Friday, May 16, 2025

Believe Purpose XIV revised

BELIEVE

"What!" 7th grade math teacher Mr. Albee shouted upon discovering I had no pencil or pen to work problems or take notes with, and given he had already flunked me for three fourths of the school year he was exasperated. A tall grey haired man wiht a thick moustache he marched the four rows back to my desk, told me to stand up and then dragged me by the arm out of the classroom and up a long flight of stairs to room 2B where Home Economics was taught. Upon bursting through the door he along with me still in tow went right up to the teacher, who happened to be my Mom, and proclaimed loudly, "See this boy? This boy is never going to amount to nothing." The 30 classroom girls that had been listening to a lecture on mending a shirt were as my Mom was - stunned.

That was the last of my being under Mr.Albee's tutelege. Mom got me in a different classroom the next day thanks to calling in her chips with the prinipal.

The year was 1961 and it took some gumption on Mom's part to do what she did. I think she did so in large part because she believed I did have potential. and part of that belief was due to her faith in God. Dad and Mom both backed me that same school year when was accused of cheating in English reading class because did very well on exams. In that situation the principal agreed to do an investigation whcih proved sure enough that I was not the culprit.

Dad was beloved by his United Methodist congregation as was Mom and by many in the community. He worked tirelessly, and if any of the 300 church members ever got sick or homebound he was there for them either at the hospital or in their home. In addition to taking care of us three at times raucous boys and always welcoming unannounced house visitors Mom showered care on her students. One of them from the local orphanage even lived with us for a year. Both of my parents were the epitone of what Sommerset Maughan's Mother Superior character in his novel The Painted Veil said about grace to the young wife of the Doctor fighting cholera in 1920's rural China. "To do one's duty maybe admirable but oh to do one's duty with passion, that is to walk in grace."

I have been thinking more lately of those days growing up alongside the Mississippi river in southeastern Iowa, and how forgiveness, grace, kindness, mercy, faith, and love are so deeply intertwined.

One of Ezra Klein's recent podcasts featured writer Ross Douthat. After listening I got Douthat's book titled Believe, Why Everyone Should Be Religious. It is a great read. He makes the point that there is merit in however one develops their belief system. For some that path could be exploring several different religions, for others psycheldelic intervention, and for the many whom choose to live the faith they were brought up in.

There are chapters about the commonality of people of faith encountering comforting near death and other interactions with the icons/God or Gods of the faith they belong to.There are several examples of supernatural expeiences that cannot be explained by science.

He makes the case that in this age of hi-tech racing to create sentinent artificial intelligence there is even more reason to believe in a Creator who loves each of us. No matter how smart or feeling robots may become it is highly unlikely they will match what makes us human. Our brains are far more complex and so much unknown compared to whatevcer has been or will be built.

Douthat gives a brief history of the world's greatest (meaning most followers) religions and goes on to list the tangible benefits of taking part in organized religion. He also covers doubt, and the fact that most all people experience such as pertains to their faith or lack of such. And he makes the case for those who maybe once were or perhaps never were practicing spiritual seekers or regular churchgoers to start exploring developing or regaining their belief systems.

PURPOSE

Patrick Healy, deputy opinion editor for the New York Times wrote recently about "Purpose" a current play on Broadway. Here he includes an apt description of walking in grace, and why such is beautiful.

"There is a lovely scene toward the end of "Purpose -no real spoilers-where the patriarch of the family, a character who calls to mind Jesse Jackson, talks about tending to the civil rights movement long ago and tending to bees now, late in his life. "Honey never ever spoils - did you know that?" Solomon Jasper says to his younger son, Naz. "And bees just..make that. And to think that I could in some small way, participate in the miracle of honey, a sweetness everlasting. It gave me purpose.Yes. A small sense of purpose. Which was always something I needed. Becuase without it, there is just despair. There is just emptiness. You've heard me say it a thousand times, but the movement was...there was such an extraordinary sense of God's presence then-everywhere you looked Purpose. And we felt as organized as a hive. Everybody knew their role, knew their potential that common goal and how to achieve it and we were all walking through the world just glowing with God. And when the world began to change...there was nothing like it, no feeling like it. The vision of the better place we all carried with us - it was coming true."

