It is all about trust... generally and always in all things. Do you trust your friends, do you trust your partner, do you trust yourself... AND has their trust been tested? Has your trust been tested? Can you be trusted? How far?
Well -- trust in our government is low. Perhaps an all time low. Whatever the level of trust my point is government reflects us. If we trust in general then in general we can trust our government and what is that trust? That trust is our government will act honorably and honestly and practically and efficiently and charitably and inexpensively and sensitively and warmly and intelligently. Our government will be just like us. As far as we can be trusted that far is how far our government can be trusted. We are our government OR AT LEAST WE CAN BE! With voting turnout at seriously low levels (a terrible DROUGHT of voters) the question may be is the level of trust we have in our government a reflection of the voters or the non-voters? INTERESTING? don't you think?
The government has income and expenses. They are generally called taxes and expenditures. IF we all get what we are entitled to earn... then is the government able to earn some more money? To earn more money the government would have to earn more of our trust. One way to earn our trust is to spend wisely and once upon a time... there were terrible scandals about government spending and I think one beginning of the tax revolt (and it has been a revolution!) originated as a reaction to those scandals which I think are now well corrected.
There are other reasons for the tax revolt including poorly considering their individual self-interests. It seems that if I am a law abiding citizen why do I spend so much on police and prisons and if those expenses are very high then let me see something tangible for my money and those prisons certainly are visiable, tangible. Education and job opportunities are not tangible ways to make the individual safe in the same way prisons are tangible and immediate. And, relative to schools and education too many people may want a certain kind of education for their kids for a few years and then why should they continue to pay for the education of others? Community is very, very local in some people's minds even as the world becomes more globally linked and connected.
There are many projects which need doing as global warming is fought against and it is big government which can do this big job. We need to know what government can and will do and how it will be done so we may trust government. We need to understand how what government does will create jobs and wealth for people so that what gets spent now will eventually be paid back. The government needs to demonstrate how it will invest so it will later earn that which it spent.
While this sounds a lot like a business enterprise it is bigger than a mere business. This work is for our country and our world. It is for our towns and cities. It is for all people's everywhere. It is for the greatest community that we can imagine. It is inclusive and productive and meaningful and good. It is to help lift up all ... and it is an ideal which I think can be made real if we can trust ourselves and others.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
getting things right....???
Local vs. global.... Think globally and act locally. Be mindful of the moment. The past is prelude. The future is the place of hope. The past cannot be changed. The future is uncertain. The present is a gift. The present is transient. Here and now is all we have. Learn from history. They who cannot learn from the past are doomed to repeat the past. Ah.... the good old days. IF I were to look up some quotes I could add more CONFUSION... or if it is not confusing then the many "sayings" are often! contradicting each other and yet someone, somewhere said the thing with a feeling of profundity, truthfullness, irony, silliness, angst, hope, despair, etc... etc... etc...
Perhaps the best word/set-of-letters said above is "etc" - or as (I did look this up to get it right) - Robert Frost said; "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
Perhaps the best word/set-of-letters said above is "etc" - or as (I did look this up to get it right) - Robert Frost said; "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
And it IS life and its meaning and its trials and tribulations that we all struggle, deal with, ignore, work on, etc. etc... Until we come to death. And so it goes and goes and goes. It is good, bad, ugly, strong, weak, kind, mean, real, fantastic, ideal, etc. etc.. etc..
And that is all for TODAY! Life goes on. Thanks.
Friday, May 08, 2015
HELP - with these preliminary thoughts on TAXES
I think it IS a revenue problem rather then a spending problem. I think we get what we pay for... and a lot of what we are now paying for is our armed forces including police and an overly large prison system.
I have been around for a while and the beginning of the tax-revolution was not Prop 13 in California but was the reports of great waste in government spending specifically in the Armed Forces where rather regular hammers were bought for hundreds of dollars, etc. This was outrageous.... truly... but reforms put in place were quantitative spending controls rather then quality assurances.
I think the taxes we in the USA pay by any statistical measures is less today then it was in the 1960's.
I think we target spending because it is:
I have been around for a while and the beginning of the tax-revolution was not Prop 13 in California but was the reports of great waste in government spending specifically in the Armed Forces where rather regular hammers were bought for hundreds of dollars, etc. This was outrageous.... truly... but reforms put in place were quantitative spending controls rather then quality assurances.
I think the taxes we in the USA pay by any statistical measures is less today then it was in the 1960's.
I think we target spending because it is:
- easier
- as individuals we think we need to take care of only ourselves... rather than take care of the greater (GREAT) community.
- we don't want to help the poor (which often can mean we don't want to help THE "other" - by race or gender, etc)
- the future will take care of itself... or scientists (who we don't trust?) will take care of the future and in any case I won't be there to suffer and/or I don't have children/family who will suffer... or I just don't care
- other?
And so on and so on...
THIS is just preliminary. I REALLY do BELIEVE it is, now, more a revenue problem then a spending problem and I wonder if my "facts" are right and are the reasons reasonable/true. The reasons DO have a certain rationality. So do opposite reasons which would suggest doing things differently. FOR INSTANCE -- more revenue that is spent on infrastructures which fixes/upgrades/makes-efficient our transportation systems while also creating jobs to do those fixes which then brings in more revenue from working people.
And so on and so on.....
Monday, April 20, 2015
Socialism - NOT
A week ago a boss cut his salary so he could raise the salary of his workers to 70K/year. Most responses said YEA... some people did not like it. It sounds good to me! The most significant criticism I read was that it would "likely inspire resentment among colleagues who once sat on the higher end of the pay divide". That is possible but really? I ask really because sometimes (even legally) it is not clear who is making what.
Furthermore - I don't think this is socialism nor charity. I think it may primarily be what Dan Price said it is... a way to highlight the great pay/income divide which our country is experiencing and to try to change that divide.
Rather then consider that there may be happier employees who may be more productive at Gravity Payments (the company which Dan Price owns) I would look at other employers where CEOs and other high level administrators get outrageously high salaries and where those salaries are based, not on work done or productivity, but is based on what others in that class get... AND THEN when regular workers ask for pay increases based on what others doing similar work are getting elsewhere these same CEOs/Administrators have and exercise the power of NO. And they usually can succeed in todays world where the solidarity and strength of workers in UNIONS is so much weaker then it was in the days when 40 hour work weeks, and minimum wages, and sick and vacation days, and other rather taken for granted by many work rules were demanded and gotten!
Greed and power are apparent as CEOs and others like them (university presidents for example, from my life) as they take wage increases for themselves while blocking similar wage increases for professors, librarians, janitors, nurses, etc, etc, etc....
Power and greed! Take it or leave it or fight it. Are the times changing? I think they should change. I think that someone earning several million dollars a year can live on a couple of million dollars less a year. REALLY. I think someone almost surviving on minimum wage can maybe thrive, he/she and children, with a living wage which will pay bills and put more money into more places in the economy then the rich are doing. REALLY.
But I am not a few things... I am not an economist who can prove some of these assertions. I am not good at pursuading others. I am not powerful.
I was a union member and did some negotiating. The other side was unfair, powerful, secretive, and very hard to move. My co-workers could not effectively strike and we didn't. We didn't succeed as well as we deserved.... while more adminstrators got hired and higher and higher salaries even as rhetoric from the top said... less administration and administrative costs... Information is power and public relations can put out bad information and too many people equate unions with higher costs or taxes and laziness. REALLY?
Unions are made of people who want to work well and be effective and be treated fairly and reasonably. Workers go into work to work. They want to be productive. They do not want to be bored. They do not want to sit around and do nothing. We all want to work well. We want to use our time well. Isn't that how YOU WOULD DO IT? Or are YOU A SLACKER....??? Look into yourself and find the best in you and see the best in others. It is there because if it is not there it isn't anywhere!
Furthermore - I don't think this is socialism nor charity. I think it may primarily be what Dan Price said it is... a way to highlight the great pay/income divide which our country is experiencing and to try to change that divide.
Rather then consider that there may be happier employees who may be more productive at Gravity Payments (the company which Dan Price owns) I would look at other employers where CEOs and other high level administrators get outrageously high salaries and where those salaries are based, not on work done or productivity, but is based on what others in that class get... AND THEN when regular workers ask for pay increases based on what others doing similar work are getting elsewhere these same CEOs/Administrators have and exercise the power of NO. And they usually can succeed in todays world where the solidarity and strength of workers in UNIONS is so much weaker then it was in the days when 40 hour work weeks, and minimum wages, and sick and vacation days, and other rather taken for granted by many work rules were demanded and gotten!
Greed and power are apparent as CEOs and others like them (university presidents for example, from my life) as they take wage increases for themselves while blocking similar wage increases for professors, librarians, janitors, nurses, etc, etc, etc....
Power and greed! Take it or leave it or fight it. Are the times changing? I think they should change. I think that someone earning several million dollars a year can live on a couple of million dollars less a year. REALLY. I think someone almost surviving on minimum wage can maybe thrive, he/she and children, with a living wage which will pay bills and put more money into more places in the economy then the rich are doing. REALLY.
But I am not a few things... I am not an economist who can prove some of these assertions. I am not good at pursuading others. I am not powerful.
I was a union member and did some negotiating. The other side was unfair, powerful, secretive, and very hard to move. My co-workers could not effectively strike and we didn't. We didn't succeed as well as we deserved.... while more adminstrators got hired and higher and higher salaries even as rhetoric from the top said... less administration and administrative costs... Information is power and public relations can put out bad information and too many people equate unions with higher costs or taxes and laziness. REALLY?
