So I sit listening to the circular
background logic of the television's words. A pastor is emphatically
weeding out the reasons the otherwise soulful person should establish
a relationship with God. Yes—the big capital G. There is only one
out there in our hemisphere and we are all best obliged to know it.
He was no evangelist. There was no apparent ulterior motive, just a
wandering minstrel trying to make the world a better place.
Wrestling Dogmas
His words have an effect that they
would not have had a week ago. When I first heard of the terrorist
attacks in Paris (the city that has played host to more than one
peace talk), I thought of how the extremist groups are perverting
Islam. This guy on TV was pounding Christianity into his pulpit. The
lunatics on the trains and in the theaters have somehow figure that
the mixed message of Allah or Christ at some point meet. Now I
subscribe to neither of these schools of thought, but I always
thought the message each prophet was driving at was fairly simple,
unambiguous—love your neighbor. Don't pitch a hand grenade
into their backyard or come at them in a coat of many explosives.
Navigating Straits Of America
The world is crying out for love. Who
is going to give it to them—Hilary or Donald, Bernie or Jeb? And
then Des Moines sat poised as the candidates' heads bowed. A moment of
silence for Paris began the heated debate of the Democratic
candidates narrowed to three—Clinton, Sanders, and former Governor
of Maryland Martin O'maley. Of the three, Senator Bernie Sanders,
D-Vermont, is the only one who consistently speaks of morality. He is
the only one who reiterates regularly that he did not vote for the
Iraq War. It was immoral—like Vietnam—in that our invasion was
totally an offensive action based on suspicion of WMD (weapons of
mass destruction). It was not voted on by congress, it eventually
required what amounted to a mock draft, and opened the door to much
of what we now see in places like Paris. Sanders saw that. He is
Jewish and older than his opponents, yet he espouses ideals with
which that pastor on TV would likely agree.
Remember words of door mice
Bernie Sander's visions are not too
far fetched, nor is the docilely dogmatic wisdom of the pastor.
Health Care, a right to get it in order to continue pursuing
happiness seems in line, both in the biblical and the constitutional
sense. The wealthiest paying their fair share just might fit into
the puzzle that is America, a nation that declared their independence with the words“all
men created equal.” It has ever since played tug of war with those
that fell in the cracked lines of that phrase. Clinton and O'maley
don't spell it out as boldly. The G.O.P—forget about it. The
pastoral wisdom is quiet as a church mouse on a stage of any
Republican debate.
The chosen one
And an elderly Jew shall lead. ..
Sanders has an impish chutzpah that puts America in a nutshell. Here's
where we are, and have been for the past two and a half centuries,
and here is where we should be—morally. Here is where most wealthy
countries of the world are, and here we are, denying people health
care because of “pre-existing conditions,” letting children
starve, or paying to keep military in countries to the point where it
detracts from budgets to fight present or future foes when we could
easily do better.
Born by the minute
Thanks Governor O'maley. Donald Trump
is a immigrant-hating carnival barker. I could not have said it
better. He wants to deport 12,000,000 immigrants; illegal,
undocumented aliens? Is he insane? Has homeland security been
notified? What will this do to our economy? I doubt in the long-run
it could have a positive effect. No Mr. Trump, it is not
cost-effective. Such an imposed exodus would cost billions and leave
Trump holding what—a key to a door on his wall and the uniforms of
people that might have worked in his hotels and casinos? To Trump it
appears it is a shell game and freedom and the message America has
fought to convey are the peas. Keep your eyes on the Ferris Wheel as
the sun sets behind Trump's tiare of road-kill, listen for he calliope to
reach a fevered pitch, that's when he'll nudge the ring-toss higher, out
of reach.
So their I sit on my third Sunday in
November. My clocks have been set back and I am confident knowing my
relationship with my god is intact. I caught an earful of the pastor
jabbering in the back before I went on with my day. I think of the
violence in the world and the big pictures Bernie and the pastor
paint. Wall Street does not comprise capitalism and two and a half
centuries of inequality can't be reversed by legislation. But still
look out for that side show barker, the Harold Hill of the G.O.P who
points out the troubles in River cities
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