I think most of us are afforded opportunities which if get involved can provide great meaning and purpose. Such can be found in being a spouse, a caregiver, a parent, and as part of a work team. I have been blessed to have found meaning in both familial and work situations. The best work example was during the formation and early years which established Ho`opono's (Hawaii agency for Blind and partially sighted) New Visions Structured Discovery program. We were a team and people knew their role and worked to the best of their ability to make it happen. Of course what we accomplished was not on the national scale of the civil rights movement but we did work to help participants acquire the skills and beliefs necessary to be able to go where they wanted to, to do what they wanted to and to live the life they wanted to. There was excitement in the air.

POPE LEO XIV

I was forutnate to switch the remote from ESPN to CNN the morning os May 8 in time to see the white smoke released. It was thrilling to viewthe joyful massive crowd's jubilation. It was mesermizing to watch and then awhile later when Pope Leo started to speak if suddenly became quiet and I was able to hear every word of his magnificent talk. Here are some exceprts:

"I too would like this greeitng of peace to enter you, hear it, to your families, and all people, wherever they are, to all of the people, all over the earth.

Peace be with you

..."It comes from God, God who loves us all unconditionally"

..."we are in the hands of God, therefore, without fear, united hand in hand with God and among ourselves as we move forward. We are the disciples of Christ. Christ proceeds us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge to allows it to be reached by God and his love. Help us to and, and help each other to build bridges, with dialogue, with meetings, inviting us all to be one people, always in peace."

..."To all of you, brothers, sisters, of God and Italy, of the whole world, we want to be a church of Synod, a church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity that always seeks to be close, expecially to those who suffer."

WEAP UP

Belief can lead to meaningful prupose and to applying forgiveness, kindness, mercy, and love as we go about our interactions wtih others and in our daily routines. I admit that I often fall short in those areas but I do try to do better. In a world of immense suffering it behooves us to do as most all religions teach: "Love your neighbor, love all people, treat your neighbor, treat all people as you would want them to love and treat you."

ADDENDUMS

1. I am the third, consecutive son in a row on my Dad's side, and am the only third to not become a preacher. I did though inherit their proclivity to talk with people, to express ideas, and have from time to time written about sprituality and religion. Thank Dad for that. I didn't always or one could say hardly pay attention to Dad's sermons but I like to think that the good parts of what he preached and more so how he lived are still with me.

2. My two older brothers, John and Paul and I won the birth lottery. Mom. dealing with us three, countless unannounced visitors, church activities most days of the week was beloved by all. She also lived her faith as an intermediate school home economics teacher. Students loved her and she loved them.

Mom got colon cancer not too long after Dad died. She underwent two or more major surgeries. Those and chemo and her faith kept her cancer free the rest of her remining 35 years living to be just two months shy of 97.

Her grit and determination to get well and to stay alive have brought me tremendous comfort, expecially these past few months. I hope and pray that I can be half as strong as she.

3. I have won the marriage and immediate family lottrery too.Thanks to Betty (no one takes care of or cares for me as much as she), and our 6 adult children which includes biological plus spouses, the three grands, and two older brothers. Am blessed beyone measure.

4.Thanks to all of you the readers of this and other posts. And also for your support and thoughts/prayers. They are most appreciated.

5. And finally! In case anyone is wondering, Mr. Albee was neither suspended nor reprimanded. I continued to deliver his weekly Grit newspaper, and to collect form him the first Saturday of each month until we moved a year later to Des Moines. We never talked but I seem to recall he started giving me generous tips, however the tip part could be a false memory. Mr. Albee and for that matter drill seargent Hill as well deserve more credit than I have been willing to admit for how my life has turned out.

Saturday, April 12, 2025

My world

UPDATE

Thanks all for your thoughts, prayers, support. Has meant everything. Here is the 4/28/25 report of urology clinic surgical follow up. On that date the Foley (indwelling) catheter put in place during the operation was removed. Just prior to doing so water was pumped in which resulted in soon after being able to pee into a urinal without any type of catheterization for the first time since all this started on 12/6/24. That was able to do so and subsequent ultrasound confirmation that there was no bladder water retention meant no need for either another Foley or use of intermittent catheters for the foreseeable future. A result that had dared to dream would be possible but was prepared such would not happen. Am overcome with joy.

