Category Archives: politics

Good Morals?

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I love when somebody gives me something interesting to ponder. A member of my local community recently suggested that people moved to our area because of the “good morals and values” that our community has. This got me to thinking: What is morality? Where do you find morality? What do you base your morality on? Do you think morality is limited to just certain religions or can anyone be a moral person?

I don’t think morality is limited to a specific place, people, political party, or religion. For me, people with good morals are the people who are kind to one another, and to their fellow creatures. For me, good morals are seen in honesty, integrity, hard work, generosity, compassion, and kindness. People who aren’t quick to jump off the handle and start yelling at each other, calling each other names, and threatening each other are, I believe, showing good morals. People who are able to thoughtfully reflect on their beliefs, who can admit when they’re wrong, and are more concerned about someone else’s needs than their own wants show good morality.

I was raised in what, I guess, you would call the Christian tradition. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love your neighbor. Love your enemies. Feed the hungry. Blessed are the peacemakers” – these are the passages from the Bible that were emphasized in my up-bringing. But I have friends from all religions and non-religions, and from all around the world, who share these beliefs with me. I don’t think you need to be a Christian to be a good person.

My parents didn’t maybe share the same religious beliefs (and for a time they didn’t even belong to the same political party), but they shared the same values: Be kind; don’t be quick to judge; appreciate the environment and take care of it; help those in need. I’m grateful to them for passing those values onto my brothers and me.

Okay – your turn. What are your thoughts about morality?

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I don’t hate Donald Trump…

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No, honestly, I don’t hate Donald Trump. I hate what he says and does and tweets. I hate how he twists events so that he never has to take responsibility for them. I hate the cruelty and mockery he shows to the disabled, the disadvantaged, and those who are seeking refuge here. I hate the way in which he incites hatred in others. But I don’t hate HIM. I don’t wish harm to come to him or his family. I just don’t think he’s the right person to be leading my country.

 

Getting Through the Next Couple Weeks

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Dear friends –
I think we’re probably all the targets of fear-mongering and hate-mongering right now – it’s a week before the elections, after all.

So I want to say this to my conservatish friends – I maybe don’t always understand why you vote the way you vote – but I trust you’re doing what you think is the right thing to do. I’ve seen you reach out to those in need. I’ve seen you come to the defense of people who are different than you. I don’t believe you would willfully cause harm to others. I think you’re doing the best you can in very confusing and challenging times.

I trust you know the same is true of me – left-wing snowflake that I am. 

We are all in this together – left, right, upside-down, and in-between. Let’s do what we can to help each other get through the next couple weeks, okay? Remember the power in kind words and a friendly smile.
– Karen

“Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you.”
– Mary Baker Eddy

“‘Love one another’ (I John, iii. 23), is the most simple and profound counsel of the inspired writer.”
– Mary Baker Eddy

Doing the Right Thing

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I guess what’s more important to me than the promises a president makes at rallies, are a president’s actions. Speaking the right words is a lot easier than actually doing the right thing. Is it right to separate thousands of immigrant children from their parents and detain them (still!) in cages? Is it right to refuse to pay the construction workers who built your tower? Is it right to create a fake university, charge students thousands of dollars in tuition, and then offer them no education? Is it honorable to believe you can grab any woman you meet “by the pussy”? Is it right for a President – a man who has sworn to protect the Constitution – to berate people for practicing their First Amendment rights and kneeling in peaceful protest? Is it good for our country to sign legislation that will allow toxic waste to be dumped in our rivers? Is it noble to sign legislation that will allow hibernating bears and their cubs to be slaughtered? Is it honorable to refuse to address the bigotry of people who march with NAZI flags and assault rifles in our streets? Is it wise to put a woman who is against public education in charge of public education? Is it wise to put a man who is against environmental regulation in charge of protecting the environment? Is it honorable to threaten the news media when it does its job and holds you accountable for your actions?

Is There One Issue So Important?

