breathing into the sea

 

The tragedy --

too many wasted lives

on the pyre of ignorant hatred

Do as you feel drawn to

If it feels good, continue

If uncomfortable, explore the reasons

All the escalating trauma

trying to live on an ever more

hostile home world

LBJ famouslyy helped his

country leap forwarddd socially,

yet brought down by an unfortunate

allegiance to a horribly unpopular war.

The Democrats couldn't be

bothered to nominate a candidate

the people wanted.

Such a time of unrest -- Old School

America fell prey to a media

manufactured yearning for law and order.

For the focused and effective,

time gives us perspective,

long term relationships with

those we come to know well,

regrettable experiences we learn from,

and experiences that force us to

confront and better understand ourselves.

Given a strong genetic constitution,

excellent medical care and advice,

strongly supportive family and friends,

well educated, trained, skilled, effective

staff, abundant resources, expert, experienced

advisers, in an age when so much of memory

generally has been relegated to technology,

still the long grown experience which creates

amazing intuition and reflexive wisdom

is certainly an asset.

Not even our savior AI (with no human context)

can encompass the benefits of such experience.

We all make mistakes, take chances that don't 

pan out as we had hoped.

Real leaders accept their humanity,

do what they can to lift us all, with the

humility and reflection that comes from

their connection to our common cause.

2/10-15/24 

a you thing? a we thing?

 

Americans generally seem to be

ignorant of what our government

actually does or can do.  We seem 

to expect our POTUS to be a god

who commands the laws and policies

we must live by.  We seem to believe

our government is an all powerful

creature that we have no power over,

yet expect our tantrums to persuade,

rather than merely a human made

institution meant to organize our

societies in the ways we, over time,

choose.

I know, this we is not merely you and

me, who may discuss and decide.

This we is much larger and broader,

in needs, beliefs, experiences, world

views.  Thus, this government concept

gets more complex.  Then, I guess,

most of us don't want to bother to

understand -- so we just get mad.

What we need are real communities --

people committed to their common good.

A successful democracy requires extensive

civic education, such that all citizens

understand our rights, responsibilities,

duties and methods to have impact,

make changes.

 A national leader of the nature to do

their best for their nation generally

has a wide variety of people with

different needs, desires, hot button

issues, and so forth.  Remember, the

leader is trying to do what will serve

all of these, along with all the emergent

events that must be addressed.  Thus,

even your best-meaning national leader

will not necessarily do what is best for

you and yours.

2/5-9/24

This is not a metaphor

 We do what we do

to fill and nourish our time

until it's replete

Trust is not an appropriate term

for what we feel for strangers, 

public figures we know only as

the character they project.

Trust is an intimate relationship

between people who have immediate

evident of who we each are.

Is the real Trump appeal

the misogyny?

We worry about threats to

democracy, to our fought for

and expected rights.

Who is talking about the real 

and underlying threat -- rule by

violent intimidation?

When I was young, I was

suicidal, but I manifested that

desire to die as bravery, standing

up for what I believed.

Perhaps part of the disconnect

between the US coasts and the

intervening states, is that coasts

are where ever new waves of 

immigrants from everywhere enter,

and often settle.

A world on fire

Under fire

Engulfed in molten flame

Burning hot, getting hotter

Is this a place we all desire

to extinguish?

to self-immolate?

This is not a metaphor

People suck-- which is why it

is so easy to manipulate us -- just

give us permission to go wild, be brutal

1/27-2/3/24