Thanks -- but No Thanks
Some Personal Reflections on Thanksgiving Day

"Oh, Great Spirit whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me, I am small and weak,  I need your strength and wisdom." -- from a prayer

by Lakota Chief Yellow Lark, 1887
(Entire Prayer)

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children." 

-- Ancient Native American Proverb

The three day feast that brought together 90 Wampanoags and the 50 surviving Pilgrims at Plymouth Plantation in 1621 has become part of our nation's mythology.

Unfortunately, this idyllic tale doesn't portray the stark reality of the Holocaust that ensued as European colonists descended on this continent bringing with them white supremacy,  a harshly judgmental Christianity, and the European notions of  private property and corporate capitalism.  (The pilgrims received a land patent from the London Virginia Company and financing from Company of Merchant Adventurers who sought to profit by colonizing lands overseas)

Although the set of Democratic Ideals set forth in the Preamble to the US Constitution reflect humanity's universal quest for a just society, "our forefathers" also brought forth on this continent disease, death, domination, and the destruction of a Way of Life that seemingly understood and honored humanity's relationship to Mother Earth, to the Great Spirit and to the Circle of All Life in a way not understood by the European invaders.

Embedded in the worldview of the Indigenous People was an ethos of Connection and Reverence. Our forefathers brought with them, instead, the Unbridled Greed buried in the belly of Capitalism, and the myopic worldview of a Christianity that produces a separation from one another, from the natural world, and from our spiritual connection to all that is.  

Through force of arms (including germ warfare and the power of "law"), the bad guys won.  Unfortunately for Mother Earth and her myriad beings, they still hold tremendous power.

Yet, it doesn't have to be that way. 

It is true that history shows us that those with more guns and less morals have often taken power.  Yet, history also shows us the opposite.  In my own lifetime, Mahatma Gandhi, armed with nothing but a spinning wheel, the force of Great Loving Soul, and the Power of the People, sent the mighty British Empire packing.   
(READ MORE)

And Now We Are Six: #Occupy Wall Street's Sixth Anniversary

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IT'S SO NOT OVER!

September 17 marked the sixth anniversary of the day that protesters descended on Wall Street and Zuccotti Park in New York City, re-naming it Liberty Park and launching #Occupy Wall Street!  

(Click for lyrics)

I put this video together on Occupy's First Birthday.  The song had emerged in the pre-dawn air a year earlier as Mayor Bloomberg, aware that thousands more people had flocked to Zuccotti Park to prevent his first attempt to clear the park in October, backed down.  Here in n Western Massachusetts, I had stayed up all night, riveted to the Livestream.   At dawn, a roar surged through the crowd as the announcement was made.  Mayor Bloomberg had caved.  "By dawn's early light, what a sight, oh say can you see?" 

The song wrote itself.

Of course, time moved on, and I had to rewrite a few lines of "The Flame of Liberty Park." Following the guidance of federal authorities, the Mayor's Militarized Minions swept the park into dumpsters in November.  This happened to other large scale #Occupy encampments as well.  

Yet,  remained a Song of Triumph.  As the song now sez, "you can trash a camp, but you can't sweep away the Spirit!  That Spirit, re-emerged during the candidacy of Bernie Sanders and others.  It lives on in a myriad of grassroots efforts to turn the tables, and reclaim our democracy.  

Although, for a time, Trumposaurus Wrecks and his Crazed Capitalist Crew may cling to the reins of power, I feel it in my bones.  Although, I'm 71 years old and may not be around for the victory party, our time will come.

It's SO not over!

#Occupy Six Years Down the Road

Although the mainstream media has often tried to discount the impact of the two month encampment at Zuccotti Park, there can be no doubt that beyond the amazing spread of the #Occupy movement across the United States that fall, the Spirit continued to move across the land in a myriad of local, regional and national efforts to create a more equitable and democratic society.   (Read Michael Levitin's  article in The Atlantic, "The Triumph of Occupy Wall Street.")

On the national level, it seems to me that the emergence of Bernie Sanders, an avowed Democratic Socialist, as a credible candidate for the Democratic nomination for President this past year was a direct result of #OWS! For the first time in recent history, #OWS! brought into clear focus the alarming, and growing, income inequality existing in the US.  A lot of folks got the message.

Although Bernie didn't secure the nomination from the embedded Democratic Party establishment, the campaign he calls "a Political Revolution" continues on to confront the utter domination and distortion of our democratic process by a wealthy corporate elite.  Unfortunately, the widespread frustration with the continuing looting of the economic resources of this nation  --and the world -- by the banksters and tycoons, was manipulated within the culture of fear and divisiveness fomented by the Republican Party for decades, allowed a billionaire huckster to con a lot of good folks into thinking that they could play this Trump card into a winning hand in their lives.  It will become more and more obvious that the Banksters and Privateers he's assembled in his Misadminstration won't bring back jobs or any semblance of a viable middle class prosperity as they fill their pockets and move on.

It's only a matter of time.  It's so not over.

