The perils of politics

“Never talk religion or politics” was the rule in my Irish-American family, when the whole clan gathered at wakes and weddings. One-half of us were staunch Republicans, the other, liberal Democrats. During the Vietnam era, my uncle Martin, a U.S. Army General, and I would enjoy a Broadway show together only to have our dinner at the Algonquin dissolve into a heated discourse about the war, or the dubious mental health of Richard M. Nixon.

It’s hard to talk about politics these days, almost anywhere. It’s harder still to avoid it. When someone passionate begins to boil over in public, I find myself looking for an exit strategy. When I am the boiling pot, I count on friends to guard my flanks, hoping they don’t get spattered in the process.

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Save or savor?

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

—E.B. White

I come across this quote in Yoga International magazine, early one morning. The day’s hours stretch before me, adding up to the sum of how I choose to “spend” my life. And like White, I find myself challenged by this dilemma.

It seems that everywhere I look, something begs for my attention. Animals and plants are approaching extinction. Box stores, strip malls and parking lots are not. A multi-acre mountaintop forest is leveled for a “Fun Station.” Another clear cut appears on a hillside along Route 6, near Honesdale, PA.

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