Tom's Musings

I’m not commenting at length here, or at all. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Continuing on with my discussion of the ‘Troubles,’ this time from the place where the fighting started. This is Derry, as the Catholics call it, or Londonderry which is preferred by the other side.

When Irish independence was declared (won in hard fought battles) in 1921, Derry was included in Northern Ireland despite having a majority Catholic population. The rules were such that the Protestants held local control for decades, setting up the seeds of future conflict.

Historically, it was a walled city, the walls of older times yet standing which is rare indeed. One moment in the Catholic-Protestant divide occurred around 1698. The deposed Catholic King of England (James II) was fighting to take back his throne. As he approached Derry, a group of (Protestant) apprentice boys hurried to close the gate and raise the alarm with the iconic call of NO SURRENDER!

A long seige ensued with resulted in the deaths of 7,000 of the 20,000 trapped inside the wall. James eventually left and was defeated by William of Orange (his son-in-law) at the Battle of the Boyne, thus ensuring Protestant rule in England and eventually Ireland.

Below is a picture of the Bogside, which I believe is now 97 percent Catholic. The Protestant minority would March to celebrate the Apprentice Boys and then the Battle of the Boyne. They did so with flourish which pissed the Catholics off no end.

Finally, inspired by the American Civil Rights movement, the Catbolics, seeing themselves as 2nd class citizens, fought back for the first time in August of 1969. This militancy spread to other cities.

The conflict exploded in 1972 after British soldiers fired on an unarmed Catholic crowd killing 14. It was known as Bloody Sunday. The British initially whitewashed the event until the British PM admitted total wrongdoing on their part in 2010.

An earlier set of executions also proved counterproductive to the Brits. At the end of the Easter Uprising of 2016, one that did not have broad support across the Republic if Ireland since many Irish had sons fighting in Europe with the English. But the British summarily executed the leaders of the uprising after shelling the revolt into submission. This enraged the general public and led to a more effective uprising that, in turn, resulted in independence in 1921.

Within the old city are some significant churches and government buildings. Like Belfast, there were walls everywhere to separate Protestant and Catholics, some were more recent barriers built atop the ancient city walls. Even churches were not exempt from sectarian conflict. One Presbyterian church near the old wall was further protected by additional structures to prevent missiles and explosives from being hurled from the Bogside direction.

The court house in the above pic is a good example of the ongoing tensions. It was bombed 13 times during the Troubles.

Peace finally came in 1990s. David Hume won the Nobel Peace Prize, plus the Gandhi and Martin Luther King Peace Prizes. He managed to bridge the gap between the warring parties. In the Protestant church below, Hume, the Chief of The British Police forces, and the local Catholic Archbishop all gathered to commemorate the new and more peaceful era. A miracle indeed.

In the pics below are two of the many murals that are found through the Bogside. I’m not certain of the meaning of the second, but the first captures a British soldier breaking down a door looking for IRA soldiers.

Below is the city’s Guild Hall. Here, the Peace prizes won by David Hume are on display.

Hopefully, the Peace will last and sanity will remain. Only time will tell.

Scenes from along the Antrim coast in Northern Ireland. I believe I can let the pictures speak for themselves.

A short while ago I wrote about the Irish ‘Troubles’ in a blog. Below are a few reminders of that tragic period. 😥

The history of cultural conflict hiding as religious disputes is found in the art that is present throughout the city of Belfast. This mural of Bobby Sands commemorates his martyrdom in a British prison. His hunger strike in the early 1980s ended in his death after 70 days. Nine others followed his example.

The Catholic population of Northern Ireland has felt like an oppressed people ruled by another. There murals speak to the causes thay associate with around the world … the Palestinian and Cuban people

Some of the art you find in Belfast attempts to portray the joy they feel in their sport and their culture, despite their troubles.

The harshest reminders of the ‘Troubles’ is found in the walls that still separate the Protestant and Catholic communities. These walls are high, very imposing, and run for some 20 plus miles. At night, gates are still closed at 9 PM to prevent crossing across communities

The base of the walls are often quite beautiful, belying their tragic purposes. It is as if bright colors and dazzling design can obscure the hate and division symbolized by these attempts to separate people from one another.

