KNOCKED TO MY SENSES – A Mugger, An Umbrella and Tough Love

Sharon Salzberg, author of Loving Kindness – The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, tells of having once been assaulted by a stranger while riding in a pedicab in Calcutta. As the man tried to wrestle her out, the driver intervened and they were able to escape unharmed. Later, when she told her venerable meditation teacher about the incident, he exclaimed, “Oh, Sharon, you should have hit the man over the head with your umbrella…with loving kindness.”

With the astounding results of the just-decided U.S. presidential election, I feel as though I'm the pedicab passenger. That modest little rickshaw has been my conveyance toward a simpler, more peaceful, loving and generous life, a future of hope and continuing intellectual and spiritual evolution. The assailant, a vulgar narcissist who's proven to be nothing but the con man of our lifetimes.

IMAGE: The Washington Post

I had believed, by 2016, that I lived in a nation that, after the decade and a half of profound national insecurity since 9/11, was at last on a course back to sanity—one that valued diplomacy over war, openness over isolationism, inclusion over paranoia, individual freedom over narrowly-defined “morality,” opportunity over prohibition, abundance and generosity over scarcity, vision over hindsight, and hope over fear. This had been a direction I felt was true not only to my own values, but to the time-honored values of my country.

But I, and all those standards I hold so dear, were suddenly assaulted, hijacked by a dimwitted, avaricious, kissy-lips reality TV star who, counting on the grievances and gullibility of Joe Sixpack, saw a chance to indulge his enormous appetite for attention.

And now, after just four years of a decent, sensible, well-grounded man working to restore honor and dignity to this country's persona, the dimwit is back. And this time he's promised to be a dictator and that we'll never have to vote again.

           Folks hang their heads and murmur,
           If only we’d known and done something.

A CITIZEN OF ALL CREATION
And thus my dilemma: Do I assume the mindset I believe derives from the core of my being, one of tranquility, kindness and emotional detachment from outcomes? Or do I allow myself to fully appreciate and be moved by the reality that, once again, my homeland is at the beck and call of a monumentally insecure, irrational, ill-prepared charlatan who has promised—and whose admirers expect—that he will dismantle the very framework of values I embrace, and that so many of our ancestors have fought and died for?

As if that weren’t enough, the president-elect’s aggressive denial of most climate scientists’ and world leaders’ calls for urgent action on human-abetted global climate change threatens not just my country, but our planet and every human being on it.

History tells us quite eloquently that despots do exactly what this man is doing. And that, once the true ravages of their misguided power see the light of day, it is most often too late. Decent folks hang their heads and murmur, If only we’d known and done something when we could. And those he's fooled—not once but twice—say What dictatorship? Give the poor man a chance.

Is it not my sacred duty to act on the moral outrage that drives heroes to say something, do something?

IMAGE: Wikipedia

        I aspire to being able to read the sad story
       that’s unfolding before our nation’s eyes,
       and yet...not let it define who I am. 

DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY
So back to the pedicab-and-umbrella metaphor. In the case of our current national crisis, how can I resolve my dilemma? What does smashing the mugger over the head with loving kindness even look like?

That, I’ve decided—after being unable to think about anything else at all since election day—is what I must reconcile. How can I honor both my responsibility as an intelligent, aware—and patriotic—citizen to defend the values upon which my country was founded and has prospered for two and a half centuries, and my duty to all of Creation to inhabit a place of peace and love?

The answer? All I can say right now is that I’m working on it. I aspire to being able to read the sad story that’s unfolding before our nation’s eyes, and yet not become the story, not let it define who I am. 

Still, as Salzberg’s guru suggested, it will serve no one if we fail to deter a thieving bully. So, while being as patient with myself and others as I can, I will be eagerly watching for doors of opportunity to appear.

Whether it's my venting here on Pop This Boil, bumper stickers, lawn signs or joining protest demonstrations, I trust I will find the certainty to take whatever action I am called to pursue. But I must do so only when I’ve also found the generosity of spirit not to act in fear or anger, but in hope and love.

And then I will swing away.

THE UN-T – New Symbol For the American Resistance

As a graphics designer and sloganeer by trade, I’ve been looking for ways to employ the power of symbols in my resistance against this ridiculous little man and his loyalists who're about to take their second shot at desecrating my country.

Political resistance needs a powerful symbol. Think the Don’t Tread On Me snake, the clenched black fist or that time-honored posterized likeness of Che Guevara.

Our Resistance to Donald Trump’s second anti-democracy regime deserves such an icon. And here it is: a big, bold, brown upside-down “T” (⊥). I'm calling it the Un-T.

        It’s logic's symbol for a proposition that is always false.

There’s more to this graphic than just turning the guy’s precious brand on its head. It’s actually the symbol used in the mathematical field of logic for a proposition that is always false (often called a "falsum" or "absurdum”).

False. Absurd. Isn't that just perfect? What better battle standard for the Resistance! Let’s make the Un-T (⊥) go viral! Will you help?

We must spread the word—or should I say letter. Share it on social media and in our correspondence. And display the graphic on signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts…whatever.

It’s simple—easy to do and not necessarily expensive. Above is a piece of reproducible artwork if you need it for print applications. But even just a couple of strips of duct tape or some bold swaths of paint or marker on a t-shirt or banner will do.

        Maybe we could get a few NBA or NFL stars to
        feature the Dump-T on their shoes.

OUTBRANDING THE BRANDER
After saturating the social media we get it on people’s shirts and caps, on banners draped from porches and freeway overpasses, on placards for protest marchers, then on billboards and transit. (Any litho or screen printers out there willing to help develop Un-T merch?)

One effective way to get the movement moving is simply to set an example. If I display a nice-looking lawn sign or bumper sticker we hope folks will ask or scan the QR code for how to get their own.

Thinking a bit bigger, why not go even further underground with graffiti strategically painted along the routes of the presidential limousine. (Banksy, you in?) And maybe crop symbols placed in sight of the flight path of Air Force One. Hell, maybe we could even get a few NBA or NFL stars to feature it on their shoes. 

ILLUSTRATION*

The Un-T is a simple, powerful, instantly recognizable statement. Imagine our little orange Putin wannabe assaulted with it every-
where he turns. And the best part? By out-branding that egomaniac with our bold stamp of disapproval, it’ll unify and empower us goody-goody liberal elites…and drive him (even more) nuts. You in?

        C'mon folks, let's do this!

I'd love to have your input! Do you know of ways to get a lot of exposure quickly for a subversive brand? Politicians or celebrities we might recruit as allies? Printers who might volunteer their services?

* Crybaby Trump illustration – I spent nearly an hour searching for the artist of this wonderful image, with no results. It's signed: GR '11. Anyone know who did it? I'd like to note proper credit.