I don’t believe those who seek to turn back to a regressive, insular and male dominated (more female excluded) theocracy have little interaction with the majority of the people in this country. They see us either as sheep, made sufficiently ignorant by their efforts degrading public education, or just plain stupid, but they’re wrong.
You're absolutely right, and it's so important to call this out. These forces pushing for a regressive, male-dominated theocracy truly seem disconnected from the majority of us—especially those of us who refuse to be silenced or reduced to the sidelines. They underestimate our intelligence, our resilience, and our desire for real progress. They think we're passive or blind to their tactics, but we're neither ignorant nor stupid. We're paying attention, we're engaged, and we're pushing back. We know what's at stake, and together, we’ll prove just how wrong they are.
Ahh, Leonard’s deep Zen monastery understanding, combined with your prose Gloria!
Great thinkers from Buddhists, the Stoics to the best philosophers of the 20th century, stressed that that awareness is where all human suffering lies!
He had beautiful sense and a way of expressing himself and the world that surrounded his heart, life and love!
What a beautifully insightful reflection! Leonard truly did have a way of weaving together the profound, the spiritual, and the deeply human in his words and music. His ability to tap into that universal awareness—the one that so many great thinkers, from the Buddhists to the Stoics, have spoken of—was remarkable. He made space for both suffering and beauty in his expression, showing us that one often deepens the other. Your comment captures that essence so well, that awareness is indeed where our suffering lies, but also where we can find the deepest love and meaning. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful perspective.
I don't think we need a miracle. I think we all just need to be working towards the outcome we want, and/or donating to help that outcome come to pass.
And you have probably inspired some of us with your hauntingly beautiful writing...
That is a haunting story indeed, but not as haunting as my visit to Dachau and Buchanwald. In the early 60s when I went, the place was pretty much like it was when they shut it down after world War II. It's probably cleaned up now, but then it still looked and smelled like it did in 1945. I went as a college student to see for myself and it has haunted me ever since. If more people had that experience, they wouldn't be voting for a fascist monster like Convict Trump.
Rhumond, I would like to hear more of your visit. Why did you visit the camps? That was only 15+ years after they closed. It must have been nightmarish?
I have a photo of the current Pope when he visited Auschwitz. He went in alone - no entourage - and the one photo from his walk shows him with tears streaming down his face.
It was a summer trip on $5 a day and there were many places in Germany I could have gone, but I spent a whole day hopping trains so that I could see these places. My buddies didn't go with me so I was alone. I was drawn to it somehow because the very idea of what happened there was just so foreign to everything in my upbringing, so unbelievable, so unimaginable that I had to see it. I didn't actually research it ahead of time, but once I got there I was overwhelmed. I saw buildings full of bunk beds stacked high where people stayed, temporarily. I saw the "showers" in buildings with things that looked like actual shower heads in the ceiling that dispensed the poison gas. And i saw the ovens. And it might be crazy but there was a smell that I'll never forget - the smell of death I suppose. It was nightmarish as you suggest, but I remember thinking and wishing that everyone could have the experience of being where millions of ordinary human beings were murdered for no good reason. The world might be different then, or not. I don't know. But this is where Trump's thinking would take us. Rounding up immigrants? Shooting protesters? Makes me sick. BTW, I'm not Jewish!
Thanks for all your writing. You do beautiful work.
I am a 69 year old white woman with 3 beautiful dark skin grandkids. They have been treated disrespectfully most of their lives because they reside in Alabama. I am terrified of a Trump presidency. I talk to people daily about what he has promised. I refuse to go back!
Thank you so much for this potent piece - like many others, I did not know the inspiration for Leonard Cohen’s brilliant song, which always has powerfully moved me. It is indeed a “battle hymn” to beauty and grace in the face of so much ugliness.
It is. A heartbreaking yet tender love story, a beautiful tragedy honoring both the victims and the musicians who played on, even in the face of death.
Leonard Cohen and the Tragically Hip were Canada’s Poet Laureates who showed us the truth in the world through their lyrics. They are missed very much!
You showed me through your heartfelt words, even new & unknown ways the cruelty, the way the demons of hatred caused so much harm.
The haunting beauty of your words mixed with his. a pinpoint of hope and light- even in the darkness that became a reality for Men, Women and Children.
Just as the Pro Life movement is a double edged lie. Children in this world who are abused, are lost in a system so antiquated and cruel. While people march to save a small bit of tissue, burn down clinics and murder the Doctor or the nurses and those they profess to be saving.
