The last couple of weeks have brought home to me once again the infinite flexibility of the human mind. It is an acrobat of amazing versatility, going in all directions as the whim takes it's owner. The mind can be forced to conform to almost any position, as long as we believe what we are telling ourselves.
You may think I'm referring to the self-induced debt crisis which has been so much in the news recently, created by our Congress in it's infinite ability to behave like a naughty juvenile. You would be wrong. I am tired of Congress, I am tired of politics, and I am especially tired of politicians, who seem to exist in some alternate universe where they are not held accountable for their misbehavior.
No. I am referring to the weather. The very hot, very dry weather that we have been experiencing here in flyover country. This great mid-section of America, where the Dust Bowl got its name, has had record breaking heat the last couple of weeks. The drought which has plagued parts of Texas and Oklahoma for several years has now gotten a foothold in more than a handful of states, and the situation is becoming dire as crop yields and animals are dropping like flies in a zapper.
But I would forgive you for not knowing, because the international news isn't exactly shouting about it. If it happened on the east coast, you can bet your nude stilettos that the whole world would know about it. But we are only Main Street USA, so we are not worth troubling about.
I mean, there are Royal Weddings and Almost Royal Weddings and Jennifer Aniston in Hawaii sightings and Casey Anthony sightings, and of course, the entire FAA fiasco, which, if I understand the news bites correctly, is everyone else's fault. Not to mention the whole S&P downgrade, which either matters a whole lot or not at all, depending on which faction finds a home in your head. That's a lot to keep us intellectually exercised, so it's easy to understand how a thing like 109 degrees in Kansas City could slip by a person. Unless you are actually here.
A friend kindly pointed out that a mere six months ago, it was 12 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit, for the internationally minded who might be confused,) and we had a blizzard. Even if I had been toying with a complaint about the heat, that reminder would surely have brought me up short. It is not possible to complain about heat when reminded that a foot of snow takes hours of shoveling in the cold.
I never complain about the heat, anyway, because I hate cold. Detest it. Despise it, even. I would move to the equator before I would willingly subject myself to another flake of snow, if only there were work down there.
But if I were the complaining type, 109 degrees would do it. Because 109 degrees is HOT. Really hot. So hot you can fry an egg on the dashboard, should you care to try. [Yes, someone actually did it, just to see, and it worked.]
Compared to a blizzard, I consider my burned up grass to be a minor inconvenience. I can live with barren patches of scorched earth darkly glowering at me. I can live with the stumps of dead trees and bushes dotting the landscape like an eerie scene from On the Beach. I don't mind the flowers dying on their vines, and I can even tolerate the wilting population, sweat and all.
It confounds me how the same people who complained endlessly about the snow just six short months ago can now complain about the heat at the other end of the spectrum. The same people who swore that summer would a blessed relief are now anxiously awaiting the breaking out of the fall wardrobe, looking forward to sweaters and even, dare I say, boots.
Not me. I will cling to my shorts and camisole tops. [Yes, I realize 50 is too old for cami tops, but if it's 109 degrees outside, I'll wear what I want.] I will not abandon my flip flops and sunscreen one moment before I am forced. Life is too short to be cold, and I'm going to embrace the heat while I have it.
It is fascinating to me that in winter, people pine away endlessly for the summer heat. They dream about fun under a constantly glowing orb, and take vacations to warmer climes, desperate for the feel of the heat on their face. Then, when the heat arrives, they are dissatisfied with the experience, longing instead for the biting cold of winter snapping at their nose.
I try to exercise my mind as much as I can, within the confines of my own rather humdrum existence. I read, I walk, I think. I will never be flexible enough to eschew the summer heat for the bitterness of winter. I will leave those kinds of acrobatics for the more whimsical among us.
I sweat, therefore I am. It's not Shakespeare, but it's good enough for me.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Suicide by addiction...
Amy Winehouse, a singer who is internationally infamous for both her music and her battles with addiction, is dead at age 27, probably by her own hand as surely as if she had put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger. [On October 26, 2011, the coroner released a report that Amy Winehouse died as a result of alcohol poisoning from excessive drinking that night.] In this case, the smoking gun will likely turn out to be a drug of choice for the young and famous who have no limits placed upon them, and the trigger will have been her inability to deny herself what she surely had to know would ultimately end her life. The consequences of her decision making failures will haunt her family and her true friends for the remainder of their lives, as they struggle with the guilt from their inability to force her to get clean and sober.
