Oh, be nice!

There is a lot of stuff in the media on the topic of spirituality and religion. There are conversations about it in bars, coffeehouses, buses, everywhere. It’s no wonder there is so much talk about it; there’s a war that directly or indirectly involves the whole world that appears to be inspired by religion that’s been going on for a long time. There’s the whole thing about the Mayan calendar, not to mention Biblical prophecy. It is difficult to deny that some weird things have been happening on the planet lately. A lot of weird things have been happening.

I don’t want to go into some “blah, blah, blah” kind of thing about some theory or something proving or disproving some other theory or something because there is plenty of that already out there. Also, if a person can’t tell what’s going on already, it doesn’t do any good to “blah, blah, blah” about this or that. I guess what I want to talk about is simply being happy.

I think it’s quite obvious that there is something going on with God, the universe, the planet, or whatever one might prefer to call it, but as I said, it’s difficult to not be aware of the weirdness going on and that it’s getting weirder. That doesn’t mean that a person has to be negatively influenced by it. There certainly is a negative energy or force that is getting stronger and really messing with people and the world. It’s causing a lot of problems. We don’t have to be overcome by this negativity, though. Recognizing and acknowledging it is the first step to conquering it. It is a very personal thing and it can sometimes be a struggle.

Sometimes it is difficult to know the difference between right and wrong. Sometimes the wrong thing can be a very enticing temptation, practically irresistible. The right thing can seem dull, bland, tedious, boring, and not fun. However, as I’m sure every person reading this knows, doing the wrong thing has negative consequences, and doing the right thing has rewards. There have probably always been more wrong options in the world than right, but it seems that in the present times there are a lot more wrong options and it is practically accepted to choose them by most of human society.That doesn’t make it any easier to not jump off the cliff when everyone else is doing it and you’re not “cool” if you don’t do it.

I realize I might be pushing the envelope a bit with this essay, but I’m not trying to tell anyone what is “right” and what is “wrong.” I believe most people know that already. It’s true that there are some people who are just plain messed up in the head and don’t know what is right or wrong, and I pity them and the people who are affected by the wrongs they do. I like to remember this when I think of situations like that and natural disasters, civilians getting killed in war, and the like:  Bad things do happen to good people, but worse things happen to bad people. That gives me a bit of comfort once in a while in times of despair.

I guess the point of all this is to emphasize how important it is to not give up on doing the right thing, and avoid doing the wrong thing. If you’re not sure what the right thing is, seek and you will find and/or ask and you will receive. If you know what is right, figuring out what is wrong is pretty easy. Things are pretty weird out there and they’re probably going to get weirder, so it’s a good idea to have your head and heart together and spread the love because it sure seems like the world could use it.

Life is good

If something takes and gives of this world, directly or indirectly, does that make it a part of it? Also, does that mean that it has some kind of energy; “life,” if you will? I raise this question because of the ongoing debate about abortion and the question of when life begins which seems to be the main inspiration for the ongoing debate.

As far as my stand on abortion I am pro-choice. To be clear that does not mean I am pro-abortion. Actually I am against it, but people have free will and I think it is useless and sometimes dangerous to try to suppress it.

Getting back to my original point, there is life in a one celled animal. There are microscopic animals living on our skin eating dead skin cells. Skin cells have life. These things are very small, one cell even, and they give and take from the world and we already call them alive. A human starts with two cells that are already alive in a male and female and combining to make many cells. It seems pretty clear to me where human life starts, if the abortion argument really does revolve around that point.

But I suppose there is more to it than that. If people are willing to commit terrorist acts, I would think they are either crazy or inspired by something that most people probably do not understand. I also think that if a person is going to participate in an abortion (including the woman and everyone that may be involved with her, doctor, clinic, etc.) there must be something very intense that would influence that decision. Since everyone is different I suppose the reasons vary, though I imagine there are a few reasons that many people on both ends share. I won’t go into what those might be because they have been written about for years and anyone might make a reasonable guess as to what they are.

I just know I’m alive now, and I’m glad to be alive. Some days are tough, but that’s life. Nobody ever told me it was going to be easy. I just take one step at a time and go with the flow. Life is good.

Be careful what you ask for

What is it with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” thing in the military?  From what I have heard and read from various news sources, there are a lot of politically motivated things that are motivating groups for and against people serving openly gay in the military.  I can see how a politician might gain more votes from gay voters and such with a change in this policy and how the already thin military might get a bit thicker with homosexuals feeling a bit freer to join without feeling discriminated against.  A big score for the liberals and conservatives.  However, as has been mentioned many times, this is not an issue to take lightly.  Especially during a time that America is involved in two wars with a potential third with the recent problems with North Korea, what seems to be a social experiment is not a good idea.

