I went for a walk in the woods yesterday, and thought deeply. Everywhere there was life. The trees were beautiful, but also holy. Their tops veiled the sunlight from the forest floor as they touched the sky forming cathedrals of light, life and peace.
something I’m struggling with, here in SC, is the idea that my “advocacy” on behalf of Biden and against Trump is taking a toll on my mental and emotional well-being. I’m angry. I’m beating my head against a wall. What else, really, when one is in the deep red, is there to do but vote? Even that feels futile here, although I certainly will continue to vote. The Trump voter is unreachable. A brick wall. “Swing” voters are virtually non-existent. Minds are made up. I cannot fathom the support for Trump among my friends, family, co-workers, yet there it is. The commitment is ironclad. Fewer indignant messages and posts and more walks in the woods, I suppose. Again, what a wise essay and winning metaphor. Onward one step and day at a time.
I once had dinner with the mayor of Nashville, who said pretty much the same thing you are saying, Randall. He was very frustrated at trying to run a big blue city in a deep-red state.
Randall, Speaking solely for myself, I would do the same, were I living in a red state, as I do living in a very blue one— helping to turn out voters in swing states through postcarding, letter writing, phone- and text-banking, and the like. Additionally, organizations like FieldTeam6 and The Union, to name a couple, need volunteers to serve in a variety of capacities based on areas of expertise.
Also check out All in for NC, as well as Simon Rosenberg and his Hopium He's encouraging folks nationwide to donate and volunteer for NC. The DEMS think NC is winnable for Biden.
Elizabeth, Thank you for mentioning Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles and also noting NC, his top priority for expanding our margin of victory in November.
Yes, Randall..... a walk in the woods, .... to renew your soul. and never give up, not your ideals, not your Will, not your journey for Justice. I live in Texas...so I understand being disheartened.
"The times have found us" -- as relevant today as when Thomas Paine said it.
Until the massive economic inequality is addressed in a meaningful way in the US, we will continue to have a lot of the problems we are dealing with. Neoliberal economics is at the root of a lot of our problems. Forty plus years after Reaganomics became the mainstream idea, our middle class has been hollowed out and we are deeply in debt. That will continue until we get serious about dealing with it.
A meaningful first step would be to relegate the disastrous “Citizens United” ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010 to the dustbin of history.
Scott Need a Blue Wave to make DC & PR states to level the senate, pass a voting rights bill with teeth, pass a women’s health bill, change the tax codes from Top to Bottom (small pun) then the reds states will see a significant change in their lives that matters.
I would add to that, expand the House, either according to the Wyoming rule or the cube root rule. This will make gerrymandering a bit harder and reduce the power small states have in the electoral college. The only reason the House is fixed at 435 members is a Republican power grab back in 1929. The size of the House used to increase every 10 years after the census.
About the middle class being hollowed out: Artificial intelligence has been with us for a very short time (ChatGPT since November, 2022). I can easily imagine vast numbers of people losing their jobs to AI. The government should keep track of such trends.
First on trees. Pulitzer winner the Over Story is 600 pages on the beauty and genius of trees.
As to the balance of the column just look at the name de plume I use, couple of reasons I believe if trump is elected I have to have a passport and diamonds in my ass to escape at some point, second at 80 I am still an exec with one of largest financial institutions in the world and it wouldn’t be happy with political comments
to repeat myself
60% of gop voters voted for Trump
40% for NH
70% stayed home (no blizzard)
30% of voters are gop which is 45,000,000
If 20% stay home or vote 3 party
Trump loses by 9,000,000 same number as 2020
Dems get out every vote RED and Blue
STOP f’ing around looking for jfk or rfk you got Biden, love him and understand the stakes
The Over Story is a superb book about the beauty and genius of trees. And I appreciate Steve’s eloquent reference to the wisdom of trees.
From a tree’s perspective, Donald Trump would be an insignificant little worm burrowing beneath it. But from our perspective Trump is a huge, scummy and dangerous fascist worm who gravely threatens democracy.
As Steve says, the fight between Trump and the opposition is a battle between democracy versus decency, and between fascism and the American way of life.
But the question is how to stop the evil Orange monster and his spineless MAGA acolytes from spreading his horrible sickness.
