Upon mature reflection...

I was writing to a friend, just yesterday, a person who does not "appreciate the finer points" of Christian theology. In fact, he has no use for "the faith," at all.
His arguments, so nearly as I can tell, are aimed at the wicked men  who betray the Church hypocritically, all the while saying something which leads to the oppression of others, be it, women or gays, or marriage, most recently and prominently.
These "ministers," when caught out, come over all tears and declaim in stentorian tones their repentance, their "new-found" faith, that they're entering into counselling!
It is ALL rubbish, of course, and candidly speaking, I detest that sort of hypocritical behavior and preaching. Such double-standard carryings-on only serve to denigrate the Church in the eyes of those who do not know Her well, and shake the foundations of strong faith of those who remain loyal.
If people actually knew the radical story of the Gospels, many of them would turn tail. The history of Jesus and the Gospels is: Jesus tips over "sacred white elephants."
Generally speaking, the "man in the street" is not comfortable with a religious or philosophical leader who is wildly unorthodox, and even brawlish, at times.
That doesn't mean we ought to remain pacific rather than becoming emphatic and enthusiastic about certain critical topics. That which affects the "body politic" is, by its very nature, of critical importance - it touches each of us to one degree or another.
                                                                                                                                                         v

Anger in Political Discourse

I was "chastised" for the tone of my email regarding a TV personality. OK, If I have the right to my opinion, that holds true for any other person as well.

However, while I agree with the writer, in theory, I shall just point out: being polite has not seemed to "win the day" in our political discourse, at least in recent memory. Civil rights are still being denied citizens - blacks, gays, Latinos - and all due to ignorance. We need to be angry - AND LOUD - about this.

Back in the 1860's, and even earlier, the discussion over whether human beings could own and abuse other human beings (slavery) was so hotly contested an issue, we had a very nasty war, AND an assassination, to resolve it. Sadly, those differences of opinion, and the racism engendered by such ignorance, are still present. The Civil War and the assassination of Mr. Lincoln were not good things, in retrospect, but there you are.

People felt very strongly about the issue of slavery. A mere century later, in the 1960's, the arguments over granting civil rights to ALL citizens sparked many a vehement argument. The desegregation of schools was even nastier - and more deadly - than the desegregation of the military, earlier.

In the late 1700's, matters between King George III and the colonists in this land, escalated to such a pitch, that - yes! - it took a war to settle THOSE differences.

Europe was forced into a bloody war because of the vile racist policies and ambitions of Hitler.

So, I posit that "sweetness and light" don't do squat in political discourse.

The opponents in a political discussion need to understand WE ARE ANGRY and demand that the status quo be changed...by violence if need be.

One could hope for a more civilized response...something Gandhian, perhaps, but an "animated" and vociferous exchange has worked in the past and will probably prove efficacious in the near future.

I do believe that "calling a spade, a spade" is, in fact, useful.

She, the "pundit" in question, needs to know I have utter contempt, not for her as a person, but for the benighted notions and opinions she holds and blathers on about. They are useless responses to the VERY pressing problems facing this Republic. I do not see that we have time to shilly-shally in a "political minuet."

Political "pundits," as a whole, should either try to help or get out of the way! They are as much the over-paid problem as our elected representatives: stirring up the crowd...and to what end?

