Amongst a few friendly souls seated in a comfortable circle winding down a lovely backyard family party, my son said he wished more people felt free to share their thoughts about what's going on. Music to my ears, and the key word to others, also, must have been "share."
Fortunately, I hesitated, for a moment before offering copies of a tiny booklet I had tucked in my purse, "just in case." Otherwise, we would not have enjoyed yet another treat of the day from our genial host remarking that he thinks most people just want to do what's best for our country. Following full company agreement, I then asked if anyone would like to look at the booklet I have found useful in my study of current events and the fine gentleman to my left held out a hand. When he read the cover aloud, my host chuckled and advised me, "He's a liberal, you know," which I didn't. Maybe I should have, from the conversation we'd had earlier about his vast store of history on our local Giant Sequoias. But I have many friends a bit younger than I who share a productive perspective with me about what they call their "tree hugging days." I have a life-long fondness for the unique beauty nature provides my locale. I smiled when the gentleman to my left politely said he would put the booklet in his backpack and offered his description of himself as “an old fashioned liberal, more like an old fashioned conservative."
We all spoke of various ways in which a community might take back responsibility for the "safety net" currently provided by government that appears, once again, to be choking off individual endeavor. A thoughtful counter-argument ensued with reference to Giant Sequoias slain a century ago by the relentless sense of manifest destiny in the American lumber business. "Those folks thought then that the bounty of the land in America was endless," said the man to my left, and we all agreed people must be good stewards of our planet.
Then, surprise, surprise! Instead of producing a long list of evils inflicted by man upon nature, the man on my left led the discussion to a consideration of the present economic dangers of too many regulations. Again, good fortune at my side, I resisted the urge to plunge into my own list of evils in that regard. That was when I realized my luck is always in the company that I keep. He had earlier encouraged my passionate recollection of a failed effort to draw a community to good works, stifled by residents of means who had declined to contribute because they said, "We already pay enough taxes to take care of that sort of thing." I said I could only wish I'd had enough sense then to address that issue usefully with these friends I knew had our nation's best interests at heart.
All of a sudden, I could hear myself exclaiming, “What I wish I had said was, ‘Hey –what would you rather do with your money: give it to the government threshing machine or directly produce what you see most useful?’” – and everybody laughed. And that’s when I knew I’d finally accomplished the purpose of all my ranting for the last several years. At least, what appears to me now is that I may have achieved a useful sense of humor.
Thank you, Jerry Seinfeld! It really has helped me a lot to sit at my word processor as I review daily events on the tube and type “yadayadayada . . .”
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
So, is the party over?
Is it just about as bad as it gets yet?
I wonder if this man feels bad about what he said - as reported Monday, August 01, 2011, by Nicholas Ballasy:
(CNSNews.com) – Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). . . claimed . . ."These ‘Tea Partiers,’ as willing conspirators with their so-called leadership have enacted on a plan to dismantle the American government and in the process, we have lost our moral compass," . . . when speaking with the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus last week.
You know how they say what you call other people is probably true of you? From what I hear, this Congressman favors President Obama who has stated he wants to change America. It has also been reported that this member of the House of Representatives grilled a Vice Admiral of the Navy about the dangers of the "very narrow island of Guam tipping over, if there would be too may sailors stationed on this very narrow island" I admire how this Vice Admiral is said to have managed to assure the Congressman in a very measured voice that there really was no danger yet of the island tipping over.
Once again, I'm wondering why Congressmen such as Mr. Johnson are still in the business of shaping the future of my nation. I can't help but also wonder if he really believes what he's saying. I have said things about others that make me feel stupid and bad about myself. I suppose that's why I keep stopping myself and trying to find something better to say for myself.
What I hope is that America will get through this time of confusion and back to a better show of itself. What I keep wishing is that I could figure out how to be of some help in clearing up the confusion.
RE news (at least to me) that we recently sent two school administrators to Cuba to learn how the Cubans educate their children, I am reminded of an old friend, sweet guy, trying to convert me to liberalism telling of his trip to Cuba with fellow Superior Court Judges sponsored by our friendly U.S. Government. Talk about confusing. His wife packed gift bags of asprin and other basics he said Cubans are lacking, and then raved when he returned about the enlightenment he'd seen in Cuban politics. Go figure why the last fifteen years our courts have been bleeding out.
We're still old friends, this now happily retired judge and I, but he limits his contact with me to faithful birthday greetings. I suspect we don't have many left between us, yet I'm hopeful that the spirit of our good will towards one another will linger on in this sorely troubled land we both love.
On Tea Party Nation, a website that favors my interest in fiscal sanity, comes a review of a media double standard when it comes to violent rhetoric. After screaming for so long about every possible hint of a suggestion of a possibility of violent speech from the Right, it’s amazing what will be forgiven when it comes from the Left:
Tom Friedman — who knows a bit about Hezbollah — calls the tea partiers the “Hezbollah faction” of the GOP bent on taking the country on a “suicide mission.” All over the place, conservative Republicans are “hostage takers” and “terrorists,” . . . and “traitors.” They want to “end life as we know it on this planet,” says Nancy Pelosi. They are betraying the founders, too. Chris Matthews all but signs up for the “Make an Ass of Yourself” contest at the State Fair. Joe Nocera writes today that “the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests.” Lord knows what Krugman and Olbermann have said.
