Recently Marc Lamont Hill and Briahna Joy Gray engaged in an insightful and timely conversation on the future of the Democratic Party.
Here’s how this conversation is introduced:
As inequality deepens and dissent is punished, many are looking to new voices like Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist running for New York City mayor on a platform of rent freezes, free public transit, and taxing the rich.
Can candidates like him revive the Democratic Party in the United States, or is real reform from within impossible?
There is a left populist economic path to electoral success and Zohran Mamdani is writing that path. You don’t need to become Liz Cheney to win. And in fact, Liz Cheney is not exactly winning in politics, and bear-hugging her did not turn-out so well for Kamala Harris in terms of ginning up votes. . . . So when you hear about compromise, and how we have to be a center party, and how we have to be pragmatic in order to win, that’s all propaganda to justify why the [Democratic establishment] won’t just ran on legitimate popular policies like universal health care, like taxing the rich, like a $15 minimum wage. Really basic stuff. . . . In this moment there’s an enormous amount of frustration with the Democratic Party among rank-and-file Democrats which presents opportunities for those of us who would like to see a break from the party. And, short of that, the threat of a break that is sufficiently real that it actually forces the Democratic establishment to have to choose the people over their corporate commitments. I don’t know if we’re close to that, if the party can fundamentally ever be reformed because I believe the purpose of it is to advance those corporate commitments. . . . I question if it is possible to be within the Democratic Party and carry on legitimate left, progressive values; economic populist values.
Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh had an op-ed in last Thursday’s Minnesota Star Tribune.
As a supporter of and volenteer with his campaign, I share today, with added images and links, Omar’s October 30 op-ed in its entirety.
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I love Minneapolis. This is the city where I want to raise my family. From morning coffee at Code Blu to pick up games at Peavey Park, this city is home. I’m eager to send my son to a Minneapolis public school, because I believe in what this city can be. We aren’t reaching our potential, but I see it – and I know you do, too.
I’m deeply concerned with the world my son has been born into. I want to raise him in a city that gives him the tools he needs to spread his wings and enough support to lift him up if he stumbles. I’m not just running to fix a broken system, I’m running to help build the city to grow up in. It’s time we had a mayor who will work as hard as we do to ensure Minneapolis is a city working people can afford to call home.
I delivered in the state Senate, and I worked across the aisle with Republicans to pass transformative policy. I passed free college for working-class families making less than $80,000 annually, led the fight to pass a living wage for Uber and Lyft drivers, and invested $19 million in Minneapolis public safety. Despite corporate interests throwing their weight around at every turn, I still got the job done – and I did it with a broad coalition of support.
For the last seven years, we’ve had a mayor who has failed to deliver meaningful change. He failed to work collaboratively with 13 fellow Democrats on the City Council, by prioritizing his ideology and political ambitions above the needs of Minneapolis residents. You deserve better than broken promises and endless vetoes. You deserve a mayor who puts you first.
If the historic 2023 session taught me anything, it’s that when you have the opportunity to make change, you seize it. You stay up all night with workers because people are making poverty wages, struggling to feed their families and they have waited long enough. What I have never done, and what I will never do, is look the people of this city in the eye and ask them to wait their turn.
I won’t run from President Trump; I’ll build the line of defense from the masked federal agents breaking into your home in broad daylight, separating families from their loved ones and disappearing our neighbors. I will fight for a stronger sanctuary policy that guarantees that the Minneapolis Police Department never supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and I’ll stand up against the federal government’s attacks on health care and bodily autonomy.
Families have been put in an impossible position; they should never have to decide between paying rent and putting food on the table. I’m ready to raise the minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2028 and pass a rent stabilizatiom policy that still incentivizes new construction and tenant protections. I won’t bow to corporate interests or political pressure, because you deserve a mayor who fights for you.