While there is so much hypocrisy in a society of those who have so much, yet care so little, there is still that pinpoint of light. That small bit of light carries so much! The love of a couple in a “mixed” marriage, a same sex marriage, the hope of a couple who can have a child through the beauty of science. The same science that made cities disappear in the blink of an eye, has brought hope for so many. A cure for an illness, when in the right hands. So much hope is still in this world. It may not be as loud as the hatred, it may be hidden in places where we least expect it, but it is THERE.
The light, the hope, the beauty. Love truly can conquer all when given a chance, in the right hands, the right hearts of those who have felt it, lived it and keep the fire burning for the world to heal, to care, to begin again.
Thank you Gloria for sharing the truth I had not known. The Holocaust took away even more than I had ever known.
Thank you for the haunting words of days we thought were done - because only when that pinpoint of Truth is shown do we truly understand the way the Human Spirit will forever Shine On.
(Having issues with my RA hands so I hope I made sense. You truly are beautifully talented!)
Gloria this is very beautiful and yes haunting. It is a fight we dare not lose.
It is why when people ask me who I am voting for I answer "I Choose Decency".
Perfect answer!
He was a Canadian (from Montreal) man of letters and song whose style and panache still attracts new audiences.
So incredibly talented.
You have enlightened me, again, Gloria! thank you!
I waltzed to the song for years never knowing Cohen’s story behind the lyrics. It’s heartbreaking yet uplifting.
We won’t let it happen
I’m praying for a miracle.
We’re voting. Also we’ll stand between you and harm whatever happens.
Patris, thank you.
I don’t believe those who seek to turn back to a regressive, insular and male dominated (more female excluded) theocracy have little interaction with the majority of the people in this country. They see us either as sheep, made sufficiently ignorant by their efforts degrading public education, or just plain stupid, but they’re wrong.
You're absolutely right, and it's so important to call this out. These forces pushing for a regressive, male-dominated theocracy truly seem disconnected from the majority of us—especially those of us who refuse to be silenced or reduced to the sidelines. They underestimate our intelligence, our resilience, and our desire for real progress. They think we're passive or blind to their tactics, but we're neither ignorant nor stupid. We're paying attention, we're engaged, and we're pushing back. We know what's at stake, and together, we’ll prove just how wrong they are.
Ahh, Leonard’s deep Zen monastery understanding, combined with your prose Gloria!
Great thinkers from Buddhists, the Stoics to the best philosophers of the 20th century, stressed that that awareness is where all human suffering lies!
He had beautiful sense and a way of expressing himself and the world that surrounded his heart, life and love!
What a beautifully insightful reflection! Leonard truly did have a way of weaving together the profound, the spiritual, and the deeply human in his words and music. His ability to tap into that universal awareness—the one that so many great thinkers, from the Buddhists to the Stoics, have spoken of—was remarkable. He made space for both suffering and beauty in his expression, showing us that one often deepens the other. Your comment captures that essence so well, that awareness is indeed where our suffering lies, but also where we can find the deepest love and meaning. Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful perspective.
I bowlow Gloria, Sla’inte!!
I don't think we need a miracle. I think we all just need to be working towards the outcome we want, and/or donating to help that outcome come to pass.
And you have probably inspired some of us with your hauntingly beautiful writing...
David, thank you! 🙏
whew.... I cried for it, him, the song, you, your haunting poem and now wishing you the Happiest of Times in your marriage and in the years to come!
You must be an awesome poet of erotica- where to read?
Here. If I stop procrastinating and post poems! LOL
OH, the echos of my bane of existence! We can wait- no rush- just don't leave!
I’m staying. 🩷
That is a haunting story indeed, but not as haunting as my visit to Dachau and Buchanwald. In the early 60s when I went, the place was pretty much like it was when they shut it down after world War II. It's probably cleaned up now, but then it still looked and smelled like it did in 1945. I went as a college student to see for myself and it has haunted me ever since. If more people had that experience, they wouldn't be voting for a fascist monster like Convict Trump.
Rhumond, I would like to hear more of your visit. Why did you visit the camps? That was only 15+ years after they closed. It must have been nightmarish?
I have a photo of the current Pope when he visited Auschwitz. He went in alone - no entourage - and the one photo from his walk shows him with tears streaming down his face.