This flap over spying

"RIP OFF THE CLOAK OF INDIFFERENCE...AND CHOOSE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
These words were amongst the last spoken to an indifferent society, prior to the arrests, trials and martyrdoms, of the young (mostly) Catholic anti-Nazi activists of the White Rose.
Much of what Hitler and his stooges accomplished was through domestic terrorism, designed to squelch any protest or free thought.
So, too, is the present US administration's war on whistle-blowers and other protesters having just that same intended, chilling effect.
The cruel pre-trial imprisonment (18 months was it?) and subsequent mistreatment of Bradley Manning is unspeakable and breaches his Constitutional rights, even if he is in the military; the preposterous carryings-on over Edward Snowden, members of Congress calling for his head as a traitor...what rubbish. Does this administration NOT care that Edward Snowden has exposed a patently unConstitutional domestic spying ring? And to what end?
This president, the purported Constitutional law expert, who so loudly proclaimed that "sunlight is the best disinfectant," that his would be the most transparent administration yet, has proved, once again, unequal to the cause he so brazenly espoused. Well, unequal or unwilling...
He might have been wiser to have kept his mouth shut, if what he was going to do was, in fact, further a neo-fascist government.
I cannot sit idly by, as the government of this Republic so shamelessly adopts Nazi and Stalinist tactics, in the "name of national security."
BOSH!
One could ALMOST excuse the Bush #43 administration for their breaches of the Constitution. They really never made any pretence of following the law, anyway.
Cheney is a man bent on corruption and skullduggery; poor Alberto Gonzales is as much a moron as the man he served as president; John Ashcroft almost had a conscience.
John Yoo, on the other hand, is a veritable Josef Goebbels. Thanks to his twisted legal arguments, torture, which had been anathema in this Republic since the time of the Revolution, suddenly became acceptable in this country - in defiance of ALL international treaties and laws the Congress agreed to.
AND THE VOICES THAT CRIED OUT WERE IGNORED. We cried to Heaven and went unheeded.
The Bush administration began a war on protesters which this president, Barack Obama, has only stepped up. "Power corrupts...etc"
Through his pliable Justice Department, headed by Eric Holder, the cry of "national security" is being used to silence protesters in a subtle but very effective campaign of domestic terrorism.
And he wants to put Ray Kelly, THAT fascist pig as head of the DHS...God, that's a disaster just brewing, if you ask me.
The superficial changes Obama has instituted are, in fact, only band-aids. His race to a new Nazism is running rampant. The corporate power being wielded in Washington, DC and in state legislatures across the land, is wiping out our Constitutional rights and the voice of the people, little by little.
Our voting rights are being stripped, and what does the Jsutice Dept. do? NOTHING.
Our right to know what our government, our ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, are enacting in OUR names, is being glossed over and hidden away. We only find out about things ex post facto.
That, I think, is not what our Founders had in mind when they ratified the Constitution, indeed, when they fought the British monarchy.
The Founders were already sick of the secrecy and under-hand way in which laws were passed and then foisted on them. They were determined that such secret maneuverings were not going to be part of the operations of THIS new government.
Well, it did not take too long before such narrow and bigotted laws were passed.
Sadly, "the apple does not fall too far from the tree."
And now, here we are, again, having to cope with that insufferable, and, to my mind, unConstitutional, Patriot Act.
Suddenly, the Federal Government may, with little provocation or just cause, undertake a program of domestic terrorism which would have a decidedly chilling effect on protest and those who, finding malfeasance and high crimes in government offices, report same, will discover they are hunted like criminals...and ALL in the name of national security. What a farce!
While I am not certain how I shall go about this, I shall try to resurrect the White Rose and try to restore our Republic's good name and integrity, which our Congress and President have taken in vain.  
So, what have we got? A government which is engaged in patently evident instances of domestic terrorism; manifold foreign wars, at untold cost in lives and treasure; unchallenged voter suppression across broad swathes of the Republic; a government handed over, lock, stock and barrel, to corporate interests, without regard to the needs of the people.
This is a government which, according to Jefferson's inspired Declaration of Independence, deserves to be brought down and changed to suit the needs of ALL people, not simply the banks or corporate CEOs. If the rich don't like it...oh well!

Vissi d'arte

The treatment of the artist in the US is perhaps not very gracious.

We will pay some basketball player millions of $$ but pay no attention to the trained artist, the singer, the intuitive artist who leads our souls on a vision-quest.

I'll grant that the artist may have a somewhat longer life than a sportsperson, and opera houses are not usually able to seat 50,000 souls, like many sports venues. Still...I'm not persuaded the sight of a group of men pummelling each other, in a war-like attempt to score goals (capture the hill, take prisoners), is actually ennobling!

