Pre-Thanksgiving

Darryl Price
Nov 18, 10:28pm

Hi All Good People,

I know it's easy to lose hope, but it goes on, because of a constant diet of fear. But we mustn't give in to apathy or indifference as coping mechanisms in Dark times. Either it's love or it's not. Use your discernment, that's your power. Only love is love. You know what that sounds like, and feels like, and calls your name like. What I'm trying to say is, you know true north when you see it because a bell will ring in your heart to tell you so. But the opposite is also true, you'll know hate by its harmful rhetoric, it's callous gait, its lecherous rules of order, its obvious lie. This is not the time to hesitate to act out of kindness. Do what brings you joy, but do no harm, but take no shit. Courage is to be found in compassion.

It's good to be thankful, even when you feel there is little to be thankful for these days. That's a very selfish place to sit and pout. Feel your sadness, it is real, the threat out there is real, but don't make it into something you can't ever live without again, something that you've let festoon out of control, until its very shadow scares the holy shit out of you on a daily basis. Use discernment to know when enough is enough. Let it come. Let it go. Feel it, but don't hang on to it for dear life. There is more to life than that. There are safer things to hang onto, more important things to remember, and celebrate, that need your protection and attention. We need you. I need you. Your family and friends need you. You need you.

We are each called upon to pronounce our true names to the universe, sooner or later. That is, we are given specific times when we can make certain choices that will change things. No one can choose for you. You must choose alone. You must know your choice is who you truly are, what you truly want, and the sacrifice you are truly willing to make on behalf of all those who love and are always loved by you. Use your discernment. You don't have to be an Ancient Master, just an honest person. You don't have to have all the answers, just the right one for the occasion, the one that carries the most good you can do at the time.

Anyway, here we are again, about to say goodbye to Autumn and hello to Winter. And we find ourselves in an interesting world after all, full of strange, lurking danger, and awful surprise, and even crazier miracles to come. I'm glad to be here with all of you. I'm thankful for the opportunity to share this moment with you. It is beautiful. It is sad. It is frustrating. It is historic, if not hysterical. It is impossible to behold. It is all too much. It is not nearly enough. And all this time, I only wanted to say how much it means to me that you are there, too. I hope life is good for you. I hope you have real and meaningful moments of true happiness. Thank you, my friends.

Your poet pal, Darryl P.

Chris Okum
Nov 19, 12:24am

Enjoy your last holidays before we officially enter the Nazi era of American history. Of course, if you're not one of the target demographics whom MAGA plans to make suffer, all is well in your world, because really, what does it matter, especially when you're white, Christian, cisgender, and a man. Nothing will happen to you, not really, and you know it. Of course, your social security and Medicare and life savings will all disappear once Musk collapses the economy like the good Putin lackey he is, completely devaluing the dollar, and transitioning everything to Crypto, but that's a small price to pay for the sheer joy and elation of watching other people suffer from the comfort of your own couch. Hope your eggnog is tasty.

Darryl Price
Nov 20, 06:43pm

Only an idiot would take any joy and elation out of watching other people suffer. Only a monster. Of course, the world is full of monsters, or as Walt Kelly put it: We have met the enemy and he is us. Nevertheless, that can't be all that we are feeling all the time. Just because there are doom and gloom clouds on the horizon doesn't mean we ever embrace them at all as our new masters. All the fair things we believed in, we still believe them, because they are true--not because they are convenient/; we reject all hate in all of its many forms, wherever it may appear or form and whomever it may attack, because we all stand together. Eggnog is only tasty if you are with and for others, otherwise you're drinking alone, you might as well be in the bar. The Nazi idea is horrific, just like it always was, and it has to be rejected in the strictest of terms by the whole world--as it was during WWII. Folks in my family died for that cause, too. They weren't worried about being white or Christian or male as much as doing the right thing at the right time. It took courage, not cynicism. It took faith, not hopelessness. And caring about more than just yourself, not blame, not shame, but actual hope for something better in our natures. And for the world, not just our own families, but all families.

Darryl Price
Nov 21, 03:45am

"I would like to be a person who does not judge
Free to be me whatever that might be
I don't want to hold a position, don't want to hold a grudge
'Cause it seems to be the cause of a lot of misunderstanding
Heartbreak and misery

Looking in your eyes, you're different from me
Why does it have to be that one of us is better
Can't we both be beautiful even if we don't agree
Like the flowers in the garden and the animals in the wood
Each one with a purpose

"Nobody's God", says, "Hate your neighbor"
Even if the neighbor doesn't believe in God
Put aside your religion, do your God a favor
And wouldn't it be something to be loving and kind
Forgive yourself for everything having once been blind"

--The Roches

I'm not a religious person. I don't believe in organized religion, because I think it has become an evil in the modern world today and the opposite of doing good. But I will not deny God, or Jesus, in front of any man.

David Ackley
Nov 21, 06:52pm

That's the great thing about being White, Christian and male--and I speak from a certain familiarity--you Don't have to worry about it. You can just be it. Which is to say, you don't have to worry about racism, anti-semitism or misogyny, or in plainer terms getting your ass whipped by cops, pogroms and death camps, or, for the most part, rape. You can just go ahead and fling yourself into the fray for God and Country assured of never-ending praise, and little flags on your grave, once a year.

Darryl Price
Nov 21, 09:39pm

I see your point. I'm not afraid to say I was wrong. Thanks, Chris and David.

David Ackley
Nov 23, 03:07pm

No problem, Daryl. Happy Thanksgiving.
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