I don't think anyone can deny the valiant battle fought by those close to her, especially her family, as she continued to make the decisions that would ultimately lead them down this deadly path. They loved her and supported her efforts as she made rehab a revolving door. She made a fortune off an insufficiently critical public while belting out her true intention to resist the efforts made on her behalf by those who knew better than she where this journey would end if she didn't make a change. Although she walked through the door, vowing aloud that this time it would be for real, she was still singing, "No, no, no," in her heart and mind, and the end result was a waste of time and effort for everyone involved, especially her.
And waste it is, because a young woman's life is over much too soon, and whatever she may have accomplished is going to go undone. Whether you loved her or hated her or didn't know anything about her, I hope we can all agree that a 27 year old woman should not be in a morgue, and it's a tragedy that she is, whoever is to blame.
As the parent of a child about the same age, I am saddened and sickened at the thought of what her parents have been through, and what is still to come. Their lovely daughter, the little girl they sang to, and read to, and watched grow from a baby to a teen to an international celebrity, is gone like the puff of smoke that probably started her down the path to her own destruction.
I am not much of a celebrity watcher, but at the same time, I feel dismay when I watch anyone flame out so publicly and spectacularly. They are, underneath the goofy make-up and the expensive clothing and the outrageous lifestyle and the crazy behavior, still a human being. I hurt with them as they flutter against the caged confines of their own situation, self inflicted though it may be. It is not comfortable to watch a human being fall apart so publicly, and I don't want to see anyone die at 27 from a preventable condition.
There are no easy answers, as Amy's parents could no doubt testify. We have seen too many young and vulnerable celebrities making the same bad decisions and ending up the same tragic way, all fully documented in the fan magazines and the news headlines around the world.
It can be done - Britney Spears seems to have turned her life around. But I don't think anyone can have any illusions that it took nothing less than her parents taking control of her entire life to achieve it. And in the end, even that may not be enough - we won't really know until she is once again in control of her own life whether or not someone else can take enough control to save someone from themselves if that isn't what they really want.
But it is not only the rich and famous that face the fallout from deadly addiction. We have our jails full of people who could not just say no. We have graves dotting cemetery plots of people who died too soon because of the easy availability of something that was not good for them, but which they found irresistible. We have poor families rent asunder by the aftermath of lives gone wrong. We have middle class families struggling to go on after dealing with deadly addiction in a child or parent. Wealthy parents, with all their resources, have no more power to stop the addictions of their children than anyone else.
When someone makes a mockery of rehab, there is little that can be done to force them to do better for themselves. We have observed Martin Sheen suffer for the sins of son Charlie, and felt his pain as he helplessly watched the self-destruction along with the rest of us. We gaze in wonder as someone like Amy, who "Has It All," throws it away for the lure of a silent master that ultimately takes no prisoners. We wonder if the genius is part of the addictive personality, and tacitly encourage the behavior by supporting the insanity with our time and money, attending concerts and buying records and merchandise with little regard for the outcome.
Ultimately, the loss of one 27 year old woman doesn't matter much in the larger scope of the world, however much it hurts her family and friends. But the needless death of yet another young celebrity should, at the very least, cause us to examine what we can do to save the lives of the other 27 year olds who are battling the same problems. If the very public failure of a celebrity can help someone else to do better, perhaps it will not be entirely in vain.
It's not the outcome she planned for, I'm sure. But perhaps, if through her death she encourages someone else to choose a different path, Amy Winehouse can make her life and death less of a waste. At this point, it is the only thing her celebrity will have gained her. It is surely not enough, but it's all she has left.
Rest in peace, Amy.
I don't think anyone can deny the valiant battle fought by those close to her, especially her family, as she continued to make the decisions that would ultimately lead them down this deadly path. They loved her and supported her efforts as she made rehab a revolving door. She made a fortune off an insufficiently critical public while belting out her true intention to resist the efforts made on her behalf by those who knew better than she where this journey would end if she didn't make a change. Although she walked through the door, vowing aloud that this time it would be for real, she was still singing, "No, no, no," in her heart and mind, and the end result was a waste of time and effort for everyone involved, especially her.
And waste it is, because a young woman's life is over much too soon, and whatever she may have accomplished is going to go undone. Whether you loved her or hated her or didn't know anything about her, I hope we can all agree that a 27 year old woman should not be in a morgue, and it's a tragedy that she is, whoever is to blame.
