Archive for the ‘History’ Category

I remember the first time I was in Rome.  As I stood in front of the Senate, where Brutus stabbed Caesar, I was struck by the contrast between the facts that 1) Romans drive to and from work every day past 2000 years of history and 2) Philadelphians drive to and from work every day past 250 years of history. Which may explain the cultural differences and, for lack of a better word, maturity levels. My experience was that Europeans are more adult than Americans. They prioritize their lives differently…which led me to think about growing up.

In many ways we, in the United States, suffer from adolescence.  We want what we want, when we want it. We have short-range vision. We act with disregard for the consequences. We  often abdicate personal responsibility for what we say and do. We think we can disregard the rules of civility and the laws Nature. We crave not only the latest android…we want the biggest house, the most expensive car, and the clothing that shows its label on the outside. We live beyond our means and expect someone else, mainly the government, to rescue us from ourselves. Ironically, even government needs rescuing from its own irresponsible behavior.

We have behaved very much like adolescents.

So, as each of us comes to realize that our lives are not working and all of the indulgences have not gotten us the peace and satisfaction we seek, perhaps its just plain time to grow up. The place to start is to take a look at your own life, how you’re living it, what you value, where you turn a blind eye to responsibility, and decide to do something about it.

Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” He was talking to each of us…individually. The only way we will succeed at moving beyond this moment is to accept what it means to be an adult, with ethical boundaries and personal responsibility, and then live that acceptance. Otherwise, sooner or later, the teen who refuses to stop pushing the boundaries and ignoring the rules ends up watching Life pass them by.

In our case, it will be the future of a great nation that will have been expendable.

 

Adbusters, a Public Relations firm located in British, Columbia, is a company with a website of interest to me. It should also be of interest to you…if you want to understand the manipulation and money fueling the “Occupy” protestors nationally.  Adbusters is financed in part by the Tides Foundation, a George Soros organization. Soros, you may or may not know, makes sport of manipulating global currencies and politics. Which means manipulating you.

On their website today, Adbusters is advising and directing the protestors as follows:

“We’re living through a magical moment … OCCUPYWALLSTREET has catalyzed into an international insurgency for democracy … the mood at our assemblies is electric … people who go there are drawn into a Gandhian spirit of camaraderie and hope for a new kind of future. Across the globe the 99% are marching! You have inspired more than you know. People are digging into Act One of the long Spring.”

A few observations:

1.  Democracy is not an American aspiration. Democracy is mob rule. We live in a Constitutional Republic by deliberate design of the men and women who were sufficiently educated and enlightened to know the difference.

2.  Gandhi never advocated defecating on police cars, carried signs that said “Eat The Rich” or espoused getting “all the Jews out of the country.” Gandhi was abut peaceful, unwavering commitment to the dignity of individuals and national self-determination.

3.  It’s apparent that “digging into Act One of the long Spring” is a planned strategy intended to unfold over time while making unequivocal demands accompanied by continued disruption and unrest.

If there was ever a time for individuals to think for themselves, rather than as a monolithic herd, it’s now. Group think will get us mob rule. Just look at the photos of the rebels who found Ghadaffi. While I have no love of the deceased dictator, rational and civil people who think for themselves don’t pull and pick at a body as animals over a carcass might do.  And that’s giving short shrift to the animals, since they do it for the sole purpose of obtaining nourishment.

Let’s be conscious and aware that whether it’s Vice President Biden giving out false statistics on crime rates in Flint, Michigan in order to scare us into passing President Obama’s jobs bill… or a Canadian P.R. firm doing the bidding of its financial backer by cleverly manipulating public opinion and passions…it’s up to each of us individually to discern truth from fiction and have the courage to act upon our findings.

Unless you are willing to do that, you’re in for more Hope and Change. By the way, how has that worked out for you thus far?

Today, 1027 Palestinian prisoners, some having been convicted of suicide bombings, were released by the State of Israel in exchange for one Israeli soldier, 24-year-old Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped and held incommunicado by Hamas for over five years.

The Palestinians were bussed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to a prearranged exchange point. There was no fanfare. No media coverage. No interviews. No political exploitation.

