Nitpicking in Paradise

That small voice within seems to always be saying "there's more to life than playing the game the way it's always been played". No one should suggest pulling up the covers and waiting to die is a viable road to happiness. I don't mean one should go out and do something stupid but I do mean one should begin listening to the still and all so small voice from within. Forget about whining and complaining! Neither are rituals for happiness yet we think it's our right to bitch, making it even harder to shake that habit. Maybe some of the complaining comes from a feeling of entitlement or maybe we become crotchety because we have been whining and complaining all our lives.
Do we ever really take a good look at what lives in our heart of hearts or our soul of souls? If we do, there will always be something that we can make excuses for by trying to justify that surviving and making it through is good enough. Destiny, fate, DNA or what ever our excuse is for nitpicking in paradise, patience and gratitude are the only two things that can clarify our sight.
Just about the time we begin to think we are controlling our destiny something comes along and smacks us in the head giving us a reason to complain. Patience and gratitude seem to be as far away as the North Pole yet in our rush to bitch we still have food, shelter and oxygen where in lives patience and gratitude.
Yes I whine and complain just like everyone else but I find myself doing much less of it these days. I've learned to keep warm with patience and gratitude realizing that I don't have to pull the covers up and wait to die.

One Giant Leap for Mankind

The year 1969 seemed to be a year of transformation for America. It was only overshadowed by the assassination of Martian Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy the year before. In 1969 it looked like America was going down the drain. The Vietnam war was raging and protest were tearing apart many US cities. Richard Nixon was inaugurated and Senator Kennedy drove his car off a bridge into the water killing his passenger. The Manson family killed Sharon Tate along with her friends and Hurricane Camille struck the Gulf coast killing 250.
Things were not all bad that year. The Jackson Five made their first television appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, Easy Rider hit the silver screen, music history was made at Woodstock, Sesame Street premiered on PBS and the New York Jets pulled off one of the greatest upsets of NFL history by defeating the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in the Super Bowl.
Lots of things, good and bad happened in 1969 but only three things truly transformed America, giving society a glimpse of what the future would be like in America. The Supreme Court's order to end school segregation, the US started troop withdrawals from Vietnam and the landing of Apollo 11 on the lunar surface were the most historic events that contributed to that transformation.
Forty years ago I was signing my eligibility card for the military draft, bringing a African American home to a family dinner and watching humans step onto the cratered surface of the moon. I did not know it back then but I was playing a big part in America's transformation by being at the tip of the spear with my actions.
Forty years ago on a Sunday in July I sat in front of a black and white television watching fuzzy looking spacesuited figures walk around on the lunar surface then went outside and gazed at the moon and thought anything is possible. That landing and walk, along with the Supreme Court's order and the start of troop withdrawal provided encouragement and hope when America needed it the most. With one giant step the country accomplished a goal that propelled it into the 70s. Neil Armstrong words "That's one small step for man, One giant leap for mankind" really sums up what America's transformation was all about.

Law of the Land

President Obama has begun the process of altering the federal courts. With the selection and conformation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter on the United State Supreme Court the consequences of a presidential election are in full view. The President's selection says much about his judicial philosophy. He chose Sonia Sotomayor because he shares her views that certain personal experiences are as relevant as intellect or judicial impartiality in making rulings that will effect mankind. I to believe that experience tested by obstacles and barriers, by hardship and misfortune along with experience insisting and persisting that barriers can be overcome will make Sonia Sotomayor one of the best Justices the Supreme has ever seen.
Experience is what gives a person a common touch and a sense of compassion. Only from experience does one learn how the world works and how ordinary people live. The Supreme court must rule by decree but it also needs the qualities of the common man. The law of such court must be sympathetic to certain classes of people, the poor, ethnic minorities, women and others deserving empathy. Some people may say this conformation will signal a sharp leftward turn for the court but it is a turn that must be made to prevent America from running into the ditch.

Making a List

There seems to be a list for just about everything in our daily lives. Projects, goals, reminders, commitments, grocery and many more but the one I hate the most is the "To Do List". Part of the problem with a "To Do List" is having multiple competing priorities that all seem to be screaming for attention. Maybe I am wrong about hating the "To Do List" the most! I really hate much more, the list that keeps track of all the different attentions needed to focus on maintaining the "To Do List".
One of the biggest problems with making any list is where do you put the list after you have made it? Do you write it out on paper and stick on the refrigerator door?
What if you don't complete the items on the list. Does that restrict you from opening the refrigerator door? If that were the case I would never be able to eat a bologna sandwich ever again.
If you are like me your list never gets completely completed so do what I do. Just don't put it on the list! Keep thinking that some day you will get around to it then the list will be completely completed or maybe start a new list for all those things you didn't get done. The new list will make you feel so guilty that sooner or later you'll get everything done you've been putting off.
I'll never try to convince anyone that making a "To Do List" will solve all of one's problems but at least the list will keep track of everything on the list. Getting everything done is a phrase that does not seem to be in my vocabulary. However, when the process becomes a bit dulling or overwhelming one phrase does enter my vocabulary very quickly. "Why Bother" or commonly known as "Fuck It".

Stars and Stripes

Betsy Ross's needlework of patriotism is an unifying symbol for all Americans. The American Flag is a national emblem that has stirred passions for several centuries causing those passions to be at their highest on July 4th.
The story of the American Flag takes many forms. Almost from it's beginning the flag has been pulled back and fourth along different visions of America. It has stood for abolition of slavery, unregulated capitalism, immigration, segregation, integration and war. Few of America's visions stand out as much as nationalist patriotism which seems to be the flag's underlining quality. Duty and self sacrifice is one of the most easily recognized forms of that reverence but others are just as recognizable. Protecting civil liberties and enabling democracy are also easily recognized, each rivaling duty and self sacrifice.
Will you fly a flag on the fourth of July? Will the passion for the stars and stripes stir deep inside you? I can answer yes to both of those questions. What about yourself, do you even remember where you stored the flag after the last July 4th holiday or will you have to make a trip to Walmart after reading this story and purchase a new symbol of your patriotism?