"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape
finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. "  --- Marcus Aurelius

PROFILES IN UNDERDOG COURAGE:
CHIRON IN ARIES 1968 & 2020 

       Mythology tells us that Chiron, teacher of ethics, defender of the environment, trained certain young underdogs, one by one, to overcome evil despots. Astrological Chiron was in early Aries in election year 1968 and has returned to early Aries for this election year 2020. Chiron in Aries is most dynamic, with rapid but unpredictable change, with “underdog” momentum alternating with brutal repression/resistance from those determined to keep the underdog down and out. The most dynamic time of all is the first ten degrees of Aries, relevant leading up to the 1968 and 2020 political conventions and national elections.

       Before sharing the astrological correspondences to these and earlier relevant years, it is important to put American history and politics in perspective. The USA is not now, and never has been a true democracy. In the earliest years, only about 4% of the adult (male only, white only) were able to vote. Even the popular majority vote of any era does not necessarily choose the president, because of the slavery-based Electoral College actually chooses the president. (Remember the 2016 election, for example). The greatest percentage of qualified voters don’t vote at all. The non-voters’ non-action reasons are multiple, but result in a minority deciding the fate of majority.
       (Ch-)ironically, the Democratic Party is the least democratic party, because they uniquely have “super delegates” who get far more than “one person, one vote.” Further, now more than ever in the era of commercial television, money can buy, or help buy, the presidency. Enter biggest spender/owner multi-billionaire Republican/Democrat Aquarian Sun, Bloomberg, age 78 on his Valentine’s Day birthday. He has already spent hundreds of millions, and intends to spend up to a billion. This estimated amount equals everyone, rich or not, who paid into Hilary’s entire 2016 campaign. Money talks.

           Stances of “progressive” and “conservative” are both linear perspectives, not cyclic perspectives. “Progressives” see the better in a linear future; “Conservatives” see the better linearly perceived in the past (“Make America Great Again”). The truth lives in “The Now” and resonates with similarity, yet uniqueness, and is related to cyclic rhythms, which can be seen best via a more all-encompassing cyclic astrology (not ill-considered glib keyword clichés).
           The true Now is where the progressives and conservatives could meet, but tragically seldom do. (Ch-)ironically, “Conservatives” can selectively embrace something “progressive” such as technology (think Trump tweeting). In contrast, “Progressives” can want to go back to a recent (not cyclic) earlier time. (Think the 2020 “Progressives” desire to recreate the Obama- Hilary Clinton era in 2020/2021.) Meanwhile, the cycles of life come and go, with irresistible change, bringing around again and again challenges and opportunities as inseparable parts of the same “new” yet familiar reality. In this time of genuine Climate Crisis, those most aware of the cycles of Nature, those Chiron folks, The Green Party, have yet to attract more than single digit percentages of the vote. Linear-minded Dims and linear-minded Repugnantans may come together on one thing, they my flat line human life on Earth. Change or die time may be sooner than most people think.
           The U.S.A. was based on genocide of those Native Americans who the Constitution termed “savages” and African American slaves that were only counted as 3/5 of a human being. Astrologically, the less-than-fully human status of these non-white Americans render collectively and individually both (or hybrids of the two) as “Chironic.” Mythic Chiron was a centaur, part human-like, part horse-like, hence anyone fractionalized as partially human (3/5) is Chironic. Native Americans, African Americans, or mixed race, or certain other non-whites, or those advocating for minority races in the U.S. are “Chironic.”
           As most Native Americans and most African Americans know all too well, the U.S. is not at all “post racial”: Only Cash Lives Matter. Prejudice and opportunity cycle around, again and again. For African Americans, and white Americans in relation to them, the most significant first change came with the post-Civil War era of Reconstruction. Chiron in early Aries, the Zodiacal sign most associated with unprecedented change corresponds to the new challenges and opportunities of this important chapter in American History.
           Note that whatever astrological chart of the United States one prefers, Chiron will be found in Aries. About every fifty years, the USA needs to decide how to deal with all Chiron issues, including ethics, the environment, racial discrimination/exploitation, etc.