Unions are made of people who want to work well and be effective and be treated fairly and reasonably. Workers go into work to work. They want to be productive. They do not want to be bored. They do not want to sit around and do nothing. We all want to work well. We want to use our time well. Isn't that how YOU WOULD DO IT? Or are YOU A SLACKER....??? Look into yourself and find the best in you and see the best in others. It is there because if it is not there it isn't anywhere!
Saturday, April 18, 2015
oh yea... the Death Tax
We all think that people should benefit from the work they do. They should earn a decent living for a decent job... etc, etc... Yes - I am being vague....
What about children of the rich? How much should they benefit from the work of others... - their parents for instance? Well - traditionally the wealth of families has stayed within the families and essentially that is ok - but not an absolute right and certainly there are variations. For instance - in some cultures the children inherited the wealth of their parents in equal shares amongst the children. In other cultures - only the first born inherited and HE (usually that was part of the system) inherited ALL with younger siblings having to do something for themselves.
Well - what about today? Today - families choose how to distribute their wealth after deaths. AND -- during life - the children also benefit from private schooling where a good education and connections are had. Good...
BUT -- really - is it not OK to take some of the billions and billions of dollars from a family which has had the benefits of lots and lots of money and move some of it out of the family and to workers and consumers and others who have been part of the whole system and who have contributed, really - to the wealth of the wealthy? REALLY!?
Yes - I want some benefits of my work to go to my children. And yes - they have benefited from a reasonably good public education (in my town of Davis, CA and in the public universities of California). And yes - others should benefit, too. I can share and others can share and sharing and redistributing wealth is sharing which is for the benefit of ALL!
What about children of the rich? How much should they benefit from the work of others... - their parents for instance? Well - traditionally the wealth of families has stayed within the families and essentially that is ok - but not an absolute right and certainly there are variations. For instance - in some cultures the children inherited the wealth of their parents in equal shares amongst the children. In other cultures - only the first born inherited and HE (usually that was part of the system) inherited ALL with younger siblings having to do something for themselves.
Well - what about today? Today - families choose how to distribute their wealth after deaths. AND -- during life - the children also benefit from private schooling where a good education and connections are had. Good...
BUT -- really - is it not OK to take some of the billions and billions of dollars from a family which has had the benefits of lots and lots of money and move some of it out of the family and to workers and consumers and others who have been part of the whole system and who have contributed, really - to the wealth of the wealthy? REALLY!?
Yes - I want some benefits of my work to go to my children. And yes - they have benefited from a reasonably good public education (in my town of Davis, CA and in the public universities of California). And yes - others should benefit, too. I can share and others can share and sharing and redistributing wealth is sharing which is for the benefit of ALL!
the cost of space exploration and infrastructure...
When we spend money for space exploration that money and most planetary resources (iron, aluminum, oil, gas, --- nuts and bolts... and all) is used on Earth and stays on Earth. Only a very little in the way of resources (and no money) is on the way to Mars or Jupiter or the Space Station or the Moon. All the money is circulating in our economy and I think that is good.
There was a note I saw that said: A one trillion dollar investment in our infra-structures (roads, wiring, rails, bridges, school buildings, etc) would create 13 million jobs.... AND the money would circulate in our economy. GOOD!
Am I wrong?
There was a note I saw that said: A one trillion dollar investment in our infra-structures (roads, wiring, rails, bridges, school buildings, etc) would create 13 million jobs.... AND the money would circulate in our economy. GOOD!
Am I wrong?
its getting better all the time.. right?
I hope things are getting better. Had chinese food yesterday with Michael and the fortune cookie said; "A lifetime of happiness lies before you".
SO -- I wnet to find that fortune message since I am following a way of an old friend who put her fortunes into a bowl so she could take one out anytime she needed the kinds of messages you get. Nice!
Another thing others do with fortune cookie messages is they add a phrase at the end of the message, that phrase being; "in bed". That, too, is nice.
I look forward to future happiness as I sit here contentedly mindful that things are good, have been good, will be good, and have also been difficult, are difficult, and will be difficult. I hope to be able to meet what comes with equanimity.....
Whatever equanimity is!? Is it calm, is it openess, is it peace, is it love?
And thinking of love -- I need to take a break and move washed clothes to the clothes dryer. Back soon....
And now I am back.....
Politics is on my mind and I wonder why the Democratic Party can't win every election almost everywhere since they really do serve all the people all the time with some take-aways from the rich. Those take-aways though have the advantage of being fair as they are done to all equally. Yet even people who are not rich and who get many, many benefits from the policies of the Democratic Party do not vote Democratic. And may never! Why? Because of some social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, perhaps. Because of hopes that someday they will be in the place of the rich and they want those benefits then. Because of hate for those they think really/only benefit? I really wonder!? And most importantly I wonder how to achieve a different result!? ALSO -- I am NOT sure that if more people voted - especially those who are very poor and tired - I am not sure they would vote their basic interests or they would vote in a similar way that people are now voting... on a curve which does not match up with what they actually get and need and even want.
Information and mis-information makes it very difficult to decide well. Fact-checking web-sites help but nothing is absolutely clear-cut enough to be absolutely convincing... or so it seems. On balance I believe what comes from the Democratic Party and less so from the Republicans. On balance I believe - Democrats TRULY CARE FOR OTHERS while Republicans essentially ONLY CARE FOR THEMSELVES... Yet having said that it is also true that each of us needs to take care of ourselves first and then we can care for others... it is as the airlines say - put the oxygen mask on yourself and then your child, etc. HOWEVER --- in the political world the people making laws and policies have already taken very good care of themselves. They, if they really were good! - would being taking the best care now and always of others.
SO -- I wnet to find that fortune message since I am following a way of an old friend who put her fortunes into a bowl so she could take one out anytime she needed the kinds of messages you get. Nice!
Another thing others do with fortune cookie messages is they add a phrase at the end of the message, that phrase being; "in bed". That, too, is nice.
I look forward to future happiness as I sit here contentedly mindful that things are good, have been good, will be good, and have also been difficult, are difficult, and will be difficult. I hope to be able to meet what comes with equanimity.....
Whatever equanimity is!? Is it calm, is it openess, is it peace, is it love?
And thinking of love -- I need to take a break and move washed clothes to the clothes dryer. Back soon....
And now I am back.....
Politics is on my mind and I wonder why the Democratic Party can't win every election almost everywhere since they really do serve all the people all the time with some take-aways from the rich. Those take-aways though have the advantage of being fair as they are done to all equally. Yet even people who are not rich and who get many, many benefits from the policies of the Democratic Party do not vote Democratic. And may never! Why? Because of some social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, perhaps. Because of hopes that someday they will be in the place of the rich and they want those benefits then. Because of hate for those they think really/only benefit? I really wonder!? And most importantly I wonder how to achieve a different result!? ALSO -- I am NOT sure that if more people voted - especially those who are very poor and tired - I am not sure they would vote their basic interests or they would vote in a similar way that people are now voting... on a curve which does not match up with what they actually get and need and even want.
Information and mis-information makes it very difficult to decide well. Fact-checking web-sites help but nothing is absolutely clear-cut enough to be absolutely convincing... or so it seems. On balance I believe what comes from the Democratic Party and less so from the Republicans. On balance I believe - Democrats TRULY CARE FOR OTHERS while Republicans essentially ONLY CARE FOR THEMSELVES... Yet having said that it is also true that each of us needs to take care of ourselves first and then we can care for others... it is as the airlines say - put the oxygen mask on yourself and then your child, etc. HOWEVER --- in the political world the people making laws and policies have already taken very good care of themselves. They, if they really were good! - would being taking the best care now and always of others.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
when stressed
Writing when stressed can be difficult especially when putting down in a public space complaints and concerns related to the stress is not what I want to do... BUT I am stressed today. Enough said!
An issue to consider is ... ??? I don't know. What about foster parenting or traveling to volunteer somewhere doing something. What about giving plasma? What about the effect of such things on others in my life? Children, partners, friends? Most people are happy to hear about my doing any of these things although each has its downsides. Health relative to plasma. Long term committment relative to foster parenting. Overseas volunteering might be near dangerous places and in any case is far away.
Well - nothing is perfect for everyone! I can think of so many interesting things about all of these ideas and I have other ideas, too.
I could go back into the congregation's library and do stuff there. I could get some group together to read through the Ustinov play. I could join another chorus. I could add practicing piano to my "Agenda" and could even find a teacher who I could talk and learn with. I could look at the Davis Senior Center for things to do. I could call some people I know and make some plans or at least ask some questions. LOTS TO DO!!!! So much....
Write book reports for myself. Write movie reviews for myself. Read more. Go to more movies. Etc, etc, etc..
And that is all for today... short, sweet... sour... but at least done a little.
An issue to consider is ... ??? I don't know. What about foster parenting or traveling to volunteer somewhere doing something. What about giving plasma? What about the effect of such things on others in my life? Children, partners, friends? Most people are happy to hear about my doing any of these things although each has its downsides. Health relative to plasma. Long term committment relative to foster parenting. Overseas volunteering might be near dangerous places and in any case is far away.
Well - nothing is perfect for everyone! I can think of so many interesting things about all of these ideas and I have other ideas, too.
I could go back into the congregation's library and do stuff there. I could get some group together to read through the Ustinov play. I could join another chorus. I could add practicing piano to my "Agenda" and could even find a teacher who I could talk and learn with. I could look at the Davis Senior Center for things to do. I could call some people I know and make some plans or at least ask some questions. LOTS TO DO!!!! So much....