Indeed, quite the contrary seems the result.

Are we cretins, utterly devoid of souls? Or is it that we are so deluded, so convinced that being tethered to a desk all day long, in some soul-numbing exercise in futility is of value and the end purpose of our lives!

One does this solely to make money for the CEOs, CFOs, etc., because, despite the work YOU do, none of that money shows up in your pay-packet! So, one needs to ask, how much value DO you have? Not much according to the pay-master. This is tragic.

Oh, dear...

Goodness, that last post was just terribly written. Not that I am a brilliant writer, but surely there are standards, even for me...

The postings I have been reading on God Space are wonderful. The recent one reflecting on 'The Dancing Guy' and his leadership is quite eye-opening. The narrator points up certain aspects of 'leadership' within a movement, and who it is that really gets things moving.

I had never thought about this before.

We do not usually give credence to the first courageous soul to follow, the first person to step out and say "Yes" to the ideas and aspirations of the 'leader,' the 'Dancing Guy.' And yet, it is that person who actually gets the ball rolling, inspires the next one to rise up and follow.

In the church, we often make much ado about 'Peter this,' and 'Peter that'...and surely, Simon Peter is an important person in the history of the Church.

But Simon WASN'T the first person to follow...it was his brother, Andrew! The Orthodox have it more accurately - Andrew, the First-Called, they name him.

One wonders, is Simon MORE important than Andrew, who first believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Promised One? Simon was not, perhaps the most courageous disciple - rash yes, but courage is another matter altogether, surely. It probably took a lot of courage for Andrew to say "We have found Him, the Messiah." That flew in the face of contemporary wisdom, flew in the face of the synagogue leaders, flew in the face of the Temple priesthood.

Andrew was a simple fisherman, as was Simon. They knew tides, ships, nets, the current price they might expect from the market merchants for their catch.


They knew how much their tithe was going to be. It is highly unlikely they knew anything about Scripture or theology.

While I was meditating on and responding to the 'Dancing Guy,' in line with what the narrator had suggested, I realized that during the Entry Into Jerusalem, the people lined the streets, and they waved palms because one very enthusiastic person started - someone first believed.

Of their faith, Andrew and Simon probably knew little more than when the holy-days were observed, how much tithe to bring to the Temple and the ritual niceties in home and synagogue.


On a different point altogether, John, a man with whom I worked at Afikomen, a Jewish bookstore, suggested that the timing of the whole episode of "Palm Sunday" as we call it, makes no sense to him. John came from a mixed, or 'blended,' home - Jewish/Christian - so he was acquainted with the Christian calendar as well as being an observant Jew. He posits that what we call Palm Sunday must have occurred later in the year, at the Feast of Sukkoth (Booths or Tabernacles), when the waving of palms (or lulavim), is the norm. This is NOT the norm at Pesach.


Indeed, it is unlikely the populace would have been concerned with palms at Pesach. Yeast, matzoh, the seder, lambs and lamb's blood, yes, but palms no.


Sukkot, like Pesach, is one of three pilgrimage feasts dictated in Scripture. A feast of pilgrimage or feast of ascension, because one "ascended" up to Jerusalem.

The sukkah is a small tabernacle, a booth or dwelling, in which one celebrates the rites of the Feast, and is, as the name implies, also the shelter in which one lives for the week of the observance, to remind one of the time our ancestors lived in tents in the desert! These must be temporary dwellings.

Today, even in the midst of the great cities, an observant Jew will build his sukkah on the fire-escape! The fire marshall must go mad, but what can one do?

The waving of lulavim (palm fronds bound together in a bundle with myrtle and willow) and an etrog, which is a 'local' citron, seems to pre-date the coming of the Hebrews to Palestine by millenia. The symbolism is fascinating, and very archaic. It is arguable that this is one of the most ancient feasts the Hebrews co-opted, when they moved into Palestine. It seems, almost certainly, to be traceable to an ancient fertility rite, designed to attract rain-fall - which would only make sense given the locale.