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So is there one issue that is so important to you you’d be willing to sacrifice democracy, the First Amendment, the environment, and the safety, financial security, and health care of your fellow citizens if you thought it meant getting what you wanted on this one issue? Is there one issue that would lead you to vote for someone you know is unfit to be a leader just so you could have this one thing?

Because I’m thinking that might be how we ended up in our current situation.

The Really Important Things

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When I’ve read memoirs about the Holocaust it’s always struck me how – as the insanity played out on the political stage – people continued to go about their lives – going on walks, going to work, going to school, getting married, celebrating birthdays, celebrating life. It always struck me as kind of odd. But today, as I was corresponding with a dear friend, I had a kind of epiphany about it. We are, right now, living through a time that will probably be considered “historic” at some point. And we continue to go on our walks in the sunshine, and go to work, and go after our dreams, and get married, and celebrate life. And we have to, don’t we? I mean, this is our one chance at life. And if we let it all be dictated by politics – if we focused all our time and attention on the stuff that’s going on in Washington, DC – we’d never get a chance to have the sunshine, and to dance and laugh and sing and do all the really important things.

So, while we’re battling all the insanity in DC, let’s not forget to also make time for ourselves to do the things in life that bring us joy.

 

That M*A*S*H Scene Revisited

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So here’s something… I woke up this morning with that scene from the M*A*S*H movie in my head – the one where Margaret Houlihan is trying to take a shower and Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John raise the shower curtain on her in front of an audience of laughing men. M*A*S*H was one of the biggest movies of the early 1970s – nominated for all kinds of awards, including best picture. I didn’t see it when it first came out – too young – but I remember enjoying it, for the most part, when I finally saw it a few years later. I never did like that shower scene, though – it made me really uncomfortable – I thought it was mean-spirited. And now here we are in 2018. I’m thinking that scene might not play well in theaters, anymore. And I’m really glad about that.

We have made progress.

He Made My Day

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From yesterday –

So when I was getting ready to pull out of the Sisters Espresso parking lot this morning another person got out of his truck and started walking up to the espresso stand. He looked serious and grim. From appearances he was pretty much everything I’m not: male; tall; young; of a different ethnicity. And as I was thinking these thoughts, and feeling a little intimidated by the serious expression on his face, he glanced my direction. Without thought I smiled at him through the car window – and he smiled this beautiful charming smile back at me – totally took me by surprise!

He made my day.

“…Love is reflected in love.”
– Mary Baker Eddy

Rant du Jour

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Karen’s rant du jour:
I’ve noticed a pattern. When someone from one team (and this could be the GOP or the Democratic party or a third party) gets accused of some kind of misconduct, other people from the same team immediately point to the bad stuff someone from the OTHER team did – “See that?! Did you see what HE did?!” My thought about this is…it’s a distraction – it’s keeping us from focusing on the things we need to deal with right now. If Kavanaugh attacked this woman – he should not, in any way, be allowed to serve on the Supreme Court or ANY court. Doesn’t matter what Clinton did or didn’t do. Doesn’t matter what Wasserman Schultz did or didn’t do. Doesn’t matter what anyone else did or didn’t do – the question is what did KAVANAUGH do? He’s the one being nominated for the Supreme Court right now. The corruption has to stop sometime with someone in some place. We can’t keep passing this stuff on and excusing it. I’ve come to realize in the last few years that BOTH of the major parties are full of corruption – and that doesn’t make any of it alright. We need to start at the top – with the President – and start cleaning the corruption, greed, dishonesty, and mean-spiritedness – out of there. The American people deserve better.

Please – if you’re 18 or over and a citizen of this country – vote in November.

P.S. A friend pointed out that there’s actually now a name for what I described here: whataboutism.

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We Don’t Have to Choose

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You know we don’t have to choose, right? You know we can support BOTH veterans (like my Dad) AND people who use their First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression, right? Okie dokie… carry on then…