As the parent of a child about the same age, I am saddened and sickened at the thought of what her parents have been through, and what is still to come. Their lovely daughter, the little girl they sang to, and read to, and watched grow from a baby to a teen to an international celebrity, is gone like the puff of smoke that probably started her down the path to her own destruction.
I am not much of a celebrity watcher, but at the same time, I feel dismay when I watch anyone flame out so publicly and spectacularly. They are, underneath the goofy make-up and the expensive clothing and the outrageous lifestyle and the crazy behavior, still a human being. I hurt with them as they flutter against the caged confines of their own situation, self inflicted though it may be. It is not comfortable to watch a human being fall apart so publicly, and I don't want to see anyone die at 27 from a preventable condition.
There are no easy answers, as Amy's parents could no doubt testify. We have seen too many young and vulnerable celebrities making the same bad decisions and ending up the same tragic way, all fully documented in the fan magazines and the news headlines around the world.
It can be done - Britney Spears seems to have turned her life around. But I don't think anyone can have any illusions that it took nothing less than her parents taking control of her entire life to achieve it. And in the end, even that may not be enough - we won't really know until she is once again in control of her own life whether or not someone else can take enough control to save someone from themselves if that isn't what they really want.
But it is not only the rich and famous that face the fallout from deadly addiction. We have our jails full of people who could not just say no. We have graves dotting cemetery plots of people who died too soon because of the easy availability of something that was not good for them, but which they found irresistible. We have poor families rent asunder by the aftermath of lives gone wrong. We have middle class families struggling to go on after dealing with deadly addiction in a child or parent. Wealthy parents, with all their resources, have no more power to stop the addictions of their children than anyone else.
When someone makes a mockery of rehab, there is little that can be done to force them to do better for themselves. We have observed Martin Sheen suffer for the sins of son Charlie, and felt his pain as he helplessly watched the self-destruction along with the rest of us. We gaze in wonder as someone like Amy, who "Has It All," throws it away for the lure of a silent master that ultimately takes no prisoners. We wonder if the genius is part of the addictive personality, and tacitly encourage the behavior by supporting the insanity with our time and money, attending concerts and buying records and merchandise with little regard for the outcome.
Ultimately, the loss of one 27 year old woman doesn't matter much in the larger scope of the world, however much it hurts her family and friends. But the needless death of yet another young celebrity should, at the very least, cause us to examine what we can do to save the lives of the other 27 year olds who are battling the same problems. If the very public failure of a celebrity can help someone else to do better, perhaps it will not be entirely in vain.
It's not the outcome she planned for, I'm sure. But perhaps, if through her death she encourages someone else to choose a different path, Amy Winehouse can make her life and death less of a waste. At this point, it is the only thing her celebrity will have gained her. It is surely not enough, but it's all she has left.
Rest in peace, Amy.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
No Mary here, no one is contrary, either, but wow, does Mom's garden grow....
Tonight, I feasted on the fruits of my mother's hard earned labors. It's not the first time I have benefited from her largess, of course, but never has it been more welcome than when stuffing fresh produce from her garden into my facial orifice designed for just that purpose. On the menu tonight was fresh coleslaw, pea pods, new potatoes unhilled just minutes before they were popped into the boiling water, and a homemade apple pie. It was a delicious end to an exciting day of gastronomic ecstasy, and I enjoyed every culinary highlight.
The women of yesteryear were, undeniably, overworked and underpaid. Probably under-appreciated, too. But there must have been an enormous amount of satisfaction in putting a table laden with food they grew with their own hard effort in front of their families day after day after day.
My mother grew up on a farm in the midst of the depression, and they certainly didn't enjoy a lot spare morsels. But they didn't starve, either, and she certainly learned how to make food stretch. It was a handy skill, since my parents were none too well off, and she watched the budget with an eagle eye.
My parents took the self-sustaining lifestyle a little further than most people, and grew their own meat, as well. They would butcher a steer and fill the freezer with the delicious cuts of meat with nary a hormone in sight. Grass fed cattle was the only kind there was on our farm, and it wasn't a trendy lifestyle decision so much as a statement of making the most of the little we had.
I think my dad would find it pretty peculiar that you get to pay extra these days for something that was grown the old fashioned way. But the steaks and ground beef that came at the end of the hard work were flavorful and delicious, no matter how simply they were prepared, which is more than I can say for most of the expensive cuts of meat I purchase at the local supermarket today.
