"Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works."
Carl Sagan
Friday, August 22, 2008
Faith of the Heart
The past few years have been a series of disasters and sorrows that threaten to engulf us all. The chance of peace, liberty, and the general betterment of humanity that appeared at the end of the Cold War has either been squandered by greedy and narrow minded people or given the nature of Homo Sapiens was just a mirage from the start. But still, hope lingers for a better world and can never be quite extinguished. What hope? The hope that at some point all people will realize that we either stand together or will surely fall separately. That liberty and justice denied at the expense of some will in time come to mean liberty and justice denied to all. That enjoying security and prosperity while denying it to others is evil but that wallowing in ignorance and apathy and blaming others for it is just as bad. The hope that at some point the we will realize that the promises offered by those willing only for power and prestige are hollow and that we ourselves are the best agents of change for a better world. That true leadership seeks not to make history but to inspire others to work for a common good. The hope that at some point we will recognize that our differences make us stronger as long as people respect the beliefs of others who disagree with us and hold fast that in the end we all want to see our children grow up in peace.
All that is a tall order with nothing these days appearing to offer any chance of us seeing anything like that soon. But still we have to work toward those goals, hold fast to our courage and desire to see better days and have a little faith of the heart.
Sorry for the corny nature of this post but I have been feeling more than a little down lately. Needed something to make me feel better and restore just a little of my faith that it will all work out in the end.
No corn at all. It's a sermon that needs to be heard frequently: The hope that at some point all people will realize that we either stand together or will surely fall separately... we will recognize that our differences make us stronger as long as people respect the beliefs of others who disagree with us....
These words are prescient, Beach. I comment on a conservative blog with an intelligent woman who holds a diametrically opposite perspective to mine.
My profound thanks for this post. We all need to remember these thoughts and know that from hope, reality will come.
DCap and Mike: It may be only my skewed perception but no matter where I go or talk with there is a general dark feeling about the future. Some of it comes from a selfish desire to only protect what they have and the hell with everyone else. Some comes from a general fear that the society and world we have created has gone out of control with nut cases, of all strips, pushing it ever closer to a waiting abyss. And curiously enough I've talked to a few that look forward to the end of it all, that humans are a failure and a blight on the world that needs to be eliminated. I must admit that I've come damn close to taking the position of the last one at times. Except that humans have done some good in the world and at times have shown the compassion and intelligence that does separate us from the animals. In reality, at least as far as I can discern, it seems that most of the troubles we face originate from a small percentage of the human population through greed, the desire for power, ignorance, or malignant superstition. (ask me later about that one) I guess the greatest portion of my hope for the future is that the greater portion of humanity that wants nothing more than to live and peace and freedom can at some point overcome the pack mentality that ties us to that smaller but more dynamic group out to damn us all.
Stella: Right now about all I have is my hope for better days and my faith that God, the universe, or the fact that millions of years of evolution and self preservation will not allow us to self destruct. Shit, it just might take all three to pull our asses from the fire.
Beach, thank you for your sensitivity and sweet words at my site. Being bipolar, the way down feels like the approaching end. And I'm nowhere near the end. I'm hopelessly hopeful. And I'm patiently waiting for the spark to return.
You have some impressive readers. Stella is the first reader who ever left a comment on my fledgeling site and it is always Stella who reminds me that I'm in good company and the spark will return. Breathe in, breathe out.
Dcap was there for my humiliating self-destruction. Sorry Dcap.
And I'm pleased today that Joe Biden is Barack's running mate. Little things mean a lot.
Even if we end up buried under a nuclear winter and the carcasses of our enemies :) until that happens, sometimes you need a pick-me-up, whatever form fits your personality. This helps you, I turn to music, and I'm sure Cheney does something too when Halliburton goes down 1/4 of a point.
I found some measure of hope glimpsing the DNC convention here and there. I never admired Ted Kennedy so much: to speak at that convention with brain cancer was a brave act and demonstrated so much strength and character.
Likewise, Michelle Obama. If Hillary can talk some sense into her Pumas tonight, we may see some genuine, positive change.
wow this is such a neat post BB! I love the msg u convey thru ur noble thoughts.
**The hope that at some point we will recognize that our differences make us stronger as long as people respect the beliefs of others who disagree with us and hold fast that in the end we all want to see our children grow up in peace.
Spot on! Now if everyone thought like u did, this world wud hv true PEACE!
