A darkness has pervaded the world. It has infiltrated society- left no one untouched. Fear and all that is born of it, the evil offsprings that arise from it are showing up in the forms of power. Something has turned on a huge glaring light and revealed what has been here all along. Religion is the front man and the minions that sit on the front pews and shout amen with every nasty utterance and slaver and slobber with each wicked deed are the front soldiers. People are put in peril and hearts are broken to the glee of those who feel superior. It has trickled down like the economy they say would happen but instead fear and mindlessness is what they have implanted and allowed to fester. Our government has become a nest of vipers full of secrecy and spying on us all but no one is allowed to call them out or ask questions of those in authority. Yet, the minions march on with their mindless emotional armor to guide them and speak for them and vote for them and here we are. We have elected a person to the highest office in the land who needs to be living in the therapist office and we have never been closer to the brink than we are now. We have in a few short months lost the good will and the respect of our friends around the world and they are beginning to turn elsewhere. Our two party systems are crumbling, rotting from the inside and cannot see they are dying from decrepitude and those who hold office are unwilling to give up their lucrative positions due to greed and lust of power. Both are the godchildren of fear.
Where will this lead us in the end? If you do not pause and reassess your position, if you do not stop entertaining yourselves to death and start taking your lives more seriously, you may find we have lost the right to live in what we call a democracy and the idea of whether to “take a knee” will become the least important thing on your mind. You may find that someday we may be taking a knee for all the wrong things. No country is infallible; it always must be tended with care. It requires constant weeding and feeding and proper management and this means crop rotation (getting rid of those stagnant crops that have used up the nutrients in the soil over time). Otherwise, even democracy will wither and die in an infertile soil from lack of attention and the weeds will take over. It is time to weed out the bad players and corporate feeders and plant new blood in the Washington landscape and beyond to the outlying areas. It’s the only way forward that will work. If this means allowing more parties, popular vote, hand counting or whatever needs to be done, we need to get to work on this right away. Democracy was never meant to be a stagnant idea but a constant dynamic, ever changing. thriving, work in process. Otherwise it dies. The darkness will prevail and no light will shine through. I prefer the light. Let us muster the courage to shine the light and hold it high for our children and those who come after us.
We are the Keepers of the Country
The hate in this country is palpable. Our President feeds it bit by bit to the engaged populous like feeding a bird in a cage. He hands out the little crumbs and the crazies squawk with rage at his offerings. What is behind all of this and why? Those are the real questions. Nothing happens in a vacuum without reason. What is the real endgame here? Is it war or complete governmental control finally?
The people of this United States have lost their will and their way. The few who are willing to stand up and resist are being misled by those capable of carrying this country forward to a better place and do not know whom to follow or which way to turn. Confusion reigns supreme and this is no accident either.
One viable solution at this point is a Third Party but the people won’t go for it. They are brainwashed by the mass media on nightly TV. They have decided these dressed up TV stars are the smartest people in the world and they are somehow connected to them. These are the people they are going to let influence them in the voting booth and this, of course,is the way the corporations are winning the game. The voters do not seem to understand that these people are simply working off a script, have limited resources and intelligence but make it sound good like any decent actor would. It is all theatre but the American population doesn’t seem to recognize it as such. The idea of voting for a Third party scares the pants off them because they have been told it won’t work. It will divide the country. It will take away votes from the most Blessed candidate when in truth no candidate in the past few years has been worth a hoot. I take that back, we had a good third party candidate but she was given no air time, no chance at having her voice heard or legitimized in any way.
This is what it comes down to now? We have to have a candidate legitimized by those talking bobble heads on the nightly round tables or those deep voices on the television specials that make you think they have all the knowledge in the Universe just by the sound of their voice? These prime time television hosts also understand the value of body language well and never miss an opportunity to engage it. The intimate moving it to ask a question as if we are all in on the secret and the moving back when we want to distance ourselves from the answer. Without blinking an eye we are all privy to the conversation below the surface and we never even realized just what hit us.
Whatever happened to the idea that the people of this country could think for themselves and make decisions all by themselves based on what a candidate says and does? It’s called manipulation and we buy into constantly. The only way to be rid of it is to turn off the tv or become completely aware and immune, which may be impossible. Television is no longer used just for informative pusposes. When was the last time a President came on the television and gave a credible reason for going to war, for instance? To make a statement or leave an open ended question invites more questions from the people in general and stimulates conversation. This is what they do not want. They want to control the narrative (conversation) so we don’t have to. That’s the idea.