There is high chance, however that will need to continue with CIC (clean intermittent catheterization) as to do so may well lessen progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Prior to the surgery my chart showed was in stage 3, now it indicates am in stage 2. Doesn't lessen though how good I felt regarding post op results.

pre op room with hospital issued yellow socks, light blue gown and blue smock for head. sitting on gurney giving a shaka

Here is the latest on what follows as to journey have been on since December 6, 2024. On April 7 underwent a robotic laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. What had worried about the most mainly the surgery had pretty much dissipated time checked at 5:30 am as evidenced by very favorable blood pressure reading. Family and friends had told me not to worry about the surgery part and they were right. It was easy. Just breathe into a mask and next thing you know you are in the recovery room. My surgeon Dr. Gerald and the Honolulu Kaiser team are great.

The next few days in the hospital though were at times rough. First off had thought until the day before that would be coming home the same day so really never paid much attention as to what would happen post op. As it turned out didn't get out till April 10 and due to nausea issues was very worried that may had been stuck in hospital for a week or more. The medicine pumped in made me so dizzy the first night. After an early Tuesday morning 1:55 am dosage I asked the care team to stop with the oxy. That helped a bit but still threw up later that day. Doing so ensured would need to spend a second night in the hospital. I worried that whole evening about being able to get out on the 10th as was told would need to be able to eat breakfast and lunch and not throw up before could get discharged. Made it through those meals but during nurse discharge instructions dang near passed out. Was just hanging on not to. Did get through it though and the next few nights at home had some really good rest.

Had never slept in a modern hospital bed before. My back ached a good deal prob due to my constant pushing of the position buttons. Lights were on each night till around 4:30 am. By 6 am they were back on. First nights roomie was in pain. Next day a different patient with a kind family were present, I felt sorry for them as I kept stinking up the room with gas.

But the hardest part of me those two nights was mental. I mean you know I had my running mantras that kept repeating, however they did not help much. What did though was knowing family and friends were praying/sending thoughts for my recovery. Those well wishes helped push dark thoughts aside for the most part. And I had plenty of those including regretting decision to get cut open, dwelling on the fact that Doc had to take a lot more nerves than wanted due to finding the prostate latched on to the bladder, and my self image. I mean, I am known in some circles (work, camp, Army) as either Big Dave or Windward Dave or "Missouri", and now is like have become Cancer Dave.

The more think about it though Cancer Dave is okay. Friend George told me even if all the results turn out to be rosy this cancer journey never really ends. There will be ongoing lab tests for years which depending on results could involve radiation treatment or more. He knows of some one whom every time something seems a little off they think cancer is back. It is natural to get discouraged. I think George is right and is best to realize that need to stay vigilant and as healthy as can be these remaining years. Given my grandparents and Mom's longevity, and those online how long you will live inquiries I figured would get to 99 years. That may still be so but these past few months have made clear just how uncertain the amount of days one has is. The only guarantee is that made it to the day in which woke up in.

I am so fortunate. I know what have been going through lately is nothing compared to what many of you have, and what my Mom endured via two major colon surgeries when she was a fairly new 61 year old widow - yet survived another 36 years. I believe we like her are all survivors.

Josh being home this past several days and Becca across the street with Ray and Betty are all right here to make sure getting rest and nutrition and most of all their love. Same goes for fam not in town right now - Wendy, Deborah, Albert. They even sent apple pie, strawberries, beer and flowers. That have friends and brothers been able to email and/or talk to has been tremendously helpful. Thanks so much to everybody for your support.

Am healing up. Going to be fine physically and mentally. Watch out neighborhood, the old dude that moves slow as the hills is going to be out on the streets running again in no time. In his mind he is a champion!

This next section is the original post titled My World which was written a few weeks prior to the surgery.

okay, I got cancer. Prostate cancer that is which as have been told and read is if you are going to get cancer it is the best kind you can get. The abnormal cells are so non threatening that for years and maybe still many in the medical profession have practiced not informing patients that they have such. Especially if they are over 70. The reason being that the amount of time it takes prostate cancer to kill a person they will probably be dead anyway. It is very common. Autopsies on men 80 years old and above found that half of them had prostate cancer. Most probably never even knew it. Is easy to think it is nothing to really be concerned about, except it does seem that prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death for older men.