Randal: One of my biggest problems with the general form of American life is how so many, including several close to me, get caught up in the rat race and what passes as culture these days. I don't give a rats ass about buying another bigger house or if some pop diva or actor will blow their latest trip to rehab. Call me a nerd Trekkie but I would much rather be watching astronauts return to the moon or be heading out to Mars. I have often felt I was born two hundred years to late or too early.
Ghost Dansing: That was a great video. I'll have to buy Thom Hartmann's book.
Colonel: I'm glad you think so, my wife read it and laughed. That's what I get for leaving the computer and her wanting to look at eBay. Bill Shakesspear had it right, kill all the lawyers.
Stella: Actually I'm pretty hopeful, its Thursday now and I like the way Hillary and Bill jumped in and did what they needed to do. I may even vote for her in 2012 if things go bad, okay that was tough for me to write but I mean it.
Keshi: I actually think I'm somewhat crazy so it may not be a good thing for many more to think like me. I did read your post and it did make me feel better.
Leigh: Anything is possible, just have to keep some faith, thanks.
Beach, your regular readers seem to have grasped a realization earlier than I have. As a writer your observations, sensitivities, and courage exhibit greater sharpness with each post. I congratulate you for this column. You raise the bar for many of us; your writing enriches everyone. When are you going to give up your day job?
BB, I hear ya. Every period in time has its collection of bullshit within the culture, but ours seems so banal by comparison. Easy to say when we're wading through it, I suppose.
Refuting Creationism - How Pterosaurs Evolved
-
Life restoration of two *Skiphosoura bavarica* in flight.
Credit: Gabriel Ugueto.
AI-generated image.
New fossil discovery reveals key step in the evoluti...
2024 Project 365 – Week Forty-six
-
I’m sitting here watching an Annie Oakley documentary while writing this
post. She was quite a lady!Sunday, November 17th We had a craft after
church...
A Thoughtful Way Home
-
My shoulder was aching at work today and I asked a member of staff if she
could rub it for me.
This she kindly did with some banter talk about her regular ...
Transition train wreck.
-
The election is over and MAGA is still angry. I guess owning the libs was
their only goal in life. For the life of me I can't understand where all
this ...
SOUND OFF! 11/24/24 The Resistance Begins NOW!
-
This past Presidential election was a disaster, as I said in my previous
Sound Off! essay. Republicans will control the House and the Senate, so
Congress a...
Pics, Memes, etc.
-
This is the view from our hotel room when Jen and I were last in SW Iceland
(about five years ago).
Click on the link to see what it looks like now.
My n...
JANUARY WEATHER IN NOVEMBER
-
[image: JANUARY WEATHER IN NOVEMBER]
Key West weather screwed up. Sixty four degrees during the night. That’s
January weather, not November’s.
I turned t...
What does Jesus have against fig trees?
-
Jeff GarrisonBluemont and Mayberry ChurchesNovember 24, 2024Mark 11:12-25
Comments at the beginning of worship: “Be as strict as possible with
yourse...
Alice and Sea Bee
-
It's windy as heck out there this morning. I woke to find our garden waste
bag all the way across the garden by the back shed -- I've never seen it
trave...
The Whole Playground
-
Aloha From Honolulu!When we give ourselvescompassion, we areopening our
heartsin a way that cantransform our lives.Kristin NeffThe truth is, it
takes a vil...
New design for SpaceX Lunar Starship
-
During the livestream of Starship Flight test 6 SpaceX presented a new
design for the *Lunar Starship* (*Human Landing System*) which NASA has
selected for...
Update on AI Art
-
It’s been a while since I discussed artificial intelligence (AI) generated
art here. What I have said in the past is that AI art appears a bit
soulless a...
Star Trek: Projections
-
Episode: "Projections"
Series: *Star Trek: Voyager*
Season 2, Episode 3
Original Air Date: September 11, 1995
via Memory Alpha
Barclay episode!
The Doctor ...
Close-up of an Extragalactic Star
-
[image: Close-up of an Extragalactic Star]
While working on a piece about interstellar migration as a response to the
accelerating expansion of the univer...
The Economy?
-
Remember James Carville’s Clinton era campaign slogan, “It’s the economy,
stupid”?
Well, as Forrest Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does”. None of us ...
Aftermath: in days following the 2024 election
-
This morning in discussing our feelings with an online friend I wrote that
I felt cut loose, like I am not even connected to the earth any more,
Afterwar...
