Talking about struggle in church

MB, Tanya Bukharina (our guide from our recent trip to Crimea), Regis Tremblay and myself went to the Neighborhood Church in Bath on Sunday for the service.  Rev. Bill Bliss (who went with us to Russia) spoke about forgiveness and letting go.  The need to learn to love and show penance for our collective bad behavior.

That's a tall order for must of us - the line between sanity and psychopathy - how do we stay connected to nature and one another while inundated with the brutality and arrogance of  Mr. Big and his lackeys on Wall Street and the Bank of London? Exceptionalism and empire are the works of the devil.

Following the Church service about 20 people stayed for the 'Afterglow' discussion time where MB, Tanya, Bill and I spoke about our recent trip to Moscow, Crimea and St. Petersburg.  Bill put lots of pictures and maps on a big TV screen for everyone to get a better sense of what is going on there.

I told about how Bill Clinton signed the 'NATO Enlargement' program that broke the promise to Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the reunification of Germany, that the NATO war machine would not expand eastward 'one inch' toward Moscow.

Ever since then the NATO expansion plan has been on steroids with its goal to encircle Russia with military bases.  Similar to the way Iran is currently surrounded by US military bases.  And China is being surrounded with a NATO that has morphed into the Pacific region.  NATO is the military arm of corporate capitalism.

It was magical to watch the church folks open their hearts to Tanya from Crimea.  She speaks well and her warm smile touched them all.  I was pleasantly surprised at how, in general terms, people seemed to intuitively understand the whole Russia story.  People are not stupid - many of them have worked for corporations and they have seen the way Mr. Big throws his weight around.

People  understand how evil our government is - they just don't want to get involved.  The material world and 'success mythology' keeps their nose to the grindstone.  Credit debt is another key tool to keep the masses in line and it works.

I pointed to the Arctic Sea map and said that drilling for fossil fuels in that once frozen zone will now be possible.  The RAND Corporation has a plan to break Russia up into pieces so that the oil corporations can take control of the region. NATO is holding regular war games up in the Arctic zone in order to prepare to 'capture' the region.

One man approached me once we concluded the 'Afterglow' and I should say he was hot.  He understands everything going on, his heart is breaking over it all, but he thinks there is no stopping Mr. Big.  We talked about resignation, giving up, surrender.....just walking away.

I reminded him that I've heard him play drums at church musical events.  I told him he was in touch with the heartbeat of the Earth.  If we are alive we must hear the heartbeat that calls for struggle to survive - that is the essence of life. 

I told him I can't quit.  Mr. Big might win many battles but I'll never surrender.  I am in line with those who understand that human dignity, sovereignty and solidarity requires us to stand up to the corporate oligarchies.  I told him that each day I look for things to do to keep connected to the struggle for life and justice.

To do less would be submission to slavery - of the 21st century variety.

Bruce