If only a Candidate would say this:

The speech I would love to hear:

My fellow Americans, as we move closer towards choosing the person who will represent this nation I have to take a moment and be honest with you.  There are three of us here on the democratic platform that have many of the same ideas, hopes and desires for America in the future.  We will not always agree on how best to proceed with our plans, but the important thing is that we do not get lost in the game of one-upmanship.

The two people that stand with me today are good people and have great moral character and though I sincerely want to win the nomination, I have to admit that any one of us would be a better president than the sum of all the others.

We (America) have lost our way.  We have decided that fear is much stronger than love and that defending ourselves against our enemies is of more importance than building a strong infrastructure, creating good jobs, making education and health access affordable, and eradicating poverty in our streets.

Now I know that these are only popular topics to some of our citizens, but I am willing to believe that more Americans would benefit from this type of world then would not.  What makes us strong is not our military it is our citizens.

Now this is not to say that we should not invest in our military.  Because of the world out there it is tantamount to our survival, but we must decide how much is enough and start to make smarter decisions about spending and where that money should go.

This is not about socialism either.  At least not in the definition that most people have about socialism.  It is about making sure that every American has opportunity.  Not a handout, but a hand up.  If we focus on making America stronger from the bottom up, then the next generations will have a greater shot at success.  Does that mean that we may have to take some drastic measures to equal the playing field?  YES.  It will take years, maybe even decades to reduce the effects of poverty, homelessness, and the undereducated.  It will mean sacrifices.  But these sacrifices do not have to be at the expense of the American people.  Simply diverting the monies spent on useless, outdated government projects, eliminating the flow of money from big corporations to our legislative halls and forcing the same corporations to invest in the American people instead is the quickest way to recovery.

I say to American corporations that want influence on the laws we enact, to invest in the communities that they serve.  Instead of sending lobbyists into D.C., send them into the neighborhoods to abolish hunger and unemployment.  And we are not going to ask you to not be profitable, but just be responsible.  If a CEO makes a 250 million dollar bonus in a year for making his company profitable what would 20% of that mean for jobs or education or health care?

And then there is the immigration issue.  Now I am not for barring immigrants from coming into our country.  But again, we have to be smart.  We must first provide the environment for our own citizens to thrive before opening the flood gates.  It is not about hatred of some religion or region of the world and it cannot be about fear of being attacked.  It has to be about promise.  Promise of a country whose strengths are to take care of its citizens first and then becoming global citizens second.

By doing nothing towards these ends our government has caused a passive acknowledgement that the state of the states is okay.  That our focus is better put on areas of the world that might cause us harm.

There was a time when the focus on terrorism towards the U.S. was minimal, even non-existent.   And it was back in the days when our flag on foreign soil meant respect.  But our attitudes towards other nations and their sovereignty have made us bullies in their eyes.  And what do we preach in America?  To stand up to bullies!  It’s time to retool our reputation around the world or we will soon shrink to a mere shadow of the greatness we once knew.

It is time for our conversation to stop being about fear.  And it needs to stop being about the symptoms of problems and we need to find the roots of them.  Gun violence is not about guns, it is deeper than that.  Much deeper.  It is about the lack of hope.  When you remove hope from the people you also remove the reasons to be involved in society.  You remove the desire to better ones self.  And when the government preys upon our fears then everyone becomes a potential enemy.

I want to be part of the solution, not a part of the problem.  But I cannot do it alone from the White House.  It needs to happen all across America.  The towns, the cities, the counties, and the floors of the House and Senate.  We have to elect people with a conscience.  With a desire to create a change.

But it has to start with leadership.  And that leadership begins right here.  Right from this podium.  Because I know that the strength of America lies in the strengths of its citizens.  And for America to truly be great again does not mean building a wall, targeting immigrants, or bombing the hell out of enemy outposts across the world.  It means bringing hope of a brighter future.  Right here, right now.

Insert candidates name here!

Hello, My friend.

I am going to start off by saying that I am not going to say how complicated the English language can be.  Oh well, it has been said.  But truly, we all know it.  We know how confusing words can be and the meanings that words share.  But there is one word that I have deemed the most confusing, if only in my own mind and by my own definition.  And that word is Friend.

It was during an early morning conversation with my wife that began with me mentioning my friend who happens to be a once and future restaurant mogul.  The conversation followed the usual twists and turns that my particular mind goes through and then near the end of the conversation I made some comment that I really don’t have many friends.  This brought an immediate reaction from my wife.  Her  comment was that I am always talking about ‘my friend here’ or ‘my friend there’ and yet I say that I don’t have many friends.  She was perplexed because my use of the word friend would have one believe that I have many friends.   And…I do, but let me explain.