WHEN THE FIGHTER FOR THE UNDERDOG GETS
THE THIRD DEGREE

ROUND ONE:
BATTLING RACIST AMERICA:
HIRAM REVELS

       The Sabian Symbol image for the 3rd of these first ten degrees is “A cameo shows the profile of a man that suggests the outline of his country.” During any time that Chiron on this degree is about a man (or woman) who represents the underdog of his (or her) country. Chiron was on this degree in 1870, less than 24 hours after the first African American, (Chiron guy) Hiram Revels, was sworn in as the first Afro American U.S. Senator. Revels (born 9/27/1827) had been elected in January 1870, but 8 Democrat senators resisted the 48 (Lincoln-era) Republicans swearing the Native American/African American hybrid Reverend from being sworn in. Revels would take the seat previously held by Confederate President Jefferson Davis as a Senator from Mississippi. “Acrimonious debate” raged until and on the day of his being sworn in: 2/25/1870. He was the first publically elected person of color in Congress (not just the Senate). In his lifetime he went from being seen as only from 3/5 of a person to equal to his fellow senators. Although he only remained in the Senate until 3/3/1871, the precedent was established.
       The Jim Crow era would soon follow, and African American political representation would recede for a very long time, with the lives of African Americans not seriously considered again until Chiron returned again for another “against all odds” battle of the Underdog Advocate versus the dominant “over Dog(s).”

1919 and 1968: The Worst Years in 20th Century in American History? (Chiron in Aries).

A ROUND TWO:
BATTLING WAR-FOR-PROFIT
EUGENE DEBS

         Some historians argue whether “Red Summer” 1919 or 1968 was “the worst year” in American history due to white-on-black violence, violent mob action, police brutality, polarization of the country, etc. No matter which was worse, their commonality was Chiron was in early Aries, as is again now the case in 2020, and for years to come. Fasten your safety helmets!
         Black-white tensions also had of course raged in the post-Civil War era of Chiron in Aries, of course, especially in the failed Confederate southern states, but the well-armed presence of the Union army there and then prevented the worst of the tragic travesties of the subsequent Chiron in Aries eras.
         When he was only 19 or 20 years old, some time in 1875, when Chiron was in Aries, (Chiron guy) Eugene Debs began his life of political activism, organizing laborers. He advocated for the establishment of a MINIMUM WAGE, EQUAL RIGHTS for BLACKS, INCREASING the number of people legally able to VOTE. Eliminating the legality of child labor and requiring safety standards for workers. Years later, Chiron had entered Aries on the second day of Socialist Eugene Debs’ appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Debs was to be sentenced to prison for encouraging young men to resist the draft to go to war in Europe to suffer and die in the century’s first war of the poor fighting and dying for the stay-at-home rich.
         The Supreme Court rendered their decision in the Debs case in April 1919 when Chiron was on the 3rd degree, sending Debs to prison for speaking out against war. Chiron returned to this degree when Debs was in prison. In November 1920, with Chiron in Aries, convict # 9653 won almost a million votes for president, 3.5% of the vote (down from his 6% total in 1912). “Not # 9653, us” preceded Bernie Sanders “Not me, us.”