At least on the Israeli side of the equation.

The Egyptians and Hamas (a designated terrorist organization) went beyond the pale in exploiting the moment.  A female Egyptian anchor did a TV interview of Gilad Shalit while he was in Egypt and not yet transferred to Israeli authority and protection. Shalit was clearly suffering from malnourishment and lack of exposure to sunlight, having been kept in a dungeon for the entire 5 years of his captivity and denied visitation even by the International Red Cross.  The anchor brazenly posed politically loaded questions to a young man who had obvious difficulty breathing, speaking and collecting his thoughts.  All the while, a masked Hamas terrorist stood behind Shalit’s back with a loaded weapon.

It was a disgrace.

But for anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear, it was the most poignant and unequivocal statement of the total disregard for human life, decency and compassion that is Hamas.

As I watched the fiasco unfold, and sensed the confusion, caution and fear Shalit must have been experiencing, I wondered how we will ever negotiate a peaceful resolution with a people who heap rewards and accolades upon an organization so devoid of humanity.  If you have the answer I’d love to hear it. As of this writing, I remain at a loss for one that satisfies.

And “yes” if you wonder if the ratio… 1:1027… was worth it.

Yes.

Definitely yes.

 

This is about why Texas Governor Rick Perry should not be the Republican Party’s Presidential nominee in 2012. We have come to the end of the line in our ability to knowingly close our eyes to the character of those we elect to public office. It’s no longer acceptable that we decry, after the fact, having gotten exactly what is was we willfully refused to see before the fact.

When then candidate Perry was running for Governor of Texas he was interviewed by a local television reporter who asked the candidate, if elected, would he serve out his term?  Governor Perry answered “Yes.” When the reporter pressed him to confirm that he would not then run for the office of President, the now Governor said he would “not” and reiterated he would serve out his term as Governor of Texas.  If Governor Perry is the 2012 nominee, and is elected, he will not serve out his term as Governor of Texas despite having given his word to the contrary.

Strike one.

In the recent Tea Party Debate, Governors Romney and Perry got in a verbal back and forth over the legality of Social Security.  Governor Romney said that calling it a “Ponzi” scheme, as Governor Perry had, was frightful to seniors. Governor Perry countered that in Governor Romney’s book, he too called the Social Security System“criminal”… as is a Ponzi scheme. However, in his book, No Apology: Believe In America, Governor Romney called the actions of Congress in taking money from  Social Security an act that, in the private sector, would be deemed criminal.

Strike  two.

When Barack Obama was running for the Presidency, I read a book by Shelby Steele titled A Bound Man. It is the reason I did not vote for Mr. Obama. After reading it, I believed that I understood something about Obama and I thought that what I understood presented a danger to the nation.  Very few others must have read that book.  In fact, very few others did any kind of inquiry into who he was, what he stood for, or his level of integrity. We got what we refused to see.

When Rickard Nixon ran for President, he already had the nickname “Tricky Dick.” We got what we refused to see.

I’m not waiting for strike three from Governor Perry. He has shown himself, to me, to be a man upon whose word I cannot rely. While I have also eliminated a few of the other Republican contenders, I feel it important to address Governor Perry directly and outwardly as the press, and some polls, see him as the “frontrunner” or “the one to beat” and I think the flaw is glaring… as I did with Obama.

Regardless of his or her policies, we must have a leader with integrity on whose word and in whose judgment the American people can rely. We are all out of time to delay or err. This next President will determine a lot more than fiscal or foreign policy. This one will determine who we are as a People and what we value. Who we elect as our next President will tell us much more about who we are than who they are.

Paul Krugman is an American economist, Princeton University professor and Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics recipient. Charles Krauthammer is a Pulitizer prize-winning syndicated columnist, political commentator, and physician. Two very bright men. One of them wrote a factually researched, well-substantiated, thought provoking column on the tenth year anniversary of the terrorist attacks perpetrated on September 11, 2001. The other threw a schoolyard bully’s punch and then left the playground before anyone else could respond.

The former was Charles Krauthammer.  The latter, Paul Krugman, tempts me to give his “column” no time at all. However, in Mr. Krugman’s judgmental name calling and accusations, he teaches us much about what’s wrong with the world and why we have found ourselves so far from who we want to be.