If you look closely, the art contains messages of hope and peace penned by many who come to this tragic place as a kind of shrine to insanity. The desperate desire for peace is not easily quenched.

The Europa Hotel, a place frequented by those seen as oppressors, was bombed some 30 times during the ‘Troubles.’

I found out on this journey that the Catholic population recently emerged as a majority in the north for the first time. There has been peace since 1998 but no real reconciliation. The Protestant community feels they are losing their privileged position and, feeling threatened, are not happy. As we toured outside Belfast, it is apparent that smaller communities are divided by these ancient religious animosities, and have been for some time. You can tell their affiliation by the flags you see flying … either the ‘bloody hand’ or the tricolor Irish banner.

There is a sense of unease in the land.

Final day in Dublin before heading north. A few highlights: First pic is of the parliament building of the Republic of Ireland, a self governing nation since 1922.

We also spent time in the Museum of Irish Literature. The Irish are enormously proud of their writers and poets. The next pic is of a first edition of Ulysses by James Joyce. It is sometimes considered the greatest work of the 20th century.

Spent some time in the National Gallery of Art. Like the Smithsonian complex in Washington, there are several separate galleries, all free. Some lovely pieces of many genres there.

There are parks throughout Dublin. Here is one.

Trinity College. Started by Elizabeth 1st in 1598 I think. Catholics were not allowed to enroll for several centuries. The library (see below) is a wonder. I’ve also shown the Harp of Bryan Boru, an early Irish king. Okay, it really isn’t his!

We spent time in the Museum of Archeology. Fascinating place in a gorgeous building. Several items pictured below.

We’ve had great weather and beautiful parks to explore. More than that, there is such a party atmosphere all the time with many outdoor places to eat and drink, music pouring out of many pubs, and much beauty. A fascinating city.

Last night as I heard so many languages and dialects on the thronged streets, I mused that I just might be in New York. Dublin is no longer a backwater city, as it was during my last visit in 1969.

This is the River Liffey, running through the center of the city. The Vikings first raided the place and then settled here in the 800s. It has been the site of British power and, more recently, the heart of the Republic.

Had a wonderful tour of central Dublin yesterday. Great guide. So much history of my tribe!

August is tourist month for sure. The Temple Bar district is hopping with people, pubs, music, and excitement. Dublin is far different than it was in 1969 … my last visit.

More to come!

Public Service Announcement: If all goes well, I will be off to Ireland and Northern Ireland later today. This news was met with great excitement from my friends and neighbors. I had all kinds of offers to take me to the airport and nary a one to pick me up. I wonder why?

Some Wisdom to Share: Let’s face it, my so-called wisdom is shamelessly stolen from others. After all, is there anything at all that hasn’t been already said … and better than I possibly could? Besides, you are getting this for free.

I do well in the above list except for 6 -8. Not bad though.

After 8 horrendous weeks of taking accordian lessons, I knew I wasn’t a musician.

Nothing bothers me more than those who work to prevent the young from becoming critical thinkers and would turn our great universities into upper level tech schools.

Read, and then think or even discuss. Then read some more … and keep on!

We are often silent witnesses to our own moral compass.

Women: can’t live with them, really can’t live with them!

Finally!

Professor Tom may well post from the other side of the pond. We will see how that works.

The people at Gallup recently released some updated numbers on the political divide in America. Apparently, there are some substantive differences in beliefs and values. For some time, it has been clear that the MAGA crowd hate us ‘WOKE’ types with a vitriolic passion. Those on my side of the divide (at lleast the ones I know) much much less hate but a good dose of pity mixed with a form of paternal sadness for our less educated and enlightened bretheren. The fact that they support views clearly counterproductive to their self-interests and follow politicians who have never worked on their behalf (and I mean NEVER) leaves us scratching our collective heads. But there you have it.

