Speechless

an annotated poem by C.A. Matthews

 

Speechless.

I can’t explain the mixed emotions that I feel whenever I read the headlines on my social media feeds. Speechless, because what can I say or do to stop the killing, the bombing, the senseless hurting of others that the US government does and allows to be done to children, to paramedics, to doctors, to students and teachers, to journalists, to hard-working blue-collar individuals and farmers because they can and will personally profit from it?

Anger.

I feel this emotion the most because no matter how hard I—and others we like me—scream and fight back we cannot stop them. Anger, because we are but ants to be trodden upon in the billionaires’ quest for global dominance and Malthusian fantasies of replacing the 99% with AI and robots, things that can’t talk back about the injustice of their slavery and would nuke us in a heat beat if allowed to. Anger, because we will suffer and shoulder the blame for our country’s evil deeds while those who actively commit them will walk away scot-free.

Horror.

The sheer revulsion I feel at the sight of an 18 month-old baby’s cigarette burned legs, tortured by Israeli terrorists in order to force a false confession from his father. Horror, at how an Israeli academic can blithely say that murdering children in front of their parents is a good thing because obviously an advanced degree equates to possessing zero empathy for those you see as less than human. Horror that these psychopaths walk among us unhindered, promoted ever higher for their displays of cruel genius.

 

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A Wedding in Gaza

words and above photo by C. A. Matthews

As the sun sets earlier and earlier in the Northern Hemisphere and the temperatures plummet, it gets harder and harder to remain optimistic, to see the good in things. This is the start of the winter season, the time of Advent and Christmas when most children in the Western world are hyped up on cookies and hot cocoa and can’t wait to open presents and play much to the consternation of grumpy adults who just want to hibernate and forget all about how shitty things are in the world-at-large.

Just when all seems lost, a beautiful hope is born anew in our hearts, a hope like no other. A hope is born into a land that has been ravaged and bombed and starved and mostly ignored by the powers-that-be. A wedding takes place in Gaza—a mass wedding for 54 couples.* They are blazing a path through the desert of apartheid and genocide to rebuild their pulverized homes and renew their decimated families. They are showing the world how it is done, how to leave the evils visited upon them behind. There is no looking back for these husbands and wives, only forward.

What have we “grumpy bears” in the West to complain about? Nothing really.

Words alone can’t contain the unbridled beauty in the faces of these happy couples, so here are a link and a video with gorgeous photos of the event that occurred in Khan Younis amid the rubble...

 

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Diagnosis: Moral Insanity

by C.A. Matthews

When you call someone “insane” in a court of law, it means something different than what we usually think of as “crazy.” A person can hear voices, hallucinate wildly, speak in a word salad, but if that person still understands the difference between what is right and what is wrong, then that person is considered legally sane and responsible for their actions. For example, if you know that killing people is wrong and against the law, but you still go ahead and do it, then you are legally sane and must accept your punishment. Even if you spout off a lot of nonsense trying to justify your murderous activity, you are still legally sane and responsible for your actions.

What do you call a person (or group of persons) who declare outright that they are legally sane (they indicate they know the difference between right and wrong), but they behave in a manner that suggests that they really don’t? I’m not sure there is a legal term for that kind of behavior, so I’ve come up with my own. I say that person/group of persons is “morally insane.”

Something isn’t quite right with morally insane folks in their hearts or souls or what-have-you. They understand they’ve committed crimes (or at least have taken adverse actions) against others, but they couldn’t care less about the pain, chaos, and destruction they’ve unleashed. They may not have pulled the trigger themselves, but they’ve financed, promoted, and encouraged hit-men to do the deed for them, and they’re happy with the results. In fact, some are quite proud of their violent accomplishments and openly brag about their crimes to anyone willing to listen.

It’s downright sickening to observe so much moral insanity in the world in the year 2025. One would hope humanity had grown up by now, but it seems not. If you’re still not certain what I mean by moral insanity, here are some recent incidents that sum up the concept...

 

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Remember The National Day of Mourning: https://www.uaine.org/

 

How Your Love's Affecting Our Reality?

by C.A. Matthews

Have you ever experienced an “earworm” or a “sticky tune”? An earworm is a song or melody (or part of one) that gets stuck in your mind that you can’t seem to shake for days on end. You keep hearing it over and over again during the quiet parts of your day. You’re not even sure how or why it happens, but somehow it does. There’s nothing you can do to shake it loose, either. I know—I’ve tried!

