I decided Blueeyed Blog wasn't such a great name after all. In the
sometime moments of despair that I feel about the state of the world
and the nation, I retreat into my faith-- and remember the words of St.
Paul about how so much is transitory-- prophecy, speaking in tongues,
all those great intellectual accomplishments, will fade away-- what
remains are faith hope and charity-- These three. and the greatest of
these is charity. I like the word charity better than the word love.
Love in this current culture has too many selfish sexual connotations
and not enough unselfish generosity of character connotations. Charity
is not just about giving money but about seeing the best in people. It
is allied with hope and faith.
So, when America seems to be fiddling while the Middle East burns, I
retreat into a recollection that God is in charge of the world and
neither I, nor John Kerry, nor George Bush, and certainly not Ralph
Nader are in charge.
These three-- Faith Hope and Charity and the greatest of these is
Charity.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Friday, May 14, 2004
Politicizing a Death
I have been through my share of deaths in the family in the last few
years, thank you very much. I don't have to imagine what it is like to
lose a young member of your family, I have been through it. I have
seen the pain in mother's hearts that never ever stops. I am among
those who shamefully and secretly thank God it was not one of my
children and renew my most fervent prayers to that same God to look out
for my children. I would hate to have the last few hours of their
enormously more peaceful deaths broadcast over the television or radio.
Having said all of that, sometimes things become political whether we
want them to or not. Al Qaeda made Nicholas Berg's death political.
And now Berg's father has made it more political.
He blames, not the people who actually wielded the knife, nor the
people who fund and support them, no he blames the people who are
trying to find them and put them away where they cannot harm others
again. It is crazy thinking. It is thinking that if only you had not
stopped to buy a newspaper then you wouldn't have been there when the
bomb exploded. People do that when someone they love is snatched from
them at such an early age.
But since it has been made political I cannot help but issue the kind
of warnings my grandfather used to issue to me. My grandfather's
warnings involved more mundane things-- don't go to the beach without
sunscreen, Jean Harlow died from a sunburn. Put a bandaid on that
blister, Calvin Coolidge's son died from a blister on his foot. So
here is the warning: BE AWARE of who the enemy is. They are murderers
who want us all dead. Don't trust an Arab or a Muslim until you KNOW
they are not from Al Qaeda. The Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and their
supporters and followers are people who mount attacks from ambulances
because they know we will not fire upon them. Like pedophilic sexual
predators, they are very good at figuring out how to gain your trust so
that they can do great harm to you. It is an unfortunate consequence
that you will end up being suspicious of good and kind people who mean
you no harm, but it is better than ending up dead. If the people of
whom you are unjustly suspicious are genuinely good and kind they will
forgive you when they understand the basis of your fear.
And by the way, Jean Harlow did die from kidney failure which was
precipitated by a third degree sunburn and Calvin Coolidge's son
apparently absorbed poisons from a dye used on his socks through a
blister on his heel.
years, thank you very much. I don't have to imagine what it is like to
lose a young member of your family, I have been through it. I have
seen the pain in mother's hearts that never ever stops. I am among
those who shamefully and secretly thank God it was not one of my
children and renew my most fervent prayers to that same God to look out
for my children. I would hate to have the last few hours of their
enormously more peaceful deaths broadcast over the television or radio.
Having said all of that, sometimes things become political whether we
want them to or not. Al Qaeda made Nicholas Berg's death political.
And now Berg's father has made it more political.
He blames, not the people who actually wielded the knife, nor the
people who fund and support them, no he blames the people who are
trying to find them and put them away where they cannot harm others
again. It is crazy thinking. It is thinking that if only you had not
stopped to buy a newspaper then you wouldn't have been there when the
bomb exploded. People do that when someone they love is snatched from
them at such an early age.
But since it has been made political I cannot help but issue the kind
of warnings my grandfather used to issue to me. My grandfather's
warnings involved more mundane things-- don't go to the beach without
sunscreen, Jean Harlow died from a sunburn. Put a bandaid on that
blister, Calvin Coolidge's son died from a blister on his foot. So
here is the warning: BE AWARE of who the enemy is. They are murderers
who want us all dead. Don't trust an Arab or a Muslim until you KNOW
they are not from Al Qaeda. The Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah and their
supporters and followers are people who mount attacks from ambulances
because they know we will not fire upon them. Like pedophilic sexual
predators, they are very good at figuring out how to gain your trust so
that they can do great harm to you. It is an unfortunate consequence
that you will end up being suspicious of good and kind people who mean
you no harm, but it is better than ending up dead. If the people of
whom you are unjustly suspicious are genuinely good and kind they will
forgive you when they understand the basis of your fear.
And by the way, Jean Harlow did die from kidney failure which was
precipitated by a third degree sunburn and Calvin Coolidge's son
apparently absorbed poisons from a dye used on his socks through a
blister on his heel.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
The New Grandmas Club
For a former weekend Peace and Freedom loving sixties generation baby
boomer hippy to become a grandma is, well, heartstopping. When I was
demonstrating against the war in Viet Nam I at least had the good sense
to ignore Jerry Rubin's advice to distrust anyone over 30. Even back
then I had great hopes of someday being over 30. But being a Grandma
was not on my agenda until, say, 5 or 6 years ago. I am in love in a
way I have never been before. This is the most beautiful, wonderful
little person in the world. And I find that most new Grandmas agree
with me. As well as those who have been around for a while. It gives
you a different perspective on the world.
