MORNING MUSINGS

Still thinking about the movie, Hidden Figures, which we saw a couple of days ago. It's an important story and deserves the widest audience. 

Most important, of course, is the belated recognition of the achievements of some truly remarkable black women. Then there are the circumstances they had to overcome, especially the generally ignored and scandalous fact that huge programs of the federal government were run according to the rules and practices of Jim Crow. Also, it's worth thinking about the cold war culture that fueled the space "race".

For now, I find myself thinking about what we take from the fact that rare individuals can overcome the most incredible obstacles. Surely that's a source of wonder and pride and deserves celebration, particularly when it's the "norms" of society itself that individuals have to overcome. 

In addition to the "hidden" heroes of this story, I think of others throughout history who rose to rare heights of human achievement despite their circumstances, despite slavery, poverty, or being condemned by cruel institutions of government and church. I think of current examples. Who can fathom a B. J. Miller, a triple amputee due to a ghastly accident as a teen-ager, who went on to become an outstanding MD and innovator in palliative care? When I read Charles Blow's book, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, I marveled at how a black kid born and raised in the rural Jim Crow South could in his early twenties become a widely read and admired columnist for the NY Times.

We rightly glory in the marvels of human achievement against all odds. But all the achievers and the rare genius are never the whole story. Hidden Figures should raise hopes and expectations for all young people, those of color most of all. It should also enhance our social conscience, our refusal to bow to those elements of our social order that crush hopes and opportunity for the millions.

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We listen to music often during breakfast, and sometimes we happen on to a wonderful surprise. Today it was the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra playing Mozart Piano Concerto 17.

I have a strong preference for Mozart performed with the modern piano and orchestra rather than early instruments, so the joy I felt today was genuine surprise. The concerto is sandwiched in between two other concert pieces. The setting in Freiburg is old and gorgeous. But the biggest thrill is in the sheer joy of the performers. They absolutely love what they’re doing; the first violinist is irresistible, playing beautifully while bouncing almost out of her chair.

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Am I the only one who often “thinks” and engages in political encounters in my dreams? Bizarre. Another weird one last night, near morning: I talked with an old man. (I was not old in the dream.) He told me that he had the solution for Israel/Palestine: just declare that everyone throughout the land is both an Arab and a Jew. On the spot, it sounded good to me, but then I woke up.

Seems the problems of the world can’t be solved in dreams; I wish they’d stop interrupting my sleep.

"JUST MERCY"

The book Just Mercy by Brian Stevenson was presented to every new student at UC Berkeley in 2016. If it were to be read by every young adult across the country, it would change America profoundly.

In comments appearing on the book’s back cover, Isobel Wilkerson, author of The Warmth of Other Suns, describes Stevenson as “a real-life, modern-day Atticus Finch”; and Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow, writes that he “is one of my personal heroes, perhaps the most inspiring and influential crusader for justice alive today…” And if that can be topped, Desmond Tutu calls Stevenson “America’s young Nelson Mandela”.

Brian Stevenson went to Alabama as a young lawyer in1983 even as he was still earning his law degree at Harvard. There he went on to establish the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). To this day, that project has challenged an incredibly cruel and pervasively racist “justice system” at its very heart in the deep South, as well as before the US Supreme Court. (It’s that system from which Jeff Sessions emerges as Donald Trump’s Attorney General-select.)

Stevenson and EJI focused on death penalty cases, of which there are so many in Alabama and other southern states. Death rows are loaded with victims who never stood a chance before Jim Crow courts and customary “legal” procedures. Thousands were condemned to years of cruel and destructive punishment as they faced eventual execution.

Despite the odds, Stevenson and his EJI coworkers made significant headway, saving some victims from prison and death, winning Supreme Court judgments against application of the death penalty to juveniles and to mentally disabled. They continually broadened their legal battle, for example successfully defending poor women charged astoundingly with “murder” after a miscarriage.

As my son liked to say when he gave a book report in grade school: "if you want to know more, read the book."

But I still want to say what struck me most about Brian Stevenson himself.

I’m in awe. I’ve known many people selflessly devoted to a just cause. But from his very first case, Brian was completely engaged with the human being he was defending. However important the cause or the issue at stake, it was the human connection that would never be diminished for him. He was as one with the person in trouble; he sought out and linked up with the family, sensed and responded to changing health and emotional problems.

Yes, I’ve known people as active and devoted to a just cause as Brian Stevenson — not very many. Also. a few of these good people might be less than exemplary in their relationships and attitudes toward others. But, although I’ve never met Brian, I think I may never have known anyone with a deeper sense of humanity.

If there are such, I think the guy is a saint.

ON TO 'MUSINGS OF THIS OLD MAN'

It’s time to shift this blog away from almost exclusive commentary on current political issues. That’s despite the fact that our country is at a turning point that may prove more fateful than any since the Civil War.

