in danger.

Remember the flitting thoughts –those distractions during meditation? The left/right conversation is one. It’s false because it assumes the Republican Party is normal. The pro-life and pro-choice arguments also distract from the task at hand. I have shown that one of the two main political parties is not pro-life. What matters is good people meeting a dangerous moment with grace and determination.

We should harness ourselves to whatever higher power we aspire to. Then we must step forth into the fight of our generation. Vote these fanatics and Trump cultists back to the fringes of society where they can lurk, disgraced and shunned. Other actions may include marching for women’s rights, growing flowers for bees, volunteering for an animal shelter —anything that nurtures life and makes our world better. If the red states turn into authoritarian laboratories, some of us may help women get to friendly states for their healthcare. Maybe all you do is treat others kindly and with respect —and tell the truth. It’s all good. As long as we are aware and engaged.

Post Script:

On June 24th, 2022, Roe versus Wade was overturned by the rogue Supreme Court of the US. Discounting almost fifty years of precedent and against the opinion of the majority of Americans, they forged ahead with a theocratic minority rule by edict. Christo fascism has arrived. Most every woman I talk to feels like I do: half burning anger and half devastated. Men share our sorrow and our outrage. I will continue to write about events as they happen. Will we slip into authoritarianism or will we claw our way out? Nobody knows right now. I hope for the best.

Laurel Owen

July 1st, 2022