Small Things Count

It happens, within families and friendships, acquaintances and strangers. Today’s Thursday Thought quote offers some reflection on how we handle it.

A thought-provoking article appeared on my phone’s newsfeed from HuffPost:  6 Psychologically Damaging Things Parents Say to their Kids Without Realizing It.  We hear (and say?) them often.  This article explains why they’re damaging and what we can say instead.  Click on the title to link to it. To sum up, though, here they are.

1. “It’s not a big deal.”

2. “You never” or “You always do XYZ.”

3. “You make me sad when you do that.”

4. “You should know better.”

5. “Just let me do it.”

6. “You’re a [insert label here].”

I’m no longer saying “As American as apple pie,” because I’ve learned that apple pie ISN’T so American!  The first apple pie recipe (1381) appeared in an English cookbook, and apple tarts and pies were common late 14^th century in England.   English poets wrote about them.  In the 1600s, those pies became popular in France, Italy, and Germany.  But apple trees didn’t come to America until later, making our apples not even native to our land.  Then it took extensive pollination, which was only accomplished after a length of time, when European honey bees were introduced to America.  If it hadn’t been for the legend of Johnny Appleseed spreading seeds, that phrase probably would never have been coined.  By the way, his mission was to grow crabapples to make into hard cider, not apples for food.

Eventually, Swedish, Dutch, and English immigrants introduced apple pies to their new home.  During off-growing season, pies could be baked thanks to Pennsylvania Dutch women, who, in the 1700s, devised a way to preserve apples.  At that point, Americans declared that apple pie was a unique product of American ingenuity.

Obviously, we know a good thing when we steal, er, see it.

Do you unwittingly donate to a hate group?  You can’t always tell by their names. Examples: Christian Revival Center, Free American, Israel United in Christ, Vineland Clothing, Family Research Council, and Insight USA.  These are among the 917 Hate Groups identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as currently active in our country.

To find out which ones operate in your state, look at the list of hate groups by state.

Identifying them is the first step. Not supporting them is the second step.  Eradicating them and all they stand for is the ultimate step.

Today’s Thursday Thought quote, although from the famous “Anonymous,” just struck me as a good way to live. Yes, it’s chance-taking, probably making us a little more vulnerable. Or is it just getting away from acting based mostly on what other people think? If enough people lived this way — imagine!

“Care more than others think necessary. Trust more than others think wise. Serve more than others think practical. Expect more than others think possible.”

Since the government is now taking more seriously unidentified crafts zipping and hovering in our skies, I thought this cartoon might be a timely warning:

Many of the flea-treatment products we buy for our pets, such as flea collars, contain tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP), a pesticide that can harm our pets and cause irreversible harm to a child’s brain development, increasing the risk of learning disabilities. The products are designed to leave behind chemical residue to kill fleas and ticks, so anyone that touches the pet—or any furniture that the pet has rubbed against—can absorb the dangerous neurotoxin through their skin or get it in their mouth. NRDC has convinced PetSmart and Petco to stop selling products containing TCVP—now it’s time to get these other major retailers on board. Send a message to the CEOs of Walmart and Target urging them to ​remove these dangerous products from their store shelves and website! [from the Natural Resources Defense Council].

Target and Walmart are still selling these products. Go to https://act.nrdc.org/letter/6003-tcvp-retail-210625?source=act_nrdcnewsletter&tkd=2263193&utm_source=newsletterneca&utm_medium=mainlinkca&utm_campaign=email&t=5&akid=15034%2E2263193%2EdZSeph and read the rest of the article. Then sign the petition to CEOs of Walmart and Target to get them to take these harmful products off of their shelves.

I woke today to a wonderful piece of news: Attorney General Garland has re-set a moratorium on federal executions. Under our previous administration, that moratorium was lifted after 20 years and 13 people (including the first woman to be executed in 70 years) had their death penalties carried out.

Garland’s reasoning is sound. He wants to take a good, hard look at why the poor and minorities are executed most often, at the chemicals and other aspects of the execution process, and at why so many people have been exonerated too late, after their death sentence has been carried out. These are not moral issues, debating whether or not death is a moral sentence — “eye for an eye” of the Old Testament was replaced by Jesus’ commandments and example. It’s very practical, and human.

I hope we get answers so that, should the death penalty be reinstated, it would be ONLY on the basis of fairness and surity of guilt.

We all do it. We try to do everything, be everything. The result is that we’re so busy and stressed that we’re no good to ourselves or those around us. Today’s Thursday Thought quote/picture is worth taping to our bathroom mirror so we can repeat it each morning.