Write book reports for myself. Write movie reviews for myself. Read more. Go to more movies. Etc, etc, etc..
And that is all for today... short, sweet... sour... but at least done a little.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Hilary, Hilary... and the Democrats, imho
I have an opinion about how the upcoming USA Presidential should be done. I am a Democrat and very happy being part of the party which has a heart and a soul and which really cares. It cares about the many diverse groups that compose the party including the very rich and the very poor. I believe that with the money and the people available to the Democratic Party that it could win both the White House AND the Congress and I hope it does.
I would like to see the campagne run on electing BOTH the party's presidential candidate and the representatives and senators of the party in all districts. I would like to see that stated boldly and everywhere and I hope all the candidates can be in agreement are certain basics such as climate change, taxation, Social Security, education, homeland security, universal (or near universal) health care, human rights for all, and other issues which are national and political in nature.
All political issues are also economic issues. We get what we pay for and if we pay less and less into our pooled resouces, which is our government, then we will get less and less government and the fact is that there is good to government.
What is good about government? Government protects all of us. With less taxes coming into to government for police departments we get less police protection and we need private security and private, company police departments which are paid for by those rich enough to pay for such things. The same thing happens with education. I suspect the fall of good public schools for all has been mirrored by the rise of private schooling for those who can afford it or otherwise need it. Those who otherwise need it probably and sadly include those who have beliefs which are narrow and prejudiced. Thus there has been a general abandonment of public schools in many places. And the home-schooling movement is part of the declines in public funding for schools. This is rational to a point. Why would a home-schooler want to pay for public schools they are not using. The same thing may be said by the rich who send their children to private schools and who figure out how to pay as little in taxes as legally possible. THE LAWS NEED CHANGING. Everyone should pay their fair shares for the good of all AND I would go further and say that all Americans should spend some time together in public schools so that understanding and knowledge and connections can be experienced.
We need to pay for education for all, protection for all, and there are other things that effect us all and which needs to be paid for!
(I left off my list of issues abortion because I think, first of all, itis a human rights issue, secondly, it is a generally settled issue, and thirdly is is a matter of personal conscience and choice for a women and her most local commuunities (family, religious, town, etc). If a women chooses to have an abortion I hope all communities would support her in that decision but if some do not then I don't think those opposed can be forced to be accepting although everyone needs to be civil within parameters which are respectful and that privacy for all should be maintained. NOTE: this is a complex and personal issue which may be beyond the realms of the political but which has been brought into the realm of the political so that other broader and more universal issues get sidetracked or held hostage. YES there are those who argue that it is THE issue which MUST be decided one way or the other but I think that the issue is best decided privately as are so many aspects of sex and families and marriages and values are essentially personal and private. Having said this I know that some will not let this issue alone and some will contend for ever for the rights of those they think need to have certain rights. I think there are limits which apply to the born and the unborn and those limits are hard to define and really settle on for all. Therefore, personal, private choice in each instance should be well honored and known. (but I am vague here, am I not! The abortion issue is very difficult to rationally and comprehensively discuss as the two basic sides seem very uncompromising. SO..moving on... and beyond this true quagmire....)
I would like to see the campagne run on electing BOTH the party's presidential candidate and the representatives and senators of the party in all districts. I would like to see that stated boldly and everywhere and I hope all the candidates can be in agreement are certain basics such as climate change, taxation, Social Security, education, homeland security, universal (or near universal) health care, human rights for all, and other issues which are national and political in nature.
All political issues are also economic issues. We get what we pay for and if we pay less and less into our pooled resouces, which is our government, then we will get less and less government and the fact is that there is good to government.
What is good about government? Government protects all of us. With less taxes coming into to government for police departments we get less police protection and we need private security and private, company police departments which are paid for by those rich enough to pay for such things. The same thing happens with education. I suspect the fall of good public schools for all has been mirrored by the rise of private schooling for those who can afford it or otherwise need it. Those who otherwise need it probably and sadly include those who have beliefs which are narrow and prejudiced. Thus there has been a general abandonment of public schools in many places. And the home-schooling movement is part of the declines in public funding for schools. This is rational to a point. Why would a home-schooler want to pay for public schools they are not using. The same thing may be said by the rich who send their children to private schools and who figure out how to pay as little in taxes as legally possible. THE LAWS NEED CHANGING. Everyone should pay their fair shares for the good of all AND I would go further and say that all Americans should spend some time together in public schools so that understanding and knowledge and connections can be experienced.
We need to pay for education for all, protection for all, and there are other things that effect us all and which needs to be paid for!
(I left off my list of issues abortion because I think, first of all, itis a human rights issue, secondly, it is a generally settled issue, and thirdly is is a matter of personal conscience and choice for a women and her most local commuunities (family, religious, town, etc). If a women chooses to have an abortion I hope all communities would support her in that decision but if some do not then I don't think those opposed can be forced to be accepting although everyone needs to be civil within parameters which are respectful and that privacy for all should be maintained. NOTE: this is a complex and personal issue which may be beyond the realms of the political but which has been brought into the realm of the political so that other broader and more universal issues get sidetracked or held hostage. YES there are those who argue that it is THE issue which MUST be decided one way or the other but I think that the issue is best decided privately as are so many aspects of sex and families and marriages and values are essentially personal and private. Having said this I know that some will not let this issue alone and some will contend for ever for the rights of those they think need to have certain rights. I think there are limits which apply to the born and the unborn and those limits are hard to define and really settle on for all. Therefore, personal, private choice in each instance should be well honored and known. (but I am vague here, am I not! The abortion issue is very difficult to rationally and comprehensively discuss as the two basic sides seem very uncompromising. SO..moving on... and beyond this true quagmire....)
a new day this week
NOTE I am in writing time and I have realized that sometimes I don't have something I want to write about and sometimes I will go back and edit to improve what I have already written. Today could be that day....
NOTE TOO -- this is not a journal as much as it is a place for my essay and/or memoir types of things.
NOTE TOO -- this is not a journal as much as it is a place for my essay and/or memoir types of things.
Friday, April 10, 2015
Writing today -- a memoir of: Bicycles and me
(I struggled a bit today to get something written and then choosing something "memorable" to write about was not easy)
I have had a long history of difficulties with the two-wheeled human powered vehicle known as a bicycle. There are many notable memories including: it took me a long time to learn to ride, I broke my arm riding my bike soon after leaning to ride, I almost got caught by my father riding my bike where I should not have been riding (and where I had been doing nefarious things), I rode into Manhattan from the city line in Queens (a pretty long ride), after getting married I discovered my wife could not ride a bike and we worked at getting her to know how, my older daughter learned to ride her bike quickly (oh how I worried!), and my daughters had bikes given and then taken away from them by a step dad somewhat because of me.
Today I live in Davis, CA which is arguably the Bicycle Capital of the United States of America. I have commuted to work at times and this spring I may finally get a new bike. I ride an old, used, 10-speed Nishiki, I have an old 3-speed Raulegh which was my ex-wife's, I have a heavy but good tandem bike, and I think there is another women's Nishiki here, too.
When I was about five years old I began to try to learn to ride a bicycle. All my friends tried and did learn to ride. I had several bikes of various sizes which my father either purchased or borrowed for me so as to help me learn. I used training wheels and there was a lot of help given to me. BUT I did not learn. The years passed and I did not know how to ride a bike while all my friends did ride and I had to try to run after them to keep up and I hate running, but that is another story! I lived in a surburban area of Queens which is a borough of New York City and kids walked to school. Bikes were not used for transportation as much as they were toys to play with. At least for five year olds, and six and seven and etc. year olds.
Just before my 9th birthday, which was in August, 1958, I had some time on my hands and I decided to learn to ride a bike!!! I essentially went into seclusion with my bike in a small parking lot and spent hours and days trying to stay upright while riding the bike on its two wheels. Finally! I could ride and I told my mother to come a watch which she did and she said after a little while - "So, can you make a turn?" WELL I could not at that time and so she left and I spent another couple of hours and days figuring out how to turn and turn and turn! By mid-July, 1958 I could ride a bike and turn it and stop it.
I then went off to camp for three weeks. When I returned home I got on my bike a rode. The bike was a cruiser type with coaster brakes operated by one's feet. All my friends would ride down this dirt hill and they had been doing that for a while. I rode down that hill, too, but it was a bit difficult for me as I was not very experienced and one day, in late August, 1958, I rode down that hill, lost control of the steering and speed, got my feet straight up and down so I could not apply the foot brakes and went into a wall! I cushioned the blow by stretching out my hands and thus broke my right wrist. By the way -- I had some trouble identifying my right from my left until I broke my right wrist! Even today I will look at my right wrist and say -- ah that is the right and therefore the other side is the left.
After hitting that wall I was hurt, my head was bruised, my wrist hurt and I left my bike and went home crying! My mother (mom's were generally home in those days!) knew something was especially wrong since I had left my bike at the site of the accident. This was the same hill and site where I had a snow-sledding accident a year or so earlier but then I brought my sled home (there was a friend who helped at that time and this bike accident happened when I was alone).
The hill and the wall are still there but some fencing has been erected since (many years later, I think) and so using that little hill for fun is not possible any longer.
My difficulty in learning how to ride a bike came to mind years later when my daughter Sarah began riding a bicycle. She started on a tricycle. She graduated to a two wheeler with training wheels and one day her friend took the training wheels off her own bike and started to ride on two wheels. This meant that my daughter needed to graduate off of the training wheels and I remember thinking, I hope she can, I hope she can, I hope she can!!!! I didn't share these concerns with Sarah and maybe not with her mom, either. The hour came when Sarah had me remove the training wheels and set her off on her own on just two wheels. AND SHE DID IT!! I was so proud and happy and relieved.