Despite their beauty and wisdom, trees cannot answer this question. And despite my previous suggestions, truthfully neither can I.
When I visited the FDR Memorial in DC, I was moved by the statue of FDR with his dog, Fala.
He was peering out into the abyss, looking deeply concerned but calm. The cataclysm was about to begin. The quote from him was:
They who seek to establish systems of government based upon the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of rulers call this a New Order. It is not new and it is not order.
I spent a great portion of my life among the California redwoods. They are spiritual beings to me, and constantly remind me of the love of the natural world. I take comfort in knowing that after humans are gone, they will still be here.
Great piece. I'm getting a clearer picture. You are saying Putin is the Hitler of our time. He poses a great threat to the world. Trump and the Putin wing of the GOP are Putin stooges, much like Lindbergh and other Hitler appeasers were pre-World War II. Clues of this Nazi resurgence are the neo Nazis who mingle and speak at CPAC, like Jack Proseibic, a Putin fan. Jim Stewartson is saying the same thing as you are, with his focus on Mike Flynn, who he follows daily online for years and says is behind Q-Anon, which morphed into Jan 6th and The Big Lie. I know you're both right. You are a clear communicator who now is communicating to a larger audience via Scripps News. I can't thank you enough for sounding the alarm.
My father and 2 of his brothers put it all on the line in their effort to defeat fascism, there was no holding back, no equivocating, no you go first I’ll follow in a bit. They all lost lifelong friends, my grandfather once told me that the happiest day of his life, was the day all 3 of his sons returned alive from the inferno that was WWII. We have an obligation to our heirs to deliver to them, a better world than the one we inherited, a safer world, a more just world, a world in which all, not just a few, have an opportunity to truly realize their full potential. If we are able to do that, all of mankind will be the beneficiaries, there is no way to predict where the spark of genius will illuminate the path forward. FDR was a classic example of that spark, a man born to wealth that was crippled by a terrible disease who nevertheless used his mind to build a better world for all of us, he stood as a giant among us, much like the redwoods you eloquently describe Steve. Thank you 🙏
Sometimes you only have to take a sideways step to be in nature, Perhaps it’s a state of mind . I am in my hospital bed looking out at beautiful Lake Ontario, Burlington on, CANADA.
Today I want to speak to a Black person who will maybe speak to another and eventually one outside our circle. I am white>. Do I lOVE ALL BLACK PEOPLE. No>. THAT WOULD BE DUMB TO SAY. But most of my heroes are Bllack. I admire THE FORCE OF Black women. (I dON”T ALWAYS MEAN THE CAPS. I HAVE A BRAIN TUMOUR). DONald TRump hates your guts. YET BEHIND HIS STUPID GRIN lies the idea that he can faKE yOU OUT. A smile a lie. He THINKS YOU ARE STUPID. I think you are smart. He craves your vOTe AND ONCE HE HaS IT< HE HITS THE FLUSHer ON HIS GOLDEnN Toilet and you are GONE! Expect no less. He will turn Uncle TOM SC SEnator< WITH HIS CRAVEN AMBITION INTO A BUTLER. He wiLL assume you all belong in jail because he said so wHEN he cOMPARED YOU HIm. He and his CLAN Father screwed you in the beginning. Then the racist pig went after the so called CENTRAL PARK FIVE. HE wanted those innocent children DEAD, not once but TWICE. He Is A WHITE SUPREMACIST thROugh and through. YOU are just bad blood. DON”T STAND FOR IT>. FIGHT HIM! He cares not one WHIT FOR YOU. BE PROUD, Kepp fIGHTING FOR YOURSELVES>. GO WITH Joe. Black VP, as prOMIsed. Black JustIce< as PROMISED>. JOBS! CRUSH THIS FRAUD CON MAN>. DON”T LET HIM HAVE YOU>. Make him look the cruel Sociopath criminal he is. Good Luck from me. Bob
Bob, for me, you are one of those tall trees in Steve's photos. And, you are my rock! Enjoy looking out on that glorious lake and sky. I will keep sharing your wisdom with others.
Thank you Bob, as been said by others, YOU ARE a deep inspiration. So glad you have a beautiful view out your window. Your opinions are needed here. Hang in there!