Resetting the focus of this little blog of mine is a personal need, not a political statement. It has to do with being 95, staying engaged without ignoring the realities, minus and plus, of aging. I could go on about the negatives of old age, but perhaps there are some positives that I can call on exactly because I’m a lucky old man. I’m in relatively good health, with lots of time these days for musing and many exciting years to look back on.

My intentions are tentative and not ambitious: comments on books and movies, more sharing of responses to music; reflections on experiences I’ve had and choices I’ve made. I’ll continue to think about politics (the “big picture”) and won’t be able to resist an occasional essay on a hot political issue. My practice has been to email a list of interested people when I post a new blog. I’ll do less of that now so as not to attach undue importance to casual musings. I imagine some of my readers will look in on my blog from time to time without frequent email prompts. I hope some of you will stay in touch, emailing me comments, questions and suggestions.

I suppose what I have in mind lends itself to Face Book, but I’m more comfortable with this familiar setting.

Tomorrow, or in the next couple of days, I’ll start the shift with a few musings about the movie, “Hidden Figures”, and a great book, “Just Mercy”.

WHAT'S AHEAD UNDER TRUMP?

1. WHAT’S CLEAR

There can be no doubt about the kind of America Trump is determined to bring about. His cabinet appointments project a vivid picture. Whatever tactical differences between Trump and some Republicans, the goal is to cement one party rule controlled by Trump and his selected billionaires, generals and 'white' nationalist strategists. The America Trump envisions is a super-militarized plutocracy that violates democratic norms and moves apace toward a “law and order” dictatorship.

A majority of Americans don’t share that vision, and many millions are determined to defend democracy. The crunch will come in inevitable crises ahead, when ruthless force confronts the lives and liberties of immigrants and communities of color, when a host of economic, social and environmental rights and protections are cruelly attacked.

This we know. Democracy is threatened as never since the Civil War. The choice is and must be to resist. We have to believe that the vast majority of Americans value democracy however flawed our political institutions. Many of the large minority who voted for Trump may change their minds as reality registers. One way or another, resistance has to encompass everyone who sees (or comes to see) the perils of Trump’s road. Some will be unflinching; some will waver. But popular resistance, the will of the people, is the way to undo the damage and restore sanity.

2. NOT SO CLEAR YET

What’s ahead for America abroad, in foreign policy and world affairs, is less clear. Here again there are clues in Trump’s cabinet selections, particularly of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, as well as some of Trump’s comments and actions even before taking office.

Trump’s 'Fortress America' will not and cannot be 'isolationist'. It will remain the superpower with the most far-flung military presence and extensive imperialist involvements all over the world. But the Trump Administration will try to distance itself from past foreign policy failures: the disastrous consequences and intractable wars brought on by military interventions aimed at 'regime change'.  His mantra in foreign policy is 'doing business', making the 'deal'. 'Business' favors conditions of greater stability, not chaos. But ‘wheeling and dealing’ has its own pitfalls and perils. Intrigues and corruption, setting one or more powers against another, conflict over markets and spheres of influence have sparked wars in a tragic past and can again.

Trump is comfortable dealing with fellow strongmen in Egypt, Russia, and anywhere else. And that may counter the reckless pursuit of a renewed cold war and the risk of military confrontation with Russia. But that possibility is far from assured. John Bolton, Trump’s pick as Tillerson’s right-hand man, is an extreme war hawk. What do we make of that? Anti-Russia frenzy is higher than ever in Congress. Does a possible “reset” with Russia, and Trump’s ‘undiplomatic’ phone call to Taiwan, signal a growing confrontation with China?

Whatever foreign policy machinations unfold under Trump, hovering over everything is the iron fist of unrestrained US military power, including nuclear.

For world peace and for the American people, nothing is more important than to change US foreign policy away from chronic military interventionism. In the long run, the hope for humanity is that people and nations find the way to elevate common interests to the highest level of global priority. Neither militarism nor business deals can make that happen. In fact, historic experience weighs against such a possibility. But never before have common interests been so compelling as the current need to check global warming and prevent nuclear annihilation. Now Trump and his cabinet of climate change deniers and polluters stand in the way. Public outrage has to prevent them from sabotaging the Paris accord and growing international cooperation on climate change. That’s a foreign policy fight that has to be won, and fast.

3. POST MORTEM AFTER-SHOCK

There are still a flood of post-mortems, many very valuable. That will go on for months and years to come, and it surely should. But now, with much media involvement, there is a frenzy of sensational 'revelation'. Suddenly it’s all about Putin and the Russians. It’s quite likely, although not with hard proof, that Russia had a hand in the hacks that plagued Hillary in the latter stages of the campaign. Such interference justifies public outrage. And it isn’t excused by the fact that US operatives have interfered routinely in the internal affairs of countless countries, including in elections and military coups. We are in the age of cyber-warfare. And we are certainly a player, as acknowledged for example regarding attacks on Iran.

