I asked in the last post about the
spirit of Christmas. Perhaps it isn't just about giving, but also
about faith. The faith we have in what we cannot see, but can only
imagine. Right now it seems that everywhere I turn there are only
sad tidings. But that isn't the spirit with which my country was
founded. So many people who have went before imagined a different
world. One where anything was possible for those who worked hard and
kept the faith in something larger than themselves.
Maybe we need to regain that faith we
had in ourselves and in a larger meaning to life.
It's Christmas time again. So what
have you been doing to keep the spirit alive? Or perhaps a better
question is, what is the spirit of Christmas? I've done some
decorating, some shopping, and I've made my fudge and will probably
make another type of candy today. Next weekend will be the Christmas
cookies to take to a Christmas Day gathering. It's what many of us
do. Perhaps it is our version of self sacrifice and giving.
Fighting those crowds at the stores isn't a pleasant thing. ;)
But while we have been doing those
types of things, others have been up to something quite different. I
ran across an article just today about the USNS Comfort. It is one
of our hospital ships, which is sent to support our troops, to assist
at disaster areas, and has also been tasked to aid those in South
America who have little access to medical care.
Some have asked why so many people want
to come to the United States. Perhaps the answer lies in something
so many seem to have forgotten. It is something that is within all
of us, the compassion and kindness to recognize people in need and to
offer help.
I also ran across this video of a scene
from “The Newsroom”.
Maybe the place where Christmas spirit
resides is also where a great country does too.
Today we observed a day of mourning for
former President George H.W. Bush. A man who garnered the respect of
many who were fortunate enough to have known him. In this day of
bitter political rivalry, and the self absorption of so many, it was
almost a relief to reflect on the life of someone who came from a
gentler generation, someone who believed in something greater than himself.
We will miss your light.
(This is one speech where W. shined. His father would have been proud.)
Well, another Black Friday has come and
gone. We have seen the usual stampeding crowds.
But something else happened during the
start of this holiday shopping season. A report was issued by the
federal government, yes, the same federal government led by President
Donald Trump.
There is some speculation that the
timing was deliberate. You know, everyone distracted by the annual
holiday shopping frenzy and partying for Thanksgiving that somehow
they wouldn't notice. Ahhh, but those nasty press types were quick
to make note of this rather dire report.
Now we see the talking heads that have
denied climate change basically saying, yes, there is climate change,
but there is no real proof that man is at fault or that we could
actually make a difference if we tried. Our climate is always
changing. Basically parroting what Donald Trump has come up with
for his new position. I say new, because in the past he was of the
belief that climate change was a hoax.
I hate to throw multiple things out
there all at once, but I feel I really need to make mention of
something that goes hand in hand with climate change, and that is
species extinction. While we have focused so much of our attention
on climate change we may have overlooked something that has just as
great an impact on the health of this planet, at least with respect
for human life. If you have a moment please listen to Elizabeth
Kolbert, the author of “The Sixth Extinction”, on her book and
this critical topic.
I would remind people that Donald Trump
is 72 years old. Unless there is a sudden snapping of the Earth's
climate, which is something that has been speculated on because there
is nothing to say this will be gradual, Donald Trump will not live to
see the extreme's that the recent report enumerate. His children
may, but he will not. And yet, he is having an inordinate amount of
influence on what the Untied States does to deal with this very
serious issue. An issue that will affect all of humanity in the
coming decades.
Perhaps it is time for us, “we the
people”, to try to stop and take a moment in our busy lives to look
a little more closely at climate change and species extinction.
Because while we may blame Donald Trump, he is only the expression of
what so many people out there believe. Because he and his followers
are what WE have allowed to be elected to run our government.
This is the start of a famous poem by
Emma Lazarus, a nineteenth century Jewish poet. Most Americans, I
know, are familiar with it. But, I wonder, do they really understand
how important it was for so many people who have looked for a refuge?
We have seen the ceremonies commemorating Armistice Day, the day
that marks the armistice of World War I. But it is a day that has
come to mean more to so many who have fought in all of our wars, as
well as those who we have fought for.
I have for you today another book
recommendation. The book is “Sons and Soldiers” by Bruce
Henderson. It is the story of the sons of desperate Jewish families
who managed to escape to America prior to WWII, and subsequently
went back with the U.S Army to fight Hitler.
It was a time in history where America
and her allies stood up against a tyrant that threatened the lives of
so many innocent people. People who had endured suffering the likes
of which we do not ever want to see again. This was a time when a
state's endorsed racism, bigotry, and persecution of it's own
citizens in the name of some kind of national purity led to the
killing of those who Hitler and his minions deemed inferior or a
threat to the Nazi party's existence.
While Nazi indoctrination of the
population had been occurring for some time, people tended to brush
it off assuming that Hitler wouldn't last, that people would not go
along with what he preached. Those people were wrong. On Nov. 9 –
10, 1938 the Nazis turned what had been political, physical, in an
event that would be called Kristallnacht or the Night of Broken
Glass.
For many in the Jewish community it was
the last straw. On this Armistice Day weekend I would post this in
remembrance of those who endured the events unleashed by Hitler and who fought back. “Sons and Soldiers”
is their story. It should be heard, lest we forget.
...shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. You've heard the saying, I'm sure. Some of you have probably even lived it. If you've read this blog you all have a pretty good idea of where I stand politically. So I won't belabor that point. What I want to say is simply this. When our country was formed, it was formed with some basic ideals in mind. The biggest one being that our government was going to be "by the people, for the people". I know that for many that hasn't always proved to be the case. But that is by no means a reason to give up on that ideal. It was, and still is, a good one.
When buying a car it is always a good idea to look under the hood, kick the tires, and take it for a drive. When choosing our elected officials we should do no less. It is imperative that we look beyond the sounds bites, and the outright lies, to get to the real truth of how those elected officials will govern. That means look beyond Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat (if anyone on there actually talks politics) and all of those negative political ads and partisan talking heads we see on television. Because while those elected officials have a duty to uphold our Constitution, we the people also have the same duty. It is our duty to do our due diligence and elect the best out of the bunch we can find. We have had two years of Donald Trump and a Republican controlled Congress. Do you like what you see happening in our country?
If the answer to that question is no, then maybe you want to listen to Willie.
We are now at the halfway point of
Donald Trump's term as President of the United States. This
fall America will vote again. With the mid-term election we are
given a chance to make our views known. There have been any number
of books on what has been happening behind the scenes in Trump's
administration. One released recently is “The Fifth Risk” by
Michael Lewis. I hear so many people complain about the lack of
talent or bureaucratic inaction in our government. What this book
does is look behind the curtain, revealing that there are some very
amazing people, or were, behind it.
If you really want to be an informed
voter, one who carefully weighs their selection, one who is able to
look beyond the hype of those MAGA hats, listen for a moment to Mr.
Lewis when he talks about the subject matter of his book. Because
this isn't about sound bites, it's about the nuts and bolts of
running a country. It's about our putting in place people who really
do have the ability to make our country great, not again, but still.
Before you vote in November take a
little time and pick up this book and read it with an open mind.
