If you’re casting about for a way to take the edge off Trump’s wrecking ball, I heartily recommend the uplifting powers of a great...
Memorable Winter Reads
If you’re casting about for a way to take the edge off Trump’s wrecking ball, I heartily recommend the uplifting powers of a great read. Reading is more than an escape. It can provide inspiration for charting a course in these [...]
Pat Taub
Chris Hedges8
Struggling to Find Balance In A Deeply Troubling World
Chaos is a seductress, but peace is the real power.—Diamond-Michael Scott Chris Hedges, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, contends that Trump is intentionally creating chaos to unmoor us and advance his oligarchy agenda. The more we are stuck in shock and awe, the easier it is for Trump to advance his Right-wing agenda. Caitlin Johnstone [...]
Pat Taub
When Genocide Becomes Normalized
Caitlin Johnstone, the prophetic Australian blogger, lamented in a recent post that the genocide in Gaza has become normalized for most Americans who tend to react with a fleeting comment, like, “It’s horrible,” and then go about their lives, where Gaza is a mere footnote. Johnstone challenges us to open our eyes to the propaganda [...]
Pat Taub
The New Anti-War Elder Activists
Protests against the genocide in Gaza have become intergenerational on an unprecedented scale. When I marched against the war in Vietnam, a grey-haired protester was a rare sighting. Many elders at the time shared the view of my then 70-something neighbor who commented, “I’ve done my part. It’s up to the younger generation now.” [...]
Pat Taub
Can Radical Empathy Turn the Tide?
I spent the Labor Day weekend at my country retreat in midcoast Maine where I own a cottage on a quiet country road sprinkled with modest homes. I make a practice of taking daily walks on this road, which I like to think of as my walking meditations. On Saturday I stopped in my tracks after noticing a flag at a home’s entrance. The words [...]
Pat Taub
Ukraine, Two Brilliant Films, Hillary Mantel & More!
Ukraine Horrors As the war in the Ukraine escalates and brings all kinds of horrors, like the possibility of a nuclear plant being struck emitting dangerous levels of radiation, and untold numbers of innocent deaths, my heart is heavy. While we need to rally around the Ukrainians, I long for less war talk and more efforts at diplomacy. For [...]
Pat Taub
Key West, Political Turbulence, A Good Read & More!
Key West Arrival After a flying mishap where I was forced to leave a day late due to a late Portland departure and missed connections, I’m finally ensconced in Key West. I’m sharing a rental with an old friend for the month of January. It’s lovely to shed winter apparel for T-shirts and my faithful khakis. Yesterday I volunteered with [...]
Pat Taub
Coping with Political Despair
During my church’s coffee hour this past Sunday I found myself in conversation with a politically concerned young woman who was eager to discuss Michelle Goldberg’s New York Times op-ed, “Democracy Grief is Real.” The gist of the essay is that Trump has induced profound political despair among liberals. My companion felt validated [...]
Pat Taub
Where Do We Go From Here?
Many of us are struggling with this question as we try to process last week’s heinous hate crimes where a Trump disciple mailed pipe bombs to many of Trump’s sworn enemies; where a white racist killed two elderly African Americans in cold blood in a Kentucky market; where 11 mostly elderly men and women were murdered at Pittsburgh’s [...]
Pat Taub