It’s past time for true public safety. The political strategists have manufactured a myth to pit us against each other about our own safety. To that I say, we can walk and chew gum at the same time. That’s why I secured $19 million in public safety funding for Minneapolis and called for real accountability in policing. Safety means no longer asking officers to take on every problem leading to residents waiting on the phone with 911. Real public safety means investing in officer wellness while freeing up their capacity to focus on violent crime and clear the case backlog.
The MAGA talking heads, the dog whistles and the millions of dollars being spent to put my face in your mailbox, insisting that I’m too young, too radical, too idealistic – are afraid I’m too close to you. The worker, the immigrant, the renter, people in this city who are just trying to make it. If fighting to house people, protect immigrants and keep you safe is radical, then count me in, because Minneapolis is worth fighting for. For my son, for you – because we have the people, the power and the potential. Now, we need a mayor ready to meet the moment.
This past Friday, October 31, Omar Fateh was interviewed by Amy Goodman on the independent global news hour Democracy Now!. Following is the full 8-minute interview.
Listen to the wind. It has something to tell you.
Whether it is as quiet as the current
That lifts the hawk to circle the sky
Or as loud as the storm chasing high waves to shore:
The wind has something to say.
There is a word for each of us, a message sent directly
That flows through the wind each day
Offering us insight and vision, clarity and creative ideas
If only we will stop long enough to receive it.
Be still. Be awake. Trust your spiritual senses.
Listen to the wind. The Spirit is speaking to you.
Omar Fateh, a Democratic socialist, hopes to
defeat incumbent mayor Jacob Frey by focusing
on affordability, wages and public safety.
– Rachel Leingang
I share today the second half of Rachel Leingang’s recent Guardianarticle on Omar Fateh, the Democratic socialist who is running for mayor of Minneapolis and whom I’m supporting. In fact, I’ll be door-knocking for him later today. (NOTE: For the first part of Leingang’s piece, click here.)
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Omar Fateh, like [New York mayoral candidate] Zohran Mamdani, is running a campaign full of progressive promises, including raising the minimum wage to $20 an hour, a plan for rent stabilization, a public safety system that funds alternatives to police for calls like mental health crises and standing up to Trump. Six of the 13 council members have backed him, as have unions and state lawmakers.
He casts [incumbent mayor] Jacob Frey’s two terms as “broken promises and vetoes,” noting a 2017 campaign promise to end homelessness within five years and goals for public safety reform after George Floyd’s murder [in 2020].
“We have a progressive city council that’s ready to do the work, that has been doing the work,” Fateh told The Guardian. “We just don’t have a mayor as a partner.”
Fateh, born in Washington DC, moved to Minneapolis about a decade ago. In 2020, the Democratic socialist launched a challenge to an incumbent Democrat for the state senate, earning the party’s endorsement and eventually becoming the first Somali American and first Muslim in the chamber. As a senator, he pushed through a bill creating labor standards for ride-share drivers and championed a tuition-free college plan.
His time in the legislature and reputation as a progressive fighter gave him a base of support in the mayoral contest, elevating him to top contender against Frey, Jacobs said.
An increased national profile has brought along an increase in threats, racism and Islamophobia, Fateh told Sahan Journal, a local publication, this week. Earlier this month, he got a message that said: “Two bullets to the head, done.” He has had to take additional safety precautions and pay for security, he told the outlet. “Most campaigns don’t have to think about this,” his campaign manager told Sahan Journal.
Fateh believes [his] revoked endorsement [by the state Democratic party] is in part because of the donor class and how it would look to support a progressive candidate with a populist message, especially in suburban and rural areas where the party has lost ground.
“The Democratic party as a whole likes to always say we’re a big tent, we are a wide spectrum, we welcome everybody,” he said. “But a lot of times it seems like when it’s the more progressive wing . . . they shut [them] out.”
After knocking on doors, Fateh returned to the park, where families set up bubble machines and boxes of fruit snacks and goldfish for a “play date with Omar Fateh”, himself the tired first-time father of a newborn. He is quick to show off pictures of his baby. Frey also has a newborn, his second child – the two politicians’ babies were born within 10 days of each other.
