“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” ~ Buddha.

Growing up in Jamaica, in the center of the island, full moon nights were special.  For a start, they were so bright you could actually read by the light.  For another, they changed the environment into shades of grey, leaching out the bright tropical colors, turning everything into a silvery, monochrome world.  As a teenager, my social life revolved around church and school, with not many opportunities to go ‘out’.  But if by chance we were out after dark, when most of the world had gone to bed, a full moon helped to illuminate the dark corners.  If you were out late on a moonless night, there were always those dark patches between streetlights, where a good imagination could fill the corners with scary possibilities!

I never had a fear of ghosts, or ‘duppies’ as they are known in Jamaica.  From my parents I learned that ‘the only ghost is the Holy Ghost’, so duppy stories were not encouraged.  Others were not as brave.  Supposedly there is one particularly scary duppy, the ‘Rolling Calf’ that roams around especially on full moon nights, dragging a chain.  Many is the child that has been scared into behaving for fear the Rolling Calf will get them.

It wasn’t until I became a nurse and worked the night shift, especially during those years that I worked in an emergency room, that I began to fear those ‘full-moon nights’.  Although there is apparently no scientific link between full moons and ER visits, trust me, those nights felt different!  You tried to get extra rest before you went to work as you knew it would be jumping all night.  And if you hadn’t been following the phases of the moon you could be sure, on a crazy night, that someone would ask: ‘Is it a full moon?’  When it comes to superstitions, nurses are as prone to them as anyone else.  We will (if it is physically possible) open a window after the death of a patient, to allow the soul to leave the room.  We will leave a stretcher unmade, to try to discourage any more visits at night.  We will never (and shout at anyone who does) say the Q word (as in, wow, it’s quiet tonight) as we know that will result in a sudden rush of activity.

The link of the full moon to erratic psychiatric behavior is so old that the name for those who were deemed ‘mad’ was lunatic, from the Latin word for the moon, ‘luna’. Which brings us to our present times.  For how can we describe the daily onslaught of the weird and abnormal response to situations, or even the creation of abnormal situations, as anything but lunacy?  We are provided with evidence of the slide to authoritarianism daily.  When it comes to the manufactured immigrant crisis in Los Angeles, or any other visuals of excessive militaristic force in the extraction of the ‘undocumented’ off the streets or out of workplaces, it becomes very clear that (as I read somewhere) it is not a case of documentation, so much as pigmentation. 

When it comes to addiction and recovery, it is often said that the addict needs to hit bottom before they recognize and are motivated enough to seek help, to try to permanently change their behavior.  It seems as if there are those in the US who are addicted to their view of life, their greed, their love of power and control over others, that is proving very unhealthy for the very large segment of society that is powerless, poor, and subject to the whims of those in power.  Have we hit bottom yet?  Are we ready for a reckoning, for an open discussion on the wrongs in this society?  We have seen the attacks on Free Speech (supposedly protected by the Constitution).  We have seen the attempts on the control of the Universities, the imprisonment of people without due process; the whitewashing of websites and history books.  And yesterday we saw a sitting member of the United States Senate thrown to the floor and handcuffed for asking a question.  Again, asking for a friend, have we hit bottom yet?

This week we read of the death of Sly Stone, founder of the famous funk/soul/rock band Sly and the Family Stone.  Not only was his musical sound innovative, blending genres in a mind-bending way, he also created a multi-ethnic, multi-gender band in an era where you still had Black ‘Soul’ music and White ‘Rock’ music, with occasional crossover hits.  His band was DEI before DEI became a curse word.  He was ‘woke’ when that meant to be aware of the injustices in society, and fight to overcome them.  His lyrics were deceptively simple, yet packed a powerful punch.  He played with words (turning myself into mice elf) but the message was clear.  Who doesn’t want to just be yourself?

Then there was the beat, the rhythm, the twanging of the bass guitar, the blast from the horn section.  You could not help but get up and ‘dance to the music’.  But it is his anthem ‘Higher’ that keeps singing in my head.  He wanted to take us ‘higher’.  That of course can be read in many ways, was it a way to trip on the music, or to make you creatively better?  Is there a way for the society as a whole to get ‘higher’ in its treatment of the least of our people; in its respect for human rights; in its response to the environment and the planet for future generations; in our treatment of each other.

After the dismantling of Apartheid in South Africa, under the leadership of the great Nelson Mandela, it was decided that rather than hunting down and punishing all of those responsible for or participating in the brutal oppression of the Black majority, there would be a ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ Commission.  This Commission sought to help victims of apartheid; investigated cases of human rights abuses; and offered amnesty to those guilty of such abuses who applied and came before the commission to admit to their crimes.  The public hearings allowed for honesty, an exposure of the true viciousness of the brutality under which the majority of the people had suffered.  It also offered closure to those who for too long had been ignored.  It may not have brought the same level of satisfaction as ‘an eye for an eye’ style revenge, but it allowed the country to move forward.

How could something like this help the US today?  It is unrealistic, expensive and cruel to try to remove all undocumented immigrants, many of whom have lived in this country for over twenty years, have children who are US citizens, who work, pay taxes and contribute to the vital fabric of this country.  In addition to removing those who have criminal histories, why is Congress not working on a path to legal status for those who qualify?  It has been almost 40 years since Reagan’s government enacted the ‘Amnesty Act’, permitting those who had lived and worked in this country for more than four years to apply for temporary and ultimately permanent residency.  We know that the jobs that undocumented immigrants perform (backbreaking work for the most part) are not jobs that US citizens would happily apply for.  From a purely economic standpoint, some kind of amnesty would make so much more sense than the current ICE age.

But we are living in full moon times.  Hopefully the power of the people will eventually be so loud it cannot be ignored.  Tomorrow we shall see two very different images of the US: one a conspicuous display of military might, and the other those who stand for democracy.  Let us hope that peace will prevail.

This Friday morning, I have faith that sanity will win over lunacy.  I can see evidence that ‘everyday people’ of all hues, all shapes, all ages, will come together to take us higher.  And I ask the Universe to bring the light to clean out all of the dark corners so that we can see our way to a more perfect union.

Have a wonderful weekend, Family!

One Love!

Namaste.