Quarantine Diary #54 5/5/2020 Be an Ally to the People who were Allies to us in 1620.

On April 2 I wrote about the Mashpee Wampanoag people and the situation they are in right now –this damnable administration is removing them from their land. Read my explanation here.

Thursday, May 7th is their next court date. Day after tomorrow. Today I received an email that includes these two suggestions. I already sent my email; it was not hard. The wording is in the script they suggest.

This Thursday, May 7th, there will be a hearing in the U.S. District Court in Washington DC to hear the Tribe’s Motion for an injunction against the attempt to remove their land from trust. For more information, here is a link to a recent article.

If you'd like to do even more to support the Tribe, here are two more action steps to take:

1) Contact Secretary of the Interior Bernhardt and/or Senator Hoeven, Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, and let them know directly that you oppose this action against the tribe.  You can find their contact information and respective scripts HERE.

2) In advance of the May 7th court hearing, join in the virtual Sacred Fire Prayer Protest where prayer fires and candles are being lit nationwide in support of the Tribe and to denounce the Trump Administration for attempting to disestablish their reservation. Light your candle/fire, let it burn 1-4 days, and post a picture with the hashtag #StandWithMashpee.  

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I am getting used to quarantine. I have most of what I need to be safe and comfortable. Sure, I chafe when I think about this too much. I sputter when I read that we are “opening up” many states and businesses AS new Covid-19 cases are going UP.

But like a frog in the pot that is getting hotter and hotter, I find myself adapting more than shrieking, yelling, or kicking really hard.

What about you? There is SO MUCH to do and SO MANY places to respond that it seems calmer to turn it all off and retreat to our own hot puddles.

However, if I want the world to hear the voices of others then I have to believe in my own voice, too.  We allow ourselves to be disempowered when we allow ourselves to believe our email or phone call won't make a difference.

Also, here’s a case for giving money to local candidates and to the Democratic party in general. 

It isn’t that Democratic politics is uplifting and perfect and filled with angels singing in crystal voices.  BUT the Democratic party works towards political values I care about. Climate change. Addressing gun violence. Education. Programs to fight poverty. Health care for all. International aid. And more.

These values are political concerns. If we elect good politicians, then THEY can do more of the work of affecting politics towards directions I believe in. I’d rather send a politician into politics to represent me than do all this stuff myself. So I give money to politicians and to the Dem party. 

I appreciated hearing this argument not long ago and decided to pass it along to you.

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Len ordered a watermelon in our grocery order. It came yesterday and we cut into it this afternoon and MY OH MY it’s been a long year. If you get a chance to eat watermelon, go for it. Close your eyes with those first bites. Remember how excellent life really can be, if you take it a few bites at a time.

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Peg and Neal needed to drive almost a thousand miles. We were talking about that, I said to take any photographs that seemed to show what is going on in our nation during Coronavirus quarantine. 

She sent this photo taken while driving through Cleveland in the middle of the afternoon in the second largest city in Ohio.  Wow.