“We
either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of
work is the same.”—Carlos Castaneda.
“You never hear about truly self-actualized people, like Buddha
or Christ telling people they’re stupid losers. It goes against the nature of
enlightenment.”
–Martha Beck
“Republicans
and Democrats are today far more likely to view those members of the other
party not as competitors, but as enemies, holding overwhelmingly unfavorable
views of each other”—Online
report.
“The vaccine
fight, rather than an outgrowth of Trump’s divisive presidency, is just another
example of how polarization is not just transforming American society — it’s
literally killing people.”
(How? They
are also voting down such systems as Medicaid, thus limiting health care. And
because of mistrust of each other, they end up paralyzing Congress and the
federal government.)
.
The first
two quotes came from an old blog post of mine. Some dear soul/ reader commented:
“Completely,
u got this 1 down correct, man. Keeped me entertained for ages.”
I decided to
see what he was commenting from. The post was “Going with the Flow,” September
13, 2019-- my oh my, almost two years ago. So, I reread it and found I need to
follow my own advice.
Don’t
forget to read the True Story at the bottom of the page.
Presently,
it appears that people, instead of hanging together--unified as we have done in
times past, are divided. For example, during WWII, little children pushed their
wagons around the neighborhood, collecting whatever pots and pans the neighbors
felt they could spare. (The military needed metal for war machines.) Citizens
bought war bonds to support the war. They graciously accepted the rationing of
food and shoes even. Have we forgotten that?
Have we
forgotten that once we pulled together?
Have we forgotten that blacks and Native Americans fought alongside
white Anglo-Saxon boys? Have we forgotten that 29 Navajo Code Talkers created
an unbreakable code that helped win World War II? Although the Japanese were
breaking every code the Americans were throwing at them, they never broke the
Navajo code.
Now we are
divided over Vaccinations.
Vaccinations,
for heaven’s sake. It has become a religious fervor.
I’m
mystified.
I had hoped
we would learn to stick together from this pandemic…
Nope.
I will
repeat: “You never hear about truly self-actualized people, like Buddha or
Christ telling people they’re stupid losers. It goes against the nature of
enlightenment.” Martha Beck
How are we
doing?
Do we want
to see the people of the earth survive and thrive?
Biology says
that we don’t need post-menopausal women because they don’t reproduce. However,
psychology says we need them to keep our DNA alive and assist the next
generation.
Same with
men.
Oldsters
still have a job.
I have
quoted Richard Bach from his book Illusions many times. And
I am again: “If you think
your mission in life is over if you’re alive, it isn’t.”
We didn’t
lose our hearts and minds somewhere over the years or get beaten down by the
endless rabble that pounds us on every turn.
We still
believe in our country, except a mist has covered our eyes, and we believe the
ultra-rich and the famous somehow have more smarts than we do.
Yes, those
who made it to the top of their game have done their hard work and had
determination and a mindset that assisted the process. Success was important to
them. However, it doesn’t mean they are wise.
Others focused
on keeping the cogs working at home and with family—that was important to
them.
And the
unsung heroes at home had dreams but felt stymied to reach them. Some of their
stymied conditions were intended to keep them down. We built schools to make workers
who could sit for long periods and do mindless repetitive jobs. And because of
finances, we would even take PE, art, and music out of our schools. (Body,
mind, and spirit fell to technological advances.) Keep those noses to the
grindstone, build more gismos. Help make life easier for the populace. Slowly
we were conditioned. We needed workers and consumers, so we hit the people with
clever commercials. Earlier on, we had an excellent new attention device for
the public—television.
Early
television was such fun, and we loved entertainment, and the dog-style
instincts in us loved watching moving objects. And in our hearts, we believed
that the ones talking were giving us the truth.
The people
still believed in the American dream. To prove it, they were those few who
popped out and achieved their dream—the exceptions proved the rule. People
believed in the spirit of the country and in the pureness of people.
Some
remembered how Rosie the Riveter proved women could step into men’s shoes and
get the job done. They remembered how the men sacrificed, missed their
children’s childhood, were maimed and killed in their effort to fight
evil.
We forgot
because it was too painful to remember.
Once GI Joe
was considered a hero. He was a hero. In WWII, the military was filled with
every man, not just career-minded ones. Or ones who liked kicking people’s
butts.
A True
Story:
A few years
ago, we had a friend—he only left us to go to the happy hunting grounds. His
name was Jack Carol.
He visited
us often, and as he passed my kitchen window on the way to the front door, I
would call out, “Hi Jack!”
“Don’t ever
say that to a pilot,” he would answer.
He was a
navigator during the Second World War.
The
navigator sits behind the pilot, and according to Jack, it was the safest place
on the plane.
That proved
to be true for Jack, for he was shot down three times and twice was the only
survivor.
The third
time he was captured by a German soldier.
There was a
lot of noise going on around the crash site, with shells going off and shots
being fired, and the German soldier was leading Jack away from the turmoil.
Jack felt he was going to be shot.
As they
walked through the forest, Jack tripped, and as he did, he pulled the gun from
his boot, slid it up his body, and laid it on his shoulder, and fired. He
didn’t know if his bullet connected with the man behind him or not, but he ran
and escaped.
He hid
during the day and traveled at night, and he said he witnessed an aerial dog
fight at times. Meaning planes, you know, as in Curse you Red Baron.
Jack caught
cold and developed pneumonia but ended up at a French woman’s farm. (Yeah, I
know this sounds like a movie. She was not a young gorgeous French woman, but
an older French woman with a heart of gold.) She was alone and living off her
land, which wasn’t much. He said she wore a dress that was woven together out
of cellophane. She hid Jack from the Germans and shared her meager fare with
him. One day the US Military front advanced to her door.
Jack came
out of hiding, gave his credentials, and told the group of GIs how this woman
had saved him.
The
following morning a US jeep appeared at her door laden with goodies—food and
clothing.
And Jack was
taken into their care.
He lived
many years In San Diego. He didn’t fly anymore when we knew him, but he was
still fascinated by flying objects.
