Humanity's Wake-Up Call

 The 21^st Century calls humanity to awaken to the perilous path it walks.

There is order to life and existence.  On its own, the natural world is in balance.  The human world we have built is not automatically balanced, it evolves through the choices we make.  

Humanity is called to a moral order which keeps life in balance.  We have allowed an imbalance to grow to the point of threatening our very existence.  We haven’t paid attention to seeking a balance and it is past time to wake up to the plight of our planet.

 

Within the living memory of our senior citizens there have been many wake-up calls:  WWI, The Great Depression, WWII, Viet Nam and the anti-war movement, The Million Man March, 9/11, Black Lives Matter protests . . . but none has had a lasting effect.  We fall back to sleep, ignoring the alarm being sounded.  All those alarms were calling us to become aware that Humanity is on the wrong path, we’ve chosen division rather than unity—and we’ve lost our way to sustainability. 

 

As we moved into the 21^st Century, there were numerous massive climate crises: floods, tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, wild fires, unprecedented winter storms, melting glaciers, rising ocean waters.  It took two decades to finally acknowledge the danger this poses and there are still those who demy it.  There is one climate that envelopes the earth, and collective human actions have disrupted it.  It is our responsibility to correct it and that can only be done through international cooperation.

 

Most recently the world has been in the grip of a global pandemic; no nation has escaped its ravages; it has killed millions.  It demonstrates our planet’s oneness.

 

The wake-up calls are getting louder, more dangerous and persistent.  –To what are the wake-up calls calling us?  To realize and act upon the fact that we are One World—which is a singular interacting interdependent unit!  That is the critical realization that can save us from self-destructing.

 

Sustainability is a word that has become popularized.  Broadly it means the ability to continue existence at a steady level (i.e. without threat or danger.)  At present, our world is unstable—out of balance in ways that threaten humanity’s continuation.  For us to achieve sustainability there are three major areas we must address.  As difficult and impossible as it may seem, we must do it globally in a cooperative fashion. 

 

1)     We’ve come to see the obvious imbalance and threat from climate disruption; it has made itself known through multiple crippling disasters.

2)    The next major imbalance is one which we are unwilling to acknowledge.  It is that of economic imbalance.  Oxfam International is a non-profit group focused on the global economic imbalance, giving annual reports.  They have reported that the top 1% of the world population (the billionaires) hold the same amount of wealth as the whole bottom half.  That is shocking and obscene that billionaires can buy private islands, personal planes, and gold toilets while half of the world starves.

3)    The most immediate and dangerous threat we must awaken to is the stockpile of nuclear weapons.  We don’t pay attention to that, it’s scary to contemplate, but within this last century, humanity has devised a way to annihilate all life on this planet.  A nuclear war can do that!  Throughout all of history humanity has engaged in warring.  In the 1970’s there was an anti-war movement, but it met with opposition and went away—yet the nuclear arsenal of some 13,500 nuclear warheads still exists.  That is the supreme world imbalance; on the whim of one unstable leader, a button can be pushed to end life as we know it.  Look into statics of the nuclear arsenal; I recommend two websites: armscontrol.org and ‘nuclearweaponswhohaswhat’ provides a chart.

 

This century’s numerous climate crises together with the global pandemic, constitutes humanities wake-up call to recognize our One World in need of international cooperation to address the three major areas of threat that create the disastrous imbalance that could literally bring about our self-destruction.  

 

There is a moral order which consciousness asks that we follow.  When we failed that, we lost our way.  Can we wake up in time?

 

 

 

of Serious Thoughts: Again A Nation Weeps

of Serious Thoughts: Again A Nation Weeps:   Today is April 16, 2021.     What a horrible statistic was announced today by CNN: “45 th   mass shooting in the United States since the A...

Again A Nation Weeps

 Today is April 16, 2021.  What a horrible statistic was announced today by CNN: “45^th mass shooting in the United States since the Atlanta area spa shooting on March 16” . . . CNN considers a mass shooting incident to be “if 4 or more people are shot and wounded or killed”.

That includes the incident of today in Indianapolis, Indiana.  It all happened within a month!

 

How can that be acceptable to a so-called educated, advanced civilized country?  Damn the NRA, damn the Republicans in Congress or anyone who opposes gun control—this can’t be accepted as ‘the norm’ in our nation!  All the varying voices of protest against violence must be respected.  The American public wants it stopped—I don’t know the percentage number, but it clearly is the majority that want this kind of outrage to end.

 

How have guns become so sacrosanct that their ‘right to be’ exceeds that of human life?  It is an absurdity from every direction that automatic weapons of war are available for purchase at local stores.  No other country allows such an absurdity!

 

Has our nation become so atheistic that the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill’ has no power or meaning against the Almighty Gun?  The ferocity of opposition to removal of weapons of war from our store shelves is tantamount to the revering of a commandment.

