Extremists of many creeds, are regularly in the news,
Destruction, death and fear, the methods they choose.
At times they may possess, points that make sense,
But the message is lost, amidst all the violence.

Be you Muslim or Hindu or Christian or Sekh.
No religion’s more deadly, than of which I speak.
No matter the faith, what they first must do,
before praising their God, is praise this religion too.

This religion spares none, with its lies and illusions,
we are but its faithful slaves, my only conclusion.
It robs us of our freedom, our health and sanity,
halts all our progress and disables technology.

This religion creates, all stress, disease & fear,
poisons our waterways and pollutes atmosphere.
Unless we revisit, reconstruct or release.
its firm grip on us, shall never cease.

This religion can be tamed, all hope isn’t lost,
we made it all up, never considering the cost.
Given away our power, to a mere thought,
that some deserve more, the pain it has brought.

We can build a new future of freedom and ease,
create a new world, of endless possibilities.
End this religion, poison the fertile sod,
for the religion of profit, where money is god!

Since President Obama has taken office, much of the time of his administration, has been consumed with attempting to enact reform legislation. Health care  reform, after a long arduous process, recently passed. Currently, financial reform, in order to avoid the previous meltdown from repeating itself, is being debated and worked toward. Thankfully, it seems this legislation will not be as drawn out and painful as health care reform was. Going forward, beyond financial reform, will be the task of attempting to address immigration reform, yet another emotionally charged and volatile issue. I applaud President Obama and his administration’s efforts, all of these issues need to be addressed, it is a monumental undertaking  and they have put forth a monumental effort.

It occurs to me that the reform most needed is not being addressed. As yours truly sees it, the only reform we need, is consciousness reform. Reforming our minds and our thought process will cost us nothing.  We will not need endless debates in congress, we will not need to appoint fact finding committees and we will not need to spend obscene amounts of money on research. All that is needed, indeed all that was ever needed, is a very simple, yet very complex reforming of our consciousness. We simply need to realize the following; every woman is our sister, every man is our brother. We need to learn to love people and use things, not the other way around. Everyone on this planet deserves basic dignities, food, clothing, shelter, education, health care and the opportunity to follow their passion, simply because they are alive.  These things are not privileges, they are the rights of every human being. I have said this before but it is worth restating here, it has been said that you can tell how evolved a society is by how it treats the least among them. By this measure, we are not very evolved at all.

We allow needless suffering such as hunger, poverty, homelessness, disease and oppression to exist because we say we can not do anything about them, we can not afford to. How insane is this?! We have given our power away to this thing we call money. Look deeply at every societal dysfunction, almost every story on the news can be traced to reveal money, possessions or power at its core. Even in the event of possession or power, neither of these are acquired without money. Its not that money is bad, it is our thoughts about it. We agree that money or the lack there of, can determine the quality of life, we even agree that without it, you may not have a life. Once again, how insane is this?! We need to revisit, reevaluate, revise and restructure this thing we call an economy. We may even want to get rid of it entirely. For a more in depth explanation of what I feel this would look like, see my piece on the economy, posted here on January 10, 2010. Our system of economics, in its current form, and oppression, are inseparable. There is nothing wrong with accumulating wealth, as long as it is not done at the expense of others. For someone to win really big, someone else has to lose really big.

I’ve said this before, but I will restate it here. When an individual, group or nation is cast aside, disenfranchised, discarded or oppressed, we all lose! We lose out on their potential contributions to our lives. A person of great wealth my cry foul at such a statement, claiming they do not lose at all. I will explain very simply how they would be mistaken. There are millions on this planet, whose every waking moment is consumed with thoughts of where their next meal will come from, where will they sleep tonight, how will they provide for their family, will we even survive today? A person of great wealth might be unconcerned with the conditions I just spoke of, until something like the following occurs. Either they, or some close family member are diagnosed with some incurable disease, although they would pay any price for a cure, none is available. Perhaps, just perhaps, if the millions who suffer daily on our planet, were afforded the basic human dignities I spoke of earlier, there in, would lie the cure.

So you see, this reform of consciousness does not need to be made from a mindset of unity, compassion and love for humanity. It can be made from mindset of separation and selfishness as well. All one needs to do, is make the connections between a wasted life, the possibilities it contains, and how their own experience of life might be lessened because of it. It has been said, we need to create a world that works for everyone, or we will have a world that works for no one. Carl Sagan once noted, that this pale blue dot of a planet we know as Earth, viewed from space, is a single, living breathing organism, and an organism at war with itself, is doomed. Yet, I am hopeful, I say we are not doomed, I have faith in humanity, I know our potential is unlimited, we just need to allow it to unfold. We can bring about the reform most needed. C’mon people, Yes We Can!!

Thanks for stopping by, be well, be peace. Join the conversation…..

From his book, The Audacity of Hope, President Barack Obama states, and I paraphrase, “Large scale social change can only come about as a result of a local awakening, not as a result of outside interference”.  It would seem that our sisters and brothers in Iran are now going through such an inner awakening. I am saddened to see the ferocity and viciousness of  their governments response, violence and bloodshed, on the part of the government and the protesters, seem to now be a daily occurrence. The government has pledged a swift and crushing response to future protests. I am of the firm belief that the reforms  sought, can be attained non violently on the part of the protesters, though their will indeed be violence on the part of the government.  Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have already demonstrated the efficacy of non violet protest.

Whether or not this is possible, the people of Iran may, at some point, require outside assistance in their quest.  Some days ago,  Republican Senator John McCain, issued a statement calling on the Obama administration for a stronger response to Iran’s current difficulties, despite the administration’s previous statements in support of the protesters and calling on the government of Iran to cease their crackdown. Whether Senator McCain was just posturing politically or spoke in earnest,  I am unsure. How much of a stronger response is the Senator calling for ? I for one, would would be unable to support any military response at this time. Our women and men in uniform are currently stretched way too thin and are extremely overused.

In the event, the inner awakening happening in Iran, requires outside assistance at some point. I believe such assistance needs to be in the form of a coalition, one that is comprised of largely by middle eastern nations. The United States and its allies alone, can not bear the full responsibility of policing the globe. We can not simply waltz into another country without the full support, in all aspects, of the Arab World. In closing, my thoughts and prayers go out to our sisters and brothers in Iran. May their quest for reform be swift, productive, safe and peaceful.

Thanks for stopping by, be well, be peace. Join the conversation!

The Christmas Day Attempt

On Christmas Day Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, a young man of 23, boarded Northwest airlines flight 253, and shortly before it was due to land in Detroit, attempted unsuccessfully, to detonate explosives hidden on his person. Thankfully, alert, quick thinking passengers and crew were able to subdue him before any major damage could be done. Needless to say, a harrowing experience for all involved. Further developments bring us news that he had become radicalized and received  material and instructions in Yemen. The group claiming responsibility for the attempt is Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Apparently, Al Qaeda is now a franchise operation, kind of like McDonalds perhaps? A previously thwarted, attempted airline bombing, brought us Richard Reid, otherwise known as the shoe bomber. As a result of his hiding explosives in the soles of his shoes, we are now required to remove our shoes at airport security checkpoints. Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab hid his explosives in his underwear, giving us the underwear bomber. Or as I like to refer to him, the crotch bomber. I can only imagine what will now be required at airport security checkpoints. I can easily imagine a day, when there will be no luggage allowed on planes at all and one will be required to strip naked for the flight, be strapped into their seat, not allowed to speak or use the restroom. Upon completion of the flight, you will be allowed to redress after exiting the plane. Sounds extreme I know, but not unbelievable. OK, I digress, sorry, just had to get that off my chest. This is truly not a laughing matter and I promise to behave for the remainder of this post.

I believe that General Stanley McChrystal, some time ago, spoke of Yemen being the newest safe haven for Al Qaeda and it would seem he is correct. Yeman’s government is unable and ill equipt to stem Al Qaeda’s growth. As a result, The United States has been assisting them in their efforts, so, it would now seem that we, (The United States) are now getting more involved in yet another country in the Middle East. I am afraid, there is much done in our name around the world, both known and unknown, that does not speak well of us. Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, when questioned as to motive for the Christmas day attempt, said it was in retaliation for United States sponsored bombings in Yemen. The United States is seen as occupiers by many in these countries, with every country we enter, with every bomb, with every bit of collateral damage we cause, we create a new, rich, fertile group of individuals, ripe for recruitment as extremists by groups such as Al Qaeda. We spend unfathomable amounts of money, time, energy and effort in the attempt to disrupt and disable extremest groups, all of these things can be measured and outlandish numbers can be attached to them. But how does one measure the untold amount of human suffering? Thousands of lives altered, irreparably changed, maimed or lost, on both sides of conflict. I often see and hear of stories of our brave, courageous women and men in uniform, being deployed time and time again. We are told of a certain percentage of them that return suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. I could not disagree with these findings more. They ALL have PTSD! No individual can return from a combat situation unchanged or unaffected, these babies have witnessed things no human being should. As horrific as their experiences were when deployed, so should the opposite be true for them upon their return. All of their needs should be attended to with compassion, caring, understanding, gratitude and love. I personally, am humbled by their depth of character and commitment, and grateful for their service.   The words homeless and veteran should NEVER be put together in the same sentence.

I am sure most would concur with my thoughts and feelings on our uniformed forces. Now, picture if you will, a young man or woman in Afghanistan, Iraq or Yemen, their village, school, town or city destroyed by bombs made or supplied by America. Perhaps many family and friends killed. No resources, no where to turn, few options to rebuild a life. One can easily see how such a person, or one that very much identifies with such a person, can easily fall into extremism.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not excusing the actions, merely attempting to explain them and trying to attach a human face, feelings and emotions. Too often we are quick to demonize and dismiss those we do not agree with, calling them crazy, lunatics, madman and the like.

Republican Congressman Ron Paul, on CNN’s Larry King Show, airing 12/28/09, had a rather spirited discussion with economist Ben Stein about our involvement in Yemen. You can view it on you tube or Congressman Paul’s website at http://www.campaignforliberty.com/. The Congressman asked Mr. Stein why we should be in Yemen, and his reply was to defend our allies against terrorists. The Congressman then asked why they were terrorists. Mr. Stein proceeded to demonize and dismiss the extremists, calling them crazy, lunatics, maniacal, things along that line. The conversation quickly deteriorated from there. It seems that Congressman Paul advocates removal of our troops from various regions of the Middle East. I could not agree more. There are many issues that need to be addressed right here in The United States, our troops, efforts, resources and energy can be utilized much more effectively here. I am not saying we abandon our allies, merely remove ourselves from combat mode where possible. Extremism is very much like a cancer that has metastasized throughout the human body, you can not remove it with one or two surgical procedures. As we have seen, the cancers we attempt to remove, we simply spread to other areas to regrow.  Though there are many extremists that are beyond dialog, I believe that the greater percentage would be willing to dialog with the hopes of having their needs met. As humans, we all want the same things, to be heard and validated, to love and be loved, to live in peace with freedom and the opportunity to fulfill our potential. Most become radicalized because they do not have these things and have no hope of ever obtaining them.

Not every country in the world will have the same vision of what freedom and opportunity and human rights looks like as we do. We alone, are not the world police. As former President Bill Clinton once said, “The power of our example, is far greater than an example of our power”. There are many in this country that do not have freedom, peace and opportunity. We have yet to live up to our finest ideals. Don’t get me wrong here, I would not want to live anywhere else, I love this country and am grateful I was born here. That said, just as most love their family and would not want to be born into any other, we can all acknowledge things about our family that are less than perfect, doesn’t mean we love them less. Do I have all the answers? As I have previously mentioned in other posts, not a chance. I have simply observed that what we are now doing, and have done, for far too many years, is not working. A favorite definition of mine for insanity, is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results.

Be well, Be Peace. Join the conversation!

Some days ago, the United States Senate passed health care reform by a vote of 60-40, avoiding a possible GOP filibuster. Observing the unfolding process, over the many months it took to this point, was not much different than observing a group of unruly preschoolers fighting over a new toy. But enough of my observations. What the final result will be, what the final bill will look like, is still to be determined. What I know for sure, is that health care reform is very needed. Will the final result be perfect? I highly doubt it, will it please everyone? Not a chance. But it is a start.

It has been said, that you can tell how evolved a species is, by how it treats the least among them. By this measure, we can hardly consider our species evolved. We have not even advanced to the point where we can agree not to kill each other. Whatever the issue, be it health care, the economy, global warming, poverty, violence, war or any other societal malady that plagues us, we must move beyond our basic agreements. I will explore in more detail, in future postings, what changing our agreements could look like and what benefits we would derive from doing so. One major agreement we hold, with respect to health care, is that your well being, your health, your very existence, is dependent upon the numbers in your bank account or the health care plan your employer has chosen for you. We actually agree that money, or your lack there of, can determine whether or not you live.

Health and wellness care is not a privilege, it is a right! Health care for all is not socialized, it is civilized.  Every life is significant, each one no more, or no less special than the other. We need to regard the life of another halfway across the globe, as significant as the life halfway across the room. Lovely statement, I am sure many would agree, but please, take a deep breath, and reread that last statement. We need to regard the life of another halfway across the globe, as significant as the life halfway across the room. Over several years, I have made this statement repeatedly and have been chastised for it by many of my friends and family. You see, I make such a statement fom a belief that we are all connected, we are all One. I feel every woman to be my sister, every man my brother. But enough of all that spiritual, pie in the sky, Utopian type thinking, what do I know anyway?!

Most would agree that, stricken with illness, without any hope for assistance, would significantly lessen the ability of an individual to rise to their fullest potential. How can a person possibly aspire to be the best they can if they are uncertain of their health and well being?!  One particular discussion comes to mind. Some years ago, Oprah Winfrey, opened The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Africa. A very beloved family member of mine, who suffers from various physical difficulties,   expressed their dismay that Oprah “took care of all those black kids in Africa, instead of kids here in the states”, despite the fact that Oprah has done much domestically as well.  I asked the following question, what if Ms. Winfrey would have opened this academy 20 or more years ago? What if, as a result, one of the children attending the academy would have found a cure for one of many ailments you are now dealing with? Would it still be such a bad idea for her to have done so?! Needless to say, there was not much of a coherent reply.

Seeing every life as significant need not come from a belief that we are all One. No pie in the sky, Utopian type thinking needed here at all. You can easily come from a mindset of whats in it for me, my concern is only for me and my family. Whenever an individual, group, or nation is disregarded, cast aside or in some way, shape or form, oppressed, we all lose. We are all cheated of their possible contributions to our lives. What song would they sing, what novel would they write, what disease would they cure? The poetry category of this blog contains two poems, “Brand New Day” and “I Miss You” that speak directly to this question. It is not the quality of the poems, or the lack there of that matters, it is the possibilities they present that does.

I am of the firm belief that we can cure most or all diseases, reverse global warming and cure all of our societal ills, if we would simply drop the agreement that some of us are better than others. We need to create a world that works for everyone or we will have a world that works for no one. So, in closing, care to help in creating that world? Who knows what possibilities it holds for you??

Thanks for stopping by. Be well. be peace and join the conversation!

Parts of the following was originally written for my previous website in  February of 2004. Unfortunately, it is still pertinent today.

Earlier this month (December 2009) the New York State Senate voted down a bill that would provide marriage equality for same sex and LGBT couples. Yesterday,  the New Jersey State Senate postponed a vote on the same issue. Although not officially sited as the cause, presumably, the votes to pass the measure, simply were not there.

With all the unnecessary time and energy being spent on the issue of same sex marriage/marriage equality of late, I am compelled to comment. I have heard it said from the political arena, that the sanctity of marriage is being threatened, and needs to be protected. That marriage is one of our nations most enduring institutions and must be defined as a union between a man and a woman. I have heard it said from more than one source that same sex marriage defies the laws of God.

I will attempt to address each statement. As for the sanctity of marriage being threatened, I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, I personally feel no threat whatsoever.  I do not live in fear of my marriage falling apart, because two people, who happen to be the same sex, get married. There are those, who given their way, would not allow marriage between different nationalities, races or religions. To me, this is the same thing. It is a civil rights issue, plain and simple. Besides, what right do I, or anyone else for that matter have, to tell someone who to love, or in what way to express that love.

As for marriage being one of our nation’s most enduring institutions, that needs to be defined as a union between a man and a woman. I would almost begin to listen to this argument IF the traditional male/female union was one, that was indeed, lasting and enduring. But, alas, this is not true. One look at divorce stats would tell a much different story. This is simply because the challenges, obstacles and difficulties faced in marriage are the same regardless of the sex of the people in the marriage. Indeed, they are most likely magnified in a same sex union, not because of individuals in the marriage, but the obstacles they must face from outside the marriage. There was at one time  talk of an amendment to the constitution to ban same sex marriage. I seem to remember something about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now it seems to me that if a person were denied the right to marry, that would put a wee bit of an obstacle in that pursuit.

Now on to same sex marriage being against the laws of God. There are many who will point to one Holy book or another and quote passages that condemn same sex unions. Let me explain it this way.  Its kind of  like playing a game of telephone. Tell someone a story, give them instructions, whatever you like, and have them tell someone else. Do this for a few days and with 40 or 50 people and you will find that whatever the original story was, it will have changed to some degree. Maybe a little, maybe a lot, the possibilities are endless. This is because we all perceive things through our own individual filters of experience and preference. The Holy books that will be quoted were all written thousands of years ago and have undergone who knows how many revisions. Am I saying that everything written in such books are to be discarded, not at all. I am simply questioning accuracy. One look at the sophistication of today’s communication capabilities, such as email, voicemail, cell phones, instant messaging,  and social networking sites easily illustrates my point. Even with all of these devices, we still manage misunderstandings and lack of communication. You can bet the authors of many of our Holy books were not instant messaging, emailing or facebooking pertinent information to each other on a daily basis.

A revisiting of what we consider our Holy books would benefit us greatly, let us expand upon what is contained in them, that works, and detract what does not. Just one example, for me,  a compassionate, kind,  All inclusive and unconditionally loving God, works. A judgmental, condemning and wrathful god, does not.  We have all heard stories of those among us,  that have forgiven others for the most heinous of acts perpetuated against them or their families. Most would agree, that God, the Universe, Life, Source or whatever an individual feels a part of, that is bigger than self, is greater and grander than one individual. So if one individual could forgive the most heinous of acts, how much greater would be the God of our understanding?  I feel if I believe anything less, I truly am, a child of a lesser god.

I have come to ministry to introduce others to an all inclusive, unconditionally loving and non-judgmental God. Well, allow me to introduce you. God does not care how love shows up, or what form it takes. God only cares that it does show up. And yes, “all inclusive” , does include same sex relationships.

So, in closing, should same sex marriage be legal? We all know the answer to this, its really not that hard. I will assist with a little hint, YES!!! 

Thanks for stopping by, join the conversation!

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