Columnist Judy Wagner: A metamorphosis that sets us free

Published: 07-16-2025 11:09 AM

Walking in our back gardens I caught a subtle but sublime scent. I looked around and spotted the milkweed patches we let grow off to the side. The heavy, waxy blooms were blooming, inviting the monarch butterflies to feed and thrive. These frail, delicate creatures fly as far as 3,000 miles for winter migration. It takes more than one generation for monarchs to complete their travel and reproduction, an astonishing and complex process. Amazing to think our bit of land can be part of such a wonder. No matter what we think of global trade or immigration, we are connected around the planet.

The news these days is enough to engender despair rather than wonder. Maybe we are too far gone to turn this thing around. The climate crisis may be past any fundamental reversal; we may have to settle for modest mitigation that leaves us unprotected from significant disruption. Our democracy seems to be barely standing. The past six months have revealed the deep damage by anti-democracy forces — starting even before Reagan’s batch of basement operatives, people like Gingrich or Grover Norquist (who vowed he would shrink government until it could be “drowned in a bathtub”) have been chewing away at our civic structures in the dark like termites, leaving the whole construct riddled with rot. We are watching a harsh roll-back of women’s rights, diplomacy, fiscal equity, health care, environmental protections and voting rights. The sheer volume of assaults is overwhelming and the potential cumulative impacts feel crushing. Our Supreme Court seems to have abandoned all pretense of justice and respect for precedent in law, weakening protections at every level — a grim reality.

But there’s a different perspective that appears if we blow away the fog and smog of disinformation and bad news. The specific strategies of this corrupt administration are all connected to fears of different kinds of progress. Women’s equality strikes terror into the hearts of insecure or jealous men. Involved dads know the joy of connection with the children in their lives. The success of myriad lawsuits in slowing or stopping oil and gas pipelines, and the fiscal collapse of the coal and fracking industries, have shaken national and international fossil barons and governments like the Saudis, UAE, and Kuwait to the core. They are flailing around seeking ways to maintain their fortunes and power. The rising number of people of color, especially after a Black man was elected president, disconcerts elected officials who don’t know if they can count on those votes if they pursue their usual agendas. The military/industrial complex sees threats in any peace talks in the Middle East or Ukraine. The oligarchs tied to the internet, supported by government contracts, are unsettled by consumer disapproval — Tesla sales are down 13 % over the past three months; Amazon Prime’s Prime Day traffic was down 41%.

These threats to our sanity and security are tied to the desperate desire of the few to keep hold of the power and the money. In fact, all this oppression is purely reactionary, evidence of how successful, and therefore frightening, progressive changes over the past eight years have been. Black Lives Matter, Me Too, Sunrise, calls for Middle East peace that rightfully chastise both Hamas and Israel, the dramatic reduction in the cost of solar and wind power, the success of gay rights acceptance, all have scared the power mongers out of their wits. Hence the endless stream of offensive, witless, escalating reactions —many deeply damaging.

Out of this struggle, once we clear the air, assert our power and build on recent successes, will emerge a new agenda. We’ve been testing this agenda’s components for decades — now it’s time to go for it: Full gender equity; a full fair share tax policy; health care for all; green power (no nukes of any size!) and jobs and lifestyles; a massive effort on climate; a serious, functional immigration policy; peace and diplomacy instead of bombs and tanks; schools that teach history, civics and thinking skills. The list is exciting; the results would be transformative for all us not, not just some. More on this in the future.

I was astonished to learn a monarch chrysalis does not merely rearrange itself, but actually dissolves and reincorporates itself. Monarchs know how to do this; we are not so adept at change. Can we rise to the challenge — rearrange our elements and emerge as our best selves? Like the monarch we can set ourselves free.

Judy Wagner lives in Northfield.

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