An organizer at the play date asked the crowd of a few dozen adults and kids if anyone knows who Fateh is. “I’ve seen him on the phone!” one kid yelled.
Sarah Quinn, a Minneapolis voter who spoke to the crowd at the event, said she had heard from people who were ready to vote against Frey, but weren’t sure how they would rank the other candidates. People seemed excited to hear about Fateh’s vision, she said, and she was sick of hearing about vetoes of council bills and “low-grade insults back and forth” among the mayor and council.
“I feel like Minneapolis has this reputation of being a really progressive city, and I’m not actually feeling that as a resident,” Quinn said. “And so just hearing his agenda has really resonated with me, and I think that he’s somebody that can actually get the shit done with the city council.”
The rise of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has served as a boogeyman of sorts for the Democratic establishment: before the Minneapolis convention, one proposal, which was later pulled back, sought to make it so a candidate couldn’t be endorsed by both the DSA and the [state Democratic party, known in Minnesota as the DFL].
Fateh’s campaign has been boosted by the Twin Cities DSA. Brooke Bartholomew, the group’s co-chair, said they had seen new members sign up after Mamdani’s win in the primary.
“We have the people power,” Bartholomew said. “That’s part of what DSA brings to the table for Omar Fateh’s campaign is people power – going on those doors, talking to neighbors and helping to build this really diverse coalition.”
Frey, endorsed by Minnesota’s governor, Tim Walz, has the money advantage over Fateh and the other two top contenders, Jazz Hampton and DeWayne Davis. That “organizational muscle” that comes from allied groups and the business community could help get out the vote for Frey, said Jacobs, of the University of Minnesota.
The Guardian repeatedly sought an interview with Frey and asked to attend a campaign event. The campaign initially agreed, but then did not make the mayor available, instead sending a statement from a campaign spokesperson.
“Over the last five years, Minneapolis was tested like never before,” the statement said. “Under Mayor Frey’s leadership, the city has been making a comeback. Violent crime is trending down, the city is creating eight times more deeply affordable housing than before Mayor Frey took office, and Minneapolis is taking the Trump administration to court to defend our neighbors. The mayor is running for one final term to improve public safety by hiring more police officers and implementing police reform, expanding affordable housing, and focusing on delivering excellent core city services. We’re optimistic that Minneapolis voters will support that vision next week.”
Since Trump returned to the White House, Frey has vocally defended Minneapolis, which could become a target of Trump’s increased deportation raids or military occupations. The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, came to town in late October, stoking speculation that the city could be next on Trump’s list. Frey, flanked by city leaders, put out a video on the day of her visit saying he had been preparing for months for a potential federal influx.
“In Minneapolis, we have your back,” Frey said to the city’s immigrant communities. “You will be protected and respected by our city employees regardless of your immigration status.”
Opposing Trump is an increasing part of the mayor’s purview, and one that all the contenders say is critical. Fateh wants the city to strengthen the separation ordinance that prevents city employees from aiding immigration activities.
While the race is often cast as a two-person contest, Hampton and Davis see lanes for themselves to win, given ranked-choice voting, and not just to help Fateh.
“I would not be running to prop up someone else’s campaign,” Hampton said. “I’m running to win, and I believe that we can and will. However, if that means door-knocking with other candidates to let everyone see us, that’s what we should be doing.”
Davis, a minister and former congressional staffer, said voters were ready to move beyond “leadership by press conference and ribbon-cutting”, and the success of the three insurgent campaigns shows that.
The Mamdani comparisons don’t track as much with the Minneapolis race, Davis said. Looking past the weak opposition from Cuomo in New York, Minneapolis has a “very active establishment” of business-oriented Democrats.
“I think we are far more divided here,” Davis said of Minneapolis voters. “And so given the ranked choice with us, that division, it’s any guess about how that iteration of choices through ranked choice will end up happening.”
