Hope In The Midst of The Ashes
It's 8:12 a.m. and I am sitting here in my bathrobe, third cup of coffee getting cold. I should have already been in the shower getting ready for this day off but could not motivate myself before sharing in this symphony of contemplation flooding my brain.
In light of the world events taking place as well as those in The United States, we are forced to realize that we are no longer a nation standing by ourself, but so intimately connected to an entire planet. We aren't just Americans any longer, but part of humanity as a whole. Everything we do effects another human being in a remote village in places we have never heard of, and we find out that yes, we really do care. We are moved to action because we can no longer stand still, sipping our cup of Starbucks, accepting that our government is doing their job and letting the status quo wind lazily down river. The waters have backed up and we are flooded.
We are now losing sons and daughters in wars we find out were unnecessary and perhaps pursued for much less worthy and noble causes than we were told. Our economy is a mess.Nations we have supported, carte blanche have run amuck and are committing some of the worst acts of cruelty against their neighbors, sadly, on our dime.
It is because of these things (thank God for the technology) that the American people have stood up and said "no more". It just ain't good enough.I thank God for raising up a fine son in Barack Obama to inspire us and help lead us out of this valley we have wandered into. I thank God for him because he is giving hope not only to the millions who have suffered here in our country, but to people on the other side of this planet that their world may be better after so much personal loss. He is willing to listen and act on what he says and for that I have hope for a better America, which does effect the world. I want to be proud to be an American again.
Hope, especially when the floor has fallen beneath our feet, is what drives us to get back up and try again. Hope is that God-given spirit that rises within us when we feel that our lives have no meaning, that no one cares, and one person reaches out to us to let us know that we matter. Hope makes us see a future for ourselves and those we love after the chaos and destruction of others or maybe even ourselves, comes to an end. Hope gives us the courage to give when there's nothing left. Hope is something we should give to each other for it makes miracles happen.
We have so much to be hopeful for. Old men and women are seeing changes in this country they never thought would happen in their lifetimes. People voices are being heard and our leadership is changing. The level of conscienceness is being raised in young people, not just in America but around the world, who are coming after us and I do believe that they will not only learn from our mistakes, but will educate themselves and take action to address global concerns.
It takes each one of us in this wave of good will, to reach the shore. We must be patient, be willing to sacrifice and never give up our hope. Let us have enough hope, overflowing hope, to give some away to another who doesn't have any.
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we are all African Americans now !
we are the world
we are doomed !
but seriously
I just wish we'd have let Saddam keep Kuwait and take Saudi Arabia as he planned
we'd be so much better off paying 600 dollars a barrel for oil when he controlled 40% of it
I am so inspired by all of you!
Mb - You have it sister. I tend to think that dogmas do define the words and I see the same beauty and truth in various great dogmas. It tells me that God loves all of us and we need to recognise that in this world. I wish I didn't have to admit it, but I used to be more on the "smart" side and now I lean on the "wise" side. Really stung along the way...ouch!
Miuwtant - We should have left Saddam alone and tried to peruade him to treat his people better in other ways. Don't know about the gas thing
Canyon - Thanks for the Obama words. I hope he has all the necessary info he needs to make intelligent decisions about Afghanistan. Yes the terrorists are out there but they are in and among people with very tribal ways and they don't lose battles. As for Israel and Palestine, Israel needs to recognise the right of the Palestinians to their own nation. This would require them to recognise the dignity of the human being. We have way too many people trying to interpret the Bible and they do so in error. No offense, but the rambling prayer of Rick Warren told me more about the Presidents view on Israel than he could have expressed in words. Of course most of us wants Israel safe, but that should go both ways. I hope that Obama really gets that and I think he does. Perhaps Al Queda and the Taliban also need their own territory. Then they can live out their religious beliefs on each other. Their God is a destroying God. They will see that God and when they do, God have mercy! In the meantime, I am supposed to pray for my enemies, which I will do...
One more thing, we need to take time and really try to discover what terrorism is and who really owns that title. I am sure that Japan and the Phillipines, at one time, considered what we did in WWII as terrorism.Our hands are not clean. We must know what the problem is before we can find the solution. There are people who dialogue with "terrorists" and know that the issues are much more complex than just radical religion. Many wrongs have been done to many people and the wounds run deep. This is a huge issue.
Common. Common, Commom...
What will we do with you?
Don't really understand how oil got into this conversation. Considering the elite of the last twenty years, prices would have maybe gotten worse and you and I would be taking the bus everywhere, if we were lucky. Don't know about you but I'm not filling up a testesterone-modified four-wheel drive that I have to steer with my spurs on. I drive a modest well-maintained older Honda Accord and it was really hurting me for a while.
