(Belated) Monday at the Movies

You Were THIS Close…

You might’ve missed this – if you blink these days, it’s possible to miss TrumPutin declaring war on Eastasia or Eurasia or whatever – but the National Association of Evangelicals seems to be trying to mea culpa their support of TrumPutin.

They put out this very nice statement online and got a lot of people to sign on and took out ads with their very nice statement signed by very nice people in a bunch of newspapers and whatnot.

And, you know, they’re getting there.

They’re sorry for not loving their neighbor or standing up to unjust systems. They’re sorry for being xenophobic and not treating people who disagree with them “with dignity.”

Don’t get me wrong – they’re not all running out to get Black Lives Matter tattoos, but at least they’re beginning to recognize that they’ve done wrong.

They want to seek justice for the vulnerable, and preserve human rights, and promote peace, and pursue racial justice, and care for creation. Which all sounds great.

And their calls for racial reconciliation just might work. There’s nothing foundational to the evangelical movement that requires racism. They’ve often been very cozy bedfellows, but it’s not part of core doctrine – well, at least not recently, for most evangelical groups.

Notice what’s missing?

There’s nothing about ending sexism, creating gender equity, etc.

Nope – they’re all about strengthening marriages and protecting the sanctity of human life and freedom of conscience (well, their OWN freedom of conscience anyway, so don’t look for any favors or even respect for OUR human dignity, LGBTQ+ community).

That’s because sexism (per Kate Manne, the belief that women are inferior) and misogyny (the enforcement arm of that belief) are foundational and doctrinal. Toss them out, and the whole system collapses.

In evangelical movements, women are second class citizens and we always will be, because God wants it that way.

They put a fancy spin on it by calling it “Complementarianism.” Women aren’t inferior, it’s just that God ordained different roles for men and women, and they’re both equally valuable, dontchaknow.

It’s weird, though, how all the things that involve power and control and authority and making decisions just happen to fall into the men’s column, and all the shit work they don’t want to do just happens to fall into the women’s column. But just because the men have all the power, control, and decision-making authority, doesn’t make you “less than,” sweetheart, it makes you SPECIAL. (Yeah, that’s it – now go make me a sammich.)

Were you puzzled by that weird “Amy Coney Barrett submitting to her husband” thing from the Federalist? That’s what’s going on here. I’m not saying she does or doesn’t, I don’t know her, but this shit is still going on today, in 21st century America, for millions of women.

The thing is, you can’t fix this. There is no fixing it. The only way to end it is to trash the whole system of patriarchal religion (yes, I’m looking at you, too, OTHER Abrahamic religions) and start over.

Image found here.

Like what you read? Follow me on Twitter @MrsWhatsit1.

Words for Wednesday

Lines Written In The Days of Growing Darkness

~ Mary Oliver

Every year we have been
witness to it: how the
world descends

into a rich mash, in order that
it may resume.
And therefore
who would cry out

to the petals on the ground
to stay,
knowing as we must,
how the vivacity of what was is married

to the vitality of what will be?
I don’t say
it’s easy, but
what else will do

if the love one claims to have for the world
be true?

So let us go on, cheerfully enough,
this and every crisping day,

though the sun be swinging east,
and the ponds be cold and black,
and the sweets of the year be doomed.

Picture found here: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/167829523587515473/

Old Lawyers Never Die, They Just Lose Their Appeal

The Wild Hunt has a great article on the Bind Trump spell.

The magical resistance of the Blue Wave 2.0

Monday at the Movies

Today’s post isn’t a typical movie, but I believe this video is very important. I hope you’ll watch it and share it.

As the folks at Run for Something often say, the farther down the ballot, the closer to your front door. In other words, many of the issues that immediately affect us — whether our roads are maintained, whether local wetlands can be saved, whether our public schools are institutions of learning or part of the school-to-prison-pipeline for African Americans — are determined by down-ballot elections. Those are the state and local elections that far too often get little or no media coverage.

As Run for Something also says, the way to win national elections is to win local elections. First, local elections help to “build the bench” of people who can run for higher office. A young woman who runs for and wins a seat on the county council may, in a few years, decide to run for the state senate, Congress, and so on. Second, determinations made by down-ballot politicians often impact our ability to win national elections. It’s state and local officials who decide how many drop boxes to have and where to place them. They decide whether to make election day a holiday and what kinds of ID requirements to impose. And, third, a groundswell of support for down-ballot issues and races often can have “reverse coattail” effects. Someone who shows up to vote for the county sheriff they strongly support is likely to go ahead and vote up the ballot for that party’s national candidates.

Dr. Reece’s video is helpful because down-ballot races often get almost no coverage in the media. And, in some places, certain positions aren’t allowed to be identified with a political party. Candidates running for the local board of education, for example, may not be identified by party. This is also true of judges in some locations. So knowing how to find out about these candidates is a really useful tool.

Pickles

The gardening season is winding up, here in Virginia’s Blue Ridge. I’ve been making pickles with some of my crops. These taqueria pickles are the best, so far.

What are you storing up?

Picture by the blogger. If you copy, please link back.

I Sure Hope So

Samhein Is Coming

Words for Wednesday

Beginning

~ James Wright

The moon drops one or two feathers into the field.   
The dark wheat listens.
Be still.
Now.
There they are, the moon’s young, trying
Their wings.
Between trees, a slender woman lifts up the lovely shadow
Of her face, and now she steps into the air, now she is gone
Wholly, into the air.
I stand alone by an elder tree, I do not dare breathe
Or move.
I listen.
The wheat leans back toward its own darkness,
And I lean toward mine.

Picture found here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com

A Sure and Steady Anchor in the Fury of the Storm

Byron Ballard says this better than I will, but now — right now in the midst of chaos, and confusion, and one of the scariest times in recent history — now is the time when a regular spiritual practice is most important. Our first instinct may be to ditch the practice of lighting a candle and meditating, the daily yoga session, the pouring of libations to the land spirits and ancestors. After all, there’s so much to do! And as upset as I feel some mornings, the idea of trying to ground and center, calm my monkey mind, and listen to the land just seems too difficult.

But that’s exactly when I need it the most.

If you don’t have a daily spiritual practice, I encourage you to start one. It can be simple — lighting a candle, remembering who you are, taking some deep breaths. It can be complicated — an hour of intense yoga. What’s important is for it to be regular. We get up every morning and brush our teeth without thinking about it. We don’t think, “Maybe I’m too rushed and upset today to brush my teeth. I’ll see if I feel better later.” We just brush our teeth.

One of the benefits of regular good practices — whether they’re spiritual practices, the practice of keeping an orderly home, the practice of managing your finances and resources responsibly, the practice of finding time for joy — is that you build up a basis for times when things are rough. Even when you do get thrown off course, it’s easier to get back into the practice if you’re returning to a strong foundation each time.

I hope you can find some time today to journal, take a mindful walk, sit and meditate, be in nature.

Picture found here: https://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/safe-from-lightning-if-not-thundering.htm