The willow is certainly a water-tree, growing ONLY along river-banks (whether visible or subterranean), the myrtle leaf is small, shaped "like an eye," (perhaps the 'eye' of a deity?) and it is possible the etrog, too, the pitom, the style and stigma (intact, if possible), perhaps also harks back to ancient rain divinites. The custom is so ancient, the lore seems to be lost now.

Sidebar: My understanding was that the fruit MUST be intact, with pitom! This is sometimes difficult to guarantee through shipping nowadays, though all possible care is taken, and I think, now, there are breeds of etrog which grow sans pitom altogether. That must certainly get around the whole question of "pitom or not pitom!" (I wonder, though, if TOO much legalism does not spoil the more integral meaning of the holy-day. Surely, our minds ought to be elsewhere than on the pitom of a piece of fruit which is really for ritual/display only.)

It is hard to know NOW, what inspired the ancient, desert-dwelling, sheepherding tribes.

Freudian connexions aside, the minds of ancient peoples were perhaps more imaginative than are ours, since they had no TV or print media to supply the images which surrounded them. In a certain sense, we have deprived ourselves of the wonder of looking at the natural world and being amazed at the signs and wonders, the symbols we see therein.

Most rites and rituals are derived from some previous source, and are not spontaneous to their specific liturgy. Therefore, it is fair to think that the spontaneous demonstration of waving of palm fronds, IN Jerusalem, the week leading up to Pesach, UNDER the heel of the Roman occupation, would not be undertaken lightly. The Romans were not kindly disposed to large crowds to begin with, especially gathered around and acclaiming some one as popular as Jesus. To Roman authorities, such behavior smacked of an uprising, even revolution - the Roman occupiers would have snatched Jesus off HIS foal of an ass in a trice.

The Romans were not known as particularly open-minded in Judea, though they did not try to offend local custom. It may well be that, in the rest of the Empire, they had fewer religious controversies. But, in other parts of the Empire, the local deities would be many and various, and probably melded with the Roman deities easily.

Judaism was an entirely different practice. The compromise of the high priests was precisely this: that they controlled the people and the Roman occupiers left things be as long as they could. When they DID intervene, they were harsh, brutal and unforgiving.


Jehovah (Yahweh), God of the Jews, is a unique, stand-alone kind of Divinity. He tolerates no other gods. That aspect of His character is clearly and repeatedly stated. Though the peculiar theology of Jehovah must have baffled the Romans, as it baffled the rest of the known world, the jealousy of Jehovah was 'tolerated' by the Romans, who tried not to offend the sensibilities of the fiery locals more than was needful. Rome hated uprisings. Heads rolled or procurators got transferred! They preferred trying to maintain a non-confrontational relationship with the people of Judea. Everyone prefers peace. This meant, however, that a certain tension was always simmering just below the surface.


Jews and the Romans were both very determined NOT to yield a bit of sovereignty or dignity. And Rome expected the Procurator of Judea to handle the Empire's business with proper and accustomed bluntness, when need arose. If a point needed to be made to firmly establish Rome's supremacy, then MAKE THE POINT, ALREADY!


The Romans were forever crucifying dissidents and false messiahs, rebels and hardened criminals. Didn't much matter to them - only so long as the law was observed, taxes were paid AND there was no threat to the Pax Romana. To all tyros, the cross was a hard lesson.


To return, then, to the question of the Entry Into Jerusalem occuring at or near the 14th of Nisan, that seems patently in error. The notion that palms were being waved all along a progress, and the Romans did NOT intervene, apprehending ring-leaders or anyone for insurrection, simply speaks to the fact that this palm-waving is the Festival-norm.


I believe that we have established now that the waving of palms was NOT the norm at Pesach, and IS the norm at the Feast of Sukkoth. Thus, we may be fairly certain of one of two things: either the Entry Into Jerusalem, Last Supper and Crucifixion could not be during the Feast of Pesach; or, that the Entry is some other event and unconnected to the Crucifixion, which we may be fairly certain did take place at the time of Pesach. It makes sense symbolically, but not from a purely logistical and evidentiary position.