I’m older, a senior but I do remember my parents reading the papers and then the discussions would fly. It didn’t matter who was right or wrong because at the end of the day the things that needed to be discussed were fairly torn apart and discussed , issue by issue over time. I’m not one to sit around and look back at the good old days but something important has been lost here and we need to find a way to bring it back. Social media is filling a gap somewhat but it is too easily biased and too easily managed in the sense that a whole segment of the population simply tunes out. What I am talking about is bringing the importance of politics back into the family fold where the seeds are planted in the first place.
I know people are busier than ever and there is little time for such things but we need to make the time. If we do not, things will not improve. We need to start thinking for ourselves. We need to start questioning the motives and votes of those elected and those trying to run for office. We need to ask them how that is going to impact our lives and the lives of our children going forward on many levels. If they have voted against our interests we need to hold them accountable. We need to vote them out.
The future of this country lies not in the hands of the corporations, or the special few who can afford the cost of running, not yet. It may come to this in the near future if the people of this country does nothing. Stop letting those people who pretend to know it all and in reality know little make you decisions for you. There are so very many ways to educate oneself today it is fairly easy to do so.
Pick a topic, healthcare, jobs, education, environment whatever you can relate to and go from there. Try to understand how and why your Representative is voting on the issue the way he/she does and hold them accountable by calling, emailing (get on their list), social media, etc.
Speak up on the topic. Don’t be afraid of what others will say. You have a right to your opinion but keep it civilized. It is our country and our world and our planet. We are the keepers of it. We need to be responsible for it.
Kerry To Snowden: “Man Up and Come Back to the United States.”
One does not need to be an attorney to see how this government is gnashing it’s teeth to get Snowden to return in order to take full measure of revenge. They would call it justice, but it would be anything but justice. This post by Mr. Turley goes far in highlighting the problems Mr. Snowden would face if he voluntarily returns.
We previously discussed how terribly confused Hillary Clinton appeared in discussing National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. She just could not understand why he would not have trusted the government to deal with any problems or why he would not come back to the United States. Now, Secretary of State John Kerry is offering his own brand of macho advice to the kid: “man up and come back to the United States.” Sure leaders have called for him to be tried as a traitor and either incarcerated for life or executed. Sure, he is not guaranteed to see all of the evidence used against him or even be guaranteed a federal trial as opposed to a military tribunal. Kerry appears ready to give him an “attaboy” on this way to solitary confinement under Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) cutting off virtually any contact with the outside world.
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Sometimes, the colors come crashing
a visual pugilist,
daring confrontation
as if they had been sent there by the sun.
Others, wind in sideways
hoping not to be noticed
muted tones belying their existence.
While some, combine the two
blending the meek and the wild
the angry and the soothe
Balancing the energies of the Universe.
Sometimes, I like the bold.
Calling Out the Miracles with the capital “M”
We like to talk about Miracles as if they deserve to be capitalized. We think of them as reserved for those special moments when our special wish has been fulfilled. If we have experienced something unusual which benefitted us, we like to categorize and describe our happening as a Miracle. Miracles are reserved for the -out of this world- moments and are not meant to be mundane,for where would be the [M]iracle in this?
I have been reading my first book by Thomas Moore entitled “A Religion of One’s Own.” I must admit during the first few pages, I didn’t think we were going to be compatible and I almost put it down. However, I persevered and found a treasure trove inside. I read a little each day and always find something to spark some reflection. This is the way I judge a worthy read, I like to have something to ponder throughout my day.
This morning I was reading his reference to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous Divinity School Address at Harvard in which he (Emerson) was complaining that the Christian churches were making too much of the idea of miracles. He quoted Emerson as saying “The very word Miracle as pronounced by Christian churches gives a false impression; it is a monster; it is not one with the blowing clover and the falling rain.”
Wow! It was one of those moments where I became completely immersed within the energy of that thought. It was the un-realized thought I have been having for so many years now that I can’t count. Actually, I can count it, because it is the thought I was born with, and have continued thinking all my life. It is the knowing that every breath we take is a miracle and there is nothing in this world that is not a miracle. Even the most evil of experiences are a miracle: all of creation is a miracle. We tend to scorn these kind of miracles because they do not fit with our idea of all that is good and right and Holy. We also overlook the mundane miracles as if they are invisible before our very senses and wait for those special moments we can appreciate more fully. They are like those beautiful creations on the dessert tray and we tell ourselves we can only have a few in this lifetime. We do not speak of the “blowing clover and the falling rain” as deserving capital ‘M’ status. I suppose, during times of extreme drought, rain can be given this status but the ordinary summer rain is generally taken for granted. We may give thanks for it but it is not on the elevated status of a Miracle.
