The rain begins?

We are blessed with rain this weekend, after a long, dry and unusually hot summer. I am generally not a fan of winter or the weather that foretells it, but this rain is a brief and much needed respite. It cleans the air and aids the firefighters, among other gifts, and it reminds me that days like this are what Oregon was once famous for. Will we soon have no reason to call our selves Ducks?

I haven't written much lately, though I did write an angry screed after Texas passed its abortion abomination. But I judged it too negative and didn't post. Many words have been written about that law now and I have little to add that is new. But I'm compelled to say this: There is nothing pro-life about this law. There is nothing Christian or Islamic or Buddhist or Jewish or Taoist or Hindu-ist about it. There is no love or care here at all. There is only fear and hatred of women. And if that sounds extreme you haven't been paying attention.

Patriarchy and misogyny have dominated culture since the beginning of the agricultural revolution about 4000 years ago. Until that time people lived as hunter-gatherers and though the hunters get all the credit, it was women who provided 80% of the food, and the goddess reigned. But with agriculture came settled villages and towns and the ideas of male ownership and male power expanded into accepted belief. Women lost the influence they once had, male gods appeared, and the rest is history.

So if you're wondering why women are still treated as second class citizens, or why rape or incest aren't a reasonable basis for ending a pregnancy I guess you can blame it on agriculture and the hierarchical, misogynist and racial (they are related) cultures we now all pay homage to.

In other news a statistic caught my eye this morning that surprised me, though it shouldn't have. As of today one in every 500 Americans has died of Covid. We are sometimes immune to large numbers, they don't easily translate into our daily lives. A trillion dollars is beyond comprehending unless you see it as a miles-high stack of dollar bills. So the number 670,000 dead Americans is shocking and desperately sad; but still, 670,000 people are remote nonentities. One in 500 though, is much closer to home. I would have to think hard but I imagine I could put names to 500 people; new and old friends, relatives, old classmates, co-workers, acquaintances. One in 500 is personal. We can't look away. 

The sun is peaking through now, and ten days of rain-free weather are predicted. I wouldn't mind another day or two of rainfall but I'll happily take what comes, remembering that every day—even the hard ones— is a gift.