Some lawmakers and activists are wanting to change the “don’t ask…” policy immediately.  Although I’m not necessarily against homosexuals serving in the military, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.  I have heard from some so called “experts” that this sort of thing needs to be taken slowly.  If gays are going to serve openly in the military, it is something that the military is going to have to figure out how to handle and that is not going to happen overnight.  I’m sure everyone has seen movies like Platoon and such that have scenes of basic training and drill sergeants who use derogatory racial terms, and what are know these days as homophobic terms.  Even physical violence is used by drill sergeants in some of those films.  A friend of mine who was in the Marine Corps. said that those movies are not even close to what the reality of basic training is like.  If an openly homosexual person is going to go into a branch of the military before any sort of serious revisions are made in consideration of them, they should expect to be outcast by everyone else who is not homosexual, likely including the drill sergeant.  I dread to think what that might mean.

I have also heard that some gays feel that this law is preventing them from serving their country because of “who they are.”  I think that is kind of idiotic.  If a person really wants to do anything, a person is going to do it.  It seems to me that if a person, no matter the race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or whatever, really wanted to fight for their country and was somehow able to, they would.  Gays are able to do it as long as they don’t say they are gay.  What’s the big deal?  Who cares anyway?  It’s not like they’re going to get any more or less military benefits if they are openly gay.  It sounds like there may be a hidden political agenda somewhere.  It’s really easy to compare something like this to blacks who fought in the military for many wars before they finally got the recognition and equality they deserved, but it’s not easy to hide the physical attributes that come with race.  It’s rather difficult to have a policy of “don’t ask, don’t tell” when it comes to things like race.  Even women have finally been allowed to serve the military in positions they previously were not allowed to, and they are doing it successfully as they have been doing for centuries in various other wars in various other countries.  Again, the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is difficult to enforce in that area, too.  Maybe some of the activists for homosexual rights loudly, and sometimes irrationally opposing this policy just want some attention.

What is keeping gays from serving in the military right now, anyway?  I suppose if they wanted to serve the military of the United States they could do, save for one thing:  gay pride.  I’m certain that there are likely many homosexuals who join the military and decide to “not tell” because they are patriots and want to fight for their country.  There are obviously many others who chose to not join the military and fight for their country because of “gay pride.” If there is eventually some reformation of the current policy concerning gays in the military allowing them to be open, I hope it works for all involved.  Until then, if a fag really wants to serve, do it.  If you go to war you have a lot worse things to worry about than politically incorrect language and gay bashers.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it

About this “no smoking” craze that seems to be sweeping the country and changing some peoples’ lives for the better through high priced tobacco and the fact that smoking is not healthy being shoved down peoples’ throats, it has its bad things too.  Although people certainly have the right to breathe air without cigarette smoke in it (notice I didn’t say ”fresh air” because I don’t know where you’re gonna find it anymore), people certainly have the right to pollute their bodies with tobacco also.  It may be a nasty habit, but I can think of some much worse ones that don’t get as much attention as cigarettes but cause more damage.

One person drinking alcohol, for example, can have much worse reprecussions on non-drinkers than a smoker would on non-smokers.  If a person who had a few drinks did something that the effects of alcohol had impaired his ability to do, the results could be disastrous.  A person intoxicated by alcohol could do anything from rape, murder (including suicide), kidnapping, an other heinous crimes.  A person’s inhibitions are virtually nil after so many drinks, also.  Women become, I dare say more slutty, and men become more violently agressive.  All of these actions, which just scrape the surface, are the results of alcohol which most people come in contact with directly or indirectly about every day.  What harm does tobacco do besides put some smoke in the air and harm the health of the person who is smoking it, besides cause minor harm to anyone who may be breathing the second hand smoke?  If the big arguement to end smoking in outdoor public places is second hand smoke, then someone is missing the bigger picture of the big CO2 producing giants called factories, cars, and on and on.  The point I’m making is the air is already bad and there are worse pollutants to pick on to clean it up besides cigarettes.  Not just that, but people have free will and the right to do what they want.  If a person has the right to look at pornography on the internet or get drunk and who-knows-what(!), why can’t a person sit on a park bench, open up a book and have a cigarette?

Somethingorother

With all this talk about armageddon and legadeddon and torsoageddon and so on, has anyone ever taken the time to actually look around to see what is going on?  I had a brief conversation with an acquantance of mine a few years ago and suggested that history was beginning to repeat itself.  I believe it was Andy Worhol who said that the ’90s will make the ’60s looks like the ’50s.  My acquantance, a veteran of the ’60s and ’70s good and bad stuff, agreed that universal change was in the air and that Andy Worhol was on track.  I suggested, it being the earlier part of the 21st century, that we (earthlings) were in for some big something-or-other that is similar to the chaos of the ’60s, but the reprecussions of the chaos will be more immediate.  I am not sure how she felt about that.  I think she may have agreed with me, but if she did she did not say.  I can understand how such a thing can be a hard pill to swallow for anyone, however it seems to be happenning. 

This is not the first time this sort of thing has been mentioned or written about.  This is very old wisdom that has been know for centuries at least, if not millinea.  What it comes down to as simply as I understand it (”it” being the best way to live and continue doing it for ever) is know where you stand.  If you have any questions, ask.  Remember that the good guys always win.  Remember that things can always get worse or better.  Ask and you will receive, but be careful what you ask for.  Seek the truth and you will find it.  There is more, but if you’ve read this far, you will figure it out for yourself or wait for it.