 

It may be true that the banning of assault weapons won’t end the slaughter, there will always be someone who chooses to kill, but the number of people killed by one person at a time can be altered dramatically.

 

In the name of all that is good and holy, we must act against this kind of menace.

 

 

Our New Reality

 There is a need to see the new reality in our nation and our world.  The reality is that we are  one world.  We have failed to see our planet as One World.  Only if we recognize it as a singular unit, interacting and interdependent, only in recognizing that, is there a possibility to avoid self-destructing.

 

This nation had 4 years of inciting division—and what it led to shocked all.   A brutal attack on our nation’s capital.  We never dreamed an insurrection was possible in this democratic nation.  The four prior years led up to it.  Our democracy works by cooperation between opposing ideas.  Four years of lies, insults, and fanning low burning rebellion ignited it.  It was a time of ‘Us’ vs ‘Them’—no cooperation, no seeking understanding, no empathy—just do whatever it takes to WIN.   The divisions allowed the insurrection to happen!

 

In the more distant past it was understandable why division was the norm.  There was no realization of one whole interacting interdependent world and a Universe beyond.  There was focus only on the ‘pieces’ (and the desire to make ‘my piece’ supreme).  There were excuses for past generations, they had never realized the planet as one whole…..but the 20^th and 21^st centuries had forced that awareness upon us—two wars that involved the world—that’s why they were called WWI and WWII.  Two world wars and later a trip to outer space to see the singularity of the planet . . . that new awareness requires our response; the need to see and act upon this new reality.

 

It’s so obvious we need to cooperate—yet so hard!  Within our nation and among nations there is so much disagreement.  There is a simple prayer that has appeared in all religions throughout time; the wording changes a bit but the essence is the same ‘Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you.’  The ‘others’ includes our near neighbors and our far off ones.

 

That is what is needed to get out of the world-threatening dangers we are in.  This is our WORLD, there’s no other planet to escape to.  We face a triple threat: 1) permanent division of humanity into the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’; 2) universal environmental collapse; and 3) extinction of humanity by a nuclear holocaust.  Any one of these three should compel us to cooperate.

The facts are: 1)  a report from World Economic Forum reported that ‘the 26 richest people on earth in 2018 had the same net worth as the poorest half of the world population’; 2) It is feared by many scientists that we have damaged our environment to the extent we can’t fully recoup.  (We have exploited the earth rather than husbanding it); 3) in 2016 there was a total of 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world’s  arsenal.

 

We must face the reality of our One World and work cooperatively to heal internal division and address what unites us as a world . . . both are essential.  We can still avert global disaster, but to do so it is imperative that we accept and act upon our new reality.

 

 

Disastrous Outcome

As I await the outcome of the second impeachment trial of former president, Donald Trump, I feel an intensity that is hard to describe.  I believe our world is at a crisis point.  The election of Trump has moved the dial more toward a disastrous outcome.  We are losing the ability to recognize evil.  He has been a champion of unfettered self-serving evil and retaliates against anyone who does not bow to his will.  His actions have spawned an insurrection.  If he is acquitted and suffers no consequences it will demonstrate that our legal system does not reside in justice and he will be free to continue to spread his brand of evil and our nation will be weakened in the eyes of the world.

 

This nation and the world have moved away from living by God’s laws and that spells disaster.   The words of God in the Bible are: ‘I lay before you, life and death—choose life’.  The way we choose life is to live by the universal prayer: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you ‘.  That assumes goodness, not evil.   Each time we step farther from the intent of that prayer we move closer to that negative side of the equation –we are choosing death.  No one event causes the outcome, but each victory of evil moves us closer to disaster. 

 

PS  2/3/21

Having heard the results, I believe the process of impeachment is a mockery and  makes our justice system the same

Insurrection Consequences

 It is imperative that Donald Trump be impeached in order that it be so recorded in history books.  There are some people who seek it for vengeance or retribution; but that is not the central issue; It is a matter of consequences.

 

What we experienced was an insurrection—no greater crime can be committed against an established government.  This cannot be swept away or minimized, it is a sacrilege that puts a dark stamp on our history, and its author must suffer consequences.

 

Trump has lied relentlessly throughout his term of office.  He was fact-checked in the media and it made no difference to him and each time, the news went on to other things.  But his last ‘Big Lie’ of a rigged election that stole the votes from him—a lie he repeated over and over—incited an insurrection.  The Capital was stormed by a raging mob sweeping through it, hunting congressmen, destroying sacred property and inflicting destruction, pain and death.

 

Throughout his presidency Trump had played loose with laws and established order.  He has no respect for truth and made grandiose claims of his superior intellect, exhibited obsessive-compulsive behavior (endless tweets) and is paranoid, claiming that the press and all but his ‘base’ is prejudices against him.  Prejudice is defined as: ‘a perceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience’.  The strong anti-Trump opinions that came to light were not due to prejudice but to his exhibited attitudes and behaviors—that does not constitute prejudice.