My diagnosis is prostate cancer favorable intermediate stage 2 level. Three of four quadrants have the cells, and none confirmed via mri and biopsy show spread beyond the prostate gland. So am fortunate. Very much so one could say. And others may well be correct when think and say having such is "no big deal, a nothing burger, what are you whining for."

For me though it has become my world.

November 2024 saw a general practitioner as was fairly certain had a Urinary Tract Infection. He ordered lab work.which confirmed such as well as a 9.75 PSA score, and made a referral for a December 6, 2024 urology clinic appointment. There a lump was found and was told that had serious water retention issues. The physician did a catheterization procedure which confirmed such and suggested I commence on an Intermittent Scheduled Catheter (ISC) process three times a day. He had me watch a short video asked if thought could do so on my own and was sent home with a box of sample catheters.

Was on the bus that day and the cathbox which is 2+ feet high got wet walking to the hospital bus stop. One fell out even while at the transfer downtown Alakea stop waiting for #65. An elderly local man told me "hey bruddah one fell out." But nah I not embarrassed. Especially after standing/laying around but naked in the urology clinic for what seemed hours on end. Strangers noticing my cath supplies no can bother.

The ISC quickly went from 3 per day usage to 6 to 8 due to effort to keep output to less than 400 mil. And was having no problems with that amount of poking until a few days after January 15 biopsy when started having one to two per day disconnects. Then bladder not reached, and have to withdraw the cath which results in throwing it away. Betty encouraged to recycle but the devices using come in a sterile sleeve encased in water so no can reuse. They are expensive. After got thru the sample batch ordered 270 of which my share of the cost was $365. Medicare picks up 80% of allowed Medicare charges and on my plan have to pay 20%. The Medicare charge seems to be around $7 per item and if were to buy retail seems would be over $10. Got a second batch of 180 and my share for those were $271. I tried to find competitors but Byram is the only medical supply firm that will work with Hawaii Kaiser.

After a week or two of not knowing each time that go to pee whether or not could void decided to switch to an indwelling (Foley) with a split valve lever which meant no bag necessary. You just make sure a plastic lever attached to the upper thigh is pushed up when have urge to void and pushed back down when pau. After forgetting to push it back down a few times I learned to not skip that step. The foley worked well. After a couple of weeks of it though developed a good deal of soreness, and had blisters on the thigh underneath the saf-t lock. Also it was somewhat uncomfortable to run with, and at times when sleeping too. Plus was limited to sponge bathing and ran out of saran wrap. So at the one month follow up to insert a new device decided to return to using the ISC supply.

That is what doing now again. Averaging 6 to 7 times daily with an occasional 8th. Only one disconnect in the past 3 weeks but have had plenty times where needed to pause and breathe to get the job done. But plan to stick with it till April 7 surgery. At least if do another 3 weeks will get my money's worth as to what spent on the items.

Yes, April 7 is the day scheduled for robotic prostatectomy. Started exploring options the day went home with that box of catheters. Recalled that had friends with prostate cancer. Upon contact with them became informed as to the steps that would be taking, ultra sound, mri, biopsy. Two of them had elected for surgery. Soon as told Betty a lump was found she said to have the prostate removed. After much further study decided that would be the course of action and when a week after the January 15 biopsy the urologist laid out the options I knew what one to choose. There are no guarantees but for me removal seemed to give the best chance of not having to use catheters the rest of my life, and as time rolls on dialysis. I mean after all is bad enough that in order to be able to keep running now days have to wear a brace on the left foot. Have adjusted to the brace but sure as heck hope can dis the tubes.

Surgery op was not an easy decision. There are plenty horror stories can find from those who went the surgical route. But such was a success for my friends as their cancer did not return and they were able to continue to enjoy life experiences including their hobbies, traveling and families.

But am terrified. Not so much as to the possibility the surgery will not be a success. If it is not I know can still have a good life. Will just need to get a boatload of depends and vapro or color plast devices and carry on. What scares me is the procedure itself. Have not been operated on since tonsils removal when was 70 or so years ago. Am not able to recall much of what that was like but from old slides do know Mom made brother Paul and I matching robes and that we shared a hospital room the night before. I suspect we spent most of our time horsing around that evening. Have no bad memories of the event or aftermath. There are times I wonder if what going through the past few months is payback. Have never had to be concerned about overall health or gone anywhere near the medical issues both of my older brothers have. They are supportive but I imagine they are thinking "see we told you getting old and you gonna have buku problems just like us."

