Our worst day

 This is the worst day in the history of the United States of America!  Donald Trump, a con-artist, a criminal and a malignant narcissist who created a lie about the last election which he lost, and then incited a riot—an insurrection against the Capital.  The nation watched in horror over TV then apparently forgot all about it!  He has been re-elected president of this nation that held the light of liberty and freedom to the world for some 300 years.  We have lost something precious.  The finest of humanities ideals began to crumble in the 20^thcentury.   First came world war one followed by world war two.  Adolf  Hitler came to power in Germany and instituted malhumn horrors against a race of people.  The war raged for years until the additional horror of the US dropping 2 atom bombs on Japan . . . was Armageddon released?

As the US grew in power it began losing a connection with God; prayer was outlawed in schools and government events.  The desire to become rich increased and soon money became the god of many people.  Guns became a quasi-idol and could not be controlled by laws.  Slowly? or rapidly? moral decline set in and decency gradually evaporated.  In this atmosphere, over half of this nation elected immoral and amoral Donald Trump to lead our nation.

Which will it be?

In the 2024 presidential election we are at a moral crossroad.  There is more at stake in this election than choosing between two equally honorable individuals—we will be choosing between good and evil.

 

What are considered the most serious issues in this election?  We are told by the news media it is the economy and the refugees.  We are not a nation which is starving and destitute; we are seen as the wealthiest, strongest and most secure nation in the world.  Yes there are problems about distribution, but in considering this election our most serious problem seems to be that we have allowed money to become the object of worship rather than God and thus, acquiring wealth supersedes all else—that is Trump’s religion and highest value.  

Harris sees the need to protect and restore our nation’s soul as the highest value.

 

Our greatest national symbol is the Statue of Liberty holding the words of Emma Lazar’s poem: ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ . . that has worked for us for over 300 years.  Do we have a refugee problem?  Yes because we have an ancient inadequate system processing them.  Trump wants to gather them all, even those who have been working for years, and throw them out of the country.

Harris wants to create a new workable system.

 

Trump has a history of bilking people of their money with nefarious schemes, he is a convicted felon, breaks all rules, violates norms, fabricates outrageous lies . . .

Harris has spent her career in service to our nation.

 

Which will it be?

--A woman whose career honors our human search for peace and justice.

--Or a man who sits on a gold toilet thumbing his nose at truth and justice?

 

We choose between good and evil.

Honest Man vs Notorious Liar

 The debate between Biden and Trump a few days ago ignighted fear in many viewers and joy in others and caused both Democrats and Republicans to question Biden's ability and wisdom in running for president.

It is true that aging does damage to every faculty and functional ability but it is NOT a given that at a particular age one becomes incapable . . . some do at 50, others beyond 100. 

In the past, people thought age brought wisdom.  In the present, people believe age brings incompetence.  Each can be true and each can be false.  And either accepted whole heartedly is both wrong and foolish.  

Biden had a bad night, a really bad night!  It alarmed me and made me doubt . . . until I considered the options.  There is no doubt that Biden is an honest and honorable man; and it has repeatedly been proven that Trump is a liar.  As president, either will be surrounded with intelligent staff who will have input on decisions.  Biden listens and hears; Trump listens to no one but himself.  I will trust the honest man. 

I watched every minute of the debate and the discussions that followed.  I am 88,  Biden's senior by 7 years.  The following day I recalled a similar incident that happened to me about a year ago: I had been invited to give a return talk to a group on a topic I was well-versed on.  Going in, I felt a little 'off', but had notes and wasn't worried.  As I began, I felt a little shaky but OK.  Within minutes I began stumbling over my words, then lost track of what I was saying, looked down at my notes and could make no sense of them . . . I kept trying to recoup but finally apologized and excused myself.  It was the most embarrassing experience of my professional life.

I later learned of TIA = transient ischaemic attack or mini stroke.  That is what had happened to me.  It is caused by a temporary disruption in the blood supply to the brain.  Symptoms are: numbness or weakness of face, sudden confusion, trouble speaking, walking or seeing.   The TIA lasts a short time, it doesn't damage brain cells or cause permanent disability.

It seems likely that is what happened to Biden.  I will stick with Biden as he is a man of integrity and I believe that is the most importent quality for a president.

We Need the Word Malhuman

So much frightening news in today's world leads me to return to my blog.

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We need the word malhuman in our dictionaries.  It refers to human behavior that is beyond the pale of 'bad' and in the domain of evil.  Torture, brutality, rape, aggression, annihilation . . . Those are behaviors that defy human reason and justice. 

Reason and justice are among the building blocks of civilization.  When human behavior defies reason and justice, it becomes malhuman.  When our intelligence is perverted to choose behaviors that are totally harmful and destructive, it falls into the realm of evil.  Evil is defined as: profound immorality and wickedness; exclusively harmful and destructive.

Malhuman acts are human behaviors directed by humans to other fellow humans.  They don't 'just happen', they arise from calculation, planning and choice.  We are responsible for our choices.

The word malhuman will help us better understand the nature of the behaviors we choose. 