And now I am wondering -- how did Amy learn to ride a two wheeler and when? Maybe at about the same age as Sarah and without her father hiding any angst since Sarah had lead the way so well. I will have to ask her.
All the other memories about bicycles pale in comparison to the memories of learning how to ride. Here in Davis, CA, years later, I would begin wearing a helmet so to encourage my daughters to wear helmets. I wanted them to do as
I did not as I only said. In one occasion the helmet saved me from a big bump (or worse). I feel naked if I am sometimes riding without a helmet. I rarely do that. I think the last time I rode without a helmet was the evening I rode the tandem bike back from the fund-raising auction where I got it. That was an interesting ride since I had drunk several glasses of wine and I didn't have a helmet, but nor did I have a truck to bring this big bike home.
And so it goes.... Soon I may buy myself a brand new modern bike!
I have had a long history of difficulties with the two-wheeled human powered vehicle known as a bicycle. There are many notable memories including: it took me a long time to learn to ride, I broke my arm riding my bike soon after leaning to ride, I almost got caught by my father riding my bike where I should not have been riding (and where I had been doing nefarious things), I rode into Manhattan from the city line in Queens (a pretty long ride), after getting married I discovered my wife could not ride a bike and we worked at getting her to know how, my older daughter learned to ride her bike quickly (oh how I worried!), and my daughters had bikes given and then taken away from them by a step dad somewhat because of me.
Today I live in Davis, CA which is arguably the Bicycle Capital of the United States of America. I have commuted to work at times and this spring I may finally get a new bike. I ride an old, used, 10-speed Nishiki, I have an old 3-speed Raulegh which was my ex-wife's, I have a heavy but good tandem bike, and I think there is another women's Nishiki here, too.
When I was about five years old I began to try to learn to ride a bicycle. All my friends tried and did learn to ride. I had several bikes of various sizes which my father either purchased or borrowed for me so as to help me learn. I used training wheels and there was a lot of help given to me. BUT I did not learn. The years passed and I did not know how to ride a bike while all my friends did ride and I had to try to run after them to keep up and I hate running, but that is another story! I lived in a surburban area of Queens which is a borough of New York City and kids walked to school. Bikes were not used for transportation as much as they were toys to play with. At least for five year olds, and six and seven and etc. year olds.
Just before my 9th birthday, which was in August, 1958, I had some time on my hands and I decided to learn to ride a bike!!! I essentially went into seclusion with my bike in a small parking lot and spent hours and days trying to stay upright while riding the bike on its two wheels. Finally! I could ride and I told my mother to come a watch which she did and she said after a little while - "So, can you make a turn?" WELL I could not at that time and so she left and I spent another couple of hours and days figuring out how to turn and turn and turn! By mid-July, 1958 I could ride a bike and turn it and stop it.
I then went off to camp for three weeks. When I returned home I got on my bike a rode. The bike was a cruiser type with coaster brakes operated by one's feet. All my friends would ride down this dirt hill and they had been doing that for a while. I rode down that hill, too, but it was a bit difficult for me as I was not very experienced and one day, in late August, 1958, I rode down that hill, lost control of the steering and speed, got my feet straight up and down so I could not apply the foot brakes and went into a wall! I cushioned the blow by stretching out my hands and thus broke my right wrist. By the way -- I had some trouble identifying my right from my left until I broke my right wrist! Even today I will look at my right wrist and say -- ah that is the right and therefore the other side is the left.
After hitting that wall I was hurt, my head was bruised, my wrist hurt and I left my bike and went home crying! My mother (mom's were generally home in those days!) knew something was especially wrong since I had left my bike at the site of the accident. This was the same hill and site where I had a snow-sledding accident a year or so earlier but then I brought my sled home (there was a friend who helped at that time and this bike accident happened when I was alone).
The hill and the wall are still there but some fencing has been erected since (many years later, I think) and so using that little hill for fun is not possible any longer.
My difficulty in learning how to ride a bike came to mind years later when my daughter Sarah began riding a bicycle. She started on a tricycle. She graduated to a two wheeler with training wheels and one day her friend took the training wheels off her own bike and started to ride on two wheels. This meant that my daughter needed to graduate off of the training wheels and I remember thinking, I hope she can, I hope she can, I hope she can!!!! I didn't share these concerns with Sarah and maybe not with her mom, either. The hour came when Sarah had me remove the training wheels and set her off on her own on just two wheels. AND SHE DID IT!! I was so proud and happy and relieved.
And now I am wondering -- how did Amy learn to ride a two wheeler and when? Maybe at about the same age as Sarah and without her father hiding any angst since Sarah had lead the way so well. I will have to ask her.
All the other memories about bicycles pale in comparison to the memories of learning how to ride. Here in Davis, CA, years later, I would begin wearing a helmet so to encourage my daughters to wear helmets. I wanted them to do as
I did not as I only said. In one occasion the helmet saved me from a big bump (or worse). I feel naked if I am sometimes riding without a helmet. I rarely do that. I think the last time I rode without a helmet was the evening I rode the tandem bike back from the fund-raising auction where I got it. That was an interesting ride since I had drunk several glasses of wine and I didn't have a helmet, but nor did I have a truck to bring this big bike home.
And so it goes.... Soon I may buy myself a brand new modern bike!
Thursday, April 09, 2015
GROW world population - not!
Do we need more or fewer people in our world? Why or why not? More importantly HOW do we support more people on this finite planet or HOW do we reduce the world's population without a catastrophic collapse of civilizations as we know them?
Recently the news reported that China was modifying its one-child policy. It was going to allow or encourage couples to have additional children. Today's New York Times reported on sex education in Denmark a modification of the curriculum. It the past the emphasis was on how to prevent pregancy and now they are teaching how to increase pregnancies. More people are needed in these and other countries for the future economic viability of these countries as they consider of death and disappearance of cultures and nations.
Fifty years ago we heard about Zero Population Growth. There was and may still be an organization by that name. Today we hear about climate change and global warming and how much of the cause is due to human activities. In some parts of the world there is often famine and death. California is in the middle of a major draught which demonstrates the limits on how many people can be supported by the water resources in the state.
Population growth is outstripping the generally available resources of The World. By generally available I mean easily available or naturally available. Take the example of water. Rain and snow and ground water and runnoff into reservoirs is rather natural and even water conservation may be rather easy. Desalinization is a hard, unnatural, and costly alternative which seems unlimitted. Global warming can be reduced by changing from a carbon-based energy system to a solar and wind and other such sources of energy. Reducing the world population can also be helpful.
The difficult question is now can we reduce world population so that economies do not collapse and cultures are not lost?
I offer that question without knowing a clear positive answer. A positive answer would be, I think, some systematic and planned changes to how things are done in our world which would be implimented gradually and peacefully. Yes - PEACEFULLY. Change can come by way of evolution or by way of revolution. I hope we can consciously evolve and change and survive and thrive.
A way forward would have all people working towards goals such as the four freedoms which are freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of religion. More to my point people need to be free from many things such as concerns about enough food, appropriate shelter, and clothing. Freedom from "wants" can be achieved today if we distribute goods and services well. It has been scandalous in a world where people go hungry to hear about the destruction of fruits and vegetables because they can't shipped and sold. The distribution of goods and services to all on the basis of basic needs can be done on the basis of religious righteousness, Judeo-Christian goodness or political expediency, socialism/communism. There are probably other means of redistributing wealth and the question will we find the will and the way by fair and democratic means or will the question be anwered by catatrophes such as wars, disease, or dictatorships.
Growing the world's population seems to be a way towards the future which is understood by many because it does answer the question of the future of economies in the short term, i.e. the next 50 to 100 years. This will likely result in many people surviving for a while and some people thriving for a while. OR we can use the time to help many people thrive. Everyone needs to do what is needed, I think, and that includes creating new wealth and relinquishing old wealth. Instead of growing the world's population grow the amount of goods and services that each individual has ready access to. SHARE! Share resources and energy and information and sweat and money. Everyone give up somethings for the good of everyone. Quality instead of quantity. The best instead of the most. Solid homes and distribution systems! Good lives for the number of people who can live in a sustainable world. Not too few people and not too many people. Some number - just right - for a good future!
Recently the news reported that China was modifying its one-child policy. It was going to allow or encourage couples to have additional children. Today's New York Times reported on sex education in Denmark a modification of the curriculum. It the past the emphasis was on how to prevent pregancy and now they are teaching how to increase pregnancies. More people are needed in these and other countries for the future economic viability of these countries as they consider of death and disappearance of cultures and nations.
Fifty years ago we heard about Zero Population Growth. There was and may still be an organization by that name. Today we hear about climate change and global warming and how much of the cause is due to human activities. In some parts of the world there is often famine and death. California is in the middle of a major draught which demonstrates the limits on how many people can be supported by the water resources in the state.
Population growth is outstripping the generally available resources of The World. By generally available I mean easily available or naturally available. Take the example of water. Rain and snow and ground water and runnoff into reservoirs is rather natural and even water conservation may be rather easy. Desalinization is a hard, unnatural, and costly alternative which seems unlimitted. Global warming can be reduced by changing from a carbon-based energy system to a solar and wind and other such sources of energy. Reducing the world population can also be helpful.
The difficult question is now can we reduce world population so that economies do not collapse and cultures are not lost?
I offer that question without knowing a clear positive answer. A positive answer would be, I think, some systematic and planned changes to how things are done in our world which would be implimented gradually and peacefully. Yes - PEACEFULLY. Change can come by way of evolution or by way of revolution. I hope we can consciously evolve and change and survive and thrive.