My dad would occasionally hunt, too, and pheasant from the freezer was an occasional treat. My mother would get out her big pressure cooker and tenderize that meat until it just melted off the bone. I had no idea it was a delicacy. I just thought it was delicious, and the more so because my dad had brought it to our table himself.
I think that the elemental nature of food back then must have given a deep feeling of satisfaction and well being to those who produced the bounty - seeing your hard work translated into the tasty dishes born to the table with pride and thanksgiving had to be very gratifying. They didn't go crazy with spices and condiments, but perhaps that was because they weren't needed. The food itself was so flavorful and succulent that all the extras simply weren't required.
I often look at the fruits and vegetables in the modern supermarket, and it's hard to get too excited about any of it. They are pretty, of course. Tomatoes are so red they almost glow. Apples are unblemished, and perfectly formed. Beans don't have brown spots and pea pods are beautifully packaged, ready to steam still in the freezer bag in which they were packaged.
As perfect as they look, however, where is the flavor to tickle your taste buds? Where is the aroma that draws you in like flies to birthday cake on a summer day? The beautiful outsides hide the emptiness within, which is a good metaphor for a lot of things besides our food these days, if you ask me.
There is something enticing about a garden full of growing vegetables, green and lush and begging to be pulled or picked or cut. There are no carrots in a hermetically sealed bag that come close to the succulent sweetness of a carrot pulled up fresh from the soil. Fresh picked cabbage has a mild flavor unknown to those who have only experienced what comes from the shelves of a supermarket far from the field in which it was grown. Pea pods are tender and delicate and filled with a delicious flavor unattainable from something pulled from the freezer.
There are many things I love about coming home, of course. Running away from my "real" life is prime among them. But I also love coming home to enjoy the bounty my mother provides from her garden, and reliving, for a brief few days, the joys of my childhood when we lived on fresh produce for dinner and supper for weeks on end.
You may not be able to go home again, but you can certainly revisit the past in your mind. And there is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh garden produce to take 40 years off my memory.
Grow a garden - save the planet. Or at least enjoy a fresh picked meal grown with your own hard effort. It's a satisfaction that passes all understanding, and if you are Lutheran, you will understand this is most certainly true!
Happy eating, and enjoy the summer bounty. And don't forget the pie!
The women of yesteryear were, undeniably, overworked and underpaid. Probably under-appreciated, too. But there must have been an enormous amount of satisfaction in putting a table laden with food they grew with their own hard effort in front of their families day after day after day.
My mother grew up on a farm in the midst of the depression, and they certainly didn't enjoy a lot spare morsels. But they didn't starve, either, and she certainly learned how to make food stretch. It was a handy skill, since my parents were none too well off, and she watched the budget with an eagle eye.
My parents took the self-sustaining lifestyle a little further than most people, and grew their own meat, as well. They would butcher a steer and fill the freezer with the delicious cuts of meat with nary a hormone in sight. Grass fed cattle was the only kind there was on our farm, and it wasn't a trendy lifestyle decision so much as a statement of making the most of the little we had.
I think my dad would find it pretty peculiar that you get to pay extra these days for something that was grown the old fashioned way. But the steaks and ground beef that came at the end of the hard work were flavorful and delicious, no matter how simply they were prepared, which is more than I can say for most of the expensive cuts of meat I purchase at the local supermarket today.
My dad would occasionally hunt, too, and pheasant from the freezer was an occasional treat. My mother would get out her big pressure cooker and tenderize that meat until it just melted off the bone. I had no idea it was a delicacy. I just thought it was delicious, and the more so because my dad had brought it to our table himself.
I think that the elemental nature of food back then must have given a deep feeling of satisfaction and well being to those who produced the bounty - seeing your hard work translated into the tasty dishes born to the table with pride and thanksgiving had to be very gratifying. They didn't go crazy with spices and condiments, but perhaps that was because they weren't needed. The food itself was so flavorful and succulent that all the extras simply weren't required.
I often look at the fruits and vegetables in the modern supermarket, and it's hard to get too excited about any of it. They are pretty, of course. Tomatoes are so red they almost glow. Apples are unblemished, and perfectly formed. Beans don't have brown spots and pea pods are beautifully packaged, ready to steam still in the freezer bag in which they were packaged.