But, the Crucifixion MUST be tied to the Passover. All the symbolism of the two Events over-laps and speaks loudly of the freeing of the People of God: the Lamb of God, the death of sin, the power in the blood, the Freedom, the New Life, the Resurrection, in HIM.


We might deduce from this that the Jesus event did not happen, or that the Gospel writers all forgot the facts OR that something was altered to fit the agenda of (shall we say) Constantine?

Had a crowd gathered to cheer Jesus, cheers probably containing the choice phrases "King of the Jews" "Messiah" the Romans would have snapped him up in a hot New York minute! They simply did not tolerate insurrection or the appearance or threat of, insurrection. A few heads would be bloodied and at least one person would pay on the cross - that is how the Romans maintained discipline. FEAR!

It has been the same over the world, since time immemorial.

I am astounded...

Between the undignified and clearly untruthful fracas over health-care and the equally foolish and deliberately ill-educated arguments regarding climate change (which really is an indisputable fact), the "discourse" in these United States, if one may call it that, has sunk to new lows.

I guess we have the Bush years and then the emergence of the Palin person, not to mention "Joe the Plumber," to thank for that! The Bushes were never known as erudite, or even nice people anyway - now we see the legacy.

What troubles me is the fact that Mr Obama (whether through poor judgment or worse advice) seems to be following in the footsteps of Bush 43 too closely. Evidently, the lives being bandied about seem to hold no value for the handful of "decision-makers."

We all hang in the balance: the presidents, congresspeople, doctors, nurses, patients, teachers, children, rice-growers, dogs, cats, yaks and cows; it does to matter. All life will surely perish if the greedy men and women - the 'captains of industry' and the elected officials who are supposed to govern their behavior are not kept on a short leash.

The laissez-faire attitude toward business, which brought on the collapse which led to the Great Depression, has proved to be as inexorable as bamboo. It resurfaced with a vengeance in recent years and was so prevalent in the Bush years - but no one seems willing to call a spade a spade - it is utterly bankrupt. Heaven forfend that we upset the bankers, Wall St. investors and the others who recently nearly destroyed the United States and with her half the global community.

Why we even allow such practices in 'polite society' goes beyond me. The argument for laissez-fairre is specious on its face! But, for some odd reason, the same preposterous points are thrown up to defend an economic policy which is without foundation, in fact has been shown to be bankrupt as often as it has been implaced! Are we, the intelligent electorate, supposed to tolerate, ot endure, such impoverished practices?

The Republic of these United States is not a lecture-hall, where hypotheticals may be discusssed. This is real life, where human beings suffer and die when the wrong decisions are made.

And our government seems not to care - oh, the president speaks eruditely about the need for change. He pays much lip-service to the high-points of climate and economic policy which will build a more stable and secure world for our children...but the erudition is all so much more CO2, it seems - yet more hot air to affect the slow but steady destruction of our climate.

Does he think, this president of ours, this highly-educated and erudite man and the equally well-educated and informed woman to whom he is married and their children, does he imagine that breathable air will be available to him, even when we are suffocating? Does he think that the sun-block will be available to him when the rest of us are too devastated by solar radiation to survive?

This madness of capitalism - this laissez-faire "get what you can, while you can, however you can" - which has finally been shown to be a cruel fraud, is NOT the sine qua non of human experience and happiness! And yet, we insist on kow-towing at the feet of the bankers, industrialists, insurance agencies and the other thieves and gamblers we imagine preserve the Republic and may, JUST MAY, make us rich. Does it NOT occur to most of the hapless folk who invest in the stock market that they are gambling and risking their childrens' futures on pipe dreams?

It goes beyond me that anyone, even the meanest hermit, can still think that gambling on the stock market represents any intellect whatsoever. Clearly, people still think there is integrity in the stock market, even after all the graft, corruption and utter destruction strewn about over the past years? But, why?

