Another School Shooting

It has happened again, and I can no longer stay quiet. There has been another shooting in another school, with 17 dead. How can we let this happen? How can we protect our children and ourselves? I don't pretend to know the answer, but I do know one thing:

ARMING OUR TEACHERS IS THE WORST AND MOST STUPID THING WE COULD DO!

Has anyone really thought this idiotic suggestion through? Can you imagine what would happen if a kid on drugs, or one  who decided he /  she  was going to show the teacher a thing or two, or someone didn't get his / her homework done, or if a kid was just having a bad day and that kid decided to take the teacher's gun? What if the teacher accidently left the gun in a bathroom or lounge? If any of these things happened, how many students and teachers would end up injured or dead? There are so many scenarios where this could go wrong, and none that would be right.


How can we possibly give this type of responsibility to our teachers, who are already overworked and underpaid? If carrying a gun were part of a teacher's job description, how many good educators would we lose, and how many good people would not become teachers?
Teenagers are by nature a bit volatile, they don't always think things through, and they don't always make the best decisions. We cannot do this to our educators; there has to be a better way.

There is no way that I would ever endorse Donald Trump for any political office. Having said that, maybe having Trump as the President of the United States is a good thing. I say this while at the same time hoping he doesn't destroy the world. People can now see his true behavior and how he lies and uses deception to make others look bad.  His failed health-care bill; his golf games; his time on vacations in Florida and elsewhere; his manipulation of trade to benefit his own businesses; his treatment of women, even women leaders around the world; his fake news; - it would be comical if it weren't so scary. He surely can't make himself look any worse.  These first few months in office show us just how much of a narcissist and egotist he is, and how much better it would be if we actually had someone in office who knew how to be diplomatic and courteous, someone who was a master of the art of the compomise.

Maybe it is a good thing that he is President because his policies could bring together the Republicans and the Democrats and even the Independents to work against his plans; and bring diplomacy, decency, and leadership back to the U.S. This could make us get more involved in the voting process, and more knowledgeable about who is running the country and what they have in mind for it and us.

It seems to be working to some extent; several Republicans joined the Democrats in not supporting the new health care bill.  We have also caught a glimpse of what the leaders and inhabitants of other countries think of our President. Don't you think Putin is laughing at Trump behind his back? What about French President Macron? Does he seem comfortable with Trump? And the U.S. cabinet appointments - are they leaders in their fields?

Maybe this farce of a presidency will actually result in making Congress work together to get us out of this hole into which we are currently sinking. The United States could be stronger for it.

Hatred

       

            What is wrong with us? What do we, the citizens of the United States, see in the man who is now President? How did we get to this point where hate is the greatest emotion of  U. S. citizens? Why do people think we need to make America great again? America has always been great, even though some unconscionable things happened in the past. Most of us have always striven for greatness for our country by being the best we can be.

          Part of this, and not the least part, is because we welcome all viewpoints. We believe everyone has the right to speak up and express their opinions and ideas. We don't hate people because they are different, or because they are women, or because they speak a different language. Americans don't hate. Please don't remind me about slavery, smallpox for Native Americans,  etc. We have recognized most of the wrongs of the past, and should now be moving forward. There will probably always be evil individuals, but they don't, or shouldn't, represent a nation supposedly founded on freedom and equality.

          Today, it seems we are being encouraged to hate  anyone who is not us. How did we let this current government talk us into hating everyone and everything that is different? Just as an example, our President has recently asked that the National Endowment for the Arts be stripped of its funding; because we need to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico to keep our southern neighbors where they belong and out of this country.

          There are good reasons government needs to be reformed, but hatred is not, or should not be, one of them. More important would be to care for and respect the environment, provide good health care for all, and endow a good education for our children

How Did We Let This Happen?

 Global warming - a myth. That's why the year 2016 was the warmest in recorded history. We need to close off our borders. We need to build a wall. We need to start torturing people as a policy. Almost anyone can be made to confess to anything, whether they did it or not, if they are tortured enough.  