As perfect as they look, however, where is the flavor to tickle your taste buds? Where is the aroma that draws you in like flies to birthday cake on a summer day? The beautiful outsides hide the emptiness within, which is a good metaphor for a lot of things besides our food these days, if you ask me.
There is something enticing about a garden full of growing vegetables, green and lush and begging to be pulled or picked or cut. There are no carrots in a hermetically sealed bag that come close to the succulent sweetness of a carrot pulled up fresh from the soil. Fresh picked cabbage has a mild flavor unknown to those who have only experienced what comes from the shelves of a supermarket far from the field in which it was grown. Pea pods are tender and delicate and filled with a delicious flavor unattainable from something pulled from the freezer.
There are many things I love about coming home, of course. Running away from my "real" life is prime among them. But I also love coming home to enjoy the bounty my mother provides from her garden, and reliving, for a brief few days, the joys of my childhood when we lived on fresh produce for dinner and supper for weeks on end.
You may not be able to go home again, but you can certainly revisit the past in your mind. And there is nothing like the smell and taste of fresh garden produce to take 40 years off my memory.
Grow a garden - save the planet. Or at least enjoy a fresh picked meal grown with your own hard effort. It's a satisfaction that passes all understanding, and if you are Lutheran, you will understand this is most certainly true!
Happy eating, and enjoy the summer bounty. And don't forget the pie!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Independence Day....
In 1776, our forefathers declared the independence of this nation for the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Turns out, some people are little confused as to what it's all about, though.
A recent poll tells us that almost 50% of Americans do not know what year we declared our independence, and if you limit it to those under 30, the percentage is even lower. I'm happy to report that 75% of them did know that we were leaving Great Britain in our dust. That must have come as a huge surprise to the other 25%, since we are constantly told by the media that Great Britain is our closest ally, and the Royal Wedding got more coverage on our national news networks than the impending debt ceiling doom discussions in Congress. (And never mind Canada, who is saddled with us, no matter how much they may try to distance themselves. Not that they don't have their own issues, what with Quebec and all.)
Am I the only one who thinks those statistics are rather appalling? I thought we weren't leaving any children behind any more? Sounds like a lot of these people missed the boat.
I have always found the 4th of July to be an odd little national diversion. We are celebrating our separation from the country that now stands as a proud second at our international duels. I'm not sure that's what the forefathers had in mind when they started this whole little brouhaha in the land of the free and home of the brave, but hey, whatever, right? Gotta be flexible when you're the BMOC.
As a word-worker, a purveyor of thoughts and ideas through written prose, I am always filled with admiration for those whose writing rings clear and true through the years. If you have never taken a gander at the Declaration of Independence, which was, after all, the kickoff point for today's barbecue, swimming pool and fireworks celebrations, I strongly encourage you to take the time and read it. It's short, it's to the point, and it is a powerful statement about what the founding fathers actually had in mind when they risked their lives and everything they had for a crazy idea called democracy.
If you are an American, and these words don't inspire and excite you on this sacred day in our nation's history, then you are a colder person than me. Thank you to all the men and women in our nation's history who have been willing to sacrifice their all in order for us to enjoy this day, and each and every other day that we are fortunate enough to be a cog on the planet that we call Earth, as a citizen of the United States of America.
Happy Independence Day!
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
— John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
A recent poll tells us that almost 50% of Americans do not know what year we declared our independence, and if you limit it to those under 30, the percentage is even lower. I'm happy to report that 75% of them did know that we were leaving Great Britain in our dust. That must have come as a huge surprise to the other 25%, since we are constantly told by the media that Great Britain is our closest ally, and the Royal Wedding got more coverage on our national news networks than the impending debt ceiling doom discussions in Congress. (And never mind Canada, who is saddled with us, no matter how much they may try to distance themselves. Not that they don't have their own issues, what with Quebec and all.)
Am I the only one who thinks those statistics are rather appalling? I thought we weren't leaving any children behind any more? Sounds like a lot of these people missed the boat.
I have always found the 4th of July to be an odd little national diversion. We are celebrating our separation from the country that now stands as a proud second at our international duels. I'm not sure that's what the forefathers had in mind when they started this whole little brouhaha in the land of the free and home of the brave, but hey, whatever, right? Gotta be flexible when you're the BMOC.