From the other side of the shower curtain (which is where most of our pertinent conversations take place) I made the analogy of another confusing word.  I said, “I love my wife, I love my kids, and I love my dog.”  All are true, but they all have different and distinct nuances of definition.  I explained that I viewed the word ‘Friend’ in the same light.

I told her that there was the option to use the word acquaintance but that word was too vague and had an aloofness that did not correspond to any of the ‘friends’ that I have.   ‘Friend’ is very similar to the word love in that with the different levels of intimacy the word has a different connotation.   At the very least the word friend, to me, denotes the level of how I feel about a person.  On the lowest scale (which I still hold in very high regard) a friend is someone that I like as a person.  I meet them, they are kind, considerate, maybe funny, maybe intelligent, but the manner in which they conduct themselves emits a kind, gentle spirit.  This is something with which I immediately connect.  Does this mean that I will call them a friend?  Not necessarily.  Yet if I have another social chance to connect with them and we strike up a conversation and my opinion remains the same or even progresses, then I may begin to consider them a friend.  It does not mean that we have exchanged numbers or intimate stories of our lives, but the connection, based on a mutual admiration, will go a long way to establishing that base friendship.  And if we were to continue to run into each other in social situations and find we still have things to talk about, then I would begin to call them my friend.

The second level of Friend would be what my wife deemed as an associate.  This is also a person who, primarily, I like and for work or other social reasons I am privileged to interact with them on a regular basis.  My former boss in North Carolina would be someone like that.  I like him, he is kind and a gentle spirit, and we interacted for a common good through the radio station.  We would occasionally intersect our social calendars – Super Bowl at my house- Dinner at his house- but we did not hang out on a regular basis.  We shared each other’s numbers, but rarely were there calls for the kinds of “favors” that the next level of friend might share.  ( this is not limited to people with which you share a working environment, but also people that may cross your paths during the course of your work)

The third level of friend I choose to call the Commiserator.  Of course this is not a noun and therefore the word, in my copy of this document, is underlined in red, but it is a noun.  The Commiserator is the friend that you relate certain intimacies of soul.  You often vent to this friend about other friends and situations that may arise during the course of your day.  This friend is more than just a gentle, kind spirit.  This person will generally share a lot of the same philosophies and personality traits.  If you are a bit acerbic and sarcastic, then they will likely be also.  You may often find yourself defending this friend to other friends.  Maybe not revealing you’re agreement with said friend, but sometimes just taking a position that supports their view (because only the Commiserator knows you are just like them – that is the intimacy part)  The Commiserator will often know your weaknesses, because they share the same ones.  And while they may give you shit for those weaknesses, they never judge you because of them.  This is also the person that you can likely count on for a favor from time to time and will quickly return one or offer your time and energies for this person.

The fourth and final level of friend is the companion friend.  This, obviously, is likely to be your spouse or partner.  If not now at some point later.  As with the other three, you like this person for their kind spirit and gentle soul, but you also involve them, at times, in work related social functions.  You will also share with them your feelings about others, your shortcomings in yourself, and they will see most all of the faults that make you human.  You go out of your way for this person, sometimes to your own detriment, but you don’t martyr for them.  You do unselfishly because they are the ones that have your back…Always.  Even at times when they don’t agree with you.  Personality wise they are not always like you, but they often compliment you in the areas that you are not as strong.  This friend is also (generally) the most forgiving.

Friend.  It’s a weird word and there is a lot of room for alternate interpretations.  Feel free to explore your own ideas on the subject.   

Philosophize this...

I saw a beautiful new Chevrolet Corvette on the showroom floor of a local Chevy dealer.  Of course I was not in the market for such a car, but I could not help but admire it for its beauty.

It had the sleekest lines I had ever seen on a car.  The way the body was molded looked like it could weave through space and time.  A two person futuristic cockpit that could travel to other dimensions better than any DeLorean could.  Its color was deep and shiny and not only could I see my reflection in the layers of paint I could also see the image of a man dreaming of maneuvering through the ages…from birth to the present.

While I was there I decided to get in and position myself in the driver’s seat and I could tell that in its motionless state it could protect me through whatever course I would direct it.  The dashboard was like a space vehicle and the stereo could play the latest jams while I was blasting through time and space.