Can't find the matching robes photo but here we are in matching green shirts that say we climbed some mountain. We both old in this photo.

With both older brothers at the Grand Canyon. We not too old in this picture with John in the middle and Paul and I on either side wearing shades.

I know my fear is irrational. Am working on positive self talk, similar as to what do when out running. There is plenty scientific data that backs up how mantras like "you got this, you doing great" provide motivation and boost energy to keep moving. I know mantras help me when doing 10x400's or not stopping on the hill home. Visualization works too. When in he midst of a log run do a 2 mile set at race pace to think of how good will feel when done keeps me going. So, am practicing when feel anxious (panicky?) telling myself "you can do it" and picturing me on the podium as one of the top 3 prostatectomy patients of the day. Gonna get a medal!

Care received from the medical team at Kaiser's urology clinic has been awesome starting from that first visit. Am confident such will continue. No one laughs when I put the gown on backwards or need help putting my pants on.

The love from Betty, family, friends is most helpful. Josh is coming home just prior to and will stay a week after. Rebecca is taking off work when meet for pre op appointment and to be on hand that day. Deb more than willing to come home from New Delhi (but we told her best to come later as she was just here over the holidays). Albert, Wendy, Ray check in often and have been very kind. I never thought much as to whether or not would let people know about serious health challenges as never had any. Once informed that had cancer though decided that just knowing others know and that they would send thoughts, prayers my way comforting. Writing this blog post has been cathartic. I feel better now.

My world is all okay. It is more than good.

Christmas 2024 Santa on the left then Betty and our three plus our three via marriage and the 3 grands

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

First 100 #47

Domination

Information

Politicians

Universities

Other nations

Judges

Courts

Top firms

European Union

Zelensky

Entry

Departures

Sanctuaries

Park Lands

Misinformation

Elevation

Billionaires

Subjugation

Inflation

Intimidation

Humiliation

Capitulation

Racism

Disparity

Pessimism

Depression

Suppression

Unclear air

Dirty water

Fear

Elimination

Kindness

Empathy

Compassion

Climate Change Mitigation

Diversity

Equity

Inclusion

Accessibility

Hopefulness

Freedom

Monday, September 16, 2024

10000 or Bust!

photo of a runner on deserted highway with what looks like the rocky mountains in the background. For myself rather the words "instead of expecting someone else to make me happy" would have the graphic say "instead of expecting football" to make me happy.

updated since originally published to reflect that as of mid November have surpassed 10000 miles run from 2020 through 2024.

Alright another post on running. Some of this have written about before but it does include current updates. It is good to have humility, to be humble, but am in official old age bracket now and have decided it is also good to let one's light shine.

The pandemic era has become my golden era of accumulating running miles. As such if get in 400 more by the end of this year can say that hit 10000 miles run since the pandemic started in 2020. The years that the most were the earlier ones but although doing less volume lately, the quality sessions remain or more so than what did before.

The years look like this:

2020 - 2300 miles

2021 - 2200 miles

2022 - 2100 miles

2023- 1850

2024 -1560 as of mid November

I don't race or hardly do so. Only one recent live event done which was a 5k May 2023. First place my division but there were just two of us in age group. Best though was did it the two son in laws and the last mile was at sub 8 pace. Over all 31:55 first mile was 13 minutes.

Have done 7 virtual marathons since 2020 plus 3 accumulation events. One of those did 252 running miles in one month and came in first in age group (out of 1) and in second place overall out of 64 entrants. There have been several other months where ran 200 to 240.

The 52 weeks between June 21 2020 and June 20 2021 averaged 10 and a half running hours each week, and covered 2800 miles and is by far the most volume have ever done. But maybe not the most quality.

Started another marathon training cycle April 21 and completed it by doing a virtual August 30th. Had planned to go to the northwest to do an event but circumstances stepped in. Thankfully the race directors said could do a virtual instead. Did not let up though since then because the goal was to reach that 10000 mile mark.