Turns Out, It Was Cancer After All
-
Last year I spent three months waiting to see if I had cancer or not.
The doctors were all pretty sure I had it. And it was going to be the kind
that...
A Time To Step Away And Regroup
-
The election results were, of course, a shock and a major disappointment,
and represent our nation's clear inability or unwillingness to recognize
the...
What sooths me
-
Rosemary from Poets and Storytellers United asked us to answer the
question, ‘What soothes you?’
*What soothes me*
*When the black of night ...
Right Wing Round-Up: One Really Violent Day
-
Marshall Cohen and Daniel Dale @ CNN: Fact check: 12 election lies Trump is
using to set the stage to dispute a potential 2024 defeat Former President
Do...
How to Interview Your Characters
-
Most novelists don’t know their characters well enough when they start
writing their novel. The problem is that you get to know your characters by
writin...
Antisipasi Kendala Saat Taruhan Slot Gacor
-
Permainan slot modern yang banyak menghadirkan keuntungan dan banyak
disarankan oleh berbagai pihak tidak lain yaitu Slot Gacor. Ini menjadi
salah satu v...
Much Ado About Nothing. Really.
-
It is Tuesday morning as the Captain pens this missive.
The opening ceremonies for the 2024 Olympics in Paris were held on Friday.
That was four days a...
My Very Inspired Museum Idea
-
Hi! Remember me? I'm Anne Johnson, by golly, and today I applied for
Medicare!
Time to start posting in large print, so I'll be able to see what I've
w...
MYSTERIOUS GARDEN
-
I found a message on the garden slate. So far as I could translate, it
read: *"For we already sing of highest adventure, a newly paved main road
and gat...
Extraterrestrial Contact: My Latest Reading
-
I haven’t posted in quite some time. That isn’t because I have changed my
thinking or don’t think such issues are important to consider. They are. I
bel...
The novels of Harry (Jerry)
-
I have finally decided it was time to start attempting to do something
with Jerry's novels.
Off the top of my head, I dont have dates of when he wrote ...
Cannon for Congress!
-
Why the donation button on the right side of this page? I'm entering
politics!
There has been a great deal of talk about redoing the election which ende...
Intersectional Pride Day
-
Today was Pride Day in NYC, and for the first time in two years, the march
was packed with participants... people were confident to step out during
this ...
The Removal Man by R. J. Parker - A Review
-
Moving into a new house is a very exciting experience. You plan how each
room will be furnished, and where you will store all of your personal
treasure...
Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady
-
*Thought for the day: **In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire
goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human
being. ...
Saturday Emmylou Blogging
-
Note: Blogspot has changed its template for posting and I can't make any
sense of it so this may be my last post. Sorry. Adios. Thanks to Fuzzy
Legends Arc...
Patience. And a wet vac.
-
And a compressor helped as well.
I've had a "fun" week. Nothing major really, just a bit of a fight with
the washing machine. And Dammit, I wasn't goin...
22 comments:
Sorry for the corny nature of this post but I have been feeling more than a little down lately. Needed something to make me feel better and restore just a little of my faith that it will all work out in the end.
we all can use some hope and optimism these days --- and i am glad you supplied it
Some days it seems like hope is all we can have.
But I guess that is better than no hope at all.
No corn at all. It's a sermon that needs to be heard frequently: The hope that at some point all people will realize that we either stand together or will surely fall separately... we will recognize that our differences make us stronger as long as people respect the beliefs of others who disagree with us....
These words are prescient, Beach. I comment on a conservative blog with an intelligent woman who holds a diametrically opposite perspective to mine.
My profound thanks for this post. We all need to remember these thoughts and know that from hope, reality will come.
Waldo: You welcome, hope you come by more often.
DCap and Mike: It may be only my skewed perception but no matter where I go or talk with there is a general dark feeling about the future. Some of it comes from a selfish desire to only protect what they have and the hell with everyone else.
Some comes from a general fear that the society and world we have created has gone out of control with nut cases, of all strips, pushing it ever closer to a waiting abyss.
And curiously enough I've talked to a few that look forward to the end of it all, that humans are a failure and a blight on the world that needs to be eliminated.
I must admit that I've come damn close to taking the position of the last one at times. Except that humans have done some good in the world and at times have shown the compassion and intelligence that does separate us from the animals. In reality, at least as far as I can discern, it seems that most of the troubles we face originate from a small percentage of the human population through greed, the desire for power, ignorance, or malignant superstition. (ask me later about that one) I guess the greatest portion of my hope for the future is that the greater portion of humanity that wants nothing more than to live and peace and freedom can at some point overcome the pack mentality that ties us to that smaller but more dynamic group out to damn us all.