ROUND THREE:
ANTI-WAR CANDIDATES VS. THE WAR MACHINE

       (Chiron guy) RFK, heading to a highly probable presidency was assassinated when Chiron was on this degree June 5, 1968. Like the murder of his brother President JFK less than five years before, his death was blamed on yet another “lone nut” as was also purportedly the case with the shooting of MLK only two months earlier. Of course the obscenely overpaid TV news talking heads of this Operation Mockingbird era would never lie to us, right?
      Heading into the Chicago Democratic National Convention of August 26-29, 1968, 80% of Democratic voters wanted U.S. troops brought home form Viet Nam. Chiron was again on this degree (retrograde this time), with anti-war candidates Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern vying for the nomination. Perhaps there was a lone nut shortage that summer, as no one shot at either of them.
      Inside the convention, another amazing Chiron guy, one-armed WW II Japanese American amazing war hero Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye gave the keynote address, another Chiron in Aries precedent (instead of yet another old white guy). After the speech, amidst much drama, a delegation of white racists led by Lester Maddox were forced to split representation of the state of Mississippi with an African American delegation led by state representative Julian Bond. Meanwhile, thousands of anti-war demonstrators gathered outside, televised live by the major U.S. TV networks.

       Police killed a 17year old Native American who had come to Chicago for the free music that was part of the protest scene. Black and white demonstrators came together in public solidarity with their slain Native brother. For the first time since the era of Debs and the IWW, underdogs of two colors, united in spirit with one of a third color. Before the “Bernie Bros” there were the Red, White and Black. Closer to the convention, Chicago police kicked and clubbed bloody these protesters who chanted, “The whole world’s watching, the whole world’s watching!” 5,000 U.S. soldiers were standing by to combat democracy, but lacking the nearly hundred soldiers who refused to see their brothers and sisters as their enemy. The 43 African American troops resistant to this role were all arrested.
      Al Gore’s frantic father was among the war party elite that refused to let anyone address what was going on just outside, and/or give voice to their very popular anti-war sentiment. Pro-war Herbert Humphrey, who did not campaign, was declared the nominee --- not the people’s choice. He would lose to Republican Nixon. The DNC (Democracy Not Considered): Their slogan should be: “They sure know how not to pick ‘em” from HHH to HRC.

ROUND FOUR:
“BIRDIE” SANDERS VS. ALL THAT ARE EVIL

CHIRON: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

“Turn around, turn around, and you may come full circle and be new here again.”
“No matter how far wrong you’ve gone, you can always turn around.”
--- Gil Scott-Heron, (Sun in Aries) “I’m New Here”

      Chiron was on this same degree January 17 through February 11, 2020. The Shadow-apped fiasco Iowa Caucus, where Bernie Sanders won by over 6,000 votes was February 3rd, yet he wasn’t given the corresponding delegates and/or TV media validation. Instead, they covered Cheat (who gave $42,000 for the Shadow app) Buttigieg who declared victory before a single vote was counted! On February 11 Bernie won the New Hampshire primary, much to the obvious chagrin of the corporate TV media.
      Chiron guy Hiram Revels was “Jim Crowed; Chiron guy RFK was murdered;” they went after Chiron guy” Sanders campaign instead in media, including 2/21/20 accusations that he is Russsia’s Democratic party’s choice. Who knows what else they might throw at Bernie? There are weeks to go before the nominating convention in July.
      Bernie had also won the New Hampshire in 2016, the year of his previous presidential campaign. There was a famous Chironic moment in that campaign when a bird landed on the podium while Sanders was speaking before a huge crowd of mostly young supporters. After the bird flew away, Bernie said the bird was really a dove of world peace. “Birdie” Sanders campaign buttons and promotional images followed.
      Mythological Chiron lived in harmony with Nature. Presumably birds would be as comfortable being near Chiron as that little bird seemed to be with Bernie and his supporters there.
      The Underdog Leader of this year is Senator Bernie Sanders, with a record number of individual contributions, albeit averaging under $28, competing against billionaires and multi-millionaire donors. Bernie was prevented from significant campaigning in the critically first caucus in Iowa caucus because of the corporate Democrat timing of Trump’s impeachment “trial” in the senate. All knew impeachment on these charges would go nowhere. (The Democrats could have impeached and even won conviction if they had gone after Trump for violating the Emoluments Clause, which says the president cannot personally financially profit from being president while being president. Saudi VIPs and others paid Trump lots of money to stay at the D.C. Trump hotel, then got deals in return: Quid Pro Quo.)
      As even Trump noticed, Senator Sanders was obligated to sit in the Senate for the inconsequential impeachment Senate trial while the favorite wallet-sucker of forty billionaires, Mayor McCheese could campaign to try to win Iowa (one way or the other).