Just hoping that body holds up a few more weeks. May have to go get another cortisone shot. the first ever and latest one got was late April this year. It helped tremendously. I have osteoarthritis throughout the left ankle. Most days wear a lace up brace which helps stabilize the foot and avoid slipping. Ortho surgeon said he could operate to replace the detached posterior tendon but recommended that don't do it as such would require a year of rehab. I may not have another year of solid running left in me so am following doc's advice.

It was with a good deal of trepidation that embarked on yet another marathon schedule as in the early months of 2024 as had a lot of discomfort but a few weeks off and that shot and brace worked miracles as evidenced by:

Past 21 weeks 24 workouts with 4 to 6 x 4 minute at 5k pace;

covered over 900 miles with 9 weeks at 50 plus;

plenty mile and marathon pace workout;

8x1 minute and 8x 800 at faster pace with recovery at marathon and faster pace;

10+ long runs ranging from 3 to 4+ hours;

18 back to backs (two days in a row) that have totaled 20 to 30 miles;

50 + sessions that covered 10 to 21 miles;

with most of the others in the 90 to 110 minute range.

Need to average close to 30 miles these remaining weeks of 2024 to meet the goal which is substantially less than what have been doing since April. Whether get there or not though the main target remains the same. That is to be as much as possible like the runner who inspires me the most, Baba Lee, with whom ran the most memorable half hour run of my life on his condominium roof top in Taipei in his 98th year. So, Betty, Deborah, Al, Rebecca, Rayburn, Joshua, Wendy, Rhea, Luna, Nalu get ready to run with this geezer around the home block or on top of whatever convalescent center/hospital assigned to in 2047! Guarantee it will be a run you always remember!

South shore O`ahu August 2022 with from left to right
Wendy, Luna, Josh, Nalu, Al, Deb, Rhea, me, Betty, Becca, Ray

Colonel (posthumously General) Lee, Jin Xian

Monday, September 9, 2024

Mercy

"Mercy is neither a gift nor a power. It is an admission that survival has a cost."

From Pachinko Season 2 episode 2 a dying father's reply to son's asking how he could forgive someone who betrayed him so horribly that his life was ruined. He explained that we are all in the same boat prior to his definition of mercy.

Mercy has been explained in countless way including forgiveness, compassion, caring. The idea that we are all in need of such and that all are worthy of receiving such I find comforting, and confusing. Does that mean we should show mercy to those who show no mercy to others and whose actions are always self enhancing?

Do I care for Donald J Trump's in spite of his seeking power to bring retribution upon all those whom he believed did him wrong. To a man whose decisions during the covid crisis cost at the least 400,000 USA deaths? To a man whom if elected again will make changes regarding climate mitigation that will affect millions perhaps billions negatively? To the candidate who has made it clear he seeks to change the US constitution and to broaden presidential power?

I am grappling despite believing all whom have survived are deserving of mercy with the idea of showing mercy.

I abhor Trump. Cannot stand to look at him. His mocking of those with disabilities, in particular, disgusts me. But God loves everybody. I believe we all have a bit of the divine within us. Can that light over shine my darkness as regards Trump?

Should I let all the anger and hostility that feel towards him go and stop worrying about the untold damage another administration of his would bring?

Part of me wants to say the answer to that is yes, and another part says never. But...Trump too has part of God in him and it is not for me to pass judgement. My negative feelings towards him, however, are real.

There is no denying that Mr. Trump is a survivor and the fact that he does bring joy and comfort to millions of his followers. I don't understand it but such is true. Is also true that many of them can't stand the possibility of a Harris administration as much as I do that of a Trump second term.

Us alive today and those yet to be born are in the same boat. This planet is, unless some sort of miraculous intervention takes hold (God?) on an un reversible course toward not being livable by our species and countless others. So how is it that I should have mercy towards the presidential candidate whom believes climate change is a hoax and whose response to taking care of the earth is drill baby drill. One who demonizes his opponents via incessant name calling bullying tactics and outrageous lies.

Am not sure I can. Am not Jesus or Gandhi or MLK. But, I believe it is in my best interest to try to let go of my anger towards Trump and his enablers. Throughout my life I have been the recipient of mercy on numerous occasions and it behooves me to strive to forgive and to be kind.

May the light shine.

Addendum: Since writing this post the debate happened during which as Lydia Polgreen states in the article attached Trump's loathsome actions and behaviors especially towards non whites whom are immigrants was on full display. The question as to whether or not people who are evil or do evil deeds deserve mercy is beyond my capability to answer. My hope is that somehow goodness prevails.