At this rate, there will be no country left for our children and grandchildren to inherit. Women, African Americans, gays, anyone who is not white skinned and does not speak English (American English at that) should be banned from the United States, or at least relegated to the bottom rung of society, and have no say in how this country is governed. They simply aren't good enough. This is the message the current administration is sending to the American people, and a lot of the population seems to agree.

Respect the office of the Presidency. That doesn't mean to not look at what the person holding that office is doing. Is he following the law? Is he keeping the promises he made? Or is he still lying  to us? is he respecting the office of the Presidency?

Take Mexico and "the wall." Mexico will pay for it, we were told. Funny how that has evolved into us, the U.S. citizens footing the bill. Now it is to be paid for by a consumer tax, which always hits the poorest people hardest. So you and I will be paying for this wall, although we have no say in whether or not it should be built. It should not. This wall is not creating opportunities for knowledge or friendship, but is increasing isolationism and the fear of the unknown., to say nothing of the cost of living.

Will there be a country left for my grandkids? Or yours? I'm beginning to doubt that. We are fouling the air and the water, making enemies of a great part of the globe, contributing to global warming, and ticking off most of the other people in the world.  This President terrifies me.

Missed Opportunities

It seems the internet has finally caught up with real life. It now knows what kind of clothes you like, your favorite style of music, and what your favorite literature genre is. And on almost  every website you go to, you see the ads that prove your computer knows you better than you know yourself. Buy this shirt, it seems to yell, because you bought one just like it last month, and from the same seller. Or, download this book because it's just like the last one you read. And, buy this lawn ornament because it's the same one you bought last year, and from the same retailer. Somehow, "they" know whatever it was you bought last year didn't make it to this year.

At first I thought this was a really nice feature of being on the internet. I didn't have to search too hard for stuff I liked. But the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. How would I ever know what else was out there if I didn't look? Maybe there was a shirt I would like better; or a different style of music that would be interesting and  fascinating. Or a different type of literature that I would enjoy.

But, no, how could there be? The internet always directed me to what I liked. I never had to look at opposing political views, or non-fiction books about Asia, or anything to do with economics. All I had to do was click on the ad in front of me. But then I thought, how can you learn anything new if you just stay with what you are used to?

Maybe I got tired of not hearing about new ideas, of not learning new things. Maybe joining a book club was my first act of rebellion against being stagnant. I hope there's more to come.

New Year's Day

A new start, or just another day? A day for looking back, for looking forward, or just looking around. A day for letting go of bad thoughts; forgetting bad deeds, both those committed against us and those committed by us; looking forward to what lies ahead. Looking forward to doing good and living well.

Time to make resolutions which will probably be very similar to last year's, and which I will break today or tomorrow or next week , if I'm very determined. Lose weight, exercise, write more, be kinder, spend more time with family and friends and less time thinking only of myself. These good intentions always seem to hover around the edges of my  consciousness, but one way or another, are usually ignored. There seems to be a curtain drawn between my good intentions and my real life. Is this an iron curtain or a cotton one? Will I be able to get through it? Only time will tell.

After thinking long and hard, I have decided to make two resolutions only:
          1. Live well
          2. Live good

Per Olov Enquist: “One day we shall die. But all the other days we shall be alive.”

Are There Consequences?

Why doesn't Lake Erie just cave in? What's holding it up? Does anyone know how much salt has been mined from beneath the lake? And now someone is taking the natural gas from beneath the ground. With what are those spaces filling up? Are we going to have one big sinkhole someday? Or maybe a lot of smaller ones? It's not just here, either, it's all over the world. Pretty soon we may be walking around on a thin crust, hoping things won't cave in.

These are a few of the questions that show up in my head on nights when I can't sleep. People who know these things just laugh and tell me not to worry; nothing bad is going to happen. How do they know?

All this worrying is giving me a headache; I need to take a nap.