Simple Dignity and Courage

"Dignity does not come from avenging insults, especially from violence that can never be justified. It comes from taking responsibility and advancing our common humanity."
Hillary Clinton

Blame it on my advancing years moving far too swiftly from early middle age to what comes after or a desire to eagerly embrace the attitude of a master curmudgeon I have come to despise the practice of institutional scapegoating. That being said I realize it is near impossible to name a group or person who has never looked for a convenient pasty to take the blame for some tragic mistake or accident. While scapegoating is distasteful and wrong it is an unfortunate part of human nature.

When taken to the extreme though scapegoating moves beyond our primitive, darker nature into the realm of evil. Needless to say anyone who works within the domain of politics probably has to possess a standard list of scapegoats within close reach for those times a disaster or defeat happens during their time in office. The very idea of a sitting politician going on television and looking into a camera and saying, “I screwed up and will take responsibility for my actions” is a surreal notion best left for fantasy movies and novels. However, I honestly don't know which is worse, the lying politician looking for a scapegoat or the unwashed and barely literate and aware masses that usually accept such explanations. Whatever the case, neither the conniving, self serving politician nor the general population that refuses to look deeply into complex issues says much for the future of democratic governments.

This allows me to bring up the presidency of James Earl Carter. From the moment the man left office in 1981 there has hardly been a Republican politician who has not blamed him for some intractable issue the country can't seem to solve whether or not he had direct involvement with the problem or not. Frankly, while I am incredibly bias on the subject, it is hard for my stomach not to turn when someone like that intellectual giant Ted Cruz or the New Jersey Fat Boy make statements that are backhanded insults aimed at President Carter. Was the Carter presidency perfect? No, but he didn't turn the country into a debtor nation or illegally sell weapons to Iran like Reagan, nor did he and his vice president lie the country into a war that cost untold innocent lives and trillions of dollars.

None of the presidents that have left office after him have done half of what Jimmy Carter has to advance basic human dignity and democracy around the globe. He has shown how peaceful diplomacy and cooperation can move mountains while others here in the United States can only beat the drums of war.

Now incredibly President Carter has another lesson to teach us, how to face gracefully face our mortality. I cannot relate how sad I was to hear that his cancer has spread all through his body and into his brain. While others would have given up or used their illness to stoke a media feeding frenzy President Carter has largely continued his usual practices and schedule. He appears to be the one man who actually lives his faith as far as any person can be expected. It is my sincerest hope that President Carter remains with us as long as possible. When my times comes I can only hope that I show a tenth of the courage and dignity he has shown to both this nation and world.

Just for poop and giggles, a little good news.

Personally I'm more than sick with the state of the world and the fear we are not only fed on a regular basis but surprisingly wallow in as long as it confirms our worst expectations. Answers abound to the problems we face as long as there is a desire to work towards the goals to solve them but it would help at times to know people all over the world are actually working on them instead of trying to blow something or someone up. But that's the kicker in all this, if you watch the main stream media on a regular basis you get plenty of debate on whether a pig can wear lipstick or if the wearing of an American flag lapel pin signifies whether someone is a true patriot. If that isn't enough journalists on the news channels spend a great deal of time chasing some washed-up pop diva, actor or other celebrity with no describable talent other than a huge family trust fund and a good public relations agent.

Now one thing that would definitely curl my toes would be the opportunity to tell the American oil companies, several members of OPEC, and a few other oil rich countries to take a flying leap into oblivion. So whenever I see anything that pushes us in that direction I feel a little better. Funny, had to find this article from a source outside the United States.

New fuel battery may ditch gasoline for good

LONDON: Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Boston have come up with a new idea of combining electric power with a combustion engine, which they say may enable electric vehicles to store more energy than gasoline in the same volume, and extend their range.

They say that electric power storage that is part battery part chemical fuel cell may ditch gasoline for good.

Stuart Licht, who conceived the new design along with his colleagues at the university, says that it can store energy more densely than petrol.

Much of what we do these days is just trend water and try like hell to keep our credit card financed lifestyles from consuming us like a rabid hungry bear. We usually don't have time to even think about how other people live in parts of the world where the leftover food we regularly send down the garbage disposal would be thought of as a blessing from God. Several times I have half-jokingly written how I don't believe humans are an intelligent species that we can't or won't move to overcome our pre-wired million of years old programming that sees anyone outside our respective nations, tribes, social setting, or religion as evil or corrupted. Happily there are those that give me some hope that humans might indeed be worthy of higher regard.

Meet the New Heroes
What is a hero? The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word as "a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life."

The heroes you'll meet on these pages and in these films are different from those in the pages of most history books. They are not famous politicians or legendary soldiers — yet they have improved the lives of MILLIONS of people and made the world more secure. Their 'arsenals' are not of weaponry, but of creative ideas, dogged determination and a deep belief in their power to change the world. Also known as "social entrepreneurs," they develop innovations that bring life-changing tools and resources to people desperate for viable solutions.

Please do not get the idea that I think things will all be peaches and cream in the end. Huge forces that inspire to the lower, baser levels of the human mind like greed, the lust for power and control, and envy want things to stay the way they are since any change will not directly benefit them. My main reason for doing this post is just to spread some word that there are some out there working for the betterment of the entire mass of curious hairless primates that can’t seem to pull its collective head out its collective ass. Good night and good luck.

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.