Take a Moment

Six years years down the road from that magic day in September that sparked an autumn blaze of urban encampments throughout the United States for the next few, I think its time to celebrate the Spirit that emerged there. Over the course of it's two month occupation, #OWS! made the case: a political revolution is absolutely necessary.  We are, after all, the 99%. Now it's up to each of us to stay on the case. 

AND THAT MEANS YOU -- RIGHT NOW!

Right now, the Republicans are once again trying to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a plan that leaves tens of millions of American's unprotected -- and tens of millions of us subject to exorbitant fees for access life-saving medical care.  Don't let the deal go down!  Call your Senators now.  Hell, call their Senators now.  If you can't make the call, sign the petition below.  

A Boston Beam of Light

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." 

― Martin Luther King, Jr.

With so much Darkness emerging from the Alt Right/Neo-Nazi/Libertarian Fascist/White Supremacist forces in the world today, it is easy to loose sight of the Truths that Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and many of us, young and old, have seen clearly.

With the barrage of mean-spirited rhetoric emanating from the Bully in the POTUS pulpit, it hard to stay focused on all that people of good will continue to do on the front lines of their lives.

Yet,  have no doubt -- It's Happening! 

This past weekend, the Light once again prevailed.  By most counts, 40,000 folks showed up in Boston to protest the Alt-right "Free Speech" rally.  Not only was the day remarkable Peaceful, this vast outpouring of Good Hearted Folks seem to have altered the alt-right/white supremacist/libertarian fascist/neo-nazi's plans to conduct a nationwide series of rallies. Instead, they now plan to retreat to their virtual caves on the internet rather than face the reality that most American's detest the hateful line these misguided minions of militant misanthropy are drawing in the sands of time.

Here is a brief FB video from that day in Boston posted by Ashley Berry a young activist here in the Pioneer Valley. Living her activism, she spent time at Standing Rock -- and continues to Stand and Rock!!  Thank you Ashley.
One Love,
Brother Lefty

Here is her FB post:
This is how peaceful, anti fascist folks protest. This is what's happening all over the common, with periodic interruptions by random white supremacists who are quickly set straight that their hate is unacceptable, and then sent on their way. The message is clear that their message of hate is NOT welcome. Boston doin it right. 💜

Thunder and Lightening

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the midst of the turmoil surrounding the upsurge of White Supremicist organizing and the tragedy in Charlottesville, I came across this brief video today on the web.  

IMHO, this young man, an ex-skinhead, echoes what Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw clearly.  Feeding their hatred with our own will never bring about the Peace and Justice that we all deserve.

These are incredibly challenging times. The alt right, neo-nazis, white supremacists and KKK are going to continue to make a lot of noise.  The Bully in the POTUS pulpit ain't about to shut up.   Only our enLightening can steal their thunder.

Although there are legitimate grounds for our anger, pain and fear, IMHO I think that True Revolutionaries are called to transmute these energies into constructive, loving activism.  We must not only continue to hit the ground running and take to the streets.  We must make the time to gather together, organize, and create our own cooperative community institutions to challenge the existing structures.  As Naomi Klein puts it in her new book: No is Not Enough!  

It's showtime. We gotta get our act together.  
Yours in Peace and Struggle,
Brother Lefty Smith

A Time to Break Silence

I had just turned 22 on April 4, 1968. when a single shot rang out in Memphis to fell Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.   Yet, his voice has not been silenced.  It lives on in numerous recordings -- and through the voices that we each raise in the cause of Peace, Social Justice and Human Rights

As Trump's legion of misanthrops, materialists and military men continue to board, loot, and scuttle our beleaguered ship of state, it's a time for each of us to break silence and speak out.  Dr. King's did so dramatically on April 4, 1967.  On that day, Dr. King proclaimed, "these too are our brothers," and came out against the US involvement in the Vietnam War with a passion and an eloquence that many believe caused his assassination exactly one year later to the day.

The corporate media today chooses to ignore this speech and remain silent.  I hope you don't.  Please listen and pass this along.  Then join some folks and speak out -- with love in your heart!

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence

Stand with Standing Rock

Stand with Standing Rock!
March on Washington
Friday, March 10 

"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is. "
-- Mahatma Gandhi

These are, to say the least, dangerous times. 

With Trumposaurus Rex and his Alligators now occupying the DC swamp and proceeding full speed ahead to drain it -- into their own pockets, apparently -- the myriad strands of our precious web of life on this planet are at risk  -- including the gossamer thread of our democratic government. 

Other than throw more money at our already bloated Military, ICE, and an increasingly militarized domestic police force (see footage below), these pirates and "free market" privateers are acting swiftly to scuttle our ship of state and replace it with a homegrown branch of the Russian Oligarchy.  (With this Administration,  It seems like our Billionaires and their Billionaires are in cahoots already, no?)

It is no surprise that one of the first things that Trumposaurus Rex did once he stomped into the Oval Office was to reverse the Obama administration's directives regarding Standing Rock.  

