Liberal, Conservative, Independent

Pragmatism—I use to think of myself as a liberal but as I got older I found myself realizing that people who call themselves liberal could be just as self-righteous and obnoxious as people who call themselves conservatives. It was all about the “I am right—you are wrong” game which is one of the worst games human beings can play. If you carry it to the extreme, it is OK to kill the people you don’t like. I don’t want to play that game. So what does that make me? A moderate? A centrist? Someone sitting on the fence? So I started to call myself a progressive. That worked for a while but soon I realized that many progressives had not thought through how their ideas would work. So I called myself a practical progressive…too many syllables.

I have come to think of myself as a spiritual and political “independent.” My faith and politics are based on values, not creeds or ideologies. I support civil liberties and oppose racism and sexism not because of politics but because I love justice. These values are respect for all people. Respect for the Earth. Respect for all religions, cultures, genders, and races. Respect for learning and knowledge including art, music, literature, philosophy, theology, science, and athletics. The love of justice and compassion and the sacredness of life.

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Pick Up Truck

Decades ago riding, in the back of a pick-up truck, My good buddy Rick and I were talking philosophy, Truth and Counter-truth I told him—waddya mean? Life is both real and an illusion--particle-wave duality We are flesh and we are spirit—50 years later, my flesh Has lower back pain and sciatica but the spirit still loves Riding in the back of pick-up trucks—which is now illegal

Kyiv—Ancient city on the Dnieper. These river waters have flowed for more centuries then are counted in history books And will continue to flow after all the puppets have turned to dust and new trees have grown in groves by the Dnieper. Were these banks once paradise, before our ancient ones built a village here? Did an ancient shaman have visions of what would happen here? The dance of the puppets pulled by the strings of history. Warriors and chieftains, then kings and lords, tyrants and Czars, Nazis and Soviets all acting out their puppet dramas— Their strings pulled by the dark lords of power and lust, greed and fear and anger. How many times can a city of people be a battle ground? Kyiv—in the 1920’s, the Bolsheviks imposed the collectives. The collectives failed. Thousands died of hunger. Hitler’s storm troopers made Kyiv a nightmare where thousands were sent

Blue Dog

Blue Dog, Bark at the rabbits and Chase the squirrels back to the nest. Darkness awaits us just behind twilight. The owls and coyotes will watch us With eyes that see in the night.

CurranPoem

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