Mr. Krauthammer’s column in the National Review On-line recaps the U.S. response and successes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. He also factually disproves allegations that the War on Terror is the basis for our current financial difficulties and places the blame where it belongs.  Finally, he gives us pride in our national determination and endurance in the face of adversity.

As for Mr. Krugman… he used his bully pulpit to bully. He accused former President George W. Bush and former New York Mayor Rudy Guilaini of “cash[ing] in on the horror” and unnamed others of “hijacking [of] the atrocity.” He actually goes so far as to call the memory of 9/11 “an occasion of shame.” Mr. Krugman’s opinion piece is a lesson in turning the victim into the perpetrator… in deflecting responsibility from where it rightfully belongs. He offers no facts, piously judges others, and tries to make us feel badly about ourselves as a nation. Let’s learn from his mistakes.

1. Conclusions should be based upon facts, not conjecture.

2. Judgment belongs to Our Creator and when exercised by humankind separates and alienates us from ourselves and one another.

3. Giving others confidence and hope, not criticism and despair, is the answer to both personal and collective growth.

Mr. Krauthammer’s column allows for posting comments. Mr. Krugman’s does not. Deliberately so. He noted that he was not permitting comments “for obvious reasons.” What is obvious to me may be different from what he intended. I post here the email I sent him following a read of his column:

“If you are going to make the kind of judgments and bold statements made in the NY Times Opinion piece ‘The Years of Shame,’ have the courage to allow those who see the world differently from you the courtesy of access to reply.  Free speech, I presume, is one of the founding principles upon which we can agree. What follows that principle in a free society is the battlefield of ideas.

The only thing that is ‘obvious’ about why you would have precluded responses to the piece is your need to strike while insulating yourself from the counter-punch. This was not a courageous act. Being able to take the heat, not just give it, is the sign of a confident individual committed to, above all, the truth.”

 

If you watched Glenn Beck give the keynote speech from Jerusalem this morning, you experienced a glowing moment in human history.  If you missed it, it’s not too late. The intention and purpose of the speech can be summed up in two words: Rights and Responsibilities.  I say it’s not too late because, if you understand what those words truly mean, its not too late to go live them in your own life.

As for Rights, for more years than I care to count, we have treated them with disregard.  We have failed to understand their source and, by so doing, acted as if our individuality and the power of self-determination rests better in the hands of a “capable” few over the many.

As for Responsibility, we traded our dignity and the very connection to one another that makes us uniquely human… to make free willed-based choices and live with the consequences of those choices… for the illusion that if we did not look under the rock, nothing sinister could possibly be concealed there.

We were foolish, adolescent, myopic and flat-out wrong.  The refusal to acknowledge the Source of our freedom and the willing abdication of what action freedom demands of us, has brought us to this moment. Now we must take the more difficult road home… but it is the only road worth taking… for all others lead to enslavement.

We have two choices in life. Always. To be in service or to be en-slaved.  For several thousand years we have periodically been enslaved. More so than not. This is not the first time. But it may well be the last time.  There is an expression among people who believe in reincarnation. “You do it again ‘til you get it right.” It presupposes endless chances.

I am not so sure. Sometimes we run out of “do-overs.” Such may be this time.

The technology has outpaced spiritual and social development. Violence has reared its ugly head. The world is looking for scapegoats. It has looked before and found them before…as  too many turned a blind eye and a deaf ear thereby allowing the slaughter of millions. Repeatedly.

Glenn Beck’s message is more than we can “never forget.” His message is that we cannot permit blindness, deafness and the violence that inevitably accompanies them to… this time… define who we are or to silence open acknowledgment of the Source of All That Is.

Know your rights, their Source, and the responsibility that being blessed with them requires of you.

Yes, the burden is great but the reward is greater. And just as devaluation of rights leads to enslavement… so too does refusal to bear the burden of personal responsibility lead to a world wherein violence and destruction reign by fear unopposed.

This is a do-over.  Let’s get it right this time.

Today I watched Part 1 of Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Courage” rally in Israel. Before I tell you anything more, in respect of full disclosure, I’ve got a dog in this hunt. I’m a Jew.

