Lamb and Frog

When they pry it from my cold dead hands. Tablets & phones are a great way to RECEIVE information (advertisements and opinion). Until one of those options offers a way to ENTER information quickly and accurately (I can type ALMOST as fast as I can think—proof of this came Tuesday when I tried to type in Spanish and couldn’t, at least not quickly) I need a "real" computer.

Of course, if it is the goal of the Masters of the Universe to control the flow of information until it is virtually one-way (them to us serfs) and to eliminate our capability for nuanced thought by reducing our ability to express a written… opinion down to a character-limited typo-riddled sound bite they are well on their way. To paraphrase that chick from Star Wars: "This is the sound of democracy dying—thunderous applause and the swish of a swiping credit card."

Oh bloggie, how I’ve missed you. Perhaps it is time we became reacquainted. If any of you readers are still there, we’ve got a lot of ketchinup to do.

I missed the whole thing. The U.S. military killed Osama Bin Laden and I was not tuned in. I wasn’t even logged in for the after party being held on Facebook. I found out when I turned on the computer this morning.

Oddly enough, I didn’t (and don’t) feel the unmitigated glee and pride that was being expressed at the time. I felt (and still feel) kind of ill. Why? Lots of reasons.

First, a human life was taken in anger as retribution for a crime. In other words, a murder was committed. State-sanctioned murder. In my opinion a justifiable murder that may save lives and that may, eventually, re-unite many American soldiers with their families, but still, a murder. I’m not dancing with joy. I’m praying for the soul of the murdered man; and the souls of those that have been murdered and that have murdered in his name; and the souls that have been murdered by “my side”; and the souls of the murderers; and my own—for thinking the world is a better place without this man in it and for being glad he’s gone.

Second, I just don’t think anything has been solved or resolved. Radical Islam is still dangerous. The forces that drive people to terrorism (of all kinds, not just Islamic) still exist. We have cut off one (maybe two) heads of they Hydra that is terrorism, but foreign and homegrown terrorists still threaten our safety and probably always will.

Third, what happens now? I don’t think the “war on terrorism” is over (any more than the “war on drugs” or the “war on poverty” is over). These wars (especially the first two) were created by a government that needs a common enemy to 1) function and 2) line the pockets of its biggest campaign contributors. Companies like Halliburton and Brown & Root, whose contractors do the work that low-ranking enlisted people used to do, are not going to take this lying down. They will find or create another war to avoid laying off their workers and to protect their stockholders and their executive bonuses.

And even if the corporations and people who comprise the military industrial complex do just roll over and allow some of their “factories” to close, what happens now after all of our soldiers and National Guardsmen (and women) are reunited with their families? What happens once that honeymoon is over? While I’m glad that those who get to return will be reunited with their families and won’t be spit on or called names the way our Vietnam Veterans were, I’m more than a little concerned that these people will not be reunited with jobs outside the military that will pay them a living wage with decent benefits. I’m more than a little concerned that, like our Vietnam Vets, they will be abandoned inside this country with no provisions made for helping them to cope with life without an imminent and unrelenting threat to their lives.

Yes. I’m glad he’s gone (may God forgive me). But I also have to remember that according to Osama the God of Abraham was on his side, not ours and only time and the apocalypse will prove who is right in the end. I have friends of all faiths, all good people who, in my opinion, belong in heaven. I believe that there is only one way to get there. Still, I think that Jesus was put here not only to save our souls, but to help people comprehend a God that is really beyond our comprehension. I don’t understand God at all. Thus, I hope that in some way that is beyond my comprehension and will probably remain beyond the grasp of all humankind God has a way of reconciling us all within himself…or herself…or itself. I just don’t know. I’m not that smart. But I am smart enough to know that rejoicing in the death of another person, no matter how evil he was, is just asking for karma to bitch slap me.

So, for now I will not dance. I will continue to pray for peace and to try to live my faith and exemplify God’s mercy and grace as best as I can.

Peace.

Since this morning, some of the unmitigated glee has subsided and more thought-provoking posts are appearing. That gives me cause for hope that perhaps one day this country will be able to run itself on thoughts rather than emotions. But I’m not holding my breath. And yes, I know, I’m a liberal hippie tree-hugging buzzkill.

For Humankind—I pray for peace and I pray for each and everyone of us to act with kindness, compassion, and the understanding that no matter what our gender, race, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, or income or education level we are all valuable children of God and should treat each other as such.

For My Friends and Family—I pray for God to bestow blessings and protection; to heal those who are sick; and to comfort those who are struggling.

For Myself—I pray for strength, discipline, and patience (areas in which I am notoriously weak). I pray that God grants me the amount of understanding of the plan necessary for keeping my feet on the right path, for using the gifts I have been given to further that plan, and for guidance when understanding has been granted, but I’m slow on the uptake.

Have you ever been given a gift and thought “Now what the hell am I going to do with this?” and blew it off or stuffed it away somewhere and forgotten about it. Every day on this earth is a gift from God. Life isn’t Seinfeld (or any other TV show for that matter) and they can’t be re-gifted. What are you going to do with yours? I am going to thank the Giver, share what I can, and make the most of what’s left.

Have a great weekend. I love you all.

For this post and a book page update. The chaos I mentioned a few posts ago has waxed and waned, but mostly waxed over the last several months. All I can say is that the pattern of loss has continued to the point where it has completely stopped my creative process. I’m knitting crap (or really easy stuff); I’m spinning only occasionally; and when I can focus my thoughts well enough to write I am, unfortunately, forced to use the brief moments of coherence to attend to much more pressing business.

I’m ready to kick this year out of my life and I’m hoping that 2011 brings a return to a somewhat more normal, if radically changed, life—but after this year, I’m not holding my breath.

As for this year, I’m out for the duration. See you on the flip side.

I don’t think one can specify the precise moment the medical profession in America became the medical industry. It was probably close to the time the ‘word’ HMO became a household name. And, probably, like some cancers it was a slow, mostly invisible, but wholly insidious process. By the time America’s body politic became aware of the cancer, it was probably to late to do much other than slow the disease and prolong the agony.

I can say that Americans have lost much to this process-disease, perhaps most notably the ability to age gracefully. Still, I think that medical industrialists (those who used to be called medical professionals) have lost much more. They have gained the world (in power and money) but have lost their souls.

I have come to loathe doctor’s appointments, doctor’s offices, hospitals, doctor bills, and, for the most part doctors and their minions. What once was an honored and respected profession has become, in my mind, the physiological version of a stock broker.