But Hillary’s vulnerabilities, and decades of demonization by the GOP, were not Russian made. (We could well do without another round of Congressional cold war grandstanding.) The most serious and unfair blow Hillary took near the very end of the campaign was from head of the FBI, James Comey. Now that’s something worth investigating, at least by serious investigative journalists. Comey’s FBI thumb weighed more heavily on the scales than that of any anonymous hacker. His behavior is probably the tip of the iceberg, because it suggests that active support for Trump and Trumpism penetrated into the supposedly non-partisan law enforcement and intelligence community, into the centers of our “security state”.

* * *

I look back at how I voted and why. I liked the idea of the first woman president and there was much about Hillary that I appreciated. Above all, I wanted Trump to be drowned in a landslide of voters rejecting his racism and everything he represents. I would have preferred Bernie or another candidate less hawkish and Wall Street cozy than Hillary. But I had no doubt which side I was on, the side of the millions who had most to fear from a Trump presidency, the millions of Americans who would fare better in their every day lives with Hillary as President than under Trump, the GOP, and their Supreme Court majority.

A minority on the left felt they couldn’t vote for Hillary as a matter of “conscience”. I think people certainly should always vote their conscience. My support for Hillary took positives and negatives into account — but it was my vote of conscience. I have a friend who felt she couldn’t vote for Hillary, but she works with a community that includes many “undocumented”. At the last moment, she thought of those for whom she felt such closeness, and voted for Hillary against Trump. That was her vote of conscience.

In what’s ahead, everyone is needed, those who are part of the revolution Bernie brought to life, those who supported Hillary’s campaign throughout. Nor should we forget that many voters for Trump voted for Obama twice: Trump’s support beyond its core is soft.

ON MY MIND....

Don't know when I'll be moved to write another OpEd piece, but meanwhile I'd like to highlight a couple of articles and a developing news story.

 Barbara Kingsolver's powerful article, Trump Changed Everything. Now Everything Counts, calls for the most determined defense of democracy, starting now. against Trump's new regime.

The Mondweiss article, ‘Make this my dream as well’ — in historic appearance, Palestinian offers one-state vision to a NY temple, is very moving. It describes an unusual and thought-provoking dialogue.  

Now that harsh advocates of "law and order" are taking up key positions in the forming Trump Cabinet, there is no more important story than Standing Rock, where the Governor has unleashed armed violence against Native American and allied protestors challenging the Dakota pipeline: Veterans to Serve as ‘Human Shields’ for Dakota Pipeline Protesters

So these are a few of the things on my mind as the Trump era begins. May it be shortened by the resistance of the majority of Americans to any and every assault on democratic values. 

PLAY ON...

A couple of years ago, I celebrated my birthday by sending family and friends a YouTube link to a performance that had given me very great pleasure during the year.

Now, at 95, I’d like to do it again. This time I couldn’t decide between two choices, so you have them both:

Mozart’s 24thpiano concerto, performed by Murray Perahia

Bach’s Golberg Variations, performed by András Schiff.

You may or may not share my musical likes. These selections may not bring tears of wonder and joy to your eyes, as they do for me. But whatever lifts you up in communion with the marvels and beauty of human potential, this is the time to keep the faith, to rise to the challenge of our times with solidarity and love.

I'd love it if you would send back to me a favorite of yours, whatever the musical genre!

MY DAY AFTER

Responding to setbacks and defeat, one should always take the long view. But that’s pretty hard on the eve of a 95^th birthday. The last US President I may set eyes on is Donald Trump.

America took a very sharp turn on November 8^th, 2016. No platitudes about coming together and healing the nation can soften the impact.  Aside from whatever Trump may do as President, the Republican right —which appeared to be in shambles only weeks ago— will dominate government at every level of institutional political power. Trump and his cohort are determined to erase the legacy of the first African-American family to occupy the White House. They made sure that a first woman president is not Obama's successor..

Yes, it’s important not to direct liberal and progressive anger at the millions of fellow Americans who see Trump as the possible “fixer” despite his appalling personal and political character. Fundamentally, blame rests with the growing ills of a corrupt economic system that creates extremes of unfairness and inequality, and turns its victims against each other.

The travesty is that the election outcome will be taken as a mandate to further empower the very system of oligarchy that produces the alienation tearing the nation apart. It’s not the first time that the deep dissatisfaction of masses of people has been exploited to promote a demagogue as “savior” and open the pathway to dictatorship. With Rudy Giuliani as prospective Attorney General and Newt Gingrich as anther likely cabinet member, the scent of racism and incipient fascism hovers over a Trump administration.

The battle to protect and restore our damaged democracy will dominate the coming years. We recall Martin Luther King’s admonition that "the arch of the moral universe is long". That "it bends toward justice" is proven, but there are times when it twists and turns the other way.  And perhaps there never is an end, a final outcome. As some philosophers have observed, ‘nothing is permanent but change’, and struggle is as inevitable as change.

Within every new generation, there is renewed devotion to freedom and humane values, to joining hands with the oppressed, to ending war and violence. It’s never over, but it makes many lives worthwhile.

If this sounds like a valedictory, perhaps it is.