This past Thursday, October 30, Omar Fateh was interviewed by Minneapolis-based Water Wave TV. In this interview, Omar talks about his life before politics, Minneapolis police, ICE, and his campaign to be mayor of Minneapolis.
0:00 Introduction 0:30 – Current political climate 2:50 – Who is Omar Fateh? 4:20 – High school 6:00 – What got you into politics? 7:50 – Youth disconnect with politics 10:00 – Using your background to shape you as a mayor 13:00 – Legislation changes 16:00 – Mistakes you’ve made as a legislator 20:00 – Turning point to run for mayor 21:50 – What does the first 100 days in office look like for Fateh? 23:45 – How do you expect to get things done with people who don’t agree with you? 25:30 – Key indicators that what you are saying is working if you become mayor 27:00 – Public Safety and George Floyd 31:00 – Police staffing issues 33:10 – ICE
What many consider to be the Celtic New Year takes place this evening. It’s a turning that has its roots in the Gaelic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in) which marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, the “darker half” of the year. It is held on November 1 but its celebration begins on the evening of October 31 as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset.
Samhain is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals along with Imbolc, Beltaine and Lughnasa. Historically it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. Similar festivals took place in Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany.
Wikipedia notes that:
Like Beltaine, Samhain was a liminal or threshold festival, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld thinned, meaning the Aos Sí (the “spirits” or “faeries”) could more easily come into our world. Most scholars see the Aos Sí as remnants of pagan gods. At Samhain, they were appeased with offerings of food and drink, to ensure the people and their livestock survived the winter. The souls of dead kin were also thought to revisit their homes seeking hospitality, and a place was set at the table for them during a meal. Mumming and guising were part of the festival from at least the early modern era, whereby people went door-to-door in costume reciting verses in exchange for food. The costumes may have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí. Divination was also a big part of the festival and often involved nuts and apples.
As you’ve no doubt ascertained, many features of Samhain have been incorporated into the Catholic celebrations of November 1, “All Hollows Day” (or “All Saints Day”) and November 2, “All Souls Day.” Filtered through these celebrations, elements of Samhain also emerge in the modern holiday of Halloween.
Hallowtide, is the name I use for the time of transformative power that all these names, origins, meanings, and dates call to mind and heart.
A song which for me calls to mind and heart the transformative power of Hallowtide is “Pretty Tune" by Kiki Dee (left) and Carmelo Luggeri (with guest artists Pandit Dinesh and Micky Simmons). It’s from Kiki and Carmelo’s sublime 1998 album Where Rivers Meet, a beautiful title that evokes the meeting of worlds associated with Hallowtide.
Hallowtide Blessings!
May this time of transformation
bring you the endings you need and
the beginnings you desire.
Dark afternoons, driving into strange cities
And if we feel the doubt, it’s only change
Back when the days were long we could do anything
Bathed in the sunlight
It’s just a different place
This is my November song
The end is not the end
It’s just a beginning
A year in your life
What’s in a name?
It’s just my pretty tune
Radio views, I’ll look and I’ll listen
But I think it maybe time not to buy these wares
Each step moves us on
Right now I’m going home
I’m going home
Strangers come to us, beautiful, ugly, odd or scary, and we accept them all without question, compliment them, treat them kindly, and give them good things.
Yes, it was rather a momentous event in my personal life. Sixty . . . That’s the number on the door leading away from “middle age” and into the final years of one’s life. Realistically (and hopefully), I probably have 20-30 years left in this life.
That’s an especially sobering thought given that I’ve now spent 32 years living in the U.S. That’s over half my life. In some ways, my arrival here from Australia in 1994 does not seem like 30+ years ago. Will the next (and final) 30 pass as quickly? And what will they hold for me as my body (and maybe even my mind) embarks on its inevitable decline?
Such thoughts and questions are only natural at milestone birthdays like 60. But I’ve made the very conscious decision to not obsess about them. Instead, I’ve chosen to enter into my 60th year and beyond in a spirit of gratitude. I am grateful for my health, my family and friends, the meaningful work I do, for my life just as it is – questions and uncertainties included.
