The Phallus of Empire

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…has little to do with the story behind this blog, but I thought it was an amusing comment.

And so, folks, 1989 is just waaay too in the past to, you know, remember it.  Whatsay we take Ronald Reagan’s name off of everything that his name has been plastered on since it’s ancient history, too?  I’d be much more in favor of that than removing Gilda’s name.   

Besides, she’s just a dumb woman, what do they matter?

Good Grief.

The value

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(PERSONAL BLOG)

I’m hoping that this blog doesn’t come across as preachy, but to make a point and explain my own journey…

I”ve been upper middle class, then poor, then middle class again, and now poor again…

My family lived in an exclusive neighborhood (for the wealthier folks of my small town) and belonged to the country club.  My Mom had a 100 outfits with shoes to match. My Dad had a Piper Cherokee airplane.  I didn’t know hunger but I did know ridicule (my Mom asked neighbors for their daughter’s used clothing and I was made fun of for wearing those clothes).

After the divorce was when I experienced the first pain of poverty–I remember my Mom putting crackers on a plate and pouring cheese soup over it for my dinner.  I remember looking at her in disbelief.  We had always had meat with our meals.  It was only the beginning of what was to come, but I’ll move along…

After a few years of marriage, I moved back into middle class status.  We could have easily paid off our mortgage with the money in the bank.  Money was no problem.

The sting of poverty had led me to believe that I could be happy again…if only I had the same status and money as I had before my folks’ divorce…

…but once I had money, with the marriage an unhappy one, I had to ask myself the age-old question of whether I was happy–whether money had brought me true happiness…

And the answer was “no”.

I came to realize that all the money and material things in the world would not have solved the situation.  I was empty inside in more ways than one…

This was the tiny spark that sent me on my current path and journey.

Joan Borysenko’s book, A Woman’s Book of Life was one of the first books I read as I started along my path–it reexamines the perception of women as weaker and inferior and what society values in them and in men.  It’s been a looong time since I read it, so forgive the memory, but I came away from the book with seeing the world being divided into folks who value culture (masculine) and folks who value nature (feminine).  What I remember is that the world was out of balance–we had tipped way too far to the masculine (war, material things) and away from the feminine (peace, life, birth, natural life).

We value the material above almost everything else.  And as I looked around me, I noticed that those who valued material things held less value for humanity and nature–the more that someone gathered material things around them, the less connected to humanity they were (Mitt Romney comes to mind as an example).

When I lost my house, I started giving away furniture that I couldn’t take with me.  It wasn’t as difficult as it would have been before starting on this path…but still there were twinges.  As I adjusted, however, I realized that there were just a few items that I truly treasured–that I liked for my own use, not for show

…and then they were stolen from a storage unit in the small town I had moved to after the foreclosure.   I thought that I had progressed, and truly wanted just the few items I had left…but yet I wondered why this stuff had been stolen.  It’s hard sometimes, but I truly believe that the bad stuff that happens is meant to help one learn and to grow spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

Only going through trials does one become mature.  And confident.

…which leads one back to the questions of material things.  I came to the conclusion along the path that if you’re buying something to impress others–a fancy car, a huge house, a boat, etc., you’re deep into the insecurity mode.  You’re not buying this item because it brings you happiness, but rather, you’re trying to fill some hole of doubt.  If you can just fill that hole, you will be secure and confident and others will think highly of you.

But as I discovered when I had money and status, it didn’t fill that hole, that longing, that connectedness.

I had to take that journey through trials…long, painful, lonely trials that taught me to unlearn all that I had been taught.

I had to go my own way, which caused confusion in others who did not accept it.  Others who do not ask “why?” are intimidated by others that do ask.  They will do whatever they can to stop that person from going forward.  As someone once told me, others attach “strings ” to you to keep you “in your place”.  They want you to be what they think you should be, and if you’re not, they can’t deal with that…

..and if you’re courageous, you’ll recognize it and move forward along your path, anyway…

 

 

Arafat’s exhumation

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It was described as painful, but necessary.

One of the commenters said that Polonium-210 was a favorite of the KGB. Interesting.  It jogged my memory of another involved with the Russians who also suddenly became ill.  Be sure to click on the link for Anna Politakovskaya, whom was also poisoned, albeit unsuccessfully.  When poison doesn’t work, a bullet will do the trick…

Here’s another article on Arafat on the daily beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/12/the-ghost-of-yasser-arafat.html

Here’s an interesting side article on radiation’s effects.  And one here on radiation testing in the U.S. and its consequences: http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/utah_today/radiationdeathanddeception.html

The rule of law

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A plea from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.  I find it real hard to believe Israel feels threatened by Palestinians when they have nuclear capabilities.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t believe Hamas has those same capabilities.  They just want to feed their families. To live their lives and be let alone.  This means not starving them.

And how would Hillary Clinton help smooth tensions? Since she threatened to obliterate Iran if it starts a war with Israel, I’m not real confident that she would be seen as neutral by Palestinians.  Just a guess.

Taking the profit out of pollution

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…this has been my question all along–why not make polluting the environment a costly affair–so costly that it wouldn’t make sense to continue to pollute? Because the current myopic view is not to include the healthcare costs caused by the toxic environment.

The same goes for plastic crap–why not make using plastic so freaking expensive that glass would be the better and cheaper alternative?  Nobody mentions the ocean full of not only mercury but plastic bottles….