A way forward would have all people working towards goals such as the four freedoms which are freedom of speech, freedom from want, freedom from fear, freedom of religion. More to my point people need to be free from many things such as concerns about enough food, appropriate shelter, and clothing. Freedom from "wants" can be achieved today if we distribute goods and services well. It has been scandalous in a world where people go hungry to hear about the destruction of fruits and vegetables because they can't shipped and sold. The distribution of goods and services to all on the basis of basic needs can be done on the basis of religious righteousness, Judeo-Christian goodness or political expediency, socialism/communism. There are probably other means of redistributing wealth and the question will we find the will and the way by fair and democratic means or will the question be anwered by catatrophes such as wars, disease, or dictatorships.
Growing the world's population seems to be a way towards the future which is understood by many because it does answer the question of the future of economies in the short term, i.e. the next 50 to 100 years. This will likely result in many people surviving for a while and some people thriving for a while. OR we can use the time to help many people thrive. Everyone needs to do what is needed, I think, and that includes creating new wealth and relinquishing old wealth. Instead of growing the world's population grow the amount of goods and services that each individual has ready access to. SHARE! Share resources and energy and information and sweat and money. Everyone give up somethings for the good of everyone. Quality instead of quantity. The best instead of the most. Solid homes and distribution systems! Good lives for the number of people who can live in a sustainable world. Not too few people and not too many people. Some number - just right - for a good future!
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Trust and faith
Trust! Trust yourself. Trust your partners. Trust G-d.
Trusting oneself or one's partners (friends, spouses, neighbors, etc) is problematical and so we test ourselves and others to see if we can trust. Do we analyze issues and come to conclusions which are right? Do our partners do what we want, need, expect?
To trust is to expect something. It is more then hope which lacks the quality of expectation. To trust in G-d is to trust that right and justice and mercy, all together or any one of those will be done. We expect that G-d will do all that is correct. Which combinations or which ones are G-d's to chose and open to our observations and interpretation. There is uncertainty about what we see and think or feel and when combined with WHEN things are done our trust is often a matter of patiently waiting and waiting and sometimes not realizing in a lifetime.
So, faith is needed. To trust one must have faith. Faith is the absolute basis for knowing anything and as noted in another essay: faith should not be blind although at some point in ones thinking or feeling one comes to a point where ones ability to know is at the edge of an abyss.
Yes an abyss. The abyss is a chasm which cannot be crossed. It is where you step forward and fall and die or where you stop and turn and live. The abyss is the limit of knowledge and capability and talent. It is different for each person and it is real. In some ways the abyss also changes as we move though life and checking on the abyss is part of life.
Trust and faith are linked to the extent each is strong and powerful in our lives. The stronger our faith the more we can trust. In ourselves, our partners, our G-d. The three aspects, me, you, G-d, give us three areas in which to practice having faith and trusting.
To conclude today - it is my great burden to be a person who struggles to trust and who struggles with the faith needed to trust. I hope I can be more comfortable with faith and therefor trust soon!
Trusting oneself or one's partners (friends, spouses, neighbors, etc) is problematical and so we test ourselves and others to see if we can trust. Do we analyze issues and come to conclusions which are right? Do our partners do what we want, need, expect?
To trust is to expect something. It is more then hope which lacks the quality of expectation. To trust in G-d is to trust that right and justice and mercy, all together or any one of those will be done. We expect that G-d will do all that is correct. Which combinations or which ones are G-d's to chose and open to our observations and interpretation. There is uncertainty about what we see and think or feel and when combined with WHEN things are done our trust is often a matter of patiently waiting and waiting and sometimes not realizing in a lifetime.
So, faith is needed. To trust one must have faith. Faith is the absolute basis for knowing anything and as noted in another essay: faith should not be blind although at some point in ones thinking or feeling one comes to a point where ones ability to know is at the edge of an abyss.
Yes an abyss. The abyss is a chasm which cannot be crossed. It is where you step forward and fall and die or where you stop and turn and live. The abyss is the limit of knowledge and capability and talent. It is different for each person and it is real. In some ways the abyss also changes as we move though life and checking on the abyss is part of life.
Trust and faith are linked to the extent each is strong and powerful in our lives. The stronger our faith the more we can trust. In ourselves, our partners, our G-d. The three aspects, me, you, G-d, give us three areas in which to practice having faith and trusting.
To conclude today - it is my great burden to be a person who struggles to trust and who struggles with the faith needed to trust. I hope I can be more comfortable with faith and therefor trust soon!
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
forgiveness for what?
I think a lot about forgiveness. There have been and will be more that I will write about forgiveness and today I wonder: what do I or anyone have to forgive? What needs to be forgiven? I do something, something is done to me, something happens to me, accidents happen, etc, etc.. Stuff (shit?) happens! Regretting that something happened or was done is one result of our actions. When does forgiveness come to be or seem to be necessary? What do I have a right or need to demand forgiveness?
One thought that comes quickly to mind is that I have no control over the actions of others nor can I control random acts, events, etc. If I do not have control over anything or anyone except myself then how can I hope for or expect an apology and the forgiveness that comes from that exchange.
I strongly think forgiveness is a negotiation between parties. Self-forgiveness is useful and maybe necessary and is also a negotiation between a person's inner selves, past, present, future, etc. Forgiveness is a feeling that sooths and promotes hope for the future. Forgiveness is always a matter of the past dealing with the present for the sake of the future.
Some say (Albert Ellis, et al) that we all have too many shoulds and it would be better for our mental health if we had, instead, preferences. Should that are not met engender the need for forgiveness. Preferences are a lot less absolute and demanding of forgiveness. Preferences may engender personal feelings of regret and as I hear people say they have no regrets I really wonder if regrets are a true and useful rationalization.
Regret is personal and we can control what and how we regret something. Forgiveness I argue is interpersonal and each of us does NOT have control over another who we may think needs to apologize. And while we can forgive ourselves I think getting over our regrets is the better issue and work.
More later, sometime.
One thought that comes quickly to mind is that I have no control over the actions of others nor can I control random acts, events, etc. If I do not have control over anything or anyone except myself then how can I hope for or expect an apology and the forgiveness that comes from that exchange.
I strongly think forgiveness is a negotiation between parties. Self-forgiveness is useful and maybe necessary and is also a negotiation between a person's inner selves, past, present, future, etc. Forgiveness is a feeling that sooths and promotes hope for the future. Forgiveness is always a matter of the past dealing with the present for the sake of the future.
Some say (Albert Ellis, et al) that we all have too many shoulds and it would be better for our mental health if we had, instead, preferences. Should that are not met engender the need for forgiveness. Preferences are a lot less absolute and demanding of forgiveness. Preferences may engender personal feelings of regret and as I hear people say they have no regrets I really wonder if regrets are a true and useful rationalization.
Regret is personal and we can control what and how we regret something. Forgiveness I argue is interpersonal and each of us does NOT have control over another who we may think needs to apologize. And while we can forgive ourselves I think getting over our regrets is the better issue and work.
More later, sometime.
Faith but not blind
In a recent post I tried to explain how I have faith in science at some point in my understanding of scientific knowledge and theories. One point to make that wasn't made before is related to the word: theory. In science almost all is theory with the possibility that new information will change if not confirm some theory. In other words, science always has its eyes open, so to speak. Science is not blind.
Faith is at the core of all religious systems and in my opinion the key to being a religious person is to have faith with my eyes open. I hope to have my faith confirmed and if not then have my faith redirected more correctly.
Most of us (all of us?) do not know everything there is to know about all the sciences or all religions (or even all of our own religion) and so most/all of us will always be learning something new if we keep our minds, hearts, and spirits open to new information and experiences. With openess may come input which challenges and/or clarifies and/or changes our current knowledge. And so - if we can see new inputs, if we are not blind to new information, then we can, I hope, progress to what is really real! Whatever that is!
Faith is at the core of all religious systems and in my opinion the key to being a religious person is to have faith with my eyes open. I hope to have my faith confirmed and if not then have my faith redirected more correctly.
Most of us (all of us?) do not know everything there is to know about all the sciences or all religions (or even all of our own religion) and so most/all of us will always be learning something new if we keep our minds, hearts, and spirits open to new information and experiences. With openess may come input which challenges and/or clarifies and/or changes our current knowledge. And so - if we can see new inputs, if we are not blind to new information, then we can, I hope, progress to what is really real! Whatever that is!
Monday, April 06, 2015
Aprez Passover, 2015
Actually, it is only the beginning of day 3 of Passover and by "aprez" I mean after the first two days and the two Seders. Seder 1 was lovely at the home of a friend and Seder 2 was good, too, at my house. I got a lot of help from Diane and as this was our third seder that we hosted things went pretty well as we worked well as a team.
At this year's seder I asked only that people bring wine and I cooked, as did Diane, all the foods (except Diane's friend Lorna brought the primary desserts as they don't drink wine and she does desserts VERY well!), The main course was was brisket which came out well and there was gefilte fish and matzah ball soup and egg soup and kugels (sweet noodle and potato) as well as broccoli and a salad. It WAS a lot of work but I was very happy doing it and it went very well in terms of coordination and collaboration. As is my mantra: no one went hungry and no one reported any food-poisoning.
The "adult" seder was comfortable and there were lots of questions and discussions as well as basic movement through the haggadah.
One question raised was: Do I have any unanswered questions about Passover? To that question I wondered - how do I really feel the commanded feelings: view yourself as if it was you who went out from Egypt?
