Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A day set aside to be grateful for all that we have. Not that we can’t be grateful on any other day, but we really need to be reminded of what we take for granted.
We take our lives for granted.
We take our freedoms for granted.
We take our loved ones for granted.
>Warning – about to delve into Brenda’s mind – this ain’t going to be a Hallmark Thanksgiving Blog<
There is a song called ‘Who Says’ by John Mayer. The first line goes “Who says I can’t get stoned?” When I heard it for the first time, I thought, “When did the term ‘get stoned’ go from being stoned to death to getting high?”
A quick Google search of stoned to death reveals the following:
Nov. 17, 2009 Islamist rebels publicly stoned a woman, Haliimo Ibraahim Abdurrahman, 29, to death and flogged a man 100 times for alleged adultery in southern Somalia.
November 6, 2009 Islamists in southern Somalia have stoned a man to death for adultery but spared his pregnant girlfriend until she gives birth. Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was killed in front of a crowd of some 300 people in the port town of Merka. An official from the al-Shabab group said the woman would be killed after she has had her baby.
Oct. 27, 2008 Mogadishu, Somalia - A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said. Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo.
Note the dates.
This is happening in our world.
This is happening now.
Tomorrow, when you are feasting, take a moment to remember Haliimo Ibraahim Abdurrahman, Abas Hussein Abdirahman, and Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow.
Don’t take your life for granted.
Don’t take your freedoms for granted.
Don’t take your loved ones for granted.
Go to http://www.stop-stoning.org/node/7 and see what you can do to stop this human rights abuse.
"As long as anyone is deprived of their human rights, none of us can be free." - Harriet Wacks
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Selfless
A friend recently posted this quote on Facebook: "Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde
This quote clarified for me the difference between being self-centered and being selfish.
A self-centered person thinks only of their own wants and needs. It is like someone saying, “I want cake and I want it now!”
A selfish person extends their thoughts out to include others, but only so that they can control them. They would say, “You and I are having cake now.”
An unselfish person would say, “I have some cake, would you like some?”
A selfless person would say, “What do you want?”
At our best, humans are selfless.
It is easy to fall into the selfish trap. We experience the world through our senses and assume that everyone shares our view. If I am hungry or tired, then you must be too.
Another friend posted this quote; “We see people and things not as they are, but as we are.”(Citation unsure)
This is the crux of the problem.
I remember when Julie was a baby and could not talk, if I was cold, then I thought she must be too. And while there may have been some truth to the fact of it being cool, she may have been just fine.
The question becomes how do we see things as they are? How do we get outside ourselves and become our best? How to get out of this trap and put someone else’s needs and wants before our own?
Good questions.
This quote clarified for me the difference between being self-centered and being selfish.
A self-centered person thinks only of their own wants and needs. It is like someone saying, “I want cake and I want it now!”
A selfish person extends their thoughts out to include others, but only so that they can control them. They would say, “You and I are having cake now.”
An unselfish person would say, “I have some cake, would you like some?”
A selfless person would say, “What do you want?”
At our best, humans are selfless.
It is easy to fall into the selfish trap. We experience the world through our senses and assume that everyone shares our view. If I am hungry or tired, then you must be too.
Another friend posted this quote; “We see people and things not as they are, but as we are.”(Citation unsure)
This is the crux of the problem.
I remember when Julie was a baby and could not talk, if I was cold, then I thought she must be too. And while there may have been some truth to the fact of it being cool, she may have been just fine.
The question becomes how do we see things as they are? How do we get outside ourselves and become our best? How to get out of this trap and put someone else’s needs and wants before our own?
Good questions.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veterans Day
Today is Veterans Day. It is a day we take time to Thank ALL the veterans that have served and are currently serving in the armed forces. We remember the sacrifices that they made and the sacrifices made by their families.
There are many who live their lives as if no fighting was going on. I admit, I was one. Until my cousin Jake went off to war. Then my brother-in-law Allen was deployed and it really hit home.
These young men left their girlfriends in order to do what was right.
They postponed educational opportunities in order to serve their country.
They risked their lives.
Now, you may or may not agree with the current war in Iraq. And you may argue about the strategies that are or are not being done in Afghanistan. And you may believe that all war is wrong and there is never a good reason to fight. But today isn’t the day to argue about the merits of war.