Another extra comment: Yesterday, September 15 a second assassination attempt was made on Trump's life. It saddens that stuff like this happens. I as millions of others from both parties have prayed every day for Trump's safety on the campaign trail for several months, and for the other candidates too.

What is also alarming that those who have been critical of the 45th were declared responsible by President Trump and his campaign for these attempts. If people cannot point out sound facts when debating the issues or writing opinions than the ability to learn from others who one may disagree with is severely lessened. There are many countries where if you say something critical (such as in Thailand with its' laws pertaining to the King) you have a good chance of ending up in Jail for years. Same for gatherings of more than 5 on street corners. Do we want to live under such conditions where one faction cannot criticize the other? It is obvious that the right does not hold back when comments such as "Kamala marxist, I hate Taylor Swift, only Jews who are stupid would vote for Harris," are constantly uttered.

Let us not lose our right to have free and open discourse about the key issues of our times.

Trump Has Crossed a Truly Unacceptable Line

Sept. 14, 2024

Credit...Ioulex for The New York Times

By Lydia Polgreen

Opinion Columnist

When my family moved back to the United States from East Africa in the mid-1980s, one might have thought it was a peak time of compassion for people suffering in faraway places. A glittering group of music superstars had recorded “We Are the World,” a smash hit charity single to raise money and awareness for the victims of a brutal famine that had gripped my mother’s home country, Ethiopia.

But when I told my new grade school classmates of my origins, I was met with cruel taunts. I was awfully fat for an Ethiopian, one said with a snigger. Must be nice to be able to have access to so much food, another joked. At the time, this was puzzling and upsetting — I had moved from Kenya, not Ethiopia, to my father’s home state, Minnesota. But the facts didn’t matter. These unkind remarks did the job the bullies hoped they would: They made me feel like an alien, an unwelcome stranger.

We live in even crueler times now, with humanitarian catastrophes unfolding on several continents, but the response of the wealthy world has been to demand tighter borders and higher fences. There is no blockbuster charity single raising money for starving refugees from the civil war raging in Sudan. And now, the cruel taunts come not just from schoolyard bullies and cranks on the political fringes, but from the lips of a man who stood on the presidential debate stage on Tuesday, a former president who once again has a coin-flip shot at regaining the most powerful office in the world.

And so I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by that lowest of moments at the debate, when Donald Trump repeated a vile, baseless claim that Haitian immigrants were killing and eating household pets in Springfield, Ohio. This allegation appears to stem from viral social media posts and statements at public meetings. It was picked up by some of the most rancid figures at the fringe of the MAGA-verse, then quickly hopscotched from there to a social media post by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, and finally to the debate stage, sputtered by Trump himself.

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There is a temptation to treat this as yet another Trump rant, a disgusting lie about immigrants like the ones he uttered as he began his presidential bid in 2015, describing migrants crossing the border with Mexico as rapists and criminals. He’s done it time and again since. He is the master of exaggerated and fabricated claims against the boogeymen, a skill he has used for decades to polarize public opinion and raise his profile and power at the expense of others.

But there is something particularly insidious about this claim, uttered at this time, from that stage. Food and pets are, to use a Freudian term, highly overdetermined symbols in our political life. They are capable of receiving and holding a multiplicity of very potent meanings, transmitting deep messages about identity and belonging.

What you eat is an instant way to communicate the most basic forms of human connection. There’s a reason American political rituals cluster around cookouts, clambakes and fish fries. The human need for sustenance — food and water to feed the physical body — is universal. But what is also universal is the meaning food carries. Everyone has a personal version of Proust’s madeleines, a food that immediately and ineffably names who you are, where you come from, the culture that made you. Food is a powerful signifier, of both belonging and exclusion.

Relishing the native foods of different states is a staple of the campaign trail. Doing it right — Tim Walz knowing what a Nebraskan Runza is — comes off as wholesome. Doing it wrong — eating pizza with a fork — earns derision. Liking the wrong things — Barack Obama’s complaint about the price of arugula at Whole Foods comes to mind — signals being out of touch with “ordinary Americans,” whatever that means.