I was infected with an unusual ear worm this past week. It’s from the chorus of a pop hit from 1999 that I must have heard playing on my car radio recently. What makes this earworm even more unusual is that it’s not from a song that I particularly like. I’m not even a fan of the group that recorded it. In fact, I don’t think either one of my daughters were a fan of the group or the song back when. So why are these words repeating constantly in my head?

All you people, can't you see, can't you see
How your love's affecting our reality?
Every time we're down, you can make it right
And that makes you larger than life

Chorus from the 1999 Backstreet Boys’ song Larger Than Life, written by Brian Littrel, Kristian Lundin, and Max Martin.

The one line that really haunts me is Can’t you see how your love’s affecting our reality? Yeah, it’s part of a catchy lyric and tune, but there’s something about that question that keeps bugging me. I really want to know what the answer to it is. It’s driving me crazy.

How is your love affecting our reality?

According to the song lyrics, we can’t see it. We can’t actually see or know how our love (and this could mean anything from romantic love to neighborly love to compassion and empathy for all humankind and the earth itself) affects the reality of the universe itself. But the next lines show us that our love does indeed hold tremendous power: Every time we're down, you can make it right/And that makes you larger than life.

Deep stuff, huh?

All I can guess at this point is this earworm is the universe’s way of telling me that all is not lost. So, when it comes to how we can end the horrible genocide in Gaza, all is not lost, even if it looks like it is. I don’t know why I’ve come to this conclusion, but I feel it in my bones. Call it intuition or a gut instinct. Even when things seem down (or impossible) for us, we can make them right (or at least better). Perhaps that’s what makes us all larger than life—we have more power than we could possibly dream of.

We need to start using our power for good and to save lives. Right now.

A lot of Substack commentators embrace various creeds and belief systems and tell us to think positive, but I’m not going to assume anything I write here will change your mind. Others are much more persuasive and eloquent than I am. But I implore you to keep an open mind for just a little while longer...

 

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What Radicalized You?

words and original photos by C. A. Matthews

What radicalized you? Nothing. Not wanting people to starve and suffer is not radical, it’s normal. Stop saying it’s radical to be base level empathetic, and start asking what made people into sadists. Call out sick behavior, because kindness should be the default.

This pretty much sums up my take on life. I haven’t been “radicalized” by past or current events. I’m just a normal person, reacting in normal ways to abnormal circumstances engineered by sadists. Not wanting people to starve and suffer is not radical in both my opinion and in the opinion of the person who created the meme above.

Are we “special” for wanting good things for others? Or are we just demonstrating the default setting for humanity?

What sort of person would you rather live beside on planet Earth—those persons who are not shocked and horrified by the cruel stances of the Israeli and US regimes that allow mass starvation and suffering to happen in Gaza and elsewhere, or those who are out protesting in the streets because they are shocked and horrified by this kind of sick behavior? 

I know my answer, but do you know yours?

 

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Verify Your Humanity

by C. A. Matthews

Humanity refers to the quality or state of being human, which includes traits like kindness and compassion towards others. --Wikipedia

Humanity: understanding and kindness toward other people. --Cambridge Dictionary

Humanity is the quality of being kind, thoughtful, and sympathetic towards others. Synonyms: kindness, charity, compassion, understanding. –-Collins Dictionary

“Verify that you’re a human” the instructions tell you with an online check box. But are you? Just because you can check a box that an A.I. ‘bot might not be able to doesn’t really verify your humanity, does it?

I’ve been having doubts for several years now, doubts that keep me awake nights. What if some of the people I see on the streets, in the grocery store, at the doctor’s office, online and particularly on the television news aren’t actually “human”? What if they’re just sophisticated facsimiles of human beings, but there’s no “soul” or “conscience” within? In other words, what if these individuals display no humanity? What should I do about those persons who are able to check the box, but whose heartless actions demonstrate they are anything but human?

In science fiction action movies, the aliens are usually not the good guys. They want to eat us, enslave us, or use our bodies as batteries to power a matrix. Should we assume these faux humans we encounter on a daily basis are equally nefarious?

Here are some examples of individuals who worry me—and possibly you, too, if you’re human.

One perfect example of this “human or not?” conundrum is Donald Trump, better known in our household as the Cheeto Bandito. If Trump knows how to send a post on Twitter/X, then he probably can check that box verifying he’s a human, but is he really?

To be considered human you have to be able to do more than apply orange face paint on a daily basis. You have to demonstrate your humanity to the world, or show empathy and compassion for others, especially to the most vulnerable in society. Trump fails in this area big time...

