After thirty years of struggling with chronic pain and illness, it gets a little edgy - at least for me. Gone is the wherewithal to get something done no matter what. But in my extensive seclusions from life I still see some things that made me go HUH....!! Or at least Hmm.....! Perhaps just being curious enough to see how things turn out or the next thing that will take me my surprise is what keeps me going, if only at a minimal existence. Some these Ah Ha! Moments are listed below along with my usual gripes and other shortsighted observations.
ITEM ONE
My biggest gripe is the hypocrisy of Trump supporters who were so adamant about the supposed evils of Obama. Most Republicans overlook their leader's moral, social, political and spiritual ineptitude because they still think they are going to get what they want out of him like money, power and no jail time. Many nations seem to clearly see what is happening here. Yet, too many in our fourth estate carefully make a place for ridiculousness. From the start, the media failed to confront all of the self-aggrandizement, brutish rhetoric and lies that would have likely disqualified anyone else who was running. Instead, they let Trump run the course and now have little ground to mount any challenge to all of his abuses and defects.
ITEM ONE
My biggest gripe is the hypocrisy of Trump supporters who were so adamant about the supposed evils of Obama. Most Republicans overlook their leader's moral, social, political and spiritual ineptitude because they still think they are going to get what they want out of him like money, power and no jail time. Many nations seem to clearly see what is happening here. Yet, too many in our fourth estate carefully make a place for ridiculousness. From the start, the media failed to confront all of the self-aggrandizement, brutish rhetoric and lies that would have likely disqualified anyone else who was running. Instead, they let Trump run the course and now have little ground to mount any challenge to all of his abuses and defects.
ITEM TWO
Sure war at first sounds like a lot of fun if not rather romantic, i.e. Hemingway. And there's a lot to do like pack MRE's, buy condoms and Skype. But after awhile-even war gets a little old. America as an almost continuous war nation might have something to do with the current extreme absolutism on both sides of our political society. I think one could rather easily confirm that we lack the wisdom to deal with major issues in any real or practical way. Yet extreme views seem sensible to so many even if few receive any benefit, resolve or protection. For some, the reality of a less than perfect world is not even a consideration when thinking about right and wrong. The USA has entered the crazy zone of civil war (with or without weapons) that makes for an even more divided and hateful nation.
ITEM THREE
White Evangelicals/Fundamentalists are now not only in the world but they are also of the world in an ever growing way. I guess you can keep separated for only so long. What was special or different about "born againers" now is only a feature of just another organized religion that wants its place in the mainstream. True, some are returning to the sojourner status that they once enjoyed, but for many the cat is out of the bag as it were. The militants have won. Previous prohibitions have been modified or just forgotten. The great Satan of liberal socialism must be defeated. And they are more concerned about the splinter in your eye than they are about the 4x4 that is in theirs.
ITEM FOUR
Perhaps someday, the treatment of children will be the standard by which all else is judged. ...Perhaps someday. But not when witch doctors are sacrificing children in Africa to effect the drought conditions. I'm thinking it's the witch doctors that should be sacrificed. But how many children are sacrificed to people with guns, lack of proper nutrition and health care, abuse and molestation, and indoctrination into radical fundamentalist beliefs both religious and political ....or cultural and social. Thankfully, there has been movement against the practice of genital mutilation in some countries as are laws being passed against child marriage, and other mistreatments. But there's so much yet to be done for children who know nothing but an uncaring world.
ITEM FIVE
Okay, this complaint isn't necessarily on firm ground. In fact, I somewhat understand the reactions to life changing illness. I remember on OPRAH, back in the day as it were, a Catholic priest who contracted AIDS talked about how much his spiritual understanding had changed even though he was going to die from the disease. If I remember correctly, he said he would want to be infected again if it meant getting the spiritual understanding and peace that he now had. Well, that's all familiar as many have a similar story to tell. God bless them all. ...BUT let's not think that a terminal disease or a personal crisis is necessary for spiritual enlightenment or peace. Just be still and know. Which is likely why if we are going at a hundred miles an hour, it takes something to slow us down to the point of being still. Depend on what is within. Because what is without has happened to so many other people without very little enlightenment.