We are much better off with the ruling parties of Egypt than we would have been with Saddam.
Hope requires Faith and together they create Charity. These words do not need to be defined by any specific religious dogma, but come from wisdom. And we know that it takes a smart man (woman, whatever) to learn from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from others. With the internet we have a miraculous opportunity to access many mistakes (our own and others) that can bring us wisdom. We are indeed a smaller, less individually different planet than most of us were born in to. I am going to try to use whatever little wisdom I have acquired to trust in faith, live in hope, and through charity experience the reciprocal benefits.
Funny. Oil prices spiked AFTER Saddam was hung.
What's up with that?
Thanks, Observer, for the good thoughts. We are indeed at the dawn of a new and better day. No wonder the Usual Suspects are so upset. They had nothing to do with it.
President Obama at the State Dept. right now:
The United States will not torture.
We will close Guantanamo and figure out how to deal with those held there.
Third we will undertake a review on how to hold and try terrorism suspects.
Our actions in defense of liberty will be as just as our cause... once again America's moral example must be the bedrock
It will be the action of my presidency to seek a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
We did not ask to bear this burden, but Americans will bear it. Change will not come quickly, but it will come.
No one doubts the difficulty of the challenges ahead. History shows us that strong engagement can bridge divides... let me be clear, America is committed to Israel's security...
Just as a lack of hope is intolerable, so too is a lack of peace for the Palestinians.... aid relief .... lasting peace requires more than a long ceasefire... that's why I will commit long term to 2 countries living side by side.... now is the time for the Arab states to act to normalize relationships with Isreal .... external support for terrorist orgs must stop
We cannot deal with our problems in isolation. (Pakistan and Afghanistan) American people must understand that the situation is perilous and improvement will take time..... Al Queda terrorists remain at large and remain plotting ... we pledge to support the extraordinary Americans serving in Afghanistan with the support they need.
Security in the 21st Century is shared, but let there be no doubt of America's commitment to lead.
Observer,
Excellent post...and now we will see what the future will bring to us all.....there is always hope... that the truth will be spoken after so many lies have and still control us. Only time will tell....if a new day is on the horizon.
Persuade Saddam Hussein to treat his people in "other ways"? The only "other ways" Hussein was ever interested in was more painful torture and easier eradication of his imagined enemies.
I'm not sure if you are joking or just so caught up in the "we are the world/let it be/give peace a chance" illusion that you can't understand that there are truly bad people in this world that need eliminating. You seem to have a very gray and broad line between evil and good, right and wrong, and victoms vs. persecutors. Those who let their hate result in acts of constant, dedicated terrorism and murder do not deserve ANY mercy or compassion. They deserve to be sent back to the dust they came from.
I for one would be very happy to see the US stand back. If this is really a new world.... then maybe the GREAT UN will step up. You only need to look at countries (that are in human turmoil) that have no outside military forces intervening. Its time to call all countries on the carpet and make world changes. The good news is that we bring home the troops in 16 months.... the bad news.... Iraq will be in total chaos in 18 months. Oh well.
Overly simple minds only register thoughts in black/white. The world is a complicated stage & there is a lot of thought that has to go into dealing with it, otherwise violence becomes the end result of such black/white, ignorant/aggressive "non-thinking". Our animal impulses tell us "good" & "bad" but it's the human intellect that stands us apart from living in a constant state of war mongering tribalism. Hitler had a simple answer, Stalin had a simple answer, al Qaeda had a simple answer... Letting the US fall into the same thought pattern as these guys is doing a huge disservice to our soldiers, sailors & civilians due to the fact that this same asinine logic puts us all in harms way by grouping us together with our governmment & their policies. Part of what makes the US tolerable in the worlds eyes is that the people seem to often be in opposition to the government... this makes us look sane. -Shalom
Deja - Don't redefine hatred. Don't confuse that with frustration, despair, defense, outrage...the list goes on & on. Most people in the world do not possess outright hatred, welling up from it's own source. "Hatred" comes from arrogance, pride and many times from greed. Often, we believe we are better than the next guy, we deserve, we retaliate, we have right...without ever thinking about the welfare of another or the objective that results in justice for everyone. I can not pay the price for my father's mistakes, although many believe otherwise.
Birch - You have said it correctly. Thank God that international affairs aren't dependant on those who are black & white. That is the problem we face. Let us look to the masters of wisdom and submit to their teaching...