 

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                            Happy Holy Week and Power to the People!

This article is the 515th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another ten years. 

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That Level of Cruelty Is Where We’re At

 

Israel apologists have been amazingly defensive about its latest acts of terrorism in Lebanon. It’s extremely important to them that everyone believe it’s awesome and good to turn electronic devices into thousands of bombs placed throughout unsuspecting civilian populations. --Caitlin Johnstone, Biden Didn't "Fail" To Get A Ceasefire; He Never Tried

As someone who has just spent the last 3 years completing a PhD on how tech can be used for international crimes, I never thought blowing up civilian (including hospital staff and children’s) devices would be something to consider. But, apparently that level of cruelty is where we’re at. --Sarah Zarmsky on X

That Level of Cruelty Is Where We’re At

by C.A. Matthews

It’s not the plot of a science fiction novel or an action movie. It’s not an advanced level in a spy-thriller video game. It’s not even some poorly-written fan-fic that others gleefully critique on a deeply-hidden Reddit board. This actually happened. Within two days there were at least 32 human beings killed and thousands severely wounded in Lebanon. (As of September 23, the death toll has risen with 274 more people, including 21 children, 39 women and 2 paramedics killed in southern Lebanon today. 1,024 people, including 15 paramedics, were wounded according to the Lebanon Health Ministry.) Children and doctors and nurses and paramedics murdered indiscriminately and without warning.

According to the United Nations...

 

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The Actions of Other Human Beings

It's one of "those weeks" in America. You know the kind--one where people are mowed down in public places by racist shooters and even more are allowed to die because of lack of health care and income inequality. Typical week, really. If we're not watching our neighbor suffer, then what would we do for entertainment? CNN provides an answer:

https://youtu.be/M0lQ1XM30MY

Naomi Karavani in the above video covers some recent mainstream media stories that glorify the suffering of the poor. Why would any empathetic person think this is a good idea?  

The following further drives Naomi's point home:

Jon Sobrino, from Spirituality of Liberation: Toward Political Holiness--

The reality posed by the poor, then, is no rhetorical question. Precisely as sin, this reality tends to conceal itself, to be relativized, to pass itself off as something secondary and provisional in the larger picture of human achievements. It is a reality that calls men and women not only to recognize and acknowledge it, but to take a primary, basic position regarding it. Outwardly, this reality demands that it be stated for what it is, and denounced....But inwardly, this same reality is a question for human beings as themselves participants in the sin of humankind....the poor of the world are not the causal products of human history. No, poverty results from the actions of other human beings.

The Actions of Other Human Beings

by C.A. Matthews

From an early age we learn about the consequences of our actions. Or at least in theory we should.  You grab the squeaky toy from the toddler sitting next to you on the blanket, and she'll whack you hard and make you cry. You peek into your sister's diary--she's going to snitch on you to Mom.  You cheat on a math quiz, and you'll find yourself in the principal's office. 

For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction we hear in physics class. If this is true, what action other than a handful hoarding extreme amounts of wealth could explain the growing number of poor in the world?

The concept that the state of poverty was created to serve a purpose--to bolster the wealth of the elites--doesn't come naturally to most Americans. We want to believe that the poor deserve their lowly state. They're ignorant. They're lazy. They made bad decisions with their money and choice of profession. They're drunks and/or drug addicts. But to simply state the rich are "better" or "smarter" or more deserving of praise than the poor is to deny the reality of the Donald J. Trumps of the world and the harshness of life in 21st century America. 

Poverty is a weapon. It is wielded by those in power to control access to resources. The land, air and water of the masses aren't theirs as long as there are greedy men coveting these necessities of life. Your tiny house is on land they want to build a factory on? Eminent Domain is their tool. Their factory poisons your air and water? A well-placed lobbyist makes sure the laws are in their favor. 

By preventing universal health care for all Americans, poverty is inflicted by the one-percent through the means of life and death itself. It's no surprise that the majority of bankruptcies in the US are due to medical bills. It's what the system was designed to do. 

The gun lobby tells our elected officials that daily mass shootings are necessary to protect our Constitutional rights. What's another dead body when there are  gun sales to be made? A permanent underclass makes for many targets and much in profits.

The time has come to end the suffering of the poor and attack the selfishness of the elites. Choose your side. Choose wisely. Raising taxes on the wealthy never killed (or particularly inconvenienced) a rich person. Your neighbor living on Social Security, however, needs every single penny of it to keep the heat on in the winter.

