First of all, the Pope is visiting the United States. Next month it will be the Dalai Lama. The words of these two men will impact many, perhaps for a short time, perhaps for longer. People tend to make a big deal out of such things and then just get on with getting on, doing what they do for good or for ill.
Second, being as I'm an American and my family has been since the founding of the United States of America, I can't bring myself to ignore what's going on in this nation. See, we don't have a Pope to guide us; we don't have a Dalai Lama. We'll listen to what they have to say, but they aren't 'ours' so to speak. Some of us will listen harder, pay closer attention, try a little more to understand what they're trying to tell us - but ... well ... only some of us are Catholic and even fewer are Buddhist. We're a conglomerate of all sorts of peoples here. That's what this nation is all about, after all, or is supposed to be. People who believe in Family, Friends, Freedom, the Future, and have Faith that a way will be found to fuse all of us into a united country.
I think most everybody tends to forget how really young we are as a nation, only a couple of hundred years. Compared to most of the rest of our world, we are incredibly diverse - and we are young as a nation. We are working to figure out how our Constitutional Republic is supposed to function. Our founders gifted us with a legacy, and the instructions as to how to use it. We as a People haven't been paying real close attention to what they told us. As challenges arise, that's changing a little. But this isn't going to be about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or the Federalist Papers.
I'm puzzling in my mind the reactions to those who are coming within our borders.
Now, on the one hand we've got millions of refugees who need a place of safety. On the other hand, here in the USA, we've got many more millions who are just coming on in without being invited.
Some of us are saying we ought to close our borders completely, find and evict those who are just barging in on us, and not let anybody else in until we've taken care of our own current citizens. Heaven knows we've got plenty of internal issues among us that could use a sorting out.
Others say to kick out the illegals and use the resources we've been spending on them to first of all help our own and secondly to help those who are seeking sanctuary in the legitimate use of the concept, asking for and coming in only when given permission by the People of the United States.
And that's only the tip of the iceberg. We are fussin' and feudin' among our own selves over this, that, and the other thing. Different folks have different views on all kinds of things, and they're all strong in their opinions. It's been that way since the dawn of mankind. You'd think we'd have figured out how to manage ourselves by now, make allowances for people who don't see things in exactly the same way we do, and get on with developing our culture in a way that makes sense.
*laughing*
Right.
What makes perfect sense to one person is another person's idea of insanity.
# 2015 09 26
I found out that both China and Russia (their heads of state) are going to be meeting with our own in short order although not at the same time. Would it not be a good thing for both the Pope and Dalai Lama to sit down with them and a few other heads of state at the same table and come up with some solutions?
Separation of church and state is not a bad thing, and I'm not advocating by any means a return to the bad old days when it was otherwise. Even so, I can't help but think it wouldn't hurt anything to throw in a couple of other perspectives. When it comes to that, add Cousin Rick to the mix. He's rich, and an atheist; his perspective might come in handy, too. For that matter, it would be a fine idea to take along a couple of ordinary citizens ... you know, the ones who have to live with the consequences of whatever the 'leaders' choose to do.
Back on topic ... I was reading the other day about the hissy fits people were having back when the Scots and Irish were coming over in big numbers. Some wanted to shut that down, too. Fortunately, things were a little different then; there was a lot of space to expand. But it wasn't all peaches and roses by a long shot and that's a kind of sad fact.
And so I'm reminded of something we tend to forget about. There was a time when such things as 'Orphan Trains' were running. If you don't know about them, look it up. The cities in the east loaded up kids onto trains and sent them west. Many found good homes; some found a lot of really hard work - or was it the other way around? I guess that depends on which perspective you're looking at it from.
Then there were the WPA projects ... make-work for people in need of jobs. A lot of building got done. My Grandad helped to build a railroad; it wasn't in his home state, but he went and did it. And so our family had a little money and a big job got done. The fairgrounds of the county I live in has a beautiful stone building that got built at that time - we use it for all kinds of things.
Am I still on topic?
Yes.
In the past we've found or created solutions to problems. Maybe they weren't ideal solutions but they seem to have at least done a little good along the way.
Populations that weren't particularly welcomed by what was then the 'mainstream' have ended up becoming many of the vertebrae of our backbone, not to mention the strong body attached to that strong back.
What the heck.
It is my considered opinion that Louis L'Amour ought to be required reading, and Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Oh I forgot.
We don't read any more.
Well then, somebody ought to make movies out of all of the books of those authors, the ones that haven't already been done - and require us all to watch them if we won't read the books.
It would remind those of us who have forgotten, and inform those who have never known, what this nation is supposed to be all about and that freedom comes with a price tag. It would also serve to introduce our nation and our culture to those who wish to join us, so they have some kind of idea about where we've come from.
No, it isn't necessarily where we're at right now, but for the vast majority of us those books are pretty good indicators of the families whose strengths built this nation. It's only fair to those who come here to know sort of what they're getting themselves into. Don't forget, we're a fairly new nation. Our roots are closer than a body might think.
And I'll get off my soapbox now. I've got a lot of firewood to gather if I don't want to freeze to death during this coming Dakota Long Dark. It's time to put my work boots on and pick up my chain saw.
Even us little old gramma ladies, in these here parts, do what needs doing when it needs doing. There are times when others might pitch in and give us a hand, but we sure as heck don't expect someone else to do every last little thing for us. My young daughter and I re-wired this house. We painted it. We plumbed it. We shingled it. We built a stout fence. Now I'm going to see to it that I can keep myself halfway warm this winter. Those steel-toed work boots in that photo didn't get into the condition they're in by sitting around on a shelf doing nothing. My sister's work boots look about the same - and you should see her work coveralls.
I think my point here with all this blathering about firewood and such (aside from the procrastination factor) is that unless you're ready, willing, and able to wear out a pair of steel-toed work boots you might not quite realize the standards this nation was built on and might want to think about that a little (no, think about it a LOT) if you want to call yourself an American.