Stella: Right now about all I have is my hope for better days and my faith that God, the universe, or the fact that millions of years of evolution and self preservation will not allow us to self destruct. Shit, it just might take all three to pull our asses from the fire.
no apology needed. we all need to be reminded of this from time to time lest we all slip into a completely jaded oblivion.
Lime: Amen, the trick is overcome the oblivion that seems so certain at times and spread a little hope.
Beach, thank you for your sensitivity and sweet words at my site. Being bipolar, the way down feels like the approaching end. And I'm nowhere near the end. I'm hopelessly hopeful. And I'm patiently waiting for the spark to return.
You have some impressive readers. Stella is the first reader who ever left a comment on my fledgeling site and it is always Stella who reminds me that I'm in good company and the spark will return. Breathe in, breathe out.
Dcap was there for my humiliating self-destruction. Sorry Dcap.
And I'm pleased today that Joe Biden is Barack's running mate. Little things mean a lot.
Even if we end up buried under a nuclear winter and the carcasses of our enemies :) until that happens, sometimes you need a pick-me-up, whatever form fits your personality. This helps you, I turn to music, and I'm sure Cheney does something too when Halliburton goes down 1/4 of a point.
That wasn't very hopeful, was it, heh.
more Americans should read Liberal literature....... link
All you say makes sense to me.
I found some measure of hope glimpsing the DNC convention here and there. I never admired Ted Kennedy so much: to speak at that convention with brain cancer was a brave act and demonstrated so much strength and character.
Likewise, Michelle Obama. If Hillary can talk some sense into her Pumas tonight, we may see some genuine, positive change.
Or am I just being Pollyanna here?
wow this is such a neat post BB! I love the msg u convey thru ur noble thoughts.
**The hope that at some point we will recognize that our differences make us stronger as long as people respect the beliefs of others who disagree with us and hold fast that in the end we all want to see our children grow up in peace.
Spot on! Now if everyone thought like u did, this world wud hv true PEACE!
I still hvnt lost hope tho...
*HUGZ*
Keshi.
and no it's not corny at all!
btw if ur feeling down, come n read my today's post...it'll LIFT u up :)
Keshi.
Well said, my friend, well said.
Anything is possible.
Hope you feel restored. Sometimes that means surrendering, but only to HIM and with that a peace. Chin up! A sunny day is to come.
Utah: You welcome, and always feel welcome here.
Randal: One of my biggest problems with the general form of American life is how so many, including several close to me, get caught up in the rat race and what passes as culture these days. I don't give a rats ass about buying another bigger house or if some pop diva or actor will blow their latest trip to rehab. Call me a nerd Trekkie but I would much rather be watching astronauts return to the moon or be heading out to Mars. I have often felt I was born two hundred years to late or too early.
Ghost Dansing: That was a great video. I'll have to buy Thom Hartmann's book.
Colonel: I'm glad you think so, my wife read it and laughed. That's what I get for leaving the computer and her wanting to look at eBay. Bill Shakesspear had it right, kill all the lawyers.
Stella: Actually I'm pretty hopeful, its Thursday now and I like the way Hillary and Bill jumped in and did what they needed to do. I may even vote for her in 2012 if things go bad, okay that was tough for me to write but I mean it.
Keshi: I actually think I'm somewhat crazy so it may not be a good thing for many more to think like me. I did read your post and it did make me feel better.
Leigh: Anything is possible, just have to keep some faith, thanks.
Beach, your regular readers seem to have grasped a realization earlier than I have. As a writer your observations, sensitivities, and courage exhibit greater sharpness with each post. I congratulate you for this column. You raise the bar for many of us; your writing enriches everyone. When are you going to give up your day job?
BB, I hear ya. Every period in time has its collection of bullshit within the culture, but ours seems so banal by comparison. Easy to say when we're wading through it, I suppose.
I have an idea you might be feeling better today Beach, unless you missed Obama's great speech. Like Utah I am feeling "hopelessly hopeful."
good to know that :) HUGS BB!
Keshi.
Hillblogger 3: Hillboats for Obama!
thank you...
___________________
Melvin
60+ Premium movies and sports channel
Post a Comment