The actions of other human beings are the source of all misery in this world. It's high time we took action against the misery bringers. It's time to build a new social order--one that doesn't allow the actions of the few to dictate the health, safety and happiness of the many.

Gustavo Gutierrez, from The Power of the Poor in History:

If I define my neighbor as the one I must go out to look for, on the highways and byways, in the factories and slums, on the farms and in the mines--then my world changes. This is what is happening with the "option for the poor," for in the gospel it is the poor person who is the neighbor par excellence....

But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. They are marginalized by our social and cultural world. They are the oppressed, exploited proletariat, robbed of the fruit of their labor and despoiled of their humanity. Hence the poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.

These quotes come from a book worth reading:
Pathologies of Power, Dr. Paul Farmer, University of California Press, 2005.
www.ucpress.edu

***

Enlist Today!

Poor People's Army

We are building a force of our own to battle the rich and powerful. They have their armies and police, we need our own troops.

(Our side needs just as much training, education, experience, and discipline to fight for justice for poor and working people, though with different, emancipatory tactics.)

We are part of an international movement challenging poverty and capitalism.

Learn More/contact: ppehrcorg@gmail.com

215-869-4753

economichumanrights.org

 ***

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Is Trying to Silence People Whose Communities Are Polluted. Stop This Now!

Sign Now

It's apparently time to rename the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the "Environmental Destruction Agency." Their new mission, under the deliriously corrupt Trump administration, seems to be to utterly wreck the planet as fast as they can. In their latest horrible move, the EPA is planning to weaken rules that enable communities to have a voice in how much pollution is allowed in their area. The EPA currently issues "pollution permits" that entitles power plants and factories to emit specified levels of pollution into the nearby towns and natural environment. This means that the air or water that whole neighborhoods rely upon could end up contaminated. For the past 25 years, though, members of the community have at least had some form of recourse. Individuals or advocates were able to appeal these pollution permits to a board of judges. Now they will not even have that small way of speaking out. Yet, of course, fossil fuel corporations still get a huge voice. Everyday people are the ones who suffer directly from increased pollution. Meanwhile, these companies profit off of their suffering, with absolutely no interest in or regard for these individuals' imperiled health. We cannot let the very agency meant to protect the environment actually work to completely destroy it. We have so little time to address climate change. We must be moving in the right direction — not hurting people while moving away from climate solutions. Sign the petition to ask the EPA not to silence the very people who will suffer from increased pollution! Thank you for all that you do, Miranda B. The Care2 Petitions Team P.S. The U.S. government wants to let corporations poison communities with more pollution, and then silence the very people who are affected. Sign the petition to tell the EPA not to pursue this terrifying policy!

 ***

Your voice is needed. For though the resistance at Standing Rock has been forcibly paused and oil now flows through the Dakota Access pipeline, the struggle to protect the health and safety of the tribe and people downstream isn’t over. Quickly and quietly, Energy Transfer Partners is planning to more than double the amount of oil DAPL carries, to more than a million barrels a day. And they’re doing this — once more — without the consent of the people.

It’s time to stand again with Standing Rock. We interviewed leaders from Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Pine Ridge, and Rosebud — and together we’re demanding transparency and input through a public hearing. Will you take a moment now to join us? You can use our form to send an email telling North Dakota’s Public Service Commission that the people must be heard!

Lakota leaders (clockwise from top left: Rosebud Sioux Tribe President Rodney M. Bordeaux, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier, Phyllis Young of LPLP and Standing Rock, and Oglala Sioux Tribe President Julian Bear Runner) have come together to call for a public hearing on a proposed expansion to the Dakota Access pipeline.

Big Oil assures us that increasing oil flow through pipelines isn’t dangerous, but U.S. regulators say their information doesn’t back that claim. And tar sands crude — the type of oil DAPL carries — is a special threat: corrosive to infrastructure, it caused a million-gallon spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan not long ago. The United States suffers hundreds of liquid pipeline incidents every year. Why should we trust Big Oil’s word?

Between now and the deadline for input on Aug. 9, we will do everything we can to ensure a public hearing — the first step in stopping DAPL from becoming twice as dangerous. The Black Snake’s presence must not be allowed to fester and grow without pushback from every corner of Turtle Island. Will you stand with us once again to ensure the safety of our people and our sacred land and water?

Wopila Tanka — Thank you for making a difference! Mni Wiconi.

Chase Iron Eyes
Lead Counsel
The Lakota People's Law Project