Michael brought up the issue of the NARROW space though which we live our lives. We are constricted and less then free as we might be. What does that mean to us in our daily lives? An old song ends with a verse: "Freedom is a work I rarely use when I'm thinking --- of the times when I've been loved." That thought is most interesting all the time for me. I am loved and I love and I am free and I wonder about freedom and doing all the things it is possible for me to do. Things that I, especially I, can do!! Traveling and being still and volunteering (here or there?) and playing and reading and consuming and building and maybe producing and GENERALLY IMPROVING MYSELF are all possibilities for me. I do not have to restrict, constrict, or otherwise limit myself, really!
The idea of Generally Improving Myself - GIMing me -- refers mostly, today, to my physical, medical self. I need to lose weight, gain muscular strength, and regain flexibility. AND I CAN DO THAT! -- I do work out most days (with breaks for health or travels). I CAN eat better! I can stretch and walk more. SO .....
And this is Aprez (after) Passover (the first two days), 2015.
At this year's seder I asked only that people bring wine and I cooked, as did Diane, all the foods (except Diane's friend Lorna brought the primary desserts as they don't drink wine and she does desserts VERY well!), The main course was was brisket which came out well and there was gefilte fish and matzah ball soup and egg soup and kugels (sweet noodle and potato) as well as broccoli and a salad. It WAS a lot of work but I was very happy doing it and it went very well in terms of coordination and collaboration. As is my mantra: no one went hungry and no one reported any food-poisoning.
The "adult" seder was comfortable and there were lots of questions and discussions as well as basic movement through the haggadah.
One question raised was: Do I have any unanswered questions about Passover? To that question I wondered - how do I really feel the commanded feelings: view yourself as if it was you who went out from Egypt?
Michael brought up the issue of the NARROW space though which we live our lives. We are constricted and less then free as we might be. What does that mean to us in our daily lives? An old song ends with a verse: "Freedom is a work I rarely use when I'm thinking --- of the times when I've been loved." That thought is most interesting all the time for me. I am loved and I love and I am free and I wonder about freedom and doing all the things it is possible for me to do. Things that I, especially I, can do!! Traveling and being still and volunteering (here or there?) and playing and reading and consuming and building and maybe producing and GENERALLY IMPROVING MYSELF are all possibilities for me. I do not have to restrict, constrict, or otherwise limit myself, really!
The idea of Generally Improving Myself - GIMing me -- refers mostly, today, to my physical, medical self. I need to lose weight, gain muscular strength, and regain flexibility. AND I CAN DO THAT! -- I do work out most days (with breaks for health or travels). I CAN eat better! I can stretch and walk more. SO .....
And this is Aprez (after) Passover (the first two days), 2015.
Thursday, April 02, 2015
FAITH
FAITH -- I realize how little I know about fundamental physics while still knowing a lot about general physics and others sciences. The point is - science at the places where it is most correct or nearing correct and comprehensive explanations is not something I am likely to ever really understand. Quantom particles, string theory, multi-verses, infinity, space and/or time curvature, etc. I have heard of these things all my life. I am comfortable believing that there are scientists who do understand this stuff and that it is important. I am left, essentially, with a belief in science. I have faith science done right? is good! And that is also the essence of my faith in G-d and religious teachings. Done right = good!
the economy and taxes and who care!?
The economy ... our society --- really what is up with taxation and costs and payments for such important things as education and roads and safety. The rich can take care of those things themselves (private schools, personal drivers, pilots, etc. and private security). AND when they pay for those things they have no incentive to pay fairly into the community pot for others. Really - they are not using those basics! Same goes for some not so rich when it comes to schools. Private schools blossomed, I think, in relation to racism and again the general public doesn't see why they should pay for something they are not using!
So - simply put - taxation is currently too low to support important aspects of our society and that IS rational from the point of view of those who pay little and who are rich enough to not be concerned. The rich can take care of themselves and everybody wants to take care of themselves and few really want to take care of others. And so here we are!
So - simply put - taxation is currently too low to support important aspects of our society and that IS rational from the point of view of those who pay little and who are rich enough to not be concerned. The rich can take care of themselves and everybody wants to take care of themselves and few really want to take care of others. And so here we are!
Monday, March 30, 2015
monday in NYC - march, 2015
I had breakfast w/Sarah near her school and then went with her to observe her advisory group thing. The students there were cool... and very articulate. It was wonderful seeing them express their issues. Great opportunity to hear and listen.
Then - I walked to Museum of Natural History which is now my go-to museum on future visits. It is huge, diverse, and great!
I am still not 100 percent healthy! Maybe only 85 percent. The visit to the museum was shortened due to not feeling energetic. I am looking forward to getting home and really resting. That will happen tomorrow. Yippee.
SO .. not much of a post....
Then - I walked to Museum of Natural History which is now my go-to museum on future visits. It is huge, diverse, and great!
I am still not 100 percent healthy! Maybe only 85 percent. The visit to the museum was shortened due to not feeling energetic. I am looking forward to getting home and really resting. That will happen tomorrow. Yippee.
SO .. not much of a post....
Sunday, March 29, 2015
The play Skylight... written for my daughters, friends, and others who have seen the play - I seek comments.
After seeing and some talk with daughters about the play - Skylight:
Our conversation ranged from how Kyra was quickly accepted and trusted as the goto person for Tom, his son, Edward, and Tom's now dead wife, Alice. Kyra got things done... and was a go-between perhaps, in the family between father, wife and sone. She was treated badly by her father as was Edward, Why does she become a teacher and why does she choose to live in an impovershed area and why does she need to justify these actions to anyone is asked. I ask my own daughter, Sarah, such questions sometime and that needs to be stopped or modified if it hasn't changed already.
Back to the play - how did the three adults live up until the "The Affair" of Tom and Kyra was discovered? It did seem quite intentional that Tom let it be discovered. That was foolish and maybe a test or maybe a cry for change but he loses Kyra. What was the depth of the relatiotnship between Tom and his wife, Alice? Was he then, as he appears now, a FIXER which is something "men" do and women do or don't want and, more importatnly, is something which cannot be done! No matter how hard a man tries!
Then there is the theme of the Rich and Poor... the great diviide which the rich really cannot cross to understand... but the poor suffer on their side of the divide with some knowledge and understanding of what it could mean to be rich. Or do they understand or not understand?Certinaly the poor suffer and don't have choices and the rich suffer with choices? Who is better off?
Who are real people? To whom are others real? And if you are relatively ok and then listen secretly to poor folks on the lower level of the bus you take to and from a good job (?) - where you get to leave those poor suffering folks... to some extent because you probably are not soo poor and you DO have choices - then what does that mean, really. When I have been in the role of "uncle" / grandparent who leaves at the end of some time with a child and I don't have to spend the night with a crying baby.... etc, is that similar?
There is Tom the micromanaging almost listening almost aware fixer man who cannot or will not admit to really understanding the divide. Nor can he express his feelings readily accept as anger and rage. Just like a "man".
The world consists of all types of people and all are due respect and understanding. Which comes first -- respect or understanidng? RESPECT first as respect creates the connection and ultamitely requires empathy and with empathy comes nderstanding. Then after understanding what might come? Cooperation? Collaboration? I can hope that all of us can do what we can and get treated fairly and support each other's wants and needs.
AND that is what is NOT happening now as the income gap is so wide and a living wage is not available to many full-time workers, and gentrifcation is good while also bad..
But back to the play which was so esseentially personal. Would the suffeirng rich guy and suffering poor girl renew their realtionship? How? Why do they have sex? Why does Edward, the son, arrive soon before his father arrives? Edward's visit softens up Kyra, and why does Edward return after his father leaves bringing goodies. The son's visits are short and are the bookends of the play and discussions/arguments of the two adults who can't seem to be together except in secrecy. With the affair revealed they cannot go on... especially with Tom blaming both women for his pain and not taking personal responsibility or ownership of how things evolved. Others hurt Tom and he thinks he is some kind of do-gooder for his chosen people if they will stay in their places. When his wife, Alice, gardens she is in the wrong place. When Kyra leaves she is wrong for abandoning Tom. Poor Tom.
But Tom is hurting. He has suffered. Maybe in an inadequate married relationship which needed to be supplimented with Krya. He was loyal and caring for his wife but he couldn't bare too much closesness. He couldn't watch his dying wife at the very end. He did what he could without seeing and feeling his essential self. His own feelings were generally foreign to him. Grief was real but for someone else. He was too busy. His external busy-ness/business kept him from seeing his true self, whatever that was. At the end I think he still doesn't know who he is or what he needs and he is needy. He is needy at the same time he has so many, many resources. Kyra is a resource for him. He has money. He has a son who also is in need and generally if one helps another person then one helps oneself. Krya has needs, too, but she has chosen to live so that she takes care of her basic needs and wants no more. She seems rather satisfied and satisfying, i.e. she is helping her poor students. She is minimizing her suffering as well as she can by not knowing the news (she doesn't have a tv nor does she read the newspapers nor does she listen to the radio). She suffers where she is and she limits what is her environment. She neither leads nor folliows. She lives but may only be surviving. She may sound liberal to the liberals in the audience but she has narrowed her vision as has Tom. We may like her more or less then Tom in their narrow-mindedness but living separated from most others does not bode well for real and peaceful changes in our world and for me that is what I want!