I choose gratitude because I take to heart Yung Pueblo’s wise words:
You attract what’s inside you – so fill yourself with peace, gratitude, compassion, generosity, kindness, balance, and emotional intelligence.
Amen brother!
As has been the tradition at The Wild Reed, I mark the occasion of my birthday by sharing a song, prayer and/or reflection that I find particularly meaningful; that speaks to where I’m at on my journey.*
This year I’ve decided to share “I Hope Somebody’s Loving You,” one of a number of stand-out tracks from Fantastic Negrito’s latest album, Son of a Broken Man (2024).
I chose this song because its lyrics mirror a reality I’ve been thinking and praying about for some time now. And this reality, this truth, is that the many terrible things we’re witnessing in the world today are, at a very basic level, caused by people not experiencing love in their lives. This lack of love could be due to their own actions or the actions of others.
Regardless, they are starved of love. And when this happens, some choose to project the resulting hurt and pain out onto others, either consciously or unconsciously.
It can even get projected and manifested in public policy, resulting in great harm and damage to people’s lives, communities, the environment, and democracy. We’re witnessing this play out in the U.S., and the figure currently presiding over this lovelessness is Donald Trump, a profoundly damaged (broken) individual, an individual who I doubt has ever known real love in his life.
Of course, there are other reasons and factors, and other people, that are playing a range of roles in the terribly loveless things happening in our world. But I still maintain that a major cause of all this lovelessness is people who have never known love, or who are lacking love, choosing to respond in ways that project outward their misery and hurt.
I appreciate how Fantastic Negrito longs for all to know love in their lives. I want this too. Indeed, it’s my birthday wish for the world!
And when I encounter someone who is clearly not experiencing love in their life and thus possibly tempted to project (or actually projecting) their lovelessness and hurt out onto others, then I pause, focus on the love inside of me, and, remembering that we are all ultimately one, give that love within “all up to you,” in the words of Fantastic Negrito. This giving may take many forms – a smile, a helping hand, some money, my time and attention to simply sit and listen. It can also mean lovingly saying No!, and working to name, halt, and undo the harm that loveless people, including political figures, are doing in our world today.
I hope somebody’s loving you
In the deepest ways
I hope somebody’s loving you
Every night and day
’Cause if nobody’s loving you
I know this may sound kinda strange
I’d give it all up to you
I’d give it all up to you
I hope somebody’s kissing you
In the sweetest places
I hope somebody’s missing you
Every time you go away
And I hope somebody’s digging you
And not digging your grave
I’d give it all up to you
I’d give it all up to you
C’mon and tell me everything
That I ever wanted to hear
And I’d give it all up to you
C’mon tell me everything
Tell me everything
And I’ll give it all up to you
Tell me everything
That I ever wanted to hear
And I’ll give it all up to you
I could really love you
Yes, I could really love you
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I’d give it all up to you
I hope somebody’s loving you
In the sweetest ways
I hope somebody’s loving you
Every night and day
_________________
I’ve noted and discussed previously how an important activity that centers me in an awareness of God is spending time with people I love and who love me; people who make a positive and transformative difference in my life. In celebrating my 60th birthday, I spent time with a number of such people, as you’ll see in the following images.
Right: On the eve of my birthday, I made a Facetime call to my 86-year-old mum in Australia. I did so to thank her for giving birth to me and for being the loving and wise mother she’s been to me for the last 60 years.
As always, it was great to see and hear her, and I continue to thank God for her ongoing recovery from the stroke she experienced back in April. I also give thanks for the ways mum is participating in this recovery through her chosen attitudes and actions. As I’ve said previously, they are attitudes and actions of grace and gratitude, surrender and trust. I’m grateful too for those in her life who are helping facilitate mum’s healing – our family, her friends, and the staff at the assisted living home where she now resides.