I guess you just have to have "been there" to see how self-destructive it is to wish dead everyone you think has done you wrong.
Reviewer Moe Lane wonders whether attempts by some moderate media types "calling out egregious Lefty violators of the civility principle on either the talk shows – or the cocktail party circuit – " will help or harm their careers. "But then," as he says, "the rest of us have suffered socially for our beliefs and our affiliations; why the heck should they be immune to that?" adding, "I am a moderate Republican on social issues, after all. I’ve just simply avoided the subtly insidious trap of getting into the unethical habit of sneering at more socially conservative friends in order to try to curry favor with socially moderate enemies. I am not the only squishy Republican in the United States of America who is capable of making that choice."
I can relate to Mr. Lane, being tempted to call myself a Libertarian after developing a fondness for John Stossell's common sense review of the folly of too much regulation of one guy's life by another. On the other hand, I used to get so confused as a church member about what's liberal and what's conservative. So, now I just take matters on a case by case basis as to what I want conserved and how my conservation efforts may be liberally sprinkled with the gift of human kindness. I guess that doesn't make me much of a partier, but at least I'm glad I'm still having fun.
I wonder if this man feels bad about what he said - as reported Monday, August 01, 2011, by Nicholas Ballasy:
(CNSNews.com) – Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). . . claimed . . ."These ‘Tea Partiers,’ as willing conspirators with their so-called leadership have enacted on a plan to dismantle the American government and in the process, we have lost our moral compass," . . . when speaking with the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus last week.
You know how they say what you call other people is probably true of you? From what I hear, this Congressman favors President Obama who has stated he wants to change America. It has also been reported that this member of the House of Representatives grilled a Vice Admiral of the Navy about the dangers of the "very narrow island of Guam tipping over, if there would be too may sailors stationed on this very narrow island" I admire how this Vice Admiral is said to have managed to assure the Congressman in a very measured voice that there really was no danger yet of the island tipping over.
Once again, I'm wondering why Congressmen such as Mr. Johnson are still in the business of shaping the future of my nation. I can't help but also wonder if he really believes what he's saying. I have said things about others that make me feel stupid and bad about myself. I suppose that's why I keep stopping myself and trying to find something better to say for myself.
What I hope is that America will get through this time of confusion and back to a better show of itself. What I keep wishing is that I could figure out how to be of some help in clearing up the confusion.
RE news (at least to me) that we recently sent two school administrators to Cuba to learn how the Cubans educate their children, I am reminded of an old friend, sweet guy, trying to convert me to liberalism telling of his trip to Cuba with fellow Superior Court Judges sponsored by our friendly U.S. Government. Talk about confusing. His wife packed gift bags of asprin and other basics he said Cubans are lacking, and then raved when he returned about the enlightenment he'd seen in Cuban politics. Go figure why the last fifteen years our courts have been bleeding out.
We're still old friends, this now happily retired judge and I, but he limits his contact with me to faithful birthday greetings. I suspect we don't have many left between us, yet I'm hopeful that the spirit of our good will towards one another will linger on in this sorely troubled land we both love.
On Tea Party Nation, a website that favors my interest in fiscal sanity, comes a review of a media double standard when it comes to violent rhetoric. After screaming for so long about every possible hint of a suggestion of a possibility of violent speech from the Right, it’s amazing what will be forgiven when it comes from the Left:
Tom Friedman — who knows a bit about Hezbollah — calls the tea partiers the “Hezbollah faction” of the GOP bent on taking the country on a “suicide mission.” All over the place, conservative Republicans are “hostage takers” and “terrorists,” . . . and “traitors.” They want to “end life as we know it on this planet,” says Nancy Pelosi. They are betraying the founders, too. Chris Matthews all but signs up for the “Make an Ass of Yourself” contest at the State Fair. Joe Nocera writes today that “the Tea Party Republicans can put aside their suicide vests.” Lord knows what Krugman and Olbermann have said.
I guess you just have to have "been there" to see how self-destructive it is to wish dead everyone you think has done you wrong.
Reviewer Moe Lane wonders whether attempts by some moderate media types "calling out egregious Lefty violators of the civility principle on either the talk shows – or the cocktail party circuit – " will help or harm their careers. "But then," as he says, "the rest of us have suffered socially for our beliefs and our affiliations; why the heck should they be immune to that?" adding, "I am a moderate Republican on social issues, after all. I’ve just simply avoided the subtly insidious trap of getting into the unethical habit of sneering at more socially conservative friends in order to try to curry favor with socially moderate enemies. I am not the only squishy Republican in the United States of America who is capable of making that choice."
I can relate to Mr. Lane, being tempted to call myself a Libertarian after developing a fondness for John Stossell's common sense review of the folly of too much regulation of one guy's life by another. On the other hand, I used to get so confused as a church member about what's liberal and what's conservative. So, now I just take matters on a case by case basis as to what I want conserved and how my conservation efforts may be liberally sprinkled with the gift of human kindness. I guess that doesn't make me much of a partier, but at least I'm glad I'm still having fun.
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