How do I see myself in these characters? I am a man and so what Tom does has been what I have done to some degree. I want to fix things and I want recognition and approval and accolades. At least that was what I wanted and hoped for in the past. Now I want to present more of my self-effacing side. I know I cannot fix things for others. I still comment too much on what I think are problems others make for themselves. Someday I hope to really get in touch with my feminine-EMPATHETIC side. Maybe someday I will fully feel the shame for things I did which I can be ashamed. Someday, maybe, I will be more silent in the face of the suffering of another while also being caring and supportive and warm and loving. Maybe someday I will finally like myself and where I am. Maybe today.
If not today then I will continue to work on myself so the world at least in my local area will be better. Things can improve! Things can change. At least in our lifetimes. And while there may be eternal cycles which will bring us down who knows how high we can rise first! Perhaps there is an escape velocity which can be acheived!
Saturday, March 28, 2015
in nyc - hanging.. and stuff
Been to two plays since I got here --
Kinky Boots (really very good! - even if you have seen the very good movie)
and The Heidi Chronciles - which I had not seen and which is, imho - a very good play which holds up over time. BE HUMANE! And there are other themes such as - protest and change requries tie and people and both dissapate over time. One gets inpatience and groups fall apart as individuals find and pursue individual goals and needs. Things change. Change is the primary constant with a question being - do things cycle around and around again and again. Do things eventually repeat?
Tonight, Saturday, the girls and I will be seeing a new play - Skylight - which is supposed to be very good. Stay tuned.
This trip has included a visit to the Met Museum which had a special wonderful exhibit about the Plains Indians. I also dropped in a Bonhams and saw what is going to auction from the Lauren Bacall Estate. Interesting stuff and I may try to bid on some.... from a distance.
The girls and doing ok. We have spent a bunch of time (including seeing the Heidi Chronicles).
I saw a couple of relatives and that was nice and good. Catching up and reconnecting.
AND I have a cold which is slowing me down as is the weather which is undecided between moderate and cold. A liltte snow today!
NOTE: the New Agenda has not been followed during this vacation But this writing IS sort of partof it and I have done some meditating... which I really need and like to do. Excercise has been walking although one eve I went to a yoga class with Amy. I could barely do that yoga and I do need to lose weight and regain flexibility.
LOSE WEIGHT!!!! LOSE WEIGHT!!!!
Monday, March 16, 2015
Day two - new agenda
It is now about 9:30am, Monday, 3/16/15. Yesterday I tried and did my "new agenda" which I revised immediately after to give more time to most segments. The new total is 3.5 to 4 hours long and should work. I am doing it today (this is part of the writing period) and we shall see. I am actually ON target! SO - if "free" by noon that will be cool.
Writing today included drafting an idea for grandparenting/fostering play, story, whatever as suggested by a friend. I DO like kids and mentoring and being seen as a wise elder... Can't help knowing what I like and I HAVE known that for a while but have not really pursued it consciously. Now that I am retired -- got to get on with it! Right?
Also copied and sent to my kindle the Metta/Love meditation from "Happiness" a book by Thich Nhat Hanh - someone I consider my teacher. Will I ever meet him? I was given a book by him a long time ago (11 years ago) titled: "Anger" and got a lot our of that, I think. Not enough to save my second marriage and yet a book full of ideas and mediations I still think about and which enrich my life and help me. This "Happiness" book is very, good, too! This "copying" and saving may not be real writing but this will be the time to record important stuff I am reading and is/as necesary - carry in to some new realm.
FYI -- I am reading "War and Peace" again as it IS interesting and long so I will have it for a while. My new kindle now is ok again as I got a case for it so I hold it like an open book rather then like a tablet.
There is a whole lot on my mind... but most is well under control. No new obsessions which disturb me. And in these blog writing not everything will be recorded. Some things need to be private for the sake of others. Not for me... I can be fully public but one has to keep secrets so others do not get harmed. I have been to that bad place... taken and took there... and I will not put people in harms way. So -- THIS is not EVERYTHING!
Where is everything? Well my mind has a lot. Some things in my mind may not be fully or accurately remembered... But that is how it is!!!!
note: I had ended this, did some facebook writing/reposting, did a little more on foster parenting play/story, and now STOPPING. Off to breakfast and workout... the rest of the new agenda. I hope to be done by noon! (got all done with the new agenda by 12:17 - not too bad).
Writing today included drafting an idea for grandparenting/fostering play, story, whatever as suggested by a friend. I DO like kids and mentoring and being seen as a wise elder... Can't help knowing what I like and I HAVE known that for a while but have not really pursued it consciously. Now that I am retired -- got to get on with it! Right?
Also copied and sent to my kindle the Metta/Love meditation from "Happiness" a book by Thich Nhat Hanh - someone I consider my teacher. Will I ever meet him? I was given a book by him a long time ago (11 years ago) titled: "Anger" and got a lot our of that, I think. Not enough to save my second marriage and yet a book full of ideas and mediations I still think about and which enrich my life and help me. This "Happiness" book is very, good, too! This "copying" and saving may not be real writing but this will be the time to record important stuff I am reading and is/as necesary - carry in to some new realm.
FYI -- I am reading "War and Peace" again as it IS interesting and long so I will have it for a while. My new kindle now is ok again as I got a case for it so I hold it like an open book rather then like a tablet.
There is a whole lot on my mind... but most is well under control. No new obsessions which disturb me. And in these blog writing not everything will be recorded. Some things need to be private for the sake of others. Not for me... I can be fully public but one has to keep secrets so others do not get harmed. I have been to that bad place... taken and took there... and I will not put people in harms way. So -- THIS is not EVERYTHING!
Where is everything? Well my mind has a lot. Some things in my mind may not be fully or accurately remembered... But that is how it is!!!!
note: I had ended this, did some facebook writing/reposting, did a little more on foster parenting play/story, and now STOPPING. Off to breakfast and workout... the rest of the new agenda. I hope to be done by noon! (got all done with the new agenda by 12:17 - not too bad).
Sunday, March 15, 2015
THE new agenda for each day - maybe... - not very different.
Two meals a day????
Sunday through Friday - revised 3/15/15 after beginning on 3/15/15, Sunday - "generous" estimates
awake (good start!) - 10 minutes
coffee and newspaper - about 30 minutes
meditate - 30 minutes (with getting there and ending)
WRITE and second cup of coffee... 45 minutes (or at least sit in front of a page/screen... with intent to write!)
(meal one) Breakfast - 20 minutes
walk over to club and workout and walk home a shower - 90 minutes
TOTAL time = 225 minutes; 3.75 hours - let us say FOUR HOURS
SO - awake by 8:00am to be done by noon.
Noon and after:
email and facebook and phone calls - friends, relatives, others.
watch taped tv show and/or movies
go to movies
walk to .... ???? or ride bike to ....???
(meal two... sometimes) lunch w/friend on some days
massage every other week on one day
t-3 on one day
GARDEN .... in front - after it is brought up to speed... and in back -- now....
Volunteer work at ???? CBH library, daycare?, senior center?, other?
(meal three sometimes) dinner
READ, study, learn.
ON Saturday - SHABBAT -- rest, pray, meditate, study/learn, socialize....
Sunday through Friday - revised 3/15/15 after beginning on 3/15/15, Sunday - "generous" estimates
awake (good start!) - 10 minutes
coffee and newspaper - about 30 minutes
meditate - 30 minutes (with getting there and ending)
WRITE and second cup of coffee... 45 minutes (or at least sit in front of a page/screen... with intent to write!)
(meal one) Breakfast - 20 minutes
walk over to club and workout and walk home a shower - 90 minutes
TOTAL time = 225 minutes; 3.75 hours - let us say FOUR HOURS
SO - awake by 8:00am to be done by noon.
Noon and after:
email and facebook and phone calls - friends, relatives, others.
watch taped tv show and/or movies
go to movies
walk to .... ???? or ride bike to ....???
(meal two... sometimes) lunch w/friend on some days
massage every other week on one day
t-3 on one day
GARDEN .... in front - after it is brought up to speed... and in back -- now....
Volunteer work at ???? CBH library, daycare?, senior center?, other?
(meal three sometimes) dinner
READ, study, learn.
ON Saturday - SHABBAT -- rest, pray, meditate, study/learn, socialize....
and now for something completely different???
What, for me, would be COMPLETELY DIFFERENT??????? Really???
I have been to schools and learned. I have traveled to many places. I have raised a family... and even had grandchildren for a while with my 2nd wife. I have earned money and spent some. I sing with a chorus and sometimes do "solo" work at my synagogue, like a cantor. I have taught and do teach. I drink and have done etc's. I talk and I am silent. I have worked for money and I have done volunteered work.I have lived in apartments and in several houses. I live in a house now. I have camped with and without a tent. I have cooked out. I have never hunted but I have fished (deep sea fishing) and I have eaten of what I caught (with a LOT of help from Wayne!). I drive a car, I have driven a motorcycle, I have driven motoboats, I may be able to sail myself, too, I bike, I walk, I do NOT run....I excercise. I have played some sports and would like to take up tennis again and will at least bang balls against the wall. I go to museums, the theater, ballet, jazz, some opera, and sports events, too.
What would be very different if not completely different?
Relative to travel what would be different would be to do volunteer work oversears and/or live for a while in one place overseas. Would I like to live in Paris for a month or more? London? Athens? Would I like to live at the beach for a while here in the US or in Costa Rica or somewhere?
Relative to grandchildren I am seriously considering foster parenting. Any age would be fine!
Relative to earning money -- I would like to write regularly, get read, and even sell what I write!
Singing would be nice to expand upon at the/a synagogue. Being a teacher at the synagogue would be nice.
(I DO have to get back into the Library at CBH!)
OTHER? What would be really different? Weird? Wild?