Left: My mate Deandre, who was the first person to call me on my birthday – at around 1:00 a.m. on October 23 to be exact! He called from his home in Las Vegas where he’s lived since moving there from the Twin Cities at the end of last summer.
I’m incredibly proud of Deandre and the ways he is working to build a new life for himself in Las Vegas. It hasn’t been easy – work that provides a livable wage has been hard to find, along with affordable housing. For a while Deandre was living in his car. And he had to give his beloved cat Tyga to someone else to care for on a permanent basis. But, like I said, Deandre’s been doing his best to turn things around and establish stability and consistency in his life, especially in relation to work, budgeting, and housing. So, yeah, I’m very proud of my mate Deandre, and so happy he called me on my birthday.
For quite a while now I’ve noticed on Thursdays when I drive from my home in the Seward neighborhood of Minneapolis to the hospital I work at in Coon Rapids, a group of people on a pedestrian walkway that spans Interstate 94 in the Prospect Park neighborhood close to my home. I could tell by their signs and banners (above) that they were protest the increasingly fascist rhetoric and actions of the Trump administration.
It’s been years since I attended a weekly morning protest, and so since my birthday this year was on a Thursday, a Thursday I was taking off from work, I decided I would join the folks on the predestrian walkway. I mean, after all, they definitely looked like they’d be my kind of people! And what better way to start my 60th year of life than by taking a stand against the fascist power grab of Trump and his billionaire buddies?
My dear friend Kate, who was in town from northern Wisconsin for my birthday, joined me in this early morning protest. You might recall that Kate and I travelled to New Hampshire in January of last year to campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson in the Granite State’s “First in the Nation” presidential primary.
In talking to those who gather every Thursday on the Prospect Park predestian walkway over I-94, we learnt that they are all from the local neighborhood and have been meeting and protesting in this way since the early days of Trump’s second term. They even hosted a “No Kings” event on the walkway on October 18. They were a very welcoming and inspiring group of people, and both Kate and I remarked later that our time with them was a great way to start the day.
Above: After participating in the Prospect Park protest, Kate and I had a delicious birthday breakfast at the French Meadow Bakery in Minneapolis.
Right: Later in the day, Kate gifted me with something very special: an hourlong session at Sanctuary Float Spa in Minnetonka. Here in a private float suite complete with its own shower and dressing area, I enjoyed the benefits of “float therapy.” It was an incredibly relaxing “zero-gravity” experience, and one that was also surreal as I opted to float for an hour in total darkness and with no ambient music playing in the background.
Above and below: My birthday celebrations continued the next day, Friday, October 24, with my hosting of a gathering at Carondelet Village in St. Paul. Here reside a number of my friends who are either Sisters or (like me) consociates of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (St. Paul Province).
Right: For the occasion, I made a Jamaican pumpkin soup (with added vegetables) and served it with fresh bread. It was a great hit!
Above and below: Out with friends at the Uptown VFW – Friday, October 24, 2025.
Above: A visit to the Prayer Tree – Saturday, October 25, 2025.
Above: On the evening of Saturday, October 25, I went brewery hopping with my dear friends Angie and Bryan.
The last four images above were taken at St. Paul Brewing, the “vibrant outdoor patio and gardens” of which are “a lush oasis filled with plants, flowers, and pops of color in each unique seating vignette.” Yes, it’s a very funky place.
We ended our evening at W.A. Frost & Company in the beautiful Cathedral Hill neighborhood of St. Paul, where this post’s opening image of me was taken by Angie!
Above: My last official birthday celebration took place on Wednesday, October 29 with a lovely potluck lunch with my fellow Palliative Care team members at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. I serve as the interfaith spiritual health provider (or chaplain) on the team.
From left: Nikki, Maddie, me, Jenna, Kari, Steph (whose October birthday we were also celebrating) and Kate.