Here are a few issues on which the ‘left’ and ‘right’ disagree (I’m not sure there is much of a center anymore):

DEMS REPUBS

General Issues:

Federal Govt. has too much power …………………. 31% 73%

Retain a strong trust in police ………………………… 31 60

Policy Questions:

In favor of a more universal health care system… 85 30

Protect environment over energy development.. 81 26

Favor stricter gun laws ……………………………………….. 84 20

Believe global warming is a serious issue …………. 87 35

Satisfied with state of race relations ………………….. 23 40

Values Issues:

Abortion should always be legal …………………………. 55 12

Divorce is morally okay ……………………………………….. 88 69

Sex between unmarried partners is okay …………… 82 63

Would accept a child-out-of-wedlock ………………… 82 61

Yes, there are real differences separating us. However, the visceral animus that separates us goes deeper than any divide on issues. It is rooted in basic world views, in essential personality attributes, and perhaps in our physical makeups. The gap will not be breached easily and now, with no external threat to bind us together, the center may not hold.

A word of caution, however. Some of these numbers have varied over time. Republicans had more faith in the federal government until Obama took charge. After several years of Trump propoganda, their faith in our central government has fallen into the crapper. One merely hopes they are not pining for a ‘strongman’ to bail us out. That’s what many Germans wanted in 1933.

As you know, I am befuddled by how the MAGA extremists view the world, all Republicans these days to be accurate. Take Ron Desantis … no, really, take him somewhere, anywhere! I used to live half the year in Florida, was even a legal Florida resident for a while. There was a time when I suffered under far right governors in both Florida (Rick Scott and then Desantis) and Wisconsin (Scott Walker). Talk about two living Hells.

Such politicians throw around the term ‘woke’ as if it were the equivalent to being a sociopath or a pedophile. No, they consider it much, much worse than being either of those despicable types. If afflicted with ‘wokeness,’ you are nothing less than Satan’s spawn. That is why Governor Desantis is on a crusade to eradicate this abominable evil from the Sunshine state. Hmm, being one myself (one of those ‘woke’ types), I wonder sometimes what I did to deserve such negative animus. One thing you can say about the contemporary version of conservative values, those clinging to the Republican faith can be nasty, especially since they often brag about being such nice, loving Christians. Perplexing indeed.

How odd that they should hate folk like me so intensly. I’m such a pleasant sort … a virtual saint in my own mind! Okay, perhaps I am not ready to be canonized by the Vatican, but I am reasonably harmless, that’s for damn sure.

But here’s the thing … in my own mind at least. If you look closely, the dispositions and perspectives of all those ‘woke’ types at whom the ‘right’ hurl their invective are rather special and surely pose little threat. Let’s look at some of the attributes associated with these dastardly ‘woke’ blokes.

If ‘woke,’ you are someone who reads books, not burns them. In fact, you revere the classics and hope the young will absorb their lessons, and to think through critically what might pertain to their own lives (or not). You don’t ban the very literature that elevates and educates us and, most of all, helps us to be critical thinkers capable of understanding our world a bit better.

You embrace and cherish science, not reject it and the people who labor to both better comprehend what is all about us and (more importantly) improve our lives. Science is not absolute truth, but the honest pursuit of truth according to rigorous methods that have been refined over a long time. Our journey toward greater understanding is one of the most sacred tasks we have, and is a faciliity which makes us unique as a species.

A malleable perspective on what we know is critical. A ‘woke’ individual is willing to change their minds when new and credible information becomes available. This does not suggest shallowness of thought. Quite the opposite, it suggests an appreciation of the complexity of life, and a desire to pursue more credible truths based on reason and evidence.

You understand and appreciate that most issues are not black and white. We do not live in a binary world. Some things seem set in stone, like the speed of light. Even there, though, quantum physics suggests tantalizing exceptions. That is the joy and mystery of life itself … the joy that comes with discovering new things and appreciating the complexity of all about us in this mysterious and marvelous universe that is just now opening up to our understanding.

A ‘woke’ person believes in equality of opportunity for all people. This does not mean you believe in some notion of absolute equality of outcomes. That ancient Marxist trope was a non-starter from the beginning. But a ‘woke’ iindividual would like to see everyone have a reasonable shot at the starting line of life. The ‘freedom to succeed’ American narrative is largely a joke when our individual paths through life are so hideously uneven. Sometimes, we all need a helping hand.

