Sad Song
“I wish I had a
river so long
I would teach my
feet how to fly
Oh, I wish I had a
river I could skate away on.”
Joni Mitchell (refrain:
“River,” 1971)
As
usual, I woke with a song in my head. “River,” by Joni Mitchell was recorded in
1971 for her “Blue” album. I suppose it is coming to me now because of the deep
sadness it portrays. I watched the President’s State of the Union speech last night,
as he tried to speak to the American people about the war in Ukraine and about
domestic successes and failures. There was heckling from the right wing—by two
republican women, no less. I can’t tell you how sad I feel about that; I’ll bet
many of their colleagues feel the same way.
Before
you rush to judgement, let me say that I would feel the same way if these were
democratic women. Governing is not a game. It is not a personality contest, nor
is it a forum for personal grievances. There are real, live people out here who
are scared and hurting, who don’t know where their next meal will come from or
whether they will have food and shelter for their children. The Ukrainian
people are facing possible destruction at the hands of a dictator bent on
occupying them at any cost. We can’t even feel secure that this maniac Putin
will not launch nuclear weapons—he has poisoned and murdered and imprisoned anyone
who dares to oppose him. His own people are risking their very lives to stand
in the streets and protest his invasion into Ukraine. Our president deserves at
least silence if not deep respect for holding the line and helping Ukraine as
much as possible without risking nuclear war.
The
fact that it is women who are showing the worst possible face to the world,
makes me doubly sad. Women have worked so hard to break down the barriers to
equal representation—to gain a proverbial seat at the table. So, to have
females act like belligerent, adolescent big-mouths, is a blow to decades worth
of patient work. Somehow, these women, and some on the left of the aisle, have
swallowed the fallacious belief that if women want to be seen and heard, they must
act like ugly men. That is simply not true. Women have a distinct advantage when
it comes to being relational, connected, genuine, and grounded. That is their
strength; and that is what they have to offer an organization like the congress.
When they act like they are at a prize fight instead of in the sacred domain of
our Capitol, they demean themselves and women everywhere. They relinquish their
true power and become simply one more loud-mouthed bully.
I hope
today, this Ash Wednesday, we will come together—whether we are Christian, Jew,
Hindu, Muslim, or Buddhist, and take a moment to contemplate whether we truly
want our country to be divided, taunting and horrific. If not, we must let go
of our grievances toward each other, and pray for the state of the world. Don’t
just say words but allow the deep yearning for peace to be felt in our hearts and
in all we say and do today. It’s the one thing we can do to help the soul of
America and the world at large. God bless the Ukrainian people.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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