_____________________
* As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it’s somewhat of a tradition to mark my birthday here at The Wild Reed by sharing a song or prayer or reflection that I find particularly meaningful. On my 44th birthday, for instance, I shared Stephan Gately’s performance of “No Matter What,” and when I turned 45 I shared “Where the Truth Lies” by the band Exchange.
In 2012, when I turned 47, I shared a prayer for balance at a very trying time, not only for myself, but for many of us here in Minnesota.
Eleven years ago, on the first day of my fiftieth year, I shared a “guidepost on the journey,” and then one year later on the day of my 50th birthday, I shared Buffy Sainte-Marie’s rousing “It’s My Way.”
In 2017, when I turned 52, I shared a poem by John O’Donohue; while on my 53rd birthday I shared “Love Is,” a beautiful meditation on the mystery of love by my favorite male vocalist Carl Anderson.
The year I turned 54 I shared “This Is the Time,” a beautiful song by Senegalese singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Daby Touré, and when I turned 55 it was Black’s “Wonderful Life” that encapsulated much of what I found myself experiencing at that time.
When I turned 56 I shared Dusty Springfield’s reflective recording “Home to Myself,” while on my 57th birthday I shared the song “The Long Ride Home” by Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri.
In 2023 when I turned 58, I shared an “Anchoring Prayer” by Joyce Rupp, while last year for my 59th birthday, I shared Loreena McKennit’s beautiful song, “Never-ending Road (Amhrán Duit).”
I hope somebody’s loving you
In the deepest ways
I hope somebody’s loving you
Every night and day
’Cause if nobody’s loving you
I know this may sound kinda strange
I’d give it all up to you
I established The Wild Reed in 2006 as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed's original by-line read, “Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective.” As you can see, it reads differently now. This is because my journey has, in many ways, taken me beyond, or perhaps better still, deeper into the realities that the words “progressive,” “gay,” and “Catholic” seek to describe.
Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe is often considered the voice of a soul pining for God or a lost love.
On September 24, 2012,Michael BaylyofCatholics for Marriage Equality MNwas interviewed by Suzanne Linton of Our World Today about same-sex relationships and why Catholics can vote 'no' on the proposed Minnesota anti-marriage equality amendment.
"I believe your blog to be of utmost importance for all people regardless of their orientation. . . . Thank you for your blog and the care and dedication that you give in bringing the TRUTH to everyone."– William
"Michael, if there is ever a moment in your day or in your life when you feel low and despondent and wonder whether what you are doing is anything worthwhile, think of this: thanks to your writing on the internet, a young man miles away is now willing to embrace life completely and use his talents and passions unashamedly to celebrate God and his creation. Any success I face in the future and any lives I touch would have been made possible thanks to you and your honesty and wisdom."– AB
"Since I discovered your blog I have felt so much more encouraged and inspired knowing that I'm not the only gay guy in the Catholic Church trying to balance my Faith and my sexuality. Continue being a beacon of hope and a guide to the future within our Church!"– Phillip
"Your posts about Catholic issues are always informative and well researched, and I especially appreciate your photography and the personal posts about your own experience. I'm very glad I found your blog and that I've had the chance to get to know you."– Crystal
"Thank you for taking the time to create this fantastic blog. It is so inspiring!"– George
"I cannot claim to be an expert on Catholic blogs, but from what I've seen, The Wild Reed ranks among the very best."– Kevin
"Reading your blog leaves me with the consolation of knowing that the words Catholic, gay and progressive are not mutually exclusive.."– Patrick
"I grieve for the Roman institution’s betrayal of God’s invitation to change. I fear that somewhere in the midst of this denial is a great sin that rests on the shoulders of those who lead and those who passively follow. But knowing that there are voices, voices of the prophets out there gives me hope. Please keep up the good work."– Peter
"I ran across your blog the other day looking for something else. I stopped to look at it and then bookmarked it because you have written some excellent articles that I want to read. I find your writing to be insightful and interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more of it. Keep up the good work. We really, really need sane people with a voice these days."– Jane Gael
"Michael, your site is like water in the desert."– Jayden
