Family is the most complicated relationship on earth. They’re the people we most love, yet the people who irritate us the most. And they’re right there at home, handy for us to take out our rotten day on. Sociologists say that how we treat each other in our family reflects how we treat everyone else. If we’re loving and forgiving within our family, we’ll likely extend that not only to our friends but into our attitude toward strangers across the country and in other hemispheres. If we’re ready to fight within our family, we’re eager to get into conflicts and wars elsewhere. You get the idea. Then, what small step can you take, what little change in your patience, attitude, or treatment of family members? Only you will know the answer. Look at your family and yourself and decide. The relationship with your family–and with others–is worth the effort.
Tag Archive for war
Why Are We Overrun by Immigrants?
A new United Nations report has an answer. It points out that almost 71 million people have left their home countries, not because they want to but because that’s the only way they and their children can escape persecution, violence, and war. That’s approximately 1 in every 108 people living on this planet. We’re seeing them flee to our country, but so are other countries (ask Germany).
What’s wrong with us? Can’t we work harder toward peace? Get rid of world leaders who are egomaniacs, narcissists, power-hungry, greedy, or killing people in the name of God? Can’t we work on ourselves and our attitude of “We don’t care, because we’re fine here?”–an attitue that leads us to complacency and acceptance of violence and hatred we see in our daily lives?
Can’t we remember that, after all, we are a family of human beings?
An Important Lesson for Our Children
Today commemorates D-Day, the largest military action attempted back in 1944. It was successful. But so many lives were lost. And it didn’t end wars. This day makes me think about peace and how we achieve it. I believe that a more peaceful world begins with our children, who will be the caretakers of the future. And with us, their current caretakers.
We can teach them peace in simple ways. Avoid video games, TV programs, and movies that glorify war, violence, torture, and destruction. As parents, we can be an example by working out disagreements without our engaging in a shouting match and certainly without hitting each other. In fact, even hitting or punching each other in jest sends a message to a child that violence is a game. We can find something specific to do when we or our children get very angry, whether it’s listening to soothing music, reading a book, or sitting quietly in a special spot in the garden. Although no single negative action will necessarily create a violent person, replacing any one of them with a positive action heads a child toward a more serene adulthood.
All the Gods Agree
Wars are fought over religion. The Supreme Being is called by different names. People distrust, belittle, hate, or kill others because of their religious beliefs. Yet, it all boils down to a simple rule that appears in the holy books of all major religions. Some call it the “Golden Rule.” (Put the cursor on the chart and use Ctrl X while scrolling to enlarge so you can see everything.)
Who’s at War?
There’s no such thing as a war between countries, as Francois Fenelon points out in today’s Thursday Thought quote:
| “All wars are civil wars because all men are brothers…Each one owes infinitely more to the human race than to the particular country in which he was born.” — François Fénelon |
Pity Poor Kellyanne Conway
I’m starting to feel sorry for Kellyanne Conway. She keeps mis-speaking and having to defend what she thought President Trump meant by what he said. She’s on the front lines in the war with the media, demonstrators, the courts, Democrats, and even some Republicans. It’s taking its toll; she’s exhausted. Just compare the two pictures below. I think, for the sake of her own health and for her family, she should resign and let her boss find someone else to do the job.
Before working for Candidate Trump:
2 days ago, after working two weeks for President Trump:
The Power of Chocolate…and of Freedom
If two pieces of chocolate were your prized possession, who would you give them to and why? What would your gift produce? We can never anticipate what an act of kindness will result in, can we? Seems like a good reason to hand out such acts as often as we can.
Here’s an example:
https://www.facebook.com/robert.eshbach/videos/1051135241572083/
[Thanks to Correna Compton for this.]
Mother’s Wisdom
A reminder worth thinking about in this war-torn, intolerant world:
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” (Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
Polio & War
Despite what the WHO said years back, polio has NOT been eradicated. In fact, unrest in the world is helping the previously fewer cases to grow toward an epidemic in some areas. In 2012, Nigeria reported 122 cases, Pakistan 58, and Afghanistan 37. Today’s news tells us that at least 10 cases have been reported recently in Syria. What do these countries have in common? War. Violence and fear among people drives them into lifestyles that allow them simply to survive. People get spread out into less accessible (and, they hope, safer) areas, and the last thing on their minds is to get immunized against polio. Under these circumstances, even countries with mandatory immunization–and Syria is one of them–find that avoiding gunfire and bombs trumps compulsory programs that no one is enforcing.
Maybe it’s because I contracted polio during the time when America was recovering from WWII. Or that I see so many preventable diseases (malaria, pneumonia, antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, etc.) spreading during and right after a war. Or that the most common victim of such diseases is someone living in poverty and the ravages of war. But it seems clear to me that a major preventative of polio and other communicable diseases is peace.
Let’s Create a Fitting Memorial
On this day, I pause to remember the men and women who died fighting America’s wars, including all those “wars,” “police actions,” “peace-keeping missions,” or whatever. Their goal was to liberate different parts of the world from tyrants and regimes that treated people like insignificant, disposable, unworthy, non-humans. This was their contribution to upholding the dignity of man and working toward peace.
A fitting memorial to these people would be to carry on their mission. Not by running off to a far-away land and fighting, but by living our daily lives as though those around us and those foreign to us both near and far, those with different skin colors, religions, socio-economic status–everyone–were human beings made in the image of God. Such a peaceful, tolerant attitude must start with us individually, in our homes, schools, and workplaces and spread to our cities, states, nation, and, ultimately, the world. Maybe such a global attitude will prevent tyrants and hate-groups from getting a foothold.
I know this is idealistic, but so were all those who died fighting our battles. Carrying on their idealism is an appropriate way to honor them. Even if we succeed only in making a more peaceful, tolerant piece of the world in our own lives, that, too, is a fit memorial to them. Today is an excellent day to begin!