Our Choices

This morning as I walked in the drizzling rain looking at the beauty of Spring . . . trees in bloom, fresh green grass and the last two daffodils,  my mind was once again presented with the question, ‘Who or what is God?’  Of course that is beyond my knowing or understanding, but it’s a question that often presents itself, and my consciousness wrestles with the question.  I was praying.  I don’t do a good job of staying focused but the effect is to stimulate thoughts . . . Who or what is God. . . IS God?  I must answer that last question in the affirmative for the world IS, the Universe IS, Life IS, humanity IS . . . it is all ordered and in balance and harmony . . . until MAN, with the gift of reason and free will set about choosing without adhering to God’s advice . . . ‘I lay before you life a death, choose life that your children might live’. . . and God gave us the outline of what was  meant by ‘choose life’.   Life flourishes in following the directive ‘Do unto others what you would have done unto you’.  Some version of that showed up in every civilized religion and was expanded in more detail by what came to be called ‘The Ten Commandments’, once again showing up a bit less clearly defined, in every religion.  Those were God’s directives . . . having given humanity reason and free will, God did not command and demand but rather left ‘choice’ to man.

 

Man invented religion, which became religions.  Early on, humanity was yet without having communications and transportation well defined.  Each group was vastly separated from others so each group structured guidelines for living differently.  Oh yes, and also having evolved from brute ancestors wherein the law of the jungle was ‘might means right’ humanity carried that law forward which came to be interpreted as ‘man’—the one with the ‘might’ had the voice of ‘right’ and silenced the ‘weaker sex’, thereby women had no voice in leadership (leaving out things like compassion, kindness, love etc.) and power became disproportionately important.  Religions (the aspect of keeping-in-touch-with God) also developed with power and control as an important element,  and even here, the voice of half of humanity was left out.

 

With eons of time, man became more and more aware, skills and knowledge expanded, communications and transportation grew to include hitherto unimagined possibilities and then by the 19^th century the ‘whole world’ became available to individuals who had the means to pursue it.

 

As humanity gained more and more knowledge over time, it became narcissistic (in love with its own reflection) and God became less and less important.  Man ‘stood alone’ in his power which he protected with weapons.  As humanity became more in control of all aspects of existence, different conclusions and points of view set up clashes.  The fear that ‘his power or point of view might overpower mine’ grew.  Fears escalated, it was necessary to build walls of protection and greater means to resist.  Finally in the 20^th century, the power man held was literally the ability to destroy all life on earth! 

 

Meanwhile, the feminine voice began to emerge as mankind evolved in its humanity and made room for compassion, kindness, love, etc.  (Ending slavery, caring for the unenfranchised, etc.)  That is not to say ‘feminine voice’ refers to only and to all women, it is to say the feminine ‘voice’ which exists in both genders as does the masculine voice exist in both genders’ but each gender is more prominently associated with the one than the other. As both the feminine voice as well as women take a place in governance the future may change.  Civilization developed with the masculine voice in control, allowing for a disproportionate emphasis on power and  control.

 

So let’s bring God back into the picture.  We cannot know nor comprehend the vastness of creation, the Universe, or God; we can only be in awe of it.  But now, in the 21^st century, as we face the danger we have brought upon ourselves and this planet we need to face what is said to be God’s directive.  It  doesn’t matter so much how you envision or deny ‘A God’, what matters is the wisdom of: ‘choose life over death’, ’do unto to others’ and ‘moral guidelines’ . . . be they from God or very wise men long ago, they are our only hope for continuation of the species.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toward A Better World

After a six month pause from my blog, I return to report of the 2^nd edition of my fiction book, ‘The Conflagration’.  It does not fit available genres—it is a cautionary tale for the 21st Century.  A fire-bird, a Phoenix, graces the cover, a symbol of new possibilities rising.  It is now in a second edition which carries a new sub-title: ‘Toward a Better World’. When I began writing the book about a decade ago, ‘conflagration’ was, perhaps, a less familiar word.  It can now be found in music and as at least one other book title.  It has also struck me that my use of the word on its own may be a bit misleading as it brings to mind images of widespread destruction.  The addition of the subtitle helps set up the more positive post-destruction story that takes place in a world that has learned to live in peace.  

 

The story opens 300+ years into the future in a world without war when a plane from the 21^st Century is found in the Antarctic containing an intact cryonic capsule with a mature young woman inside.  There is controversy about what to do as that world does not practice cryonics.

 

She is revitalized and slowly learns of her fate.  She is angry, unbelieving and resistive to what she is told.  Her resistance gradually thaws under the gentle care of her rehabilitation team.  The team recognizes her intelligence and a plan is made to educate her to this world and hopefully enable her to find a career.

 

Once Sydney accepts the truth of the destruction of her world at the end of the 21^st Century, she falls into a deep depression.  Next, recovering from the depression, as new information piles on, she becomes overwhelmed by what she must absorb and she goes to the desert on a long retreat.  In that soul search she becomes obsessed with the question, ‘Did the Conflagration have to happen?  Was it inevitable?’

 

Upon her return, she decides to write her Master’s thesis on some version of that question by delving into what information was available to her former world that could have helped avert WWIII, The Conflagration.

 

In the story, this is Sydney’s question . . . Our 21^st Century world is in crisis; we are on the wrong path; Sydney’s question is the book’s question.

                                                    *all references to the 20^th and 21^st Centuries are factual.

                                                          Click here to buy on Amazon

 

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