As such, you can infer whatever you like about any bias in my observations;  however, I’m much more a mystic than I am a religious person so any bias you may think I bring is more likely your own.  It is sort of like me telling you I grew up in the 60’s, a Jewish, suburban, upper middle class girl and you assuming I’m a feminist, a Liberal and a Democrat. Sorry, I never got feminism, am somewhat politically conservative and a registered Independent. See. You’d have made that mistaken assumption, too!

So, now that we can set aside all that potential rush to judgment, back to Glenn Beck and Israel.

In April of 2011, I wrote a blog post in which I referred to Mr. Beck as, perhaps, a prophet of sorts.  At the time, I clarified that I didn’t necessarily mean it in the biblical sense.  Now I wonder.

Moses gave the Israelites the vision and courage to leave behind a world they knew ( an oppressive one albeit with certain creature comforts) to head out into the unknown.  It was, as almost no one would dispute, a turning point for humankind.

Glenn Beck has also provided millions (my estimate) with a vision and the courage to leave behind, if not literally then figuratively, a world they know and head into equally unknown territory.  In this instance, what is being left behind is not so different than what the Israelites relinquished.

We, like the Israelites of ancient Egypt, became enslaved to materialism. To having our physical needs and wants reasonably met while losing sight of our spiritual ones. We too, established false idols…Alan Greenspan, various political leaders, the U.S. dollar.  But with the passage of time, we came to remember that while golden calves glitter, the glare is temporary and blinding.  In that blindness, we yearned for something more, something lasting, and something real.

Enter Glenn Beck.

Mr. Beck is a visionary (I’m still mulling over the word prophet).  He saw where we were, where we needed to go, and he said, “Okay, if I can see it, I guess I have to lead the way.” Like all true leaders, he has been a reluctant one.  For that he will surely be rewarded when and how it counts…whether or not we appropriately acknowledge our gratitude for his foresight and willingness to serve.

Glenn Beck is shining a light upon the Light that is Israel.  He and others regardless of religious affiliation, who are connected to Source in their hearts, know one of the most important messages Moses reminds us in Deuteronomy: When the Jewish People are exiled from the land, not just the land suffers but the whole world suffers.

With the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the world began an unprecedented economic and technological expansion. During that same period, the world lost its spiritual and moral compass. Those two realities have led us to this moment in time when the dark forces of the world want to annihilate the State of Israel to once and forever drive the Jews from their land.

Glenn Beck saw this convergence on the horizon but more importantly, he has done something to impede its design.  The world would do well to heed the message he brings and, if it’s not too much to ask, to also thank the messenger.

Permit me my moment.

Thank you Glenn Beck.

 

Howard Schultz is brilliant and courageous. 

Don’t know who he is, you say? Read on.

Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, recently suggested that we suspend all contributions to political candidates and politicians generally until they address the deficit and begin to do the People’s business for which they are elected. His suggestion has taken root.  Just today, both Duncan Niederauer, head of the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ CEO Bob Greifeld have joined in support and are encouraging other CEO’s to do the same.

If you’re not a CEO don’t fret.  I’m not and I’m on board because I know a good idea when I hear one.

For too long, and too often, we’ve allowed ourselves to feel powerless to affect issues that seem way beyond the capability of one individual.  But one individual can, in fact, turn the world upside down or right side up… depending on their intention. Think Hitler and Jesus Christ.

Your thinking “extraordinary examples” aren’t you?  Well, maybe… but you get my point.

Perhaps more to the point, and more relevant to what you can do, is this:

1.       We are all connected, and the action of one of us inevitably influences the outcome for all of us. It’s like the butterfly flapping its wings in New York City whose motion ultimately affects wind patterns in China.

2.       You vote every four (or six) years at the ballot box. However, you vote every day with your money.  Money is energy. Where you choose to spend (or not spend) yours is an act of self-definition.

I think Howard Schultz has exhibited leadership at a time when we are in search of such talent. He’s done his part. Now it’s up to all of us who know a good idea when we hear one to do our part.