I think the brief poem below, entitled Gratitude to Old Teachers, is fitting for Steve’s post and the commentary here. It is by Robert Bly. The strength of truth tellers will perhaps see us all through this mess.
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.
Who is down there but our old teachers?
Water that once could take no human weight-
We were students then-holds up our feet,
And goes on ahead of us for a mile.
Beneath us the teachers, and around us the stillness.
I think about my teachers, too. Also ,I was a middle school teacher for many years. I mainly taught creative problem solving and critical thinking skills through the arts. I had a literature and mythology teacher in college (a life-changing experience for me) who referred to Robert Bly a lot:
To be wild is not to be crazy or psychotic. True wildness is a love of nature, a delight in silence, a voice free to say spontaneous things, and an exuberant curiosity in the face of the unknown.” — Robert Bly
My God, Steve. Sometimes you write a post so meaningful that if that were the only post you made for months, your newsletter would be an incredible bargain. The Wisdom of the Trees is surely one of those.
I live in the woods, on a river. A few months ago I read— An elderly man was planting a tree. A younger man came along and asked the elderly man why he was planting a tree that he would not live to see grow. The elderly man told him he was aware, but planting the tree was about hope.
This is an excellent piece, Steve. Thank you.
I watched “The Zone of interest” yesterday. Remarkable. I have been thinking about it. It is stunning and at first glance one might question, how? Then it settles in and I realized that the people were not so different than many people today. So much woven into that movie. Haunting.
Thank you Steve. This is truly stunning and a calm we may not see for the remainder of this year. We have not only to vote, to secure the possibility of Peace ahead, we must also stop those willing to steal our election. They are as numerous as those stupid enough to vote for Trump. That makes our charge so much larger.
I pray for the strength and leadership amongst us - to make these things happen. I am grateful for you- again, thank you.
Anyone with a deep love of trees and forests should read “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2019. It is a powerful, moving, and beautifully written novel about nine people who have nothing in common but their love of trees and reverence for forests. It’s a masterwork in contemporary fiction.
I was an evangelist seeking converts for the book while I was reading it and for a while thereafter. I had many grateful fellow travelers. It’s a real readers’ novel. I’m pleased that you seem to agree.
Thank you for this deep and heartfelt essay, so broad too with knowledge and understanding. In many ways trees are the great carriers and conveyors of life for this earth, with qualities which can also speak deeply to our souls. The deepest and most unresolved grief of the human heart cannot find healing from other human beings but only when taken to the trees. This was a wisdom known among indigenous people, according to the anthropologist Angeles Arrien, and I found it true when suffering from acute loss. I experienced a depth of compassion that encompassed not only all my own pain, but all the suffering that human beings had experienced and caused throughout our course on earth. Trees, I would say, are carriers of divine love--and also wisdom--which we can still experience. Whatever our culture and way of life, we still belong to this ancestral relationship. And that perhaps is what we need to feel.
A stunning essay. Thank you.
something I’m struggling with, here in SC, is the idea that my “advocacy” on behalf of Biden and against Trump is taking a toll on my mental and emotional well-being. I’m angry. I’m beating my head against a wall. What else, really, when one is in the deep red, is there to do but vote? Even that feels futile here, although I certainly will continue to vote. The Trump voter is unreachable. A brick wall. “Swing” voters are virtually non-existent. Minds are made up. I cannot fathom the support for Trump among my friends, family, co-workers, yet there it is. The commitment is ironclad. Fewer indignant messages and posts and more walks in the woods, I suppose. Again, what a wise essay and winning metaphor. Onward one step and day at a time.
I once had dinner with the mayor of Nashville, who said pretty much the same thing you are saying, Randall. He was very frustrated at trying to run a big blue city in a deep-red state.
Randall, Speaking solely for myself, I would do the same, were I living in a red state, as I do living in a very blue one— helping to turn out voters in swing states through postcarding, letter writing, phone- and text-banking, and the like. Additionally, organizations like FieldTeam6 and The Union, to name a couple, need volunteers to serve in a variety of capacities based on areas of expertise.
Also check out All in for NC, as well as Simon Rosenberg and his Hopium He's encouraging folks nationwide to donate and volunteer for NC. The DEMS think NC is winnable for Biden.