As a word-worker, a purveyor of thoughts and ideas through written prose, I am always filled with admiration for those whose writing rings clear and true through the years. If you have never taken a gander at the Declaration of Independence, which was, after all, the kickoff point for today's barbecue, swimming pool and fireworks celebrations, I strongly encourage you to take the time and read it. It's short, it's to the point, and it is a powerful statement about what the founding fathers actually had in mind when they risked their lives and everything they had for a crazy idea called democracy.
If you are an American, and these words don't inspire and excite you on this sacred day in our nation's history, then you are a colder person than me. Thank you to all the men and women in our nation's history who have been willing to sacrifice their all in order for us to enjoy this day, and each and every other day that we are fortunate enough to be a cog on the planet that we call Earth, as a citizen of the United States of America.
Happy Independence Day!
IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
— John Hancock
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton
Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery
Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott
New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross
Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean
Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton
North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn
South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Happy Father's Day....
Today, June 19, 2011, is Father's Day. We set aside one day a year to honor the fathers among us, something that should be a simple, straight forward occasion. But somewhere along the line, the relationship between fathers and children has gotten complicated, confusing, and fraught with pitfalls.
Mother's Day is an easy slam dunk. We know the role of mothers in the lives of their children, and most children, whether they are five years or 15 years or 55 years, know and appreciate the sacrifices our mothers make for us.
Fathers, on the other hand, are not so clear. Fully 25% of American households with minor children have no father present at all for one reason or another. Whether death or divorce or simply never having been in the picture, that is a lot of children without a father to look up to, to honor, to emulate, to idolize.
I read not too long ago that more children in this country live with a step-father than their biological father. That is a shocking statistic, as well. The bottom line in all these numbers is that more children are living without their very own father as an active, daily participant in their lives than have them, and I think that is something which should worry all of us. What are these children learning about the role of fathers in parenting, when their own father is so willing to step aside for another man, or no man, in the family circle.
Sometimes it's not their fault, of course. In my own case, death deprived me of my father, and he of me, and together we were unwilling participants in that statistical misfortune. But most of the time, choices are made, and the children are the ones paying the real price for their fractured families. With so many men on the outside of their own family circle looking in, I fear for the future of the family structure, which is still, in my personal opinion, the best way to raise up a child in the way they should go.
This is not to disparage step-fathers in any way. Some of the best fathers I know are fathers-by-marriage, instead of fathers-by-nature. It takes a special sort of person to take on someone else's family, in addition to a marriage, and to make that work for everyone.
Nor do I mean to give short shrift to single mothers, something with which I have up close and personal experience, so I know just how impossible a job it can be.
But no matter how hard she works to fill in the gaps, a mother brings a different relationship to the family table. She is not a father, and she cannot substitute for what is missing when he is not there. Fathers are a critical element in the raising of a well adjusted child. Mothers alone are incomplete, and say what you want about the situation, it's not the ideal one for their children.
My complaint, in short, is that there are too many impediments today which drive a wedge between fathers and their children, even when they are in the home. Too many men are allowed to simply walk away as if they don't matter, as if they are a luxury instead of a necessity, as if they are not a critical piece of their child's upbringing, as well as their DNA. By making fathers irrelevant, by excusing those who fail to fulfill their obligations to the children they have been a part of creating, we have weakened the very fabric that holds our society together. And we aren't doing their children any favors, either.
The media has much to answer for, as they have moved from Howard Cunningham and Heathcliff Huxtable to fathers who are hapless and helpless in the face of their more sophisticated and intelligent children. Media dads are made to look foolish and silly, and the almost incessant put downs on programs and movies aimed at our young people ooze with disrespect, not only towards their fathers but towards authority figures in general.
But there is more to it than that, and the fissure extends more deeply into the structure of our society. Too many men are allowed to walk away from their responsibilities, not held accountable by society for their actions or their offspring, and our children, and by extension all of us, are the worse for it.
Women are frequently accused of pushing men out of their children's lives, and I imagine that does occasionally happen. But most of the moms I know would love to have an active, helpful father in the picture, one who was willing to put their children's needs ahead of themselves and their own desires. Most women I know spend a lot of time building up and making excuses for the father who is not actively participating, the man who shows up for the special occasions but not the boring day to day, whether they live with their children or across town.
Fathers have important things to teach their children, things that mothers cannot. Without their father in their lives, those children are missing an important piece of their own history. Their life story is incomplete.
If you are lucky enough to be a father today, I exhort you to be a full and active participant in the life of your children. Don't work them into your busy schedule around your whims. Instead, tell them they are important by working your way into their lives.