A woke person has empathy, or at least treasures it. What demarks a ‘woke’ individual from many on the other side is that the strive not to be a sociopath or a psychopath or a malignant narcissist. They can ‘feel’ what others are experiencing and facing. It is not ‘all about them.’ Life is not a Dickensian horror show, or shold not be at least.

Similarly, someone who is ‘woke’ embraces cooperation, civility, and community. We recognize that collaboration is better than unfettered individualism. It is what marks civilization and is responsible for much of human advancement. Margaret Mead, the iconic anthropologist, argued that finding skeletons with serious injuries buried with other members of nomadic tribes was a huge step forward for the species. Our ancestors started to care for one another rather than let the weaker members die alone. Working together helped us advance in the past; It is the way forward in the future.

A ‘woke’ person respects and defends the rights of others. We recognize that ‘no man is an island.’ If we do not defend the rights of others, we have no rights ourselves. We all recall the saying about “they first came for the disabled but I was not disabled, so I kept quiet; then they came for the Communists but I was not a Communist, so I kept quiet; then they came for the Jews …” In the end, if we always look the other way there will be no one left to fight for us when it is our turn.

When you are ‘woke,’ you believe that the arts, our creative impulses, have value. You value both art and artists. Life is more than the mere acquisition of material things, it is mostly about experiencing those perceptions and feelings that elevate our minds and souls. We must encourage and support such activities that explore deeper meanings. He who has the most toys at the end is not the winner in life. He who has experienced life more fully and with deeper feeling is richer by far.

And a ‘woke person’ cares about humanity and the planet. Let’s face it, we are a fragile species existing on a lonely planet on the fringe of one galaxy among billions, or trillions of such worlds. As far as we know, we are special and alone. We have a duty to preserve the human experiment as a whole (not just one nation or race or our own peculiar tribe), and to do our best to be a good steward to this planet on which we live and upon which we depend. Perhaps, if we don’t screw things up royally, we just might be in the process of creating our own form divinity in a way, since we have no way of anticipating where evolution might lead.

There may be more but this is a damn good start on defining what being ‘woke’ is. Call me ‘woke.’ I embrace the label. I really cannot think of a higher compliment!!!!!!!!

‘A Week from Hell’

We see daily stories about heat records being broken, in various southern states like Arizona and Florida. Foor example, Arizona had 31 straight days of temps over 110 degrees, a streak that just came to an end. That has become expected. We usually hear less from overseas, perhaps because we Americans are rather provincial, or I am at least. Even from other parts of the world, we can see alarms being raised if we bother to look. Chile has broken heat records for early August, winter on that side of the equator. UK boy scouts were evacuated from South Korea because of debilitating heat. If there is one certainty about climate change, it is the inconvenient reality (to steal a pithy phrase from Al Gore) that it is a global phenomenon, not merely a local irritation.

The title of this blog, ‘settimana infernale’ is Italian for a phrase heard often in that country this summer … a week from Hell. That is, it has been damn hot there recently, even for a people used to intense summer heat. Then again, so much of this is relative. Those not ordinarily exposed to hot or humid weather will react when their typical norms are replaced with something different. It will be easy to dismiss such changes as temporary anomolies … until it is too late.

Had we paid attention to what matters as opposed to Megan and Harry or Hunter Biden’s laptop, we would notice many other disturbing reports. The U.K. hit 40 degrees Centigrade for the first time last year (104 F) and recently had its hottest June on record. In southern Europe and around the Mediterranian area, temps have been hitting 50 degrees (122 F) with alarming regularity this summer. Stories have emerged about hospitals in China and the U.S. immersing patients in bags filed with ice to lower body temps. Last year, some 60,000 deaths in Europe were attributed to abnormal high temps. Stories are coming out of Central America that local farmers are migrating since they no longer can live off their parched lands. Many fear that this is the tip of the iceberg (pun intended) where masses will begin to move as their traditional homes become uninhabitable. This is a challenge that goes beyond nation, ethnic group, or tribe. It is global in character and thus will demand, guess what, a global response.

