Rhetoric Pushers, Hate Mongers, Spinmiesters…

yes and a happy day after Easter to you too!  😉

But then when is there a good time to bring up difficult dialogue, difficult questions or just thinking about what comes next… 

Recently I received an email entitled:  CAN MUSLIMS BE GOOD AMERICANS? 

Along with a message:

I have several Muslim friends, and they are calm, peaceful, rational people with good values and good hearts, and yes they are good citizens of the USA. The tone of this email that is getting passed around reminds me of the type of ignorant hate speech that was spread about Jewish people in Nazi Germany. To try and judge an entire society of people and say they are not worthy to be Americans is insane, and I cannot be quiet about that fact. People should be treated as individuals. A small percentage of Muslims are violent criminals just as a small percentage of Christians are violent criminals. That is not reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Thanks for reading.

and:I agree with you 100%! Actions speak louder than words. Good people do good things MOST of the time, evil people do evil things MOST of the time and those that do nothing are indifferent. Those of us with minds to think, ears to hear and eyes to see know what truth is and one should not be judged by all and all should not be judged by one. What if the tables were turned and because one person that looked like you did harm to many, would that also make you the same as that person? Timothy McVey ring a bell? Love is the answer, my friend and we will keep fighting for it till the end (to quote a song). Good people together in a good country doing the best we can together!  I am a champion of LOVE! Some people who “don’t look like me” took EXCELLENT care of me last year during my hospital stay.

I cannot nor will I judge others by what someone else does ……

unless they align themselves with that person and support harm to others….uh oh!!!!

Does this mean that the majority of Americans are evil because they voted Bush into office for a second term?  Did he have all the information about Iraq?  Where WE mislead?  Did “we the people” make a mistake and re-elect Bush for a second term?  Can we forgive ourselves because we didn’t have all the information? 

Are we REALLY informed or just guessing about what really runs “the world order”? 

Are we really the horrible people that THE MEDIA says that the rest of the WORLD says we are?  Why do they do business with us if we are so terrible?  Why do all these countries accept loans, grants, monies from us on a government, corporate and individual levels?

Even after all this thinking I am still left to finish a puzzle with the last piece… how does one defend against evil people (singular or multiple)?

clip from lastraindance04

Native American Heritage

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night.

May the rain wash away your worries,

May the breeze blow new strength into your being.

May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

Apache blessing

Our kids have Native American from both sides; from Hungry Hubby the boys have Blackfoot Indian, but from my side…we don’t know.  Great Grand-paw wouldn’t tell.

Tilden/Poppy/Great Grand-paw

From the picture above it seems he was a patriotic man as he marches in a parade holding a flag wearing a sash.  We know little of the picture, who took it, what parade or even when it was taken. 

Grand-maw and her siblings used to beg Great Grand-paw to tell them about their heritage.   But he wouldn’t, so we don’t know for sure…yet.  Grand-maw and Mom believe that he was fearful of discrimination and so he zipped his lips.  Every indication to date seems to confirm that he and his ancestors are of Native American heritage.   

One thing is for certain he had a kind and loving spirit.  Great Grand-paw fathered two families as I understand it.  He had grown children from another marriage when he met and married my Great Grand-maw in the early 1900s.   She was young and had four children quickly.  Great Grand-maw would “run-away” from time to time,  Tilden would never say an unkind word about her nor would he allow anyone else.  My Mom called him Poppy and she fondly remembers cuddling with him in a rocking chair.  He had a grocery store that went bankrupt during the Great Depression because he couldn’t refuse people groceries when they had nothing to eat.  Who knows he may have feed one of your ancestors. 

My family heritage is not just from whinst we came but were we shall GO.  Onward and upward, hand in hand, bound by love, commitment, sweat, tears, joy, hope and a healthy dash of fear.  We don’t have any daredevils in our family but we sure had many to serve our country. 

There is nothing wrong with being proud from where you came nor is there any shame in it either.  No one gets to pick their circumstances at birth…this is the basic reason I cannot wrap my head around discrimination based on what a person looks like…ACTIONS are what matter.  Actions are the best measure of character.  Attitude is the best measure of where the spirit and mind converge.   

Choices, Perceptions and the Pursuit of Happiness

 

I have a friend who is into astrology (love you girl) and she tells me from time to time what the planets have in mind for me.  I have to say that I’ve been very impressed with the information she’s given me over the last year or so.  We talked recently and the news from her wasn’t what I’d hoped for as to the alignment of “my” planets.  Suffice it to say that it seems as though my state of affairs will continue in a “not so great cycle” until next year.  Great!  When I was so full of hope and looking brightly into 2008 as the year of reclaiming myself!

Well then, maybe I’ll tempt the planets and choose for 2008 to be great as I concentrate on the great things I already have instead of letting the planets kick my ass for another year. 

Really…how can things be so bad as long as I’m alive, relatively healthy and have my family?  Sure some things come along now and then and I “give-in” to a day on the couch or an afternoon nap.  But really…what are a few days of being Debbie Downer when I know she will dissipate quickly and easily and hopefully for GOOD when 2009 rolls around?  I am human after all, right?  Yes, I’m human!  😉   

I’ve been on a quest, looking to find my next career path.  What would God have me do?  I worked for over 20 years in finance and HR so I relished the chance to make a major career change nine years ago and DIY at home with the kids.  The chance to instill the love of learning in my preschool aged kids. I’ve had nothing but pleasure in helping them learn to read and write well above age level while stirring their souls with music, art and imagination. I believe I’ve given a great gift to them, their future teachers as well as myself.  They have a true love of learning, it is my prayer that it will translate and continue!  I’m sure it will.

In the autumn of 2008 my youngest will embark on his formal education in kindergarten. I will be taking that next year to discover what God has in store for me as I begin the search for my third career.  While waiting and listening I’m engaged with my family and their happenings, on the PTA committee, scrap-booking memories for my family, eBaying occasionally and blogging for myself.  My purpose of blogging is to stir my soul, express myself in writing and create a history of thought to leave for my kids and their kids and so on. 

God has been giving me hints as to what is next along the way.  I’ve been patient, I’m listening.  What have I been hearing and understanding?  To start out small and let it grow.  No “big splash” or fancy diving that produces big ripples that quickly land on the shore.  Instead start from the shallows, learn to swim and then you can be steady and confident as you swim the unimaginable lengths before you. 

Thank you God!  Thank you!  I wonder what beauty is around that bend.

Photos by Kobster & JBurton