Attend dance recitals and baseball games and school performances and choir concerts. Be there for your daughter's first date and to see your son in his prom tux. Go to church with them, go to the zoo, go to movies and museums and water parks. Tell them what matters to you, share your goals and dreams and desires for their lives. Let them know you are setting the bar high for them because you believe they can reach it, and then be there to build them up when they fall short trying.
If you are lucky enough to be a father, cherish the moments and don't give your important role away to anyone. Be the best father you can be, and you will gift your children with a legacy they will never outgrow. Always remember that the important thing is not how you do it, but rather, that you are there trying.
If you are step-father, or you see a child in need of a father as a role model, don't hesitate to step in and be the man in their life. Children without an actively involved father are at higher risk for everything from teenage pregnancy to failing out of school to drug addiction, alcoholism, and incarceration. Your time and attention can make the difference between success and failure in the life of a child in need, and the life you save will repay you over and over again.
I was fortunate to have a father that packed a lot of love and time and attention into the few short years we had together. He left my life far too early, not by his choice, but because life is unpredictable and frequently unfair. He would not understand a father who walked away willingly from the children for whom he was responsible, and he actively participated in the things that interested his children because what was important to us was important to him.
He was a Boy Scout leader, and a 4H leader. He taught us about machines and farming and hard work and adventure. He wasn't perfect - who is? But he was the best man he could be, and the example he set for us was one of love and caring and concern for others. I have so many memories of my dad at different times and in different places, but one I will always treasure sums up who he was for me.
Every Christmas Eve, he would go to our little country church to oil the bell, so that it would be all ready to ring in the joy of the season. When I got old enough, I got to go with him up in the bell tower, and it was an adventure for a little girl on a frigid Minnesota night.
From that bell tower, you could see for miles around, and he would patiently stand there with me, pointing out all the familiar landmarks that looked so strange and different to me from that new and exciting vantage point. In between working on the bell, we would look out at the snow that would be covering the ground, sparkling like diamonds laid out before us. The crisp air would bite at our noses and fingers, but he had all the time we needed to see everything, even though my mother would be waiting for us to return so we could eat our dinner.
He brought me with, not because he had to, but because he wanted to share those moments with me. I remember it all in vivid detail, not because it was, in and of itself, so important, but because by sharing it with me, my dad made it matter. In the simple act of including me in the things that were important to him, my dad let me know in a multitude of ways that I was important - that I mattered.
You don't have to be the perfect father, just be the father that makes your child matter. It is enough. It is everything.
Happy Father's Day to every man who has made a child matter in their life. You are the hero of the hour, and I wish you a cold drink, a comfy seat, and a day to celebrate the honor you have earned!
Mother's Day is an easy slam dunk. We know the role of mothers in the lives of their children, and most children, whether they are five years or 15 years or 55 years, know and appreciate the sacrifices our mothers make for us.
Fathers, on the other hand, are not so clear. Fully 25% of American households with minor children have no father present at all for one reason or another. Whether death or divorce or simply never having been in the picture, that is a lot of children without a father to look up to, to honor, to emulate, to idolize.
I read not too long ago that more children in this country live with a step-father than their biological father. That is a shocking statistic, as well. The bottom line in all these numbers is that more children are living without their very own father as an active, daily participant in their lives than have them, and I think that is something which should worry all of us. What are these children learning about the role of fathers in parenting, when their own father is so willing to step aside for another man, or no man, in the family circle.
Sometimes it's not their fault, of course. In my own case, death deprived me of my father, and he of me, and together we were unwilling participants in that statistical misfortune. But most of the time, choices are made, and the children are the ones paying the real price for their fractured families. With so many men on the outside of their own family circle looking in, I fear for the future of the family structure, which is still, in my personal opinion, the best way to raise up a child in the way they should go.
This is not to disparage step-fathers in any way. Some of the best fathers I know are fathers-by-marriage, instead of fathers-by-nature. It takes a special sort of person to take on someone else's family, in addition to a marriage, and to make that work for everyone.
Nor do I mean to give short shrift to single mothers, something with which I have up close and personal experience, so I know just how impossible a job it can be.
But no matter how hard she works to fill in the gaps, a mother brings a different relationship to the family table. She is not a father, and she cannot substitute for what is missing when he is not there. Fathers are a critical element in the raising of a well adjusted child. Mothers alone are incomplete, and say what you want about the situation, it's not the ideal one for their children.