Here’s the thing. Hot weather is more than an irritation or an inconvenience. It can, and already has, become a mass killer though the body count has yet to attract widespread attention. Too many eyes remain fixed on the shuffling of College football teams among the power 5 conferences in search of more media money … what a joke in the larger scheme of things. Short of mass deaths, rising temps are an affliction that can cause serious health issues, especially for those already vulnerable, as well as significant social and economic dislocation.

We can see impending disaster about us. Many Americans hibernate for several months out of the year since daily temps heading north of 110 degrees Farenheit (now 120 degrees) make life outside uninhabitable. In the desert southwest, this has become routine. Arizona recently ended a 31 day streak of 110 plus temps. Florida has somewhat lower temps but dew points high in the70s, an unlivable experience for a delicate flower like myself.

Many, of course, cannot stay hidden away in air-conditioned comfort. They must work outdoors or are sensitive to heat due to age or some other condition. And what happens when prolonged heat waves of historic proportions tax our energy grids to the breaking point or water supplies dry up or all other sorts of anticipated disasters become relality. Where can those facing sustained periods of fettimana infernale hide then? The Covid pandemic might look like a walk in the park compared to what is just around the corner. But let’s obsess about Hunter Biden’s business deals?

This raises an interesting question. Just how vulnerable are we as human organisms to excessive heat, foregoing for the moment all the ancillary consquences of a climate disaster (crop failures, coastline cities disappearing under water, deserts replacing arable land, wild fires ravaging life-giving forests, and devastating storms, to name a few).

Let’s just focus on the heat question as it affects our bodies. From what I’ve read, we can expect something like the following. Our bodies are an amazing machine, working hard to achieve a homeostatic state where there is some constancy of critical internal properties. One key to this is our hypothalamus which acts as a thermostat of sorts. This organ sends signals to various parts of the body to react when external conditions push our internal body temperature outside the normal range of roughly 37 degrees C (our normal 98.6 F), plus or minus a degree or two.

Of course, my normal is more like 36 C, but then there has always been some question as to whether I am a mammal or not. If your internal temp rises to 40 (C), or about 103 (F), you will experience physical changes like faintness at the very least. At 42 (C), or 107 (F), you are close to buying the farm, if you are not already arguing to St. Pete about your reservation within the Pearly Gates. If you have some condition that renders you vulnerable, age or pre-exisiting health issue, your ticket almost certainly has been punched.

The body does put up a fight as external conditions wage war on these internal regulatory responses. Given exposure to prolonged heat, your body temp will start to rise. Your heart begins to work harder as blood is pushed to the skin surface as a way of expelling excess inernal heat. An extra liter of blood circulates the body each minute, pushing one’s heart rate from a more normal 55 beats a minute to 87 beats (in a test case). Breathing rates increase from 10 per minute to 15 or higher as stress levels increase. Blood flows to the brain lessens by 8 to 9 percent, and therefore short term memory loss becomes measurable. This is not good for old geezer like me who normally forgets why I just walked into a room to get something very important that I can no longer recall. Soon skin temperature rises some 4 degrees (C). One’s body will put up a good fight but without relief or medical help, a typical person will progress from heat exhaustion to heat stroke to death.

That is the micro-impact on the individual unless, of course, science comes the rescue. And it is not inconceivable that there are technical solutions to many, of not all, of the challenges we can easily anticipate. I feel, though, that our dowmfall will be the result of a more predictable human failure. Look at the American response to a global pandemic. We fought over the science, over government regulations to save lives, over the costs both direct and indirect. The possibilities of political conflict and a failure of human will is much greater in this climate arena. Pandemics do exhaust themselves. This will not go away on its own.

Hell, Rand Paul, chief Libertarian nutcase, is trying to get authorities to throw Dr. Anthony Fauci in prison for, in his warped mind, lying to him. I can still see the Republican member of Congress arguing that there is no global warming as he brandished a snowball in that august chanber … compelling evidence indeed (that he should be held for a 72 hour psych evaluation. And these are the leaders who will lead us out of the greatest potential natural disaster since that big meteor hit the earth 60 plus million years ago and wiped out most large species on earth. The big diference is that T-Rex could do nothing about it. We can!

I will say this one more time, but surely not the last time … I am so glad I’m old.