Kindling Hope in the Darkest Night

This week we had a massive light show to the north. It looked like a lot of electrical activity. It could have been a really freakish thunderstorm or the Aurora Borealis. Considering I saw some green and lavender flashes and heard no thunder, I’m assuming it was the latter. It continued well after I went to bed.

In The Cybernetic Tea Shop, by Meredith Katz, Clara notes that the tea shop doesn’t have much extra in the way of a network by simply glancing at her AI companion. As she goes in expecting everything from a simple food and drink place to something amazing, she baits her breath, and is startled when the server appears.

In The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers, a pod inhabitant wakes up to the unpleasant reminders of her predicament. The thought of not knowing how long she has slept and how far she has traveled makes her anxious and sick. Outside the ship there is no indication of time or place, only emptiness.

Dr Chef notes that all human games are based on some form of conquest. One of the non-humans contemplates how all sapient species evolved separately, yet remind each other of creatures on their own planets. Things are even more complicated when similarities are compared instead of differences. The ‘Galactic Gardner’ theory is discarded in favor of evolutionary laws of the Universe, because there is no concrete evidence supporting a ‘galactic gardener’ spreading the seeds of sentience.

Into a mission to build connections with the center of the galaxy, the crew gets boarded by Harmagian pirates, who initially threaten to cripple their ship, but eventually settle for all of their ambi, a special element that can only be collected near wormholes, and is used for burrowing through space. Sissix remarks that’s fine, and Jenks notes that it’s good that their sponsor is paying their tab.

In Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune, Wallace Price hopes someone inside the church advertising his celebration of life can tell him what is the hell is going on. Viewing the ostentatious display of suffering inside, he feels he will never understand religion. With only five minutes remaining until his funeral starts there are only six people in attendance.

When he later enters the tea house that serves as a way station after death, the walls of the room remind Wallace that he never had the time to visit the places displayed around the room, and now he never will. A high-backed chair with a heavy blanket looks welcoming. On the wall behind the counter, sit jars of various types of tea.

In More Stars Than Grains of Sand, Al Forsyth reminds us that since no species by definition can give birth to another, there was no Homo erectus, the human ancestor of Homo sapiens, that gave direct birth to the first Homo sapiens. The 185 million generations of subtle changes that separate us from our fish forebears introduced a gradual change process that took us from who we were then to who we are now, but it took time.

In the news, Trump wants to make it a federal crime for doctors to provide gender-affirming care without parental approval. Let’s not. That is a complete waste of time and effort. It is more a signal message that will likely scare doctors away from providing care, and force youth to not have the support they need, than it will turn out rogue doctors providing gender-affirming care. Older teens with sever gender dysphoria living in homes where their gender identity is not accepted would be tantamount to forcing them to live years with either anxiety or depression. Oh, and by the way, there is no such thing as “gender ideology.” Please correct everyone you hear using the term. It is a new micro-aggression being used to undermine the concept of gender identity. An ideology is something that can be debated. A core identity is not. Let's use the correct term: gender identity.

On the other side of the aisle, the theme of the Democratic National Convention was about joy, and with it hope. Hope comes from the joy that we get when we work together in solidarity, when we lift all voices, and celebrate the things we have accomplished. In essence, joy helps rekindle that small spark of hope. While no person is perfect, and the nation itself is not perfect, we can continue to perfect it, to evolve it into something greater than our unique individuality, while still celebrating the unique gift that each of us brings in our diversity.

Republicans in the Utah State Legislature, who already have a super-majority, are putting an item on the ballot to not let the people be the final arbiters of the law. At issue is the ability to be able to continue to consolidate power for their party, by continuing to gerrymander the districts to win more seats for their own party. This is a very dangerous move, and undermines the very democracy on which their authority is currently based. Government rests on the will of the people to accept its legitimacy. This amendment has a milque-toast promise to running petitions easier; but this makes them worthless when the legislature can simply ignore them, or eradicate them. They also believe that the judiciary should not be restricting their control to make laws, without which we would be in a state of one-party fascist rule. The public needs to whole-heartedly reject this amendment, and “throw the bums out.” They simply do not represent the people when they make these kinds of decisions.

The Utah Stonewall Dems had their annual BBQ, Dem Bones, this week. We were able to raise more donations to help candidates via including the “Defund the Bathroom Police” T-shirts for a minimum $20 donation. Once people saw the shirts, they had to have them. I can’t wait to see people wearing them in the greater community. They definitely make a statement and are very visible.

Representative Sahara Hayes was awarded the Oh No She Didn’t Award for her courageous testimonies against the anti-trans legislation, something she definitely earned. As a partner of a transgender wife, she is currently our only elected out LGBTQ+ member of the Utah Legislature. Representation matters.

The LDS church is continuing in its subtle toxic treatment of trans individuals. Whoever wrote and approved their new guidebook second-classes the trans community like it does women; people who have accepted and acted on their own personal gender identity when it does not align with their sexual characteristics at birth are treated the same as pedophiles, rapists, and embezzlers. They are to be denied leadership roles, priesthood, and other benefits if they do not deny the way they were created. Being trans, or transitioning does not cause harm to others, so being treated as if they do is itself a sin, as it causes harm to come to the transgender individual as guilt by association.

At the Unitarian Universalist church in the park, we shared communion with First Baptist Church. I reflected on the suffering in the world, and how we must sometimes be willing to make great sacrifices for the benefits of others. When we talk about patriotism, I reflect on the blue of liberty, aka human rights, and the red of sacrifice. This country has never been perfect, but we have inched forward only by being willing to sacrifice for the greater good. Our minister’s homily was about Pandora’s box, and what remained in the box after all suffering was unleashed on the human race. What remained was hope, and in our darkest times we must continue to cling to that hope and metaphorically protect it at all costs.