What I’m Thinking This Week

In Our Neighborhood

Our house shook slightly when this tree was cut down Wednesday morning.
The photo was taken from my front porch.

The Ann Arbor government does take care of things in our neighborhood! An old and probably dangerous tree across the street has been cut down, ground up in the wood chipper, and taken away by city workers. In the local park a few blocks away, we have been observing a building project which resulted in an impressive solar array. It will provide power for the nearby senior center, and also provide a charging station for electric cars. 

A total of three million dollars, partly from Federal Stimulus funds, was allocated to build solar generators in several city parks and at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market. This one has a nearly 30-kilowatt capacity. The allocated cost was $120,000, plus a 20-kilowatt backup battery for $56,000 and installation work for one EV charger for $8,000. (source)

Thinking About the Eclipse of the Sun

With any luck — and weather permitting — I will be. able to watch the eclipse of the sun next Monday afternoon at a location near Indianapolis. I’ll post photos if we get any! Meanwhile, I’m sharing my thoughts on several other subjects with the participants in Deb’s weekend blog event at Readerbuzz.

Thinking About American Freedom

Forces in our society oppose many freedoms that we once believed were secure. President Franklin D. Roosevelt outlined four freedoms in a famous speech in 1941, which I’ve talked about in several earlier blog posts. I think that all four of them are endangered:

• Freedom of speech is endangered because instead of peaceful protests, many activists have begun disrupting and threatening those who disagree with them. This is especially notable in the behavior of those who oppose Israel and support Hamas. It’s particularly shocking on college campuses. See this article: “The Appalling Tactics of the ‘Free Palestine’ Movement” by Bret Stephens.
• Freedom of worship is endangered by widely increasing coercion in public schools in many states to include Christian beliefs and prayers. Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and fear and hatred of non-believers also pressure Americans who do not satisfy some people’s wish for national religious conformity. “We must make America pray again,” former president Donald Trump said recently.
• Freedom from want, another important Roosevelt guarantee, is being undermined by discontinuation  of many important financial benefits that were helping people to afford food and shelter. Increasingly many Americans are living in poverty.
• Freedom from fear is denied to transgender and other non-conforming individuals by new discriminatory policies in schools and other public venues. Freedom from fear is also denied to many women whose reproductive choices are being narrowed by the anti-abortion and anti-family-planning forces. These tendencies are reinforced by the Supreme Court’s series of appalling decisions.

This rejection of historic American values takes many forms, and I’ve barely summarized how bad things are getting.

Thinking About the War in Ukraine

 

“Ukraine’s army of about one million soldiers is fighting the largest war in Europe since World War II, waged in muddy trenches or the ruins of cities in urban combat. Casualty rates are high” (source) 

The people of Ukraine are suffering just as much now as they were a few months ago — maybe more. However, other world events have distracted attention from this unjust war. I feel distracted. I don’t follow this news as much as before. But the independence of this determined country is just as important as ever.

Thinking About the War In Israel 

As the war goes on, I am becoming sadder and sadder at the brutality and inhumanity. The attack by Israeli forces that killed seven aid workers trying to feed the starving people of Gaza horrified me, because I have generally been in favor of Israel’s need to defend itself from perpetual attacks by Hamas and other forces.

These words from José Andrés, the famous chef and the founder and head of World Central Kitchen, whose workers were killed while attempting to deliver food to starving people in the war zone, impressed me with their wisdom and generosity:

”We know Israelis. Israelis, in their heart of hearts, know that food is not a weapon of war.

“Israel is better than the way this war is being waged. It is better than blocking food and medicine to civilians. It is better than killing aid workers who had coordinated their movements with the Israel Defense Forces.

“It is not a sign of weakness to feed strangers; it is a sign of strength. The people of Israel need to remember, at this darkest hour, what strength truly looks like” — José Andrés: Let People Eat, New York Times, April 3, 2024.

An article by Fred Kaplan writing in Slate summarizes the situation:

“Israel’s attack on three vehicles of the World Central Kitchen—which has fed thousands of war victims and refugees in Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, and other areas in crisis—was unpardonable, whatever the findings of an official investigation into how it took place. In any case, it has prompted WCK and other aid groups to suspend operations in Gaza—where, even with the relief efforts, hunger and sanitary conditions are nearing catastrophic levels. …

 

“Israel is not the only obstacle to aid getting through to Gazans. There have been reports that Hamas gunmen have intercepted food deliveries meant for Gazan civilians. Early on in the war, one Hamas leader said the terrorist organization, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has no obligation to protect civilians in Gaza—that’s a matter, he said, for the U.N.”

Events in the last 24 hours have been rapid and possibly game-changing. Biden has made demands, and it’s a matter of time to see the response. I hope a real chance of peace and justice emerges, and that some progress can occur on hostage negotiations, so far refused by Hamas.

Blog post and original photos © 2024 mae sander

Shared with Sunday Salon at Readerbuzz.