 

In his earlier trial for unlawful acts and abuse of power, he was impeached by the House but exonerated by a Republican Senate more concerned with retaining power than doing what was right.

 

What happened January 6, 2021 is too consequential to treat it as ‘another one of Trump’s blunders’.  Our nation’s image was damaged as the whole world watched.  It would be unjust if the perpetrator of such a heinous crime suffered no consequences.

Christmas story, The Gift

 

This is my favorite story of the short stories I have written.  For the past several Christmasses I have it posted here, I do so again as my 2020 Christmas offering.  

It was written as a ‘new myth’.  It had always bothered me that although there are shepherds, angels, and wise men at the stable, nowhere is there any help for Mary at the birth.  Surely Joseph prayed for help; in my story, his prayer was answered and Jesus’ first miracle was for one speaking ‘the Word’ for the first time.

The Gift

            In the time before the star shone over Bethlehem, there lived a shepherd and his wife who had six sons. The husband was very proud to have such a family of sons, but the wife longed for a daughter.   After the fourth boy, she had expressed that wish to her husband.  He scolded her, saying it was sons, not daughters that every good Hebrew should pray for.   Although she dearly loved and cared for each son, she never stopped yearning for a daughter.  After the birth of her sixth boy her heart became heavy, realizing she was passing out of her childbearing years and was not to realize her hope.  But to their surprise, she conceived again, and a year later, she gave birth to a girl!  She immediately declared the child to be God’s blessing, and requested of her husband that the baby be named Johanna, Hebrew for ‘gift of God’.  They so named her.

            The baby was very beautiful, strong and healthy—except for a twisted foot.  Faithfully during the child’s infancy, her mother massaged and molded the foot, which improved from the care, but it was never to be fully cured.  Throughout her life, Johanna was to walk with a limp.  

            The husband—being a good Jew—went frequently to the temple.  As his fellow worshipers became aware of the child’s deformity, some would shake their heads and say this was punishment for his sins.  When he repeated this to his wife—who usually made no retort to his chidings—she scolded him: “Do not question God!  His ways are not our ways . . . this child is a gift; God has plans for her.”  The husband just shook his head and walked away.

            Johanna had a loving nature and sweet disposition, but she did not speak.  At first they thought nothing of it—with six lively and boisterous brothers, there was always commotion to which she was alert, so they simply thought her quiet.  One day a physician said her tongue cleaved to her jaw and she would never speak.  

              “—A curse of God for sure!” said the people.

            As she grew, the girl learned household tasks as befits a Hebrew woman, but she also had a great love of the sheep of her father’s flock and took delight in shepherding them in nearby fields that were not hard to walk to.  Later, as she matured, Johanna took on the task of bedding them at night when they were stabled . . . and she gently soothed the delivering ewes at lambing time.  Several times she saved both ewe and lamb in a difficult labor.  Always she was kind and gentle.  The knowledge of her skill spread through the village and at lambing time all welcomed her.

            As the years went on, each of the brothers in turn took wives . . . but no marriage could be arranged for Johanna.  Only the mean or stupid would accept so flawed a woman for wife, and her parents would not agree to such a match. 

            As her parents grew old, the daughter cared first for her father, then later her mother thru their aged infirmities, always with kindness and a loving disposition.  Her mother never ceased saying Johanna was God’s gift and blessing.

            After the deaths of her parents, Johanna went to live with and assist the elderly devout long-widowed Anna of the tribe of Asher, who spent much time in the temple praying.  In addition to the duties of Anna’s house, Johanna continued to watch over the stables and tend the lambing of the village.

            One December evening, on her rounds of the stables, Johanna came upon a man sitting dejectedly with his head in his hands—at her approach the man leapt to his feet saying, “You are the answer to my prayers . . . Can you help me? I am Joseph; my wife Mary is about to give birth . . .” Johanna gave no response. “I am a carpenter and do not have knowledge of such things.  We came for the census.  I could find no lodgings or midwife for her, but we were given shelter in this stable . . . her time has come.  Now she is napping between her labor pains—and I feel so helpless.  I called upon the Lord God to send help . . . and here you are.  Will you help us?”

            Johanna nodded.  Joseph soon realized she could not speak, but he did not question God.  He thanked God for sending this kind young woman as he handed her the supplies they had carried with them for this need.  She moved with self-assurance and, though not a midwife, all the years of tending the ewes gave her the needed inner confidence.  Her kindness, warmth and gentleness soothed both the travelers.

            At the moment of birth, gently she received the newborn into her hands, cleared the mucus, patted his back to encourage his first breaths of air, wiped him with the linens, and tucked him into Mary’s arms.

            With gratefulness, Mary received the baby and said, “He is to be called, Jesus.”  At that moment the infant’s tiny fingers curled around Johanna’s index finger—she opened her lips and whispered “Welcome, Jesus” . . . 

                                                                      THE END