The Fourth!

On this occasion - the 250th birthday of this country - I've been doing a bit of reminiscing.

I've been remembering my first visit to Washington, DC.  I had followed the challenge put forth by President Kennedy who asked not what my country could do for me, but what I could do for my country.  I had joined his administration and was proud to do so.

I remember my first visit to the Lincoln Memorial.  I was moved to tears just being there.  And it was a place I revisited every time I was in DC.  It put me in touch with America and being an American.  I wasn't unaware of some of our history that didn't fit with our declaration that "all men are created equal," but in the context of our basic ideals and efforts to live up to them I was proud to be a part of what we stand for.

It isn't that way today.  We have forsaken our ideals in more ways than I can count.  And I see no stopping the path we are on.  So I feel betrayed.  Not a good feeling.  Was the pride I felt naive and misplaced?  Looking through the lens of cynicism I find difficult to wish away, yes my youthful ideals haven't stood the test of time.

But when I change the lens through which I'm looking and replace them with a paradigm of hope and possibility I see that it doesn't have to be this way.  And that's a better place to stand.  So I won't deny the past, but will honor it as valid and available.

Happy Birthday to U.S.! 

Oh Happy Day!

The Israelis are apoplectic.  Oh Happy Day!  They're mad at everybody.  They're mad at Trump.  They're mad at Netanyahu.  Of course they're mad at Iran.  They're mad at themselves.   Oh Happy Day!

They don't like the Trump-Iran deal.  They don't like what it says, but even more they don't like that they weren't consulted.  So their feelings are hurt.  And their good friend Trump is calling them names, is insulting them,  Oh Happy Day!

In Gaza and Lebanon they've been behaving like off-the-leash pit bulls, destroying everything and every one in their path.  And now they're being told to stop, told by their one and only best friend to cut it out.  And they don't like it,

Oh Happy Day!

No Logic!

 

Distressing!

 I know,  I haven't written anything in a long time.  I have something to say every day, and every day I don't say it.  I do say it in my mind, though, so it doesn't go away.  It stays there as a daily addition to feeling distressed.  Why?

Because if you think what happens today is so bad that it can't get worser, think again.  It will get worse tomorrow.  Day after day after day everywhere I look it is getting worse.  There is no place to hide.  I live for the most part inside my bubble, safe, well taken care of, insulated from what I see going on outside.  But I'm not shielded from the reality that has taken over.

I just watched a report on the Amanpour show that was so horrific that I moved from my chair over here to the computer to express myself.  I can't keep it untouched in my brain, unexpressed, any more,  The TV report focused on the desperate need for help for the millions, tens of millions, of people around the world who are suffering and dying because of lack of food, war, no shelter, disease, no medical care, and - and - and!

We don't lack the resources.  We don't lack the ability.  We don't lack the knowledge.  We lack the humanity to help.  We are indifferent.  While the current leaders in the U.S. are the gold standard in indifference, we are not alone.  Indifference is everywhere.  It is indeed distressing.

I'd like to think that in the end humanity will reassert itself and we will rise to the occasion.  But I don't see any reason to think this will happen.  I'd like to think otherwise, but I don't.  Sorry, friends, but that's way it looks today.

War!

Going to war with Iran makes no sense.  It is a bluster by a braggart that will not yield the intended results.

We say the Iranian people should rise up and get rid of their regime.  There is no organized opposition, so rising up will only lead to a slaughter of those that take to the streets.

There is an organized, well armed government military numbering hundreds of thousands that will not hesitate to kill their enemies.

Taking out the leadership will not help.  They will be replaced by more of the same.

This is a stupid move predicated on the lie that there is an imminent threat to the United States.  Not true.  The only ally in this war is Israel.  We do their bidding and will pay a heavy price for being their puppet.

I was hoping (against hope) that common sense would prevail and we would not go down this path of self-inflicted idiocy.  I knew it was a long shot and my hope would not be realized.  Sorry to say I was right! 

Out of Control!

Long time no blog.  No excuses.  Just long time.

Every day is something new.  Some new obscenity.  Some new threat.  Some new challenge to what we would have said not long ago was sacred.

I'll give them credit for pursuing their agenda non-stop, creatively, boldly, arrogantly.  Who would have thought it would be this bad, this fast?  Not I!

The temptation is to fight back - every day.  To rise to the bait.  To do something.  The problem is that that doesn't help.  They get away with almost everything.  For the most part the courts are on their side.  Congress is helpless.  The executive institutions have been hollowed out and filled with loyalists.

The polls are saying what I want to hear.  Disapproval is on the rise.  That's good news.  But not enough to provide relief or guarantee that things will get better soon.

Some time ago I wrote that the civil war had already begun.  Nothing has happened that has changed my mind.  I wish it were otherwise.  It is out of control! 

Ohtani!

As a diehard San Francisco Giants fan I am programmed to detest the Los Angeles Dodgers. Happiness is seeing the Dodgers lose.  Full Disclosure: Back in the day I was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan and continued to be when in 1958 I was living in L.A. and the Dodgers came west.  That changed when I moved to San Francisco.  So now it is "Go Giants" all the way. 

At the same time I've been an admirer of Shohei Ohtani since he came to play in the U.S.  No problem when he was with the Angels, but then he signed with the Dodgers, so in theory at least he became the enemy.  But emotionally I still had an affinity with him.  The only way I could resolve my dilemma was to want him to do well and hope the Dodgers lose.

But what he did the other day was a joy to watch even if the Dodgers would win the game.  Pitching as well as hitting he did what no one had ever done before.  He pitched for 6+ innings and gave up only 2 hits while striking out 10.  And he hit not one, not two, but three towering  home runs.  All this in the same game.  That it was a deciding game in a postseason series made it even more memorable.

So good for you, Shohei.  Its a pleasure to cheer for you!