A Few Observations

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I want to thank those of you who have crossed the political aisle over the last year or so and come over to shake my hand and introduce yourselves and your perspective on the world in a thoughtful and reasonable way. You are appreciated. I have learned from you. Some of you have become my friends.

And for those of you who have crossed the political aisle to tell me to “shut up” and to call me a *moron*, a *whiner*, a *libtard*, and a *snowflake* – I thank you, also. You, too, have been an education for me.

A few observations: Hurling insults and personal attacks at people rarely wins them over to our way of looking at things. It usually does just the opposite, in fact. Calling people “unproductive” and “lazy” – when we know nothing about their lives or work – is unlikely to persuade them to join our “team.” Telling them that the leader of our “team” has accomplished loads of great things – and then failing to provide a list of those accomplishments, or the sources for our information – is not very persuasive, either. We can’t,just make stuff up and then call it “facts.” And “fake” news isn’t just the news we don’t happen to like.

Alrighty then. Have a great rest of your day.
Peace.
– Karen

“We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms. Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world’s evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it,—determined not to be offended when no wrong is meant, nor even when it is…”
– Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings

 

earth NASA

“Let us serve instead of rule…”

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“Let us serve instead of rule, knock instead of push at the door of human hearts, and allow to each and every one the same rights and  privileges that we claim for ourselves.”
– Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings, p. 303.

From a Facebook dialogue –
Ray – I have great respect for all you sacrificed for our country and for that I will ‘like’ your comment regarding your sacrifice. Thank you for sharing your feelings about our flag and anthem. I understand your feelings, and believe you should have the right to stand for the anthem – just as I understand the feelings of those who choose not to stand for the anthem, and believe they should be allowed to practice their rights, also. God bless America. God bless our Constitution. God bless those who stand, and those who kneel. God bless the whole world – no exceptions.

Here’s where I am with it: How does it help anyone – how does it help our country – if we force other people to stand against their own conscience and pretend to feel and believe what we want them to feel and believe? If all these players who were kneeling now stand for the anthem because we force them to stand – how does this fix anything or make anything better? Would that really make you happy – knowing people were doing something against their own will and integrity? Are we really honoring veterans like my dad – who served in the South Pacific in WWII – by denying our citizens the freedoms they’re given in the Constitution of our country? No, I think we honor our veterans by using the freedoms they risked their lives to protect. And that includes using our First Amendment rights.
– Karen

“…you have the rights of conscience, as we all have, and must follow God in all your ways.”
– Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings, p 236.

God bless

“Unconstitutional and unjust coercive legislation and laws, infringing individual rights, must be ‘of few days, and full of trouble.'”
– Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings, p. 80.

Semi-Annual Job Review for Our President

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Semi Annual Job Review
Dear Pres. Trump –

Bless your heart. You must be feeling mightily frustrated. You’ve discovered by now that being President of the U.S. isn’t at all the same as being the CEO of a corporation. You can’t just fire people from citizenship in your country if they don’t do what you order them to do. You can’t boss Senators and Representatives around like they’re your employees. You can’t scramble around the laws of the land like they don’t apply to you. You’ve discovered that you don’t actually own America. You are not the boss. You’re supposed to work for the people now. You’re supposed to be their servant. You are the employee. Your actions can be questioned. Your sketchy alliances with foreign powers can be scrutinized. You can be removed from your position.

I know. I don’t blame you if it’s all making you a little grumpy. But take heart. There’s hope for you. You can learn. It’s not impossible. You can take this opportunity to actually make the country a better place for your employers. Maybe you’ll hear what Bernie Sanders has to say about health insurance for all – and you’ll be like, “Oh! What a great idea! Let’s do that one!” Or maybe you’ll take the time to talk to the athletes who are using their First Amendment rights and kneeling, and you’ll find out why they’re doing that – and you’ll be, like, “Oh! Let’s see how we can fix that for you!” Maybe you’ll visit Puerto Rico and realize it’s, like, actually a part of the United States – and maybe you’ll decide to do what you can to help the people there. Heck, maybe you’ll decide to do what you can to help your neighbors who are dealing with death and destruction in Mexico, too.

– Karen, one of your employers

You Know What to Do

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My dear Humoristian hooligans –

Whatever it is you’re going through – you are not alone. You’ve got a legion of people beside you who care, and who believe in you. You are making a difference. Every kind smile, every act of courage and self-sacrifice, every gesture of wisdom and good will is making our world a better place. There will be challenges today – “friends” may falsely disparage your character; you may be treated without consideration or appreciation – but you’re above all that. You know how to invest your time and energies. You know what you need to do and be to heal our world. Go out there and work your magic!