We, the citizens, sign petitions, make phone calls, write letters...and still, we might as well NOT exist, for all the attention our elected representatives pay us. While I will confess this "democracy" is a vastly superior form of governance to any threatening despotism, for some years now it has failed to address the primary needs of the Republic. Now we find ourselves with our hand caught in a wringer, and Congress looks out of our TV screens at us, like this desperate plight is all OUR fault and not theirs - deer caught in the headlights!

They have refused to take our direction, and preferred, instead, to take largesse from the corrupt lobbyists who throw cash and favors around like Mardi Gras beads. How the notion of lobbying can be made to harmonize with a democratic form of government is incomprehensible. The attempts to influence how our government works, what we vote for, what we focus on as a society: that lobbyists traduce those aims and instead put the emphasis on money solely is an evil which ought to be expunged.

THE DOLLAR IS NOT GOD!

I am grown weary with my head exploding. The time is now to alter radically the way we govern ourselves. Failure to act simply guarantees the soon demise of this Republic.

The corruption, graft, sin and moral turpitude one finds in both houses of Congress just prove that mankind is a flawed creature. Nothing could be more certain...or more tragically true.

Around the globe, life suffers and the governments, to whom we entrust our well-being and safety ignore the most basic decisions which might alter social direction, real security and turn us into steps which might actually preserve the health of our Republic, as well as of ourselves.

I am not certain we can afford to wait much longer. While I am no alarmist, the indicators are all flashing red...so, I wonder if we can have much leisure at our disposal.

The climate is going to fail us, our Republic is showing every sign IT is in failing health and I am not sure that WE, the PEOPLE understand, or care to understand that listening to some blow-hard 'pundits' (who, BTW, make millions of dollars a year) or Sister Sarah (who seems to be out only for herself) or certainly not to some tea-bag protesters (who are just easily manipulated, if well-meaning, fools) is going to move the big-hand on the Eternal clock-face back.

A more serious, an adult response is required NOW! We really do not have time to negotiate about who is more correct or who gets what...

The whole of the human race groans - one might say, 'Rome burns and Nero fiddles.' I still hold with Jefferson in the Declaration, when a government fails to do the task for which it was set-up, then we need to feel free to scrap it and establish a new, more responsive form.

I grant that certain things and programs will need to be carried over and, it may be, re-established under new guide-lines. But in all things the needs of the people must be paramount. They are NOT so now!

I wonder that we do not adopt a more parliamentary or even communal manner of self-governance. At least then, we might hope for a more direct response to our problems and needs. As it is, this experiement has shown itself a bit too frail, too unavailable to the electorate, too vulnerable to the graft and lobbying which make for poor representation of the voters.

This really needs to change or, as Proverbs says, "...the people perish."

"True Religion..." article finished

I finally finished the "True Religion" article, inspired by the quote from William Penn is finally finished and forwarded to Paul.

I have been so seriously hampered by not having a functioning Word program, to finally be able to sit down and compose an item without and limitations is so liberating.

I will be able to lift certain paragraphs from the article into the book, too.

I do hope Paul can use at least parts of the article. It runs rather long, so I do not hardly anticipate his using the entire thing, but certain paragraphs may be suitable for The Call.

It will all depend on his standards of usage, so...we shall see.

Another Opening...