My complaint, in short, is that there are too many impediments today which drive a wedge between fathers and their children, even when they are in the home. Too many men are allowed to simply walk away as if they don't matter, as if they are a luxury instead of a necessity, as if they are not a critical piece of their child's upbringing, as well as their DNA. By making fathers irrelevant, by excusing those who fail to fulfill their obligations to the children they have been a part of creating, we have weakened the very fabric that holds our society together. And we aren't doing their children any favors, either.
The media has much to answer for, as they have moved from Howard Cunningham and Heathcliff Huxtable to fathers who are hapless and helpless in the face of their more sophisticated and intelligent children. Media dads are made to look foolish and silly, and the almost incessant put downs on programs and movies aimed at our young people ooze with disrespect, not only towards their fathers but towards authority figures in general.
But there is more to it than that, and the fissure extends more deeply into the structure of our society. Too many men are allowed to walk away from their responsibilities, not held accountable by society for their actions or their offspring, and our children, and by extension all of us, are the worse for it.
Women are frequently accused of pushing men out of their children's lives, and I imagine that does occasionally happen. But most of the moms I know would love to have an active, helpful father in the picture, one who was willing to put their children's needs ahead of themselves and their own desires. Most women I know spend a lot of time building up and making excuses for the father who is not actively participating, the man who shows up for the special occasions but not the boring day to day, whether they live with their children or across town.
Fathers have important things to teach their children, things that mothers cannot. Without their father in their lives, those children are missing an important piece of their own history. Their life story is incomplete.
If you are lucky enough to be a father today, I exhort you to be a full and active participant in the life of your children. Don't work them into your busy schedule around your whims. Instead, tell them they are important by working your way into their lives.
Attend dance recitals and baseball games and school performances and choir concerts. Be there for your daughter's first date and to see your son in his prom tux. Go to church with them, go to the zoo, go to movies and museums and water parks. Tell them what matters to you, share your goals and dreams and desires for their lives. Let them know you are setting the bar high for them because you believe they can reach it, and then be there to build them up when they fall short trying.
If you are lucky enough to be a father, cherish the moments and don't give your important role away to anyone. Be the best father you can be, and you will gift your children with a legacy they will never outgrow. Always remember that the important thing is not how you do it, but rather, that you are there trying.
If you are step-father, or you see a child in need of a father as a role model, don't hesitate to step in and be the man in their life. Children without an actively involved father are at higher risk for everything from teenage pregnancy to failing out of school to drug addiction, alcoholism, and incarceration. Your time and attention can make the difference between success and failure in the life of a child in need, and the life you save will repay you over and over again.
I was fortunate to have a father that packed a lot of love and time and attention into the few short years we had together. He left my life far too early, not by his choice, but because life is unpredictable and frequently unfair. He would not understand a father who walked away willingly from the children for whom he was responsible, and he actively participated in the things that interested his children because what was important to us was important to him.
He was a Boy Scout leader, and a 4H leader. He taught us about machines and farming and hard work and adventure. He wasn't perfect - who is? But he was the best man he could be, and the example he set for us was one of love and caring and concern for others. I have so many memories of my dad at different times and in different places, but one I will always treasure sums up who he was for me.
Every Christmas Eve, he would go to our little country church to oil the bell, so that it would be all ready to ring in the joy of the season. When I got old enough, I got to go with him up in the bell tower, and it was an adventure for a little girl on a frigid Minnesota night.
From that bell tower, you could see for miles around, and he would patiently stand there with me, pointing out all the familiar landmarks that looked so strange and different to me from that new and exciting vantage point. In between working on the bell, we would look out at the snow that would be covering the ground, sparkling like diamonds laid out before us. The crisp air would bite at our noses and fingers, but he had all the time we needed to see everything, even though my mother would be waiting for us to return so we could eat our dinner.
He brought me with, not because he had to, but because he wanted to share those moments with me. I remember it all in vivid detail, not because it was, in and of itself, so important, but because by sharing it with me, my dad made it matter. In the simple act of including me in the things that were important to him, my dad let me know in a multitude of ways that I was important - that I mattered.
You don't have to be the perfect father, just be the father that makes your child matter. It is enough. It is everything.
Happy Father's Day to every man who has made a child matter in their life. You are the hero of the hour, and I wish you a cold drink, a comfy seat, and a day to celebrate the honor you have earned!
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