guillaumeb
guillaumeb's JournalDo not blame the Greatest Generation, or the boomers, or any other
generation for ruining the US.
Blame the rich. Blame the greedy 1% for whom nothing is ever enough. Blame the sociopaths who are willing to ruin the climate so they can get even richer. Sociopaths such as the Koch family, and Rex Tillerson, and all those who run the oil companies and all those who fund the various climate denial institutes.
Blame the rich who directed Reagan and the GOP in the near destruction of unions. It was unions that built the middle class, not industry. Unions that created the weekend, and the 40 hour week, and the idea that workers should be paid a living wage and that workers should be able to retire with dignity.
Blame the rich who funded the various right wing lobbying groups disguised as research institutes. The institutes that promote fake news, and fake economics. People are not becoming less intelligent, but as the US corporate news system increasingly pushes a far right ideology, people are increasingly misinformed.
Blame the rich who buy politicians, the politicians who appoint corporate shills like John Roberts to the SCOTUS, and the SCOTUS then redefines what constitutes speech.
Blame the rich who promote the idea of worker against worker, and generation against generation, and man against woman, and white against black.
If you are to point a finger, at least point it in the right direction.
A new year resolution:
This is attributed to St. Francis, but it is not to be found in any of his writings.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.
And it is an excellent path, though difficult to follow because it requires always meeting a negative action with a positive response.
Pour votre consideration:
Seigneur, faites de moi un instrument de votre paix.
Là où il y a de la haine, que je mette l'amour.
Là où il y a l'offense, que je mette le pardon.
Là où il y a la discorde, que je mette l'union.
Là où il y a l'erreur, que je mette la vérité.
Là où il y a le doute, que je mette la foi.
Là où il y a le désespoir, que je mette l'espérance.
Là où il y a les ténèbres, que je mette votre lumière.
Là où il y a la tristesse, que je mette la joie.
Ô Maître, que je ne cherche pas tant
à être consolé qu'à consoler,
à être compris qu'à comprendre,
à être aimé qu'à aimer,
car c'est en donnant qu'on reçoit,
c'est en s'oubliant qu'on trouve,
c'est en pardonnant qu'on est pardonné,
c'est en mourant qu'on ressuscite à l'éternelle vie.
Vos pensées?
Often religion is framed as magical thinking.
Often, when arguments are raised against religion, unicorns and fairies are mentioned by those who feel that religious belief is simply silly fairy stories by another name.
But sometimes, generally in speculative fiction, one can be asked to imagine this world where there is no religion. Because, as we all know, and as the meme goes, religion is an obstacle to scientific progress, and religion is responsible for wars, and other bad things that have occurred in human history.
So if only we could magically remove the impulse to religious belief, we would have paradise on earth. Or if not paradise, at least a far more advanced, science based world.
And that, in my view, is true magical thinking. To think that what has always been a part of what it is to be human can vanish, or to feel that humans can magically evolve beyond what we have always shared, is true fantasy of the highest order.
And I am not in any way condemning imaginative thinking, because using the imagination can often lead to advances, but when dealing with human impulses that have always existed, or that seem at least to have always existed, we must recognize that wishing something away accomplishes nothing.
Good news: When the state cut funding for suicide prevention, this Wyoming church stepped in
From the article:
“God of Mercy, hear our prayer for ourselves, our friends and families who hold painful memories of loss, grief and suicide,” the priests read. “We ask for strength for today, courage for tomorrow and peace for the past.”
They fight the stigma of suicide with efforts like the special liturgy and train their clergy and lay people to recognize the signs. Suicide prevention has been a priority for the Episcopal church in Wyoming for years. But after state lawmakers drastically cut funding for prevention earlier this year, the church’s efforts further intensified.
To read more:
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/when-the-state-cut-funding-for-suicide-prevention-this-wyoming/article_72702909-bf07-5c73-bb58-d6089132ef15.html
In a perfect world, the state would recognize how critically important mental health issues are. But when it does not, when budgetary concerns outweigh the needs of the actual people that legislators claim to represent, it is good that outside organizations will step in and help.
As 68 Die in One Day of Airstrikes, UN Denounces US-Backed War in Yemen
From the article:
To read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/28/68-die-one-day-airstrikes-un-denounces-us-backed-war-yemen?utm_term=
Interesting news: Another Vision of Black Elk
From the article:
During an illness when he was nine years old, he saw something that can be interpreted as the totality of earthly creation conjoined in glorious, sky-spanning unity......
Neihardt left out a key fact about Black Elk: after his baptism, which took place on the name day of St. Nicholas, in December of 1904, Black Elk was a practicing and proselytizing Catholic.
To read more:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/another-vision-of-black-elk
Are DU theists guilty of intolerance?
I read a response in this group to a post. A response that read,
Edited to include part of the original post:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1218&pid=264296
Now I have been reading things i this group for over 2 years, and I have never read anything remotely like the characterization "atheists badz". Other than in this particular response.
So in the interest of furthering my understanding, I would ask any poster here who can come up with recent examples of such theistic intolerance by theist posters at DU.
Sanders Rips 'Desperate' Right-Wingers for Taking His Tax Bill Comments 'Completely Out of Context'
From the article:
In a statement on Wednesday, Sanders aimed to "set the record straight," slamming conservatives for distorting his words to conceal the harms their bill will inflict on millions of families.
To read more:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/12/27/sanders-rips-desperate-right-wingers-taking-his-tax-bill-comments-completely-out?utm
Who could imagine that the GOP would distort and deceive the voters in this way?
Are you a good person? How can you tell?
From the article:
The reason we ultimately diverge on so many moral issues, experts say, is because we rank our values differently. Cultural psychologists have found political variations, for example: conservatives place importance on values such as loyalty and authority, while liberals prioritize care and fairness.
To read more:
http://religionnews.com/2017/12/26/are-you-a-good-person-how-can-you-tell/
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Member since: Mon Jan 26, 2015, 06:15 PMNumber of posts: 42,641