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog."
– Mark Twain

      As I write this on 2/21/2020, Bernie Sanders is expected to win or do very well in most of the rest of the primaries, but is not expected to have enough success to guarantee the nomination on the first round of the Democratic Party Convention in Milwaukee in August 2020. During the Democratic Party candidates nationally televised debate the night of 2/20/2020, all five of the candidates, except Sanders, of course, essentially said that the Democratic National Committee, including their “super delegates” should decide the candidate for president, even if that person did not win the majority of the votes in the presidential primaries. Sound familiar? Chiron was in Aries 1968; Chiron is in Aries 2020. Result then: brokered convention Democrat choice lost to pro-war Republican Nixon. If the DNC cheats democracy again, Trump is likely to stay president.
      Note that it has been revealed recently that when (Chiron then in Aries) 1972 anti-war, anti-poverty, maintain the New Deal Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern did not “let the Democrats down” but just the opposite: the Democratic political machine in every state would not help him much. His human decency was as reprehensible to the pro-war, anti-poor anti-democratic party regulars, LBJ types.
      “War: What Is It Good For? Maximizing Profits!”

After the 1968 Chicago Convention, in May 1971 with Chiron very much still in Aries, singer/songwriter Graham Nash released his popular song “Chicago/We Can Change the World” about the activism outside the 1968 convention, the subsequent trial of the Chicago 8, especially African American Bobby Seale, and generally trying to keep underdog activism, including politically topical music, alive. He changed the line “Please come to Chicago” to “Please come to Denver” for the Democratic convention in 2008. It is time for Nash, or someone, to change the line this time to “Please come to Milwaukee… We can change the world, rearrange the world…” (For instance, see YouTube’s Kyle Kulinski who has called on Bernie supporters to go to Milwaukee at convention time.)What will happen this time, in Milwaukee in August 2020? We know what could happen, but we do not know what will happen.

      After the 1968 Chicago Convention, in May 1971 with Chiron very much still in Aries, singer/songwriter Graham Nash released his popular song “Chicago/We Can Change the World” about the activism outside the 1968 convention, the subsequent trial of the Chicago 8, especially African American Bobby Seale, and generally trying to keep underdog activism, including politically topical music, alive. He changed the line “Please come to Chicago” to “Please come to Denver” for the Democratic convention in 2008. It is time for Nash, or someone, to change the line this time to “Please come to Milwaukee… We can change the world, rearrange the world…” (For instance, see YouTube’s Kyle Kulinski who has called on Bernie supporters to go to Milwaukee at convention time.)

      Why might a FDR New Deal “Socialist” populist actually win the presidency this time? The empire that is the USA is coming to an end very soon (as I have presented in two well-received presentations). When the British Empire was coming to its end, WW II leader Winston Churchill was defeated in July 1945 in a landslide victory for Clement Attlee and the Labour Party. This ushered in a “welfare state” and the National Health Service, the British equivalent of Sanders/AOC “Medicare for All.”
      If someone were to say in the midst of WW II that the British voters would oust their wartime leader, the notion would have probably be scoffed at. And yet, “against all odds” that is precisely what happened. So, even though Bernie Sanders is “against all odds” going up against a now popular Trump, a powerful corrupt DNC, Big Business in every guise, a bought-and-paid for lying/deceiving corporate TV media, a physically grueling campaign ahead for a 78-year old man, and who knows what next, mythological Chiron guys did indeed win, against all overwhelming odds. Perhaps, finally, as the late Leonard Cohen sang, “Democracy Is Coming to the U.S.A.”

May it be so.

To All My Relations,
Dale