Category Archives: political commentary

The Capriol Suite.

July 17, 2019arts education, civic commentary, classical music, classical musicians, commentary, contemplation, dance, Deep Thoughts, drama, grief, human behavior, musicians, nostalgia, poetic prose, political commentary, professional musicians, prose, psychology, social behavior, social commentary, sociology, truth, Uncategorizedamplifying outdoor concerts, brushburns, compressed videos, Eiji Oue, elitism, honoring principle, maestros, maestros batons, outdoor concerts, palpable memories, Peter Warlock, public concerts, revoking contracts, serving self, The Capriol Suite, Thymus gland, Union musiciansruth ann scanzillo

Strains of Warlock, piped across the live night air; amplified, then compressed: a posted video, momentarily searing the thymus. A fresh brushburn.

Wax;

wane;

philosophize.

Before that which honors principle, do most choose that which serves them?

Remembrance of the glory days, decades past, under the town’s most celebrated maestro’s baton, integral to these. The house, always full; the town, equally filled, with its talk. Performance, live, virtually every weekend. Inside; outside; running out, further, by bus. To most ears and eyes, everybody fully involved, equally satisfied.

Except not.

One handful, older musicians, heretofore secure, contracts unceremoniously revoked, scheduled to drop out of sight from month to next.

These, positioned, in the back desks of string sections, barely noticed by the teeming and energized, that complement rallied close to the stick to be among those increasingly closer.

The lesser talk, of discontent, unnoticed; no warning, no choice; mutterings, whisperings of master contract terms, incongruent with the surrounding ebullience. Such exchanges not self sustaining, lacking gravitas, generating remote, averting eyes, fading like irrelevance…

Now, among these, to float, beyond the stage

to dance

the Capriol Suite.

littlebarefeetblog.com

Defending the Indefensible.

July 8, 2019political commentary, politics, psychology, social behavior, social commentary, sociology, The Independent Party, Uncategorizedbullying, Clinton, defending the indefensible, Donald J. Trump, Jesus, JFK, pathological liars, posturing, Presidential Tweets, protecting our children, public persona, social graces, the devilruth ann scanzillo

I have heard the defense of Donald J. Trump, many, many times.

But, let me tell you – as a former teacher to 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 year olds for 20 years, and 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds for five years: Donald Trump’s DAILY utterances, his weekly Tweets, his blatant and endlessly repeating lies….these are traits which, taken in totality, overwhelm those of all prior elected Presidents in my lifetime.

He displays behavior – posturing, verbal bullying/name calling – which equates with a 14 year old candidate for high risk school program placement, the kid every teacher in the building considers future potential criminal material.

In short, neither Clinton nor JFK, while they expressed sexual behavior patterns which many would not condone, bore carriage in public, on air, in print, or in virtually every interaction portrayed in live or videotaped media, in the character of anything but mature, adult men aware of the image they were modeling for the next generation. Were they hiding their sins behind social graces? Perhaps. But, the nation’s c.h.i.l.d.r.e.n were never subject to their lies, their meanness, boorishness, or juvenile posturing.

When you try to apologise Donald Trump in the terms outlined by his devoted base, you stoop to the level of the schoolgirl defending the most outrageous brute of a boy in school, just because she thinks he’s cute and he winked at her in the cafeteria.

The man is summarily indefensible.

Would you vouch for the devil, just because he knew Jesus, personally?

littlebarefeetblog.com

Pride, not Prejudice.

June 30, 2019civic commentary, commentary, family history, Fundamentalism, gratitude, healing, health and wellness, human behavior, love, personal testimony, political commentary, psychology, relationships, religious belief, social behavior, social commentary, sociology, thoughts, truth, Uncategorizedbias in the workplace, gay pride, hiring practices, humanity, inherent bias, merit, merit and value in human choice, relevance of sexual identity, sexual identity, social acceptance, social bias, straight pride, subconscious biasruth ann scanzillo

I’m so happy and encouraged that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, can feel loved and accepted now, at least in theory and, increasingly, by law.

Now, I hope that straight people and gay people alike can befriend, hire, promote, and even fire without regard for sexual identity.

Nobody ever likes to feel pre-empted because of sexual identity. Women hate it when men do it; men hate it when women do it; minorities hate it when majorities do it; majorities hate it when minorities do it; gays hate it when straights do it; straights hate it when gays do it.

Let’s choose our friends, our colleagues, our employees, our managers, our leaders, on inherent merit and value, alone.

Please.

Let’s at least try, and see if we can.

love XO,

Ruth Ann Scanzillo

littlebarefeetblog.com