Elizabeth, Thank you for mentioning Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles and also noting NC, his top priority for expanding our margin of victory in November.
You are not alone, friend.
I share your frustration. I live in a Southern state that elected a Holocaust Denier to the Office of Lt. Governor.
Don’t give up, Randall. You are not alone.
Yes, Randall..... a walk in the woods, .... to renew your soul. and never give up, not your ideals, not your Will, not your journey for Justice. I live in Texas...so I understand being disheartened.
"The times have found us" -- as relevant today as when Thomas Paine said it.
WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.
Until the massive economic inequality is addressed in a meaningful way in the US, we will continue to have a lot of the problems we are dealing with. Neoliberal economics is at the root of a lot of our problems. Forty plus years after Reaganomics became the mainstream idea, our middle class has been hollowed out and we are deeply in debt. That will continue until we get serious about dealing with it.
A meaningful first step would be to relegate the disastrous “Citizens United” ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010 to the dustbin of history.
The worst scotus decision since Dred
Scott Need a Blue Wave to make DC & PR states to level the senate, pass a voting rights bill with teeth, pass a women’s health bill, change the tax codes from Top to Bottom (small pun) then the reds states will see a significant change in their lives that matters.
I would add to that, expand the House, either according to the Wyoming rule or the cube root rule. This will make gerrymandering a bit harder and reduce the power small states have in the electoral college. The only reason the House is fixed at 435 members is a Republican power grab back in 1929. The size of the House used to increase every 10 years after the census.
Have passport ready;
I heartily agree!
I could not agree more. Add NAFTA to the mix, which further disemboweled the once vibrant, secure, and happy middle class.
John D;
Societies with large middle classes are stable.
Coming out of The Great Depression and WWII, the US built the largest middle class in history! It was the envy of the world.
And we’ve pissed it away!
About the middle class being hollowed out: Artificial intelligence has been with us for a very short time (ChatGPT since November, 2022). I can easily imagine vast numbers of people losing their jobs to AI. The government should keep track of such trends.
Gary; and at some point the whole top heavy mess will collapse.
“Walk tall as the trees,
Live strong as the mountains,
Be gentle as the spring winds,
Keep the warmth of the summer sun in your heart,
And the Great Spirit will always be with you.”
― Native American quote
Steve, thank you for your stunning words of wisdom today; may we all listen and heed your advice.
I love Native American wisdom, and we could use it now more than ever. Thanks for posting Lisa.
Thank you for this Lisa
Susan, I was reminded of this beautiful piece you wrote about trees and "Holding On": (Thanks): https://susanmackey.substack.com/p/holding-on
Thank you. I am writing in my head right now and will begin to pull it.
Thank you Lisa!
First on trees. Pulitzer winner the Over Story is 600 pages on the beauty and genius of trees.
As to the balance of the column just look at the name de plume I use, couple of reasons I believe if trump is elected I have to have a passport and diamonds in my ass to escape at some point, second at 80 I am still an exec with one of largest financial institutions in the world and it wouldn’t be happy with political comments
to repeat myself
60% of gop voters voted for Trump
40% for NH
70% stayed home (no blizzard)
30% of voters are gop which is 45,000,000
If 20% stay home or vote 3 party
Trump loses by 9,000,000 same number as 2020
Dems get out every vote RED and Blue
STOP f’ing around looking for jfk or rfk you got Biden, love him and understand the stakes
“The Overstory” is a stunning novel, a masterpiece in my book.
The Over Story is a superb book about the beauty and genius of trees. And I appreciate Steve’s eloquent reference to the wisdom of trees.
From a tree’s perspective, Donald Trump would be an insignificant little worm burrowing beneath it. But from our perspective Trump is a huge, scummy and dangerous fascist worm who gravely threatens democracy.
As Steve says, the fight between Trump and the opposition is a battle between democracy versus decency, and between fascism and the American way of life.
But the question is how to stop the evil Orange monster and his spineless MAGA acolytes from spreading his horrible sickness.
Despite their beauty and wisdom, trees cannot answer this question. And despite my previous suggestions, truthfully neither can I.