I have been to schools and learned. I have traveled to many places. I have raised a family... and even had grandchildren for a while with my 2nd wife. I have earned money and spent some. I sing with a chorus and sometimes do "solo" work at my synagogue, like a cantor. I have taught and do teach. I drink and have done etc's. I talk and I am silent. I have worked for money and I have done volunteered work.I have lived in apartments and in several houses. I live in a house now. I have camped with and without a tent. I have cooked out. I have never hunted but I have fished (deep sea fishing) and I have eaten of what I caught (with a LOT of help from Wayne!). I drive a car, I have driven a motorcycle, I have driven motoboats, I may be able to sail myself, too, I bike, I walk, I do NOT run....I excercise. I have played some sports and would like to take up tennis again and will at least bang balls against the wall. I go to museums, the theater, ballet, jazz, some opera, and sports events, too.
What would be very different if not completely different?
Relative to travel what would be different would be to do volunteer work oversears and/or live for a while in one place overseas. Would I like to live in Paris for a month or more? London? Athens? Would I like to live at the beach for a while here in the US or in Costa Rica or somewhere?
Relative to grandchildren I am seriously considering foster parenting. Any age would be fine!
Relative to earning money -- I would like to write regularly, get read, and even sell what I write!
Singing would be nice to expand upon at the/a synagogue. Being a teacher at the synagogue would be nice.
(I DO have to get back into the Library at CBH!)
OTHER? What would be really different? Weird? Wild?
Saturday, March 14, 2015
My story up to now...
What is my story "up to now"? It is:
born
early years in Brooklyn living in Grandma's apartment
sister born and we lived and I grew up in garden apartments at the end of Queen in New York City
graduated high school and went to college
graduated college
"wandered"/"squandererd" two years - drove taxi cab in NYC, delivered mail, hitch-hiked a bit....
went to graduate school to become a librarian
graduated and got married to Susan H.
moved to New Jersey
had two kids - one in NJ and one in California
lived in California from1980 until now (today is 3/14/15 --- pi day)
got a job in the University (UC Davis)
got divorced after about 11.5 years
raised kids - shared custody
had a couple of girlfriends after divorce
had a 10 year relationship with a girlfriend (the 3rd I think) - with Susan G.
broke up
after a year - met women who becomes my second wife - Karen ???
divorce after about seven years of marriage
now it is about two and a half years after the breakup (technically now almost 1 year since official divorce) - today is 3/14/15
been with Diane for a bit over two years
AND NOW IT IS TODAY!
What next? What might be something unusual for the next chapter... final chapter... tomorrow?
born
early years in Brooklyn living in Grandma's apartment
sister born and we lived and I grew up in garden apartments at the end of Queen in New York City
graduated high school and went to college
graduated college
"wandered"/"squandererd" two years - drove taxi cab in NYC, delivered mail, hitch-hiked a bit....
went to graduate school to become a librarian
graduated and got married to Susan H.
moved to New Jersey
had two kids - one in NJ and one in California
lived in California from1980 until now (today is 3/14/15 --- pi day)
got a job in the University (UC Davis)
got divorced after about 11.5 years
raised kids - shared custody
had a couple of girlfriends after divorce
had a 10 year relationship with a girlfriend (the 3rd I think) - with Susan G.
broke up
after a year - met women who becomes my second wife - Karen ???
divorce after about seven years of marriage
now it is about two and a half years after the breakup (technically now almost 1 year since official divorce) - today is 3/14/15
been with Diane for a bit over two years
AND NOW IT IS TODAY!
What next? What might be something unusual for the next chapter... final chapter... tomorrow?
Thursday, January 08, 2015
What "I" want to tell YOU!
I read a review of an avant garde (imho) choral presentation in Brooklyn, NYC by "Carmina Slovenica" of a piece titled: Toxic Psalms. The reviewer called the piece ambiguous, politically, and the artistic director said, "I just like to give a meditation on certain things for the audience, so they can decide what to feel, what they see, now they respond." My initial thought was - but where are our leaders to tell help us get to what is right and good!
I struggle with ambiguity. I wonder about responsibility and who is taking responsibility and more importantly who is shirking their responsibilties. I think of this over many realms of life and politically it is a very important question especially as I view politics as that which coordinates economics, sociological, religious, and psychological domains. Politics is the realm that all other societal realms finally gravitate to and is also within each of those realms. In other words, for example, the psychological domain has politics as it decides what goes into the " Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ". Other realms have their organizations, too, and politics within those organizations. All people are effected by the decisions of those individual realms and so those decisions are coordinated by governments via some political process such as democracy or dictationships, or monarchy (absolute or constitutional). Coordination at some point means that a community generally accepts the decisions of specialized parts of that community for all!
Who has the power to impose such decisions on everyone? When? For how long? And WHY?
Ambiguity is a difficult thing to live with, I think. SO -- I decide certain things at certain times for a while or even for ever. That is MY CHOICE.
Who can make such choices for someone else? Power can force choices on others. For a while or even for ever. For good or for bad. It is said: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." I wonder??? - Who or what ever has absolute power? What is corruption? What is corruption to one person may be a motivating incentive (a promise by a parent to a child of a trip to Disneyland if good grades are achieved) to another, And what is ABSOLUTE? Who has absolute power? Really?
WELL -- I would suggest that via RELIGION we have a system where abolute power belongs to G-d. The problem then is who acts for G-d when G-d does not act directly? Maybe that is not a problem at all but an important point to consider. G-d will absolutely act if and as necessary and G-d will absolutely know what to do and why. All who are not G-d, which is all of us humans and other beings, do not have sufficient knowledge nor sufficient power to act for others.
SO - whenever we humans decide what we and others must do we need to remember that we absolutely do not know what is best and right to do, absolutely, and we do not have the power to accomplish all that is best and right.
THEREFORE - it behooves us to be gentle and tentative in actions. We may get it right and we may not. We may need to change course or hold our course. There are many ways think and act well and rightly yet sometimes such actions and thoughts become obsolete and even understood to be wrong.
I am not suggesting that situational ethics/actions/thinking be our way. That is potentially very ambiguous. I would suggest that we show great tolerance and acceptance to different ways of thinking and acting within a framework of a minimum of rules which protect people from harm.
Harm for not believing in G-d in some specific way will come, if it will, from G-d. Harm inflicted on "non-believers" be they Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc --- is NOT RIGHT! Forcing beliefs on others or punishing non-believers is NOT RIGHT. Pursuasion by logic or role-modeling is good. Peer pressure is not. Pressure is a force and peer pressure is sometimes benign but it can and does easily evolve into harsher forms of pressure.
GO GENTLE! Tolerate, Accept others for who they are. Enjoy differencs. Do not try to be like others but discover who you are. That is: WHAT "I" WANT TO TELL YOU."
(unrevised.... just flowed on 1/8/2015)
I struggle with ambiguity. I wonder about responsibility and who is taking responsibility and more importantly who is shirking their responsibilties. I think of this over many realms of life and politically it is a very important question especially as I view politics as that which coordinates economics, sociological, religious, and psychological domains. Politics is the realm that all other societal realms finally gravitate to and is also within each of those realms. In other words, for example, the psychological domain has politics as it decides what goes into the " Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ". Other realms have their organizations, too, and politics within those organizations. All people are effected by the decisions of those individual realms and so those decisions are coordinated by governments via some political process such as democracy or dictationships, or monarchy (absolute or constitutional). Coordination at some point means that a community generally accepts the decisions of specialized parts of that community for all!
Who has the power to impose such decisions on everyone? When? For how long? And WHY?
Ambiguity is a difficult thing to live with, I think. SO -- I decide certain things at certain times for a while or even for ever. That is MY CHOICE.
Who can make such choices for someone else? Power can force choices on others. For a while or even for ever. For good or for bad. It is said: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." I wonder??? - Who or what ever has absolute power? What is corruption? What is corruption to one person may be a motivating incentive (a promise by a parent to a child of a trip to Disneyland if good grades are achieved) to another, And what is ABSOLUTE? Who has absolute power? Really?
WELL -- I would suggest that via RELIGION we have a system where abolute power belongs to G-d. The problem then is who acts for G-d when G-d does not act directly? Maybe that is not a problem at all but an important point to consider. G-d will absolutely act if and as necessary and G-d will absolutely know what to do and why. All who are not G-d, which is all of us humans and other beings, do not have sufficient knowledge nor sufficient power to act for others.
SO - whenever we humans decide what we and others must do we need to remember that we absolutely do not know what is best and right to do, absolutely, and we do not have the power to accomplish all that is best and right.
THEREFORE - it behooves us to be gentle and tentative in actions. We may get it right and we may not. We may need to change course or hold our course. There are many ways think and act well and rightly yet sometimes such actions and thoughts become obsolete and even understood to be wrong.
I am not suggesting that situational ethics/actions/thinking be our way. That is potentially very ambiguous. I would suggest that we show great tolerance and acceptance to different ways of thinking and acting within a framework of a minimum of rules which protect people from harm.
Harm for not believing in G-d in some specific way will come, if it will, from G-d. Harm inflicted on "non-believers" be they Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc --- is NOT RIGHT! Forcing beliefs on others or punishing non-believers is NOT RIGHT. Pursuasion by logic or role-modeling is good. Peer pressure is not. Pressure is a force and peer pressure is sometimes benign but it can and does easily evolve into harsher forms of pressure.
GO GENTLE! Tolerate, Accept others for who they are. Enjoy differencs. Do not try to be like others but discover who you are. That is: WHAT "I" WANT TO TELL YOU."
(unrevised.... just flowed on 1/8/2015)
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