As I was sitting downstairs, ruminating, once more the opening came to me that it is impossible to do more than encourage others in faith - after all, how does one prove the existence or qualities of the Father of Lights?
No, the only real, definitive manner in which we might hope to show forth the reality of the Only Reality is by living in such manner that our utter dedication to Him and our being vessels filled by the Trinity is through our manner of living.
This being a prophet in such a world as this is very disheartening. The things for which people live and clamour, the greed, acquisitiveness, the power and the corruption and utter moral bankruptcy of this nation (as I cannot speak to others), in short, the vapidity with which we live, as a nation...it is truly frightening, not to mention disgusting (at least to a Gospel Christian!).
It seems the president and many members of Congress think they are immune to the moral qualities which We, the PEOPLE, demand of ourselves (and which I think the Founders expected of all public servants, high and low).
The moral outrage and the hororrs and shocks to our national soul which so many progressives feel is quite understandable. For some odd reason, too many on the right do not see the conflict, the hypocrisy into which we are led.
This is too bad! As the Preacher says, "without a vision, the people perish." It seems nearly unthinkable, but we appear to have lost our vision...and we are not willing to listen to the Prophets who would restore to us our national soul. To hear, once again, Thomas Merton, the Berrigans, Noam Chomsky, Dorothy Day; the great contemporary Quaker voices: Thomas Kelly, Rufus Jones, Parker Palmer, even someone so "secular" or non-denominational as Annie Dillard and the host of other bright voices who would lead us into the Light.
To the contrary, the voices on the right which rale out in anger and hatred, fomenting violence and rebellion against change - mainly, I suspect, because of the loss of income it might cause them! - have done this nation (and the larger world) an irreparable harm.
Those hosts of radio and TV personalities (one cannot rightly call them journalists or even responsible commentators: the Limbaughs, the Becks, the O'Reillys, Anne Coulter, Fox in its entirety, have grossly and grievously misled those who will listen to them.
Frankly, it is difficult to understand how we will recover from this error. We will, I have no doubt, because the Spirit of the Most High is unwavering in HIS integrity, rectitude and HIS determination to help us grow in HIS Image. We, on the other hand, are weaker vessels! Too often, we are new wine in older wine-skins. As the Gospel says: (Matthew 26:41) Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
We cannot be a nation sans moral compass or ethical pivot. Such a thing is a failed state!
As I view the daily goings-on, we grow more and more into the 'laissez faire' state which collapsed in 1929, though the rot had set in long before - I think probably really taking hold in the 1880's. The Federal government simply bowed to the newly risen and extremely powerful corporate interests - never mind the harm it was causing the poor, the newly-arrived immigrants, seeking a better life, the children in the mines, the women in sweat-shops making shirt-waists...and fools that we are, we refuse to see the trend once again devouring our young, having infiltrated our business and political bases...if We, the PEOPLE do not take up the moral cudgel and demand a restoration of certain decent, humane and (dare I say it?) moral guidelines in our society, we are sunk.
This current health-care reform nonsense is only the scab on the wound, but it so evidently shows forth the disease rotting away at the dying flesh of this body politic.
I fear me that more than just some angry letters and parading around in front of the Halls of Congress is needed.
We MUST demand our government back. After the past 8 years, during which time our Constitutional Republic was hijacked, we must insist upon its full restoration.
Reagan began to disassemble our government, but this past man and his administration, having stolen our electoral system, proceeded to steal our entire soul, our national character and replaced it with - what? Now, we permit criminals to run the streets, even though in full view of the global community, in the specious name of National Security, they tortured, disappeared men, slew countless innocent men, women and children and over-saw the utter destruction of a weak and ailing state, so that still, the remaining citizens have no running water, electricity, food-stocks...
We, as Americans and the coalition, have nothing to be proud of! We ought to tremble at the fear of judgment, don sack-cloth and throw ashes on our heads in shame and grief at the terrible devastation we have wrought. And we encourage our friends, those equally morally bankrupt Isrealis to do the same! "What a swell party it was!"
The old adage about government is proved true in this, our day: "power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely!" Lord Acton (Full disclosure: I find this quote in various forms, with the same import, though some are quite off the mark and unrelated.)
I really do not think we dare allow the lunatic fringe to run off with our national soul!

