Thursday, November 28, 2013


The American Holiday

     On this Thanksgiving, our uniquely American holiday, I cannot help but think of all the Midwestern families who have lost their homes and lifetime possessions, and it is therefore very easy to feel lucky and grateful for the good fortunes with which we are mostly graced.  And yet, in their trials and grief, survivors universally find out the same truths: That they did not need all of what they lost, and that their most valued blessings are the people that they love.

     From birth, we are programmed by society to become consummate consumers, work-week toilers whose harvest is a paycheck to spend on everything that we think we need.  But what do we really need?  What values made America great?  It wasn't mobs crashing barriers to get a new I-phone, TV, or laptop computer.  The very values that built the greatest nation on earth are often down trodden today by new agendas proposed by enemies of our original republic.  People who claim to want to "fundamentally transform America" have no respect for the individual.  They prove it by saying that they want to steal the wealth from one individual, "and spread it around a little".  They prove their lack of respect for the individual time and again, from their willingness to murder innocent babies, to their enslavement of all individuals into a massive government health insurance plan, even if it is against the individual's will.

     Our republic, as founded, celebrated the individual and his or her rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  For now, at least, we still have the power in America to fight for individual freedom within the laws given to us by our forefathers.  We can be thankful of that, just as we can be thankful that we have loved ones, even if we have no home.

God bless all individuals, and god protect and preserve the republic.
  
Thank you for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon America, and help guide us to better days for all free men and women.
  
Happy Thanksgiving, to one and all.

Saturday, November 2, 2013


 

Thank you for the Leaves

 

I had been in a funk for several days.  Both of my twin granddaughters were recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at two years old.  My wife was in London attending a meeting of world-wide paper-pushers, aspiring to become someone that I won't know or like; a bureaucrat.  My business performance had been not up to my liking, and my whole life seemed pretty much a waste of the potential I was given at birth.  I was entertaining thoughts of how best to exit this planet, and to leave behind all of its madness.

The constant barrage of bad news from the media; the pathetic excuses for leaders around the globe; the hopelessness of starving millions; the murder of other innocent millions; the Fukushima disaster and what comes next; the suffering of jobless Americans in the richest country in the world; the senseless murder of millions of animals gobbled up by voracious meat-eaters who never saw a vegetable that tasted as good as a cheeseburger.

The insane whine of the world seemed like a flashing hotel light that that wouldn't give me any rest.  Many methods of escape are possible, but few appeal to me.  Perhaps climbing a distant mountain and freezing at the top would be one nice exit.  I could lie there undisturbed, and look out at the physical beauty of this world, unperturbed by what was happening below.  That seemed better than just walking north until I froze, since I wouldn't want to be eaten by polar bears or wolves, before I died.

Better to leave on one's own terms, I thought, than to wait and suffer the indignities of a frail old age.  These were the thoughts that ruminated within my skull all week, growing like an approaching storm, that darkened my mind.  Then today, I walked outside in my backyard, and looked up at the skyline in front of my house.

The trees had turned bright with colors and were glowing brilliant in the morning sun.  One was luminescent yellow, and another deep gold.  Still another was lit with shades of orange and pink.  They were too beautiful to ignore.  Instantly, I was temporarily relieved of my departure plans.  This world is too beautiful to exit just yet.  My good feelings caused me new thoughts.  What was it about just seeing these colors that made me feel so good?  Why did I think it so beautiful?  Would someone else think the same?  

I remembered my ailing father in the time before his death, and he would have told me that the colors meant nothing at all to him.  But he was well ready to depart, his chosen tasks completed, and he was missing my mother, who had passed before him.  So the colors don't save everyone.  Nevertheless, they saved me from my week-long funk and blew wind back into my sails.

There's a lot I can still do to help out in this world.  I'm not ready to leave just yet.