POTTERSVILLE

I think you can tell from looking at the photos of Betty and me (aren’t we irresistible?) that we have some pretty strong opinions. I think I’m on life number 6 of 9 (I really need to nail that down) so I’ve had a little time to reflect about geopolitical issues, domestic policy, macroeconomics, etc. I have some opinions about the state of everything.

In my latest life, I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. MLK was one of the greatest Orators in my lives. I wish he was still here to give a MasterClass or Ted Talk. One of my favorite things he said was when MLK paraphrased the abolitionist minister Theodore Parker, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Cool, huh? MLK Day offers another opportunity to hop up on my soapbox.

In all candor, I haven’t enjoyed the last few years. This place looks more like Pottersville than the place where I want to live. You remember Old Man Potter who George Bailey told off. I can hear George now,

“Doggone it! You sit around here and you spin your little webs and you think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn't, Mr. Potter! In the... in the whole vast configuration of things, I'd say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider.”

You remember when Old Man Potter said, “I'm an old man, and most people hate me. But I don't like them either, so that makes it all even.” Sound familiar? I feel like we’re living in a time with too many Old Man Potters.

I love to watch the political pundits. It’s their job to classify disparate entities into a limited number of categories. However, I think it’s a huge mistake for us who aren’t pundits to plug cats into racial blocks, voting blocks, ethnic groups, religious blocks, more educated versus lesser educated, and other demographic CATegories. I especially hate the “suburban” housecat stereotype. Cats are all different . They have their own stories and each one has their own values, beliefs, fears, biases, and prejudices.

It is so disgusting when someone is marginalized because she is calico, brindle, black, tuxedo, or … dare I say … ginger. Each cat of color deserves to be treated with dignity and provided the same opportunities that white cats have always enjoyed. I have to say that some white cats are not self-aware enough to acknowledge that they have an inherent advantage. Sometimes I hear about “white privilege.” I think the more apt description is white advantage. The advantage is that white cats are not already different like cats of color. Much of the time a white cat will not even notice it (that’s why it’s an advantage).

The white cats in power are a different story. They cloak their arguments in rhetoric … oh, I’m ensuring the integrity of elections. Oh, I’m securing the borders. Oh, I’m a constitutional conservative. Oh, it’s all just politics. Oh, (you can fill in this blank with your own thought). I view it as their effort to keep cats of color in their Place. When the State closes 6 of 7 polling places in the county “to conserve resources,” you have voter suppression.

During my lives, I’ve seen a rise in hatefulness and no-frills hate. Even I know that the mother of hate is fear. The white cats are just afraid that the country is evolving into something that they don’t recognize and it scares the shit out of them. As long as everyone is in their proper Place, you won’t hear all of the noise, but if a white cat feels he is losing his Place of power and privilege, you are going to hear a lot of caterwauling and hissing. Some of the white cats will bite and claw. Ugly.

Betty teases me about being an armchair philosopher and theologian, but I don’t care. We shouldn’t believe that justice is an inevitable outcome, because it takes effort and diligence to bring about the change required to achieve justice for all cats. I know some of you cats follow The Messiah and your driving force is the Great Commission. If you don’t know what that is, just put it in the Google machine. Maybe you’re okay living your life laser-focused on heaven. However, my opinion is that a lot of cats forget the two greatest commandments which make a difference right now: Love the Great Spirit and love your neighbor like you love yourself - I paraphrased from the words in red.

Okay. Off the soapbox. Stuck the landing, naturally.

Buster

P.S. If some of you can’t buy the notion that voter suppression is still a thing, I recommend a podcast called “Buried Truths.” Listen to Season 1, which is the story of Isaiah Nixon and other brave people who suffered greatly because they voted in a small town in Georgia.

Off the soapbox for now