If memory serves me correctly, President Obama was very proud of his grassroots, social network-based campaign approach that managed to collect millions of dollars from “ordinary citizens” who were moved by his promise of Hope and Change and, who by their individual contributions, made the difference.

See, you matter.  Your money is an expression of what you are willing to support. Withdraw that support now!  Make your contribution (no pun intended) in support of Howard Schultz’s idea.  Say “no more funding” for alleged leaders, of any and all parties, whose word means nothing and who exhibit both a lack of understanding for the People’s will and an unwillingness to perform the job for which they applied.

Just do it. You’ll feel empowered and together… real change is possible.

Two seemingly unrelated news stories caught my eye. The first, concerns the “entertainer” Prince praising the virtues of countries run under Sharia law, especially the “order” and “simplicity” of having women wear burqas.  The second is about a gender neutral approach to everything from education to child rearing.

Where’s the connection?  Well, that’s the first question.

The second is “Where’s the real harm?”

The obvious answer to the first question is that both stories speak to how we perceive and respond to sexuality.  While that is certainly a big topic that deserves its own post, we need to be much more concerned with the answer to the second question.

For several thousand years, male dominated governments, religions and societies in general, have institutionalized the marginalization, even the near obliteration, of the Divine Feminine aspect of Creation.  It isn’t necessary to go much farther than Genesis 1:26, “And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness…” (emphasis added). Everywhere you look in Nature, you find the interaction and cooperation between polarities… the necessary, and dare I say equally important contributions, of what those polarized aspects bring to the perpetuation of all things natural.

Not so mankind.

Man, literally man, has spent thousands of years and squandered countless resources in efforts to deny the Divine Feminine role in Creation and to imprison the female in one of three roles: mother, whore or object (a/k/a property).  We need not look very far beyond this perversion of Natural Law to explain thousands of years of aggression, war, and imbalance.

This is not a feminist rant.  This is a call to mankind to awaken to the reality that the Divine Feminine is resurrected and, undaunted, has embarked upon a return to Her rightful place alongside the masculine aspect of Creator.

It is through this re-balancing of male and female energies that the world will be set right and by no other means.  No secular legislation or religious dictate will end this breech until the hearts of men are open to the love and inherent value of all living beings… a lesson learned only through recognizing, accepting and acknowledging the Wisdom that is the Divine Feminine role in Creation.

 

If you can’t see this one… you are likely overdue for an eye exam.

Within the last year, recently disgraced Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) made it his mission to lead a personal assault against Glenn Beck in an attempt to destroy Mr. Beck’s career by undermining his sponsors.  In particular, Congressman Weiner accused Beck of an “unholy alliance” with Goldline, alleging the company was a “multimedia rip off” and that Beck was using his radio and television shows to manipulate listeners into investing with the company.

Weiner’s attack was designed to destroy Beck by raising questions, through innuendo, about Beck’s integrity, truthfulness and motives.  It turned out there was no factual basis for the Congressman’s allegations and he likely knew there was no such basis when he made them.  The charges faded into oblivion.

The Congressman himself was not so fortunate.

With the now infamous photos of Congressman Weiner and his shameful “sexting” revelations, he has become what he set out inflict upon Beck: a pariah whose integrity is revealed to be nonexistent.

(If you cannot see the Divine aspect and irony of this reversal you need to stop reading and call your optometrist to schedule that eye exam).

I have been listening to Glenn Beck for several years and am certain of a few things as a result.  He loves his country, does his homework, is sincere, and is the bearer of Light in a darkened world.  I call such people “Lightworkers.”

It’s a fulltime job with no days off.

Congressman Weiner, by his actions, has demonstrated that he represents the antithesis of what Glenn Beck stands for.  The Congressman, it turns out, is a participant in, and therefore a promoter of, Darkness.  Now there’s the real “unholy alliance” in this story.

As with all darkness, the Light shining upon it reveals it for what it is.

Congressman Weiner has inadvertently served his country well.  He has, by his actions, given credibility and added strength to Glenn Beck’s purpose and thereby empowered the Light.

In the final analysis, this was a classic and eternal clash of opposing energies.  It has always been the case and always will be that Light reveals, and thereby transcends, all that is dark.