Peace

underdog

Howdy readers!

I don’t mean to discourage anyone from leaving links to other websites and such but I don’t want to be a beast of burden for anyone pushing hard-on pills or any other kind of pharmaceuticals via this blog.  If you actually read some of the essays and things that I have written you might get the idea of my morals and ethics and what kind of things that I would approve of and what I would find unethical and simply disturbing to have as a link, some of the afore mentioned things being some of them.

I do appreciate comments and I find it encouraging that people are actually reading what I write and approve of it.  However, I am doing my best to maintain what I consider to be positive ethical and moral beliefs in this corrupt and unethical, immoral world.  If a person wants to put a link to a site, whether it is theirs or whatever, consider the audience intended for this blog instead of just advertisement and money.

Some of the things that I do approve of as links that may have advertisements  would have to have something to do with art (all media), as far as health products are concerned I would prefer homeopathic and other natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals.  There are other things, I’m certain, that I cannot think of at the moment.  I suppose what is to keep in mind  when asking yourself if your link is appropriate or not is that I am a pretty open minded person, but I stand firm on my beliefs, but I am also willing to listen to what others have to say because I know that I may be wrong.  There is an old saying :

A wise man learns from experience, a wiser man learns from the experience of others.

I have experience, but I know that there are people who have more experience than I do.  In closing, thanks for commenting, keep the links cool, and who in the heck is it that is commenting in Russian or whatever?  Please write isn English so I can read it!

What would MLK think?

I have wondered why it is that black people can get away with saying nigger but white people cannot?  I know that is a sensitive question, but if anyone has an answer, please let me know.

I was riding a city bus that was rather crowded and sitting in the back where usually most of the black people sit (strange, considering the whole Rosa Parks thing) and there were some young black men talking loudly and obnoxiosly saying offensive words and using the word nigger over and over.  I found this offensive on a public bus.  There were children around!  Eventually, me and my big mouth said something to try to quiet them down to no avail.   However, when one of them was apparently offended when he heard another passenger on the bus use the term nigger, I could not believe it!  I mentioned that they had been using the term multiple times for the last 20 minutes or so and I was amazed that this person could be offended.  They tried to explain and I responded rationally.  Eventually what conclusion, if it can be called that, was arrived at was that blacks call each other that in a friendly tone, so it’s all right.  So figuring that using the term in a friendly tone it would be all right, I attempted to use the term in a friendly context.  This offended the two young men and I think a couple of other black females on the bus.  There were other black passengers who did not seem to care, although they were obviously listening.

The anger in one of the individuals rose to the point to where he wanted to fight me when I got off of the bus.  His friend tried to dissuade him from doing that over such a trite thing, and I did not want to fight.  The angry one kept talkinand boasting about how he was going to beat me up and  such, and I was trying to explain that I meant no offense.  I was trying to make a point, but he was not wanting to listen to my explanaition.

When I eventually got off of the bus he tried to follow me off but his friend prevented him.  He apparently got off at a different stop and followed me because he snuck up behind be and hit me in the back of the head.  I promote peace and non-violence most of the time, but I turned around and chased him and when I caught up to him he again expressed his offense about being called a nigger and I told him I tried to explain what I was doing, and he didn’t want to hear it.  Now I look at him as a coward.  I may complain to the city bus mangement or whatever about foul offensive language and such.

Why can’t we be friends?

I am flattered that most of the people who respond to this blog don’t have a photo.  I like that.  It shows some kind of individuality.

I have said, I think, that I am not very computer savvy, so if there is a way for any of you to put any kind of message or something post on this thing please do.  You aare very welccome.

Better late than never

It’s really hard to be an artist.  To see telephone poles that look like

toothpicks.  It’s all right.  It’s all right.

Santana’s magic woman keeps company, for a time

and a half, or so.  And cigarettes, and cigarettes, and cigarettes, and cigarettes, and cigarettes, etc. . .  ,(and coffee).

Happy for the loved ones, and for those who are loved,

pieces of peace in plenty in present places for people.

No matter what you believe in, now always counts.

I like roses

You know, it’s very interesting how easily deceived humans are.  They are so susceptible to the slightest manipulative guises that it is quitsad.  What is even more sad is the people that use these despicable means of deception.

For example, those who are thieves, murderers, and commit crimes of all srts that are committed daily by the common thug, but wear thousand dollar suits, have tens of cars, multiple homes, and other material things that give the impression that what they have done is worth the price that they have paid ( and wil pay) is worth it.  These people are only deceiving themselves and the weak minded fools that follow their path.  These well dressed thugs are no different  than the common thug on the street.  All of the criminals, “thugs,” if you will, want the same things: material wealth, and they really don’t care how they get it, not including some spiritual epiphany which may and has happend in some lives.

Unfortunately, these people are all around.  Not all are as obvious as you or I would hope.  As has been said before, you can tell a tree by the fruit it bears.  A tree that bears bad fruit you should ignore, no matter how beautiful its blossoms might smell or look.  It has also been said that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.  I say that an asshole covered in perfume is still going to put out shit.  I like roses.