by R. A. Melos
That time of year is looming down upon us once again. The Pagan community calls it Candlemas or Imbolc, the time of year when the days are getting longer and the promise of spring, with new fresh experiences, is in the air. Others call it February 2nd, or Groundhog’s Day.
As always our furry animal friend is preparing himself for the big day. Well, okay, he’s actually sleeping deep in his burrow beneath the snowy mantle, blissfully unaware of the terrible changes that have occurred during the winter season. Phil, or Pete, or Osama, or whatever his name is, lay safely in his slumber, dreaming of the new possibilities that will come with the spring and summer, but all that will change soon enough.
For some groundhogs the day will start as many days start, being roused from his hole by some guy wearing a protective glove, and a silly suit and top hat. Okay, those are the show groundhogs, the ones who have a warm comfy burrow and contracts that stipulate a trailer, wide screen television, champagne and a bowl of blue M&M’s on the dressing table. The average Joe groundhog doesn’t have these amenities, or a desire for these amenities. Well, maybe the wide screen television, but not the rest of the stuff.
Joe Groundhog will awake on the 2nd of February and slowly poke his nose out of his burrow, and sniff the air. As he becomes accustom to the sensation of being awake, and aware of the fact that the forest has been cut down to make way for a condo complex and shopping mall, he will poke his fuzzy little head further out into the light of the day. Chances are if he sees his shadow or the shadow of Bill First, he’ll dive back into his burrow and hide for six more weeks or the next four years, whichever seems a safer bet.
The view from the hole will have changed a great deal since he burrowed in back in October or November, or whenever groundhogs burrow in for a long winter. One of the first things our furry little weather forecaster will learn is the sad news of George W. Bush being elected to a second term in the White House. If this news alone isn’t enough to send him scurrying for his burrow, he’ll soon learn that within days of George W.’s second inauguration Congress is already making another effort to pass hate based legislation to make bigotry a permanent part of the U.S. Constitution with a revival of the ban on same-sex marriage amendment.
Now if it isn’t enough that his once protected forest has been sold to the lumber industry, he must come to terms with the government deciding that the only partner legally recognized for him will be one of the opposite sex. His right to party in the bathhouses of the forest with Mr. Bunny and Mr. Squirrel will still be intact, but if he should decide to declare his love for Mr. Squirrel and wish to make legal their living arrangement in order to protect his partner, should he find himself stuffed and mounted on wall in some NRA nut’s den, his partner will not have all the legal rights to his burrow and financial accounts with Smith-Barney. In fact, his partner will have no rights whatsoever and will likely be forced to relocate to another part of the forest.
Aside from the bigotry and hate facing the little furry fellow, he’ll have to fact the possibility of reinstating the draft to produce more fodder for Iraqi insurgents to shoot at in the aftermath of the Bush War, which is legally over if not physically. So while being told he has limited freedoms in his native country, he will be asked to go to a foreign country and fight for a foreign peoples right to freedom and most probably die in that fight.
Sure, the Republicans will tell the groundhog that the economy is doing well, and on the surface it looks as if it is doing well, but the groundswell beneath the surface is what he and every other intelligent groundhog knows to watch out for. It is the potential Wall Street tsunami that will wipe out many of the market surfers, that he is being told won’t happen. Just believe in George W. Bush and everything will be wonderful. After all, George W. is the Kwisatz Haderach! He’s the Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka all rolled into one, if you believe Karl Rove.
Of course none of this may have any meaning to Joe Groundhog, who may simply be starting another day in effort to make a living and support his same-sex partner and their adopted Asian children, and all of the bigotry and hate will only be a part of the regular day and nothing new. The shame of it is if it is nothing new and just business as usual, then the system has failed on all levels and is letting down those who need it the most to survive. Every average Joe, groundhog or human, wants to catch a break and feel as if he isn’t constantly being beaten down by oppressive opportunists and the religious right every time he turns his back for a few minutes of down time in the burrow with his family and friends.
Sadly, no average Joe can turn his back for a moment with the world in the condition it’s in. Groundhog and human alike have to keep a watchful eye on whoever is running things, because one blink and Dick Cheney will be wearing his fur as a toupee. Sure, it’s not a pretty view from the hole, but no one ever said life in the hole was going to be pretty.
On the other hand, if the furry little fellow doesn’t see his shadow he may actually stay out a few minutes to really take a good look around and when he sees all the terrible things going on in the world, he’ll most likely opt to burrow in again, or move to Canada. Either way, spring officially arrives on March 20th.
copyright 2005