I retrieved the manual from the glove box and began to read about the upgrades and options that were available for this model.  Braking, steering, engine, suspension, and the like and I began to imagine what each of those upgrades would feel like as I was hugging the curves or speeding down the highway. 

I remembered the most exciting rides I had ever taken in an automobile and simply changed the vehicle to upgrade the experience…

But as I sat in this beautiful piece of machinery I began to realize that there is no amount of imagination or transference or previous experience that can translate to what it would actually be like to take this beast down the road and feel the engine, steering wheel, and the suspensions react to my guidance.  While my belief was that I could somehow imagine what it would be like, I would never be able to duplicate the experience in my mind without having the actual experience in my memory.

You can dream all you want about things.  You can read all the great philosophers.  You can subscribe to whatever school of thought you want, but until you get off your ass and experience life and the joys and pains, the success and failures, you will never be able to truly understand the meaning and purpose of life.   Spend your life with your head in a book and you will only know a portion of a thought of a person who is likewise flawed.  Grab the keys and take life on a test drive!  Blow the doors off and blast into this world with respect for others you encounter along the way, but still with some modicum of reckless abandon.

Otherwise life is just a Vet on a showroom floor.

Sitting at a bar, Drinking a beer...

You learn a lot when you sit at a bar with a beer and just keep your mouth shut.  For one thing you realize how stupid alcohol can make otherwise intelligent people.  Or not.  Since I did not know the person sitting beside me I have no idea whether or not he was smart before the alcohol kicked in.  but he was having a conversation with an elderly lady about the two newsworthy stories yesterday.  Obama giving the eulogy for the pastor shot and killed in Charleston with 8 others, and the Supreme Court decision on Gay Marriage.  It was quite obvious that he was not a fan of either while the lady was impressed with both.  But somewhere in the conversation he commented that 'today was the end of democracy in America.'  And I was thinking that perhaps I, myself, do not have a complete understanding of what democracy is, but this is how the conversation went in my head:

“You’re an idiot.  If this were a true democracy, I might agree with you, but the reality is that we generally don’t put things to a ‘vote of the people’ because that is why we have representatives.  In a republic, we send people to Washington, D.C. to speak for us.  And they do our bidding with the caveat that there is a constitution that has to be considered in all laws that we enact.”  I think the architects of the constitution were very thorough, but still, there was no accounting for progress.

Here is what I think is the real issue.  We are at a shift in thought in our country where people are beginning to realize the importance of equality.  Gender, racial, lifestyle, etc, but the representation hasn’t caught on to it…yet.  One of the reasons is that the people we are sending to represent us, for the most part, are career politicians.  And if I were to define ‘career politician’ I would have to include the phrase ‘out of touch with regular folks.’  Another reason is that there are millions of people with thousands of different ideas on issues that are not always cut and dry and that there are not enough people in congress to adequately represent all of us.  But that muddies it even more, because to rectify it would require growing government.

Do you see the dilemma?  I certainly do.  And  honestly I have no idea how to fix it.  But we have to be conscious of the needs of the people.  All the people.  We the people.

Perhaps if I had had more than one beer I could have added to his conversation…thank God I only had one.

The greatest of these is Love!

I lived in South Carolina for many years.  I went to college there and I worked and played there over the past many years. (since 1979)

In the early 70’s there were no black students at the university I attended.  They were not allowed.  It was a “Christian” university.  When blacks were finally allowed, there were rules in place to separate the blacks from whites by not allowing interracial dating.  That was not limited to blacks and whites, but also Asian, and Indian (India).  They justified it by using bible verses that talk about how races should be separate.

(for a complete understanding of the ignorance go to: http://www.drslewis.org/camille/2013/03/15/is-segregation-scriptural-by-bob-jones-sr-1960/)

Now I assure you that upon my arrival at this university I was unaware of the discrimination of races that were not white and I was completely immersed in this new religion that I had found after stepping away from Catholicism.  It wasn’t a main topic of conversation.  The brunt of the pressure had been eased in 1971 when BJU began accepting black applicants.  This was in no way willingly or philosophically in line with their beliefs, it was to avoid losing its tax status with the IRS.

While studying there I began to see the heavily racist attitude that was meant to be kept buried in the ‘good works’ that the university was selling to the public, yet at no time were there any doubts as to its stance on race.  But I have a strong suspicion that the university did not end up in South Carolina by accident.  It began in Florida, was resurrected in Tennessee, and finally found a permanent home in Carolina.  It gave honorary doctorates to the likes of George Wallace and Strom Thurmond.  But this was their culture…and it was in line with the states practices.