Meanwhile, pets, in politics and in life, are the ultimate humanizer. Richard Nixon invoked his family’s cocker spaniel, Checkers, in his famous speech aimed at beating corruption allegations and saving his bid for the vice presidency in 1952. Presidential pets become celebrities in their own right, from Franklin Roosevelt’s beloved Fala to Bill Clinton’s loyal chocolate lab, Buddy, who seemed to be his only friend in the brutal days of his investigation and ultimate impeachment.

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Even relatively mild mistreatment of a pet is political poison: Mitt Romney was widely mocked for admitting that he had taken his family dog, an Irish Setter named Seamus, on a 12-hour family road trip in a crate lashed to the roof of the car. It reinforced the notion that Romney, a very wealthy former management consultant, was cold and unfeeling. And don’t get me started on Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, who seems to have tanked her chances of being named Trump’s running mate by admitting in a memoir that she had shot her dog Cricket in a gravel pit because, among other sins, the dog annoyed her on a hunt.

And so it cannot be an accident that these resonances have been fused in an allegation against Haitians, a people who have long stood in for a kind of universal other in America — a completely racialized symbol of dark, chaotic forces that must be held at bay by the forces of white civilization.

There is a long and grim tradition of demonizing Haitians in the United States, one that cannot be separated from Haiti’s heroic history. It became the first Black republic in 1804 after its enslaved peoples rose up to expel the European colonists who had put them in chains. Their success so shook the United States, a nation dependent on slavery for its wealth, that the American government embarked on a ruthless campaign of isolation and manipulation of the young nation of Haiti. The legacies of those policies have lingered to the present.

Indeed, even as it has offered temporary protection to some Haitians who have fled the extraordinary violence currently plaguing Haiti, the Biden administration has continued the long, bipartisan American tradition of deep hostility toward Haitians seeking safety from violence and starvation: It has deported at least 20,000 Haitians since 2021 despite the bloody, politically motivated gang warfare that has engulfed the country. In 2021, videos emerged of border agents on horseback menacing many of the thousands of Haitians at the U.S.-Mexico border, pelting them with epithets. This wild new fiction, combining foodways with pets, seems almost precision engineered to dehumanize Haitians.

You can tell how powerful this type of slur is by how quickly and vociferously it has animated so many on the right. Figures who flirt with the mainstream have eagerly jumped into the fray. The conservative culture warrior Christopher Rufo has offered a $5,000 bounty for anyone who can find proof that a Haitian immigrant had in fact eaten a cat. It is not hard to imagine how this could quickly escalate into vigilante violence against Haitians in America. On Thursday, city officials in Springfield, most of whom have pushed back against the false allegations, said they had received bomb threats, prompting the evacuation of city buildings.

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Over the past few weeks, as the euphoria of replacing the oldest ever presumptive nominee for the presidency with a younger and more vigorous candidate has worn off, I’ve realized that something about the strategy of calling Trump weird has never quite sat right with me. Yes, he cuts a comical figure, with his blotchy orange complexion, his vertiginously cantilevered hairdo, his goofy dances, his bizarre obsession with Hannibal Lecter. It has also been a welcome path to sidestepping the tiresome debates over what it means to “normalize” Trump rather than treat him as a wild aberration in American politics, something that has become harder to justify given that he won the presidency and could quite possibly win it again in November.

But the past few days have convinced me that as much as we might want to laugh in the face of his absurdity, Trump is not weird. He is far more sinister and dangerous than that. And disbelieving laughter could, I fear, blind us to moments when truly unacceptable lines are crossed.

Kamala Harris seemed to sense this in the debate. When asked in an interview with CNN about Trump’s questioning of her Black identity, she was widely praised for shrugging it off as an irrelevant question and refusing to make her candidacy about identity. But when she was asked about it again on the debate stage, I was glad that she took a different tack. She did not speak about herself; instead she used the question to highlight Trump’s decades-long history of vile racism, from his discrimination against Black tenants in his apartment buildings to his demonization of the Central Park Five.

Trump may be diminished. But in his elevation of something akin to blood libel against a group of blameless legal immigrants who came to America from their strife-torn nation in search of a better life through hard work, like so many immigrants to our shores before them, he has proved himself a dangerous and malevolent figure whose menace must be confronted and defeated, fully and frontally, in this election.

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