It was a summer trip on $5 a day and there were many places in Germany I could have gone, but I spent a whole day hopping trains so that I could see these places. My buddies didn't go with me so I was alone. I was drawn to it somehow because the very idea of what happened there was just so foreign to everything in my upbringing, so unbelievable, so unimaginable that I had to see it. I didn't actually research it ahead of time, but once I got there I was overwhelmed. I saw buildings full of bunk beds stacked high where people stayed, temporarily. I saw the "showers" in buildings with things that looked like actual shower heads in the ceiling that dispensed the poison gas. And i saw the ovens. And it might be crazy but there was a smell that I'll never forget - the smell of death I suppose. It was nightmarish as you suggest, but I remember thinking and wishing that everyone could have the experience of being where millions of ordinary human beings were murdered for no good reason. The world might be different then, or not. I don't know. But this is where Trump's thinking would take us. Rounding up immigrants? Shooting protesters? Makes me sick. BTW, I'm not Jewish!
Thanks for all your writing. You do beautiful work.
I am a 69 year old white woman with 3 beautiful dark skin grandkids. They have been treated disrespectfully most of their lives because they reside in Alabama. I am terrified of a Trump presidency. I talk to people daily about what he has promised. I refuse to go back!
I understand. I grew up in Mississippi. 💙
Oh God, Hitler's deeply diseased mind make's 'ABBY NORMALS' mind a Genius with perks!
A beautiful heart stripping song ❤️🩹
Thank you 🙏 Laura!
Whew... yes Gloria, I understant as best I can.
But remember, there are more of us than them
and we must make them know this
by how close and tall we STAND!!
Thank you, Ransom!
I loved him.
I always will, Reine.
Yes, me too. I had it played at my husband’s death church gathering.
Wonderful choice. It’s such a beautiful piece.
I loved it too. It was about five years ago. Lately I’ve been seeing Mark. I love him as well.
Madeleine Peyroux also does a great version of this song.
She does! I listened to her version this afternoon.
I need to find it. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this potent piece - like many others, I did not know the inspiration for Leonard Cohen’s brilliant song, which always has powerfully moved me. It is indeed a “battle hymn” to beauty and grace in the face of so much ugliness.
It is. A heartbreaking yet tender love story, a beautiful tragedy honoring both the victims and the musicians who played on, even in the face of death.
Leonard Cohen and the Tragically Hip were Canada’s Poet Laureates who showed us the truth in the world through their lyrics. They are missed very much!
This is a great compilation of his work. It’s my go to album for Cohen.
https://open.spotify.com/track/4LhomLO7QYlHsX2mgdQR9X?si=fdMdxLK4SfmDd-LcpSVmew
This is one of your most beautiful,scary,sad and uplifting piece you have done to date Never stop writing as I live through your words
Thank you 💙💙💙
Ohhhh ……. You took my breath away…..
You showed me through your heartfelt words, even new & unknown ways the cruelty, the way the demons of hatred caused so much harm.
The haunting beauty of your words mixed with his. a pinpoint of hope and light- even in the darkness that became a reality for Men, Women and Children.
Just as the Pro Life movement is a double edged lie. Children in this world who are abused, are lost in a system so antiquated and cruel. While people march to save a small bit of tissue, burn down clinics and murder the Doctor or the nurses and those they profess to be saving.
While there is so much hypocrisy in a society of those who have so much, yet care so little, there is still that pinpoint of light. That small bit of light carries so much! The love of a couple in a “mixed” marriage, a same sex marriage, the hope of a couple who can have a child through the beauty of science. The same science that made cities disappear in the blink of an eye, has brought hope for so many. A cure for an illness, when in the right hands. So much hope is still in this world. It may not be as loud as the hatred, it may be hidden in places where we least expect it, but it is THERE.
The light, the hope, the beauty. Love truly can conquer all when given a chance, in the right hands, the right hearts of those who have felt it, lived it and keep the fire burning for the world to heal, to care, to begin again.
Thank you Gloria for sharing the truth I had not known. The Holocaust took away even more than I had ever known.
Thank you for the haunting words of days we thought were done - because only when that pinpoint of Truth is shown do we truly understand the way the Human Spirit will forever Shine On.
(Having issues with my RA hands so I hope I made sense. You truly are beautifully talented!)
Thank you and thank you for your wonderful, thoughtful post.
The song, Suzanne by Leonard Cohen haunts me. It speaks to a crazy romantic time in my long ago.
His songs are so amazing.
Beautiful💜
Thank you. 🙏