Sunday, September 26, 2021

Family dinners and other civic tasks

Because every life is important, we do what we do.

Here's the banana bread with the works, golden raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts, wholewheat flour, now sliced and in the freezer, dessert for the October dinner with Handsome Son. 

I need to do these dinners in stages so as not to be worn out. I'll ask him to bring drinks.

And here's my mail in vote, ready to send. Governor and legislature as well as local offices are up this year. 

Voted every office so that fascism can't creep in on my dime by my failing to show up and slam the door. Every election is important. The current fascist attempts are active in school  board and township elections.  

Speaking of which, two regional school board decisions have after extreme pressure, been reversed in decisions to ban authors of color.

One is the York, Pennsylvania, board which last year, issued a list of writers and speakers to be barred in the district. Every single one a person of color. Including Nobel prize winners, internationally acclaimed writers. They finally, after a solid year of increasing pressure, reversed the decision. But it pays to keep watch.

The other is the Long Island school district which stopped the reading aloud in classes of this wonderful book about a Chinese family's immigrant experience. 

One set of parents wrote an email full of false Trumpist claims, and got this done. Many others, including the author, have risen up and exposed this hate for what it is. Sunshine being the best disinfectant. And now the school board has backed down. Bur again, it pays to be vigilant, the price of freedom.

I read the book in solidarity, wrote to the author and the parent who exposed this crime, and, with or without controversy, it's simply a wonderful piece of writing. 

In fact I've asked my book group if we can include a YA (young adult) book annually, as we do a classic, and a fantasy and other genres. I suggested this one for starters.

The link here, standing against censorship, voting, feeding family, is the same: it's the rent we pay for our place on the planet.

Wheeling away the battered old soapbox till the next time it's needed...

Happy Sunday everyone! Happy Monday, kiwi readers!

15 comments:

  1. Creeping fascism and Hate are the true malignant viruses of our time. I agree that we must all be vigilant and do our best to "slam the door!" Good for you for doing your bit!

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    1. It's a tiny bit, but enough tiny bits might just save us.

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  2. Congratulations and thank you for standing up for and supporting what is right and fair! I wonder how many years it will take us to get back the progress we had made that the Trump years took away?

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    1. I don't know if he took it away so much as exposed and emboldened it.

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  3. In this day and age...
    Good for you!

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    1. Shocking isn't it? Bur worth fighting against with whatever we have to fight with.

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  4. I don't see how you can rightly call that loaf banana bread with all the other goodies in it.

    and you know the book banners will proclaim that they aren't racist. yes, we must all show up for everything and make a lot of noise. fascism is making too many inroads.

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    1. Maybe I'll call it bananaworks!

      Yes they all claim it's not about race.

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  5. Thank you. The more of us, the better.

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    1. The problem is we tend to be too quiet. Maybe as Ellen says, we need to be noisier.

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  6. We have to be vigilant for sure! Democracy is fragile!

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  7. Don't know how much was on your news about the latest election here in Canada but it was a complete and total waste of time, money and effort....all to basically continue to keep the status quo. Trudeau apparently thought he stood a chance of landing a majority and instead has a minority, just like he did previously. Nobody thought he should have called the election and it turns out all those 'nobodies' were right. Having said that, we're just as happy that there's a minority because it does help to keep them on the straight and narrow when there's checks and balances from the other parties. Hmmm - guess my soapbox is getting a good polish this morning too!

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    1. Yes, I noticed that it seemed to be a no change election. I suppose his job would have been easier with a majority. He didn't read the room.

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