Today is the day to realize that, because men and women have been willing to sacrifice what they may want in order to serve the nation, we are free. We can speak freely. We can believe freely. We have so much in this country that we take for granted. Sure the system isn’t perfect, but we don’t worry about bombs falling on our homes at night. We don’t worry about being stoned if we show our ankles in public. We send our sons and daughters off to be educated. We grab our guns and go out and get our venison. We get to keep all our fingers when we vote.
All because of the selfless sacrifices made by some of our fellow citizens.
Today is the day when we stand as one nation and say “THANK YOU!”
My personal “Thank you” goes out to: Allen Komarinski, Jake Komarinski, David Hering, Alan Hering, Chris De Beaucourt, Rick Shinkle, Patrick Kerbin, Betty Ruschmeier, and Steve Ruschmeier.
(For all my Engrish friends out there - Per Wikipedia: The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.[2] ^ Sherry, Kristina (2007-11-09). "Apostrophe sparks Veterans Day conundrum". Columbia Missourian. http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/11/09/apostrophe-sparks-veterans-day-conundrum/.)
There are many who live their lives as if no fighting was going on. I admit, I was one. Until my cousin Jake went off to war. Then my brother-in-law Allen was deployed and it really hit home.
These young men left their girlfriends in order to do what was right.
They postponed educational opportunities in order to serve their country.
They risked their lives.
Now, you may or may not agree with the current war in Iraq. And you may argue about the strategies that are or are not being done in Afghanistan. And you may believe that all war is wrong and there is never a good reason to fight. But today isn’t the day to argue about the merits of war.
Today is the day to realize that, because men and women have been willing to sacrifice what they may want in order to serve the nation, we are free. We can speak freely. We can believe freely. We have so much in this country that we take for granted. Sure the system isn’t perfect, but we don’t worry about bombs falling on our homes at night. We don’t worry about being stoned if we show our ankles in public. We send our sons and daughters off to be educated. We grab our guns and go out and get our venison. We get to keep all our fingers when we vote.
All because of the selfless sacrifices made by some of our fellow citizens.
Today is the day when we stand as one nation and say “THANK YOU!”
My personal “Thank you” goes out to: Allen Komarinski, Jake Komarinski, David Hering, Alan Hering, Chris De Beaucourt, Rick Shinkle, Patrick Kerbin, Betty Ruschmeier, and Steve Ruschmeier.
(For all my Engrish friends out there - Per Wikipedia: The holiday is commonly printed as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements. While these spellings are grammatically acceptable, the United States government has declared that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling.[2] ^ Sherry, Kristina (2007-11-09). "Apostrophe sparks Veterans Day conundrum". Columbia Missourian. http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/11/09/apostrophe-sparks-veterans-day-conundrum/.)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Equality
So Maine rejected same-sex marriage. State by state, marriage laws vary. It should be consistent across the country.
We are regulating a group of people to a less than full person status. We may not come out and say that homosexuals are 3/5ths of a person, but that is how they are treated. Once again, we are falling short of the ‘All are created equal’ stance that we Americans claim to have.
There are those who would be quick to point out bible verses for why they think homosexuals deserve to be treated as less than. But we must put all religion aside because the United States of America is a secular government. By declaring that the Hindus across the street are free to be Hindus, the Jews down the street are free to be Jews, the Muslims on the next block are free to be Muslims, the Buddhists that are our dear friends are free to be Buddhist, and that I am free to worship in a Christian church and believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ, then we have declared that the United States of America is Not governed by the beliefs espoused by ANY religion.
The United States of America MUST treat ALL its citizens with equality. And if the USA decides that it needs to continue being in the business of marriage, then this must be presented to all equally. Regardless of race, gender, or creed.
We are regulating a group of people to a less than full person status. We may not come out and say that homosexuals are 3/5ths of a person, but that is how they are treated. Once again, we are falling short of the ‘All are created equal’ stance that we Americans claim to have.
There are those who would be quick to point out bible verses for why they think homosexuals deserve to be treated as less than. But we must put all religion aside because the United States of America is a secular government. By declaring that the Hindus across the street are free to be Hindus, the Jews down the street are free to be Jews, the Muslims on the next block are free to be Muslims, the Buddhists that are our dear friends are free to be Buddhist, and that I am free to worship in a Christian church and believe in the saving power of Jesus Christ, then we have declared that the United States of America is Not governed by the beliefs espoused by ANY religion.
The United States of America MUST treat ALL its citizens with equality. And if the USA decides that it needs to continue being in the business of marriage, then this must be presented to all equally. Regardless of race, gender, or creed.
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