All posts by Sandra Dolby

A repurposed folksong

Always a Folklorist, , ,

As a folklorist, I have been dismayed at how our current administration here in the US has passed along misleading information, falsehoods, and vain beliefs about the pandemic now rampant in our world.  The failure to lead, the ready acceptance of myths and wild speculations, the casual relating of false information—all of these are attempts to placate with tall tales rather than help our citizens find a way to cope with this devastating virus.  Professor Geoffrey Joyce wrote an article for The Conversation July 8, 2020, titled “5 COVID-19 Myths Politicians have repeated that just aren’t true.” I adapt his “ 5 myths” here and call out the current administration for offering our people tall tales instead of the truth.

Fourth of July/Golden Vanity

Always a Folklorist, , , ,

July 4, 2020~a troubled time for celebrating our nation’s beginnings.  Everyone claims to revere the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, and yet we have seen evidence of inequality in so many instances.  And we have seen broken promises, powerful people reversing hard-won laws and regulations, directives that have in the past moved us closer to the kind of shared union we have proclaimed we have always wanted America to be.  People in positions of power who turn their backs on the people who have helped make this an admired and potent nation remind me of the skipper in The Golden Vanity, a folksong from the days of sailing ships.  The foe is no longer some mythical “Turkish enemy” but rather our own leaders who fail to protect, serve, and cherish the people of this democracy.  Vote them out.

An old ballad still speaks to us today

Ellis Island

Boxes in the Basement, , ,

I remember the first time I visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  The welcome and compassion for all who seek to come to America, ultimately for all who came in the past whether by their own choice or not, and for those who lived here before the white man came—that loving message still resonates with me.  I am troubled by the lack of these essential feelings today in the actions or non-actions of so many people in positions of power.  I love the vision of America that Lady Liberty stands for.  I searched for a youtube video of Irving Berlin’s music along with Emma Lazarus’s poem.  Instead I found the video below.  I find it very moving.  May it remind us once again of the feelings of universal welcome this country must have at its heart.