We would do well to call these back into our memory again. We would do well to plant our over -worked lawns with sweet blowing clover instead of planting short- rooted, fragile, grasses that require an abundance of fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide and never-ending water supply in order to survive and hopefully, thrive. We would do better to let our children play barefoot in sweet cool clover and risk the occasional bee-sting (if we can still attract any) than run and play and roll in the poisons that alter their basic chemical/hormonal makeup and impact them on many different levels. How many of us remember the feeling of that cool, soft carpet of clover in the hot summertime on burning, bare feet. How many hours did we make necklaces of the flower heads and wear them on top of the head like the crown jewels they were. And, Oh! no perfume can ever match the scent of the clover after it had been mowed with the old push mower. It would linger in the yard for ever,and waft in through the open windows at bedtime. The miracle of clover still lingers today…
And, the rain! Whatever happened to the pure experience of a gentle, playful rainfall? It would cleanse everything and make the world feel and smell, fresh and new. Even the soil would wake up and express itself in fragrance , that wonderful smell of freshly turned earth after a good summer rain. It is something we along with our children and grandchildren should be able to anticipate and rely on, but no more. We now have managed to pollute the rain with the miracle of our industrialized world, the extracting of fossil fuels, the poisons from the factories and refineries that are pulsed regularly into the air, the by-product of chemical breakdowns that invade the atmosphere from the fields laden with the necessary miracles that yield, even more profitable, crops. The rain is now tainted. It is foolish to allow a child to cup their hands and partake of this miracle from the heavens because of the impurities it contains and the potentially harmful effects that may follow. It is not safe to let them make snow ice-cream or eat their own snowballs. Snow has become an oxymoron.
Yes, there are miracles aplenty in this world. We are creators and co-creators with every purchase we make, every meal we create, every bite of food we eat and every breath we take. It seems to me that it is time we took this idea of creation and miracles a little more seriously and realize that all miracles may eventually start with a capital “M” but we might not like the importance contained within. As for myself, I rather like the “small” miracles myself. They seem worthy enough to me.
If I understand things correctly, the Universe is now thought to be dynamic (either expanding or contracting) rather than fixed. For the purpose of my thoughts today, this premise is sufficient to contemplate. Would you rather live in a fixed or dynamic world?
What happens to me in a fixed state is that I get restless, start thinking that something is amiss as it gets harder to breathe freely and engage fully. My imagination begins to carry me past my walls mentally and even emotionally, but I am still living in a fixed state of being and cannot penetrate to reality. It leaves no room for growth or at least a limited growth. How big is your box? How strong your restraints? I have engaged these past years in tearing down the walls, removing the ceiling, finding ways to disengage my bonds, and eventually, I hope to be comfortable enough with my expansion to let the floor drop out as well.
What happens if I am in a certain size container and the universe around me is expanding, and time is expanding? I’m still in this little box which is growing smaller and smaller over time. When will the box and I become small enough as to be insignificant? What if there are lots of little boxes like mine? However, we each think our box is the only one that is real and so we ignore all the other little boxes or try to annihilate one another so that we are the only “ legitimate” box left. Even if you take the people who live in these other boxes into your own box, you will still be in one box. The box is static, it is not going to expand. The other boxes may disappear but you will be here in an expanding universe with even less matter to slow it down. The idea of getting bigger and bigger within a fixed state of being is a trap of ego which will eventually render a state of isolation and leave the box and all within it susceptible to implosion.
It seems to me we are meant to expand and grow, recycle and replenish. This is how we sustain ourselves in the natural world and this is how we must sustain ourselves spirituality as well. I cannot grow my spirit within a single church, community, neighborhood, city, state, etc. It’s important to grow and experience more than one way of being, thinking, and experiencing. This means I must be open to at least trying to first see or hear or feel, then bring some understanding to other ways of being and surmount my own limitations. It means opening the door to our limited belief systems which are nothing but a construct and start to experience the world(s) without them.
In the end, I am beginning to understand there is no particular truth that is applicable except this: truth is always dynamic not static.
nancyparris9 