Mike Peysner did his tour of duty in iraq,
only to come back disgusted with the situation there, feeling intense shame about fallujah and all the mighty weapons and those that pulled all the triggers or pressed all the buttons....for whose agenda
His testimony is rivetting, and he was equally saddened to see the crisis back at home, innocents there also being turfed out of their homes, lets hope a not too watered down health bill gets ratified soon, but even that seems unlikely now. Seems that politicians have more vested in appearing to have tried to have done something so they wont get tarred and feathered, rather than actually make it a reality, the money saved by stopping iraq ... what about afghanistan and pakistan? could really be sunk into health care and jobs back at home, preferably not in the military industrial complex. We all need to reread Henry David Thoreau and his history as well as Alexis de Toqueville and also Catch 22.
Fluid Isolation
Each drops splash seen from the window up on high
The edge of the wind wafts past in wave fronts of rain
Wind in the long grass, flowing , alternating shades of green.
Sand Collapsing to consume itself, or so it seems.
Water coursing, etching patterns never to be seen.
Dust devils, coalescing, dancing , darting, dispersing
Fire shifting, shining, reaching for the sky
From the window, warm, protected
Like dreams
if only
this needs rewatching
http://www.youtube.com/...
http://www.youtube.com/...
http://www.youtube.com/...
this however is the one that really needs watching
http://www.youtube.com/...
it stirred me up and made me think there might not be too many innocent billionaires around....???? Maybe Al Gore and Warren Buffet and the newly philanthropic Bill Gates?
I'll still support Obama ,Hillary Clinton and maybe even Al Gore. But he's not talking about the oxygen dead zones in the ocean or the much about the pH and how calcium carbonate can play a role.
Watershed of humanity
When I was a young lad, the other boys taunted and shunned.
Feeling isolated and unloved, they sensed the compassion and saught to root it out.
Other boys who also were moved, were teased and humiliated.
Fighting back they became comics, to move first, rather than be the butt of the joke.
Some boys manipulated and orchestrated fights between other boys
taunting them to become men
Most other boys gathered round to watch, assess, look and learn
how to be men.
The girls manipulated situations,shunned and fabricated to become popular.
Where were the teachers, the bus drivers, the principals, the janitors, the secretaries to intervene?
Where were the parents?
Some fathers were too busy just trying to survive and make a buck.
Some boys picked on a different lad each day. And were beat upon by their dads at night.
Some, a very few, became ultra violent thugs. A beer knocked over innocently, a few teeth knocked out in retribution. A ‘telephone pole’ punched. Wonder who the telephone pole was? Some of the other boys side with these violent boys, attracted and afraid of their power. Better to be onside with it, than be on the receiving end. Practical, but cowardly. They didn’t see that they don’t have to take it on directly. But afraid of the attention it might draw if they don’t openly support the raw power. Saddam in miniature.
(continued on next page)
If you’re not with us you are against us! You don’t have to be with or against. Why were those who tried to make it an issue castigated? Whatever happened to issues?
Some big thugs need to be dealt with harshly, but that is only because they weren’t treated with compassion early enough on in their lives. They are mistakes of society and education and we are all responsible.
Humanity is responsible.
Some boys, like Elliot Ness, grow up to focus on fighting the thugs. But they too seem to lack compassion, though admittedly at times we need them.
There are really no ‘bad seeds’, just boys with experiences and others reactions to those experiences. If there had been any self mockery or humour or compassion, they would not have learnt the ‘lesson’ of brutality for powers sake.
Those who manipulated fights gained status.
Those who won fights gained less.
Those who taunted and challenged manhood gained attention.
Those who achieved humiliation were rewarded.
Will the weaker and infirm always be humiliated?
This is the watershed of humanity. If you have any compassion you will hear my call.
It starts with the children. Where are the parents? Where are the teachers and principals?
At every aggression starting, at every taunt and challenge of manhood, we must intervene with compassion, and humour if possible.
Some retaliate by teaching their kids to fight. Standing up for yourself is important, self esteem and all that, but why not teach them to stand up in spirit? Why not teach them to read and write? and be compassionate?
And its mostly all so male! Pity. We need the female presence aswell.
Compassion is the watershed of humanity.
and the quality of mercy should not be strained.
one can always imagine a situation in the extreme that one might possibly have to go up against, that does not make it reality, perhaps it can be avoided, call for help, talk about it, together we can defeat it or avoid it.