– Karen

love-hath-made

Here’s an Idea…

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Instead of uniting behind a symbol, why don’t we unite behind what the symbol represents? Justice, equality, freedom.

two eagles in tree this one

Photo of eagles by Karen Molenaar Terrell, Skagit County, WA.

Stealing Integrity

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So you want to force people to stand for the anthem
whether they want to or not?
You want to force them to pretend to believe
what you believe?
You believe you can force respect from others
by stealing their integrity?
How do you see this happening, exactly?
All the players standing in a coerced line,
hands super-glued over their hearts?
Simons says. Puppets on a string.
With no right to disagree or question
or protest what they feel is wrong?
And how is this going to help anyone?
Or make anything better?
Wouldn’t it be better if we fixed the system,
healed the hurts, so everyone wanted
to honor the symbols that represent freedom?
– Karen Molenaar Terrell

 

Protecting and Defending the Constitution

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Here is the oath the President takes when he gets sworn into office: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

When a President bullies those who are practicing their First Amendment rights and says they should be “fired” from their jobs, he is neither protecting nor defending the Constitution of the United States. He is, figuratively, pissing on it. And HE should be fired for not carrying out his oath of office.

Amen.

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love the hell

“Heaven is not a locality, but a divine state of Mind…”
– Mary Baker Eddy

A Political Vent (you might want to skip this one)

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I voted for Hillary Clinton in November 2016. Because Trump.

But I wanted Bernie.

Hillary Clinton is telling us now that the lack of respect from Bernie and his supporters “hurt.” But the manner in which the Democratic party (under the leadership of Debbie Wasserman Schultz) ignored Bernie Sanders, ignored the huge rallies and the enthusiasm of his supporters, “hurts.” Clinton’s narrow-visioned, egocentric take on the presidential election is proof to me that she should never have won the Democratic nomination for President. I wished then, and I wish now, that Clinton would have stepped aside when she saw the wave of enthusiasm that Bernie had behind him. He would have won the presidency and we wouldn’t be dealing with what we’re dealing with now.

I remember thinking “big deal” when Clinton won all those states in the south in her race to win the Democratic nomination. I knew those southern states weren’t going to vote for Clinton in the general election. Winning those southern states meant nothing. I could see that it was the northern states, the Pacific states, the states in the northeast – the blue states – that mattered in the race for the Democratic nomination. The southern states were going to vote Republican in the end. They were not going to vote for Clinton in November.

If Clinton had really had the best interests of the country at heart, rather than her own single-minded, blind, dogged determination to be the first woman President, she would have seen that, too. But she didn’t. The fact that she STILL doesn’t see it is testament to me that she should never have been the nominee for President.

Clinton did a terrible disservice to our nation by not stepping aside and letting Bernie Sanders lead the charge. To feel “hurt” because he didn’t drop out of the race right away has me shaking my head. The presidency of the United States is not some prize to be won by the biggest ego. Neither is it supposed to be a job promotion to whoever gives the most money and time to her (his) political party. The President of the United States is supposed to represent ALL Americans – not just Democrats, not just Republicans, and not just the wealthy and powerful.

And for those of you who are posting a defense of Clinton and telling your readers they aren’t allowed to respond to your post in a negative way: tough bananas. This is still America and I am still allowed to openly disagree with you.

Please can we have a viable candidate in 2020?

 

A Time of Innocence

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It was a time of innocence, wasn’t it?
The before times.
There are moments I wish
we could go back to those days –
I see the before-movies
with the towers in the background –
Working Girl, The Thomas Crown Affair –
from a time when the chief concern
was winning.

We were there a month before –
smiling and laughing with our
fellow tourists, and the people of
New York, walking the same streets
as the best-of-the-best writers, actors,
business people, artists – the energy
and rhythm of the city filling us with
ambition, and possibilities.

Before we left I gave my unused subway
tickets to a businessman – I think he said
he worked in the Towers – he thanked me.
And a month later we watched
the towers fall, looked at our souvenir
mugs with the skyline emblazoned
on them – and knew the world had changed.

We returned two years later, wondering
what we’d find. Would our New York friends
be beaten down, lost, defeated?
No. We found resolve. We found generosity.
We found people who’d been tested
and come through with more than
“winning” on their minds.
We found nobility on the streets
of New York. We can’t go back.
But we can honor those who died
that day by living our lives
in a way that brings peace
and healing to New York,
to our planet.
-Karen Molenaar Terrell, from The Brush of Angel Wings

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