We Will Remember

I visited the cemetery this weekend. Buried in the family plot among my grandparents (from both sides of the family) is a great uncle who died in France in 1918. He was barely twenty. I think of all that my grandparents were able to do with their lives and how that promise was cut short for my great uncle Frank.

Then I think about all the war dead, gay and straight. I think about all those who are dying in Iraq, needlessly. In a war whose justification did not exist. I think of all the other countries that could use our help as well, and I am torn. I want to see freedom in the Middle East, but I don't know if our role is to be the world's policeman. But I digress...

We must all appreciate those who have suffered and died for our country. In wars that were popular and not. They knew that we were all depending on them. They gave - that last full measure of devotion, as Lincoln so famously put it.

Without sounding too preachy, let's do all we can to see that the vets who are still around are honored and taken care of. I know Republican patriotism doesn't usually extend to the taking care part, but we must let the folks in Congress know that these vets should not be shortchanged. Before we give another millionaire a tax break, let's think about how much more important it is that we spend that money on our vets. To let them know that we are here for them too.

George Gray

I have loved this part of the Spoon River Anthology since I was in high school. Sad to say that it still speaks of/to me today. I HAVE studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me—
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire—
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.

Gays, the New Commies

Just look at the news from around the country and you will see story after story about how the right wing is demonizing gays. Trying to ban books that contain gay content or ones that are written by gay authors. Trying to block gays from being foster parents (forgetting that it was the child's abusive straight parents who made them foster children to begin with). And most of all, trying to keep those damn gays from marrying each other. Don't they know that straights are the superior beings???

At every turn we see that gays are truly to blame for what's wrong with America today. We all know that they have destroyed the American family by causing all those divorces. Oh wait, those are caused by straights. Gays are truly to blame for record amounts of child abuse and neglect. Oh wait, that's caused by straights too. Maybe gays are to blame for record levels of spousal abuse. Oh, not that either. I'm sure we can find some direct correlation between the rise of gay acceptance and the mess that the modern American Family is in.

If all these so called Christian groups would start focusing their money and attention on what's really wrong with this country instead of wasting it all on trying to oppress gays, we might actually see some improvement in the plight of the family.

The arrogance of heterosexuals to think that only they have a love that is worth celebrating (and accepting).

The Filibuster

I sure hope that TCM runs "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" in the next few days. Nothing can better show the power of the filibuster to fight for a just but unpopular stand. The filibuster hasn't always been used for good, but this time it will be.

Just what is this separation of powers that people keep going on about? Could it be that we need to have at least one branch of government not under the power of the Republic(ans)? Soon to be called The Empire. If the Senate falls to these power mad hypocrites, then the judiciary is certainly next. It seems that the Emperor wants to control all he sees.

Interesting how Hollywood can tell us so much about ourselves. If only someone were paying attention.

Darkness Falls

I don't know if any of you have ever had to deal with depression. I know I didn't see it coming, didn't know what it was when it hit me. I wasn't sad exactly, I knew that I just wasn't happy.

I did all the right things to correct the problem. Talk therapy, pills, more talk. It seems to have worked, for the most part. I'm still not the person I was before depression hit me. But I am better.

You're probably wondering "why the true confessions"? It's just that sometimes I see the glimpses of joy I once enjoyed on a regular basis, and I get more depressed (what a vicious cycle).

Aging does not help the problem. You have to deal with all the mid-life and end-of-life issues that you never thought about as a young person. You never had (or wanted) to deal with your own mortality then. Now it is your constant companion.

Yet time keeps passing, relentlessly. You definitely can't go home again.

Church People

I read in the news the other day about the preacher down South (where else) who has forced out members of his congregation who do not support President Bush. This is wrong on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.

First let's talk about the legal issues. A tax-exempt church forcing its political views on its congregants???

Second, Bush is not even running for office. So what is this all about? Signing a loyalty oath? Swearing our allegiance to our fearless leader?

I know most Christian Coalition types think the Constitution is, at best, a nuisance, and at worst, the devil's work. They firmly believe that they have all the answers, know the one absolute truth. And as Al Franken says, "that's the kind of thinking that flies planes into tall buildings".

The framers built a wall between church and state because they saw what could happen when the two were combined. Long before the Taliban, there was a thing called the Inquisition. There were religious wars upon religious wars. There were the believers and the un-believers.

Oddly enough, our country must start looking back if we are ever to have a future. We must learn from past mistakes and move forward, not back. We must fulfill our promise for a better world, where we all belong.

Stars Hollow

Do we ever really find a home as great as the ones that Hollywood can create for us? A place where we are loved, accepted, teased and generally understood by the community? A place where we belong?

That sense of community is something I think we are all looking for, whether we know it or not.

Even the most ardent loner must wish in their heart of hearts that they too were part of something larger than themselves. Something in and of themselves, but greater in its meaning and purpose.

Whether it is our place of work, our neighborhood, or even our town. These can all be communities where we feel we belong.

Losing that sense of belonging is one of the things that I think has gone wrong in our society. When we have no stake in the world around us, we find it easier to lash out, commit violent acts or heinous crimes.

Perhaps instead of spending all of our time trying to keep others out (gays, Arabs, anyone we don't feel we can understand) we might be better served by trying to bring more people into the fold. Give more folks that sense of belonging and acceptance. Thereby building a safe and happy place to live...

Just like Stars Hollow.

FDR's Legacy

Listening to President Bush talk this week over in eastern Europe, I was taken aback by his apology for the division of Europe after WWII. Here is a man who can barely finish a sentence on his own, criticizing Franklin Roosevelt for the decisions made at Yalta.

Not only do we have to look at the fact that FDR was gravely ill, what about the fact that FDR knew that America was not ready to fight another war, this time against the Soviets. Most of us can only imagine the world as it stood at the end of disaster in Europe (not to mention the fact that we still had to fight a war in the Pacific).

I agree that it was not a great agreement, but it was the best that Churchill and FDR could get past Stalin. How does someone as lame as Bush criticize (60 years hence) a decision that was made based on so many factors that we still don't know why it happened? First Bush attacks social security, and now end of war decisions. What next?

That's Scotty's rant for the week.

May Day

I spent the afternoon with my family today. They are all wonderful people, but I don't always enjoy their company. Today we had a good time, eating and laughing. Two of my favorite things.

My folks are both turning 80 this year, and I always enjoy being with them. I do worry about them though. I know what a lot of my friends have had to go through, taking care of elderly parents. My folks still live in the same house they bought in 1955 and have quite active lives. Luckily they are very involved in their church, which keeps them very busy.

Still, I know what's coming. I try to live in the here and now, but I keep seeing the future (and the past). All this sage advice people give us is not always very easy to live with.

I don't even know what to wish for, for my parents' future. Die suddenly, live a long time in a nursing home, or in home care? What would I want for myself? To live forever is the only thing I can come up with.

All I can do for now is hold them close and let them know how much I love them. I hope that's enough.