Hello, I just ordered the audible version of 'The Overstory' and it is truly fabulous!
When I visited the FDR Memorial in DC, I was moved by the statue of FDR with his dog, Fala.
He was peering out into the abyss, looking deeply concerned but calm. The cataclysm was about to begin. The quote from him was:
They who seek to establish systems of government based upon the regimentation of all human beings by a handful of rulers call this a New Order. It is not new and it is not order.
I spent a great portion of my life among the California redwoods. They are spiritual beings to me, and constantly remind me of the love of the natural world. I take comfort in knowing that after humans are gone, they will still be here.
Great piece. I'm getting a clearer picture. You are saying Putin is the Hitler of our time. He poses a great threat to the world. Trump and the Putin wing of the GOP are Putin stooges, much like Lindbergh and other Hitler appeasers were pre-World War II. Clues of this Nazi resurgence are the neo Nazis who mingle and speak at CPAC, like Jack Proseibic, a Putin fan. Jim Stewartson is saying the same thing as you are, with his focus on Mike Flynn, who he follows daily online for years and says is behind Q-Anon, which morphed into Jan 6th and The Big Lie. I know you're both right. You are a clear communicator who now is communicating to a larger audience via Scripps News. I can't thank you enough for sounding the alarm.
Another analog. MAGA/RNC/GOP is the current version of the German American Bund of the 1930s. Call it the MAGA GOP Bund. The dark side is strong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American_Bund
My father and 2 of his brothers put it all on the line in their effort to defeat fascism, there was no holding back, no equivocating, no you go first I’ll follow in a bit. They all lost lifelong friends, my grandfather once told me that the happiest day of his life, was the day all 3 of his sons returned alive from the inferno that was WWII. We have an obligation to our heirs to deliver to them, a better world than the one we inherited, a safer world, a more just world, a world in which all, not just a few, have an opportunity to truly realize their full potential. If we are able to do that, all of mankind will be the beneficiaries, there is no way to predict where the spark of genius will illuminate the path forward. FDR was a classic example of that spark, a man born to wealth that was crippled by a terrible disease who nevertheless used his mind to build a better world for all of us, he stood as a giant among us, much like the redwoods you eloquently describe Steve. Thank you 🙏
Seems tRump and his GOP/MAGA followers "Can't see the trees because of the forest." A forest of lies.
Sometimes you only have to take a sideways step to be in nature, Perhaps it’s a state of mind . I am in my hospital bed looking out at beautiful Lake Ontario, Burlington on, CANADA.
Today I want to speak to a Black person who will maybe speak to another and eventually one outside our circle. I am white>. Do I lOVE ALL BLACK PEOPLE. No>. THAT WOULD BE DUMB TO SAY. But most of my heroes are Bllack. I admire THE FORCE OF Black women. (I dON”T ALWAYS MEAN THE CAPS. I HAVE A BRAIN TUMOUR). DONald TRump hates your guts. YET BEHIND HIS STUPID GRIN lies the idea that he can faKE yOU OUT. A smile a lie. He THINKS YOU ARE STUPID. I think you are smart. He craves your vOTe AND ONCE HE HaS IT< HE HITS THE FLUSHer ON HIS GOLDEnN Toilet and you are GONE! Expect no less. He will turn Uncle TOM SC SEnator< WITH HIS CRAVEN AMBITION INTO A BUTLER. He wiLL assume you all belong in jail because he said so wHEN he cOMPARED YOU HIm. He and his CLAN Father screwed you in the beginning. Then the racist pig went after the so called CENTRAL PARK FIVE. HE wanted those innocent children DEAD, not once but TWICE. He Is A WHITE SUPREMACIST thROugh and through. YOU are just bad blood. DON”T STAND FOR IT>. FIGHT HIM! He cares not one WHIT FOR YOU. BE PROUD, Kepp fIGHTING FOR YOURSELVES>. GO WITH Joe. Black VP, as prOMIsed. Black JustIce< as PROMISED>. JOBS! CRUSH THIS FRAUD CON MAN>. DON”T LET HIM HAVE YOU>. Make him look the cruel Sociopath criminal he is. Good Luck from me. Bob
Bob, for me, you are one of those tall trees in Steve's photos. And, you are my rock! Enjoy looking out on that glorious lake and sky. I will keep sharing your wisdom with others.