The idea of the flag of the Confederacy being about heritage, not hate has no basis in reality, it is merely what people say to justify their beliefs.  I mean blacks are an extremely important part of the Heritage of the south, but you will never see a black man or woman in a pick-up truck with a giant confederate flag waving from the bed.

The “black race” has taken nothing away from our culture, but has enriched it and made it fuller.  And the idea that the color of one’s skin makes them less of a person, or someone to be feared or repressed is just insane.  God is not a respecter of persons.  God does not see color like humans see color.  Jesus wasn’t a ‘white guy.’  Sorry if that bursts your bubble, but if Jesus were here today, many people (not all) in South Carolina wouldn’t even talk to him and would likely judge him based on the color of his skin.

It’s time to teach our children Love and acceptance, not hate and fear. 

A load of Crap!

Would you ever go up to Deepak Chopra after he finished speaking and ask “so who taught you that?”

Maybe not.  But how many times can you remember having an “AHA” moment, said something profound to another person or group and they say: “where did you hear that?” And because it originated in your mind, you have no chapter and verse that you can reference.  But perhaps you attribute to something or someone anyway because an insecurity says that it is easier to believe if someone of “importance” said it first.

I see it all the time on the internet and especially on Facebook.  You will see a meme that has a picture of Einstein, or Lincoln, or Ghandi, and it has a quotation that you have never before heard attributed to any of those people, and yet you believe it.  When in reality, someone had a great thought and figured it would be better received, and believed, if a famous person said it.

The fact is (I write tongue in cheek) is that nothing has value unless someone of importance is spouting it.  The Truth, however, is not the case.  There are wise people living quiet existences all over the world, and if it were only possible for them to be famous, even for just the moment when they say what it is that would inspire us, we would all be the better.

If it’s true, or rings true to your soul, does it really matter who says it?  If you have an enemy, and they say something life changing do you just throw your hand up, shout pffft, and ignore them?

I encourage you to listen. Please listen!  Listen with an open mind and an open heart.  And it doesn’t matter who is talking.  Old people, parents, single people, married people, teenagers, children.  Listen.

If you lay a seed in the sun it will not grow.  The sun alone will kill it.  If you soak it in water, in the dark, it may sprout, but it will never bear fruit.  If you stick it in sterile ground it will also come to naught.

Life, as well as plants, need many external influences to make it grow.  And even when you think that someone else is just spewing a load of crap…remember…fertilizer is a load of crap!

It's all been done (apologies to Barenaked Ladies)

I don’t know what it is about the wee hours of the night just before I fall off to sleep that brings out a creative surge in me.  Unfortunately for you, I do not get up at that time and head to my computer to write it down, so instead you are left with the dregs of a foggy morning brain.

But I will try…

Since the idea has been put in the mind of humans over many years (certainly within my lifetime) that there is nothing new under the sun, that there are no new thoughts, I began to ponder the reason for thinking at all.  If it has all been said and postulated it there any reason at all to continue?

Well, I don’t know who started spreading that crap around, but the reality is that until something is discovered and put to use it still has the good fortune to be considered new.  And thought is the one area that is the most excused for “not” being new.

In the 5^th century BCE a guy left his mansion and set out to discover what the world really looked like and what part he played in it.  He learned of peace, love, harmony, and the importance of treating others the way he would want to be treated.  He was pretty famous.  But then came along another guy, 500+ years later saying the same things and he became the figurehead of the largest religions (Christianity) in the world…but his message was the same. 

Balk at it all you want, but most learned scholars would be able to stand them side by side and compare more than contrast.

The thing is that preachers of peace are the fundamental basis for all that is good in the world, yet when you think of the religions that they have spawned (more indirectly than hands-on), they are based more on making every one believe their specific story and discounting all the rest.  Then comes dissension and then comes war.

Who out there believes that the basis for most (if not all) wars have a religious undertone?  Yes it’s true that resources are also a large factor, but have you ever heard someone argue “we are ________, the children of God, and so anyone not subscribing to our beliefs are infidels (sinners) and deserve to be proselytized?  I have, over and over.  Every race and creed have had it said to them at one time or another and many have been ‘made’ to observe in that time too.

There are no governmental answers to this problem.  They are personal and must be dealt with by each person as they, hopefully, become enlightened…even if only a little.