You begin to worry about what the world is going to like long after you
have ceased breathing. Some would say these feelings are simply
biological. My DNA wants to replicate itself. Grandchildren are our
promise of eternal life in the here and now. But you can't help
thinking about long term consequences.
I look back on my participation in the anti-Viet Nam rallies and I am
sorry. Millions of peoplein Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia died because
the U. S. pulled out of Viet Nam. The conservatives of that day
warned us that all of southeast Asia would succumb to communism and we
didn't believe the warnings. They were right and we were wrong. I
guess they weren't completely right. Thailand survived. Of course,
that is the only Southeast Asian country where we had a base. HMMMM.
And think of all the good that came of it-- I have a VietNamese dentist
who probably would have grown up there if we had not pulled out.
Hmmm.
We cannot make that mistake again. This is the most important election
in my life time and I am 60 years old. We cannot cut and run again. I
want my grandson to grow up in a free country.
boomer hippy to become a grandma is, well, heartstopping. When I was
demonstrating against the war in Viet Nam I at least had the good sense
to ignore Jerry Rubin's advice to distrust anyone over 30. Even back
then I had great hopes of someday being over 30. But being a Grandma
was not on my agenda until, say, 5 or 6 years ago. I am in love in a
way I have never been before. This is the most beautiful, wonderful
little person in the world. And I find that most new Grandmas agree
with me. As well as those who have been around for a while. It gives
you a different perspective on the world.
You begin to worry about what the world is going to like long after you
have ceased breathing. Some would say these feelings are simply
biological. My DNA wants to replicate itself. Grandchildren are our
promise of eternal life in the here and now. But you can't help
thinking about long term consequences.
I look back on my participation in the anti-Viet Nam rallies and I am
sorry. Millions of peoplein Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia died because
the U. S. pulled out of Viet Nam. The conservatives of that day
warned us that all of southeast Asia would succumb to communism and we
didn't believe the warnings. They were right and we were wrong. I
guess they weren't completely right. Thailand survived. Of course,
that is the only Southeast Asian country where we had a base. HMMMM.
And think of all the good that came of it-- I have a VietNamese dentist
who probably would have grown up there if we had not pulled out.
Hmmm.
We cannot make that mistake again. This is the most important election
in my life time and I am 60 years old. We cannot cut and run again. I
want my grandson to grow up in a free country.
About the Cats Comment
I have two cats. I do not want to hear from cat lovers or cat haters. I do not love cats in general. (I don't hate cats either) I love these two cats. Well, I have a third cat that is pretty cute but she isn't really my cat. She was foisted off on me. Heck. They were all foisted off on me. But two of them were foisted off on me when they were kitties and now they like to sleep with me every night. I've noticed a lot of bloggers seem to sleep alone. That's how they find time to blog. There. In the middle of the night. Can't sleep and nothing to watch on TV. Might as well blog. Working is for daytime.
But back to the cats. I have to admit that I am a little suspicious of people who dislike cats. But my cats are constantly affectionate. And I've had other cats before them. They wait for me to come home and hop on the bed a rub up against me. They miss me when I am gone. And sometimes they bring me little presents. I really don't like the presents but I pretend. That way I don't have to worry about mice.
So, I wonder to myself, cats have the good sense to be loyal and loving to the person who feeds them and pets them. How hard is it to form a relationship with a cat? Just feed it and pet it and it will love you. If someone can't form a relationship with a cat......... I just have to wonder.
But back to the cats. I have to admit that I am a little suspicious of people who dislike cats. But my cats are constantly affectionate. And I've had other cats before them. They wait for me to come home and hop on the bed a rub up against me. They miss me when I am gone. And sometimes they bring me little presents. I really don't like the presents but I pretend. That way I don't have to worry about mice.
So, I wonder to myself, cats have the good sense to be loyal and loving to the person who feeds them and pets them. How hard is it to form a relationship with a cat? Just feed it and pet it and it will love you. If someone can't form a relationship with a cat......... I just have to wonder.
Name This Blog
Starting a blog is a bit intimidating because you have to name it. It reminds me of the baptismal ceremony. After a bit of introductory liturgy the priest commands "Name this child". At that point, as the parent, you realize your response will really bind your baby forever. Blog names should somehow suggest the nature of the discourse to be found there. They should be quirky and appealing. Most important, they more or less have to be different from every other blog name. wqqqqqqqqqqqqQ
Unlike baptismal ceremonies where one has, presumably, thought about the whole thing for a while, I had not really carefully selected a name when the blogging program commanded me to Name This Blog. I came up with BlueEyedBlog only because a) I have blue eyes, b) I liked the name Brown-eyed girl, and her website, and c) a google search suggested the name hadn't been taken yet.
But even such a random decision, I now realize, may well have consequences. Someone will say, "What a racist name" . As if I should apologize for having blue eyes. Or, as if I should apologize for mentioning that fact. Well. I won't.
Unlike baptismal ceremonies where one has, presumably, thought about the whole thing for a while, I had not really carefully selected a name when the blogging program commanded me to Name This Blog. I came up with BlueEyedBlog only because a) I have blue eyes, b) I liked the name Brown-eyed girl, and her website, and c) a google search suggested the name hadn't been taken yet.
But even such a random decision, I now realize, may well have consequences. Someone will say, "What a racist name" . As if I should apologize for having blue eyes. Or, as if I should apologize for mentioning that fact. Well. I won't.
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