Sending love , Bob…that you may ‘get well’,your thinking is truth, is fine. Thank you for your warning too. 🫶
Bob, you are an inspiration! Keep fighting the good fight brother!
Thank you Bob, as been said by others, YOU ARE a deep inspiration. So glad you have a beautiful view out your window. Your opinions are needed here. Hang in there!
Thanks Lisa! I really liked reading your Native Americsn quote. I'm an old tree hugger. Love to sit under the big spruce here.
Bob, you wrote powerfully today as well. Thank you for your voice.
I think the brief poem below, entitled Gratitude to Old Teachers, is fitting for Steve’s post and the commentary here. It is by Robert Bly. The strength of truth tellers will perhaps see us all through this mess.
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.
Who is down there but our old teachers?
Water that once could take no human weight-
We were students then-holds up our feet,
And goes on ahead of us for a mile.
Beneath us the teachers, and around us the stillness.
Beautiful! Thank you for posting this sublime poem about truth tellers. We must listen.
Thank you. I love Robert Bly and I love this poem. I often think about my old teachers and am grateful for them.
I think about my teachers, too. Also ,I was a middle school teacher for many years. I mainly taught creative problem solving and critical thinking skills through the arts. I had a literature and mythology teacher in college (a life-changing experience for me) who referred to Robert Bly a lot:
To be wild is not to be crazy or psychotic. True wildness is a love of nature, a delight in silence, a voice free to say spontaneous things, and an exuberant curiosity in the face of the unknown.” — Robert Bly
My God, Steve. Sometimes you write a post so meaningful that if that were the only post you made for months, your newsletter would be an incredible bargain. The Wisdom of the Trees is surely one of those.
Yes, Steve comes through with such expansive poetry during the hardest of times. Beautiful.
I live in the woods, on a river. A few months ago I read— An elderly man was planting a tree. A younger man came along and asked the elderly man why he was planting a tree that he would not live to see grow. The elderly man told him he was aware, but planting the tree was about hope.
This is an excellent piece, Steve. Thank you.
I watched “The Zone of interest” yesterday. Remarkable. I have been thinking about it. It is stunning and at first glance one might question, how? Then it settles in and I realized that the people were not so different than many people today. So much woven into that movie. Haunting.
A remarkable film. A cinematic deep dive into the German philosopher, Hannah Arendt’s observations on what she described as, “The banality of evil.”
Such a good description
Thank you Steve. This is truly stunning and a calm we may not see for the remainder of this year. We have not only to vote, to secure the possibility of Peace ahead, we must also stop those willing to steal our election. They are as numerous as those stupid enough to vote for Trump. That makes our charge so much larger.
I pray for the strength and leadership amongst us - to make these things happen. I am grateful for you- again, thank you.
Anyone with a deep love of trees and forests should read “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2019. It is a powerful, moving, and beautifully written novel about nine people who have nothing in common but their love of trees and reverence for forests. It’s a masterwork in contemporary fiction.
Thanks, Tom -I just ordered the audible version of "The Overstory" -already beautiful!
I just started listening to the audible version of "The Overstory"; I feel it is a gift to this world.
I was an evangelist seeking converts for the book while I was reading it and for a while thereafter. I had many grateful fellow travelers. It’s a real readers’ novel. I’m pleased that you seem to agree.
Thank you for this deep and heartfelt essay, so broad too with knowledge and understanding. In many ways trees are the great carriers and conveyors of life for this earth, with qualities which can also speak deeply to our souls. The deepest and most unresolved grief of the human heart cannot find healing from other human beings but only when taken to the trees. This was a wisdom known among indigenous people, according to the anthropologist Angeles Arrien, and I found it true when suffering from acute loss. I experienced a depth of compassion that encompassed not only all my own pain, but all the suffering that human beings had experienced and caused throughout our course on earth. Trees, I would say, are carriers of divine love--and also wisdom--which we can still experience. Whatever our culture and way of life, we still belong to this ancestral relationship. And that perhaps is what we need to feel.
Beautiful! Tomorrow I will commune with the trees. Deep Listening.