More of the Same

Strange, how people, so like minded in other ways, can view the political situation so differently, judge candidates so differently, believe so differently that "the right course of action" can be in opposite directions.

Example: "Victory" in war means the death of thousands of innocents. How can it be rationalized by those whose battle cry has been Pro-Life? Is "Life" restricted to prenatal? I have said it here before: I am Pro-Life. But to me, that means I am Anti-War. I am not such an idealist that I do not understand that there will never be a day when necessary war does not exist. We will forever have to defend ourselves or others. But unprovoked war? - war for profit? (and it is always profitable for someone) - war simply to prove one's might? - to bully? - to attempt to force one's form of government on others who are getting along very well on their own, thank you? - war to "liberate" people who do not feel they need liberation? No. That is simply destruction of innocent "Life". It should not be entered into, and if begun, it should not be continued to "Victory". There is no victory in such a situation. There is only prolonged agony, on all sides.

What I find particularly repugnant is the lies, the propaganda, the false representation of "the enemy". There is a huge segment of the population, easily led by such things, gullible enough to be made to believe that they should hate and distrust all of "Them". Never mind that this family is quiet, law-abiding, and wants nothing more than to live peacefully in harmony with the rest of us. They are of another color or religion, and speak with an accent. They must be terrorists. Never mind that they have lived in our country for generations, and become citizens long ago, they are suspect. We must hate them.

The distrust of "Others" extends beyond wartime. It always seems to exist. I recall a trip I once took to New York to see The Little Red Lighthouse, of children's literature fame. Otherwise known as Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, it sits overlooking the Hudson River, under the George Washington Bridge. It is accessed through the neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem, one of my favorite places in the world, always colorful and full of music. I did not want to drive to New York, and decided to go along with a bus tour offered by New Jersey Lighthouse Society. As we drove into Spanish Harlem, the atmosphere inside the bus changed noticably. Conversation ceased. People would glance out of the windows and then at one another, and some of the women actually clutched their purses to them. When the bus stopped, they scurried along after the leader, huddling together until we reached the park itself. "They" were out there. "They" could be dangerous. All the signs above the shops and restaurants were in Spanish! I couldn't resist a chuckle when the Park Ranger appeared, and she was one of "Them". It amused me in a way, but how sad, really. These people had no idea how they cheat themselves of life's experiences.

The difference, of course, is that in wartime the hate and distrust can quickly turn to tragedy.

Fundamentalism scares me, whether Christian, Muslim, or any other religion. Extremists of any ilk are scary. There's no reasoning with them. They KNOW, and will never compromise, and refuse to learn anything new. New is bad. And the rest of us are all damned to hell anyway.

I don't understand why those who believe that God created everything quite literally, as written in the Bible, cannot also understand that He then must have created science and people with sufficient intelligence to figure it all out. Why do the two things have to be on opposite sides of the picture?

And I guess the biggest question I have is: how can they watch a leader of a country proceed to defy every value they, and he, claim to believe in, and still continue to consider him and those in league with him to be the ones they want to follow? I am not trying to be argumentative now. I know I get pretty hot about it at times, but just now I am sincerely asking, what is the logic behind this? By what mental process do they arrive at this conclusion?

And most important of all, how can they and thousands of other Americans stand by and watch our Constitution be trampled underfoot? When it is gone, and we are all looking at one another and asking, "What happened?" - what will be left then? It scares the hell out of me!

I am left with the refrain I seem to be singing a lot lately - I don't understand.

Sky Watch #9

Today's Sky Watch falls on September 11th. At least the day I am posting this entry falls on that day. I have no pictures that I have taken myself of the New York skyline, either before or after the day when our world changed. This is the only picture I have that I thought appropriate.




Please go to the Sky Watch site, hosted by Tom, Sandy, Imac and Klaus, to see other photos and to participate yourself if you wish.

Another Memorial Day

In a sense, that is what today is.

When I was in the sixth grade, we had to write "An Ode to Memorial Day" as a class exercise. Mine started like this:

We talk a lot. We use a lot of words.
We don't say much. There's not much can be said.
We talk of war. We say "Lest we forget..."
Why not forget? Will our remembering help?

It went on of course, rather cynically I think. I was only eleven. I don't even remember now how the rest of the poem went. Perhaps that's just as well.


Yes. Remembering helps. Hopefully, it often keeps us from making the same mistakes. Sometimes, if we're smart enough, it helps us prepare for things we cannot anticipate. Unfortunately, sometimes it gives powerful people ways to use their power for evil.

But it also gives us the opportunity to realize how much we loved. It gives us the opportunity to honor those we never knew in life, but respect beyond words for their valor and self-sacrifice.

Farms

Farms Feed America

Are you aware that America loses over
........ONE MILLION ACRES........
of farmland to the sprawl of development
every single year!

No Farms - No Food

American Farmland Trust - www.farmland.org

A Shadow of Myself - and an Award

It's what I've been seeing all summer long. In the blazing summer sun, there it is. On the grass, or the sidewalk, the sand, the boards, the bricks, the asphalt, or against the wall. I am only a shadow.

Would that it were so.



This is the icon I use on my Flickr site. Don't you think I look well? I kind of like it.


I've always been fascinated with shadows. Not just of myself. Of everything and anything. Shadows of trees and flowers and animals and birds. The shadows made on buildings or at construction sites. they are all fascinating.




Here is one from years ago. It is of one of my daughters and myself, standing at the railing behind the old Cape May Convention Hall on the boardwalk. Our shadows fell on the sand below us.


I especially love the shadows of trees as I walk through a wooded area. My old favorite, Leaming's Run, is a great place to find shadows like that.















And who cannot enjoy this one. Not only my grandson, but look at the shadow of the sand leaving the shovel.







And the line of fencing seen along the path.









And one of my favorite roads nearby.
Fishing Creek Road













And here's me again








.






I love shadows.

------------------------------------------------

On another note - Blackie and Bob, from Ratmammy's Kittie Blog, have given me an award. These furry little friends have decreed that I deserve a Brainy Blog Award.
How they arrived at this conclusion, I could not tell you. I have never, by any stretch of the imagination, thought of myself as brainy. Maybe they got confused and thought that I was furry, like them? Or maybe that I have furry thinking? Whatever the reason, I do thank them for their gracious gesture.

Like most awards, this one comes with rules attached. I will link back to the
Bob and Blackie Show. And I will link back to Mommy Brain Reports. But I am not going to pass on the award to five more bloggers. I know so many brainy bloggers these days, I don't think I can choose.

Thank you so much, Blackie and Bob. You are lovely felines. I do appreciate it very much.

Shoe