We have lost our soul

My goodness, it has been some time since last I posted here, but honestly, I forget about it, with my other journal in the documents file.
Since I moved into this apartment, I have settled in nicely, though it seems empty with Momma gone, even now.
BTW: I am on an extra pain-killer for the hips and knees, though yesterday, for some odd reason my knees were not wanting to hold me up. I nearly did a tumble down the stairs...oh, well! At least I did not fall. Deo gratias.
The deeper theology has been settling in, too. More and more I find myself joining the Most High in my daily routine. Laying aside the liturgical and other forms (NOT from disrespect - I love the ritual - but from a deeper vision!), and simply finding HIM in the making of the bread or appreciating a meal or a piece of music...it is remarkable HOW pervasive that which we call God is...
All the fine exemplars of the Gospel lesson - Brother Lawrence, George Fox, James Nayler, Issac Penington, St. Teresa d'Avila, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Gandhi, Schweitzer, in our own country, the gentle John Woolman and even Einstein, certainly the early Fathers and Mothers of our holy Faith - ALL pointed out how essential it is for us to live and move, to have our being in HIS Being.
I feel sorry for the emptiness and shallowness I see in too much of the life around me. There seems so little purpose, only greed and acquisition. Wordsworth says it best in this sonnet:
"The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;"
What annoys me most, and a topic I often preached on when I was active in ministry is the manner in which we talk about "god" like IT was some sort of wall-paper or lesson-plan.
The Person and wonderful Friend Who is our Father is quite over-looked.
This is a tragic mistake and has contributed mightily to the sorry state of our social contract, which seems to be nil at best. Insofar as we have no morality or sense of ethics, the really important part of us is neither nourished nor given expression.
Small wonder, then, that our social arrangement, our political achievements are vapid!
Good Heavens, one consideration of some of the recent and current "political personalities" must give us insight into who and what we have devolved into!
This has given rise to such logical end-results as that our "social face," our community, is deeply marred by such ugly realities as youngsters killing their parents, their teachers and fellow-students, imperial wars and colonial occupations of other tribes...death penalties dragged out for decades. I will leave aside the abortion issue for the time-being, though I honestly believe that that single flaw has brought this great nation to its knees, figuratively, though NOT literally. How can we respect life and work for its improvement, when all around us life - innocent, defenseless life - is being life murdered, most heinously?
These untrustworthy people whom we elect to govern in our name, now hold sway over us, they have seized a power and presumed a position of authority to which they are neither entitled nor are many of them deserving - but we permit such abuses to be on-going: so who may we blame but ourselves!
This terrible topsy-turvy, misshapen thing we call the Republic is soon to fall apart if we do not quickly gather together its loose ends...the image Hamlet uses comes to mind: "sleep that knits up the ravel'd sleeve of care."
Well, I am not sure I want to be sleeping when this Republic goes to "hell in a handbasket!" And I know I surely do not want to be one of the guilty bystanders who permit this travesty to occur!
This foolish citizenry has allowed itself to be so terrorized and hoodwinked into thinking that we may fall under an attack (by terrorists? by investment banks?)...well, we most assuredly are - from within and by ourselves. We have not protected and cherished this Constitutional Republic (for which brave and noble men and women gave their lives!) and the sad end of this is that it has lost its magic. To be sure, it has lost its direction. We have failed to listen to the wise, if unwelcome (and too frequently martyred) Prophets who have warned, down the years, that failure to attend to the small details will cause the larger issues to be so clouded that they are lost.
There really ought not to be ANY dispute about a universal health-care program. The only real issue involved ought to be when and how much additional tax...if folks are so greedy that they balk at any additional tax for the opportunity to see the doctor of their choice or get proper care in a hospital, well, then, let them keep what they have, as the premiums spiral upward. "There are none so blind as those who WILL NOT see."
I freely admit I have a problem with abortion being allowed under the law. I certainly would have it otherwise, but until it is, we "throw-backs" must tolerate the status quo, using the time wisely, to try to educate young people NOT to engage in unprotected pre-marital sex (which is wise on any number of levels) and making certain we hold human life, indeed all life, in such high regard that the very notion of disposing of an infant in the womb (or other inhumane acts) is anathema!
I believe one cannot call oneself Christian while supporting ANY life-threatening action, whether an abortion, a war, torture or other civil act which places the life of an individual in jeopardy! The two are mutually EXCLUSIVE and the community suffers as a result.