The Image of Man

I do not buy into the blasphemous idea that we are created in God's image. How egotistical is that? There is nothing God-like about the human race. Look around you. What do you see? Wars. Murder. Starvation. Rape. Greed. Hate. We're at the top of the food chain. We're the worst animals of all, because we are not driven by instinct alone.

Evolution is real. The evidence supports it. Only by accepting our true beginnings can we begin to overcome our animalistic tendencies that have wrought havoc upon the world in which we live. We can strive to be God-like, but we were not born that way.

The Real Heart of America

Who are the brave people in this country? New Yorkers, who ran into burning buildings and gave their lives to save others on 9/11. New Yorkers, who combed through toxic rubble to bring loved ones home. New Yorkers, who picked themselves up and stood strong against terrorism.

Who are the brave people in this country? Bostonians, who ran toward the bombs, instead of away on 4/15. The policemen, State Troopers and FBI agents who marched steadfastly into danger. The people who came out of their homes in the midst of battle and cheered them on. It is the Mayor who rose from his wheelchair to inform and console. Who are the brave people in this country? The Governor, the President and First Lady who came to Boston to face down terrorism.

New Englanders are shining examples of what makes this Country great. Why do you think New York and Boston are targets of the terrorists' wrath? Because these great cities are glimmering beacons of hope to people the world over who long for freedom. New York and Boston are the real heartland of our country. I will have none of the hatemongering towards the greatest that America has to offer....its people. All of its people

A Plague Across the Land

Longing for a more peaceful future for our Nation, I look forward, not backward.  Jaded, I know that the same struggles continue as history repeats itself. Forged in the jungles of Vietnam, on a street in Dallas, a balcony in Memphis and in LA….gunned down, dreams dashed we rise again, all too often through the haze of violence and ignorance and hatred. Instead of learning from our mistakes, over and over again we march blindly back into our past.  So here we are...full circle once again. We must become engaged. We have to push back against the culture of guns that is striking down the hopes and dreams of too many of our fellow Americans while so many more live in fear of those who are armed and dangerous. We must quash the rise of those, armed, who wish to overthrow our democratically elected government. We must heal those who are overcome and driven by the sickness of their minds. Oklahoma City.  Columbine. Virginia Tech. Aurora. Newtown. We can no longer turn a blind eye or remain passive. It's going to take all of us to halt the plague that is engulfing our country.  

Tell Me Who You Are

                                                                     

I'm curious. What is the psychological profile of the owner of assault weapons? Violent? Military wannabe? Blood lust? Hate? Fear? Paranoia? Bully? Inadequate? Menatally ill? Killer-in-training?

What do they think about while they are firing hundreds of rounds of ammunition into a target? Do they become aroused? Do they imagine the dead bodies as they're pulling the trigger?

I see it every time a news program shows them lined up firing their killing machines, some with their children by their side. I see as they salivate at the gun shops and shows for more and more. Meanwhile innocents die.

Slaughter in Connecticut

Twenty six people were shot to death in a grade school yesterday, 20 of them children. I wonder how large a massacre must occur before it pierces the hearts of the gun owners and they lay down their arms willingly. For the children.

What's the Matter with Them?

The Huffington Post reported today that a Pennsylvania judge has postponed the enforcement of the state's new strict voter ID requirement until after the November presidential election. In response, the Post says that Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who sponsored the voter ID bill, lashed out at a "judicial activist decision" he called "skewed in favor of the lazy who refuse to exercise the necessary work ethic to meet the commonsense requirements to obtain an acceptable photo ID." The Judge, he wrote, has chosen "to openly enable and fully embrace the ever-increasing entitlement mentality of those individuals who have no problem living off the fruits of their neighbors' labor."

When did the Republican Party become the Party of haters? From its Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, to U.S. House Members (and probably some Senators) to Republican State Congress men and women the Party has become inciters of hatred.  

Since the time of Nixon, the Party has become a very real and serious threat to our Democracy.  Watergate was a constitutional crisis. The Republican majority on the Supreme Court decided the 2000 presidential election.  George Bush countenanced torture.  Republican-controlled Legislatures are now trying to disenfranchise the elderly, the disabled and poor voters through Voter ID requirements and other nefarious means.

 I think what troubles me the most is that so many Americans who identify themselves with the Republican Party think that these tactics, these threats to our Democracy, are acceptable as long as it brings victory. The "end justifies the means" mentality pervades the minds of so many Republicans, as evidenced by the number of people who are willing to embrace Romney and his cohorts no matter their behavior.  Very troubling for the future of our Nation. Not only are Metcalfe’s words disgusting, the behavior of the Republican Party leadership is reprehensible.

Elitism vs Intelligence

When I was young, we revered education. My father introduced me to art, to music, to philosophy and even demanded that I take science courses "because, Jackie, everyone needed to have an understanding of the world in which we live". When Dad announced that I was going to take advanced algebra and physics, I cried and I pleaded to no avail. I was rotten at it. But in the end, It instilled in me a respect for scientific inquiry and the advances that have been made because of it.  

How did it happen that the Republican Party embraces superstition over science? If the evidence is there to support the scientific findings, then we should embrace them, not deny them. I am so enthralled by everything we have learned and by everything to be learned. Let us return to those heady days of the sixties when we truly believed that nothing was impossible and our mission was to "boldly go where no man has gone before". Somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn and we need to get back on track.