IT'S LONG BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED

 

AS A VERY, VERY  DEEP WOUND (I.E., LOSING A CHILD)

Our collective hearts go out to journalist

Richard Engel and his family...

... and that is precisely why musician/song-writer

E. Clapton penned these lyrics

Would you know my name?
If I saw you in heaven
Would it be the same?
If I saw you in heaven

I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand?
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand?
If I saw you in heaven

I'll find my way
Through night and day
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knees
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

Beyond the door
There's peace, I'm sure
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven

Would you know my name?
If I saw you in heaven
Would you be the same?
If I saw you in heaven

I must be strong
And carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

DOING THE RIGHT THING IN REFUTING TRUMP'S BIG LIE

 

...has most unfairly hurt Liz Cheney but most forms of fascism proceed in this particular way. That is to say, by singling out the 'enemy' and subsequently demonizing him/her to the maximum, select troops can be effectively galvanized for battle. Moreover, those very troops were in plain sight on 1-6-2021. Misguided faith, fervor, religiosity, and religious practice continue to stand at the ready. Most ironically, it's the defense of the Big Lie which is what's truly sinful !  Theocracy is not the answer, either, since it shares multiple threads with fascism.

And just "who" vociferously supports The Big Lie? Well, they tend toward being uncompromisingly capitalist, brutally mercantile, cynically consumerist, producers of false values, and without true virtue. Likewise, those who support this malicious lie are bullies toward the weak and weak toward oppressors; they are cunningly Machiavellian, spellbound by money, and captivated by profit at all costs. They kiss the ring and prostrate themselves in the hope that great power will find its way to their OWN doorstep one day.

Unfortunately, you cannot extinguish man's quintessential drive toward manipulating the feckless masses so that he, himself, may attain great power and wealth. A malignant narcissist should never have had access to the Oval office. We will pay the price for decades to come...

THAT EIGHTH MONTH!

                                          In Honor of August

Through every

Cadenced stage

Of seasonal life,

August embraces the

Palette of blissfully

Unraveling sunsets.

A lion-esque piñata

Struck by golden-rod;

Proud Leo roars, pouring

Stunning colors into

Amber grass once green.

Mixed gently,

These gauzy days

Of summer

Trade on heady

Hopes of sweet reprisal...

Poignant notes of

Perfectly poised joie de vivre

And shimmering

Exuberance are breathing

A last 'Summer Sigh'

[Oh August !!]

poem by L.P.-G.

ALWAYS SEEK THE REAL TRUTH...even if it makes you unpopular

 

It was the day before Pope JPII finally succumbed in April of 2005 that Pope Benedict was speaking to a crowd gathered in a Gothic convent in the mountains outside Rome. It was a dialogue that echoed a common argument of his: i.e., excluding 'God' from the public conscience would have serious consequences and hurl us toward the edge of an abyss. Yet, why did he callously overlook how the crusades had summoned this higher power just prior to extensive slaughter, or how Joshua (for his own gain) invoked Yahweh to help him bring down the walled city of Jericho? And then there's this unfortunate truism: "Even the devil can cite scripture for his own agenda".

Several months earlier, on December 26th of 2004, a massive tsunami had devoured thousands of innocent people after two giant tectonic plates slid past one other near the western coast of Sumatra. So just how did people unwilling (or unable) to let go of their "faith" reconcile their belief(s) to this watery tragedy of biblical proportions? [Blind faith ???]

Buddhists: "It's karma; we must generate lots of good merit to ensure it doesn't happen again".

Hindus: "We must cool the anger of the local deity through acts of propitiation."

Muslims: "God is testing us to see how strong our belief in him is".

Christians: "Job had to live through tragedy and so did Christ on the cross".

For  others, the only way to go about obtaining the factual truth is to take a rigorous academic approach. Indeed, every one of the world's 'great  faiths' has been corrupted by those either seeking power or with an intent to promote their own culture/agenda.  IMO: That is why we must strive to have separation of church and state...

MORE THAN JUST SIMPLE 'DOG-DAYS'

 

The scenes of month seven

Are utter delight,

As twelve pumped-up  fireflies

Vanquish the night

Eschewing the bee-dance

Of tight figure-eights;

Most soar haphazardly,

Seeking out mates...

Some amble eastward

While others turn west;

Yet, keeping them playful

Supplies summer-zest ! !

poem by L.P.-G./ July 2022