After all, the American Empire, with it's own virulent blend of Unbridled Greed (aka "free market" capitalism) and Fundamentalist Christianity, was largely built on the genocide of Native Americans, the enslavement of Africans, and the exploitation of natural resources for private gain.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is just another chapter in a long and tragic tale.  The fossil fuel industry, world-wide, continues to despoil the planet and its people. 

It's clear that these folks don't acknowledge our Spiritual Connection to one another and to all beings.  We are not seen as strands in the Web of Life, inextricably bound together in the Oneness of Life.  Their world consists of commodities and consumers.  Water isn't viewed as Sacred.  It's a thing to be consumed.  In fact, like fossil fuels, if these privateers get their way it, too, will soon become another commodity to be sold.  (That is,  unless they pollute it all first, or bring on a nuclear war, or climate change changes everything. )

Yes, these are dangerous times.

Scared? It's time to turn it around and get Sacred.  Take a stand.  You can find out more about the DC action at http://standwithstandingrock.net/march/   
 
There are many local rallies and marches being held in solidarity as well.  Most these events are being well publicized on social media. Here in Greenfield MA there will be a rally on the Town Commons on Saturday, March 11, Noon - 1:30 PM.  More at: Standing with Standing Rock

The Last Stand of Oceti Sakowin Camp

Warning:  Disturbing Footage

Although the Water Protectors of Oceti Sakowin who had remained through the intensity of a North Dakota winter had tried to negotiate with the Army Corps of Engineers to evacuate in a dignified and environmentally sound manner, they were rebuffed.   

It was extremely disturbing to see that those who remained in peaceful civil disobedience were accosted with armored vehicles and law enforcement officers in military gear with assault rifles drawn. 


I'm amazed by, and grateful for.  their courage and that of the brave souls of Unicorn Riot for this footage.
 

"I Speak As Someone Who Loves America"

"When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, 

are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, 

extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered."

-- Dr. Martin King Jr., Speech at Riverside Church, April 4, 1967

"It is my firm belief that Europe of today represents not the spirit of God or Christianity but the spirit of Satan.  And Satan's successes are the greatest when he appears with the name of God on his lips.  Europe today is only nominally Christian.  In reality, it is worshiping Mammon."

-- Mahatma Gandhi, Young India, August 9, 1920.

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With the nightmare of Donald Trump's coronation looming on the horizon, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech seems even more relevant this year.

Dr. King's vision from the Mountaintop was that of taking down walls constructed of fear and hatred, not building them.

Yet, the walls that he dreamed of removing didn't just consist of segregation.  His message was broader and deeper.  For decades now, the corporate media has increasingly whitewashed Dr. King's views on economic justice, materialism and militarism.  Like Gandhi, King's message was essentially Spiritual.  They both saw clearly that Mammon worship, the soul sucking evil of materialism/consumerism, lurks in the belly of capitalism.

Throughout our history, racism and economic exploitation have always walked hand in hand.  The prosperity of the English Empire and it's rebellious teenage child, the USA were built on slavery and genocide.  Sadly, although the form may look different, this continues today.

Like my identical twin brother, Lance, I usually tend to be more Buddhist in my lingo  Yet, I just gotta say it out loud: I agree with Gandhi. This is the work of the devil.

Dr. King, like Gandhi, were Bodhisattvas.   They sought to alleviate the suffering created by a system that feeds on greed, hatred and delusion.  Like many other Prophets throughout history they threatened the ruling order of bankers and preachers -- and were martyred. 

Although Dr. King focused on the evil of racism, his speech that late summer day in Washington DC was delivered to the throng that had assembled for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  That march challenged the economic exploitation millions of Americans because of the color of their skin.  The FBI claimed the event was inspired by Communists and lobbied to prevent it from happening.

Like Gandhi, King continued to march, to champion a non-violent response to a system that has always used violence.  Like Jesus of Nazareth, and a myriad other martyrs, they knew full well that they may be killed for challenging the ruling order.

Dr. King's assassination five years later occurred when he traveled to Memphis to support striking Afro-American sanitation workers as the leader of the National Poor People's campaign.  That campaign demanded an Economic Bill of Rights which included five planks:

1. "A meaningful job at a living wage"
2. "A secure and adequate income" for all those unable to find or do a job
3. "Access to land" for economic uses
4. "Access to capital" for poor people and minorities to promote their own businesses
5. Ability for ordinary people to "play a truly significant role" in the government
When's the last time you saw that highlighted in the mass media coverage on Martin Luther King Day? 

A Time to Break Silence

As Trump's legion of misanthrops, materialists and military men prepare to board, loot, and scuttle our beleaguered ship of state, it's a time to break silence.  Dr. King's did so dramatically on April 4, 1967.  On that day, Dr. King proclaimed, "these too are our brothers," and came out against the US involvement in the Vietnam War with a passion and an eloquence that many believe caused his assassination exactly one year later.

The corporate media today chooses to ignore this speech and remain silent.  I hope you don't.  Please listen and pass this along.  Then join some folks and speak out -- with love in your heart!

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!

Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence