There is no explanation

/in /by

Ever wonder why we even exist?  I do.  But there are no answers.  No explanation. Nothing.

So then I wonder “where we are going?” on this journey through life.  And I marvel at how man has developed life, with its many inconvient complications and unintended consequences.

Despite whether one agrees or disagrees with our evolvement, here we are, in all our glory, so to speak.

“America” has been tossed around a lot, and what many fail to understand is that we are not just a nation, we are an idea, conceived by those who sought freedom from tyranny, freedom from government, freedom from oppression. And we achieved it.  Now what?

Now it appears we in danger of going full circle, and losing what others fought for and gifted us.  The men who established our country knew this was a risk, and forewarned of it, but unfortunately, we humans have short memories.  And our foes count on that.

I take our freedom seriously, especially in light of Russia’s aggression, Syria’s unrest, ISIS, Hamas attacks against Israel and the resulting battle.  This is a very serious time we live in, and to my dismay, many do not seem to recognize this. Recently, a young FaceBook friend lamented politics being posted on Facebook.  Politics! The one thing that has the power to control your life, and this youth and others want to avoid discussing it?  Are we a world gone mad?

There simply is no explanation for such irreverence, except innocence (in the case of the very young) or ignorance (in the case of the not-so-young).

There is a good book out now – Things That Matter, by Charles Krauthammer.  I can only hope people will read this book, and others, that encourage the study and examination of politics in the name of freedom.

If we do ultimately lose our freedoms to those who wish to oppress us, there will be no good explanation except laziness.  There will be a new way of life, one that none of us imagined possible in our current reality of a free lifestyle, but make no mistake, we will regret we were not diligent with our politics.

It is moments such as these, when these thoughts whirl around my brain such that I cannot sleep, that I am glad I am older and on my way out. It is painful to watch the masses elbow or crowd out the ideas our country was founded on.  Personal liberties, freedoms and responsibilities are being traded for self-indugencies and dependencies.  I fear we are the spoiled child, and it is only when we are denied our blessings that we will realize the error in our ways.  I also fear that at that time, it may be too late, and we will be submerged in a long, dark period.

And while there is no explanation of this – I do hope for a new youth that will rise up before too long, and bring political discussions back to the dinner table and the coffee houses, and the forefront of our national conversation. We need to keep a firm grip on matters that shape our nation.

CSPAN – not your usual soundbite

/in , /by

I love CSPAN. Can’t get enough of it. When my husband is traveling, I have it on all the time. When he is home, I watch it in snippets.  At the gym, I always get one of the channels tuned to CSPAN 1 2 or 3.  But come the weekend, I watch it in batches.

On the weekend, Booktv.org is aired, and this show features non-fiction writers. Their stories are fascinating. For example, we just watched Catherine Neal on her book about the Tyco Executive who was sent to prison for a number of felony charges tied to compensation. Ms. Neal, who is an Associate Professor of Business Ethics and Business Law, often used the case as a case-study for her students, but often times was left with feeling she didn’t fully understand what the wrong-doing actually was. She used her sabbatical time (plus) to investigate, and her findings are outstanding. Here is a snippet http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2014/01/17/truth-and-justice-eluded-former-tyco-execs-kozlowski-and-swartz/.  When you hear her discuss her research on BookTV.org, you first feel incredulous, then almost fearful, as it can happen to any one of us – regardless of race, gender, or religion.  All it takes is some class-envy and complexities beyond the normal complexities one might encounter when purchasing a house.  Here is the link to her Booktv.org interview.  If the video is unavailable, as it sometimes is, the interview will next be aired again in a few days, March 29th.

Then there was the interview for the book titled ‘A Nation of Cowards; Black Activism in the Obama’s post-racial America‘.  The title came from  Eric Holder’s 2009 speech, and while I am not a fan of Mr. Holder’s, I am beholden to these authors for their succinct insights and remarks on race and racism in America.  I found the interview with Mr. Ikard and Mr.  Teasley interesting enough that I ordered their book and am in the process of reading it.  Very insightful.  Their interview can be seen here: http://booktv.org/Watch/15467/BookTV+in+Tallahassee+Florida.aspx

When I share these experiences with others, I am amazed no one even knows about BookTV, much less how great CSPAN is.  I must confess I myself was under-informed prior to my retirement, but now, having discovered this wonderful source of unfiltered information about our nation, our country as it is happening on the Hill,  I am beside myself with enthusiasm.

It is this enthusiasm that drives me to my computer to write this little blog, when in these quiet early-morning hours, I could be elsewhere, doing more self-indulgent things.  I urge all to listen the proceedings in the Senate and the House whenever you can (google CSPAN LIVE to stream or go to http://www.c-span.org/schedule/ to find your local listings, (mine are 350 and 351 for DirectTV in my area), then compare what you heard to the soundbites we are fed via MSNBC and FoxNews.  You will soon realize how much we are being spoon-fed by our system, and hopefully this realization will have many of us seeking stronger information sources so that we may form our own opinion, and not parrot someone else’s opinion.  One final note, a good news agency I have found is The Hill.  Try it, and evaluate their information for yourself.  TheHill.com

Happy learning!